Stocks to watch: Keppel Corp, Keppel Land, NOL, SIIC Environment

THE following stocks had announcements that could affect trading activity on Thursday.

Keppel Corp has crossed the 90 per cent threshold in acceptances required to delist its real estate subsidiary Keppel Land. On Wednesday as at 5pm, Keppel Corp owned, controlled, has acquired or agreed to acquire 90.9 per cent of the total number of issued Keppel Land shares.

Accordingly, the Singapore Exchange will suspend trading of Keppel Land shares after the offer closes at 5.30pm on Thursday.

Shares of Keppel Corp closed up 10 Singapore cents at S$8.94 on Wednesday, while Keppel Land's counter moved up one cent to S$4.55.

The appeal of shipping company Neptune Orient Lines rose after it agreed to sell its logistics unit last month for US$1.2 billion to cut debt.

Analysts project the company, which moves goods globally, will benefit from the US economic recovery and return to profit in 2015 after four straight years of losses. Its counter closed firmer at S$1.01 on Wednesday.

Mainboard-listed SIIC Environment Holdings has revealed plans to buy a China-based water treatment business in a deal valued at about 1.55 billion yuan (S$348.3 million) in cash and shares.

The water specialist announced late Tuesday that it plans to buy all of Global Envirotech Investment, which in turn holds an indirect 92.15 per cent stake in Fudan Water Engineering and Technology Co, from Global Environment Investment.

SIIC will pay 151.7 million yuan in cash and issue 1.56 billion new shares, or 16.3 per cent of the existing shares, at 13.2 cents apiece. The total consideration includes 479.18 million yuan that will be used to pay off an outstanding debt. Its shares closed higher at S$0.164 on Wednesday.