SG Morning Highlights | Singapore Bonds Outlook: Stable Rates and More Debt Issuance

Advancers / Decliners is 88 to 73, with 130.33 million securities worth S$127.2 million changing hands.

The move to restrict foreign buyers from purchasing land zoned as "commercial and residential" without government approval may result in a diversion of foreign investment to other asset classes, analysts said.

In an announcement late on Wednesday (Jul 19) night, the Ministry of Law and Singapore Land Authority said that developments on land zoned for "commercial and residential" use will now be deemed residential property and regulated as such under the Residential Property Act (RPA).

When it comes to fixed income assets, the first thing that comes to mind among the majority of investors would likely be Singapore treasury bills.

Last year, the popularity of Singapore T-bills rose alongside rising interest rates. The T-bills hit a peak cut-off yield of 4.4 per cent in late-2022 and have drawn a frenzied crowd of interest since then.

But coming into 2023, we started to see a divergence between the US federal funds rate and Singapore T-bill yields. Even as the Federal Reserve continued to increase the fed funds rate in the first half of 2023, yields on Singapore T-bills had inversely been gradually coming down.

Malaysia's exports plunged 14.1 per cent year on year (yoy) in June to RM124 billion (S$36 billion), dragged down by lower shipments of manufactured goods, the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) said on Thursday (Jul 20).

The double-digit decline in exports was steeper than May's 0.7 per cent contraction. The fall was also steeper than the earlier projection of 13.6 per cent by 13 economists in a recent Reuters poll.

This was the fourth straight month Malaysian exports had declined. Exports started shrinking in March, after growing 9.8 per cent in February.

Unitholders are set to vote on the two resolutions at an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) held on Aug 7. There will be no option for unitholders to participate virtually, the Reit manager said on Friday (Jul 20).

Sponsor ESR Group had earlier proposed the internalisation resolution be tabled as an extraordinary resolution instead of an ordinary one, as it effectively amounts to an amendment to the trust deed.

The fund – Yangzijiang Maritime Private Equity Fund #2 – has also entered into an agreement to co-charter for eight eco-medium-range chemical and product tankers for a period of less than a year for each vessel, the investment manager said in a bourse filing on Thursday (Jul 20).

The two tankers the fund has invested in are RT Star, for a subscribed investment amount of US$19.5 million, and OM Shanghai, for US$12.6 million.

In a profit guidance filing, compared to the profit the company recorded in the corresponding six-month period in FY2022, the expected loss in 2HFY2023 will also likely result in a lower profit for FY2023 compared to its FY2022 results.

This is mainly due to higher finance costs and lower revenue recognized from its property development projects of which revenue were largely recognised prior to FY2023 as the projects progressed.