Stocks

Is this for real? For the past few weeks, I have been pinching myself to check if I am dreaming as AEM share price stormed back in an unbelievable manner. Within a year, AEM share price rocketed nearly 5-folds.  Year-to-date, the counter surged 160%.

Though I had conviction that this day will surely arrive, it still feels so unreal when it happened. This stock has given me so much heartbreaks and heart pains for the past 4 years. So you can imagine the bittersweet feeling when AEM share price returned to its swashbuckling form again. It really feels so surreal!

The explosive form of AEM shares price certainly caught the attention of the investment community as various analysts scrambled to revise new target prices for AEM. Personally, my investment in AEM is still in the red due to the fact that I had entered this counter at a high of $5.22 in 2022. However, given the robust form, I will not be surprised that AEM share price will surge past my breakeven investment level and hit $6 next week.

Apparently, the buoyant AEM share price is driven by institutional purchases. On 19 March 2026, the market went into tailspin when it emerged that JP Morgan became a substantial shareholder, having obtained 5.19% stake in AEM from open market purchases.

For Singtel investors, the view from the top must be surreal. As Singtel share price crossed the $5 mark in February 2026, many long-time holders found it almost unimaginable—especially given the significant challenges the telco has faced over the years. In this regard, I am not surprised to see die-hard fans pinching themselves. After a decade of underperforming, Singtel share price suddenly popped in 2025, to the amazement of most investors. Many of them must have thought that this day will not arrive, but it finally did.

This explosive rally of Singtel share price didn’t just break price records; it reshuffled the STI leadership. Singtel’s surging valuation saw the telco knock UOB off its long-held perch to become the third-largest company by market capitalization in Singapore.

Currently, Singtel is hot on the heels of second-placed OCBC, trailing by only a slight margin as it cements its comeback. This is indeed sweet revenge for Singtel investors as the telco used to be the leading light in STI until the banks usurped its throne 10 years ago.

From its IPO in 1993 all the way through the early 2010s, Singtel was almost always the #1 largest listed company in Singapore. In 2008, for example, its market cap was around $62 billion, comfortably ahead of the banks.

Could this be another fairytale of SGX like iFAST and AEM Holdings? Driven by the historic highs of gold price, CNMC Goldmine share price has been in a spectacular form, surging by an eye-popping 6-fold within a year. Year-to-date, CNMC Goldmine share price surged by a mighty 83%.

As gold spot price hit record levels in the past one year, interest in the precious metal increased among the investment community. Previously, I have covered SPRDR Gold ETF and e-commerce retailer, BullionStar. In this article, I will share my thoughts on a Catalist-listed gold mining company – CNMC Goldmine.

For background, CNMC Goldmine is a gold mining company that started operations in 2006 and are principally engaged in the exploration and mining of gold and the processing of mined ore into gold bars. Although the company is listed in Catalist and headquartered in Singapore, the key business activities are mainly in Kelantan, Malaysia. The company currently only has one active production mining site – Sokor Gold Field, which is their cash cow and flagship project.

CNMC Goldmine share price used to be trading at penny stock levels ($0.30 to $0.40) prior to early 2025. So those who have entered prior to 2025 would have made a killing as the counter became a multi-bagger for this group of discerning investors.

What a power rally! Following the release of the FY2025 full-year financial result, AEM share price turned on the style to stage a power rally – an increase of a mighty 44% within 2 days!

The superb form of AEM share price certainly caught the attention of the investment community. For far too long, this counter has lost its way big time due to its heavy reliance on key customer, Intel. Consequently, many investors had thrown in the towel, having lost all hope of a potential recovery of AEM share price. Indeed, AEM share price has yet to restore to all-conquering form nor its glory days till today. Hence, you can imagine the bitter-sweet feeling of existing shareholders as AEM share price soared 80% year-to-date.

The recent bullish form of AEM share price must have brought back fond memories for long-term investors as the stock used to enjoy similar stellar runs during the 2021 – 2022 period. Back then, driven by the demand surge for PCs due to the pandemic, AEM posted record revenue of $870 million and net profit of $127 million in 2022. Those good old days must be so surreal for investors.

AEM share price to explode in 2026?

After galloping to a record high of nearly $60 on 29 January 2026, it appears that the wheels came off the wagon for DBS Group Holdings share price as the counter subsequently fell to $56.90 in early February 2026. The punctured form of DBS Group Holdings share price came after the Singapore bank delivered a subpar financial result that saw net profit for 4QFY2025 decreasing 10% year-on-year to $2.36 billion. The weak result left investors wondered if the counter has peaked.

In this blog, I have always maintained that what goes up must come down. Any stocks that keep going up linearly without corrections are poised for bubble in the making. The recent crash of silver spot price is a classic example. In view of this, the recent correction of DBS Group Holdings share price should be considered healthy.

Looking back, my last article on DBS Group Holdings share price in 2024 was a tribute to former CEO Piyush Gupta. Back then, I had forecast that it would be difficult for the stock to reach $50 unless DBS listed its international transfers platform, Remit. Indeed, DBS Group Holdings share price did not reach $50 in 2024 nor did it list Remit.

Lightning struck twice for Wilmar share price! Troubles come in troops as the leading agribusiness group was rocked by a slew of court cases in Indonesia and China. The last time I covered Wilmar share price was in 2023. Back then, I wrote that the biggest risks for Wilmar stemmed from its exposure to foreign currency translations and crude palm oil (CPO) prices. What I did not foresee is the aspect of regulatory risk, something which dogged Wilmar in 2025.

First thing first. I must clarify that Wilmar is one of my favourite SGX stocks. In 2020, I had invested in Wilmar and exited at a profit of $2,700 in early 2021. My lowest entry of Wilmar share price was $4.84 and I exited at $5.20. While I did not exit at the highest point of $5.60, I have no regrets selling my Wilmar stocks. In life, you can never sell at the highest point. Despite so, I would caution that due to the volatility of Wilmar share price, this stock is really not for the faint-hearted.

On 25 September 2025, Wilmar announced that the Indonesian Supreme Court has overturned the previous acquittals and its five subsidiaries were ordered to pay a fine of US$709 million over corrupt actions taken by these subsidiaries in 2021 during a shortage of cooking oil in the Indonesia.

Can Ms Jean Kam lead Mapletree Logistics Trust (MLT) out of dark Egypt? The past 5 years have been nothing short of a nightmare for unitholders as Mapletree Logistics Trust (MLT)’s unit price plunged nearly 50% from its peak in 2021. To rub salt into injury, the DPU subsequently also peaked in 2022. The high interest costs, strong Singapore dollar and weak China market had combined to cause the free-falling DPU. It certainly looked like Ms Jean Kam had her work cut out for her.

Ms Jean Kam took over as CEO only in July 2024 after spending 17 years with Mapletree Logistics Trust (MLT) Management. During her tenure, both the unit price and DPU have been dropping like flies. At one point, the unit price tanked to a 5-year low of $1.03 on 9 April 2025, sparking concerns among unitholders on the financial health of the S-REIT.

For background, Mapletree Logistics Trust (MLT) 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 174 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.

The view from the top of the mountain must be surreal. iFAST share price captured the imagination of Singapore investors yet again as the counter smashed to a record high of $10.40 in recent days. For the past one year, iFAST share price has surged by an incredible 42%.

Question now is whether iFAST share price is at the cusp of a rally or have reached the peak of Mount Everest. Investors could be forgiven for being sceptical at the sustainability of iFAST share price as the counter has enjoyed similar run in 2020 – 2021 period, only to crash spectacularly within a year. There are certainly similarities between the past and current rallies. And then, there are also things that have changed that could define whether iFAST share price could continue charging forward to hit a new high of $20.

For background, iFAST Corp is a global digital banking and wealth management platform, with assets under administration (AUA) of $20.0 billion. Incorporated in the year 2000 in Singapore, iFAST Corp is also present in Hong Kong, Malaysia, China and UK. The Group offers access to over 27,400 investment products including unit trusts (“funds”), bonds and Singapore Government Securities (“SGS”), stocks and exchange traded funds (“ETFs”), and insurance products.

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.

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 a particularly chaotic time to evaluate the value of CICT due to the merger of CapitaLand Mall Trust (CMT) and CapitaLand Commercial Trust (CCT).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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

It’s the 3^rd 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”.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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%.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.Year-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.