Many economists continue to expect monetary policy tightening at the Monetary Authority of Singapore's (MAS) April meeting, after January's inflation data – released on Thursday (Feb 23) – came in higher than in December. But Barclays economist Brian Tan maintains that there is "little reason to tighten".
Headline inflation edged up to 6.6 per cent year on year in January, from 6.5 per cent in the previous month, due to higher accommodation inflation and core inflation.
Core inflation, which excludes accommodation and private transport, rose to 5.5 per cent year on year, from 5.1 per cent in December 2022. This was on the back of higher inflation for services, food and retail and other goods, along with the increase in the goods and services tax (GST) rate from 7 per cent to 8 per cent.
Workers were the focus of the second day of the Budget debate, as Members of Parliament suggested more support – for the unemployed, self-employed, and middle-income – or raised the need to get Singaporeans into certain trades and industries.
Nine labour MPs were among the 29 who spoke on Thursday (Feb 23). Patrick Tay, assistant secretary-general at the National Trades Union Council (NTUC), reiterated his call for short-term financial support for workers who have lost their jobs.
This would give them "the space to upgrade their skills and look for suitable employment, with the knowledge that they would be able to continue supporting their family's basic needs".
Singapore's inflation rose across the board in January, but came in slightly under economist estimates, data from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) showed on Thursday (Feb 23).
In the first month of 2023, headline inflation edged up to 6.6 per cent year on year, from 6.5 per cent in the previous month, due to higher accommodation inflation and core inflation, partially offset by easing private transport costs.
Core inflation, which excludes accommodation and private transport, rose to 5.5 per cent year on year, from 5.1 per cent in December 2022. This was driven by higher inflation for services, food and retail and other goods, along with the increase in the goods and services tax (GST) rate.
Stocks to Watch
$ST Engineering (S63.SG)$:ST Engineering'sprofits for the second half of the year ended Dec 31, 2022, eased 7.1 per cent to S$255 million from S$274.4 million, due to energy inflation, higher Transcore expenses and reduced government support, the group said on Friday (Feb 24).
Revenue in H2 was, however, 17.9 per cent higher at S$4.8 billion, from S$4 billion in the same period a year earlier.
Earnings per share for the full year fell to S$0.1718, from S$0.183 previously.
$OCBC Bank (O39.SG)$:OCBCreported net profit of S$1.3 billion for the fourth quarter ended December 2022, rising 34 per cent from S$973 million the previous year as net interest income hit a new quarterly high.
The bank's earnings for the quarter missed the S$1.6 billion average estimate based on four analysts polled by Bloomberg.
Net earnings for the full year grew 18 per cent to a record S$5.7 billion from S$4.9 billion for FY2021. This translates to an earnings per share of S$1.27 for FY2022, up 18 per cent from S$1.07 for FY2021.
$Haw Par (H02.SG)$: Mainboard-listedHaw Par Corporationreported a 24.5 per cent rise in net profit to S$71.1 million for the six months ended Dec 31, 2022, from S$57.1 million in the previous corresponding period.
Earnings per share improved to S$0.321 from S$0.258. Revenue in the period rose 14.9 per cent to S$86.6 million, from S$75.3 million.
The group, which engages in investments and leisure activities, among others, attributed the improved performance to an increase in consumer spending on health products as global economies recover from the pandemic.
$Riverstone (AP4.SG)$: Mainboard-listedRiverstone Holdingsreported a 62.1 per cent fall in net profit for the fourth quarter to RM42 million (S$12.7 million), from RM110.7 million in the year-ago period.
This translates to an earnings per share of 2.83 sen, from 7.47 sen in the previous year.
Revenue was down 42.7 per cent to RM235.2 million, compared to RM410.2 million in the corresponding quarter last year.
$HRnetGroup (CHZ.SG)$: Recruiting and consulting companyHRnetGroupposted an 11.4 per cent rise in net profit to S$32.9 million in the six months ended Dec 31, 2022, up from S$29.6 million the year before.
This was mainly due to lower employee benefit expenses, which fell 8.3 per cent to S$42.3 million during the second half (H2) of FY2022.
Earnings per share for the period stood at 3.30 Singapore cents per share, up from 2.95 cents per share in the same period of 2021.
Latest Share Buy Back Transactions
SG investors
Disclaimer: Moomoo Technologies Inc. is providing this content for information and educational use only.
Read more
🎙️Discussion: 1. How will tariff policies affect the movement of key assets such as U.S. stocks, gold, and Bitcoin? 2. Given this context, Show More
Moo Live
Jan 23 16:54
MicroStrategy Q4 2024 earnings conference call
Reassessing Chinese Assets
Following the introduction of China's groundbreaking DeepSeek technology, Wall Street giants have revised their investment outlooks for the Chinese market.