SG Morning Highlights | Divided world needs new ground rules so that global trade can continue apace: PM Lee

Advancers / Decliners is 122 to 47, with 229.71 million securities worth S$164.41 million changing hands.

Saudi Arabia and other Opec+ oil producers on Sunday (Apr 2) announced further oil output cuts of around 1.16 million barrels per day, in a surprise move that analysts said would cause an immediate rise in prices and the United States called inadvisable.

The pledges bring the total volume of cuts by Opec+, which groups the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries with Russia and other allies, to 3.66 million bpd according to Reuters calculations, equal to 3.7 per cent of global demand.

Sunday's development comes a day before a virtual meeting of an Opec+ ministerial panel, which includes Saudi Arabia and Russia, and which had been expected to stick to 2 million bpd of cuts already in place until the end of 2023.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has called for the setting of new ground rules so that global trade can continue without decoupling. This comes at a time when strategic competition between the United States and China is ratcheting up and countries are increasingly falling on one or the other side of the divide.

Going ahead, he said, the playing field will be much less flat, with barriers and gaps, "and then we may end up on one side of the gulf or on the other. And that’s just the way the world is going to be".

He said that he hopes there is still a way forward for countries to continue to work together within the World Trade Organisation framework, and "recognise the national security considerations and the need for assurance and secure supply chain resilience, and not to be overly dependent on any particular partner"."But at the same time, establish some ground rules," he said on Saturday (Apr 1).

Singapore and China will broaden cooperation and pursue new areas of collaboration, as they agreed on Friday (Mar 31) to upgrade their bilateral relationship. This followed a meeting between Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People again after four years.

Xi called the relationship "forward-looking, strategic and exemplary", and said it sets the benchmark and is a model for other countries in the region.

Beijing's invitation to PM Lee for a visit so soon after installing a new government earlier in March is a clear indication that China has always prioritised Singapore in its regional diplomacy, reflecting the special and close friendship between both countries, Xi added.

The agreement will commence on Apr 1. It has a term of two years, with the option for an extension of one additional year, SIAEC said in a bourse filing on Friday (Mar 31). If extended, the agreement is expected to yield a labour revenue of S$120.8 million over the three-year term.

The real estate investment manager said on Monday (Apr 3) that this deal marks Coref's entry into the multifamily sector.

The six assets comprise 428 premium one-bedroom apartments located close to the commercial districts of Umeda and Namba, and are within walking distance to the nearest respective subway stations.

The contract from HDB was jointly awarded to two companies last year. One of them was Digo Corporation, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alpina Holdings, as well as another company known as Terrenus Energy.

The two later set up a joint venture company, Novasix, in a 51:49 ownership and subcontracted the project to Alpina Energy.