Market Snapshot

Singapore stocks opened lower on Friday. STI fell 0.35%; OCBC Bank jumped 2.6% as Q1 profit beat estimates; UOB, SIA, iFast, ST Engineering down around 1%; Keppel, SATS down 2%.

Stocks in Focus

OCBC: The lender reported on Friday that net profit for the first quarter rose 5 per cent, driven by strong growth in wealth management. Net profit for the three months ended Mar 31, stood at S$1.97 billion, versus S$1.88 billion a year earlier. This was above the S$1.88 billion consensus estimate in a Bloomberg survey of five analysts. Shares of OCBC closed 0.6 per cent, or S$0.12, lower at S$21.88 on Thursday.

ST Engineering: The urban solutions business of the company has secured two smart mobility projects in the Middle East valued at more than S$100 million in total. One contract involves deploying a GoParkin smart car park system at the King Hussein Business Park in Jordan, while the other is regarding the support of Qatar’s national intelligent transport system operations. Shares of ST Engineering fell 1.6 per cent or S$0.18 to close at S$10.74 on Thursday, before the news.

Frasers Property: The real estate group posted a 37.8 per cent drop in net profit to S$88.4 million for its first half ended Mar 31, from S$142.2 million in the previous corresponding period. This was mainly due to a S$38.2 million impairment on an investment in Thailand. Shares of Frasers Property closed unchanged at S$1.14 on Thursday.

Raffles Education: Its profit after tax stood at S$21.1 million for its third quarter ended Mar 31, up from a loss after tax of around S$890,000 in the year-ago period, the company said on Thursday evening. However, revenue fell 14 per cent on the year to S$24.5 million form S$28.5 million. The counter closed Thursday flat at S$0.147, before the news.

SG Local News

Singapore Tests Two for Hantavirus After Deadly Cruise Outbreak

Singapore has isolated two residents who were onboard a cruise ship linked to a deadly outbreak of hantavirus.

Both men, aged 67 and 65, had been onboard the MV Hondius when it departed Argentina on April 1, the Communicable Diseases Agency said in a statement Thursday. “One has a runny nose but is otherwise well, and the other is asymptomatic,” CDA said. The test results for hantavirus are pending.

Amazon Cuts Singapore Workforce as It Phases Out Local Fulfilment Including Amazon Fresh

Amazon is cutting roles in Singapore as it ramps up expanding its international store selection in the city-state, it said in a post on its website on Thursday (May 7).

Amazon will help affected staff find new roles within the company. For those unable to be redeployed, transition support will include severance payments and career transition services.

“Amazon remains deeply committed to Singapore and our investments across our retail, global selling, entertainment, devices and AWS (Amazon Web Services) business lines, employing 2,500 people in the country,” said the company in the post.