Stocks to watch: Ascott Residence Trust, Enviro-Hub, Darco Water

THE following companies saw new developments that may affect the trading of their securities on Wednesday (Mar 9):

Ascott Residence Trust (ART): HMN The stapled group is acquiring 4 rental housing properties and a student accommodation property in Japan for a total of 10.4 billion yen (S$125 million). The transaction is expected to be yield-accretive and increase ART's pro-forma FY2021 distribution per stapled security by about 1.7 per cent, said its managers on Wednesday. Stapled securities of ART ended Tuesday flat at S$1.03.

Enviro-Hub Holdings: L23 The mainboard-listed group said on Tuesday that it has appointed former Member of Parliament Teo Ho Pin as an independent non-executive director of the company. Enviro-Hub shares closed at S$0.067 on Tuesday, down S$0.003 or 4.3 per cent, before the announcement.

Darco Water Technologies: BLR The Singapore High Court on Tuesday dismissed a claim by the company against its former chief executive Thye Kim Meng, in relation to 2 projects in Vietnam. Darco Water had alleged that Thye had breached duties owed to the company in managing the 2 projects, and sought claims of US$1.6 million. However, Thye denied that he was in breach of his duties. Shares of Darco Water closed at S$0.125 on Tuesday, down S$0.025 or 16.7 per cent.