Singapore - Shares in Keppel Corp and its property unit Keppel Land have been halted ahead of the market's open on Wednesday pending an announcement.

Both companies have also announced that they will postpone their briefings for the fourth-quarter and year-end results, but the results would be released as scheduled.

Keppel Land was initially slated to hold the briefing on Wednesday evening after its release of results while Keppel Corp had planned to do so on Thursday evening.

Speculation in the market is that Keppel Corp could privatise Keppel Land; analysts have also said that Keppel Land may pay out a special dividend.

Conglomerate Keppel Corp's shares have been hit by a plunge in world oil prices as worries weighed on the profitability of the rig-maker amid lower demand.

Crude oil prices have fallen more than 50 per cent from US$115 a barrel in June to below US$50 per barrel now.

Over the period, Keppel Corp's shares fell 39 per cent from a high of $11.08 to a low of $7.98. It closed eight cents lower to $8.10 on Tuesday, while Keppel Land rose four cents to a 52-week high of $3.65.