SINGAPORE (Feb 24): Singapore shares may get off to a slow start following a mixed session on Wall Street overnight.

REITs may be in focus following changes announced yesterday in Singapore's budget statement. Stamp duty concessions for property acquisitions will lapse after March 31, while income tax and GST concessions will be extended for five years to support REIT listings.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.1% to 18,116.84, the S&P 500 ended little changed at 2,109.66 and the Nasdaq Composite inched up 0.1% to 4,960.97.

In Singapore, the Straits Times Index fell 0.4% to 3,421.30 yesterday.

COMPANIES IN THE NEWS:

Lower administrative expenses and increased contributions from associates and joint ventures lifted SIIC Environment Holdings' 4Q2014 earnings to RMB65.9 million ($14.5 million) from RMB31.3 million a year earlier.

An absence of an impairment loss on goodwill, which weighed on its bottom line in 4Q2013, also supported earnings.

SIIC shares fell 0.8% to 13.1 cents yesterday.

Fair-value losses on biological assets, lower selling prices of crude palm oil, and higher operating expenses sent Bumitama Agri's 4Q2014 earnings diving 30% y-o-y to IDR266.4 billion ($28.2 million).

Bumitama Agri shares fell 2.4% to $1.025 yesterday.

Asian Pay Television Trust (APTT) has declared a 4Q2014 distribution of 2.13 cents a unit, bringing its full-year payout to 8.25 cents apiece, in line with its guidance.

APTT shares ended flat at 91 cents yesterday.

Moya Asia Holdings reported a 4Q2014 net loss of $1.8 million, lower than the $3.9-million loss for the same period a year earlier.

Moya Asia shares rose 3.8% to 2.7 cents yesterday.

Rex International Holding's joint venture Lime Petroleum Norway is seeking to acquire a 30% stake in an oil well in the North Sea.

Rex shares ended flat at 36.5 cents yesterday.

Starburst Holdings will pay $22.4 million for a leasehold building at Tuas to be used for its fabrication operations.

Starburst shares rose 1.8% to 56 cents yesterday.

Food Empire Holdings turned in a 4Q2014 net loss of US$12.1 million. It had a loss of US$226,000 a year earlier.

Food Empire shares fell 3.2% to 30 cents yesterday.

AEM Holdings reported a 4Q2014 net loss of $16.4 million, more than the $4.6-million loss for the same period a year earlier.

AEM shares were not traded yesterday. They last closed at 6.1 cents.

Great Group Holdings  turned in a 4Q2014 net loss of RMB7.9 million, compared with a loss of RMB119.5 million a year earlier.

Great Group shares rose 16% to 2.9 cents yesterday.

HLH Group is buying a plot of land in Cambodia for US$1.8 million. The site will be developed into a condominium.

HLH shares ended flat at 1.5 cents yesterday.

Colex Holdings' 2014 earnings rose 56% to $4.2 million.

Colex shares fell 5.5% to 26 cents yesterday.

Beng Kuang Marine reported a 4Q2014 net loss of $855,000, compared to earnings of $281,000 a year earlier.

Beng Kuang shares rose 0.5% to 19.7 cents yesterday.