SG Morning Highlights | OCBC Prices €500 Million Fixed-Rate Covered Bonds Due 2027

Singapore shares opened lower on Wednesday. The $FTSE Singapore Straits Time Index (.STI.SG)$ lost 0.07 percent to 3336.48 as at 9:04 am.

$OCBC Bank (O39.SG)$: OCBC has priced €500 million of fixed-rate covered bonds due 2027 under its US$10 billion global covered bond programme. The net proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes and the bonds, expected to be listed on the Singapore Exchange on June 12, will bear a fixed interest of 3.29% per annum, payable annually in arrears. The bonds are expected to be rated "AAA" by Moody's Investors Services and "AAA" by Fitch Ratings and will be guaranteed as to payments of interest and principal by Red Sail, which will secure the guarantee with a portfolio of assets purchased from OCBC.

$Seatrium Ltd (5E2.SG)$: Seatrium has been awarded a letter of intent by BP Exploration & Production for a deepwater new-build production unit in the US Gulf of Mexico. The offshore and marine specialist will carry out certain early engineering works on BP's Kaskida floating production unit project, pending a finalised definitive contract for engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning work. The engineering, procurement and construction contract award will be subject to mutually agreed terms and conditions, management approval, and the final investment decision by BP. The Kaskida project is a greenfield development located in the Keathley Canyon area of the Gulf of Mexico.

$Keppel (BN4.SG)$: Keppel Infrastructure Trust has acquired a 97.68% stake in Victoria-based Ventura Motors, with the remaining minority stake held by the company's Managing Director and CEO, Andrew Cornwall. Ventura Motors is the largest public bus services provider in Victoria, operating around 530 of Melbourne's 1,200 bus routes. The acquisition will see KIT's assets under management increase from $8.1 billion to $8.8 billion.

$CapLand Ascott Trust (HMN.SG)$: CapitaLand Ascott Trust has acquired the remaining 10% stake in Standard at Columbia, gaining full ownership of the freehold student accommodation property in South Carolina. The REIT funded the acquisition with proceeds from earlier divestments and expects an EBITDA yield of 7% on the total development cost, higher than the 6.2% EBITDA yield projected in 2021. Standard at Columbia is the largest university in South Carolina, with an occupancy rate of over 90%, and the pre-leasing occupancy rate for AY 2024-2025 has reached 99% by the end of May, showing a rental growth of around 4% compared to the previous academic year.

$Wilmar Intl (F34.SG)$: Wilmar International CEO Kuok Khoon Hong has acquired an additional 1,000,000 shares in the company, boosting his stake to 14.07%. The shares were acquired through four companies where he has deemed interest and were purchased at an average price of $3.090 per share. The total cost of the acquisition was $1 million, with each company acquiring $250,000 worth of shares.