SG Morning Highlights: MAS unveils S$400 million in grants for talent in finance, expects over 3,000 net jobs a year for industry

Advancers / Decliners is 44 to 66, with 58.09 million securities worth S$58.94 million changing hands.

The threat of a global recession is growing as central banks focus on bringing down soaring inflation rates, the World Bank warned on Thursday, calling on governments to help boost supply to ease the constraints behind rising prices.

Inflation worldwide has been rising at the fastest pace seen in decades, due to supply constraints amid high demand as countries emerged from the pandemic.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has unveiled a road map of growth strategies for the financial sector, with projections for over 3,000 net jobs being created per year and for the sector to grow faster than the broader economy.

The new Financial Services Industry Transformation Map (ITM) 2025, launched by Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Lawrence Wong on Thursday (Sep 15), sets out plans for Singapore to deepen capabilities and grow in areas such as sustainable and transition financing, private credit, philanthropy and the digital asset ecosystem.

MAS is also looking to foster a "skilled and adaptable workforce", and announced that S$400 million has been committed to fund grants in a Talent and Leaders in Finance programme.

Companies with strong pricing power will have much to gain from the inflationary environment as these players tend to have more stable profit margins when dealing with cost pressures.

Singapore and Indonesia are believed to be among the biggest winners in the region, as RHB in its report on Thursday (Sep 15) forecast 3.2 per cent and 5 per cent gross domestic product growth in 2022 and maintained its "overweight" call on both countries.

Inflation represents a time where consumers find their purchasing powers continuously eroded. This in turn compels people to be more selective with their spending by prioritising the essential goods and/or down-trading to lower-priced alternatives to stretch their dollar.

The issue, launched under a S$200 million multi-tranche unsecured commercial paper facility programme and to be listed on the ADDX Platform, offers an interest rate of 4.10 per cent per annum and matures 3 months from the date of its listing.

Sam Goi Seng Hui, Gilbert Ee Guan Hui and Juliette Lee Hwee Khoon were among the subscribers of the issue with their holdings of S$11.82 million amounting to 60.5 per cent of the issue.

A total of 20,157 rooftop solar panels spanning 5.2 hectares will be deployed and maintained by SP Group at the following AA Reit properties: 20 Gul Way, 27 Penjuru Lane, 30 Tuas West Road, 103 Defu Lane, 8 & 10 Pandan Crescent and 8 Tuas Avenue 20.

In a joint statement on Friday (Sep 16), AA Reit and SP Group said the combined solar PV system will have a total installed capacity of 10 megawatt-peak, making it one of the largest rooftop solar installations by any Singapore-listed real estate investment trust.

Flex by JLL is the enterprise-grade flexible space solution of real estate consultancy JLL.

In a press statement on Thursday (Sep 15), the Reit manager said Flex by JLL's initial commitment represents some 3.3 per cent of the building's net lettable area (NLA), with options to lease further office space in 2 phases to make up a total of 7.7 per cent of NLA by 2023.