StarHub CEO, Peter Kaliaropoulos must be feeling the heat again. On 18 February 2019, StarHub share price plunged to a 14-year low of $1.61. The last time that StarHub share price was trading at such disgraceful level was in 2005. The trigger for the massive sell-offs was obviously the dismal Q4FY2018. Following the announcement, investors wasted no time in punishing this counter, sending StarHub share price to rock bottom. It seems that honeymoon period is over for the StarHub CEO. Following his appointment on 9 July 2018, StarHub share price enjoyed a brief respite and even managed to halt its horrendous slump. Then the announcement of Keppel and SPH buy-over of M1 shares had led to a resurgent StarHub share price in September 2018. Investors had speculated that a potential privatizatio

I writing a topical email every week to my mailing list. Here’s our last email to subscribers which I thought I share. You can sign up on our mailing list to get the latest updates when it goes out every week. Investing for “yield” is one of the main draws of the Singapore stock exchange. However, investors chasing yield have been burn badly in recent years – something I have talked about. The following email will cover both dividend paying stocks, bonds, preference shares and perpetuals. This email is one of the longest emails I’ve sent out but bear with me as the lessons here are timeless and apply to almost any investing situation. In this article, I am going to run through how investors can analyze whether a company’s dividend or payout is sustainable in the long run u

1. SPH Reit  --  4th Jan 20192. SPH  --  11th Jan 20193. First Reit  --  16th Jan 20194. FrasersCom Trust  --  18th Jan 20195. Kep Reit  --  21st Jan 20196. Frasers Cpt Trust  --  21st Jan 20197. Mapletreelog Trust  --  21st Jan 20198. Kep DC Reit  --  22nd Jan 20199. Kep Infra Trust  --  22nd Jan 201910. MapletreeInd Trust  --  22nd Jan 201911. MapletreeCom Trust  --  23rd Jan 201912. Kep T&T  --  23rd Jan 201913. Suntec Reit  --  23rd Jan 201914. CapitaMall Trust  --  23rd Jan 201915. SGX  --  24th Jan 201916. Kep-KBS US Reit  --  24th Jan 201917. Kep Corp  --  24th Jan 201918. Frasers L&T  --  24th Jan

This week saw the conclusion of earnings reporting for many Singapore listed firms, and the result was a sea of red among SGX counters, with 212 losers versus 124 gainers. Most firms failed to meet financial projections and there weren’t enough clear future prospects to buffer the loss in confidence among investors. For this week’s 4 Stocks This Week column, we look at 4 counters with some of the largest price movements. Thai Beverage Public Company Limited (SGX: Y92) One of the companies that outperformed expectations was ThaiBev, one of the largest food and beverage companies in Southeast Asia. In addition to distributing beers, other alcoholic beverages, non-alcoholic beverages including milk products, the Thailand-headquartered company also operates restaurants, bakeries and owns

You give some people whose job is to invest money, and by a lot of standards they are good at it.  Shockingly only 49% of their picks made money. Some of them was successful only 30% of the time.  At the end of these, almost non of them lost money. They still made a lot of money out of it.  I think this was the part of the article that caught my attention.  The main reason is that it is something that is not often explain in a book, or by course trainers, or in video how to navigate this problem.  A lot of the stocks that you come across will look like they are the best picks.  Some of these, you didn’t do the prospecting yourself. You followed someone you assessed as an astute investor (and correctly so by all measure), yet after 5 years, your results l

US stocks moved higher on persisting optimism around the trade talk, after President Trump said that he would allow for flexibility to delay the trade-deal deadline if both sides are making sufficient progress. Furthermore, Trump indicated that he would still like to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping soon in an effort to put an end to the trade war. Meanwhile, Trump reassured market participants that a second government shutdown was unlikely even though he was unhappy with the tentative agreement. Over the last three weeks, Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 3.5 percent closing at 25,439.39. Correspondingly, China equities surged on hopes that the trade talk can achieve breakthrough, after the market re-opened from a one-week long Lunar New Year holiday. Overall Shanghai Composite Index

I have arrived in my hometown, Penang island. I can tell. As I exit the plane, I can feel the gust of hot air on my face. Yes, I may have flown from one island to another, but the weather in my hometown feels a little warmer compared to Singapore. The Penang airport is a lot smaller compared to Changi Airport, handling less than a tenth of what the Singapore airport does. But location matters more than size today. And that’s because I have arrived home.   My Undivided Attention I have spent half of my life in Penang and the other half in Singapore. The first difference you’ll notice in Penang is the language. My hometown’s main dialect is a local variant of Hokkien which is different from Singapore’s own Hokkien. But you can quickly catch on to the local lingo. There are e

Yesterday, Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SGX: Z74), or Singtel, released its 2019 third-quarter earnings update. The earnings update highlights ten things we think are important for investors to note: Sales revenue was up 0.9% year on year to S$4.6 billion. However, EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation) for the quarter fell 10.6% year on year to S$1.2 billion. EBITDA margin was down from 29.0% from the corresponding period last year to 25.7%. Pre-tax profits from Singtel’s associates was down 32.9% year on year to S$371 million. Similarly, net profit declined 14.2% year on year to S$823 million. Excluding exceptional items, underlying net profit declined 28.4% year on year to S$680 million. Free cash flow came in lower, at S$387 million as co

Yesterday, StarHub Ltd (SGX: CC3) announced its earnings results for the full year ended 31 December 2018. StarHub is Singapore’s second largest telecommunications company with five business segments – Mobile, Pay TV, Broadband, Enterprise Fixed and Sales of Equipment. Here are the quick takeaways from StarHub’s 2018 financial results: 1. Total revenue for 2018 fell 2% year-on-year to S$2.36 billion. All businesses fared poorly, except for Enterprise Fixed, whose revenue grew 16% to S$510.8 million. 2. Mobile revenue came in at S$824.5 million, down 8.1%. This was due to lower IDD (international direct dialling), voice and excess data usage revenues, and a higher mix of SIM-only plans. 3. Pay TV revenue tumbled 11.9% to S$311.3 million on the back of lower subscriber numbers. On aver

ComfortDelGro Corporation Ltd (SGX: C52) is a land-transportation conglomerate with business interests in bus, taxi and rail services. Apart from Singapore, it has a presence in six other countries, namely, China, United Kingdom, Australia, Malaysia, Ireland, and Vietnam. ComfortDelGro announced its financial results for the full year ended 31 December 2018, yesterday. Here are some of the key financial highlights from the latest full-year results: 1) Revenue grew 6.4% year-on-year to S$3.80 billion. 2) Total operating costs followed suit – increased by 6.3% to S$3.37 billion. 3) As a result, operating profit rose slightly by 2.8% to S$358.8 million. 4) Profit attributable to shareholders saw a 0.6% rise, from S$301.5 million to S$303.3 million. 5) Consequently, earnings per share

Last month, my Foolish colleague, Chong Ser Jing, revealed the 30 best stocks to buy in Singapore for 2019. The shares were discovered with the help of the Magic Formula, an investing strategy made famous by Joel Greenblatt in his book, The Little Book That Beats The Market. From that list of 30 shares, I picked out three companies that look interesting. Here they are. Company #1 The first company on my list is Boustead Singapore Limited (SGX: F9D), a global service provider of infrastructure-related engineering services and geo-spatial technology solutions. It recently added a healthcare business to its suite of services. Boustead Singapore’s share price has fallen from a high of S$1.93 in April 2014 to S$0.80 right now. The slowdown in the global oil and gas industry and Singapore�

The title of this article may seem weird, but it is something which has been bugging me for a few years now. So, I thought I would articulate the issue here for others to understand it better. In investing, no man is an island and everyone would seek social proof and validation to some extent. Very few investors are able to completely shut the world out and stay solitary – humans generally require a certain level of social interaction and networking to function normally. Moreover, one way to obtain good investment ideas and suggestions is to talk to other knowledgeable and skilled investors. However, I realized over time that the search for other investors can be arduous and time-consuming, and that the key is to be patient. A kindred spirit It took me some time to be able to find a

This week, a host of companies will be giving updates on their results for the final quarter of 2018. Two companies in particular are in the spotlight:StarHub Ltd (SGX: CC3) and ComfortDelGro Corporation Ltd (SGX: C52). Here’s what investors should be looking out for when they release their results later this week. Pay TV on the decline StarHub Ltd is Singapore’s second largest telecommunications company. Its business can be divided into five main business segments: mobile, pay TV, broadband, enterprise fixed, and equipment sales. In the past year, Starhub’s share price has fallen nearly 40% from its high of S$2.99 in 2018 due to disruptive competition from online streaming and a fourth telco company making its way into Singapore. The company has suffered from lower revenue and prof

Much of what I have observed with regards to investor behaviour over time tells me that there are some bad practices and habits which seem to persist, despite investors knowing better. It is similar to smoking or binge drinking – everyone knows that they are bad activities and should be avoided, but people can’t help succumbing to them. One particularly rampant practice I have witnessed of investors is that they take care of their weeds (their investments that have done poorly) while pulling out their flowers (selling their investments in companies that are performing well). Let’s delve a bit deeper into this practice to understand the rationale behind it, and what can be done to alter such damaging behaviour. Watering the weeds Taking care of an investment portfolio is a

Factory activity shrank across Asia in January. China’s official Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) was 49.5 in January and 49.4 in December. A reading below 50 indicates contraction on a monthly basis. Japan’s factory activity was the slowest in 29 months, with weakening exports and output. Much of the decline across Asia has been due to weakening China economy and the ongoing trade war. A Reuters poll of economists showed that growth forecasts for 33 of 46 economies have been cut. Singapore has also not been spared. Factory growth cooled for the fifth consecutive month. The republic’s PMI dipped 0.4 points to 50.7, its lowest reading since December 2016. Singapore’s key electronics sector shrank for a third straight month, with PMI standing at 49.6. Meanwhile, former Fed chairman

It’s a big week for Singapore’s transportation sector with numbers from a port operator, an airport services outfit and a cab firm. Hutchison Port Holdings (SGX: NS8U) posted a slump in third-quarter profits in October. Revenue fell nearly 7% because of weaker within Asia. The Hong Kong-based port operator said it will continue to focus on improving costs given the soft global trade outlook. Airport services company, SATS (SGX: S58), reported a 9% drop in second-quarter earnings because of the absence of a one-time gain a year ago. But SATS said revenues was 4.2% higher, with gateway services up 6.3% and food solutions up 2.5%. ComfortDelGro (SGX:C52) said third-quarter profits were down 2%. But revenues improved 8.5% with increased revenues from its existing business and contributions

With more than 700 companies to choose from in Singapore’s stock market, it might be challenging to make the right choices. In this article, I will compare two companies operating in the telecommunications industry, Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SGX: Z74) and StarHub Ltd (SGX: CC3), to determine which might give you more bang for your buck. Introducing the Contenders Singapore Telecommunications Limited, or Singtel for short, is the largest telco in Singapore with a 49% mobile market share. On top of its operations in Singapore, it has businesses in countries such as Australia, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand. In all, Singtel boasts over 650 million mobile customers in 21 countries. StarHub, on the other hand, operates only in Singapore and is our country’s seco

All three major telcos – Singtel, StarHub and M1 –  offer prepaid SIM cards, giving you plenty of options depending on your intended usage. Different bundles vary in terms of validity period, amount of local/roaming data, talk time and SMS. Some also provide features such as unlimited usage on certain social messaging apps. For your convenience, you can use this handy guide we compiled to help you find the right prepaid SIM card that suits your needs. All prices in this article are inclusive of GST. Long Validity Prepaid SIM Cards A longer validity prepaid SIM card is suitable for those who live in Singapore and prefer prepaid SIM card over a post-paid plan. All these SIM cards have bundled local data. For local outgoing calls and SMS, some cards come with bundle while others charge

In preparation for Lunar New Year, many households have the tradition of doing spring cleaning. In addition to cleaning your home this year, it is worth considering doing a spring clean for your financial life as well. To help get you started, here are 4 financial spring cleaning goals to help you keep yourself in the pink of financial health for rest of the year. #1 Review Your Insurance Coverage A yearly review on your insurance portfolio is important to ensure that there are no gaps or too much redundancies in your insurance coverage. As we progress in life, our required coverage may differ significantly. New parents may want to get their new-born adequately insured, while retirees who no longer have dependents may choose to make adjustments to their life insurance policies. Another

https://www.fool.sg/2019/01/26/the-weekly-nibble-best-dividend-shares/https://www.fool.sg/2019/01/22/singapores-top-5-dividend-shares-among-the-worlds-best/https://www.fool.sg/2019/01/14/singapore-press-holdings-limiteds-first-quarter-earnings-what-investors-should-know/https://www.fool.sg/2019/01/08/what-to-look-for-when-sph-releases-its-earnings-report/https://www.fool.sg/2019/01/03/how-does-keppel-corporation-limited-make-money/M1 Ltd (SGX: B2F) released its 2018 fourth-quarter earnings update at the start of the week. M1 is the smallest player within Singapore’s telecommunications industry, sitting behind Starhub Ltd (SGX: CC3) and leader Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SGX: Z74). Here are 10 things about the presentation we think are important to note. Revenue for the