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SINGAPORE – Bank loans edged up 0.6 per cent to $684.88 billion in August from the previous month, reversing a dip in July, as higher business loans offset the continued contraction in housing loans, according to preliminary figures from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on Monday (Sept 30). Business loans grew 1.1 per cent to $422.73 billion from July, while consumer loans shrank 0.2 per cent to $262.15 billion. Housing loans, which account for three-quarters of consumer lending, dropped 0.2 per cent to $201.37 billion last month, compared with July, marking the eighth straight month of contraction. They declined by 1.1 per cent on a year-on-year basis. Weaknesses in the manufacturing sector as the United States and China trade war wage on also showed in the latest lending figures. Loans to the manufacturing sector contracted 0.2 per cent to $27.92 billion compared with July, while loans to all other business sectors such as agriculture, construction and transpor...

SINGAPORE’s headline inflation edged up slightly in August reversing from a dip July, while core inflation remained flat, according to statistics released by the authorities Monday. Headline inflation rose to 0.5 per cent, up from 0.4 per cent in July and largely in line with economists’ expectations. This reflects higher private road transport inflation and a smaller decline in accommodation costs, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Ministry of Trade & Industry (MTI) said in a joint statement. Food inflation picked up slightly to 1.6 per cent year on year in August, from 1.4 per cent in the previous month. MAS and MTI said this was on account of a larger increase in the cost of non-cooked food items, as well as higher food services inflation. The cost of retail goods registered a year-on-year declined of 1.5 per cent, up from the 1 per cent fall in July. The steeper drop primarily reflected a sharper decline in the cost of medical products, hous...

The Singapore investor is no stranger to Reits. Real estate investment trusts listed in Singapore, with a combined market capitalisation of S$100 billion, make up 10 per cent of the stock market and are often recommended as safe, solidly-yielding investments. While the universe of Singapore-listed Reits – or S-Reits – is diverse, spanning all real estate sectors and many geographies, a small handful have emerged to pique investor interest especially. This year alone, three US property trusts listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX), bringing with them exposure to the biggest real estate market globally. SGX market strategist Geoff Howie tells The Business Times: “Singapore has been growing in strength as a listing platform for US property trusts since 2016, and listed three US property trusts over a three-month span in Singapore earlier this year.” Two property trusts focusing on hotels listed in May. ARA US Hospitality Trust (ARA-H-Trust) has a total of 38 Hyatt Place and Hyat...

They have cut estimates from the 2.1 per cent tip made in June to just 0.6 per cent in light of worsening economic conditions and geopolitical risks, in a poll of 23 private sector economists and analysts by the Monetary Authority of Singapore in its quarterly survey. The lower forecast is in line with official estimates, which have been dialled back from an annual growth of between 1.5 per cent and 2.5 per cent to between 0 per cent and 1 per cent. This revision came as second-quarter growth slowed to 0.1 per cent from 1.1 per cent in the previous three months. In the survey released yesterday, experts said they expect year-on-year growth of 0.3 per cent in the third quarter, and cited further escalation of trade tensions between the US and China as their top concern. An economic slowdown in China triggered by trade issues and domestic financial market instability also continued to be a concern. Geopolitical risks in places such as Hong Kong and the Persian Gulf were w...

SINGAPORE: Singapore’s banking body on Friday (Aug 30) said it would shift away from using Singapore dollar swap offer rates (SOR) as a key lending benchmark due to the likely discontinuation of the London Interbank Offered Rate, which heavily influences SOR. The change, which will take place over the next two years, will see products such as loans that reference the rate switched to other benchmarks such as Singapore Overnight Rate Average (SORA), Singapore Interbank Offered Rates (SIBOR) or banks’ internal funding rates. “Such a shift is necessary given the likely discontinuation of USD LIBOR, following the announcement by the UK regulatory authorities that the benchmark will not be sustained by regulatory powers after end-2021,” the Association of Banks in Singapore and the Singapore Foreign Exchange Market Committee said in a statement. SOR relies on USD LIBOR in its computation methodology. The group has identified SORA as the best alternative and the central bank has ...