Is Noble Group doomed?

By now, investors of Noble Group must be feeling jaded. Investing in this SGX-listed commodities trader has been challenging with the wild swing in share prices in recent months. The roller coaster ride was a result of various key developments taking place within a short span of time. So, is Noble Group really doomed?

The past two years had been a scary nightmare for Noble Group as the group was initially criticized by research house, Iceberg Research, over its accounting practice. The negative report unexpectedly led to ferocious short-selling attacks and caused the share price to plunge to frightening new lows.

As the management fend off the relentless attacks, former CEO Yusuf Alireza resigned in May and Chairman Elman announced that he would step down within 12 months. To make things worse, Noble Group announced a record loss of USD 1.6 billion for 2015, its first loss in almost 20 years. Many investors feared the worst for Noble Group.

stock investing

In my previous article, I wrote an analysis of Noble Group and determined an entry price of $0.12 which provided me a level in which I would feel comfortable to invest in. Honestly, in my point of view, it is unlikely that Noble Group will fold because of its long history of strong backing from China’s sovereign wealth fund, China Investment Corp (CIC).

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Is The Singapore Stock Market Healthy? A Billionaire Speaks Out

Billionaire investor, Paul Tudor Jones, has a stark message for fellow investors in Singapore. Years of low-interest rates, avers the legendary macro trader, have bloated stock valuations to a level not experienced in the country since 2000. He states that it happened before the tumble of the Nasdaq, which stood at 75% over a period of more than two years. He argues that such a value of the stock market in relation to the status of the economy should be a cause of concern for investors.

stock market

Hedge fund warning

Jones was speaking at a Goldman Sachs Asset Management closed-door conference, as revealed by people privy to the meeting. The billionaire investor was voicing what many hedge fund and financial managers, including companies such as CMC Markets, have been warning other investors in Singapore. Stock trading has hit unsustainable levels. However, not many of them can be as explicit as Jones, predicting a major market tumble by year end.

Just last week, Scott Minerd of Guggenheim Partner, admitted that he expected an early fall this summer – or a significant correction. Another entrepreneur, Philip Yang, seems to agree with Minerd. Yang, who has been running Willowbridge Associates since 1988, foresees a stock plunge of between 20% and 40%.

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Self-leadership

Learning to learn is a key part of how we manage our lives on a daily basis. Most of us tend to view learning as academic but it actually can be the way we live our lives. In essential, learning also means making the effort to develop self-leadership and knowing more about the people around you.

Recently, I had some really frustrating moments at home and faced challenges in parenting. I had been losing my cool and yelling at my kids when they misbehaved. At the rate it is going, my approach is not going to be healthy for my family’s physical health, mental health and emotional well-being. So I am making the effort to change. After all, as a wealth builder and being the head of the household, it is important for me to develop self-leadership so that I can be effective role model for my children. To improve the situation, the change has to start from myself.

Previously, I have shared with readers on my family’s wealth journey. Feel free to read the articles again:

  1. My family’s wealth journey
  2. SG Wealth Builder’s journey
  3. Build wealth with property

I found the guiding light in Dr George Kohlrieser who spoke at the inaugural lecture of the Lifelong Learning Council’s World Speaker Series held earlier this month.

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SingTel shares to rocket on NetLink Trust IPO?

When Kimly Group, a local coffee shop chain, was listed in Catalist a couple of months ago, it generated much interests among investors and local finance bloggers. With a market capitalization of only $288 million, Kimly Group does not fall in the league of the big boy category nor the blockbuster type of listing that SGX mainboard should be gunning. In this regard, all eyes must be on the mouth-watering NetLink Trust IPO.

To put things into perspective, if SGX’s strategy was to sell itself as “Asian Gateway”, then it must seriously start to attract billion dollar listings. Aircraft lessor, BOC Aviation, which is based in Singapore and used to be owned by Singapore Airlines, has previously given SGX the snub. The lessor chose to list in Hong Kong instead. It was a massive blow for SGX as the company is estimated to be worth a whopping $6 billion.

Then again, with a slew of privatisations taking place, SGX management has more pressing issues to settle than attracting billion dollar listings. Among the many delisted companies, homegrown OSIM applies for listing in Hong Kong as V3 just months after exit from Singapore stock market. This shock move should be a wake-up call for SGX and something drastic should be done to stem the decline.

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The Gift of Life

Over the years, I noted a significant change in the social behavior among Singaporeans. We have become more cynical and developed a tendency to politicize issues in our daily lives. The mood has changed to the extent that I feel that we have lost the appreciation of the gift of life.

Being the most expensive city in the world, it is true that many of us struggle to make a living in Singapore. But then again, everyone encounters struggles in their lives as well. Nobody is born into this world without any struggles, worries or challenges. If you are able-bodied and is in the pink of health, consider yourself to be very lucky and do count your blessing.

Health is an incredibly important asset that is often being overlooked and under-appreciated. We start to cherish health only when we are about to lose it. This should not be the case. In fact, to be alive and able to enjoy the gift of life is a form of privilege. We should not abuse this privilege. Instead, we should always strive to identify the abundance of opportunities when we are healthy and make the best out of them.

Success

Then and now

In my point of view, the major source of our discontentment can be attributed to our desire for more material comforts.

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Current Estimated Potential (CEP) in Singapore Civil Service

In respond to public perception that the civil service placed too much emphasis on paper qualifications, the Public Service Division (PSD) announced that the civil service has stopped grouping its officers according to their education levels since 1st January 2017. This is a good move because it means that our civil servants will be judged based on their work performance rather than their academic results. This article will discuss the Current Estimated Potential (CEP) in Singapore Civil Service.

According to preliminary data from Ministry of Manpower (MOM), 16,600 workers were retrenched in Singapore in 2016. This is a record high since 2009, the peak of the Great Financial Crisis. With retrenchment so prevalent nowadays, job security is certainly at the top of many Singapore employees’ mind. Long considered an iron rice bowl, a job in the civil service is highly sought after because of the perceived high pay and work-life balance.

CEP

Nonetheless, you must have the right mentality in order to join the civil service. Money is important but if that is your primary motivation, then this may not be the best place for you. After all, the civil service is non-profit driven organization and career progression hinged largely on several key factors – readiness to take on more responsibilities, vacancies, performance and CEP.

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