Jardine Strategic Holdings Ltd. (JSH) held stable when the two companies traded for the first time yesterday in Singapore.

The two companies delisted from the Hong Kong market last week.

JMH closed down 14 cents at US$7 on volume of 120,800 compared to Friday's close of $7.14 on volume of 812,200 on the Hong Kong market.

Jardine Strategic closed at $3.34, up six cents, on volume of 389,500 compared to 334,800 on Friday.

"The initial trading volume (Tuesday) was satisfactory with share prices remaining firm,'' said Mr. Neil McNamara, company secretary of Jardine Matheson.

"We are grateful to the stockbroking communities in Hong Kong and Singapore for the professionalism applied to the transfer,'' he added.

All Hong Kong brokers and institutions successfully transferred their trading float and the bulk of their clients' holdings to Singapore, representing about 275 million shares of JMH, and about 317 million of JSH.

The Jardine decision to shift the main trading base for its shares to Singapore -- announced on March 24 -- is a boost for the island nation's plan to become a major financial centre for the region. But pundits claimed there may not be enough interest in Jardine shares to create a real market for the stock, Bloomberg Business News said.

But Mr. McNamara, according to Bloomberg, said the group is not dependent on Singapore investors to generate trading activity as most of its shareholders are international institutions.

JMH will be the fourth largest stock in Singapore by market capitalisation and the second most liquid, the Financial Times said.

Jardine company stock has a primary listing in London, but most of the trading occurred in Hong Kong, where it had its secondary listing.

Mandarin Oriental International Ltd., Dairy Farm International Holdings Ltd., and Hongkong Land Holdings Ltd., all Bermuda-registered Jardine group companies, are expected to move to the Singapore exchange on March 31.

The move to delist came after a dispute with Hong Kong Stock Exchange officials over the company's takeover code which was approved by the Bermuda Monetary Authority.

The Jardine companies moved their domicile to Bermuda in 1984 after an agreement by Britain to hand the colony back to mainland China in 1997.