This week brought a busy run of corporate news across the region.
Southeast Asia’s largest superapp lifted its full-year outlook and unveiled a fresh buyback, while one of Singapore’s big three lenders agreed to sell its four-decade-old fund management arm.
Elon Musk’s newly listed rocket and satellite group delivered its first set of results as a public company, and a Singapore hospitality trust struck a sale-and-leaseback deal for a co-living property in the city centre.
Grab’s One-Off Gain And Buyback Lift Full-Year Guidance
Grab Holdings (NASDAQ: GRAB) reported net profit of US$235 million for the second quarter of 2026 (2Q2026), up sharply from US$20 million a year ago.
The jump was driven largely by non-operating items, including a US$307 million one-off gain from the consolidation of Indonesia’s Superbank in June, partly offset by a US$183 million increase in fair-value losses on financial assets and liabilities.
Underlying trends were also encouraging.
Revenue rose 22% year on year (YoY) to US$997 million while adjusted EBITDA climbed 54% to US$168 million, lifting the margin to 16.9% from 13.3%.
On-demand gross merchandise value grew 21% to US$6.46 billion, supported by a 17% rise in monthly transacting users to a record 53.9 million.
The group raised its 2026 revenue guidance to between US$4.10 billion and US$4.15 billion, up from US$4.04 billion to US$4.10 billion, and its adjusted EBITDA outlook to US$720 million to US$740 million.
Its board also authorised a further US$750 million of share repurchases, taking total buybacks approved since 2024 to US$1.75 billion.
UOB Exits Asset Management In S$555 million Deal
United Overseas Bank (SGX: U11), or UOB, announced on 5 August 2026 that it would sell UOB Asset Management to Allianz Global Investors (AllianzGI) for S$555 million.
The sale, which includes excess cash, is expected to generate a pre-tax gain of around S$330 million for the lender.
Excluding one-off transaction costs, it should also lift UOB’s Common Equity Tier 1 (CET-1) ratio by an estimated 14 basis points.
The net asset value attributable to the divested stake stood at S$223 million on an unaudited pro forma basis as at end-2025.
The franchise being sold spans eight Asian markets and had S$42 billion of assets at the close of 2025, with all 500 employees transferring to the buyer.
Alongside the sale, the two parties have agreed a long-term distribution partnership giving UOB clients access to AllianzGI’s global product suite.
Chief executive Wee Ee Cheong said the tie-up sharpens the bank’s focus on wealth advisory across its network of more than eight million retail clients in ASEAN.
The deal is expected to close in 2027, subject to regulatory approvals.
SpaceX Posts First Results As Costs Climb
SpaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX) handed in its first quarterly report as a listed company on 4 August 2026, and the market’s reaction was unkind.
Shares fell 7.5% in US post-market trading after the group disclosed that capital expenditure had jumped to around US$18.4 billion for the second quarter.
The headline numbers were better than expected.
Revenue came in at US$7.8 billion against a consensus of US$6.81 billion, while the quarterly loss of SS$0.09 per share was narrower than the US$0.24 analysts had forecast.
The artificial intelligence (AI) unit posted an operating loss of US$1.26 billion, also smaller than the US$2.39 billion feared.
Starlink, the group’s only profitable business, ended the quarter with 12 million subscribers, just shy of the 12.19 million expected.
Chief executive Elon Musk told analysts that he expected the pace of AI development to improve dramatically.
Adding to the uncertainty, more than US$100 billion of stock becomes eligible for sale for the first time later this week.
Coliwoo To Sell Middle Road Property To CapitaLand Ascott Trust
CapitaLand Ascott Trust (SGX: HMN), or CLAS, is buying Coliwoo Midtown from Coliwoo Holdings (SGX: W8W) at an agreed property value of S$134 million, and will lease the 212-room asset back to the seller for 10 years with annual rent indexation.
The trust is acquiring the property at a 4.1% EBITDA yield on a FY2025 pro forma basis, some 180 basis points above the 2.3% exit yield on its divestment of The Robertson House by The Crest Collection.
Management expects the deal to lift pro forma distribution per stapled security (DPS) by 2.4% and to raise the living sector to 19.5% of portfolio value, against a medium-term target of 25% to 30%.
The Middle Road property opened only in March and averaged close to 90% occupancy in July.
Coliwoo expects to book a gross gain on disposal of around S$9.2 million while retaining full operational control under the leaseback, with net proceeds funding working capital for its existing projects.
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