Stocks to watch: CapitaLand Investment, Nio, Japfa, Stoneweg E-Reit, Grand Venture, Frencken
[SINGAPORE] The following companies saw new developments that may affect trading of their securities on Wednesday (Jun 4).
CapitaLand Investment (CLI) : The manger of CapitaLand Malaysia Trust (CLMT), a CLI subsidiary, on Tuesday proposed a placement of up to 435.4 million new units to raise gross cash proceeds of up to RM 250 million (S$75.8 million). The manager may place the proceeds in interest-bearing deposit accounts with licensed financial institutions, short-term money market deposits or other permissible investments allowed under the trust deed of CLMT. Units of CLMT ended on Tuesday 0.8 per cent or 0.005 ringgit lower at 0.635 ringgit, before the announcement.
Nio : The Chinese electric vehicle maker on Tuesday posted a net loss of US$949.6 million for its first quarter of 2025. This is a 31.1 per cent increase from the the year-ago period and a 3.4 per cent decrease from the previous quarter. Vehicle deliveries stood at 42,094 for Q1 2025, up 40.1 per cent on the year but down 42.1 per cent on the quarter. The counter ended on Tuesday 0.3 per cent or S$0.01 higher at US$3.53, before the announcement.
Japfa : The agri-food company will be delisted from the official list of the Singapore Exchange (SGX) with effect from Jun 6, 2025, 9 am, as the board has received confirmation that payment of the adjusted scheme consideration was made to each entitled scheme shareholder on Tuesday. This comes as shareholders approved the scheme resolution proposed by family members of the group's founder to take the business private. The counter ended on Tuesday unchanged at S$0.615, before the announcement.
Stoneweg European Real Estate Investment Trust (Stoneweg E-Reit) : The manager on Wednesday announced that the Reit will be converted into a stapled group. Each unit of Stoneweg E-Reit will be stapled to each unit in Stoneweg European Business Trust to form one stapled security in a stapled entity known as Stoneweg Europe Stapled Trust. The stapled securities will be traded on the SGX with effect from Jun 16, 2025, 9 am, as Stoneweg E-Reit units will cease to trade on the bourse from Jun 13, 2025, 5 pm. The counter ended on Tuesday 1.3 per cent or 0.02 euros higher 1.54 euros.
Grand Venture : The manufacturing-service provider on Tuesday posted a first-quarter net profit after tax of S$2.6 million for the three months ended Mar 31, up 27.7 per cent from S$2 million a year ago. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation grew as well, by 29 per cent to S$8.4 million, from S$6.5 million previously, said the company. Shares of GVT closed flat at S$0.925 on Tuesday, before the announcement.
Frencken : The semiconductor maker will invest S$63 million to build a new and larger five-storey manufacturing facility in Kaki Bukit. The new site will be built on a plot of land leased from Jurong Town Corporation to its subsidiary ETLA for a period of 33 years, from Aug 18, 2025, the group said on Tuesday. Shares of Frencken closed flat at S$1.14, before the announcement.
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Business Times
2 hours ago
- Business Times
Keppel DC Reit set to join STI from Jun 23
[SINGAPORE] Following the Straits Times Index's (STI) June quarterly review, Keppel DC Reit will be entering the index, replacing Jardine Cycle & Carriage , effective from Jun 23. This increases the total number of S-Reits in the index to eight. The eight S-Reits in the STI will be: CapitaLand Ascendas Reit , CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust , Frasers Centrepoint Trust , Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust , Mapletree Industrial Trust , Mapletree Logistics Trust , and Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust . Keppel DC Reit, with a market cap of S$4.9 billion, re-enters the STI after exiting in June 2023, and is expected to increase S-Reits' combined weight in the index to over 10 per cent. The Reit, Asia's first pure-play data centre Reit, listed in 2014 with eight data centres and S$1 billion in assets under management (AUM). Today, it owns 24 data centres across 10 countries, with an AUM of S$4.9 billion. Of this, 81.6 per cent is in Asia-Pacific (66.3 per cent in Singapore) and 18.4 per cent in Europe. Keppel DC Reit's Q1 2025 results showed a 59.4 per cent year-on-year increase in distributable income, with gross revenue and net property income (NPI) growing by 22.6 per cent and 24.1 per cent, respectively. Its distribution per unit rose by 14.2 per cent to 2.503 Singapore cents for the quarter. This was driven by acquisitions of Keppel DC Singapore 7 & 8, Tokyo Data Centre 1, and higher contributions from contract renewals and escalations in 2024. Portfolio rental reversion was 7 per cent, with no major renewals in 1Q 2025, and portfolio occupancy remained at 96.5 per cent as at Mar 31, 2025. Loh Hwee Long, chief executive officer of Keppel DC Reit Management, noted at the annual general meeting that the Reit saw overall valuation gains in 2024, especially from its Singapore colocation assets. Most European assets also recorded local currency gains despite some softness in smaller data centres, reinforcing the strength of its diversified, value-focused portfolio. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Tuesday, 12 pm Property Insights Get an exclusive analysis of real estate and property news in Singapore and beyond. Sign Up Sign Up The Reit has been actively acquiring assets. In 2024, it entered Japan as a new market with the acquisition of Tokyo Data Centre 1, and also completed the acquisition of two AI-ready hyperscale data centres in Singapore from its sponsor, Keppel, which marked its largest deal exceeding S$1 billion since listing. According to its annual report, the Reit's sponsor, Keppel, plans to expand its data centre portfolio to a total of 1.2 gigawatt in the near term, which could provide a pipeline of assets for Keppel DC Reit to potentially acquire. For its financial year 2024, the Reit recorded 15.5 per cent year-on-year decrease in total greenhouse gas emissions and has achieved the GRESB Green Star for a third consecutive year, with six of its assets in Singapore and Dublin maintaining green certifications. In trading this year, Keppel DC Reit has ranked among the top 20 stocks by trading turnover and among the top five most actively traded S-Reits. The STI reserve list, which consists of the five highest ranking non-constituents of the STI, will be (in alphabetical order): CapitaLand Ascott Trust , ComfortDelGro , Keppel Reit , NetLink NBN Trust , and Suntec Reit . The writer is a research analyst at SGX. For more research and information on Singapore's Reit sector, visit for the S-Reits & Property Trusts Chartbook.
Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Straits Times
Secret Russian intelligence document shows deep suspicion of China
In public, President Vladimir Putin of Russia says his country's growing friendship with China is unshakable – a strategic military and economic collaboration that has entered a golden era. But in the corridors of Lubyanka, the headquarters of Russia's domestic security agency, known as the FSB, a secretive intelligence unit refers to the Chinese as 'the enemy'. This unit, which has not previously been disclosed, has warned that China is a serious threat to Russian security. Its officers say that Beijing is increasingly trying to recruit Russian spies and get its hands on sensitive military technology, at times by luring disaffected Russian scientists. The intelligence officers say that China is spying on the Russian military's operations in Ukraine to learn about Western weapons and warfare. They fear that Chinese academics are laying the groundwork to make claims on Russian territory. And they have warned that Chinese intelligence agents are carrying out espionage in the Arctic using mining firms and university research centres as cover. The threats are laid out in an eight-page internal FSB planning document, obtained by The New York Times, that sets priorities for fending off Chinese espionage. The document is undated, raising the possibility that it is a draft, though it appears from context to have been written in late 2023 or early 2024. Ares Leaks, a cybercrime group, obtained the document but did not say how it did so. That makes definitive authentication impossible, but the Times shared the report with six Western intelligence agencies, all of which assessed it to be authentic. The document gives the most detailed behind-the-scenes view to date of Russian counterintelligence's thinking about China. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Moscow's new bond with Beijing has shifted the global balance of power. The rapidly expanding partnership is one of the most consequential, and opaque, relationships in modern geopolitics. Russia has survived years of Western financial sanctions following the invasion, proving wrong the many politicians and experts who predicted the collapse of the country's economy. That survival is in no small part due to China. China is the largest customer for Russian oil and provides essential computer chips, software and military components. When Western companies fled Russia, Chinese brands stepped in to replace them. The two countries say they want to collaborate in a vast number of areas, including making movies and building a base on the moon. Mr Putin and Mr Xi Jinping, China's leader, are doggedly pursuing what they call a partnership with 'no limits'. But the top-secret FSB memo shows there are, in fact, limits. 'You have the political leadership, and these guys are all for rapprochement with China,' said Mr Andrei Soldatov, an expert on Russia's intelligence services who lives in exile in Britain and who reviewed the document at the request of the Times. 'You have the intelligence and security services, and they are very suspicious.' Mr Putin's spokesperson, Mr Dmitry Peskov, declined to comment. The Chinese Foreign Ministry did not respond to requests for comment on the document. The Russian document describes a 'tense and dynamically developing' intelligence battle in the shadows between the two outwardly friendly nations. Three days before Mr Putin invaded Ukraine in 2022, the FSB approved a new counterintelligence programme called 'Entente-4', the document reveals. The code name, an apparent tongue-in-cheek reference to Moscow's growing friendship with Beijing, belied the initiative's real intent: to prevent Chinese spies from undermining Russian interests. The timing almost certainly was not accidental. Russia was diverting nearly all of its military and spy resources to Ukraine, more than 6,500km from its border with China, and most likely worried that Beijing could try to capitalise on this distraction. Since then, according to the document, the FSB observed China doing just that. Chinese intelligence agents stepped up efforts to recruit Russian officials, experts, journalists and businesspeople close to power in Moscow, the document says. To counter this, the FSB instructed its officers to intercept the 'threat' and 'prevent the transfer of important strategic information to the Chinese'. Officers were ordered to conduct in-person meetings with Russian citizens who work closely with China and warn them that Beijing was trying to take advantage of Russia and obtain advanced scientific research, according to the document. The FSB ordered 'the constant accumulation of information about users' on Chinese messaging app WeChat. That included hacking phones of espionage targets and analysing the data in a special software tool held by a unit of the FSB, the document says. The possible long-term alignment of two authoritarian governments, with a combined population of nearly 1.6 billion people and armed with some 6,000 nuclear warheads, has stoked deep concern in Washington. Some members of the Trump administration believe that, through outreach to Mr Putin, Washington can begin to peel Russia away from China and avoid what Secretary of State Marco Rubio has called 'two nuclear powers aligned against the United States'. 'I'm going to have to un-unite them, and I think I can do that, too,' President Donald Trump said shortly before his election in November. 'I have to un-unite them.' Read one way, the FSB document lends credence to the theory that, with the right approach, Russia can be cleaved away from China. The document describes mistrust and suspicion on both sides of the relationship. China is conducting polygraphs on its agents as soon as they return home, tightening scrutiny of the 20,000 Russian students in China and trying to recruit Russians with Chinese spouses as potential spies, the document says. But another reading of the document leads to the opposite conclusion. The fact that Mr Putin is apparently well aware of the risks of a closer relationship with China and has decided to push ahead anyway could suggest little opportunity for the United States to get Russia to change course. 'Putin believes that he can go much deeper into this Chinese embrace, and it's not risk-free, but it is worth it,' said Mr Alexander Gabuev, the director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Centre, who reviewed the document at the request of the Times. 'But we also see there are people within the system who are sceptical of that approach.' Mr Putin has courted Mr Xi for years, in more than 40 personal meetings, and has cemented a far deeper partnership with China since invading Ukraine. The two countries have a natural economic synergy, with Russia being one of the world's largest energy producers and China the world's largest energy consumer. That poses a delicate challenge for Russian counterintelligence agents. The document shows them trying to contain the risks posed by Chinese intelligence without causing 'negative consequences for bilateral relations'. Officers were warned to avoid any public 'mention of the Chinese intelligence services as a potential enemy'. Most likely written for circulation to FSB field offices, the directive offers a rare glimpse into the inner world of one of the most powerful parts of the Russian intelligence establishment: the FSB's Department for Counterintelligence Operations, known as the DKRO. The document was written by the DKRO's 7th Service, which is responsible for countering espionage from China and other parts of Asia. Anxiety about Russia's susceptibility to an increasingly powerful Beijing dominates the memo. But it is unclear how common those worries are across the Russian establishment, beyond the counterintelligence unit. Even allied nations regularly spy on one another. 'To go back to the old adage, there is no such thing as friendly intel services,' said Mr Paul Kolbe, a senior fellow at Harvard's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, who served for 25 years in the CIA Directorate of Operations, including in Russia. 'You don't have to scratch very deep in any Russian military or intel official to get deep suspicion of China. In the long run, China is, in spite of the unlimited partnership and how useful they are, also a potential threat.' China targets Russia's war secrets and scientists Soon after Russian troops pushed across the border into Ukraine, officials from Chinese defence firms and institutes tied to Chinese intelligence began flooding into Russia. Their goal, according to the FSB document, was to better understand the war. China has world-class scientists, but its military has not fought a war since a month-long conflict with Vietnam in 1979. The result is anxiety in China about how its military would perform against Western weapons in a conflict over Taiwan or the South China Sea. Chinese intelligence officials are eager to understand Russia's fight against an army backed by the West. 'Of particular interest to Beijing is information about combat methods using drones, modernisation of their software and methods for countering new types of Western weapons,' the FSB document says, adding that Beijing believes the war in Ukraine will become drawn-out. The conflict has revolutionised warfare technology and tactics. China has long lagged behind Russia in its aviation expertise, and the document says that Beijing has made that a priority target. China is targeting military pilots and researchers in aerohydrodynamics, control systems and aeroelasticity. Also being sought out, according to the document, are Russian specialists who worked on the discontinued ekranoplan, a hovercraft-type warship first deployed by the Soviet Union. 'Priority recruitment is given to former employees of aircraft factories and research institutes, as well as current employees who are dissatisfied with the closure of the ekranoplan development programme by the Russian Ministry of Defense or who are experiencing financial difficulties,' the report says. It is not clear from the document whether those recruitment efforts are limited to hiring Russian specialists for Chinese ventures or also extend to recruiting them as spies. The document also shows that Russia is very concerned about how China views the war in Ukraine and is trying to feed Beijing's spies with positive information about Russian operations. And it commands Russian counterintelligence operatives to prepare a report for the Kremlin about any possible changes in Beijing's policy. Western leaders have accused China of providing Russia with essential weapons components and working to conceal it. The FSB document lends support to that claim, stating that Beijing had proposed establishing supply chains to Moscow that circumvent Western sanctions and had offered to participate in the production of drones and other unspecified high-tech military equipment. The document does not say whether those proposals were carried out, though China has supplied Russia with drones. The FSB memo also hints at Chinese interest in the Wagner mercenary group, a Russia-backed paramilitary group that propped up governments in Africa for years and fought alongside Russian troops in Ukraine. 'The Chinese plan to use the experience of Wagner fighters in their own armed forces and private military companies operating in the countries of South-east Asia, Africa and Latin America,' the directive says. The wording of the report does not indicate whether the FSB believes that China wants to recruit former Wagner fighters for its own formations or simply wants to learn from their experience. Moscow worries Beijing is trying to encroach on its territory Russia has long feared encroachment by China along their shared 4,200km border. And Chinese nationalists for years have taken issue with 19th-century treaties in which Russia annexed large portions of land, including modern-day Vladivostok. That issue is now of key concern, with Russia weakened by the war and economic sanctions and less able than ever to push back against Beijing. The FSB report raises concerns that some academics in China have been promoting territorial claims against Russia. China is searching for traces of 'ancient Chinese peoples' in the Russian Far East, possibly to influence local opinion that is favourable to Chinese claims, the document says. In 2023, China published an official map that included historical Chinese names for cities and areas within Russia. The FSB ordered officers to expose such 'revanchist' activities, as well as attempts by China to use Russian scientists and archival funds for research aimed at attaching a historical affiliation to borderlands. 'Conduct preventative work with respect to Russian citizens involved in the said activities,' the memo orders. 'Restrict entry into our country for foreigners as a measure of influence.' China is unnerving Russia in Central Asia and the Arctic The concerns about China expanding its reach are not limited to Russia's Far East borderlands. Central Asian countries answered to Moscow during the Soviet era. Today, the FSB reports, Beijing has developed a 'new strategy' to promote Chinese soft power in the region. China began rolling out that strategy in Uzbekistan, according to the document. The details of the strategy are not included in the document other than to say it involves humanitarian exchange. Uzbekistan and neighbouring countries are important to Mr Putin, who sees restoring the Soviet sphere of influence as part of his legacy. The report also highlights China's interest in Russia's vast territory in the Arctic and the Northern Sea Route, which hugs Russia's northern coast. Historically, those waters have been too icy for reliable shipping, but they are expected become increasingly busy because of climate change. The route slashes shipping time between Asia and Europe. Developing that route would make it easier for China to sell its goods. Russia historically tried to maintain strict control over Chinese activity in the Arctic. But Beijing believes that Western sanctions will force Russia to turn to China to maintain its 'aging Arctic infrastructure', according to the FSB document. Already, Russian gas giant Novatek has relied on China to salvage its Arctic liquefied natural gas project, after previously using the American oil services firm Baker Hughes. The FSB asserts that Chinese spies are active in the Arctic, as well. The report says Chinese intelligence is trying to obtain information about Russia's development of the Arctic, using institutions of higher education and mining companies in particular. But despite all of these vulnerabilities, the FSB report makes clear that jeopardising the support of China would be worse. The document squarely warns officers that they must receive approval from the highest echelons of the Russian security establishment before taking any sensitive action at all. NYTIMES Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
17 hours ago
- Straits Times
China says it may speed up rare earths application approvals from EU
A mining machine is seen at a mine containing rare earth minerals in Inner Mongolia, China. PHOTO: REUTERS China says it may speed up rare earths application approvals from EU SHANGHAI – China is willing to accelerate the examination and approval of rare earth exports to European Union firms and will also deliver a verdict on its trade investigation of EU brandy imports by July 5, its Commerce Ministry said on June 7. Price commitment consultations between China and the EU on Chinese-made electric vehicles exported to the EU have also entered a final stage, but efforts from both sides are still needed, according to a statement on the ministry's website. The issues were discussed between Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic in Paris on June 3, according to the statement. The comments mark progress on matters that have vexed China's relationship with the EU over the past year. Most recently, China's decision in April to suspend exports of a wide range of rare earths and related magnets has upended the supply chains central to automakers, aerospace manufacturers, semiconductor companies and military contractors around the world. The Commerce Ministry said China attached great importance to the EU's concerns and 'was willing to establish a green channel for qualified applications to speed up the approval process'. Mr Wang during the meeting 'expressed the hope that the EU will meet us halfway and take effective measures to facilitate, safeguard and promote compliant trade in high-tech products to China', according to the statement. Chinese anti-dumping measures that applied duties of up to 39 per cent on imports of European brandy – with French cognac bearing the brunt – have also strained relations between Paris and Beijing. The brandy duties were enforced days after the EU took action against Chinese-made electric vehicle imports to shield its local industry, prompting France's President Emmanuel Macron to accuse Beijing of 'pure retaliation'. The Chinese duties have dented sales of brands, including LVMH's Hennessy, Pernod Ricard's Martell and Remy Cointreau. Beijing was initially meant to make a final decision on the brandy duties by January, but extended the deadline to April and then again to July 5. China's Commerce Ministry said on June 7 French companies and relevant associations have proactively submitted applications on price commitments for brandy to China, and that Chinese investigators have reached an agreement with them on the core terms. The Chinese authorities were now reviewing the complete text on those commitments and would issue a final announcement before July 5, it said. In April, the European Commission said the EU and China also agreed to look into setting minimum prices of Chinese-made electric vehicles instead of tariffs imposed by the EU last year. China's Commerce Ministry said the EU also proposed exploring 'new technical paths' relating to EVs, which the Chinese side was now evaluating. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
