State's stock duo lifts Singapore

A PAIR of

The first pick on Singapore Press Holdings from ING was a now-familiar tale of getting investors positioned for the hoped-for economic recovery through till the year-end.

The second, which centred on DBS Group, was also a well-worn theme of corporations trying to tap into Asia's most robust growth story.

SPH, 30 cents, or 1.6%, better at S$19.60, was poised for a rally of close to 25% as ad revenues picked up along with the regional economy, ING said in a note. Last month income from advertisements at the group rose 11% compared with the same month a year ago; it was the first such rise since the start of the year. 'We expect the nascent economic recovery to gather momentum as we enter 2004,' ING said, issuing a price target of S$23.80 a share. 'We expect positive growth in ad revenue will generate a higher degree of investor confidence in the stock.'

SPH, controlled by the Singapore government through a system of golden shares, is one of the key levers by which the government maintains its grip on the country. It has cut jobs this year to trim costs.

DBS, which holds some of SPH's golden shares, was level at S$11.90 after fleshing out its strategy for sharing in China's growth.

The bank, which made a substantial takeover of a Hong Kong lender in 2001, said it had been approached by up to six Chinese banks keen on forging a tie-up. 'Without us going to them, we have received requests from five or six banks in China and we holding exploratory talks with some of them,' a senior DBS executive said.

The Straits Times index, buoyed by the stronger US share prices seen on Friday, inched up but later slipped to end off 10.2 at 1570.8. Since striking its low for the year in March, the market has rebounded by about a third.

Hong Kong , the Hang Seng fell 38 points to 10,102.9, as traders awaited the next substantive development in the political crisis that has engulfed the administration of chief executive Tung Cheehwa.

Tung, picked by Beijing to head the former colony in 1997, received firm backing from China's leaders at the weekend. But his standing remains weak after vast demonstrations against a new security law and the resignation-of two top ministers.

Telecoms group Pacific Century Cyberworks added five cents to HK$4.40. The company said chairman Richard Li bought more than 10m shares on Friday after its stock dived after a surprise share placement.

In Australia retail player Woolworths dropped despite saying sales grew 7% in the fourth quarter. Its shares slipped 16 cents, or 1.3%, to A$12.18, while the All Ordinaries index was up 5.7 points at 3070.6.

Japanese financial markets were closed for a national holiday and will reopen on Tuesday.

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