Stocks

This will be my first coverage of Singtel share price in 2022. My last coverage on this counter was on 31 December 2021. Since then, Singtel share price has surged from $2.30 to $2.65 at the point of writing. Year-to-date, Singtel share price has increased about 14%. Is this yet another false dawn or light at end of tunnel for the leading regional telco?

Whilst it may be too early for investors to pop the champagne, the operating climate has certainly improved significantly as compared to 2021. The lifting of COVID-19 restrictions in March had pushed Singtel share price to an almost 2-year high as the incoming volume of tourists should increase revenue for the Singapore Consumer business. Nonetheless, the positive effect should kick in from the new financial year onwards (Singtel’s financial year ends on March).

The coming weeks should see plenty of volatility for Singtel share price as the telco will release its full-year financial result. Based on the results of the past three quarters, the full-year result should be stellar, thereby providing a tailwind for Singtel share price. To put the icing on the cake, Singapore announced further relaxation of public health measures on 22 April 2022. Arising from this, number of tourists should spike in the coming months, providing another catalyst driver for Singtel share price.

What a supersonic form! Investors must buckle their seat belts and brace for the wildest ride of their lives. AEM share price went on a rampage following a series of share purchases by its biggest shareholder – Temasek Holdings. Temasek’s entry in August 2021 saw the sovereign wealth fund taking an initial stake of 9.5% in AEM. Within six months, Temasek increased its stake to 12.08% following a slew of share purchases in 2022. What is the game plan that Temasek has in mind for AEM?

Whilst Temasek’s strategic investment in AEM may seem like a no-brainer, the narrative may not be so straightforward, at least for Temasek. To put things into perspective, Temasek used to have two major assets in the semiconductor industry – Chartered Semiconductor and Stats Chippac. Chartered Semiconductor used to be the world’s third largest chipmaker while Stats Chippac was the biggest Southeast Asia assembly and chip-testing company. Despite so, Temasek had disposed them during the previous downturn of the semiconductor industry.

Chartered Semiconductor was sold to Abu Dhabi in 2009 while Stats Chippac was sold to China’s JCET in 2015. Both companies were delisted from SGX following the buyouts. The rationale for Temasek to sell was understandable as both assets were struggling to turn around for years.

Should it be “Sell in May and Go Away” or “Sell in March and Go Away”? In recent years, crises seemed to occur in March, leading to severe stock market corrections. In March 2020, we had the explosive market routs caused by the pandemic. And then in March 2022, the Russian war in Ukraine sent global markets into a devastating tailspin. Being one of the major Straits Times Index (STI) components, OCBC share price saw plenty of volatility.

To be frank, the recent March correction for OCBC share price could have been even more severe if its not for the timely ease of pandemic measures announced on 25 March 2022. The relaxation of measures should bode well for local banks as the operating environment improves significantly in the coming month. Rightfully, as we enter endemic, Singapore economy should recover and grow. Being the bellwether of the economy, OCBC Bank is likely to see healthy growth, thereby stimulating OCBC share price. Nonetheless, things are often not so straightforward in life.

Inflation has thrown a spanner in the works for the recovery of global economy, which has barely emerged from the pandemic. And the Russia war has added even more fuel to the fire.

After surging from $1.00 in 2020 to an incredible high of $10 in 2021, how will iFAST share price unravel in 2022? The spell-binding run of iFAST share price was certainly stuff of legend among SGX stocks. Given that the counter has recently stalled at $6.00 levels, is it a good time for investors to enter?

For background, iFAST is basically an online platform company offering investment products to retail investors. At the same time, financial institutions and banks can distribute their investment products through iFAST’s platform. The supersonic boom of iFAST share price was due to the award of Hong Kong ePension scheme in early 2021. iFAST partnered with Hong Kong’s PCCW (owned by Li Ka Shing’s son Richard Li) to develop the digital platform for Hong Kong’s HK$1 trillion Mandatory Provident Fund.

According to the latest disclosure by iFAST, the ePension division is expected to be the biggest driver for revenue and profits from 2023. This means that the project should be operationalized by end 2022. From now till end 2022 is less than a year. Against this backdrop, there should be tremendous catalyst for iFAST share price to take off within these two years.

For perspective, the management shared in the latest financial guidance that the net revenue target from the Hong Kong division should be more than HK$800 million in 2024 and HK$1.2 billion in 2025.

Since my last coverage on Sembcorp Industries share price in June 2021, there was much volatility for this counter. The pandemic disaster in India had led to plenty of uncertainties for Sembcorp Industries’ India thermal projects, causing Sembcorp Industries to be bearish from June to October 2021. The litmus test arrived when the Group announced on 2 August 2021 the impairment of $212 million for its 49%- owned joint venture Chongqing Songzao Sembcorp Electric Power Co.

That announcement on 2 August 2021 caused Sembcorp Industries share price to tumble to a low of $1.80 in October 2021. Consequently, the management went on a rescue mission for Sembcorp Industries share price by embarking on a series of shares buybacks. As at 13 December 2021, the management repurchased 6,780,700 shares from the market. Based on the recent bullish run of Sembcorp Industries share price, it seems that the shares buybacks helped to revive the stock.

Since the fateful demerger of Sembcorp Industries with Sembcorp Marine, Sembcorp Industries share price had gone from strength to strength, surging from $1.18 in September 2020 to the recent $2.65. Within the span of just 1.5 year, Sembcorp Industries share price rocketed more than 100%. With the robust Sembcorp Industries share price, credit should be given to the Group CEO, Wong Kim Yin, who joined the Group only in July 2020.

Talk about being at the right time and right place! On 25 March, Singapore Prime Minister announced the ease of public health measures for the pandemic, thereby improving business sentiments for aviation, hospitality and F&B. The relaxation of measures should bode well for local banks due to the loan exposures to these sectors which had been hit by the pandemic. As the operating environment improved significantly, OCBC share price should enjoy some tailwinds in the coming months.

At the moment, OCBC share price should be at a turning point as the counter has largely factored in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and pandemic impacts. The series of interest rate hikes should be the key catalyst driving the share price upward. Is this a good opportunity to enter? I would say so if you have done your risk assessment and diversified your portfolio. Being the oldest bank in Singapore, this blue chip is an evergreen STI component that will withstand the test of time.

Looking back, the past two months had been an absolutely gut-wrenching ride for investors as OCBC share price plunged into chaos. The day of Russia’s ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine coincided with the release of OCBC’s full-year financial result for FY2021.

Amid the raging inflation and uncertainty inflicted by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, market sentiments had been gloomy in the past three months. And rightly so. After all, many analysts had previously predicted that 2022 could be the year of global recovery from the devastating pandemic. But the Russia-Ukraine conflict had emerged out of nowhere to torpedo global stock markets. Of course, DBS share price was not spared from the fallout.

Despite the chaos in the market, DBS share price appreciated 6.8% year-to-date. Looking back, DBS share price had been on a rather bullish form in the start of the year. Investors had bought into this counter with anticipation of a stellar full-year FY2021 result. And the bank delivered. Then again Man proposes, God disposes. Unexpectedly, Dow Jones fell 500 points on 11 February 2022 following news of a potential Russian-Ukraine conflict. In the aftermath, DBS share price had a minor correction.

Investors’ worst nightmare came true as the Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine unfolded. As a result, DBS share price tumbled from a high of $37.20 on 14 February to a low of $31.20 on 8 March, representing a correction of 16% within the span of three weeks. Yet the announcement of the much-anticipated 0.25% interest rate hike by the US Federal Reserve on 16 March had rescued DBS share price from the gallows.

The last time that I covered Boustead share price was in November 2016. Back then, the company was still struggling from the fallout due to the oil slump. Recently, a member of SG Wealth Builder requested for a coverage of Boustead share price, which I would duly oblige to do so.

Ten years ago, this counter had been on my watchlist as Boustead share price rose from $0.80 in January 2012 to an incredible high of $1.90 in April 2014. Back then, investors must have felt so surreal. By the time of my last coverage in November 2016, the bubble has burst for Boustead share price as the stock collapsed to the $0.80 bandwidth. The collapse of Boustead share price was largely due to the ailing oil and gas industry from 2014 to 2019.

During the initial onset of the pandemic in 2020, Boustead share price came under further pressure as the counter plummeted to a low of $0.60 in April 2020. That was the period when crude oil prices were being traded at negative levels. Fast forward to 2022, as we approached endemic, Boustead share price has somewhat recovered to $0.90. Having said that, retail investors’ interest in Boustead share price has cooled considerably.

The year 2022 turns out to be a terrifying year for investors. Barely emerging from the protracted pandemic, the world economy looks set for another tumultuous ride as Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine continues to rock global community. Against this backdrop, AEM share price spirals out of control. Will AEM share price rise from the ashes like a phoenix to fulfil its destiny to be a $1 billion revenue company?

AEM share price rockets with Temasek Holdings!

Despite the gloomy operating climate, it is too early to write off AEM share price. On 7 March 2022, Temasek Holdings increased its stake in AEM to 10.29% following the acquisition of 1.41 million shares for about $3.95. The shares acquisition by Temasek Holdings is deemed by many to be a vote of confidence on the outlook for AEM share price.

AEM share price was then given further boost on 8 March when there was a transaction of 3 million shares for its USD counter. The AEM USD counter had been under pressure lately due to the perceived lack of turnover. On hindsight, the move by the management to launch the USD counter is prudent as we can extrapolate how well AEM may perform if it is dual-listed in NASDAQ.

LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP The last time that I had covered Q&M share price was in 2019. That was really the land before time! Recently, a Lifetime Member requested for an update on this counter. If you would like me to provide my insights on SGX stocks, please do sign up as member here!

The coverage of Q&M share price is timely as I realized that the company recently managed to turn around from years of stagnant revenue and profit. COVID-19 imploded out of nowhere in 2020 and the company rode on the wave to stage an impressive recovery. But what truly got me excited was Q&M’s stunning announcement in January 2022 to explore a proposed listing of Acumen Diagnostics on the NASDAQ stock exchange.

Acumen Diagnostics is a joint venture of Q&M Dental and it researches, manufactures, sells and distributes COVID-19 diagnostic test kits, as well as provides COVID19 testing services. Question now is: what is the kind of impact that a NASDAQ listing would bring for Q&M share price?

It seems that Q&M Dental has hit the jackpot with Acumen Diagnostics. Q&M Dental recorded a record revenue and profit for FY2021 as gross profit for the COVID-19 medical laboratories rocketed nearly 20-fold from last year to hit $22.3 million.

LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP On 24 February, Russia sent global markets into a devastating turmoil following the full-scale invasion on Ukraine. Yet on that fateful day, Global Testing share price stunned Singapore stock market when it took off like a rocket, surging an eye-popping 130% within a week to hit a high of $1.42. The incredible surge of Global Testing share price confounded many investors. Due to this, a Lifetime Member has requested a coverage on this interesting counter.

For background, Global Testing provides testing services such as wafer sorting and final testing for mixed-signal and logic integrated circuits to the semiconductor industry. Its testing services include test program development and conversion. In addition, they also help their customers to convert single-site testing to multi-site testing to shorter their turn around time. Being listed in SGX, the company’s main testing facilities are based in Taiwan. Its customers include Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC) and United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC).

Although Global Testing has been listed in SGX Mainboard since 2005, the market capitalization is very small – at about $43 million. The market capitalization would have been even much lesser if not for the meteoric rise of Global Testing share price lately. The total number of outstanding shares stood at just 35 million and 45% of the stakes are held by Yageo Corp, Mr Chia Soon Loi (Non-Executive Chairman of Global Testing) and Mr Chen Tie-Min (Chairman of Yageo Corp).

LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP The on-going Ukraine crisis has sent global stock markets into a devastating tailspin. The war occurs at a very bad timing as global economy is in the midst of recovering from the protracted pandemic. In this context, how will Healthway Medical share price unravel in 2022? A concerned Lifetime member has written in to enquire the lack of vitality for this counter.

Due to the request from a Lifetime Member, I am writing this article to provide my insights on Healthway Medical share price. Apart from the request, I have been wanting to cover this counter for some time because of my recent annual body check-up at one of Healthway Medical clinics.

For background, Healthway Medical is a private outpatient medical service provider operating more than 100 clinics and medical centres in Singapore. Within Singapore, Raffles Medical is a competitor of Healthway Medical. The difference between the two is that the former is listed in SGX Mainboard while the latter is listed in Catalist.

On 25 February, the Group announced a set of stellar financial result yet Healthway Medical share price remained moribund. Why is this so? Average 3-month trading volume amounted to just 19.75 million while 5-year Beta was 0.58.

LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP What a bombshell revelation. On 23 February 2022, OCBC share price got ripped apart after the bank released its FY2021 financial result. It was supposed to be the day that investors pop the champagne. Instead, investors were horrified to see OCBC share price plunging by as much as 6% on that fateful day.

To rub salt into injury, OCBC share price bucked the trend of DBS and UOB shares, which increased on 23 February. This was the first time that DBS and UOB share prices rose while OCBC share price got bombed out. For years, these three counters had always moved in tandem. Evidently, investors ran for their lives, sending OCBC share price straight to the gallows.

The subject of debate at here is: does the FY2021 result really justify the collapse of OCBC share price? Okay, the venerable bank missed the estimates of most analysts (including mine). But surely that doesn’t warrant the explosive meltdown of OCBC share price? We are talking about a financial institution that raked in higher net profit of $4.86 billion. If you claim that the bank suffered a financial loss over the year, I would have accepted the meltdown. But clearly, this is not the case.

LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP What a perfect storm for AEM share price. Investors must put on their seat belts and braced for a roller-coaster ride. Year-to-date, AEM share price tumbled 18.9% to reach the current $4.25. The collapse of AEM share price occurred right before the release of FY2021 financial result. Is this a sign of things to come for AEM share price?

Apparently, the cocktail of headwinds – the unfolding Ukraine-Russia conflict and looming interest rate hikes – had knocked the wind out of AEM’ sail. To rub salt into injury, the USD counter had received poor reception, effectively dashing hopes of a NASDAQ listing. The resulting outcome is a crisis of confidence for AEM share price.

For the past two weeks, data extracted from SGX portal showed that AEM had been on the top ten net sell institutional list. The week of 7 Feb 2022 saw the counter topping the list, with $22 million worth of shares being net sold by the big boys. It seems that big boys are fleeing the counter. This could explain the downward trend of AEM share price in recent weeks.

To be honest, it is hard to imagine Non-Executive Chairman Loke Wai San pulling another rabbit out of the hat.

LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP What an explosive form! OCBC share price went on a rampage to hit a high of $13.50 (at the point of writing). On the basis of the current run, it appears to me that OCBC share price is on course to race past its previous record of $13.70 in April 2018.

To be sure, OCBC share price has not peaked. Both DBS and UOB share prices are now trading at all-time highs after announcing stellar financial results. OCBC Bank will release its FY2021 result on 23 February 2022. Barring unforeseen circumstances, I expect the result to be stellar like DBS and UOB. Thus, OCBC share price should continue its bull run in the next couple of weeks.

The supersonic form of OCBC share price should be the work of the big boys. According to data extracted from SGX, institutional fund houses had been pouring funds into OCBC shares for the past two months. In fact, OCBC topped the list of institutional fund house net buys for five consecutive weeks! This is something unprecedented. The strong buying in from the big boys sent OCBC share price to the moon.

The presence of the big boys can be a double-edged sword.

LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP Man proposes, God disposes. This Valentine Day was supposed to be the day that DBS share price rocketed to high heavens. However, the looming Ukraine war gate-crashed to spoil the party for investors, causing Dow Jones to fall 500 points on 11 February 2022. In the aftermath, DBS share price had a minor correction. Question now is: will the full-year financial result set DBS share price on fire and brush aside the uncertainties of a potential Ukraine war?

Russia could be launching an attack on Ukraine, possibly on this Wednesday. The conflict would surely lead to massive uncertainties for the global stock market. DBS, being the leading light of SGX, would not be spared from the market carnage. Certainly, the unfolding event is bad timing for DBS share price as the bank delivered a set of stellar financial result. In this respect, investors should expect much volatility for DBS share price in the coming days.

It remains to be seen if the Ukraine-Russia conflict could really escalate to a war, so it is still premature to claim that it is the end of the road for DBS share price. At the point of writing, it seems that the record earnings for DBS has boosted investors’ confidence, thereby providing a key support for DBS share price.

Lifetime Membership DBS will release its full-year FY2021 financial result on 14 February 2022, before the market opens. When a listed company releases its financial result before market opens, it usually means one thing – the result should be good. In this regard, investors should expect plenty of fireworks for DBS share price.

DBS share price has been on a solid bull run for the past few weeks that not even the MAS’ regulatory action on its digital disruption in November 2021 could derail its bullish form. Year-to-date, DBS share had increased 13.6% to $37.25. With the stellar full-year financial result, it is not inconceivable that DBS share price would hit $50 in the coming weeks.

It has not been a bed of rose for investors as DBS share price had previously endured a torrid run in late 2021 following market’s reaction to a subpar 9MFY2021. Omicron had emerged out of nowhere to create much uncertainties for DBS share price. And with the occurrence of the online disruptions, we have the perfect storm for DBS share price.

Then again, no winter lasts forever. For DBS share price, this is no exception. Investors were relieved that MAS’ regulatory action requires DBS to set aside additional capital amounting to $930 million.

Lifetime Membership The incredible form of OCBC share price must have left investors in surreal. Many of them must be pinching themselves if the explosive form of OCBC share price is for real. After all, OCBC share price had been lagging behind DBS and UOB for a number of years.

On 8 February 2022, OCBC share price crossed the pivotal $13 mark to hit a high of $13.13. The last time that OCBC share price was trading at the $13 bandwidth was in May 2018. Back then, the implementation of the additional property cooling measures impacted the home loan market, causing local banks to suffer collateral damage. Not surprisingly, OCBC share price got bombed out during that period.

Since then, OCBC share price had not recaptured the sizzling form of 2018 until in recent days. Luckily, the new property cooling measures unleashed in December 2021 did not affect OCBC share price because the tightening of LTV limit is applicable to only HDB housing loans. The revised LTV limit does not apply to loans granted by financial institutions, for which the LTV limit remains at 75%.

Looking back, the explosive bull run of OCBC share price from 2015 to 2018 was largely due to the nine US Federal Reserve interest rate hikes.

Lifetime Membership Will SIA share price (SGX: C6L) roar in the Year of the Tiger? In peace times, there are no dragons to slay. But this is not peace time we are talking now right now. As global economy emerges from the protracted pandemic crisis, what will the outlook be like for SIA share price in 2022?

SIA share price was actually cruising in 2021 until Delta and Omicron variants brought the counter to its knees in May and November respectively. In this respect, whether SIA share price will return to form in 2022 will depend a lot on the pandemic situation. On 4 February 2022, Singapore announced a whopping 13,208 COVID cases. The spike in cases may cause not just supply chain issue for Singapore, but also manpower disruptions for the national airline.

Just a caveat: it is still premature to claim that the latest infection wave would disrupt SIA’s operation and puncture the form of SIA share price in the process. Given that the 4 February report was released after market closed, it is an unknown how the stock market will react when it reopens on 7 February. Due to the countless twists and turns of the pandemic saga, analysing the outlook of SIA share price is always a tricky business.

Lifetime Membership The wheels finally came off the wagon for iFAST share price. From nearly $10 in October 2021, iFAST share price plunged 38.7% within three months to reach the current $6.10. Year-to-date, iFAST share price corrected 26%. The devastating meltdown of iFAST share price caught many investors by surprise, not least due to a confluence of factors. One of my Lifetime Members reached out to me and sought my insights.

My last article on this counter was a year ago – 25 January 2021. Back then, iFAST share price was trading at around $5.20 and I had warned that there was tell-tale sign of a massive bubble building up. My opinion was that retail investors should be cautious of being caught with their pants down when the tide turned against them. In 2021 alone, volatility of iFAST share price had attracted three SGX queries. Despite so, iFAST share price went on to confound investors to hit almost $10 in October 2021.

For investors who had exited at $10 and made a killing from iFAST shares, they must be laughing all the way to the bank. For those who had entered when iFAST share price was trading nearly $10, should they run for their lives or be the last man standing?

Lifetime Membership Crisis? What crisis?! OCBC share price rubbished all talks of crisis to stage a return of the King! Year-to-date, OCBC share price rocketed 9.5% (at the point of writing). On the basis of the current run, will OCBC hit a record high of $14 in the coming days? This will be a quick article to update readers on the outlook of OCBC share price in the next two months.

On 27 January 2022, the US Federal Reserves indicated that the interest rate hikes will likely to take place in March and confirmed its plan to end bond purchases in that month. As I have mentioned many times in this blog, the interest rate hikes will benefit Singapore banks because of the increase in net interest income. For this reason, the upcoming interest rate hike news sent OCBC share price to the moon.

The sizzling form of OCBC share price comes at a time when the bank is about to release its full year financial result for FY2021. The red-hot form of OCBC share price also coincided with the recovery of Singapore’ economy, which grew 7.2% in 2021. Talk about being at the right time and right place!

Admittedly, the recent phishing scams had rocked market sentiments to a certain extent.

Lifetime Membership Volatility remains the name of the game for Wilmar share price. In my last article on this counter, my forecast was that Wilmar share price may hit a high of $5.70 in February 2022. I have also suggested that the violent swings of Wilmar share price mean that this counter is not for the faint-hearted. Indeed, the see-saw movements of Wilmar share price had led to an SG Wealth Builder Lifetime member seeking my insights.

The performances of Wilmar share price remain one of the biggest enigmas of SGX mainboard. There are so many catalysts providing wind to the sail of Wilmar share price but the counter always flatter to deceive.

Take for example, the crude palm oil (CPO) price has hit the record high of RM5,497 per tonne on 24 January 2022. Being one of the largest oil palm plantation owners in the world, Wilmar should have benefitted from the raging CPO prices. Yet Wilmar share price did not rocket and has been blowing hot and cold lately. And then there is the upcoming India IPO of Adani Wilmar.

Although the Adani Wilmar India IPO is expected to unlock value for investors and provides positive sentiments for Wilmar share price, it is of significantly smaller scale as compared to the Yihai Kerry Arawana Holdings Co.,

Lifetime Membership What a devastating meltdown. From a high of $6.30 in July 2021, Nanofilm share price (SGX: MZH) plunged more than 50% to reach the current low of $3.05. The capitulation of Nanofilm share price caught the attention of the investment community. Should Nanofilm investors run for their lives?

A Lifetime Member has written in to seek my views on this counter. Henceforth, I will share my insights on the two potential factors that could have knocked the wind out of Nanofilm share price.

At the rate of correction, Nanofilm share price may reach the IPO price of $2.59. This is especially so if the upcoming full-year failed to meet investors’ expectations. When Nanofilm got listed on 30 October 2020, there was much hype among Singapore investment community due to the dearth of billion-dollar technology firm listings in SGX in recent years.

Indeed, Nanofilm share price made a strong start with an opening price of $2.77 and an intra-day high of $3.02. With solid support from a stellar group of institutional investors like Temasek Holdings, AIA, Credit Suisse, investing in this company seems like a no-brainer. Admittedly, I was tempted to enter this counter but stopped short of doing so because of my personal policy of not investing in a company that just got listed within the first five years.

Lifetime Membership This will be my first article on AEM share price in 2022. All eyes should be on the upcoming FY2021 full-year financial result. Will it set AEM share price on fire like what it did in 2018?

From January to March 2018, AEM share price rocketed 100% to reach $1.87. The supersonic run of AEM share price was attributed to two factors – the award of patent for the technology used in its flagship product, High Density Modular Test (HDMT) equipment and also the ramp up of orders from its key customer, Intel.

The ramp up of orders from Intel led to an increase of 216% and 560% in revenue and profit for FY2017. The release of the full-year FY2017 financial result in early 2018 saw AEM share price roaring to high heavens. Will history repeat itself for AEM share price? Fast forward four years, the ramping of HDMT by Intel is over. However, AEM is launching is its next blockbuster product test equipment product – Asynchronous Massive Parallel (AMPS). This new capability allows high powered chip to be tested under thermal controlled environment without damaging the chip.

In my research, I found out that AEM had applied for the patent used in its AMPS (patent number: 20210325452).

Lifetime Membership It appears to me that UOB share price is on fire after being given a booster shot! Lately, Singapore bank stocks were given a lift following news of the impending interest rate hikes by US Federal Reserves. However, UOB share price jumped to a whole new level following the announcement of the $5 billion acquisition of Citigroup’s Southeast Asia consumer business.

The Citigroup acquisition pushed UOB share price briefly passed the psychological $30 mark. This is a record level for UOB share price. Whether UOB share price can sustain this level remains to be seen in the coming days. Nonetheless, I doubt that UOB share price has peaked as the full-year financial result will be released only on 16 February. Given the lower allowances being made in FY2021, we should see full-year net profit registering a double-digit growth. In view of this, there should be plenty of headroom for UOB share price to rise in the next few weeks.

From a long-term perspective, the recent Citigroup acquisition is 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.

Lifetime Membership Boom! OCBC share price turns on the style to hit a five-month high! The bullish form of OCBC share price comes at a time when the bank is about to release its full year financial result for FY2021. The red-hot form of OCBC share price also coincides with the recovery of Singapore’ economy, which grew 7.2% in 2021. Talk about being at the right time and right place!

Based on the past five years’ trend, OCBC share price would always start to rise in February and then peak in May. Following that OCBC share price would fall and then start to rise again and then peak in August. The cycle would keep on repeating based on data of past few years. The reason could be due to investors selling the shares after ex-dividend. Therefore, January could be the perfect window for investors to enter this counter.

Take for example, OCBC share price surged from $12.20 in February 2018 to hit a high of $13.65 in May 2018. Subsequently, the counter nose-dived to a low of $11.25 in July 2018 before recovering to $11.80 in August 2018. Thereafter, the stock plunged to $10.40 in October 2018. The pattern would continue in the subsequent years.

Lifetime Membership On 3 November 2021, the shareholders of ESR Cayman gave the green light for the US$5.2 billion acquisition of the ARA Asset Management. ESR Cayman is listed in Hong Kong Stock Exchange and is the sponsor of SGX-listed ESR-REIT. On the other hand, LOGOS is the sponsor of ARA Logos Logistics Trust and is majority-owned by ARA Asset Management. The acquisition of ARA Asset Management by ESR Cayman effectively paves the way for the ESR-REIT merger with ARA Logos Logistics Trust.

Although the writing is on the wall that the ESR-REIT merger is going to take place sooner or later, it is not a done deal yet. ESR-REIT unitholders are to cast the vote on 27 January 2022. For the resolution to be passed, more than 50% of the total number of votes is required. ARA Logos Logistics Trust unitholders will meet on the same day to vote but more than 75% of the votes is required for the resolution to be passed.

A Lifetime Member has requested for my insight on the ESR-REIT merger. As such, I will share my insights on this interesting development within the industrial S-REIT sector. Although I have no skin in the game, I am vested in Mapletree Logistics Trust which is a close competitor of ESR-REIT and ARA Logos Logistics Trust.

Lifetime Membership What a cocktail of headwinds for Mapletree Logistics Trust (MLT). Following the $700 million equity fund raising announced on 23 November 2021, MLT share price plunged from $2.00 to the current low of $1.78. To rub salt into injury, the proposed merger between Mapletree Commercial Trust (MCT) and Mapletree North Asia Commercial Trust (MNACT) compounds further misery on MLT share price as market rumours spread like wildfire that the MLT and MINT could be the next merger on the cards.

To put things into perspective, rumours of a merger between MLT and MINT have been brewing for a number of years. To address the market rumours, the management clarified on 10 January 2022 that there was no plan to merge MLT and MINT as both entities have different investment mandates and operate in different asset classes. Despite that clarification, the recent merger between MCT and MNACT rattled MLT share price.

MLT invests primarily in logistics and warehouses assets whereas MINT’s assets comprise of mainly industrial real estates in Singapore and data centres. Both S-REITs share the same sponsor and both are Straits Times Index (STI) components.

MLT has a slightly bigger market capitalization ($8.5 billion) as compared to MINT ($7 billion).

Lifetime Membership In my last article on Wilmar share price (SGX: F34) in September 2021, I wrote that this counter could face huge turmoil in the short-term. Indeed, Wilmar share price continued to disappoint for the rest of 2021. The counter ended the year on $4.140, a far cry from the high of $5.57 seen in February 2021. Will Wilmar share price return to form in 2022?

The dismal form of Wilmar share price is indeed puzzling as the Group has been racking in explosive profits in FY2021. Thus, investors must be wondering what on earth could have caused the rupture of Wilmar share price. In this article, I will share with readers the compelling reason for the downtrend of Wilmar share price, which is linked to the business fundamentals. In the latter part of the article, I will also share my analysis on why Wilmar share price may hit $5.70 in February 2022.

In 2020, I invested in Wilmar and exited at a profit of $2,700 in early 2021. My lowest entry for 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.

Sign up for only $19.99! My first article of the year will be on OCBC share price (SGX: O39). 2022 is considered by many investors to be a pivotal year as Singapore’s economy continues its path of recovery from the devastating pandemic. Many of us harbour fervent hopes that 2022 will herald the light at end of tunnel for this never-ending crisis. Inevitably, investors’ attention will focus on bank stocks like DBS, OCBC and UOB as they are the bellwether of the economy.

All eyes should be on the full-year financial result, which is expected to be released in the third week of February 2022. Will the result set OCBC share price on fire? Based on 9MFY2021 result, the net profit reached $3.885 billion while the net profit amounted to $1.224 billion in 3QFY2021. Looking at the trend of the past three quarters’ result, there is a strong possibility that 4QFY2021 may hit at least $1.2 billion of profit. If so, then full-year net profit for OCBC could smash a record $5 billion!

The previous record net profit for OCBC was in FY2019 ($4.87 billion). Unfortunately, that result was released in February 2020, which was right smack in the initial onset of the pandemic.