Daily Briefing: SMRT shares lag HK MTR; SGX sets up regulatory unit

And here are the best shopping discount cards in Singapore.

Since service disruptions started plaguing Singapore’s subway operator in December 2011, shares of SMRT Corp. have declined about 4 percent, compared with a 91 percent rally in the stock of regional peer, Hong Kong’s MTR Corp. Last week, SMRT agreed to transfer all its operating assets, including trains and signaling systems, to the city-state’s regulator. Read more here.

Singapore Exchange Ltd. will house regulatory functions in a unit with its own board, following calls to separate the role. The subsidiary is expected to be set up by the second half of 2017 and will not add to the requirements of Singapore’s initial share sale process, Southeast Asia’s biggest bourse operator said in a statement Monday. SGX shares climbed 0.9 percent as of 3:42 p.m. in the city-state, resuming after a morning trading halt following a Straits Times report on the plans. Find out more here.

Shopping discount cards are quite common in Singapore, where one of the national pastimes is shopping, at least for the ladies. But, do you know which discount cards give you the best shopping deals? Truth be told, some brands treat (pun unintended) their customers a notch better than others. When a store has some kind of a loyalty programme, it will usually entice more people to shop with them, versus other stores that don't. Read more here.