Daily Debrief: What Happened Today

UOB sees housing prices falling 5-10% over time; keeps 2018 home loan growth forecast

UOB chief Wee Ee Cheong said housing prices could fall 5-10 per cent in time, following the recent property cooling measures by the government, calling it his "gut feel". But he added that while housing loan activity may drop in response to the cooling measures, this is not expected to hit the bank's home loans growth for now, given the progressive drawdown of loans booked previously.

Former Sakae Holdings director charged over offences involving more than S$20m

A former director of Sakae Holdings was taken to court on Friday after he allegedly committed offences involving more than S$20 million. Andy Ong Siew Kwee, 47, faces 17 charges over offences that include criminal breach of trust and cheating.

Temasek sets up S$5b medium-term note programme

Temasek Holdings has established a new S$5 billion guaranteed medium term note programme to fund the ordinary course of business for the Singapore government-owned investment firm and its investment holding companies.

Brokers' take: CGS-CIMB downgrades DBS to 'hold', RHB maintains 'buy'

CGS-CIMB has downgraded its rating on DBS to "hold" and lowered its target price to S$28 from S$34 previously, citing that the bank's "double-digit" income growth target is a tall order. Meanwhile, RHB has maintained its "buy" call on DBS with a target price of S$30.30, which represents a 13 per cent upside from the stock's Aug 1 close of S$26.94.

Sembcorp, Keppel and YTL said to eye pursuing S$1.47b Hyflux plant

Sembcorp Industries Ltd and Keppel Corp are among parties planning to study bids for Hyflux Ltd's biggest asset, according to people with knowledge of the matter, in a sale that's key to helping the cash-strapped company get back on its feet.

Malaysia's Khazanah names Employees Provident Fund CEO as managing director

Malaysia's sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional named Shahril Ridza Ridzuan, who is the chief executive officer of the pension fund Employees Provident Fund (EPF), as its new managing director.

Hatten Land unit to acquire Seremban developer

Catalist-listed Hatten Land is going beyond Melaka for the first time with its proposed acquisition of Velvet Valley Sdn Bhd, the property developer announced on Friday after the market closed.

Corporate Earnings

The STI Today

Singapore shares down by 0.63% on Friday

Earnings gloom and continued trade uncertainty took their toll on Singapore equities on Friday, despite the overnight up-trend on Wall Street. The benchmark Straits Times Index lost 20.59 points, or 0.63 per cent, to 3,265.73, bringing it down by 1.78 per cent on the previous week.