SG Morning Highlights | "Keppel, ACEN, and GenZero Partner to Pave Way for Coal Plant Decommissioning in the Philippines

Singapore shares opened higher on Monday. The $FTSE Singapore Straits Time Index (.STI.SG)$ rose 0.37 percent to 3365.15 as at 9:14 am.

$Keppel (BN4.SG)$: Keppel Corporation, listed on the mainboard and identified by the stock ticker BN4, saw its shares end higher on Friday, with a 0.9 per cent increase equivalent to S$0.05, closing at S$5.96. This uptick comes as Keppel, along with ACEN and GenZero, has entered into a memorandum of understanding aimed at pioneering the use of transition credits (TCs). The collaboration is focused on the origination and application of TCs to advance the early retirement of a coal-fired power plant located in the Philippines. The initiative, once completed, is poised to be one of the world's first instances where a converted coal-fired plant generates transition credits, marking a significant step in the global shift towards more sustainable energy practices.

$Jardine C&C (C07.SG)$: Jardine Cycle and Carriage (Jardine C&C) has announced its intention to sell its entire 25.5% stake in Siam City Cement (SCCC) to Sunrise Equity, an existing shareholder and part of SCCC's controlling Ratanarak Group, for a total of 12.2 billion baht (S$458.7 million). The sale price of 160 baht per share is higher than SCCC's last closing price before the announcement. Proceeds from the sale will be directed towards Jardine C&C's internal funding needs. Following the sale, Jardine C&C will no longer hold shares in SCCC, and SCCC will no longer be an associated company. The transaction, which is aligned with Jardine C&C's long-term growth and sustainability strategy, is expected to complete on August 19, 2024, and is not anticipated to materially affect Jardine C&C's net tangible assets or underlying earnings per share for the fiscal year.

$Yoma Strategic (Z59.SG)$: Yoma Strategic Holdings has strongly rejected claims made in a report by The Irrawaddy on August 16, which asserted that the company's former chairman, Serge Pun, is facing legal charges including money laundering and misuse of public funds, as well as investing illegally obtained funds into the expansion of Yoma's StarCity project. The company asserts that these allegations are false and misleading, and states that it was not approached for comment prior to the article's publication. Yoma is now seeking legal counsel and intends to take necessary steps to protect its interests. In its filing on August 18, Yoma has firmly denied that any criminal proceeds have been used for StarCity, which is a self-sustaining community not requiring external funding.