President Donald Trump has authorized the U.S. Commerce Secretary, under the Defense Production Act (DPA), to impose export restrictions on industrial waste containing recoverable critical minerals and rare earth elements. The objective is to retain these valuable materials within the U.S., recycle them from products such as magnets and lithium-ion batteries, strengthen domestic supply chains, and reduce reliance on China for critical minerals.

Great Eastern’s profit jump 43% y-o-y to $849.5 million for 1HFY2026, declares 35 cents dividend

Jardine Matheson’s 1HFY2026 underlying profit grew 9% y-o-y to US$735 mil; declares higher dividend of 65 US cents

MPACT’s 1QFY2027 DPU down 2.5% y-o-y to 1.96 cents

CDLHT’s 1HFY2026 DPS rises 8.6% y-o-y to 2.15 cents

AIMS APAC REIT reports 1QFY2027 DPU of 2.337 cents, up 2.5% y-o-y

FEHT’s DPS fell 8.4% y-o-y in 1H2026 but core DPS rose by 7.9% y-o-y

Hongkong Land, through its Singapore Central Private Real Estate Fund (SCPREF), will acquire Wheelock Place for S$1.1 billion from Wharf Real Estate Investment Company. The acquisition is the fund’s first new purchase since its launch, excluding its seed assets, and is expected to be completed by end-August.

The deal will increase SCPREF’s assets under management (AUM) from S$8.2 billion to S$9.4 billion, bringing it closer to its S$15 billion target. It also supports Hongkong Land’s strategy of expanding its fund management platform and generating more recurring earnings through high-quality commercial real estate.

Jardine Cycle & Carriage (JC&C) has announced a one-off shareholder distribution comprising a special dividend of 37 US cents per share and an in-specie distribution of Toyota Motor shares worth about 36 US cents per JC&C share, in addition to its interim dividend of 28 US cents per share. Based on current Toyota share prices, shareholders will receive a total value of approximately 73 US cents per JC&C share. Shareholders who do not wish to retain the Tokyo-listed Toyota shares may have JC&C sell them on their behalf at no cost.

The distributions reflect JC&C’s increased focus on enhancing shareholder returns through more disciplined capital allocation and the disposal of non-core investments, following recent divestments including stakes in Siam City Cement, Vietnam Dairy Products, and part of its Toyota holdings. After the distribution, the company’s net tangible assets per share will decline from US$19.72 to US$18.95.

Separately, JC&C reported weaker first-half FY2026 results, with net profit falling 2% to US$363 million, underlying profit declining 11% to US$473 million, and revenue dropping 8% to US$9.99 billion. The weaker performance was attributed to lower contributions from portfolio companies, reduced dividend income, and the absence of one-off foreign exchange gains recorded a year earlier. While Indonesia and Singapore recorded softer contributions and Indonesia is expected to continue facing macroeconomic headwinds, the company remains optimistic about the long-term outlook for Astra, as well as the continued growth of THACO and REE. Reflecting its evolving strategic role within the Jardine Matheson group, JC&C also plans to rebrand itself as Jardine Matheson Southeast Asia and is reportedly considering the sale of its Cycle & Carriage automotive distribution business.

Singapore Airlines (SIA) reported its first quarterly loss since 2022, posting a S$76 million net loss as a sharp increase in fuel costs and higher losses from Air India weighed on earnings. Although the airline achieved record revenue of S$5.7 billion due to diverted traffic from disrupted Gulf routes, rising oil prices caused by geopolitical tensions pushed its fuel bill to S$2.5 billion, nearly S$1 billion higher than the previous quarter.

Analysts were divided on whether the pressure would persist. DBS highlighted that SIA’s operating profit of S$106 million was far below expectations and maintained a “Hold” rating with a S$6.50 target price, warning that the share price had already reflected stronger performance. Other analysts noted that SIA remained relatively resilient, benefiting from strong demand, an 87% load factor, effective fuel hedging, and a stronger balance sheet compared with peers.

While Air India losses and geopolitical risks remain concerns, some analysts expect earnings to recover if fuel prices ease. However, brokerages cautioned that SIA’s valuation appears stretched after its strong share price performance, despite its long-term strengths and dividend potential.

Singtel is reportedly in advanced talks to sell a more than 30% stake in Optus to New Zealand-based infrastructure investor Morrison, in a deal potentially worth over A$2 billion (US$1.4 billion).

Morrison has secured a seven-week exclusivity period to finalise the proposal, which could end Singtel’s 25-year ownership as Optus’ sole owner. Morrison is seeking support from Australian superannuation funds to join its bidding consortium, with discussions reportedly ongoing with at least six funds.

The deal is not guaranteed, as Morrison is still assessing investor appetite. Both Singtel and Morrison have declined to comment on the discussions.

Singtel is exploring a potential Nasdaq-SGX dual listing for its data centre arm Nxera and a separate data centre REIT listing as part of its strategy to recycle capital and unlock shareholder value. Both options remain at an early stage, with no decision yet on timing, size or structure.

Nxera is expected to more than double its data centre capacity across Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia to over 200 megawatts by end-2026, with Singtel targeting more than S$300 million in EBITDA by 2028. The group remains cautious, saying it will only build new facilities when it has sufficient customer commitments.

Singtel also confirmed that its acquisition of an 82% stake in ST Telemedia Global Data Centres (STT GDC) with a KKR-led consortium is expected to complete within two months, potentially creating more strategic options for its data centre business.

At the AGM, shareholders raised concerns over auditor KPMG following an Optus information-sharing incident, but the reappointment was approved with 99.79% of votes. Singtel is also continuing its transformation efforts at Optus, SingPost and digital bank GXS, though GXS remains challenging with losses in Singapore due to intense competition.

Keppel reported a 59% decline in H1 2026 net profit to S$154.7 million, down from S$377.7 million a year earlier, mainly due to losses from its non-core assets. The non-core portfolio recorded a S$375 million net loss, including S$165 million impairments on legacy rig assets, while the failed M1 sale to Simba and property-related losses also weighed on results.

Despite the headline decline, Keppel’s transformed core business (“New Keppel”) performed strongly, with net profit rising 25% to about S$530 million. Revenue increased 24.6% to S$3.8 billion, supported by investments, private funds, and co-investments. Recurring income grew 13% to S$467 million, while sponsor stakes and co-investments contributed S$175 million.

Growth came from infrastructure and connectivity businesses, with infrastructure profit up 55% to S$538 million and connectivity profit up 54% to S$77.5 million. Keppel also continued its asset-light strategy, reaching S$106 billion in funds under management, ahead of its S$100 billion target, and aims to grow this to S$200 billion by 2030.

Keppel maintained its S$0.15 interim dividend and continued its S$500 million share buyback programme. The company is also reviewing options for M1 after the failed Simba deal, focusing on improving performance while remaining open to future consolidation opportunities.

Hong Kong stocks ended mixed on July 30, with the Hang Seng Index (HSI) rising 0.2% to 25,858 and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index (HSCEI) gaining 0.25%, while the Hang Seng Tech Index (HSTECH) fell 1.25% as technology and semiconductor shares came under pressure. Market turnover totalled HK$304.9 billion.

Among major technology stocks, Tencent advanced 1.2% on reports that it is internally testing a new AI-generated content creation platform, while NetEase and JD.com also gained. In contrast, Alibaba and Xiaomi declined. New Oriental was the day’s top-performing blue chip, surging 18.8% after reporting a 27.8% increase in annual profit and receiving a higher target price from Goldman Sachs. Bud APAC and MGM China also rose following strong earnings, while Sunny Optical and Lenovo retreated.

AI-related and semiconductor stocks were the weakest performers. Z.AI plunged 16.6%, MiniMax fell 4.2%, and Xunce dropped 5.9%. Chipmakers were heavily sold, with SMIC falling 7.7%, Hua Hong Semiconductor down 8.3%, Iluvatar CoreX sliding 14.7%, and Montage Technology losing 6.8%. Leveraged ETFs tracking Samsung and SK Hynix also posted sharp declines despite Samsung reporting stronger-than-expected quarterly operating profit.

Several Malaysian listed companies reported mixed quarterly results, with technology firms leading gains while consumer and property-related companies faced weaker performance.

ViTrox posted a strong set of results, with second-quarter net profit more than tripling to RM85 million and revenue more than doubling to RM374.9 million, driven by robust demand for AI-related technologies, improved operational efficiency and tax benefits. Similarly, Bursa Malaysia recorded a 26% increase in net profit to RM71.8 million on stronger trading activity and listing fees, while maintaining its financial targets and raising its IPO market capitalisation target to RM34 billion. Texchem also delivered its strongest quarterly earnings in over four years, with net profit surging more than sixfold on broad-based growth across its business segments.

In contrast, British American Tobacco Malaysia saw net profit plunge 79% to RM10.6 million due to higher operating expenses and lower revenue, leading to a reduced interim dividend. Axis REIT reported a 4.5% decline in net property income as higher property expenses offset rental income, while EcoFirst’s earnings fell sharply as revenue from its KL48 development project slowed nearing completion.

YTL Hospitality REIT posted a modest improvement in net property income, supported by higher Malaysian rental contributions despite softer Australian hotel performance, and declared a final distribution of 4.92 sen per unit. Separately, THMY Holdings significantly expanded its new factory project to RM172.6 million from RM29.4 million in response to growing customer demand for advanced automated test solutions, with funding to come from internal resources, borrowings and potential future fundraising.

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