Hot stock: Singtel up 0.9%, iFast surges 2.5% after digital bank licence applications

SHARES of both Z74 and AIY rose on Thursday morning after the two mainboard-listed companies each announced their applications for a digital bank licence in Malaysia.

As at 10.05am, index counter Singtel gained S$0.02 or 0.9 per cent to peak at S$2.31 amid heavy trading, with some 2.9 million shares changing hands.

This comes after Singapore's largest telco earlier announced it had applied for a digital bank licence in Malaysia through its joint venture with Grab, together with a consortium of other investors.

Shares of iFast were up by 2.5 per cent or S$0.20 to an intraday high of S$8.35, with 146.8 million shares traded as at 9.10am.

On Wednesday after the market closed, the wealth management platform said it was leading a consortium to apply for a digital bank licence in Malaysia. iFast will take a 40 per cent stake in the digital bank should the application be successful.

No married deals were recorded for either company in early trade on Thursday, according to ShareInvestor data.

Shares of Singtel and iFast have since eased to trade S$0.01 or 0.5 per cent higher at S$2.30, and up S$0.12 or 1.5 per cent at S$8.27, respectively, as at 10.28am.