SG Morning Highlights | DBS Bank Signs Loan Agreement for Blended-Finance Water Project in Indonesia

Singapore shares opened lower on Friday. The $FTSE Singapore Straits Time Index (.STI.SG)$ dropped 0.27 percent to 3313.65 as at 9:06 am.

$DBS (D05.SG)$: DBS Bank has signed a loan agreement, along with the Asian Development Bank, the International Finance Corporation, the Export-Import Bank of Korea, and Indonesian water purification company Karian Water Services, for an undisclosed sum of money under a blended-finance project that supplies fresh water to three cities in Indonesia. The water project aims to develop a regional supply system that would pipe fresh water to some two million residents in Jakarta, Tangerang and South Tangerang. The total project, estimated to cost IDR3.4tn ($243m), marks the first time a mix of public- and private-sector funds has been used in the country's water sector.

$Singtel (Z74.SG)$: Singtel has launched ST28, a new growth plan aimed at improving customer experience and ensuring sustained value for shareholders. Under the plan, Singtel Singapore and Optus will merge their consumer and enterprise units to foster synergies and innovation, enhance cost efficiency, and strengthen the competitiveness of both companies in a sector experiencing structural declines. Singtel and Optus will streamline product offerings and leverage AI to enhance customer experiences, reduce costs, and strengthen market leadership. Singtel also identified new growth engines and scaled in the ICT and data center spaces, with NCS and Nxera expanding into the region. Under ST28, Singtel will pursue smart capital management, collaborate with external capital partners, and pilot new revenue streams like GPU-as-a-Service and Paragon.

$Sabana Reit (M1GU.SG)$: Sabana Industrial REIT has postponed an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) requisitioned by unitholders led by Quarz Capital Asia. The EGM was scheduled for May 24, but has been postponed after an EGM abeyance application filed by ESR Group was heard in the Singapore High Court and the court ruled that the EGM shall not proceed. The manager of Sabana Industrial REIT said that a notice for the postponed meeting will be issued by June 6, 2024, unless the requisitionists withdraw their notice calling for the EGM. Further announcements concerning the postponed EGM will be made in due course.