Our credit research analysts have upgraded their issuer profile on Sembcorp, on the back of the company announcing a two-step transaction which will see it spinning off its marine arm. They view this move to be credit positive for the issuer, allowing Sembcorp to focus its resources on its energy and urban segments.

Ascott Residence Trust (ART) did not call its perpetual, an unprecedented move for a S-REIT. Why didn't ART call, and will it eventually call? In this podcast, our credit research analysts Ezien Hoo and Wong Hong Wei discuss the reasons and whether other perpetuals face similar risks.

As companies deliberate the value add of office spaces and whether they actually need all of the office space they have, we think more may be open to a hybrid operating model. Over the longer term, what would it mean for the office REITs?

The two-month Circuit Breaker is coming to an end, but the Singapore economy will only be re-opened in phases. What will our GDP and our market outlook like? In this podcast, our chief economist Selena Ling and Head of OCBC Investment Research Carmen Lee answer the questions on our minds, like what we could see in the fourth Budget next week, equity sectors that are doing well, and what Singaporeans could do to future-proof themselves amid this new normal.

We lowered our issuer profile on Frasers Property Limited, driven by expectations that the recurring income at Frasers Property is likely to fall with a knock-on effect on leverage ratios, though the company has taken steps to mitigate the impact from the virus outbreak. OCBC Credit Research team sits down to discuss this change and possible implications to its Sponsored REITs. This podcast was recorded on 19/05/2020

What do pharmaceuticals, non-monetary gold and food preparations have in common? They were the key drivers of S’pore’s non-oil export outperformance in April despite the ongoing Circuit Breaker! The low NODX base in 2019 due to the US-China trade war may limit the NODX fallout in 2Q20, but the global re-opening of economies post-lockdown and the risk of subsequent infection wages will be key for NODX momentum in 2H20.

The commodity sector has stabilised in the past couple of weeks, leading to a rally in commodity currencies such as AUD, NZD and CAD. In the near term, however, we see signs of bearish pressure forming in this space. This podcast was recorded on 15/05/2020

Rates have come down and spreads have widened. With companies facing potential liquidity squeeze, perpetual bonds see elevated risk of non call in our view. Bank capital - Additional Tier 1 which serve regulatory purposes amongst others may be arguably less affected as compared to perpetual bonds issued by REITs. Given the heightened uncertainty, Ocbc credit research underweights perpetual bonds as an asset class. 

This podcast was recorded on 11/05/2020

It has been just over 3 months since COVID-19 came into view in Singapore. The OCBC Credit Research team sits with Tommy Xie, our Head of Greater China Research who has been tracking the outbreak from the start to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on the banking, property and REIT sectors, being key issuing sectors in the SGD corporate bond market. This podcast was recorded on 11/05/2020

Optimism may be slowly creeping back into the oil market, but the market remains incredibly soft. Even if the worst is behind, the market still lacks a strong catalyst to embark on a strong rally. The negative prices seen last month, however, now appears to be an outlier.