Singapore central bank to place S$1.1bil with asset managers to boost stock market
SINGAPORE: Singapore's central bank will place S$1.1 billion ($856.36 million) with three asset managers as part of a S$5 billion programme to boost the stock market, it said on Monday, with more co-investments to be announced late this year.
The move comes as part of an ongoing probe into the local stock market by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and a review group set up in August last year, with the aim of strengthening the way the market functions.
The fund managers selected as part of Singapore's Equity Market Development Programme (EQDP) are Avanda Investment Management, JP Morgan Asset Management and Fullerton Fund Management, which is owned by Singapore's sovereign fund Temasek.
MAS said it considered "a range of factors" when choosing the managers, including the "alignment of their proposed fund strategies with EQDP objectives" and their commitment to contribute to the growth of Singapore's asset management capabilities.
It added that more than 100 global, regional and local asset managers have shown interest in receiving funds for co-investment under the development programme, and that it will review the submissions in batches to speed up the appointment of asset managers and the deployment of capital.
In February, MAS and the Financial Sector Development Fund (FSDF) announced that the S$5 billion programme would invest in strategies managed by Singapore-based asset managers that "have a strong focus on Singapore listed equities and broaden investor participation beyond large-cap stocks", the central bank said.
Since Singapore announced that it would set up the review group to revive the stock market in August last year, the benchmark Straits Times Index had gained 23.9% as of July 18.
($1 = 1.2845 Singapore dollars) - Reuters
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Star
37 minutes ago
- The Star
Oil prices ease to three-week low at weekend as negative economic news offsets trade optimism
JAKARTA/SINGAPORE (Reuters): Oil prices eased to a three-week low on Friday night on negative economic news from the United States and China and signs of growing supply despite optimism U.S. trade deals could boost global economic growth and oil demand in the future. Brent crude futures fell 76 cents, or 1.1%, to US$68.42 a barrel by 1:44 p.m. EDT (1744 GMT), while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 91 cents, or 1.4%, to US$65.12. That put Brent on track for its lowest close since July 4 and WTI on track for its lowest close since June 30. For the week, Brent was down about 1% and WTI down about 3%. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will meet U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday in Scotland after European Union officials and diplomats said they expected to reach a framework trade deal this weekend. The euro zone economy has remained resilient to the pervasive uncertainty caused by a global trade war, a slew of data showed on Friday, even as European Central Bank policymakers appeared to temper market bets on no more rate cuts. In the U.S., meanwhile, new orders for U.S.-manufactured capital goods unexpectedly fell in June while shipments of those products increased moderately, suggesting that business spending on equipment slowed considerably in the second quarter. Trump said on Friday that he had a good meeting with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and got the impression that the head of the U.S. central bank might be ready to lower interest rates. Central banks, like the Fed or ECB, use interest rates to keep inflation in check. Lower interest rates reduce consumer borrowing costs and can boost economic growth and demand for oil. In China, the world's second biggest economy, fiscal revenue dipped 0.3% in the first six months from a year earlier, the finance ministry said on Friday, maintaining the rate of decline seen between January and May. GROWING SUPPLIES? The US is preparing to allow partners of Venezuela's state-run PDVSA, starting with U.S. oil major Chevron, to operate with limitations in the sanctioned nation, sources said on Thursday. That could boost Venezuelan oil exports by a little more than 200,000 barrels per day (bpd), which would be welcome news for U.S. refiners, as it would ease tightness in the heavier crude market, ING analysts wrote. In the Middle East, Iran said it would continue nuclear talks with European powers after "serious, frank, and detailed" conversations on Friday, the first such face-to-face meeting since Israel and the U.S. bombed Iran last month. Venezuela and Iran are members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Any deal that could increase the amount of oil either sanctioned country could export would boost the amount of crude available to global markets. A meeting of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee, which includes top ministers from OPEC and allies like Russia, a group known as OPEC+, is scheduled for 1200 GMT on Monday. Four OPEC+ sources told Reuters the meeting was unlikely to alter the group's existing policy, which calls for eight members to raise output by 548,000 bpd in August. In Russia, the world's second biggest crude oil producer behind the U.S., daily oil exports from its western ports are set to be around 1.77 million bpd in August, down from 1.93 million bpd in July's plan, amid the expected rise in refinery runs, Reuters calculations based on data from two sources show. In the U.S., energy firms this week cut the number of oil and natural gas rigs operating for the 12th time in 13 weeks, energy services firm Baker Hughes said in its closely followed report on Friday. (Reporting by Scott DiSavino in New York, Robert Harvey in London, and Sudarshan Varadhan and Siyi Liu in Singapore. Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Emelia Sithole-Matarise) - Reuters


Malay Mail
2 hours ago
- Malay Mail
Singapore's SMRT fined RM7.9m for six-day MRT disruption in 2024, down from initial RM9.9m
SINGAPORE, July 26 — Singapore public transport operator SMRT will pay a reduced fine of S$2.4 million (RM7.9 million) over a major six-day MRT disruption on the East-West Line in September 2024, following a review by the Land Transport Authority (LTA). The penalty is S$600,000 less than the initial amount announced in June. According to The Straits Times, the updated fine was revealed in an LTA statement yesterday. The regulator said it had considered SMRT's representations and the challenges the operator faced during the incident, including pandemic-related supply chain disruptions that delayed spare parts for train overhauls. The fine will go into the Public Transport Fund to help lower-income households with commuting costs, said LTA. SMRT has also been directed to invest at least S$600,000 within a year to strengthen its maintenance capabilities and submit documented proof of the improvements. 'In reaching this decision, LTA took into consideration the considerable challenges SMRT had faced in planning and executing their overhaul regime for the Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) trains,' the authority said, citing the global delays triggered by Covid-19. The disruption stemmed from a faulty component on a first-generation KHI train that led to a partial derailment between Jurong East and Buona Vista stations on the morning of September 25, 2024. Services were affected until September 30, disrupting about one in six trips each day. Investigations found that SMRT had extended overhaul intervals without a detailed engineering or risk assessment. The root cause was traced to degraded grease, which led to the detachment of an axle box — a key component connecting the train's wheels — near Dover station. One of the train's bogies derailed as a result, damaging 2.55km of track and trackside infrastructure. SMRT Trains president Lam Sheau Kai responded in a Facebook post, saying the operator will 'strengthen its direct engagement with original equipment manufacturers of trains and systems' and invest in technical expertise through deeper collaboration. Lam added that SMRT has long prioritised workforce development and upskilling, and will continue supporting the secondment of LTA engineers — a practice ongoing since 2018. SMRT is also working with LTA and Alstom to progressively roll out the new R151 trains, with all 106 units expected on the North-South and East-West lines by 2026. As of June 29, 61 R151 trains were in operation. The ageing KHI fleet is set to be retired by September. The Straits Times reported that LTA had earlier described the original S$3 million fine as 'proportionate', but also took into account SMRT's financial outlay for emergency bus bridging and shuttle services during the disruption, as well as repair costs. SMRT had submitted its representations on June 6 after receiving LTA's notice of intention to penalise the operator on May 30. The transport regulator reviewed the submission before confirming the revised fine on July 25. SMRT has 14 days to appeal the penalty to Acting Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow. Asked by The Straits Times whether it would do so, Lam said only that SMRT had 'noted that LTA had considered its representations'. The S$2.4 million penalty is the second-highest imposed on a rail operator in Singapore's history. The record fine remains the S$5.4 million SMRT incurred following a 2015 disruption that shut down the entire North-South and East-West lines during evening rush hour.


The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Australia, Britain sign 50-year AUKUS submarine partnership treaty
SYDNEY: Australia's government said on Saturday (July 26) it signed a treaty with Britain to bolster cooperation over the next 50 years on the AUKUS nuclear submarine partnership. The AUKUS pact, agreed upon by Australia, Britain and the US in 2021, aims to provide Australia with nuclear-powered attack submarines from the next decade to counter China's ambitions in the Indo-Pacific. US President Donald Trump's administration announced a formal review of the pact this year. Defence Minister Richard Marles said in a statement that the bilateral treaty was signed with Britain's Defence Secretary John Healey on Saturday after a meeting in the city of Geelong, in Victoria state. "The Geelong Treaty will enable comprehensive cooperation on the design, build, operation, sustainment and disposal of our SSN-AUKUS submarines," the statement said. The treaty was a "commitment for the next 50 years of UK-Australian bilateral defence cooperation under AUKUS Pillar I", it said, adding that it built on the "strong foundation" of trilateral AUKUS cooperation. Britain's ministry of defence said this week that the bilateral treaty would underpin the two allies' submarine programmes and was expected to be worth up to 20 billion pounds (US$27.1 billion) for Britain in exports over the next 25 years. AUKUS is Australia's biggest-ever defence project, with Canberra committing to spend A$368 billion over three decades to the programme, which includes billions of dollars of investment in the US production base. Australia, which this month paid A$800 million to the US in the second instalment under AUKUS, has maintained it is confident the pact will proceed. The defence and foreign ministers of Australia and Britain held talks on Friday in Sydney on boosting cooperation, coinciding with Australia's largest war games. As many as 40,000 troops from 19 countries are taking part in the Talisman Sabre exercises held from July 13 to August 4, which Australia's military has said are a rehearsal for joint warfare to maintain Indo-Pacific stability. Britain has significantly increased its participation in the exercise co-hosted by Australia and the United States, with aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales taking part this year. - Reuters