The night is always darkest before the dawn. Although I am not entirely sure that it is now dawn for the Hong Kong market, I must admit that it has been a boon for those accumulating beaten-down Hong Kong blue chips. It would have been an easy 15% gain at least since the entire Hang … Read more
OCBC has announced an offer to buy the remaining 11.56% stake in Great Eastern that it does not own, at S$25.60 per share. The deal will be worth S$1.4 billion. The more interesting question is, why now? It’s not as if OCBC lacked funds. In fact, its recent quarter’s net profit was a record S$1.98 … Read more
[Update on 9 May 2024: IRAS to claw back S$60 million from private property buyers who used ’99-to-1′ scheme to reduce ABSD] The Singapore tax authorities known as Inland Revenue Authority Singapore (IRAS) launched an audit of private property purchases in April 2023. Their focus: 99-to-1 property ownership in Singapore that has been used as a … Read more
[Update on 9 May: The 20:1 share consolidation went ex-entitlement on May 7, with the record date on May 8.] Seatrium has received in-principle approval to undertake a share consolidation of every 20 existing share into 1 ordinary share. If you’re a Seatrium shareholder, you may be wondering what is going on, is this good … Read more
This dreaded assignment eventually fell into my hands, being the only analyst with Malaysian roots. To be upfront, I have not followed much on the Malaysian markets, and when the news about Capital A Berhad (KLSE: CAPITALA) restructuring plan broke, I deemed it too complicated to even waste brain energy contemplating the mental gymnastics involved. … Read more