CDL’s strategic review was in focus as the STI fell 1.35%

Date: October 5, 2026

• The STI lost the 5,700 level when it dropped about 77 points or 1.35% to 5,634.82
• Soft Sep US jobs report brought down odds of Oct rate hike to 22%
• CDL’s shares plunged 15% over the week after release of strategic review
• Analysts maintained “buy’’ on CDL despite reservations over strategic review
• Zhenang Jinjiang Environment proposed to take company private at S$0.70 a share or to issue new shares
• Hafary founding family made bid to take company private at S$0.64 a share
• HK-listed engineering firm Metasurface filed for dual primary listing on Catalist
• Fire protection specialist Deluge Corp filesdpreliminary prospectus for mainboard IPO
• Institutional investors net sold S$1.02b in Sep: SGX Research

 

The STI lost its hold on the 5,700 level, down 1.35% at 5,634.82

The Straits Times Index, which about a month ago crossed 5,800, fell below the 5,700 level last week, dragged lower by losses in key blue chips like the banks, SGX and Singtel.

After rising on Monday, the index weakened every day between Tuesday and Friday, closing about 77 points or 1.35% lower at 5,634.82. This was very much in line with Wall Street, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 fell over the week.

 

Soft Sep US jobs report brought down odds of Oct rate hike to 22%

Wall Street ended the week on a mixed note as cooler-than-expected September jobs data cut Fed rate-hike odds even as Treasury yields climbed, with the 30-year hitting its highest level in decades.

The September nonfarm payrolls report came in cooler than economists expected. U.S. employers added just 29K jobs in September, well short of the 85K consensus figure and a sharp slowdown from August’s downwardly revised gain of 133K.

Odds that the Federal Reserve will decide to raise rates at its October 28 meeting collapsed this week after softer payrolls and cooler PCE inflation data landed as the probability of an October hike fell to 22% on Friday, down from 24.4% on Thursday and 64.2% a week ago.

Furthermore, yields remained at the centre of attention as they climbed across the curve, with the longer-end U.S. 30-year U.S. Treasury yield topping its highest level since 2002.

For the week, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.26%, the benchmark S&P 500 lost 0.27%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.45%.

 

CDL’s shares take a 15% hit after announcement of strategic review results

City Developments (CDL) said on Monday that it intends to deploy S$5 billion in growth capital and target S$6 billion in divestments across its portfolio over the next three years but its shares took a hit as a consequence.

On Monday, CDL’s shares plunged S$0.67 or 8.1% to S$7.59 on volume of 11.9m. They came under further pressure on Tuesday, dropping S$0.16 to S$7.43 with 7m traded.

CDL finished the week at S$7.04, a loss of S$1.22 or almost 15% for the five trading days.

The review is part of a “refreshed” road map to improve strategic focus and long-term shareholder value.

Singapore will continue to be the principal market for CDL’s new investments.

Of the S$5 billion in planned growth capital, 60% is earmarked for Singapore, while 30% is for China and Japan. The remaining 10% is for other markets.

The strategic review also noted how fund management will become a more significant part of the group’s capital model. It is targeting S$10 billion in total assets under management (AUM) by FY2029, up from S$5 billion as at Jun 30.

CDL will hence establish a dedicated fund management entity with an investment committee and leadership team that will be directly responsible for AUM growth and financial accountability.

 

Analysts maintained “buy’’ on CDL despite reservations over strategic review

The Business Times quoted Citi Research’s Brandon Lee saying that most investors the brokerage spoke with about CDL’s strategic were disappointed by, among others, a potential earnings dilution from divestments, and the allocation of 30% of investment capital to China and Japan.

On the investment capital allocation, Lee said that investors cited a weak macroeconomic backdrop in China and rising interest rates in Japan.

“Nonetheless, we think most of these concerns are addressable, and concrete evidence of CDL executing some of the… key initiatives ahead should be a key catalyst’’.

“The key change is CDL’s shift away from broad portfolio growth towards more measurable capital recycling, lower leverage and higher capital efficiency,” said DBS Group Research analyst Tabitha Foo.

She added that management incentives are now better aligned with shareholder returns, with senior management remuneration assessed against measures including total shareholder return, earnings per share and return on average capital employed.

Citi Research, DBS Group Research and RHB maintained their “buy” calls and target prices of S$11.53, S$12 and S$11.20, respectively.

CGS International (CGSI) reiterated “add”, with an unchanged target of S$12.11.

 

Zhenang Jinjiang Environment proposed to take company private at S$0.70 a share or to issue new shares

The board of Zhenang Jinjiang Envoronmental along with Jieneng Investment, has proposed a scheme of arrangement to take Zhenang Jinjiang Environmental private at S$0.70 a share or to issue new shares.

An announcement on Tuesday (Sep 29) said that shareholders of Zhenang Jinjiang Environmental are entitled to either the cash consideration or the share consideration, but not both.

Shareholders who do not indicate their choice will be deemed to have selected the cash consideration. The offeror intends to delist the company from Singapore Exchange when the scheme becomes effective.

Zhenang Jinjiang Environmental has not tapped the equity capital markets to raise funds since 2018, and is unlikely to do so in the foreseeable future. The company’s listed status thus serves a limited purpose.

Jieneng Investment is the investment holding company incorporated in Hong Kong, specifically for shareholders to privatise the company.

The scheme consideration represents an attractive premium to historical market prices, said the offeror. The cash consideration represents a premium of about 50.5% of the volume-weighted average price per share for the month leading up to and including Feb 11, 2026.

There will be no adjustment to the scheme as a result of the payment of dividends, said the offeror. Shareholders will have to approve the board-recommended dividend of S$0.045 a share at an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) as soon as it is reasonably practicable following this announcement.

The dividend will be paid in two tranches, both at S$0.0225 a share, on a date to be decided after the EGM, and on the record date of Mar 31, 2027, for the later tranche.

 

Hafary founding family made bid to take company private at S$0.64 a share

Hafary chief executive Low Kok Ann and his family have made a cash offer of S$0.64 per outstanding share, based on a Monday filing. Trading of Hafary shares was halted on Monday morning prior to market open, before the news.

The bid, made through investment vehicle 23 Capital, represents a 4.9% premium to the stock’s last closing price of S$0.61 on Friday, and a nearly 20% premium over its 12-month volume-weighted average price.

The offer is strictly conditional on 23 Capital receiving enough valid acceptances to exercise its right to compulsorily acquire all remaining shares under Section 215(1) of the Companies Act. Once that threshold is reached, the offeror intends to make Hafary a wholly-owned subsidiary and delist it from the Singapore Exchange.

The Low family, including non-executive director Low See Ching and Low Bee Lan, controls 39.14% of the company. They have secured an irrevocable undertaking from majority shareholder Hap Seng Investment Holdings, which owns 50.82%. Combined, the bloc has pledged nearly 90% of Hafary’s total shares towards the offer.

Hafary, which supplies premium tiles, stone and sanitary ware, said it has not tapped Singapore’s equity capital markets to raise funds in the past decade. Instead, it has relied on alternative funding sources such as bank borrowings to finance its operations.

 

HK-listed engineering firm Metasurface filed for dual primary listing on Catalist

Precision engineering services provider Metasurface Technologies has lodged a preliminary offer document with the Singapore Exchange (SGX) for a dual primary listing on the Catalist board.

The Singapore-based company, which specialises in precision machining and precision welding for international customers in the industrial sector, has been listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange since July 2024.

Metasurface will be issuing a new share placement as part of the Catalist listing, it said on Tuesday. UOB Kay Hian is the sponsor, issue manager and placement agent.

Proceeds from the placement will fund the acquisition of five-axis machines and advanced software, supporting the firm’s strategy to deepen its presence in the data storage, aerospace, and oil and gas segments through potential joint ventures and acquisitions.

Shares of Metasurface in Hong Kong are up about 135% in the year to date, from HK$1.50 to HK$3.52. It has a market capitalisation of about HK$523 million (US$66.7 million).

 

Fire protection specialist Deluge Corp filed preliminary prospectus for mainboard IPO

Fire protection specialist Deluge Corp on Tuesday lodged a preliminary prospectus to list on the mainboard. The offer will comprise a placement to institutional and other investors, with a public offer in Singapore.

Separately, 23.4 million cornerstone shares will be issued to investors including Amova Asset Management Asia, Avanda Investment Management, HB Equity Partners and Whitefield Capital Management, as well as several individual investors.

The offer size, price ​and listing date were not disclosed in the preliminary prospectus.

Proceeds from the offering and the cornerstone tranche will go towards investing in:

• infrastructure, facilities and operational capabilities;
• strategic partnerships, acquisitions, joint ventures and regional expansion; and
• business expansion, including by participating in more tenders and taking on larger contracts.

 

Institutional investors net sold S$1.02b in Sep: SGX Research

The STI dropped 1.4% in Sep to 5,675.88 after hitting a new intraday high of 5,828.5 on 4 Sep, reported SGX Research in a 1 Oct Market Update.

“The FTSE ST Catalist Index gained 2.4% in September, while the FTSE ST All-Share Technology Index advanced 1.7%, outperforming the STI’s 1.4% decline.

Institutional investors recorded net selling of approximately S$1.02 billion in September, while Utilities and Technology attracted the largest sectoral institutional inflows’’ said SGX Research.