SG Morning Call | DBS Commits S$10 Million to Cashback Deals, Boosts AI Adoption Support for SMEs

Market Snapshot

Singapore stocks opened lower on Monday. STI fell 0.1%; Seatrium rose 0.8%; SGX rose 0.7%; Keppel fell 1%.

Stocks in Focus

$Seatrium(5E2.SI)$: Seatrium will not face criminal prosecution in Singapore over corruption offences in Brazil, following approval from the High Court of a deferred prosecution agreement, based on a Friday bourse filing. A breach any of the terms, however, can cause prosecutors to revive proceedings. The company will pay a net sum of US$57 million to local authorities. Shares of Seatrium were up 1.7 per cent or S$0.04 to S$2.41 on Friday before the news.

$CapitaLand Ascott Trust(HMN.SI)$ (Clas): The manager on Monday announced that its distribution income was “relatively stable” for its first quarter ended March. Portfolio revenue per available unit rose 1 per cent year on year to S$137 across markets in Q1, while occupancy stood at 77 per cent. Stapled securities of Clas ended Friday 0.6 per cent or S$0.005 lower at S$0.905.

$Boustead(F9D.SI)$: The engineering and construction business of the company has been awarded a contract valued at over S$400 million by a public-sector client to construct an office complex in Singapore. This is Boustead’s largest project to date in terms of value, and will span three years, a Friday bourse filing said. The counter ended Friday 2.2 per cent or S$0.05 lower at S$2.18, before the announcement.

$UI Boustead Real Estate Investment Trust(UIBU.SI)$ (Reit): The manager of the Reit said on Friday that the trust has entered into a joint venture with Fraxtor Group to develop two logistics facilities in Japan. Its share of total development costs amounts to about 2.5 billion yen (S$20 million), with the full amount totalling 10.3 billion yen. Upon completion, the development will be managed by UI Japan, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Reit’s sponsor UIB Holdings. Units of the Reit ended Friday 0.6 per cent or S$0.005 lower at S$0.82, before the news.

$Fu Yu(F13.SI)$: The components manufacturer’s shareholders have raised concerns over the credentials and composition of the company’s board of directors ahead of the group’s annual general meeting on Apr 30, a bourse filing on Friday indicated. The board responded to queries on the nationalities of its directors, their lack of experience serving on the boards of Singapore-listed companies, and whether their fees are justified given three consecutive years of financial losses. Shares of Fu Yu ended at S$0.118 on Friday, up S$0.007 or 6.3 per cent, before the announcement.

SG Local News

SGX RegCo Stiffens Its Back with Proposal for Enhanced Disclosures to Drive Value Creation

When Singapore Exchange Regulation (SGX RegCo) launched a public consultation last week on enhanced disclosures to promote value creation and investor engagement, its chief executive Tan Boon Gin noted that some market participants had been pushing for the frontline market regulator to take an even more prescriptive stance.

“They would like us to emulate Japan, for example, which has asked companies to disclose concrete plans to move their price-to-book values above one,” Tan said, during a media briefing. “But let us remember, Japan’s Value-Up programme has been more than a decade in the making, and Singapore is only at the beginning of this journey.”

Yet, the listing rule amendments SGX RegCo is proposing do represent a prescriptive tilt away from the raft of pro-enterprise measures announced last year – which included streamlining listing processes, adopting a more targeted approach to post-listing queries, alerts and trading suspensions, and doing away with the much hated financial watch list.

DBS Commits S$10 Million to Cashback Deals, Boosts AI Adoption Support for SMEs

DBS is putting S$10 million towards cost-of-living support for Singaporeans.

The funds will be used to “intensify efforts to help Singaporeans manage cost pressures” amid “prolonged uncertainty and escalating costs”, the lender said on Saturday (Apr 25).

From August to December, “more than three million” cashback redemptions will be offered for payments made via DBS cards, POSB cards and the DBS PayLah! app in hawker centres, heartland shops and supermarkets.

CapitaLand Ascott Trust Q1 Distribution Income “Relatively Stable“; RevPAU up 1% at S$137

The manager of CapitaLand Ascott Trust (Clas) on Monday (Apr 27) announced that its distribution income was “relatively stable” for its first quarter ended March.

This came as the distribution of past divestment gains mitigated the impact of closures of The Cavendish London – for asset enhancement initiatives (AEIs) – and The Madison Hotel Hamburg – partly closed for carpark works.

Excluding The Cavendish London as well as acquisitions and divestments in 2025, Q1’s actual portfolio revenue per available unit (RevPAU) rose 1 per cent year on year to S$137 across markets, while occupancy rate stood at 77 per cent.

S$14 Million Leedon Residence Deal Nets S$5.2 Million Profit, Tops Q1 Resale Gains

A massive 4,704-square-foot (sq ft) unit at Leedon Residence was sold for S$14 million in February, earning the seller a cool S$5.2 million in profit – making it the most profitable transaction by quantum in the first quarter of 2026. 

The five-bedder at the freehold luxury development in prime District 10 was bought for S$8.8 million, or S$1,871 per square foot (psf), back in February 2017, data crunched for The Business Times by real estate consultancy Cushman & Wakefield showed. On a psf basis, it went at S$2,976 psf in February 2026. 

Based on a holding period of nine years, the annualised profit works out to 5.3 per cent, with the seller’s gross gain amounting to about 59 per cent.