Category: SG Wealth Builder

It seems that ThaiBev share price is going places. After announcing a stellar full-year financial results, ThaiBev share price is set for a bullish run after the management acknowledged in a SGX filing that they are currently “evaluating strategic proposals and opportunities, including but not limited to a potential listing of its beer business”.

The discussion is still at preliminary stage and there is no certainty that the potential listing may take place. However, this positive development had already sent ThaiBev share price hitting the sky. The recent performance of ThaiBev share price was in stark contrast in 2018, which was when the Thai government implemented the new Excise Tax Act. Effective from 26 January 2018, Thailand government mandated that all alcoholic beverages and tobacco products, both imported and domestically produced, to be charged an additional 2% of excise tax.

In face of the tax increase, the management had turned to merger and acquisition activities to bolster revenue. And the strategy worked like magic. Three major acquisitions helped to fuel revenue performance and turbocharged ThaiBev share price. Among the acquisitions was the successful bid for a 53.59% stake in Saigon Beer – Alcohol – Beverage Corporation (“Sabeco”). ThaiBev also expanded …

The post ThaiBev share price in happy hour mood appeared first on SG Wealth Builder.

During the National Day Rally 2019, Singapore government announced that retirement age will be raised to 65 by 2030. In addition, it was also announced that the proposed adjustments will not affect CPF withdrawal policies or age. The adjustments are necessary due to Singapore ageing workforce and the need to ensure that Singaporeans will be financially independent in their twilight years. Nonetheless, the increase in retirement age will impact the Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS) withdrawal age as it is pegged to the statutory retirement age.

In this article, I will share my view on how the increase in statutory retirement age will impact the SRS withdrawal. As usual, this article is not meant to be a form of financial advice. Please consult a financial advisor if you have doubts. I am writing this article because I am planning to open an SRS account and is sharing my research with readers. If there is any mistake contained within this article, please let me know.

10-year SRS withdrawal period

Although both CPF and SRS serve to provide the retirement needs, there are major differences between the two schemes. CPF focused primarily in housing, medical, education and retirement needs. CPF monthly contribution is …

The post SRS withdrawal for retrenchment benefits? appeared first on SG Wealth Builder.

Crisis? What crisis? On 11 November 2019, DBS Group confounded investors by delivering a surprisingly better-than-expected 3^rd quarter financial results. Many investors had feared the worst for DBS Group share price due to the unfolding Hong Kong civil unrests, Singapore property cooling measures and the cuts in US Federal Reserves’ interest rates. Notwithstanding these challenges, the management navigated the storm relatively well and continued to post great results.

Question now is: will DBS Group share price recapture the height seen in 2018? Make no mistake, the slew of headwinds in 2019 had taken some shine off DBS Group share price as the market deals with the onslaught of uncertainties.

While DBS Group cannot control macro-economic conditions, the bank continued to power ahead with its business front. Compared to a year ago, total income for 3^rd quarter surged 13% to $3.82 billion while net profit stormed 15% to $1.63 billion. Interestingly, against the backdrop of declining US interest rates, DBS Group actually increased its Net Interest Margin (NIM) to 1.9% from 1.86% a year ago. Return on equity (ROE) also reached a high of 13.4%. Given such stellar results, where will DBS Group share price go from here?

Note …

The post DBS Group share price in path of glory appeared first on SG Wealth Builder.

As 2019 comes to an end, let’s take a look at how gold price has performed. Looking back, 2019 will be remembered for a year of great uncertainties. The protracted trade war between US and China continued to rattle global economy. Brexit continued to drag on at this point of writing. And then the civil unrests in Hong Kong exploded out of nowhere in the middle of the year.

Amid the turmoil, gold price went on a rampage to reach a euphoric high of USD1544 per ounce on 3 September 2019. This is a remarkable surge of 20% since January 2019. Of course, this was still way off the peak of USD1900 per ounce seen in 2011, but current form of gold price reflected the resilience of the yellow metal.

Since the high seen in September, gold price had cooled off quite a bit. But a few factors could provide critical support for gold price in the coming months.

Gold price rally to continue?

It remains to be seen whether the rally for gold price will continue right into 2020. But the macroeconomic condition certainly lend support for continued momentum in gold price. Global trade tensions have not reduced and …

The post Gold price in high heaven appeared first on SG Wealth Builder.

With an acronym like MUST, it seems like investing in Manulife US REIT will not go wrong. Indeed, the unit price had been surging from USD0.80 since the start of the year to the current USD0.94. Listed in May 2016, this REIT has a strong sponsor in Manulife Insurance Company, a leading Canada-based financial services group. Despite having a strong pedigree, it has not always been a bed of rose for this REIT.

Like many of its peers, Manulife US REIT unit price had been lacklustre in the initial year of listing. Looking back, the counter had been trading below its offering price of US0.83 per for most of 2016 and 2017. Then the unit price took on a life of its own when Temasek Holdings, through DBS Bank, increased its stake from 3.78% to 5.49% in July 2017. Subsequently, Manulife US REIT unit price enjoyed a splendid run, surging from US0.80 in July 2017 to hit a high of almost USD1.00 in February 2018. The bull run in unit price created plenty of wealth for unitholders.

However, in 2018, Manulife US REIT suffered a torrid run. This is because in that year, the US Federal Reserve raised interest rates …

The post Manulife US REIT (MUST) in explosive rally appeared first on SG Wealth Builder.

What a calamity. Singtel share price looks set for a roller-coaster ride following a shocking 2^nd quarter loss amounting to $674 million. Yes, that’s right. It is net loss of $674 million, vis-à-vis $661 million of net profit recorded in 2QFY2019. The mind-blowing loss was attributed to Airtel’s exceptional item.

The latest result came on the back of an eighth consecutive quarter of declining profits/losses. Question now is: where would Singtel share price go from here?

I have been a big fan of Singtel for years but I could not recall the last time in which Singtel recorded such massive losses. To be honest I am totally speechless by the latest results. Given the latest development, there is a high possibility of Singtel share price reaching my entry price of $2.60 in the coming days.

According to Singtel’s media release, the telco’s subsidiary, Airtel was hit by an adverse Indian court ruling in relation to definition of “adjusted gross revenue” (AGR) for the Indian telco industry. Singtel share of the provision amounted to a whopping pre-tax $1.93 billion. The explosive loss would surely cause confidence in Singtel share price to be shaken.

Apart from the Airtel’s exception item, operating …

The post Singtel share price faces disaster appeared first on SG Wealth Builder.

When CapitaLand and City Development (CDL) teamed up to develop the 3.7 hectares residential site next to BuangKok MRT station in 2018, it promised to be a match made in heaven. Indeed, there was tremendous market hype as the two developers are the big boys in the real estate sector. The last time the two titans combined forces was in 2007 for the Botannia project in West Coast. Thus, it is not surprising that Sengkang Grand Residences became the best-selling integrated project in 2019.

But what raised plenty of eyebrows was the strong response shown during the launch day of Sengkang Grand Residences. 216 of the 280 units had been sold at an average price of $1,700 per square feet (psf). Prices for the integrated project start from $798,000 for a one-bedroom plus study unit, $998,000 for a two-bedroom, $1.498 million for a three-bedroom, and $2.1 million for a four-bedroom premium plus flexi. With such selling prices for Sengkang Grand Residences, one could be forgiven for thinking that it is a seller’s market now. But is it really so?

The selling prices of Sengkang Grand Residences are certainly mind-blowing. After all, the block-buster performance came against the backdrop of …

The post Sengkang Grand Residences a dream or nightmare for buyers? appeared first on SG Wealth Builder.

It’s official. 3QFY2019 results for OCBC showed that the Hong Kong protests did not rupture its businesses nor impact its growth. On the contrary, OCBC Hong Kong actually reported an 11% increase in net profit on year-on-year basis. In this regard, many investors must be able to sleep better at night. But is OCBC share price really out of the woods?

Despite taming the menacing fallout from the Hong Kong protests, there are signs that OCBC share price have peaked. In today’s context, it is unlikely that OCBC share price will hit the giddy high of $13.80 in 2018. The latest financial results revealed some hits and misses for the venerable bank. In this article, lets delve into the quality of OCBC 3^rd quarter earnings and the potential outlook for OCBC share price.

Note that this is an opinion article and not meant to be a financial advice. Please do your due diligence or engage financial advisors before investing in the stock market. Furthermore, I am not vested and have never invested in this counter before. Whether OCBC share price will surge or collapse has no impact on me. Thus, this article is not meant to induce readers to …

The post OCBC share price won the battle but lost the war appeared first on SG Wealth Builder.

Will unit price of Eagle Hospitality Trust blow up in pieces? Investors of Eagle Hospitality Trust look set for plenty of sleepless nights following more stunning revelations, which came straight after The Queen Mary fiasco. This time round, the management’s response to SGX queries on 1 November raised more concerns than assurance to investors. Why is that so?

Eagle Hospitality Trust initial asset portfolio consists of 18 properties, out of which 12 properties were owned by the Sponsor under its USHI Portfolio. The other 6 properties were from the ASAP6 Portfolio in which the properties were purchased from “third party ASAP6 Portfolio vendors”. The latest issue centred around the ASAP6 portfolio, and the information could provide a plausible rationale for the massive sell-offs by the big boys in recent months.

Note that this is an opinion article and not meant to be a financial advice. Please do your due diligence or engage financial advisors before investing in the stock market. Furthermore, I am not vested and have never invested in this counter before. Whether Eagle Hospitality Trust unit price will surge or collapse has no impact on me. Thus, this article is not meant to induce readers to make any …

The post Eagle Hospitality Trust to blow up in pieces? appeared first on SG Wealth Builder.

It is the 3Q financial reporting season for the banks again. Will UOB share price edge over DBS and OCBC? With only 3 branches in Hong Kong, UOB Group has significantly smaller exposure to the Hong Kong civil unrests as compared to DBS and OCBC. But this is not to say that it is going to be a jolly ride for UOB share price.

For UOB share price, the real battle to be fought is actually the home ground – Singapore. After all, Singapore market is responsible for more than half of its operating profit. With Singapore economy slowing down in 2019, the outlook for UOB seems to be challenging.

By and large, 9MFY2019 results reflected a resilient performance as net interest income and net profit grew 7% and 8% respectively on a year-on-year basis. The report suggests that the strategy by merger wizard, Wee Cho Yaw, to focus growth mainly in Singaporean and South East Asia region had been prudent. As a result, I do not see UOB share price being shattered by the on-going fallout from the Hong Kong protests. The situation is different for DBS and OCBC, which had extensive businesses in Hong Kong through Dao Heng …

The post UOB share price in royal rumble with DBS and OCBC appeared first on SG Wealth Builder.