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by Tan Shih Ming
SINGAPORE, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Singapore shares closed 0.26 percent higher on Thursday, as investors expected U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen will maintain her cautious stance on hiking interest rates in the near term.
Investors started to take fresh positions ahead of Friday's speech by Yellen at the global central bankers' meeting on Friday. Recent hawkish comments from some Federal Reserve officials, including Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer, have created some uncertainties on the outlook of U.S. interest rates.
Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index rose 7.36 points to 2,876.93 points. Trading volume was merely 713 million shares worth 718 million Singapore dollars. Decliners outnumbered advancers 211 to 169, while 532 stocks did not move.
China Everbright Water rose 1.8 percent to 57.5 Singapore cents. It has secured Nanjing Pukou Industrial Waste Water Treatment BOT Project Phase I. The Project will mainly treat waste water from the integrated circuit industry zone in Pukou Economic Development Zone, Nanjing.
The Project has a total contractual daily waste water treatment capacity of 40,000 cubic meters and will be constructed in phases. The total investment of the Phase I is approximately 62 million yuan and is expected to complete construction and commence operation in June 2017.
Midas Holdings Limited fell 2.1 to 23.5 Singapore cents. It announced that its subsidiary, Jilin Midas Aluminum Industries has secured two supply contracts worth 53.8 million yuan. The first contract, worth 34.6 million yuan, was awarded by CRRC Tangshan and involves the supply of aluminum alloy extrusion profiles and fabricated parts for high-speed trains. Meanwhile, the second contract, worth 19.2 million yuan, was awarded by CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles and mainly involves the supply of aluminum alloy extrusion profiles to the Haerbin Metro Line 1.
Among the top gainers, UOB rose 1.1 percent to 18.08 Singapore dollars, whereas Jardine Matheson became one of the top losers by falling 1.3 percent to 60.20 U.S. dollars (1 U.S. dollar equals to 6.656 yuan and 1.35 Singapore dollars) Enditem
