Reuters: Hot Stocks: STOCKS NEWS THAILAND-Krungsri upgrades Siam Cement; shares above 5-mth highs

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STOCKS NEWS THAILAND-Krungsri upgrades Siam Cement; shares above 5-mth highs Sep 18th 2012, 09:02 Tue Sep 18, 2012 5:02am EDT Krungsri Securities raised its price target on Thailand's biggest industrial conglomerate Siam Cement Pcl to 400 baht from 330 baht and upgraded the stock's rating to 'buy' from 'hold', citing good outlook for core petrochemical business. Siam Cement shares rose 1.4 percent to 353 baht, climbing at one point to 354 baht, the highest since April 3. The broader SET index was down 0.44 percent. "We are more confident about the outlook of petrochemical product spreads from 2013 onward. We also revise up our 2013 earnings forecast," the broker said in a report. "A more balanced supply-demand outlook, inventory restocking, and widening spreads lead us to revise up our petrochemical spread assumptions for 2013. These factors outweigh a key risk of a Chinese economic slowdown," it said. Siam Cement shares have risen around 14 percent from their 2012 low of 310 baht on June 28, versus around 10 percent gain of the SET index. The stock was the top actively-traded counter on the Thai bourse with 3.1 million shares changing hands. 1541 (0341 GMT) (Reporting by Viparat Jantraprap in Bangkok; viparat.jantraprapaweth@thomsonreuters.com) ************************************************************ 12:54 STOCKS NEWS THAILAND-Bank of Ayudhya up slightly amid GE divestment talk Shares in Bank of Ayudhya Pcl BAY.BK made small gains as investors turned cautious about the possibility of low divestment price by shareholder General Electric Co GE.N. At the midsession break of 0530 GMT, Bank of Ayudhya shares were up 0.7 percent at 35.5 baht. The shares climbed 2.2 percent on Monday after Reuters reported that GE had hired Morgan Stanley to review its 33 percent stake in the Thai bank, which could potentially lead to a sale by the U.S. conglomerate of its near $2.2 billion holding.(Full Story) Broker Bualuang Securities said the stock's high valuations could cap the divestment price. The stock traded at a 2012 price to book of 1.9 times versus the Thai bank sector mean of 1.7 times and the regional banking average of 1.9 times, it said. "In Thai bank takeovers in recent years, acquisition targets have been bought at big premiums to their valuations. But in those cases, the banks in question had low valuations," the broker said in a report. "The scope for short-term speculative gains is probably modest. GE might even be prepared to sell at a discount to the market price, given that it probably needs the funds," it said. Bank of Ayudhya shares have risen 61.4 percent so far this year, outperforming a 33.8 percent gain of the bank subindex .SETB and a 24 percent gain of the SET index .SETI. 1237 (0537 GMT) (Reporting by Viparat Jantraprap in Bangkok; viparat.jantraprapaweth@thomsonreuters.com) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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