SINGAPORE – Shares of Singapore’s three local banks stabilised at the end of the week after two consecutive sessions of losses, as investors took profit following their recent rally.
Shares of DBS Bank edged down 0.66% on Oct 9 to close the week at $73.36, bringing their losses for the week to more than 5%.
UOB shares declined 0.29% to $39.96, taking their weekly losses to 7.71%, while OCBC shares closed flat at $29, having fallen 8.63% over the week.
The volatility comes after Citi on Oct 7 cited softer than expected third-quarter earnings expectations for OCBC and downgraded the stock to “sell”.
Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo, said the continued weakness in Singapore bank shares appears to reflect profit-taking, concerns over earnings expectations and broader volatility in global bond markets.
She said the downgrade also raised questions about whether market expectations for Singapore-dollar interest rates are too optimistic, and whether the banks can sustain their strong wealth-related income from the first half of 2026.
Higher global bond yields are also adding pressure, as they could weigh on credit demand, bond portfolios and investor appetite for dividend stocks.
Still, the recent declines are not expected to be the start of a prolonged downturn across the banking sector, given the lenders’ strong capital positions and dividend support.
“In the near term, further volatility is possible as investors reassess earnings expectations and valuations,” said Chanana.
Citi also cut its price target on shares of Singapore Exchange and placed it on a 90-day “negative catalyst watch”, according to an Oct 2 note. It maintained a “sell” rating.
SGX closed the week at $20.73, down 0.86 per cent for the week and more than 16 per cent from one month ago.
That could make the stock even more palatable for some investors, who will now find it more affordable to buy the pricier stocks on the local bourse, after the board lot size reduction for an initial 11 stocks kicked in on Oct 5.
These are DBS, Great Eastern Holdings, Haw Par Corporation, Jardine Cycle & Carriage, Jardine Matheson Holdings, Keppel, OCBC, Prudential, SGX, UOB and Venture Corporation.
These stocks accounted for 35% of trading activity on SGX in the first six months of 2026.
For stocks priced between $10 and $100 a share, the minimum trading quantity was cut to 10 units from 100. For stocks trading on the bourse with a price above $100, the minimum trading size is now just one unit.
SGX said the board lot size reductions will remain even if the stock prices fall below the $10 or $100 thresholds.
According to the exchange, 10-share lots were traded substantially more frequently than the traditional 100-share lots on Oct 5, while around 55% of trades on the day were executed in trade sizes below the previous 100-share board lot.
Among the 11 stocks, the three banks, SGX and Jardine Matheson saw the highest trades.
Deal for One Raffles Place
IOI Properties and CapitaLand Investment are conducting exclusive due diligence for the proposed acquisition of One Raffles Place, after jointly submitting a 50-50 bid to owners OUE Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) and UOB, the Malaysia developer said.
If completed, the deal would broaden IOI’s exposure to the Downtown Core.
One Raffles Place, which comprises two office towers of 62 and 38 storeys respectively, as well as a six-storey retail podium, also sits on an exceptionally long 841-year lease. The development has an indicative value of between $2.3 billion and $2.4 billion.
IOI also confirmed that it is in the process of listing a REIT each in Malaysia and Singapore and will also have a separate private fund through which it plans to monetise its assets and bring down its debt. IOI Central Boulevard Towers and the South Beach have been identified as seed assets for the fund.
The Bursa Malaysia-listed company also told the media here that it is in talks to do a secondary listing on the SGX.
Mary Chia Holdings shares rally
Shares of Mary Chia Holdings surged more than 92% through the week to close at 2.5 cents on Oct 9.
The company on Oct 16 proposed issuing 100 million new shares at one cent each to four investors, which would allow it to raise $1 million to strengthen its financial position and fund overseas expansion plans.
The move will bring in new investors but significantly dilute the shareholdings of Mary Chia’s existing investors.
Mary Chia expects to receive net proceeds of about $946,570 from the proposed share issue, after estimated expenses of about $53,430.
Of the amount raised, $750,000, or 79.2%, will be used for working capital, including manpower costs, professional fees, compliance and continuing listing expenses, and administrative and head office costs, the company said.
The remaining $196,570, or 20.8 per cent, will fund the expansion of its operations in China and Thailand.
However, the company also disclosed after the market closed on Oct 9 that five companies under the group owe a combined $152,932 in outstanding Central Provident Fund contributions.
The five companies are Mary Chia Beauty & Slimming Specialist, Masego, Organica International Holdings, Spa Menu and Urban Homme Face and Body Studio for Men.
StarHub to acquire MyRepublic’s mobile business
StarHub announced on Oct 8 that it will acquire MyRepublic’s mobile business in a deal expected to be completed by April 30, 2027.
The transaction value will depend on factors including MyRepublic’s total number of 4G and 5G mobile subscribers, average revenue per user (ARPU) and subscriber lifetime.
StarHub will also pay an additional $1 million when 25,000 MyRepublic subscribers migrate to its network, and another $1 million if 50,000 subscribers complete the migration by March 14, 2027.
MyRepublic’s mobile business recorded a net profit of $2.4 million for the 12 months ended June 30. It had about 85,000 active subscribers, with a blended ARPU of $13 a month.
The acquisition follows an earlier agreement to migrate MyRepublic’s 4G customers from M1’s network to StarHub’s network.
The deal is not expected to affect MyRepublic’s mobile customers, who are being progressively migrated to StarHub’s network.
Shares of Starhub remained flat through the week at $1.11.
Sakae Holdings, Creative Tech in the red again
Sakae Holdings, the group that runs Sakake Sushi and Hei Sushi, on Oct 9 issued a notice of three consecutive years of losses.
Under SGX rules, Mainboard-listed companies that record pre-tax losses for three consecutive financial years are required to issue the notice, which may place them on the SGX watch list if their average daily market capitalisation is below $40 million over the last six months
The company also disclosed that its full-year net loss was revised to $2.81 million from $2.64 million following audit adjustments.
In an Oct 9 filing, the group said its audited loss for the financial year ended June 30 was $165,000, or about 6.2% larger than reported in its preliminary results released on Aug 28.
Revenue was revised down by $85,000 to $11.06 million, while cost of sales increased by $88,000 to $4.05 million following the correction.
Creative Technology also issued a notice of three consecutive years of losses on Oct 9, although this narrowed substantially in financial year 2026 compared with 2025.
The company logged a net loss of $600,000 for the period, compared with a loss of $10.5 million the year before.
NutryFarm International on Oct 9 received a demand from shareholders seeking the immediate removal of chief executive Niu Liming from all his executive positions.
The company said the letter was addressed to its independent non-executive directors and came from shareholders who said they represented at least 10% of its paid-up capital. It followed a separate notice requisitioning a special general meeting.
The shareholders also demanded that Niu recuse himself from board deliberations and voting on the matter, and that conflicted directors and management refrain from retaliating against them.
NutryFarm said it was reviewing the allegations in the letter and would announce material developments. The filing did not detail those allegations.
Other market movers
Bitcoin fell more than 4.5% over the week to trade at US$82,581 on Oct 9, as investors turned more risk averse amid renewed tensions in the Middle East.
Fresh attacks in the Strait of Hormuz dampened hopes of a recovery in shipping activity along the key waterway, sending Brent crude oil prices above US$100 a barrel.
Gold also regained some ground over the week, trading at around US$4,181 an ounce on Oct 9 after falling to a weekly low of US$4,086.
What to look out for next week
Singapore’s advance gross domestic product estimates for the third quarter of 2026 will be released on 14 October 2026.
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