Daily Debrief: What Happened Today (Jul 7)
Six golf courses, including at Tanah Merah Country Club, Singapore Island Country Club to close by 2035
Four sites will be released for other uses, while two will be combined for a public golf course.
Data Protection Trustmark elevated to Singapore Standard
Helps certified organisations show their commitment to effective data protection; other initiatives include a technology adoption guide and an AI regulation sandbox.
Low mortgage rates help; but be cautious in pursuing condo dreams as economic outlook weakens
BT in your inbox
Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.
Sign Up
Sign Up
Don't raid the CPF account for a private home.
Tariff tracker: Where South-east Asia and China stand as the clock runs down
The 90-day tariff truce is nearly up and the stakes just got higher. From low-key talks to last-ditch concessions, here's how Asean and China are navigating the bumpy patch.
Here are the top 10 best performing stocks in Singapore's STI for the first half of the year
The trio of local banks – DBS, UOB and OCBC – however, are not on the list, taking 18th, 19th and 20th place, respectively.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Times
31 minutes ago
- Business Times
Sembcorp declares ‘shopping season' with strong Singdollar, even as earnings take a hit
[SINGAPORE] Sembcorp Industries wants to take advantage of the stronger Singapore dollar to go 'shopping' for deals, even as the company's shares tumbled on Friday amid muted earnings and the threat of US tariffs. For the half-year ended Jun 30, Sembcorp posted a 1 per cent fall in net profit to S$536 million, amid lower turnover from its gas business. Sembcorp's share price fell by as much as 15.6 per cent to hit a low of S$6.58 on Friday. It eventually ended the day at S$6.72, down 13.9 per cent. At an earnings briefing on Friday, Sembcorp's chief financial officer Eugene Cheng flagged that the stronger Singapore dollar resulted in a S$23 million forex translation impact on earnings, which cannot be hedged against. Chief executive Wong Kim Yin further noted that the US tariffs – which kicked in on Friday – have created uncertainty and 'somewhat tempered customers' expansion plans'. 'For example, we are observing a more cautious stance from several multinational manufacturers in our industrial parks,' he said. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up That said, Cheng highlighted that Sembcorp has S$3.5 billion in 'on-demand liquidity that we can readily draw on to deploy for growth'. The sum comprises S$879 million in cash and S$2.6 billion in unutilised committed facilities as at end-June. Said Wong: 'With a strong balance sheet, strong cash flow and strong Singdollar, this is shopping season. I can't tell you a lot about what is being cooked, but there are opportunities out there, and we are very well-positioned to capture some of those.' The company also expects to maintain a 'sustainable' dividend payout despite the macro challenges. It declared an interim dividend of S$0.09 per share, up from S$0.06 per share in the year-ago period. Gas down, renewables up Sembcorp's flat H1 earnings came on the back of an 8 per cent fall in revenue to S$2.9 billion. The company saw lower generation spreads in Singapore, as well as the absence of contributions from the Phu My 3 power plant in Vietnam, which it transferred to the government. Turnover in the gas segment – Sembcorp's largest revenue driver – fell by 11.1 per cent to S$2.1 billion. Earnings stood at S$330 million, down from S$339 million a year earlier. The weakness in the gas business was partly offset by a 22.1 per cent rise in earnings from renewables, to S$138 million. This was driven by higher contributions from India, which had better wind resources. Sembcorp's gross installed renewables capacity rose to 13.8 gigawatts (GW) in H1, from 10 GW the year before. That said, the group's China renewable business was hit by lower tariffs and higher curtailment, where the amount of electricity generated had to be restricted. This is because China's rapid renewables expansion has outpaced demand growth, said Wong. Asked about the risk of asset impairment in China, he added that most of Sembcorp's assets are in provinces with better demand-supply dynamics, although 'one or two' are in the north-west region. Sembcorp is watching the situation 'very closely', Wong said, adding: 'To the extent it is prudent and necessary, we will be making the relevant adjustments and keep you informed.' Separately, the company's earnings in the integrated urban-solutions division rose 9.6 per cent to S$80 million. Growth was supported by higher land sales in Indonesia and improved earnings from the water business in China. Outlook Looking ahead, Sembcorp expects its H2 earnings from the gas business to remain 'resilient', despite lower spreads for contracts renewed since the second half of 2024. There could also be lower customer demand in the UK, with the closure of an ethylene cracker facility in Wilton, said Wong. Nevertheless he described Sembcorp's move to raise its stake in Senoko Energy as a positive for the gas business, while also complementing Sembcorp's renewable import projects. This is because Senoko's portfolio of power plants can mitigate the intermittency of imported green power, such as solar energy. 'However reliable, there will still be interruptions from time to time. We can cover the interruption with our own fleets of power plants; we don't need to go out there and beg for someone else to provide insurance or emergency cover for us,' said Wong. That said, the outlook for the renewables business is muted. Earnings in H2 are expected to be lower due to seasonality, as well as higher curtailment and lower tariffs in China, compared with last year. That said, Wong is optimistic that the broader transition towards renewable energy is 'still alive' – with countries requiring both baseload power and renewables. 'Renewables will not disappear,' he said, adding that it is a means of achieving energy independence without having to import power. The costs of renewables, including energy storage costs, are also declining rapidly. 'Even if you don't believe in green, it's still good to do. It will have its place in the energy mix,' he said. Sembcorp's interim dividend will be paid on Aug 26.
Business Times
43 minutes ago
- Business Times
Apac Realty's H1 net profit more than doubles to S$11.3 million on higher home sales
[SINGAPORE] Real estate services player Apac Realty's net profit more than doubled to S$11.3 million for its first half ended Jun 30, 2025. This was driven by 'robust activity' in the new private residential segment, which resulted in higher home sales, said the company in an earnings statement on Friday (Aug 8). Developers sold 5,566 private residential units – including executive condominiums – during the half-year period, compared to 2,484 units the year before. This resulted in new home sales revenue more than doubling to S$131.2 million, compared to S$57.9 million a year ago. Resale and rental revenue held steady, rising to S$206.7 million, from S$203.6 million the previous year. Total revenue for the period rose 28.8 per cent to S$341.5 million, from S$265.2 million in the year-ago period. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Earnings per share stood at 3.14 Singapore cents for the half-year period, up from 1.15 cents before. An interim dividend of 2.7 Singapore cents per share was declared for the half-year, up from 0.9 cent before. The dividend will be paid on Sep 5, after books closure on Aug 29. Apac Realty said the uptick in Singapore's private home market momentum is expected to sustain into the second half of 2025 and 2026, as the government is expected to sustain a 'high level' of private housing supply. Given this, the company is expected to maintain its 'positive trajectory' for the rest of the year and beyond, said chief executive officer Marcus Chu. 'Our strategic focus continues to centre on empowering our agents to effectively capture market opportunities and deliver long-term value to clients and shareholders.' Shares of Apac Realty closed S$0.01 or 1.6 per cent higher at S$0.635 on Friday.
Business Times
43 minutes ago
- Business Times
With global economy expected to ‘remain troubled', Singapore must do more than respond to headwinds: PM Wong
[SINGAPORE] The global economy is expected to remain troubled for some time, with businesses holding back on expansions and new investments, but Singapore must do more than respond to these immediate headwinds, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said on Friday (Aug 8) evening. In a televised National Day message that was pre-recorded at the Padang, he said Singapore must also look ahead to 'anticipate what is on the horizon, and prepare to ride the next wave of change'. He noted that other countries with more resources and larger populations are not standing still, which would make it harder for smaller states like Singapore to hold its own. This is why Singapore is refreshing its economic strategy to strengthen its competitiveness, deepen its capabilities and secure its future in a very different world. He noted that the Singapore Economic Resilience Taskforce – chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong – will continue to assess the risks, identify new opportunities and prepare our firms and workers for what lies ahead. 'To stay ahead, Singapore must remain exceptional – in our cohesion, in our resolve, in our performance,' said PM Wong. 'We must move faster, adapt quicker and innovate smarter.' BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up This means embracing new technologies like artificial intelligence and robotics and 'applying them meaningfully across our economy', he said, enabling the people, workers and businesses to make full use of these tools to sharpen Singapore's competitive edge. 'The pace of change will be rapid and not always comfortable. There will be disruption. Not everyone will find the transition easy,' he said. 'But no one will face these challenges alone. This government will walk this journey with you – just as we have done for 60 years now.' A changed world Singapore celebrates 60 years of independence on Saturday, having started out from a 'precarious' position as a small and vulnerable country that had to 'summon the resolve and will to survive as an independent nation', said PM Wong. 'At many points, history could have easily taken a darker turn. Yet against all odds, we made it,' the prime minister said. 'This is what makes SG60 so significant – not just that we endured, but that we prevailed and prospered when few believed we would even survive.' Yet, at 60 now, he pointed out that Singapore stands at another fork in the road. He reiterated that the world has changed and has in fact 'grown graver' than three months ago with new conflicts, deepened geopolitical tensions and hardening trade barriers. 'Difficult times lie ahead. But we are not going to throw up our hands in despair,' he said, adding that Singapore will overcome its new challenges. 'And we will do so in our own way. We will shape the future we want with our own actions.' Singapore spirit PM Wong pledged to expand opportunities for learning and skills upgrading, strengthen social safety nets and help every Singaporean who has faced setbacks to bounce back and press on. He said this was why he launched Forward Singapore, a feedback-gathering exercise that engaged 200,000 citizens over 16 months, shortly before he became prime minister last year. The idea is to refresh Singapore's social compact and give every Singaporean the support and confidence to travel the road ahead, he added. 'This is a shared effort, involving all in 'Team Singapore',' he said, adding that the government is partnering community groups, businesses, unions and many passionate individuals to shape solutions and put ideas into action. 'This ethos of mutual support and shared responsibility is crucial because Singapore's future must be built by all of us together – through our actions, our compassion, and our willingness to lift up one another,' he said. 'At the heart of this is the Singapore Spirit – our deep sense of solidarity and shared purpose.' This spirit that sustained Singapore over the past 60 years will be 'even more vital' in the years ahead, he added, as the pace of change quickens and the world becomes more uncertain. PM Wong wished all Singaporeans a happy national day.
