Ernest Lim's investing blog

Unique insights into SGX small caps

dividend

STI at 3,051 – Presents some attractive opportunities (3 Oct 2021)

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Dear all With reference to my market outlook published on National Day (see HERE), both STI and Hang Seng have hit their highs on 10 Aug and 11 Aug respectively before dipping. Based on Table 1 below, S&P500, Hang Seng and STI have fallen 1.8%, 6.1% and 4.0% respectively since my writeup. Table 1: Indices’ performance since my last writeup Source: Ernest’s compilations Amid the recent weakness, you may be wondering whether it is a good time to accumulate on weakness. Before we get to this, let’s take a look at the indices’ charts.   S&P500 closed 4,357 Based on […]

S&P500 closed at record high! What should we do? Buy or sell? (9 Aug 2021)

el15

Dear all S&P500 has clocked its sixth consecutive month of gains in July 2021. This is the longest stretch since 2018. Furthermore, S&P500 has touched a record high to close at 4,437 on 6 Aug 2021. In the next 3 months, are markets poised for higher highs? Or should we be prudent and take some profit off the table first? Let’s take a look.   Ernest’s personal market observations a) Lack of catalysts to push the market higher Since Covid last year, markets, especially U.S. markets, have been able to push higher due partly to the combination of ultra-easy monetary policies; […]

STI – Will it head for new YTD high after S&P500 clocked its 7th consecutive day of rally? (6 Jul 2021)

el15

Dear all S&P500 and Nasdaq clinch fresh record highs last Friday with S&P500 clocking in seven consecutive days of gains in its longest winning streak since August 2020. Despite the roaring U.S. markets, Singapore Straits Times Index (“STI”) has slipped almost 100 points from its 2021 intraday high of 3,237 on 30 Apr 2021 to close 3,141 on 5 Jul 2021. Can STI exceed 3,237 for 2HFY2021? Most strategists believe so, as their year-end targets for STI are easily above 3,237. Let’s look at the possible reasons why analysts are positive on our Singapore market.   Reasons to be optimistic […]

China Aoyuan – a potential value play? (15 Jun 21)

el15

Dear all Against the backdrop of rising inflation, some market strategists have recommended “additional urgency” to rotate from technology plays to “old economy value stocks” to hedge against potential inflation pressures (as they believe such inflation pressures are not transitory). A stock that may tick all the right boxes may be China Aoyuan (“Aoyuan”) (3883.HK). It belongs to the old economy stocks (i.e. property sector which may be a hedge against inflation) and seems to be a value play, given that it trades at HKD7.01 on 15 Jun 21.   Who is Aoyuan? Quoting from a report by DBS Research […]

Koda – Clear beneficiary of the surge in home furnishing spending trend (1 Jun 21)

el15

Since 20 Aug 2020, Avarga has more than doubled from $0.146 to close $0.305 on 1 Jun 2021. Avarga’s strength is likely attributed to its 69.7% stake in Taiga (Taiga is Canada’s largest wholesale distributor of building materials, such as lumber, panels, doors, engineered wood, roofing and others). Taiga’s business has been flourishing due to the strength in home furnishings and the housing market in Canada and US. By extension, Koda may be another proxy to benefit from the surge in home furnishing spending trend. It is noteworthy that Koda is an Original Design Manufacturer / Original Equipment Manufacturer to […]

Thai Bev may be ripe for a bounce; BeerCo IPO potential near term catalyst (29 Mar 21)

el15

Thai Bev has slumped 14% from an intraday high of $0.850 on 8 Feb to close $0.735 on 29 Mar 21. It is looking interesting again as it hovers around its strong confluence of supports from $0.715 – 0.725. Personally, it seems ripe for a technical bounce. Besides the technical outlook, Thai Bev has the highest potential upside among the STI component stocks with a potential capital upside of around 21%! What else is interesting about Thai Bev? Read on for more.   Interesting points on Thai Bev a) Highest potential capital upside for STI component stock With reference to […]

Yangzijiang looks interesting; tests support $0.940 – 0.980 (8 Feb 21)

el15

Yangzijiang (“YZJ”) has weakened approximately 13% from $1.11 on 13 Jan 2021 to close $0.970 on 5 Feb 2021. It has significantly underperformed STI (STI only dropped around 3% over the same period) and is the top STI constituent stocks with the highest potential return (see HERE). Why is it interesting? Read on for more…   Interesting points on YZJ a) Orders are likely to improve in FY21F Based on DBS Research 3 Dec 2020 report, the surge in China (Export) Containerized Freight Index (highest since Mar 2015) and the tripling of the Baltic Dry Index may prompt ship owners […]

City Dev falls nine out of ten sessions; near Mar 2020 low amid oversold RSI (2 Nov 2020)

el15

Dear all, Since 19 Oct 2020, City Dev has fallen nine out of ten sessions with a cumulative drop of 20%. City Dev closed at $6.20. Let’s take a look why this City Dev has slumped and why it has caught my attention.   Reasons why City Dev has underperformed The below list of likely reasons is not exhaustive. It is just based on my personal view what may have caused City Dev’s underperformance. 1) Concerns over how much support is required by Sincere Property Group Concerns over how much support is required by Sincere Property Group (“Sincere”) flare up […]

UG Healthcare – 6 interesting aspects on UG which caught my attention! (26 Oct 2020)

el15

Dear all, UG Healthcare (“UG”) recently caught my attention. It has tumbled approximately 20% from an intraday high of around $1.15 on 7 Aug 2020 to close $0.915 on 26 Oct 2020. The doji formation on 26 Oct 20 on good volume may be an early indication that selling may abate in the near term. The recent weakness in UG’s share price is likely attributed to profit taking in the share prices of its Malaysia listed peers and occasional news on the development of vaccines which may result in demand for gloves and consequently their average selling price (“ASP”) falling […]

China Railway Construction (01186.HK) – Bargain buy, or value trap? (22 Sep 2020)

el15

China Railway Construction (“CRCC”) recently caught my attention as it has tumbled approximately 44% from an intraday high of $9.99 on 5 Mar 2020 to close HKD5.64 on 21 Sep 2020. Is this a bargain buy, or a value trap? Let’s take a look.   First up, a description of CRCC Quoting from its 1HFY20 results, CRCC’s businesses cover a variety of construction, survey, design and consultation, manufacturing, real estate development, logistics and materials trading and other business with refined industry chain covering scientific research, planning, survey, design, construction, supervision and management, maintenance, operation, investment and financing, etc.   Six […]