News

The ultra-deepwater semi-submersible rig rated for 10,000 feet water depth is Atwood Oceanics’ second rig order with Jurong Shipyard.

The central bank pumped US$8.2bn in the spot market and US$8.6bn in the forward market in October to keep the currency from appreciating beyond the bands that govern it.

Keppel Corporation said year-on-year increase of 9.6% in net profit is expected for FY2010E. A slow and steady growth in its net profit is forecasted for the next three years. They forecast year-on-year increases of 2.3% and 4.0% in net profit for FY2011E and FY2012E.

The group expects to generate an after-tax profit of about S$15.7mln.

A PMI of 51.2 came in for November, according to OCBC. This is higher than October's PMI which is 50.7.

A huge rise of 358% growth in investment volumes was recorded for Singapore. According to Jones Lang LaSalle's Capital Markets Bulletin, this growth came from several large transactions in 3Q10.

Citadines Quartier Jakarta is Ascott’s 15th Citadines property to open in Asia Pacific.

The options for the additional two rigs may bring the total contract value to above US$720mln.

Within Asia, Singapore is considered the 8th most expensive location in the survey conducted by ECA International. From last year, Singapore's rank went up a notch from 9th.

Three bulk carriers of 82,000 dwt will be built by COSCO Shipyard Co. Ltd. using the secured contracts.

Starting today, the carrier will increase its fuel surcharge between US$3 to US$25 due to the sustained escalation in the price of jet fuel in recent months.

Credit Suisse also seen to strengthen SGX’s capabilities in the interbank interest rate swap market.

Bank loans growth jumped from 12.2% yoy in September to 13.8% yoy in October. According to OCBC, the increase was buoyed by both business (10.1%yoy and 0.8%mom) and consumer loans (18.1%yoy and 1.8%mom), especially housing/bridging loans (22.5%yoy and 2.1% mom). 

Singaporeans should be happy with their monthly income rising by 4.2% over the year. According to OCBC, the median monthly income of residents in full-time employment rose faster than the marginal growth of 0.5% in 2009.

Credit card bills increased by 16.6% mom to $2.6b, according to OCBC. On the other hand, bad debts fell to 10.6% mom to $14.3m. Monetary aggregates accelerated to 17.9% yoy(M1) and 10.0% (M2) respectively in Oct, up from 17.1% and 8.2% in September.

The cargo division of Singapore Airlines agreed to pay S$63.4 million or US$48 million as criminal fine for US price fixing scam. According to Reuters, U.S. Justice Department said that Singapore Airlines Cargo plead guilty for the price fixing scam. The plea and the payment of US$48 million should be approved by the U.S. District Court.