Market Snapshot

Singapore stocks opened lower on Wednesday. STI down 0.3%; Koh Eco up 16%; Keppel DC Reit and Singtel up 1%; Raffles Medical up 0.5%.

Stocks in Focus

Keppel Infrastructure Trust (KIT) : Its manager is divesting a 24.6 per cent stake in Australian bus service business Ventura Motors for A$130 million (S$109 million). As part of the trust’s value creation strategy, the sale will bolster its financial strength and agility while enhancing its ability to capture further opportunities through strategic capital recycling, said Kevin Neo, chief executive of the manager, on Tuesday. Units of KIT closed flat at S$0.395 on Tuesday, before the announcement.

Raffles Medical Group : The group has inked a strategic cooperation agreement with First Affiliated Hospital, a hospital in Chongqing, China, to deepen medical partnerships between the two. Under the partnership, a new healthcare collaboration ecosystem will be set up, where the two parties will participate in reciprocal visits and exchanges for personnel and explore new models of cooperation such as on artificial intelligence applications. A new medical consortium will facilitate the flow of medical resources and top expert teams from both hospitals will convene for academic exchanges and consultations, the group said on Tuesday. Shares of Raffles Medical closed at S$0.975 on Tuesday, down 1 per cent or S$0.01, before the announcement. 

Amara : The hotel and property group will be delisted from the Singapore Exchange as the privatisation offer for it closed with valid acceptances representing 97.74 per cent of total shares. As at the offer’s close at 5.30 pm on Tuesday, the total number of shares owned, controlled or agreed to be acquired by the offeror DRC Investments, together with valid acceptances of the offer, was 562 million shares. DRC, a consortium led by property developer Hwa Hong, will compulsorily acquire all remaining shares of Amara it does not own at the price of S$0.895 apiece and make the group its wholly owned subsidiary. Shares of Amara were suspended on Tuesday. 

Koh Brothers Eco Engineering ; Singapore Airlines : A joint venture between Japanese firm Penta-Ocean Construction and a subsidiary of the construction and engineering company bagged a S$999 million contract for the construction of intra-terminal tunnels at Changi Airport’s upcoming Terminal 5 (T5). The intra-terminal tunnels will serve as underground connections within T5, support the transfer of passengers and baggage across the terminal’s concourses while facilitating the routing of common utilities, said Changi Airport Group on Tuesday. Shares of Koh Brothers Eco Engineering ended on Tuesday 5.7 per cent or S$0.003 lower at S$0.05, before the announcement; SIA shares closed on Tuesday 0.6 per cent or S$0.04 higher at S$7.10 before the announcement. 

SG Local News

Qantas to Close Jetstar Asia, Freeing Up Capital for New Fleet

Qantas Airways Ltd. said low-cost subsidiary Jetstar Asia will close next month, freeing up as much as A$500 million ($327 million) in capital to fund the group’s fleet renewal program.

Singapore-based Jetstar Asia, which is 49% owned by Qantas, is expected to post a A$35 million underlying operating loss this financial year in the face of intensifying competition and rising costs, Qantas said Wednesday. Thirteen Jetstar Asia Airbus A320 aircraft will be redeployed to Australia and New Zealand.

Changi Airport awards S$999 million contract for T5 intra-terminal tunnels

Changi Airport Group (CAG) has awarded a S$999 million contract for the construction of intra-terminal tunnels at the upcoming Terminal 5 (T5).

The contract was bagged by a joint venture between Japanese firm Penta-Ocean Construction and a subsidiary of Koh Brothers Eco Engineering, a local construction and engineering company.

The intra-terminal tunnels will serve as underground connections within T5, said CAG in a Tuesday (Jun 10) press statement. These will support the transfer of passengers and baggage across the terminal’s concourses while facilitating the routing of common utilities.