Stocks to watch: Singtel, Keppel Corporation

THE following companies saw new developments that may affect trading of their securities on Thursday (Aug 25):

Singtel : The telecommunications company on Thursday announced plans to sell a 3.3 per cent direct stake in its regional associate Bharti Airtel to Bharti Telecom, its joint venture with India’s Bharti Enterprise, for S$2.25 billion. This comes a day after the group reported 41.3 per cent higher Q1 profit due to better operational performance and exceptional gains from Airtel, which it will retain 29.7 per cent effective stake in after the divestment is completed. Shares of Singtel ended Wednesday S$0.01 or 0.4 per cent lower at S$2.62 following the release of its quarterly business update.

Keppel Corporation : The consortium consisting of Keppel Asia Infrastructure Fund (KAIF) and Keppel Infrastructure Holdings (KI) are jointly acquiring an 80 per cent interest in Singaporean environmental services company 800 Super Holdings (800 Super) for S$304 million. The deal values 800 Super at S$380 million, with KAIF and KI holding a 48 and 32 per cent interest respectively post-purchase, said Keppel on Wednesday. Shares of Keppel ended Wednesday at S$7.01, down 0.3 per cent or S$0.02, before the announcement.