Yangzijiang Financial Jumps Over 22%; STI Hits All-Time High of 4,019

Property stocks contribute to gains, with strong showing from construction counters

- Kang Wan Chern

Investment manager Yangzijiang Financial saw its shares surge as much as 22.6 per cent last week before coming to a close at 90 cents on July 4.

Yangzijiang Financial on July 2 revealed the April 28 incorporation of its wholly owned subsidiary, Yangzijiang Maritime Development, at an issued and paid-up share capital of US$100 (S$130), comprising 100 ordinary shares issued at US$1 per share.

This follows an April 27 announcement in which Yangzijiang Financial disclosed the possibility of spinning off its maritime investment segment into a new company to be listed on the mainboard of the Singapore Exchange (SGX).

Yangzijiang Maritime Development will be led by executive chairman and chief executive officer Ren Yuanlin, who is also the founder of Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, a Straits Times Index (STI) component stock. Yangzijiang Shipbuilding shares took a beating earlier in 2025 after US President Donald Trump first proposed port fees on China-built ships.

Shares of the China-based shipbuilder have since recovered some ground, but closed the week flat at $2.21.

The STI hit an all-time high of 4,019 on July 4.

Property stocks contributed to its gains last week, but they retreated on July 4 after the Government raised the seller's stamp duty (SSD) on private residential homes to between 4 per cent and 16 per cent, if a property is sold less than four years after the date of purchase.

Before the change, the SSD had been payable by those who sold a residential property within three years of purchase, at rates of between 4 per cent and 12 per cent.

Hongkong Land rose the most, by nearly 8.6 per cent, and closed July 4 at US$6.34. UOL rose 6.4 per cent through the week to close at $6.48, while City Developments rose 4.7 per cent to $5.39. CapitaLand Investment was up 2.6 per cent to $2.71.