Singapore stock market update :

We are entering the hot season for earnings release now for singapore listed companies and here are some of the dates to watch out for :

30.04.09 CapitaCommercial Trust FY1Q09
30.04.09 CDL Hospitality Trusts FY1Q09
30.04.09 Singapore Post FY09
04.05.09 UOI FY1Q09
05.05.09 Noble FY1Q09
05.05.09 Great Eastern FY1Q09
05.05.09 ST Engrg FY1Q09
06.05.09 OCBC ** FY1Q09
06.05.09 UOB FY1Q09
06.05.09 LMA FY1Q09
06.05.09 Fortune REIT FY1Q09
07.05.09 Armstrong Industrial FY1Q09
07.05.09 Starhub FY1Q09
07.05.09 ParkwayLife REIT FY1Q09
07.05.09 Cosco FY1Q09
08.05.09 Hiap Hoe FY1Q09
08.05.09 HTL Int'l FY1Q09
08.05.09 DBS * FY1Q09
08.05.09 Sembcorp Marine FY1Q09
08.05.09 Otto Marine FY1Q09
09.05.09 China Sunsine FY1Q09
11.05.09 Lee Kim Tah FY1Q09
11.05.09 City Devt FY1Q09
11.05.09 Eastern Asia Tech FY1Q09
11.05.09 MFS Technology FY2Q09
11.05.09 SIA Engrg FY09
11.05.09 SATS * FY09
11.05.09 Synear Food FY1Q09
12.05.09 China Sports FY1Q09
12.05.09 SP Ausnet FY09
12.05.09 Superbowl FY1Q09
12.05.09 Hotel Royal FY1Q09
12.05.09 WBL Corp FY2Q09
12.05.09 Sembcorp Ind FY1Q09
13.05.09 Macquarie Int'l Infr Fund FY1Q09
13.05.09 IFS Capital FY1Q09
13.05.09 Ellipsiz FY3Q09
13.05.09 Kian Ann Engrg FY3Q09
13.05.09 Straits Trading FY1Q09
13.05.09 Vicom FY1Q09
13.05.09 Wilmar Int'l FY1Q09
13.05.09 SBS Transit FY1Q09
14.05.09 Ho Bee FY1Q09
14.05.09 Petra Foods FY1Q09
14.05.09 Saizen REIT FY1Q09
14.05.09 Singtel * FY09
14.05.09 SIA FY09
14.05.09 ComfortDelgro FY1Q09
14.05.09 CSE Global FY1Q09
15.05.09 China Aviation Oil FY1Q09

Singapore stock market update : Recent Profit Guidance List

The following is a list of singapore listed companies which recently issued profit warning or profit guidance, i have not confirmed the accuracy of the list but i believe the source is from SGX announcements by the respective companies.

Here is the list :
Westech electronics
Asia water
PCI
Giant wireless
Hosen
Sitra
AA Group
Liheng
Pacific Healthcare
China Dairy
Kinergy
Magnus
Chuan Hup
Yeo Hiap Seng
Engro
GK Goh
Lottvision
Jurongtech
Sino-Environment
Ramba (Richland)
Enviro-hub
Samko
Abterra
Novena
Yongxin
SM Summit
Luzhou
Tai Sin
Huan Hsin
Guangzhou Industrial
ChungHong
Sinobest
Oriental Food
Multistar
TPV
HLN Tech
New Lakeside
China Sun
A Sonic Aerospace
Jiutian
Adventus
KXD
Tat Hong
Uni-Asia
Inno-Pacific
Gates Elec
Tuan Sin
Superbowl
C&G
FDS Networks
Memtech
AEI
Sky China Petroleum
TTL
Japan Land
Asia Silk
Delong
Multichem
Sunshine
Cosco
Cortina
Unionmet
Asia-Pacific Strategic Investments
China Great Land
Nobel Design
Junma Tyre
Tan Chong International

Singapore Stock Market Update :

What is STI ETF ?

STI ETF is short for Straits Times Index Exchange Traded Fund and it is managed by State Street Global Advisors (SSgA). It has been listed on SGX since 17 April 2002. The benchmark for STI ETF is Singapore’s Straits Times Index (STI). The Fund's investment objective is to replicate as closely as possible, before expenses, the performance of the STI.

The price of each share for STI ETF is approximately 1/1000th of the STI. If the STI is at 1700 points, then STI ETF will be 1700/1000 = S$1.70. Usually the price of STI ETF will not match STI exactly since the portfolio does not match STI component stocks 100% but it is close enough to mirror STI overall performance.

STI ETF can be traded like a stock.on the Singapore Stock Exchange and it also pays out dividend, usually twice a year. The following are some of the recent corporate actions related to dividend and stock split for STI ETF (source : SGX):

DIVIDEND 22 Jan 2009 28 Jan 2009 6 Feb 2009 SGD 0.04 ONE-TIER TAX

DIVIDEND 22 Jan 2009 28 Jan 2009 6 Feb 2009 SGD 0.01 TAX EXEMPT

DIVIDEND 22 Jul 2008 24 Jul 2008 4 Aug 2008 SGD 0.0176 NET OF TAX

DIVIDEND 22 Jul 2008 24 Jul 2008 4 Aug 2008 SGD 0.0424 ONE-TIER TAX

DIVIDEND 24 Jan 2008 28 Jan 2008 6 Feb 2008 SGD 0.0547 ONE-TIER TAX

DIVIDEND 24 Jan 2008 28 Jan 2008 6 Feb 2008 SGD 0.0053 NET OF TAX

ENTITL. 10 Jan 2008 14 Jan 2008 STOCK SPLIT OFFER OF 10 FOR 1

DIVIDEND 20 Jul 2007 24 Jul 2007 2 Aug 2007 SGD 0.2 NET OF TAX

DIVIDEND 20 Jul 2007 24 Jul 2007 2 Aug 2007 SGD 0.25 TAX EXEMPT

DIVIDEND 20 Jul 2007 24 Jul 2007 2 Aug 2007 SGD 0.05

DIVIDEND 18 Jan 2007 22 Jan 2007 1 Feb 2007 SGD 0.28

DIVIDEND 18 Jan 2007 22 Jan 2007 1 Feb 2007 SGD 0.22 NET OF TAX

For 1H09, STI ETF will pay out 5 cents dividend, which works out to be about 5.78% dividend yield assuming the stock price is about S$1.73 and it also pays 5 cents in 2H09. In 2008, STI ETF paid 12 cents dividend for the full year.

The following are component stocks of STI ETF in January 2009 (source : www.streettracks.com.sg)

Kepcorp, Jard C&C, City, Capland, Capmall, SIA, Starhub, DBS, Golden Agri, Wilmar, Cosco, F&N, Genting, HKLand, JMH US$, JSH US$, Keplan, NOL, Noble, Olam, OCBC, SembMarine, SIE, ST Engg, SGx, SPH, UOB, Sembcorp, YLLG

The following is the fund profile for STI ETF as at 23 January 2009 :

NAV per share : S$1.70

Investment Objective :
streetTRACKS STI's investment objective is to provide investment results that closely correspond to the performance of the Straits Times Index.

Trading :
You can buy or sell shares of streetTRACKS STI just like any other share listed on SGX-ST any time during the trading day through your broker or any online dealing facility.

Use of CPF Funds :
streetTRACKS STI is included in CPF Investment Scheme - Ordinary Account. CPF members are allowed to invest up to 100% of their CPF savings in streetTRACKS STI, compared to only 35% for other Singaporean stocks listed on SGX-ST.

Manager :
The Manager of streetTRACKS STI is State Street Global Advisors Singapore Limited, part of the State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) group, one of the largest investment managers in the world with over US$2.0 trillion under management (30 September 2008).

Trustee :
The Trustee of streetTRACKS STI is DBS Trustee Limited, a wholly-owned subsidary of the Development Bank of Singapore (DBS).

Benchmark :
The Straits Times Index.

Board Lots :
A board lot is 1000 units.

Price of each share :
Approximately 1/1000th of the Straits Times Index.

Total Annual Costs (Expense Ratio)* :
0.3% per annum.

Dividends :
Investors can expect to receive dividends twice a year.

*: the annual cost of the fund comprises the management fee, the trustee fee, and other fund expenses. Investors will also pay the standard costs associated with buying and selling shares on SGX-ST.

Source : http://www.streettracks.com.sg/ssga/jsp/en/FundInvestment.jsp

Stock Market News :

Morgan Stanley revised down China GDP forecast from 7.5% to 5.5% in 2009 :

The Chinese economy was hit hard in 4Q08 by massive de-stocking and a serious disruption in trade finance. The economy landed hard in the quarter,
with industrial production and CPI inflation likely having plunged to 6%YoY and 2%YoY from 16%YoY and 8%YoY, respectively, in 2Q08. We estimate China’s
GDP growth may have registered negative QoQ growth of -1.7% in 4Q08 after a flat quarter in 3Q08 (on a seasonally adjusted, annualized basis).
We are downgrading our GDP growth forecast for China from 7.5% to 5.5% for 2009.

Singapore stock market news :

Tat Hong issues profit warning, DBS downgrades call, CIMB and CSFB maintains Outperform calls :

DBS downgrades to fully-valued with target price S$0.62 :
Tat Hong alerts investors that its 3QFY09 earnings would be lower yoy, blames on forex losses and lower equipment sales. We have already imputed the weak earnings in our FY09-10 forecast, which are 16%-32% below consensus. Our TP is revised down to S$0.62, based on lower multiple of 0.8x P/NTA. This implies a 10% downside from current share price. The stock has appreciated 20% since our upgrade in November. We advise investors to take profit now. Downgrade to FULLY VALUED.

CIMB maintains Outperform with lower target price of $0.90 :
To account for the adverse currency impact as well as slower demand,

we have cut our forecasts by 14-22% for FY09-11, mainly for its trading business,
which includes spare parts. We also reduce our forecasts for its rental segment by about 7%, to be conservative. Despite the above, we believe TAT’s longer-term fundamentals remain good, as management has been proactive in increasing its business resilience by developing its rental business, while taking measures to reduce trading inventory during this downturn. Management and the Ng family have also been purchasing TAT shares in past months, underscoring their confidence in the business. We maintain Outperform, albeit with a reduced target price of S$0.90 (previously S$0.93) following our earnings reductions. Our target is still based on 0.8x CY09 P/BV.

CSFB maintains Outperfom with target price S$0.95 :
These events were anticipated, and have in aggregate, driven our recent earnings downgrade. We have factored in a weaker 2H09, both on a HoH and YoY basis, as we expect equipment sales, contributing an estimated 30% of total revenue in 2H09, and 24% of total profit, would fall 54% YoY and 57% HoH. This suggests that downside risks to our FY09E forecasts, as well as that of consensus, are limited. We therefore believe that management has been conservative in issuing the profit guidance announcement, and also note the fervent insider buying activities since Aug. 2008. Near term, however, we believe that Tat Hong’s shares could see weakness from profit-taking, given the strong 73% rally since Oct. 2008. We continue to view Tat Hong as well-leveraged into construction sector demand across Asia, which is expected to remain strong over the medium term, given its operational scale, a clear growth strategy, and strong balance sheet. Tat Hong currently trades on 0.8x P/B, at a-fifth of its historical high of S$3.42 in Nov. 2007, about 35% to its historical lows (of 0.5x P/B), and with a 10.5% dividend yield support.

rooney

Singapore stock market news :

UOB Research upgrades ST Engineering to BUY with target price set at S$2.83 based on the following reasons :

1. ST Engineering (STE) announces that its aerospace division has secured
a 20-year engine maintenance programme with GE Aviation.

2. US airlines load factor improves in December and the number of aircraft
in storage tops out in October.

We have not adjusted our 2010 numbers but have accorded a higher PE
rating to the stock. The agreement with GE Aviation will provide long-term
earnings continuity and cements STE’s position as a key MRO player with
strong OEM links. Meanwhile, signs of improved load factor in the US along
with a fall in the number of airlines under storage suggest that operational risk
has eased. The company's orderbook now stands at $10.5b, the highest
level in 10 years, but the stock is trading at a mere 0.72x price to orderbook,
implying severe margin compression. This is unlikely to be the case as
material costs have declined and MRO rates will stabilise given improving
load factors. We believe a higher PE rating is justified and accord the stock a
16.5x rating, a slightly higher band than the historical low of 14.5x. We raise
our 12-month price target to $2.83 from $2.40.

Singapore share market news :

CSFB downgrades Singapore listed Epure to Neutral :

Since its trough in November 2008, Epure’s share price has risen
76% (from S$0.165) and outperformed the STI by 69%. Similarly,
against its regional water peers with exposure to the China water
sector, Epure is one of the best performers over the past three
months.
● Our S$0.28 target price remains, based on 1x forward P/B, which
translates to 6x P/E. With no potential upside from current levels,
we are downgrading Epure to NEUTRAL (from outperform). In
view of the strong outperformance, especially for a small cap
stock, investors should take profit, in our view.
● Fundamentally, we remain positive of its strong engineering
capabilities and positioning in China within the construction (EPC)
segment. Our forecasts remain unchanged and have assumed
new contracts value of Rmb1.3 bn in 2009E. Though it is in a net
cash position, we caution that Epure may intensify its strategy into
concession projects (BOT and TOT) in 2H09 and, hence,
execution success of the strategy is critical.