Market Snapshot

Singapore stocks opened higher on Friday. STI rose 0.2%; TJ DaRenTang up 13%; Bumitama Agri up 3%; Keppel up 2%; ST Engineering, Mapletree Ind Tr down about 1%.

Stocks in Focus

Wilmar International: It posted a US$347.7 million loss for the third quarter ended Sep 30, reversing from a net profit of US$254.4 million in the year-ago period. The net loss was due to a 11.9 trillion rupiah (S$926.6 million) graft penalty linked to the group’s actions amid a cooking oil shortage in the country, it said on Thursday. Excluding the payment, Wilmar’s Q3 core net profit rose 71.6 per cent to US$357.2 million, from US$208.1 million. The counter fell 0.6 per cent or S$0.02 to S$3.12 on Thursday, before the news.

Yangzijiang Financial: The Singapore Exchange greenlighted its proposed listing of YZJ Maritime Development and granted it a conditional eligibility-to-list, Yangzijiang Financial said on Thursday. It added that it has further capitalised some US$1.5 billion of receivables from YZJ Maritime, resulting in the share capital of YZJ Maritime increasing to some US$1.5 billion comprising about 1.5 billion shares. The counter closed flat at S$1.07 on Thursday.

Sheng Siong: The supermarket operator reported an 11.9 per cent increase in earnings to S$43.7 million in the third quarter ended Sep 30, from S$39.1 million in the year-ago period. This was driven by an increase in its number of stores to 90 in the recent Q3, up from 79 in the previous corresponding quarter. Sheng Siong shares closed down 0.9 per cent or S$0.02 at S$2.28 on Thursday.

CapitaLand India Trust (Clint): It posted a total property income of 5.1 billion rupees (S$76 million) for its third quarter, up 10 per cent in Singapore dollar terms from 4.3 billion rupees in the same period a year earlier. This was due to higher rental income from existing properties as well as income contributions from acquisitions and completed developments, said the manager on Friday. Net property income rose 10 per cent year on year in Singapore dollar terms to 3.9 billion rupees for the quarter. Units of Clint closed 1.6 per cent or S$0.02 lower on Thursday at S$1.20.

Lendlease Global Commercial Reit: On Thursday, it posted committed portfolio occupancy of 95 per cent for its first quarter ended Sep 30, up from 92.1 per cent in the prior quarter. This was driven by “active leasing efforts” for Building 3 of the Sky Complex property in Milan, Italy, the manager said. As at Sep 30, the Reit’s retail portfolio occupancy stood at 99.6 per cent, with a positive rental reversion of 8.9 per cent. Units of Lendlease Global Commercial Reit closed 1.5 per cent or S$0.01 lower at S$0.65 on Thursday, before the news.

Cordlife: The cord-blood banking operator announced on Thursday that its executive chairman Zhai Lingyun has stepped down, with a new chairman to be appointed in due course. Zhai, who told the board that he resigned in order to focus on other business and personal commitments, will continue to serve in certain management capacities within the group. Shares of Cordlife closed flat at S$0.15 on Thursday.

SG Local News

Singapore, Chile, New Zealand launch negotiations for green economy partnership

Singapore, Chile and New Zealand launched negotiations for a plurilateral Green Economy Partnership Agreement (Gepa) on Friday (Oct 31) morning, on the sidelines of the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) meetings in South Korea.

At the launch, Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said he looked forward to a “substantial outcome” by the next Apec Summit.

Buying of gold bars, coins in Singapore leaps 47% in Q3; global demand hits record

Strong investor appetite in Singapore, which resulted in a 47 per cent year-on-year jump in demand to 1.8 tonnes for gold bars and coins, mirrored a global rush for the metal that pushed total gold demand to its highest quarter on record. 

According to a Q3 gold demands trend report released by the World Gold Council (WGC) on Thursday (Oct 30), total gold demand, including over-the-counter (OTC) trades, grew 3 per cent year on year to 1,313 tonnes, the highest quarterly total in the WGC data series.