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Stocks

CICT share price hit 5-year high!

What a swashbuckling form! Investors of CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust (CICT) must be feeling thrilled as CICT share smashed to a 5-year high of $2.40, making it one of the best performing S-REITs. The surging CICT share price is certainly impressive given the challenges brought forth by interest rate environment and strong Singapore dollar.

After investing in Mapletree Logistics Trust (MLT) since 2022, one of the biggest lessons learned for me is that past performance of a company is not indicative of future results. Prior to the US Fed interest rate hikes, MLT used to ride high with increasing share prices and distributions for years. However, its misadventure in China, coupled with the high interest rates and strong Singapore dollar, led to challenging times for this STI blue chip. As I am looking for another S-REIT to diversify my portfolio, the recent revival of CICT share price caught my eye.

CICT share price

The last time that I covered CICT share price was in 2020. That was a period of turbulence for the S-REIT as it navigates the fallout from the devastating COVID-19. It was particularly chaotic times to evaluate the value of CICT due to the merger of CapitaLand Mall Trust (CMT) and CapitaLand Commercial Trust (CCT).

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Gold; silver

Silver price in super bull mood

How high will silver price go in 2026? In Shayne McQuire’s The Silver Bull Market, he highlighted four important factors to consider before buying silver or gold:

Investment safety refers to your capital protection from the financial market risks. Most people always lament that owning silver or gold bullion does not provide dividend incomes. However, they don’t realize that precious metals allows you to remove wealth from the financial system. This is because gold and silver have historically been used as store of wealth. Gold in particular, is seen as an effective hedge against inflation.

Take the Euro crisis in 2015. Greece faced possible exit from the Euro because of its massive national debts. The country had been previously bailed out with a $275 billion international loan and had asked for fresh fund of $10 billion euros in short term financing. Clearly, the country’s plight showed that the Europe economies were not doing well and holding on to the Euro currency would have been risky as it faced possible devaluation if the crisis spread across Europe.

Silver Bull MarketInvestment potential refers to the ability for the price of silver or gold to rise over the long term. It is interesting to note that while Warren Buffett disdains gold for its lack of utility, he views silver differently and even purchased 130 million ounces (at low price of $6) in the late 1990s, one fifth of the global production at the time.

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Stocks

Keppel REIT share price so bad its good?

Did Keppel REIT bite off more than it can chew? After charging to a 3-year high of $1.10 on 28 November 2025, Keppel REIT share price fell off the cliff following its additional one-third stake of Marina Bay Financial Center (MBFC) Tower 3 from Hong Kong Land for a whopping $1.45 billion. To support the acquisition, Keppel REIT has launched a mega Equity Fund Raising (EFR) of $886.3 million.

Obviously, no S-Reit unitholders like EFR. In this context, it’s understandable that unitholders of Keppel REIT are boiling over the mega $886.3 million EFR. Imagine having 923 million of new units flooding the market. It will be a miracle if Keppel REIT share price does not dive on 19 January 2026, the day of the listing of the new units. To make matters worse, this mega EFR came right after the $113 million Private Placement in October 2025.

Keppel REIT share price

The new units are issued on the basis of 23 new units for every 100 existing units at an issue price of $0.96. Currently, Keppel REIT share price is being traded at $0.97. Following the listing of the new units, there may be a possibility of Keppel REIT share price falling below $0.90 due to short-term negative sentiments.

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Gold

BullionStar revolutionise Singapore gold industry

Precious metals stole the limelight in 2025 as gold staged an incredible rally not seen before. The breath-taking form of gold certainly caught many investors by surprise, with many of them lamenting that they have missed the boat. For perspective, gold price surged from US$2,624 per troy ounce in January 2025 to US$4,315 per troy ounce by end of 2025, an increase of 64%. Despite the crazy gold prices, investors are still flocking to buy bullion. Based on BullionStar’s website, there is an “unprecedented demand for bullion in Singapore”.

According to BullionStar, October 2025 was a historic month for them as buy transactions surpassed 12,000 and total sales reached over S$250 million. The buy-to-sell ratio remained strongly in buyers’ favour at 2:1, while the average order value climbed 8%, from S$18,754 in September to S$20,287.89 in October. Given the galloping surge in gold prices in November and December 2025, I am not surprise that the buying momentum for bullion continued towards the end of the year.

BullionStar

Looking back, it has been 12 years since I was approached by BullionStar to be their affiliate partner. Although more than a decade has passed, memories of how I started my relationship with BullionStar still etch freshly in my mind.

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Stocks

OCBC share price to hit $30?

As the saying goes, make hay while the sun shines! In my last review of OCBC in May 2025, I had predicted that the resistance level to be $17.00 and that the counter should be able to hit $20 if it implements the “One OCBC Strategy” successfully. Year-to-date, OCBC share price has climbed about 19% (at the point of writing) and nearly hit a record of $20. On this account, let’s review the possibility of OCBC share price hitting the next milestone – $30.

Part of the bullish form of OCBC share price in 2025 could be attributed to its strategic moves on its insurance businesses – Hong Kong Life and Great Eastern. On 9 October 2025, OCBC sold its entire stake of 33.33% in Hong Kong Life to Yue Xiu Enterprises (Holdings) for $103 million.

OCBC share price

Investors must be heaving a sigh of relief as Hong Kong Life posted a net loss of HK$484.1 million in 2023, narrowing the HK$504.9 million loss recorded in 2022. In cutting losses, OCBC demonstrated sensible risk management in its exposure to China, which is still in a state of protracted economic slump.

And then there is the Great Eastern takeover saga. The privatization of GEH would be a significant, yet a low-hanging fruit for the CEO Helen Wong.

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Gold

Gold price to hit US$6,000 in 2026?

The berserk run of gold price is a case of “so good its bad”. Year-to-date, gold price has soared an eye-popping 70% to hit a record US$4,500 per troy ounce. The explosive form of gold price in 2025 has left many retail gold buyers frustrated as the high gold prices proved to be a deterrence for precious metal buyers to buy physical gold and silver. Many consumers are adopting a “wait-and-see” approach, feverishly hoping for a long-awaited correction in gold price so that they could buy bullion.

Many analysts are forecasting that gold price may hit US$5,000 per troy ounce by fourth quarter of 2026. However, analysts’ forecasts are seldom accurate and often off the beat. This is because the market is often driven by sentiments. Thus, my view is that there is a possibility that gold price may even hit US$6,000 in 2026 due to a cocktail of tailwinds.

gold price

Of course, there are critics who debate whether the current bull run of gold price is sustainable in 2026. Obviously, what goes up must come down. Like all investment products, there will be an inevitable boom and bust cycle and gold price is no exception. In this regard, I am waiting for the day of reckoning so that I could buy physical gold.

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Stocks

AEM share price to explode in 2026?

As semiconductor titans like Nvidia and Micron continue their historic “giga cycle” through 2025, a critical debate has emerged: is the AI infrastructure boom a sustainable frontier or a bubble primed to burst? And what will be the implications for AEM share price in 2026?

With Big Tech funneling hundreds of billions into data centers, the stakes have never been higher for secondary players. For AEM Holdings, a leader in “Test Cell Solutions 2.0,” the coming year represents a pivotal inflection point. As chip complexity hits a fever pitch, we examine whether AEM is positioned to ride the next wave of AI growth or if it’s drifting toward a market correction.

AEM share price

Generative AI should be the most transformative technology since the invention of Internet. Even at its nascent stage, AI has already driven thousands of job cuts worldwide due to AI adoption across global companies. The general belief is that AI could replace many jobs and presents an attractive cost-cutting measure for many firms. Thus, the demand for AI will likely to continue surging in the short term.

Against the backdrop of the shift to AI technology, Micron Technology, one of the top 3 memory chipmakers, has delivered a stellar result for Q1 FY2026, with revenue surging to US$13.6 billion and income at US$6.2 billion.

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Stocks

Singtel share price in supersonic form!

What an explosive performance! Singtel share price smashed a record high of $4.90 on 14 November 2025. That was a record high for Singtel share price since 2005. One year ago, if you said Singtel will hit such record in 2025, investors would label you as crazy. But it did. Year-to-date, Singtel share price surged an incredible 50%, confounding plenty of critics.

Singtel used to be the leading light of SGX but a series of unfortunate events saw Singtel share price ceding leadership position to DBS more than a decade ago. Post pandemic, bank stocks continued to dominate SGX. However, the recent supersonic form of Singtel share price saw the counter stealing the limelight.

I have been covering Singtel share price in my blog for 15 years and I am still slapping myself for missing the boat. Kudos to the CEO Yuen Kuan Moon for turning around Singtel. Successful turnarounds are so rare in Singapore corporate world that many naysayers have written off Singtel share price. However, Yuen Kuan Moon have silenced all critics as he navigates Singtel through choppy waters and makes Singtel great again. In the course of doing so, he has become another corporate legend like Piyush Gupta (former DBS CEO).

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Gold

Gold price in super bullish form!

High, high into the sky! Gold price has been in such fantastic form in 2025 that investors are wondering if a bubble is in the making. Year-to-date, gold price has surged an amazing 65%, making it one of the best asset classes for investors. Question now is whether gold race will past US$5,000 per troy ounce in 2026? The incredible form of gold price in 2025 certainly left global investors in bewilderment as gold prices erased records after records.

In 2024, I sold my remaining gold portfolio – a Canadian Gold Maple Leaf bullion that I had purchased from UOB Bank in 2014. The bullion was purchased at $1692 and divested for a profit of $1034. This represented a 61% return for a holding period of 10 years. The rationale for my bullion divestment was purely driven by the current bullish gold price back then.

gold price

So far, all my gold investments were made with UOB Bank. These included physical gold and gold savings account. When buying physical gold from UOB Bank, it is important to note that you must ensure that the physical gold is in its original sealed condition and the original UOB invoice must be presented. In addition, with effect from 30 November 2023, customers must be a UOB account holder in order to purchase physical gold from UOB.

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Stocks

Keppel REIT share price in explosive destiny

After investing in Mapletree Logistics Trust (MLT) since 2022, one of the biggest lessons learned for me is that past performance of a company is not indicative of future results. Prior to the US Fed interest rate hikes, MLT used to ride high with increasing share prices and distributions for years. However, its misadventure in China, coupled with the high interest rates and strong Singapore dollar, led to challenging times for this STI blue chip. As I am looking for another S-REIT to diversify my portfolio, the recent revival of Keppel REIT share price caught my attention.

Year-to-date, Keppel REIT share price surged by a whopping 18%, vis-à-vis the 2.33% increase for MLT. There are several tailwinds that led to the bullish Keppel REIT share price but the most critical factor should be that 78.5% of its portfolio value is based in Singapore. Its Singapore assets included Keppel Bay Tower, One Raffles Quay, Marina Bay Financial Centre and Ocean Financial Centre. Keppel REIT has a portfolio value of over $9 billion, comprising properties in Singapore; the key Australian cities of Sydney, Melbourne and Perth; Seoul, South Korea; as well as Tokyo, Japan.

Keppel Reit share price

I like Keppel REIT for its portfolio concentration in Singapore and nil exposure to China.

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Stocks

AEM share price in scary chapter

It’s the 3rd quarter financial reporting season again as we enter the last quarter of 2025. I thought its timely to write an article on AEM share price given that the last update was way back in March 2025. Back then, under the former CEO Amy Leong, the narrative for AEM was all about business recovery and customer diversification. Since then, the narrative for AEM has turned sinister.

First of all, AEM stunned the market when it announced the resignation of former CEO Amy Leong on 27 July 2025. The news was indeed a bombshell for many investors as Amy Leong led AEM for just one year and many investors expected her tenure to last longer given her solid C-suite track record in FormFactor, a major supplier of Intel. Was she forced to resign? In the SGX filing, the reason for her departure was “board-led leadership realignment for growth”, instead of the usual reason such as “pursuing other interest”.

AEM share price

The abrupt resignation of Amy Leong knocked down AEM share price, which plunged from $1.70 in July to $1.40 in August. The halt in the decline of AEM share price was largely due to the release of 1HFY2025 financial result, which saw net profit jumped 284% year-on-year to $3.1 million.

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Stocks

Mapletree Logistics Trust share price in confidence crisis

Lifetime Membership A few months ago, I posted an article about Mapletree Logistics Trust share price, suggesting that I would adopt a “wait-and-see” approach. Boy, am I glad I done so. Just after that post, the counter took a nosedive, plummeting from the S1.20 to $1.03 on April 9, 2025. This was a clear warning sign that the counter was still in ICU. Talk about dodging a bullet!

The reason for the punctured form of Mapletree Logistics Trust share price? A relentless, nine-quarter streak of falling distribution per unit (DPU). The latest DPU of 1.812 cents was the lowest since the financial crisis of 2013-2014, a freakish reminder of the deep-seated issues plaguing this S-REIT.

But what’s really driving this decline? It’s not just one thing; it’s a perfect storm of headwinds that have been punishing MLT’s financial performance.

Mapletree Logistics Trust share price

For background, Mapletree Logistics Trust (SGX: M44U) is an S-REIT that invests in a diversified portfolio of logistics real estate in Asia Pacific with the aim of providing its unitholders with a stable distribution stream. As at 29 August 2025, it has a portfolio of 175 properties in Singapore, Australia, China, Hong Kong SAR, India, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea and Vietnam and the total value of assets under management is $13.0 billion.

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Stocks

Nvidia share price to do an Alibaba?

Lifetime Membership Is this the beginning of the end for Nvidia share price? The meteoric rise of US chipmaker Nvidia has been nothing short of fascinating as the company’s market capital raced past an eye-popping US$4 trillion recently, making it the world’s most valuable company. Nonetheless, recent market’s concern about the end of global spending boom on artificial intelligence (AI) chips has led to a member of SG Wealth Builder questioning if Nvidia share price is prime for a collapse.

For background, Nvidia started life in 1993 as a start-up developing graphics processing units (GPUs) for video gaming. During IPO, Nvidia share price was trading at US$12 but after 5 stock splits, the adjusted IPO price became US$0.014. Fast forward a quarter century later, Nvidia share price turbocharged to a whopping US$175 after the company expanded its products to include AI, professional visualization, robotics, automotive and supercomputing. The explosive form of Nvidia share price has certainly minted numerous millionaires and billionaires globally, inevitably making Nvidia one of the hottest stocks in recent years.Nvidia share price

However, what goes up must surely come down. Every investor knows the mantra that chasing a hot stock is always a dangerous tempting affair. I learned this the hard way when I bought shares of AEM, a Singapore chip test equipment maker, at the highest point ($5.22) in 2022.

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Stocks

Singtel share price hit 8-year high!

Lifetime Membership It’s the return of the king! On 12 June 2025, Singtel share price stormed to 8-year high as the counter crossed the $4.00. Year-to-date, Singtel share price surged by a mighty 24%, making it one of the best STI performers. The robust performance of Singtel share price is certainly impressive given that the market is in sluggish form against the backdrop of US trade tariffs and persistent high interest rate environment.

The supersonic form of Singtel share price in 2025 should be attributed to the turnaround of its financial performance. The recent sale of 1.2% of its direct stake in regional associate Airtel for $2.0 billion also played a part in the bullish form of Singtel share price.

Singtel share price

However, conventional wisdom indicates that what goes up must come down. In this context, question now is whether Singtel share price can sustain its bullish form for the rest of 2025?

Currently, Singtel is entering its season of final dividend payout. Based on past years’ data, Singtel share price never fails to correct between late July to August, the traditional period after the issuance of Singtel final dividend. In my view, the correction of Singtel share price should present good opportunities to accumulate the stock at reasonable entry levels.

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Stocks

OCBC share price to sustain explosive form?

Lifetime Membership The last time that I covered OCBC share price was in September 2024. Back then, I predicted the support level for this counter to be $15 and resistance level to be $16. Subsequently, 2025 saw OCBC charging past the pivotal level of $16 as the stock raced to a record high of $17.85 on 19 February 2025. Previously, I had also raised doubts on the sustainability of OCBC share price going forward. In this article, let’s see how OCBC share price will fare in 2025.

Year-to-date, OCBC share price has lost its supersonic form of 2024 and had so far declined by 1.9%. The bull run of OCBC share price in 2024 was remarkable as it was the share’s best run since 2005. While the drop does not necessarily warrant alarm bells to set off, it does somewhat vindicate the old saying that “what goes up must surely come down”. Evidently, OCBC share price have peaked.

OCBC share price

Nonetheless, barring unforeseen circumstances, I doubt that a correction of OCBC share price, if it does occur, will be severe due to the strong fundamentals of the bank. Apart from this, OCBC has also resumed its share buybacks programme. As at 16 April 2025, the cumulative shares bought back amounted to 20.7 million.

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Stocks

UOB share price on the brink

Lifetime Membership The last time that I covered UOB was in 2022. Obviously, the landscape has evolved much as interest rates start to ease and subsequent US tariffs upended the entire global trade order. For this reason, the script for UOB share price has to change as the counter endured significant turbulence in the wake of geopolitical tensions.

In 2022, the main talking point for UOB share price was the $5 billion acquisition of Citigroup’s Southeast Asia consumer business. I had predicted that the acquisition might push UOB share price to another league, namely above $30, which it did. However, despite the tailwinds from the Citigroup acquisition and the interest rate hikes, UOB share price did not sustain the bullish momentum and dipped to $27 to $28 bandwidth for the large part of 2023.

UOB share price

However, 2024 surprisingly saw UOB share price gaining momentum, possibly due to strong business growth driven by the integration of Citigroup acquisition. From a long-term perspective, the Citigroup acquisition was an interesting deal that could possibly shape the dynamics between the Singapore banking trio. Notably, this deal marked the first overseas acquisition under the helm of CEO Wee Ee Cheong. Wee Cho Yaw, handed the reins to Wee Ee Cheong in 2007.

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Gold

Gold on bullet train!

Lifetime Membership What a havoc! Donald Trump’s aggressive tariffs upended the entire world trade order and sent global stock markets into huge turmoil for the past weeks. In the ensuing chaos, US stocks were walloped as US tariffs on Chinese goods hit a whopping 145% while China retaliated with 125% tariffs on US goods. The explosive trade war between the top two global economies sent investors fleeing to gold, turbocharging gold price to high heavens in the process. At the point of writing, gold price hit a record high of US$3,250 an ounce.

The last global trade war took place in 1930 and led to World War II. Given that this generation of investors have not lived in the era of global trade war, investors must not be reckless and enter the market with a view of buying stocks on the cheap. There is a real risk of catching a falling knife. In my view, a disruption in the global trade system is more complicated than a financial crisis and could take years to play out due to the intertwined nature of the trade system between countries.

gold

The tit-for-tat tariffs between US and China have led to claims from analysts that recession is on the way.

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Stocks

AEM share price lost aura

Lifetime Membership So much so for the hype. After AEM Holdings was given a mention in PM Lawrence Wong’s Budget 2025 speech, AEM share price surged 5% to hit a high of $1.60. However, the release of full-year financial result for FY2024 brought the counter back to Earth. Is this really the end of the road for AEM Holdings?

The past four years had been nothing short of nightmare for investors as AEM share price was razed to the ground due to the semiconductor inventory glut, Intel troubles, arbitration with business rival (Advantest) and a bizarre inventory shortfall. These setbacks have shaken confidence among investors, including myself. To restore confidence for AEM share price, AEM has replaced its CEO, CFO and COO.

Given the series of unfortunate events, one can be forgiven that the mention by PM Lawrence Wong is a signal of light at end of tunnel. After all, surely it can’t get any worse for AEM share price right? Furthermore, the mention by PM Lawrence Wong followed his visit of AEM facility with Indian PM Modi in September 2024. The visit should be seen as significant because you would surely want to showcase your best companies to foreign government leaders from US, China and India to demonstrate that your country has the talents and capabilities for innovation.

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Stocks

Keppel REIT share price faces big trouble

Lifetime Membership The last time that I covered Keppel REIT share price was in November 2020. That was during the dark period of pandemic and Keppel REIT share price fell from the $1.20 bandwidth during pre-pandemic to the $1.00 level. Post-pandemic, Keppel REIT did not recover but continue to decline to the current $0.80 level instead. What the hell has happened to this S-REIT?

For background, Keppel REIT is a real estate investment trusts with a portfolio of prime commercial assets in Asia Pacific’s key business districts. Its portfolio is valued of over $9.5 billion, comprising properties in Singapore (5), Australia (7), South Korea (1) as well as Japan (1).

Keppel REIT share price has been quite volatile in recent years, possibly due to the short selling activities. Data from SGX Securities Borrowing and Lending (SBL) website shown that 22,255,874 units are available for lending, with borrowing rate at just 0.25%. Such low borrowing rate attracts short sellers. From SGX website, the daily average short selling volume for this counter amounts to about 4 to 5 million.

Keppel REIT share price

Year-to-date, Keppel REIT share price declined by 5% at the point of writing. At the going rate, its only a matter of time that the counter broke the support level of $0.80.

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Stocks

LHN share price rocketed 270%!

Lifetime Membership Since 2020, LHN share price rocketed 270%, making it one of the best performers among SGX small cap. Whilst the supersonic form of LHN share price is certainly impressive, I suspect this counter is largely under the radar of most Singapore investors given the prevalent market’s preference to invest in US tech stocks or STI stocks. In this article, I will share my thesis on LHN share price and analyze if this local homegrown company is worth to invest in.

In my course of identifying local companies doing Electric Vehicle (EV) charging system, my research led me to LHN. In my previous article, I wrote that CSE Global has this capability but CSE’s business focus is largely in the US market whereas LHN’s Energy Business mainly focuses in Singapore market. What caught my eye was the performance of LHN’s Energy Business, which recorded 190% year-on-year increase in revenue for FY2024, making this business segment the best performer among the Group’s diversified business portfolio.

LHN share price

Before proceeding with the breakdown on LHN’s financial performances in recent years, it may be useful for investors to have a better understanding of LHN’s business profile. The Singapore company has a history dating back to 1991, with its core capability in space optimisation.

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Stocks

CSE share price in double trouble!

Lifetime Membership The last time that I covered CSE Global, a homegrown enterprise listed in SGX since 1999, was in 2016, which was a long time ago. The reason for writing this article is because I am looking to invest in a sustainable company specializing in the manufacturing of energy distribution system and electric vehicle (EV) charging system. And CSE Global seems to be an interesting play in this arena.

Bizarrely, CSE share price was trading at around $0.40 back in 2016. Fast forward 9 years later, the counter remained at similar level. Of course, a number of things had happened since 2016, including the oil and gas slump followed by the pandemic. These events combined to change the destiny of CSE Global as it pivots in new growth sector – Electrification. So let’s assess CSE share price outlook given its exciting new journey.

CSE share price

CSE Global is a systems integrator providing electrification, communications, and automation solutions across various industries globally. The Group has three core business segments – Electrification, Communications and Automation. The company used to be the electronics arm of Singapore Technologies (ST) but after a successful management buy-out in 1997, the company was listed in the Singapore Exchange in 1999.

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Stocks

Mapletree Logistics Trust (M44U) sinks or swims in 2025?

Lifetime Membership A brand new year! In this article, I will talk about Mapletree Logistics Trust (SGX: M44U). The key reason for this blog entry is to note down my thought process as I contemplate to channel more SRS monies in this counter.

For background, Mapletree Logistics Trust (SGX: M44U) is an S-REIT that invests in a diversified portfolio of logistics real estate in Asia Pacific with the aim of providing its unitholders with a stable distribution stream. As at 30 September 2024, it has a portfolio of 179 properties in Singapore, Australia, China, Hong Kong SAR, India, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea and Vietnam.

As a whole, the S-REIT sector has been struggling for the past few years due to the high interest rate environment. Mapletree Logistics Trust (SGX: M44U) is no exception. However, the challenge for Mapletree Logistics Trust has been exacerbated due to its significant exposure to the China market, which has been in a prolonged real estate downturn. In 2024, the unit price of Mapletree Logistics Trust (SGX: M44U) has tumbled nearly 26%.

m44u

The Fed’s first jumbo rate cut in September has somewhat stimulated the counter and led to a mini-rally as Mapletree Logistics Trust unit price surged from $1.26 on 12 August to $1.50 on 2 October.

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personal finance

Money lesson

It’s the year end festive season again! As the year draws to a close, I am penning this article for some reflections on personal finance. In terms of my active income, 2024 has been a great year for me as my income rose significantly due to my job performances. For my passive income, the interests from my Singapore Savings Bonds and fixed deposits managed to mitigate the losses from my stock investment portfolio. At the big picture, Singapore continued to be hit by news of investment scams and frauds. On this front, I would like to do my part and re-publish an old article of mine on money lesson.

According to Singapore Police Force, scam cases hit a record high of 28,751 in the first half of 2024, with victims losing a record high of over $385.6 million. At the going rate, scam losses could exceed $770 million by the end of 2024. Notably, investment scams accounted for the largest scam losses – there were 3,330 investment scam cases reported in the first half of 2024, resulting in a total loss of at least $133.4 million.

The most notorious investment scam should be the US1 billion nickel trading fraud case allegedly engineered by Singaporean businessman Ng Yu Zhi.

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Stocks

Keppel DC REIT share price on form!

Lifetime Membership It’s a tale of two S-REITs. While Mapletree Logistics Trust share price continued its dismal form in 2024, Keppel DC REIT share price went from strength to strength to hit a recent high of $2.20. In fact, year-to-date, the former declined 25% whilst the latter rose by a staggering 22%. Given that both S-REITs are heavily leveraged (about 40%) and majority-owned by Temasek Holdings, what could be the driving factor for the bullish form of Keppel DC REIT share price?

The last time that I covered Keppel DC REIT share price was on 28 December 2023. Time flies. It has been a year and within this period, Keppel DC REIT share price went through a bad patch. Back then, the data centre S-REIT was in some sort of turbulence due to litigation with DXC Technology and rental defaults by Guangdong Bluesea Data.  The China fiasco also cast a negative spotlight on the other China data centres currently under development in Shanghai, Guangdong and Beijing.

Keppel DC REIT share price

Against this backdrop, I had predicted that Keppel DC REIT share price could be in for a rough ride, which it did as the counter dropped to a low of $1.60 in February 2024.

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Stocks

AEM share price to hit $6 in 2025?

Lifetime Membership Third quarter earning reporting season came and went. As we approach the end of 2024, it’s time to stock-take the performance of AEM Holdings, a homegrown semiconductor test solution provider backed by Temasek Holdings. Year-to-date, AEM share price collapsed by a devastating 60%. The lowest point for AEM share price was in August when the counter crashed to a low of $1.20, scaring the living hell out of investors.

Recent performance of AEM share price suggested that the counter have somewhat stabilized, a reverse from the free-falling trend since the start of the year. Whilst it is too premature to claim that AEM share price has truly bottomed, many investors must be heaving a sigh of relief as the performance of AEM share price for the past two years had been nothing short of horrifying. Question now is whether AEM share price will return to its glory days in 2022 and hit $6 in 2025?

AEM share price

The bloodbath of AEM share price in recent years was largely attributed to a series of strategic missteps made by the management – unhealthy reliance on Intel for revenue, arbitration with business rival (Advantest) and a bizarre inventory shortfall. Arguably, these setbacks have shaken confidence among investors, including myself.

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Stocks

Mapletree Logistics Trust share price lost its way

Lifetime Membership As we approach the end of the year, its time to review the performance of Mapletree Logistics Trust share price. And the diagnosis doesn’t look good. The latest financial result – 2QFY24/25 – confirmed my suspicion that the new CEO has her work cut out as distribution per unit (DPU) plunged 10.6% year-on-year to 2.027 cents.

For background, Mapletree Logistics Trust is an S-REIT that invests in a diversified portfolio of logistics real estate in Asia Pacific with the aim of providing its unitholders with a stable distribution stream. As at 30 September 2024, it has a portfolio of 186 properties in Singapore, Australia, China, Hong Kong SAR, India, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea and Vietnam with assets under management of $13.4 billion.

Mapletree Logistics Trust share price
Mapletree Logistics Trust

The latest DPU is the lowest since 2QFY19/20, underscoring the magnitude of the fallout from the China economic struggles, high interest rates and depreciation of regional currencies against the Singapore dollar. Gross revenue for the latest quarter dropped by 1.8% year-on-year to $183.3 million, and net property income fell by 2.1% y-o-y to $158.6 million.

On the basis of the latest financial performance, it seems that Mapletree Logistics Trust share price is destined for another bout of turbulence.

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Stocks

SGX share price on 3-year high!

Lifetime Membership Crisis? What crisis? SGX share price rubbished all talks of crisis as the counter hit 3-year high on 11 September 2024. The previous high of $12 for SGX share price was on 4 August 2021, which was the COVID-19 Circuit Breaker period. Due to the prevalent work-from-home, most investors had the opportunities to trade, leading to robust business performance for SGX back then.

In fact, during COVID-19 era, SGX’s daily average traded value (DAV) raced to a high of $1.4 billion. Fast forward to 2024, the DAV plunged to $1.06 billion. For most companies, such a drop would have walloped the overall business performance left, right and center. However, this is not the case for SGX. Instead, SGX share price actually fought back and is now on track to surpass the previous high seen during the COVID-19.SGX share priceYear-to-date, SGX share price rose 15%. The bullish form of SGX share price is in stark contrast to many of the counter’s Strait Times Index (STI) peers that have been in sluggish forms since the Fed raised interest rates aggressively in 2022. Amid the lackluster forms of many major stocks listed in SGX, there were also a dearth of listings in the Singapore bourse, prompting the authorities to launch a strategic review in a bid to restore SGX to greatness.

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Stocks

OCBC share price stormed to record high!

Lifetime Membership What a rampage! Like a crazy bull on the rampant, OCBC share price turbocharged to record highs following US Fed’s jumbo interest rate cut of 50 basis points. Year-to-date, OCBC share price surged 20% to hit a record of $15.60.  Of noteworthy is that all the three bank stocks went on a rally after the Fed interest rate cut. Why is that so? After all, wouldn’t the interest rate cut hit the banks’ Net Interest Margin (NIM) and Net Interest Income (NII)?

Whilst a lower interest rate will surely eat into earning margins for the banks, it will also spur demand for loans. This is especially so for housing loans, which had been hit left, right and center by the longer-than-expected high interest rate climate. All three banks have significant exposure to the local housing loan market. Hence, a lower interest rate could actually benefit the banks if the cut is not so drastic.

OCBC share price

Additionally, lower interest rate also helps to improve a bank’s asset quality as borrowers repay their loans, resulting in lower bad debts. An interesting to note is that the Non-Performing Assets (NPA) of OCBC has been trending down since FY2021 – from $4.338 billion in FY2021 to $2.9 billion in 1HFY2024.

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Stocks

AEM share price in new chapter with Temasek

Lifetime Membership The last time I covered AEM Holdings was in May 2024 when AEM share price was trading at around the $1.90 bandwidth. However, that article was written before the train-wreck inflicted by the appalling 1HFY2024 financial results. The horror show caused another bout of meltdown of AEM share price as the counter tumbled to a low of $1.20, a level so unimaginable for many investors. The apocalyptic drop of AEM share price must have scared the living hell out of AEM investors. Question now is: will AEM share price see light at end of tunnel in 2024?

The continuous decline of AEM share price must have broken the heart of many long-term investors given that this company used to be the market darling of SGX and had even attracted a strategic investment from Temasek Holdings in 2021. The sovereign wealth fund had entered the counter when AEM share price was trading at around $3.80 levels. Hence, the plummet in AEM share price would have certainly dented Temasek’s returns.

AEM share price

Despite the crisis of confidence in AEM share price, which was largely driven by Intel’s woes, Temasek Holdings has not trimmed its stake in AEM. This is unlike the rest of the substantial shareholders like Malaysia’s EPF and Aberdeen, which had pared down their stakes in AEM in the past few years in order to reduce their risk exposures.

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Stocks

Sembcorp Industries share price lost steam

Lifetime Membership After conquering SGX in 2023, Sembcorp Industries share price looked out of sorts in 2024. Year-to-date, the counter has declined about 3.4%. Whilst the decline is not significant enough to warrant a concern, it appears that Sembcorp Industries share price has lost its all-conquering form of 2023 as the counter peaked at $5.80 in early February of 2024. Is this the beginning of the end for the leading energy and urban solutions provider?

The fantastic form of Sembcorp Industries share price should be credited to Group CEO, Wong Kim Yin, who joined the Group in July 2020. During his short tenure, CEO Wong has been instrumental in transforming Sembcorp Industries’ fortune post-demerger from Sembcorp Marine. Since the fateful demerger, Sembcorp Industries share price had gone from strength to strength, surging from $1.20 in September 2020 to the current $5.20 level.

Sembcorp Industries share price

The solid form of Sembcorp Industries share price in the past three years should be attributed to the Group’s ability to reinvent itself successfully as a renewable player. As such, some shareholders may be puzzled at the bearish of Sembcorp Industries share price in 2024. After all, there are no signs of any dark clouds on the horizon. So what could have punctuated the form of Sembcorp Industries share price?

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