Stock Buy Call Sim Lian with price target of 0.7 by Kim Eng

Sim Lian Group Ltd was higher as it is seen to benefit from the expected upswing in Singapore's property market, dealers said. It announced last week that it will buy a 46,472 square feet site in Telok Kurau that can be redeveloped into a residential condominium with a plot ratio of 1.4 times. Kim Eng Securities noted the firm has been aggressively building its landbank amid a more upbeat residential property market, and it expects Sim Lian to have a strong earnings base from its residential developments up to the year to June 2010. Sim Lian had also ventured into residential development in Malaysia that will help diversify some of the property cycle risks in Singapore, and also provide another source of development profits for the company in the next few years, Kim Eng said. The brokerage advises a "buy" on the stock with a target price of 0.70 sgd. At 12.12 pm, Sim Lian was up 0.015 sgd or 2.7 pct at 0.57 with 107,000 shares changing hands.