SGX climbs as efforts continue to strengthen stock market; DBS flirts with $53 mark

SINGAPORE – The Singapore Exchange (SGX) rose last week, after further updates under an ongoing effort to revive the local stock market were revealed.

SGX-listed companies will be encouraged to provide investors with more forward-looking information, including their outlook and prospects, and to build capabilities in areas such as corporate strategy, capital optimisation, investor engagement and media outreach, said Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) deputy chairman Chee Hong Tat on Sept 12.

This is notable because while communicating plans and company prospects is common overseas, it is less so in Singapore because of regulatory concerns.

Mr Chee, who is Minister for National Development, also stressed that a mindset shift is needed, particularly among founder-led firms, to engage investors more actively, as leading a public company is different from helming a private one.

To support this, MAS will review its regulatory framework to provide clarity on how companies can communicate more openly while maintaining market integrity.

SGX will also review how companies can be more transparent in areas such as dividend policies and investor relations, and will launch a new index to highlight the next tier of large and liquid companies beyond the Straits Times Index (STI). Details are expected on Sept 22.

Shares of SGX, a component stock of the STI, rose 1.2 per cent through the week, closing Sept 12 at a high of $16.57.

DBS clocks another record

STI heavyweight DBS Bank etched another record last week.

Shares of Singapore’s largest bank rose to a high of $52.90 on Sept 11, falling just shy of the $53 mark. They closed on Sept 12 at $51.79, up 1.6 per cent through the week.

J.P. Morgan on Sept 9 upgraded the bank to “overweight” with a target price of $56, citing its “sector-high” dividend yield spread as the reason for its re-rating.

On Sept 10, UOB Kay Hian also revised its target price for DBS to $54.40 from $52.80.

Other analysts agreed that DBS could continue to rise if its third quarter performs at current levels, although some warn that lower interest rates could pressure earnings and dividends in the quarters to come.

The bank saw a 1 per cent year-on-year increase in net profit to $2.82 billion during the second quarter, and declared an interim dividend of 60 cents and a capital return dividend of 15 cents a share.

Property developer UOL, another STI component stock, also rose. It jumped 5.6 per cent through the week to close Sept 12 at a high of $7.80.

The company announced on Sept 10 an agreement to sell its Kinex freehold retail mall in Tanjong Katong for $375 million to Kinex Times Square and Xiaohong Property Management.

The moves helped lift the STI to a record high above 4,368 points during the week.

The index closed flat on Sept 12 at 4,344 points.

Spin-offs lift the market

Shares of LHN Group jumped by more than 27 per cent to close the week at an all-time high of $1.05.

LHN announced on Sept 10 that its Coliwoo co-living business had received conditional approval from the SGX for a mainboard listing. The proposed spin-off was announced in April.

Centurion Accommodation Reit, a spin-off from student and workers’ accommodation provider Centurion Corp, on Sept 11 filed preliminary documents for an initial public offering (IPO) on the SGX mainboard.

The Reit is expected to list on Sept 25, according to Bloomberg.

The IPO will comprise 876.2 million shares at 88 cents each, raising $771 million.

Some 249 million shares will be offered to institutional investors under a placement tranche, while 13.2 million shares will be offered to the Singapore public.

Some 614 million shares will be offered to 16 cornerstone investors.

The Reit is expected to have a market capitalisation of $1.5 billion after listing. It will hold 14 Centurion properties worth $1.8 billion initially, while another student accommodation property will be added to the portfolio once its acquisition is completed, bringing the portfolio’s value to around $2.1 billion.

Shares of Centurion rose as much as 7.4 per cent on Sept 11 before paring some gains to close the week flat at $1.74.

Yangzijiang Financial, which is spinning off its maritime investments business under a new group to be listed on the SGX, rose more than 9 per cent through the week to close at an all-time high of $1.16.

It was among the most traded stocks on the SGX.

Yangzijiang Maritime Development will be spun off via a capital reduction exercise and a one-for-one distribution in specie of its shares to existing Yangzijiang Financial shareholders. It is expected to list on the mainboard by way of introduction – meaning no funds will be raised – in November.

There will also be a share placement of up to $250 million to institutional and accredited investors.

CGS-CIMB head of Singapore research Lim Siew Khee on Sept 10 upgraded her target price for Yangzijiang Financial to $1.25, explaining that the maritime spin-off will attract more investor attention that could lead the market to value the stock higher.

Post-listing, Yangzijiang Maritime is expected to hold US$1 billion (S$1.28 billion) in assets under management, of which around US$680 million has been deployed.

Yangzijiang Financial will retain its investments, fund management business and debt investments in China.

Based on Ms Lim’s calculations, the move will cut Yangzijiang Financial’s total net assets from $4.1 billion, or $1.17 a share, to $1.9 billion, or 54 cents a share, and its projected 2024 earnings per share from 8.66 cents to 3.51 cents.

She noted that the maritime business made up about half of Yangzijiang’s value and profit in the first half of 2025.

The total number of shares will remain at 3.48 billion.

Alibaba pares stake in SingPost

Shares of Singapore Post fell 4.4 per cent through the week, and closed on Sept 12 at 44 cents.

Alibaba Investment, a subsidiary of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, on Sept 9 disclosed it had sold 151.3 million shares in SingPost for $64.4 million, or 42.6 cents apiece, in an off-market deal, reducing its stake in SingPost to 4.6 per cent from 11.3 per cent.

It was later revealed that the sale had been done through a placing agreement.

On Sept 12, Morgan Stanley disclosed that its deemed interest in SingPost temporarily rose to 151.3 million shares, or 6.9 per cent, on Sept 5, after its subsidiaries underwrote Alibaba Investment’s share placement valued at $64.4 million.

The US bank also disclosed that its deemed interest in SingPost has fallen back to about 51 million shares, or 2.3 per cent, after distributing the shares to other investors.

Japan bank Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, which owns more than 20 per cent of Morgan Stanley, also disclosed the transactions as a deemed substantial shareholder of SingPost.

Alibaba Investment had been SingPost’s second-largest shareholder before the sale.

Other market movers

Great Eastern (GE) rose by over 8 per cent through the week.

At their Sept 12 close of $14.87, and including a 25 cent interim dividend paid on Sept 5, shareholders have effectively received $15.12 in total.

This is above OCBC Bank’s delisting offer of $30.15 in June, which, after a one-for-one bonus issue, works out to $15.08.

GE resumed trading on Aug 21 after a year-long suspension at $13.21 following the bonus issue, which took place after less than 75 per cent of its minority shareholders voted against delisting. These shareholders are now in the money.

Shares of semiconductor optics company MetaOptics have more than tripled in value since they listed on Catalist on Sept 9.

The company’s placement of 30 million shares, priced at 20 cents each, was fully subscribed, raising $6 million.

The loss-making start-up closed the week at 68 cents, making it the best-performing IPO of 2025 so far, beating Lum Chang Creations, which has nearly tripled to 58 cents since listing.

Property agency Apac Realty jumped last week, after it proposed a one-for-five bonus issue of new ordinary shares to reward shareholders as part of celebrating its eighth year of being listed on the SGX.

Entitled shareholders will receive one fully paid bonus share for every five ordinary shares held if the proposal is approved.

The increased number of issued shares after the proposed bonus issue is expected to enhance the trading liquidity of the company’s shares, Apac Realty said.

Its shares closed on Sept 12 at 88 cents, up 15.8 per cent through the week.

What to look out for this week

Markets will be volatile this week with the US Federal Reserve set to announce its decision on interest rates on Sept 18. The central bank has two mandates: to keep inflation at 2 per cent, and to maintain full employment. 

Analysts widely expect the Fed to cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter-point to boost the slowing US jobs market.

Fed officials will also release their projections for future interest rate cuts.

The Fed has been under pressure from President Donald Trump to slash rates and boost the US economy for some time now.

Lum Chang could see some trading activity this week.

Its managing director David Lum disclosed last week that he had disposed of shares in the company.

Following the disposal of the shares, Mr Lum’s total interest in Lum Chang has decreased from over 58 per cent to 57.91 per cent of ordinary voting shares.