Following the United States extending its deadline to raise tariffs on Chinese products and increased optimism that the two biggest economies are well on track to reach an agreement, outlook in the markets has clearly turned for the better. Because of this, China’s Shanghai Composite Index jumped 5.6 percent within a single trading day on 25 February 2019. Along with the rise of the Chinese markets, the local bourse also saw its benchmark Straits Times Index registering a year-to-date return of 3.9 percent. In the last two months, we noticed three stocks which had good run-ups achieving double-digit growth in their share prices. As investment guru Warren Buffett had pointed out, “be fearful when others are greedy”. While we cannot say for sure if these three stocks may continue to ru

The Singapore earnings season is over for another quarter. Some of the outstanding performers included Thai Beverage Company (SGX: Y92), Venture Corp (SGX: V03) and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding (SGX: BS3). But now the attention turns to political and economic matters. A speech from the Fed chair, Jerome Powell, is expected to draw some attention. In his semi-annual Monetary Policy Report to Congress, he left many questions unanswered, especially his comment that financial markets are now more volatile and that financial conditions are now less supportive of growth. The contraction in some sectors of the Chinese economy is likely to be closely watched. News of the third straight month of shrinkage in Chinese manufacturing could make it even more important that the Caixin Services PMI indicat

Last month, Singapore’s stock market, as represented by the Straits Times Index (SGX: ^STI), inched up by 0.7%, or by around 23 points, to 3212.7. Of the 30 index stocks, 18 were in the positive territory, 10 were in the red, while the remaining two were flat. Thailand’s leading beverage producer, Thai Beverage Public Company Limited (SGX: Y92), was the best performer of the pack. The company’s shares rose 11.6% to S$0.815 apiece. For the first quarter ended 31 December 2018, Thai Beverage’s revenue surged 59.7% year-on-year to THB 72.6 billion while net profit attributable to shareholders more than doubled from THB 2.96 billion to THB 7.42 billion. The increased revenue was due to higher volume across all business segments. The spirits segment showed exceptional performance, w

We are at the tail-end of the earnings season. Many companies have reported their results in the past few weeks — some of them have had good news to share, and some bad. Today’s we’re looking at two companies that had some not-so-good news to share; they both recently reported negative results. First up is Venture Corporation Ltd (SGX: V03), an electronics manufacturing services provider with expertise in a wide range of activities. In the latest quarter ended 31 December 2018, Venture reported that revenue went down 16.6% year on year to S$905.9 million. Similarly, profit attributable to shareholders declined by 24.7% year on year to S$107.7 million. As a result, Venture’s diluted earnings per share (EPS) worsened by 25.1% year on year to Singapore 37.1 cents. As of 3

For income investors who look forward to a steady and predictable stream of dividend income from their investments, knowing if a company can continue to pay dividends for the foreseeable future is very important. Many retirees who have withdrawn their CPF may put a chunk of it into dividend-paying companies in order to enjoy a steady stream of passive income as they live out their golden years. Investors should therefore carefully assess if a company is able to keep up its dividend payments, and below are three methods they can use to do so. Free cash flow One reliable indicator investors should look for is the presence of free cash flow. Recall that free cash flow is derived from the operating cash inflow of a company minus its capital expenditures. A company that’s able to consiste

On Monday, Riverstone Holdings Limited (SGX: AP4) announced its 2018 full-year result. Riverstone is a Malaysia-based company operating in two key areas of the rubber-gloves industry: cleanroom gloves and medical gloves. Today, we’re looking at 10 things investors should know from the company’s latest earnings update. Revenue for the reporting year improved 12.7% year on year to RM 921.0 million. Yet, gross profit for the year was down 3.9% year on year to RM 190.0 million. The decline in gross margin was driven by lower average selling prices in healthcare gloves as well as a change in sales mix. Gross profit margin for the year was 20.6%, down from 24.2% in the same period last year. Net profit for the reporting year grew marginally by 1.6% year on year to RM 129.7 million.

On Sunday, Dasin Retail Trust (SGX: CEDU) released its 2018 full-year result. Dasin Retail Trust is the only property trust listed in Singapore’s stock market that has direct exposure to and a focus on retail malls in China’s Pearl River Delta region. The trust’s portfolio currently comprises four malls in Zhongshan City of China’s Guangdong province. Here are nine things investors should know about Dasin Retail Trust’s latest results: Dasin Retail Trust’s gross revenue for the year came in at S$71.3 million, 23.6% higher than that of last year. Net property income of S$57.3 million was also 23.1% stronger than a year ago. The REIT’s distribution per unit (DPU) of 7.22 Singapore cents was 0.8% higher than last year’s DPU. Based on Dasin Retail Trust’s annualised DPU

Last Friday, Venture Corporation Ltd (SGX: V03) announced its fourth-quarter results for the financial year ended 31 December 2018. Venture is an electronics manufacturing services provider with expertise in a wide range of activities. Here are 10 things investors should know from the company’s latest earnings announcement: Revenue for the quarter went down 16.6% year on year to S$905.9 million. Profit before tax fell by 25.9% year on year to S$124.5 million. Similarly, profit attributable to shareholders declined by 24.7% year on year to S$107.7 million. Venture’s diluted earnings per share (EPS) worsened by 25.1% year on year to 37.1 Singapore cents. Profit before tax margin also fell from 15.5% last year to 13.7% in this quarter. As of 31 December 2018, the company had S$712.8

At the end of January, I had the chance to interview The Motley Fool’s very own Warren Buffett, David Kretzmann, who started investing at a very young age. He was in Singapore for a special Stock Advisor Gold members-only pop-up event, where he met up with members of our elite-tier investment service. Stock Advisor Gold is run by Singaporean investors for Singaporean investors. We aim to provide an unparalleled experience that not only gives our esteemed members specific stock recommendations, but also education, commentary, and live events that will help them achieve their long-term saving and investing goals. David is currently the Head of Motley Fool Asia, overseeing The Motley Fool’s businesses in Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, and India. During our chat, David and I talked a

It’s a big week for earnings with Singapore’s three big banks and two giants from the property sector set to report. Geopolitical and economic headwinds had no impact on third-quarter results at DBS Group (SGX: D05). However, Singapore’s biggest bank did miss market forecast when it posted numbers in November. But Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (SGX: O39) topped forecasts when it reported a 12% jump in third-quarter profits. That was thanks to a rise in net interest income as a result of growth in customer loans. United Overseas Bank (SGXU11) also chimed in with a surge in quarterly profits last time. Earnings climbed 14% on strong loan growth and an improvement in net interest margin. In November, CapitaLand (SGX: C31) reported a 13.6% rise in third-quarter profits. The propert

According to a recent report released by the Singapore Exchange (SGX), 21 companies bought back 30.2 million shares or units for a total amount of S$26.4 million last month. The latest buyback is down from December 2018’s figure of S$78 million and January 2018’s amount of S$54 million. The top five companies with the most significant share buyback amount in January 2019 were: 1) Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited (SGX: O39); 2) Keppel REIT (SGX: K71U); 3) Silverlake Axis Ltd (SGX: 5CP); 4) Venture Corporation Ltd (SGX: V03); and 5) Singapore Post Limited (SGX: S08). Keppel REIT’s manager has been regularly buying back the REIT’s units since July 2018. As mentioned in a previous article here, Keppel REIT repurchasing its units could be a signal to the market that its un

2019 has only just arrived and the stock market is already looking upbeat compared to 2018. Having opened the year at 3,051 points, the Straits Times Index (STI) closed at 3,202 points on 25 January 2019, an increase of about 5% since the start of the year. Since an index is made up of different stocks, it makes sense that there are some stocks in the STI which have performed exceptionally well since the start of the year, contributing to the overall performance of the index. As pointed out by SGX Market Strategist Geoff Howie, six of the seven poorest performing STI stocks in 2018 were among the STI’s 10 strongest stocks in 2019 thus far. This suggests that mean reversion could be at play for some of these popular blue-chip counters. Mean reversion is a financial theory suggesting that

There are 26 Singapore-listed shares in the FTSE All-World High Dividend Yield Index. This global dividend yield index contains 1,389 globally-listed shares that have a higher-than-average dividend yield. The index excludes real estate investment trusts (REITs) and stocks that are forecast to pay no dividend over the next 12 months. Here, let’s look at the best five Singapore-listed companies – part of the FTSE All-World High Dividend Yield Index – that have the highest dividend yields (yield data as of 18 January 2019). The best of the lot Taking the top spot is the Straits Times Index’s (SGX: ^STI) highest yielding component, Hutchison Port Holdings Trust (SGX: NS8U). The trust has a distribution yield of 9.9%. Investors should not be misled by the high yield as the trust’s di

In this article, we highlight two trade diversion plays that DBS recommends investors in 2019. Looming Danger Of US-China Trade War The ongoing trade disputes between the US and China will affect export dependent economies such as Singapore. Singapore’s manufacturing base is largely focused on high value-added intermediate products, and a large proportion is shipped to China for subsequent processing. However, as the trade war is largely bilateral in nature, there could be some degree of trade diversion, which could benefit Southeast Asia’s economies. Singapore is in a unique position given its regional hub status, a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement network and higher level of innovation and business sophistication. Being a regional shipping and financial hub, Singapore could also se

Long term investors seek companies that can sustain, or better still, grow their profitability for the foreseeable future. As a matter of fact, no one can accurately predict the future, thus, the ability of a company to consistently be profitable over the long term. Thus, average investors might want to limit their investments to those companies that have a more predictable business, or in other words, blue chips. Now, the conventional wisdom is that blue chip companies are boring investments since they don’t usually grow much given their size. This is true, to a certain extent. Yet, there are some blue chip companies that continued to grow their profitability over time, despite their size. Here, we will look at three blue chip companies that more than doubled their profits in the last d

The blue-chip shares of the Straits Times Index (SGX: ^STI) all pay a dividend, with an average dividend yield of 3.6%. However, some of the index stocks have way higher dividend yields. Here, let’s look at the top five blue-chip shares that have the best dividend yields (data as of 17 January 2019). Blue-chip #1 Coming in first is Hutchison Port Holdings Trust (SGX: NS8U) with a distribution yield of 9.6%. In its most recent earnings update, the trust posted a net profit of HK$239.5 million, down 11.4% as compared to a year back. The high yield should not fool investors because of late, the trust’s distributions have been falling. For the last twelve months, total distribution has dropped to 19.62 Hong Kong cents from 26.10 cents in the prior period. Hutchison Port Holdings Trust 

Warren Buffett is a huge advocate of businesses buying back their shares. He believes that share buybacks can reveal a thing or two about the company’s management. He once said: “What you’d like to do as an investor is hook them up to a machine and run a polygraph to see whether it’s true. Short of a polygraph the best sign of a shareholder-oriented management — assuming its stock is undervalued — is repurchases. A polygraph proxy, that’s what it is.” On that note, let’s check out three companies picked at random that have repurchased their shares thus far during the week, as of market open today. Silverlake Axis Ltd (SGX: 5CP) Silverlake is a software solutions provider servicing mainly the financial services sector. On 14 January 2019, Sil

Welcome to a brand-new week, everyone. Here are three things about the local stock market that you might be interested in today. 1. The Straits Times Index (SGX: ^STI) climbed 43.6 points, or 1.4%, to end the day at 3,102.8. Of the 30 index components, 22 finished in the green, with Venture Corporation Ltd (SGX: V03) leading the pack. The electronics manufacturing service provider’s shares rose 5.3% to S$14.40 each. Meanwhile, the biggest loser of the index was Dairy Farm International Holdings Ltd (SGX: D01), which fell 1% to US$9.01. Three other blue-chips finished Monday in the red, with the remaining four ending the day unchanged. 2. CapitaLand Limited (SGX: C31) is acquiring a prime office building in Shanghai, China. In an announcement before the stock market opened today, CapitaL

According to a recent report released by the Singapore Exchange, 32 companies bought back 97 million shares or units for a total amount of S$78 million in December 2018. For the full year, the total share buybacks amounted to S$1.5 billion. The top ten companies with the most significant share buyback amounts in December were United Overseas Bank Ltd (SGX: U11), Keppel REIT (SGX: K71U), Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited (SGX: O39), Stamford Land Corporation Ltd (SGX: H07), Venture Corporation Ltd (SGX: V03), SingHaiyi Group Ltd (SGX: 5H0), SATS Ltd (SGX: S58), Singapore Post Limited (SGX: S08), Tuan Sing Holdings Limited (SGX: T24), and Sembcorp Industries Limited (SGX: U96). Keppel REIT’s manager has been regularly buying back the REIT’s units since July 2018. As I noted

The Straits Times Index (STI) is made up of the 30 strongest and most liquid stocks listed in Singapore. Comprising close to 80% of the entire market value in Singapore, the returns that the stocks on the STI provides is essentially the market returns or benchmark returns. For investors who are new or prefer taking a hands-off approach, being able to invest in the STI can be the most practical way to invest. This is primarily because it offers several advantages such as diversifying our investment portfolio with just one investment as well as receiving the market returns without requiring much knowledge or spending time monitoring and adjusting our portfolios. Currently, there are two listed STI exchange traded funds (ETFs) – the SPDR STI ETF and the Nikko AM Singapore STI ETF – that w