Singapore Exchange News

Law firm Squire Patton Boggs (SPB) has partnered with freight market information organization The Baltic Exchange to provide a vessel sale and purchase (S&P) transaction closing service for the global shipping industry. The service will be led by SPB’s 30-strong Commodities & Shipping Group co-chaired by Chris Swart and Barry Stimpson, and will be underpinned by the Baltic Exchange’s independent Singapore-based escrow operation.The Baltic Exchange’s escrow service is already used for a wide range of transactional work…

Chinese coking coal futures extended losses to hit their lowest in four weeks on Wednesday, as traders kept an eye on a batch of Australian coal cargoes expected to arrive soon in top steel producer China.Rising Chinese steel inventories also weighed on overall market sentiment, analysts said.China is seen gradually resuming Australian coal imports, having eased an unofficial trade ban imposed in 2020, as signs of warming ties between the two countries have emerged.Prices of the steelmaking ingredient have dropped nearly 5% since the start of the year.The most-traded coking coal…

Iron ore futures soared on Monday, extending a rally spurred by hopes of an economic rebound for top steel producer and consumer China in the third quarter, and support for the country's troubled property sector.The most-traded iron ore, for September delivery, on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange DCIOcv1 ended daytime trade 7.1% higher at 711 yuan ($105.27) a ton, after earlier hitting 723.50 yuan, its strongest level since July 14.Iron ore's front-month August contract on the Singapore Exchange SZZFQ2 was up 2.2% at $105.40 a tonne…

Dalian iron ore rose on Friday and advanced nearly 6% this week as traders returned from New Year holidays feeling optimistic about potential demand recovery in top steel producer China.Iron ore's most-active May contract on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange ended daytime trading 1.4% higher at 719 yuan ($112.78) a tonne, rising for a fourth straight session and touching 725.50 yuan earlier in the day, its highest since Oct. 27.On the Singapore Exchange, the steelmaking ingredient's most-traded contract expiring by end-February climbed as much as 0.7% to $128.25 a tonne…

Dalian and Singapore iron ore futures rebounded on Thursday after three days of losses, but worries over demand for the steelmaking ingredient in top steel producer China kept benchmark prices near their two-week lows hit the day before.The most-traded May iron ore contract on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange rose 2.4% to 679 yuan ($106.59) a tonne by 0248 GMT. It touched 650.50 yuan in the previous session, its lowest since Dec. 15.Iron ore's most-active February contract on…

Newly launched SSY Futures Ltd announced it has completed its first Handysize 38,000-dwt FFA trades on both the Singapore Exchange (SGX) and European Energy Exchange (EEX) for the April and May contracts.Mark Douglas who is leading the new contract from SSY Futures FFA team, said, “It was extremely encouraging to see the opening days interest culminating in the April trade at 19000 and the May trades at 20500. The ever-growing liquidity down the curve is extremely promising and…

China is paying a high price for its unofficial ban on coal imports from Australia, with the cost of domestic and alternative foreign supplies rising for both thermal and coking grades of the fuel.China, the world’s biggest importer, producer and consumer of coal, has effectively ended imports from Australia, the biggest shipper of coking coal used to make steel and number two in thermal coal used to produce electricity, as part of an ongoing political dispute between the two nations.The restrictions on imports from Australia came into effect in the second half of last year…

Benchmark Asian iron ore futures rose on Thursday as data showed monthly shipments of the steelmaking ingredient to China from Australia's Port Hedland dropped to the lowest in two years.Shipments from Port Hedland, the world's biggest iron ore export hub, totalled 30.73 million tonnes in February, when top steel producer China typically imports less due to the Lunar New Year holidays.That is the lowest since March 2019 and compares with 35.6 million tonnes in January and 33.3 million tonnes in February last year…

Iron ore futures slipped on Monday on rising port inventory of the steelmaking ingredient in China, though optimism over prospects of strong domestic steel demand for the rest of the year kept losses in check.The Dalian Commodity Exchange's most-traded September iron ore contract closed down 0.3% at 817 yuan ($116.91) a tonne, stretching losses into a third consecutive session.Iron ore's August contract on the Singapore Exchange dropped 0.7% to $106.31 a tonne in afternoon trade, extending losses into a fourth session.China's imported iron ore inventory stocked at ports rose for a fourth strai

 China's iron ore futures erased earlier losses to end flat on Thursday, regaining support as miner Vale SA said it may temporarily halt activities at its Malaysian distribution center as a safety measure against the coronavirus pandemic.Iron ore's most-traded contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange steadied at 678 yuan ($95.76) a tonne, after tumbling 5.8% earlier in the session.On the Singapore Exchange, the front-month iron ore contract trimmed losses to just 0.3% in afternoon trade from 4.1% earlier in the day.Iron ore supplier Vale said on Wednesday its Malaysian distribution center may

Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings is offering to buy control of conglomerate Keppel Corp in a S$4.1 billion ($3 billion) deal that could hasten a consolidation in the rig building sector which is battling the effects of low oil prices.The announcement, which confirmed what two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters earlier on Monday, boosted shares in rig builder Sembcorp Marine by 12% on expectations of a likely shake-up in the industry. Shares in Sembcorp's parent Sembcorp Industries rose 10%.Keppel's offshore and marine unit…

Singapore has launched its first Maritime Sustainability Reporting Guide to support local companies' sustainability development practices.The guide was jointly launched by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX), Global Compact Network Singapore (GCNS), Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA), and sustainability consultants from Ernst & Young LLP, KPMG and PwC Singapore.According to MPA, the Guide provides a practical framework, including best practices for creating a maritime sustainability report, for both listed and non-listed maritime companies.The need for the Guide was spurred by industry feedback on the growing need for sustainability reporting guidelines…

For the sixth year running, Singapore has clinched the top spot among the world's maritime centers in the Xinhua-Baltic International Shipping Centre Development Index.The island city-state in Southeast Asia beat 42 other cities such as Hong Kong, which ranked second, as well as London, which ranked third.Based on the evaluation scores, Singapore shows strength in ship management and shipbroking services, while Hong Kong is benefiting from China’s Belt and Road Initiative and economic opportunities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area.London’s first-class services in shipbroking, legal and shipping finance were highlighted.

Oil and gas equipment supplier Baker Technology on Thursday made a mandatory unconditional cash offer for all the shares in CH Offshore, a vessel chartering firm."BT Investment (BTI), a direct wholly-owned subsidiary Baker Technology, has announced that it has entered into (a) a sale and purchase agreement with Energian, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Falcon Energy Group, a company listed on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading to acquire 217,800,000 issued and paid-up ordinary shares in the capital of CH Offshore, representing approximately 30.90% of the total Shares for a purchase consideration of S$0.115 per share," said a stock exchange announcement from the company.It has also entered into a sale and purchase agreement with SZ Offshore Investment to acquire 153…

The Baltic Exchange announced it will launch an Escrow Service for its members to hold deposits for ship sale transactions.The paid-for service will be available from May 2018 for use in transactions where the buyer of the vessel is a Baltic Exchange member. The service will cost $5,000 per side and is likely to be extended to disputes related payments, the Baltic Exchange said.The Escrow Service will be run by the Baltic Exchange's Asia office in Singapore and will be subject to the Singapore Exchange's (SGX) compliance and money laundering procedures.

London's Baltic Exchange is developing a container shipping index with Hong Kong-headquartered group Freightos in another sign that the centuries-old business is moving into new markets. Founded in 1744 as a forum for chartering vessels, the Baltic Exchange now produces benchmark indexes for global shipping rates, including ones used by the multi-billion dollar freight derivatives market. The Baltic and its partner on the initiative Freightos, a digital container platform which also has a global database of freight rates, said they would be producing a weekly index for container rates on 12 top container routes that would be audited by the Baltic. Going forward the index would allow container rates to become tradable instruments by investors.

Singapore-based offshore shipbuilder Otto Marine is seeking insolvency protection from the High Court in a bid to salvage the company and stave off liquidation. According to a report in the Straits Times, crippled with a debt of US$877 million (S$1.16 billion), the troubled company, which is delisted from the Singapore Exchange (SGX), filed an application last week to be placed under judicial management. The company  has applied for an interim judicial manager to be appointed, pending the hearing of its judicial management application. The hearing has been adjourned to March 12. According to Bloomberg, shipbuilder wants to turn itself around under the court’s supervision and fend off creditors while it restructures its debt, according to its Feb. 20 application for judicial management.

The Baltic Exchange is looking into launching a freight index for liquefied natural gas (LNG) and is working with leading ship brokers to explore potential shipping routes that might be used as the LNG market grows, the company said on Thursday. Founded in 1744 as a forum for chartering vessels, the Baltic Exchange now produces benchmark indexes for global shipping rates, including ones used by the multi-billion dollar freight derivatives market. Singapore Exchange acquired the exchange in 2016 and since then the Baltic has been looking for new markets to develop.

The offer by Cosco Shipping International (Singapore) Co. to acquire all the issued ordinary shares of Cogent Holdings has turned unconditional. The former had launched a cash buyout of the latter recently. Bank of China (Singapore Branch), acting on behalf of Cosco Shipping International, says , the offeror has received valid acceptances representing 440.5 million shares or 92.05% of Cogent. "BOC wishes to announce that the Offeror has received valid acceptances (which have not been withdrawn) in respect of such number of Shares which, when taken together with Shares owned, controlled or agreed to be acquired by the Offeror and parties acting in concert with it (either before or during the Offer…

The Baltic Exchange is looking into launching freight indexes for grains and liquefied natural gas (LNG) as the London-run business targets new markets after its acquisition by Singapore Exchange last year, the Baltic's chief executive said. Founded in 1744 as a forum for chartering vessels, the Baltic Exchange now produces benchmark indexes for global shipping rates and owns a trading platform for the multi-billion dollar freight derivatives market. SGX's ownership of the Baltic has enabled the exchange to set its sights on developing new areas…

The Baltic Exchange will close its freight derivatives platform Baltex at the end of the year after a strategic review, the London-run business said on Monday.   Baltex was launched by the centuries-old Baltic Exchange in June 2011 as the first central electronic marketplace for freight forward agreements, which allow investors to take positions on freight rates at a point in the future.   Singapore Exchange completed its 87 million pound ($114.19 million) acquisition of the Baltic in November last year.   Reporting by Jonathan Saul

Rickmers Trust Management, a trustee-manager of Rickmers Maritime, informed that the trust has been wound up. The units of the trust and its notes shall cease to exist, said its trustee-manager in a Singapore Exchange (SGX) filing. The trust has made final distributions to unsecured creditors, representing a recovery of about 12.1 per cent. "There will be no further distributions or payments, cash or otherwise, to the unsecured creditors of the Trust, including the holders of the S$100 million 8.45 per cent. notes due 2017. The outstanding amount due on the Notes has been paid to the Notes Trustee, DB International Trust (Singapore) Pte Limited," said the statement.

Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri has proposed to seek the privatization of Vard Holdings via a voluntary delisting from the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited (SGX-ST). Fincantieri, which holds a 79.34 per cent stake in Vard through a subsidiary Fincantieri Oil & Gas, is now offering 25 Singapore cent per for every share it does not own, one cent more than its previous offer, which closed in January. "Under the Exit Offer, Fincantieri O&G will offer the shareholders of Vard SGD 0.25 in cash for each Vard share tendered in acceptance of the Exit Offer, for a maximum consideration of SGD 60,943,572.50 (approx. EUR 38,500,000 at the current exchange rate) in case of full acceptance.