SG Morning Highlights: Singapore key exports eases to 3.1% in September, dragged by slump in electronics

Advancers / Decliners is 46 to 97, with 51.41 million securities worth S$72.34 million changing hands.

After a week hosting the International Monetary Fund's (IMF's) annual gathering of economic leaders, managing director Kristalina Georgieva summed it up for the 190 member countries: "Buckle up, and keep going."

As the talks ended in Washington on Saturday (Oct 15), finance ministers and central bankers seeking to sustain the world economy's shaky recovery from the pandemic worried that Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues to destabilise Europe and stymie efforts to boost growth.

But the stalwarts of the post-World War II global order also took a scalding.

The growth of Singapore's key exports eased in September, dragged by a contraction in electronic shipments as well as declining deliveries to most of Republic's top 10 key markets, including China and Hong Kong, data from Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) showed on Monday.

Non-oil domestic exports (NODX) in September grew 3.1 per cent year on year, down from the 11.4 per cent expansion in the previous month, as shipments of non-electronic products expanded, while that for electronics shrank.

On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, NODX shrank 4 per cent in September, extending the previous month's 3.9 per cent decline, as both electronics and non-electronics exports contracted.

Whichever way one describes it, the relative resilience building up in emerging-market currencies over their advanced-nation peers has money managers sitting up and taking notice.

The dollar's rally to successive records has currencies across the world in a spiral of doom. But a closer look reveals the benchmark gauge for emerging-market exchange rates is posting only half the losses seen in developed countries. And uncharacteristically, this outperformance continues even as commodity prices - the mainstay of poorer nations - are tumbling.

This comes as Keppel O&M entered into an amended and restated framework deed with Borr Drilling and its subsidiaries, to make the delivery to Borr Drilling or any third party whom Borr Drilling intends to sell the rigs to between October 2022 and July 2023.

All three jackup rigs will also be sold without any seller's credit arrangement, after two of the three jackup rigs' seller's credit arrangements are cancelled.

This is up from its previous FY2022 revenue guidance of between S$750 million and S$800 million as part of its investor presentation for the half year ended Jun 30 this year.

It attributed the revised revenue guidance to increased demand from new and existing companies.

In its bourse filing on Oct 14, UG Healthcare said that the company will leverage on established strategic players through a joint venture consortium which intends to begin building active retirement homes in Malaysia.

These homes will be located 21 km south of Desaru Coast Ferry Terminal, a 90-minute ferry ride from Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal.

In its bourse filing, the company said it was selling its entire stake in the company for S$3.5 million to Mega Alam Perkasa, which is 90 per cent owned by Wiyansand Nurdin and 10 per cent owned by Johan Nurdin.

Wiyandsand Nurdin is a director of PTPG, and Johan Nurdin is its commissioner and also the majority shareholder of Sandico Synergy Resources (SSR), the company that holds the remaining 51 per cent of PTPG.

The company did not give a revised timeline for the application or the listing in the bourse filing.

Back in March, Japfa proposed a distribution-in-specie of its entire shareholding in AustAsia, a move that would result in eligible shareholders receiving AustAsia shares in proportion to their respective shareholdings in Japfa.