Stocks to watch: Ascendas Reit, Sembmarine, Keppel, Valuetronics, Frasers Property

THE following companies saw new developments that may affect trading of their shares on Wednesday:

Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust (Ascendas Reit): As part of its S$1.2 billion equity fundraising, the Reit has priced its preferential offering to unitholders at S$2.96 per new unit and the private placement at S$3.026. Ascendas Reit's manager requested a trading halt on Tuesday morning, and lifted the halt on Wednesday. The counter closed at S$3.19 on Monday.

Sembcorp Marine (Sembmarine): The offshore and marine engineering group continued to incur losses for its fiscal third quarter ended Sept 30, with low overall business volume and execution delays, it said in a business update on Wednesday morning. Sembmarine added that it "expects losses to continue into the fourth quarter". The counter rose 8.9 per cent or 1.1 Singapore cents to close at 13.4 cents on Tuesday.

Keppel Corp: Keppel Land China, a subsidiary of Keppel Land, is divesting its 100 per cent stake in Chengdu Hilltop Development Co for 1.26 billion yuan (S$250.4 million). Keppel Corp shares closed at S$4.86 on Tuesday, up S$0.15 or 3.2 per cent before this announcement.

Valuetronics Holdings: The mainboard-listed electronics manufacturing service provider on Wednesday posted a 12.1 per cent drop in net profit to HK$91.5 million (S$15.9 million) for the six months ended Sept 30, 2020, from HK$104.1 million a year ago. The counter closed down 1.5 Singapore cents or 2.5 per cent to 58 cents on Tuesday.

Frasers Property: The real estate developer and manager on Wednesday posted a 66.4 per cent drop in net profit to S$188.1 million for the full year ended Sept 30, 2020 from S$560.3 million a year ago. Frasers Property shares closed at S$1.14 on Tuesday, up S$0.03 or 2.7 per cent.

Bukit Sembawang Estates: The property developer reported a net profit of S$73.7 million for the first half of its financial year ending in September, up 11 per cent from S$66.6 million the year before. Bukit Sembawang shares ended S$0.05 or 1.4 per cent higher at S$3.66 on Tuesday, before its results announcement.

First Real Estate Investment Trust (First Reit): The Reit's distribution per unit fell 53 per cent to 1.01 Singapore cents for the fiscal third quarter ended September, compared to 2.15 cents a year ago. First Reit units closed at S$0.44 on Tuesday, up S$0.02 or 4.8 per cent, prior to its business update.