Stocks to watch: Sembcorp, SembMarine, Wilmar International, Citic Envirotech

THE following companies saw new developments which may affect trading of their shares on Friday:

Sembcorp Industries: A shareholders agreement for a joint venture company between a Sembcorp and Ascendas-Singbridge consortium, and the Amaravati Development Corporation (ADC), has been finalised for the development of a 684 hectare startup area in Amaravati, the new capital city of Andhra Pradesh. The Amaravati Capital City Startup Area will be developed by the consortium and ADC through Amaravati Development Partners (ADP), of which Sembcorp and Ascendas-Singbridge have a joint 58 per cent stake, with the ADC holding the remaining 42 per cent share. The startup area lies within the 20 square kilometre Seed Development Area of Amaravati City and will be developed in phases over 15 to 20 years.

Sembcorp Marine: SembMarine said on Friday it plans to spend US$28 million that would go towards acquiring the intellectual property of Norway's Sevan Marine, bringing to an end a "long-standing" dispute over infringement of each other's intellectual property. The deal will also translate to SembMarine purchasing a 95 per cent equity interest in HiLoad LNG, a Sevan Marine subsidiary which holds certain intellectual property rights, the transfer of 26 Sevan Marine employees, as well as unexpired leases of the company's three office locations. 

Wilmar International: The agri-business player inked a deal with OCBC bank to peg interest rates on a US$200 million revolving credit facility to the borrower's sustainability performance, the companies said in a joint statement on Friday before the market opened. Interest rates on Wilmar's loan will be reduced on a tiered basis if the company achieves its pre-set sustainability targets, which are based off environmental, social and governance (ESG) metrics. 

Citic Envirotech: Citic has secured a build-operate-transfer environmental project worth one billion yuan (S$208.6 million) in Anyang City in China's Henan Province, the environmental engineering company said on Thursday evening. To undertake the project, Citic and its partner in the project - Fengzhu Textile Technology - will set up a project company with shareholdings of 90 per cent and 10 per cent respectively.