Singapore Hot Stocks-Oil plays rise after newspaper report

SINGAPORE, July 12 (Reuters) - Singapore's Straits Times Index .STI was up 1.04 percent at 0625 GMT.

Stocks and factors to watch:

Shares of SembCorp Marine (SCMN.SI) and Keppel Corp. (KPLM.SI), the world's top two offshore oil rig makers, rose after a local newspaper published a bullish story on Singapore-listed oil plays.

SembCorp Marine rose as much as 5.8 percent to hit a record S$5.50, while Keppel Corp. climbed as much as 2.4 percent to S$12.70.

"The story is splashed over the first page of the Money pages. It'll give some people a sort of trading lead," said a local dealer.

The Straits Times report on Thursday, said oil prices and the booming marine industry are lifting oil-related and marine stocks in Singapore.

London Brent crude LCOc1, currently seen as the best indicator of the global oil market, hit an 11-month high of $76.63 a barrel on Tuesday and was trading at $75.64 a barrel at 0635 GMT on Thursday.

0636 GMT

NOL RISES ON ROTTERDAM TERMINAL DEAL

Shares of Neptune Orient Lines (NEPS.SI), which owns the world's eighth-biggest container shipping line, rose as much as 5.3 percent to S$5.95 with 569,000 shares traded, after the firm said it is in a consortium that will equip and run a container terminal in Rotterdam.

The state-controlled firm said in a statement that the consortium, in which it holds 20 percent, also includes Hyundai Merchant Marine (011200.KS), Mitsui OSK Lines (9104.T), Dubai Ports World, and French container shipping group CMA CGM.

For Reuters stories about the firm, click on: [NEPS.SI-E]

For stock exchange statements about the firm: [NEPS.SI-SGX]

0308 GMT

RH ENERGY UP ON BULLISH SECTOR OUTLOOK

Shares of RH Energy (RHEL.SI) rose as much as 9.8 percent to S$0.955 on their second day of trade, lifted by market expectation that the Chinese oil services firm will ride on China's buoyant oil and gas sector.

The stock was also one of the most actively traded on the Singapore bourse with more than 22 million shares changing hands.

Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. (OCBC) (OCBC.SI) started coverage of the firm on Wednesday with a "buy" recommendation and fair value of S$0.69.

"Positioned within the booming oil and gas sector, RH Energy is poised to benefit from the PRC's growth in oil and gas consumption," OCBC said in a client note.

Shares of RH Energy, which has a stock market value of $163.5 million, made their trading debut at S$0.735 on Wednesday, more than double the issue price of S$0.32.

For Reuters stories about the firm, click on: [RHEL.SI-E]

For stock exchange statements about the firm: [RHEL.SI-SGX]

For exclusive interviews with Singapore's oil-related firms, please click on [ID:nSINRIGS].

0157 GMT

COSCO HITS RECORD ON CONTRACT WINS

Shares of shipbuilder Cosco Corp. (COSC.SI) rose as much as 12.1 percent to a record-high of S$5.20 with 2 million shares changing hands in the first 10 minutes of trading after the firm announced that it had won $563 million worth of shipbuilding and carrier conversion deals.

Cosco shares have rallied more than 30 percent this month on hope that the company will divest its shipping arm. For Reuters stories about the firm, click on: [COSC.SI-E]

For stock exchange statements about the firm: [COSC.SI-SGX]

0109 GMT