It’s good news all around as borders reopen and recovery takes hold.
In Singapore, the recent easing of restrictions means that businesses can flourish once again.
With consumer demand for goods and services rising, this bodes well for a wide swath of stocks.
Investors who are looking for ideas can latch on to businesses with well-defined catalysts and a strong business model.
Blue-chip companies are great candidates to consider as they have a track record of going through good times and bad.
Here are three Singapore blue-chip stocks that could carry your investment portfolio to the next level.
Keppel Corporation Limited (SGX: BN4)
Keppel Corporation is a conglomerate that houses four distinct divisions — Energy and Environment, Connectivity, Urban Development, and Asset Management.
The group released a pleasing set of data for its recent fiscal 2022 first quarter (1Q2022) business update.
All segments except urban development reported higher year on year profits, and Keppel Corporation continues to pursue new growth areas under its Vision 2030 long-term plan.
Growth came from renewables, sustainable energy, urbanisation solutions, and data centres.
The group has also made progress on its asset monetisation goal, with more than S$3.2 billion announced since October 2020.
Keppel’s offshore and marine (O&M) division secured orders worth S$76 million in 1Q2022, ending the quarter with an order book of S$4.8 billion.
This week alone, there is good news as Keppel O&M has announced the award of two contracts.
One is for FPSO integration worth around S$250 million from repeat customers, while the other is worth S$135 million for the utilisation of two jack-up rigs.
Investors also can look forward to the merger between Keppel O&M and Sembcorp Marine (SGX: S51) that was announced late last month.
As part of the merger, Keppel Corporation is set to realise a total value of S$9.4 billion.
DBS Group (SGX: D05)
DBS Group is Singapore’s largest bank and offers a comprehensive range of banking services for individuals and corporations.
The bank’s recent 1Q2022 earnings have impressed once again with its second-highest net profit on record.
Loan growth remained healthy at 8% year on year and is expected to grow further this quarter.
With interest rates heading up, DBS is also poised to enjoy a strong boost to its net interest margins, which in turn should lift its net interest income higher.
The lender has other growth initiatives up its sleeve.
Earlier this year, it purchased the consumer banking business in Taiwan from Citigroup (NYSE: C) in a S$2.2 billion transaction.
The deal has attractive financial characteristics and DBS believes Taiwan can become an even stronger contributor to the group in time to come.
The acquisition follows similar moves by DBS to expand its regional footprint, such as the purchase of a 13% stake in Shenzhen Rural Commercial Bank for S$1.1 billion last year and the takeover of India’s Lakshmi Vilas Bank in 2020.
The lender also launched a digital exchange in late-2020 and has seen trading value hitting S$1.1 billion in 2021, thus contributing an additional stream of fee income for the group.
Venture Corporation Ltd (SGX: V03)
Venture Corporation is a provider of technology products, services and solutions to customers in a diverse range of sectors such as life sciences, genomics, and consumer lifestyle.
The group manages a portfolio of more than 5,000 products and solutions and employs over 12,000 people globally.
The group’s 1Q2022 business update demonstrated encouraging growth momentum.
Revenue jumped by 29.5% year on year to S$889.3 million while net profit climbed 28.6% year on year to S$84 million.
Venture Corporation saw broad-based growth across most of its technology domains and enjoyed strong demand from customers in the advanced payment systems, lifestyle and wellness, and test and measurement technology sectors.
The future looks bright as the group anticipates continued strong demand from its end customers.
The company’s research and development laboratories have come up with initiatives to mitigate supply chain disruptions caused by the Russia-Ukraine war.
At the same time, the group has also expanded its capabilities to handle more orders.
Because of the traction gained over the years, Venture Corporation now has a wide customer base of more than 100 customers and has become a partner of choice by global players.
The group intends to invest in new capabilities and engage more talent to accelerate its growth in the years ahead.
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Disclaimer: Royston Yang owns shares of DBS Group.
