Singapore stocks jumped this week with the STI up 2.1%, as Middle Eastern hostilities eased.

Meanwhile, Singapore's key consumer price gauge rose 0.6% in May from a year earlier, official data showed on Monday, matching forecasts by economists.

In terms of individual stocks, AEM rose 23.6%; SingPost rose 8.8%; SGX rose 7.1%; Hongkong Land rose 6.4%; Capitaland Investment rose 3.5%; UOB rose 3.2%; OCBC rose 2.8%; DBS rose 2.2%; Genting Singapore and SIA rose 2.1%; while Sembcorp Industries fell 2.4%; Seatrium fell 1.5%; Yangzijiang Shipbuilding fell 1.3%.

Market News

Singapore's Annual Core Inflation Rate 0.6% in May, Matching Poll Forecast

Singapore's key consumer price gauge rose 0.6% in May from a year earlier, official data showed on Monday, matching forecasts by economists.

The core inflation rate, which excludes private road transport and accommodation costs, was in line with a forecast rate of 0.6% in a Reuters poll of economists.

Headline inflation was 0.8% in annual terms in May, also matching the median poll forecast of 0.8%.

It was the fifth consecutive month where the annual core rate was below 1%.

Singapore Plans to Build 80,000 New Homes in the Next Decade

Singapore is planning to build at least 80,000 public and private homes over the next 10 to 15 years, as part of the government’s latest effort to meet rising demand for affordable housing.

The houses will be developed in new precincts across the city-state, with close proximity to public transport and workplaces, the Urban Redevelopment Authority said in a statement on Wednesday. The government aims to have 80% of its households live within a 10-minute walk from a train station by 2030, it said.

These initiatives are part of a broader plan by the government agency to guide the city’s urban development, as it seeks to make more efficient use of limited land by encouraging residents to live closer to the commercial center. Locals have traditionally avoided properties in the central region due to their higher prices and lack of amenities like schools, and often flock to suburban projects instead.

Singapore’s Premier Vows Closer China Cooperation in Xi Meeting

Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong pledged to deepen bilateral cooperation in a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, as the trade-dependent city-state confronts intensifying tensions between Beijing and Washington.

Singapore looks forward to forging closer collaboration with China, Wong wrote on his X account Tuesday. “Amidst a more uncertain external environment, we are committed to working together to foster continued peace, stability and shared prosperity for the region,” he said.

The trip — Wong’s first to China since becoming prime minister just over a year ago — comes as the Southeast Asian country is navigating an increasingly fractured world. US-China tensions have soared over trade, technology restrictions and Taiwan, among other strategic issues.

Singapore's OCBC Says No Another Offer for Great Eastern Even If Delisting Proposal Fails

Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp on Monday said that it has no intention to make another offer to buy the rest of Great Eastern in the future in the event shareholders opted to not delist the insurer from the Singapore bourse.

OCBC was responding to a media report saying that it still can propose to take Great Eastern private when its non-voting shares are due in five years if the latest delisting proposal by Great Eastern cannot be achieved in an EGM on July 8.

OCBC, Singapore's second largest lender, said in a stock exchange filing that it has no intention to convert its non-voting shares to ordinary shares on or after five years as it would result in Great Eastern losing its free float again.

OCBC would opt to receive the non-voting shares to help restore the free float and a resumption in trading of Great Eastern if the delisting proposal by the insurer is not achieved.

Great Eastern on June 6 proposed to delist from the domestic bourse by way of its largest shareholder OCBC offering S$900 million ($696.27 million) to buy the rest of the insurer it does not already own.

Singapore Air CEO’s Pay Slipped 14% to $5.5 Million Last Year

Singapore Airlines Ltd. awarded Chief Executive Officer Goh Choon Phong S$7.01 million ($5.5 million) last financial year, a drop of almost 14%.

Just over two-fifths of the renumeration was a bonus of S$3.1 million, the carrier’s most recent annual report published Wednesday showed.

While Goh’s overall pay declined, his remuneration was still the second best since he took the helm in 2011. In the 2023-2024 financial year, Goh received total compensation of S$8.1 million.

Singapore Airlines posted record levels of profitability and sales last year but warned of significant headwinds, including trade uncertainties and other factors that could impact consumer and business confidence.

AEM Raises H1 FY2025 Revenue Guidance to up to S$195 Million on Pull-in of Customer Orders

Semiconductor test solutions provider AEM has raised its revenue guidance for the first half of the financial year ending Jun 30 to between S$185 million and S$195 million, up from an earlier range of S$155 million to S$170 million.

The upward revision follows an unexpected pull-in of orders into FY2025 from one of the group’s customers under a non-cancellable, long-dated purchase order programme, carried out for the customer’s inventory management purposes, AEM said on Thursday (Jun 26).

Despite the revision, AEM said its view of the business environment remains unchanged from its previous update in May, when it noted uncertainty stemming from the current tariff situation. 

The Week Ahead

Singapore will release retail data on Friday, July 4.