Lim & Tan Securities

14 May 2025

Singapore Market Insights: STI Trends, Ascott’s Expansion, Cordlife’s Potential Acquisition, and Fund Flow Analysis

Financial Market Overview

The FSSTI Index closed at 3,881.1, showing a 0.1% increase, with MTD and YTD gains of 1.3% and 2.5% respectively. [[1]] Key global indices include: [[1]]

• INDU Index: 42,140.4 (-0.6% 1D, 3.6% MTD, -0.9% YTD) [[1]]
• SPX Index: 5,886.6 (0.7% 1D, 5.7% MTD, 0.1% YTD) [[1]]
• CCMP Index: 19,010.1 (1.6% 1D, 9.0% MTD, -1.6% YTD) [[1]]
• UKX Index: 8,602.9 (0.0% 1D, 1.3% MTD, 5.3% YTD) [[1]]
• NKY Index: 38,183.3 (1.4% 1D, 5.9% MTD, -4.3% YTD) [[1]]
• HSI Index: 23,108.3 (-1.9% 1D, 4.5% MTD, 15.2% YTD) [[1]]
• SHCOMP Index: 3,374.9 (0.2% 1D, 2.9% MTD, 0.7% YTD) [[1]]
• VIX Index: 18.2 (-0.9% 1D, -26.2% MTD, 5.0% YTD) [[1]]

Singapore Market Summary

• Daily Market Value: S\$2,031.4 million [[1]]
• Daily Market Volume: 1,352.0 million [[1]]
• 52-week STI High: 4,005.2 [[1]]
• 52-week STI Low: 3,198.4 [[1]]

Key Interest Rates

• 3 Mth SGD SORA: 2.3 (-0.5% 1D, -2.3% MTD, -24.3% YTD) [[1]]
• SG 10 YR Bond Yield: 2.5 (3.7% 1D, 1.7% MTD, -11.9% YTD) [[1]]
• US 10 YR Bond Yield: 4.5 (0.2% 1D, 7.5% MTD, -2.1% YTD) [[1]]

US Futures

• Dow Jones: 42,264.0 (0.1% 1D, 3.7% MTD, -0.3% YTD) [[1]]
• S&P 500: 5,908.3 (0.1% 1D, 5.7% MTD, -1.4% YTD) [[1]]
• NASDAQ: 21,294.0 (0.1% 1D, 8.3% MTD, -0.8% YTD) [[1]]

Commodities

• Gold: 3,247.8 (-0.1% 1D, -1.2% MTD, 23.7% YTD) [[1]]
• Crude Oil: 63.7 (2.8% 1D, 9.4% MTD, -11.2% YTD) [[1]]
• Baltic Dry: 1,304.0 (0.4% 1D, -5.9% MTD, 30.8% YTD) [[1]]
• Crude Palm Oil: 3,929.0 (0.9% 1D, 0.5% MTD, -4.2% YTD) [[1]]

Market Commentary

Nasdaq and S&P 500 traded higher at 1.6% and 0.7% respectively, driven by reduced tariffs between the US and China. The DJIA declined by 0.6%. [[1]]

Idea of the Day: The Ascott Limited (CLI)

The Ascott Limited (Ascott), a wholly-owned lodging business unit of CapitaLand Investment Limited (CLI), is expanding its talent development to support the opening of over 300 new properties by 2028. [[1], [2]] This expansion is projected to create 12,000 new jobs, including 1,500 leadership roles. [[2]] Ascott is launching “Ascott Accelerate,” a talent management program, complemented by a digital learning platform. [[2]]

These initiatives are part of the Ascott Global Academy for Excellence (AGAX), launched in 2024, aiming to build a future-ready workforce and achieve over S\$500 million in fee-related earnings by 2028. [[2]] AGAX is led by Ms. Wong Kar Ling and Mr. Lee Ngor Houai. [[2]] In 2024, Ascott achieved a record S\$343 million in fee-related earnings, a 12% year-on-year increase, driven by a 6% rise in revenue per available unit (RevPAU) and the opening of 11,700 units across 54 properties. [[3]] Ascott has a global footprint of over 990 properties in 230 cities. [[3]]

Ascott is diversifying its brand strategy to cater to different accommodation formats, offering guests more choices under the ‘Stay Your Way’ brand promise. [[3], [4]]

Ascott is also enriching learning experiences through the Ascott Global Exchange Programme and Ascott Learning Festivals. [[4], [5]]

CLI’s market cap stands at S\$12.7 billion, trading at 17.8x forward PE and 0.9x PB, with a dividend yield of 4.7%. [[5]] The consensus target price is S\$3.34, representing a 31.5% upside. [[5]] Lim & Tan Securities maintains an “Accumulate” rating on CLI. [[5]]

Other Highlights

Highest Consensus Forward Dividend Yield (%)

• Frasers Logistics Trust: 7.10 [[6]]
• DBS Bank: 6.89 [[6]]
• Mapletree Industrial Trust: 6.85 [[6]]
• Mapletree Logistics Trust: 6.79 [[6]]
• Mapletree Pan Asia Comm Trust: 6.69 [[6]]

Lowest Consensus Forward P/E (X)

• Yangzijiang Shipbuilding: 6.57 [[6]]
• Jardine Cycle & Carriage: 7.53 [[6]]
• Jardine Matheson: 8.68 [[6]]
• Singapore Airlines: 8.69 [[6]]
• UOB Bank: 9.90 [[6]]

Lowest Trailing P/B (X)

• Hongkong Land: 0.37 [[6]]
• UOL Group: 0.42 [[6]]
• City Developments: 0.49 [[6]]
• Jardine Matheson: 0.50 [[6]]
• Mapletree Pan Asia Comm Trust: 0.68 [[6]]

Lowest Trailing EV/EBITDA (X)

• Yangzijiang Shipbuilding: 3.28 [[6]]
• Genting Singapore: 5.65 [[6]]
• Jardine Cycle & Carriage: 5.99 [[6]]
• DFI Retail Group: 6.73 [[6]]
• SATS: 8.48 [[6]]

Cordlife Group: Potential Acquisition by Medeze Group

Cordlife Group announced that Thailand-listed Medeze Group intends to make a voluntary conditional cash partial offer to acquire 10.00% of its issued ordinary shares at S\$0.25 per share. [[6], [7]] This represents a 61.3% premium to the last traded price of S\$0.155 on 9 May 2025. [[7]] The offer is subject to Medeze receiving acceptances for at least 10.00% of Cordlife’s shares. [[7]]

If successful, Medeze’s direct holdings would increase to approximately 10.68%. [[7]] Medeze aims to collaborate with Cordlife to create long-term value. [[7]] Potential collaborations include Medeze offering NK cell and hair follicle banking services to Cordlife’s customers, and Cordlife offering chromosomal and genetic analysis to Medeze Group’s customers. [[7], [8]]

Medeze Group recorded total revenue of THB 874.3 million and net profit of THB 338.7 million, with assets more than tripled to over THB 3.4 billion. [[8]]

Cordlife Group’s market cap stands at S\$41.5 million. [[8]] It is currently loss-making and trades at 0.3x PB (deal values PB at 0.5x PB). [[8]] Given the 56% premium, Lim & Tan Securities recommends investors who bought Cordlife since the crash in 2024 to accept the offer. [[8]]

Macro Market News Affecting US, Hong Kong, and China Markets

US Market

BCA Research noted that the dollar failed to act as a safe haven during April’s market turmoil. [[9]] They expect safe-haven flows to return to the dollar once recession risks crystallize. [[9]]

China/HK Market

China has asked state-owned drugmakers to reduce reliance on the US for pharmaceutical products and raw materials, preparing for potential decoupling. [[9], [10]] The directive includes assessing the feasibility of replacing US-made healthcare products with local or other sources like Japan. [[10]] Discussions started after Donald Trump’s return to the White House. [[10], [11]]

China is also considering suspending its 125% tariff on some US imports. [[11]]

The effort underscores Beijing’s broader plan to check vulnerabilities arising from its trade war with the US. [[11]] China’s health regulator also instructed top hospitals to study replacing US imports with homegrown or other countries’ products. [[11]]

Share Transactions (1 May’25 – 13 May’25)

Acquisitions

• IFS Capital: Randy Sim acquired 428,000 shares at S\$0.132, new balance 5,078,000, stake 1.35% [[12]]
• Q&M Dental: Quan Min Holdings acquired 300,000 shares at S\$0.32, new balance 500,399,989, stake 52.75% [[12]]

Disposals

• Wee Hur: Goh Yew Gee disposed of 1,000,000 shares at S\$0.545, new balance 19,000,000, stake 2.07% [[12]]
• AEM Holdings: EPF Board disposed of 1,000,000 shares at S\$1.17, new balance 27,542,644, stake 8.79% [[12]]

Share Buyback

Fund Flow Data

Top 10 Institution Net Buy (+) Stocks (S\$M) – Week of 5 May

• Singtel: 106.6 [[13]]
• SIA: 25.7 [[13]]
• Keppel: 23.7 [[13]]
• CapitaLand Ascendas REIT: 19.1 [[13]]
• OCBC: 12.5 [[13]]
• ST Engineering: 11.9 [[13]]
• Hongkong Land: 11.7 [[13]]
• Jardine Matheson: 11.5 [[13]]
• Seatrium: 10.6 [[13]]
• Sheng Siong: 10.3 [[13]]

Top 10 Institution Net Sell (-) Stocks (S\$M) – Week of 5 May

• DBS: (54.9) [[13]]
• UOB: (45.9) [[13]]
• Yangzijiang Shipbuilding: (18.5) [[13]]
• Mapletree Logistics Trust: (17.3) [[13]]
• Wilmar International: (11.1) [[13]]
• SATS: (7.3) [[13]]
• Venture Corporation: (7.1) [[13]]
• CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust: (5.7) [[13]]
• Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust: (4.4) [[13]]
• iFast Corporation: (4.1) [[13]]

Top 10 Retail Net Buy (+) Stocks (S\$M) – Week of 5 May

• Yangzijiang Shipbuilding: 24.4 [[13]]
• Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust: 20.0 [[13]]
• Mapletree Logistics Trust: 16.7 [[13]]
• Mapletree Industrial Trust: 11.7 [[13]]
• Wee Hur: 7.3 [[13]]
• Riverstone: 7.1 [[13]]
• CapitaLand Investment: 6.7 [[13]]
• Wilmar International: 6.0 [[13]]
• CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust: 5.2 [[13]]
• SATS: 4.6 [[13]]

Top 10 Retail Net Sell (-) Stocks (S\$M) – Week of 5 May

• Singtel: (57.2) [[13]]
• SIA: (35.0) [[13]]
• Keppel: (27.2) [[13]]
• Seatrium: (20.2) [[13]]
• ST Engineering: (19.5) [[13]]
• OCBC: (19.2) [[13]]
• DBS: (18.3) [[13]]
• Sheng Siong: (13.1) [[13]]
• ComfortDelGro: (7.6) [[13]]
• Hongkong Land: (7.5) [[13]]

Institutional and Retail Fund Flows

• Institutional investors net buy: +S\$98.0m (vs. +S\$195.2m a week ago) [[14]]
• Retail investors net sell: -S\$134.3m (vs. -S\$114.2m a week ago) [[14]]

Institutional Investors Net Buy/Sell (S\$M) by Sector

Retail Investors Net Buy/Sell (S\$M) by Sector

STI Constituents – Week of 5 May

Dividends / Special Distributions / Others

• Oiltek: 1.8 ct Final + Every 1 Share will get 2 Bonus Shares (Ex-Dividend Date: 8 May, Payable: 19 May) [[16]]
• Valuemax: 2.68 cts Final (Ex-Dividend Date: 8 May, Payable: 22 May) [[16]]
• China Aviation Oil: 3.72 cts Final (Ex-Dividend Date: 9 May, Payable: 27 May) [[16]]
• AIMS APAC REIT: 2.53cts (Jan-March’25) (Ex-Dividend Date: 16 May, Payable: 25 June) [[16]]
• Sin Heng Heavy Machinery: 1 ct Final + 4 cts Special (Ex-Dividend Date: 16 May, Payable: 26 May) [[16]]
• Zheneng Jin Jiang Env: 2.3ct Final (Ex-Dividend Date: 16 May, Payable: 29 May) [[16]]
• Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust: 3.0 cts (1Q25) (Ex-Dividend Date: 19 May, Payable: 18 June) [[16]]
• Thai Beverage: THB 15cts Interim (Ex-Dividend Date: 22 May, Payable: 6 June) [[16]]
• Hotung Inv: 10.86 cts Final (Ex-Dividend Date: 27 May, Payable: 19 June) [[16]]
• Jardine Cycle and Carriage: US84 cts Final (Ex-Dividend Date: 28 May, Payable: 13 June) [[16]]
• SUTL: 5 ct Final (Ex-Dividend Date: 2 June, Payable: 19 June) [[16]]
• Union Gas: 1 ct Final (Ex-Dividend Date: 12 June, Payable: 27 June) [[16]]
• UMS: 1ct (1Q25) (Ex-Dividend Date: 9 July, Payable: 24 July) [[16]]
• SIA Engineering: 7 cts Final (Ex-Dividend Date: 28 July, Payable: 12 Aug) [[16]]
• UOB: 25 ct Special (Ex-Dividend Date: 15 Aug, Payable: 28 Aug) [[16]]

SGX Watch-List

32 Companies Under SGX Watch-List (including latest additions) [[17]]

• Amos Group (06-Jun-23) [[17]]
• Ascent Bridge Ltd (04-Dec-19) [[17]]
• ASTI Holdings (06-Jun-19) [[17]]
• British And Malayan Hldgs (06-Jun-23) [[17]]
• CH Offshore (06-Jun-23) [[17]]
• Cosmosteel (05-Jun-18) [[17]]
• Datapulse Technology (06-Jun-23) [[17]]
• Debao Property (04-Dec-19) [[17]]
• Eneco Energy (04-Dec-19) [[17]]
• Full Apex (Holdings) (05-Jun-17) [[17]]
• GRP Limited (06-Jun-23) [[17]]
• Interra Resources (05-Dec-17) [[17]]
• Intraco Ltd (06-Jun-23) [[17]]
• IPC Corp (06-Jun-23) [[17]]
• Jadason Enterprises (06-Jun-23) [[17]]
• Jasper Investments (Salt Investments) (06-Jun-23) [[17]]
• Manufacturing Integration Technology (06-Jun-23) [[17]]
• Metis Energy (05-Dec-18) [[17]]
• Raffles Infrastructure (06-Jun-19) [[17]]
• Shanghai Turbo (06-Jun-23) [[17]]
• SMI Vantage (04-Dec-19) [[17]]
• Trek 2000 Intl (06-Jun-23) [[17]]
• United Food Hldgs (06-Jun-19) [[17]]
• USP Group Limited (04-Dec-19) [[17]]
• Addvalue Technologies (05-Dec-23) [[17]]
• Renaissance United (05-Dec-23) [[17]]
• Telechoice (05-Dec-23) [[17]]
• Tiong Seng Hldgs (05-Dec-23) [[17]]
• Global Invacom Group (05-Jun-24) [[17]]
• Green Build Technology (05-Jun-24) [[17]]
• Keong Hong (05-Jun-24) [[17]]
• Camsing Healthcare (03-Dec-24) [[17]]