Engaged in the oil industry with the ongoing war in the backdrop.
Owning properties in China and across the globe in a high-interest rate environment.
Providing test solutions and innovations for semiconductors — though the results haven’t been as rosy as media headlines suggest.
These characteristics may have already dissuaded you from investing in these stocks. However, we’ve found 5 stocks involved in these very industries that have gained over 20% this month. Despite being dragged down by earnings or other issues, their journey has been testament of management prudence or at least – a step towards a better tomorrow.
1. Seatrium (SGX:5E2)
Seatrium, listed on SGX, is a Temasek-backed maritime engineering heavyweight formed in 2023 after Sembcorp Marine’s acquisition of Keppel Offshore & Marine. It builds rigs, floaters, offshore platforms, and many other services globally. The stock experienced a notable selloff from February 2025 to April 2025.
Recent challenges:
- The shipbuilding and offshore sector has been under pressure due to fluctuating oil prices and tariffs.
- One-off writebacks for FY24 earnings contributed to earnings growth, but investors weren’t convinced.
However, the stock seems to be finding its footing as it rallied off its 7 April low. Confidence in the business is supported by its order book, which has reached a decade-high of $23.2 billion. Most of the new orders are from 2024 and YTD 2025.
Currently, Seatrium is working on P-series FPSOs (Floating Production, Storage, and Offloading units) that help to produce, store and offload oil. It has been selected by Petrobras to deliver P-84, P-85 vessels. There are four other vessels currently in its order book. Furthermore, it recently secured a US$400 million sustainability-linked revolving credit facility from UOB. This will allow it to better manage its working capital for operations. While Seatrium is a Singapore brand, it serves many major energy companies in the world. This provides a global exposure. With the company setting a ROE of more than 8% by 2028, investors are looking to be part of the shareholder returns of Seatrium.
2. Banyan Tree Holdings (SG: B58)
A Singapore-based luxury hospitality and wellness player with global resorts and residential offerings focused on sustainability, wellbeing, and authentic guest experiences. The company had been plagued by challenges since Covid but seems to have shrugged them off with a strong growth momentum since 2020’s losses.
Recent issues:
- China’s real estate problems have led to Banyan Tree splitting ways with China Vanke. Since then, it has acquired all of Vanke’s affiliates’ interest in their joint ventures Banyan Tree Services and Banyan Tree Hotel Management.
- Growth in operating profit in FY23 was due to one-off gains. This led to the increase in earnings of FY24 being more impressive—attracting investor attention.
A few years back, Ho Kwon Ping led Banyan’s expansion by bringing in multiple new hotel brands under its management and increasingly shifting to an asset-light model. Their diversification to cater to consumers across income levels provided financial stability. Its profitability has also grown since 2020 with a stable operating margin of 27%. In 2025, Banyan Tree announced dividend payments and share buybacks to return shareholder value. Furthermore, management’s prudence can be observed in the lowering of net debt to equity ratio from 0.72 in 2020 to 0.25 in 2024.
3. PropNex (SGX:OYY)
PropNex is one of Singapore’s major real estate agencies. Currently, it is facing two legal actions from buyers who were allegedly penalized for “99-to-1” deals – arrangements that drew investor attention over perceived unfairness. Furthermore, earnings have slumped since 2022 but YOY CAGR since 2020 remains high at 11.1%.
While the lawsuit is still ongoing, it is unlikely to have a significant impact on PropNex, as they mentioned that the sales agents are “independent contractors” not directly employed by the company. Beyond the lawsuit, there is a leadership transition as Kelvin Fong takes the helm as PropNex’s new CEO with outgoing CEO Ismail Gafoor remaining as executive chairman. This is positively viewed by investors since Kelvin Fong has been with PropNex since 2002 and has been exposed to various sides of the business, providing substantial experience to lead the company.
PropNex continues to be a dominant force in Singapore’s housing market with its agents accounting for approximately 64% of all resale HDB. The dividend payout ratio continued to increase since FY2020. We are neutral towards the sustainability of continual increasing for FY25 and beyond. This is due to the company reporting fewer transactions in 2024, with a drop in commissions. Current market conditions and operational developments suggest the company may be entering a more moderated phase of growth.
4. AEM Holdings (SGX:AWX)
AEM is a niche semiconductor test system specialist listed on SGX, offering test cell solutions, instrumentation, and contract manufacturing. Its Q1 FY25 profit before tax plunged 71% quarter-on-quarter to S$3.8 million, citing weaker demand. This is in sharp contrast to a 85% increase in profit before tax in FY24.
Since FY24, there had been signs of reduction in orders and this has continued into FY25. With the uncertainty of tariffs, we believe that this shift in demand and volatility of orders will continue. Furthermore, there are costs incurred in onboarding new customers. While media has reported surging demand for semiconductors, AEM’s annual reports have said some of its customers have slowdowns and are experiencing restructuring. This emphasises the cutthroat competition in the industry —where not every player is doing well in the AI wave. AEM has been actively managing cost control which would be important for it to continue its financial stability in the uncertain macro climate.
5. City Developments Limited (SGX:C09)
CDL is Singapore’s oldest and one of its largest property developers. Some of its recent developments had attracted public attention and we’ve written a summary of the happenings in this write-up.
Recent issues:
- In February 2025, a highly public boardroom dispute erupted when chair Kwek Leng Beng accused son and CEO Sherman Kwek of instigating a “boardroom coup”—leading SGX to suspend trading
- Profit dropped 37% YoY to S$201 million, triggering operations concerns
- Though the lawsuit was later withdrawn in March, analysts downgraded the stock due to persistent governance overhang, with shares having fallen ~60% since 2018
- Ongoing regulatory scrutiny from SGX’s regulator remains
Recently, CDL announced that Philip Yeo will step down from CDL’s board. This had been viewed as a de-escalation of the boardroom feud. Despite these management issues, the company has been facing increasing headwinds. In FY24, City Developments Limited saw weakened financial results with revenue falling by 33.8% to S$3.3 billion, largely due to the absence of one-time gains that had boosted the prior year’s results, such as the S$1.0 billion contribution from Piermont Grand EC and the JPY 50 billion divestment of land in Shirokane, Tokyo.
Additionally, construction delays impacted revenue recognition, and financing costs soared 21% to S$588.7 million, driven by increased bank borrowings. CDL’s pre-tax profit declined to S$374.0 million, while the net gearing ratio worsened to 69%, up from 61%. The company also recorded impairment losses linked to lower valuations and higher costs in UK student housing and Australasia rental properties.
Moreover, continued real estate softness in China, unexpected development cost overruns, and a “higher-for-longer” interest rate environment added further headwinds. CDL’s removal from the MSCI Singapore Index in May 2024, alongside macroeconomic uncertainties, also contributed to negative investor sentiment and share price underperformance. There are still hurdles ahead for CDL and even if the boardroom feud ends, there are still other issues to address.
Final Thoughts
Like they say, a rising tide lifts all boats. With the STI surging past the 4,000 mark—and possibly heading even higher—the momentum in the Singapore market is hard to ignore. The recent rally has lifted many stocks across sectors, from blue-chip names to smaller-cap counters. But the question remains: can this strength continue?
Only time will tell—but one thing’s for sure, we’ll be watching closely.
Join us as we are co-hosting a physical seminar with SGX Academy to mark the Straits Times Index (STI) crossing the 4,000 milestone. While some may see this as a market peak, Alvin believes it’s just the beginning, especially with STI’s attractive 4.3% dividend yield and a decade-long lag in price growth relative to fundamentals. The event will also feature Christopher Ng, who retired at 39 though dividend investing. He’ll share how he built his income portfolio — and how you can do the same. Register here!
