STI Plunges More than 60 Points
by Donavan Lim Singapore shares closed lower on Thursday. Local equities fell in tandem with Asian stock markets after the Fed hinted at an earlier end to easy money and the release of weak Chinese manufacturing data. Comments by Ben Bernanke that the Fed may reduce the size of its bond-buying programme led to the...
S$1.2 billion Worth of Tenders in Infocomm Sector Up For Grabs
by Donavan Lim A total of S$1.2 billion worth of new infocomm tenders in the fiscal year 2013 will be called by the Singapore government. This was announced at the annual Industry Briefing on Business Opportunities for Infocomm in the Public Sector held Thursday, where Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) together with the Ministry...
Singapore’s Industrial Output Surprises with 4.7 Per cent Gain in April
By Ernie B. Calucag Singapore’s industrial output posted a surprise gain in April as electronics sector recorded its first year-on-year gain in the past 24 months. On a year-on-year basis, manufacturing output increased 4.7 per cent last month, reversing two consecutive months of contraction and surprised consensus estimates of a 1.6 per cent decline, the...
April Inflation Lowest in Three Years on COE, Property Measures
by Donavan Lim Singapore’s headline inflation recorded its lowest rate in more than years in April as government implemented tightening measures on purchases of cars and properties. The CPI-All Items inflation eased to 1.5 per cent in April from 3.5 per cent in March, the lowest since February 2010, according to a joint statement by...
Singapore 1Q2013 GDP Revised Up on Stronger Financial Sector
by Ernie B. Calucag The Singapore government said it expects the economy to improve gradually going forward as final estimates showed the gross domestic product (GDP) expanded in the first quarter due to stronger domestic sectors, such as finance and insurance. The citystate’s 1Q2013 GDP grew 1.8 per cent quarter-on-quarter, and 0.2 per cent year-on-year,...
Reciprocity Clause Clouds DBS-Danamon Deal: Analysts
by Ernie B. Calucag The reciprocity clause included in the DBS-Danamon deal gives uncertainty whether Singapore’s DBS would proceed with its acquisition of Indonesia’s sixth largest bank, analysts said Wednesday. Bank Indonesia’s (BI) governor Darmin Nasution said Tuesday that BI has approved the purchase by DBS of an initial 40 per cent stake in Danamon...
STI Up on Wall Street Gains
by Ernie B. Calucag Singapore shares closed higher on Wednesday, taking cues from overnight gains on Wall Street and rise in Japanese stocks. The blue-chip Straits Times Index (STI) gained 0.3 per cent or 10.47 points to end at 3,454.37. In the broader market, 3.78 billion shares changed hands. Gainers outnumbered losers 327 to 162....
COE Premiums Mostly Up
by Ernie B. Calucag Certificate of Entitlement (COE) prices for vehicles rose in most categories at the latest bidding exercise Wednesday. The COE premium for small cars continued its rise, ending S$1,840 higher at S$64,839. But premium for big cars rose higher, by S$5,604 to end at S$67,304. COEs for the Open Category, which can...
Temasek Raises Stake in China’s ICBC as Goldman Sachs Divests Investment
by Ernie B. Calucag Singapore’s state-owned investment company, Temasek Holdings, increased its stake in Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) from 6.71 to 7.04 per cent on the same day Goldman Sachs exited its seven-year old investment in the world’s largest bank by market value. According to a regulatory filing Temasek made Tuesday in...
STI Lower on Profit Taking
by Ernie B. Calucag Singapore shares closed lower Tuesday on profit taking. The Straits Times Index fell 10.33 points or 0.3 per cent to end at 3,443.90. Volume was 2.60 billion shares. In the broader market, gainers edged out losers 230 to 226. Keppel REIT was down 2.5 per cent at S$1.565 after its parent,...
Indonesia’s Central Bank Approves DBS Offer to Buy 40 Per cent of Bank Danamon
by Ernie B. Calucag Indonesia’s central bank has approved DBS Group Holdings’ bid to buy 40 per cent of PT Bank Danamon, the Reuters reported Tuesday quoting central bank governor Darmin Nasution. “If they want more … we want to see a realisation from MAS (the Monetary Authority of Singapore) regarding our need for reciprocity,”...
CPF Interest Rate for Ordinary Account to Remain at 2.5 Per cent
by Ernie B. Calucag All CPF members will continue to receive a risk-free interest rate of 2.5 per cent on their ordinary account (OA) savings from 1 July 2013 to 30 September 2013. “The computed CPF interest rate, derived from the major local banks’ interest rates for the three-month period, 1 February 2013 to 30...
