Market Snapshot

Singapore stocks opened higher on Tuesday. STI rose 0.1%; S58 rose 0.8%; C6L rose 0.7%; U11 rose 0.5%.

Stocks in Focus

Mapletree Ind Tr: The trust is set to sell a data centre property in the US for about US$9.8 million in cash after current tenant DataBank Properties gave notice of its intention to exercise an option to purchase the building. Net proceeds from the sale may be used to pare down debts and/or fund working capital requirements, its manager said on Tuesday. Units of Mapletree Industrial Trust rose 0.5 per cent or S$0.01 to close at S$1.87 on Monday.

UMS: called for a trading halt on Tuesday morning, pending the release of an announcement. Shares of UMS fell 3.3 per cent or S$0.09 to close at S$2.63 on Monday.

SG Local News

Singapore’s factory output growth accelerates to 15.4% in August, but undershoots estimates

The Republic’s factory output surged 15.4 per cent year on year in August, picking up from July’s revised 6.9 per cent growth – but falling below consensus estimates for a median 18.3 per cent expansion in a Bloomberg poll.

Excluding the volatile biomedical manufacturing cluster, output grew 17 per cent year on year, extending the 8.2 per cent increase recorded in July, data from the Economic Development Board (EDB) showed on Monday (Sep 28).

On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, factory output slipped 0.5 per cent in August, marking a reversal from July’s 2.3 per cent gain. Excluding biomedical manufacturing, output grew 5.8 per cent, compared with an 0.8 per cent rise in the previous month.

Singapore electricity retailers up offerings to meet higher demand amid Middle East conflict

Some electricity retailers in Singapore have offered new promotions or plans as concerns over high energy costs due to the Middle East conflict prompt more households to lock in their electricity rates through fixed-price contracts.

The Energy Market Authority (EMA) told The Straits Times that households on fixed-price plans rose from around 36.6 per cent on Feb 1 to 38.4 per cent on Sep 1.

Meanwhile, the share of households buying electricity at the regulated tariff through SP Group declined from 63.4 to 61.6 per cent over the same period.

Temasek acquires 9% stake in Italian equity investor FSI; additional capital set for future funds

Temasek acquired a 9 per cent stake in Italian growth equity investor FSI’s management company, with additional capital set to be committed to future FSI funds, the Singapore investment firm said on Monday (Sep 28).

FSI has about five billion euros (US$5.7 billion) of assets under management.

CDL to divest S$6 billion over 3 years, CEO pledges 'unwavering focus' on execution of new strategy

City Developments Limited's (CDL) refreshed strategy for the next three years will see the group targeting to sell S$6 billion (US$4.7 billion) worth of assets to unlock value, with chief executive Sherman Kwek promising "unwavering focus" on strong execution of the roadmap.

With Mr Kwek noting that CDL has S$36 billion of assets on its balance sheet, the planned divestment will represent one-sixth of the company's assets.