Ben Paul

Ben Paul

SENIOR CORRESPONDENT

Ben Paul joined The Business Times in 2020, after nearly three decades of covering financial markets as an analyst and journalist. He writes and produces the BT’s Mark To Market column and podcast.

Among the STI components that will trade ex-dividend this week are DBS and Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust.
MARK TO MARKET

Power of payouts: A big chunk of the STI has just gone ex-dividend. What’s next?

The big question is whether the core businesses of the STI’s constituents can support its next leg up as the impact of major capital return initiatives wanes

The most striking aspect of the Paragon deal is that the manager of CICT seems less fazed by the ageing property’s need for an asset enhancement initiative than Cuscaden Peak.
HOCK LOCK SIEW

Paragon deal: Why investors should get ready for more Reit mergers and take-private offers

In a less-conducive operating backdrop, smaller Reits may be weeded out, as larger ones play the role of consolidators

Addvalue is one of the few SGX-listed companies with a business profile overtly aligned with today’s geopolitical currents.
MARK TO MARKET

Addvalue should rethink value-unlocking move

The business it plans to spin off may garner a lofty valuation on Nasdaq, but its own shares may be plagued by a holding company discount

The enhanced disclosures on executive pay, dividend policy and investor relations are clearly linked to the Value Unlock programme announced late last year.
MARK TO MARKET

SGX RegCo stiffens its back with proposal for enhanced disclosures to drive value creation

The frontline market regulator should ask boards for more transparency on their thinking on capital management

Companies need solid balance sheets, strong pricing power and investment narratives aligned with geopolitical currents.
MARK TO MARKET

From butter to guns: Why defence stocks are outperforming the S&P 500

If the new dual-listing bridge attracts companies that fail to perform, it may erode rather than enhance the vibrancy of the Singapore market

SpaceX is reportedly seeking a valuation at IPO of more than US$2 trillion.
MARK TO MARKET

SpaceX’s IPO may hold lessons for Singapore

When companies go public, their founders and managers should communicate a big vision rather than a plan to just deliver incremental gains

SGX made it compulsory for companies to disclose the exact remuneration of CEOs and directors in their annual reports for financial years ending on and after Dec 31, 2024
HOCK LOCK SIEW

Are CEOs paid too much? An NUS study offers insights that hopefully changes more than rules

Investors should look out for the shortcomings in remuneration practices highlighted by the study in the companies in which they own shares

Amid a sell-off in S-Reits this month, Lendlease Reit’s S$196.6 million preferential offering garnered a subscription rate of only 62.2 per cent
MARK TO MARKET

S-Reits pursuing growth as Iran war escalates risk poorly timed equity raising exercises

A greater focus on value unlocking moves versus acquisitions could go a long way in sustaining investor enthusiasm

MAS said a review of the Code of Corporate Governance is under way to place more emphasis on shareholder value creation and investor engagement.
MARK TO MARKET

MAS should require EQDP fund managers to express their views, flex shareholder power

An alignment of interests with minority investors could be a more constructive motivating force for IDs than their vaunted independence

The  iEdge S-Reit Index has delivered a total return of less than 4% since the beginning of 2020, while the STI has returned 97.1%.
MARK TO MARKET

Iran war may hasten Reits’ waning popularity

A more hawkish tone from the Fed this week could further weaken sentiment towards real estate investment trusts