Stocks to watch: Manulife US Reit, Lian Beng, USP

THE following companies saw new developments that may affect trading of their securities on Wednesday (Apr 12):

Manulife US Real Estate Investment Trust (Manulife US Reit): The Reit has divested its property located in Hillsboro, Oregon, for US$33.5 million. Separately, the manager of the Reit said on Wednesday it “is still actively engaged” in negotiating a transaction with Mirae Asset Global Investments. Units of Manulife US Reit closed US$0.024 or 12.3 per cent lower at US$0.172 on Tuesday, before the announcement. The Reit had been queried by Singapore Exchange for unusual trading

Lian Beng Group : The Ong family, which has a 69.6 per cent stake in the construction and property development company, has made a voluntary unconditional cash offer to take the company private. The family intends to buy out minority shareholders at S$0.62 per share, less than half the company’s group net asset value which was about S$1.54 per share as at end-November 2022. Lian Beng’s shares last closed at S$0.57 on Apr 6 before a trading halt. It will resume trading on Wednesday.