Reuters: Hot Stocks: STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE-Maybank downgrades Genting Singapore to hold

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STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE-Maybank downgrades Genting Singapore to hold Jul 9th 2012, 02:17 Sun Jul 8, 2012 10:17pm EDT Maybank Kim Eng downgraded casino operator Genting Singapore to 'hold' from 'buy' and cut its target price to S$1.40 from S$2.00, after the government proposed to toughen its casino laws. By 0204 GMT, Genting shares were 1.1 percent lower at S$1.39, and have fallen about 8 percent since the start of the year, compared to a 12 percent rise in the Straits Times Index . The proposed amendments to Singapore's Casino Control Act will likely be detrimental to Genting's VIP volumes, if passed, Maybank said. The brokerage also said if international marketing agent (IMA) commissions, which the casino regulator may be empowered to cap, are set below regional averages, IMAs will encourage their VIPs to gamble elsewhere. Part of the proposed amendments will allow also the regulator to impose a fine of up to 10 percent of annual revenues generated by operators Las Vegas Sands and Genting, local media reported on Saturday. For related story, click 1004 (0404 GMT) (Reporting by Charmian Kok in Singapore; charmian.kok@thomsonreuters.com) ************************************************************ 9:43 STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE-CIMB cuts Petra Foods target price CIMB Research lowered its target price for cocoa company Petra Foods Ltd to S$2.04 from S$2.34 and kept its 'underperform' rating on the stock, citing potentially lower processing margins. Shares of Petra Foods were flat at S$2.46 by 0130 GMT. They have surged 33 percent since the start of the year, compared with the Thomson Reuters Asia Pacific ex Japan Food Processing Index's 2.3 percent rise. "There has been a flurry of downstream investments in Indonesia from domestic and international players following an imposition of export taxes on cocoa beans, aimed at encouraging value-added downstream production," said CIMB in a report. Indonesia's grinding capacity is expected to jump 43 percent in 2012 on new installations, according to the Indonesian Cocoa Industry Association, and CIMB expects capacity to grow another 28 percent to 500,000 metric tonnes by 2013, tipping the industry into oversupply. The new capacity will stiffen competition and erode the margins of processors such as Petra Foods, CIMB said. 0936 (0136 GMT) (Reporting by Charmian Kok in Singapore; charmian.kok@thomsonreuters.com) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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