Guocoland FY2017 Results

I've initiated a smallish position with Guocoland earlier this year in April at 1.85
At that point, Guocoland is trading at about 40% off their NAV, which I felt that Guocoland is trading a very big discount and given a very attractive valuation. Recently, they have a run up to 2.28, which is about a 20% increase and currently at their 52week high. With the opening of TPC, it will be a big recurring income for them as well as giving them a higher RNAV.

Guocoland has released their Full Year results recently and has declared a 7 cents dividend for FY2017. This is an increase from their usual dividends of 5 cents. The group's revenue has increased 5% to $1.1 billion driven by higher residential sales and progressive revenue from residential projects in Singapore.

Dividends will be paid on 21 November 2017 and XD on 31 October 2017.


Residential Sales
- Goodwood Residence has been completely sold.
- As at end June 2017, the 381-unit freehold Leedon Residence in prime District 10 is approximately 90% sold
- 1,024-unit Sims Urban Oasis is approximately 80% sold.
- In Shanghai, Phase 3 of the 664-unit Changfeng Residence has sold and received bookings for over 600 units as at end June 2017

Land aquisition
Guocoland has acquired land in 3 different locations, District 9 in Singapore (Martin Modern), Yuzhong District in Chongqing and Cheras in Malaysia.

Martin Modern, a luxury residential development has been lauched and in Phase 1, 110 out of 120 units released have been sold.
Wallich Residence to be completed by end 2017.

TPC & Damansara City
Both integrated mixed-used developments, TPC & Damansara City has commenced operations.
Office & Retail spaces are more than 90% committed in TPC, while at Damansara, Office spaces are 100% occupied with retail spaces 80% committed.
Fair value gain from investment properties increased $234.8 million as compared to the previous financial year mainly due to higher fair value gain from Tanjong Pagar Centre’s Guoco Tower.

NAV

NAV at end FY2017 is at S$3.18. At their current price of S$2.28, Guocoland is still trading at a 30% discount to NAV. RNAV at S$3.63/share which also suggest that they are trading at a deep 37% discount to its RNAV.

I believe that with their upcoming projects, there will be more recurring income for Guocoland. With the dividends of 7 cents, it provides me a yield of 3.78% from my entry price.


Guocoland full year results can be found here.

REIT IPO - Cromwell European REIT

24 Aug 2017: CROMWELL European Real Estate Investment Trust (Cereit), a Singapore Reit with portfolio of assets in Europe, has received an Eligibility-to-List (ETL) nod from the Singapore Exchange for its estimated one billion euros (S$1.6 billion) initial public offering (IPO).

SGX has issued Cromwell with its Eligibility-To-List with regard to its IPO.
Listing is expected to commence at end-September 2017.

Cromwell European REIT (CEREIT)
Australia-listed Cromwell Property Group's REIT IPO will comprise of European office properties.
It will compromise European properties with a focus on Europe's small cities.

As of 31 December 2016, Cromwell posted a market capitalization of $1.7billion and total assets under management of $9.8 billion across Australia, New Zealand and Europe. Market sources said CEReit will have more than 70 properties across Europe and a target distribution yield above 6%

Goldman Sachs and UBS are joint issue manager for the IPO, with DBS operating alongside them as global coordinators.

According to Cromwell, it intends to hold a sponsor stake estimated at 10% in CEREIT following its public float. "The IPO reflects Cromwell's stated strategy of diversifying capital sources and achieving recurring revenue from its funds management business," the company said in a statement.

I will be keeping a look-out for this IPO for any further news. I feel that it is similar to IREIT with properties in Europe.

More information can be found here.

DBS Multi-Currency Account

From the previous post about my Japan internship opportunity.

I've since started with the planning, budgeting for this trip and has also been working even more often to save up for the trip. As I will be there for a prolonged period, I will need to have a better plan and management over my resources when I'm there.

Apart from your travel documents and clothing, one important thing to bring along is definitely cash.

As I will be there for approximately 3 months, it will not be exactly feasible for me to bring a big sum of money over for my living expenses. In any event whereby I drop the money along the way or any accidents occur, I'll be having a headache there. As such, I have been looking through the net about the other alternatives over bringing a big sum of living expenses there, which brings me to DBS Multi-Currency Account.

Using the DBS eMCA account, we'll be able to buy foreign currencies at our preferred rates. However do take note that if you're buying directly from the bank, you'll be subjected to the spreads.
Buying of foreign currency can be done through iBanking

Steps to buying your foreign currency online via iBanking:
1. Login to iBanking, select the tab on 'Transfer'
2. Under the transfer tab, select 'To my account'
3. From : DBS eMCA account, Currency: SGD (the currency here refers to the currency you'll be using to purchase your foreign currency)
4. To: DBS eMCA account, right below, select the currency you would want to buy.
5. Under transfer currency: select the currency you're using to purchase your foreign currency
6. Key in the amount you'll like to buy
7. Select on whether you want to transfer it immediately

If you happen to have the foreign currency you want on hand or you've changed it at any money changer outside, you're also able to deposit/withdraw the cash from your DBS eMCA account through their branches, with a fee of S$10 per deposits/withdrawal.

I personally will feel that the money changer outside provides a better rate. The best rates can be found through here. After which, go to any branches to deposit your foreign currency into your DBS eMCA account.  Ensure that the spread is not going be a big percentage to what you're going to deposit. Subsequently, you'll be able to withdraw/spend from the country you're visiting without any worries. In any event whereby you do not have sufficient funds in your foreign currency wallet, you're able to transfer it from your bank account over to the MCA account and purchase your foreign currency.

However, to save on the fuss, you could just buy the currency online and make your withdrawal there when you need it. The spread is about 1.2%. 


The currency you've bought will be deposited into the various currencies wallet.
Eg. Japanese Yen wallet for deposits/withdrawal of JPY.

Withdrawal can be made in Japan from any ATM with the Plus sign. The amount you've withdrawn will then be directly deducted from your Japanese Yen wallet.
The ATM withdrawal fees for each withdrawal is 350Yen (about S$4.36) in Japan.

Using the DBS Visa debit card, you're also able to make purchases there by which the amount will also be directly debited from the respective currency wallets.  

This is cheaper than the usual charges imposed by Master/Visa (2.5%) when you carry out cross-borders transaction.


Therefore, I feel that for frequent travelers or anyone that is visiting a certain country for a prolonged period or even anyone who is feels unsafe to carry a thick stack of cash everywhere you go, this account should be of a good help.

The account can also be created in minutes if you're an existing POSB/DBS member via iBanking

 

I've just tried out the account by "buying" 10,000 Yen at S$125.53.

Current rate of Yen to SGD @ 100 : 1.242
Therefore, I've "paid" S$1.33 (about 1.07%) to try it out:)




Their Foreign Currencies rate can be seen here.
More information about the DBS Multi-Currency Account can be found here.

This is not a sponsored post.

An opportunity to Japan

First and foremost, a very big thank you to the kind compliments & advice some readers and seniors is providing me with. I'm extremely grateful for that.

As much as I will remember that I'm still very young and there's a long journey ahead, I must also constantly remind myself that I'm only 19 once, I will need to have some fun along the way and not be regretting that I did not enjoy myself when I'm younger.

Coming to my final year in the school, I will be embarking on my internship, which I will be able to gain more working experiences. Months ago, I was chosen for an overseas internship to Japan later this year.

 

Niseko, Japan

This will be my first trip to Japan, a country which I always wished to visit. I believe this will be a very good opportunity for me to be exposed to the Japanese culture as well as learning from the world's third largest economy. It will also be a very good lesson for me to live independently over a period of 3 months in another country. Hopefully, I will be able to forge many wonderful memories when I am there.

 

Two wise quotes from two wise man....

“ The most important investment you can make is in yourself. ” 

 Warren Buffett 

“The best armour of old age is a well spent life preceding it. ” 

 Charlie Munger

A duet between ComfortDelGro & Uber?

ComfortDelGro in talks with Uber over possible alliance?

 

CDG has announced earlier today that it has signed a letter with Uber Technologies for an "exclusive discussions" on a possible "strategic alliance"

Despite 'taxi booking' has been made available through Uber/Grab's platform some time ago, it is important to also note that most rider uses Uber/Grab's private-hire rather than CDG's taxi as it is a cheaper alternative. The promotion given to rider could easily allow rider to travel between short distances for free or maybe as cheap as $1. 

As mention previously in the post regarding CDG's FY2017 Q2 report, taxis has been a very significant contributor to ComfortDelGro's business and revenue for taxi business has dropped by 10.7%.

With the possible collaboration between CDG and Uber, CDG is able to leverage Uber's platform by making Comfort's taxi available through the Uber app. This measure taken by CDG to collaborate with Uber will be able to ensure more bookings for comfort taxi drivers. This move taken by CDG to partner with the disruptor will in time brings in greater revenue for CDG's declining taxi business.

However, it will not be effective if the prices of trips were to remain high for rider that uses Uber for a cheaper alternative to cab.

There is no confirmation that the alliance will materialized and final structure remains unclear. 

Information can be found here.
ST report about possible alliance can be found here.

Portfolio Update - ComfortDelGro & Wilmar

Extremely grateful to wise seniors for providing me with advises and insights along the way, as well as to Miss Niao for the feature! Appreciate it very much.

Quick update - Recently, over the past week. I've utilized a portion of my war chest to initiate a position in Wilmar & ComfortDelGro.

ComfortDelGro
I've bought 200 shares of ComfortDelGro on their first day of XD, 17/08/17 at $2.17. Prior to XD they're trading at 2.24 and they've fallen below the price they've giving out their dividends.
CDG has been on a bear mode for months and have been fighting the war with Grab & Uber.

ComfortDelGro operates through 7 segments - Taxi Business, Public Transport Services, Bus stations, Automotive Engineering Services, Inspection & Testing Services, Car Rental & Leasing and Driving Centers.

Recently, CDG has released their FY2017 Q2 results, by which they've reported a decline in revenue which is caused by the decrease in revenue and more than half is contributed by the unfavorable currency translation and the remaining from 5 of their operating segments.

Taxis has been a very significant contributor to ComfortDelGro's business and revenue for taxi business has dropped by 10.7%. The damage is however slightly mitigated by the Public Transport Services and Driving Center business.

At $2.17, I feel that they're decently priced at about 15x their earnings. I'm also impressed by their ability in maintaining themselves in this demanding environment, fending themselves from the disruptive technologies. Knowing that, as well as being a regular customer of CDG in their public transport segment, I'm happy to initiate a position with Comfort. I'll be looking forward to their opening of DTL3 on 21 Oct later this year. In an event whereby their share price were to continue dipping, I will be more than happy to accumulate more of CDG's share.

After the great correction of October 1987, the end of the world and the end of the banking system were widely predicted.
Peter Lynch 

CDG's Q2 financial can be found here.

Wilmar
After queuing for several days, on 18/08/17, I've finally gotten 300 shares of Wilmar at $3.10. Similarly, Wilmar has released their 2Q2017 report recently.

Wilmar's business activities includes oil palm cultivation, oilseed crushing, edible oils refining, sugar milling and refining, specialty fats, oleochemical, biodiesel and fertiliser manufacturing, consumer pack edible oils processing and merchandising, soy protein manufacturing, rice and flour milling, and grain merchandising.

That's a very extensive range of services that they're providing.

In the report, they've reported a net profit of US37.3 million, improvements driven by recovery of Oilseeds division. The earnings is however affected by the losses incurred by the sugar division. Healthy balance sheet can be seen with total assets at US 37.33 bilion.

NAV of Wilmar at US 238.2 cents (1 USD = 1.3662 SGD), Wilmar's NAV is standing at S$3.254.
As such, I'm paying about 5% discount to the NAV at my entry price of $3.10. This provides me with a small margin of safety.

Wilmar has been under my watch-list for awhile and noticing them falling sharply below their 50D and 200D MA sharply after their release of results, I believe that there is too much pessimism factored in. It's also good to note that there is some support below the 3.10 level.

I believe that Wilmar will be performing well in the future and by any chance that it continues to fall, or should that support be broken, I will be happy to accumulate more shares of Wilmar at a lower price.
It's also good to note that the CEO/Chairman is very optimistic about their growth prospect.

 Mr. Kuok Khoon Hong, Chairman and CEO, said,

“We expect Tropical Oils to perform better in 2H2017 on the back of improvements in production yields and better margins from downstream operations. Oilseeds crush margins are expected to remain positive for the rest of the year and Consumer Products will improve as it enters its seasonal peak period. However, Sugar will continue to

be affected by the volatility in sugar prices. 

“While the Group may face short term challenges, we remain very optimistic about the tremendous growth prospects of our various businesses and will continue with our expansion plans, especially in China, India and Indonesia.”

Wilmar's Financial Statement can be found here, and news release here.

Lesson 01: Don't be early at the wrong time.

Throughout the week, apart from being occupied by school and work, I've communicated with several wise individuals.

Don't be early at the wrong time.
A good investment is an investment at the right price.

Time is our best friend yet it could too be our best fiend. 
Time is able to prove your decision right as much as it could punish you for your bad decision.

The idea of it is easily understood but the question isn't about how much you understand it. It is to how you deploy it.

As much as having an extremely small portfolio and starting young as a package, I will try my very best to ensure that the possible capital injection would be a meaningful and rewarding one. In every risk, an opportunity is presented. 

In 14 April 2003 (SARS), DBS is trading at $7.53 
DBS's closing price today @ $20.78
Total dividends received since 14 April 2003: $8.53


Assuming with only 200 share of DBS.. an initial investment of $1,506
We'll be seeing a total dividends of $1,706 and value of $4,156.
The 200 share of DBS is essentially free!! 
On top of that, I'm sitting on a gain of $200 and 200 share of DBS worth $4,156.




STI closed at 3,294,93 today... Impressive calculations. But where am I now.. hmmm....

Portfolio - July 2017

Current Portfolio (08/08/17)

No.	Counters	No. of Shares	Market Price (SGD)	Total Value (SGD) based on market price	Allocation %
1.	AIMS AMP Cap REIT	400	1.425	570.00	24.66%
2.	Singtel	140	3.77	527.80	22.91%
3.	Frasers Com Trust	300	1.395	418.50	18.17%
4.	Guocoland	200	2.02	404.00	17.54%
5.	Starhill Global REIT	500	0.77	385.00	16.72%
	Total SGD			2,303.30	100.00%

This is my first portfolio update for this blog.


In this year, I've bought 5 counters on 5 different occasions, and no sales transaction have been done. I understand that as my portfolio is extremely small, the brokerage fees and taxes will play a big part in my average price. As such, my investment approach is to hold to them as long as possible, with exception to scenarios whereby the company is entering an unfavorable situations with gloomy outlook, and when opportunities arises for me to add onto them, I will do so. All the price computed are inclusive on brokerage fees and tax. Dividends is recognized at Pay-date. Upcoming dividends recognized after XD.

I will also be updating by portfolio once every month.

As discussed in the first post, I hope that by the end of 2017, I will have a portfolio value of $5,475 (derived from $15 x 365 days). 


I'll be generally doing an overview of my journey thus far since the start of 2017.

Transactions:

1. AIMS AMP Capital REIT:
Purchased this counter in February at an average price of 1.39.
Dividends received from this counter: $22.20
Upcoming Dividends: $10.00 (pay date: 21/09/17)

2. Singtel:
Purchased this counter in April at an average price of 3.84
Dividends received from this counter: -
Upcoming Dividends: $14.98 (pay date: 17/08/17)

3. Frasers Commercial Trust:
Purchased this counter in April at an average price of 1.33
Dividends received from this counter: $7.52
Upcoming Dividends: $7.20 (script)

4. Guocoland:
Purchased this counter in April at an average price of 1.90
Dividends received from this counter: -

5. Starhill Global REIT:
Purchased this counter in March at an average price of 0.76
Dividends received from this counter: $5.90
Upcoming Dividends: $5.90

Total dividends received (as of 08/08/17): $35.62
Average dividends/mth: $2.96/month
Upcoming dividends (August): $28.08

My First Post

This blog serves as a personal finance diary for me. 

At this point of writing, I'm 19. Studying in a local polytechnic as a 3rd year student.

I've recently embarked on my journey towards financial freedom.

Started out investing in the stock market about a year ago, however, I wasn't disciplined enough and did not know anything much. Made some money, however over confidence teaches me a lesson. Nonetheless, after the painful lesson, I've adopted a different approach towards investing. 

After which in 2017, I stood up from my fall and continued on my financial journey.
 
I'm still learning as much as I'm able to and hopefully with this blog, I will be able to jot down my journey towards financial freedom. 

As a plan, I will try to keep a war-chest ready and makes it a point for to allocate about $15 a day into the war chest through part-time jobs and savings. When an opportunity arises, the war-chest will then be deployed into purchasing a counter after due-diligence is done on my part. The war-chest will not be money that I will be using or needing in any coming future.

As such, having that said, my plans for 2017 is as such:
Portfolio + Warchest = $15 x 365 = $5,475

I understand that this is a very small amount, but I believe with perseverance and determination, I will be able to achieve my financial freedom.I sincerely hope that this will be a fruitful and exciting journey for me.