Reuters: Hot Stocks: STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE-Index up, Bumitama surges

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STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE-Index up, Bumitama surges Apr 12th 2012, 06:25 Thu Apr 12, 2012 2:25am EDT Singapore shares rose by midday, with palm oil firm Bumitama Agri Ltd jumping as much as 37 percent on its market debut as many analysts favoured the company's relatively young plantations and forecast a strong outlook for palm oil prices. The Straits Times Index was 0.7 percent higher at 2,968.5 after falling 1.2 percent in the previous session. MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.6 percent on Thursday. Bumitama shares traded as high as S$1.02, about 37 percent higher than its IPO price of S$0.745, on volume of more than 195 million shares. It was the top traded stock by value and the second highest by volume in the market. The IPO was heavily subscribed and the issue was the latest in a string of IPOs returning to the Singapore market this year. The weighted average age of Bumitama's oil palm trees is about five years old and only 28.1 percent of its planted area have reached peak production age of between 7 and 18 years, the company said in a statement. "When the age is that young, the company is bound to grow in leaps and bounds in terms of production. That is probably where the excitement is for this stock," said Ong Chee Ting, an analyst at Maybank Kim Eng. 14211 (0611 GMT) (Reporting by Eveline Danubrata in Singapore; eveline.danubrata@thomsonreuters.com) *********************************************************** 12:35 STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE-Nomura downgrades Yangzijiang to reduce Nomura cut its rating on Yangzijiang Shipbuilding (Holdings) Ltd to reduce from neutral, and decreased its target price to S$0.74 from S$0.85, citing weak pricing and lacklustre demand for new orders. "Due to falling new orders and shrinking margins, revenues and profit from the core shipbuilding segment are expected to shrink. However, earnings will continue to be held up by non-core investment income and other gains which are coming in higher than expected," the broker said. It said recent orders won by the shipbuilder were done at an average price of $28 million, substantially lower than the $35 million a similar order would have fetched previously. Yangzijiang's shares were up 0.4 percent at S$1.26 and have gained 38 percent so far this year. "We like the company for its proactive approach in securing new shipbuilding contracts. However, we remain negative on the overall industry outlook and think it is hard to right the tide," Nomura said, adding that the shares were likely to weaken due to the negative shipping outlook after a strong run. 1220 (0420 GMT) (Reporting by Leonard How in Singapore; leonard.how@thomsonreuters.com) *********************************************************** 11:36 STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE-Maybank Kim Eng upgrades OCBC to hold Maybank Kim Eng raised its rating on Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp to hold from sell and increased its target price to S$8.00 from S$7.50. "We do feel that valuations are still a little rich at this stage but a premium to peers is deserved," Kim Eng said in a report on Singapore's second-biggest lender. It said OCBC's underperformance versus peers year-to-date was unjustified and it should trade at a premium, given its strong risk management capability, growing wealth management franchise and more resilient property portfolio. OCBC was up 0.6 percent at S$8.75, and has gained 11 percent so far this year versus a 15 percent rise in DBS Group Holdings and a 20 percent jump in United Overseas Bank . The broader market is up about 12 percent. For a related story, click: 1120 (0320 GMT) (Reporting by Leonard How in Singapore; leonard.how@thomsonreuters.com) *********************************************************** 10:27 STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE-StarHub, M1 margins to improve-CIMB CIMB Research expects earnings margins of telecommunication firms StarHub Ltd and M1 Ltd to improve in the first quarter due to lower advertising and marketing expenses and lower smartphone subsidies. Data revenues of telecoms will also continue replacing voice revenues due to higher smartphone penetration rates, the broker said in a report. CIMB estimates Starhub's earnings to grow 5-9 percent in the first quarter over the previous three months, and expects pay-TV revenue to increase year-on-year as the company raised its pricing by 4 percent in August. "The company has given us reasons to believe that it could raise dividends in the coming quarters as its under-leveraged balance sheet is ripe for optimisation," CIMB said. The broker has a neutral rating on the telecom sector, but an outperform rating on StarHub with a target price of S$3.31. StarHub's shares were down 0.6 percent at S$3.13, and have gained 7.6 percent so far this year, underperforming the broader market. M1 shares are little changed this year. 1015 (0215 GMT) (Reporting by Charmian Kok in Singapore; charmian.kok@thomsonreuters.com) ************************************************************ 10:02 STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE-OCBC cuts Lian Beng's price target OCBC Investment Research lowered its price target on Singapore construction firm Lian Beng Group Ltd to S$0.47 from S$0.51 and cut this year's earnings estimates, citing slow growth in its construction business. Lian Beng's shares were flat at S$0.41, and have gained 19 percent since the start of the year. OCBC kept its buy rating. The broker cut its revenue and net profit estimates on Lian Beng for the year ending June 2012 by 16 and 10 percent respectively. "The street, including ourselves, had previously not expected Lian Beng's execution of construction projects to slow," OCBC said after the company's results. OCBC said the company's order book fell to S$742 million from S$772 million at the end of the second quarter. For company statement, click: link.reuters.com/gyx57s 0955 (0155 GMT) (Reporting by Charmian Kok in Singapore; charmian.kok@thomsonreuters.com) ************************************************************ 08:45 STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE-Singapore futures rise 0.06 pct Singapore index futures were 0.06 percent higher on Thursday, indicating the benchmark Straits Times Index could see a weak start. Asian shares eased while the euro firmed, reflecting investor caution despite easing concerns about sovereign funding for troubled euro-zone economies Spain and Italy that helped U.S. and European equities rebound overnight. For related story click (Reporting by Charmian Kok in Singapore; charmian.kok@thomsonreuters.com) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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