When CapitaLand and City Development (CDL) teamed up to develop the 3.7 hectares residential site next to BuangKok MRT station in 2018, it promised to be a match made in heaven. Indeed, there was tremendous market hype as the two developers are the big boys in the real estate sector. The last time the two titans combined forces was in 2007 for the Botannia project in West Coast. Thus, it is not surprising that Sengkang Grand Residences became the best-selling integrated project in 2019. But what raised plenty of eyebrows was the strong response shown during the launch day of Sengkang Grand Residences. 216 of the 280 units had been sold at an average price of $1,700 per square feet (psf). Prices for the integrated project start from $798,000 for a one-bedroom plus study unit, $998,000 for a

1. SPH REIT  --  10th Oct 20192. Kep Infra Trust  --  14th Oct 20193. Kep DC REIT  --  15th Oct 20194. Kep Pac Oak US REIT  -- 15th Oct 20195. MapletreeCom Trust  --  15th Oct 20196. Kep REIT  --  16th Oct 20197. Kep Corp  --  17th Oct 20198. SPH  --  17th Oct 20199. CapitaMall Trust  --  21st Oct 201910. Mapletreelog Trust  --  21st Oct 201911. MapletreeInd Trust  --  22nd Oct 201912. FrasersCom Trust  --  22nd Oct 201913. Frasers Cpt Trust  --  23rd Oct 201914. Suntec REIT  --  23rd Oct 201915. CapitaCom Trust  --  23rd Oct 201916. SGX  --  24th Oct 201917. MNACT  --  25th Oct 201918. CapitaR China Trust  --  25th O

DRB-Hicom is a Malaysian conglomerate that is involved in the automotive, services, and property businesses. DRB-Hicom is also the parent company of Proton – Malaysia’s national automaker. In May 2017, DRB-Hicom announced plans to sell a 49.9% stake in Proton to Zhejiang Geely Automobile Holdings as part of its plan to reboot the ailing car brand. In December 2018, Proton launched the X70 SUV based on Geely’s Boyue model. The new SUV has proven to be a hit thus far — as of 30 June 2019, the X70 recorded sales of 16,418 units, making it the most popular SUV in Malaysia. As a result, DRB-Hicom returned to the black in the third quarter of FY2019 after four consecutive quarters of losses. I attended the company’s 2019 annual general meeting to find out more about Protonâ

Today, we are going to share with you how to invest your CPF investment money in a no-brainer way. The best part? You need not be financial savvy to do this. A beginner can do it! And I’ll reveal the exact step-by-step process, which you can follow easily. What is CPF Investment Scheme (CPFIS)? It is to provide option to CPF members to invest their CPF savings in your Ordinary Account (OA) and Special Account (SA) in various instruments such as insurance products, unit trusts, fixed deposits, bonds and shares in Singapore. The Average CPF Interest Rate is 2.5% to 4% for Ordinary Account. Check their latest CPF interest rate here. Below is the latest CPF rate (1st Oct to 31st Dec 2019).   Share this Infographic On Your Site </p><br /><br /><br /><br /&

After months of intensive research on the residential property sectors, my wife and I have decided to proceed with purchasing our second property here in Singapore.Just yesterday, we've submitted the cheque, went to the lawyer and signed everything that we needed to settle.We've never previously thought of the idea that we'd be buying a second home, especially in an expensive country like Singapore where private property was rated the second most expensive in the world according to a report from CBRE (source article here).Why Buy Now?But we were bounded by circumstances, in particular the fact that we rented out our bigger units a few months back and had to move in to our in-laws place in the interim. It was never the most ideal situation for the longer term because of many reasons and soo

The Singapore government has announced the shifting of the current Port of Singapore Authority (PSA) container terminals located at Tanjong Pagar and Pulau Brani to Tuas, where a new mega-port is on track for completion in 2040. This is a massive, multiyear project involving lots of detailed planning, construction, and logistics. The first phase of the new port’s construction is on track for completion in 2021 and involves massive reclamation works over on the west side of Singapore. With the shift going as planned, significant amounts of prime land will thus be freed up in the central and southern region of Singapore, which the government has set aside for rejuvenation (known as the Greater Southern Waterfront project, or GSW). As investors, it’s always useful to look ahead a

City Developments Limited (SGX: C09), or CDL, is a real estate company listed on the Singapore market with a presence in 28 countries and regions. Its business segments within the real estate segment include property development, hotel operations, rental properties, and others. CDL has a diversified real estate portfolio which includes development of residential and commercial properties and owning and managing shopping malls, offices and serviced apartments. Here are two metrics to assess how the real estate conglomerate has performed over the past five years. Price-to-book value CDL’s net asset value (NAV) has been steadily increasing over the past five years moving from S$9.25 in 2014 to S$11.07 in 2018. This shows that CDL is consistently increasing value for its shareholders a

To say that Hong Kong stocks have been volatile the last few months would be a massive understatement. The Hang Seng Index, a barometer of the Hong Kong stock market, has had wild swings this year. It made impressive gains in the first half of 2019, from around 25,130 to a peak of close to 30,160. But political unrests and protests in the city have rocked investor sentiment. Since the protests began in the city, the Hang Seng Index has shed around 12%. This week, though, there was some reprieve as Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam announced the withdrawal of the hugely unpopular extradition bill. Buoyed by the news, investors flooded the market, pushing the Hang Seng Index up 4% on Tuesday, the day the news broke, marking the biggest single-day gain since November 2018.  Long-term impact?

Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SGX: Z74) shares the Singapore telecom spotlight with M1 Ltd and StarHub Ltd. The company’s share price has declined significantly over the last few years. Given its lower share price, investors might be attracted to the company now. Clearly, Singtel is a good candidate for further research given the negative sentiments. Yet, it’s not the only company worth considering. Let’s look at one company that might be an even better investment than Singtel, especially over the long run. The contender The company we’re talking about is Jardine Matheson Holdings Limited (SGX: J36), a conglomerate with interest in the web of Jardine companies that include Jardine Strategic Holdings Limited (SGX: J37), Jardine Cycle & Car

Did you notice how quickly markets recovered their mojo when Donald Trump told the media at one of the G7 press conferences in Biarritz that China had called to make a deal? He said China desperately wants to make a deal. He embellished it generously with his usual hyperbole that China is hurting, China s stealing billions of dollars from America, China is losing millions of jobs and that China is paying billions in US-imposed tariffs. Every man and his dog who was watching probably knew that no such phone call had either been made or received. Nor was China desperate about doing a deal. If anything, China is quite happy to sit on its hands…. …. but that didn’t stop traders from pushing up stock market index futures. Like Pavlov’s dog, they react with utmost pred

Two of the largest property development and investment companies in Singapore’s stock market are City Developments Limited (SGX: C09) and Hongkong Land Holdings Limited (SGX: H78). Unfortunately, both have produced lacklustre returns for their investors over the past five years. Adjusting for dividends, City Developments’ shares have generated a paltry gain of 3.6%, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence, while Hongkong Land’s shares have produced a slight loss of 2.6%. Singapore’s stock market benchmark, the Straits Times Index (SGX: ^STI), has climbed by 12.5% in the same period, even after including gains from dividends. So it’s clear that both real estate giants have not given much reasons for their long-time investors to smile. But which of t

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam yesterday announced that her government would formally withdraw an extradition bill that started massive protests in the territory. Earlier in the day, the Hang Seng Index (HSI) soared almost 4% on reports that the bill is set to be removed. Well-known Hong Kong companies such as railway operator MTR and flag carrier Cathay Pacific jumped 6.4% and 5.3%, respectively. Over in Singapore, one company with a strong focus on Hong Kong rallied as well. And that company is none other than Hongkong Land Holdings Limited (SGX: H78), a property group with assets mainly in the Special Administrative Region (SAR). Hongkong Land’s shares soared 8.3% to US$5.89 yesterday. Despite the rally, the company’s shares still look cheap. Let’s find out why. Behind t

Listed in August 2014, IREIT Global (SGX: UD1U) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns five freehold properties in Germany. The REIT gave investors something to smile about when it announced that its distribution per unit (DPU) increased by 1.1% for the six months ended 30 June 2019. Can this growth continue? I think so; here’s why. A decent balance sheet with low cost of debt Acquisitions are by far the fastest and easiest way for a REIT to increase its DPU. IREIT is in a great position to make more debt-funded acquisitions that can be yield-accretive. As of 30 June 2019, its aggregate leverage was 36.2%, still some way below the 45% regulatory ceiling. What’s more, the REIT has one of the lowest effective interest rates per annum at just 1.5%, giving it a high i

Hongkong Land Holdings Limited  (SGX: H78), or HK Land, operates in the property sector. It is mainly involved in the property development, investment and management business. Its property businesses are spread across China, Southeast Asia and in its home base of Hong Kong. Recently, the stock tanked by 27% from its 52 weeks high price of US$7.53, mainly driven by the turmoil in Hong Kong. I think the challenges in Hong Kong will have an impact on HK Land’s business. But to what extent the impact will be is something that nobody can really answer. What I do know is that the company is currently trading at an extremely attractive valuation. Historical metrics One way to look at valuation is to compare its current valuation metric to its historical metric. Let’s consider a

With 14 companies in the midst of privatisation, it is safe to say that the M&A and privatisation wave is gaining momentum. Based on data from DBS, the number of M&A deals have exceeded the whole of 2018 and 2017 respectively. In privatisation deals over the last three years, shareholders could gain around 15 percent premium over the last transacted share price. DBS thinks that such opportunity continues to exist for investors to capitalize on. Screening Criteria For M&A Plays By DBS To screen for privatisation candidates, DBS uses three criteria: (1) Cash rich; (2) Low liquidity; and (3) Majority shareholder has more than 50 percent ownership. In this 3-part M&A series, we summarise six M&A investment themes from DBS for investors to consider as an alpha generating inv

1. SPH REIT  --  11th Jul 20192. SPH  --  12th Jul 20193. Kep Infra Trust  -- 15th Jul 20194. Kep Reit  --  15th Jul 20195. Kep-KBS US Reit  --  16th Jul 20196. Kep DC Reit  --  16th Jul 20197. CapitaCom Trust  --  17th Jul 20198. Kep Corp  --  18th Jul 20199. SATS  --  18th Jul 201910. FrasersCom Trust  --  22nd Jul 201911. Mapletreelog Trust  --  22nd Jul 201912. CapitaMall Trust  --  23rd Jul 201913. MapletreeInd Trust  --  23rd Jul 201914. Frasers Cpt Trust  --  23rd Jul 201915. MapletreeCom Trust  --  25th Jul 201916. Cache  --  25th Jul 201917. SIA Engg  --  26th Jul 2019 18. Suntec Reit  --  26th Jul 201919. Fr

Ireit Global is a Reit I used to own in the past due to the strong profiling of their freehold assets in Germany, high dividend yield, low borrowing costs and long WALE with concentrated blue chip tenant profile.You would think that Germany is a strong powerhouse in Europe and they are too big to fail, so everything else equal, it's something which is probably too good to be true, especially since they debuted and listed back in 2014.I bought them in the past in the range of 63 to 66 cents when most people were skeptical about the relatively new manager at that time and managed to sell them when they were at around 73 cents. The main reason I sold was because Tikehau Capital came in and they kept harping about a possible inorganic growth through acquisitions in their investors present

I like to monitor companies that dish out dividends for investment ideas. In the next few days, there are some companies going ex-dividend. In other words, you need to own shares in the company before a particular day of the week to receive their dividends. Let’s look at three of those companies. Wednesday, 21 August 2019 On Wednesday, Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd (SGX: S63) will be going ex-dividend. The conglomerate is dishing out S$0.05 per share for its second quarter of 2019. For the latest quarter, ST Engineering’s revenue grew 8% year-on-year to S$1.78 billion while its net profit rose 18% to S$138.2 million. In April, the acquisition of MRA Systems (MRAS) was completed, and that contributed well to both sales and earnings. The group’s future looks brigh

City Development Limited (SGX: C09) reported a drop in profits for the quarter but is still positioned well for the future. Here's why.

We’ve written previously on the pros and cons of buying an Executive Condominium (EC), and concluded that if you’re a Singaporean who is eligible to purchase an EC, they should definitely be on the top of your priority list before looking at other private properties. If you do decide that you wish to buy an EC – and enjoy government grants and typically lower selling prices – here is your step-by-step guide. Read Also: Pros And Cons Of Buying A HDB Executive Condominium (Over A Regular Private Condo) #1 Are You Eligible To Purchase An Executive Condominium? Like buying a HDB flat, there are specific eligibility conditions for buying an Executive Condominium. – You have to purchase an EC under one of these HDB schemes: Public Scheme, Fiancé/Fiancée Scheme, Orphans Scheme or