Ryobi Kiso Holdings

Ryobi Kiso Holdings, a specialist ground engineering solutions provider, said it has won $33.3 million worth of contracts since Jan 1.

The contracts are for foundation and geoservices work at places such as Changi Airport's Terminal 5, Jurong Town Corporation estates and Saigon South Apartment in Vietnam.

The group's net order book as at Dec 31 was $135.3 million.

United Overseas Bank

United Overseas Bank (UOB) said it has become the first bank in Asia to distribute euro-denominated fixed-rate covered bonds.

The issue raised €500 million (S$758 million) through global investors, UOB said yesterday.

It said that the bonds saw strong investor demand, with the order book building up to more than €1.3 billion or 2.6 times subscribed.

UOB said the covered bonds enable the bank to broaden its funding sources and expand its investor base to Europe.

They also offer investors, particularly those from Europe, an opportunity to diversify their portfolio with covered bonds issued out of Singapore.

The covered bonds attracted more than 75 institutional investors, mainly from Europe - the bank's target market for the issue.

Among the investors are: banks at 36 per cent, fund managers at 31 per cent, central banks at 18 per cent, insurance funds at 10 per cent and others at 5 per cent.

Covered bonds are debt securities backed by cash flow from mortgages or public sector loans.

UOB's bonds will bear a fixed coupon of 0.25 per cent per annum payable annually in arrears.

The banks said net proceeds from the issue will be used for its general business purposes.

Stamford Tyres

Mainboard-listed Stamford Tyres, a major tyre and wheel distributor in South-east Asia, reported a 4.6 per cent increase in third-quarter net profit to $894,000.

Revenue for the three months to Jan 31 plunged 20.41 per cent to $59.6 million, on the back of lower sales in certain products and markets.

Quarterly earnings per share was 0.38 cents, up from 0.36 cents, while net asset value per share was 50.17 cents as at Jan 31, down from 51.38 cents as at April 30.