SG Morning Call｜Singapore Stocks Opened Higher On Thursday; Digital Core Reit Up 2%; Keppel And CityDev Up 1%

Market Snapshot

Singapore stocks opened higher on Thursday. STI up 0.1%; Nio up 3%; Digital Core Reit up 2%; Keppel and CityDev up 1%; MLT and Sinarmas Land down 1%.

Stocks to Watch

Keppel : The company released an update for Q1 2025 on Thursday, reporting an increase in net profit of over 25 per cent year-on-year, driven by strong performance in its infrastructure, real estate and asset management segments. The company also reported that it had monetised S$347 million in assets the year-to-date, with another $550 million of potential real estate divestments in advanced stages of negotiations. The group also announced on Wednesday that it entered a joint venture with Tianjin Shunhua Real Estate Construction Management to develop 19 plots of land in the Tianjin Eco-City northern district in China. The counter closed S$0.15 or 2.4 per cent higher at S$6.40 on Wednesday, before the announcement.

Mapletree Logistics Trust (MLT) : MLT’s distribution per unit fell 11.6 per cent to S$0.01955 for Q4 on the back of lower revenue contribution from China and weak regional currencies. Gross revenue for the three months ended Mar 31 dipped 0.8 per cent to S$179.6 million from a year earlier, while net property income (NPI) also fell, by 1.6 per cent to S$152.8 million, its manager said on Wednesday. Units of MLT closed S$0.04 or 3.4 per cent higher at S$1.21, before the news.

Mapletree Industrial Trust (MIT) : It is proposing to divest its data centre in Georgia, US, for a proposed sale price of US$11.8 million, the manager said on Wednesday. The divestment allows MIT to unlock value and redeploy capital elsewhere as it focuses on portfolio rejuvenation to deliver returns to unitholders, said the chief executive officer of the manager, Lily Ler. The proposed divestment is set to complete in Q2 2025. The counter closed on Wednesday 1 per cent or S$0.02 higher at S$2.05.

Capitaland China Trust : The manager on Thursday posted an NPI of 292.5 million yuan (S$52.8 million), down 6.6 per cent from 313.1 million yuan in the previous corresponding period. Gross revenue stood at 439.7 million yuan, 6.1 per cent down from 468.1 million yuan previously. This decrease came as retail and business park revenue both declined, due to lower rents at CapitaMall Xinnan and lower occupancy at the Singapore-Hangzhou Science Technology Park Phase II and Ascendas Innovation Towers. Units of CapitaLand China Trust closed 3.8 per cent or S$0.025 higher at S$0.69 on Wednesday, before the update.

Digital Core Reit : The manager of the data centre-focused Reit said on Wednesday that it posted a distributable income attributable to unitholders of US$11.7 million for the three months ended Mar 31, 9.9 per cent higher from the year-ago period. NPI also rose by 41.8 per cent year on year to US$22.4 million and revenue for Q1 jumped 79.9 per cent to US$44.2 million, from the same quarter in 2024. Units of the Reit advanced US$0.005 or 1.06 per cent to close at US$0.48, before the announcement.

Sinarmas Land : Its privatisation offer by Indonesia’s Widjaja family received valid acceptances of 22 per cent, bringing the offeror’s total shareholding to 92.3 per cent, the company reported on Wednesday. Following the loss of its 10 per cent free float requirement, shares of Sinarmas Land will be suspended from trading. The counter closed flat at S$0.325 on Wednesday.

SG Local News

Campaigning kicks into high gear following suspenseful Nomination Day

From 11th-hour switches to a shock walkover and even a historic four-cornered fight, Nomination Day on Wednesday (Apr 23) was riddled with suspense and surprises up to the very last minute, as Singaporeans were kept guessing about the final slates in several key battlegrounds for the May 3 general election (GE).

With the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) claiming victory in Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC via a walkover – the first since 2011 – a total of 92 out of 97 seats across 33 constituencies will be contested, with 206 candidates in the race.

Arguably the biggest surprise stemmed from Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong’s move to lead the PAP team in Punggol GRC, having helmed Chua Chu Kang GRC since 2011.

Fireworks at CDL AGM, but shareholders vote strongly in favour of all resolutions

The boardroom tussle at City Developments Ltd (CDL) involving executive chairman Kwek Leng Beng and his son, chief executive officer Sherman Kwek, was purportedly set aside for the greater good of the property group.

But at its annual general meeting (AGM) on Wednesday (Apr 23), there were signs of lingering tensions as a couple of board members resurfaced debate over the appointments of two new directors.

Still, all resolutions tabled were passed comfortably, with support level in the high-90s range.