Daily news - 8 Sep

Keppel, SembMarine shares tumble on cheaper crude
Keppel Corp and Sembcorp Marine – Shares of KepCorp and SembMarine were hammered Friday as crude oil prices looked set to continue its downward spiral. Oil prices have fallen more than 7% this week, with crude for October delivery sinking to as low as just over US$106 a barrel Friday. Prices are down by 27% from the record US$147.27 on July 11. Keppel Corp shares fell 49 cents or 5.4% to close at a 12-month low of $8.64, while SembMarine shed 18 cents or 5.3% to end Friday at $3.23. The two biggest local rig builders were not the only ones affected by the falling oil price. China-based Cosco Corp (Singapore) fell 8.8% to a year-low of $1.87. Analysts said that the sell-off was a knee-jerk reaction to oil prices. With respective net order books of $13bn and $9.6bn at end-June, and deliveries extending until 2012, Keppel and SembMarine are sitting pretty and churning out rigs as fast as they can build them. Deepwater rig charter rates have risen to around US$700,000 a day and owners are still keen to take delivery as quickly as possible.

SingPost warns of higher fees
Singapore Post – Has warned of a potential increase in its net terminal dues payments for international mailing. This comes after it was announced at the recent 24th Universal Postal Union (UPU) Congress in Geneva, Switzerland, that Singapore would be reclassified as a Target Country (previously known as 'Industrialised Country') from the current category of Net Contributor Country for the purpose of terminal dues settlement. The change will take effect from Jan 1, 2010. Terminal dues refer to settlements for the processing and delivery of international mail between countries. Singapore will have to apply the relevant terminal dues system from 2010 to 2013 and contribute to the UPU Quality of Service Fund. The group foresees an increase in its net terminal dues payments for international mailing as the dues payable by target countries are generally higher.

Source: Kim Eng