Singapore stock watch: Olam says operations not affected by Australia bushfires

The Singapore Exchange Centre in Shenton Way. PHOTO: ST FILE

SINGAPORE - The following companies saw new developments that may affect trading of their shares on Monday (Jan 6):

Olam International: The widespread fires in Australia have not affected the operations of Olam International, the agri-food giant told The Business Times in response to queries on Friday. "Our operations have not been impacted as they are not located near the affected areas," said the firm. "Most importantly, our employees are safe as well. We continue to monitor the situation closely and prioritise the safety of our staff."

Olam has been operating in Australia since 2007, with an integrated supply chain for cotton, almonds, pulses, cocoa and dairy and "a particularly strong footprint in the eastern states of Queensland.

The counter closed flat at $1.84 on Friday.

DBS: To provide clients with greater transparency over environmental, social and governance (ESG) characteristics of their investment portfolios, DBS has adopted MSCI ESG ratings for its wealth management business, the bank announced last Friday. DBS shares closed at $26 on Friday, down 0.4 per cent, or 11 cents.

United Overseas Bank (UOB): Three of the bank's fund management subsidiaries have signed on to United Nations-backed guidelines for responsible investing, UOB said in a statement on Sunday. UOB shares closed at $26.63 on Friday, down 0.2 per cent, or five cents.

Keppel Infrastructure Trust (KIT): KIT's manager announced on Friday that non-independent, non-executive director, Lim Joo Ling Cindy, was stepping down with immediate effect, to focus on her roles as managing director of Keppel Urban Solutions Pte Ltd and director (group corporate development) of Keppel Corporation. KIT units closed flat at 54 cents on Friday, before this announcement.

Tan Chong International: Automobile firm Tan Chong International warned of a decrease in profit attributable to shareholders for the year ended Dec 31, 2019 due to lower vehicle sales, in a Singapore Exchange filing after market close on Friday. Tan Chong shares closed up one Hong Kong cent or 0.47 per cent at HK$2.14 on Friday before the announcement.

GuocoLand: GuocoLand Malaysia on Friday said its indirect subsidiary has entered into a conditional sale and purchase agreement to dispose of a parcel of freehold agricultural land in Malacca to Parkland Avenue Sdn Bhd for some RM119.3 million ($39.3 million). GuocoLand shares closed flat at $1.97 on Friday, before the release of this announcement.

Citic Envirotech: The formal exit offer for Citic Envirotech was made on Friday, after the earlier fulfilment of the pre-condition of obtaining requisite approvals from China authorities, as well as the obtaining of shareholder approval for its voluntary delisting at a Dec 31 extraordinary general meeting. The exit offer price of $0.55 a share represents a premium of 68.5 per cent over the three-month volume-weighted average of $0.326. The counter closed at $0.55 on Friday, up 0.9 per cent, or 0.5 cent.

Starhill Global Real Estate Investment Trust (Starhill Global Reit): Starhill Global Reit has set up a $2 billion multi-currency debt issuance programme, the manager announced late on Friday night. Units in the Reit closed flat at 72.5 cents on Friday.

Rex International Holding: Rex is in the thick of assessing the production capacity of its oilfield asset in Oman. The Catalist-listed firm sees itself progressing towards a robust revenue stream with this move, on the back of stabilised oil prices, executive chairman Dan Broström told The Business Times. The counter closed at 20.5 cents on Friday, up 2.5 per cent, or 0.5 cent.

Pan-United Corporation: The mainboard-listed firm on Monday said its subsidiary has signed a memorandum of understanding with South Korean ready-mix concrete company, Eugene Corporation, for the latter to possibly adopt Pan-United's new artificial intelligence platform. Shares of Pan-United ended trading at 35 cents on Friday, up 0.5 cent or 1.4 per cent.

AVIC International Maritime Holdings: Catalist-listed AVIC has lost its free float ahead of the close of an offer from China Merchants Industry Investment, which intends to delist the marine and offshore firm. With less than 10 per cent of AVIC's shares now held by the public, the Singapore Exchange will accordingly suspend trading in its shares at the close of the offer at 5.30pm on Jan 6. AVIC shares closed unchanged at 14.9 cents on Friday.

Natural Cool Holdings: Catalist-listed air-conditioning company Natural Cool Holdings' chief operating officer, Wong Leon Keat, stepped down on Saturday, according to a bourse filing released later that day. The counter last traded at seven cents on Dec 19, up 22.8 per cent, or 1.3 cents.

USP Group: The chief financial officer of indium ingot dealer USP Group has resigned, the eighth departure to be disclosed by the company in the past year. Nah Ee Ling, 40, will leave on Jan 31 "to pursue other career opportunities", the board said in a bourse filing on Friday night. Mainboard-listed USP, which was put on the bourse's financial watch list in December 2019, last traded at 6.9 cents.

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