With the quarterly earnings season over for another three months, traders will have to look elsewhere in a holiday-shortened week to get their excitement. In the first three months of 2019, around half the companies that make up the Straits Times Index (SGX: ^STI) reported higher quarterly earnings. Some of the best performers included the three Singapore banks, namely, DBS Group (SGX: D05), OCBC (SGX: O39) and UOB (SGX: U11). Other notable performers included CapitaLand Commercial Trust (SGX: C61U), Thai Beverage (SGX: Y92) and Genting Singapore (SGX: G13). On the economic front, the minutes of the US Fed’s May interest-rate meeting could provide some interesting reading. Earlier this month, the US Federal Reserve left the federal fund rate unchanged at 2.25%. It said economic ac

At the end of April, City REIT Management, a subsidiary of City Development Ltd (CDL) purchase 50% of IREIT’s manager. City Strategic, also a subsidiary of CDL, purchase a substantial stake in IREIT itself. In November 2016, Tikehau Capital purchased a 80% stake in IReit’s manager. The rest of the stake is held by Chinese Tycoon Tong Jinquan and Soilbuild founder Lim Chap Huat. Tong Jinquan owns 297 mil units (47%), Chap Huat owns 33 mil units (5.2%), Tikehau Capital owns 52.6 mil (8.3%). In this deal, Tikehau Investment Asia Pacific bought back Tong’s stake in the manager. They then sold half the stake in the manager to City Reit Management, which is CDL’s arm in doing reit management. Now, Tikehau and City Reit owns roughly 50% each in the manager. Then, Tika

Following my previous post on the Reits Symposium, the day has finally arrived for all Reits investors.The event was held on level 4 at the MBS Expo Convention which has a good full house crowd they have been raving about.They give pretty good kits goody bag once you have signed in which includes door gifts and a water bottle, sponsored by Share investor, Money 89.3 and First reit respectively. The event kicked off with Sgx Ceo, Loh Boon Chye, addressing the full house crowd on how the Reits sector has come a long way since the listing of the very first Reit in 2002. He particularly mentioned the success was due to Singapore being an early mover in this space, and our government putting in place an effective regulatory and tax framework.In 2013, SGX has entrenched themselves as a true

CapitaLand Mall Trust (SGX: C38U) reported a solid set of results for the first quarter of 2019. Distributable income was up by 7.4%, while DPU increased by 3.6% to 2.88 Singapore cents. On top of the strong headline numbers, there were also telling signs that the trust’s growth looks likely to continue. Positive rental reversion The rental reversion rate is a key metric followed by REIT investors. A positive rental reversion means the REIT was able to sign leases at higher rates than the expiring rents. In the first quarter of 2019, CapitaLand Mall Trust signed a total of 190 leases at a positive rental reversion rate of 1.2%. The retention rate of tenants was also high, at 88.9%, signaling the strong relationship CapitaLand Mall Trust has with its tenants. The positive rental reversio

The Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholder meeting has become a pilgrimage for die-hard investors and fans of Warren Buffett. And each year, Buffett and his right-hand man, Charlie Munger, never fail to deliver, imparting words of wisdom and insightful anecdotes to inspire the everyday investor. This year, the legendary duo shared their unscripted thoughts on a variety of topics, including investing, markets, the world economy, and lots more. Here are three things I learnt from the meeting. Lesson No. 1: Be careful when investing in hyped-up IPOs with no profits While Berkshire has finally invested in e-commerce giant Amazon, Buffett is still careful about investing in high-growth companies with no profits. He said these companies still have a lot to prove to investors and noted that the �

Since debuting in the Singapore market in 2002, Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) have grown to become one of the more popular investment vehicles. Besides consistent and relatively high yields, REITs are also highly liquid and provide exposure to a wide variety of real estate. On top of the consistent distribution per unit (DPU), REITs that are able to grow their DPU over time can help investors grow their income and are also more likely to appreciate in value. With that, here are two promising REITs that have increased their DPU in the first three months of 2019. Retail malls still thriving in Singapore CapitaLand Mall Trust (SGX: C38U) reported a solid set of results for the first three months of 2019. The trust, which owns 15 malls in Singapore reported an 11.5% increase in net pr

Cordlife Group Ltd (SGX: P8A), or Cordlife for short, recently saw its share price surge by 24% from S$0.41 to S$0.51 before the company called for a trading halt. The company was not aware of any reason for the jump in the share price. As a recap, Cordlife is a consumer healthcare company which helps mothers store their babies’ cord blood and cord lining, and is a pioneer in private cord blood banking in Asia. The group has processing and storage facilities in six countries across Asia – Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Cordlife has a unique business model and is one of the market leaders in its field. However, does this make it a great business to own? Let’s take a look at some aspects and drivers of Cordlife’s business. Cash

CapitaLand Mall Trust (CMT) is the largest retail REIT in Singapore, and the first REIT to be listed on the SGX back in 2002. It currently owns 15 malls across Singapore, which is worth a total of S$10.1 billion as of 31 December 2018. CMT is known for its remarkable financial standing and income stability. Rated ‘A2’ by Moody’s, CMT is the highest-rated REIT in Singapore. Despite this, there are a number of concerns over the REIT’s future growth, especially because its operations are limited to the Singapore market. I attended CMT’s AGM to find out about the company’s future growth avenues and also the management team’s outlook for the local retail sector. Here are 11 things I learned from the 2019 CapitaLand Mall Trust AGM: 1. Gross revenue increased 1.5% year-o

CapitaLand Mall Trust (SGX: C38U) owns 15 shopping malls which are located in the suburban areas and downtown core of Singapore. Example of properties includes Tampines Mall, Junction 8, IMM Building, Plaza Singapura, and Bugis Junction. I pointed out in my previous article here that institutional investors bought CapitaLand Mall Trust’s units lately. This raises a question: Is CapitaLand Mall Trust cheap now? This question is important because if the REIT’s units are cheap, it might be a good buying opportunity for investors to consider the REIT. Unfortunately, there is no easy answer. However, we can still get some insights by comparing CapitaLand Mall Trust’s current valuations with the market’s valuation. The two valuation metrics that I will focus on are the price-to-book (PB

Its earnings season again! REITs have always been a favourite investment choice for risk-adverse investors because of their stable earnings qualities. Today, let’s look at two REITs that have lived up to investors’ expectations by delivering positive performances in their latest earnings updates. We’ll start with CapitaLand Mall Trust (SGX: C38U), which currently has 15 properties located in the suburban areas and downtown core of Singapore, including Tampines Mall, Junction 8, Funan, IMM Building, Plaza Singapura, Bugis Junction, and others. For the quarter ended 31 March 2019, CMT reported that gross revenue was up 10.0% year on year to S$192.7 million. Similarly, net property income grew 11.5% year on year to S$140.1 million. The year-on-year improvement in gross revenue

“Why go to a shopping mall when you can shop online, right?” Analysts and market ... Read more >>

CapitaLand Retail China Trust (CRCT) is Singapore’s first China retail real estate investment trust (REIT) with a portfolio of 11 shopping malls. The malls have a diverse mix of approximately 1,600 tenants which include leading brands like UNIQLO, Xiaomi, ZARA, Nanjing Impressions, Nike, Sephora, Starbucks and Sisyphe. As at 31 December 2018, CRCT’s portfolio is valued at S$3.0 billion. According to CEO Tan Tze Wooi in the latest annual report, the Chinese retail space remains resilient amid a slowdown in China’s GDP growth and the economic uncertainty arising from the U.S.-China trade war: ‘China’s retail sales of consumer goods grew by 9.0% to RMB38.1 trillion in 2018, sustained by consumption in major cities that saw an increase in urban disposal income and expenditure

Here are three of the most popular articles that have appeared on The Motley Fool Singapore’s website over the past week. 10 Largest Singapore Shares Paying Quarterly Dividends Want to know about the 10 biggest Singapore companies that pay dividends every quarter? Look no further. Some of the companies discussed in Lawrence Nga’s article include CapitaLand Mall Trust (SGX: C38U), Mapletree Logistics Trust (SGX: M44U), and DBS Group Holdings Ltd (SGX: D05). 3 Top Growth Stocks You Should Buy Now iFAST Corporation Limited (SGX: AIY), Straco Corporation Limited (SGX: S85), and Boustead Projects Ltd (SGX: AVM) could grow in the years ahead. Want to know why? Jump into Royston Yang’s article to find out. Investing in Asia – Malaysia: The World’s Worst Stock Market? David Kuo has start

Real estate investment trusts (REITs) own income-producing real estate assets such as shopping centres, offices, and, business parks. They are a popular investment vehicle for income investors since they give out regular distributions, usually every quarter. Before buying a REIT, though, we have to ensure we are getting enough value for the money we pay. To value a REIT, we can look at its price-to-book (PB) ratio and its distribution yield. The PB ratio is calculated by dividing the unit price of the REIT by its book value per unit (also known as net asset value per unit). In theory, a PB ratio that is below 1 means that the REIT is selling at less than what it is worth, and that makes the REIT undervalued. The distribution yield is similar to the dividend yield of a company. With that, l

Dear all readers, I am invited by ShareInvestor and REITAS as one of the panelists to share my view on whether REITs is still a viable investment in the coming REITs Symposium. Please see the schedule below: Panel Discussion #1 – REITs: Still a Viable Investment? (2:10pm to 2:40pm) Panelists Mr. Tan Tze Wooi, CEO, CapitaLand Retail China Trust Mr Kenny Loh – Senior Consultant of an Independent Financial Adviser Mr Chan Kum Kong – Head of Research & Product, SGX Mr Jonathan Koh, Director, Research, UOBKH Moderator – Nupur Joshi, CEO, REITAS   Panel Discussion #2 – Insights to Best Performing Singapore REITs (5:00pm to 5:30pm) – Anthony Ang, Sasseur REIT – Paul Chew, PhillipCapital – David Kuo, The Motley Fool – Calvin Neo, Nikko AM Mo

Find my interview as one of the panelists in insideINVEST. Panelists Kenny Loh (Senior Consultant of an Independent Financial Adviser) Chan Kum Kong (Head of Research and Product, SGX) Nupur Joshi (CEO, REITAS)   With growing interest in REITs and retail investors hunt for higher yields amidst the uncertainties in the macro environment, hear what our panel of experts have to say about S-REITs.   S-REITs have performed well over the past 10 years. What are your views of this asset class moving forward? Kenny: The FTSE ST REIT Index, which represents the Singapore REIT sector, has gone up by 114% in 10 years and translates to a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.8% excluding dividend yield. The worst correction from the peak is about 22% during this 10-year period. Moving

Like many of its peers, CapitaLand share price is volatile because of the cyclical nature of the real estate business. Arising from this, the 5-year beta for this counter is 1.11. In spite of this, I like this counter very much because of its unique business strategies and diversified asset portfolio. Under the founding CEO, Liew Mun Leong, CapitaLand had embarked on a “asset recycling” approach, resulting in the real estate giant deriving majority of its revenue from recurring sources like commercial, retail and serviced residence. Indeed, CapitaLand investors may think that volatility is undesirable but I view it otherwise. You can make money out of the volatility  of CapitaLand share price, provided if you used the right strategies. Looking at the past four year data, there is a cl

4 Refreshing Stock Picks You Should Consider After a splendid run-up in the past 4 months, stocks are looking a tad expensive. A correction seems overdue, as markets began to feel jittery about renewed trade tensions. For investors who are out on a hunt for bargain stocks to rebalance your portfolio, here are four stocks that you should consider. Investors Takeaway: 4 Refreshing Stock Picks You Should Consider By UOBKH ST Engineering ST Engineering has been on an acquisition spree of companies that are earnings accretive. Its latest acquisition, Newtec, is a satellite communication company in the broadcast & consumer space. According to UOBKH, Newtec’s satellite communication technology is a critical infrastructure in providing real-time content. Industry sources have estimated t

The opening of Jewel Changi Airport has been the talk of the town recently. The new mega-mall located at Changi Airport features the tallest indoor waterfall (at 40 metres), an indoor forest, and over 280 new shops and restaurants. Jewel is 49%-owned by CapitaLand, one of Asia’s largest real estate companies, which manages a portfolio of integrated developments, shopping malls, lodging, offices, homes, real estate investment trusts (REITs) and funds worth over S$100 billion. While Jewel has certainly made it onto the headlines and Instagram feeds everywhere, the bigger news for investors is CapitaLand’s S$11 billion acquisition of Ascendas-Singbridge (ASB). ASB is a real estate company which manages a portfolio of business/logistics parks, lodging, commercial, retail and reside

There are many ways to find investment ideas. Some useful ways are to screen for stocks or to look at a list of stocks near their 52-week lows to sieve out potential bargains. Studying what institutional investors have been buying or selling is another avenue. Institutional investors are typically large investment organisations such as hedge funds, mutual funds, unit trust companies, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies and so on. These investors tend to possess vastly greater resources than individual investors like you and me when researching stocks. Hence, it may be useful to keep a close eye on what they are doing, as a way to generate ideas. In this article, I will look at two Singapore REITs that have seen the highest net purchase in dollar value by institutional investors for