Market Snapshot

Singapore stocks opened higher on Friday. STI rose 0.1%; NIO rose 8%; Seatrium rose 0.9%; Keppel and Singtel rose 0.8%; Keppel DC Reit fell 3%; OCBC edged higher after earnings.

Stocks in Focus

OCBC: The local bank’s net profit for Q2 FY2025 fell 7 per cent as interest rates decline, coming in at S$1.82 billion for the three months ended Jun 30, compared with S$1.94 billion a year earlier. This beat the S$1.79 billion earnings consensus forecast from a Bloomberg poll of six analysts. OCBC declared an interim dividend of S$0.41 per share, down from S$0.44 per share a year before. Shares of OCBC closed 1 per cent or S$0.17 lower at S$16.87 on Thursday before the results were released.

Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust (FLCT): It reported a lower portfolio occupancy of 92.5 per cent for Q3, a drop of 1.4 percentage points from 93.9 per cent a quarter earlier. The real estate investment trust (Reit) leased around 100,707 square metres in the quarter ended Jun 30. The Reit’s rental reversion was 43.3 per cent on an average-versus-average basis across its 114 properties in Singapore, Australia, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK. The counter closed 1.7 per cent or S$0.015 lower at S$0.88 on Thursday prior to the business update.

CapitaLand Ascott Trust (Clas): The stapled group has proposed divesting Citadines Central Shinjuku Tokyo for 25 billion yen (S$222.7 million). The transaction is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2025. The buyer is ML Estate, an unrelated, third-party purchaser, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Japanese company Mizuho Leasing. The managers said on Thursday the proposed divestment price represents a premium of around 100 per cent over the property’s book value, and around 40.4 per cent above the average of two independent valuations. The counter closed 1.1 per cent or S$0.01 lower at S$0.895 on Thursday.

Jardine Matheson Holdings (JMH): The multinational conglomerate reported on Thursday a 45 per cent growth in underlying profit for the first half of FY2025 to US$798 million from US$550 million in the same period a year earlier. This increase was driven by most of its companies, but partially offset by conglomerate Astra International’s lower contribution. Revenue for the period inched down 1 per cent at US$17.1 billion from US$17.3 billion in H1 FY2024. Shares of JMH closed 4.2 per cent or US$2.37 lower at US$54.53 before the news.

Keppel Reit: It announced on Friday its offering of S$300 million worth of subordinated perpetual securities, priced at 3.78 per cent. The offering, at an issue price of 100 per cent of the principal amount, will be in denominations of S$250,000. Set to be issued on Aug 11, it will be perpetual with no fixed final redemption date. Net proceeds from the issuance, after deducting related expenses, will refinance the Reit’s borrowings and those of its subsidiaries. Units of Keppel Reit closed on Thursday 2.1 per cent or S$0.02 lower at S$0.95 before the news.

NetLink NBN Trust: The manager of the trust on Thursday posted a 9.2 per cent decline in its Q1 FY2026 earnings to S$23.3 million, from S$25.7 million in the same period a year prior. Revenue for the period rose 1.9 per cent to S$102.8 million from S$100.9 million the year before. This was driven by higher ancillary project and installation-related revenue. Units of NetLink Trust closed 0.6 per cent or S$0.005 down at S$0.895 on Thursday.

Del Monte Pacific: The dual-listed counter on the Singapore Exchange and Philippine Stock Exchange on Thursday reported a net loss of US$742.2 million for its fourth quarter ended Apr 30, such that its full-year net loss for FY2025 is US$834.4 million. This came on the back of US$787.8 million in losses booked from the group’s discontinued operations, including a full impairment of related current and long-term assets of US$703.5 million from its failed US subsidiary, Del Monte Foods. Its shares closed S$0.004 or 4.3 per cent lower at S$0.089 on Thursday, prior to the group’s bourse filing.

Aoxin Q&M: The group announced on Thursday that it has placed former chief executive Shao Yongxin under suspension to facilitate its whistle-blowing investigation. Dr Shao is in the midst of relinquishing all his duties, including his directorships in subsidiary companies in Aoxin Q&M. In the interim, general manager Bai Yi and deputy general manager Huang Zhengxing will lead the business operations. The counter closed 2 per cent or S$0.001 lower at S$0.048 before the news.

Indofood Agri Resources: The agribusiness group on Thursday posted a 13.4 per cent rise in net profit to 337.8 billion rupiah (S$26.6 million) for its first half ended June, from 297.9 billion rupiah in the year-ago period. Its revenue stood at 9.4 trillion rupiah, up 33.2 per cent from 7.1 trillion rupiah previously. The top-line and bottom-line improvements came amid higher domestic crude palm oil prices, supported by Indonesia’s biodiesel mandate. The counter finished Thursday 2.9 per cent or S$0.01 lower at S$0.34, before the news.

SG Local News

Singapore's Bank OCBC Second-Quarter Net Profit Drops 7%, Matches Forecast

Singapore's second-largest bank, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp (OCBC), lowered its net interest income expectation for 2025 after posting on Friday a 7% year-on-year drop in second-quarter net profit that matched expectations.

"The outlook ahead remains challenging," said OCBC Group Chief Executive Helen Wong in a statement. "Evolving trade and monetary policies, and persistent geopolitical tensions are expected to weigh on growth prospects."

OCBC, Southeast Asia's second-largest lender, expected its 2025 net interest income to be lower by a mid-single-digit percentage and projected its net interest margin, a key profitability gauge, to be in the range of 1.90% to 1.95% versus around 2% targeted in the previous quarter.

It maintained the rest of its 2025 financial targets.

Singapore Gold Investment Soars 37% to 2.2 Tonnes in Q2 While Jewellery Demand Wanes

Investment appetite for gold remains strong in Singapore, with 2.2 tonnes of gold bars and coins purchased in the second quarter of 2025, according to the World Gold Council’s latest report released on Thursday (Jul 31).

Meanwhile, gold jewellery demand in Singapore declined 8 per cent to 1.5 tonnes, as record gold prices curbed spending power and global jewellery buying slumped to pandemic-era lows.

While the 2.2 tonnes of gold investment in Singapore represent a 37 per cent rise from Q2 last year, the amount is below the prior-quarter’s 2.5 tonnes, which was the highest on the council’s record.