In Singapore, property prices soared yet again (looks like that has been the story for the past months). HDB prices rose 2.7% over the first 3 months compared to the 3 months before that. Private home prices are also through the roof, breaking its 2007 high by 6% for non landed private homes and landed homes are 15.6% ahead. More interestingly, private home prices are above their 1996 peak, meaning that home prices are their highest ever.
I am still neutral, tending to the underweight side on residential property. I do not think that high prices are here to stay because
- Government restrictions on new foreigners in Singapore will not increase the demand of property
- The effect of the IR is still unclear, with reports of it being frequented more by foreign workers instead of gamblers
- The government has been releasing land for developers to bid, in an attempt to increase the supply of housing
TranspacThe dividend ex date was announced to be 3rd May, and upon announcement, the share price went up by 10cents, factoring in the dividend payout
First Resources
Company results were announced on 1st March, and can be found here.
Industry wide, Nestle has announced that it will not source palm oil from Sinar Mas Group in a victory for Greenpeace. Sinar Mas Group has been accused of deforesting while carrying out of its agricultural activities. Nestle has sourced from Sinar Mas only for its Indonesian businesses, and has announced that it will change suppliers. This is good for the industry as it seeks to produce palm oil while reducing damage to the environment. It also gives other companies in the industry to attract new customers.
Palm oil prices are well supported by energy prices, says James Fry, as the agri business and the energy business becomes more intertwined. The article can be found here.
China Telecom
China Telecom FY2009 results were announced, and the results were positive. The news article can be found here. As for the detailed analysis, it will be out before the end of April, hopefully by the end of next week.
Novo Group
Novo Group released its 3Q results, achieving tremendous improvement. It has also started preparing for its scrap metal business, which is scheduled to come online is 2011. The analysis can be found here. Operating Profit was up by 186%, and Net Profit up by 816% for 9M2010 as compared to 9M2009.
I am looking forward to Novo to increase the long term debt of the company as an indicator of expansion plans.
Blue Gem
Products have gone on sale at more Walgreens stores in Florida. I am looking forward to the release of the financial statements
Soilbuild
Soilbuild announced that the stock split has been approved in principle, in an attempt to increase liquidity. Many shareholders have been converting their warrants in an anticipation of the 6cents dividend payout, with the ex date on 7th May
YRC Worldwide
YRC Worldwide has announced that shipping trends over the 1st quarter has shown signs of improvement, and that its customers have been returning. I look for its cost cutting targets to be hit by mid year.
YRC Worldwide's independent auditors have announced that it has doubts on YRC Worldwide's ability to act as a going concern. It has seeked a court ruling to prevent a 20 million bond payment to its bondholders who did not agree to the debt to equity swap back in December. It has said that should the court ruling be approved, the 20million will be used to help its recovery thus far.
Prospective Companies
I am looking at several companies who have large land on their balance sheet. Furthermore, I am looking at Palm Inc as another turnaround play. Should there be a prospect for investment, I will do a writeup.
I am very busy for the next week, so apologies if there isn't much update for the next week.
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