Industry News

Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd (ST Engineering) has announced a robust financial performance for the first nine months of 2025, with group revenue reaching $9.1b, marking a 9% increase year-on-year. This growth was driven by strong performances across its three main business segments: Commercial Aerospace, Defence & Public Security, and Urban Solutions & Satcom.

The company’s order book has reached a record high of $32.6b as of the end of September 2025, with $14b in new contracts secured during the period. This includes $4.9b in contracts from the third quarter alone. ST Engineering expects approximately $2.8b of this order book to be delivered by the end of the year.

Vincent Chong, Group President and CEO, highlighted the company’s strategic focus, stating, “Our nine-month year-to-date performance was underpinned by robust revenue growth whilst our order book reached a new high. These strong underlying results reflect the strength and resilience of our business strategy and fundamentals.”

In addition to its financial results, ST Engineering announced plans to propose a final dividend of 6.0 cents per share and a special dividend of 5.0 cents per share, subject to shareholder approval at the 2026 AGM. These dividends are part of the company’s strategy to share value realisation with shareholders, following recent divestments that generated $594m in cash proceeds.

Despite these dividend payments, the company remains financially strong, with plans to reinvest in growth opportunities or reduce debt. The recent divestments, including the sale of subsidiary LeeBoy and shareholding interests in CityCab and SPTel, have improved the company’s cash position and are part of a continual portfolio review to prioritise strategic growth areas.

OKP Holdings Limited’s subsidiary, Eng Lam Contractors Co (Pte) Ltd, has been awarded a S$22.6m contract by JTC Corporation for infrastructure works at CleanTech Loop, part of the Jurong Innovation District. The 22-month project, which began in October 2025, is expected to conclude by August 2027.

The contract involves constructing a dual-two lane road, sewer line, and drainage system, alongside a 750-square metre elevated connection slab with pedestrian and cycling paths. These enhancements aim to improve connectivity within CleanTech Park, aligning with JTC’s vision for a sustainable and advanced manufacturing hub.

JTC’s adoption of the New Engineering Contract 4 (NEC4) Option C Target Cost Contract signifies a shift towards transparency and collaboration. This model involves setting a target price upfront, with costs tracked openly and shared savings or overruns, fostering a cooperative project environment.

Or Toh Wat, Group Managing Director of OKP, stated, “This contract is a strong affirmation of OKP’s trusted track record in Singapore’s infrastructure landscape.” He emphasised the project’s role in supporting business collaboration and sustainable growth.

This contract follows OKP’s recent success with the Land Transport Authority cycling path network project, contributing to a record high order book of S$615.9m, with projects extending to 2031.

The Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA), in collaboration with the Singapore Exchange Regulation (SGX RegCo), the National Council of Social Service (NCSS), the Singapore Institute of Directors (SID), and PwC Singapore, has launched three significant publications aimed at advancing Singapore’s sustainability reporting ecosystem. These publications were introduced at the ISCA Conference on 12 November 2025, marking a pivotal step in strengthening the credibility of climate and social impact disclosures.

The first publication, a Climate Reporting Roadmap, is designed to assist non-Straits Times Index (non-STI) issuers in meeting the extended climate reporting timelines set by the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) and SGX RegCo. This roadmap provides a structured approach for companies to enhance governance and build internal capabilities, aligning with the wider ecosystem to support non-STI and large non-listed companies.

The second publication, Guidelines for Social Impact Metrics in Corporate Sustainability Reporting, was launched by Minister Indranee Rajah. Developed by NCSS in partnership with ISCA and SID, these guidelines offer practical advice for organisations to measure and communicate their social impact effectively.

Lastly, the ESG Assurance Landscape Study, conducted by PwC, ISCA, and SGX RegCo, assesses the readiness of SGX-listed companies for mandatory sustainability assurance. The study reveals that only 17% of companies have obtained external assurance for their sustainability reports, highlighting a readiness gap.

These initiatives underscore a national effort to enhance sustainability reporting quality and consistency, crucial for Singapore’s transition to a sustainable economy. ISCA remains committed to developing capabilities to meet the growing demand for reliable sustainability disclosures.

Singapore’s retail landscape is seeing a positive shift as the islandwide retail vacancy rate decreased from 7.1% in the second quarter (Q2) to 6.9% in the third quarter (Q3) of this year, according to Savills’ latest report. This decline is attributed to a slight improvement in net demand for retail space, particularly in Orchard Road and the Downtown Core Planning Area, alongside steady demand in suburban areas.

The report highlights that landlords have become more flexible with lease terms, especially for less prime spaces, as core tenants seek early lease terminations. This flexibility has contributed to the improved occupancy rates. Savills estimates that the pipeline supply of retail space will be around 540,000 square feet this year, a decrease from 679,000 square feet completed in 2024. The supply is expected to taper off in 2026 and 2027, with major developments anticipated from 2028 onwards, such as the expansion of Marina Bay Sands.

Despite these positive trends, high operating costs and inconsistent spending patterns continue to challenge retailers, leading to higher tenant turnover. Suburban malls, supported by steady footfall and essential purchases, face limited rental growth due to cost pressures and competition from cross-border shopping.

Singapore remains a top luxury shopping destination in Asia, attracting international brands. Recent openings include Chinese jewellery label Laopu Gold at Marina Bay Sands and Swiss sportswear brand On at Jewel Changi Airport. American fast-food chain Chick-fil-A is set to open its first Asian outlet in December, with other international brands planning to follow suit.

Sulian Tan-Wijaya of Savills Singapore noted, “The influx of overseas brands, particularly from China, continues, although there is some push-back on rents in prime malls.” Alan Cheong, also from Savills, added, “We expect Orchard Road and suburban mall rents to rise by up to 2% in 2025.”

The Life Insurance Association, Singapore (LIA Singapore) has reported a 10.4% increase in total weighted new business premiums for the year-to-date third quarter of 2025, reaching S$4.76b. This growth reflects strong consumer confidence and a proactive approach by Singaporeans towards financial security. Financial Adviser Representatives, both independent and insurer-backed, played a significant role, securing S$50.8b in sum assured, which accounts for 44.3% of the total for the period.

The demand for annual premium policies surged by 19.9% compared to the previous year, totalling S$3.57b. Conversely, single-premium policies saw a decline of 10.8%, amounting to S$1.19b. LIA Singapore President Wong Sze Keed noted, “We are making steady progress in narrowing Singapore’s protection gap. Singaporeans are not just getting more financially savvy, they are also taking steps to become more adequately insured.”

Investment-linked policies maintained their popularity, comprising 43% of the total weighted new business premiums. Meanwhile, Integrated Shield Plans (IPs) continue to be a cornerstone of health insurance, with nearly 113,000 new IPs taken up in the first nine months of 2025. This brings the total number of lives covered by IPs to approximately 3 million, or 71% of Singapore residents.

Looking ahead, the industry remains optimistic, despite anticipated healthcare cost increases in 2026. The life insurance sector is committed to evolving its products to meet the community’s needs, ensuring sustainable and accessible healthcare for all.

Nium, a global leader in real-time cross-border payments, has announced its participation in Visa’s stablecoin settlement pilot. This initiative allows Nium to settle transactions using stablecoins, including Circle’s USDC, across supported blockchains. The collaboration aims to modernise Nium’s payment operations by offering faster, more secure, and programmable settlement capabilities.

The integration of stablecoin settlement is set to transform Nium’s cross-border money movement by shifting from traditional batch-based systems to blockchain-based stablecoin flows. This transition is expected to reduce friction, costs, and delays, addressing common issues such as weekend cutoffs and time zone discrepancies. Alex Johnson, Chief Payments Officer at Nium, stated, “By settling with Visa via stablecoins, we’re aligning payments to the speed of the internet, not the speed of traditional rails.”

Visa’s Head of Digital Currencies Asia Pacific, Nischint Sanghavi, highlighted the importance of stablecoins in modern money movement, noting that the pilot offers predictable settlement capabilities up to seven days a week. “We’re excited to expand our collaboration with Nium to bring these new capabilities to more participants in the ecosystem,” Sanghavi added.

Nium’s participation in the pilot leverages its existing real-time cross-border infrastructure, enabling customers and fintechs to access faster digital settlement rails without developing their own stablecoin infrastructure. This effort builds on Visa and Nium’s longstanding collaboration to enhance global money movement for enterprises worldwide. As stablecoins become increasingly integral to financial transactions, this partnership signifies a pivotal shift towards more efficient and adaptable payment solutions.

Thunes, a global payment network, has unveiled its Account Top Up and Withdrawal solutions, designed to streamline transactions for major digital asset platforms. These new offerings enable seamless integration with traditional finance, allowing digital asset companies to facilitate onramp and offramp transactions efficiently. The solutions are supported by Thunes’ Fortress Compliance Platform and SmartX Treasury System, ensuring regulatory compliance and improved liquidity management.

The Account Top Up solution offers direct local payment methods for onramp transactions, whilst the Account Withdrawal solution provides fast and transparent fiat payouts across 40 markets. This development is part of Thunes’ broader strategy to enhance its services, following innovations like stablecoin prefunding for 24/7 treasury operations and the Pay-to-Stablecoin-Wallets solution, which allows instant stablecoin payouts in over 130 countries.

Chloe Mayenobe, President and COO of Thunes, stated, “Thunes is connecting fiat and digital finance through one trusted Direct Global Network. Our new Account Top Up and Withdrawal solutions give digital asset platforms the infrastructure they need to operate globally with speed, compliance, and interoperability.”

Elie Bertha, Chief Product Officer at Thunes, added, “Digital asset companies are growing rapidly but are held back by fragmented payment systems and compliance barriers. By enabling stablecoin prefunding and global fiat access for account top-up and withdrawals in one unified solution, we’re delivering the flexibility and reach that leading digital asset companies need to operate and scale confidently across borders.”

These solutions are expected to help digital asset companies capitalise on the projected $10b growth in the digital assets market over the next year, offering a single integration to speed up time to market and reduce operational friction.

SGX Mainboard-listed Food Empire Holdings Limited has announced a significant 23.9% increase in revenue for the first nine months of 2025, reaching $426.7m. This marks the company’s fifth consecutive year of record-breaking financial performance. The growth was propelled by robust double-digit increases across all core segments, particularly in Russia and Ukraine, Kazakhstan and CIS, where revenue rose by 30.7% and 26.2%, respectively.

The company’s quarterly revenue also saw a notable rise, with a 28.3% increase to $152.6m in Q3 2025. This growth was largely attributed to consumer promotions and increased demand in key markets. The Southeast Asia segment, led by Vietnam, contributed significantly with a 20.8% increase to $114.5m, driven by consumer acquisition and brand investments.

Sudeep Nair, Food Empire’s CEO, stated, “Our outstanding performance in 3Q2025 and year-to-date 9M2025 is an outcome of brand investments and the ability to strategically allocate resources to markets where conditions are more favourable.”

In recent developments, Food Empire has invested $37m in expanding its coffee manufacturing facility in India, expected to boost capacity by 60% by 2027. Additionally, the company raised S$42.8m through a share placement to support growth opportunities and strengthen its balance sheet. With these strategic moves, Food Empire is optimistic about maintaining its growth trajectory and achieving another record financial year.

Gushengtang TCM, a leading Traditional Chinese Medicine group, is set to expand its footprint in Singapore by opening 30 clinics by 2026. The company plans to integrate its proprietary ‘Master TCM AI’ system, which was recently launched at GovWare 2025, to enhance patient care through data-backed, evidence-informed practices.

The expansion is part of a strategic partnership with August Global Partners, a Singapore-based fund management company. This collaboration aims to generate S$1b in revenue over the next seven years by focusing on clinic expansion, AI-powered clinical systems, and international product certification.

The ‘Master TCM AI’ system is designed to support physicians across eight specialities, including oncology and dermatology, by providing evidence-informed recommendations and tracking treatment outcomes. “Our collaboration with 1doc and August Global Partners marks an important milestone in integrating Traditional Chinese Medicine into Singapore’s healthcare ecosystem,” said Vicky Liem, Vice President of Gushengtang TCM Group.

Additionally, Gushengtang has partnered with 1doc, a subsidiary of IAPPS Health Group, to integrate TCM into Western family clinics. This partnership allows patients to access both TCM and Western medical care under one roof, aligning with Singapore’s TCM Integrative Sandbox Initiative.

Gushengtang’s expansion aligns with Singapore’s healthcare vision of integrating traditional and modern medicine, offering a coordinated, evidence-based approach to patient care. The company views Singapore as a gateway for international growth and a testbed for digital health integration.

Perennial Holdings has announced the sale of the former Caldecott Broadcast Centre site, acquired from Mediacorp in 2020, with a guide price exceeding $256m (S$350m). The site, spanning 752,014 square feet, is positioned as one of Singapore’s largest landed redevelopment opportunities in decades. Real estate advisers Savills Singapore and Delasa are managing the Expressions of Interest (EOI) exercise, which closes on 15 January 2026.

The site, zoned as ‘Civic & Community Institution’ under the 2019 Master Plan, could be transformed into over 60 two-storey bungalows, each with a minimum land area of 800 square metres, pending approvals. Located in the prestigious Caldecott Hill Good Class Bungalow area, the site offers a unique chance to develop a luxury bungalow enclave.

Perennial Holdings originally intended to build large Good Class Bungalows but has shifted focus to a healthcare-centric strategy. “We are availing the site for sale so that resources can be recalibrated to focus on our core business,” a spokesperson stated.

Karamjit Singh, CEO of Delasa, highlighted the persistent scarcity of detached houses in Singapore, despite the growing population and housing stock. “This scarcity, coupled with rising household wealth and the arrival of new ultra-high-net-worth residents, continues to support robust demand and pricing in the bungalow market,” he said.

Jeremy Lake, Managing Director of Savills, noted the site’s potential: “Few sites offer such a blank canvas to create an entirely new and distinctive landed development.”

The sale is expected to attract interest from both traditional developers and ultra-affluent Singaporeans seeking to create bespoke mansions.