Singapore Stocks News Of The Week: MindChamps PreSchool, Mapletree Logistics Trust, Keppel DC REIT, And More

Here’s a selection of Singapore-listed companies that released noteworthy announcements this week (in chronological order).

MindChamps PreSchool Queried By Singapore Exchange 

The education company’s shares sank by as much as 24.8% to S$0.38 on Monday, hitting a fresh 52-week low. That prompted the Singapore Exchange (SGX) to issue a query regarding the unusual share price movement.

In its reply, MindChamps said that it is unaware of any possible explanation not previously announced by the company that might explain the erratic share price movements and that it is in compliance with the listing rules.

On Monday, MindChamps’ shares closed at S$0.485 apiece. At that share price, it was selling at 24 times its historical earnings.

Mapletree Logistics Trust’s Chief Financial Officer Resigns 

Mapletree Logistics Trust‘s (SGX: M44U) manager announced on Monday that its chief financial officer, Lim Ming Rean, has stepped down from his position and will be relinquishing his role on 31 December 2019 to “pursue other interests”. A replacement for Lim has already been found, and the REIT’s manager will make a further announcement once regulatory clearances are done.

Separately last week, it was announced that following a quarterly review of the Straits Times Index, Mapletree Logistics Trust will be added to the index and, consequently, Golden Agri-Resources Ltd (SGX: E5H) will be excluded.

Mapletree Logistics Trust is an Asia-focused logistics REIT with a portfolio of 137 logistics assets.

Singapore Exchange Reports November 2019 Market Data

Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX: S68) reported on Tuesday that the total securities market turnover value rose 22%, both on a month-on-month and year-on-year basis, to S$26.4 billion in November 2019.

Securities daily average value grew 28% month-on-month and 22% year-on-year to S$1.26 billion.

The exchange said that trading turnover continued to strengthen in technology-related stocks and REITs.

Also, secondary fundraising grew 16.2% year-to-date, compared to one year back.

Keppel DC REIT Buys Another German Data Centre 

On Thursday, Keppel DC REIT (SGX: AJBU) announced that it will be acquiring its second data centre in Germany and its eighth in Europe for €81.8 million (around S$125.3 million). The purchase is expected to be completed in 2020 and is likely to be fully funded by debt.

The freehold property will be fully leased on a triple-net basis until the end of 2025. A triple-net lease type usually means that the tenant will take care of all expenses, including property tax and maintenance expenses.

The data centre is located near the Frankfurt Airport and is about 18km from Frankfurt’s city centre.

The acquisition is expected to be accretive to Keppel DC REIT’s distribution per unit.

At Keppel DC REIT’s unit price of S$1.97 at the time of writing, it has a price-to-book ratio of 1.8 and a distribution yield of 3.9%.