The government response to the COVID-19 outbreak so far has amounted to SGD 54.8 billion – about of 11% of GDP. The economy is entering uncharted waters, and the level of stimulus is unprecedented as Singapore faces both acute supply and demand shocks. The Impact of These Measures on Singapore Banks When you invest into banks like Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp (SGX:O39), United Overseas Bank Ltd  (SGX:U11) & Dbs Group Holdings Ltd (SGX:D05) you are not only investing in them directly but also indirectly the quality of governance and the strength of the regulator. The SG Government has often acted to reduce potential bubbles from being formed (e.g. cooling measures to dampen the en-bloc cycle). In this instance, they are acting to blunt the economic fallout from what maybe Sin

I previously wrote about the SIA Retail bonds in my last article. While I was not keen on them, I wrote the following: Let’s not forget who the largest shareholder of SIA is – Temasek Holdings. SIA is of huge strategic importance to Singapore given that it’s our national airline carrier that in my opinion will not be allowed to fail especially given the exceptional circumstances of events.” Last night, DPM Heng Swee Keat made the following comments in his budget speech: The Deputy Prime Minister said the airline was a “strategic asset” for Singapore.  “Through the Government support for the aviation sector and, if necessary, more direct support measures, we will make sure that SIA is able to come through this in good shape,” he said,  “Ultimately t

I previously wrote about the SIA Retail bonds in my last article. While I was not keen on them, I wrote the following: Let’s not forget who the largest shareholder of SIA is – Temasek Holdings. SIA is of huge strategic importance to Singapore given that it’s our national airline carrier that in my opinion will not be allowed to fail especially given the exceptional circumstances of events.” Last night, DPM Heng Swee Keat made the following comments in his budget speech: The Deputy Prime Minister said the airline was a “strategic asset” for Singapore.  “Through the Government support for the aviation sector and, if necessary, more direct support measures, we will make sure that SIA is able to come through this in good shape,” he said,  “Ultimately t

Sign up as member here! 2020 will go down in history as one of the most terrifying years for investors as the stock markets plunged into total chaos amid the coronavirus outbreak. DBS is the largest lender in Singapore, so investors will always examine DBS Group Holdings share price to gauge the health of the economy. But question now is: will the second stimulus package from Singapore government be timely enough to salvage the situation? DBS Group share price in dark chapter with virus DBS Group Holdings share price ambushed by coronavirus? At the point of writing (12 March 2020), DBS Group Holdings share price had tumbled 23%, much higher than the 17% correction for OCBC share price. The huge correction of DBS Group Holdings provided clear signal that recession should be on the way for

DBS Bank (SGX: D05) is the largest bank in Southeast Asia, an iconic national bank of Singapore with Temasek as major shareholder (29% ownership). DBS also owns POSB, a common people’s bank in Singapore. DBS is a cyclical stock, performance depends on economic cycle and global stock market cycle, sensitive to changes in global central banks interest rates. Due to Coronavirus induced stock market crash over the past 1 month, the Fed has decided to cut US bank interest rates, firstly by 0.5%, then again by another 1%, dropping to historical low of 0-0.5%, hoping to stimulate and sustain the current US economy. Global central banks include Singapore are expected to follow the footstep to lower the domestic interest rates. In general, banks have several ways to make money, the

What a calamity out of nowhere! DBS Group Holdings share price looks set for another bout of volatility with the unfolding coronavirus saga. Investors could be forgiven for punching the wall as this counter had barely emerged from the persistent Hong Kong riots when the coronavirus took the world by storm. Will the upcoming financial result be a cup of hot milo in the winter for investors? As the bellwether of the economy, the banking sector is very susceptible to economy condition. It is still too early to judge whether this coronavirus will pose a short or long-term challenge for Singapore economy. But one thing for sure is that DBS Group Holdings share price will come under pressure in the coming months because of its significant exposure to the Hong Kong market, which had been roiled b

It’s important to know the differences that distinguish each payment service and platform. Apart from restrictions, knowing how each cashless payment method or platform works allows you to make the most out of every dollar spent. If you’re unsure about the difference between PayNow, Pay Anyone and PayLah!, here’s a handy guide to help you learn more about each payment method and which you should use. Read Also: Beginners’ Guide To Cashless Payment Platforms In Singapore #1 PayNow PayNow is a free funds-transfer service that allows you to transfer money with your recipient’s mobile number or NRIC/FIN number or a QR code. This feature is unlocked if those details are registered and linked to the payee’s bank account number. The payee can receive funds via PayNow as long as they h

What are the traits of a smart investor? Is there a secret recipe that we can follow to be one? Boasting speakers with years of experience in the financial markets, The Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS), MoneySense and Securities Investors Association (Singapore) (SIAS), hosted the 10th year of My Money Seminar on 16 November 2019. With an experienced line-up of speakers, we went down to the seminar (with more than 900 other people) to pick the brains of these investment professionals to discover the secret recipe to smart investing. Read Also: [Updated] Upcoming Personal Finance Events In Singapore You Should Attend In 2019 Here are the 8 ingredients for smart investing. # 1 Monitor & Stay On Top Of Your Investments We need to monitor the investments that we make. David Gerald,

Singapore Investors who are looking to open a brokerage account will find a wide variety of choices. In this article, we run you through the main things you should be looking at when picking a brokerage: Price Reliability Access to Research Platform Ease of Use Opening a Brokerage Account for Singapore Investors   CDP and Custodian Explained  There are two main routes to share ownership for Singapore stocks specifically – the Custodian System and holding them in your CDP (Central Depository). Essentially with a CDP system, the shares go into your CDP account and you are the legal ownership of the shares. You get to attend AGMS, will receive Annual Reports & Circulars and If you are a top 20 Shareholder, your name will appear under the top 20 shareholder list. With a custodia

With an acronym like MUST, it seems like investing in Manulife US REIT will not go wrong. Indeed, the unit price had been surging from USD0.80 since the start of the year to the current USD0.94. Listed in May 2016, this REIT has a strong sponsor in Manulife Insurance Company, a leading Canada-based financial services group. Despite having a strong pedigree, it has not always been a bed of rose for this REIT. Like many of its peers, Manulife US REIT unit price had been lacklustre in the initial year of listing. Looking back, the counter had been trading below its offering price of US0.83 per for most of 2016 and 2017. Then the unit price took on a life of its own when Temasek Holdings, through DBS Bank, increased its stake from 3.78% to 5.49% in July 2017. Subsequently, Manulife US REIT uni

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 /&

One of the most popular industries among local investors is the banking industry. There are many good reasons to like our local banks: their stable business performances, solid dividend track records, and more. Another good reason to like these banks is their undemanding valuations compared to the Straits Times Index (SGX: STI). Despite this, investors might still want to know which bank among the three has the lowest valuation now. After all, investors are always searching for good value in the stock market. In this article, we’ll try to answer this question: Which is the cheapest bank among the trio of local banks, DBS Group Holdings Ltd (SGX: D05), Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited (SGX: O39), or United Overseas Bank Ltd (SGX: U11)? To do so, we will compare the valuati

DBS Group Holdings Ltd (SGX: D05) is one of Singapore’s three largest local banks. The group offers a comprehensive and wide range of banking services for individuals, SMEs, and multinational corporations. DBS has a strong and recognisable brand name in Asia and has also demonstrated a long track record of great service. The bank has grown from strength to strength over the years and has grown impressively since the days of the Global Financial Crisis in 2009, which dented sentiment and caused many banks to trade at depressed valuations. In its Q2 2019 earnings, DBS reported a record net profit, declared a quarterly dividend of S$0.30, and saw rising net interest margins. However, despite the impressive attributes above, here are three reasons I’m avoiding DBS for now. 1. Digi

Here we are again — back to looking at various fallacies and biases that can trip us up as investors. This is part 10 of the series, but amazingly, there are so many more types of biases that can affect and negatively impact our investment decision-making process. Note that these are all adapted from the book “The Art of Thinking Clearly” by Rolf Dobelli. The idea here is to know and understand these biases better so as to be able to avoid their pernicious effects and become better investors. While it is not possible to eliminate such biases completely, we can mitigate their effects by being aware and conscious of them when we make investment decisions. Forer effect The forer effect is present when generalised statements are made that everyone can agree with and are with

DBS Group Holdings Ltd (SGX: D05) is one of Singapore’s three big banks and provides a comprehensive range of banking services to individuals, SMEs and multinational corporations. The group has a presence in 18 markets and employs around 27,000 staff. DBS continues to grow from strength to strength as it reports loan growth and rising net interest margins. H1 2019 net profit rose to a record high of S$3.25 billion, with return on equity hitting 13.7% from 12.5% a year ago. Net interest margin stayed healthy at 2.18% for Q2 2019, while gross loans grew 5% year-on-year to S$15 billion, driven mainly by non-trade corporate and consumer loan growth. The group has identified various methods of growing its business, not just in terms of identifying suitable market segments to target, but

Investors who buy banks as part of their portfolios may not fully comprehend how they make money, as financial institutions are complex businesses with many moving parts. I always find it easier, when analysing a company, to split up a business into its component parts or divisions. In this article, I will be looking into how Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited (SGX: O39), or OCBC Bank, makes its money. The best way to do this will be to break the group up into separate components: its core banking division, the non-interest income division, the wealth management division, and the insurance division. Net interest income (NII) The core business of a bank is to make loans, and the net interest income (NII) represents the difference between the interest rates charged by OCBC on loans

Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) are hugely popular investments in Singapore. The reasons for this lie in two key characteristics – 1) its focus on property investments, which Singaporeans just cannot get enough of, and 2) its ability to pay a good annual distribution yield of typically between 5% and 8%. It should come as no surprise that when a new $1.5 billion REIT initial public offering (IPO) is announced, there will be plenty of interest. To guide you in your assessment of whether to invest in Lendlease Global Commercial REIT’s IPO, here are 10 things you should know. # 1 What Is Lendlease Global Commercial REIT? Lendlease Global Commercial REIT will own properties primarily in the retail and/or office space. The initial REIT portfolio comprises two properties – 313@So

Temasek Holdings is Singapore’s state-owned sovereign wealth fund that manages its assets using a long-term view and based on rigorous due diligence. Temasek holds a diverse range of assets ranging from private to public equities, and as of the end of the 2019 financial year (31 March 2019), the portfolio had a net value of S$313 billion, up slightly from 2018’s S$308 billion. The fund’s total shareholder return over 10 years stood at 9%, and Temasek’s portfolio includes at least 25 listings on the Singapore Exchange (SGX). In a write-up published by SGX, it highlighted the three-best performing SGX-listed non-REIT stocks within Temasek’s portfolio on a three-year total return basis. Investors who are searching for steady performers need not look elsewhere, a

LendLease Global Commercial REIT is going ahead with their IPO. However, the number of properties that will be injected into the IPO will only be 2, contrary to what I have speculated in my first article. The Australian based group LendLease will be looking to a placement and public offer of 387 million units. The IPO price is set at S$0.88. In total, there will be 1,167 million units outstanding. This will make the market capitalization of LendLease Global Commercial REIT to be close to S$1.56 billion. This IPO is a strange for the following reasons: I struggled to find what is the indicative dividend yield of LendLease Global Commercial REITIt is a mixture of office and retail REITLendLease Global Commercial REIT’s portfolio have a fair bit of concentration risk

Dividend investors like to invest in companies that can sustain dividend payments over the long term. Generally, this can be found in blue chip companies that have established long term track record such as Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX: S68) or DBS Group Holdings Ltd (SGX: D05). Nevertheless, there are smaller companies that have good potential to become solid dividend stock in the long term. In this article, we will look at this company that’s well-positioned to deliver good returns to dividend investors in the next few years. The contender The company that we will be looking at here IS SBS Transit Ltd (SGX: S61). For starters, SBS transit operates public bus and rail services in Singapore. It operates mainly in two segments: Public Transport Services (the bus and rail services