Keppel Earnings Strong

Singapore conglomerate Keppel Corporation (KepCorp) and its units will report record profits over the next week, but a lack of progress on the restructuring front will stifle a return of investor interest, analysts say. Funds have neglected KepCorp, once considered a proxy for Singapore because of its interests ranged from telecoms and ship-repair to banking and property, and its shares are now drifting near the bottom of their historical trading range. Analysts expect the group, in which the government has a 32 percent stake, to report another year of record profits for 2000, topping 1999's $127 million. KepCorp's seven listed subsidiaries are Keppel Land, Keppel Capital, Keppel Hitachi Zosen, Keppel Telecommunications & Transportation, Keppel Fels Energy & Infrastructure, Singapore Petroleum Corp and K1 Ventures. -- (Reuters)