SG Morning Highlights | Singtel Partners with Hitachi to Enhance Data Centre Capabilities in Japan

Advancers / Decliners is 85 to 73, with 118.12 million securities worth S$92.18 million changing hands.

Singapore experienced a 23.7% downturn in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity, mirroring a slump across the Asia Pacific region, which saw a 9.9% overall decline. A GlobalData report indicates this is part of a broader trend of reduced deal-making. Significant year-on-year (YoY) drops occurred in China, Australia, South Korea, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Indonesia, while India, Japan, and Thailand recorded increases in M&A transactions. The Asia Pacific's single-digit decline contrasted with sharper falls in North America, Europe, and other regions during the first seven months of 2024. Despite the general downturn, Aurojyoti Bose of GlobalData notes some APAC markets showed resilience with increased deal volumes.

Over half of the companies in Singapore have not reported their Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions, which encompass indirect emissions from activities like supply chains, transportation, and product use. According to a KPMG report titled “Unlocking the Scope 3 opportunity,” which references data from the Pacific Basin Economic Council, 57% of Singaporean companies haven't included Scope 3 data in their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosures. However, this is likely to change with pending mandatory reporting requirements expected to emerge from Asian stock exchanges including those in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Singapore, and Japan.