Reuters: Hot Stocks: STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE-Index down, dragged by Olam

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STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE-Index down, dragged by Olam Jun 21st 2012, 05:00 Thu Jun 21, 2012 1:00am EDT Singapore's main index snapped four days of gains with shares down by midday, dragged lower by losses at commodities firm Olam International Ltd after it announced the resignation of its chief financial officer. The benchmark Straits Times Index was down 0.71 percent at 2,835.22 points, outperforming other Asian bourses. The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell nearly 1.2 percent. Asian stocks fell broadly on Thursday after the Federal Reserve ramped up monetary stimulus by expanding "Operation Twist" but disappointed some investors who had been hoping for more aggressive measures. Olam said yesterday its CFO Ravi Kumar will leave his post in end-July, after leading the corporate finance and treasury function for Olam for almost 20 years. Olam shares were down 5 percent at S$1.86 by midday and have fallen about 13 percent so far this year, underperforming the 7.7 percent gain in the broader market. "While Olam has a deep management bench, investors will likely fret about this development somewhat given Ravi's tenure and seniority," said Citi in a report. "Olam's aggressive growth pipeline in acquisitions and greenfield projects also means investors will be keen to track growth in management bandwidth post Ravi's departure," the brokerage said. 1243 (0443 GMT) (Reporting by Leonard How in Singapore; leonard.how@thomsonreuters.com) ************************************************************ 10:23 STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE-OCBC cuts Yangzijiang target price OCBC Investment Research lowered its target price on shipbuilder Yangzijiang Shipbuilding (Holdings) Ltd to S$1.08 from S$1.23 while keeping its hold rating, citing a dim outlook for the industry. Shares of Yangzijiang were down nearly 1 percent at 0158 GMT at S$1.025 but have risen 12.7 percent so far this year, outperforming the benchmark Straits Times Index. Yangzijiang has cancelled a contract with Greek shipowner FreeSeas Ltd after it failed to make payments. Although the contract termination has no significant financial impact on Yangzijiang, it could be a signal of further changes in the shipbuilding industry, OCBC said. The brokerage noted that Chinese state-owned banks have distributed only $1 billion in loans to Greek shipowners, which was lower than expected. 1000 (0200 GMT) (Reporting by Leonard How in Singapore; leonard.how@thomsonreuters.com) ************************************************************ 09:53 STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE: Nam Cheong jumps on contract win Shares of Singapore-listed Malaysian offshore vessel builder Nam Cheong Ltd NMCG.SI surged as much as 13.7 percent to a seven-week high after it said it was awarded a letter of intent for projects worth $130 million. By 0134 GMT, Nam Cheong shares were 10.7 percent higher at S$0.186. Around 9.8 million shares changed hands, 5.7 times its average daily volume over the last five sessions. The letter of intent was to build four multi-purpose platform supply vessels, which will bring Nam Cheong's order book to 874 million ringgit ($276.98 million), surpassing last year's order book of 638 million ringgit, said AmFraser Securities. "Nam Cheong is one of our top picks in the offshore and marine sector, with exposure to Malaysia's booming oil & gas scene," said AmFraser in a note. The brokerage has a buy rating on Nam Cheong, with a target price of S$0.28. To read the statement, click on 0953 (0153 GMT) (Reporting by Charmian Kok in Singapore; charmian.kok@thomsonreuters.com) ($1 = 3.1555 Malaysian ringgits) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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