Hot stock: SMRT shares resume trading in large volumes, remain sticky at Temasek's price

THE share price of Singapore transport operator SMRT Corporation finally guided towards the offer price set by state investor Temasek Holdings, as trading of the counter resumed in large volumes on Friday after a one-day halt.

It opened at S$1.675 and stayed sticky, alternating between this and a high of S$1.68 as at 11.37am.

Trading of the counter was halted after markets closed on Wednesday as shareholders met on Thursday to vote on two proposals.

Though the increment at Friday's opening is only 1.2 per cent from Wednesday's close of S$1.655, volume exchange in the first two hours of trading on Friday was above the recent daily average.

Some 7.3 million shares changed hands as at 11.37am, more than double the daily average in the past three months.

One of the votes on Thursday concerned Temasek's buyout offer at S$1.68 per share that it does not already own. Temasek holds 54 per cent. Shareholders approved the buyout.

The other was on SMRT's sale of rail operating assets to the government, estimated to be at S$991 million, spread over three years.

These two announcements came in succession over a weekend in July. The last trading day before they were made was July 15.

After news of Temasek's offer was announced on July 20, the first trading day on July 21 saw the share price jump 6.5 per cent from the last trading day to S$1.645.

But the daily price since then had never hit Temasek's offer price, at most hitting a day's high on July 21 at S$1.67.