Hot stock: Sembmarine sees heavy volume as shares go ex-rights

HIGH volumes of Sembcorp Marine (SMM) shares changed hands on their first day of ex-rights trading, two days after shareholders gave the green light for the firm and its parent Sembcorp Industries (SCI) to proceed with their two-part proposal.

SMM shares opened at 24 Singapore cents on Thursday, 31.4 per cent or 11 cents lower than Wednesday's close.

The counter kept steady within the 24 cents to 25 cents range for the next few hours.

It was trading at 24.5 cents as at 11.39am, up two cents or about 8.9 per cent from the theoretical ex-rights price of 22.5 cents calculated based on the stock's closing price on Wednesday.

About 24.3 million shares changed hands by 11.39am, making SMM the fifth most actively traded on the Singapore bourse for the morning.

On Wednesday, the stock's last day of cum-rights trading, its price had risen one cent or 2.9 per cent to finish at 35 cents.

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Under SMM's S$2.1 billion renounceable rights issue, five rights shares will be issued for every one existing SMM share at 20 cents per rights share. The record date for the rights issue is Aug 14 at 5pm.

Meanwhile, SCI likewise enjoyed mild gains on Thursday, rising S$0.04 or 2.1 per cent to S$1.95 as at 11.39am on almost eight million shares traded.

On Tuesday, SMM and SCI shareholders voted overwhelmingly in favour of the recapitalisation and demerger, and both stocks ended the day lower.