Stocks to watch: Keppel, Ascott Reit, A-HTrust, Perennial Real Estate, USP

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

Keppel Corporation: Keppel Offshore & Marine (Keppel O&M) has reached a long-awaited settlement agreement with Sete Brazil, its former biggest customer now under bankruptcy protection, over six uncompleted oil drilling rigs. A Keppel O&M unit will take control of four uncompleted rigs and is in discussions to complete the building of two remaining rigs, Keppel said in a bourse filing on Monday. Shares of Keppel Corp closed down six Singapore cents or 1 per cent to S$5.81 on Friday.

Ascott Residence Trust, Ascendas Hospitality Trust: The combined entity from the proposed merger of Ascott Residence Trust (Ascott Reit) and Ascendas Hospitality Trust (A-HTrust) will be the "first stop for those who want to divest their hospitality assets", given its stature as the Asia-Pacific's largest hospitality trust and backing by a strong sponsor in CapitaLand, Beh Siew Kim, chief executive officer of Ascott Reit's manager, told The Business Times in an interview.

The proposed merger is subject to unitholders' approval. The extraordinary general meeting and the scheme meeting will be held on Oct 21, at 10am and 11am respectively, Ascott Reit said in a reminder letter on Monday morning. Units of Ascott Reit closed flat at S$1.32 on Friday. Units of A-HTrust were also unchanged, at S$1.09.

Perennial Real Estate: The mainboard-listed real estate and healthcare company on Monday morning announced that its 50 per cent joint venture has applied to the court to commence a claim for conspiracy against Griffin Real Estate Investment and former Sakae director Andy Ong Siew Kwee. Shares of Perennial ended flat at S$0.55 on Friday.

USP Group: The watch-listed firm on Sunday said that it received a statutory demand dated Oct 4 for about S$250,274 from an individual, Ridwan Kasenda. If USP fails to pay, secure or compound the outstanding sum within three weeks, Mr Kasenda will apply for a winding-up order against the company. USP shares closed flat at S$0.035 on Friday.