Stocks to watch: ST Engineering, Noble, QT Vascular, Halcyon Agri, Sembcorp

SINGAPORE Technologies Engineering (ST Engineering) on Wednesday announced that its aerospace unit, Singapore Technologies Aerospace (ST Aerospace), has sealed a six-year engine maintenance contract worth approximately US$350 million with India's second-largest airline, Jet Airways, and its subsidiary JetLite.

Under the contract, ST Aerospace will provide an integrated suite of engine maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services for the CFM56-7B engines which power both Jet Airways' and JetLite's fleet of Boeing 737-Next Generation aircraft.

ST Aerospace will perform the off-wing engine maintenance support, on-wing services, as well as technical support, at its engine MRO facilities in Singapore and Xiamen, China.

Noble Group on Tuesday purchased 5.14 million shares at approximately S$0.73 per share, for a total consideration of S$3.76 million, through its share buyback programme, the group announced on Wednesday.

QT Vascular, a developer of minimally invasive products for the treatment of vascular diseases, has entered into an agreement with ICH Gemini Asia Growth Fund Pte Ltd (ICH Gemini) and three individual investors for a US$12 million convertible bond investment.

This funding will allow QT Vascular to focus more resources on developing its drug-coated chocolate platform further, the group said in a statement on Wednesday.

The 8 per cent coupon convertible bonds will have a two-year maturity period and can be converted into ordinary shares at S$0.192 per share based on and subject to the terms of the agreement.

Natural rubber supply chain manager Halcyon Agri Corporation on Wednesday announced that it has successfully completed a refinancing of up to US$413 million, replacing existing debts with a mix of term loan and working capital facilities.

The US$388 million facility is a three-year committed financing package comprising amortisable term loan facilities of up to US$188 million and working capital facilities in line with the increased scope and scale of the group's operations, totalling US$200 million.

The proceeds of the financing will be applied to retire existing debts and provide ongoing working capital for operations.

Sembcorp Development (SCD), a wholly owned subsidiary of Sembcorp Industries, announced on Tuesday night that its joint venture, Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park Joint Venture Co (VSIP JV), has obtained exclusive rights from Nghe An Province to develop a 750-ha integrated township and industrial park.

VSIP JV has also received the investment licence for phase one of the project, which comprises 198 ha of industrial land and 81 ha of commercial and residential land.

The investment for phase one will be funded partly by an equity of US$15.2 million from VSIP JV and the remainder via external borrowings and project cash flow.

VSIP JV is a 49-51 joint venture between Vietnam's Becamex IDC Corporation and a Singapore consortium, in which SCD holds a 92.9 per cent stake.