The counter has risen more than 15% this week and 76.2% in the year to date

 

[SINGAPORE] Shares of student accommodation operator Wee Hur : E3B +6.47% hit an all-time high on Wednesday (Aug 6), following news that Australia will lift its foreign student cap in 2026. 

 

As at 1.57 pm, the counter was trading at S$0.74, a record high according to Bloomberg data, with around 14.6 million shares changing hands. This was 6.5 per cent or S$0.045 above its Tuesday closing price of S$0.695. 

 

By 2.12 pm, it had eased slightly to S$0.735, still up from Tuesday&rsquo s close by 5.8 per cent or S$0.04, with some 14.8 million shares transacted. 

 

The stock is up more than 15 per cent since the start of the trading week. On Monday, the Australian government announced that the country would raise its cap on foreign students by 9 per cent to 295,000 next year and prioritise applicants from South-east Asia. 

 

In the year to date, the counter has risen 76.2 per cent, from S$0.42 on the last trading day of 2024. 

 

Wee Hur has eight facilities for purpose-built student accommodation in Australia. 

 

It is one of 30 Singapore-listed stocks in the portfolio of US-based exchange-traded fund (ETF), Avantis International Small Cap Value ETF.

 

As at Monday, the ETF had increased its stake in Wee Hur to 22.4 million shares, from 21.4 million shares on Jul 24. 

 

Rule relaxed  

Nearly 600,000 student visas were granted in Australia in FY2023. International students flocked to the country in record numbers following the Covid-19 pandemic, with those from China and India forming the largest cohorts.

 

Limits on places for foreign students were announced in 2024. The Australian government also more than doubled the foreign student visa fee and pledged to close loopholes permitting students to continuously extend their stays. 

 

However, as efforts to lower foreign student numbers have been succeeding, an additional 25,000 places will be granted in 2026, the Australian government said on Monday.

 

International Education Assistant Minister Julian Hill noted that the measures to curb migration were &ldquo bearing fruit&rdquo , allowing for the cap to be moderately raised next year, Reuters reported.

 

Around two-thirds of places will be allocated to universities, and one-third to the vocational skills training sector. 

 

Additionally, larger, public universities must demonstrate that domestic and international students have &ldquo access to safe and secure housing&rdquo and recruit more students from South-east Asia, the Australian government said. 

 

As Australia seeks to reduce economic reliance on China, South-east Asia relations have been a focus of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese&rsquo s government. 

 

Hill noted that it was important for Australia&rsquo s &ldquo future soft power&rdquo that the country &ldquo continues to bring the best and brightest from (its South-east Asian) neighbours to have a bit of Australia with them for the rest of their life&rdquo .

 

Goh Wee Ping, chief executive of Wee Hur&rsquo s fund management business, Wee Hur Capital, said: &ldquo The government&rsquo s decision to link international student intake with dedicated student accommodation is a smart and necessary step.&rdquo  

 

Beds offered by the student accommodation operator ease pressure on the private rental market, he added. 

 

&ldquo This policy clarity gives providers like us the confidence to accelerate our pipeline, working alongside universities and cities to ensure international education growth is supported by purpose-built infrastructure &ndash not squeezed into an already tight housing market.&rdquo