Daily Debrief: What Happened Today

OCBC to buy National Australia Bank's private wealth business in Singapore, HK

OCBC Bank said on Thursday that it has agreed to buy National Australia Bank's (NAB) private wealth business in Singapore and Hong Kong , a move which will give the Singapore bank immediate access to about 11,000 new affluent customers and add US$3.05 billion in customer deposits.

Commercial vehicles' COE premium falls further

The COE (Certificate of Entitlement) premium for commercial vehicles continued to fall but only slightly. In the first bidding exercise of the new quota, Category C - for goods vehicles and buses - shed S$472 to S$26,029. It had fallen by nearly S$20,000 two weeks ago.

3-month SOR tumbles amid flush liquidity conditions, back to early Feb level

Local interest rates continue to fall amid flush liquid market conditions. The three-month SOR or swap offer rate has been tumbling since late April and at 0.7683 per cent on May 9 is back to early February levels. The three-month SOR is a benchmark used for corporate loans.

AVA to launch tenders for new agriculture land, focusing on productivity

New agriculture land for food farming in Lim Chu Kang and Sungei Tengah is slated for tender from August this year.

ExxonMobil confirms acquisition of Jurong Aromatics Corp

ExxonMobil said on Thursday it has reached an agreement to buy over Jurong Aromatics Corporation (JAC), confirming speculation in the market.

Noble announces board changes; Paul Brough to replace Elman as chairman

Noble Group has appointed independent non-executive director Paul Brough as its new chairman, replacing founder Richard Elman who will now take on a non-executive role as founder and chairman emeritus.

Systra, Meinhardt secure contracts for KL-Singapore HSR project

Global engineering firms Systra and Meinhardt on Thursday announced that they have been awarded two contracts for the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR) project by MyHSR Corporation, the company responsible for the development and promotion of the project.

Corporate Earnings

​The STI Today

Singapore stocks close mixed despite banks, Jardine stocks pushing STI to 22-mth high

Rises in the three banks on Thursday pushed the Straits Times Index (STI) to its highest level in about 22 months, up 21.14 points or 0.65 per cent to 3,271.11. Turnover was a heavy 2.1 billion units worth S$1.9 billion but gains were not widespread - the advance-decline score excluding warrants was 239 to 269.