Stock Upgraded: Ho Bee target price raised to 1.36 by DBS Vickers

DBS Vickers Securities says it has increased its 12-month price target for Ho Bee Investment Ltd to 1.36 sgd per share from 1. 16 sgd, while keeping its "buy" rating for the stock, because the firm is expected to benefit from the rising prices of luxury homes. "As luxury home prices continue to rise, we expect Ho Bee to be a prime beneficiary, as all of its unlaunched land bank is targeted at the high-end residential segment," DBS Vickers analyst Zy Sew Ho said in a note to clients. Ho Bee has bought one site in the vicinity of Orange Grove here for 153 mln sgd and another at nearby Fernhill Grove for 75 mln sgd which, DBS Vickers said, could be used to exploit demand in the high end of the residential market. The brokerage said Ho Bee had recently put on the market apartments in its The Coast condominium for 1,500-1,600 sgd per square foot and that it expected the take-up rate there to allow the firm to raise prices further. DBS Vickers has also raised its assumption of the price that space in Ho Bee's Suntec Tower will command to 1,500 sgd per square foot from 1,050 sgd, in view of rising rents for offices. At 11.25 am, Ho Bee was up 0.06 sgd or 5.22 pct at 1.21, on volume of 4. 92 mln shares.