Singapore Daily Briefing

SpaceX closed its first trading day at US$160.95, up 19% from the US$135 IPO price, on record demand of US$350bn in orders against roughly $10bn of free float — a 35x oversubscription ratio that makes this the most subscribed mega-cap IPO since Saudi Aramco. At $160.95, SpaceX's implied valuation exceeds US$2tn, making it the second-largest US-listed company by market cap. For Singapore investors, the direct read is via Temasek and GIC's pre-IPO stakes — both are reported to hold SpaceX shares, and the listing crystallizes a major windfall for Singapore's sovereign wealth base. The MAS needs to consider whether this creates repatriation pressure from GIC's global portfolio back into SGD assets.

Brent crude fell to its lowest level since March as Iran-Hormuz ceasefire expectations solidified ahead of a reported June 14 signing. For Singapore, cheaper oil is structurally positive across multiple sectors: Singapore Airlines' fuel cost (30%+ of operating expenses) improves on every $1/bbl Brent decline, Keppel's offshore & marine order book benefits from lower offshore drilling breakevens, and the Port of Singapore's bunkering volumes pick up as vessel traffic through re-opened Hormuz recovers. The risk: if oil drops too fast, it pressures Temasek's energy portfolio and Singapore's petrochemical refining margins on the crack spread.

Business Times SG reported that currency traders are running their most bullish USD positioning since February 2025, driven by resilient US data and the Fed's unchanged rate path under Kevin Walsh. For Singapore, sustained USD strength creates pressure on the MAS SGD NEER appreciation band — MAS uses the NEER basket to manage imported inflation, and a strong USD widens the effective appreciation needed to keep the band. DBS, OCBC, and UOB all have meaningful USD asset books that benefit from USD strength on the asset side but face SGD-funding cost pressure. If MAS holds the NEER path at next October review, that's the key anchor for Big Three bank NIMs.