Stocks to watch: Singtel, YuuZoo, Del Monte

THE following counters made announcements after market close on Thursday evening that could affect trading on Friday morning:

Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel) on Friday announced that together with Sony Pictures Television and Warner Bros Entertainment (WB), it has established HOOQ, a joint-venture startup, to offer over-the-top (OTT) video services in Asia.

Singtel's wholly-owned subsidiary, HOOQ Digital Holdings (HDH), has also entered into a conditional joint-venture agreement with WB and AXN Investment - a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment - to invest in HOOQ.

Upon the allotment and issue of shares at completion, the share capital of HOOQ will increase from US$2 to US$27.6 million, with HDH, WB and AXN holding 65, 17.5 and 17.5 per cent respectively.

YuuZoo Corporation, a mainboard-listed social network and e-commerce company, on Friday announced that its co-founders, Thomas Zilliacus and Ron Creevey, have signed a new partnership agreement to launch live game streaming services.

Mr Creevey, who in 2012 founded X-Cast, a Sydney-headquartered video and radio broadcast platform, will provide game streaming technology through X-Cast's platform, while Yuuzoo, via its Virtual Shopping Mall platform, will provide distribution access to 85 million registered users and 700 million television viewers in 164 countries.

Del Monte Pacific, the mainboard-listed consumer food business company, on Friday said it has obtained approvals to undertake a renounceable underwritten rights issue in Singapore and a stock rights offering in the Philippines of up to 641.9 million new shares at an issue price of S$0.325 each, that could raise up to S$202.5 million in net proceeds.

The net proceeds will be used to repay the bridging facility of up to US$165 million from the Bank of Philippines Islands that Del Monte had obtained to partially finance the acquisition of the consumer food business which was completed on Feb 19, 2014. The rights issue will also allow the company to deleverage and strengthen its balance sheet, said Del Monte.