With a history of 130 years, Hongkong Land is certainly one of the most venerable listed companies in Singapore. Possibly, only Boustead, OCBC’s Great Eastern and UOB’s Haw Par Corp can match Hongkong Land in terms of pedigree and history. If you are talking about prestige, Hongkong Land is even more impressive as its parent company is none other than the famous Jardine Matheson Holdings. Together with Dairy Farm, Jardine C&C, Jardine Matheson Holdings and Jardine Strategic Holdings, Hongkong Land forms the “Hong Kong Five Tigers” that ruled Straits Times Index (STI) for many years. The Hong Kong Five Tigers are all part of the Jardine Matheson Group and this network of companies established an impenetrable fortress in the SGX mainboard. Nonetheless, what can float a boat can a

I get disappointed these days if I can’t find a little pill or a gritty ointment that could be used to treat an ailment that is giving me problems. It doesn’t happen that often because there seems to be a cure for almost all known germs. That is all thanks to the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry that has managed to cover most bases. They are even working on medicines for some of the more exotic diseases. Who would have thought that a vaccine for the frightening disease, Ebola, would be possible? We have certainly come a long way since the days of Fleming, with his mouldy petri dish. The pharmaceutical and healthcare industry is now big business with hundreds of companies that we can invest in. An investing minefield The breadth and depth of the sector also means that the

Here are some of the most popular articles that have appeared on The Motley Fool Singapore’s website over the past week. 3 Best Singapore Dividend Shares to Buy Now Through to 2020 We are less than four months away from a brand-new year. As cliché as it may sound, time really flies. If you are looking for high-quality income stocks to buy from now at regular intervals through to 2020, you have to check out this article. Investors Turned $100k Into $370k Investing in This Solid REIT “REITs are generally perceived as investments that give slow and steady returns to investors. In other words, they are “boring.” Yet, investing in REITs can generate significant long-term wealth for investors. Let’s look at one of those REITs that gave investors significant

Haw Par Corporation Ltd (SGX: H02) is the maker of the Tiger Balm brand of ointment. Other than its healthcare arm, it also has strategic stakes in UOL Group Limited (SGX: U14) and United Overseas Bank Ltd (SGX: U11). Haw Par recently caught my attention due to its strong share price performance in the last five years, up by about 60% during the period. After doing some research on the company, I found some hidden gems within the company’s business. Hidden gem #1 Source: Haw Par’s 2018 annual report The above is a quick summary of Haw Par’s investments in listed companies in Singapore. What’s interesting to note is the performance of these investments over the years. For example, its stake in UOB grew from S$85 million to S$1.8 billion, up 21-fold during its own

The whole world will find out next week whether The White House has got its way with the US Federal Reserve. The US central bank is widely expected to give in to the childish name-calling by cutting interest rates by a 0.25% to 2%. There are also interest rate decisions from the Bank of Japan, which doesn’t have much room to cut, and the Bank of England, which has been left high-and-dry by a directionless UK parliament. Meanwhile, Bank Indonesia could leave interest rates unchanged after it unexpectedly cut rates in August. China will release retail sales numbers for August. They are expected to show a pickup in growth from the previous month. In July, sales growth slowed for garments, cosmetics and home appliances. But there was growth in personal care and office supplies. Sin

There was good news for investors as both the US and China made peace-making gestures to ease an already bruising trade war. China will exempt some agricultural products from the additional tariffs on US goods and will renew the purchase of US farm goods. China has bought US pork despite a 62% tariff imposed on pork since last year. Meanwhile, the US will delay a tariff increase on certain Chinese imports. President Trump tweeted on Wednesday that he will hold off on the 5% increase in tariffs on certain Chinese goods until October 15 from the original date of October 1. This was out of respect for the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. The US is calling for China to end what they believe to be unfair practices such as intellectual property theft, in

Stocks can generally be classified into two categories – value and growth. Growth stocks refer to companies that can increase their revenue and earnings over time, while value stocks are stocks that are undervalued based on their current share price. In this article, I’ll highlight two deep value stocks in Singapore that I believe are underappreciated by market participants now. Haw Par Corporation Ltd (SGX: H02) Known for its Tiger Balm brand, Haw Par Corporation is perhaps one of the most under-appreciated stocks in the market. The group’s healthcare division, which consists of a range of products under its Tiger Balm brand has seen its profit grow from S$14.4 million in 2007 to S$77.3 million in 2018. Tiger Balm is now sold in over 100 countries worldwide. Yet its hea

The Singapore stock market is home to many quality companies. Here are ten of my favourite shares listed on the SGX that you can consider buying in 2020 and beyond (listed in alphabetical order). 1. DBS Group Holdings Ltd (SGX: D05) DBS is Singapore’s largest bank with its tentacles spread out in many of the growing Asian nations, including China and India. In 2019, the bank was named by Euromoney as the “World’s Best Bank” – not an easy feat considering the competition it has the world over. Its established and growing presence in Greater China, South Asia, and Southeast Asia allows it to capture growth in this dynamic part of world for many years to come. 2. Haw Par Corporation Ltd (SGX: H02) Haw Par owns the widely-recognised Tiger Balm brand, a pain rel