Thursday, December 22, 2005

STI @ 2323.66


STI closed at 2300.25 at end of Nov and it has been rising to 2323.66 when it closed today. Year 2005 is coming to a end and let hope STI continuing it run till end of the year and mantain its stream till next year. There are around eight IPOs that close application this month and only two that interest us is Genting and SP Ausnet. Genting managed to rise around 8% during the first day of debut but SP Ausnet is still below its IPO since the day it has started trading this month. For more posting regarding these two IPOs, you can track the news at this forum.


A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you. Thank for the support.

Tuesday, November 29, 2005

K-Reit


Today Keppel Land has announced that it will be launching a new REIT in the first quarter of 2006. The new REIT will be called K-Reit. Initially, the properties that K-Reit own will be Keppel Land's office properties, which are Keppel Towers, GE Tower, Bugis Junction Towers and KepLand's 44% share of the space at Prudential Tower. This REIT counter will be focusing on Office and it nearest competition will be CCT which is trading at around 4.9% yield. At the present moment, no information is provided by Keppel Land on the yield of K-REIT. I think we can use CCT as a minimum benchmark as K-REIT will be very similar to CCT. There will be no IPO for this REIT counter as Keppel Land intends to distribute 200 shares of K-REIT for every 1000 shares of Keppel Land held. The only way to get a hold of this new REIT is either buying Keppel Land share at open market or buy the REIT counter when it started trading in 1Q06.

Maybe this is a good way to launch REIT now as the current market sentiment to REIT IPO is not that great as PRIME REIT is trading below IPO price now and the rest of the REIT counters has drop around 15%. Anyway, all these will only happen when Keppel Land shareholder approve the deal.

Let see how the event unfold.

Thursday, November 17, 2005

Prime Reit


Well, Prime Reit has hit $0.975 in the afternoon trading and it is now trading below it IPO price (Hope that it will not close below it IPO price today). Look like Prime Reit will be the first REIT counter that is trading below it IPO price in the recent years since SGX started trading of REIT counter. Does this mean that REIT counter has lost it shine in Singapore market? How will this affects Centrepoint, F&N and other properties counters like UOL, UIC, Keppeland, etc in raising their fund. Will this affect their plan of offering REITs. With the recent interest rate hike, look like REIT counters will need to offer higher yield in order to attract investor to park their fund. There is only two ways to acheive that; one is the downward movement of the share price, while the other is to increase their revenue so that the DPU they paid out will make the share price look attractive. More work for the REIT management to improve yield :)

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Wednesday, November 02, 2005

Start of Nov Trading Month


Well, today is the first trading day of November in Singapore market and the market has react in a positive manner (STI is up by 30.21 in the morning session trading). We finally can said good bye to October. STI was 2305.14 on 30 Sept 2005 and it end at 2216.77 on 31 Oct 2005. A drop of 88.37 points. Is it true that October always caused the Singapore market to drop. I decided to check the STI record for the past 6 years and the following are the results I get:

2005 2305.14(Sept) 2216.77 (Oct) -88.37
2004 1984.74(Sept) 1980.69(Oct) -4.05
2003 1630.80(Sept) 1723.71(Oct) +92.91
2002 1352.30(Sept) 1463.37(Oct) +111.07
2001 1319.53(Sept) 1367.84(Oct) +48.31
2000 1997.03(Sept) 1976.54(Oct) -20.49

Well, it is a tie between the last past 6 years. So the conclusion is never time the market. Trust your own research.

Friday, October 28, 2005

Prime @ 0.98

Well, look like Prime will be the first REIT counter that hit it IPO price since listing. I wonder whether it will close 0.98 today. Recently, there is a gentle weakness in all REIT counters listed in SGX. This maybe due to the interest rate increasing especially the T-Bill offer by MAS has been staying around 2.2%, thus the margain behind REIT is around 2.5% depending on which REIT counters you are buying. Let hope Prime REIT can maintain at 0.98 today or recover, or else Prime will be the first REIT counter to close before IPO price. Furthermore, it has the most "PRIME" location of Singapore.

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Thursday, October 13, 2005

Talkstock Forum

Oop, found out that the link that I provided in my previous posting is wrong. This is the correct link for the forum Talkstock Forum

Monday, October 10, 2005

New Forum - TalkStock


Recently, we has decided to start a forum called TalkStock, where all the information on the stocks that interested us can be stored and display. Furthermore, it is much more easy for us to discuss and track topic on stock as the forum has independent link for each stock that we created. For those who read this blogsite and would like to continuing reading on the stock in Singapore market, please refer to link provided above. In addition, you are encourage to join in the discussion to share your view in this forum as well.

Thursday, September 29, 2005

Suntec @ 1.15

Extracted From Dow Jones



Singapore Suntec To Hike Carpark Charges From Oct 1

SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--Suntec City, Singapore's largest office and retail development by floor space, will hike carpark charges from Oct. 1 in a move that could add a few million dollars to Suntec Real Estate Investment Trust's (T82U.SG) bottom-line.

Confirming the increase, Suntec REIT Chief Executive Yeo See Kiat said late Wednesday he expects the price revision to improve carpark utilization rates. This will result in more cars coming in and out of the carpark "which would also translate to improved business for tenants," he added.


The increased carpark fees won't go directly to Suntec REIT as the 3,125 lot carpark comes under the management corporation, an entity that maintains the entire Suntec City complex on behalf of all its owners.

Suntec REIT, which owns about 75% of the strata units in Suntec City, should, however, benefit from reduced contributions to the management corporation in the months ahead, a source linked to Suntec City said.

According to its Nov. 29, 2004 prospectus, Suntec REIT pays the management corporation around S$17.5 million a year in maintenance fees.

Peak hour parking charges at Suntec City are currently among the lowest in Singapore's central business district at S$1.05 an hour or part thereof for the first three hours, and S$1.05 per subsequent half hour.

But starting Oct. 1, the charges will be revised to S$1.05 for the first hour, and S$1.05 for every subsequent half hour. While a person who parks his car for one hour won't be affected, someone who parks there for two to three hours will have to pay 50%-67% more in parking fees.

By way of comparison, the government's Urban Redevelopment Authority charges S$1.00 for every half hour during peak hours while landlords in the central business district charge as much as S$2.50 per half hour.

Suntec City's off-peak rate - which applies 5:00 p.m. to midnight on weekdays and on weekends and public holidays - will be adjusted to S$1.05 for the first two hours and S$1.05 per hour thereafter, up from the current S$1.05 for every two hours

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Monday, September 26, 2005

Prime Reit


Extracted From Dow Jones



Singapore's Prime REIT Overallotment Fully Exercised

SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--Macquarie Securities (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., the manager for the Prime Real Estate Investment Trust initial public offering, said Monday the over-allotment option of 47.15 million units in the REIT has been fully exercised.

It also said it hasn't undertaken any stabilizing action in the stock market and won't do so in the future.


Prime REIT, which owns stakes in two Orchard Road properties, closed unchanged at S$1.05 Monday, up 7.1% from its IPO price of 98 cents a unit.

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Monday, September 19, 2005

Singtel

Extracted From Dow Jones Newswires



UPDATE: SingTel Faces Stiffer Competition In Indonesia

(This story was first published at 1128 GMT Friday)

By Jessica Tan

Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

JAKARTA (Dow Jones)--PT Telekomunikasi Selular, an Indonesian mobile company 35% owned by Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. (T48.SG), expects heightened competition in 2006, posing another challenge to SingTel's earnings goals.

Telkomsel, Indonesia's biggest mobile operator by market share, Friday warned that average revenue per customer would fall 12%-14% in 2006 and, subject to shareholder approval, may cut its 2005 dividend to 50% of profit from 60% in 2004.

Attracted by Indonesia's relatively low mobile penetration rate, foreign telecommunications companies are queuing to begin operations in Southeast Asia's most populous nation.

Only about 18% of Indonesia's 220 million people have cell phones - among the lowest penetration rates in Asia.

Malaysia's Maxis Communications Bhd., which owns 51% of PT Natrindo Telepon Selular, and Hong Kong-listed Hutchison Telecommunications International Ltd., which has 60% of PT Cyber Access Communications, are expected to begin operating in Indonesia in 2006.

Telkomsel, which generated 16% of SingTel's net profit of S$796 million for its first quarter ended June 30, is putting a brave face on developments.

"We are not afraid of competition," Chief Executive Kiskenda Suriahardja told reporters at a briefing Friday.

"We are ready for competition as long as competition is rational competition," he said.

Telkomsel's 65% shareholder is PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (TLKM.JK), or Telkom.

Kiskenda predicted Telkomsel, which has about 50% of Indonesia's mobile market, would at least maintain this market share in 2006.

The company expects to have 25 million customers at the end of 2005, compared with 22.5 million at June 30.

But the drive to retain market share may come at the expense of profit margins and dividends, particularly with Telkomsel ramping up capital expenditure in a preemptive move against the new entrants.

The prospect of greater competition in Indonesia comes on top of recent weakness in the Indonesian rupiah, which SingTel has said could hurt its share of earnings from Telkomsel.

SingTel, which is counting on its regional mobile businesses to deliver its goal of double digit earnings growth, is also facing pressure in Australia, where intense competition and a slowing telecommunications market has hit profit margins at its Optus unit.

Optus contributes over two thirds of SingTel's annual revenue.

The company faces similar problems in its home market Singapore, where mobile penetration is near 100% and the fixed line business has only limited prospects for growth.

Kiskenda said Telkomsel will spend US$800 million to US$850 million on capital expenditure in 2005, up from the previous estimate of US$700 million.

At the briefing, Kiskenda said the company will extend its network to cover all the sub counties of Bail and Java to lock in subscribers before new competitors launch their services.

In 2005, the company forecasts revenue and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization to grow 30% from 2004.

Kiskenda didn't give a forecast for 2006.

SingTel, which is 61.8% owned by Singapore's state-owned investment company Temasek Holdings Pte Ltd., has spent about S$20 billion over the past few years to bolster its regional presence.

The company's five regional associates accounted for 36%, or S$273 million, of the group's first quarter underlying net profit - up 23% from a year earlier.

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Saturday, September 17, 2005

Prime REIT : IPO Results

Fm SGX,

APPLICATIONS AND INDICATIONS OF INTEREST RECEIVED

The Board of Directors of the Manager is pleased to announce that at the close of the Offering (as defined in the Prospectus), 27,876 valid applications pursuant to the Public Offer were received for a total of approximately 712,807,000 Units (excluding the 28,000,000 Reserved Units which have been applied for by the Eligible Applicants). In addition, indications of interest pursuant to the Placement Tranche were received for a total of approximately 20.975 billion Units. The total demand for approximately 21.716 billion Units under the Offering represents approximately 35 times the 629,068,000 Units available for subscription under the Offering (assuming the Over-Allotment Option is fully exercised).

To allow, among other things, sufficient time for the allocation of Units to overseas investors to be completed, an announcement of the allocation and spread of investors in respect of the Placement Tranche will be made via SGXNET before the commencement of trading in the Units on a “ready” basis on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited (the “SGX-ST”), which is expected to be 2.00 p.m. on 20 September 2005.

APPLICATION RESULTS FOR THE PUBLIC OFFER

To ensure a reasonable spread of unitholders, DBS Bank Ltd, Deutsche Bank AG, Singapore Branch, J.P. Morgan (S.E.A.) Limited and Macquarie Securities (Singapore) Pte. Limited (collectively, the “Joint Lead Underwriters and Bookrunners”), in consultation with the Manager, have decided that successful applicants who submitted valid applications for the 30,000,000 Units available under the Public Offer (excluding the Reserved Units) complying in full with the terms and conditions set out in the Prospectus, and who have been successfully balloted, will be allocated all or a proportion of the Units for which they have applied. The allocations are as follows:

Previous Post


Range of Units
applied for
under the
Public Offer
('000)

Balloting
Ratio

Number of
Units allocated
per Successful
Applicant
('000)

1

17 : 50

1

2 to 9

18 : 50

2

10 to 49

19 : 50

3

50 to 99

20 : 50

4

100 to 499

21 : 50

5

500 to 999

22 : 50

7

1,000 and above

25 : 50

12

Friday, September 16, 2005

Suntec @ 1.14


SINGAPORE PRESS: Suntec-CityDev Deal May Unravel

SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--Suntec Real Estate Investment Trust's (T82U.SG) S$788 million deal to buy 11 properties from City Developments Ltd. (C09.SG) could unravel as the trust hasn't yet received regulatory approval for the purchase, the Straits Times reports.

According to the paper, the deal is supposed to be completed by Oct. 15 but that's not possible now judging by the little time remaining.

"The Oct. 15 date assumed Reit unit holders would have approved the acquisitions at a meeting to be held by Sept. 30. But that would have required the Reit to send unit holders a circular detailing the buy 14 days before the meeting," the Straits Times said.

According to the report, Yeo See Kiat, the chief executive of ARA Trust Management (Suntec), the Reit manager, confirmed the delay but declined to explain the difficulties in getting approvals from the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Singapore Exchange.

Quoting industry sources, the Straits Times says the issues concerned Suntec's plan to defer part of the payment to CityDev which could mislead investors by improving yields in the short-term.

Web site: http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg

Comment: Look like Suntec is facing a problem on the deal of CDL. I think the ARA management got alot of explaination to make on the meeting. Ever since the annoucement on the deal of CDL, they are facing negative report. Futhermore, the management status report on the deal is not that forthcoming. Need to improve on their PR skill to shareholder.

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Thursday, September 15, 2005

Creative Webcam Design

Creative has announces a breakthough in webcam design. Please refer to the press release

Press Release

Creative Announces a Breakthrough in Webcam Design
Wednesday September 14, 7:00 am ET

WebCam Live! Motion Combines Motorized Pan-N-Tilt Movement with a Wide-Angle Lens to Deliver MaxView Unmatched 200-Degree Horizontal and 105-Degree Vertical Views

MILPITAS, Calif., Sept. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Creative (Nasdaq: CREAF - News), a worldwide leader in digital entertainment solutions, today announced a breakthrough in webcam design with the WebCam Live!® Motion. Featuring MaxView(TM), a combination of motorized Pan-n-Tilt and a ViewPlus(TM) 76-degree wide-angle lens, in addition to Smart Face Tracking, the WebCam Live! Motion quietly and smoothly follows user movements during video instant messaging. Capable of capturing high-resolution panoramic images with one easy click, the WebCam Live! Motion is now available for only US$149.99 at http://www.us.creative.com/.

The WebCam Live! Motion auto Pan-n-Tilt feature gives users the freedom of movement during video instant messaging with friends, family or business colleagues. The WebCam Live! Motion automatically follows users' natural movements during conversations, so they don't have to continually make manual adjustments to stay centered in the field of view. Users can select Smart Face Tracking so the WebCam Live! Motion follows the movements of one person, or they can leave it off to include the whole group. Ideal for broadband users, the Creative WebCam Live! Motion incorporates true high-speed USB 2.0 for delivering crisp, high-resolution video at up to twice the video frame rates of USB 1.1 cameras.

"We previewed the WebCam Live! Motion to the media in New York and San Francisco, and the journalists got really excited about how our WebCam physically moves to follow motion during video instant messaging, and how it quietly spans the room to take panoramic pictures," said Sim Wong Hoo, chairman and CEO of Creative. "And as much as we heard about the great performance, we also heard a lot of comments about how cool the WebCam Live! Motion looks."

The WebCam Live! Motion features a high-quality CCD sensor, and it delivers video at VGA 640x480 quality and software-enhanced still images of up to 1.3 megapixels. An ultra-smooth, exceptionally quiet precision Pan-N-Tilt motor enables the camera to deliver fluid video without distracting motor noise.

The WebCam Live! Motion looks great on any desktop or notebook monitor. Available in either pearl white or charcoal gray with a luminescent blue glowing ring on each side, the WebCam Live! Motion commands attention as it sits atop any desktop or notebook PC. The patent-pending Multi-Attach base easily and securely attaches the webcam to any flat panel, CRT monitor or notebook display for optimal positioning during video instant messaging.

Creative WebCam Center

The WebCam Live! Motion includes Creative's comprehensive WebCam Center application, which enables the following:

  • Capture of live video or images, including a Panoramic feature that enables capture of a full 200-degree view of any space at high resolution;
  • Remote monitoring -- for remotely capturing images of home or office which can be automatically uploaded to a website;
  • Motion detection -- to record video of any movement near the WebCam Live! Motion and e-mail an alert that motion has been detected. The video can then be broadcast or saved to the PC;
  • Time lapse video -- captures and replays snapshots taken over a period of time, enabling quick replay of a flower blooming or other event that would be difficult to capture in real time.

The Creative WebCam Center also enables video and pictures to be sent during conversations on Yahoo Messenger with a simple click of a button. Creative's complete line of webcams work seamlessly with Yahoo! Messenger and other popular instant messaging software, including AIM, MSN Messenger, and Windows Messenger, and come with a dedicated, high-quality microphone or headset to provide superior voice quality and clarity during video instant messaging.

All Creative webcams ship with the award-winning SightSpeed(TM) software for unparalleled, seamless video and audio sync over broadband during video calls, video e-mail, and text messaging. Creative webcams also include software from My Orb to allow users to remotely monitor their home from any Internet-enabled mobile phone, PDA or PC. The Live! Motion webcam includes One-Click Panoramic Photo Snap software for automatically taking several continuous still photos and stitching them together to create a high-resolution panoramic picture.

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Comment: Recently, Creative has been introducing a lot of new products like Zen Vision, the new XiFi soundcard series and now with this new webcam design. Although, this launch of webcam does not have much impact compared to the Zen and XiFi but with the increasing use of broadband and alot of young users keen on video messaging, it may be a silent product that help Creative capture upcoming market. The present webcam in the market just provide basic feature.

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

PRIME REIT IPO


Issue statistics:

Offer size: 581,918,000 new shares
Public Offer - 30,000,000 shares
Reserved Units - 28,000,000 shares
Placement Tranche - 523,918,000 shares
Price: S$0.98
Yield: 5.12% Based on S$0.98/Share
Capitalisation: S$1,344,140,000, based on the Offering Price (S$0.98 per Unit)
Open: 13 September 2005
Close: 16 September 2005, 8.00AM
Trading: 20 September 2005 (on "when issued" basis)

Extracted From Prospectuses

Background Information

Prime REIT is a real estate investment trust with an initial property portfolio consisting of the Wisma Atria Property (331 strata lots in Wisma Atria representing 74.23% of the total share value of the strata lots in Wisma Atria) and the Ngee Ann City Property (four strata lots representing 27.23% of the total share value of the strata lots in Ngee Ann City), which are both landmark properties (with retail and office components) located in Orchard Road.

The Manager believes that an investment in Prime REIT will offer Unitholders the following attractions:
• Opportunity to invest in a portfolio of landmark properties located in Orchard Road, the heart of Singapore’s premier shopping and tourist precinct;
• Exposure to diversified retail and office properties;
• Stable income underpinned by strong portfolio fundamentals;
• Active management of properties to generate organic growth;
• Capital growth opportunities through acquisitions;
• Management Fees structured to incentivise and align interests of the Manager with that of Unitholders;
• Capital structure providing future funding flexibility;
• Experienced professional managers;
• High distribution payout ratio; and
• Tax benefits for Unitholders.

One of the primary objectives of Prime REIT is to provide Unitholders with stable distributions on a quarterly basis. The stability of Prime REIT’s distribution is underpinned by its strong portfolio fundamentals. As at 31 January 2005, Committed Occupancy for retail space in the Wisma Atria Property and the Ngee Ann City Property was 96.9% and 100.0% respectively, while Committed Occupancy for office space was 94.0% and 88.5% respectively. The weighted average lease term to expiry (by Net Lettable Area) of 4.2 years for the period from 31 January 2005 for both the retail and office components of the Properties also underpins the stability of future income for Prime REIT.

A summary of Prime REIT’s forecast and projected distribution yields is set out in the table below based on a distribution of 2.51 Singapore cents for the six months from 1 July 2005 to 31 December 2005 and a distribution of 5.25 Singapore cents for FY2006. Unitholders are expected to benefit from 4.5% growth in annualised distributions over the Forecast Period 2005 and the Projection Year 2006.

Forecast Period 2005 2.51(1) 5.12%(2) n.a.
Projection Year 2006 5.25 5.35% 4.5%(3)

(1) This amount is based on the assumption that the Units are issued on 1 July 2005 and are eligible for distributions arising from operations from 1 July 2005 to 31 December 2005. Since the Units will be issued at a later date, investors will only be entitled to distributions arising from operations from the date of issue of the Units to 31 December 2005.
(2) Annualised.
(3) Based on annualised figures derived from the figures for the Forecast Period 2005.
(See “Profit Forecast and Profit Projection”.)

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Wednesday, September 07, 2005

GTC : 1H05 Results

Results for 1H05 fm SGX,

Singapore, September 5, 2005 – Newly-listed Global Testing Corporation Limited (“GTC” or the “Group”), a company specialising in mixed signal and logic IC testing, today reported that revenue was down 12% to US$11.7 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2005 (“2QFY2005”), compared to 2QFY2004. Net profit decreased by 55% to US$2.5 million, compared to US$5.4 million recorded in the previous corresponding period.

On a half-yearly basis, Group revenue was down 14% from US$23.4 million in 1HFY2004 to US$20.0 million in 1HFY2005. Net profit declined 67% to US$2.5 million in 1HFY2005 from US$7.6 million in 1HFY2004. Mr Yang said: “On the back of a strong 2QFY2004 performance which coincided with the peak of the last semiconductor cycle, our interim results were impacted during the half year under review. This is in line with our earlier guidance in our IPO prospectus that Group’s net profit is expected to be lower year-on-year for the first half of FY2005, compared to the previous corresponding period. New designs for mobile handsets and digital handheld devices fueled volume growth and inventory build-up.”

On a sequential basis, Group revenue rose to US$11.7 million in 2QFY2005, up 42% from US$8.3 million in 1QFY2005. The Group’s net profit surged 6025% to US$2.5 million in 2QFY2005. Mr Yang commented: “Our strong growth in the second quarter of 2005 compared to the first quarter was driven by the rapid recovery in the semiconductor industry. We also successfully increased our revenue share for some of our existing major fabless customers such as Realtek and Sunplus.”

Capital expenditure (“capex”) committed in 2QFY2005 was US$12.8 million, principally for new capabilities and production equipment. Total capex committed in 1HFY2005 was US$15.8 million.

Gross margin for 2QFY2005 remains at a healthy level of 43.8% compared to 55.1% in the previous corresponding period, despite a decrease in utilization rate in 2QFY2005. However, the Group’s gross margin improved on a sequential basis from 33.1% in 1QFY2005 to 43.8% in 2QFY2005. This was mainly due to the Group’s better product and improved machine utilization rates, which rose from 56% in 1QFY2005 to 80% in 2QFY2005.

Basic earnings per share registered was 0.35 US cent in 2QFY2005. Net asset value per share was 11.38 US cents as at June 30, 2005.

Growth Strategies

Going forward, the Group believes that its growth in 3QFY2005 will be driven by increased wafer testing opportunities as its customers are guiding for a rapid increase in total wafer volume during the period. The demand for consumer IC testing, such as DVD chips, STB chips, HDD (hard disk drive) controller IC, gaming applications IC and LAN IC, is also expected to be strong.

Mr Yang said: “We expect our gross margin in 3QFY2005 to improve further with higher machine utilization rates, compared to the average of 80% recorded in 2QFY2005, as well as increasing wafer testing volume from major foundry customers and improving average selling prices. We expect these positive trends to continue, based on our customers’ current forecasts.”

Going forward, the Group intends to embark on a concerted sales strategy to focus on the provision of higher margin wafer sorting of mixed signal semiconductors to fabless companies and integrated device manufacturers. “We plan to leverage on our strong capabilities in wafer sorting and consumer mixedsignal IC testing to tap on these opportunities brought about by the growth in the trend of outsourcing semiconductor testing services by IDMs and fabless companies,” added Mr Yang. In addition, the Group plans to extend its capabilities to meet the demand for testing of larger wafers such as 12 inch (300 mm) wafers. The Group intends to utilize part of its IPO proceeds to purchase new factory premises, plant and equipment and construct ancillary facilities to handle this demand.

Comments - Results bad compared to last year, but improved fm Q1 and expected to improve further in Q3. At least, still profitable

Tuesday, September 06, 2005

UOL @ 2.35


UOL Consortium Wins Bid For One-North Condo

Extracted From Dow Jones Newswires.

By Kevin Lim Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--A joint venture between United Overseas Land Ltd. (U14.SG), Kheng Leong Group and Low Keng Huat Ltd. (L32.SG) has won the bidding to develop the first condominium complex at Singapore's One-North research hub.

Liam Wee Sin, group general manager of UOL, told a press conference Tuesday that the joint venture, Vista Development Pte. Ltd., paid the Singapore government S$108.9 million for the land.

This works out to about S$255 per square foot of built-up space, he said.

When completed by the end of 2008, the futuristic 350-380 unit complex with sky gardens and aerial linkways will house researchers and other people working at One-North.

The 200-hectare One-North site has been set aside for research and development in the western part of the city-state near the National University of Singapore.

Vista is 50% owned by Kheng Leong, an investment company controlled by the family of Wee Cho Yaw, who is chairman of United Overseas Bank Ltd. (U11.SG), one of Singapore's largest lenders.

UOL owns 30% of the Vista with the remaining 20% owned by Low Keng Huat. Both the Wee family and UOB have stakes in UOL.

Pratik Burman Ray, a property analyst at UOB's stock broking arm UOB-Kay Hian, said the project's break-even cost will likely be in the region of S$550 per square foot.

This estimate takes into consideration the higher cost of building such a development and likely interest payments over the development period.

Chong Lit Cheong, chief executive of JTC Corp., the government agency responsible for the island's science and industrial parks, said One-North will eventually have more than 20,000 apartment units when fully developed 20 to 30 years from now.

Biopolis, a complex that houses government-funded institutes and companies engaged in medical and biotechnology research, is already operating in One-North, as is the Singapore campus of Insead, a European business school.

Previous Post on UOL

Disclaimer: The above information is for your pleasure reading only. USE THE INFORMATION AT YOUR OWN RISK. Make your own decision for any investment.

Singtel @ 2.50


Singtel drop around $0.08 (around 3%) today. The recent downside of Singtel is mainly due to concern on weakness of Australia unit, Optus which will affects Singtel earning growth. Telstra, which is one of the main competitor of Optus has issued a profit warning. Telstra mentioned that the full year profit will be down by around 7-10%. As Optus generate around 24% to the group earning in Q1. Any profit decrease in the Australia unit will affect Singtel earning growth. Furthermore, with the recent weakness in Rupiah, the contribution by Telkomsel in Indonesia will affect Singtel earning as well. The Indonesia unit contribute around 20% in Q1. In addition, Singtel is also facing challenges in Singapore market as it has been losing market share in Singapore market.

Comment: I had sold all my Singtel shares before the dividend payout. Can consider to buy back on this recent weakness. The only concern is whether Temasek would do a sale of Singtel share since Temasek had recently bought some stack in Bank of China. Based on the today closing price, the dividend yield will be around 5% if Singtel give around the same dividend of $0.13 per share. My Target Price: $2.45

Previous Post on Singtel


Disclaimer: The above information is for your pleasure reading only. USE THE INFORMATION AT YOUR OWN RISK. Make your own decision for any investment.

Singpost @ $1.08


Singpost had been climbing steadily from $0.90 to $1.00 range in June 05 to $1.00 to $1.10 range and it has hit a recent high of $1.10 last week. There maybe a chance that it will hit new high this week based on the following recommend points by UOB Kay Hian.

  • Improving Fundamentals - Strong 1QFY06 Results. Improving Market Conditions which increase marketing activities of residential projects as developers are increasing using direct mails for new launches.
  • Upside in Dividend Pay-Out - Attractive dividend policy of 80-90% payout with a minimum of $0.05/Share should result in a net yield of around 4.5% to 5.0%.
  • Potential Divestment of Singapore Post Centre (SPC) - SPC can be sold. Based on its latest net book value of $321 million, divestment could bring in proceeds of $0.17/share.
  • 6 Month Target of $1.20/share

Previous Post on Singpost

Comment: Singpost has also provide financial services, which will increase it operating revenue. Furthermore, Singpost is maximizing the existing infrastructure by distributing Yellow Pages to residential letter box in recents months as well as providing direct mail advertisement for Air Asia and other companies.

Disclaimer: The above information is for your pleasure reading only. USE THE INFORMATION AT YOUR OWN RISK. Make your own decision for any investment.

Saturday, September 03, 2005

BH Global Marine Ltd - IPO

BH Global Marine Limited

Issue statistics:
Offer size: 70m new shares
Public Tranche - 4m shares
Placement Tranche - 66m shares
Price: S$0.20
NTA per share (post-IPO): S$0.082
Historical PE: 6.1x (FY04)
Market Cap (post-IPO): S$56.0m
Open: 1 September 2005
Close: 8 September 2005, 12.00noon
Trading: 12 September 2005 (on "when issued" basis)
Lead Manager: Hong Leong Finance

The Singapore-based company supplies a comprehensive range of marine electrical products to ship chandlers, ship owners, ship management companies, shipyard operators and ship repair contractors. It expects the company's growth to be driven by the following factors: a) growth of shipping traffic through Singapore, and b) growth of the shipbuilding and ship repair industry in Singapore.

Revenue climbed 35.7% from S$18.1m in FY03 to S$24.6m in FY04. Earnings swelled 119.5% from S$3.1m in FY03 to S$6.9m in FY04 on the back of higher sales.

BH Global
Estimated net IPO proceeds of S$12.4m will be used for the following:

  1. S$3.0m to increase its inventory level, both in quantity and range.
  2. S$2.5m to repay a term loan drawn down from Malayan Banking Berhad.
  3. S$1.5m for the extension, addition and alteration works for a leasehold property.
  4. S$0.5m to develop and expand a portfolio of OEM marine electrical products bearing its own name and to engage professional advice to assist in improving its brands for international registration as trademarks.
  5. S$4.9m for stepping up its marketing efforts to other markets and for general working capital purposes.

COMMENTARY

Fm the IPO Prospectus,

Page 20~25 - RISKS RELATING TO OUR BUSINESS

We are dependent on certain major customers
Our top four customers collectively accounted for 31.8%, 33.2% and 40.4% of our revenue for FY2002,FY2003 and FY2004 respectively, as shown in the section “Major Customers” of this Prospectus. There is no assurance that we will be able to reduce our dependence on these customers over time nor can there be any guarantee that these customers will continue to place orders with us at current levels. The loss of, or significant reduction in business from any or all of these customers without a timely replacement will have a material and adverse impact on our revenue and financial performance.

We may be unable to repeat or maintain our past gross profit margin
There was a 13.1 percentage point improvement in our overall gross profit margin from 36.2% in FY2002 to 49.3% in FY2004. Please refer to the section “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Results of Operations and Financial Condition” of this Prospectus for details. The increase in gross profit margin for the past three financial years ended 31 December 2004 was partly attributable to

    (i) higher selling price for products from Europe as a result of strengthening of EUR;
    (ii) lower purchasing costs as a result of the depreciation of US$ vis-à-vis S$ and
    (iii) higher copper prices.

However, we are unable to ensure that such foreign exchange rates and copper prices will continue to be favourable to us and this may increase our cost of purchases. In the event that we are unable to pass on such increases of our cost of purchases to our customers, we may be unable to maintain similar levels of gross profit margins in the future and our performance may be adversely affected.

With our policy of stocking a comprehensive range and substantial quantities of marine electrical products, we are exposed to fluctuations in prices of basic raw materials and are subjected to stock obsolescence
Our level of inventory has grown progressively from $1.5 million as at 31 December 2002 to $7.4 million as at 31 December 2004. We have not made any provision for stock obsolescence in the past three financial years ended 31 December 2004. As marine cables and marine electrical products are made primarily from basic raw materials such as copper, rubber and steel, any major downward trends in their prices can materially erode the holding value of such inventory. It is not possible for us to hedge our inventory against such downward trends in prices of raw materials and when such events occur, our performance and financial position will be adversely affected. On the other hand, any major upward trend in the prices of such raw materials would increase the costs at which we have to purchase our inventory and correspondingly increase the amount of working capital required for our business. In the event that increase in prices cause substantial increase in working capital needed, and we are unable to fund such increases, our performance and financial position will be adversely affected. Moreover, certain of our comprehensive range of marine electrical products may be subject to unexpected obsolescence over the years in the event of lapses in maintenance of our inventory. In the event of such obsolescence, our performance and our financial position will also be adversely affected.

We do not have formal or long-term contracts with most customers and suppliers We currently have established relationships with our customers and suppliers.We are exposed to the risk of losing our relationships with any one of these customers or suppliers to competition. There is no assurance that these customers or suppliers will not terminate their relationship with us. If they do so, our business, results of operation and financial condition will be materially affected. As these relationships are non-exclusive and largely dependent on goodwill, such customers and suppliers are free to enter into similar or more favourable relationships with other parties. Most of the agreements underlying these relationships are informal and general in nature and do not legally bind the parties. In the event that any of the relationships are terminated, our performance will be adversely and materially affected.

We are reliant on shipping activities in Singapore
Our business is based primarily in Singapore. Our business operations in Singapore are dependent on the number of ship arrivals and shipbuilding activities in Singapore which are in turn dependent on:

  • the ability of Singapore’s ports to compete with other regional ports in terms of price, service and efficiency; and
  • the ability of Singapore’s shipyard operators to provide reliable, efficient and quality shipbuilding and repair services at competitive prices.

There can be no assurance that the number of ships arriving in Singapore will continue to remain at current levels. If the number of ship arrivals in Singapore decline substantially, our revenue and financial performance will be adversely affected.

We are exposed to the credit risks of our customers
As at 31 December 2004, our trade receivables of $7.3 million accounted for approximately 38.8% of our current assets and 31.9% of our total assets. Therefore, our financial position and performance are dependent, to a certain extent, on the creditworthiness of our customers. We usually extend credit terms of 30 days to 90 days to existing customers, both local and overseas.We are exposed to credit risks due to the inherent uncertainties in our customers’ business environment. These include political, social, legal, economic and foreign exchange risks, as well as those arising from unanticipated events or circumstances. As such, we are not able to assure you that the amount of bad debts written off will not increase materially in the future. Please refer to the section “Credit Management” of this Prospectus for more details. A delay or default in payment and/or significant increase in the amount of bad debts will have a material and adverse impact on our financial position and performance.

New investors will incur immediate dilution and may experience further dilution
Our Issue Price of 20 cents per Share is substantially higher than our pro forma NTA per Share of 8.2 cents based on the post-Invitation issued share capital. If we were liquidated immediately following this Invitation, each investor subscribing to this Invitation would receive less than the price paid for their Shares. Please refer to the section “Dilution” of this Prospectus for further details.
Comments - 143.9% Premium! (page28)

Page34
For FY2005 and FY2006, our Directors intend to recommend and distribute at least 40% of our net profit attributable to Shareholders as dividends and subject to the factors outlined above. However, investors should note that the intention to recommend the aforesaid dividends should not be treated as a legal obligation on our Company nor should it be treated as an indication of our Company’s future dividend policy. There can be no assurance that dividends will be paid in the future or of the amount or timing of any dividends that will be paid in the future.

Comments - From page28, EPS =3.3cts for FY04 but would be 3.1cts with service agreement in place. With enlarged no. of shares fm 21Mil to 28Mil, the indicative dividend yield,

  • Diluted EPS = 3.1 * 21/28 = 2.325cts
  • Dividends = 40% of 2.325cts = 0.93ct
  • Net Yield = 4.65%

The above is just for indicative purpose as it's based on FY04 results. The yield would be better if BH is able to achieve a better EPS for FY05. The yield would be worse if BH achieves lower EPS for FY05.

Page 41 - OWNERSHIP STRUCTURE
Comments - Founding family controls with 70% after IPO. Free float only 25%, may be illiquid.

Page 48
Average trade receivables’ turnover = 120(FY02), 100(FY03), 89(FY04)
Average trade payables’ turnover = 53(FY02), 46(FY03), 65(FY04)
Comments - Improving collection and longer credit payment terms, which is good. But gap is still 25 days and the improvement is huge for FY04 but may be window dressing for IPO purpose.

Page 71 - PROSPECTS
TREND INFORMATION
For the current financial year ending 31 December 2005, based on current trend to-date, our Directors observe the following:

  1. In relation to the sale of Marine Electrical Equipment, we anticipate the trend in increase in the prices of basic raw materials such as copper, rubber and steel, which are major components in Marine Electrical Equipment, to affect our purchasing costs. However, in general, we also expect that the selling prices of these products to increase, subject to the competitive conditions in our industry and fluctuations in the exchange rates between S$ and other currencies which we transact in.
  2. In relation to Marine Consumables, generally, unit selling and purchase prices for these products are not likely to experience significant fluctuations as they are staples for the marine industry and demand and supply conditions do not change significantly. This is also subject to fluctuations in the exchange rates between S$ and other currencies which we transact in.
  3. In relation to our operating expenses, we expect staff costs to increase due mainly to higher headcount and increments in salaries and wages as we expand our business and increase our marketing efforts.
  4. In relation to our inventory, we expect to increase our purchases and hence, our inventory levels, as we aim to further improve our position as a supplier of a comprehensive range of products to our customers.

Cumulatively, our order books based on confirmed sales orders, from 1 January 2005 to the Latest Practicable Date was approximately $16.2 million. Based on our Directors’ knowledge and experience, typically, our lead-time to fulfil an order (from the receipt of purchase order) is one day for customers located in Singapore and approximately two to three days for our overseas customers.

Comments - Based on order books, revenue may be flat. Costs will likley be higher, due to staff cost and inventory build-up. Finance cost will be lower due to debts repayment from IPO proceeds. EPS will most likely be lower due to dilution from enlarged no. of shares and cost increases.

Page 78 - REMUNERATION OF EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND OTHER EMPLOYEES WHO ARE RELATED TO OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS
As at the date of this Prospectus, there are seven employees of our Group who are related to our Executive Directors. Johnny Lim and Eileen Lim, our Executive Officers, are the siblings of our Executive Directors. Hing Kah Wah, our Operations Chief Coordinator, is the brother-in-law of our Executive Directors. Chua Yew Beng, our sales executive, is the brother-in-law of our Executive Directors’ mother. Goh Siew Hong, our sales executive, is the sister-in-law of Alvin Lim, our Executive Director. Tay Kian Soon, our sales executive, and Ng Chin Peng, our warehouse supervisor, are the cousins of our Executive Directors. The aggregate remuneration of these employees for FY2003 and FY2004 were approximately $359,000 and $419,000 respectively. The compensation includes salary, bonus, CPF and benefits-in-kind from our Group. The basis of determining the remuneration of these related employees is the same as the basis of determining the remuneration of other unrelated employees.

Page 79 - EMPLOYEES
All our employees are located in Singapore. As at 31 December 2004, we had a total of 34 full-time employees. The number of temporary employees employed by us during the period under review is insignificant.
Comments - Family members comprises 3 siblings in senior mgmt + 7 other employees = 10. That means aro' 30% of employees are family members!

FINAL COMMENTS
Family business who'll retain 70% control after listing. Will likely be illiquid after the 1st week of listing and perhaps only come to life for a while when good dividends are declared. Don't expect biz to be exciting. Can be a yield play as they plan to pay at least 40% of profits as dividends for next 2 years. But, if the yield is going to be aro' 4-5%, I'd prefer to buy Singpost or Suntec, if I can catch them at the right price :D

Tuesday, August 30, 2005

Creative Technology - Patent

CREATIVE AWARDED U.S. PATENT ON ITS INVENTION OF USER INTERFACE FOR PORTABLE MEDIA PLAYERS

“Zen Patent” Granted for Invention of its User Interface for Portable Media Players Including Many of Creative’s Zen and NOMAD Jukebox MP3 Players and Found in Some Competing Players Such as the Apple iPod and iPod mini

Singapore – August 30, 2005 – Creative Technology Ltd. (NASDAQ: CREAF), a worldwide leader in digital entertainment products, today announced that it has been awarded U.S. Patent 6,928,433, which Creative is referring to as the “Zen™ Patent.” The Zen Patent was awarded to Creative for its invention of the user interface for portable media players, including many of the Creative Zen and NOMAD® Jukebox MP3 players, and found in some competing players, such as the Apple iPod and iPod mini. The Zen Patent covers the user interface that enables users of portable media players to efficiently and intuitively navigate among and select tracks on the players. Creative applied for the Zen Patent on January 5, 2001 and it was awarded on August 9, 2005.

Creative’s invention for the user interface for portable media players enables selection of at least one track in a portable media player as a user sequentially navigates through a hierarchy using three or more successive screens on the display of the player. One example would be the sequence of screens that could display artists, then albums, and then tracks. When the user selects an artist, the player displays a list of albums for that artist. Selection of one of the listed albums then displays a list of tracks on the album.

“The user interface covered by the Zen Patent was invented by Creative research and development engineers in our Advanced Technology Center in Scotts Valley, California,” said Sim Wong Hoo, chairman and CEO of Creative. “The first portable media player based upon the user interface covered in our Zen Patent was our NOMAD Jukebox MP3 player. We shipped the NOMAD Jukebox to U.S. retail customers in September of 2000, and by November of 2000, it was already ranked as the top revenue-generating product in the U.S. in the digital audio player category, according to PC Data. By January of 2001, we announced that we had already sold 100,000 NOMAD Jukeboxes. The Apple iPod was only announced in October 2001, 13 months after we had been shipping the NOMAD Jukebox based upon the user interface covered by our Zen Patent.”

“I am very excited that we were awarded the Zen Patent, which helps to protect our invention and recognizes our innovation in portable media players,” said Sim. “After a major investment of time and effort by a group of our research and development engineers, we developed a way for a user to efficiently and intuitively navigate and select tracks from a significant number of tracks stored on a player. Before this invention, there was no intuitive and efficient way to deal with the large number of tracks that could be stored on a highcapacity player.”

“There has been press coverage recently regarding the rejection of Apple’s patent application, published as Pub. No. U.S. 2004/0055446 for a user interface in a multimedia player. This Apple patent application was filed on October 28, 2002. A related provisional application was filed by Apple on July 30, 2002, eighteen months after our filing date for the Zen Patent and over twenty months after our NOMAD Jukebox based upon our user interface was on the market,” added Sim.

“We continue to innovate in digital media players with the introduction of the Zen Vision, which adds high-quality video playback to its MP3 music and digital photo viewing features. The Zen Vision, as well as the upcoming Zen Micro Photo with a color OLED screen and many more new products, will be based upon the user interface covered by the Zen Patent,” noted Sim.

The full text and images of the Zen Patent, U.S. 6,928,433 are available at www.uspto.gov by doing a patent number search under issued patents.

Comments - Wow! Creative going to sue Apple for royalties soon ? :D

Previous Post

Sunday, August 28, 2005

Asia Enterprises Holding Limited - IPO

Asia Enterprises Holding Limited

Issue statistics
Offer size: 68m new shares Public Tranche - 5m shares Placement Tranche - 63m shares
Price: S$0.27
NTA per share (post-IPO): 21.43 cents
Historical PE: 4.52x (FY04)
Market Cap (post-IPO): S$72.36m
Open: 23 August 2005
Close: 30 August 2005, 12.00noon
Trading: 1 September 2005 (on "when issued" basis)
Lead Manager: DBS

The company is a major Singapore-based steel distributor. Besides supplying a wide array of steel products, it also provides value-added steel processing services to industrial end-users in Singapore and the Asia Pacific. Most of its customers are from the shipbuilding & marine, engineering/fabrication, oil & gas, construction, precision metal stamping and manufacturing industries/businesses. The company expects its business to be driven by an increase in shipbuilding- & marine-related activities. Revenue jumped 44.3% from $56.5m in FY03 to $81.5m in FY04. The improvement in earnings, which rose more than threefold from $3.5m in FY03 to $11.9m in FY04, could be attributed to higher sales.

Estimated net IPO proceeds of S$16.2m will be used for the following:

  1. S$10.0m to support business expansion, in particular, to grow its market share in shipbuilding- and marine-related activities and to expand its customer base in Southeast Asia.
  2. S$5.0m for possible investments to expand its product range, capabilities and businesses through acquisitions, JVs or strategic alliances.
  3. S$1.2m as working capital.


PROSPECTUS EXTRACTS

Page 63 - Ownership Structure
Comments - Wow! So many different families! They ought to provide us with the family tree!

Page 65 - Lock up period
Our Shareholders, namely the Koh family, the Lor family, the Ong family, the Yeo family and the Teo family, who will in aggregate hold 26,924,306 Shares, representing 10.05% of our Company’s enlarged issued and paid-up capital after the Invitation, have each undertaken not to sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of any part of their respective interests in our Company for a period of three months commencing from the date of our Company’s admission to the Official List of the SGX-ST.
Comments - How come all these families so special? The rest 6mths lock-up period. All waiting to take profit asap, huh?

Page 78 - Inventory turnover days 258(FY02), 210(FY03), 299(FY04)
Comments - Wow! almost 300days! Money sitting in the warehouse, not in the bank earning interest! Looks scary to me, poor inventory mgmt?

Inventory data for all 3 listed Steel Distribution cos. using latest results,

  1. AEH : Inventory $46.502Mil (Dec-04) vs Revenue $81.395Mil (1 yr)
    • AEH has the highest inventory, slightly more than 50% of revenue (1yr)
  2. HSH : Inventory $67.466Mil (30-Jun-05) vs Revenue $197.819Mil (11mths) ; Inventory $34.133 (31-Jul-04)
    • HSH is next highest , 31.3% (annualised using 11mth revenue data)
  3. HG Metal : Inventory $80.002Mil (31-Mar-05) vs Revenue $154.4Mil (6mths) ; Inventory $62.004Mil (30-Sep-04)
    • HG Metal is lowest, aro' 26% (annualised using 6mth revenue data)

It does appear that AEH has the highest inventory figure and in an increasing steel price environment, they'll enjoy higher margins. The converse will be true in a declining steel price environment.

Note : Above figure is a simple estimation. It does not take into consideration the different make-up of the biz. A more accurate figure would be to use only data for the distribution biz (as that forms the bulk of AEH biz).

Page 82 - Customers with 5% or more of total revenue in any of last 3 years are,

  1. Keppel Offshore & Marine group : 4.8% in FY04
  2. Metal Component Engineering Limited : 2.0% in FY04
  3. Piasau Slipways Sdn Bhd : 7.4% in FY04
Comments - So, the other "branded" name customers often mentioned for this IPO do not contribute 5% or more in revenue in any of the past 3 years.

  • FY04 Revenue $81.495Mil : 5% = $4.1Mil
  • FY03 Revenue $56.474Mil : 5% = $2.82Mil

Page 87 - Some of our competitors in the steel distribution business include, Chuan Leong Metalimpex Company (Private) Limited, HG Metal Manufacturing Limited, Hup Seng Huat Co. Ltd. and Regency Steel Asia Pte. Ltd.
Comments - Those who are free can compare with the 2 other listed competitors, HG Metal and Hup Seng Huat. Some comparison data,

  1. Share Price $0.27 at 27% premium to NAV. Premium higher compared to HSH but lower than HG.
  2. Debts : After IPO, can be debt free. Both HG & HSH have large debts of $100Mil & $46Mil respectively.
  3. Market Capitalisation : HSH is biggest at $134Mil. AEH & HG about the same at $70Mil+

Page 99 - Had the Service Agreements been effective since 1 January 2004, the aggregate remuneration (including CPF contributions and other benefits) payable to our Executive Directors for FY2004 would have been approximately $2.3 million instead of $2.9 million and profit before tax for our Group would have been approximately $16.0 million instead of $15.4 million.
Comments - Yes, the salaries are huge but would be lower after the listing compared to what they'd been getting prior to the listing. Of course, the more profitable, the higher the salaries would be. I don't think I've seen many small cos. paying their MD so many $Mil in salaries!

Page 91
TRENDS

  • (a) Our Order Book Our revenue in FY2004 increased by $25.0 million from $56.5 million in FY2003 to $81.5 million in FY2004. This was an increase of approximately 44% as compared to the previous corresponding period, which was due mainly to an increase in the selling price of the steel products we distribute. Barring unforeseen circumstances, we expect to register continued growth in our sales in FY2005 due to the growth in shipbuilding and marine related activities in Singapore and Southeast Asia. Typically in our industry, our customers do not commit to a definite and long-term purchase requisite of their requirement for the various steel products. Notwithstanding this, over the last 32 years, we have established a diverse pool of more than 600 customers in Singapore and the region. Our repeat customers who collectively account for approximately 80% of our revenue for each of the last three financial years ended 31 December 2004. We were therefore able to establish ourselves as a regional centre for steel products.
  • (b) Steel Prices In FY2004, we achieved a gross profit margin of 30% due to a steep increase in the selling prices of the steel products and lower inventory holding cost. Our inventories were accumulated over the last few years when steel prices were lower. However, our Directors believe that the steel price increase in FY2004 was largely a result of strong global demand for steel. In Asia, the demand was primarily driven by the PRC due to their rapid growth of investments and industrial outputs. In 2004, the PRC government has taken steps to cool the economy, by using a combination of fiscal and monetary policies. Notwithstanding the recent increases in the price of iron ore and coking coal, we believe that the steep increase in steel prices in FY2004 is unlikely to be repeated in the near future. As a result, we believe that moving forward, our gross profit margin could be lower than in FY2004. The average selling prices for our steel products in June 2005 remained relatively stable as compared to the average selling prices in December 2004, supported mainly by the strong demand from our customers engaged in shipbuilding and marine related activities. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, we believe that demand for steel will continue to experience growth and our Group will continue to benefit from the increase in demand for the current financial year.

Comments - Fm the above highlighted points, Revenue may be higher than 2004 but Gross Margin will likely be lower. In a steel price increasing environment, the co. benefited fm having a high Inventory Turnover of aro' 300days (pg78, also above), resulting in a high Gross Margin in FY04. However, going forward, should the price of steel drop, the reverse will be true, ie. Gross Margin will drop (as they will then have expensive 300 days old stocks but selling price is lower). So, for those who plan to be vested, watch out for steel price trend.

Page 58 - We intend to recommend dividends of not less than 40% of our net profits attributable to Shareholders in FY2005.
Comments - From pg91 above, revenue may be slightly better and gross margin may be lower than FY04. I simply use net profits for FY03 and FY04 and average them to get an indication,

  1. Net Profit : FY03 = $3.475Mil ; FY04 = $11.932Mil ==> Average = $7.7Mil
  2. EPS : FY03 = 1.74cts ; FY04 = 5.94cts ==> Average = 3.84cts
  3. Shares : Pre-IPO = 200Mil ; Post-IPO = 268Mil

Using the average EPS and the enlarged nos. of shares,

  • EPS = 3.84cts * 200/268 = 2.87cts
  • Thus Dividend = 40% * 2.87cts = 1.15cts
  • Net Dividend Yield = 1.15/27 = 4.245%

Note : The above is just an estimate. No figures were given in the prospectus.

OTHER COMMENTS

  1. Only new shares are being issued, ie. no vendor shares. So, meaning, they are not cashing out some of their current hldgs immediately.
  2. The usual practice of all IPOs would be to distribute out most of the existing cash prior to IPO as dividends. The same is done here, but the controlling Lee family (and some others) chose to get preference shares (which were converted to shares for IPO) instead of cash.

    The above 2 points does indicate that the controlling Lee family is planning to remain for the long term, which is good. But then again, they are very well paid, in terms of salary, so no reason for them to quit if co. is profitable.

    Very likely, the other families were 'forced' to follow this direction of no vendor share being issued, but in return, their lock-up period is shorter, 3mths (pg65, also above). I think quite of few of them will likely cash out after the 3mth lock-up period.

    Disclaimer : The above is only my opinion. Do not use the above as a basis for your decision.

    Wednesday, August 24, 2005

    STI : BT

    BT, Published August 24, 2005

    Range-bound trading ahead for STI

    SHORT-TERM stability has returned to the market in the past week as the Straits Times Index steadied itself near the 60-day moving average. Considering that the corporate earnings season is drawing to a close, we believe the index is likely to remain range-bound in the weeks ahead



    STI Chart
    Interest will likely gravitate towards companies that have delivered on the earnings front with strong growth prospects. Another factor to watch is oil prices, whose rising trend in recent weeks has been a debilitating factor to the equities market. While market watchers expect companies to perform better in 2H05, this scenario could be derailed if oil prices continue to trend up.

    Observation of past trends suggests the market will slip into consolidation soon after oil prices break out into new highs. Thus, a good indicator to watch for the resumption of market momentum is a pullback in Brent crude prices.

    Meanwhile, a range-bound environment is to be expected.

    Support levels are:

    1. 2245 - start point of the long white candle formation on July 19.
    2. 2269 - the recent low touched on Aug 15.

    Resistance levels are:

    1. 2319 - 38.2 per cent retracement level of the correction from 2400 to 2269.
    2. 2334 - 50 per cent retracement level of the correction from 2400 to 2269.

    Prime REIT


    Extracted from
    UOB Kay Hian Research Talking Point


    Prime REIT: REIT of prime assets

    The REIT fever will jump up another notch when IPO of Prime REIT takes place. The REIT will comprise of two prime Orchard Road properties in its portfolio. It's 74% stake in Wisma Atria and 27% stake in Ngee Ann City are worth S$1.3b.

    The majority of its valuation from retail (85%) is positive, with the government's initiative to re-juvenate Orchard Road as well as the development of Integrated Resorts. Also, the possibilities of enhancing distribution per unit (DPU) is greater for retail space, given that the manager can re-mix tenants, re-size stores etc.

    Prime REIT is offering a yield of about 5.1-5.4%. This is higher than CMT's forecast yield of about 4.1% and Suntec REIT's 5.3%. While CMT has had a growth track record, growth for Suntec REIT has been insignificant to-date. Given the excellent asset location, growth prospects and good DPU yields, Prime REIT is an attractive alternative to both Suntec REIT as well as CMT.

    Watch out for REIT's IPO in mid-September.
    Properties: 74% of Wisma Atria and 27% of Ngee Ann City
    Lease Remaining: 56 yrs for Wisma Atria and 67 yrs for Ngee Ann City
    Total Asset Value: S$1.3b
    Equity Raising: S$915m
    Commercial MBS: S$420m
    Debt to Asset: 31%
    Initial yield: 5.12 - 5.40%
    Indicative range: S$0.93 - 0.98
    Number of units: 581.9 - 629.1m
    Financial sponsor: Macquarie Group (Will hold a stake of 20-25%)
    Cornerstone other than Macquarie: AIA, DBS & Great Eastern (Together upto 13.3% stake)
    Growth plans: Rent increases, acquisitions (Singapore & overseas)
    IPO Date: Slated for mid-September

    Previous Post

    Sunday, August 21, 2005

    Introduction of REIT Investing


    If you happen to come across this blogsite and decide to read through some of our blog topics, you will found out that there is a huge posting or interest on REIT counters. One of the reason is that the contributors for this blog site has vested interest (including me) in the REIT counters currently trading in SGX market. So I decided to post some basic introduction of REIT.

    Actually, REITs are considered quite new in the Singapore equity market, with the first two REIT floated in Singapore Exchange (SGX) in July 2002. Currently, there are about six REIT counters trading in SGX at this point of posting. You may want to visit StockPick created by KK (one of the BullRun contributor) for more detailed analysis of REIT counters.

    A REIT is an investment vehicle that holds a portfolio of real estate assets primarily with the aim of generating income from the properties. It is set up as a closed-end investment trust, which means that no new shares or units are issued after the IPO. REIT will only issue new shares or units when the REIT manager decide to acquire additional properties. The sale of new shares or units will fund the acquisition. Once, the REIT start the debut trading, supply and demand will determine the market price.

    Singapore REITs are required by law to hold at least 70% of their total assets in real estate assets and they are not allowed to engage in property development activities, whether on their own, through joint venture with other property developers or investing in unlisted property development companies. This mean that REITs are not exposed to the risks of property development.

    Benefit of Investing in REITs
    • Exposure to the Property Market - By buying REIT, you can own a stakes in the properties held by REIT.
    • Portfolio Diversification - You reduce your risk as REIT normally hold multiple properties under it portfolio.
    • Regular Income - You can expect to receive rental income generate by the properties held by the REIT.
    • Potential Capital Gains - You can expect to reap capital gains if you sell your REIT shares at a higher price than you purchase.
    Risks of Investing in REITs
    • Deterioration in business conditions
    • Increased supply of similar properties
    • Early termination of lease by tenants
    • Increase in Interest Rate
    • Fall in Property prices
    Factor to Consider when Buying REIT

    • Type of Property Held by REIT - Industrial, Retail, Office
    • Quality of Property
    • Quality of Management
    • Occupancy Rate
    • Expenses
    • Share Price Vs NAV of REIT
    • Deferred Payment Scheme - For new acquisition or New IPO launch
    Credit: Some of the information for this post is extracted from Benedict Koh and Fong Wai Mum book, Personnel Financial Planning

    Saturday, August 20, 2005

    REITs

    Published August 19, 2005 in BT,

    Competition may hit returns of Singapore

    Reits RETURNS from shares of Singapore's real estate investment trusts may decline, after a three-year rally, as investors switch to higher-paying Reits from Hong Kong, Malaysia and Thailand. The size of Singapore's property-trust market has expanded 14-fold to S$10 billion since the first one was set up in 2002, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. CapitaMall Trust and Ascendas Reit, the city's biggest, have given investors annual returns of as much as 50 per cent in the period. 'The easy money has been made,' said Teng Ngiek Lian, who manages US$650 million as chief investment officer at Target Asset Management in Singapore and bought CapitaMall and Ascendas Reit shares during their initial sales in 2002. 'Scarcity made Reits more attractive in the early days. I'm no longer as bullish.'

    Singapore's six property trusts will soon face competition from as many as four Malaysian Reits and three in Hong Kong, including one that attracted US$76 billion of demand from investors before its initial public sale was delayed by a legal challenge last year. Singapore's Reits offered dividend yields as high as 8 per cent three years ago, according to Bloomberg data. Yields have since fallen to as low as 3.8 per cent, compared with a yield of 2.7 per cent for the government's benchmark 10-year bond. Trusts in Hong Kong, Thailand and Malaysia are offering higher yields to lure investors away from the more established markets in Japan and Singapore.

    Hong Kong's Housing Authority plans to revive its US$2.7 billion property trust after the city's highest court last month dismissed a challenge against the sale. The trust, called Link Reit, offered a 6.65 per cent dividend yield to fund managers at its IPO last year. Kuala Lumpur-based Axis Real Estate Investment Trust Bhd, which sold shares this month, expects to offer yields of about 8 per cent this year and 8.63 per cent in 2006, according to its prospectus. Thailand's Central Pattana PCL, which plans to sell shares this year, will offer yields as high as 7.8 per cent, said DBS Group Holdings Ltd, which is managing the sale.

    In Singapore, 'some of the Reit valuations have gone way ahead of the property valuation, so that should serve as a warning flag', said David Lum, an analyst at Daiwa Institute of Research Singapore Pte. Four of Singapore's six property trusts are trading above their book value, and two are trading at almost twice book value, according to Bloomberg data.

    Some investors say Singapore's Reits still offer good value. 'We're generally looking at 10-12 per cent returns at very low risk. You can still buy Reits on that story,' said Chris Reilly, who helps manage more than US$200 million of Asian real-estate stocks at Henderson Global Investors in Singapore. - Bloomberg

    My Comments

    On Friday, we see the share prices of 3 REITs dropped the most amongst all the locally listed REITs and I think it's the impact of this article, which also appeared in the free paper, TODAY. FYI,
    1. CMT and A-REIT are the ones trading at almost twice book value
    2. CMT offers the lowest yield at 3.8% before Friday's drop
    3. CCT was aro' 4.3% yield before Friday's drop

    Let's hope it's not the beginning of a broad based decline in REIT share prices!

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    Wednesday, August 17, 2005

    Prime REIT

    From CNA,

    SINGAPORE : Prime REIT is planning to raise about S$570 million from its initial public offering scheduled for mid-September. It has lodged its preliminary prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore for a listing on the Singapore Exchange mainboard.

    Prime REIT - managed by a unit of the German insurer Ergo - is offering about 592 million units at between 93 and 98 Singapore cents each. The REIT will initially invest in and own the Wisma Atria shopping mall. Prime REIT currently owns 74 percent of Wisma Atria and 27 percent of another mall, Ngee Ann City, with a total value of S$1.3 billion.

    According to the draft prospectus, Prime REIT expects to pay a distribution per unit of 2.51 Singapore cents for the six months to December 31 this year. The distribution will be 5.25 Singapore cents for 2006. And if the IPO is priced at the top end of 98 cents, the annualised distribution will be 5.12 percent for this year and 5.35 percent next year. The IPO will have shares set aside for both the public and institutions. The units that will be sold through the IPO represent about 57 percent of the trust. - CNA

    My Comments - The one we'd been waiting for! But, yield is not better than Suntec :D

    Sunday, August 14, 2005

    SGX Market Commentary

    Published August 13, 2005 by BT

    Bears ahead of bulls - but just barely

    THERE was a tug-of-war between the bulls and the bears yesterday, which ultimately was won by the bears, but only just. The Straits Times Index opened stronger to recoup some of the losses it suffered in the previous two days. But the bears were relatively fresher. By the end of the day, the STI slid 2.77 points to 2,303.2. For the week, it lost 35.7 points or 1.5 per cent - its biggest decline since February this year. UOB Sesdaq Index, however, managed to eke out a gain of 0.47 point to 82.19. On a weekly basis, it was down 0.29 point or 0.35 per cent.

    'Despite the sudden swing in market sentiment from one of optimism only last week to pessimism and fear currently, we see limited downside in the short term,' Kim Eng said in its market view report yesterday. DBS Vickers, meanwhile, thinks the selling momentum would continue for some stocks. In its 'From the Chartroom' report yesterday, it had called for trading sells on Cosco, Labroy Marine, SembCorp Industries and Keppel Land. Of the four, only Labroy managed to snap back from its recent losses.

    The drag on the STI yesterday came from UOB, OCBC and SPH. Cushioning the fall, meanwhile, were Keppel Corp, which rose 30 cents after after crude oil prices rose above a record US$66 a barrel in New York, boosting optimism that demand for rigs will remain strong. DBS, Fraser & Neave and City Developments were among the other gainers. Hyflux, whose share price was in a free fall in the last few sessions, managed to stage a rebound. It ended 14 cents up to $3.20, with 8.2 million shares traded. Three Temasek-linked companies - Singapore Telecom, CapitaLand and Stats ChipPac - topped the actives list yesterday with 74 million shares traded among them. SingTel and Stats were unchanged, while CapitaLand ended one cent lower.

    Under $1b traded

    Among the second-liners, the action centred on Global Voice, Bio-Treat, Biosensors and Utac. But all moved by less than 2 per cent. Overall, trading was less hectic than the previous few sessions when over $1 billion worth of shares changed hands. Yesterday, 820 million Singapore-dollar shares worth $996.8 million were traded. Excluding warrants, losers pipped gainers by 163 to 154.

    My Comments - End of consolidation? Or more to come? With oil price still trending up and winter not even here yet in US and Europe (when oil consumption goes up even higher), it's better to be safe than sorry! I'd focus on short term trades as there'll be volatility and do selective accumulations of blue chips (I'd previously sold off my entire stake of Singtel, OCBC, CCT, most of my SPH,...etc.) if the price goes below my previous selling price.

    Thursday, August 11, 2005

    Creative Technology : Q4 FY05 Results

    SGX Announcement dated 10-Aug-05,

    CREATIVE ANNOUNCES Q4 FY05 RESULTS
    Revenues up over 50 Percent Year-Over-Year on 260 Percent Increase of MP3 Unit Sales; Company Reports Loss Primarily Attributable to Lower-than-Expected Selling Prices and Inventory Write Downs


    SINGAPORE – August 11, 2005 – Creative Technology Ltd. (NASDAQ: CREAF), a worldwide leader in digital entertainment products, today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2005, ended June 30, 2005. All financial results are stated in U.S. dollars.

    Sales for the fourth quarter were up 51 percent year-over-year, coming in at $305.4 million, up from $201.8 million in revenue for the same quarter last year.

    Sales for the 2005 fiscal year were up 50 percent year-over-year, coming in at $1.224 billion, up from $814.9 million for the 2004 fiscal year.

    For the fourth quarter, net income was a loss of $31.9 million with EPS of a $0.38 loss per share, including an investment gain of $9.3 million. Excluding the investment gain, net income for the fourth quarter was a loss of $41.2 million with EPS of a $0.49 loss per share. This compares to net income for the same period last year of $6.6 million with EPS of $0.08, including an investment loss of $0.2 million.

    Net income for the 2005 fiscal year including investment gains of $74.4 million and a noncash impairment charge on 3Dlabs of $65.2 million, was $0.6 million with EPS of $0.01. Net income for the 2005 fiscal year excluding investment gains of $74.4 million and a non-cash impairment charge of $65.2 million, was a loss of $8.6 million, EPS of a loss of $0.10 per share. Net income for the same twelve months last year including the benefit of a $12.2 million tax write-back and investment gains of $72.6 million was $134.2 million with EPS of $1.61. Net income excluding the benefit of a $12.2 million tax write-back and investment gains of $72.6 million was $49.4 million with EPS of $0.59.

    “Our Q4 unit shipments of MP3 players were up more than 260 percent year-over-year. However, this high growth was below our aggressive expectations for the period,” said Craig McHugh, president of Creative Labs, Inc. “We had set our targets higher for unit volume and average selling prices for our MP3 players than we achieved in the period. Missing our targets caused us to miss our revenue goals and we were not able to reduce our inventory levels as rapidly and as much as we had expected. During the quarter, there was a decline in the value of certain components in our inventory, including flash memory and hard drives, so we needed to take an inventory write down. Even though we increased overall revenues 50 percent year-over-year, the lower-than-expected selling prices for MP3 players and the inventory write-downs negatively impacted gross margins in the period. These factors combined with currency losses resulted in our loss in the period. While we are very disappointed that we reported a loss for the fourth quarter, we believe we can get closer to break-even in the current quarter and that we can return to profitability by the end of this calendar year. We plan to return to profitability by continuing to grow our MP3 business and growing our audio business following the launch of the new Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ and the new Xtreme Fidelity™ audio standard, which we introduced this week.”

    “While we continue to work diligently through our inventory position and are very focused on returning to profitability, we are not hesitating in driving our company forward,” said Sim Wong Hoo, chairman and CEO of Creative. “Just this week, we introduced what I believe will be the future direction of audio – the new Xtreme Fidelity audio standard and its first incarnation in products, the Sound Blaster X-Fi sound cards. Over the last month we have toured the world demonstrating the new Xtreme Fidelity standard and the Sound Blaster X-Fi to the press, and the response has been phenomenal. The new Xtreme Fidelity literally wowed people as we clearly demonstrated how the Sound Blaster X-Fi family of ultra high performance sound cards can dramatically enhance MP3 and CD music, virtually any music or audio, accelerate gaming, and provide an amazing headphone experience.”

    “Over the past seven years we have relentlessly and painstakingly built our EAX standard to become the unified audio standard for the PC platform,” continued Sim. “Xtreme Fidelity will be the fifth generation of this well-established PC audio standard, where virtually all existing games and media content under the Windows platform can be instantly enhanced without any modification.”

    “We also showed the press the award-winning Zen™ Micro Photo MP3 player and the new Zen Vision, our music, photo and video player, due to be released soon,” continued Sim. “We received overwhelmingly positive responses to these exciting new products from some of the toughest and most astute reviewers. With the Zen Vision, you can now carry all of your music, all of your photos and all of your favorite videos in the palm of your hand. I believe we now have the sexiest, most appealing and most versatile digital music, photo and video player in the world. We believe that we will greatly strengthen our product offerings in our key product categories in time for this holiday season. By next year you can expect the Xtreme Fidelity standard to be included in some of our high-end digital media players. With our huge arsenal of audio products, technologies and intellectual property, you can expect Xtreme Fidelity to proliferate into all kinds of audio products going forward.”

    Comments - Much worse than expected. More losses expected this quarter before it return to profitability next quarter. I expect share price to continue to drop then. Will re-evaluate again after next quarter results, unless price drop below $10 :D

    Reports (added on 12-Aug)

    • DBSVickers dated 12-Aug,
      CREAF’s 4QFY05 earnings would be within expectation if we exclude the S$20m inventory write-down. If we also exclude investment gain, net loss would be US$12m. No specific guidance was offered but the Group targets to breakeven this quarter and return to profitability in the Christmas quarter. The fall in its investment value has resulted in a lower historical BVPS of S$11.40. New products were announced and we see a potential blockbuster in X-Fi, an audio chip processor that could have numerous applications. With the stock trading near book value and the Christmas quarter approaching, we believe downside risk is limited while earnings momentum should pick up from the trough. As such, we upgrade the stock to a HOLD but trim our DCF derived price target to $14.00.


    • CIMB-GK dated 12-Aug,
      We believe Creative will continue to face ferocious competition in MP3 products. We understand that Apple’s new iPod mini and iPod are due for release this Christmas. Other players such as Samsung, Sony, and iRiver have also been launching new products. Another threat may come from MP3-enabled handphones. Creative is now pinning its hopes on its new audio product, the X-Fi, which provides a more realistic surround experience with headphones or multi-channel speakers for all types of digital entertainment. However, we are more cautious and have modelled moderate growth. We have slashed our FY06-07 net profit forecasts by 76-79% to reflect lower gross margin assumptions. Our unchanged target price of S$8.45 is based on 0.8x P/BV, which appears to be the trading support in the last five years.
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    Disclaimer : The above info is for reference only, not an inducement to buy or sell.