SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) - The following companies saw new developments that may affect trading of their shares on Monday (May 18):
United Overseas Bank (UOB): UOB saw a 406 per cent increase in the online purchase of its investment products in the first quarter versus a year ago, with the strongest demand lying in gold and unit trust products as investors seek defensive and diversified assets. Shares in UOB closed flat at $19.40 on Friday.
Sembcorp Industries: The conglomerate is redeeming a $200 million tranche of perpetual securities at its first call date, Sembcorp said in a bourse filing on Friday after trading hours. The counter ended lower by $0.03 or 2 per cent at $1.50 on a cum-dividend basis on Friday.
OUE: The property group's first-quarter net profit jumped to $87.1 million for the three months to March 31, from $1 million in the year before, thanks to US dollar currency gains and higher gains on investments. OUE shares added $0.01 or 0.9 per cent to close at $1.12 on a cum-dividend basis on Friday, before the interim business update was released.
Singapore Airlines (SIA): Analysts remain bearish on SIA after the national carrier delivered worse than expected losses in the March quarter and a dismal operating update for the month of April, while offering little earnings visibility for the year ahead. Shares in SIA finished at $3.90 on Friday, up $0.09 or 2.4 per cent.
NetLink NBN Trust: Singapore's telecoms regulator is keeping an eye on the performance of NetLink Trust, whose fibre service delivery has been hobbled for weeks amid the coronavirus outbreak. NetLink units closed down by $0.01, or 0.99 per cent, at $1.00 on a cum-dividend basis on Friday.
Singapore Post (SingPost), ESR-Reit, Chasen Holdings: While Singapore logistics firms continue to see a steady flow of business amid the pandemic, operations have been hampered by "circuit-breaker" measures, according to companies that The Business Times spoke to. SingPost shares closed flat at 74.5 cents on Friday; Chasen Holdings ended at 5.8 cents, up 0.1 cent or 1.8 per cent; while units in ESR-Reit finished at 35.5 cents, up 0.5 cent or 1.4 per cent.
Japfa: The chief executive officer of Japfa is looking to at least double the group's nascent aquaculture segment in the next three to four years. The counter closed at 63.5 cents on Friday, up 6.5 cents or 11.4 per cent.
Del Monte Pacific: Del Monte on Saturday said its subsidiary has raised a total of US$1.3 billion through a mix of equity and loans, with the bulk of the funds to go towards refinancing the subsidiary's existing loan facilities of about US$1.1 billion. Del Monte shares were 0.1 cent or 1 per cent lower at 10.1 cents on Friday.
Yoma Strategic: Alipay operator Ant Financial Services Group will invest $73.5 million in Wave Money - a mobile payments joint venture between the Yoma group and Telenor group - as part of a strategic partnership to promote financial inclusion in Myanmar. Yoma Strategic shares closed at 20.5 cents on Friday, up 0.8 cent or 4.1 per cent.
Chip Eng Seng: Mainboard-listed Chip Eng Seng Corp's planned joint investment in the Chinese city of Taicang has fallen through, as some of the conditions precedent were not met by the long-stop date, the property group disclosed in a bourse filing on Friday night. Chip Eng Seng shares closed flat at $0.49 on Friday, before the announcement.
NSL: Despite precautions taken, 2.5 per cent of workers with mild symptoms at NSL subsidiary Dubai Precast have tested positve for the novel coronavirus as at April 30, the mainboard-listed company said in a bourse filing on Monday. The counter closed flat at 76.5 cents on Friday.
Isetan (Singapore): The department store operator expects a loss for the first half of 2020, due to the cyclical nature of its retail business and the disruptions from the novel coronavirus pandemic, the mainboard-listed company said in a regulatory filing on Saturday. The counter closed six cents or 2 per cent lower at $2.92 on Friday.
Singapore Medical Group: Catalist-listed Singapore Medical Group has halved the final dividend that the board had proposed in February, citing a need to save cash amid the coronavirus pandemic. Its shares closed up by 0.5 cent or 2 per cent to 25 cents before the announcement.
