Singapore Corporate News - 29 Dec 2007

Net profit up 30% for Transview

TRANSVIEW Holdings posted a 30 per cent rise in net profit to $2.4 million for the full year ended Oct 31, 2007, helped by higher retail revenue and lower operating costs. Total revenue rose 0.1 per cent to $32.9 million.

Fine lowered for Auston

AUSTON International yesterday announced that it had its $90,000 fine for charges under the Securities and Futures Act reduced to $10,000 after a successful appeal.

STATS delisting: no certainty yet

TEMASEK Holdings is 'still considering' delisting STATS ChipPAC. 'There remains no certainty' about plans to stop trading of STATS ChipPAC in Singapore, according to a statement filed by the semiconductor company to the stock exchange yesterday.

Great Eastern unit bags Vietnam licence

Insurer Great Eastern Holdings has pushed into Vietnam as part of a regional expansion plan.

The group announced yesterday that its unit, Great Eastern Life Assurance, has been granted a licence to set up a wholly owned life insurance subsidiary in Vietnam.

With an initial capital of 600 billion Vietnamese dong (S$54.2 million), the new subsidiary company will be known as Great Eastern Life (Vietnam) Co Ltd. It is expected to start business within six months.

STX to allow share moves between S'pore and Seoul

STX Pan Ocean, a South Korean shipping firm whose stock is listed in Seoul and Singapore, says investors will be able to shift their shares between the two markets from 2008 after regulatory changes.

Hyflux Water Trust secures 20-year China concession

HYFLUX Water Trust's (HWT) wholly owned subsidiary, Hyflux NewSpring (Yangzhou) Co Ltd, has been granted an exclusive 20-year concession by the government of Jiangsu Province to build, own, operate and transfer an expansion plant next to HWT's existing waste-water treatment plant in the Yangzhou Chemical Industrial Park.

Upon expiry of the concession agreement, HWT has a first right to negotiate for an extension of the concession term, Hyflux Water Trust Management, the trustee-manager of HWT, said in a statement yesterday.

With a design capacity of 20,000 cu m/day, and an estimated project cost of 50 million yuan (S$9.9 million), the expansion plant is HWT's second plant in the Yangzhou Chemical Industrial Park - the first being the existing waste-water treatment plant, which was acquired by HWT as part of its initial portfolio at the time of its recent listing.

The combined design capacity of the two plants will be 40,000 cu m/day.

Ban Joo posts 15-month loss of $15.1m

TEXTILE firm Ban Joo & Co, whose financial year-end has been changed to September from June, yesterday reported a loss of $15.1 million for the 15 months ended Sept 30, 2007, on turnover of $106.9 million.

Ban Joo said that the loss was due mainly to provision for impairment of trade debts and losses associated with the discontinuation of operations.

Resorts World to sell Genting Int'l stake

Malaysian casino operator Resorts World Bhd yesterday announced a plan to sell its entire stake in Singapore-listed Genting International to Resorts World shareholders.

Property group Roxy-Pacific eyes mainboard listing

HOME-GROWN property group Roxy-Pacific Holdings plans to raise capital through a listing on the Singapore Exchange mainboard.

The group lodged its preliminary prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore yesterday, with plans for an initial public offering of 160 million shares, including 32 million vendor shares.

Roxy-Pacific was established in 1967. Besides being a residential property developer, it owns the Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel in Marine Parade and a number of shop units in Roxy Square Shopping Centre.