(Bloomberg) Equity investors expecting a big boost for Singapore’s benchmark index from its upcoming annual budget could be disappointed: heavyweight blue chips are unlikely to benefit from government largesse.Aimed at reversing the nation’s worst economic contraction since it became independent in 1965, Tuesday’s budget is set to focus on the pandemic-hit travel sector or firms with mandates in line with green or digital initiatives, say analysts.That’s bad news for the benchmark Straits Times Index, which has risen 3.5% so far this year. The gauge is lagging the broader MSCI Asia Pacific Index by six percentage points even though Singapore has managed to contain the spread of the virus.“The upcoming budget is unlikely to be a game changer,” said Kee Yan Yeo, analyst at DBS Group Holdings Ltd.Government proposals will likely focus on struggling aviation and tourism sectors, or companies seeking to expand, digitize or invest in new technologi
Singapore’s largest bank has history and geography both aligned in its favor. Its strategy is nimble, balance sheet healthy, and the lending landscape as promising as last year’s was gloomy. With a little luck, DBS Group Holdings Ltd. will exude strength when it meets upcoming virtual challengers. The lender’s fourth-quarter results don’t really give a glimpse of what to expect. Net income fell 33 per cent from a year earlier to S$1.01 billion ($762 million), missing the average analyst estimate in a Bloomberg News poll. Credit costs stayed elevated at S$577 million, broadly unchanged from the previous three months. With this, however, DBS has made full-year loan-loss provisions of slightly more than S$3 billion, matching the lower end of the two-year S$3 billion to S$5 billion hit it had anticipated from Covid-19.