SG Morning Highlights | Singapore Banks Post Robust Q1 Results, But NIMs Look to Have Peaked

Advancers / Decliners is 54 to 95, with 172.47 million securities worth S$157.17 million changing hands.

Construction of the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link has reached the halfway mark on the Singapore side, and the project remains on track to start operations by end-2026.

Transport Minister S Iswaran gave this update on Thursday (May 11) at a press conference with his Malaysian counterpart Anthony Loke after they visited an RTS Link construction site in Johor Bahru for the marine piers of a rail viaduct that will span the Strait of Johor.

Loke told reporters that work on Malaysia's side is 36 per cent complete.

THE trio of local banks continued to post robust results for the first quarter of 2023, but their net interest margins (NIMs) appear to be past their peak.

All three banks' chief executives said they will remain prudent ahead of rising credit quality risks.

The notes will be issued by OCBC, acting through its Sydney branch, and are expected to be repo eligible by the Reserve Bank of Australia.

The notes will bear interest at the three-month bank bill swap rate plus 0.78 per cent per annum, payable quarterly in arrears. They are expected to be rated "Aa1" by Moody's, "AA-" by S&P Global Ratings, and "AA-" by Fitch Ratings.

The palm oil producer's sales decreased 34.7 per cent to US$198.2 million, from US$303.5 million.

Against record-high palm oil prices in 2022, First Resources' average selling prices and profitability for Q1 moderated due to high base effect, it said on Friday (May 12).

This comes as the alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage industry in Thailand made a gradual recovery in the first half of this year due to the rise in domestic consumption by both locals and foreign visitors, amid a resurgence in economic activity, said the food and beverage company in a regulatory filing on Thursday (May 11).

Earnings per share for the quarter stood at 0.29 baht, up 3.6 per cent from 0.28 baht previously.

The fall in net profit was mainly due to a lower average selling price as commodity prices normalise, coupled with higher fertiliser prices, the Indonesian palm oil producer said in its financial results released on Friday (May 12).

Revenue for the quarter slid 8 per cent on the year to 3.6 trillion rupiah, from 3.9 trillion rupiah a year earlier, as contributions from the group's palm kernel business fell 58 per cent to 279 billion rupiah.