SG Morning Call | UOB Stock dwon 4% After Profit Drops as Lending Income, Trading Declines

Market Snapshot

Singapore stocks opened higher on Tuesday. STI rose 0.3%; Nio up 2%; SIA up 1%; UOB down 4%.

Stocks in Focus

$UOB(U11.SI)$: The bank’s net profit for the fourth quarter fell 7 per cent on the back of margin pressures from lower benchmark rates, it said on Tuesday. Net profit for the three months ended Dec 31, 2025, came in at S$1.41 billion, compared with S$1.52 billion a year earlier. The bank declared a dividend of S$0.71 per share for the half-year, bringing the full-year dividend to S$1.56 per share. Net interest income fell 4 per cent to S$2.35 billion. Shares of UOB closed 0.5 per cent or S$0.20 higher at S$38.80 on Monday.

$OCBC Bank(O39.SI)$: Environmental group Market Forces has lodged a complaint with the Singapore Exchange (SGX) against the bank for potentially failing to comply with sustainability reporting requirements, specifically pertaining to the lack of disclosures around the bank’s exposure towards captive coal plants. In response to queries from The Business Times, OCBC chief sustainability officer Mike Ng said the bank remains committed to transparent sustainability and environmental disclosures that are aligned with SGX’s rules and international frameworks. Shares of OCBC fell 0.1 per cent or S$0.30 to close at S$21.69 on Monday.

$Keppel(BN4.SI)$: An attempt by an individual to exert ownership rights to land in Jakarta owned by an Indonesian subsidiary of Keppel Land has been thrown out by the courts. The asset manager said that the case concerning a 2.28 trillion rupiah (S$186.3 million) claim over Jakarta land ownership has been declared “inadmissable” by the South Jakarta District Court on Feb 9, 2026. It also said that the court ordered the individual who commenced civil action, Tumpal Hutabarat, to pay court costs. Shares of Keppel closed 0.8 per cent or S$0.10 higher at S$13.03 on Monday.

$Great Eastern(G07.SI)$: The insurer posted a net profit of S$241.4 million for its fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2025, up 79 per cent from S$134.8 million in the year-ago period. The improvement was driven mainly by favourable investment performance and further supported by continued earnings emergence from existing in-force portfolio, Great Eastern said on Tuesday. The counter ended Monday 1.1 per cent or S$0.18 higher at S$15.96.

$IFAST(AIY.SI)$: The digital wealth platform on Monday annouced that it has appointed Tan Tia Hong as the new group chief operating officer with effect from Feb 28. He was previously the COO of Global Fintech Services, responsible for both technology and operations. This move comes on the back of current group COO Wong Soon Shyan, 60, stepping down from Feb 28 this year, after opting for an early retirement. Shares of iFast closed down 0.4 per cent or S$0.04 to S$9.30 on Monday.

$ValueMax(T6I.SI)$: The group on Monday posted a 14 per cent rise in net profit to S$54.1 million for the six months ended Dec 31, 2025, from S$47.4 million in the same period a year earlier. This came on the back of a 25.8 per cent rise in revenue to S$284.8 million, from S$226.4 million previously. The company also announced that its subsidiary ValueMax Retail and Louis Vuitton (LV) have reached an “amicable settlement” over the issue of the subsidiary’s alleged infringement of LV’s intellectual property rights in September 2025. Shares of ValueMax closed up 9.8 per cent or S$0.12 at S$1.34 on Monday, before the release of results.

$MoneyMax Fin(5WJ.SI)$: The pawnbroker on Monday reported that its profit for the second half of 2025 nearly doubled to S$42 million, from S$21.6 million the year before, on the back of strong growth in its core business segments. Revenue for H2 2025 ended Dec 31 surged 45.9 per cent to S$299 million, from S$204.9 million the year before. The board has declared a final tax-exempt dividend of S$0.015 a share. Shares of MoneyMax closed up 8.2 per cent or S$0.075 to S$0.99 on Monday.

Trading halt: $CapLand India T(CY6U.SI)$ requested for a trading halt on Tuesday pending an announcement later.

SG Local News

UOB Profit Drops as Lending Income, Trading Declines

United Overseas Bank Ltd.’s fourth-quarter profit narrowly missed analyst expectations as lending margins declined. The bank also cut its dividend.

Net income fell 7.4% to S$1.41 billion ($1.11 billion) in the three months ended Dec. 31, the bank said in a statement on Tuesday. That compared with the S$1.45 billion average estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

The lender declared a final dividend of 71 Singapore cents per share, down 23% from 92 cents a year earlier, bringing the total 2025 payout to S$1.56. The final number was below consensus, said Yong Hong Tan, Singapore-based analyst at Citigroup Inc.

DBS Partners with Granite Asia, Closes $110 Million AI IPO Fund for Wealth Clients

Singapore's biggest bank, DBS Group said on Monday it had formed a three-year partnership with investment firm Granite Asia to roll out investment products for DBS wealth clients and provide financing and deal support to fast-growing Asian companies.

The partnership starts with the closing of a $110 million artificial intelligence-focused initial public offering fund managed by Singapore-based Granite Asia and distributed exclusively to DBS wealth clients, the companies said in a statement. The fund will give the clients access to investments in IPOs.

Manulife Sells Life Insurance Policy for a Record $300 Million

Manulife Financial Corp. sold a $300 million life insurance policy in Singapore, topping what Guinness World Records certified as the most valuable policy ever issued.

The policy surpasses the previous record of $250 million, set by HSBC Life in Hong Kong in 2024. Manulife said in a statement Tuesday that the deal reflects growing demand from ultra-wealthy clients to preserve their assets.

In Singapore over the past 12 months, Manulife has issued 25 individual policies each worth more than $50 million.