SG Morning Highlights: Singapore GDP beats expectations to grow 4.4% in Q3: flash estimates

Advancers / Decliners is 136 to 29, with 113.84 million securities worth S$72.07 million changing hands.

Singapore's economy beat expectations and grew 4.4 per cent year-on-year in the third quarter, according to advanced estimates from the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) released on Friday morning (Oct 14).

Q3's growth was a notch lower than the 4.5 per cent expansion recorded in the second quarter, which was revised from the previous figure of 4.4 per cent.

On a seasonally adjusted quarter-on-quarter basis, the economy expanded 1.5 per cent, reversing the 0.2 per cent decline in Q2.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on Friday morning (Oct 14) announced it would “re-centre the mid-point” of the Singapore dollar nominal effective exchange rate (S$NEER) to its prevailing level, with no changes to the slope and width of the band.

"This policy shift, building on past tightening moves, will further reduce imported inflation and help curb domestic cost pressure," said the MAS in its latest monetary policy statement, which is typically published twice a year in April and October.

"The policy stance will help dampen inflation in the near term and ensure medium-term price stability, providing the basis for sustainable economic growth," it added.

Institutional investors in the Asia-Pacific are still lagging behind their European and American counterparts in their conviction to raise their environmental, social and governance (ESG) allocations, a recent survey by PwC has found.

The study uncovered that 65 per cent of institutional investors in the region plan on increasing their ESG-related assets under management (AUM) in the next two years, while 83.6 per cent of these investors in Europe and 81 per cent of those in the United States plan on doing so.

Asset managers in the Asia-Pacific are, however, more ready, with 80 per cent planning to increase their ESG AGM, on a par with US asset managers. Asset managers in Europe are ahead, with 89.6 per cent making such plans.

"Apple Card users will be able to open the new high-yield savings account and have their daily cash automatically deposited into it - with no fees, no minimum deposits and no minimum balance requirements," Apple said in a statement on Thursday (Oct 13). Daily cash refers to the rewards that card users generate through their purchases.

The move builds on the existing credit-card partnership between the two companies. The Wall Street titan has pushed in recent years to expand its offerings for consumers, though the effort has been dogged by cost overruns and missed profitability goals. For Apple, Goldman remains a key partner even as the tech company works to shift more of its financial-services offerings in-house.

"The discussions seek to deepen the existing partnership between SIA and Tata, and may include a potential integration of Vistara and Air India," the company said in a bourse filing on Thursday (Oct 13).

SIA currently holds a 49 per cent equity interest in Tata SIA Airlines which operates Vistara, an Indian full-service airline based in New Delhi. Tata holds the remaining 51 per cent stake.

In a bourse filing on Thursday (Oct 13), the mainboard-listed company says the net loss is mainly attributed to foreign exchange losses and fair value loss on its investment property in London.

The profit guidance is based on a preliminary assessment of unaudited consolidated management accounts of the group for the first half of its FY2023, which has not been reviewed by the audit and risk management committee of the company.

Still, Stamford Land said that the group expects to record a gain on the previously-announced disposal of two properties in Sydney and Auckland in its unaudited consolidated management accounts in the six months ended Mar 31, 2023.

In another bourse filing on Thursday, Temasek Holdings revealed that it had sold 629,500 shares through Fullerton Fund Management for S$1.9 million via market transaction. Its deemed interest declined from 40.02 per cent to 39.96 per cent of total number of voting shares.

Following the disposals, Temasek's deemed interest in Sats is 39.7 per cent held via Venezio; 0.03 per cent via SIA; 0.1 per cent via DBS; and 0.1 per cent via Fullerton.