Venture Corporation share price went ballistic!

Within the span of one year, share price of electronic contract manufacturer, Venture Corporation Limited, surged from $11 to $22. This is an impressive two-fold increase. What a majestic fine run! The fine performance led to Venture Corporation joining the prestigious Straits Times Index (STI) in January 2018.

Nonetheless, it is a mistake to view Venture Corporation as purely an electronic contract manufacturer. A close review of the balance sheet revealed stunning “goodwill assets” worth about $640 million. Read on to find out whether this counter is a potential multi-bagger or value trap.

Company profile

Founded in 1984, Venture Corporation’s capabilities span across research, design and development, product and process engineering, design for manufacturability, supply chain management, as well as product refurbishment and technical support of electronic equipment.

The products developed by Venture Corporation are used in a huge array of industries – advanced industrial, consumer, financial, healthcare, security and life science. Fundamentally, it should be noted that [This is a premium article. The rest of the content is blocked and can be accessible by SG Wealth Builder Members only. To read the full content, please sign up as member.]

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Is M1 a lost cause?

FY2017 had been a year of reckoning as M1 celebrated its 20th anniversary but continued to struggle in the midst of technology disruption. Revenue remained fairly stable at $1.07 billion. However, profit after tax dropped to a whopping 5-year low at $132.5 million.

Correspondingly, since my last coverage on 25 January 2018, M1 share price turned bearish, dropping from $1.88 to $1.70 in early April. It recovered only recently on the back of a decent set of 1QFY18 results.

For sure, investors would look back and lamented that the past 20 years had been a journey of lost opportunities as M1 had become the smallest telecommunication player despite being “the first to offer nationwide 4G service, as well as ultra high-speed fixed broadband, fixed voice and other services on the Next Generation Nationwide Broadband Network (NGNBN)”.

But is M1 really a lost cause? Should shareholders run for their lives? In this article, the investment merits of M1 are examined.

Market share

According to Info-communications Media Development Authority’s (IMDA) statistics, as of November 2017, Singapore’s mobile market penetration rate was almost 150%. This means that [This is a premium article. The rest of the content is blocked and can be accessible by SG Wealth Builder Members only.

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Investing in Capitaland

Being one of the largest listed real estate companies in South East Asia, Capitaland remains an enigma in Singapore stock exchange. Share price reached a record high of $7.00 in 2007 and subsequent bombed out during the Great Financial Crisis.

Since then, this counter never really recover from the setback, presumably due to the slew of property cooling measures implemented by Singapore government. The slowing down of the China market could also played a part in the laggard of the share price. In this article, the investment merits of Capitaland are examined.

Profile of Capitaland

Formed in November 2000 following a “big bang” merger between DBS Land Limited and Pidemco Land Limited, Capitaland is 40% owned by Temasek Holdings. Black Rock also has a stake of 6% in this real estate giant.

Capitaland is famous for its Raffles City integrated projects. [This is a premium article. The rest of the content is blocked and can be accessible by SG Wealth Builder Members only. To read the full content, please sign up as member.]

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Understanding CPF LIFE (Lifelong Income for Elderly)

Sometimes, you really have to hand it to the policymakers for coming out with an acronym like CPF LIFE, which stands for Lifelong Income for Elderly. As the name aptly suggests, CPF LIFE provides you with a lifetime monthly pay outs.

Introduced in 2009 by the Singapore government, this annuity scheme ensures that Singaporeans do not outlive their CPF savings.

There is a marked difference between the previous scheme, CPF Retirement Sum, and the current CPF LIFE. It is important that Singaporeans understand how this improved system works so that they can plan their retirement needs appropriately. It should also be noted that the old scheme, CPF Retirement Sum, has not been phased out because there are many Singaporeans who may not qualify for CPF LIFE.

Another unique aspect of CPF LIFE is that it allows you to decide how much you wish to set aside for your loved ones upon your death while balancing the amount of monthly payouts. Thus, I feel that the CPF Advisory Panel [This is a premium article. The rest of the content is blocked and can be accessible by SG Wealth Builder Members only. To read the full content, please sign up as member.]

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Special dividends for OCBC shareholders?

Singapore’s oldest bank, OCBC, delivered an excellent full year results for 2017, setting the share price on fire. The venerable bank reported on 14 February 2018 a net profit after tax of $4.15 billion, an increase of 19% from $3.47 billion a year ago. This is the first time the net profit of OCBC surpassed the $4 billion mark.

In my opinion, OCBC share price is poised to surge to another new level with the impending divestment of Great Eastern Life Insurance (Malaysia). There might even be special dividends for OCBC shareholders. Against this background, OCBC is deemed to be in the unique category of a stock which possesses features of growth, value and asset-rich.

There are a few important drivers for OCBC share price to rise in the next few months, not least because of its recent divestment moves to dispose its non-core banking assets accumulated in the past 100 years. Great Eastern Holdings remains the crown jewel of OCBC, setting the iconic bank apart from the rest of its competitors.

Unrealized Valuation Surplus

For FY2017, OCBC’s unrealized valuation surplus stood at $9.9 billion, 54% higher from S$6.45 billion as at 31 December 2016, mainly from [This is a premium article.

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Investing in overseas properties

In the aftermath of the 2009’s Great Financial Crisis, interest rates had remained very low, driving Singapore wealth builders to look to overseas properties that generate high returns. In addition, the implementation of Additional Buyer Stamp Duty (ABSD) has also led to many wealthy Singaporeans to invest in overseas properties in United Kingdom, Malaysia and United States. In this article, the risks of investing in overseas properties are discussed.

Before we talk about returns, it is important to think about the risks of owning a foreign property. Context is important because investing in properties in Singapore is very different as compared to investing in overseas properties.

In life, if it is too good to be true, it probably is. Henceforth, I always believe in taking care the downside risks and let the potential upsides do the talking itself. Broadly speaking, the downside risks are geopolitical, regulatory and market supply.

Geopolitical risk

Unlike many countries, Singapore has a very stable government with strong ruling party. This is an important factor because investors do not like uncertainties arising from a change of government or major upheaval in the political environment, which often leads to new policies for property ownership for foreigners.

Brexit is a prime example.

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Destructive decline of Hutchison Port Holdings Trust (HPH Trust)

On 6 February 2018, OCBC Investment Research upgraded its rating on Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH Trust) from “hold” to “buy”. One wonders what had been going through the OCBC analysts’ minds when they made such a call. Following their upgrade, the unit price had been on an embarrassing downward trend and recovered slightly lately.

And every drop in the unit price seems like a slap to the analysts’ face. Of course, investors must be feeling unhappy. In my opinion, there is absolutely no basis to claim that “the worst is over” for this business trust.

When HPH Trust debut in SGX mainboard in 2011, the IPO price was between USD0.90 to USD1.10. There was much hype among investors, not least because the business trust was 30% owned by “Asia Superman”, billionaire Li Ka Shing. But after the dream debut, unit price had a horror run of decline. Currently trading at USD0.33, shareholders must be wondering what on earth has happened. Should investors cut loss or continue to hold?

Corporate profile

HPH Trust owns interests in deep-water container port assets such as Hongkong International Terminals(“HIT”) in Kwai Tsing Port, Hong Kong; and Yantian International Container Terminals (“Yantian”) and Huizhou International Container Terminals (“HICT”, an affiliated company of Yantian) in PRC. 

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Is Fraser and Neave (F&N) a value trap?

And so the dust has finally settled for Singapore’s iconic Fraser and Neave (F&N). Following the explosive takeover saga in 2012, share price languished at $2.20 level since. In the aftermath of the corporate drama, is F&N currently a value trap?

For a 135 years old company, Fraser and Neave (F&N) limited should be a household name to many Singaporeans. But understanding this venerable SGX-listed company is not an easy feat as corporate events unfolded between 2008 and 2013 transformed its destiny forever.

The takeover saga

On looking back, the appointment of Lee Hsien Yang as Chairman in 2008 must have heralded great things for F&N. Lee Hsien Yang had at that point of time, left SingTel as CEO and joined F&N as Chairman, overseeing the divestment of the Asia Pacific Breweries (APB) and the takeover of F&N by Thailand tycoon, Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, founder of Thai Beverage (ThaiBev).

As Chairman of F&N, Lee Hsien Yang unlocked much value for F&N investors. After the takeover battle, there were two capital reduction exercises which saw shareholders receiving a total of $3.70 per share. Then the listing of Frasers Centrepoint (FCL) saw F&N distributing two FCL shares for one F&N share (without any cash outlay).

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Will Dyna-Mac be acquired by Keppel Corp?

SGX-listed Dyna-Mac to sink or swim? As an oil and gas player, it is so easy to write off this company like so many of its struggling peers (EMAS, Nam Cheong, Ezion, Marco Polo Marine, etc). But then again, every stock has its own story. So let’s examine whether Dyna-Mac stands a chance in winning the battle of survivorship.

The collapse of the oil price since 2014 had led to a long winter for the oil and gas exploration industry. Many companies in this sector had been embattled by the protracted oil slump and quite a number mid-sized players face the prospect of liquidation. With a market capitalization of only $130 million, Dyna-Mac is no exception. The oil services provider is currently hanging on precariously for its dear life as the devastating oil slump threatens to destroy its business.

In the good old days

When Dyna-Mac got listed in SGX mainboard in 2011, it was a market darling. The IPO price was $0.35 and many investors bought into its growth story due to the boom in the oil price. Share price surged almost 100% to reach nearly $0.70 within a few months. It even counts big boy, Keppel Corp, as one of its major shareholders.

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