SMRT shares jump when trading reopens; OCBC, RHB Sec recommend investors accept Temasek’s buyout offer
Published 4 hours ago
Ann Williams
SINGAPORE - Shares of SMRT Corp jumped on Thursday morning (July 21) when trading in the counter resumed after the announcement of Temasek Holding’s buyout offer for the rail operator at S$1.68 per share.
At about 9.15am, SMRT shares were trading at S$1.655, up 11 cents or 7.12 per cent from its close on Friday of S$1.545. Volume was heavy with some 4.57 million shares traded, making SMRT among the most active counters.
Temasek’s offer of S$1.68 per share is at an 8.7 per cent premium over SMRT’s last traded price on Friday when a trading halt was called.
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Commuters may need to wait to experience the benefits of SMRT privatisation: Analysts
By Monica Kotwani
Posted 22 Jul 2016 17:06
SINGAPORE: Commuters hoping to benefit from the potential privatisation of SMRT may be disappointed in the short-term, with analysts predicting little or no immediate impact in areas such as train reliability and frequency.
That’s because these areas are being addressed by the Government’s changes to the rail financing network, where the Land Transport Authority will take over the repair and upgrading of assets, and free up train operators to focus on service reliability.
However, in the long run commuters may see some benefits from the privatisation of SMRT, as this would would allow the company to concentrate on its core tasks - which are delivering reliable and efficient public transport services, rather than having to keep an eye on investors’ priorities.
The operator’s main shareholder, Temasek Holdings, announced its S$1.18 billion buyout offer on Wednesday (Jul 20), a move that would see SMRT delisted from the Singapore Exchange.
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No increase in SMRT offer price, says Temasek unit
Wong Wei HanThe Straits TimesSaturday, Jul 23, 2016
Temasek Holdings’ unit Belford Investments has said it does not intend to raise its offer price of $1.68 a share to buy out and delist SMRT.
SMRT will be seeking regulatory approval to hold a meeting with shareholders, possibly by early October.
The takeover, launched by Belford, is structured as a scheme of arrangement where minority shareholders gather in a meeting to vote to accept or reject the offer.
For the scheme to succeed, the offerer needs to get a “yes” vote from the majority of shareholders at the meeting. Their shares must also combine to at least 75 per cent in value of the shares voted.
The Straits Times understands a price revision is practically impossible for a scheme of arrangement.
“This is because every scheme offer is a very concrete set of offer documents presented to the shareholders, and it needs to be approved by the Singapore Exchange and the Securities Industry Council. This is not like a general offer, where an offerer reserves the right to revise the terms,” said Gibson Dunn partner Robson Lee.
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Delay on North East Line on Friday morning due to train fault at Buangkok station
Published 9 hours ago
Gregory Phua
SINGAPORE - A train fault at Buangkok station caused a delay on the North East Line on Friday (July 29) morning.
SBS Transit which operates the line, said in a tweet at 7.31am that commuters should expect an additional 15 minutes of travelling time.
Free bus rides were also deployed between Potong Pasir and Punggol stations.
Normal service resumed after the train fault was rectified at 8.18am, SBS said in a subsequent tweet, but added that commuters should expect delays as the stations were still crowded.
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Investors express concerns over Temasek’s buyout offer for SMRT
Posted 28 Jul 2016 16:01
SINGAPORE: About a week after public transport operator SMRT announced that it would be privatised with a S$1.18 billion buyout by Temasek Holdings, the Securities Investors Association of Singapore (SIAS) said that SMRT shareholders have expressed concerns about the buyout.
In a news release on Thursday (Jul 28), SIAS said the privatisation offer “came as a surprise” as there was no indication at the company’s recent Annual General Meeting.
One of the concerns shareholders have raised, according to SIAS, is why Temasek is pursuing the privatisation deal through a scheme of arrangement rather than a general offer.
Long-term shareholders have also asked why there are no special dividends from the sale of assets of S$991 million under the proposed New Rail Financing Framework (NRFF), according to SIAS. SMRT had said the arrangement would relieve the company from heavy capital expenditure requirements and reduce the risk exposure of the company.
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http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/...s/2993892.html
Why would an investor buy over a company which is full of defects and inefficiency ?
Delay on East-West Line, commuters report problems with platform doors at Kembangan station
Published4 hours ago
Lee Min Kok
Ng Huiwen
SINGAPORE - Train service on the East-West Line was delayed on Sunday (July 31) afternoon, apparently due to a problem with the platform doors.
Operator SMRT said in a tweet at 4.54pm that commuters should expect an additional travelling time of 15 minutes between Bugis and Pasir Ris MRT stations.
In another tweet at 5.18pm, it said its engineers were working to fix the problem.
The fault was subsequently rectified, SMRT said in a tweet at 5.48pm.
The problem appeared to be at Kembangan station, according to a series of tweets by Twitter user @mayzeit.
Her first tweet at 4.29pm said that trains were stuck at the station as the platform doors would not open.
The doors had to be forced open, she claimed.
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http://www.straitstimes.com/singapor...tform-doors-at
Let me guess : the doors were made from China ?
Hope there will be no transport fare price increase this year .
PTC releases first report on ways to improve Singapore’s public transport
By Lianne Chia
Posted 01 Aug 2016 11:16
SINGAPORE: The Public Transport Council (PTC) has detailed a series of suggestions on how to improve public transport for commuters in its first advisory report released on Monday (Aug 1).
The wide-ranging recommendations cover four main themes: Making public transport inclusive for all; providing more information to commuters; the design of the public transport system, and deepening the human touch on public transport. In total, there are 17 recommendations.
One suggestion the PTC made is for the Land Transport Authority (LTA) to review its policy on open strollers on public buses. Current rules require strollers to be folded, but parents with young children have highlighted the challenges of having to carry a baby, stroller and other bags all at the same time while travelling on a bus.
It also recommended that taxi drivers be trained to serve wheelchair users better. For example, taxi operators and disability agencies could collaborate to provide disability etiquette training and sensitivity training for these drivers.
Information like bus service numbers and the final destination could also be included on the new electronic screens LTA is considering on buses, while seats at future bus stops can also be wider and flatter, compared to the current bum-rests (seen below), which may not be comfortable, the PTC added.
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http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/...t/3002550.html
Review : they should look at the mrt service levels . Hope they will not increase fares .
Fault on antenna caused train to skip stations on BPLRT line: SMRT
Posted 01 Aug 2016 15:25
SINGAPORE: A fault on an LRT train’s antenna caused the train to skip stations along the Bukit Panjang LRT (BPLRT) line on Jul 28, SMRT said in a statement on Monday (Aug 1).
The public transport operator was responding to feedback from a commuter, Ms Jacqueline Bong, following its investigations.
Ms Bong wrote on SMRT’s Facebook page on Jul 28 that she boarded an LRT train at Segar Station with the intention of alighting at Jelapang station. However, the train did not stop at Jelapang station. A commuter tried contacting staff via the emergency phone, but there was no response, according to Ms Bong.
She added that the train was moving “really fast and passed three stations without stopping”, and that she tried pressing the emergency button aboard the train to no avail. The train came to a stop after a passenger made a call and eventually stopped near Phoenix station, Ms Bong said in her post.
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North South, East West Lines hit by track faults on Tuesday morning
Published 1 hour ago
SINGAPORE - The North South and East West Lines were both hit by track faults on Tuesday (Aug 2) morning.
The Straits Times understands that the track faults were not related.
Operator SMRT first tweeted at 8.54am that there was no train service between Boon Lay and Joo Koon stations on the East West Line.
In another tweet four minutes later, it said a track fault had occurred on the North South Line.
Commuters were told to expect an additional 10 minutes of travelling time between Yishun and Woodlands stations.
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http://www.straitstimes.com/singapor...uesday-morning
Another disruption in service . World class transportation indeed .
Commuters frustrated after SMRT hit by 3 track faults in a day
Posted 02 Aug 2016 14:14
SMRT first alerted commuters in a tweet at about 8.55am, saying there was no train service between Boon Lay and Joo Koon stations on the East-West Line due to a track fault.
Three minutes later, the transport operator sent out another tweet informing commuters to factor in an additional 10 minutes of travelling time between Yishun and Woodlands stations on the North-South Line due to another track fault. Free bus services between the two stations were available, it said.
Train service on the North-South Line resumed at about 9.20am, SMRT said, while service on the East-West Line resumed at 9.37am.
Later on Tuesday morning, the North-South Line was again hit by another disruption at about 11.40am. A train travelling on the line moved intermittently, according to a Channel NewsAsia reporter who was on board the train. An announcement on the train told commuters to factor in additional travelling time due to a track fault near Admiralty station.
In a tweet sent out at 1.26pm, SMRT said engineers were attending to the track fault. At 1.47pm, it said normal train service had resumed.
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http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/...d/3006008.html
CLAP CLAP CLAP Well done SMRT and LTA . Such world class transport system .