Stocks

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

Lifetime Membership High, high into the sky! On 30 August 2024, Singtel share price smashed to a 4-year high to cross the pivotal $3.10 mark. The last time that Singtel share price was trading at this level was in February 2020 – the period right before the stock market plunged into chaos due to the pandemic. Fast forward four years later, even though Singtel share price had crossed the pivotal $3.10 mark, the counter has yet to fully recovered to the pre-pandemic levels.

The shaky confidence in Singtel share price is rightfully understandable. Those who are vested in this counter are mostly long-term investors who view Singtel as a dividend stock. Yet under the helm of the former CEO Chua Sock Koong, the company bizarrely took on a growth model trajectory as the management emphasized more on revenue growth through various acquisitions of loss-making digital companies. After the current CEO Yuen Kuan Moon took over in 2021, he managed to steer the ship back on course and re-fashioned Singtel as a dividend stock again.

It is still early days for investors to claim that Singtel share price has truly bottomed but the latest form of the shares represented a small win for investors.

Lifetime Membership Class is permanent, form is temporary. Fueled by the series of interest rate hikes since 2022, DBS Group Holdings achieved a slew of record net profits for the past few years, pushing DBS Group Holdings share price to new heights like never before. For many DBS investors, this journey must be surely surreal as CEO Piyush Gupta cemented his legacy as one of the finest, if not the finest, CEO in the history of DBS. But then again, all good things must come to an end.

It’s the end of an era for Singapore’s largest bank as CEO Piyush Gupta announced his retirement in March 2025. Succeeding the charismatic business leader will be Ms Tan Su Shan. In light of the impending departure of Piyush Gupta, how will DBS Group Holdings share price unravel in the coming months?

Looking back, most investors thought Gupta had it easy when he was appointed to be CEO in 2009. After all, DBS Group Holdings is backed by Temasek Holdings. However, it should be noted that Gupta joined at a time of great chaos for DBS as Gupta’s predecessor, Richard Stanley, had unexpectedly died from cancer just 11 months into the job. Prior to the appointment of Richard Stanley, the previous CEO (Jackson Tai) had caused DBS to suffer reputational damages and losses arising from the bank’s involvement in collateralised debt obligations.

Lifetime Membership SGX stocks are in a state of crisis. So bad that the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has recently announced a whole-of-government strategic review to revive the ailing stock market of Singapore. Obviously, the abysmal state of SGX stocks is not something new to active Singapore investors. What is startling to most investors is that it takes such a drastic huge decline of SGX to trigger a last-gasp action from the authorities.

My biggest concern is that the strategic review to revive SGX stocks may come too late, and too little. Unless something bold is quickly done, the damage inflicted could have been irreversible and we may never see the SGX of old again. What is even more galling to me is that MAS has decided to take a chillax approach and announced that the review would take one year to complete. What?! One year to complete a review report? In the stock market, one year is an eternity! By the time the plan is executed, SGX would likely be “gone with the wind”.

From “Asian Gateway”, SGX stocks have become laughing stocks of Asia as there was only one miserable SGX IPO in the first half of 2024.