Singapore

• ValueMax is a secured lender that also retails gold.
• Three engines of business: Pawnbroking, property-backed moneylending, retail & trading of jewellery and gold.
• The receivables on its balance sheet are its loan book, not trade debtors, so money lent runs through operating cash flow, and a growing book reports a cash outflow by its design.

• Tat Seng grew revenue for the first time in four years, taking S$117.6m in the six months to 30 June 2026.
• Profit to owners fell 18.9% on higher tax and a larger non-controlling share.
• In June 2026 it paid out S$61.3m, moving from net cash of S$42.9m to net debt of S$3.8m. 

• Keppel DC REIT’s S$625 million private placement will partially finance its acquisition of two hyperscale data centres in Tokyo.
• Secondary fundraising in Singapore is set to exceed S$4 billion in 2026, led by large REIT placements.
• The acquisition will increase Japan’s contribution to Keppel DC REIT’s portfolio rental income from 9% to 23%.

• NTT DC REIT (NTTDCR SP) will be added to a global sector index at the close on 18 September while Samty Residential Investment (3459 JP) will be deleted.
• We estimate passive trackers will need to buy over 12x ADV in the add and sell nearly 5x ADV in the delete.
• Positioning in NTT DC REIT (NTTDCR SP) could continue to build near-term and that could take the stock higher. Positioning in Samty Residential Investment (3459 JP) appears to be larger.

• Aspial Lifestyle delivered a strong set of 1H2026 results, with revenue rising 26.4% YoY to a record S$464.2 million, while net profit surging 88.7% to S$55.0 million, demonstrating that earnings continued to grow materially faster than the top line.
• The earnings improvement was broad-based across pawnbroking, retail and secured lending, with retail delivering the strongest operating leverage.
• Retail emerges as the biggest earnings driver, while pawnbroking remains resilient. 

Executive Summary

• Regional Omnichannel Healthcare Platform: Doctor Anywhere operates a hybrid medical model across five Southeast Asian markets, integrating a digital telemedicine application with a physical network of clinics and specialist centres. The company serves over three million registered users, providing a single touchpoint that bridges virtual consultations with in-person diagnostic care.
• Strong Institutional Capital Support: The company has secured approximately US$176.0m in total funding from top-tier strategic and financial investors, including a US$40.8m Series C extension in late 2023. This capital supports a closed-loop business model that leverages corporate and insurance partnerships for efficient user acquisition while cross-selling higher-margin physical medical services.
• Profitability Inflection From Cost Discipline, Not Growth: FY2025 delivered the company’s first operating profit in four years, at a margin of roughly 1%, achieved through the Vietnam exit, the wind-down of underperforming units and headcount reduction rather than volume expansion. The company remains net loss-making, the physical clinic network continues to carry material fixed costs, and no new primary capital has been raised since December 2023. The central question is whether a margin bought through rationalisation can be sustained and widened once the one-off cost actions are exhausted.

• Over 70 SGX primary-listed companies repurchased S$2.09 billion in shares in 8M26, up from S$1.57 billion in 8M25.
• Singtel led with S$948.6 million in buybacks, aiming for a 3% EPS accretion through its S$2 billion programme.
• Seatrium’s buybacks reached S$99.7 million, nearing full deployment of its S$100 million programme since 2024.

• Regional Neobanking Transition: Kredivo Group has evolved from a standalone digital credit provider into a diversified Southeast Asian financial services conglomerate, anchored by its acquisitions of Krom Bank and Timo. This strategic expansion allows the company to integrate deposit-taking capabilities with its established point-of-sale checkout infrastructure.
• Proprietary Credit Decisioning Engine: The core value driver is an alternative data scoring model that enables instant underwriting for consumers without formal credit histories. Separately, the group is well funded relative to its stage, having raised approximately US$400m in equity through the March 2023 Series D and secured committed debt facilities approaching US$1.0b to fund the loan book, with a further round reported in December 2025.
• Third-Party Licence Dependency: The May 2026 acquisition of Timo gives Kredivo the brand, technology stack, and customer relationships, but not the banking licence, which remains with BVBank under a cooperation agreement. Termination or adverse modification would suspend deposit-taking in Vietnam and require migration to an alternative licensed partner, feasible in principle given Kredivo owns the front end, but disruptive and unproven in practice.

Highlights

• NR June production surged 31.5% month-on-month to 26,553 tonnes

• NR exports jumped 35.2% to 38,862 tonnes, led by China.

• Q2 production fell 4.7% year-on-year to 65,266 tonnes.

• Imports remain substantial, indicating that the country’s processing and manufacturing industries continue to rely heavily on external supplies

• Power Grid Bottlenecks are the defining constraints of the current data centre cycle. In Greater Tokyo (Inzai City), connection queues have stretched to 5-10 years, exacerbated by Tokyo Gas freezing high-voltage contracts on March 6, 2026. In Singapore, the regulatory limit of 200MW under the recent DC-CFA2 allocation demonstrates that grid capacity, rather than developer appetite, dictates speed-to-market.
• The Tokyo acquisition (TY12x and TY13x) announced on September 1, 2026, represents a calculated shift to fully-fitted colocation assets to capture high rental reversions in an under-rented market (estimated at least 30% below prevailing market rents). Sourcing this deal from a GIC-Equinix JV with Equinix retaining a 10% operating interest preserves operational execution while shifting the heavy capital expenditure off Equinix’s balance sheet.
• Capital allocation metrics on the S$1.37 billion Tokyo transaction reveal a tight financing tightrope. While immediately accretive to DPU by 2.6% on a pro forma basis, it elevates Keppel DC REIT’s aggregate leverage from 34% to 38% (and 39% including consumption tax debt), pushing the REIT closer to its maximum historic comfort threshold and necessitating the S$625 million private placement closed on September 2, 2026.

• Keppel Infrastructure Trust (KIT) shifted from stable, bond-like assets to an active management model for growth potential.
• KIT’s portfolio includes essential infrastructure assets, providing resilience and steady distributions through economic cycles.
• KIT achieved total returns of approximately 13% in the first half of 2026, demonstrating value creation across market cycles.

• We think Marco Polo Marine (“MPM”) stands to benefit from industry tailwinds supporting the company’s ship chartering division, with the deployment of its first Commissioning Service Operation Vessel (“CSOV”), the MP Wind Archer, and additional vessels in a tight demand market for offshore vessels.

• The company’s proposed reverse takeover (“RTO”) to separately list the shipyard business, and the planned listing of indirect subsidiary PKR Offshore (“PKRO”), should unlock value for MPM, and provide these businesses further avenues to raise funding for their respective growth opportunities.

• The strengthening fundamentals appear sustainable whilst not being reflected in the valuations.

• ISDN Holdings (“ISDN” or “The Group”) is an industrial automation company that offers a full range of advanced automation solutions and services.
• These solutions and services range from precision components and engineering services to full machine and cloud solutions.
• Its components and systems power semiconductor factories, advanced medical devices, clean energy plants, electric vehicles and more across Asia. 

• Keppel DC (KDCREIT SP) aims to raise around US$472m to invest in two data centres in Inzai City, Greater Tokyo.
• The firm expects a 2.6% DPU accretion from the acquisition.
• In this note, we comment on the deal dynamics and run the deal through our ECM framework.

• Yangzijiang Shipbuilding led STI constituents in August with a 22.5% rally, record 1H26 net profit, and increased order-book growth.
• Institutional flows rotated towards developers, with Hongkong Land, City Developments, and UOL accounting for 95% of S$127 million improvement.
• Frencken announced a S$100 million placement for business expansion, manufacturing capacity, and strategic investments, reflecting sector demand trends.

• Over five sessions, 90 director interests and substantial shareholdings were filed, with 22 acquisitions and four disposals by directors or CEOs.
• Frencken Group entered a placement agreement to raise S$100 million, funding business expansion and strategic investments.
• Ho Bee Land’s founder family continues share accumulation; 1HFY26 revenue rose 29.6%, profit after tax increased 4.9%.

• Revenue did not move, at S$306.7m against S$306.1m, and profit attributable to owners halved to S$1.9m from S$3.9m.
• Between them, profit before tax excluding two one-off charges rose to S$16.5m from S$8.4m, a rise QAF puts at 96%, and most of it is a conversion entry rather than trading.
• Below the operating line sit S$10.0m against the Singapore closure and S$3.9m against the joint venture. 

• Singapore’s top 10 non-cyclical consumer stocks averaged a 26.7% YTD return, driven by firm CPO prices and retail demand.
• First Resources and Bumitama Agri led performance, with YTD returns of 116.7% and 59.5%, supported by biodiesel mandates.
• Wilmar International reported a 12.8% increase in pre-tax profit for 1H2026, with S$276.7 million net institutional inflows.

• Despite headwinds from geopolitical events, surging fuel prices and regulatory headwinds in Indonesia, Grab released yet another knockout set of results, after which the company increased FY2026 guidance.
• Grab balanced affordable product growth to expand its ecosystem, with high-value products, combining to improve both volumes and profitability, with Grab Unlimited and Grab Mart continuing to grow in importance.
• Grab’s financial services booked the strongest segmental growth and is forecast to break even in 2H2026. Grab remains a core consumer proxy for ASEAN, booking increasingly profitable and sustainable growth.

• Singapore Telecommunications (ST SP) SOTP valuation is sitting at 13% discount to the current share price.
• Plenty of catalysts, including data center and digital infrastructure catalysts, as well as discussions to further monetize a partial sale in Optus. 
• For investors who require a market neutral idea, shorting Bharti Airtel (BHARTI IN) could provide an alternative given its valuation premium as well as its slower execution. 

• On Track or Ahead of Expectations: The prior initiation report’s core investment theses are tracking in line with or ahead of expectations, driven by the July 2026 rollout of out-of-app payment infrastructure and the ongoing integration of the Recharge acquisition. While the company’s cost optimisation efforts and recent regulatory approvals validate its stabilising fundamentals, these initiatives must continue to offset the inherent margin constraints of global payment processing.
• Regulatory Breakthrough Unlocks Scale: Coda secured a Major Payment Institution licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore in May 2026, authorising scalable cross-border money transfers and merchant acquisition. Concurrently, the firm accelerated the commercialisation of its web store infrastructure to capitalise on regulatory shifts in Europe and Japan, though it continues to navigate intense competition from established horizontal payment processors and gaming-specific rivals.
• SmartScores© Trend Positive, with Exit Readiness Stable: Coda’s Fundamental and Alt-Data SmartScores© improved, while the Exit Indicator SmartScore© remained stable. The Fundamental SmartScore© strengthened on improved unit economics and the new Major Payment Institution licence; the Alt-Data SmartScore© ticked up on stronger employee sentiment despite softer customer and social engagement; and the Exit Indicator SmartScore© held steady, with better financial investor quality offset by the introduction of new assessment categories. Overall, the trend points to a business that is structurally de-risking and scaling more efficiently, even without any new capital raised in the period.

• Sustained Growth and Expansion Thesis: Volopay continues to execute on its core operational objectives, with a geographic broadening of its expense management suite across the Asia-Pacific region and steady progress on its profitability pivot, even as recent top-line momentum has moderated from its FY2023 peak. This is offset by a 20% improvement in sales conversions and an ongoing transition towards a proprietary payment infrastructure, both of which structurally support margin expansion and reduce reliance on third-party banking rails.
• Capital Efficiency and Elevated Sector Rivalry: The firm has maintained its capital-efficient trajectory by holding total funding at US$31.4m without requiring dilutive primary equity raises since March 2022. However, competitive intensity remains elevated as well-funded regional rivals target similar break-even timelines, and industry feedback indicates that a lack of transparent online pricing introduces friction during the customer evaluation phase.
• Scorecard Trends show Resilience Amid Rising Competitive Pressure: Volopay’s Fundamental SmartScore© eased slightly as competitive pressure and a stale capital raise offset real gains in unit economics and moat strength. The Alt-Data SmartScore© improved on stronger employee and customer sentiment. The Exit Indicator SmartScore© eased slightly, as investor quality improved but the lengthening funding gap builds pressure toward a near-term liquidity event.

Highlights

• Exports remain resilient and increasingly value-added

• Domestic raw-material supply is becoming the main structural constraint

• The outlook is positive for manufacturing but dependent on supply-side reform: 

• Coliwoo Holdings Limited (“Coliwoo”) is a Singapore-based co-living operator focused on transforming underutilised real estate assets into co-living spaces.
• The Group operates properties under the Coliwoo brand, leases selected assets to third-party operators, and provides property enhancement and property management services to landlords.
• It also undertakes strategic investments in property holding and leasing entities. As at May 2026, the Group managed a portfolio of 28 properties comprising 3,568 rooms.

Executive Summary

• Theses Tracking Positively Amid Capacity Upgrades: The prior initiation theses are tracking positively, supported by the expansion of the Philippine campus target to over 100 MW and the advancement of a US$500.0m hyperscale cluster in Vietnam. While institutional backing from Warburg Pincus and Zero Two continues to fund these capital-intensive deployments, the reliance on local joint ventures to navigate regional entry barriers requires ongoing compliance oversight.
• Regional Pipeline Expansion and Cooling Innovations: Evolution Data Centres progressed its regional pipeline by securing investment certificates for a new Ho Chi Minh City facility and scaling its Manila campus, with the expanded configuration now targeting ready-for-service in 3Q27. Concurrently, the company is deploying air and liquid-cooled systems to manage rising AI rack densities amid growing regional water scarcity concerns.
• SmartScoring Update: Evolution’s three SmartScores were mostly steady to slightly softer this period. The Fundamental score saw genuine progress on growth (Vietnam’s land lease, Thailand’s next construction phase) outweighed by rising competition, continued margin pressure, and a funding gap on the new Vietnam commitment; sustainability gains lagged behind an expanding footprint still too early stage to show operational data; and the modest improvement in exit readiness came from external M&A activity validating market valuations rather than any new capital event at Evolution itself.

In this installment of engageIR’s corporate insights, we join the management team of Geo Energy Resources at its 1HFY2026 earnings call held on 26 August 2026, 10am.

View the transcript here – https://on.skr.ma/4zCKy1X 
Passcode: 1H72N1&3

• Revenue fell 28.5% and profit for the period fell 22.4%, to US$15.6m, which on that statement alone is an ordinary down period.
• But total assets rose US$240.6m, cash fell US$46.1m and operating cash flow went negative, each moving several times harder than profit did.
• The period’s event was the balance sheet growing on issued shares and vendor credit, and the cash going out to build it.

• Delivery on Track, Home Market Allocation Missed: Two theses are on track, and one
  has been directly challenged. AI-readiness is confirmed on the engineering side, with
  TH1 breaking ground in May as a 20MW liquid-cooled facility built for GPU workloads, though the premium pricing and margin half of that thesis remains unevidenced, with no contracted MW, occupancy, or anchor tenant disclosed for any asset.
• Sustained Regional Expansion Amidst Tightening Regulatory Frameworks: The firm continues to execute its multi-market strategy to capture elevated hyperscale demand, aligning with over US$20.0b in regional capital expenditure commitments from global cloud providers. However, this expansion coincides with tightening government regulations regarding power allocations and environmental standards across Southeast Asia, which increases operational complexity while simultaneously reinforcing the defensive moat of established operators.
• Engineering Discipline Intact, Disclosure Yet to Catch Up: Empyrion’s sustainability score has eased across the half-year, but the decline reflects one external setback and one structural trend rather than any deterioration in how the company builds. The Singapore proposal was not selected under DC-CFA2, removing the most ambitious efficiency specification from the assessable portfolio along with the design intent that had justified the higher energy score.

• We believe Boustead Singapore has emerged with a much stronger balance sheet with the disposal of 21 properties into UI Boustead REIT, whilst maintaining a significant stake in the REIT.
• We believe this would help smoothen the lumpy, one-off earnings that was seen in its engineering and real estate business units.
• We believe the strong orderbooks that Boustead has secured would help drive its future earnings and cash generation, and hopefully better margins.

• AI Supercycle and Sustainability Accelerating: The prior initiation report’s core investment theses are tracking positively, with the hyperscale and AI supercycle thesis accelerating. The expectation that Digital Edge would capture the Asia Pacific AI supercycle is validated by its Jan-26 announcement of a US$4.5b, 500 MW AI-ready campus in Indonesia, alongside a Jun-26 acquisition of a 60 MW fully powered site in South Korea.
• Stake Sale Explored at a Valuation Well Above Fundamental Estimates: Between early 2026 and the current date, Digital Edge scaled its capital structure and operational footprint to meet elevated hyperscale demand, while its sponsor Stonepeak reportedly began exploring a strategic stake sale that could value the platform at up to US$10.0b.
• Strengthening Fundamentals, Stricter Sustainability Benchmark: The pvtIQ Fundamental SmartScore© edged higher, led by a widening market opportunity as regional cloud-sovereignty demand compounds with accelerating AI infrastructure needs, and by improving governance following the addition of experienced non-executive directors.

• As Singapore’s largest sports event management company, we think Kin Global could benefit from Singapore’s standing as a destination for sports events and broader events-related tourism.

• The recent 1H2026 net loss, attributed to one-off listing costs and delays on project awards and commencements, hide potentially interesting opportunity in its operational margins.

• The ~25% retreat from the IPO offer price may present a longer-term opportunity should their margins prove sustainable.

• Massive Premium Crystallised: Keppel REIT secured a 28.4% premium on KR Ginza II, validating a robust value-add strategy by reaching 100% occupancy and exiting at a 2.7% cap rate.
• Yen Debt De-risking: Complete divestment eliminates Yen refinancing risks amidst aggressive Bank of Japan rate hikes, effectively shielding the trust’s capital structure and distribution metrics.
• Strategic Capital Rotation: Proceeds fund higher-yielding Australian assets, highlighting a sector trend where foreign capital rotates out while well-capitalized domestic Japanese developers absorb prime real estate.

• OUE Healthcare’s S$0.050 per share privatization offer, announced on August 24, 2026, represents a classic Lippo Group structural cleanup. By utilizing a scheme of arrangement rather than a voluntary general offer, OUE bypasses the nearly impossible Section 215 compulsory acquisition threshold given their existing 89.68% stake, forcing a clean delisting with a lower 75% voting hurdle from attending minority shareholders.
• Stephen Riady’s creeping acquisition of OUE Limited to over 73% signals a long-term desire to take the parent private, but structural debt constraints at the parent level—highlighted by a S$114.6 million net loss in 1H 2026 due to a S$47.0 million non-cash impairment on Gemdale Properties (GPI)—act as immediate funding barriers to executing a full buyout, even at a massive 74% discount to NAV.
• OUE REIT’s pending S$500 million sale of Crowne Plaza Changi Airport and the rumored S$2.4 billion One Raffles Place divestment are defensive plays to pre-empt activist pressure. The proceeds will be used to deleverage (bringing gearing down from 41.5% to 36.6% for the hotel sale alone) and fund special distributions to placate institutional investors, while masking underlying related-party fee leakages.

Highlights

• Physical premiums compressed as Asian grades lose ground against increasingly competitive African rubber

• Falling exchange stocks provides a cushion despite weak downstream demand and cautious procurement

• June rubber import and tire export rebound signal improved buying after May’s caution.

• Yesterday, OUE (OUE SP) announced a S$0.05/share Scheme for 89.8%-held OUE Healthcare (OUEHC SP) – see OUE Healthcare (OUEHC SP): S$0.05/Share Scheme Offer From Parent. 
• On balance, terms are fair to minority shareholders. I don’t expect any pushback.
• OUE also holds a ~ 49% stake in OUE (OUEREIT SP), worth ~135% of its market cap. OUE is beyond illiquid. Look way now if this isn’t in your wheelhouse. 

Executive Summary

• Thesis Update: AI Supercycle Accelerates While Green Funding Faces Regulatory Friction. Vantage Data Centers continues to capture artificial intelligence infrastructure demand, evidenced by a recent high-density deployment agreement in South Wales. However, the firm’s sustainable development model is encountering increased regulatory friction, highlighted in Texas by both a voluntary commitment to new state standards on independent funding for power and water infrastructure, and a separate state-ordered halt on new grid connections pending audit.
• Corporate and Industry Developments: AI Demand Drives US$100.0b Valuation Target and Regulatory Scrutiny. Operational momentum and the broader artificial intelligence cycle have prompted the company and its primary backers to explore a potential initial public offering or stake sale as early as 2027, targeting an estimated US$100.0b valuation. Concurrently, the firm navigated heightened resource scrutiny by committing to stringent new data centre standards in Texas and expanded its European footprint through a strategic partnership with Nebius.
• SmartScoring Update: At initiation, the pvtIQ Fundamental SmartScore© reflected a single snapshot in time, offering no basis to distinguish a temporary fluctuation from a sustained directional shift. As of this report, the score has since softened, with declines across seven of eight categories, led by Market Opportunity and Competition, and with Moat newly scored. The companion pvtIQ Sustainability SmartScore© held flat over the same period, reflecting a reporting lag rather than genuine stagnation.

• Over 20 SGX-listed companies moved from losses to profits, driven by varied factors like operating improvements and margin recovery.
• Ouhua Energy’s profitability was supported by higher LPG margins and lower-cost inventory amid Middle East supply disruptions.
• Food Empire’s return to profitability was aided by revenue growth and absence of prior-period fair-value loss on investments.

• OUE Healthcare (OUEHC SP) disclosed a scheme offer from OUE (OUE SP) at S$0.05 per share, a 28.2% premium to the undisturbed price of S$0.039 (21 August). 
• The offer represents a 6-year high and is attractive compared to precedent transactions and peer multiples.
• The scheme vote is low risk as no disinterested shareholder holds a blocking stake. At the last close and for a 31 December payment, the gross/annualised spread was 4.2%/11.7%.

• Investment Theses Review: The baseline investment theses are tracking as expected or accelerating, driven by a US$856.0m green loan to fund Indonesian expansion and a 210 MW acquisition in India that pushes the regional portfolio toward 1.0 GW. However, this aggressive capital deployment into high-density artificial intelligence infrastructure introduces heightened leverage and refinancing risks in a tightening credit environment.
• Aggressive Capacity Expansion and Strategic Asset Rotation: The company executed significant footprint expansions across India and Indonesia while concurrently exploring a potential US$1.0b divestment of its 219.3 MW China portfolio. This asset rotation strategy aims to optimise capital allocation toward less geopolitically constrained Southeast Asian markets, though it underscores the persistent regulatory complexities of operating across fragmented sovereign jurisdictions.
• Commercial Quality Rising, Sustainability Held Back by Disclosure:

  PDG’s Fundamental score edged higher on genuine business gains, with stronger unit economics from premium long-dated AI contracts and deeper regional management, though a reportedly unsettled ownership register warrants caution. The Sustainability score fell only because our approach now weighs demonstrated execution against global best practice rather than design intent, so the environmental profile is constrained by disclosure rather than capability, a gap fuller reporting would close.

• Grab Holdings Inc. reported strong second quarter 2026 results, marked by significant growth in adjusted EBITDA and active user metrics.
• Adjusted EBITDA increased 54% year-over-year to $168 million, expanding margins to 16.9% of revenue from 13.3%, representing the 18th consecutive quarter of EBITDA growth.
• On-demand gross merchandise value (GMV) rose 21% year-over-year to $6.5 billion, supported by a record 54 million monthly transacting users (MTUs), despite continued elevated fuel prices in the region.

Executive Summary

• Licensed digital-only bank with a credit-first model: One of only six standalone digital banks licensed by the BSP, Tonik launched as the Philippines’ first neobank and has since become a standalone, cash-flow profitable digital bank through a high-margin, credit-led strategy targeting the country’s unbanked credit gap.
• AI-enabled consumer lending strategy: Tonik acquires customers through employer payroll loans, offline POS/BNPL finance, and digital cash loans, then layers on deposits and accounts to deepen engagement and fuel AI-driven underwriting, producing industry-leading unit economics.
• Scaling into an underpenetrated credit market: With the vast majority of Filipinos never having had a bank loan, Tonik converts underbanked customers into repeat credit users through data-driven underwriting, a strategy validated by its recent transition to cash-flow profitability as a standalone digital bank.

Highlights

• Indonesia May rubber exports hit a recent low of over 99,400 tons

• May returns at over US$206 million, supported by higher prices

• Area under rubber cultivation declines by about 17% in five years until 2026