Wednesday April 25, 10:24
AM
State-controlled rail operator SMRT Corp chief executive Saw Phaik
Hwa shot down calls to restructure local public transport, a report
in the Today newspaper said on Wednesday.
The paper quoted Saw as saying that the public transport system was
already "very good" and that she saw no need for a merger with bus
and taxi operator ComfortDelgro .
"Why fix something that ain't broke," the paper quoted Saw as
saying at the group's 2006 results briefing.
SMRT shares, which touched a record high on Monday of S$1.88 on
takeover speculation, was down 2.66 percent on Wednesday morning to
S$1.83. ComfortDelgro shares also fell 2.92 percent to
S$2.33.
Last week, ComfortDelgro chairman Lim Jit Poh made two proposals to
the Transport Ministry on restructuring public transport as part of
the government's review of land transport.
SMRT, 54.6 percent owned by state holding company Temasek Holdings
[TEM.UL], reported a 31 percent rise in net profit to S$135.8
million ($89.75 million) in 2006.