The city-state is one of the highest-ranking artificial intelligence markets relative to its size

 

[SINGAPORE] The Republic can sustain a 3 per cent gross domestic product growth rate, thanks to innovation and productivity gains from artificial intelligence (AI) tools, according to research from Morgan Stanley.  

 

That growth rate means Singapore would remain as one of the fastest-growing developed economies globally.

 

The country, which had a population of 6.04 million as at June 2024, had most economists forecasting a growth rate of 0 to 2 per cent after the second-quarter GDP was higher than expected. It previously had an official forecast downgraded to 0 to 2 per cent for 2025 from a range of 1 to 3 per cent.

 

It had 4.4 per cent GDP growth in 2024 and 4.2 per cent year-on-year growth in the first half of 2025.

 

The city-state is one of the top AI markets globally relative to its size, aided by an AI-development friendly ecosystem built by the government. It is ranked in the top 10 across multiple indices, such as the Stanford Global AI Vibrancy Index.

 

Based on Morgan Stanley&rsquo s survey results, published on Thursday (Jul 17), over 70 per cent of companies have adopted AI. Top use cases found were labour savings, product development and supply-chain efficiencies.

 

Singapore is home to more than 80 active AI research faculties, 150 AI research and development and product teams, and over 1,000   AI startups, said the report.

 

The country has attracted &ldquo strong&rdquo industry participation in generative AI (GenAI), especially in 2025.

 

Salesforce pledged a US$1 billion investment across the next five years in an AI push, with its flagship AI offering Agentforce able to help quickly expand Singapore&rsquo s labour force amid its ageing population and birth-rate struggles. 

 

Meanwhile, Oracle launched an AI Centre of Excellence, aiming to provide training to upskill students and professionals in cloud-based and AI technologies and experimentation for organisations to test early AI innovations.

 

Which companies are major enablers of AI, and which are adopting the technology? Here&rsquo s what Morgan Stanley says.

 

Enablers and adopters: Singtel, Grab and more

Singtel was identified as a top AI enabler, through its infrastructure push. The telecommunications company has been expanding its data centre capacity in Singapore and the construction of Nvidia&rsquo s accelerated AI factories in South-east Asia. Morgan Stanley estimates an excess of 200 megawatts of operational capacity by 2026.

 

Asset manager and operator Keppel is set to be one of the key beneficiaries due to its experience in &ldquo integrated solutions providing power, connectivity, data centres and decarbonisation for customers&rdquo . 

 

Sembcorp Industries is also set to enjoy gains through its power and natural gas provision, and is &ldquo leveraging this opportunity to compound earnings&rdquo and top-quartile returns on equity. Morgan Stanley estimates higher energy prices, owing to high demand for European gas, will lead to higher profits for Sembcorp. 

 

In terms of AI adopters, Grab was flagged as a significant driver of technological innovation in the Asean region, including Singapore. The company has over 1,000 AI models and launched a centre for AI excellence in May. It also has been a key enabler for autonomous vehicle adoption.

 

Morgan Stanley stated that Grab&rsquo s lead in AI adoption will &ldquo ultimately drive more efficient and profitable growth while strengthening its market leadership in the region&rdquo .

 

Sea, Singapore Airlines (SIA) and ST Engineering were also named as &ldquo significant drivers&rdquo of technological innovation, particularly in the AI space. Sea has adopted AI for consumer-facing and internal uses, boosting gross merchandise value by improving recommendation accuracy and improving purchase conversion rates. It was deemed a &ldquo top pick&rdquo in the Asian e-commerce sector.

 

Flag carrier SIA has been using GenAI for operational efficiency improvements. It implemented Jarvis, a GenAI tool to improve staff productivity, and a GenAI-powered training tool. In March, it announced a collaboration with Salesforce for AI-powered customer-facing applications, and to develop AI solutions for airlines at a Singapore research hub. 

 

Finally, ST Engineering is adopting AI to drive growth and is expected to more than double its digital business revenue to S$1.3 billion by the end of 2029, from about S$600 million in 2024. It is developing AI infrastructure and projects for defence, commercial aerospace and smart-city purposes.

Republic gives conditional approval for cooperation on routes between Singapore and Malaysia, though the deal is still to be approved by Malaysian regulators

 

[SINGAPORE] The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) has granted conditional approval for commercial cooperation between Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airlines, the regulator said on Monday (Jul 7). 

 

The joint venture will see the two airlines working together on scheduling, pricing, sales and marketing, including expanded codesharing of flights, among other things, on routes between Singapore and Malaysia. 

 

Chief executive of CCCS, Alvin Koh, said that while competition in Singapore&rsquo s aviation industry has intensified with recent entries and exits, the joint venture can &ldquo lead to airlines coming together to offer better connectivity and options for consumers&rdquo .

 

The commitments undertaken by the airlines &ldquo allow for flexibility to react to market developments and ensure that more flights will be added along the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur route as travel demand increases, which would translate to more travel options and better prices for passengers in the long run&rdquo , said Koh.

 

A Singapore Airlines spokesperson said that the company welcomes CCCS&rsquo approval, although the cooperation is still subject to regulatory approval from the Malaysian Aviation Commission. 

 

On Mar 24, 2023, the two airlines applied jointly to CCCS on whether their proposed cooperation would be anti-competitive, with a further submission in November 2023 that this cooperation would only include Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airlines, and not their affiliated low-cost carriers (LCC) Scoot and Firefly, respectively. 

 

CCCS found that price and capacity coordination between the two would restrict competition on the air route between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. 

 

To address the regulator&rsquo s concerns, the airlines provided various commitments regarding the route, including: preserving the weekly seat capacity levels that existed before the cooperation before increasing capacity levels on the route, the airlines would need to meet certain performance targets and submit a business plan for approval by CCCS and the Malaysian Aviation Commission reporting the capacity levels and schedules of both airlines&rsquo LCCs on the route and appointing an independent auditor to ensure compliance with the commitments.  

 

CCCS consulted industry stakeholders from Feb 11 to Mar 4 on the commitments, with no concerns raised.

SINGAPORE &ndash Shares of Singapore Airlines (SIA) recovered last week, rising by more than 3 per cent to close at $6.93.

 

Prices of oil, from which jet fuel is derived, fell on June 24 after US President Donald Trump announced on social media &ldquo a complete and total&rdquo ceasefire between Israel and Iran.

 

In its annual report released on June 25, SIA revealed that its chief executive Goh Choon Phong&rsquo s pay dropped by 13.5 per cent to $7.01 million for the financial year ended March 31, even as the airline&rsquo s earnings reached a record high of $2.8 billion.

 

Mr Goh&rsquo s total remuneration package for the period comprised $1.46 million in basic salary, $3.12 million in bonuses and $2.29 million in shares, with the rest of more than $145,000 in benefits.

 

In comparison, Mr Goh had drawn a salary of $8.1 million for the financial year 2023-2024.

 

Singapore Post (SingPost) shares jumped by 9.7 per cent last week, closing on June 27 at 62 cents.

 

Temasek on June 25 disclosed in an exchange filing that its deemed interest in SingPost &ndash held through DBS Bank &ndash had risen from 21.99 per cent to 22 per cent after DBS purchased 200,000 SingPost shares on June 19.

 

According to SingPost&rsquo s annual report released on June 24, former group CEO Vincent Phang received a prorated salary of $616,400 for the financial year ended March 31. He was let go by SingPost on Dec 21, 2024, over the mishandling of a whistle-blower complaint.

 

Mr Phang&rsquo s payout comprised $570,600 in fixed salary, $10,500 in Central Provident Fund contributions as well as benefits. The company&rsquo s benefits generally include medical and flexible allowances, as well as other perks such as a car allowance and long service awards, where applicable.

 

SGX gains as local stocks climb

Shares of the Singapore Exchange (SGX) rose 7.2 per cent last week, closing on June 27 at a five-year high of $14.72.

 

The local stock exchange enjoyed an uplift in trading with small and mid-cap stocks rising steadily through the week.

 

The Straits Times Mid Cap Index closed on June 27 up 0.42 per cent at 635.45, and the ST Small Cap Index closed up 1.63 per cent to hit 250.90.

 

The Straits Times Index (STI) ended the week up 0.7 per cent at 3,966.20.

 

Hongkong Land was the best-performing stock on the STI, having closed the week 7.6 per cent higher at US$5.84.

 

This was followed closely by Thai Beverage, which recorded an increase of almost 5.7 per cent to close at 47 cents. DFI Retail Group rose 3.8 per cent through the week to close at US$2.73. 

 

Some real estate investment trusts (Reits) did well too, such as Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust, which was up more than 3 per cent to 85 cents, and Mapletree Industrial Trust, which rose 4 per cent to close at $2.03.

 

Mr Isaac Lim, chief market strategist at trading platform Moomoo Singapore, said one of the reasons the STI performed well last week despite persistent uncertainties involving tariffs, oil prices and inflation woes is that investors are &ldquo quick to view our STI as a defensive market during periods of heightened market volatility&rdquo .

 

He added: &ldquo The increasing calls for rate cuts in the US could be a boost to our Reit-heavy STI. Inflation, while high, has been slowing and the probability for a cut in interest rates by the Federal Reserve as early as September has jumped from 33 per cent to 90 per cent in a span of two weeks.

 

&ldquo If markets are starting to price in a rate cut as early as September, then our Reits would most definitely be impacted in a positive way, thus leading the STI higher.&rdquo

 

IPO interest returns to the market

Adding to the market&rsquo s positive momentum, hopes of a much-needed rebound for the local stock exchange were lifted by a flurry of initial public offering (IPO) activity and interest from various companies throughout the week.

 

One on the horizon could be in the form of a Reit listing by Japanese telecommunications group Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT), one of the world&rsquo s largest data centre providers.

 

NTT Data Group, a subsidiary of NTT that offers technology and data solutions, on June 27 filed a preliminary prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) for a Reit listing of its data centres on the SGX mainboard.

 

If successful, NTT DC Reit would be the third data centre Reit to list in Singapore, following Keppel DC Reit and Digital Core Reit.

 

NTT DC Reit&rsquo s portfolio will comprise six data centre assets across three markets: four in the US, one in Austria and the sixth in Singapore with a total appraised value of US$1.6 billion (S$2 billion). The offering price for the Reit will be US$1 per unit.

 

Among the Reit&rsquo s cornerstone investors is Singapore&rsquo s sovereign wealth fund GIC, which will subscribe for 100.88 million units valued around US$100.88 million.

 

Other investors include AM Squared, Hazelview Securities, Pinpoint Asset Management and Viridian Asset Management.

 

Local software services company Info-Tech Systems told the media on June 27 that it is seeking to raise $23.4 million via a mainboard IPO comprising 24.86 million shares priced at 87 cents each.

 

The IPO comprises five million publicly offered shares in Singapore, and 19.86 million shares by way of international placement to selected investors.

 

In addition to the public offering, several cornerstone investors have also committed to buying 41.1 million Info-Tech shares.

 

Interior design company Lum Chang Creations also expressed interest to list on the SGX&rsquo s Catalist board and has filed its preliminary prospectus with MAS.

 

The company is a spin-off from mainboard-listed construction company Lum Chang following a recent internal restructuring exercise, Lum Chang said in a bourse filing on June 23.

 

Other businesses that have expressed interest to list on the SGX include Malaysian company Daruma Capital, which operates the Chizu Cafe chain, and Foundation Healthcare, a multi-speciality medical group backed by Temasek&rsquo s SeaTown Holdings, the media reported.

 

Hong Kong-listed China Medical System was also reported to be seeking a secondary listing on the mainboard of the SGX in July.

 

Other market movers

Semiconductor stocks saw an upswing with double-digit gains during the week despite tariff threats.

 

Shares of AEM, UMS Integration and Frencken were all heavily traded on the SGX, with AEM surging as much as 24.6 per cent to close the week at $1.52. UMS was up 13.3 per cent to $1.36, while Frencken gained 10.5 per cent to $1.26.

 

AEM, following an unexpected influx of orders in FY2025, on June 26 raised its revenue guidance for the first half of the financial year ending June 30 to between $185 million and $195 million. This is up from an earlier range of $155 million to $170 million.

 

AEM said that, despite the revision, its view of the business environment remains unchanged from its previous update in May, when it had flagged tariff uncertainties.

 

Further uplifting the sector was the launch of the National Semiconductor Translation and Innovation Centre for Gallium Nitride on June 26, a new $123 million manufacturing facility that will allow Singapore to produce advanced semiconductors.

 

What to look out for this week

Shares of Info-Tech, the first mainboard IPO in two years, are expected to begin trading on July 4 at 9am.

 

ADP, the US&rsquo largest payrolls provider, will announce on July 2 private sector employment data for the month of June. A rise in the indicator has positive implications for consumer spending and is stimulative of economic growth.

SIA CEO Goh Choon Phong' s pay package in the FY2023/2024 was $8.1 million. 

 

SINGAPORE - Singapore Airlines (SIA) chief executive Goh Choon Phong saw his pay fell by 13.5 per cent to $7.01 million in the financial year ended March 31, when the flag carrier&rsquo s earnings reached a record high.

 

According to SIA&rsquo s annual report, released on June 25, Mr Goh&rsquo s total remuneration package comprised $1.46 million in basic salary, $3.12 million in bonuses and $2.29 million in shares, with the remaining amount of more than $145,000 in benefits.

 

Mr Goh&rsquo s remuneration for FY2023-2024 was $8.1 million. His right-hand men, chief commercial officer Lee Lik Hsin, and chief operations officer Tan Kai Ping, each drew a total remuneration of between $3 million and $3.2 million for FY2024-2025.

 

Each of them were paid between $3.5 million and $3.75 million for FY2023-2024.

 

This came as SIA posted a record net profit of $2.8 billion in FY2024-2025, up slightly from the $2.7 billion in the year before.

 

The airline rewarded eligible employees with 7.45 months of profit-sharing bonuses in the last financial year, down from 7.94 months in the year before. 

 

The company&rsquo s record profit was boosted by a one-off non-cash accounting gain of $1.1 billion from the Air India-Vistara merger, it said in a filing on the Singapore Exchange on May 15.

 

In his letter to shareholders in the annual report, SIA chairman Peter Seah said after the merger, SIA Group has a 25.1 per cent stake in the enlarged Air India Group, making it &ldquo the only non-Indian airline with direct participation in one of the world&rsquo s fastest-growing aviation markets&rdquo .

 

Group revenue also climbed 2.8 per cent from the year before to hit a record $19.54 billion, driven by resilient demand for air travel and cargo uplift.

 

SIA and its budget airline Scoot also carried a record 39.4 million passengers, up 8.1 per cent, it said.

 

Despite carrying more passengers, passenger yields &ndash the amount earned per passenger for each kilometre flown &ndash dipped 5.5 per cent to 10.3 cents per revenue passenger-kilometre.

 

This was amid intensified competition due to industry-wide capacity injection, SIA said.

 

Passenger traffic growth, which stood at 6.4 per cent, also lagged behind its capacity expansion of 8.2 per cent. 

 

Meanwhile, its cargo flown revenue improved by $94 million, or 4.4 per cent, buoyed by the strong demand for e-commerce and perishables, as well as the spillover from disruptions to sea freight.

SINGAPORE - Escalating tensions between Israel and Iran and the tragic crash of Air India Flight AI171 have roiled the global aviation industry and clouded the operational outlook for many airlines, including major carriers like Singapore Airlines (SIA).

 

Yet there could be a silver lining for the national airline amid the turbulence, following the closure of Singapore-based budget carrier Jetstar Asia.

 

On June 12, an Air India plane bound for London crashed outside the perimeter of India&rsquo s Ahmedabad airport, resulting in at least 271 casualties.

 

The crash could have an impact on SIA, as it holds a 25.1 per cent stake in Air India, following the carrier&rsquo s merger with Vistara, another Indian airline, in November 2024. Before the merger, Vistara was jointly owned by Tata Sons and SIA.

 

A day later, on June 13, geopolitical tensions rose sharply when Israel launched air strikes on Iran, with Iran subsequently retaliating.

 

The attacks, which continued over the weekend, sent oil prices surging as much as 7 per cent on June 13 before partially retreating.

 

Volatile oil prices could have a direct impact on airlines, including SIA, as jet fuel, derived from oil, is its largest operating expense.

 

US airline shares fell, hit by worries of a broad and protracted Middle East conflict. Shares of American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines all finished lower on June 13 before recovering on June 16.

 

SIA shares fell around 1.3 per cent on June 13 to $6.94. They closed lower at $6.88 on June 17.

 

Despite the uncertain outlook, there are unique growth opportunities for SIA, following Jetstar Asia&rsquo s June 11 announcement that it will close on July 31.

 

SIA will reportedly ramp up flights to key Asian destinations after Jetstar Asia ceases operations. Scoot, SIA&rsquo s low-cost subsidiary, plans to launch new flights to Okinawa, Japan, and Labuan Bajo, Indonesia.

 

This bodes well for SIA, as Scoot is now well positioned to capture market share following Jetstar Asia&rsquo s exit, said Morningstar director Lorraine Tan.

 

Maybank analyst Eric Ong said: &ldquo The exit of Jetstar Asia may bring some reprieve in the competitive low-cost carrier market in terms of load factor and yield.&rdquo

 

With one less airline operating, there will be fewer available seats, which may lead to higher load factors for SIA and Scoot as more passengers fly on existing flights.

 

In addition, the reduced competition could allow the airlines to stabilise or even increase ticket prices, leading to improved yields and profitability.

 

Jetstar Asia operated around 180 weekly flights from Changi Airport and carried 2.3 million passengers in 2024. Its exit creates a significant gap in the market &ndash one that competitors like Scoot are well placed to fill.

 

For the year ended March 31, SIA and Scoot carried a record 39.4 million passengers.

 

Morningstar&rsquo s Ms Tan noted that while the exit of Jetstar Asia will have a more material impact on SIA than the crash of the Air India flight and Israel-Iran conflict, oil prices may stay elevated while fighting continues.

 

&ldquo Increased market share and reduced competition could be offset by higher fuel costs and increased associate losses (in 2025),&rdquo she said.

 

DBS Bank analyst Jason Sum noted that SIA remains &ldquo relatively insulated&rdquo from the rise in Brent crude and jet fuel prices, having hedged around 40 per cent of its near-term fuel requirements.

 

SIA uses a fuel-hedging policy to manage the volatility of oil prices.

 

The higher fuel cost could also be partially mitigated by a weaker US dollar, added OCBC Bank&rsquo s head of investment research Carmen Lee.

 

In any case, analysts from energy research company Rystad Energy noted that oil prices might already be stabilising, rather than escalating further.

 

For now, the conflict appears likely to be contained, the analysts said, projecting that oil prices will be capped at below US$80 a barrel.

 

The price of Brent crude moderated to hover between US$73 and US$74 a barrel on June 16, after hitting US$78 on June 13.

 

But airlines&rsquo growth can also be hit by souring consumer sentiment, if people cut back on their travel plans because of rising tensions in the Middle East, OCBC&rsquo s Ms Lee said.

 

DBS&rsquo Mr Sum also noted that the Air India incident could weigh on consumer perception and potentially slow the airline&rsquo s transformation.

 

&ldquo This could result in a moderately larger share of losses for SIA, although we do not expect a material impact on SIA&rsquo s bottom line at this stage,&rdquo he said.

The level is slightly ahead of the group&rsquo s passenger capacity expansion of 2.8% year on year

 

[SINGAPORE] National carrier Singapore Airlines : C6L -1.01% (SIA) and its low-cost arm Scoot reported a 3.1 per cent year-on-year increase in passenger traffic in May, easing from the previous month&rsquo s growth, its operating results showed on Monday (Jun 16).

 

In April, passenger traffic grew 4.8 per cent year on year, driven partly by the Easter holidays, SIA said last month. Passenger traffic is measured by multiplying the number of passengers carried with the distance flown in kilometres.

 

The group&rsquo s passenger traffic in May was slightly ahead of the 2.8 per cent year-on-year increase in passenger capacity in the same month. Passenger capacity is derived by multiplying the number of available seats with the distance flown in kilometres.

 

The group passenger traffic growth in May was partly offset by Scoot&rsquo s performance. The budget carrier&rsquo s passenger traffic rose 1.4 per cent year on year, compared with SIA&rsquo s 3.5 per cent increase.

 

Scoot&rsquo s passenger capacity also shrank 1.8 per cent year on year in May, while SIA recorded a 4 per cent year-on-year growth.

 

Even so, Scoot&rsquo s May performance on these two fronts was in fact an improvement over its April showing.

 

The group&rsquo s passenger load factor (PLF) inched up 0.3 percentage point year on year to 86.4 per cent.

 

PLF is passenger traffic expressed as a percentage of passenger capacity.

 

In total, the two airlines carried 3.4 million passengers in May, 6.3 per cent higher than in the same period in 2024.

 

Cargo loads rose 4.2 per cent year on year in the month, higher than the 2.9 per cent growth in cargo capacity. As a result, cargo load factor climbed 0.7 percentage point year on year to 57.2 per cent. This was an improvement from April, in which there was a 1.5-percentage-point drop in cargo load factor to 57.1 per cent.

 

SIA noted that cargo demand in May was supported by front-loading activity, in anticipation of growing uncertainty in the global trade environment.

 

SINGAPORE &ndash Singapore Airlines (SIA) fell nearly 2 per cent last week, closing at $6.94 on June 13, amid a turbulent week for the aviation sector.

 

On June 11, Australian carrier Qantas announced it would shut down its Singapore-based budget airline, Jetstar Asia, citing rising supplier costs, airport fees and regional competition. The low-cost carrier, which will cease operations on July 31, had been projected to incur an operating loss of A$35 million (S$29.1 million) this financial year.

 

In response, SIA Group said it would create positions for around 100 pilots and 200 cabin crew across its airlines to accommodate affected Jetstar Asia staff.

 

The group, which reported a $2.8 billion profit for the 2025 financial year, had earlier announced bonuses equivalent to 7.45 months for SIA staff and 4.76 months for Scoot staff.

 

SIA is also considering increasing flight frequencies to key Jetstar Asia destinations such as Okinawa in Japan and Labuan Bajo in Indonesia.

 

Jetstar Asia currently operates 16 routes and 180 weekly flights out of Changi Airport, having carried about 2.3 million passengers in 2024, or around 3 per cent of the airport&rsquo s total traffic. Its closure will affect about 500 employees.

 

The following day, on June 12, the aviation industry was further shaken by the crash of Air India Flight AI171. The aircraft, en route to London from Ahmedabad, India, crashed minutes after take-off, killing 241 people on board, leaving a sole survivor.

 

SIA holds a 25.1 per cent stake in Air India, following a merger between the Indian flagship carrier and Indian airline Vistara in November 2024. Before the merger, Vistara was jointly owned by Tata Sons and SIA.

 

Analysts noted that while the crash may temporarily dampen consumer sentiment and weigh on Air India&rsquo s near-term earnings, the long-term impact is expected to be limited.

 

On June 13, geopolitical tensions added to the sector&rsquo s headwinds when Israel launched air strikes on Iran, targeting nuclear and military sites and killing senior commanders. Tehran responded with retaliatory attacks.

 

The escalation spurred a sharp jump in oil markets, with Brent crude futures surging as much as 13 per cent &ndash the largest intraday move since March 2022 &ndash to US$78.50 a barrel before partially retreating.

 

Volatile oil prices have a direct impact on airlines, as jet fuel is one of their largest operating expenses. SIA uses a fuel hedging policy to manage the volatility of oil prices, its largest operational cost. 

 

OCBC launches exit offer for Great Eastern

OCBC dipped last week, closing on June 13 at $16.06, down 1.4 per cent through the week.

 

The bank on June 9 launched its exit offer for the remaining 6.28 per cent in Great Eastern (GE) that it does not own at $30.15 per share in cash, or $900 million in total, in another attempt to take the insurer private.

 

OCBC&rsquo s revised offer, priced at a 17.8 per cent premium over its initial offer of $25.60 per share in May 2024, is nevertheless conditional upon 75 per cent of GE&rsquo s remaining shareholders voting in favour of the insurer&rsquo s delisting at an extraordinary general meeting to be held on July 8.

 

The offer opens on June 16 and closes on July 22 with no extensions. OCBC will not be able to vote.

 

In its exit offer letter, OCBC explained that its &ldquo strategic intention&rdquo is for GE to delist and to take the insurer private, as it sees GE as &ldquo a key enabler&rdquo for the bank to capture rising Asian wealth.

 

It added that the exit offer is an opportunity for it to &ldquo deploy capital to generate higher shareholder returns while reinforcing its strategy of integrating banking, insurance and wealth management&rdquo .

 

An exit offer will also help GE solve the months-long impasse over suspension in the trading of its shares.

 

The insurer&rsquo s shares have been suspended from trading for 11 months since July 15, 2024, after OCBC acquired about 93.7 per cent of the company through its previous $25.60 per share offer. With GE no longer meeting the 10 per cent free float requirement, OCBC, at the request of GE, is now seeking to resolve the prolonged suspension through the delisting and subsequent exit offer.

 

If the delisting vote fails, shareholders must then vote on whether GE&rsquo s shares should resume trading. This resolution also requires 75 per cent approval.

 

OCBC will be able to vote on this resolution and will accept a new class of shares that will dilute its stake in GE to just over 88 per cent, enabling GE to meet free float requirements and continue trading.

 

Should shareholders vote in favour of the delisting, they should note that while the appointed independent financial adviser, Ernst & Young (EY), has assessed OCBC&rsquo s offer as fair and reasonable, the exit offer is below GE&rsquo s embedded value of $38.08 per share as at end-2024.

 

It also sits at the lower end of EY&rsquo s fair valuation range of about $28.87 to $36.19 per GE share, derived during the previous offer.

 

If shares of GE resume trading, there will be a much smaller market for its shares and no guarantee that the stock will trade at its fair value. As at March 5, there were just 838 GE shareholders compared with 3,466 a year ago.

 

Other market movers

Boustead Singapore surged 6.4 per cent to $1.33 on June 13, after it announced that it is conducting strategic reviews for a potential sale of a stake in some of its logistics and industrial real estate assets to a real estate investment trust (Reit), with plans to list the Reit on the mainboard of the Singapore Exchange (SGX).

 

The engineering and technology group said on June 12 the review is part of its &ldquo ordinary course of business to periodically consider options and opportunities&rdquo in relation to its investments to unlock shareholder value, and there is no certainty that any transaction will materialise as a result of this process.

 

Shares of Centurion hit an all-time high of $1.55 on June 12, following an announcement that it had submitted a listing application for a Reit to the SGX and Monetary Authority of Singapore.

 

Centurion said the application is still under review and the details of the initial public offering (IPO) are still being finalised. It noted that the Reit it is aiming to establish will comprise some of its worker and student accommodation assets. Its shares closed on June 13 at $1.49.

 

Shares of Ho Bee Land are up by over 10.4 per cent across the week, after its founder and executive chairman Chua Thian Poh increased his stake in the real estate company.

 

Mr Chua on June 5 acquired 137,900 shares for $248,220, or $1.80 per share, raising his stake in the company to around 75.68 per cent.

 

Both Mr Chua, 76, and his son Nicholas Chua, 49, who is chief executive officer, have been accumulating shares in Ho Bee over the last few months. The company&rsquo s shares closed on June 13 at $2.01.

 

What to look out for this week

CNMC Goldmine shares may see increased trading activity amid ongoing air strikes between Israel and Iran over the weekend. The gold miner&rsquo s stock rose 4.6 per cent to 46 cents on June 13, when the initial strikes were reported, as investors turned to gold as a safe-haven asset.

 

Shares of Thakral Corp might also see some movement.

 

The company said on June 13 after the market closed that its associate, GemLife, has signed an underwriting agreement for its proposed IPO on the Australian Securities Exchange, which is expected to launch &ldquo very shortly&rdquo .

 

The media has reported that GemLife, which operates resorts for seniors, could raise as much as A$750 million in Australia&rsquo s largest IPO in 2025 after selling 380.3 million shares at A$4.16 each.

SIA holds a 25.1% stake following a merger of its full-service airline Vistara with the Indian national carrier

 

[SINGAPORE] Shares of Singapore Airlines (SIA) : C6L -1.28% dived on Friday (Jun 13) morning after an Air India plane bound for London crashed on Thursday.

 

SIA holds a 25.1 per cent stake in the Indian flag carrier.

 

At around 9 am when the market opened, SIA shares hit a month-to-date low of S$6.88, down 2.1 per cent or S$0.15 from Thursday&rsquo s closing price of S$7.03, with around 723,200 shares transacted. The last time SIA shares traded at levels lower than this was on May 16, 2025, ShareInvestor data indicated.

 

As at the midday trading break, the counter recovered slightly to S$6.91, still 1.7 per cent or S$0.12 down from Thursday, with some 6.5 million shares transacted.

 

It ended Friday 1.3 per cent or S$0.09 lower at S$6.94, after 12.6 million shares changed hands.

 

On Thursday, an Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner headed to London&rsquo s Gatwick Airport crashed into a medical college hostel in the city of Ahmedabad, Gujarat, killing more than 240 people.

 

SIA&rsquo s stake in Air India follows the November 2024 merger of its full-service airline Vistara &ndash a joint venture with Mumbai-headquartered Tata Sons &ndash with India&rsquo s national carrier.

 

India&rsquo s national newspaper The Hindu reported that Air India increased its revenue to a record 610 billion rupees (S$9.1 billion) in the 2025 financial year and clocked a profit, excluding exceptional items, in the second half.