SG Wealth Builder

From $14 in February 2016, DBS share price went on a magnificent gangbuster form to hit a high of $31 in May 2018, representing an increase of more than 100% in two years. The berserk rise of DBS share price certainly created much wealth for shareholders. However, the bullish form was as good as it gets as DBS share price subsequently went through a correction since early May to reach a low of $24.90.

Has the bubble finally burst for DBS share price or should investors keep faith with Piyush Gupta’s team? At the big picture, the business fundamentals have not changed but market confidence have been shaken due to the trade wars currently taking place. Arising from this, data revealed that there were three waves of attacks on DBS share price in the past few months, leading to the loss of form for DBS shares. In this article, the investment merits of DBS are examined.

DBS share price in for a wild ride?

For sure, it had been a roller-coaster ride for shareholders. When you have the sort of volatility like DBS share price is currently having, you are unlikely to sleep well even if you are a long-term investor.

How low will it go? From a high of almost $5.12 in 2014, SIA Engineering share price crashed to a nine-year low of $2.93 on 30 July 2018. Needless to say, it had been a devastating spell of decline for SIA Engineering share price, creating tremendous heart pain for long time investors of SIA Engineering. For sure, SIA Engineering share price is flying high no more but who in his right mind could have predicted such an outrageous outcome for this blue chip?

Investors who bought when SIA Engineering share price peaked would have lost their pants by now. However, if you had invested in SIA Engineering since 2001, the long history of dividends paid out would have more than mitigated the paper losses. But this is not to say that investors had a jolly good ride. So should investors run for their lives or keep faith with the management?

Aberration in SIA Engineering share price

Perhaps the impact of being booted out of the prestigious Straits Times Index (STI) in September 2017 had caused SIA Engineering share price to lose its shine. Maybe confidence has been shaken terribly after big boy, JP Morgan, sold its entire stake in SIA Engineering.

What a ride! In my previous article, I wrote that SingTel share price is in for a frightening roller-coaster ride after ex-dividend day. Indeed, SingTel share price plunged from $3.30 on 23 July to $3.06 on 13 August. It could have been worse if its not for the strong institutional support in July. SingTel topped the list of institutional net buy in July, with net buy of $49.4 million.

Riding the storm

SingTel share price has since recovered to the $3.10 level, probably because the intensity of the short-selling attacks had reduced and the strong support from institutional players. The less-than-glowing first quarter financial results for FY2019 could have triggered the recent correction in SingTel share price. Operating revenue dropped to $4.13 billion as compared to $4.16 billion in last year. Profit after tax sank to $826 million from $886 million recorded in last year.

Although the latest financial results had been less than stellar, there were bright spots as SingTel’s Optus powered ahead to capture market share in mobile market and recorded higher EBITDA. Regional associates like AIS, Intouch and Globe also recorded double digits growth for net profit. The upcoming IPO of its subsidiary, Airtel Africa, could be a positive catalyst to SingTel share price as well.

Despite being consistently ranked as one of the strongest banks in the world, OCBC’ stock is perennially the least expensive among the three local banks. However, like DBS and UOB, OCBC share price enjoyed a dizzy spell for the past two years, storming from $7.90 in February 2016 to reach the giddy high of $14 this year.

The key reason for the bullish run of the local bank stocks should be attributed to the improving economy condition in Singapore. However, recent government property curbs and short-selling activities had pulled the brake on the surging form of OCBC share price. Can OCBC share price regain its mojo and returns to form?

The recent correction in OCBC share price is considered healthy, so investors should not panic. In fact, 2QFY2018 results had been pretty strong. OCBC reported net profit after tax of $1.21 billion for the second quarter, climbing 16% from S$1.04 billion a year ago, and 9% from $1.11 billion in the previous quarter. The robust results provided the narrative for OCBC’s growth momentum.

Due to the volatility of bank stocks, the key to making money from this counter is to have a strategy of setting the right entry and exit price.

From IPO price of $0.97 in 2013, Asian Pay TV unit price had plummeted over the years to reach the current dismal level of $0.38.  Investors who had bought into Asian Pay TV during the IPO days and held the units till now would have lost their pants even if the grand total of $0.41 distributions had been factored in.

Apart from punching the wall, investors of Asian Pay TV Trust should certainly do some soul-searching. Even the most ardent supporters of this counter must be having second thoughts and wonder if this business trust can ever stage a rebound. My guess is that shareholders should hope for the best but expect the worst.

When a business trust is trading at such abysmal level, the price level may not represent value. But what is more galling for unitholders of Asian Pay TV Trust is that despite trading at such cheap level, the management did not even bother to carry out any unit repurchases from the market. The lack of action on the management’s part is obviously not inspiring, at least from the perspective of the investors.

However, Asian Pay TV Trust is not a lost cause yet,  because it is backed by the big boys.

Crisis? What crisis? UOB share price tore apart the form book by going on an explosive run following the release of an excellent set of first half results. Many investors and analysts were also stunned by the news that 70% of new launch condominium, The Tre Ver, was sold during Phase 1.

The Tre Ver was developed by UOL, an affiliated company of UOB. Previously, many investors feared the worst for UOB share price following the introduction of new property cooling measures by Singapore government.

The buoyant first half results certainly set UOB share price on fire, making it the most expensive bank stock in Singapore. Within the span of a week, UOB share price surged from $27 to $28 level. On the basis of the current bull form of UOB share price, shareholders should have that feel good feeling.

However, I do think that investors are throwing caution to the wind as the surge in UOB share price may not be justified. To put things into perspective, UOB is still struggling with toxic loans as a result of the exposure to the ailing oil and gas industry. As of June 2018, non-performing loans stood at $4.2 billion (1.7%), a significant increase from last year’s $3.5 billion (1.5%).

Since early May, CapitaLand share price experienced some form of bearish correction. But the stunning announcement of the retirement of CEO Lim Ming Yan on 1 June 2018 really knocked the wind out of CapitaLand share price, which collapsed from a high of almost $3.80 to $2.99 at one point. CapitaLand share price has since recovered to $3.15 level but remained under pressure.

With Price/Book Value of just 0.692 and P/E ratio of merely 9.7, CapitaLand share price is currently considered very undervalued among the blue chips. In fact, most investors perennially misunderstood this stock and thought that the property cooling measures would wallop CapitaLand share price upside down. But they don’t realize that the battle to be fought for CapitaLand is not in Singapore.

Since the Great Financial Crisis, CapitaLand share price had been languishing between $2.00 to $3.00 bandwidth in recent years, a shadow of its former self when it was trading at $8.00 in the heydays of 2007. The recent carnage in CapitaLand share price even triggered a massive shares buyback by management, which bought back $209 million worth of CapitaLand shares. The intervention managed to prevent a massive decline in CapitaLand share price and provided a critical support for CapitaLand share price.

It is that “uh-oh” feeling for DBS share price all over again as the counter got bombed-out after the release of 2^nd quarter earnings report. There were claims that DBS share price came under heavy shelling because the Singaporean bank missed analysts’ forecast. Should shareholders be punching the wall?

From my perspective, the notion that DBS share price fell because of missed estimates by market analysts is complete nonsense because I never believe in what the analysts said. And for sure, market analysts never have any swaying power over share prices.

So what could be the root cause for the correction in DBS share price? After all, net profit in second quarter earnings actually surged 20% to $1.37 billion, as compared to $1.14 billion last year. Under the current challenging operating environment, to be able to deliver such a mighty result is indeed impressive. So there is no basis to claim that DBS share price tanked over poor financial performance.

In my point of view, dark forces could be behind the slump in DBS share price as 2.56 million DBS shares worth $67.5 million were shorted on 2 August 2018. In terms of short sale value, this is the highest among all the SGX counter for that day.

Is it sunshine after the rain for Starhub share price or is it yet another false dawn in the making? From a high of $4.20 in 2015, Starhub share price went on a devastating run to languish at current $1.70 level. Only the recent appointment of new CEO, Peter Kaliaropoulos halted the stunning decline of Starhub share price.

The collapse of StarHub share price certainly caused massive wealth destruction for many shareholders. Whether this counter can stage a magical recovery is a big question mark as StarHub share price reflected not just the broad sell-down in the current Singapore stock market (StarHub is an STI component), but also mirrored its declining business fundamentals.

The carnage of StarHub share price is attributed to the triple whammies of StarHub losing popular channel for its Pay TV, fierce competition from NetFlix and entry of new MVNO players. And to top it off, the fourth telco player, TPG Telecom, has not even started business yet. No wonder investors are spooked by the prospect of Starhub.

Given the current StarHub share price, the dividend yield is at an alluring 9.36%. In view of this, is StarHub shares a value trap or dividend gem? Are there any dark forces behind the meltdown of StarHub share price?

Singapore Airlines’ CEO Goh Choon Phong should be at a loss for words. Days after collecting the prestigious Skytrax’s World Best Airline Award for the fourth time, the CEO must be watching in horror as SIA share price plunged by as much as 5.5% on 27 July 2018, presumably due to the poor Q1FY18/19 financial results.

The poor financial results came on the back of announcements of integration of SIA Cargo and SilkAir into parent airline and merger of Tiger Airways and Scoot. Despite the extensive restructuring exercise among its subsidiaries, it certainly seems that there was not much improvement in resource synergies, revenue growth or even cost reduction. What a wasted effort indeed!

Wretched performance

As the saying goes, one man’s poison is another’s meat. While oil and gas companies like Keppel and Sembcorp had been struggling in the aftermath of the oil price’s collapse, SIA share price had been flying high, surging from $9.80 in early 2017 to as high as $11.56 in May this year. But the magical form of SIA share price is as good as it gets as recent uptick in crude oil prices returned to haunt the premium airline.

The reason for the gravity defying performance of SIA share price was because of low fuel cost in 2017.

From almost $14 in early May, OCBC share price rolled off the cliff to languish at $11.30 in July. The steep decline came on the back of an extraordinary bull run that saw OCBC share price surging from $7.90 in February 2016 to reach the giddy high of $14 this year. When a stock has this sort of ridiculous form, it is only fair to expect a healthy correction. After all, what goes up must surely come down.

But at the back of many investors’ mind must be who are the dark forces responsible for the recent meltdown of OCBC share price. As a retail investor, you must figure this out because you don’t want to be caught with your pants down when the big boys strike.

Based on the data collected, there were two groups of big boys influencing OCBC share price in the months of May, June and July 2018 – the short-sellers and institutional funds. Both groups combined to knock the wind out of OCBC share price.

Of course, OCBC shares wasn’t the only stock suffering from meltdown in recent months. DBS, UOB and SingTel shares also went through poor form lately. But against the backdrop of the big boys’ movements, what are the chances of OCBC share price regaining its mojo?

26 July 2018 would be destiny day for SingTel share price as it will be ex-dividend day for shareholders to be entitled to the final dividend of $0.107. All eyes are on that day as shareholders brace themselves for a frightening roller-coaster ride of SingTel share price.

There had been much talks on the impending entry of the fourth telco, TPG Telecom and the emerging threats of Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO). People are concerned that these threats would demolish SingTel share price and knock it off the cliff. But to be frank, the current bearish sentiments of SingTel share price should be due to the heightened competition in overseas markets, and not Singapore market. So investors should not make a mountain out of a mole.

Nonetheless, it is not going to be smooth sailing for SingTel and I anticipate a rough ride for this Singapore blue chip. In light of recent developments, this article will share the reasons for the decline of SingTel share price and why this counter could possibly correct to $2.60 by year end. In this article, I am also going to reveal how the big boys combined to wipe off billions from SingTel share price.

DBS share price to storm back in style or is it the start of a protracted nightmare? Under the frenzy attacks by short-sellers, DBS share price went into a tailspin, falling from a high of $30 in April to a low of $25.50 in July. The devastating decline prompted DBS to launch a rare shares buyback on 6 July 2018. For the record, the last shares buybacks by DBS was almost two years ago, in September 2016.

6 July 2018 would be remembered as Black Friday for local bank and property stocks as Singapore government sent the market into chaos with the announcement of additional property cooling measures. DBS stock retreated by 2.6% on that fateful day.

DBS share price is closely watched by many investors in Singapore because it is the biggest cap and is also the crown jewel of Temasek Holdings. Being the bellwether of the economy, bank stocks are typically sensitive to the economy and DBS share price would largely reflect market confidence of the state of Singapore’s economy.

After an incredible bull run that saw DBS share price smashing past the $30 mark, this counter is at a cross road with the recent onslaught of short-selling attacks and the stunning property cooling measures.

It was supposed to be an opportunity for NetLink NBN Trust to make a statement about its investment merits to Singapore investors. But unfortunately, NetLink NBN Trust messed it up by delivering a subpar revenue performance for FP2018 that was much lower than original forecast.

And investors did not take the above too kindly. Upon the release of the financial results, unit price of NetLink NBN Trust tumbled from $0.81 in May to $0.74 in July. The price correction led to dividend yield at an attractive level of 5.65%.

Against the current backdrop, is NetLink NBN Trust a value trap or dividend yield play? In this article, I will examine the competitive advantages and handicaps of NetLink NBN Trust.

Missed opportunity

Time really flies. It had been one year when NetLink NBN Trust debut in Singapore Exchange and I do think that it is timely for an update on this business trust. Dubbed as the biggest IPO since 2011, many investors have great expectation of NetLink NBN Trust. And rightly so. After all, it is the sole provider of residential fibre network in Singapore. Given such status, it is rightful to assume that NetLink NBN Trust enjoys an unassailable monopoly in the fibre network sector locally.

Since my last coverage on Noble Group in December 2017, things have taken a turn for the worse. In fact, the on-going drama is so bad that its good. Why is there any good out of this corporate tragedy if you may ask? In my opinion, there are plenty of hard lessons that investors can gain from the downfall of Noble Group.

From a former multi-billion blue chip darling as recent as 2015, Noble Group has shrunk to a mere $188 million listed company. Novice investors who are new to the game should avoid this counter if they are not unaware of the series of events that had unfolded on this counter. Indeed, there had been so many twists and turns to the Noble Group drama that one wonders if the latest alliance between Goldilocks and Noble Group is just another false dawn in the making.

Due to the volatility of Noble Group share price, existing shareholders should exercise caution on whether to dollar average their holdings or cut losses.  This article is only for information and not meant to induce or serve as a form of financial advice.

Holding shareholders to ransom?

In my last coverage, I highlighted the credit crunch that Noble Group was facing.

Amid the sea of red in the Singapore stock market, Mapletree Logistics Trust shares bucked the trend and stood out like a shining beacon. The bullish form of Mapletree Logistics Trust shares could be attributed to its recent $778 million acquisitions of five ramp-up logistics warehouses from CWT Pte Ltd.

The move by Mapletree Logistics Trust raised a lot of eyebrows because it was made against the backdrop of warehouses supply glut and falling rental prices in Singapore. According to 4Q2017 data released by JTC, the number of available warehouses increased quarterly by 2% to 10.4 million sqm while vacancy rate decreased slightly by 1.6%. Correspondingly, rental prices remained weak in 4Q2017, decreasing by 1.0%.

On the other hand, the mega deal also saw Mapletree Logistics Trust one-upped on local rival Cache Logistics Trust, a ramp-up logistics warehouse specialist. The latter’s competitive strength lies in ramp-up warehouses, which are limited in supply in Singapore because specialised planning and design specifications are required for such properties. The entry of Mapletree in this niche is an unwanted competition for Cache.

Opportunistic acquisitions by Mapletree Logistics?

Investors of Cache Logistics Trust must have seen red with the acquisition. This is because all the five warehouses were previously under Cache’s Right of First Refusal granted by CWT.

After suffering from heavy shelling for the past few weeks, SingTel stock recovered from multi-year low of $3.02 to climb to $3.24 on 10 July 2018. The latest technical rebound of SingTel stock must have left investors wondering if this blue chip has indeed bottomed out. Before rejoicing, it is important to note that the big boys, namely the institutional funds had been targeting SingTel stock for the past two months.

According to Singapore Exchange (SGX) Institutional Fund Flow Monthly report, the month of May saw institutional investors net sold an epic $1.10 billion worth of Singapore stocks.

I could be wrong but I do not recall the outflow of such magnitude from Singapore stock market in recent years, apart from the Great Financial Crisis in 2008. The net selling by institutional players continued through June, with institutional net selling $257 million worth of Singapore stocks.

A more chilling revelation in the reports is that SingTel had been targeted by the big boys as SingTel stock had consistently topped the net seller lists since December 2017. In this article, I am going to show you how the big boys play the game and why you must avoid collision path with the big boys because there can only be one outcome.

Could it be the straw that broke the camel’s back? Despite the challenging operating conditions and the toxic loans from the ailing oil and gas industry, UOB stock had an enthralling fairy-tale run, surging from $17.20 in 2016 to $30 in 2018. It certainly seemed that nothing can stop the explosive form of UOB stock price, until the recent short-selling activities and property measures halted the majestic run.

Meltdown of UOB stock

6 July 2018 would be remembered as Black Friday for local bank and property stocks as Singapore government sent the market into a devastating tailspin with the announcement of additional property cooling measures. There was chaos in the stock market as bank and property stocks suffered from carnage. Among the three bank stocks, UOB stock fared the worst, plunging by as much as 3%. DBS stock retreated by 2.6% while OCBC shares fell by 2.2%.

On the basis of the underlying business structure, UOB stock looks set for a terrifying ride with the property cooling measures. Unlike DBS and OCBC, UOB stock is considered a major proxy for property play.

This is because in his heydays, UOB Chairman Emeritus Wee Cho Yaw had meticulously built a massive billion dollars property-cum-banking empire, through UOB, UOL, UIC and Haw Par Corporation.

After leading DBS to achieve a record net profit of $1.52 billion for first-quarter 2018, CEO Piyush Gupta must be at a loss for words on the recent meltdown of DBS share price. From 30 April to 4 July, DBS share price plummeted from a record $31 to $26.38, a massive decline of 14.4%.

The sudden loss of form for DBS share price must have scared the living daylights out of shareholders. After all, DBS share price had been cruising along fine with its robust set of financial results. Nonetheless, the current performance of DBS share price is not reflective of underlying business fundamentals because as far as I understand, there are no business concerns for DBS at all. The culprit for the fall of DBS share price should be the work of the short-sellers.

Should shareholders run for their lives or keep faith with CEO Piyush Gupta?

Dance with the wolves

The current meltdown is one of the biggest declines in my recent memory of DBS share price. The last time that a correction of such magnitude was back in 2009, the dark days of the Great Financial Crisis and 2016, the peak of the oil slump affecting the banks.

Within two months, OCBC share price fell off the cliff, dropping from almost $14 to $11.50. Such correction is healthy as OCBC share price had been on a spellbinding berserk run since 2017. Thus, investors should not be alarmed by the recent decline in OCBC share price. But at the back of investors’ mind must be whether OCBC share price will return to form with the impending Great Eastern Malaysia divestment. Does the current OCBC share price represent value for money or is it another value trap?

In relation to a query from a reader, many investors may be interested to know the fair value of OCBC share price. To be honest, answering this question is never easy for OCBC shares because the bank holds numerous non-core bank assets that are yet to be, or may even not be, divested in the near future.

Furthermore, even if a counter is trading at its fair value, it may not represent a golden opportunity for investors to buy on the dip. For retail investors, they must be wary of the movement of the short-sellers. You certainly don’t want to be caught off-guarded by the flipping of the whales. In recent months, OCBC share price had been hurt by short-selling activities.

Class is permanent, form is temporary. On 28 June 2018, SingTel stock price collapsed to 9-year low, falling to as low as $3.08. Amid attacks by short-sellers, SingTel stock price retreated to below the psychological level of $3.10. At the rate of decline, SingTel stock price seems destined to free fall to below the $3 mark.

The devastating decline in SingTel stock price would have caused massive paper losses for many wealth builders. Investors would know the theory of “be fearful when the market is full of greed and be greedy when the market is full of fear”. Now that the opportunity arises to invest in a blue chip, would you go for it?

The long-term fundamentals of this evergreen blue chip remain intact. Henceforth, the current bearish trend may provide a good opportunity for investors to accumulate at attractive price. But having said that, it is important to be wary of the movement of the big boys because you don’t want to incur losses when these whales flipped.

Perfect storm

It certainly seems that the bears are out in full force and hell-bent on sending SingTel stock price to the bottom, wiping off $8 billion worth of market capitalization from SingTel stock price.

21 June 2018 would be remembered as a day of reckoning for local telco players as MyRepublic set the mobile market on fire by offering one of the most innovative and competitive data plans in recent years – Smart 35. On the day of the launch, SingTel and StarHub stock prices got bombed-out. Whether the corrections are knee-jerk reactions remain to be seen but MyRepublic certainly debuted in style.

It would be sweet revenge for MyRepublic which had lost out to TPG Telecom in the bidding for the fourth telco license back in 2016. Despite losing the spectrum bid war, MyRepublic vowed to make a comeback back then. And it certainly did. With a bang.

Without having to make heavy investments on the network infrastructure, Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) like MyRepublic is seriously giving incumbent telco players a new dimension of challenge. The biggest winner out of this telco war is of course the consumers. But should investors be punching the wall as SingTel and StarHub stock prices suffered melt-down?

MyRepublic turn on the style

Smart 35 comes with 7GB data, 1000 minutes free talktime and 1000 SMS. There is no contract needed and customers may change plan later at no extra cost.

On 21 June 2018, StarHub share price plunged to a 13 year low. Trading at $1.64, this popular stock is a shadow of its former self. Even during the dark days of the Great Financial Crisis in 2009, StarHub share price had never dipped to such abysmal level.

Certainly, nobody could have predicted Starhub share price would suffer from such a devastating run. When it comes to technology disruptions, it is always a wild card. In the good old days, StarHub can bank on SMS, IDD and Pay TV for growth. But the advent of technology has significantly eroded margins from these former cash cows for telco players.

StarHub’s recent payment row with American entertainment giant, Discovery Channel, also casts a dark shadow over Pay TV business outlook amid stiff competition from video streaming players like NetFlix.

For those who bought StarHub shares at $4.20 in 2015, they would be staring at massive paper losses, even if you factored in the dividends issued during that period. Incoming new CEO, Peter Kaliaropoulos certainly have his work cut out for him when he takes over in July 2018.

But before writing this stock off, it should be highlighted that the current StarHub share price has caused the dividend yield to be at an attractive 9.47%.

Can Hyflux stage an incredible comeback like OSIM? Or rather, does Hyflux even deserve to be rescued? The embattled water treatment specialist has obtained a court protection to restructure its outstanding debts. It has also stopped payment of distribution on its $500 million 6.00% Perpetual Capital Securities which was due on 28 May 2018. The swift turn of events caught shareholders by surprise and marked a treacherous chapter for Hyflux.

Under current circumstances, investors who pumped in their hard-earned monies on the shares and perpetual bonds have every right to be angry with the management of Hyflux. How on earth did the former A-list company end up in such a sorry state is beyond me.

Whether Hyflux can emerge stronger and leaner from this embarrassing fiasco remains to be seen but the corporate drama is so bad that its good, at least from my perspective. When this counter reopens in six month time, investors should ask themselves whether they should run for their lives or risk throwing good money after bad.

I wish I did not have to write this but those who are vested in Hyflux shares or bonds should hope for the best but expect the worst. Check out the other articles written on the Hyflux saga:

Sembcorp Industries should invest in Hyflux Ltd

The holy water of Hyflux Perpetual Securities

Lack of focus

For a start, it certainly seems like Hyflux CEO bites off more than she could chew when she takes on so many board memberships through the years.

After leading SingTel to achieve an impressive record net profit of $5.45 billion for FY2018, CEO Chua Sock Koong must be stumped for words when SingTel share price plunged to a six year low on 18 June 2018. At $3.17 a piece, SingTel share price is technically entering into a bear mode territory. In the context of the current SingTel share price, is this counter a value buy or could it be a falling knife?

Many investors had pointed that the entry of fourth telco player could have played a part in the sharp decline of SingTel share price in recent months. But then again, the earnings from Singapore mobile market is significantly much lesser than that from its Australia Optus and Indonesia Telkomsel. In this regard, the current headwind should be due to its poor performance from its regional associates rather than the heightened competition in Singapore market.

Falling SingTel share price

At current dividend yield of 5.5%, SingTel share price is indeed alluring if you compared it to the coupon rates of the recent Astrea IV bonds and Singapore Savings Bonds. Barring unforeseen circumstances, the Group expects to maintain its ordinary dividends of 17.5 cents per share for the next two financial years.