Hefty market-value gains for many big conglomerates

FOR large conglomerates, 2007 was a year to remember.

Many saw hefty gains in their market value, especially those with businesses heavily exposed to the booming oil and gas industry.

Keppel Corp, the world's largest builder of offshore oil rigs, saw its market capitalisation swell 48.6 per cent during the year to $20.6 billion.

Its smaller rival Semb-Corp Marine - the world's second-largest rig builder - saw even larger gains. Its market cap soared 68.1 per cent to $8.36 billion.

SembMarine's gains would likely have been even higher if not for a steep fall in its share price in late October, following the company's announcement it had relieved its finance director of his duties after discovering that he had entered into unauthorised foreign exchange transactions worth millions of dollars.

SembMarine's parent SembCorp Industries saw its market cap rise 52.2 per cent in 2007 to $10.3 billion.

Another homegrown conglomerate, Singapore Technologies Engineering, saw its market cap grow 23.3 per cent to $11.2 billion.

The Singapore-listed units of Hong Kong's Jardine group also did well, attracting investors keen to gain broad exposure to Asia's economic growth through the group's wide range of business holdings, including property development, financial services, motor vehicle sales and supermarket chains.

The gains were led by Jardine Cycle & Carriage, whose market cap soared 50.2 per cent during the year to $7.54 billion. Jardine Matheson saw its market cap rise 23.1 per cent to $24.9 billion.
Meanwhile, the market value of Jardine Strategic, the holding company of Jardine Matheson, grew 12.6 per cent to $24.6 billion.