Daily Briefing: Manufacturer Allied Tech raises $18.6m; Singtel's Australia business performs better than Singapore

And here's why Sheng Siong believes B&M retailing is still relevant.

From Dealstreet Asia:

Manufacturing services provider Allied Technlogies Ltd on Monday raised S$25.2 million ($18.6 million) by selling 420 million shares at 6 cents each to four investors in a private placement, said the company in a filing to the local exchange.

The proceeds will be used to fund potential acquisitions to further expand and strengthen its service offerings in its new e-commerce business segment. 

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From The Motley Fool: 

Singtel’s Singapore consumer sub-segment revenue for FY2018 declined by 2.7% due to weaker performances across all business lines other than fixed broadband. The affected ones were mobile communications, equipment sales, Pay TV, and national and international phone. Mobile communications (the largest business within the Singapore Consumer sub-segment) experienced a 3.3% fall in revenue in FY2018.

On the other hand, operating revenue in Australia for FY2018 climbed by 3.9% as a result of improvement in both the mobile and mass market fixed services businesses.There was also a 340,000 increase in the postpaid handset customer base during the year.

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From The Motley Fool:

Sheng Siong’s leaders think that bricks-and-mortar grocery retailing will still remain relevant in the future, although tweaks will have to be made. “We believe that shopping is still a leisure activity among Singaporeans and grocery retailing in brick and mortar stores would complement online offerings. Consumers would still prefer to exercise judgment in making their own selection, particularly for fresh produce.”

It can be seen that Sheng Siong acknowledges the disruptive forces of e-commerce. Nevertheless, the management team thinks that a bricks-and-mortar grocery retail format will still remain relevant in the future, if changes are made to the concept to cater to fresh produce.

Read more here.