Company News

Genting Singapore's plans to build a casino in South Korea have been stalled, according to Channel NewsAsia (CNA). Instead of going ahead with initial plans for a ground-breaking ceremony in Jeju Island on June 24, the company has decided to reschedule the event. The postponement is to "allow the company the opportunity to brief the newly-elected governor of Jeju and his team on the casino's development plans and its contribution to Jeju Island", according to CNA. The news also said that a separate e-mail was sent to notify guests of the change; Genting Singapore had said that Resorts World Jeju was expected to break ground in Q3 this year, and slated to open in stages three years from now. Genting Singapore had first announced in February that it had partnered a Chinese property developer, Landing International Development, to build and operate a US$2.2 bn integrated resort on Jeju island.

We expect new business from Alibaba and new acquisitions to uplift Singapore Post’s FY16F earnings significantly. We project 7% EPS dilution in FY15F after issuing new shares to Alibaba for its 10.35% stake in SPOST. However, we see EPS accretion from FY16F onwards. With S$482m net cash, SPOST may acquire profitable companies across the e-commerce value chain. We have been early believers in SPOST’s low-cost and pan-Asia e-commerce strategy. Alibaba’s entry convinces us further that SPOST is well-positioned to benefit from ecommerce sales, which according to eMarketer, is expected to see CAGR of 29% in Asia over the next 4-years. Maintain BUY with target price raised to S$2.00 (Prev S$ 1.60).

Low-cost carriers Scoot and Nok Airlines have signed a jointventure agreement to set up NokScoot by acquiring Pete Air, said Scoot's parent Singapore Airlines. It comes six months after the two parties signed a memorandum of understanding to establish the new Bangkok-based low-cost carrier. After restructuring, Pete Air, which already holds an air operator's licence, will be renamed NokScoot Airlines. The joint venture parties have agreed to invest an initial aggregate share capital of two billion Thai baht (S$76.9m) in the airline.

KS Energy has entered into an irrevocable sale and purchase agreement for the sale of the rights and obligation under the construction contract for the KS Orient Star 1 (the “Rig”) for a cash consideration of US$84.9m. The consideration represents an excess of approximately US$45.2m over the aggregate book value of the Rig which was US$39.6m as at 31 March 2014.

Vibrant Group, formerly known as Freight Links Express, is teaming up with DB2 Group to purchase Cecil House. The deal values the 11-storey office block on a site with a balance lease term of about 66 years, at $110m. Vibrant is not planning to redevelop Cecil House. Rather it plans to refurbish the property.