Stocks

Crisis? What crisis? Home-grown Micro-Mechanics shrugged off recent bearish trend in share price to post a set of good quarterly financial results. Of course, investors should not judge a company by one quarterly results. But if you look at the past five year’s performance, Micro-Mechanics’ growth had been consistently good. So the recent correction in share price should be a healthy one.

In retrospect, it is a mystery that Micro-Mechanics went under my radar until recently when a member requested me to do a coverage on this counter. The story of Micro-Mechanics is nothing short of fantastic. Within the span of four years, share price soared four-fold to reach a high of $2.40 in January 2018, creating immense wealth for shareholders.

From a penny stock as recent as 2014, Micro-Mechanics confounded critics to attain the status of mid-size cap in the SGX mainboard. Its meteoric rise was in part due to the sustaining growth in the semiconductor industry as there are ever increasing use of embedded chips.

Company profile

Micro-Mechanics started life in 1983 with a small factory in Singapore. Through the years, the Group [This is a premium article. The rest of the content is blocked and can be accessible by SG Wealth Builder Members only.

Will Wilmar International share price soar on the back of its impending IPO of its China unit? Being the largest listed agribusiness group by market capitalization on the Singapore Exchange, it is certainly a fascinating journey for Wilmar. From a start-up, Wilmar has overcome various challenges through the years to become one of the elites in the prestigious Straits Times Index (STI).

Many analysts have debated the need for Wilmar to list its Chinese unit in Shanghai while others had wondered the merits of announcing the plan at its infancy stage. In my point of view, the purpose of the initiative is more of business scaling rather than raising capital.

In recent years, Wilmar has struggled to meet great expectations due to the collapse of palm oil price, which was largely caused by overcapacity in the market. FY2017 results revealed that net cash flow from operating activities dropped significantly to USD 386 million, as compared to USD 1.1 billion in 2016. The terrible net cash flow was due to the huge increase in inventories (USD 1.2 billion in FY2017 as compared to USD 727 million).

Against the backdrop of ailing market demand, can Wilmar fight gravity? Ultimately, is this counter a value trap or potential multi-bagger?

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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FY2017 had been a year of reckoning as M1 celebrated its 20^th 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.

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.

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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.

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. 

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).

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.

From hospitality to the hospital industry, OUE Limited is certainly going places, But the question now is whether the share price of the real estate company is grossly undervalued? It certainly seems so as current trading price was $1.85 while Net Asset Value (NAV) amounted to a staggering $4.46.

In my opinion, the laggard share price performance could be due to legacy issues. Not many investors may be aware of the story of OUE and how it had unfolded through the years.

The company was formerly known as Overseas Union Enterprise Limited and changed its name to OUE Limited in August 2013. Read on to find out how corporate events had changed the destiny of this revered SGX-listed company. Recent developments may shed some light on its falling share price.

History of OUE

Founded in 1964, OUE had a rich history. The real estate developer started life as Overseas Union Enterprise Limited when legendary banker, Lien Ying Chow decided to enter the hotel industry. Many Singaporeans, especially those older folks, would remember Lien as the founder of Overseas Union Bank (OUB), the smallest bank among the “Big Four” in the 90s.

Like many family-owned businesses, OUB and OUE had cross-shareholdings. Thus, when OUB was acquired by UOB in 2001, it was briefly managed as a subsidiary by UOB.

As an investment blogger, my goal is always to add value and enhance my members’ investment knowledge. Thus, when a member asked me whether Frasers Centrepoint Trust (FCT) and Frasers Commercial Trust (FCOT) are similar, I have deep concerns. This is because if they cannot get the basic fundamentals right, chances of losing money in the stock market is pretty high.

First and foremost, there is a need to reiterate that investing in a REIT is not the same as investing in stocks, though both are traded in the stock market. Basically, REIT is governed under the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Collective Investment Scheme, which requires the REIT scheme to have a Manager and Trustee. Typically, many S-REITs also have a Sponsor which owns or develops a portfolio of properties.

Under a REIT’s structure, the Manager, Trustee and Sponsor all have different roles and responsibilities. Initially, the Sponsor will transfer its assets to the portfolio of the REIT and may provide or source for a pipeline of assets to grow the REIT. The trustee is an external party tasked to hold the assets on behalf of the unit holders. The Manager is given the responsibility to execute the strategic direction of the REIT.

For a real estate investment trust (REIT) that achieved eleven consecutive years of distribution per unit (DPU) growth, the trust manager of Frasers Centrepoint Trust (FCT) must be doing something right. You don’t simply sleepwalk to such fantastic results with mediocre management.

On looking back, the management has done a great job in growing this S-REIT. Over the last 5 years, FCT had registered total returns of 55.2%, outperforming both the FTSE Straits Times Index and the FTSE REIT Index.  Net Asset Value (NAV) per Unit increased 4.7% year-on-year to $2.02 per unit, due to gains from revaluation of portfolio properties.

Nonetheless, in my point of view, Frasers Centrepoint Trust may be facing a baptism of fire in the coming months. Therefore, it may be prudent to adopt a wait-and-see approach before investing in this counter. Read on to find out why.

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It was a “mission impossible” come-back for Creative Technology. On 6 March 2018, I can imagine long-term investors punching the air and screaming in delirious as its share price ripped Singapore stock market apart. Creative Technology shares surged almost 10-fold to hit as high as $9.77 during the trading session.

But for those who have not invested in Creative Technology, it is best to avoid this counter. The latest financial statement revealed that this company is still suffering from huge losses. In fact, if not for the USD32 million legal settlement windfall, there would be massive net losses for 1H2017.

In August 2017, Creative Technology scored a legal victory by suing China’s Huawei over a failed broadband network project in 2012. It was awarded USD36 million by the High Court in 2017. The victory marked the third victory in a row for the Singapore company. It had successfully sued Apple twice for patent infringement for Ipod and Ipad products.

The Lost Decade

On looking back, it was surely a bitter-sweet journey for long-term investors as the local IT company endured a period of “lost decade”. From $40 in 2000 to $1.20 in February 2018, shareholders have every right to be angry with founder, Sim Wong Hoo.

How often do you get to rub shoulders with a VIP like CEO of Singapore Exchange (SGX) and how would you present yourself? During a recent Chinese New Year celebration dinner hosted by SGX, I got a chance to meet the CEO, Mr Loh Boon Chye, who made a surprise appearance. Although it was a brief encounter, my impression of CEO Loh was that he is certainly larger than life and came across as a really humble person. This is in deep contrast to his controversial predecessor, the late Magnus Bocker.

Frankly, I prefer the current CEO because of his business-friendly policies such as dual-class voting shares and the adjustment of quarterly reporting for listed companies. His approach marked a huge change of tone for SGX, which used to be regarded as high-handed among the investment community.

The revolt

On looking back, the past few years had been a period of great chaos for SGX, not least because of the various changes implemented by Magnus Bocker, coupled with major trading disruptions and meltdown of penny stocks. There were heroes on both sides. Evil was everywhere.

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With four Mapletree-sponsored Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), Mapletree Logistics Trust sometimes suffered from a tricky identity crisis. The problem is further exacerbated by the numerous REITs in Singapore stock market. Nevertheless, this REIT stands out as being Singapore’s first Asia-focused logistics REIT. After being prompted by a member of SG Wealth Builder, I realize that this could be an interesting counter because of the perpetual bonds issued by Mapletree Logistics Trust.

In my previous article, I shared about Hyflux’s perpetual bonds. But do you know that REIT can also issue perpetual bonds? What are rules concerning REIT perpetual bonds and how does it impact the way investors examine the balance sheet?

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It is akin to winning the battle but losing the war. Current chief executive of Singapore Airlines, Goh Choon Phong, got the top job after upstaging his former boss, Bey Soo Khiang in a four-horse race back in 2011. Bey was the former Chief of Defence Force of Singapore and having lost to his subordinate, resigned promptly from the national carrier.

Goh Choon Phong is the The Chosen One, thats for sure. But whether he is The Special One to take Singapore Airlines to another level is another question altogether. Make no mistake, this is Singapore Airlines we are talking about, the pride of our nation. For someone to lead the company, he must be distinctly special to take on the monstrous task of handling the world top airline. Ideally, he must be someone who possesses that magic to lead and return Singapore Airlines to former glory.

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Since losing $8,000 on China Enersave in 2008, I swore never to touch any S-Chips again in my life. Like many investors, I had bought into S-Chips because of China growth story. But a spate of corporate scandals had given S-Chips a bad reputation that subsequently led to a serious crisis of confidence among investors. Today, I do not believe in the investment merits of S-Chips anymore. Nevertheless, at the request of a member, this article will discuss the case of Midas Holdings.

Corporate Profile

Every stock has its own story. Midas Holdings began life when it was founded in 2000 and listed in Singapore stock exchange in 2004. It also has a secondary listing on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong.

As a manufacturer of aluminium alloy extruded products for the passenger rail transportation sector in the PRC, Midas has an established track record of supplying aluminium alloy extruded products to train manufacturers in the rapidly growing passenger rail transportation sector in the PRC since 2003. The Group also exports aluminium alloy extruded products internationally and has been involved in a considerable number of train projects in Europe, Americas and Asia.

Chan Soo Sen

Ten years ago, Midas Holdings created waves in Singapore stock market with a slew of contract wins worth billions of RMB.

It is a case of “return of the king” as DBS Bank staged a comprehensive comeback by announcing an impressive 4^th quarter 2017 results. Marred by net allowances of $815 million in the previous quarter, DBS lost to OCBC in terms of net profit for that quarter. However, DBS managed to redeem itself by announcing a much better 4^th quarter results, with higher net profit of $1.19 billion.

The full year results had been boosted by acquisition of the wealth management and the retail banking business of ANZ in Asia-Pacific region. But unknown to many, the biggest profit contributor from overseas is actually its Hong Kong unit.

Magnificent run

Following the announcement of full year 2017 results, share price of DBS ran riot and stormed to record level. From $26 on 7 Feb, the shares stormed to $28 after the market re-opened following the Chinese New Year break. CEO Piyush Gupta certainly gave shareholders a big red packet by engineering such a fine performance. Many shareholders made much paper gains within one week!

The magnificent run of DBS shares was based on solid business fundamentals. DBS Group’s full-year 2017 net profit rose 4% to a record $4.39 billion.

Lately, I went for wisdom tooth extractions and is in the midst of recovering from the operation. Like many people, I have deep fear of visiting the dentist. So you can imagine how traumatizing the whole experience it was for me. Incidentally, a member of SG Wealth Builder requested me to do a coverage of Q&M Dental Group. Although I do not feel like reliving the horror, I found out this counter could be an interesting stock.

Business profile

More than 20 years ago, founder of Q&M Dental Group, Dr Ng Chin Siau, was rejected a place in National University of Singapore’s Faculty of Medicine. Eventually, he was enrolled into NUS’ Faculty of Dentistry instead. But the rejection turned out to be a blessing in disguise as Dr Ng went on to found one of the largest private dental clinic networks in Singapore.

As a private dental clinic operator that caters to the mass market, Q&M Dental faces stiff competition from big boys like Raffles Medical, polyclinics and various smaller players. In addition, Singapore is a small market that is not big enough for many listed companies to develop any sort of sustainable growth. Under such circumstances, Q&M has no choice but to embark on both organic and inorganic expansions to enhance its investment moat.

As a home-grown water treatment plant developer, Hyflux needs no introduction. The company enjoys strong brand name in Singapore but in recent years, the business fundamentals had declined. To raise capital, Hyflux had jumped onto the bandwagon of issuing perpetual securities.

In 2016, Hyflux’s $300 million perpetual securities were selling like hotcakes as wealth builders rushed to purchase them like holy water. In fact, the perpetual securities were so oversubscribed that Hyflux expanded the offering to $500 million. In this article, I will share my views on Hyflux perpetual securities.

Perpetual Securities

The past 9 years had been a period of low-interest environment, driving investors to hunt for high yields investment instruments. The expansionary monetary policies in many developed countries had depressed bank saving rates and led to huge thirst among wealth builders hunting for yields.

Perpetual security had emerged as a form of attractive investment that yields lucrative returns. For those without active income, the prospect of having a fixed passive income that offers returns that are much higher than bank interest rates is simply a no-brainer, especially for retirees. But you must be fully aware of the risks before investing in such securities.

Typically, perpetual security is a form of hybrid bond that has features of both equity and debt features.

Will Marco Polo Marine sink or swim? The shares of the beleaguered marine logistic group were actively traded recently due to the massive stake disposal (10.29%) by UOB and the emergence of white knight, the Teo family, founders of the Super Group. For the stakeholders, the most pertinent question now is whether this counter has finally seen light at end of the tunnel?

The past two years had been a nightmare for Marco Polo Marine as it also engaged in an epic legal dispute with big boy, Sembcorp Marine over the former’s unilateral termination of a US$214.3 million contract for building a jack-up rig that was under construction at Sembcorp Marine’s PPL Shipyard. It was only in November 2017 that both parties reached an agreement in favour of PPL Shipyard. Marco Polo was also forced to withdraw its claims against PPL.

Crisis company

The significant upheaval in the shareholdings came about after the successful completion of the debt restructuring exercise in which new shares were issued to creditors and new investors. On looking back, the marine logistic company probably would not have gotten itself into this mess had it not ventured into the offshore sector in 2010. But then again, nobody could have foreseen the slump in oil price leading to the protracted ailing oil and gas sector.

On 5 February 2018, US Dow Jones plunged nearly 1,200 points, the biggest single-day decline on record. The sell-off in the US market came after a smaller decline of 666 points on the previous Friday. As expected, Asia stock markets suffered similar carnage. Straits Times Index was down 121 points on mid-day 6 February 2018.

Is this the start of a bear cycle or just a healthy correction? Many analysts had been forecasting the trend of the stock market for the longest time. A number of them predicted that a stock market crash is imminent. But the matter of fact is that nobody can predict the future. If someone tell you that he believes that the stock market will rise or fall, don’t believe him.

What is your strategy?

Whether it is a healthy pull-back or a devastating stock market crash, it is important to have an investing strategy. Far too many people lose their wealth to Mr Market not because of the failing of the stock market, but because of their flawed investment strategies, or the lack of it. If you followed my blog closely, you would have realized my strategy is to buy assets at discounted value or during distress times.

Civil war broke out at Genting Group as members of the founding family engage in explosive lawsuits which threaten to undermine the control of Executive Chairman, Lim Kok Thay. The legal battle involves the will left behind by the late founder, Lim Goh Tong. Apart from this, Kok Thay is also engaged in a separate lawsuit with one of his sisters over beneficial interest in a block of Genting shares.

Many people fear that the family feuds would lead to devastating turmoil for the revered casino operator. But as far as I am concerned, I am convinced that the Lim family would ride out the storm and move on from this dark chapter. After all, this is Genting Group, one of the most successful Malaysian business empire for the last 30 years. To claim that these legal battles would bring down Genting Group is ludicrous.

The success story of Genting Highlands gaming resort is indeed intriguing. In fact, it was so successful that Singapore changed the law to legalize casinos in 2006 (Casino Control Act), paving the way for Genting Group to build a gaming resort in Sentosa. Since then, Singapore has become the second largest gambling market in Asia, behind only Macau.

Once upon a time in Singapore, taxi drivers held commuters to ransom with their ridiculous surcharges, bad practices of taking longer routes to earn higher fares and going ‘MIA’ during peak hours. Suffice to say, in every industry, there will always be black sheep. But the emergence of Grab and Uber have changed the game and levelled the playing field. Among the biggest casualty from this fall-out had to be ComfortDelgro, the largest taxi operator in Singapore.

The irony about ComfortDelgro is that as a taxi operator, it derives the bulk of its revenue from bus and MRT businesses, instead of its taxi business. With the disruption in the taxi landscape, perhaps in no time, ComfortDelgro may consider switching its taxi drivers to bus or train drivers. This scenario may become a reality due to a frightening competitive advantage of Uber and Grab – they are both relatively asset-lite companies. Read on to find out why this spell big trouble for this Singapore blue chip.

Horror ride for Comfort

The evolving on-demand transport landscape is indeed sweet revenge for commuters as taxi operators had monopolised the market for the longest time due to lack of credible taxi alternatives. A lot of credit must be given to the Minister for Transport, Khaw Boon Wan for democratizing the private-hiring industry.  

Sometimes, life is stranger than fiction. In my years of investing in SGX stocks, I have come across many investors who persisted in buying more shares of companies whose business fundamentals turned sour. Perhaps they did not have the time to read the financial reports or maybe they just lack the competence to do a proper due diligence. So in M1 case, is it a case of catching a falling knife?

When investing in stock, never just study the trend of the share price. This is especially so if you consider yourself to be a long-term investor.

Recently, several financial bloggers purchased M1 shares on the basis that the shares had reached a “break-through” level. Whether they had made the correct decision is subjected to debate. After all, there is no right or wrong in the stock market. The only thing that matters is whether you have made money from the stock investments.

In my point of view, I would avoid investing in M1 shares at all cost. And the latest financial results vindicated that business fundamentals of M1 continued to slide.

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Being Singapore’s aerospace and defence group, one wonders whether ST Engineering has lost its investment fortress. Revenue has stagnated since FY2012 and net profit plunged from $576.2 million in FY2012 to $484.5 million in FY2016. Due to the declining financial performance, the stock price had also dropped from a high of $4.45 in FY2013 to the current $3.36 level.

Is ST Engineering a value trap or bargain buy now? This article will examine the merits and risks of investing in this government-linked company.

Land Systems

Firstly, as a defence group, ST Engineering enjoys a defensive fortress in Singapore as its Land Systems sector supports the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) to modernize our fighting forces through major projects like the next-generation Armoured Fighting Vehicle. It also provides engineering solutions for various weapons and ammunition systems. For 3Q2017, commercial sales and defence sales constituted 63% or $1.0b, and 37% or $0.6b respectively of Group revenue.

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Keppel Corp’s massive fine of USD 422 million over corruption charges had cast a spotlight on rival Sembcorp Marine. The record fine had raised questions on whether Sembcorp Marine would be implicated and created much uncertainties for the company. This is because it is not known if Sembcorp is currently being investigated by the authorities over corruption charges. Nevertheless, it is timely to review whether it is opportune to invest in the parent company, Sembcorp Industries Ltd.

Being rated as the world no.2 oil rig builder, Sembcorp Marine had endured a challenging FY2017 like Keppel Corp. Revenue decreased for rig building and offshore platform projects as well as contracts termination and inventories written down arising from the contract signed in October 2017 to sell nine jack-up oil drilling rigs. Revenue for nine months shrank to $1.7 billion, a decrease of 36% year-on-year. But net profit remained stable, at $28 million, an increase of 3% year-on-year.

Notwithstanding the above, it should be noted that Sembcorp Industries Ltd (SCI) is more than just Sembcorp Marine, which is listed separately on the mainboard of the Singapore Exchange. SCI has three main businesses namely, Utilities, Marine and Urban Development.

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2017 had seen local banks like OCBC and DBS making strategic acquisitions to grow their wealth management portfolios. Yet UOB is surprisingly quiet on the merger and acquisition front. What is the venerable bank up to? Is merger king, Wee Cho Yaw, plotting something special in 2018?

Once upon a time in Singapore’s banking fraternity, there were four local “Heavenly Kings” – Development Bank of Singapore (DBS), United Overseas Bank (UOB), Overseas Union Bank (OUB) and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation. They are all household names and I believe most Singaporeans have experiences with their bank products or services.

On looking back, the devastating effect of the Asian Financial Crisis in the nineties and the industry liberalization brought forth by the new Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) regulations changed the banking landscape forever. Through the years, UOB has staved off these challenges and emerged as one of the most powerful forces among its peers.

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The recent upturn in Singapore economy led to a surge in local banks’ share price. Generally seen as the bellwether of the economy, bank stocks are extremely sensitive to economy conditions. South-East Asia largest bank, DBS, is no exception. The share price stormed to record high of $26.60, an impressive level not seen even during the boom years preceding the Great Financial Crisis.

The power surge of the share price had created much wealth for many wealth builders, including DBS CEO who bought 200,000 shares for $2.8 million in February 2016. For the man in the street, $2.8 million is lot of money. But for Piyush Gupta, his annual pay package in FY2016 was already $8.4 million. His purchase of DBS shares back then was driven by his conviction that the shares were grossly undervalued.

Indeed, his move was vindicated as the bank’s share price climbed by almost 100% within two years. If Gupta had held the shares from February 2016 till now, he would have made a profit of almost $2.8 million.

With the bullish form of the share price, it is indeed tempting to purchase DBS shares. However, it is important to review the financial performance and assess whether the price is worth the value.

The story of Perennial Real Estate Holdings is certainly intriguing. Having made its way into SGX stock market in 2014 after staging a massive $1.56 billion reverse takeover of St James Holdings (the famous nightclub operator), Perennial counts Wilmar International and Osim founder, Ron Sim as major shareholders (combined 35%). Recently, it announced a US$1.2 billion Joint Venture Vehicle with First Close of US$500 million to Invest in HSR Healthcare Integrated Mixed-use Developments in China.

The entry of Perennial Real Estate Holdings into China’s healthcare put it on a collision path against Raffles Medical, which announced that it is building two hospitals in China. Although the two healthcare players are from Singapore, their business models and backgrounds are fundamentally different. In this context, I will share my insights in this article.

Background of Perennial Real Estate

Although Perennial claims to be an integrated real estate and healthcare company, the business focus is predominantly in property development and management of mixed-use projects. In Singapore, Perennial has invested in and manages prime iconic properties located in the Civic District, Central Business District and Orchard Road precinct, such as CHIJMES, Capitol Singapore, AXA Tower, TripleOne Somerset, House of Tan Yeok Nee and Chinatown Point.