Market Snapshot
Singapore stocks opened higher on Thursday. STI up 0.2%; SingPost, Sembcorp and ThaiBev up 1%.
Stocks in Focus
Sembcorp Industries : The company on Wednesday said that its wholly owned subsidiary Sembcorp Power will supply memory chip giant Micron with an additional 150 megawatts of power to support a new Woodlands plant in capturing artificial intelligence demand. Sembcorp is also set to be a prime beneficiary of an expected slump in liquefied natural gas prices, according to Morgan Stanley. Shares of Sembcorp fell 0.2 per cent or S$0.01 to close at S$5.92 on Wednesday, before the announcement.
Mapletree Industrial Trust (MIT) : The trust’s manager announced on Wednesday that its distribution per unit fell 7 per cent year on year to S$0.0317 in its third quarter ended Dec 31. Meanwhile, Q3 revenue fell 8 per cent to S$163.1 million from S$177.3 million in the year-ago period. The distribution will be paid out on Mar 12. Units of MIT closed flat at S$2.11 on Wednesday, before the results were released.
Ho Bee Land : The company on Wednesday said it has promoted its current head of finance, Li Xiangrun, to chief financial officer effective Feb 1. The position is currently not filled, according to the property developer’s website. Li, 43, joined the company in June 2023 as head of finance. Shares of Ho Bee Land closed 0.4 per cent or S$0.01 lower at S$2.48 on Wednesday.
SG Local News
Singapore leaves monetary policy settings unchanged in January, for third straight quarter
The Republic’s central bank kept monetary policy settings unchanged for the third consecutive quarter on Thursday (Jan 29).
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said it will maintain the prevailing rate of appreciation of the Singapore dollar nominal effective exchange rate policy band, with no change to its width and the level at which it is centred.
“MAS is in an appropriate position to respond effectively to any risk to medium-term price stability and will continue to closely monitor economic developments amid uncertainties in the external environment,” said the central bank.
Sony, Singapore’s GIC to invest US$2 billion in music catalogues
Sony Group and Singapore’s GIC sovereign wealth fund are forming a joint venture to acquire music copyrights, with plans to invest US$2 billion to US$3 billion in the project, according to sources with knowledge of the matter.
Sony’s music division, one of the world’s largest, will manage the acquired catalogues, handling distribution to streaming services and licensing older songs for use in films and commercials, said the sources, who asked not to be identified discussing non-public information.