SG Market (19 Jan 15)

Singapore shares are expected to open slightly firmer following Wall Street’s rebound on Fri and possible retail interest in STI and blue-chip stocks with the change in board lot size from 1,000 to 100 units coming into effect today. The board lot reduction will apply to ordinary shares, including shares traded on GlobalQuote, REITs, business trusts, company warrants, structured warrants and extended settlement contracts. Asian markets are trading higher this morning, with Tokyo (+0.8%), Seoul (+1.1%) and Sydney (+1.1%) in positive territory. From a chart perspective, technical signals appear to be losing momentum, with RSI, Stochastics and ADX trending lower. Critical support for STI is tipped at its 200-dma at 3,288, with resistance seen at its 20-dma at 3,330. Stocks to watch: *CH Offshore: 2QFY15 net profit fell 19% to US$5.4m on revenue of US$8.8m (-4.2%). The lower top-line was due to one vessel being off-hired due to its mandatory overhaul in between Sep and Nov. Gross margin rose 4.2ppt to 85.8% on lower operating costs, although bottom line was weighed by a 27.7% drop in admin expense to US$1.2m and a 47.9% decline in associate earnings at US$1.0m. BVPS of US$0.324. *Keppel Land: Expands in West Jakarta with a 4.6 hectare residential site for Rp381.9b ($40.2m), intended to be developed into a high-rise condominium (>4,000 units) with ancillary shophouses and shop units. The launch, expected in phases, is scheduled from 2017. *Centurion: Exploring the listing/divestment of some of its workers accommodation assets into a REIT. If approved, the REIT is expected to be listed on the main board of SGX. The listing would allow Centurion to recycle capital and pursue its growth strategies across its growing accommodation business. *Unionmet: Non-binding MOU to acquire 49% stake in SG Support Service, a cargo transportation, waste management, tank cleaning and general construction firm. The acquisition is expected to bring about synergies with its oil-blending business. *Pacific Healthcare: Proposed to dispose Pacific Healthcare (Indonesia) and Pacific Surgical and Endoscopy Centre for $4.2m. Post-disposal proforma FY13 NTA is expected to jump from 0.08¢ to 0.58¢, while loss per share will narrow from 1.84¢ to 1.22¢. *Koyo International: In response to a trading query by SGX, Koyo guided that the group had in recent weeks engaged in discussions with two statutory boards in relation to potential projects, although it has not been informed of any decision and is unable to conclusively attribute this information to the trading patterns of its share price. *Armada Group: Expects to report a loss for 3QFY14. The losses are mainly attributed by low sales, impairment of intangible assets and other expenses. *Sino Grandness: Appoints "coffee king of Thailand" founder and Chairman of PM Group, Prayudh Mahagitsiri, as honorary Chairman. *Declout: Clarified that it is only in the preliminary stage of discussion in relation to the potential spin-off of Procurri Group and has not commenced the listing process nor engaged in any professional advisory services. *Teho: Extends long-stop date of proposed JV with Sok Bun to 5 Feb. *Hotel Grand Central: Completed disposal of Hotel Grand Chancellor. *CNMC Goldmine: Terminated JV with Menteri Besar Incorporated (Perak).