Stocks to watch: IHH Healthcare, Keppel, Olam, TPV, SembMarine, BreadTalk

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

IHH Healthcare: The private hospital operator on Friday posted a 12 per cent improvement in its bottom line to RM185 million (S$60.9 million) for its second quarter ended June 30, 2019, due to higher revenue and in some ways, the adoption of the MFRS 16 Leases accounting standard with effect from this year, it said. As a result, the group recognised depreciation of its right-of-use assets, instead of recognising operating lease expense and amortisation of prepaid lease payments on these assets, it said. Shares in IHH Healthcare closed flat at S$1.85 on Friday.

Keppel Corp: Keppel Land China is buying another completed commercial property in Beijing's Haidan district through its acquisition of Beijing Shunxiangren Enterprise Management Co for around 178.6 million yuan (S$35.1 million). The property is Shangdi Neo, a five-storey development indirectly owned by Beijing Shunxiangren. Shangdi Neo is located in Shangdi Information Industry Park, which is part of the expanded Zhongguancun in the Haidian district of Beijing, also known as China's Silicon Valley. Keppel Corp shares closed on Friday at S$5.84, up four Singapore cents or 0.69 per cent.

Olam International: Olam International on Friday announced that it has appointed three new non-executive directors to its board, effective from Sept 1. They are Joerg Wolle, who is regarded as independent, and is the chairman of Kuehne + Nagel International AG and Klingelnberg; Ajai Puri, who is also regarded as independent, is a non-executive director of Tate & Lyle PLC, Firmenich and Britannia Industries; and Nagi Hamiyeh, who is regarded as non-independent, and is the joint head of investment group and head of consumer at Temasek International. Olam shares closed flat at S$1.88 on Friday.

TPV Technology: The mainboard-listed electronics company on Friday night said the scheme document for its proposed privatisation will be delayed as more time is needed to obtain directions for the meeting to approve it. TPV has obtained an extension of the despatch date till no later than Sept 30, giving it more time to finalise the document and accommodate the Supreme Court's timetable. TPV shares closed at S$0.65 on Friday, up one Singapore cent or 1.56 per cent.

Sembcorp Marine: SembMarine has snagged new projects valued at S$400 million to provide its engineering solutions for offshore gas and wind farm developments as well as cruise ship upgrades. With the latest contracts, SembMarine has entered the "highly competitive" offshore wind sector in Taiwan, and is also partnering both repeat and new customers, the group said in a filing on Monday morning. Shares of Sembcorp Marine closed flat at S$1.14 on Friday.

BreadTalk Group: The food and beverage (F&B) player is looking to buy the entire stake in Food Junction Management (FJM), which operates food courts and F&B outlets in Singapore and Malaysia, for S$80 million in cash. BreadTalk announced on Monday morning that its wholly owned subsidiary, Topwin Investment Holding, had on Aug 30 entered into a sale and purchase agreement for the proposed acquisition of FJM from Food Junction Holdings. Shares of BreadTalk closed at S$0.68 on Friday, down 0.5 cent or 0.73 per cent.

Bukit Sembawang Estates: The property developer's chief executive and executive director Ng Chee Seng is stepping down with effect from Aug 31 after completing his full term of office as per his employment contract, the company said on Friday night. Bukit Sembawang Estates is looking for a new CEO and will update shareholders once it finds a suitable candidate. Shares of Bukit Sembawang Estates closed at S$5.07 before the announcement on Friday, up four Singapore cents or 0.8 per cent.

Geo Energy Resources: The coal producer on Friday said it has submitted a revised non-binding proposal to acquire new coal assets for a producing coal mine in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. It disclosed in its Q2 results announcement that it is exploring the acquisition, and has submitted the proposal as part of the bid process. If the transaction proceeds, it is "likely to represent a very substantial acquisition" under the Singapore Exchange listing rules, Geo Energy said. Geo Energy shares closed at S$0.147 on Friday, down 0.3 Singapore cent or 2 per cent.

Serial System: The company's board on Friday said it has no issues with Derek Goh continuing with his role on the board and as chief executive officer, following a review by its nominating committee at the request of the Singapore Exchange. Dr Goh was called upon by the Taiwanese authorities in June 2018 to assist in certain investigations under the Securities and Exchange Act of Taiwan, and was similarly asked by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to assist in investigations concerning the Securities and Futures Act in November 2015. The company noted that no action has been taken against Dr Goh by the MAS or the Taiwan authorities to date. Serial System shares last closed unchanged at 7.5 Singapore cents on Aug 29.

Soilbuild Construction Group: The group on Friday said its chief executive officer Ding Yen Shee Daniel is resigning to pursue his personal interests. The resignation is effective immediately. The nominating committee and board of directors said they had reviewed Mr Ding's reason for resignation, and accepted the resignation and the mutually agreed short notice period despite his relatively short tenure as CEO. Mr Ding was appointed CEO in April this year. The counter closed at 5.4 Singapore cents on Friday, down 1.82 per cent or 0.1 Singapore cent.

Metal Component Engineering: The mechanical manufacturing solutions provider has terminated its sale and purchase agreement to acquire a 51 per cent stake in Asiafame Group. In a regulatory filing on Sunday, it said that some of the conditions for the proposed acquisition could not be fulfilled or waived by mutual consent of the parties by the long-stop date of Aug 31, and no further extension of time was agreed to by the parties. It does not expect to bear any costs in relation to the termination. The counter closed at 1.7 Singapore cents on Friday, up 0.3 Singapore cent or 21.43 per cent.