Warrant Watch - Property Contracts In The Limelight

Source : The Straits Times, Oct 30, 2007

WARRANTS of property counters drew the attention of investors yesterday, following the withdrawal of the deferred payment scheme last Friday.

Homebuyers in Singapore will now have to make progressive payments in step with the construction process, instead of deferring payment till the property is completed a few years later.

The most heavily traded CapitaLand contract was a Macquarie call warrant with a strike price of $8.50, which expires on Feb 1.

That warrant closed a cent higher at 13 cents with 24.83 million units done.

CapitaLand shares ended five cents higher at $8.10.

Another active property contract was a City Developments call warrant with a strike price of $15.42, which expires on Jan 10.

The warrant finished 4.5 cents lower at 16.5 cents with 2.86 million units traded.

The share closed 50 cents down at $15.80.

A call warrant lets an investor buy into a stock or index at a preset price over a period of three to nine months.

A put warrant allows an investor to sell the stock or index at a preset price over a fixed period of time.