Singapore, Jan 24, 2026, 15:01 SGT — Market closed
- Keppel shares ended Friday’s session 1.2% higher, closing at S$11.02.
- The group inked a 25-year term sheet for a fibre pair connected to its Bifrost subsea cable system.
- Investors are turning their attention to next week’s trading and Keppel’s earnings report due February 5.
Keppel Ltd shares closed Friday 1.2% higher at S$11.02, tracking gains across Singapore blue chips. (MarketWatch)
The stock has drawn renewed interest as the cable segment remains one of the few active drivers investors are watching. On Thursday, Keppel announced it inked a 25-year term sheet with an undisclosed global telecoms firm for a fibre pair on its Bifrost Cable System, which connects Singapore to the U.S. West Coast. (The Business Times)
That’s key since long-life fibre contracts resemble infrastructure tolls — steady, sticky, and tough to mimic. Keppel has focused on connectivity and data-linked assets, leaving traders to weigh how much of that is already baked into prices.
Singapore’s Straits Times Index hit a new intraday high on Friday before settling 1.3% higher, driven by gains in the banking sector. (The Straits Times)
Keppel described the deal as an “indefeasible right of use,” industry jargon for a long-term lease on cable capacity. The company aims to finalize the agreement by the second quarter of 2026 and noted it won’t significantly affect this financial year’s net tangible asset per share or earnings per share. Manjot Singh Mann, head of connectivity, said “strong interest” from global telcos and cloud providers has driven up pricing for the asset. (Keppel)
Bifrost stretches over 20,000 km and was built specifically for AI workloads and cloud platforms, Keppel said. It has handled commercial traffic since December, with each fibre pair operating roughly 20% above the initially projected capacity, the company noted. Keppel holds a 40-60 joint venture stake in the fibre pairs alongside its private fund co-investors. (The Edge Singapore)
Friday’s rally seemed partly driven by momentum traders piling into the digital infrastructure sector across the region. Invesco strategist David Chao described Japan’s central bank signals this week as “hawkish,” yet risk markets interpreted the move as a cue to keep putting money to work. (Reuters)
But the term sheet isn’t the end of the road. The customer remains unnamed, and the operations-and-maintenance details are still up in the air. A signed deal by 2Q isn’t a sure thing, and any slip in trans-Pacific demand could quickly sour sentiment.
The key question now: can BN4 maintain its gains when trading picks up again next week after this brief surge? Traders are also waiting to see if more fibre pair contracts come through—after all, one deal doesn’t establish a whole business line.
Keppel’s full-year 2025 results arrive on Feb. 5, before markets open. This report should offer investors clearer insight into the recurring income generated by its connectivity platform.
