Singapore stock market and companies daily report (Oslo Dual Listings, Sembcorp Marine’s unit, COSCO Corp, CapitaMalls Asia) (March 12, 2010)
According to CEO of Oslo bourse, Bente Landsnes, the Norwegian bourse now has a pipeline of companies considering listing there, including a few SGX-listed companies going for dual listing. Sembcorp Marine’s unit, Jurong Shipyard has secured a US$130m contract to carry out pre-conversion works on the very large crude carrier, MT Suva for Petrobras’ Dutch Unit. COSCO Corp (S) announced yesterday that it has received one order cancellation and yet more reschedulings after it agreed to postpone the delivery of 4 vessels last week. CapitaMalls Asia (CMA) will replace COSCO Corp (S) as a constituent of the Straits Times Index (STI) from March 22. This follows a half-yearly review of the index, and comes just 4 months after CMA’s market debut. CMA, which listed at $2.12 per share in November last year, has since grown in market cap from $8.2b to $9.09b.
Singapore stock market and companies daily report (Tiger Airways Hldgs, Lankom Electronics) (March 11, 2010)
According to 20 private sector economists polled last month by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, an average 9.2% and 9.5% median have been forecasted for the GDP growth in 1Q10. Tiger Airways Hldgs yesterday reported strong February operating numbers for its Singapore and Australia operations. The budget carrier, which was listed last month, flew 437,000 passengers network-wide during the month – a 90% increase from February 2009. Beleaguered electromagnetic components manufacturer, Lankom Electronics, has proposed to acquire 2 property firms in a $586m reverse takeover (RTO) deal. The company has been placed on the SGX watch-list last week due to its record of pre-tax losses for 3 straight years and an average daily market capitalisation of less than $40m over 120 days.
Singapore stock market and companies daily report (Overseas Union Enterprise, CB Richard Ellis, Lian Beng Group) (March 10, 2010)
The tenuous alliance between Indonesia’s Riady family and Malaysian tycoon Ananda Krishnan in Overseas Union Enterprise (OUE) has come to an end – the Riadys’ Lippo Group paid some $957m to acquire all of Krishnan’s stake in the mainboard-listed property group yesterday, raising its total shareholding to 88.52% from 64.67%. OUE’s free float after the deal will only slightly exceed 10%, putting it at risk of delisting. A study by CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) shows that the average transaction value of private homes sold in the primary market in the first 2 months of the year rose to $1.78m per unit, as developers released more upmarket projects. Construction company, Lian Beng Group, has won a $144m building contract for a condominium development at Dakota Crescent. The design-and-build contract was awarded by UOL Development (Dakota) and works are due to commence next month and expected to be completed in March 2013.
Singapore stock market and companies daily report (CapitaMalls Asia, Qingmei Group, CSC Hldgs news briefs) (March 09, 2010)
CapitaMalls Asia (CMA) has bought an integrated development in Chengdu comprising retail, residential and office components for Rmb554.2m from CapitaRetail China Development Fund II, of which CMA has a 45% shareholding. Qingmei Group Hldgs, an original design manufacturer of mid-end and high-end sports shoe soles manufacturer in China, has launched its IPO of 184m shares at $0.31 each for a SGX mainboard listing. The offer comprises 2m public-offer shares and 182m placement shares. Mainboard-listed construction and engineering specialist CSC Hldgs yesterday announced that it has in the past 3 months won more than $70m worth of geotechnical and foundation contracts.
Singapore stock market and companies daily report (Wall Street, Private Equity Industry, HG Metal) (March 08, 2010)
The stronger-than-expected jobs report on Friday has fuelled a spurt on Wall Street, capping a 2-week rally that has brought US stocks into positive territory for the year, and within striking distance of the S&P 500’s recent January high. The private equity industry in South-East Asia is expected to recover substantially from the lows of 2009, according to a report by The Business Times (BT) based on a new Deloitte survey report conducted. The report was based on interviews with some 25 senior executives in the private equity industry in the region and it said that “private equity players see a multitude of mid-sized deals in the energy, mining and consumer-related sectors.” HG Metal Manufacturing has said it will sell 28m shares in steel company BRC Asia (BRCA) to help meet its short-term debt. The company has inked a deal with 12 separate buyers to sell BRCA shares at $0.135 per share in cash for $3.78m. The company added it will realise an estimated net loss of approximately $700k from the proposed disposal.
Singapore stock market and companies daily report (Temasek Holdings, UOB KayHian, Sengkang) (March 05, 2010)
Temasek Holdings would likely sell its Shin Corp stake if there was a willing buyer due to rising business and regulatory risks following the Thai Supreme Court’s ruling against former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the Bangkok Post reported. UOB KayHian cut its target price for Wilmar to $8.20 from $8.84 after reducing its earnings estimates on the back of expected lower fresh fruit bunch yields as well as lower sales volume. The broker nonetheless maintained its Buy call on optimism over the plantation group’s longer term growth prospects. Singapore’s first government land tender for an executive condominium site since 2004 at Sengkang attracted 11 bids in total with highest at $193m ($315 per square foot). Deutsche Bank said in a morning note that “the pricing surpassed market expectations of $190-300 per square foot, suggesting developers’ continued confidence in the upgrader segment and firm appetite for land given depleting mass market inventory.”
Singapore stock market and companies daily report (Midas Hldgs, Asia Pacific Breweries) (March 04, 2010)
Midas Hldgs has yesterday announced that is intended dual-listing in Hong Kong shall be by way of a global offering of new shares. The company plans to offer up to 300m new shares at a discount of not more than 10% to its Singapore share price. Asia Pacific Breweries (APB) has announced that it has issued a 4th series comprising $40m in fixed rate notes under its $1b multicurrency medium term note programme established in April last year.
Singapore stock market and companies daily report (SGX Commodity Unit) (March 03, 2010)
The healthy upswing in office leasing deals that started around July last year has persuaded some property consultants that rents for the best quality space in Singapore’s financial district could be close to their bottom and poised to perk up, a Business Times report said. For instance, the Infocomm Development Authority is understood to have inked a lease for about the last 160k sqf available at Mapletree Business City on Pasir Panjang Road, making its total 436k sqf net lettable space now fully leased. The Singapore Commodity Exchange (Sicom), a unit of the Singapore Exchange, has secured a licence to operate a Commodity Market and Clearing House under the Commodity Trading Act (CTRA), giving it room to roll out new commodity categories. This licence will allow SCE to introduce new commodity categories, such as contract for differences (CFDs), forwards and leveraged commodity contracts which are regulated under the CTA. 6 companies have been added to the Singapore Exchange’s watch-list today for possible future delisting – Creative Master Bermuda, AEM Hldgs, Sinobest Tech Hldgs, Lankom Electronics, JEL Corporations Hldgs, and Plastoform Hldgs – taking the total number of firms on the watch-list to 23. 6 others that are already on the watch-list were served notifications of delisting yesterday: ASA Group Hldgs, Chinasing Invs Hldgs, Chuan Soon Huat Industrial Group, Fastech Synergy, General Magnetics, and Ionics EMS.
Singapore stock market and companies daily report (Wilmar International, Shipping Industry) (March 01, 2010)
SGX-listed palm oil giant, Wilmar International, has announced a record net profit of US$1.88b, up 23% for FY09 ended Dec 31, 2010, thanks to an exceptional net gain of US$167m booked in 3Q09 from the sale of new shares in Wilmar China to Kerry Hldgs, Great Cheer and Zheng Ge Ru Foundation. An oversupply of vessels may obstruct a recovery of the shipping industry, putting pressure on freight rates, the Business Times cited Moody’s Investors Service in a recent report. Stocks managed a slight advance on Friday last week, as the US dollar’s rally stumbled. The Dow picked up 0.4% to close at 10,325.26. The S&P 500 edged up 0.14% to finish at 1,104.49, and the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 0.18% to 2,238.26. In this week, all eyes will be on the February jobs report due out on Friday.
Singapore stock market and companies daily report (Hyflux, United Engineers) (February 25, 2010)
Stocks ended a 2-day losing streak as comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke favoring low interest rates outweighed bleak housing data. The stock market bounced back in a strong move that finished with stocks near their session highs. Despite a 5% drop in revenue, Hyflux recorded an increase of 27% in earnings, while 4Q09 earnings almost doubled, from $13.4m to $26m. United Engineers’ (UE) earnings soared more than 8 times in FY09 due to progressive recognition of revenue from sales of residential pjts, The Rochester and Park Central@AMK. Gross profit margin was able to maintain at 23%.
Singapore stock market and companies daily report (Sembcorp Marine, Singapore Press Hldgs, ARA Asset Management, COSCO Corporation) (February 23, 2010)
Sembcorp Marine managed to ride through last year’s downturn to post a record high net profit of $700.1m, a 62.8% rise on-year as higher revenue recognition from completed rigs rolled in. Singapore Press Hldgs has announced it will issue $300m of fixed-rate notes due in 2015. ARA Asset Management has posted an improved earnings for 4Q09 ended Dec 31, up 47% on-year to $14.1m. This was driven by a 48% increase in revenue to $26.9m. COSCO Corporation’s net profit tumbled 64% to $110m for FY09 ended Dec 31, 2009 as operating costs swelled and core operations weakened. Turnover slid 17% to $2.9b as the global economic downturn resulted in lower revenue from the ship builder’s various business segments. Earnings per share fell to $0.0492 from $0.1351 in FY08.
Singapore stock market and companies daily report (Global Yellow Pages) (February 22, 2010)
Directory publisher Global Yellow Pages (GYP) has started legal proceedings against Reed Business Information, StreetDirectory and Promedia Directories. Singapore overtook Japan as the biggest Asian investor on Wall Street in 2009, according to a report by The Business Times. Investors here snapped up a net US$12.61b of US stocks in a year when the US equity market closed with its best annual gains since 2003. Testimonies from the US Federal Reserve Chief Ben Bernanke will be closely watched this week as he is expected to explain on the central bank’s sudden decision to hike an emergency bank lending rate in his appearances before the financial committee of the House of Representatives on Wednesday and the Senate banking panel the next day.
Singapore stock market and companies daily report (ST Engineering, Sembcorp Marine, STX Pan Ocean, China Fishery Group) (February 19, 2010)
Technology-based conglomerate ST Engineering has posted a 27% rise in net profit to $129.7m for 4Q09 ended Dec 31, 2009 as revenue increased 9% to $1.47b. For the full year 2009, net profit dipped 6.3% to $443.9m even though revenue rose 3.8% to $5.5b. Sembcorp Marine has added strength to the general belief that the shipping industry is picking up by announcing major contracts worth $130m as well as the renewal of a long-term contract with Eitzen Group through its unit Sembawang Shipyard. STX Pan Ocean, South Korea’s largest bulk-shipping line, posted a 4Q09 profit as Chinese demand for coal and iron-ore shipments boosted freight rates. China Fishery Group has clinched approval from the SGX and the Oslo bourse for its second listing in Norway.
Singapore stock market and companies daily report (Yanlord Land Group, Ho Bee Investment, Singapore Airlines) (February 18, 2010)
The private housing market has entered the year 2010 on a firm footing, with developers’ home sales in January rising to 1,476 units – 3 times as high as the previous month. Yanlord Land Group and Ho Bee Investment have jointly acquired a 13.69 hectare prime residential site in Qingpu District, Shanghai, for Rmb3.82b or $785m at a public land auction. Singapore Airlines (SIA) filled 79.1% of its seats in January – a full 5 percentage points improvement over the previous year’s 74.1%, thanks to a reduction in capacity.
Singapore stock market and companies daily report (STI, Ascendas REIT) (February 17, 2010)
The STI was up 1.1% at midday, as a 1.7% lead on Wall Street overnight drove sentiment. The broader S&P 500 also registered similar gains, as all sectors performed well. Market watchers said that concerns were allayed to some extent after a meeting of finance minisiters in Europe provided some visiblity to the debt crisis that was enveloping Greece. Positive economic data from the US also paved the way for some gains. New York Fed’s manufacturing survey in February showed that business conditions in the sector to have improved – the index rising by 9 points from January’s 15.92 – beating economists’ estimates. Another gauge of business conditions from the National Association of Home Builders also saw builder confidence growing this month, recovering from a seven month low.
Singapore stock market and companies daily report (RWS, Neptune Orient Lines, CMA, Olam International ) (February 12, 2010)
The casino at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS), owned by Genting Singapore, is set to make its debut this coming Sunday, in conjunction with the first day of the Chinese New Year. Neptune Orient Lines (NOL) has made a net loss to the tune of US$740.8m for FY09 ended Dec 31, 2009 as revenue dropped by nearly a third to US$6.52b from US$9.29b in FY08 due to the precipitous fall in trade amid the global economic downturn. CapitaLand has posted a net profit of $885.7m for 4Q09 ended Dec 31, 2009, thanks to an $899.8m gain from listing a 34.5% stake in CapitaMalls Asia (CMA) late last year. Commodities supply chain manager Olam International has declared for the 1st time an interim dividend of $0.02 a share, as it announced its best ever quarterly performance.
Singapore stock market and companies daily report (RWS, Neptune Orient Lines, CMA, Olam International ) (February 12, 2010)
The casino at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS), owned by Genting Singapore, is set to make its debut this coming Sunday, in conjunction with the first day of the Chinese New Year. Neptune Orient Lines (NOL) has made a net loss to the tune of US$740.8m for FY09 ended Dec 31, 2009 as revenue dropped by nearly a third to US$6.52b from US$9.29b in FY08 due to the precipitous fall in trade amid the global economic downturn. CapitaLand has posted a net profit of $885.7m for 4Q09 ended Dec 31, 2009, thanks to an $899.8m gain from listing a 34.5% stake in CapitaMalls Asia (CMA) late last year. Commodities supply chain manager Olam International has declared for the 1st time an interim dividend of $0.02 a share, as it announced its best ever quarterly performance.
Singapore stock market and companies daily report (REC, ComfortDelGro, Tiger Airways) (February 11, 2010)
Shares in Raffles Education Corporation (RE) surged as much as 17.4% in active trading yesterday after its subsidiary, Oriental University City (OUC), secured a Rmb300m investment from Malaysia’s state investment agency Khazanah Nasional (KN). Land transport giant ComfortDelGro has reported a FY09 net profit of $219.5m, up 9.7% on-year despite revenue slipping 2.2% to $3.05b on the back of the weaker British pound and Australian dollar. Tiger Airways said its has sold 428k seats in Asia and Australia last month, up 53% on-year, filling 86% of available seats across its network compared with 74% in January 2009.
Singapore stock market and companies daily report (CapitaMall Trust, Cogent Hldgs) (February 10, 2010)
CapitaMall Trust (CMT) said yesterday it has agreed to buy Clarke Quay from parent company CapitaMalls Asia for $268m in cash, which in turn will boost the former’s asset size to $7.6b from $7.4b as at end-2009. ‘The acquisition of Clarke Quay complements CMT’s current portfolio of mainly suburban malls catering for necessity shopping,’ said Simon Ho, CEO of the trust’s manager. ‘It increases the number of properties that we have catering for discretionary consumer spending and will enable us to ride on the long-term remaking of Singapore as Asia’s leading convention, exhibition, leisure destination and services centre.' Homegrown full-suite logistics service provider Cogent Hldgs has announced its initial public offering (IPO) of 92m shares at $0.22 each for a listing on SGX Mainboard. Of the total 92m shares, 2m are available for public subscription while 90m are by way of placement. Cogent hopes to raise net proceeds of about $9.1m, of which $6.1m will be used to expand its container depot operations and warehousing space, $2m to expand its vehicle logistics operations and the remaining $1m for working capital requirements.
Singapore stock market and companies daily report (StarHub, SATS, Sembcorp Marine) (February 5, 2010)
Singapore’s 2nd largest telco company StarHub has reported a drop of 15.1% in 4Q09 net profit to $74.2m mainly as a result of lower revenue from its broadband arm and higher cost of sales. Revenue for the quarter ended Dec 31, 2009 rose marginally by 2.5% to $550m. The company has declared a dividend of $0.05 for the quarter. The $509m gamble on acquiring Singapore Food Industry (SFI) seemed to have paid off handsomely for Singapore Airport Terminal Services (SATS) as the former’s contribution helped boost its net earnings for 3Q10 ended Dec 31, 2009 by 42% on-year to $53.4m. Sembcorp Marine announced yesterday it is building a new shipyard in Brazil to take advantage of one of the fastest growing offshore oil-and-gas (O&G) exploration and production markets in the world.
Singapore stock market and companies daily report (CapitaMalls Asia, Raffles Education, Berlian Laju Tanker) (February 4, 2010)
Singapore shares snapped a 3-day losing streak on Wednesday on a firm lead from the US overnight, but market watchers say it remains to be seen whether the rebound will carry over into the coming days. The benchmark Straits Times Index ended up 1.6% at 2,764.84. “I would say this is a technical bounce,” head of proprietary trading at a local brokerage said. “I think the market in the next few days will be very choppy. A lot depends on the US non-farm payrolls data coming out this Friday.”
Singapore stock market and companies daily report (Singapore Airlines) (February 3, 2010)
Stocks rallied for a 2nd day on Tuesday as better-than-expected earnings and encouraging data calmed investors after the market’s recent sell-off. Rising sales of previously owned US homes and robust earnings from bellwethers representing consumer and industrial businesses, including Whirlpool Corp and Cummins, pointed to a steady rebound in demand. Singapore Airlines (SIA) has confounded critics and sceptics by posting a strong 3Q10 net profit of $403.7m, up 20% on-year. The October-December quarter though, saw revenue fall 19% to $3.4b. The bottomline boost was a result of lower expenditure, a lower fuel hedging loss and payroll savings. More significantly, the net profit will help to offset almost 87% of the $466m of cumulative losses chalked up in 1H10, leaving the company with just a net loss position of $62m.
Singapore stock market and companies daily report (Tiger Airways, CWT, Wilmar International) (February 2, 2010)
According to Elliott Wave International (EWI), Asian stocks may decline for months after forming a ‘top’ that signals the end of a 10-month rally. Benchmark indexes across the region have completed either 3- or 5-wave patterns showing that their gains are over, the researcher said in its February Asian-Pacific Financial Forecast report. The rally’s duration and divergence in both momentum and sentiment also signal a downturn, it said.
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| Latest USA Stock Market Reports |
US stock market opening report (March 12, 2010, Friday)
The triple A rating of the US is at risk, S&P has warned, unless the country adopts a credible medium-term plan to rein in fiscal spending. In a report published yesterday, the ratings agency said that there were risks that “external creditors could reduce their US dollar holdings, especially if they conclude that Eurozone members are adopting stronger macroeconomic policies”. (FT) In other news, Fed’s Yellen is said to be Obama’s choice for Federal Reserve vice chair. Also in the news, White House’s Summers said US recovery has a very long way to go, however US economy is very close to employment growth and deficit must come down after recovery strengthens. (BBG)
US stock market daily report. (March 12, 2010, Friday)
A court-appointed investigator said in a 2,200 page document that Lehman Brothers failure was due to the company's own senior executives and auditor. Lehman Bothers, who filed for bankruptcy is 2008, used "materially misleading" accounting gimmicks to try to hide the bad investments on the company's books, and to play off the amount of borrowed money. In the report, it is said that Lehman used financial engineering to remove around $50 billion of undesirable assets from its balance sheet at the end of the first and second quarters of 2008, instead of selling those assets at a loss. Coincidently, the company made those moves just months before it filed for bankruptcy; Lehman accountants at Ernst & Young, along with senior executives were all well aware of the money shuffling, according to examiner Mr. Valukas. A major part of the report focused on those accounting maneuvers, known as "Repo 105." included in the report were e-mails from Lehman's global financial controller confirming that "the only purpose or motive for [Repo 105] transactions was reduction in the balance sheet," also stating, "there was no substance to the transactions." Putting aside money shuffling and hiding bad investments, the report was very critical of Lehman's executives, who according to Valukas, "should have done more, done better." However, "the demands for collateral by Lehman's lenders had direct impact on Lehman's liquidity," Valukas also said, "the demands for collateral by Lehman's lenders had direct impact on Lehman's liquidity," "Lehman's available liquidity is central to the question of why Lehman failed." The lenders he mentioned were Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase. Since Lehman Brother's filed for bankruptcy Wall Street crashed, stocks hit 12 year lows and we were faced with the biggest crisis since the Great Depression. Federal Government officials had to pump billions of dollars into the nation's financial system to prevent further damage. Stocks traded in a tight range yet again today, volume was light. Investors were given a better than expected report from the Commerce Department, they reported retail sales rose 0.3% last month. Commodity prices along with the dollar fell; gold fell $1.20 to $1,107.00 and crude oil fell $0.83 to $81.28. Bond prices rose, the yield on the benchmark 10-year note fell to 3.70 from 3.72 Thursday.
US stock market opening report (March 11, 2010, Thursday)
Pimco’s El-Erian said deteriorating public finances may affect the global economy more than is currently realised. (BBG) Elsewhere, Dubai World will present its first concrete proposals to local banks today on restructuring USD 22bln in debt, according to unnamed sources. (The National newspaper) New York State may have to borrow to smooth a path back to financial health over the next few years, its lieutenant governor said on Wednesday, highlighting the severity of the fiscal trouble facing US states in the wake of the financial crisis and economic recession. (FT)
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| USA Stocks Recommendations |
Intel Corp. (Nasdaq:INTC) is poised to top estimates over the next two quarters, 8 September 2009
Intel Corp. (Nasdaq: INTC) is a cyclical company. That is, its stock does extremely well when the economy is ready to accelerate, and does poorly when the economy decelerates. So it’s no wonder that last year the stock fell more than 50% from the record-high of $27.78 a share it reached December 2007. However, the company has rallied more than 50% from its Feb. 23 low of $12.08 a share. It closed Friday at $19.64.
Verint Systems price target reduced, 7 December 2007
RBC Capital Markets reduced its price target on Verint Systems from $34 to $25.
Thomas Weisel upgraded Intel to "overweight", 6 December 2007
Thomas Weisel Partners analyst Kevin Cassidy lifted price target on Intel shares from $28 to $33 per share, citing an expected jump in computer demand during 2008.
| | USA News |
On the cusp of job growth, 10 March 2010
Under the weather, 1 March 2010
Everything you wanted to know about the fed..., 23 February 2010
Further evidence of a recovery, 17 February 2010
The January jobs data, 9 February 2010
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