Weekly recap: No love for T-bills, SGS bonds and REITs

There hasn’t been much love for T-bills, SGS bonds and REITs in the past week.

The cut-off yield on the latest 6-month T-bill fell to 3.70%, as total applications fell to $$11.2 billion from a recent high of S$12.3 billion.

The second public offer of the Singapore 50-year green SGS bond saw just S$3.8 million of applications out of $50 million on offer. 

CapitaLand Ascott Trust’s preferential offering closed with just 64.7% of the total number of units offered subscribed for. 

Likewise, ASEAN tech stocks continue to be unloved, with Sea Limited trading close to a 3-year low. We analyse if it is a bargain after its 29% decline post its recent results. 

On the other hand, Grab has done slightly better after it brought forward its adjusted profitability metrics by one quarter. Is a turnaround in sight for Grab?

Lastly, with MoneyOwl’s announcement that it will be winding down, we look at what customers should do and what it means for investors looking for a robo-advisor platform in Singapore. 

💰 CPF CONTRIBUTION CHANGES FROM 1 SEP

What happened? 

The CPF monthly salary ceiling has been raised from S$6,000 to S$6,300 from 1 September, and will be progressively increased to S$8,000 in 2026.

What does this mean?

If your monthly salary is above S$6,000, the increase in the CPF monthly salary ceiling will lead to some reduction in your take home pay. 

However, it will also help to build up your retirement savings as the higher CPF contributions are accumulated over time. 

Why should I care? 

As your CPF savings grow, you may want to consider different ways to allow your savings to work harder for your retirement.  

Learn more about the ways to make your CPF savings work harder here.

💡 THE BIG IMPORTANT STORY

 T-bill yield falls further to 3.7%. Time to switch to fixed deposits?

The cut-off yield on the latest 6-month Singapore T-bill auction on 31 August fell further to 3.70%.

🚗 WHAT'S MOVING

• CapitaLand Ascott Trust’s preferential offering closed with 64.7% of the total number of units offered subscribed for. The new units are expected to commence trading at 9am on 4 September 2023. Read our analysis on what this means for unitholders here. 
• Frasers Centrepoint Trust will divest retail mail Changi City Point for $338 million to an unrelated third party. The net proceeds will be used to repay its loans with higher interest rates and reduce FCT’s pro-forma aggregate leverage as of 30 June from 40.2% to 37.1%.
• Sembcorp Industries and an entity of Petrovietnam are jointly exploring the development of offshore wind farms in Vietnam for the export of electricity to Singapore. Separately, Sembcorp Industries announced that it has received approvals to develop four new industrial parks in Vietnam with its longstanding partner Becamax. 
• Seatrium has signed a letter of intent with Shell for the construction of a deepwater new build project in the Gulf of Mexico. Both parties are said to be “progressing the project towards a final investment decision” which is expected to come later in 2023. The final contract award is subject to the final investment decision by Shell and Equinor.
• Nio (NIO) delivered more than 19,000 vehicles in August, its second-highest monthly deliveries ever. The company also reported a wider than expected quarterly loss for the second quarter.

Source: Bloomberg, CNBC, Financial Times, Business Times, Edge Singapore

🤓 WHAT WE’RE LOOKING OUT FOR THIS WEEK

• Monday, 4 Sep: US Public Holiday
• Wednesday, 6 Sep: Fed Beige Book
• Thursday, 7 Sep: Moomoo Live: Why invest in Thailand’s economy?
• Saturday, 9 Sep: China Consumer Price Index (CPI)

Source: Bloomberg, SGX