Singapore's construction stocks higher on upbeat industry prospects

Singapore's construction stocks higher on upbeat industry prospects

SINGAPORE (Thomson Financial) - Shares in construction companies were higher
Wednesday on expectations of more activity going forward as Singapore pushes
ahead with plans to develop a vibrant global city.
A number of developments are underway, including hotels and residential
projects, the two integrated casino resorts and the Sports Hub project, which is
a cluster of sports facilities to form Singapore's land and sea sports,
entertainment and lifestyle area.
The two integrated casino resorts located in Marina Bay and Sentosa, will offer
a range of tourism attractions, meetings facilities, F&B outlets, as well as
hotel rooms.
Last month, the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) increased its
forecast for construction contracts awarded this year to 19-22 billion Singapore
dollars from 17-19 billion earlier. About 16 billion dollars worth of contracts
were awarded in 2006.
Westcomb Securities analyst Wong Say Tian said he expects the uptrend in the
construction industry to continue for the next three to four years.
Wong has started covering KSH Holdings Ltd, with a "buy" rating after the
construction firm won a contract to build a boutique hotel bringing its order
book to 405 million Singapore dollars.
"KSH should be able to clinch more contracts with the government releasing more
retrofit programmes, and projects including the sports hub," Wong said.
DBS Vickers, who also rates KSH a "buy", today increased its 12-month target
price for the firm to 1.94 Singapore dollars from 1.52 dollars.
At 3.58 pm, KSH was up 5 cents or 4.4 percent at 1.19 Singapore dollars. Other
construction stocks were also higher and among the most actively traded, with
Hor Kew Corp up 2.5 cents or 9.6 percent at 28.5 cents, Yongnam Holdings up 1
cent or 2.5 percent at 41.5 cents, Chip Eng Seng Corp up 2 cents or 2.4 percent
at 84.5 cents, and CSC Holdings up 1 cent or 3.1 percent at 33 cents.

Source:Thomson Financial