Agri-business giant Wilmar is facing the challenges of softer soybean and sugar prices, as well as a slowdown in consumer demand as the economy in China – which accounts for about half of its revenue – remains lacklustre.
For the first nine months of FY2024, its core net profit fell 9.6 per cent year on year to US$814.4 million, as revenue dipped 3 per cent to US$48.7 billion. However, Wilmar’s vertically integrated business model – which includes plantations, feed and food products – is poised to provide operational synergies that could potentially improve margins in the coming year.
Meanwhile, analysts believe that rising crude palm oil prices – up more than 25 per cent in the year up to Dec 26 – has yet to be reflected in Wilmar’s share price.
Investors should pay attention to key factors– Trump’s trade policies and the impact of China’s stimulus – which would set the tone for Wilmar’s China business.
Wilmar International
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DBS
City Developments Ltd
Keppel
Genting Singapore
Mapletree Logistics Trust
Nio
Sheng Siong Group
Singapore Exchange
Singapore Post
Wilmar International
Story 1 - This blue-chip Straits Times Index (STI) component benefits from a post-pandemic recovery in aerospace demand and increased defence spending amid geopolitical tensions. The group made key investments, including a US$2.7 billion acquisition of TransCore, a tolling company.
A reorganisation of its satellite communications business aims to tap new opportunities. ST Engineering secured S$11.7 billion in contracts during the first nine months of 2023, with over half from defence and public security. Its order book stood at S$27.5 billion as of Sept 30, signalling strong growth prospects.4
SOURCE: BLOOMBERG
Story 2 - This blue-chip Straits Times Index (STI) component benefits from a post-pandemic recovery in aerospace demand and increased defence spending amid geopolitical tensions. The group made key investments, including a US$2.7 billion acquisition of TransCore, a tolling company.
A reorganisation of its satellite communications business aims to tap new opportunities. ST Engineering secured S$11.7 billion in contracts during the first nine months of 2023, with over half from defence and public security. Its order book stood at S$27.5 billion as of Sept 30, signalling strong growth prospects.4
SOURCE: BLOOMBERG
Company 1
Company 3
City Developments Ltd (CDL) has been among the worst-performing components of the Straits Times Index over the past one, five and 10 years.
As at Dec 26, its shares traded at a 49 per cent discount to its reported net asset value of S$10.12 per share; and at a 74 per cent discount to its revalued net asset value of S$19.49 per share.
What has been dogging its stock? A long-term decline in profitability at its property development business, and a hefty debt load. CDL ended the first half of its 2024 fiscal year with a net gearing of 116 per cent.
CDL’s value-unlocking instincts are evident, though. Early this year, it said it would sell S$1 billion of assets, and launched a share buyback programme.
As interest rates ease in the months ahead, CDL may have the opportunity to accelerate its asset sales and pare its debt – and boost the market value of its shares in the process.
DBS in 2024 announced a share buyback programme that would see Singapore’s largest bank purchasing S$3 billion worth of its shares from the open market and cancelling them.
DBS said that it expects this will result in a “permanent lift” to earnings per share, and a higher return on equity.
The programme is part of DBS’ set of initiatives to manage its capital. Over the years, the bank has implemented step-up dividends, given special dividends and issued bonus shares.
Chief executive Piyush Gupta expects the lender to still have around S$3 billion to S$5 billion in capital to return after the buyback, leaving room for further capital returns to shareholders.
Deputy CEO and CEO-designate Tan Su Shan also affirmed that DBS will continue to pay out more to shareholders the more it earns – which is good news, as the lender expects upsides to its income under Trump’s second presidential term in the US.
City Developments Ltd
DBS
DBS
City Developments Ltd
Keppel
Genting Singapore
Mapletree Logistics Trust
Nio
Sheng Siong Group
Singapore Exchange
Singapore Post
Wilmar International
Singapore Post
Singapore Exchange
Sheng Siong Group
Nio
Mapletree Logistics Trust
Genting Singapore
Keppel
Singapore Post (SingPost) announced on Dec 22 that it had fired three senior management executives – including group chief executive Vincent Phang – for being “grossly negligent” in the handling of internal investigations over a whistleblower’s report.
This came just weeks after the group on Dec 2 proposed the divestment of its Australian logistics business, Freight Management Holdings, at an enterprise value of A$1 billion (S$856.4 million), which could see SingPost pocket about S$312.1 million in one-off gains.
This raises the question of what the national postal service provider will do post-divestment to replace the significant contribution from the sold business, which contributed to about 60 per cent of its operating profit in H1 FY2025 ended September.
With the divestment of this core asset and several non-core ones, as well as the loss of its key management, could a delisting of SingPost be next on the cards?
The bourse has posted stronger financial performance in 2024, as falling bond yields and greater investor risk appetite in the equities markets drive an increase in securities turnover volume and value.
However, the Singapore Exchange (SGX) continues to face challenges in encouraging more listings and attracting greater retail interest. The bourse logged just four new listings on the Catalist board – with no mainboard listings – to raise a total of S$45.9 million this year.
All eyes will be on the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s stock-market review group, chaired by Second Finance Minister Chee Hong Tat, who has said that the group is ready to “make changes and try new ideas” after taking “calculated risks”.
It remains to be seen if these changes will be bold enough to jump-start the virtuous circle of equity outperformance seen in other markets, such as Japan and India.
Mainboard-listed Sheng Siong Group has posted strong results, quarter after quarter, on the back of same-store sales growth and new outlets. As Build-To-Order housing estates mature, the grocery retailer will likely be able to increase its presence in several neighbourhoods, which augurs well for its local expansion plans.
Sheng Siong is currently the third-largest grocery player in Singapore by market share. And analysts observed that it appears to be gaining ground on the leaders, given its sustained improvement in sales.
Its third-quarter revenue growth of 5 per cent “is well above” Singapore’s supermarket and hypermarket retail sales’ year-on-year growth of 2 per cent across July and August, noted UOB Kay Hian.
That said, Sheng Siong’s push into China should be monitored closely, as store-opening expenses will eat into profits. The retailer has at least six stores in China, as at August 2024.
The Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer continues to operate at a loss, like many of its EV peers. For the quarter ended September, it reported a net loss of 5.1 billion yuan (S$943 million), widening from a 4.6 billion yuan loss in the year-ago period.
Despite its financial challenges, Nio's vehicle deliveries have shown notable growth. It has delivered 190,832 vehicles this year up to end-November, up 34.4 per cent from 142,026 vehicles in the corresponding 11-month period in 2023.
In November 2024 – which marks Nio’s 10th anniversary – cumulative deliveries of its vehicles hit 640,426 units.
Looking ahead, the company said that it aims to improve its margins through cost-optimisation strategies.
However, it remains to be seen whether Nio can emerge as a serious challenger to industry giants such as Tesla and BYD, especially in a market that is becoming increasingly competitive.
Mapletree Logistics Trust’s (MLT) performance has been hit hard by China’s slowing economy. Distribution per unit of the logistics real estate investment trust – which has a significant footprint in China and Hong Kong – has fallen on the back of higher borrowing costs and lower revenue contributions from China.
Looking ahead, the Trump administration in the United States could pose further challenges to MLT next year. In particular, further tariffs on China and a slower pace of interest-rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve would slow MLT’s recovery.
Nevertheless, the logistics trust is taking active measures to rejig its portfolio, with a plan to divest about S$1 billion worth of its assets – of which about half will be from China and Hong Kong.
An upcoming economic stimulus package by the Chinese government could also help to shore up the country’s property market, and help MLT’s performance.
The integrated resorts operator is rolling the dice going into 2025 as it attempts to draw tourists back to Resorts World Sentosa (RWS).
Genting Singapore, in mid-November, broke ground for its “RWS 2.0” expansion plan – a S$6.8 billion waterfront development that will include hotels, more retail and dining offerings, and an 88-metre-tall light sculpture that looks to be the centrepiece.
This comes as Singapore authorities renewed RWS’ casino licence for two years – notably shorter than the standard three-year term typically granted – after an evaluation panel deemed RWS’ tourism performance from 2021 to 2023 as “unsatisfactory”.
Some analysts are expecting Genting Singapore’s luck to improve next year, on the back of the fresh attractions and improved profitability as its “win rate” normalises.
But, amid the slow recovery of international visitor arrivals to the Republic, increased competition, and falling revenue from its gaming business, will Genting Singapore’s major expansion plans be enough?
Keppel is undergoing a strategic transformation from a conglomerate to an asset manager and operator, with fingers in hot sectors such as data centres and energy.
The asset manager boasts a deal-flow pipeline of S$25 billion, of which half is in infrastructure and connectivity. It has also been able to raise money across three funds, with a private credit fund achieving a S$300 million first close in October, and the other two slated to close by the end of the year.
Data centres are now a key focus for Keppel, with 220 megawatts of capacity coming online across Singapore, Tokyo and Taiwan. There are also plans to double data centre funds under management from S$9 billion to S$19 billion in the near future.
Persistent market talk of a potential sale of its subsidiary, M1, to StarHub may also give Keppel more dry powder to reallocate into more lucrative sectors outside of telcos.
DBS
DBS
DBS in 2024 announced a share buyback programme that would see Singapore’s largest bank purchasing S$3 billion worth of its shares from the open market and cancelling them.
DBS said that it expects this will result in a “permanent lift” to earnings per share, and a higher return on equity.
The programme is part of DBS’ set of initiatives to manage its capital. Over the years, the bank has implemented step-up dividends, given special dividends and issued bonus shares.
Chief executive Piyush Gupta expects the lender to still have around S$3 billion to S$5 billion in capital to return after the buyback, leaving room for further capital returns to shareholders.
Deputy CEO and CEO-designate Tan Su Shan also affirmed that DBS will continue to pay out more to shareholders the more it earns – which is good news, as the lender expects upsides to its income under Trump’s second presidential term in the US.
City Developments Ltd
City Developments Ltd (CDL) has been among the worst-performing components of the Straits Times Index over the past one, five and 10 years.
As at Dec 26, its shares traded at a 49 per cent discount to its reported net asset value of S$10.12 per share; and at a 74 per cent discount to its revalued net asset value of S$19.49 per share.
What has been dogging its stock? A long-term decline in profitability at its property development business, and a hefty debt load. CDL ended the first half of its 2024 fiscal year with a net gearing of 116 per cent.
CDL’s value-unlocking instincts are evident, though. Early this year, it said it would sell S$1 billion of assets, and launched a share buyback programme.
As interest rates ease in the months ahead, CDL may have the opportunity to accelerate its asset sales and pare its debt – and boost the market value of its shares in the process.
Keppel
Keppel is undergoing a strategic transformation from a conglomerate to an asset manager and operator, with fingers in hot sectors such as data centres and energy.
The asset manager boasts a deal-flow pipeline of S$25 billion, of which half is in infrastructure and connectivity. It has also been able to raise money across three funds, with a private credit fund achieving a S$300 million first close in October, and the other two slated to close by the end of the year.
Data centres are now a key focus for Keppel, with 220 megawatts of capacity coming online across Singapore, Tokyo and Taiwan. There are also plans to double data centre funds under management from S$9 billion to S$19 billion in the near future.
Persistent market talk of a potential sale of its subsidiary, M1, to StarHub may also give Keppel more dry powder to reallocate into more lucrative sectors outside of telcos.
Genting Singapore
The integrated resorts operator is rolling the dice going into 2025 as it attempts to draw tourists back to Resorts World Sentosa (RWS).
Genting Singapore, in mid-November, broke ground for its “RWS 2.0” expansion plan – a S$6.8 billion waterfront development that will include hotels, more retail and dining offerings, and an 88-metre-tall light sculpture that looks to be the centrepiece.
This comes as Singapore authorities renewed RWS’ casino licence for two years – notably shorter than the standard three-year term typically granted – after an evaluation panel deemed RWS’ tourism performance from 2021 to 2023 as “unsatisfactory”.
Some analysts are expecting Genting Singapore’s luck to improve next year, on the back of the fresh attractions and improved profitability as its “win rate” normalises.
But, amid the slow recovery of international visitor arrivals to the Republic, increased competition, and falling revenue from its gaming business, will Genting Singapore’s major expansion plans be enough?
Mapletree Logistics Trust’s (MLT) performance has been hit hard by China’s slowing economy.
Distribution per unit of the logistics real estate investment trust – which has a significant footprint in China and Hong Kong – has fallen on the back of higher borrowing costs and lower revenue contributions from China.
Looking ahead, the Trump administration in the United States could pose further challenges to MLT next year. In particular, further tariffs on China and a slower pace of interest-rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve would slow MLT’s recovery.
Nevertheless, the logistics trust is taking active measures to rejig its portfolio, with a plan to divest about S$1 billion worth of its assets – of which about half will be from China and Hong Kong.
An upcoming economic stimulus package by the Chinese government could also help to shore up the country’s property market, and help MLT’s performance.
Mapletree Logistics Trust
The Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer continues to operate at a loss, like many of its EV peers. For the quarter ended September, it reported a net loss of 5.1 billion yuan (S$943 million), widening from a 4.6 billion yuan loss in the year-ago period.
Despite its financial challenges, Nio's vehicle deliveries have shown notable growth. It has delivered 190,832 vehicles this year up to end-November, up 34.4 per cent from 142,026 vehicles in the corresponding 11-month period in 2023. In November 2024 – which marks Nio’s 10th anniversary – cumulative deliveries of its vehicles hit 640,426 units.
Looking ahead, the company said that it aims to improve its margins through cost-optimisation strategies.
However, it remains to be seen whether Nio can emerge as a serious challenger to industry giants such as Tesla and BYD, especially in a market that is becoming increasingly competitive.
Nio
Mainboard-listed Sheng Siong Group has posted strong results, quarter after quarter, on the back of same-store sales growth and new outlets. As Build-To-Order housing estates mature, the grocery retailer will likely be able to increase its presence in several neighbourhoods, which augurs well for its local expansion plans.
Sheng Siong is currently the third-largest grocery player in Singapore by market share. And analysts observed that it appears to be gaining ground on the leaders, given its sustained improvement in sales.
Its third-quarter revenue growth of 5 per cent “is well above” Singapore’s supermarket and hypermarket retail sales’ year-on-year growth of 2 per cent across July and August, noted UOB Kay Hian.
That said, Sheng Siong’s push into China should be monitored closely, as store-opening expenses will eat into profits. The retailer has at least six stores in China, as at August 2024.
Sheng Siong Group
The bourse has posted stronger financial performance in 2024, as falling bond yields and greater investor risk appetite in the equities markets drive an increase in securities turnover volume and value.
However, the Singapore Exchange (SGX) continues to face challenges in encouraging more listings and attracting greater retail interest. The bourse logged just four new listings on the Catalist board – with no mainboard listings – to raise a total of S$45.9 million this year.
All eyes will be on the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s stock-market review group, chaired by Second Finance Minister Chee Hong Tat, who has said that the group is ready to “make changes and try new ideas” after taking “calculated risks”.
It remains to be seen if these changes will be bold enough to jump-start the virtuous circle of equity outperformance seen in other markets, such as Japan and India.
Singapore Exchange
Singapore Post (SingPost) announced on Dec 22 that it had fired three senior management executives – including group chief executive Vincent Phang – for being “grossly negligent” in the handling of internal investigations over a whistle-blower’s report.
This came just weeks after the group on Dec 2 proposed the divestment of its Australian logistics business, Freight Management Holdings, at an enterprise value of A$1 billion (S$856.4 million), which could see SingPost pocket about S$312.1 million in one-off gains.
This raises the question of what the national postal service provider will do post-divestment to replace the significant contribution from the sold business, which contributed to about 60 per cent of its operating profit in H1 FY2025 ended September.
With the divestment of this core asset and several non-core ones, as well as the loss of its key management, could a delisting of SingPost be next on the cards?
Singapore Post
GRAPHICS: TEOH YI CHIE, CHARMAINE ANNE MARTIN, BT