SG Morning Highlights | Singapore-Based Office S-Reits See Growth in Occupancy and Rent Reversions

Advancers / Decliners is 84 to 127, with 118.16 million securities worth S$137.77 million changing hands.

With Malaysia's post-election political deadlock finally resolved, businesses are optimistic that the forming of a unity government will improve market sentiment and boost foreign investment.

Koong Lin Loong, chairman of the finance and planning committee in The Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia, said he felt relieved when he heard the confirmation that Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman Anwar Ibrahim had been appointed as prime minister.

SGX has launched an initiative to help investors to more easily identify green, social and sustainability fixed income securities that meet recognised standards.

The SGX Sustainable Fixed Income initiative will recognise securities aligned with accepted green, social or sustainability standards for the asset class. Some examples of such standards include the International Capital Market Association's (ICMA) Green Bond Principles, the ICMA's Social Bond Principles and the Asean Sustainability Bond Standards.

This alignment must also be confirmed by an external reviewer with an established track record of providing similar reviews, SGX said on Monday (Nov 28) when the initiative launched. Issuers must also have publicly published reports setting out the fixed income securities' alignment with the recognised standards.

According to JLL, Singapore office rents in Q3 2022 have reached a near 14-year high, exceeding pre-pandemic peak. CBD Grade A office rents have taken just 18 months to recover the grounds lost due to Covid-19.

S-Reits with Singapore based office assets reported growth in rental reversions and improvements in occupancy rates.

The group has proposed a final dividend of 0.45 baht per share, higher than the final dividend of 0.35 baht last year. The dividend will be paid out to shareholders on Feb 24, 2023, after the book closure date of Feb 7.

For the 9MFY2022, ST Engineering's revenue increased by 19% y-o-y to $6.51 billion as all segments registered revenue growths.

Proceeds from the facilities will go towards refinancing an existing S$260 million term and revolving credit facilities due in March 2023, with an outstanding debt of S$225.7 million. The existing loan represents 50.6 per cent of First Reit's total debt as at Sep 30.

A filing on Friday (Nov 25) showed that Morgan Stanley now has a deemed interest of about 2.5 million VTAC shares, up from 1.9 million shares or a stake of about 4.6 per cent prior to the transaction.