CapitaLand Investment gains on Johor mall announcement; 2 new IPOs launched

SINGAPORE – Shares of CapitaLand Investment (CLI) rose last week, after the Singapore-headquartered asset manager and Malaysian developer Coronade Properties announced a mall project in Johor on Nov 24.

They closed on Nov 28 at $2.65, up 1.92 per cent for the week.

The project, called Coronation Square Mall, will be connected to the Bukit Chagar RTS Link station, which is expected to open at the end of 2026. Construction of the mall will begin in 2026 and is slated to be completed in 2029.

With a gross floor area of 1.2 million sq ft, the mall has been touted by CLI and Coronade as the Johor city centre’s “largest retail landmark”.

It will sit within a larger integrated development by Coronade that includes commercial office space, a residential development and a hotel managed by CLI subsidiary Ascott.

Thai Beverage (ThaiBev) fell after it reported a 6.8 per cent decline in full-year net profit to 25.4 billion baht (S$1.02 billion) for the year ended Sept 30, down from 27.2 billion baht a year earlier.

The company attributed the decline to “increased investments in brand-building and new product launches… (as well as) increased operating expenses from restaurant expansion”.

ThaiBev’s revenue fell 2.1 per cent to 333.3 billion baht for FY2025, from 340.3 billion baht a year earlier. The group said the decline reflected macroeconomic challenges that had softened consumer sentiment across key markets.

Shares of ThaiBev closed on Nov 28 at 46 cents, down 1.06 per cent for the week.

Wilmar International closed on Nov 28 at $3.24, down just 0.31 per cent for the week despite some courtroom drama.

In updates provided on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) earlier in the week, Wilmar revealed that Guangzhou Yihai, the China subsidiary of Wilmar’s Shenzhen-listed unit Yihai Kerry Arawana (YKA), was found guilty of contract fraud by a Chinese court. YKA, which is 89.99 per cent owned by Wilmar, was ordered to jointly bear losses amounting to 1.88 billion yuan (S$344.3 million).

Wilmar International chairman and chief executive Kuok Khoon Hong said he was deeply shocked and that it was “absolutely inconceivable” for the group to jeopardise its longstanding commitment in China or “tarnish the strong reputation the Kuok family has built over decades”.

Mr Kuok added in a bourse filing on Nov 22 that the group would not do so “for the sake of such a minor potential benefit and by assisting in defrauding a state-owned enterprise”.

“If I had truly done such a thing, I believe my uncle, Robert Kuok, would expel me from the Kuok family even before any punishment from Chinese judicial authorities,” he said, referring to the Malaysian business magnate.

Its subsidiary has lodged an appeal in a Chinese court, Wilmar said on Nov 28.

New IPOs on SGX

Food manufacturing and distribution company Leong Guan Holdings on Nov 28 registered offer documents for an initial public offering (IPO) on the SGX Catalist board.

The offering of 20.65 million shares includes a placement of 16.3 million new shares and 4.35 million vendor shares, which are available to retail and institutional investors in Singapore.

Leong Guan expects total gross proceeds of around $4.75 million, which will be used for expansion, acquisitions as well as better manufacturing facilities.

The group intends to distribute a minimum of 80 per cent of FY2025 net profit and a minimum of 35 per cent of FY2026 net profit as dividends to shareholders.

Shares of Leong Guan, which is expected to have a market capitalisation of $23.28 million after listing, are expected to start trading on Dec 11. 

Leong Guan’s plan to go public comes after surgical technology firm UltraGreen.ai on Nov 26 launched its IPO on the SGX mainboard.

UltraGreen is offering more than 112 million shares at a price of US$1.45 a share to raise US$162.5 million (S$210.6 million) and has cornerstone commitments from 16 investors amounting to US$237.5 million. The offering shares comprise around 106.2 million placement shares, which will be offered via an international placement to institutional and other investors, and 5.9 million shares to be offered via a public offer in Singapore.

UltraGreen.ai is expected to trade in US dollars. The gross proceeds due to the company from the offering are expected to be around US$150 million.

The Singapore public offer opened at 9pm on Nov 26 and is set to close at noon on Dec 1. The company aims to have its trading debut on Dec 3.

JPMorgan upgrades local banks

Shares of all three Singapore banks rose over the week, with OCBC Bank leading the charge, climbing 2.1 per cent to close at $18.50 on Nov 28. DBS Bank shares rose 1.18 per cent to $54.20, while UOB crept up 0.41 per cent to $33.98.

JPMorgan in a Nov 28 report upgraded its rating on DBS, saying it expects the bank’s share price to continue rising to “unjustifiably expensive levels” of $70 per share by the end of 2026.

Still, it argued the bank remains one of the few Asian financial stocks that deserve a place in global portfolios and also highlighted the significance of DBS’ dividend pledge.

The bank has committed to paying 66 cents per share each quarter by the fourth quarter of 2025, rising to 72 cents by late 2026. This payout – equivalent to about 82 per cent of its forecast 2027 earnings – reflects a level of confidence and discipline typically seen only among top-tier banks, said JPMorgan analysts Harsh Wardhan Modi and Daniel Andrew Tan in the note.

The analysts also upgraded OCBC and UOB, with target prices of $20 and $34, respectively, by the end of 2026.

Other market movers

Shares of NoonTalk Media climbed more than 40 per cent through the week to close at 7.6 cents on Nov 28.

This comes after the company’s remuneration committee said that the firm’s key management personnel are paid fairly, despite­ the company recording losses each year since it listed on the SGX Catalist board in 2022.

NoonTalk CEO Dasmond Koh was paid $300,891 for the financial year 2025.

NoonTalk Media’s independent auditor had raised doubts in October about the group’s ability to continue as a going concern, citing net liabilities and substantial losses for the financial year ended June 30.

The auditor reported that the group’s financial conditions indicated the existence of a material uncertainty.

Beyond the Republic, Apple has cut dozens of sales positions as it streamlines how it sells products to corporates, schools and government agencies, in a rare round of layoffs for the iPhone maker. The company did not disclose how many roles were affected. Shares of Apple edged up 2.4 per cent to close at US$277.55 on Nov 28.

Fellow tech company HP announced on Nov 25 a major restructuring that will cut about 10 per cent of its global workforce, as it pivots towards artificial intelligence (AI) to improve efficiency.

The firm said it expects to reduce between 4,000 and 6,000 roles worldwide as it adopts more AI tools to drive innovation and enhance customer experience.

Meanwhile, Google parent Alphabet is nearing a historic US$4 trillion market valuation, lifted by a year-long rally driven by its focus on AI tools. Shares of Alphabet climbed more than 5 per cent to close at US$320.28 on Nov 28.

In contrast, Nvidia shares fell 8 per cent for the week to close at US$180.26 on Nov 28, after reports that Facebook parent Meta is considering using chips designed by Google.

What to look out for this week

Singapore’s purchasing managers’ index – a gauge of the manufacturing sector’s health – will be released on Dec 2.

Market jitters may continue to ease after US President Donald Trump asked Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in a call last week to avoid further escalation in a dispute with China.