Market Snapshot

Singapore stocks opened flat on Wednesday. Wing Tai, Golden Agri-Res up nearly 2%; SingPost jumped 1.5% as Q1 operating profit up 55.2%; UOB Kay Hian, PanUnited up around 1%.

Stocks in Focus

Singapore Post (SingPost): The postal service operator posted an operating profit of S$4.1 million for its first fiscal quarter ended Jun 30, up 55.2 per cent on an annualised basis. The growth was driven primarily by cost management, lower labour-related costs and efficiency gains, the group said on Wednesday. Group revenue for Q1 fell marginally by 0.9 per cent year on year to S$93.4 million, but operating profit margin expanded from 2.8 to 4.4 per cent. SingPost shares fell 2.9 per cent or S$0.01 to close at S$0.33 on Tuesday.

Marco Polo Marine: The marine logistics company on Wednesday posted a 13 per cent increase in revenue to S$35.7 million for its third quarter ended Jun 30, from S$31.7 million in the previous corresponding period. This was driven by stronger contributions from both its ship chartering and shipyard divisions. Profit rose 7 per cent to S$15 million, from S$14 million in the year-ago period. Shares of Marco Polo Marine ended at S$0.128, 0.8 per cent or S$0.001 higher, on Tuesday.

Penguin International: The mainboard-listed shipbuilder on Tuesday said it secured a contract with the Ministry of Defence to build two landing craft for the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN). This is Penguin’s first naval shipbuilding programme as a prime contractor for RSN in the shipbuilder’s 50-year history. Shares of Penguin rose 1.9 per cent or S$0.03 to close at S$1.65 on Tuesday, before the announcement.

Trading halt: Frencken requested a trading halt with immediate effect on Wednesday morning pending the release of an announcement. The counter closed 1.6 per cent or S$0.04 higher at S$2.54 on Tuesday.

SG Local News

Singapore's July Factory Output Growth Moderates to 6.8%, Electronics Sector Climbs 11.2%

Singapore's factory output expanded 6.8% year-on-year in July, easing from the revised 7.5% growth recorded in June, according to data released by the Economic Development Board on Wednesday (Aug 26).

This reading aligned with the median forecast of 6.8% from private-sector economists surveyed in a Bloomberg poll.

Stripping out the volatile biomedical manufacturing segment, output grew 8% year-on-year, a slowdown from June's revised 9.9% increase.

On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, production rose 2.3% in July, a sharp turnaround from the revised 7% contraction seen in the prior month.

Family Offices Cheer MAS’ Lifting of Precious Metals Cap

When gold prices hit a record high of around US$5,500 an ounce in January, certain family offices and fund managers were forced to reduce their holdings in order to continue enjoying tax incentives. Since Aug 1, they have no longer faced such a constraint.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced the removal of the 5 per cent cap on holdings of physical precious metals for investment funds and family offices who come under the Section 13O and Section 13U tax-exemption schemes.

While some funds and family offices are targeting to raise their precious metals holdings above 5 per cent, others are not yet planning a significant increase.