STI reached new high; penny stocks explode into life

Date: January 5, 2026

• The STI added 20 points or 0.4% to close at a new high of 4,656.12
• FTSE Catalist Index jumped 2.05%, penny stocks in play
• Wall Street recorded a rocky week
• Mandarin Oriental to pay special dividend
• The Assembly Place filed preliminary prospectus for Catalist IPO
• Incredible Holdings said it could be a reverse takeover target by HK AI company
• S’pore economy grew better-than-expected 4.8% in 2025

 

Index at new high, penny stocks lead the way

The local stock market may have kicked off 2026 with the Straits Times Index gaining 20 points over the week or 0.4% to close at a new all-time high of 4,656.12 but the real action took place in the penny segment, with several recording double-digit percentage gains in high volume.

Stocks that led the charge included medical technology company EFH (formerly Biolidics) which gained S$0.015 or 29% at S$0.067 with 63m traded, property developer GRC (formerly OKH) which rose S$0.016 or 16.5% to S$0.113 with 75m traded and dental firm Aoxin Q&M, which surged S$0.015 or 9% to S$0.183 on turnover of 36m.

Many of the firms in play are listed on Catalist, resulting in a 3.9 points or 2.05% rise in the FTSE Catalist Index to 198.21.

Wall Street recorded a rocky week

Wall Street on Friday closed out the first trading day of 2026 with weekly losses. The holiday-shortened week saw daily declines for the S&P 500 for four days straight, aside from Friday.

The AI trade began to unwind at the start of the week, with technology giants giving up losses, while commodities such as gold and silver struggled in a wobbly trade.

On the economy, unemployment remained unchanged in December, according to the Chicago Fed’s real-time unemployment rate forecast.
This week’s FOMC minutes showed risks to the labour market have increased, while the upside risks to inflation have diminished somewhat. Lastly, initial jobless claims unexpectedly dropped way below consensus.

For the week, the S&P 500 was 1.1% lower, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 1.6%, and the blue-chip Dow ended 0.7%.

Mandarin Oriental to pay special dividend

Mandarin Oriental will pay out a special dividend from the sale of parts of One Causeway Bay to its shareholders on Jan 22, 2026.

The dividend, at US$0.60 a share, follows the completion of the sale of the Grade-A office and retail Hong Kong skyscraper.

Mandarin Oriental had announced on Oct 17 that Alibaba Group and Ant Group had agreed to acquire the top 13 floors of the building, along with its rooftop signage and 50 parking spaces.

The conditions for the transaction have been satisfied, Mandarin Oriental said, adding that it had received the proceeds from the sale. The special dividend will be paid to Mandarin Oriental shareholders who are on the registers of members at the close of business on Jan 9.

Mandarin Oriental shares will be quoted ex-dividend on Jan 8, and the share registers will be closed from Jan 12 to 15, inclusive.

The completion of the sale also satisfies a condition for the acquisition of Mandarin Oriental by a Jardine Matheson subsidiary.

On Oct 17, Jardine Matheson said that its investment holding company, Jardine Strategic, would acquire the remaining 11.96 per cent of Mandarin Oriental shares it does not already own, to take it private.

Mandarin Oriental said last week that the sanction hearing for the acquisition scheme will be held on Jan 15, and that the scheme is expected to take effect on Jan 19, subject to approval.

The Assembly Place filed preliminary prospectus for Catalist IPO

Co-living operator The Assembly Place last week lodged a preliminary prospectus to list on Catalist.

The Assembly Place operates an asset-light model, managing and operating a portfolio of accommodation assets that ranges from co-living spaces to hotels and student housing.

It describes itself as Singapore’s “largest and most diversified” co-living operator, managing about 3,422 keys across 100 property assets in Singapore as at Dec 17.

The company was established in 2019; its listing entity was incorporated in January 2023 and converted into a public company limited by shares in preparation for the IPO.

The Assembly Place said net proceeds from the IPO will largely go towards funding the expansion of its portfolio.

This includes sourcing new property assets via direct leases, joint ventures and an expansion into Malaysia, where it has secured a site in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur, to operate as a hotel.

The funds will also be used for co-investments to acquire minority stakes in entities holding property assets, as well as for digitalisation efforts to enhance its proprietary customer relationship management system and mobile application.

Its shares are expected to be listed on Jan 23, 2026.

Incredible Holdings said it could be a reverse takeover target by HK AI company

Electronics and consumer goods company Incredible Holdings could be the target of a reverse takeover by an artificial intelligence (AI) company from Hong Kong.

Incredible said that it had entered into a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Cambridge Artificial Intelligence Company Limited (Cambridge).

The MOU involves “preliminary and exploratory” talks on a potential strategic transaction, which may involve a reverse takeover.

Under the MOU, the parties will explore the feasibility of a reverse takeover, review financial information and projections and discuss – non-committally – whether Cambridge could provide financial support to Incredible.

The announcement said that Cambridge, incorporated in Hong Kong, describes itself as “engaged in the development and operation of technology-enabled platforms” with activities in AI application, digital finance and payments, data-driven services and agricultural and wellness solutions and products.

The announcement follows a similar one in March, when Incredible signed a similar non-binding agreement for a possible reverse takeover with diversified Malaysian group Sheng Tai International.

Incredible’s recent history has been volatile.

Joint investments it had made with the now-delisted Ntegrator Holdings, formerly known as Watches.com, were found to be prejudicial to the interests of the companies and their respective minority shareholders.

Singapore Exchange Regulation made these findings public in November 2023, following an investigation by Provenance Capital.

Shares of Incredible have been suspended from trading since Sep 13, 2022.

S’pore economy grew better-than-expected 4.8% in 2025

The economy expanded 4.8% year on year in 2025, supported by strong growth in the manufacturing sector, based on advance estimates from the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI).

However, whilst the growth momentum is expected to carry into early 2026, economists cautioned that activity could cool later in the year as manufacturing growth normalises and external risks resurface.

OCBC chief economist Selena Ling said the outlook remains shaped largely by external factors, including uncertainty over US sectoral tariffs, US-China tensions and broader geopolitical risks.

Adding to those concerns, Maybank economists Chua Hak Bin and Brian Lee flagged the risk of further domestic property cooling measures if prices run too hot, which could dampen activity in the real estate, construction and retail sectors.

Fourth-quarter GDP growth came in at 5.7%, faster than the revised 4.3% expansion for Q3, and higher than the 5% growth booked in the same period in 2024.

On a seasonally adjusted, quarterly basis, the economy grew 1.9% in Q4, easing from the previous quarter’s% expansion.