Mall mania: Paragon, i12 Katong change hands; White Sands up for grabs

SINGAPORE – The local retail mall sector was abuzz this week with two major shopping centres changing hands.

CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust (CICT) on April 20 said it will fully acquire Paragon mall in Orchard Road from Cuscaden Peak for about $3.9 billion, with the deal expected to be completed in the second half of 2026.

To partly fund the acquisition, CICT is divesting its 100 per cent stake in Asia Square Tower 2 to IOI Properties for $2.5 billion.

Paragon, a freehold retail and medical complex, is fully occupied and houses more than 190 retail brands. Its addition to CICT’s portfolio will increase the trust’s presence in Singapore’s downtown shopping belt. The portfolio already comprises ION Orchard, The Atrium@Orchard, Plaza Singapore, Raffles City and Funan.

The acquisition will also give Singapore’s largest private commercial landlord access to Paragon’s medical component, where it sees big potential for growth.

CICT had also said that any potential asset enhancements to Paragon would be subject to its own evaluation and may not match the $300 million to $600 million figure put out by Cuscaden Peak, which had been planning a major asset enhancement initiative (AEI) for the mall when it received CICT’s offer.

Still, the big difference between Cuscaden Peak’s AEI estimate and CICT’s current stance on capital expenditure raised questions over how critical a major AEI really is for the mall. 

To explain, Cuscaden Peak said on April 24 that its AEI plans for Paragon would have spanned about four years.

The Straits Times understands that the plans included expanding the mall’s 280m facade, reconfiguring its layout, replacing mechanical and electrical replacements, building an underground pedestrian tunnel and raising the ceiling height of its luxury retail floors.

Cuscaden Peak added that CICT’s offer for Paragon, coming just a year after it had privatised Paragon REIT for $2.8 billion, was unsolicited, as questions emerged over whether the REIT’s shareholders had received a fair deal back then.

Nevertheless, Cuscaden Peak said it evaluated CICT’s proposal and decided to accept the offer after weighing relevant considerations against the transaction.

For now, unit holders of CICT may be on the front foot, with analysts noting that the deal is expected to lift CICT’s returns and strengthen its position as one of Singapore’s largest commercial landlords.

Shares of CICT closed the week at $2.48, up 3.8 per cent.

Growing demand for malls

In the east, i12 Katong will be sold for about $372 million to an entity linked to Altallo Asset Management, Keppel announced on April 22.

i12 had been on the market since November 2025.

Mr Lee Kok Chew, head of Keppel’s Accelerating Monetisation Task Force, said the deal will unlock “substantial cash” to be reinvested in higher-return opportunities aligned with the New Keppel, while allowing the company to “reduce debt and also reward shareholders”.

The transaction is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2026.

Meanwhile, White Sands shopping mall in Pasir Ris may be sold by Frasers Centrepoint Trust (FCT) for over $470 million.

Local private equity firm TE Capital, run by third-generation members of the Teo family behind Tong Eng Group, one of Singapore’s oldest property developers, is reportedly purchasing the mall.

TE Capital reported more than $3 billion in assets under management as at the fourth quarter of 2023, with properties in Singapore, Japan, Australia and the US.

White Sands will mark the firm’s first foray into the suburban retail sector.

FCT saw gains of 1.3 per cent to close at $2.32, while Keppel’s shares fell 3.2 per cent through the week to close at $11.55.

Oiltek’s surge lifts Koh Brothers shares

Mainboard-listed Oiltek on April 20 became the first stock to graduate from the Catalist board to cross $1 billion in market capitalisation.

The agritech firm’s share price has more than tripled from 68 cents at the end of 2025, buoyed in part by rising oil prices linked to tensions in the Middle East. It ended the week unchanged at $2.38.

The rally also lifted shares of its substantial shareholder, Koh Brothers Eco Engineering (KBE), which surged over the week on the back of Oiltek’s gains.

Shares of KBE rose as much as 26.2 per cent in intra-day trade on April 20, hitting 15.9 cents at 11.09am. The stock climbed to a weekly high of 18 cents on the morning of April 22, before ending the week 40 per cent higher at 16.5 cents.

KBE owns a 68.1 per cent stake in Oiltek, yet is valued at about $355 million, with the stake alone worth more than twice that amount.

Shares of KBE’s parent Koh Brothers Group also soared, closing the week 28 per cent higher at 52.5 cents.

Koh Brothers on April 13 rejected an attempt by shareholders to force the company to distribute its stake in Oiltek, held through KBE, saying it is not in the best interests of the group to do so.

In a bourse filing, the mainboard-listed company said it would not table the proposed resolution at its upcoming annual general meeting (AGM) on April 29.

Sheng Siong directors’ $24m pay questioned

In justifying the $24 million payout to its three executive directors, Sheng Siong said on April 23 that their remunerations are largely performance-based, with a greater emphasis on variable bonuses than fixed salaries, and most of their pay is tied to the group’s financial results.

The company pointed to its strong operating performance for the financial year 2025, which “reflects the leadership team’s collective ability to manage both day-to-day execution and long-term priorities”, and added that the directors’ remunerations would be significantly lower if the group had performed less well.

Sheng Siong was responding to a shareholder’s question on the high remunerations for its three executive directors, ahead of its AGM on April 29.

Executive chairman Lim Hock Eng, chief executive officer Lim Hock Chee, and managing director Lim Hock Leng each received $8 million in directors fees, which the shareholder found “excessive”.

The shareholder asked if the directors could justify their high remunerations, and if Sheng Siong would disclose the key performance indicators (KPIs) for the bonuses.

The supermarket group said its renumeration framework is designed to drive performance, efficiency and productivity through performance-based incentives, with the variable bonus component making up a significant portion of total remuneration.

“The remuneration structure is also designed such that the proportion of variable remuneration increases with seniority, reflecting the greater responsibilities and impact that senior executives have on the group’s overall performance.”

The group had recorded an 8.7 per cent increase in net profit at $149.5 million, and revenue also grew 9.9 per cent to $1.6 billion.

It also cited strong performance in customer service, employee engagement, corporate culture and community contribution which have garnered several awards.

Sheng Siong’s response also comes after the Singapore Exchange Regulation (SGX RegCo) announced on April 22 its proposal to enforce company disclosures about KPIs for directors’ and chief executives’ remuneration in their annual reports.

Listed companies will have to explain the alignment between their chosen indicators and long-term value creation objectives, taking into account their strategy and circumstances.

Shares of Sheng Siong closed the week at $3.02, down 1 per cent.

Other market movers

Shares of Nanofilm Technologies International surged on April 23 after it reported a 24 per cent year-on-year rise in first-quarter revenue to $55 million.

The stock jumped as much as 40.2 per cent to an intra-day high of $1.43, and continued climbing through the week. It closed on April 24 at $1.54, up 79.1 per cent from a week earlier.

The company specialises in advanced coatings, thin-film equipment, nanofabrication and hydrogen fuel cell innovations. It operates offices and facilities in Singapore, Vietnam, China, Japan, India and Germany.

A DBS Bank analyst said the outlook for Nanofilm in financial year 2026 is positive with continued revenue and earnings growth. Its product application pipeline includes smart eyewear, health sensing devices, robotics and artificial intelligence data centre components.

But the analyst warned that Nanofilm could also face risks such as cyclical demand swings in consumer electronics and rising labour and material costs.

Sports events management company Kin Global closed its first day of trading on the Catalist board at 26.5 cents on April 23, 15.2 per cent higher than its initial public offering (IPO) price of 23 cents. It closed the week at 24 cents.

Kin is the third company to make its Catalist debut in 2026. Its placement tranche of 23.9 million shares had been subscribed 2.9 times, and it raised gross proceeds of $10.1 million for its IPO.

The group intends to use net proceeds of about $7.4 million to scale its business through mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and strategic alliances, specifically targeting the broader events tourism sector.

It had a 17.3 per cent share of Singapore’s sports events management market in 2024, with projects including the World Aquatics Championships, FIDE World Chess Championship Singapore 2024 and Singapore 2024 World Taekwondo Virtual Championships.

What to look out for next week

A slew of SGX-listed companies will be holding their AGMs next week.

Meanwhile, several REITs will be releasing their first-quarter business updates. Two Straits Times Index companies, CapitaLand Investments and DBS Group, will also announce first-quarter results and updates on April 29 and April 30, respectively.