A SOFT-COMMODITY giant with exposure to high-growth markets and commanding a premium over its peers because of its deep vertical integration which delivers a higher return on equity (ROE), more stable margins and stronger cash flows.
That is how Morgan Stanley described palm- oil giant Wilmar International in a 45-page report on March 26.
But this could turn out to be an apt description of mainboard-listed GMG Global as well three years down the road, or perhaps sooner.
Listed in 1999, GMG is the only pure natural rubber play on the Singapore Exchange (SGX). It has some 43,000 hectares of rubber plantation land in the African countries of Cameroon and Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), only half of which is now under cultivation. It has also bought into two processing plants in Kalimantan, Indonesia, with a total capacity of 55,000 tonnes.
In all, GMG produced some 75,000 tonnes of natural rubber last year. This will rise to over 100,000 tonnes this year, or two-thirds of existing capacity.
In October 2008, Chinese state-owned enterprise Sinochem Corp bought a 51 per cent stake in GMG for $265 million averaging 26.5 cents per share. Last year, it picked up its share of a $100 million rights issue, effectively bringing down its price in GMG to 17 cents per share.
Sinochem is a Tier 1 state-owned enterprise (SOE). It is also China's 10th largest company by revenue, a component stock of the Shanghai Stock Exchange index, and a Fortune Global 500 company for 17 years. With assets of more than 20 billion yuan (S$4.1 billion), it is also China's largest rubber player, supplying some 300,000 tonnes last year to 150 end-users, including multinational companies in the country. The company - which also supplied 100,000 tonnes of synthetic rubber to the Chinese domestic market in 2009 - currently controls over 10.5 per cent of the Chinese market for natural rubber (for scale comparison: the second biggest player supplies just 3 per cent). It wants to raise its market share to 15 per cent.
Meanwhile, China's thirst for natural rubber has grown an average of 10 per cent annually. Last year, it consumed 2.9 million tonnes, or almost 30 per cent of global natural rubber output. The only domestic rubber supply is some 500,000 tonnes from Hainan, in southern China. The rest is imported. The price of natural rubber has risen to its highest levels since mid-2008. Not surprisingly, China considers natural rubber a strategic asset.
This places Sinochem in a unique position. It also gives GMG a unique role as Sinochem's global platform for the production, procurement and trading of natural rubber. On its part, GMG has already expressed its ambition to be among the world's largest vertically integrated natural rubber players within the next 3-5 years. But to do so, its production will have to rise five-fold.
Unlisted Lee Rubber, with its long track record, already produces some 500,000 tonnes a year. GMG has to match that.
With over $160 million of cash in the kitty and virtually no debt, the company has the means to scale up. It has already bought into a second processing plant in Kalimantan this year and is on the lookout for more. Also, only half of its 42,000 hectares of plantation land in Africa is currently planted.
But GMG has to move beyond just production and output; it has to execute its vertical integration strategy, a la Wilmar. This means scaling up its rubber trading capabilities.
Fortunately, it has a powerful parent in Sino- chem which can help make all this happen. For comparison, there is no pure listed rubber play against which GMG can be benchmarked. But there are other soft-commodity players in palm oil which have similarities. Wilmar (with a market capitalisation of some $42 billion) has a price-book value of 2.7 times. Indofood Agri ($2.2 billion) is trading at 2.2 times book. GMG ($330 million) is trading at just 1.2 times book.
Back to Morgan Stanley's report.
Just over four years ago, the newly restructured Wilmar was trading at 80 cents per share. Today, the stock is up some nine-fold. Yet Morgan Stanley reckons it is still undervalued, and has a price target of $8.00 on the stock.
GMG is not a Wilmar; at least not yet. But it has the resources, cash, market and parentage to get there. It's a question of execution.
Wah lau....another no-horse run stock in the making, yes...lately this stock is having a nice run-up. Since the primary market here is looking tired...after a huge run-up it is the turn of the penny stock to shine but then there must always in a theme for it to be in play. Will monitor closely and vest if got pullback to near to the break peak price of 16.5 cts. Last traded price is 22.5 cts!
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Brokers' take on Ying Li
RISING in anticipation: Ying Li's share price reacted positively to the news of Chongqing's planned spending of one trillion yuan (S$204 billion) on 323 infrastructure and property projects to bolster economic growth. Its urban renewal projects stand to benefit from an anticipated influx of foreign direct investments. Our revised price target of $1.04 following changes in key assumptions after our recent site visit still implies a whopping 96 per cent upside.
Only eight storeys of the IFC office tower have been built to date. At this rate, we believe the 62-storey tower is unlikely to be completed by end-2010 as previously guided. Hence, we lower our occupancy rate assumption for 2011. The IFC accounts for 23 per cent of our RNAV estimates.
According to our channel checks, our average selling price and rental assumptions for Ying Li's prime property projects are still in line with the asking rates in the market. Management reiterated its optimism about the availability of credit as local and offshore banks have offered exclusive loan facilities.
We cut our RNAV/share to $1.04 from $1.20 as we revise our assumptions based on the latest data points and have pushed back the expected completion of the IFC office tower to Q2 2011. Near-term catalysts include the signing of retail tenancy agreements at the IFC in June 2010 and the outcome of the bidding for the Wuyi Road land parcel by H1 2010.
Wow....a potential gain of nearly 100%!!! Solid....but please keep both eyes open! Things that sound too good...may end up to be "too good to be true!" too. But for now...may still be good enough to consider a small bet when the price is to pullback nearer to break peak price of 51.5 cts vs the last done price of 55.5 cts.
Only eight storeys of the IFC office tower have been built to date. At this rate, we believe the 62-storey tower is unlikely to be completed by end-2010 as previously guided. Hence, we lower our occupancy rate assumption for 2011. The IFC accounts for 23 per cent of our RNAV estimates.
According to our channel checks, our average selling price and rental assumptions for Ying Li's prime property projects are still in line with the asking rates in the market. Management reiterated its optimism about the availability of credit as local and offshore banks have offered exclusive loan facilities.
We cut our RNAV/share to $1.04 from $1.20 as we revise our assumptions based on the latest data points and have pushed back the expected completion of the IFC office tower to Q2 2011. Near-term catalysts include the signing of retail tenancy agreements at the IFC in June 2010 and the outcome of the bidding for the Wuyi Road land parcel by H1 2010.
Wow....a potential gain of nearly 100%!!! Solid....but please keep both eyes open! Things that sound too good...may end up to be "too good to be true!" too. But for now...may still be good enough to consider a small bet when the price is to pullback nearer to break peak price of 51.5 cts vs the last done price of 55.5 cts.
Yangzijiang plans secondary listing in HK or Taiwan
YANGZIJIANG Shipbuilding is the latest to disclose that it is jumping on the bandwagon of dual listings, as this trend looks set to stay this year.
This S-chip is planning to undertake a dual listing in Hong Kong or Taiwan this year to fund its venture into ship breaking business and potential mergers and acquisitions, according to a CIMB-GK report released yesterday. Its analyst Ho Choon Seng said the dilution is limited to 5 per cent.
A Yangzijiang spokesman told BT yesterday that 'this is in the planning stage but the exact timing is not fixed yet'.
The group is among a handful of S-chips that attended a three-day investor conference in Shanghai that ended yesterday. They met more than 200 funds from the US, Europe, Hong Kong and China.
The other six companies are Changjiang Fertilizer, C&O Pharmaceutical, C&G Industrial, China Hu An Cable, China Kunda and GMG Global. GMG is 51 per cent owned by Shanghai-listed Sinochem.
The conference, 'Halter Financial Summit 2010', was organised by Halter Financial Group. According to Financial PR, which is a partner for the event, more than 70 companies from four markets - the US, London, Singapore and Hong Kong - took part in the conference.
CIMB-GK's Mr Ho said he believes 'attractive risk-reward opportunities still exist in the S-chip space as investor confidence and interest in the space is still recovering'.
'We believe that most of the S-chips which were not directly associated with the negative publicity during the last crisis have stronger fundamentals and are less likely to repeat the mistakes which brought down their peers,' he added.
Sound Global (formerly Epure) and Yangzijiang are his top picks with 'outperform' ratings on potential upside of 39 per cent and 25 per cent respectively. Key catalysts are coming from more newsflow on dual listings and new order wins, he said. Yangzijiang is also more attractively traded at nine times CY11 price-earnings ratio compared to Cosco Corp's 20 times CY11 PE.
Dual listings are likely to remain a key theme in the S-chip space this year, Mr Ho reckons. Companies that are currently undertaking dual listings in Hong Kong include Midas and Sound Global, while China Fishery is headed for a secondary listing on Oslo Bors.
Shares of China XLX and Z-Obee traded in Singapore are now respectively 19 per cent and 36 per cent higher since their dual listings in Hong Kong.
But Mr Ho foresees that in the case of Yangzijiang, the impact of a dual listing on its trading multiples here would be small, so any re-rating of the stock would be mainly driven by fundamentals.
Since Taiwan Depository Receipts (TDRs) are non-fungible, issuing TDRs is unlikely to cause a sustained surge in the Singapore Exchange-listed shares here, he said. 'Alternatively, even if the company chooses to list in Hong Kong, there is no valuation gap with the Hong Kong-listed peer (Guangzhou Shipyard).'
At present...the best of the lot is SoundGlobal as it just broke peak on last Friday at $0.98 and it's last done price is at $1.01 and the next best one is Midas. Midas also just broke peak last Friday at $1.06 and closed at $1.09 but on low volume. Therefore if on Monday...it has volume then it will be a good buy at price nearer to $1.07! As for Yangzijiang...it's has gone up above 6% > BP, therefore must wait for pullback.
This S-chip is planning to undertake a dual listing in Hong Kong or Taiwan this year to fund its venture into ship breaking business and potential mergers and acquisitions, according to a CIMB-GK report released yesterday. Its analyst Ho Choon Seng said the dilution is limited to 5 per cent.
A Yangzijiang spokesman told BT yesterday that 'this is in the planning stage but the exact timing is not fixed yet'.
The group is among a handful of S-chips that attended a three-day investor conference in Shanghai that ended yesterday. They met more than 200 funds from the US, Europe, Hong Kong and China.
The other six companies are Changjiang Fertilizer, C&O Pharmaceutical, C&G Industrial, China Hu An Cable, China Kunda and GMG Global. GMG is 51 per cent owned by Shanghai-listed Sinochem.
The conference, 'Halter Financial Summit 2010', was organised by Halter Financial Group. According to Financial PR, which is a partner for the event, more than 70 companies from four markets - the US, London, Singapore and Hong Kong - took part in the conference.
CIMB-GK's Mr Ho said he believes 'attractive risk-reward opportunities still exist in the S-chip space as investor confidence and interest in the space is still recovering'.
'We believe that most of the S-chips which were not directly associated with the negative publicity during the last crisis have stronger fundamentals and are less likely to repeat the mistakes which brought down their peers,' he added.
Sound Global (formerly Epure) and Yangzijiang are his top picks with 'outperform' ratings on potential upside of 39 per cent and 25 per cent respectively. Key catalysts are coming from more newsflow on dual listings and new order wins, he said. Yangzijiang is also more attractively traded at nine times CY11 price-earnings ratio compared to Cosco Corp's 20 times CY11 PE.
Dual listings are likely to remain a key theme in the S-chip space this year, Mr Ho reckons. Companies that are currently undertaking dual listings in Hong Kong include Midas and Sound Global, while China Fishery is headed for a secondary listing on Oslo Bors.
Shares of China XLX and Z-Obee traded in Singapore are now respectively 19 per cent and 36 per cent higher since their dual listings in Hong Kong.
But Mr Ho foresees that in the case of Yangzijiang, the impact of a dual listing on its trading multiples here would be small, so any re-rating of the stock would be mainly driven by fundamentals.
Since Taiwan Depository Receipts (TDRs) are non-fungible, issuing TDRs is unlikely to cause a sustained surge in the Singapore Exchange-listed shares here, he said. 'Alternatively, even if the company chooses to list in Hong Kong, there is no valuation gap with the Hong Kong-listed peer (Guangzhou Shipyard).'
At present...the best of the lot is SoundGlobal as it just broke peak on last Friday at $0.98 and it's last done price is at $1.01 and the next best one is Midas. Midas also just broke peak last Friday at $1.06 and closed at $1.09 but on low volume. Therefore if on Monday...it has volume then it will be a good buy at price nearer to $1.07! As for Yangzijiang...it's has gone up above 6% > BP, therefore must wait for pullback.
When the market theme is 'cheaper and faster'
WHEN stocks under 10 cents - and some under five cents - top the actives list, it is customary in some circles to set the alarm bells ringing because: a) It suggests that investors are scraping the bottom of the barrel. b) Retail players are jumping on anything that moves regardless of fundamentals. c) The market is overheating.
Such was the case this week when the average value per unit traded was in the region of 50-60 cents, when penny stocks could chalk up huge volume one day but nothing the next, and when 'cheaper and faster' was clearly the market's mantra.
Of course, whether 'cheaper and faster' equates with 'better' is open to debate.
Yesterday, for example, Top Global was the day's most active stock with almost 200 million shares traded at 3-4.5 cents, while SwingMedia did 187 million shares at 6.5-7.5 cents.
Other notables were Vibropower at 8-9.5 cents, Thakral at 8-9 cents cents and Memstar at 7.5-8 cents.
Although many of the penny stocks that swung into play did so largely through random, rotational punting, a few themes were discernible.
For one, stocks connected to well-known former remisier Peter Lim were popular - namely UPP and Rowsley.
Another popular theme was a commodity play that benefited Golden Agri and GMG, while a 'buy' from Kim Eng Research on China property developer Ying Li, with a target price that represented more than 90 per cent upside, brought the counter quickly into play.
Perhaps more telling, though, was how quickly previous favourites such as Genting Singapore and various China plays seem to have dropped off the screen, thanks to the rotational frenzy which has gripped the stock market.
As for the Straits Times Index, having risen some 101 points in four sessions between April 2 and April 7, it came as no surprise that the index then encountered stiff resistance in its bid to breach 3,000.
The closest it came was 2,996 on Wednesday before a pull-back set in.
Yesterday the index added 8.78 points end at 2,971.97.
For the week, it gained 28 points or just under one per cent.
The Jardine group's inclusion in the ST Index has come under heightened scrutiny in recent weeks because of a perception that the shares are not actively traded and therefore not representative of interest in the local market.
The index's guardians have defended their position by saying there is a set of criteria for index membership and that since Jardine stocks meet these criteria, they have to be included.
Whatever the case, it has to be said that the rise of Jardine stocks to all-time highs - notably Jardine Matheson, Jardine Strategic and Cycle & Carriage - contributed tremendously to the ST Index coming close to regaining the 3,000-mark.
Providing the backdrop was a largely benign Wall Street, where the benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average looks like it will soon challenge the 11,000 level, notwithstanding US housing and jobs markets that have yet to recover.
A big reason for this is the explicit guarantees US officialdom has been giving the market, namely that interest rates will remain at zero for a lengthy period and also that the 'too-big-to-fail' companies will always be bailed out when trouble hits.
Haha...look like the market here is running out of counters to "play" and this is not a good sign from my past experience. It's like silly money chasing after silly stocks! Maybe it's time to take a breather and step out of the market here!
Then again...there is always rotation play going on for this type of situation, so one cheapie stock to consider is EcoWise. Remember how it can run last Aug/Sept 2009 and on last Friday it may do a replay of the run again! Now it's last done price is 19.5 cts vs it's break peak at 18 cts, so it has legs still to run if got volume!
Such was the case this week when the average value per unit traded was in the region of 50-60 cents, when penny stocks could chalk up huge volume one day but nothing the next, and when 'cheaper and faster' was clearly the market's mantra.
Of course, whether 'cheaper and faster' equates with 'better' is open to debate.
Yesterday, for example, Top Global was the day's most active stock with almost 200 million shares traded at 3-4.5 cents, while SwingMedia did 187 million shares at 6.5-7.5 cents.
Other notables were Vibropower at 8-9.5 cents, Thakral at 8-9 cents cents and Memstar at 7.5-8 cents.
Although many of the penny stocks that swung into play did so largely through random, rotational punting, a few themes were discernible.
For one, stocks connected to well-known former remisier Peter Lim were popular - namely UPP and Rowsley.
Another popular theme was a commodity play that benefited Golden Agri and GMG, while a 'buy' from Kim Eng Research on China property developer Ying Li, with a target price that represented more than 90 per cent upside, brought the counter quickly into play.
Perhaps more telling, though, was how quickly previous favourites such as Genting Singapore and various China plays seem to have dropped off the screen, thanks to the rotational frenzy which has gripped the stock market.
As for the Straits Times Index, having risen some 101 points in four sessions between April 2 and April 7, it came as no surprise that the index then encountered stiff resistance in its bid to breach 3,000.
The closest it came was 2,996 on Wednesday before a pull-back set in.
Yesterday the index added 8.78 points end at 2,971.97.
For the week, it gained 28 points or just under one per cent.
The Jardine group's inclusion in the ST Index has come under heightened scrutiny in recent weeks because of a perception that the shares are not actively traded and therefore not representative of interest in the local market.
The index's guardians have defended their position by saying there is a set of criteria for index membership and that since Jardine stocks meet these criteria, they have to be included.
Whatever the case, it has to be said that the rise of Jardine stocks to all-time highs - notably Jardine Matheson, Jardine Strategic and Cycle & Carriage - contributed tremendously to the ST Index coming close to regaining the 3,000-mark.
Providing the backdrop was a largely benign Wall Street, where the benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average looks like it will soon challenge the 11,000 level, notwithstanding US housing and jobs markets that have yet to recover.
A big reason for this is the explicit guarantees US officialdom has been giving the market, namely that interest rates will remain at zero for a lengthy period and also that the 'too-big-to-fail' companies will always be bailed out when trouble hits.
Haha...look like the market here is running out of counters to "play" and this is not a good sign from my past experience. It's like silly money chasing after silly stocks! Maybe it's time to take a breather and step out of the market here!
Then again...there is always rotation play going on for this type of situation, so one cheapie stock to consider is EcoWise. Remember how it can run last Aug/Sept 2009 and on last Friday it may do a replay of the run again! Now it's last done price is 19.5 cts vs it's break peak at 18 cts, so it has legs still to run if got volume!
It may well be a year of slow and steady recovery
THE YEAR of the Golden Tiger brings hope for a global economy on the mend, but not without crouching policy, political and weather risks, economists and geomancers say.
Most hope for the recovery of certain past Tiger years, but not the tumultuous drama of others.
'From an economic standpoint, what we observe is that previous Tiger Years saw Singapore entering into or exiting a recession,' said CIMB-GK economist Song Seng Wun.
Take the last two Tiger years - 1998, height of the Asian financial crisis, saw Singapore's real GDP contract 1.4 per cent after the previous year's 8.3 per cent growth; 1986 was when Singapore's first recession since independence petered out, and recovering from 1985's 1.4 per cent dip in GDP to post 2.1 per cent growth.
Official advance estimates are that Singapore's economy shrank 2.1 per cent last year, while growth of between 3 and 5 per cent is expected for 2010, and private sector economists are even more bullish.
But leading indicators from a recent BT-UniSIM study showed that the present recovery may look more like 1986's gradual recovery, even though it lasted about as long as the crisis of 1998.
Comparing the economy to a sick person, the Malaysian Institute of Geomancy Science said: 'When sickness comes, it is like a falling mountain, when one is recovering, it is like pulling a thread out of a cocoon.'
So, while Singapore's first quarter growth is expected to soar to 10 per cent or higher, partly on a low base, Standard Chartered economist Alvin Liew is among others who caution that exuberance be tempered. 'It is a recovery year, but watch your back and don't get your head bitten off.'
Tiger years further back in history yielded tumult on an even greater scale. Years such as 1914, 1938 and 1950 marked the outbreak of World War I, the German invasions which led into World War II and the Korean war.
The Tiger year of 1962 was marked by the Cuban Missile Crisis, which brought the US, the Soviet Union and Cuba to the brink of nuclear war. If that generated much uncertainty but limited economic impact, 12 years on in 1974, the impact of the oil crisis was global. The Yom Kippur War of the year before led to the Opec oil embargo and a massive supply disruption with oil prices quadrupling. As a result the US saw a severe recession marked by stagflation - high unemployment and high inflation.
This Tiger year brings political uncertainties too. Economists say oil price spikes, a top risk in 2010 according to the World Economic Forum's recent report, could be triggered by a conflict in the Middle East.
And closer home, Barclays Capital economist Leong Wai Ho observed that this Tiger year sees political events across Asia, with elections in Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan and possibly even Singapore.SIT to offer industry-focused Degree Programmes to Poly Grads
'This could mean that we are less likely to see heavy handed action to curb asset values, but a tougher line on inflation - particularly for politically sensitive items like food, transport and energy prices,' Mr Leong said.
Geomancers too predict a year of erratic weather with alarming and sudden changes. They say 'heavy rainfall and floods will hit agricultural output, and commodity prices will soar'.
Which is a concern of economists too - food price volatility was another top risk named by WEF's report. Mr Leong noted that climate watchers' predictions of moderate to strong El Nino weather this year mean risks in the second quarter for crop production and food prices.
And for the global economy, looming concerns over the withdrawal of stimulus plans and sovereign debt persist.
The Institute of Geomancy Science's division of the world map posits that the sector with China, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan will deliver the most excellent economic performance this year.
Which is quite in sync with economic numbers thus far - Asia has led the recovery. The high growth economies of India and China have seen expansion slow down, but relative to others are still speeding ahead.
'I suppose it's appropriate that the Asian Tiger economies are leading the recovery this time round. The last Tiger year, Asian economies were caught right in the middle of a currencies crisis, but having learnt their lesson well, are now leading the way,' said Mr Song.
Yes....so far, this prediction is quite accurate and it's good to keep it as a reminder for the rest of the year!
Most hope for the recovery of certain past Tiger years, but not the tumultuous drama of others.
'From an economic standpoint, what we observe is that previous Tiger Years saw Singapore entering into or exiting a recession,' said CIMB-GK economist Song Seng Wun.
Take the last two Tiger years - 1998, height of the Asian financial crisis, saw Singapore's real GDP contract 1.4 per cent after the previous year's 8.3 per cent growth; 1986 was when Singapore's first recession since independence petered out, and recovering from 1985's 1.4 per cent dip in GDP to post 2.1 per cent growth.
Official advance estimates are that Singapore's economy shrank 2.1 per cent last year, while growth of between 3 and 5 per cent is expected for 2010, and private sector economists are even more bullish.
But leading indicators from a recent BT-UniSIM study showed that the present recovery may look more like 1986's gradual recovery, even though it lasted about as long as the crisis of 1998.
Comparing the economy to a sick person, the Malaysian Institute of Geomancy Science said: 'When sickness comes, it is like a falling mountain, when one is recovering, it is like pulling a thread out of a cocoon.'
So, while Singapore's first quarter growth is expected to soar to 10 per cent or higher, partly on a low base, Standard Chartered economist Alvin Liew is among others who caution that exuberance be tempered. 'It is a recovery year, but watch your back and don't get your head bitten off.'
Tiger years further back in history yielded tumult on an even greater scale. Years such as 1914, 1938 and 1950 marked the outbreak of World War I, the German invasions which led into World War II and the Korean war.
The Tiger year of 1962 was marked by the Cuban Missile Crisis, which brought the US, the Soviet Union and Cuba to the brink of nuclear war. If that generated much uncertainty but limited economic impact, 12 years on in 1974, the impact of the oil crisis was global. The Yom Kippur War of the year before led to the Opec oil embargo and a massive supply disruption with oil prices quadrupling. As a result the US saw a severe recession marked by stagflation - high unemployment and high inflation.
This Tiger year brings political uncertainties too. Economists say oil price spikes, a top risk in 2010 according to the World Economic Forum's recent report, could be triggered by a conflict in the Middle East.
And closer home, Barclays Capital economist Leong Wai Ho observed that this Tiger year sees political events across Asia, with elections in Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan and possibly even Singapore.SIT to offer industry-focused Degree Programmes to Poly Grads
'This could mean that we are less likely to see heavy handed action to curb asset values, but a tougher line on inflation - particularly for politically sensitive items like food, transport and energy prices,' Mr Leong said.
Geomancers too predict a year of erratic weather with alarming and sudden changes. They say 'heavy rainfall and floods will hit agricultural output, and commodity prices will soar'.
Which is a concern of economists too - food price volatility was another top risk named by WEF's report. Mr Leong noted that climate watchers' predictions of moderate to strong El Nino weather this year mean risks in the second quarter for crop production and food prices.
And for the global economy, looming concerns over the withdrawal of stimulus plans and sovereign debt persist.
The Institute of Geomancy Science's division of the world map posits that the sector with China, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan will deliver the most excellent economic performance this year.
Which is quite in sync with economic numbers thus far - Asia has led the recovery. The high growth economies of India and China have seen expansion slow down, but relative to others are still speeding ahead.
'I suppose it's appropriate that the Asian Tiger economies are leading the recovery this time round. The last Tiger year, Asian economies were caught right in the middle of a currencies crisis, but having learnt their lesson well, are now leading the way,' said Mr Song.
Yes....so far, this prediction is quite accurate and it's good to keep it as a reminder for the rest of the year!
Double your income every 10 years
BUDGET 2010 was a watershed proclamation of intent by the government to aim its resources at boosting productivity and innovation to transform the economy. The focus of the financial rewards was on employers and corporations as conduits delivering the state's investment to the workforce.
How many of us have paused to consider what it means at a personal level to be proactive in being part of this national transformation strategy without being beholden to our employers or existing skill sets?
Productivity defined
The first issue to contend with is: What does productivity mean at the individual level? And how can it be measured?
Putting aside economic jargon, productivity simply means how you can earn more to achieve your full potential income earning capacity.
Of course, this means taking into consideration the number of hours of labour you put in to earn your pay cheque.
There will be a price to pay if you need to work 12 hours a day instead of eight to earn 50 per cent more in compensation.
Similarly, there is a cost to the individual and the family if the income earner has to suffer the inconveniences of doing shift duty, relocating to another country or performing dangerous work.
Using a standard eight-hour workday as a benchmark, how can you earn more from your present professional or technical skills? If you make no change to your career plan, what is the most likely projection of future earnings in the industry that you are currently in?
Excluding annual inflationary adjustments, what is your expected annual wage growth rate till retirement?
Is this projection a fair reflection of what you are worth as a contributor to the gross domestic product (GDP) and more importantly, to yourself and your family? Doubling your income
Before we proceed any further, let's design a hypothetical outcome of this visioning exercise.
If you are a young graduate or diploma holder between the age of 25 and 35, set a goal of 'double your income every 10 years'. To achieve this goal, the time-honoured heuristic Rule of 72 predicts that your target average annual pay hike should be about 7 per cent (72 divided by 10 years).
To have a sense of what long-term historical average annual growth in salaries have been, consider two back-of-the envelope estimations. A rough check of starting salaries for graduates in public accounting between 1980 ($1,000) and 2010 ($2,800) over a 30-year period suggests that actual annual adjustment of just under 4 per cent.
Looking at this slightly differently, a secondary school teacher who earned $1,000 per month in 1980 may be earning about $5,000 per month today (with no administrative roles or promotions). For someone with this profile, the actual average annual increment over 30 years was about 6 per cent.
Baby boomers in Singapore did very well to earn 4-6 per cent per annum increase in wages as a result of strong economic growth in the 80s and 90s when salary growth was impressive.
For those who joined the workforce in recession years, the starting pay was low, making broad generalisations messy.
Going forward, the way to beat these estimated long-term historical averages as part of personal productivity goal-setting may include the following career strategies:
1) Change employer every six years or so if it means a substantial pay increase
2) Change industry within the same functional role
3) Achieve managerial roles and career development opportunities with the same employer
4) Go into self-employment successfully
5) Change profession through academic study and training
It is the last two options that may hold the key for applying the principle of lifetime productivity in a matured economy like ours. Very few people in the workforce are doing exactly same thing they did 10 years ago.
We (accountants and teachers from the earlier examples) have all changed voluntarily or otherwise because of technology, higher value-added deliverables or advancements in the demand for goods and services.
Naturally, many older workers, including PMETs, are now struggling because they have not kept up with changes in the economic landscape since 2000.
Government intervention to boost productivity and innovation is appreciated. So are generous and enlightened employers who initiate training and development for staff.
But the message of Budget 2010 to me is that we as individuals should take the lead in planning our careers in the new New Economy.
The New Economy was the tagline of the mid-90s based on simply being part of the technology revolution. But if the global financial crisis and the most recent recession in this country has taught us anything, it is that financial security can vaporise if we do not have a relevant and marketable set of skills
Invest in yourself, pay yourself first
As we read about financial investments in the pages of this paper and the media in general, we should not forget a basic truth: Invest in yourself first. The second basic truth is: Pay yourself first. The life insurance industry does an excellent job in educating the public that protecting your future income earning capacity is critical to financial freedom for dependants.
The call to action today goes beyond that - we need to take stock of our current situation to explore how we can attain maximum career satisfaction through strategic financial planning.
How can you invest in yourself to be part of an exciting future? The status quo can only take you so far. If you are between 25 and 45 years, you should take on board the mantra 'double your income every 10 years'. See where your skills, aptitude and interest lead you so that you can stay on top of your game and enjoy the journey.
For those between 45 and 55 years, it will be a challenge to literally double your income. This is the time to stock up your employability tool kit for the pre- and post-retirement years. At this stage, family obligations such as retiring the mortgage and funding children's tertiary education will be of utmost concern. But this is also the time to structure a stream of active income once you have hit the peak of your employment earnings.
The industry sectors of the future will revolve around delivering goods and services in health care, geriatric care, childcare, education and training, consulting, media and entertainment, tourism, travel and hospitality among others.
Our financial planning model shows that working at a reduced pay between ages 55 to 65 will add six years to your retirement capital. Baby boomers will earn more in the aggregate by extending their years of economic activity, drawing from a new deck of cards. If you get your financial planning right by age 50, there is less pressure to work to just to make ends meet.
So, if you have never done this exercise before, there is no time like the present. Create a spreadsheet and plot your earnings history. Assume that you will be staying in the same role and industry for the next 10 years.
Now, take a fresh look how you can attempt a career in something dramatically beyond your comfort zone. What will it take to make the leap if this career aspiration aligns with your personal goals?
Invest in yourself. Reap the rewards and pay yourself first. And yes, you may wish to engage a financial coach who has experienced the various stages of life to integrate your career plan in your comprehensive financial plan.
Conclusion - yes, an interesting idea esp for those who are just starting to start their working life!
How many of us have paused to consider what it means at a personal level to be proactive in being part of this national transformation strategy without being beholden to our employers or existing skill sets?
Productivity defined
The first issue to contend with is: What does productivity mean at the individual level? And how can it be measured?
Putting aside economic jargon, productivity simply means how you can earn more to achieve your full potential income earning capacity.
Of course, this means taking into consideration the number of hours of labour you put in to earn your pay cheque.
There will be a price to pay if you need to work 12 hours a day instead of eight to earn 50 per cent more in compensation.
Similarly, there is a cost to the individual and the family if the income earner has to suffer the inconveniences of doing shift duty, relocating to another country or performing dangerous work.
Using a standard eight-hour workday as a benchmark, how can you earn more from your present professional or technical skills? If you make no change to your career plan, what is the most likely projection of future earnings in the industry that you are currently in?
Excluding annual inflationary adjustments, what is your expected annual wage growth rate till retirement?
Is this projection a fair reflection of what you are worth as a contributor to the gross domestic product (GDP) and more importantly, to yourself and your family? Doubling your income
Before we proceed any further, let's design a hypothetical outcome of this visioning exercise.
If you are a young graduate or diploma holder between the age of 25 and 35, set a goal of 'double your income every 10 years'. To achieve this goal, the time-honoured heuristic Rule of 72 predicts that your target average annual pay hike should be about 7 per cent (72 divided by 10 years).
To have a sense of what long-term historical average annual growth in salaries have been, consider two back-of-the envelope estimations. A rough check of starting salaries for graduates in public accounting between 1980 ($1,000) and 2010 ($2,800) over a 30-year period suggests that actual annual adjustment of just under 4 per cent.
Looking at this slightly differently, a secondary school teacher who earned $1,000 per month in 1980 may be earning about $5,000 per month today (with no administrative roles or promotions). For someone with this profile, the actual average annual increment over 30 years was about 6 per cent.
Baby boomers in Singapore did very well to earn 4-6 per cent per annum increase in wages as a result of strong economic growth in the 80s and 90s when salary growth was impressive.
For those who joined the workforce in recession years, the starting pay was low, making broad generalisations messy.
Going forward, the way to beat these estimated long-term historical averages as part of personal productivity goal-setting may include the following career strategies:
1) Change employer every six years or so if it means a substantial pay increase
2) Change industry within the same functional role
3) Achieve managerial roles and career development opportunities with the same employer
4) Go into self-employment successfully
5) Change profession through academic study and training
It is the last two options that may hold the key for applying the principle of lifetime productivity in a matured economy like ours. Very few people in the workforce are doing exactly same thing they did 10 years ago.
We (accountants and teachers from the earlier examples) have all changed voluntarily or otherwise because of technology, higher value-added deliverables or advancements in the demand for goods and services.
Naturally, many older workers, including PMETs, are now struggling because they have not kept up with changes in the economic landscape since 2000.
Government intervention to boost productivity and innovation is appreciated. So are generous and enlightened employers who initiate training and development for staff.
But the message of Budget 2010 to me is that we as individuals should take the lead in planning our careers in the new New Economy.
The New Economy was the tagline of the mid-90s based on simply being part of the technology revolution. But if the global financial crisis and the most recent recession in this country has taught us anything, it is that financial security can vaporise if we do not have a relevant and marketable set of skills
Invest in yourself, pay yourself first
As we read about financial investments in the pages of this paper and the media in general, we should not forget a basic truth: Invest in yourself first. The second basic truth is: Pay yourself first. The life insurance industry does an excellent job in educating the public that protecting your future income earning capacity is critical to financial freedom for dependants.
The call to action today goes beyond that - we need to take stock of our current situation to explore how we can attain maximum career satisfaction through strategic financial planning.
How can you invest in yourself to be part of an exciting future? The status quo can only take you so far. If you are between 25 and 45 years, you should take on board the mantra 'double your income every 10 years'. See where your skills, aptitude and interest lead you so that you can stay on top of your game and enjoy the journey.
For those between 45 and 55 years, it will be a challenge to literally double your income. This is the time to stock up your employability tool kit for the pre- and post-retirement years. At this stage, family obligations such as retiring the mortgage and funding children's tertiary education will be of utmost concern. But this is also the time to structure a stream of active income once you have hit the peak of your employment earnings.
The industry sectors of the future will revolve around delivering goods and services in health care, geriatric care, childcare, education and training, consulting, media and entertainment, tourism, travel and hospitality among others.
Our financial planning model shows that working at a reduced pay between ages 55 to 65 will add six years to your retirement capital. Baby boomers will earn more in the aggregate by extending their years of economic activity, drawing from a new deck of cards. If you get your financial planning right by age 50, there is less pressure to work to just to make ends meet.
So, if you have never done this exercise before, there is no time like the present. Create a spreadsheet and plot your earnings history. Assume that you will be staying in the same role and industry for the next 10 years.
Now, take a fresh look how you can attempt a career in something dramatically beyond your comfort zone. What will it take to make the leap if this career aspiration aligns with your personal goals?
Invest in yourself. Reap the rewards and pay yourself first. And yes, you may wish to engage a financial coach who has experienced the various stages of life to integrate your career plan in your comprehensive financial plan.
Conclusion - yes, an interesting idea esp for those who are just starting to start their working life!
The long and short on 'contracts for difference'
FEW investors here have yet to encounter 'contracts for difference' (CFD), but they are one of the hottest financial products around in markets like London.
By some estimates, CFDs now account for about one-third of all share trading activities in Britain.
They have attracted keen interest here as well, despite the sluggish stock market conditions.
One CFD provider, IG Markets, says the number of new accounts it attracts has doubled every year since it set up shop here four years ago. It currently has about 12,500 accounts.
CFDs are essentially 'bets' between a trader and the investment bank that sells him the contract, and they are not traded on the Singapore Exchange (SGX).
The biggest attraction of a CFD is that it works like a share margin trading account.
When a trader buys a CFD on a blue chip like DBS Group Holdings, he needs to put up only 10 per cent of the costs of owning the stock.
The CFD price then tracks the stock movements. If the price rises by 10 per cent, the trader doubles his initial outlay.
But if the price drops, he will have to top up the account with more cash or risk having his CFD sold to settle the loss.
One attraction is the lower trading cost, compared with stock transactions. A trader pays a 0.2 per cent commission on the face value of the contract and saves on clearing fees, since his CFD trade is not cleared by the SGX.
CFDs allow traders to build both 'long' and 'short' positions. If a trader thinks a certain stock is going to rise, he can 'go long' by buying the CFD. Likewise, if he believes the stock may fall, he can 'short' by selling the CFD.
Unlike a covered warrant - which offers an option to buy into a stock at a fraction of the costs - a CFD has no maturity date.
This means a trader can keep his CFD position open as long as he pays a finance charge, and tops up the margin if the value of the contract drops.
Besides shares, a CFD allows an investor to trade foreign currencies, commodities such as crude oil, and stock indexes like The Straits Times Index.
So it is no surprise to find lots of players - local houses like Phillip Securities and foreign outfits such as IG Markets - jostling for a slice of the action.
But there is no way to gauge traders' interest in the CFD market. The market is fragmented among a dozen or so players and data like daily CFD turnover is not disclosed publicly.
In February last year, the SGX launched a product - the extended settlement (ES) contract - which works in a similar way as CFDs. In the seven months since its launch, only about $103 million worth of ES contracts have been traded. This is a tiny amount compared to the average value of $1.46 billion worth of stocks traded daily last year.
Market observers say stiff competition from CFDs is one reason for the lacklustre interest in ES contracts.
'A brokerage would rather promote to its clients the CFDs it offers than the ES contracts,' one trader said.
It is worthwhile highlighting some differences between ES contracts and CFDs.
In trading CFDs, a trader should consider the counterparty risks involved. If the investment bank or brokerage at the other side of the contract goes bust, a trader's CFD is worthless.
CFD issuers argue that since they are required to put clients' money into a separate bank account, such a risk is minimised.
Still, considering the spectacular collapse of giant investment banks such as Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns - which were far bigger than any of the CFD players here - traders should be aware of the counterparty risks involved.
Trading ES contracts on the SGX offers better protection. As the SGX is an established clearing house with a central counterparty facility, it is in a far better position to manage any counterparty risks involved in trading stock derivatives.SIT to offer industry-focused Degree Programmes to Poly Grads
The other big problem is the risk which unhedged CFDs pose to the rest of the market.
Some CFD issuers assure traders that all their outstanding CFD positions are fully hedged. This means that each time a trader buys a CFD, the issuer will immediately buy the underlying stock to hedge its position.
But doubts persist.
'If a CFD issuer hedges all its positions, it will have little profit to speak of. It makes the big bucks by taking the bet against you when you open a CFD contract,' one trader noted.
CFDs remind some brokers of a highly popular stock derivative known as 'delayed settlement contracts', which were highly popular here before the collapse of fridge maker Pan-Electric in 1985.
'Twenty-five years dims many memories and even heals wounds,' recalls retired stockbroker Narayana Narayana, 82.
But the massive fraud linked to the trading of such contracts triggered a crisis which was so serious that it caused an unprecedented three-day closure of the local bourse and sent five brokerages belly-up.
While the probability of a crisis caused by over-trading of CFDs is remote, the global financial crisis has taught us that we should leave nothing to chance.
What is needed is a central clearing house for CFDs to minimise the counterparty risks and prevent an implosion in unhedged CFD positions causing grief to the local bourse.
Perhaps, the SGX would like to explore the possibility of extending its clearing house facilities to the CFD market.
Paying a small clearing fee may add to the trading costs of the CFD trader but it sure makes the market rest easy, knowing that a risk has been licked.
So...one of the way to get around this counter-party risk is to open an account for DMA_CFD at MF Global. And being a Direct Market Access system...it is clear thru the central clearing house SGX. Understand Interactive Broker has a pretty good commission thingy of 0.08% vs 0.35% ( MFG ) for HK market trades and I will be considering to fund an account with them soon for that purposes as I traded quite often and paying about near to 5 figures every month for the past few months to MF Global.
By some estimates, CFDs now account for about one-third of all share trading activities in Britain.
They have attracted keen interest here as well, despite the sluggish stock market conditions.
One CFD provider, IG Markets, says the number of new accounts it attracts has doubled every year since it set up shop here four years ago. It currently has about 12,500 accounts.
CFDs are essentially 'bets' between a trader and the investment bank that sells him the contract, and they are not traded on the Singapore Exchange (SGX).
The biggest attraction of a CFD is that it works like a share margin trading account.
When a trader buys a CFD on a blue chip like DBS Group Holdings, he needs to put up only 10 per cent of the costs of owning the stock.
The CFD price then tracks the stock movements. If the price rises by 10 per cent, the trader doubles his initial outlay.
But if the price drops, he will have to top up the account with more cash or risk having his CFD sold to settle the loss.
One attraction is the lower trading cost, compared with stock transactions. A trader pays a 0.2 per cent commission on the face value of the contract and saves on clearing fees, since his CFD trade is not cleared by the SGX.
CFDs allow traders to build both 'long' and 'short' positions. If a trader thinks a certain stock is going to rise, he can 'go long' by buying the CFD. Likewise, if he believes the stock may fall, he can 'short' by selling the CFD.
Unlike a covered warrant - which offers an option to buy into a stock at a fraction of the costs - a CFD has no maturity date.
This means a trader can keep his CFD position open as long as he pays a finance charge, and tops up the margin if the value of the contract drops.
Besides shares, a CFD allows an investor to trade foreign currencies, commodities such as crude oil, and stock indexes like The Straits Times Index.
So it is no surprise to find lots of players - local houses like Phillip Securities and foreign outfits such as IG Markets - jostling for a slice of the action.
But there is no way to gauge traders' interest in the CFD market. The market is fragmented among a dozen or so players and data like daily CFD turnover is not disclosed publicly.
In February last year, the SGX launched a product - the extended settlement (ES) contract - which works in a similar way as CFDs. In the seven months since its launch, only about $103 million worth of ES contracts have been traded. This is a tiny amount compared to the average value of $1.46 billion worth of stocks traded daily last year.
Market observers say stiff competition from CFDs is one reason for the lacklustre interest in ES contracts.
'A brokerage would rather promote to its clients the CFDs it offers than the ES contracts,' one trader said.
It is worthwhile highlighting some differences between ES contracts and CFDs.
In trading CFDs, a trader should consider the counterparty risks involved. If the investment bank or brokerage at the other side of the contract goes bust, a trader's CFD is worthless.
CFD issuers argue that since they are required to put clients' money into a separate bank account, such a risk is minimised.
Still, considering the spectacular collapse of giant investment banks such as Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns - which were far bigger than any of the CFD players here - traders should be aware of the counterparty risks involved.
Trading ES contracts on the SGX offers better protection. As the SGX is an established clearing house with a central counterparty facility, it is in a far better position to manage any counterparty risks involved in trading stock derivatives.SIT to offer industry-focused Degree Programmes to Poly Grads
The other big problem is the risk which unhedged CFDs pose to the rest of the market.
Some CFD issuers assure traders that all their outstanding CFD positions are fully hedged. This means that each time a trader buys a CFD, the issuer will immediately buy the underlying stock to hedge its position.
But doubts persist.
'If a CFD issuer hedges all its positions, it will have little profit to speak of. It makes the big bucks by taking the bet against you when you open a CFD contract,' one trader noted.
CFDs remind some brokers of a highly popular stock derivative known as 'delayed settlement contracts', which were highly popular here before the collapse of fridge maker Pan-Electric in 1985.
'Twenty-five years dims many memories and even heals wounds,' recalls retired stockbroker Narayana Narayana, 82.
But the massive fraud linked to the trading of such contracts triggered a crisis which was so serious that it caused an unprecedented three-day closure of the local bourse and sent five brokerages belly-up.
While the probability of a crisis caused by over-trading of CFDs is remote, the global financial crisis has taught us that we should leave nothing to chance.
What is needed is a central clearing house for CFDs to minimise the counterparty risks and prevent an implosion in unhedged CFD positions causing grief to the local bourse.
Perhaps, the SGX would like to explore the possibility of extending its clearing house facilities to the CFD market.
Paying a small clearing fee may add to the trading costs of the CFD trader but it sure makes the market rest easy, knowing that a risk has been licked.
So...one of the way to get around this counter-party risk is to open an account for DMA_CFD at MF Global. And being a Direct Market Access system...it is clear thru the central clearing house SGX. Understand Interactive Broker has a pretty good commission thingy of 0.08% vs 0.35% ( MFG ) for HK market trades and I will be considering to fund an account with them soon for that purposes as I traded quite often and paying about near to 5 figures every month for the past few months to MF Global.
Late starter making up for lost time - Good for him and his family!
For years, Mr John Goh's idea of financial planning was to squirrel his teacher's salary into a low-interest bank account. A science graduate from the National University of Singapore, he has been a secondary school chemistry teacher for the past 17 years.
But he has since become a savvy investor too. He said he regretted not knowing how to make his money grow till he was in his mid-30s.
'No one taught me to manage my finances and to invest. My earnings went into my savings account which was paying a miserable interest,' said Mr Goh, 41.
Then his friends showed him how to open a trading account to trade in stocks about six years ago. Since then, he has voraciously read many books on the subject. Author Robert Kiyosaki's Rich Dad, Poor Dad had a particular impact on him.
Inspired, he decided not to depend solely on his job to provide an income, but to achieve different streams of passive income by making his money work harder for him.
His current investment portfolio comprises properties, stocks and land banking.
Taking a leaf from the book of Mr Kiyosaki, who made his millions from real estate, Mr Goh sold his landed property last year and bought three properties, two of which are investment properties for renting out.
He says his is a 'disciplined approach' when property hunting. He looks for homes near public transport like the MRT stations and bus stops that will offer a positive cash flow and that will provide healthy rentals. He will view about 30 units in a chosen area before making an offer.
His wife Jennifer Tan, 39, is also a teacher and they have a son, Joshua, 12.
But he has since become a savvy investor too. He said he regretted not knowing how to make his money grow till he was in his mid-30s.
'No one taught me to manage my finances and to invest. My earnings went into my savings account which was paying a miserable interest,' said Mr Goh, 41.
Then his friends showed him how to open a trading account to trade in stocks about six years ago. Since then, he has voraciously read many books on the subject. Author Robert Kiyosaki's Rich Dad, Poor Dad had a particular impact on him.
Inspired, he decided not to depend solely on his job to provide an income, but to achieve different streams of passive income by making his money work harder for him.
His current investment portfolio comprises properties, stocks and land banking.
Taking a leaf from the book of Mr Kiyosaki, who made his millions from real estate, Mr Goh sold his landed property last year and bought three properties, two of which are investment properties for renting out.
He says his is a 'disciplined approach' when property hunting. He looks for homes near public transport like the MRT stations and bus stops that will offer a positive cash flow and that will provide healthy rentals. He will view about 30 units in a chosen area before making an offer.
His wife Jennifer Tan, 39, is also a teacher and they have a son, Joshua, 12.
DBS CEO, who joined in Nov, earned $3 mln in two months
SINGAPORE, April 10 - The new chief executive of Singapore's DBS , who joined in November last year, received S$4.2 million in his first two months in the job as his pay package was boosted by bonus shares.
Piyush Gupta, who joined from Citigroup, received S$1.2 million worth of DBS shares as part of his joining terms, a DBS spokeswoman said on Saturday.
Top executives at the city-state's other two banks received bigger payouts in 2009, albeit for the whole year, after the banking sector recovered from the credit turmoil that hit the financial sector in 2008.
United Overseas Bank CEO Wee Ee Cheong earned as much as S$7.25 million last year, up 27 percent from a year ago, while Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp CEO David Conner saw his pay package rise by more than 70 percent to S$6.76 million, according to latest annual reports.
Pay packages of Asian banking heads pale in comparison to those of senior executives of European and Wall Street banks, which has forced politicians from the Group of 20 countries to draft new bonus rules in the wake of the global financial crisis in an attempt to discourage short-term risk taking. [ID:nL722182]
Something is wrong? This is just crazy money.....honest! No more need to be corrupted since there are so much crazy amount of money dropping into his lap. Hope he has a huge gurney sack to collect the money. What he earned in 2 mths....I may have to earn that amount in a life-time or two if I am lucky enough to stay employed and remain healthy enough to go to work too or another quick way is to go "rob a bank" haha!
That is why there is a saying that....rich will get only richer! Hope he can remember to leave some crumbs and left-overs to his country men at the end of the day. Most likely he has start to bring in his country men too to enjoy the good life here. SAD day for the local people here.
Piyush Gupta, who joined from Citigroup
Top executives at the city-state's other two banks received bigger payouts in 2009, albeit for the whole year, after the banking sector recovered from the credit turmoil that hit the financial sector in 2008.
United Overseas Bank
Pay packages of Asian banking heads pale in comparison to those of senior executives of European and Wall Street banks, which has forced politicians from the Group of 20 countries to draft new bonus rules in the wake of the global financial crisis in an attempt to discourage short-term risk taking. [ID:nL722182]
Something is wrong? This is just crazy money.....honest! No more need to be corrupted since there are so much crazy amount of money dropping into his lap. Hope he has a huge gurney sack to collect the money. What he earned in 2 mths....I may have to earn that amount in a life-time or two if I am lucky enough to stay employed and remain healthy enough to go to work too or another quick way is to go "rob a bank" haha!
That is why there is a saying that....rich will get only richer! Hope he can remember to leave some crumbs and left-overs to his country men at the end of the day. Most likely he has start to bring in his country men too to enjoy the good life here. SAD day for the local people here.
Friday, April 09, 2010
SMIC
Noticed that whenever the HK index raised this stock would traded side way or with a downward bias. The greater the index points increased....the worst is for this stock.
Then....it "hit" me to realise that this stock is still consider a "penny stock" or
3rd-liner stock. And the present theme in HK is to play the top-liners which is reflected by the index raise. On Wed and Fri, the HK index shot-up by over 300+ points and on both days....this SMIC went "south" towards the close on smaller volume. But on Thu, when the index was down....this stock was quite steady and in fact closed up with good volume too.
I shall keep this observation for next week....esp this stock. I shall fully focus my attention on this one. I am planning to reduce my core holding to maybe 500 lots for this SMIC and another 500 lots for trading purposes ( meaning = for swing trades or short time trade ). Believe this is a better way to full use of my capital and the CFD trading margin. Don't want to be caught...."short" on free equity and be forced sold! The other advantage would be to free the capital and free equity for any other opportunity that may arises.
Present HK holding....left in my portfolio = SMIC and Henderson Inv.
Then....it "hit" me to realise that this stock is still consider a "penny stock" or
3rd-liner stock. And the present theme in HK is to play the top-liners which is reflected by the index raise. On Wed and Fri, the HK index shot-up by over 300+ points and on both days....this SMIC went "south" towards the close on smaller volume. But on Thu, when the index was down....this stock was quite steady and in fact closed up with good volume too.
I shall keep this observation for next week....esp this stock. I shall fully focus my attention on this one. I am planning to reduce my core holding to maybe 500 lots for this SMIC and another 500 lots for trading purposes ( meaning = for swing trades or short time trade ). Believe this is a better way to full use of my capital and the CFD trading margin. Don't want to be caught...."short" on free equity and be forced sold! The other advantage would be to free the capital and free equity for any other opportunity that may arises.
Present HK holding....left in my portfolio = SMIC and Henderson Inv.
Thursday, April 08, 2010
Cat fish - about 13 to 15 inches in length
Went to buy some cat-fishes to release into the condo's pond on Monday...but all sold-out. Then went to Kura's Curry for lunch with my condo's pool keeper. On Tuesday...again a slow day for stock market so decided to give it another try to buy the cat fishes. This time....success, so bought 3 fishes for just $10.25cts hahaha.
Well....in one of the condo's ponds, live a huge cat-fish ( about 3.5ft long ) but it is very lonely mah. Only had "lohan" fishes as friends plus one turtle. So I decided to make him/her "happy"....and on the safe side bought 3 other cat-fishes to keep him/her company lor. On Wed...saw one of new cat-fishes feeding. That is good sign.
The other 2...still no sign hopefully they don't end up in someone's cooking pot haha! Yes...some of the condo's guards "fish" the lohan fish to eat haha. I was thinking of putting in the snake-head fishes but they may end-up eating up all the "kois" so...that it is not a good idea.
This week....went for a swimming twice. Mon and Wed during the lunch hours....market closed mah. Also went for sauna after that.
Yeah...guessed I have to take things easy and enjoy the condo's facilities.
Well....in one of the condo's ponds, live a huge cat-fish ( about 3.5ft long ) but it is very lonely mah. Only had "lohan" fishes as friends plus one turtle. So I decided to make him/her "happy"....and on the safe side bought 3 other cat-fishes to keep him/her company lor. On Wed...saw one of new cat-fishes feeding. That is good sign.
The other 2...still no sign hopefully they don't end up in someone's cooking pot haha! Yes...some of the condo's guards "fish" the lohan fish to eat haha. I was thinking of putting in the snake-head fishes but they may end-up eating up all the "kois" so...that it is not a good idea.
This week....went for a swimming twice. Mon and Wed during the lunch hours....market closed mah. Also went for sauna after that.
Yeah...guessed I have to take things easy and enjoy the condo's facilities.
Up-date - Thursday
Stock - on Monday and Tuesday, I just focus on trading on the SGX as HK market was closed from Fri to Wed. Bought Oceanus and Raffles Edu...only managed to make $400 from Oceanus. For Raffles Edu...lost the commission money as the stock was not going anywhere. Then bought Hengxin...this one made me $150 hahaha.
Then came Wed....HK market re-open, immediately shot up by 300+ points and both my Henderson Inv and SMIC were up....until an hour later, both started to level off.
While the most HK stocks went up...there were some that went down and one of them was SMIC. Shit....was up to HKD1.06 then went down to 99cts at close.
Luckily it managed to close higher today...at HKD1.01 after touching HKD0.97 at it's low and it's high of HKD1.02. Sold off 300 lots at HKD1.01 near the close as I saw that the Dow Futures were pointing downwards. Now left with 800 lots of SMIC and 300 lots of Henderson Inv. For SGX stocks...still holding Midas 30 lots, Yanlord 10 lots, St James 60 lots and 300 lots of Magmus. Plus 50 lots of suspended FiberChem.
Forex - didn't do much except a couple of "long" trades for Eur/USD and USD/JPY. Both lost....so closed before worst damaged.
4D - no luck
Then came Wed....HK market re-open, immediately shot up by 300+ points and both my Henderson Inv and SMIC were up....until an hour later, both started to level off.
While the most HK stocks went up...there were some that went down and one of them was SMIC. Shit....was up to HKD1.06 then went down to 99cts at close.
Luckily it managed to close higher today...at HKD1.01 after touching HKD0.97 at it's low and it's high of HKD1.02. Sold off 300 lots at HKD1.01 near the close as I saw that the Dow Futures were pointing downwards. Now left with 800 lots of SMIC and 300 lots of Henderson Inv. For SGX stocks...still holding Midas 30 lots, Yanlord 10 lots, St James 60 lots and 300 lots of Magmus. Plus 50 lots of suspended FiberChem.
Forex - didn't do much except a couple of "long" trades for Eur/USD and USD/JPY. Both lost....so closed before worst damaged.
4D - no luck
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