Singapore shares rise for third day; CapitaLand at 1-month high

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore shares were set to rise for the third day in a row on Friday, with Southeast Asia's largest property developer CapitaLand among the biggest gainers.

The Straits Times Index was up 0.6 per cent, while MSCI's index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was 0.7 per cent higher.

Shares of CapitaLand rose as much as 2.5 per cent to $2.85, the highest since Feb 28. The Singapore firm said early on Friday it had acquired a 60 per cent interest in two residential sites in Chengdu for $155 million.

"The acquisition is in line with CapitaLand's strategy to further strengthen its presence in China," it said in a statement. The stock is also looking relatively "cheap", analysts and traders said.

Shares of commodities firm Noble Group rose as much as 2.9 per cent. The Singapore-listed company had formed a joint venture with logistics business Qube Holdings to build a grain handling facility in Australia.

The stock has risen more than 20 per cent since early March after news that China's biggest grains trader COFCO Corp is in talks to buy Noble's agribusiness arm.

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