All eyes on T-bills again. Weekly recap and what to watch in the week ahead

We started the month by checking the latest rates for fixed deposits, savings accounts and SSBs. 

Disappointingly, the interest rates offered have fallen compared to last month. 

This has made T-bills look relatively attractive to investors again, especially with an increase in the cut-off yield in the previous auction to 3.85%. 

Will the yield rise further in the upcoming T-bill auction? We look at the latest indicators to find out. 

😀  Here's some good news

What happened? 

The interest rate on the CPF Special and MediSave Accounts (SMA) will be raised to 4.01% per annum from 1 July to 30 September 2023. 

What does this mean?

The increase in interest rate on the SMA came about after an increase in the 12-month average yield on the 10 year Singapore Government Securities (10YSGS) caused it to exceed the floor interest rate of 4.0%. 

However, the interest rate on the CPF OA account remains at 2.5%. 

Why should I care? 

With the CPF OA interest rate staying at 2.5%, the good news is that the HDB concessionary interest rate also remains unchanged at 2.6% p.a.

Read our analysis about what you can do to earn a potentially higher interest rate on your CPF OA savings.

🚗 WHAT'S MOVING

• Singapore Depository Receipts were launched on the Singapore Exchange on 30th May, offering retail investors access to Thai blue chip stocks. Read our analysis on Airports of Thailand here.
• SATS reported a net profit of S$6 million for the six month ended March 2023, a 17% decline from the previous year. While revenue increased by 57% in the second half of FY2023 with a recovery in aviation, net profit was impacted by higher expenses including one-off expenses from the acquisition of Worldwide Flight Services.
• Singapore Airlines (SIA) is investing to enhance the experience of its customers, including extending free inflight Wi-Fi to KrisFlyer members and restoring appetisers for its economy-class customers on medium and long-haul flights.
• The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) has commenced investigations on Seatrium (formerly Sembcorp Marine) and individuals from the company relating to alleged corrupt offences that occurred in Brazil. The company believes this relates to events that occurred prior to 2015 and to the Sembcorp Marine group in existence at that time. Read our analysis here. 
• AIMS APAC REIT (AA REIT) seeks to raise around S$100 million through a private placement and preferential offering. 

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

💡 THE BIG IMPORTANT STORY

Will the T-bill yield rise further in the auction on 8th June?

More investors have taken notice of the 6-month T-bill after the cut-off yield rose to 3.85% in the previous auction.

🤓 WHAT WE’RE LOOKING OUT FOR THIS WEEK

• Monday, 5 June: Apple Worldwide Developer Conference
• Thursday, 8 June: Singapore 6-month T-bill auction
• Friday, 9 June: Nio earnings

Source: Bloomberg, SGX 

🍭 THAT’S INTERESTING

Taiwanese shipping companies are giving out bumper mid-year bonuses as they continue to benefit from pandemic gains. Evergreen Marine will give its workers a mid-year bonus of worth around 12 months of salary. This comes on top of bonuses worth around 50 months of salary in January after  the company reported a record net profit in 2022. 

Source: Bloomberg