Stocks to watch: Singtel, StarHub, Keppel, SIA, Frasers Property, SembMarine, EC World Reit

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

Keppel Corporation: The conglomerate on Wednesday morning said that its wholly-owned subsidiary Keppel Offshore & Marine was successful in its motion to dismiss a cause of action brought pursuant to the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act in the US.

Separately, telco M1, partly owned by Keppel Corp, continued to receive complaints from frustrated broadband users on Wednesday, despite the company saying that fibre services have been fully restored. Keppel Corp shares closed at S$6.06 on Tuesday, down S$0.01 or 0.2 per cent.

Singapore Airlines (SIA): Societe Generale is extending a single exceptional payment as a "goodwill gesture" to investors of the 5x Short Singapore Airlines daily leverage certificates, after some of them protested what they saw as the lack of timely disclosure and unfair pricing by the investment bank. SIA shares closed at S$4.29 on Tuesday, down S$0.12 or 2.7 per cent before this announcement.

Frasers Property: The property developer on Wednesday posted a 38.1 per cent drop in net profit to S$74.5 million for its second quarter ended March 31, 2020, from S$120.4 million a year ago. The group's management has also taken pay cuts effective May 1, as the company looks to conserve its financial resources. As at 10.25am on Wednesday, the counter was trading at S$1.19, down S$0.02 or 1.7 per cent. 

Sembcorp Marine (SembMarine): Hit hard by the double whammy of the Covid-19 pandemic and the collapse in oil prices, SembMarine will be deferring all non-essential capital expenditures to preserve cash flow and manage overall liquidity with prudence and discipline. Shares of SembMarine fell 1.5 Singapore cents or 2 per cent to tade at 72 cents as at 9.23am on Wednesday, before the announcement.

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Singtel, StarHub: Both Citi and OCBC Investment Research said in separate reports that they anticipate industry price repair. The need for Singtel, StarHub and M1's rivals to access 5G capacity on a wholesale basis "could make undercutting much more difficult" in the market, OCBC analysts wrote. Singtel shares closed at S$2.74 on Tuesday, down S$0.01 or 0.4 per cent, while StarHub shares finished at S$1.41, up S$0.01 or 0.7 per cent on a cum-dividend basis.

EC World Real Estate Investment Trust (EC World Reit): The Reit on Tuesday reported a distribution per unit of 1.158 Singapore cents for the first quarter, a 22.9 per cent decline on the year, largely due to rental rebates provided to tenants in March amid the Covid-19 situation. Units in EC World Reit closed at 67.5 Singapore cents on Tuesday, down two cents or 2.9 per cent before this announcement.

UMS Holdings: Mainboard-listed UMS Holdings on Tuesday posted a first-quarter net profit rise of 53 per cent to S$10.7 million, boosted by better performance in its core business of manufacturing high precision front-end semiconductor components. Shares of UMS, trading cum dividend, closed down 1.2 per cent or one Singapore cent to 79.5 cents before the announcement.

Hong Leong Asia: Hong Leong Asia, which holds an 88.16 per cent stake in cement maker Tasek through two subsidiaries, is making an offer to acquire all the remaining shares it does not own in the company, for about RM83.9 million (S$27.4 million). The counter closed unchanged at S$0.52 on Tuesday before the announcement.

Tuan Sing Holdings: The mainboard-listed property developer has priced its S$65 million two-year, non-call 1 notes at 7.75 per cent. The notes are expected to be issued at par on May 19, 2020 and will mature on May 19, 2022. Tuan Sing shares closed at 23.5 Singapore cents on Tuesday, down 1.5 cents or 6 per cent.