TODAY'S HEADLINE
CARREFOUR LEAVES ROOM FOR SUPERMARKET SWEEP 
In late August, Carrefour Singapore announced that it was shutting down its 140,000 sq ft store at Suntec City and its 81,000 sq ft outlet at Plaza Singapura before year'end, e'ectively pulling the plug on its operations in Singapore after some 15 years, citing its inability to gain signi'cant traction.

This development will provide greater headroom for local industry players to further their market share. Dairy Farm, for instance,  ' which counts Cold Storage, Giant, Shop n Save as well as the more upmarket Jasons and ThreeSixty brands among its por''olio  '  has something of a stronghold on the industry, catering to a broad range of shoppers from the value'conscious to the more sophisticated consumer. Giant, which holds a share of more than 50 per cent of the hypermarket segment, has already expressed an interest in the premises occupied by Carrefour at Plaza Singapura and is set to open a 60,000 sq ft store in Suntec City.

Aside from nine Giant hypermarkets, Dairy Farm currently has 49 Cold Storage supermarkets, six Market Place stores  ' which includes ThreeSixty and Jasons  '  and 61 Shop n Save outlets under its umbrella. Meanwhile, NTUC FairPrice operates some 105 supermarkets and hypermarkets.

With substantial scale, not to mention accessibility and clearly calculated proximity to residential areas, existing players have a leg up in terms of economies of scale in an industry with thin margins, said to be in the range of 3'5 per cent. In addition, their knowledge of the local market and wide variety of local products may also give them a slight edge over a brand such as Carrefour or Yaohan.

In Singapore, Carrefour was forced to contend with rivals for space, and was further handicapped by the fact that hypermarkets with their speci'c operating format have certain requirements and criteria. In contrast, rival hypermarket chain Giant has show to be more 'exible in the size of the stores that it chooses to open. Meanwhile, Carrefour's exit leaves a void in Singapore's prime retail locations.

NEWS BUZZ
KNM Group Bhd  
Targets Singapore IPO for German unit in 2013
Kuala Lumpur Malaysian oil and gas services provider KNM Group Bhd will list its German industrial equipment unit on the Singapore stock exchange next year. The unit, Borsig  Beteiligungsverwaltungsgesellschaft  mbH, will have an indicative valuation of RM1.8 to RM1.9bil (S$720mil to S$760mil) when it lists. KNM bought Borsig in 2008 for approximately RM1.7bil. It had appointed UOB Bank as the sole manager, underwriter and placement agent for the planned listing.

Ezra Holdings (S$1.115) 
$200m, 5% 'xed rate notes fully subscribed
Ezra Holdings said that its $200mil, 5% per annum 'xed rate notes due 2015 have been fully subscribed. The notes, which will mature on Sept 7, 2015, were issued under the US$500mil Multicurrency Debt Issuance Programme established by the company on Aug 28, 2012. The net proceeds from the issue of the notes will principally be used by the company to re'nance existing borrowings of the company and its subsidiaries. DBS Bank Ltd and The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited are the appointed dealers of the notes.

Meiban Group (S$0.395) 
To be struck o' SGX list from Monday
Meiban Group will be delisted from SGX's o'cial list with e'ect from Sept 10. This comes after the acquisition of the entire issued and paid'up share capital of the group by Zhong Yong Holdings via a scheme of arrangement, which was completed on Monday. Meiban chairman and chief executive o'cer Goh Tiong Yong had proposed to buy the shares that he did not yet hold through Zhong Yong.
Source: The Business Times

Source: AmFraser