Roundup: Singapore stocks end up 0.35 pct

Singapore shares closed 0.35 percent higher on Wednesday, as investors were optimistic that Greece is moving closer to a bailout deal with creditors.

European Union finance ministers meet on Wednesday to discuss whether or not to put the bailout plan to Euro-zone state heads. If it goes ahead, the Greek parliament could vote as early as this weekend.

The benchmark Straits Times Index rose 11.55 points to close at 3,351.33 points. Trading volume was 1.42 billion shares worth 1.05 billion Singapore dollars. Advancers outnumbered decliners 273 to 163, while 525 stocks closed unchanged.

Among top actives, Noble Group Limited rose 2.9 percent to 71.5 Singapore cents. It announced that it has appointed Yu Xubo, President of Chinese state-owned food processing firm COFCO Corporation, as a non-executive director.

Yu played a key role in the formation of Noble Agri, a joint venture between COFCO and Noble. China Investment Corporation (CIC) , China's sovereign wealth fund and another major shareholder of Noble Agri, said Yu will bring his significant industry experience to the board of Noble Group and contribute to enhance shareholder value of Noble.

SATS Limited rose 0.9 percent to 3.53 Singapore dollars. It announced that its subsidiary TFK Corporation has won a multi-year inflight catering contract in Japan worth 325 million Singapore dollars from Delta Airlines. The contract is expected to start by October 2015. This will be at both Narita and Haneda International Airports in Tokyo. Delta will then close its own inflight kitchen in Narita after this transition. TFK currently serves more than 40 airlines including Japan Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Qantas, Lufthansa, Air France and major Chinese carriers.

Among the top gainers, Jardine Matheson rose 1.7 percent to 57. 46 U.S. dollars, while Jardine Cycle and Carriage dropped 1.9 percent to 35.12 Singapore dollars. (1 U.S. dollar equals to 1.34 Singapore dollars) Endi