Stocks to watch: OCBC, Wilmar, UOL, Yangzijiang, SPH Reit, KIT, GuocoLand, Datapulse

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

OCBC Bank: The lender on Sunday launched a new travel credit card. The OCBC 90°N Card is projected to achieve S$1 billion in annual card billings within three years, by enrolling 150,000 fresh graduates, young professionals, management, executives and technicians, as well as emerging affluent individuals. The new card allows the earnings of miles as well as two other types of rewards. OCBC shares closed at S$10.63 on Friday, down 6 Singapore cents or 0.56 per cent. 

Wilmar International: The agribusiness group on Friday evening said it had set up four new subsidiaries and associated companies in China. All four companies are owned wholly or in part by Wilmar International's indirect 99.99 per cent-owned unit Yihai Kerry Arawana (YKA). Wilmar shares closed down two Singapore cents or 0.52 per cent at S$3.81 on Friday before the announcement.

UOL Group: UOL Group is selling its entire interest in its China unit Suzhou Wugong Hotel Co (SWHC), which owns the Pan Pacific Suzhou hotel, to Bao Chang Long (Beijing) Commercial Management for a net cash consideration of 408 million yuan (S$80 million). Before the sale is completed, UOL's hospitality arm, Pan Pacific Hotels Group, will enter into a hotel management agreement with the buyer to continue to operate the hotel as Pan Pacific Suzhou, UOL said on Friday evening. Shares of UOL ended at S$7.18 on Friday, down six cents or 0.83 per cent, before the announcement.

Yangzijiang Shipbuilding: The mainboard-listed company, China's largest non-state owned shipbuilder, said on Friday night that it had secured new shipbuilding orders for two 325,000 dwt bulk carriers from a ship owner in Asia. The new bulk carriers will be built by the group's Xinfu shipyard and delivered by June 2021, Yangzijiang said. Early this month, Yangzijiang's shares had plunged amid panic selling which was triggered by a report from global shipping news service TradeWinds that Liu Jianguo, who has close links to the shipbuilder, was being probed for "serious disciplinary violations". Yangzijiang executive chairman Ren Yuanlin is currently assisting the Chinese authorities in their investigations. On Friday, the counter closed at 91.5 Singapore cents, down 1.5 cent or 1.61 per cent.

SPH Reit: Retail landlord SPH Reit has priced its S$300 million subordinated perpetual securities at 4.1 per cent, it said on Friday after the market closed. The perps are part of SPH Reit's S$1 billion multicurrency debt issuance programme, and are expected to be issued on Aug 30 in denominations of S$250,000 or multiples thereof. As perpetual securities, they have no fixed final redemption date. The first rate reset will be on Aug 30, 2024, and subsequent resets will take place every five years. Units of SPH Reit closed at S$1.08 on Friday, down one cent or 0.92 per cent.

Keppel Infrastructure Trust (KIT): The trust's Australian subsidiary, Basslink, on Saturday experienced a trip in its under-sea electricity cable. As a precautionary measure, the Basslink Interconnector remains out of service while investigations are ongoing. It is expected to return to service on Tuesday, according to bourse filings on Sunday evening. KIT said on Sunday that the Basslink interconnector being out of service is not expected to have any material financial impact on its net tangible asset per unit and distribution per unit for the fiscal year ending Dec 31, 2019, from the Basslink interconnector. In an interview with The Business Times, Matthew Pollard, chief executive of KIT's manager, shrugged off long-running troubles at Basslink. Units of KIT closed flat at 51.5 Singapore cents on Friday.

GuocoLand: Net profit for GuocoLand's fourth quarter grew 24 per cent from a year ago to S$183.7 million, on the back of an 81 per cent surge in revenue amid progressive revenue recognition of residential projects in Singapore and Malaysia. Earnings per share for the quarter stood at 16.09 Singapore cents, up from 12.79 cents in the year-ago period, GuocoLand said on Friday night. It proposed a first and final dividend of seven Singapore cents. GuocoLand shares closed up one Singapore cent or 0.5 per cent at S$2 on Friday before the results were released.

Datapulse Technology, ICP: The hotel management agreements between Datapulse Technology and Travelodge Hotels Asia (TLA) are on normal commercial terms and not prejudicial to the interests of the company and its minority shareholders, Datapulse's audit committee said on Sunday morning. The agreements were for the appointment of TLA to manage Bay Hotel Singapore and the Holiday Inn Express Euljiro in Seoul, both of which Datapulse has minority stakes in. TLA is wholly owned by Catalist-listed ICP. Datapulse chairman Aw Cheok Huat is also ICP's chairman and controlling shareholder. On Friday, shares of Datapulse closed flat at S$0.23, while shares of ICP were down 12.5 per cent or 0.1 Singapore cent to 0.7 cent.