Stocks to watch: CapitaLand Ascendas Reit, Sats, Frasers Centrepoint Trust, First Sponsor, Stoneweg Reit, UOI, LMIRT
[SINGAPORE] The following companies saw new developments that may affect trading of their securities on Tuesday (Apr 29):
CapitaLand Ascendas Reit (Clar) : The Reit reported a growth in portfolio rental reversions of 11 per cent in the first quarter of 2025, despite occupancy dipping, in a bourse filing on Monday. All geographies across Clar's portfolio saw a fall in occupancy, with a 1.3 per cent quarter-on-quarter (qoq) decline in total portfolio occupancy. Australia saw the biggest decrease, falling 3.3 per cent qoq to 89.2 per cent. Units of Clar closed up 0.8 per cent or S$0.02 at S$2.68 on Monday.
Sats : Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) – a wholly owned subsidiary of inflight caterer and ground handler of Sats, has partnered the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and global investment manager Realterm to open a US$270 million cargo terminal at John F Kennedy International Airport in the US. This is the airport's first new cargo terminal in 30 years, and will help to reduce congestion and streamline operations, said the three entities in a joint press release on Monday. Units of Sats closed flat at S$2.81 on Monday, before the news.
Frasers Centrepoint Trust (FCT) : The manager of the trust on Tuesday posted a 0.5 per cent increase in distribution per unit (DPU) for the first half ended Mar 31 to S$0.0654, from S$0.0622 in the same period a year before. The DPU for H1 2025 will be paid on May 30. Distributions to unitholders for the period rose 4.9 per cent on the year to S$110.1 million, from S$104.9 million. Units of FCT closed unchanged on Monday at S$2.25.
First Sponsor : The company reported in a bourse filing on Monday that weak market sentiments in the first quarter of 2025 continued to have an impact on its property development business in China. This was despite the easing of property-related measures and the implementation of pro-market fiscal and monetary policies by the Chinese government in the second half of 2024. First Sponsor remains cautiously optimistic that further government support this year will contribute to a gradual market recovery. Shares of First Sponsor closed up 3.8 per cent or S$0.04 at S$1.09 on Monday, before the news.
Stoneweg European Real Estate Investment Trust (Stoneweg E-Reit) : The DPU of Stoneweg European Real Estate Investment Trust (SERT) declined 3.7 per cent to 3.374 euro cents for the first quarter ended Mar 31, from 3.505 euro cents in the year-ago period. This was despite a 2.4 per cent increase in net property income to 33.5 million euros (S$49.9 million), driven by higher rental income from assets and a reversal of bad-debt provisions. Gross revenue was up 0.5 per cent to 53.6 million euros in the first quarter, with 'stable leasing activity supporting income levels', said the manager in a statement on Monday. The counter closed 2.3 per cent or S$0.05 higher at S$2.21 on Monday.
United Overseas Insurance (UOI): Its profit before tax for Q1 FY2025 fell marginally by 3 per cent to S$7.8 million, from S$8 million in the previous corresponding period. The fall was attributed to a decrease in non-underwriting income but partly offset by stable underwriting results, said the general insurance arm of United Overseas Bank in a financial highlight released on Monday. The counter closed Monday unchanged at S$7.75 before the news.
Lippo Malls Indonesia Retail Trust (LMIRT) : The Indonesian mall property trust announced on Monday a 2.4 per cent decline in net property income to S$29.2 million for the first quarter ended Mar 31, from S$29.9 million a year prior. This came amid a 3.4 per cent depreciation of the rupiah to the Singapore dollar, said the trust's manager in a media release accompanying the results. In rupiah terms, net property income inched up by 1 per cent to 352.1 billion rupiah. This was mainly from a net reversal for an impairment loss on trade receivables, following a successful collection from a certain credit impaired tenant, it said. Units of the trust closed flat at S$0.013 on Monday, before the announcement.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Times
an hour ago
- Business Times
Singapore needs to embrace Bitcoin to maintain status as financial hub: Jeremy Tan
[SINGAPORE] Singapore needs to welcome Bitcoin-related businesses to maintain its status as a global financial hub, said retired businessman Jeremy Tan at an event on Wednesday (Jun 11). The 34-year-old rose to prominence last month during the general election as one of just two independent candidates, pulling in 36.16 per cent of the votes in Mountbatten SMC. He lost to the People's Action Party's Gho Sze Kee. During the nine-day campaign and on his election website, Tan promoted Bitcoin as an inflation-proof asset that Singaporeans should have. He also proposed several policies, including the creation of a Singapore dollar-denominated Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). At a fireside chat hosted by cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, Tan said that he believes Singapore will have an advantage in the global economy if the government creates Bitcoin-related laws. 'We need to recognise Bitcoin as a separate entity from other forms of cryptocurrencies,' he told an audience of some 200 people, mostly males in their late teens and early 20s. 'The difference between the previous Bitcoin cycle and the current Bitcoin cycle is that the bad actors are no longer in the market.' 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 He referred to former crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried as one of the se 'bad actors'. The American's crypto exchange, FTX, collapsed in 2022, and he is now serving a 25-year sentence for committing fraud; he stole US$8 billion from customers. Saad Ahmed, Asia-Pacific head at Gemini and the host of the fireside chat, pointed out the increasing institutionalisation of cryptocurrency. He said one of the key catalysts of this is the approval of Bitcoin ETFs. As at Thursday, the largest such ETF by market cap, iShares Bitcoin Trust, had a 16.57 per cent year-to-date return. Its market cap stands at US$72.6 billion. Tan said that companies trading Bitcoin earn from the cryptocurrency's volatility, adding that that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) should consider investing their reserves in Bitcoin. 'If we can change the way SMEs think about Bitcoin as a treasury, then we can change the way SMEs become more productive going forward.' He also said that there is a growing market for advisory services for SMEs which wish to invest in the cryptocurrency. 'There are many companies here that want to store (their treasury) in Bitcoin, but they do not know how to structure their business to do so,' he said. He added that unless the Singapore government starts to reform its Bitcoin laws, the advisory services industry will not be able to grow.
Business Times
an hour ago
- Business Times
Tencent said to study deal for US$15 billion game developer Nexon
[BEIJING] Tencent Holdings is studying a potential deal for Nexon, as the Chinese Internet giant looks for ways to bolster its lucrative gaming operations, people with knowledge of the matter said. Shenzhen-based Tencent has reached out to the family of Nexon's late founder Kim Jung-ju to discuss the possibility of an acquisition, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. Kim's family has been speaking to advisers and evaluating options, according to the people. Kim's relatives hold their stake through family investment firm NXC Corp, which – together with affiliated unit NXMH BV – owned 44.4 per cent of Nexon as of June 30, according to Nexon's interim report. Kim's wife and daughters own about 67.6 per cent of NXC. It's unclear how receptive NXC is to a sale of the Nexon holding, and there's no certainty Tencent's deliberations will lead to a transaction, the people said. The structure of any deal hasn't been finalised, they added. A representative for Tencent didn't respond to a request seeking comment, while Nexon and NXC declined to comment. The move comes as Tencent, which already pursued an acquisition of Nexon in 2019, makes fresh forays into other South Korean assets. A subsidiary agreed to buy a nearly 10 per cent stake in Seoul-based music producer SM Entertainment in late May, just as an unofficial ban on K-pop in mainland China wanes. 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 Known for role-playing games like MapleStory, Nexon was founded in South Korea in 1994 and listed in Japan in 2011, in one of the biggest tech-related initial public offerings at the time. Nexon shares have climbed more than 10 per cent in Tokyo trading this year, giving the company a market value of about $15 billion. Changes in the shareholding structure after Kim's death in 2022 could complicate any deal. Family members handed the Korean government a stake in the NXC holding company in 2023 to settle an inheritance tax bill. Kim's wife and two daughters inherited his stake in NXC after he died in Hawaii. The family also sold treasury shares in NXC back to the holding company for US$478 million in August. The Korean government has sought to sell its holding but failed to find a suitor, local media reported. Shares of rival game developers like Ubisoft Entertainment, GungHo Online Entertainment and Sega Sammy Holdings have declined this year. While Nexon shares are up in 2025, they're nearly 30 per cent off a peak in 2021. NXC explored a sale of its Nexon stake six years ago, attracting interest from Tencent as well as buyout firms such as KKR & Co. and Hillhouse. The sale process was eventually shelved because of a failure to agree on price, Bloomberg News reported at the time. Nexon and Tencent have already worked together, developing Dungeon & Fighter, a key revenue generator. In March, Tencent agreed to invest US$1.3 billion for a 25 per cent stake in a new Ubisoft unit that holds the rights to intellectual properties including Assassin's Creed. Nexon's first-quarter net sales totalled about 114 billion yen (S$1.01 billion), while net income was 26 billion yen. BLOOMBERG
Business Times
an hour ago
- Business Times
Ant unit to seek stablecoin permits in Hong Kong, Singapore: sources
[HONG KONG] Jack Ma-backed Ant Group's international unit is planning to apply for stablecoin licences in Singapore and Hong Kong, according to people familiar with the matter. Singapore-based Ant International will apply for the stablecoin issuer's licence in Hong Kong as soon as the city's Stablecoins Ordinance goes into effect in August, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. As well as Singapore, the company is also planning to seek a permit in Luxembourg, they added. The move is designed to bolster the fintech firm's blockchain operation underpinning its cross-border payment and treasury management services, the people said. Ant processed more than US$1 trillion of global transactions last year, a third of which were handled by its blockchain-based Whale platform, they said. Ant representatives did not respond to an emailed request for comment. A spokesperson for the Hong Kong Monetary Authority declined to comment. Regulators in Singapore and Luxembourg were not immediately able to comment. Since its record initial public offering was halted in 2020, Ant has been developing new initiatives to drive growth as its lucrative online lending business got handicapped by regulators in China. Overseas, the Ant International arm established an independent board, setting the stage for a spinoff and potential IPO. The unit generated nearly US$3 billion in revenue for 2024 and has produced two consecutive years of adjusted profit, Bloomberg reported in May. 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 Ant International could fetch an IPO valuation ranging from US$8 billion to US$24 billion if it were to list in Hong Kong, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. Increasingly, the unit's treasury business has shown growth potential due to the sheer amount of transactions it handles for the e-commerce platforms of its affiliate Alibaba Group Holding, as well as external clients. The treasury business, which is underpinned by the Whale platform, uses blockchain technology, including encryption and artificial intelligence, to improve the efficiency and transparency of fund transfers. The Whale platform currently supports multiple tokenized assets from banks and institutions around the world. It uses privacy computing technologies such as homomorphic encryption and enables multiparty verification. The company has signed collaboration agreements with more than 10 banks globally including HSBC Holdings, BNP Paribas, JPMorgan Chase and Standard Chartered. This week, it also formed a strategic partnership with Deutsche Bank to work on payment solutions and treasury management. Stablecoins are digital assets designed to hold a steady value, usually pegged to another currency. They are crucial to the functioning of crypto markets, with about US$243 billion of them in circulation in May. Regulators around the world are trying to put rules around the sector, fearing the risk of stablecoin crashes and the potential for massive money laundering. US lawmakers are working on legislation to regulate stablecoin companies. As crypto adoption has grown, many companies have slowly made their way into the space, including financial and technology heavyweights. A high-profile attempt by Facebook and Instagram owner Meta Platforms to launch a stablecoin in 2019 later unravelled after a backlash. The rollout in 2023 of a stablecoin from PayPal Holdings marked the first effort from a big financial company. There are also tokens that can act like stablecoins for use as collateral during trading, like tokenized money market funds. Asset managers including BlackRock and Franklin Templeton have created these kinds of products in recent years. BLOOMBERG
