The following companies witnessed significant developments that could impact the trading of their securities on Wednesday (Oct 30):
Hongkong Land: On Tuesday, Hongkong Land announced its strategic decision to withdraw from the build-to-sell residential development sector, opting instead to focus on fund management. This pivotal move follows a comprehensive examination of its business strategy, during which the property group reported an underlying loss of US$7 million for the six-month period ending June 30, a steep decline from an underlying net profit of US$422 million recorded in the same period a year earlier. Looking ahead, Hongkong Land aims to repurpose up to US$10 billion in capital by 2035, with an ambitious goal of increasing its assets under management to as much as US$100 billion. Simultaneously, the company anticipates doubling its profit before interest and tax, as well as its dividends per share, within the same timeframe. As of the last trading session, shares of Hongkong Land closed at US$3.89, reflecting a decrease of 1.5 per cent or US$0.06.
Mapletree Industrial Trust (MIT): For the second quarter ending September 30, Mapletree Industrial Trust reported a distribution per unit of S$0.0337, marking a 1.5 per cent increase from S$0.0332 a year earlier. This positive update was attributed to rising occupancy rates and rental income, as indicated by its manager in a bourse filing on Tuesday. Furthermore, revenue for Q2 surged by 4.2 per cent year on year, totaling S$181.4 million, compared to S$174.1 million in the previous year. The net property income also saw a notable increase of 4.6 per cent, climbing to S$134.5 million from S$128.6 million. Despite these favorable results, units of MIT closed at S$2.39 on Tuesday—down S$0.04 or 1.6 per cent—prior to the announcement.
