ASL Marine shares climbed as much as 9.3 percent on Tuesday (Oct 14), while Yangzijiang Shipbuilding stock declined by up to 3.7 percent as market participants assessed differing prospects for the two companies.

ASL Marine announced on Friday that its S$7 million share placement had been fully subscribed, with 41.1 million new shares priced at S$0.1703 per share. The institutional investor base included ICAP-SAC, Lion Global Investors Limited, ICH Capital, Gingko-AGT Global Growth Fund and Azure Capital.

The capital raised will fund capital expenditure requirements as part of ASL's business expansion strategy. The stock peaked at S$0.235 during morning trading at 9.35 am before moderating to S$0.225 at the midday session, representing a 4.7 percent gain.

Meanwhile, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding shares fell to a session low of S$3.16 before recovering to S$3.23 by midday, closing the morning session down 1.5 percent.

Market participants appeared concerned about the intensifying trade tensions between China and the United States. From Tuesday onwards, vessels manufactured in China must pay additional fees when docking at American ports.

China has implemented reciprocal measures, imposing fees on US-owned vessels entering Chinese ports – with exemptions for ships constructed by Chinese shipbuilders.

Yangzijiang operates its shipbuilding operations exclusively in China, whereas ASL maintains shipbuilding facilities across Singapore, Indonesia and China.

Approximately two-thirds of ASL's shipbuilding and repair operations are based in Batam, Indonesia, potentially providing investors with greater confidence in the company's ability to navigate the US port fee structure compared to Yangzijiang.

In September, Yangzijiang disclosed that three subsidiaries had terminated contracts worth approximately US$180 million with an undisclosed counterparty. However, the company simultaneously secured new shipbuilding orders for eight vessels totaling US$440 million in contract value.