Warren Buffett once mentioned: “When we own portions of outstanding businesses with outstanding management, our favourite holding period is forever.” That said, finding stocks that you can potentially buy and hold forever is not easy. The company needs to have a long track record, have a competent management team, operate in resilient industries and have an established economic moat to shield it from competitors. In a small market like Singapore, it becomes even more challenging to find companies that exhibit all of these characteristics. However, despite my strict criteria, I believe I have found two stocks that potentially fit the bill. First on the list is DBS Group Holdings Ltd (SGX: D05), the largest bank in Singapore. When hunting for investments that can last a lifetime, it i

This is the third part of our Singapore Banking series. As discussed in the last post, the main driver of earnings for banks are interest income (or specifically net interest income). Net interest income = Interest income – interest expense And profitability of these loans are dictated by net interest margins. If you were to add up all their loans, you get their “loan book” which is simply the collective value of all their loans added up together.   Thinking more about loan books Going back to our example of a money lender – you could choose to lend your money to different groups of people. Each group of person would have a different characteristic which would impact their ability to repay the interest and principal back. Ideally you want a reasonably diversified l

DBS Group Holdings Ltd (SGX: D05) is one of Singapore’s three major banks. Right now, DBS Group’s share price is S$24.30, down by around 20% from its peak earlier this year that was reached in April. The fall in DBS Group’s share price is a sign that the bank is currently out of favour among investors. But, here are two reasons why investors should be excited about the bank now. Strong recent financial performance After posting strong results in the second quarter of 2018 (where total income and profit grew by 10% and 18% year-on-year, respectively), DBS Group did the same in the third quarter. Here are some numbers: 1) Total income was up by 10% from a year ago to S$3.38 billion for 2018’s third quarter. 2) Net interest income (the bank’s income from making l

Is the worst of the trade conflict finally behind us? On Monday, stock markets in Asia reacted positively to the announcement that the United States and China have agreed not to impose further tariffs on each other for 90 days. China is hoping that the US will remove tariffs imposed in July, while the White House said that talks will take place to resolve specific US complaints such as “forced technology transfer” within the next 90 days. If the trade conflict does resolve, it will certainly be good news for investors around the world. Lower trade barriers mean more efficient use of resources and larger markets for companies around the world in a time where trade has become a major part of the world economy. While the lifting of trade tariffs do not directly impact Singapore,

Last month, 29 companies bought back 39 million shares or units for a total amount of S$108.8 million, according to a recent report released by the Singapore Exchange. The latest buyback amount is 82% up from October 2018 and almost thrice that of November 2017’s figure of S$39 million. The top ten companies with the most significant share buyback amounts in November 2018 were DBS Group Holdings Ltd (SGX: D05), United Overseas Bank Ltd (SGX: U11), Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited (SGX: O39), SATS Ltd (SGX: S58), Keppel REIT (SGX: K71U), Olam International Ltd (SGX: O32), Singapore Post Limited (SGX: S08), Stamford Land Corporation Ltd (SGX: H07), Sembcorp Industries Limited (SGX: U96) and Lum Chang Holdings Limited (SGX: L19). The companies spent a total of S$104.7 million f

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 three Singapore stocks (among the top ten stocks) that have seen the highest net purchases in dollar valu

Here are some of the most popular articles that have appeared on The Motley Fool Singapore’s website for the week. 3 Singapore Blue-Chip Shares That Warren Buffett Might Like Ever wanted to invest in stable companies that are part of the Straits Times Index (SGX: ^STI)? Look no further. In this article, I look at three blue-chips that have wide economic moats and why they could make good investments. Companies discussed in the article: Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX: S68), DBS Group Holdings Ltd (SGX: D05) and SATS Ltd (SGX: S58). 3 REITS That Have More Than 8% Yield Right Now Lawrence Nga explores three real estate investment trusts (REITs) that have distribution yields of above 8%. They are not excessively valued in terms of their book values as well. REITs discussed in the article a

In Singapore, the three major listed banks are DBS Group Holdings Ltd (SGX: D05), Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited (SGX: O39) and United Overseas Bank Ltd (SGX: U11). After peaking in April, all three banks have seen their share price fall by more than 20% from their respective peaks. The recent decline in the banks’ shares might draw some interest from investors. In particular, investors might want to know which bank among the three is the one they should consider investing in now. Unfortunately, there is no easy answer. As such, I would like put all three banks side-to-side for a direct comparison. In this article, I will compare the recent quarterly earnings performance of the trio of banks. The objective is to find out which bank performed the best financially. The showdow

World-renowned investor, Warren Buffett, likes to invest in companies with a wide economic moat. The presence of an economic moat in a company’s business acts as a powerful deterrent to would-be competitors who are considering encroaching the territory of the business. Examples are abound of Buffett investing in companies with sticky consumers, ensuring even more profits are produced by the firms when consumers come back for more. In Singapore’s stock market, there are also companies with wide economic moats. Let’s look at three such companies that are part of the Straits Times Index (SGX: ^STI), and hence, are also known colloquially as blue-chip shares. Company #1 The first company on the list is Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX: S68), or SGX in short. SGX is the only stock

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 three Singapore stocks (among the top ten stocks) that have seen the highest net disposal in dollar value

Is DBS Group Holdings Worth Investing In Now? Some of the best performers during this difficult market is from the financial institutions. Find out if DBS Group Holdings will continue to be a winner. The post Is DBS Group Holdings Worth Investing In Now? appeared first on Value Invest Asia.

The three major banks in Singapore, DBS Group Holdings Ltd (SGX: D05), United Overseas Bank Ltd (SGX: U11) and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp Limited (SGX: O39), have each reported higher interest income and net profits for the first nine of months of the year. And yet, each of their shares have declined substantially year-to-date. DBS, UOB and OCBC share prices are down by 9.3% 11.5%, and 13.2% respectively. So why are their stocks down despite reporting higher earnings so far this year? Here are some possible fundamental reasons why market participants may have been selling down bank shares this year. Mortgage book growth slower than expected due to additional cooling measures Earlier this year, the Singapore government imposed additional property cooling measures to ease the nearly 10% s

Since their respective peaks in May 2018, shares in DBS Group Holdings Ltd (SGX: D05), Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited (SGX: O39) and United Overseas Bank Ltd (SGX: U11) have lost more than 19% each. For instance, DBS shares have plummeted some 25% to close at S$23.20 apiece yesterday. Given the poor share performance by the banking trio, it begs the question: Which bank has the most enticing valuation to hold for the long-term? To help answer that, I would be comparing the valuation of the banks against that of the SPDR STI ETF (SGX: ES3), an exchange-traded fund which can be taken as a proxy for the Straits Times Index (SGX: ^STI). The table below shows the valuation comparison of the banks against the SPDR STI ETF (the best values among the banks are in bold):Source: S&P

Fueling China’s transition from an export-led economy to one driven by domestic consumption is none other than the free-spending younger generation of Chinese consumers that are growing in size. With rising income, China’s middle-class is growing at an unprecedented pace even beyond the largest cities. The contemporary Chinese consumers are no longer just buying to meet their daily needs. In a big part, higher education has also shaped the way how today’s Chinese consumers spend. With a literacy rate of 96 percent, Chinese consumers have grown highly sophisticated and rising demand for luxurious products have become a way of life. Riding on this tailwind is Sasseur Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), the first premium outlet mall REIT listed in Asia on the mainboard of the Singapore

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 three Singapore stocks (among the top ten stocks) that have seen the highest net disposal in dollar value

I’m a value investor. As such, I like to search for companies that are trading at low valuations. A list of stocks that are near their respective 52-week lows is a good place to start my search for a good reason. These are the stocks that are either unloved or beaten down by the market. However, some of these stocks could turn out to be bargains compared to their actual economic worth. That’s because market participants can at times react too negatively to certain companies that have sound long-term prospects but have experienced some short-term stumbles. I often screen for stocks that are trading near their 52-week lows around once every week. There are many different stocks that pop up on my screen each time I run it. With that in mind, here are three companies that have turned u

Ever since they were launched on the Singapore Exchange in 2017, Daily Leverage Certificates (DLCs) provided SIP-qualified investors a convenient way to gain leveraged exposure (long or short positions) to intraday price movements of leading Asian indices – namely the MSCI Singapore Index (SiMSCI), Hang Seng Index (HSI) and Hang Seng China Enterprises Index (HSCEI). Read Also: Daily Leverage Certificate – What You Need To Understand About This New Product Before You Start Trading It Expanding The Portfolio Of Daily Leverage Certificates Initially, DLCs offered leverage levels of 3x and 5x. The 7x leverage DLCs were launched in January 2018 and has been well-received, according to Societe Generale. On 1 November 2018, Societe Generale expanded the line-up of DLCs available to investor

US stocks surged on Wednesday, 7 November, a day after the midterm election results. All three major US benchmark indices – the S&P 500 Index, NASDAQ Composite Index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average – rose more than 2%. The Democratic party regained control of the house, taking 223 seats or 51.3% of total seats, with the Republicans taking 197 seats. Republicans, however, strengthened their grip on the Senate, taking 51 seats of the 100, with Democrats taking 44 seats and other parties taking two seats. The US trade deficit widened in September, amid an escalating trade war. The trade gap for good and services increased by 1.3% to US$54 billion. Overall exports rose to US$212.6 billion, while imports increased to US$266.6 billion. The overall trade gap for goods increased to

Companies which buyback their shares could signal to the market that their shares are undervalued. Last month, 29 companies repurchased 30.8 million shares or units for a total amount of S$59.9 million, according to a report released by the Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX: S68) recently. The October buyback was 36% down from September’s buyback of S$94 million. In October, some companies were on blackout periods, which means that they cannot conduct share repurchases ahead of their earnings release. The top six companies with the largest share buyback amount in October 2018 were DBS Group Holdings Ltd (SGX: D05), Keppel REIT (SGX: K71U), City Developments Limited (SGX: C09), SATS Ltd (SGX: S58), Singapore Press Holdings Limited (SGX: T39), and Singapore Exchange. The six companies spe

This morning, Singapore’s largest bank, DBS Group Holdings Ltd (SGX: D05), released its 2018 third quarter earnings update. Here are 10 things that investors should know about the bank’s latest results: 1. Net interest income for the third quarter of 2018 improved by 15% year-on-year to S$2.27 billion. Total income for the same period increased by 10% to S$3.38 billion as a result, which was a record high. 2. Profit before allowances climbed 5% from a year ago to S$1.89 billion. Profit before allowances grew at a slower pace compared to total income because of higher expenses. 3. Net profit was up 72% from a year ago to S$1.41 billion, driven by higher profit before allowances and lower allowances for credit and other losses (DBS’s allowances came in 71% lower year-on