Stocks to watch: Keppel, CapitaLand Ascendas Reit, YZJ Financial, KIT, Boustead, Cordlife

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[SINGAPORE] The following companies saw new developments that may affect trading of its securities on Tuesday (Apr 1).

Keppel: The global asset manager, through its real estate division, has divested its entire 42 per cent stake in South Rach Chiec – the developer of the Palm City development in Ho Chi Minh City – to Vietnamese real estate company Gateway Thu Thiem, unlocking total cash proceeds of 2.6 trillion dong (S$136.6 million). Completed in March, the divestment results in a net divestment profit of about S$55 million for Keppel, it said in a statement on Tuesday. Shares of Keppel closed flat at S$6.90 on Friday.

CapitaLand Ascendas Reit (Clar): Its manager on Tuesday announced CapitaLand Group’s completion of the S$883 million redevelopment of 1 Science Park Drive, a property situated in Geneo, the life sciences and innovation cluster in Singapore Science Park (SSP). With its completion, all five buildings in the 180,600 square metre Geneo cluster are operationally ready, said the manager. The redeveloped property offers business space, wet-lab ready workspace, as well as retail and food and beverage amenities. Its redevelopment boosts the quality of Clar’s business space and life science portfolio, and enlarges its customer base in the life sciences and technology industries, said William Tay, chief executive officer of Clar’s manager. Units of Clar closed on Friday S$0.01 or 0.4 per cent higher at S$2.67.

Yangzijiang Financial: The financial arm of Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, Yangzijiang Financial, has raised net cash proceeds of S$139.3 million through a placement of its treasury shares, to redeploy them for maritime investments. In a bourse filing on Sunday, the company said that it agreed to divest its entire treasury shareholding of 193.5 million shares at S$0.72 apiece. The price represents a 111 per cent premium to its average buyback cost, but a 9.7 per cent discount to the weighted average price of S$0.7975 for trades done during the full market day on Mar 28. The purchasers are two separate entities – Merlion Quay Capital and Operie Capital. The company expects the proposed sale to be completed by Jun 26. Shares of Yangzijiang Financial closed 1.3 per cent or S$0.01 higher at S$0.795 on Friday.

Keppel Infrastructure Trust (KIT): The trust will be acquiring a 46.7 per cent stake in Global Marine Group (GMG), a leading subsea cable solutions provider for about US$90.6 million. The business provides mission-critical maintenance and installation services for subsea cable infrastructure, and KIT expects to harness Keppel’s operating capabilities in the connectivity space to unlock value and drive enhanced returns for GMG. The trust expects the acquisition to raise distribution per unit by an accretive 3.5 per cent. Units of KIT closed at S$0.425 on Friday, up S$0.005 or 1.2 per cent.

Boustead: The company’s engineering and construction business unit, under its real estate solutions division Boustead Projects, has clinched a design-and-build contract for a new pharmaceutical facility in Tuas. In a bourse filing on Mar 28, it said the integrated pharmaceutical manufacturing and research and development facility will play an important role in enhancing clients’ global network. The facility, which will be located within Tuas Biomedical Park, is expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2026. The counter closed 2.9 per cent or S$0.03 higher at S$1.08 on Friday, before the news. 

Cordlife: The company received two letters of demand on Mar 28, with regard to prior claims alleging loss and damage from cord-blood units storage. One claim is for damages for breach of contract and negligence, and the other requested, among others, certain warranties and undertakings from the group, as well as compensation for costs. Shares of Cordlife closed 7.5 per cent or S$0.012 lower at S$0.149 before the announcement.