Reuters: Hot Stocks: STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE-Banks loan growth continuing to slow-Nomura

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STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE-Banks loan growth continuing to slow-Nomura Sep 3rd 2012, 03:27 Sun Sep 2, 2012 11:27pm EDT Nomura said Singapore banks' loan growth is continuing to slow from the peak in September 2011, while the loan-to-deposit ratio remained stable at 91.9 percent, the highest since 2001. The banks' second-quarter results were relatively subdued, with downward revisions for loan growth from low teens to high single digits, and for net interest margin from flat year-on-year to a decline of around 5 basis points, Nomura said. But Singapore banks still appear on track to deliver 2012 fiscal year earnings growth of 6-8 percent on the back of "undershooting credit costs and resilient fee income growth". Nomura's top pick is DBS Group Holdings due to its broad franchise momentum and overly discounted valuation to its peers. "Its Bank Danamon bid faces regulatory uncertainty but organic growth drivers are strong," Nomura said. On Monday, DBS shares were down 0.2 percent at S$14.42, United Overseas Bank rose 0.4 percent at S$19.16 and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp edged down 0.1 percent at S$9.28. The Straits Times Index was flat. Barclays said it likes Singapore banks due to their strong liquidity positions, proven risk management record and best capitalisation among the Asia ex-Japan banks it covers. "The Singapore banks can continue leverage their balance sheet strength and win loan market share," Barclays said. It prefers UOB to OCBC and DBS. 1106 (0306 GMT) (Reporting by Eveline Danubrata in Singapore; eveline.danubrata@thomsonreuters.com) ************************************************************ 10:19 STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE-Retail, industrial REITs most resilient - Maybank Maybank Kim Eng said funds are not likely to switch out of Singapore real estate investment trusts (S-REITs) as there are not many investable alternatives in the market, and within this space retail and industrial REITs are the most resilient. There are a total of 25 S-REITs spanning the office, retail, healthcare, hospitality, industrial and residential sub-sectors. Examples are CapitaCommercial Trust, CapitaRetail China Trust, Ascott Residence Trust and Ascendas REIT. Maybank, which met 17 Hong Kong-based fund houses recently, said most clients view S-REITs positively as they have one of the highest yield spreads among their peers, outperforming even major REITs markets such as the United States, Australia and Japan. S-REITs were currently trading at a 2012 fiscal year yield of 6.1 percent and a yield spread of 462 basis points (bps), Maybank said, adding that many funds believe there is headroom for another 80-90 bps compression. Retail and industrial REITs appear to be the most resilient partly because retailers hold inventory and there are steady income streams backed by shopping for necessities, while industrial REITs are characterised by long lease tenures with rental escalation every year, Maybank said. 1010 (0210 GMT) (Reporting by Eveline Danubrata in Singapore; eveline.danubrata@thomsonreuters.com) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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