SG Morning Highlights | Singapore GDP Grew 0.4% in Q1
Good morning mooers! Here are things you need to know about today's Singapore:
●Singapore shares opened lower on Thursday; STI down 0.33%
●Government to spend S$3.3 billion on infocomms technology in 2023
●Stocks to watch: Singtel, Meta Health
●Latest share buy back transactions
-moomoo News SG
Market Trend
Singapore shares opened lower on Thursday. The $FTSE Singapore Straits Time Index (.STI.SG)$ lost 0.33 per cent to 3,203.48 as at 9.16 am.
Advancers / Decliners is 97 to 94, with 149.23 million securities worth S$126.76 million changing hands.
Breaking News
More than 100,000 personal computers and printers across Singapore's public service are expected to be replaced in 2023, as part of the Government's spending on info-communications technology (ICT) this year.
About S$400 million will be spent on such devices, which are replaced about every three years, the Government Technology Agency of Singapore (GovTech) said on Wednesday (May 24).
The replacement of PCs and printers – which requires suppliers to meet certain environmental and energy standards, including packaging and materials reuse – is one of three key bulk tenders being called this year.
Singapore's external demand outlook for the rest of the year has weakened, with "growth likely to come in at around the mid-point" of the official forecast range of 0.5 to 2.5 per cent year on year, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said on Thursday (May 25).
This comes even as gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the first quarter, at 0.4 per cent year on year, turned out to be a notch higher than advance estimates of 0.1 per cent, MTI's data showed. But it is still lower than the 2.1 per cent year-on-year expansion seen in Q4.
On a seasonally adjusted quarterly basis, the economy contracted 0.4 per cent, reversing from the 0.1 per cent growth in Q4. This was better than the 0.7 per cent contraction in the advance estimate.
Singapore has slashed its 2023 full-year forecasts for both non-oil domestic exports (NODX) and total merchandise trade amid weak external demand and lower oil prices.
NODX is expected to contract by -10 to -8 per cent year on year in 2023, down from the earlier forecast of -2 to 0 per cent previously, Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) said in its quarterly review of trade performance on Thursday (May 25).
Total merchandise trade is now projected to shrink by -8 to -6 per cent, from the previous forecast of -2 to 0 per cent.
Stocks to Watch
$Singtel (Z74.SG)$: Singtel has reported full year FY2023 earnings of $2.23 billion, up 14% from the preceding year ended March 22. The company attributes the better showing to all-round growth of its businesses ranging from 5G mobile services, roaming revenue as well as stronger ICT contribution too.
Excluding unfavourable currency movements plus the absence of revenue from NBN migration and digital marketing unit Amobee which has been sold, operating revenue rose 5% to $14.62 billion from mobile and ICT services growth.
EBITDA and EBIT also increased 3% and 8% respectively, thanks to better margins with costs held down.
$Meta Health (5DX.SG)$: Meta Health 5DX 0.00% had commenced legal proceedings in the High Court of Singapore on May 24 against Dr Vas Metupalle, the former chief medical officer of the company's wholly-owned subsidiary 5Digital.
On April 11, the company had lodged a police report in respect of alleged irregularities relating to certain sale transactions involving its wholly-owned subsidiary Gainhealth.
The company provided the relevant investigating officer of the Singapore Police Force (SPF) with additional information and related materials arising from its internal investigations on May 24.
Latest Share Buy Back Transactions
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