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:

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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