STI rises 1.2% to 3,227.73 at trading break

Singapore’s Straits Times Index rose 1.2% to 3,227.73 as of the 12:30 p.m. lunch break, set for its biggest gain in a month. Twenty-seven of the 30 stocks on the benchmark measure climbed.

Shares on the measure are trading at 15.8 times estimated earnings, compared with an average multiple of 14.8 times in the past one year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The following shares were among the most active in the market. 

 

BreadTalk Group (BREAD SP) rose 0.8% to 64.5 cents. The operator of bakeries and food outlets said it appointed Oh Eng Lock as chief executive officer, replacing Goh Tong Pak after three years. Goh will lead special projects within the chairman’s office, it said.

 

City Developments (CIT SP) advanced 1.1% to $12.70. Singapore’s second-biggest property company paid $9 million for American International Group Inc.’s 50% stake in the developer of the Sail@Marina Bay, a commercial and apartment building in the city’s downtown. The homes in the project have been fully sold.

 

First Real Estate Investment Trust (FIRT SP) jumped 1.4% to 71.5 cents, a four-week high. Singapore’s first health-care property trust said it completed the purchase of two Indonesian medical centers, boosting assets under management to $612.8 million. It said it’s aiming for a $1 billion portfolio in two to three years.

 

Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. (OCBC SP) climbed 1% to $9.98. Singapore’s second-biggest bank said two of its subsidiaries in Indonesia, PT Bank OCBC Indonesia and PT Bank OCBC NISP TBK, have completed a merger. The merged entity will be called PT Bank OCBC NISP TBK.

 

Singapore Telecommunications (ST SP) rose 1% to $3.08. Southeast Asia’s biggest phone company will start a video-game rental service on its fiber-optic network this quarter, the Business Times reported, citing Allen Lew, chief executive officer of its Singapore operations.