SG Morning Highlights | Keppel Signs MOU with Mitsui Fudosan to Develop Data Centres in Japan and Southeast Asia

Singapore shares opened higher on Tuesday. The $FTSE Singapore Straits Time Index(.STI.SG)$ rose 0.30 percent to 3,147.74 as at 9.06 am.

$Keppel(BN4.SG)$: Keppel has signed an MOU with Mitsui Fudosan to explore data centre development and investment opportunities in Japan and Southeast Asia. Keppel Data Centre Fund II (KDCF II) has a framework agreement with Mitsui Fudosan for the forward purchase of a data centre, currently under development in Western Tokyo. The data centre has a planned gross floor area of more than 300,000 sq ft and is expected to be ready for service by 2027. Mitsui Fudosan will develop the core and shell of the data centre, while KDCF II will undertake the fit-out works using Keppel's operating division, Keppel Data Centre & Networks. Once stabilised, the data centre could be added to Keppel DC REIT's pipeline.

$SGX(S68.SG)$: Singapore Exchange (SGX) will launch short-term interest rate futures linked to the Singapore Overnight Rate Average (Sora) and Tokyo Overnight Average Rate (Tona) for hedging and trading fluctuations in interest rates. The three-month Sora and Tona Futures contracts are expected to be launched in the second half of 2024, subject to regulatory approval. SGX aims to enhance greater capital efficiency, price discovery, and liquidity in the local Singapore dollar interest rates market by driving the futurisation of over-the-counter derivatives. Sora Futures will provide a tool for market participants to hedge their exposure to interest rate risks, while the launch of Tona Futures comes amid market expectations that Japan will end its negative interest rate policy.

$Olam Group(VC2.SG)$: Olam Food Ingredients (ofi), a subsidiary of Olam Group, has secured its first export credit agency (ECA) linked financing of around $500m. The facility is comprised of a five-year tranche of $250m and a seven-year tranche of JPY37.38bn ($250m). The facility is backed by SACE, the Italian export credit agency, and is ofi's first ECA backed loan and SACE's first 'Samurai' Japanese yen loan. The facility will be initially guaranteed by Olam Group and will be transferred to ofi group after its planned IPO and demerger. The facility's proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes.