Stocks to watch: SGX, Metro, Keppel, MIT, SIAEC, Parkway Life Reit

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

Singapore Exchange (SGX): Marketnode, SGX and Temasek's joint venture, has partnered fixed income issuance and data company Covalent Capital. Marketnode and Covalent will collaborate and build the Asia-Pacific's first, end-to-end digital infrastructure in the fixed income space, SGX said. Marketnode will acquire a minority stake in Covalent as part of the partnership. SGX shares closed at S$9.90 on Friday, up S$0.06 or 0.6 per cent, before the announcement.

Metro Holdings: With a few years left on the leases at Paragon and Causeway Point, the mainboard-listed retail and property group would focus on cost discipline and building up its e-commerce capabilities, group chief executive Yip Hoong Mun said. He said separately that the group plans to scale up its investments in industrial property and student housing, as well as in suburban malls. On Friday, Metro said its student accommodation fund Paideia Capital UK Trust plans to acquire a student accommodation property in Bristol, UK for £30.1 million (S$54.9 million). Metro shares closed at 74 Singapore cents on Friday, up 1.5 cents or 2.1 per cent, before the announcement.

Keppel Corporation: About 280 of the 300 residential units currently offered at The Reef at King's Dock were sold over the launch weekend from Jan 30 to 31, joint developers Mapletree Investments and Keppel Corp subsidiary Keppel Land said on Sunday. Prices ranged from S$2,000 per square foot (psf) to S$2,800 psf, with an average price of S$2,330 psf. Shares of Keppel Corp closed at S$5.01 on Friday, down S$0.45 or 8.2 per cent.

Mapletree Industrial Trust (MIT): The consolidation of revenue from 14 data centres in the US boosted MIT's third-quarter results. This was partly offset by rental reliefs extended to tenants and the loss of revenue from the redevelopment of its flatted factories in its Kolam Ayer 2 cluster into new hi-tech buildings. MIT's units added S$0.04 or 1.4 per cent to close at S$2.87 on Friday.

SIA Engineering Company (SIAEC): The mainboard-listed maintenance arm of Singapore Airlines posted a net profit of S$7.7 million for the third quarter ended Dec 31, down 85.7 per cent from the same period a year ago, it said in a business update. SIA Engineering's shares ended at S$1.90 on Friday, down S$0.03 or 1.6 per cent, prior to the announcement.

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Parkway Life Reit: The real estate investment trust (Reit) is divesting its non-core industrial property in Japan known as P-Life Matsudo for a total consideration of 2.9 billion yen (S$36.8 million) to a real estate company in Japan. It expects to recognise an estimated gain of about S$5.1 million, as Parkway Life Reit originally purchased the property at S$33.2 million in 2008. Units of Parkway Life Reit closed at S$4.15 on Friday, up S$0.03 or 0.7 per cent, before the announcement.

Boustead Projects: The real estate player has proposed to acquire a 49 per cent stake in two industrial properties located in the north of Vietnam for US$6.8 million. In a bourse filing on Monday, the group said the proposed acquisition will be funded with existing cash resources and comes in line with its existing strategies of growing its income-yielding leasehold portfolio and expanding regionally. Shares of mainboard-listed Boustead Projects ended Friday S$0.01 or 1 per cent lower at S$1.01.

Elite Commercial Reit: The UK-focused Reit on Monday posted a distribution per unit of 2.49 pence (S$0.04) for the six months ended Dec 31, 2020, compared with an initial public offering forecast of 2.42 pence. The counter closed 1.5 pence or 2.3 per cent lower at £64.5 on Friday.

Leader Environmental Technologies: The China-based group on Sunday proposed to place up to 470.6 million new shares at S$0.17 apiece to raise a total sum of around S$80 million, assuming that its upsize option is fully exercised. Shares of mainboard-listed Leader Environmental Tech closed 0.3 Singapore cent or 1.7 per cent higher at 18.2 cents on Friday.