NEWS - Franklin Templeton buys Noble Group shares, turns substantial shareholder

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Vivian Teovivian.teo@fastmarkets.comJoint News Editor - Asia

Singapore 01/02/2016 - US global investment firm Franklin Templeton has become a substantial shareholder of Noble Group after it bought 2.5 million shares in the Singapore-listed commodity trader for 28.5 Singapore cents (20 US cents) though the open market on Wednesday, Noble said in an exchange filing on Friday after market close.

The purchase lifts Franklin Templeton’s stake in the company 5.03 percent from 4.99 percent.

In a report late last week, Hong Kong-based Religare Capital Markets had called Noble’s shares “the bargain of the decade” and issued a buy call on the stock with a target of 37 Singapore cents after the company’s share price fell to a quarter of its average valuation in the last ten years, Bloomberg reported.

Noble shares had lost some 65 percent last year, only to fall another 20 percent so far this year credit rating agencies downgraded its bond ratings over liquidity concerns and amid the global commodity price slump. 

Last Thursday, shareholders' backed the company's plan to sell its agriculture unit Noble Agri to pay down debt and improve its balance sheet. 

Noble's share price had rebounded by 15 percent last Friday and gained 1.6 percent to 31.5 Singapore cents so far on Monday.



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