Lim Kwee Siah News

Marine transportation services provider, Chuan Hup Holdings Limited (“Chuan Hup” or “Group”), announced that its subsidiary, ACIS Holdings Limited (“ACIS”) has disposed of its entire 10 percent stake in Dredging International Asia Pacific Pte Ltd (“DIAP”) for S$15.2 million. Chuan Hup estimates the net profit before tax attributable to this sale to be S$5.5 million. The cash sale of 6.3 million ordinary DIAP shares, representing 10 percent of the total issued share capital of DIAP, was made to Tideway B.V. (“Tideway”) of the Netherlands. The remaining 90 percent of DIAP is owned by Pacific Dredging Corporation B.V. (“Pacific Dredging”).

Marine shipping company Chuan Hup Holdings expects a contract to ship coal to Indonesia to contribute to group earnings in 2001, the group's finance director, Lim Kwee Siah, said., Lim said the contract was worth an estimated S$300 million in revenue spread over 15 years, or S$20 million a year. "Conservatively, I expect the contract to contribute to group earnings in financial year 2001," Lim said. Talk of the contract had been driving Chuan Hup shares to successive new year highs in recent days. The shares rose to S$1.83 in early trading before easing to S$1.79, up two cents in mid-afternoon. "It is actually an old contract that had been signed in 1995. But it should be starting soon," Lim said.