Daily news - 11 Mar

Chartered shares suffer steepest fall in a decade
Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing – Shares of Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing went into freefall yesterday as selling pressure gripped the market following the chipmaker's US$300 million cash call. The company's share price plunged 39 per cent to close at 12.5 cents - its steepest fall in the last decade. The adverse market reaction came a day after Chartered announced plans to raise US$300 million through a 27-for-10 discounted rights issue. Under the plan, existing shareholders are entitled to buy 27 new shares at seven cents each for every 10 they own, translating to a markdown of 65.9 per cent from Chartered's traded price of 20.5 cents on Monday. Chartered's major shareholder, Temasek Holdings subsidiary Singapore Technologies Semiconductors, has undertaken to subscribe for its pro-rata entitlement of 59.4 per cent and further pledged to purchase up to 90 per cent of the offering. Market watchers say that the cash call is to be expected given Chartered's need to shore up capital in the face of mounting losses following the global electronics slump.

SATS bags Tiger ground-handling deal
Singapore Airport Terminal Services' plan to grab a substantial slice of the low-cost airline ground-handling business seems to be falling into place. It has clinched the ground-handling deal for Tiger Airways, adding to existing clients Cebu Pacific and Jetstar Asia. The latest deal cements SATS' ambition to build its presence in the relatively recession-resilient budget carrier segment. Under the Tiger contract - which follows the recent departure of Swissport from Changi - SATS will look after the budget carrier's passenger, ramp and baggage handling, and aircraft interior cleaning at the Budget Terminal at Changi. The contract will be handled by SATS' wholly owned subsidiary Asia-Pacific Star.

Source: Kim Eng