TODAY'S HEADLINE
SGX'S AUGUST SECURITIES TRADING VALUE FALLS 29%  But against July, the turnover value was up 11%, helped by activity in F&N.

TOTAL turnover value on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) securities market fell by some $12 billion or 29 per cent to $29.4 billion in August from a year ago.

But the total turnover saw a jump of 11 per cent from July's $26.5 billion, helped by the hectic trading activity seen in Straits Times Index (STI) component Fraser and Neave (F&N).

The total market turnover translates to a daily average value of $1.4 billion over the 21 trading days in August. In volume terms, total market turnover dropped 10 per cent from last year to 29.71 billion shares. Month on month, it was 18 per cent lower.

Unsurprisingly, the August trading limelight fell on F&N and, along with it, Asia Paci'c Breweries (APB). This came amid Thai Beverage's acquisition of a sizeable stake in F&N and Heineken's o'er for F&N's stake in APB. The month saw the F&N stock contributing approximately 14 per cent of the total trading value.

SGX's overall turnover velocity  '  which measures the liquidity of stocks by taking the ratio of turnover of shares to market value  ' stood at 53 per cent in August, down from 79 per cent last year but up from July's 46 per cent. Analysts view the month'on'month improvement in securities turnover value as a one'o' event, and expect thin market value for the second half of the year.


NEWS BUZZ

Midas Holdings (S$0.345) 
Wins deals worth 123m yuan  
Midas Holdings' subsidiary, Jilin Midas Aluminium Industries, has secured two new contracts worth a combined 123.4mil yuan (S$24.2mil) for the supply of aluminium alloy tubings. The contracts from leading power industry players Xian XD Switchgear Electric and Xian XD High Voltage Apparatus are valued at 100.3 million yuan and 23.1 million yuan respectively.

The contracts are expected to contribute positively to the group's 'nancial performance for the years ended Dec 31, 2012 and 2013, said Midas. Deliveries for the orders are expected to take place between 2012 and 2013.

Global Logistic Properties (S$2.38) 
Signs pre'lease expansion deal
Global Logistic Properties has signed a pre'lease expansion agreement of about 74,000 sqm with a leading global e'commerce retailer, for its expanding ful'lment centre in GLP Park Wuqing in Tianjin, north China. The project is the second phase of GLP Park Wuqing and is expected to be completed later this year.

Oversea'Chinese Banking Corporation (S$9.18) 
Prices 'xed rate subordinated note
OCBC Bank has priced US$1bil of 'xed rate subordinated notes under its US$10bil global medium'term note programme. OCBC will use net proceeds from the issue of the notes for general corporate purposes.
The notes are expected to qualify as Tier 2 capital and be eligible for transitional treatment under the Monetary Authority of Singapore's Basel III framework from Jan 1, 2013. Standard & Poor's has assigned its "A+" long'term issue rating to these notes.
Source: The Business Times

Source: AmFraser