Market Snapshot

Singapore stocks opened higher on Wednesday. STI up 0.3%; YZJ Shipbldg, UOB, DBS up 1%; Nio fell 3%.

Stocks to Watch

ocbc bank: The bank announced on May 27 key leadership changes to its global wholesale banking franchise, to take effect on Oct 1. Among the changes, Elaine Heng, now OCBC’s group chief strategy and transformation officer, will succeed Linus Goh, the current head of global commercial banking, who retires on Sep 30. Shares of OCBC closed 0.9 per cent or S$0.14 higher at S$16.31 on Tuesday.

Amara: The independent financial adviser appointed for the takeover bid for the hotel group has deemed the offer at S$0.895 a share to be “fair and reasonable”. It has advised the company’s directors considered to be independent to recommend shareholders to accept the offer. Shares of Amara closed up 1.1 per cent or S$0.01 at S$0.90 on Tuesday.

Valuetronics: Electronics manufacturing services provider Valuetronics posted a net profit of HK$79.9 million (S$13.1 million), up 3.1 per cent from HK$77.4 million in the year-go period. Its counter gained 2.9 per cent or S$0.02 to settle at S$0.70 on Tuesday, before the news.

Trading halt

CapLand Ascendas REIT: The manager of the trust announced in a bourse filing on Wednesday morning for trading of shares to be halted with immediate effect. It also announced the proposed acquisitions of two Singapore properties. The counter ended Tuesday 0.4 per cent or S$0.01 higher at S$2.61.

Econ Healthcare: The Catalist-listed nursing operator said on May 28 that trading of shares will be suspended “on and from” 9 am on Wednesday. It was previously reported that US private equity firm TPG, through its special purpose vehicle, is looking to take Econ Healthcare private. Shares of Econ Healthcare closed flat at S$0.35 on Tuesday.

SG Local News

Singapore Doubles Down on AI with 800 New Training Spaces, 500 Business Projects

About 800 new training opportunities and as many as 500 new projects to benefit 1,000 enterprises will be rolled out as Singapore doubles down on artificial intelligence (AI), a cornerstone of its digital economy strategy.

Both mid-career AI novices as well as seasoned practitioners could have a stab at 400 training places at national programme AI Singapore (AISG) over the next three years.

Another 400 training places will be made available by companies ranging from Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Oracle to Microsoft and Singtel.

Singapore's CapitaLand Ascendas REIT to Buy Two Properties for $543.6 Million

Singapore's CapitaLand Ascendas REIT said on Wednesday it will acquire a data centre and a premium business park property in the city-state for a combined S$700.2 million ($543.63 million).

The REIT said the acquisitions will increase the value of its Singapore portfolio by 6% to approximately S$11.7 billion. Both properties are fully leased to "reputable tenants", the company added, guaranteeing stable and predictable income streams.

Singapore Airlines Turbulence Investigation Not yet Complete, Ministry Says

Singapore authorities said on Tuesday that an investigation into a Singapore Airlines flight last year that hit turbulence, injuring dozens of people and killing one, was still awaiting analysis of the plane's weather radar systems.

A 73-year-old passenger died of a suspected heart attack in the incident, which occurred after flight SQ321 from London to Singapore encountered what the airline described as sudden, extreme turbulence while flying over Myanmar.