Fraser and Neave Limited (SGX: F99), or F&N for short, is a consumer group with expertise in the food and beverage, publishing and printing sectors. At the current price of S$1.86 (at the time of writing), F&N’s shares are just two cents higher than the 52-week low price of S$1.84. This raises a question: Is F&N cheap now? This question is important because if the firm’s shares are cheap, it might be a good opportunity for investors. Unfortunately, there is no easy answer. However, we can still get some insight by comparing F&N’s current valuations with the market’s valuation. The three valuation metrics I will focus on are the price-to-book (PB) ratio, price-to-earnings (PE) ratio, and dividend yield. I will be using the SPDR STI ETF (SGX: ES3) as a proxy for the m

Singapore’s stock market barometer, the Straits Times Index (SGX: ^STI), fell 2.3%, or 75.3 points, to 3,209.4. Of the 30 index components, 23 were in the negative territory while the remaining seven were in the positive region. Thai Beverage Public Company Limited (SGX: Y92) was the biggest loser of the lot, tumbling 10.4% to S$0.645. During the week, the beverage company announced its financial results for its fiscal third quarter. Thai Beverage’s revenue grew 34% year-on-year to THB 60.7 billion during the quarter, but its profit attributable to shareholders plunged 61% to THB 6.0 billion. The fall in the bottom line was due to lesser earnings from the spirits and beer businesses, higher net loss from the non-alcoholic beverages business, and drop in contributions from Fraser and N

Yesterday, Thai Beverage Public Company Limited (SGX: Y92) announced its financial results for the third quarter of the fiscal year ending 30 September 2018 (FY2018). As a quick introduction, Thai Beverage is a leading beverage company (of both the alcoholic and non-alcoholic varieties) in Southeast Asia and the largest of its kind in Thailand. The company also has a 28.5% stake in another Singapore-listed company, Fraser and Neave Limited (SGX: F99), which is a beverage producer and distributor with a long history. Thai Beverage is also one of the major shareholders of Frasers Property Ltd (SGX: TQ5) with a 28.4% stake. Financial highlights For the third quarter of FY2018, Thai Beverage’s revenue grew 34% year-on-year to THB 60.7 billion. The higher revenue was on the back of impro

Dear all, Reits are clearly not in our investors’ favour as evidenced by the 10.2% fall in FTSE Reit index (FSTAS8670.IN), which closed 786 on 29 Jun 2018, after hitting a multi-year high of 875 in Jan 2018. Most analysts or strategists will recommend reits with distribution per unit (“DPU”) growth, so as to combat the rise in interest rates. EC World Reit (“EC”) may be one with DPU growth. I have the privilege of meeting Mr Goh Toh Sim, Executive Director & CEO of EC and Mr Li Jinbo, Head of Investment of EC (“Management”) for a 1-1 discussion over EC’s operations and prospects. Below are my key takeaways.   Description Based on EC’s press release, it is listed on SGX on 28 July 2016. With its initial portfolio of six quality properties located in one of the lar

Thai Beverage Public Company Limited (SGX: Y92) is a leading beverage company in Southeast Asia and the largest of its kind in Thailand. It also has a 28.5% stake in another Singapore-listed company, Fraser and Neave Limited (SGX: F99), which is a beverage producer and distributor with a long history. I like Thai Beverage for the various leading beverage brands that it owns, its extensive distribution network, international presence in more than 90 countries, and the growth potential it has in the years ahead. Growth plans in place Thai Beverage wants to become the largest and most profitable beverage company in Southeast Asia by 2020. By that year, it intends to increase its revenue-share from non-alcoholic beverages to over 50%. It also wants more than half of its revenue to come from