Market Focus Daily: Wednesday, May 28, 2025
Weak demand, high yields for Japan's 40-year-bonds; US solar makers see tariff loophole for Asian competitors; Two in five businesses in Singapore expect economy to worsen in the year ahead.
Synopsis: Market Focus Daily is a closing bell roundup by The Business Times that looks at the day's market movements and news from Singapore and the region.
Written and hosted by: Emily Liu (emilyliu@sph.com.sg)
Produced and edited by: Chai Pei Chieh & Claressa Monteiro
Produced by: BT Podcasts, The Business Times, SPH Media
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Straits Times
8 hours ago
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S'pore's investment in Changi Airport Terminal 5 coming at the right time, says Iata chief
Expected to cost billions to build, T5 is designed to handle about 50 million passengers a year when it opens in the mid-2030s. PHOTO: CHANGI AIRPORT GROUP S'pore's investment in Changi Airport Terminal 5 coming at the right time, says Iata chief – Singapore is making the investment to construct Changi Airport Terminal 5 (T5) at the right time, as South-east Asia is set to be among the fastest growing aviation markets in the world, said the head of the global trade body for airlines. 'It's a very sensible development,' International Air Transport Association (Iata) director-general Willie Walsh told reporters on June 3, during a roundtable for Asian media at the association's annual meeting in New Delhi. 'It will be important to ensure that the capacity is available ahead of the demand, especially for an airport like Singapore, which prides itself in terms of the standard of service that it provides to airline customers and to airlines themselves,' Mr Walsh said. 'South-east Asia is the part of the world where we'll probably see the strongest growth, going forward,' he added, noting the rapid pace of growth in India and China as well. Expected to cost billions to build, T5 is designed to handle about 50 million passengers a year when it opens in the mid-2030s. This will allow Changi Airport to handle 140 million passengers yearly, up from 90 million today. Mr Walsh, an industry veteran who was chief executive of British Airways, said Iata supports the development of the new mega terminal in Singapore, noting that the association has been in close dialogue with the airport operator and the Government about it. He lamented the fact that many other airports around the world do not fully understand the needs of airlines, which leads to developments that are not appropriate or more expensive than needed. Responding to a question about taxation in India, he said airlines will always have an issue with airport charges. 'The view of airlines is we want efficient airport operations at a cost-effective price, and that means we want to see airports make sensible long-term investments that can be afforded by the industry,' Mr Walsh said. 'It clearly requires more dialogue between airlines and airports, and where we see airlines and airports working together, it's incredibly effective,' he added. Asked about Singapore's plans to consolidate the operations of national carrier Singapore Airlines and its budget arm Scoot at T5, and whether there is a need to ensure fairness for other carriers, Mr Walsh said this happens at any other major air hub. 'For a hub airport to be successful, it requires the hub airport infrastructure, but also the hub airline... If you've got the major hub operator, you've got to have facilities that work for them,' he added. Given the growth that is expected in the wider Asian region, Mr Walsh said there is also sufficient demand to support the emergence of new regional hubs, in addition to the existing ones. 'The critical issue is you have to have the network,' he said, in response to a question about Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport's aspirations to be a hub in East Asia. 'What you often get with these airports is you get a lot of services, but not necessarily connected,' Mr Walsh added. At an earlier press conference on June 3, Indigo chief executive Pieter Elbers pointed to increased connectivity between India and South-east Asia as a driver of new traffic and opportunities. He said India is functioning, to some extent, as a growth engine for South-east Asia, and Indigo, a low cost-carrier and India's largest airline, has added a lot of new flights to the region, to 'enormous response' from both markets. 'We see a lot of new traffic developing between India and South-east Asia – to Thailand to Malaysia to Singapore,' said Mr Elbers. 'So the growth in India is not only domestic growth, it is also regional growth.' Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Straits Times
9 hours ago
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Strong bidding for Lakeside Drive site amid uncertain economic outlook seen as vote of confidence
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Mr Lam, who was former head of research and consulting at Edmund Tie, pointed out that the Government took a similar approach in 2008 and 2009 during the global financial crisis. He added that during the pandemic, GLS sites were launched as scheduled in 2020, but the average tender period (from tender launch to tender close) was noticeably longer compared with that in the pre-pandemic years. This timeframe was about 4.5 months for GLS sites launched from 2020 to 2022, compared with 2.7 months from 2017 to 2019. 'The policy intent of the extended tender periods was to grant developers more leeway to assess market conditions,' Mr Lam said. Will the Government adopt similar measures with the GLS programme this time? Analysts believe an outright suspension of the GLS programme is unlikely because the authorities will likely have to continue to prime sites for new homes, due to the need to supply land to meet housing demand. 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Mr Loo, a former urban planning team lead at the Urban Redevelopment Authority, also said the tariff-related economic instability would affect 'project feasibility assumptions made by private residential developers, especially around potential sale prices, interest rates, and development costs'. He added that he believes the Government is likely 'actively considering a range of economic scenarios' and evaluating how they would impact household incomes, household formation and demand for housing across various price points across the public and private market. Whether that will lead to more state land being alloted for public housing and executive condominiums would bear watching. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Business Times
11 hours ago
- Business Times
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