Stocks to watch: Japfa, ESR-Reit, mm2 Asia, Sembcorp, OKP, UOL

THE following companies saw new developments that may affect trading of their securities on Tuesday:

Japfa Ltd UD2: The agri-food company is proposing to sell a total of 7.5 per cent of its shares in AustAsia Investment Holdings, which operates the group's dairy farming business in China, to two Chinese food and beverage companies. Japfa said the aggregate consideration of US$87.6 million implies a 100 per cent equity value of US$1.17 billion for AustAsia. Shares of the group ended one Singapore cent or 1.5 per cent lower at 67.5 cents on Monday, before the announcement.

ESR-Reit: J91UThe manager of the real estate investment trust (Reit) has entered into an agreement to divest an industrial building, 45 Changi South Avenue 2, for S$11.1 million, its manager said on Monday. Units in the Reit closed at 47.5 Singapore cents on Monday, up one cent or 2.15 per cent, before the announcement.

mm2 Asia 1B0: The entertainment group, which operates cinemas under the Cathay brand, has entered into a sale-and-purchase agreement with local investment firm Kingsmead Properties to sell its cinema business for S$84.8 million, it said on Monday. The counter closed at 5.7 Singapore cents on Monday, down 0.1 cent or 1.7 per cent, before the announcement.

Sembcorp Industries (Sembcorp) U96: The conglomerate on Monday said it has launched a sustainable financing framework that lays out its strategic approach, key performance indicators and sustainability performance targets for its sustainability-linked transactions. It can now issue sustainability-linked bonds, sustainability-linked loans or any other sustainability-linked instruments, following the guidelines in the framework. The counter closed at S$1.95 on Monday, up S$0.02 or 1.04 per cent.

OKP 5CF: The engineering company on Monday said it secured a S$49.6 million contract from national water agency PUB for drainage improvement works in Sungei Selarang, which includes construction of a contiguous bored pile (CBP) wall, ground improvement, reinforcement concrete, and ancillary activities. The counter closed flat at S$0.19 on Monday, before the announcement.

UOL Group U14 and Singapore Land Group U06: Watergardens at Canberra, a condominium project developed by a joint venture among OUL, Singapore Land, and Kheng Leong Company, moved about 60 per cent of its 448 units, or roughly 268 units, over its launch weekend on Aug 28 and 29. UOL told The Business Times on Monday that the per-square-foot (psf) pricing for "typical units sold" ranged from S$1,400 psf to almost S$1,550 psf. At Monday's close, UOL rose S$0.07 or 1 per cent to S$7.08. Shares of Singapore Land, formerly known as UIC, finished S$0.02 or 0.8 per cent higher at S$2.69.