Singapore will be announcing its first quarter GDP today. Meanwhile, Asian stocks look calm heading into the open following gains in U.S. equities and bonds, as investors shrugged off a higher-than-forecast rise in U.S. inflation to focus on the path of the global recovery.

Equity futures were little changed Japan and Hong Kong. U.S. contracts were steady following another all-time high for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 indexes, as the White House said the vaccine campaign remains on track despite a pause in Johnson & Johnson doses amid concerns about blood clotting.

Treasuries extended gains on a successful sale of 30-year bonds, which resolved concerns that poor demand could spark another bout of volatility. The U.S. dollar was steady in early Asia trade.

In Asia, a sharp selloff in one of China’s largest bad-debt managers has shaken credit markets, raising concerns that other heavily leveraged borrowers may also stumble.

SG

Please note that Singapore will be announcing its first quarter GDP data today.

STEEL fabricator Yongnam Holdings has proposed to place up to 104.5 million new shares at an issue price of 7.6 Singapore cents per share to raise up to S$7.9 million, it said on Tuesday in an exchange filing. The placement price represents a discount of around 9.9 per cent to the volume weighted average price for trades done on Monday - the full market day before the placement agreement was signed. The placement shares represent around a fifth of the existing issued and paid-up shares of the mainboard-listed company. If the proposed placement - which is not underwritten - is fully subscribed, the placement shares will take up around 16.7 per cent of the enlarged share capital of the company.

ASPEN Glove, a subsidiary of mainboard-listed Aspen (Group) Holdings, has entered into a two-year master supply agreement with multinational conglomerate Honeywell, valued at US$210 million. Aspen Glove is the newly formed glove making unit of the Malaysia-based property developer. Aspen Glove will manufacture and supply nitrile medical-grade examination gloves to Honeywell on an original equipment manufacturing (OEM) basis for the US market. It will receive a series of upfront payments from Honeywell totalling US$20 million by May 2021, to be set off against initial shipments. Subsequent shipments will be paid for on a monthly basis depending on the actual shipment size of the gloves. With the Honeywell agreement, Aspen said it has raked in a cumulative sales value of US$310 million in gloves.

Lim Wee Chai, founder and executive chairman of the world's largest rubber glove producer Top Glove has emerged as a minority shareholder in Malaysian private education group Minda Global. The shares of Minda Global soared. "This is a private investment, separate from the Top Glove Group," Mr Lim said by email. "I have always been passionate about education as it is instrumental in enabling people, organisations and nations to advance". Minda didn't respond to requests for comment on the transaction; its shares surged as much as 50 per cent to 18 sen, the highest since April 2018. Mr Lim bought the shares in a recent placement and holds less than 5 per cent of the Cyberjaya-based company, according to people with knowledge of the matter, who asked not be identified as the information is private.

US

Nasdaq on Tuesday set a reference price of $250 per share for Coinbase Global Inc., projecting a value for the largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange at $49.19 billion ahead of its landmark stock market debut on Wednesday. The reference price is not an offering price for investors to purchase shares, but rather a benchmark for performance when the stock starts trading the exchange on Wednesday. Coin base shares are set to start trading under the “COIN” symbol. The opening public price will be determined by buy and sell orders collected by the Nasdaq from broker-dealers. The reference price is below the $343.58 volume-weighted average price Coin base’s shares were trading at privately in the first quarter of this year.

Procter & Gamble Co raised its quarterly dividend by 10% on Tuesday to $0.8698 per share, payable after May 17. The Cincinnati-based conglomerate has benefited from a coronavirus-driven surge in demand for cleaning products, and is expected to report its third-quarter results next week. P&G had previously announced plans to buy back up to $10 billion worth of shares in fiscal 2021.

Boeing Co said on Tuesday it delivered 29 aircraft in March, up from 20 a year earlier, with the U.S. plane maker’s net orders staying positive for the second straight month as airlines get ready for a recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The company’s orders appear to be turning a corner after the coronavirus crisis caused airline customers to cancel hundreds of jets on orders last year, resulting in one of the worst performances for Boeing ever. Boeing's net orders turned positive for the first time in 14 months in February as COVID-19 vaccine rollouts boosted the confidence of its customers.

GRAB on Tuesday said it will list in the US via a merger with Altimeter Growth, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), that is expected to value the group at about US$39.6 billion. This is set to be the largest-ever deal of its kind. Grab expects to raise about US$4.5 billion in cash proceeds from the transaction. This includes more than US$4 billion from a fully committed PIPE (private investment in public equity) deal led by funds managed by Altimeter Capital Management, which committed US$750 million. The PIPE deal also drew participation from funds and accounts managed or advised by BlackRock, Counterpoint Global (Morgan Stanley Investment Management) and T. Rowe Price Associates

Source: SGX Masnet, The Business Times, Bloomberg, Channel NewsAsia, Reuters, PSR