Tale of 2 stocks: Sembcorp jumps 37% on demerger, Sembmarine dives 27%

Singapore

INVESTORS on Tuesday cheered Sembcorp Industries (SCI)'s decision to sever ties with its troubled marine unit, but were less enthusiastic about the prospects for Sembcorp Marine (SMM).

SCI shares soared 36.6 per cent or S$0.56 to finish Tuesday at a four-month high of S$2.09, with nearly 90 million shares traded.

Its marine arm, however, had a bruising session as the stock dived to S$0.49 just minutes after the opening bell. Shares of SMM ended the day 27.1 per cent or S$0.23 lower at S$0.62, representing a 16-year low, About 135.4 million SMM shares changed hands.

SCI and SMM were the most heavily traded stocks by volume on the Singapore bourse on Tuesday.

On Monday, both companies had unveiled a proposed S$2.1 billion recapitalisation for SMM and a deal that would …