Stocks to watch: Japfa, Manulife US Reit, EC World Reit

THE following companies saw new developments that may affect trading of their securities on Friday (Dec 30):

Japfa : The group’s diary-focused subsidiary AustAsia Group’s offering of 30.6 million shares prior to its listing on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (SEHK) was oversubscribed. Split 90-10 on international and Hong Kong offerings, they were 1.16 times and 2.08 times subscribed respectively, based on the offer price of HK$6.40. AustAsia is due to begin trading on the SEHK at 9 am on Friday. Japfa ended Tuesday S$0.015 or 2.7 per cent down at S$0.535 before the group called for a trading halt on Wednesday morning. It resumes trading today.

Manulife US Real Estate Investment Trust (Manulife US Reit): The real estate valuation of Manulife US Reit’s portfolio fell by 10.9 per cent to US$1.9 billion from US$2.2 billion as at end-2021, reported its manager on Friday. Based on the updated asset valuations, its aggregate leverage will be 49 per cent – just slightly under the 50 per cent limit for Singapore Reits imposed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. The counter closed US$0.01 or 3.3 per cent higher at US$0.31 on Thursday.