Stocks to watch: KLW, HMI, Hoe Leong, SIA Engineering, Thai Beverage

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

KLW Holdings: Its independent auditor has included an emphasis of matters in its report on the door-maker's full year results ended March 31, 2019. However, the auditor's opinion remains unqualified. Auditor Baker Tilly TFW in its report had drawn attention to the firm's note in its financial statements describing uncertainty regarding ongoing legal claims and counterclaims, as well as an ongoing investigation into the company by the Commercial Affairs Department of Singapore. The company's shares last closed flat at 0.4 Singapore cents on Friday.

Health Management International (HMI): The healthcare company on Friday announced a joint bid with PanAsia Health Limited to privatise HMI by way of a scheme of arrangement that values HMI at approximately S$611 million. PanAsia Health Limited is a special-purpose vehicle incorporated in the Cayman Islands and indirectly controlled by EQT Mid Market Asia III GP B.V. (EQT GP). If the privatisation is successful, HMI will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of PanAsia Health and will be delisted from the Singapore Exchange. HMI shares closed flat at S$0.66 on Friday.

Hoe Leong Corporation: Its board on Friday said that the letter of demand received by its subsidiary, Arkstar Voyager, from United Overseas Bank (UOB) claiming repayment of about S$5.66 million will not affect the group's ability to carry on its business as a going concern. The heavy equipment supplier had on Wednesday disclosed the letter of demand received by its wholly-owned unit. The amount represents the loan principal and accrued interest up to May 31, 2019. Hoe Leong shares last traded at 0.3 Singapore cent on June 12.

SIA Engineering: Its shares surged on Thursday and Friday on the possibility of its parent company Singapore Airlines privatising it. It received a query from the Singapore Exchange (SGX) on "unusual price and volume movements" of its shares, and responded that it was unaware of any information which might explain the stock price surge. While there was some downward pressure on the stock price after the company's response on Friday, its shares closed at S$2.89, up S$0.17 or 6.3 per cent on 11 million shares traded. It has gained 15.1 per cent since Wednesday's closing.

Thai Beverage: Its shares were heavily traded on Friday after midweek news reports suggested that Thai Beverage could be a potential partner of Anheuser-Busch InBev's (AB InBev) Asia-Pacific unit after it lists in Hong Kong, with trading expected to commence on July 19. Thai Beverage was the blue-chip index's most active stock, closing three Singapore cents or 3.6 per cent higher at 86.5 Singapore cents on Friday.