Stocks to watch: SIA, Genting, SGX, Sembcorp Industries, Sembmarine, Biolidics

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

Singapore Airlines (SIA): SIA flew just 13,900 passengers in June 2020, down from nearly 1.9 million the same period a year ago. The group is now expecting a material operating loss for the first quarter of its financial year. SIA shares closed at S$3.77 on Wednesday, up S$0.05 or 1.3 per cent from the previous day.

Genting Singapore: Resorts World Singapore (RWS) held a "one-off workforce rationalisation" on Wednesday, just two weeks after the integrated resort reopened. Meanwhile, staff who escaped the axe at RWS could take up higher-value, redesigned jobs. On Wednesday, Genting Singapore closed S$0.01 or 1.3 per cent higher at S$0.785 after the layoff news broke.

Singapore Exchange (SGX): Acquiring full control of BidFX, a trading venue used by hedge funds and banks, will enable SGX to unlock the huge potential of the foreign exchange over-the-counter market, The Business Times reported on Thursday. SGX shares closed at S$8.32 on Wednesday, up S$0.07 or 0.9 per cent.

Sembcorp Industries: A subsidiary of Sembcorp Industries has agreed to sell a 30 per cent equity interest it holds in Sino-Singapore (Chengdu) Innovation Park Development Co worth 691.3 million yuan (S$138.8 million). Sembcorp Industries fell S$0.02 or 1.1 per cent to close at S$1.78 on Wednesday.

Sembcorp Marine (Sembmarine): The marine and offshore engineering group posted a net loss of S$192 million in the half year ended June 30, widening from a net loss of S$7 million a year ago. Chief executive officer Wong Weng Sun has volunteered to take a 50 per cent pay cut, while all other employees will take a 5 per cent pay cut, except for those earning less than S$1,800 a month. Sembmarine shares rose S$0.01 or 2.25 per cent to close at S$0.455 on Wednesday before results were announced after trading hours.

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Biolidics: The Singapore Exchange on Wednesday posed a series of queries to Biolidics about the details of a licence agreement the firm had inked with the commercialisation arm of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research, as well as the timing of its trading halt and announcement. Shares of Biolidics ended Wednesday at 43.5 Singapore cents, down 8.5 cents or 16.4 per cent.

Trading halts: ESR-Reit and Sabana Shari'ah Compliant Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust (Sabana Reit) both requested for trading halts on Thursday morning, before announcing their financial results and a proposed merger by way of a trust scheme of arrangement. ESR-Reit has cut its first-half DPU to 1.162 Singapore cents, while Sabana Reit reported a H1 DPU of 0.47 Singapore cent. Units of Sabana Reit closed flat at S$0.36 on Wednesday, while ESR-Reit units finished unchanged at S$0.39.