Dec 28: Keppel, Nam Cheong

Singapore's stocks closed flat on Thursday. The ST Index ended up 3.12 points, or 0.10%, at 3,183.93. Here are some stocks and factors to watch this Friday morning:

Oil rig builder Keppel Corp said it had secured three new contracts worth a total of $420 million, bringing the group's order wins for 2012 to $9.9 billion.

Malaysian offshore vessel builder Nam Cheong said it had secured sale contracts worth a total of US$56.4 million ($69 million) for one platform supply vessel and two anchor handling towing supply vessels.


 

Temasek boosts Olam stake to 19%, says attractive long term

Temasek Holdings Pte, Singapore’s state-owned investment company, boosted its stake in Olam International by another percentage point in the past week after saying the commodity trader is an attractive long-term investment.

Two units controlled by Temasek bought around 24 million shares between Dec 20 and today, lifting its deemed interest to 19% from 18%, according to an Olam filing. One purchase of 100,000 shares was made on the market today, the filing said.

Temasek, Olam’s second-biggest shareholder, last week raised its stake from 16% to 18%, saying that it’s “pleased” to have the opportunity to add to its holdings. Olam “represents a reasonably attractive investment over the long term,” it said. Temasek earlier this month backed Olam’s proposed bond offering, agreeing to buy any rights not taken up by other investors.

Temasek referred to its earlier comments on Olam in an e- mailed response to queries today.

Jim Rogers, chairman of Rogers Holdings, plans to take part in the offering, according to a report today in The Straits Times newspaper. Rogers’ stake in Olam is “quite small”, the report said. Rogers didn’t respond to an e-mail seeking comment.

Shares in Olam rose as much as 2.6% before trading 1.3% higher at $1.545 as of 1:27 p.m. in Singapore. They have slumped 11% since Nov. 19, the day short-seller Carson Block questioned the company’s liquidity and accounting practices at a London conference.

Kewlram Singapore, which owns 20% of Olam as its biggest shareholder, also said it will support the offering of US$750 million ($917 million) in bonds and as much as US$500 million in warrants.


 

Singapore likely slipped into recession in Q4

Singapore likely joined Japan in recession in the fourth quarter of 2012, dragged down by weakness in its top exports of electronics, according to a Reuters poll of economists.

Gross domestic product (GDP) probably shrank by an annualised and seasonally adjusted 1.4% in October-December from the preceding three months, the median estimate of six economists showed.

The economy contracted 5.9% in the third quarter from April-June at a seasonally adjusted and annualised rate and so another quarter-on-quarter decline would meet the definition of a recession.

Singapore, whose trade is around three times GDP, has been badly hit by the weakness in Western economies that has crimped demand for many of its exports. The city-state’s electronic manufacturers have also failed to tap surging demand for smartphones, unlike rivals such as South Korea and Taiwan.

For the first 11 months of 2012, electronics production fell 11.1% compared with the same period last year, underscoring the weakness in the export markets.

From a year ago, Singapore’s economy probably expanded by 0.8% in the October-December period, bringing growth for the full year to around 1.1%, the poll showed.

Third quarter GDP may itself be revised further downwards after the industrial production data for November released earlier this week showed downward revisions for previous months.

“November IP print, and the earlier revisions, suggest to us that Q4 has likely been a quarter of non-existent growth,” said Barclays economist Joey Chew.

“Q3 GDP could be revised slightly lower now that IP is assessed to have shrunk 1.6% year-on-year instead of 0.9% year-on-year as earlier estimated,” she added.

Other economists, however, expect Singapore to avoid a recession, pointing to Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang’s comment that full-year GDP growth will still be around 1.5%, despite a weak fourth quarter.

Singapore is scheduled to report advance GDP estimates for the fourth quarter on Jan 2 but Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will likely provide some details in his New Year address on Dec 31.

Keppel Land acquires Wuxi land for $82m for mixed-use development

Keppel Land China, a unit of Keppel Land, has secured a 6.6-ha prime city centre site for mixed-use development in Beitang District, Wuxi, Jiangsu province, China, for RMB417.6 million ($82 million) which will comprise 1,135 high-rise residential apartments and commercial components.

Targeted at the upper-middle market, the proposed development comprises mainly two- to three-bedroom units ranging from 90 to 140 sm and will include shopping streets and SOHO (Small Office Home Office) units. The development is expected to be launched in the first half of 2015.

The development will feature recreational facilities such as clubhouse, gymnasium, children's playground and landscape gardens. The site also enjoys convenient access to numerous amenities and facilities around the vicinity, including educational institutes, supermarkets, hospitals and shopping malls.

Located three km north of the city centre and a five-minute drive away from Wuxi’s Central Business District, homeowners will benefit from the site’s easy and seamless connectivity to the city centre, other parts of Wuxi as well as major cities in Jiangsu and nearby provinces. The future MRT Line 1 station located next to the site will commence service in mid-2014, offering easy accessibility across the city and to nearby provinces via the Wuxi railway station.

Done Deals: Nov 30-Dec 7, 2012

 

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Done Deals: Nov 30-Dec 7, 2012

Buyers keen on newly-completed or soon to-be-completed high-end properties in the Cairnhill-Scotts Road area could find bargains on the secondary market, where prices offered by individual sellers of some properties are lower than those quoted by developers. Your guide to condo and landed property deals. Plus: The latest home loans on offer.