Singapore Stock Market Update: ComfortDelGro Acquisition, Oxley Holdings Turnaround & Institutional Fund Flows – September 2025 Insights 1

Lim & Tan Securities
Date of Report: 2 September 2025
Singapore Market Insights September 2025: ComfortDelGro Acquisition, Oxley’s Turnaround & Key Institutional Trends

Executive Summary: Market Overview and Key Indices

Singapore’s stock market continues its upward momentum in 2025, with the FSSTI Index closing at 4,276.1, marking a robust 12.9% gain year-to-date. Other major indices such as the Hang Seng Index and the UKX Index also posted significant YTD gains. Commodities presented a mixed picture, with gold surging 32.6% YTD while crude oil slumped 10.8%. Institutional and retail fund flows highlighted increased investor activity, with strong net buys in key stocks.

Index	Close	1D (%)	MTD (%)	YTD (%)
FSSTI (Singapore)	4,276.1	0.1	0.1	12.9
HSI (Hong Kong)	25,617.4	2.2	2.2	27.7
UKX (London)	9,196.3	0.1	0.1	12.5
SHCOMP (China)	3,875.5	0.5	0.5	15.6

Market News: U.S. Tariff Ruling and Global Sentiment

Global equities showed mixed performance as investors digested the U.S. Court of Appeals decision to limit President Trump’s broad use of national emergency powers for tariffs. While this temporarily lifts some uncertainty, the ruling’s immediate effect is limited due to the administration’s right to appeal.

Company Spotlight: ComfortDelGro (CDG) Acquires CityCab

ComfortDelGro (CDG) made headlines with its S$116.3 million acquisition of ST Engineering Land Systems’ 46.5% stake in CityCab, making CityCab a wholly owned subsidiary. CDG expects this move to be earnings accretive and to strengthen its core point-to-point business in Singapore, supporting global expansion and integration.

Metric	Value
Acquisition Price	S\$116.3 million
Book Value (CityCab shares)	S\$37.4 million
CDG Market Cap	S\$3.2 billion
Forward PE	13x
Prospective PE	12x
Dividend Yield	5.3%
Consensus Target Price	S\$1.73 (+18% potential)

CDG expects the acquisition to have no material impact on net tangible assets or EPS for FY2025.
ST Engineering will realize a one-off gain of S$77.2 million and cash proceeds of S$116.3 million.
CityCab’s net profit (ST Engineering’s share) in 2024 was S$8.7 million.
Analyst Outlook: CDG remains attractive for its yield and growth prospects (15-20% expected), maintaining an “Accumulate” recommendation.

Oxley Holdings: Financial Turnaround and Strategic Refocus

Oxley Holdings Limited reported a significant turnaround for the financial year ended 30 June 2025, moving from a pre-tax loss of S$106.1 million last year to a profit before tax of S$3.6 million. The positive shift was driven by project completions, notably Tower 1 of Oxley Towers KLCC, and strong contributions from London’s Riverscape project.

Metric	FY2025	FY2024	YoY Change
Profit Before Tax	S\$3.6 million	(S\$106.1 million)	Turnaround
Net Positive Operating Cash Flow	S\$75.7 million	–	N/A
Total Loans/Borrowings Reduction	S\$126.2 million	–	N/A
Finance Costs (YoY)	-21%	–	N/A
Gross Gearing	1.35x	–	N/A
Net Asset Value/Share	19.60 cents	–	N/A

Operational Highlights:
Oxley Towers KLCC fully completed; residential units handover in Sept 2025.
Trinity Sensoria: 18% sold, completion expected in 2028.
Riverscape project in London: 87% sold.
Singapore hotels: 86% average occupancy; Cambodia Shangri-La: 52% occupancy.
Stable investment property performance.
Strategic Outlook:
Refocusing solely on property development in core markets (Singapore, UK, Ireland).
Plans to divest investment properties/hotel assets, reducing gearing and optimizing cashflows.
Full exit from China, Cambodia, Malaysia after project completions.
Redeployment of proceeds into local land bids and Dublin Arch development.
Benefiting from low interest rate environment.
Valuation & Recommendation:
Market cap: S$447 million
Historical PE: 124x, Price/Book: 0.5x
No dividend, no active analyst coverage.
Stock surged 48% YTD vs. market’s 13-14%.
“Hold” recommended due to high gearing and priced-in turnaround.

Sector Leaders: Highest Yields, Lowest PE, and Key Metrics

Highest Consensus Forward Dividend Yield (%)	Lowest Consensus Forward PE (x)	Lowest Trailing P/B (x)	Lowest Trailing EV/EBITDA (x)
DFI Retail Group – 17.54	Yangzijiang Shipbuilding – 8.32	Hongkong Land – 0.48	Yangzijiang Shipbuilding – 5.34
Frasers Logistics Trust – 6.45	Thai Beverage – 10.29	UOL Group – 0.54	DFI Retail Group – 6.31
Mapletree Industrial Trust – 6.20	UOB Bank – 10.32	Jardine Matheson – 0.63	Genting Singapore – 6.79
DBS Bank – 6.01	Sembcorp Industries – 10.36	Wilmar International – 0.69	Thai Beverage – 9.89
Mapletree Logistics Trust – 5.92	OCBC Bank – 10.51	City Developments – 0.70	Wilmar International – 10.54

Macro Themes: China’s Overcapacity, Global Private Equity & Asset Flows

China’s government is intensifying efforts to address industrial overcapacity, curbing coal and lithium output. However, without a major stimulus package as seen in 2015, economists expect structural reforms, possibly announced at the fourth plenum in October. The focus may shift incentives toward consumption over investment.
In the U.S. and Europe, private market strategists favor global and North American buyouts, with caution on private credit and long-short hedge funds. Infrastructure remains the strongest asset class in Europe, while UK private equity stands out as the most attractive opportunity.

Share Transactions: Key Acquisitions, Disposals, and Buybacks

Company	Party	Buy/Sell	Transacted Price (S\$)	New Stake (%)
Q&M Dental	Quan Min Holdings	Buy	0.50	54.63
Indofood Agri Resources	PT Indofood Sukses Makmur Tbk	Buy	0.314	85.87
Stamford Land Corp	Ow Chio Kiat	Buy	0.42	46.25
Metro Holdings Ltd	Ong Sek Hian	Buy	0.465	35.72
Rex International	American Century Investment Mgm	Buy	0.18	6.01
Advanced Holdings Ltd	Asia Agri & Renewables Fund	Buy	0.27	16.78

Share buybacks were prominent among companies such as HK Land, Sembcorp Industries, Keppel Ltd, OCBC, UOB, Raffles Medical, and others.

Fund Flow Analysis: Institutional vs. Retail Activity

Institutional investors recorded a net buy of S$21.6 million in the week of 25 August, with notable positions in Singtel, Keppel, and Jardine Matheson. Retail investors net bought S$33.7 million, focusing on DBS, Sembcorp Industries, and ComfortDelGro.

Top 10 Institution Net Buy (S\$M)	Top 10 Institution Net Sell (S\$M)
Singtel 55.1	OCBC (33.0)
Keppel 33.3	DBS (31.6)
Jardine Matheson 27.5	ST Engineering (28.0)
CapitaLand Ascendas REIT 12.9	ComfortDelGro (21.2)

Dividends and Special Distributions: Upcoming Payouts

Major companies have announced interim and special dividends, with ex-dividend dates throughout August to November 2025. Key names include Mapletree, DBS, UOB, ComfortDelGro, Starhub, Venture Corp, and more.

Company	Amount	First Day Ex-Dividend	Payable Date
Mapletree Logistics Trust	–	30 July	10 Sept
DBS	60 cts Interim + 15 cts Special	14 Aug	25 Aug
Comfort Delgro	3.91 cts Interim	20 Aug	28 Aug

SGX Watch-List: Companies Under Review

32 companies are currently on the SGX Watch-List, including the latest additions such as Addvalue Technologies, Renaissance United, Telechoice, Tiong Seng Holdings, Global Invacom Group, Green Build Technology, Keong Hong, and Camsing Healthcare. Entry dates range from 2017 to 2024.

What’s Ahead: September 2025 Calendar

The month ahead features key ex-dividend dates, ongoing market monitoring, and potential updates from the SGX Watch-List. Investors should stay alert for major sector and company developments, especially in property, banking, and consumer sectors.

Conclusion

Singapore’s financial markets in September 2025 are defined by strategic corporate moves, sector rotations, and evolving macroeconomic themes. ComfortDelGro’s acquisition strengthens its core business, while Oxley Holdings pivots to property development with a notable turnaround. Institutional and retail flows continue to support leading stocks, and dividend payouts offer attractive yields for investors. Stay tuned for further updates and strategic opportunities in the coming quarter.