Market Snapshot

Singapore stocks opened higher on Tuesday. STI rose 0.4%; NIO and Genting Singapore rose 1%; Singtel rose 0.8%; UOB rose 0.5%; DBS and OCBC rose 0.3%; FHT fell 1.5%.

Stocks to Watch

Sinarmas Land: W Capital, the independent financial advisor (IFA) appointed by Sinarmas Land to opine on its privatisation offer by the Widjaja-family linked Lyon Investments, responded to an article by The Business Times and a statement by Sias that were both published on Monday. Both parties had made claims that the IFA’s valuation range of S$0.35 to S$0.361 for shares of Sinarmas Land of was undervalued. W Capital said on Tuesday that it had adopted to most appropriate methodologies in line with conventional industry practice by other IFAs in Singapore. Shares of Sinarmas Land closed at S$0.32 on Monday, up S$0.005 or 1.6 per cent.

Frasers Hospitality Trust (FHT): The stapled securities group on Tuesday posted a 6 per cent drop in distribution per stapled security to S$0.010257 for its first half year ended Mar 31, from S$0.01091 in the corresponding year-ago period. This decline was attributed to lower net property income and higher finance costs arising from the refinancing of borrowings in a higher interest rate environment. The distribution will be paid on Jun 27, after the record date on May 15. Stapled securities of FHT closed S$0.01 or 1.5 per cent lower at S$0.65 on Monday.

Procurri Corp: The IT solutions provider has appointed Evolve Capital Advisory as the IFA for the acquisition offer from parent company Exeo Global Asset Holdings amid a potential delisting from the Singapore Exchange. The mainboard-listed company said on Monday that the IFA will advise its independent directors, who will make a recommendation to shareholders on the proposed acquisition. Procurri and Exeo Global Asset Holdings announced the proposed acquisition on Apr 28 for the latter to acquire all of Procurri’s shares, except those it already holds and any treasury shares, for S$0.32 in cash per share. The offer price represents a 77.8 per cent premium to Procurri’s traded price on Apr 25, when the company requested a trading halt after the market closed. Its shares closed flat at S$0.30 on Monday.

SG Local News

Singapore Retail Sales Rebound in March, up 1.1% After Prior Dip

The Republic’s retail sales rose 1.1 per cent in March, reversing February’s 3.5 per cent decline, data from the Department of Statistics (SingStat) showed on Monday (May 5).

Excluding motor vehicles, retail sales rose 0.7 per cent year on year, compared with a decrease of 6.5 per cent in February.

SIC Proposes Takeovers and Mergers Code Changes to Protect Competitive Process, Improve Disclosures

The Securities Industry Council (SIC) on May 5 issued a consultation paper on amendments to Singapore’s Code on Take-overs and Mergers, with the aim to enhance regulation around such deals.

The proposed changes intend to protect the competitive process of takeover and merger transactions, improve the timeliness of schemes of arrangement, and enhance disclosures to investors and shareholders.

A key proposal to safeguard the competitive process for potential offerors is regulating deal protection measures, except in limited circumstances.