Stocks to watch: Mermaid Maritime, Metro, Jason Marine

THESE companies made announcements that may influence trading of their shares on Wednesday.

Mermaid Maritime: The mainboard-listed offshore services firm has cut rates for two subsea and offshore services contracts in the Middle East, to retain one deal and extend another. Mermaid said on Tuesday the rate reduction was "part of a cost reduction initiative" driven by the client, and estimated its portion of the revised contract value for the remainder of the term was at least around US$70 million.

Metro Holdings: The property and retail group said on Tuesday the cash in its coffers targeted by an activist investor was from its recent sale of properties and it expects to pump that into new investments. Metro was responding to an open letter in October from hedge fund Quarz Capital Management, which called for a special cash dividend from the company.

Jason Marine Group: The marine electronics systems integrator said on Tuesday it expects to record a net loss for its half year ended Sept 30.