SG Morning Call | Singapore Stocks Open Higher; HSBC Is Said to Consider Selling Singapore Insurance Business
Market Snapshot
Singapore stocks opened lower on Thursday. STI fell 0.1%; UOL rose 1%; Yangzijiang Shipbuilding rose 0.8%; Singtel rose 0.2%; Sembcorp and DBS fell 0.2%; UOB fell 0.4%; SIA and Kepple fell 0.5%; SGX fell 0.6%; NIO fell 2%.
Stocks in Focus
$UOB(U11.SI)$: UOB has priced S$850 million in perpetual capital securities at 3 per cent under the bank’s US$30 billion Global Medium Term Note Programme. The issue date is expected to be Jan 21. The securities are first callable in 2033. Shares of UOB ended at S$36.51 on Wednesday, S$0.32 or 0.9 per cent higher before the announcement.
$Sembcorp(U96.SI)$: The company will seek shareholder approval for its acquisition of Alinta Energy, it said on Thursday. The extraordinary general meeting will be held on Jan 30 to vote on the acquisition of Australia’s fourth-largest utilities provider from Hong Kong-based Chow Tai Fook Enterprises. The estimated purchase price for the deal is A$5.6 billion (S$4.8 billion), which will be paid in cash through bridge and working capital facilities. The transaction is expected to be earnings accretive but will cause Sembcorp to miss its 2028 decarbonisation targets due to the integration of Alinta’s coal assets. Shares of Sembcorp closed 0.2 per cent or S$0.01 lower at S$6.01 on Wednesday.
$CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust(C38U.SI)$ (CICT): The trust has agreed to divest Bukit Panjang Plaza for S$428 million in cash, its manager said on Wednesday. Separately, it will also develop and fully own the commercial component of the mixed-use Hougang Central site that it secured at a recent state tender. Units of CICT closed 0.4 per cent lower at S$2.42 on Wednesday, prior to the announcements.
$First Sponsor(ADN.SI)$: The company expects to post a net loss for its second half and full year ended Dec 31, 2025. The net loss is mainly due to fair value loss on its financial derivatives as a result of the strengthening of foreign currencies against the Singapore dollar, and net foreign exchange losses, the property player said on Wednesday. Shares of First Sponsor closed flat at S$1.01 on Wednesday, before the announcement.
$Advanced Systems Automation(WJ9.SI)$: The precision engineering group on Wednesday said that it intends to make a voluntary conditional offer for all the shares of Asti. This offer will be made only if pre-conditions have been satisfied or waived in the next three months, or by a date determined following discussions with the Securities Industry Council. The company said in a bourse filing that it does not intend to privatise Asti. The counter closed flat at S$0.005 before the news. Asti shares have been suspended since 2022, and last traded at S$0.014.
SG Local News
HSBC Exploring Potential Sale of Singapore Insurance Unit, Bloomberg News Reports
HSBC is exploring options for its Singapore insurance unit which includes a potential sale, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday citing people familiar with the matter.
HSBC Life (Singapore) Pte could be valued at more than $1 billion in a transaction, the report said.
UOL Group, Consortium Lands $1.17 Billion Tender for Singapore Integrated Site
A consortium that includes Singapore's UOL Group has won a government tender for S$1.50 billion ($1.17 billion) for a major integrated residential and commercial site in the city-state, the developer said on Wednesday.
The consortium comprises UOL and Singapore Land's indirect joint venture Horizon Residential and a sub-trust of CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, the companies said in a filing.
The companies said the leasehold site will be developed into a mixed-use project integrating the residential and commercial space with a metro rail transit station, a bus interchange and a town plaza.
Sembcorp Seeks Shareholder Approval for Alinta Energy Buy at Jan 30 EGM
Sembcorp Industries will seek shareholder approval for its acquisition of Alinta Energy, it said in a bourse filing on Thursday (Jan 15).
The extraordinary general meeting (EGM) will be held on Jan 30 to vote on the acquisition of Australia’s fourth-largest utilities provider from Hong Kong-based Chow Tai Fook Enterprises.
The estimated purchase price for the deal is A$5.6 billion (S$4.8 billion), which will be paid in cash through bridge and working capital facilities.
Malaysia State Utility Signs Deal to Transmit Energy from Laos to Singapore, Reviving Cross-Border Project
Malaysia's state-run utility firm has signed a two-year energy agreement to transmit electricity from Laos to Singapore, reviving a Southeast Asian multilateral power trade deal that had stalled since 2024.
Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) in a bourse filing on Wednesday said the Energy Wheeling Agreement Phase 2, part of a power integration project involving Laos, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, will allow up to 100 megawatts of generation capacity in Laos to supply power to Singapore via Thailand and Malaysia, using existing transmission links.
The first phase of the project was signed in 2022 with a two year validity period that ended on June 22, 2024.
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