Stocks to watch: Ascendas Reit, Sembmarine, Metech, Raffles Education

THE following companies saw new developments that may affect trading of their securities on Wednesday (Oct 20):

Ascendas Reit:A17U The real estate investment trust (Reit) posted a positive rental reversion of 3.7 per cent for lease renewals in Q3 ended September, down from 8.9 per cent in Q2, it announced in a quarterly business update on Tuesday (Oct 19). Its manager also expects rental reversion for FY2021 to be in the "positive low-single-digit range", given market uncertainties. Units of Ascendas Reit closed flat at S$3.01 on Tuesday, after the announcement was made.

Sembcorp Marine (Sembmarine): S51 The company announced in a bourse filing on Tuesday (Oct 19) that it expects to post "significant losses" for H2 ending Dec 31, 2021, potentially in the range of the S$647 million loss for the first six months of the year. This can be attributed to the increased costs to complete its projects, as well as the losses arising from the added delays. Shares of Sembmarine closed S$0.001 or 1.2 per cent at S$0.081 on Tuesday, after the announcement was made.

Metech International: V3M Asian Eco Technology, a joint-venture company of Catalist-listed Metech International, has entered into a 3-year lease agreement for an industrial property at Kallang for the production of lab-grown diamonds. Production is expected to commence by the end of December, with the lab-grown diamonds produced on a bi-weekly basis. Shares of Metech closed down S$0.01 or 3.6 per cent at S$0.265 on Tuesday, after the announcement was made.

Trading halts:

Raffles Education: NR7 A regulatory filing by tycoon Oei Hong Leong on Tuesday (Oct 19) showed that he had sold S$2.7 million worth of Raffles Education shares on Oct 18, cutting his stake in the company from 10.16 per cent to 7.34 per cent. Oei, as a substantial shareholder, had disposed of some 38.9 million shares, translating to an average price of S$0.069 per share. Shares of Raffles Education last changed hands at S$0.061 before the group called for a trading halt on the morning of Oct 19. Trading of its shares remain halted.

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Manhattan Resources: L02 : L02 0% The mainboard-listed firm called for a trading halt on Wednesday (Oct 20) morning, pending the release of an announcement. Shares of Manhattan Resources closed up S$0.007 or 17.1 per cent at S$0.048 on Oct 19.