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01-Sep-2011 12:15

Genting Sing / GenSp starts to move up again

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gaming stocks

undervalued ?

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01-Sep-2011 11:19

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Sony, Toshiba, Hitachi to combine LCD operations, plan IPO

TOKYO

They aim to complete the merger by the spring of next year and have forecast sales of ¥750 billion (S$11.8 billion) for the fiscal year ending March 2016.

The three partners are also planning an initial public offering by March 2016, according to the venture’s biggest shareholder.— Japanese electronics makers Sony, Toshiba and Hitachi will merge their liquidcrystal display (LCD) operations into a venture to be called Japan Display KK, using about S$3.1 billion of governmentbacked funds to fend off growing competition from rivals in South Korea and Taiwan.

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01-Sep-2011 11:11

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Screen doors for elevated East-West line stations
All 23 elevated MRT stations on the East-West Line are now fitted with half-height screen doors. The 1.6m doors were introduced in 2009 to enhance commuter safety.
The Land Transport Authority said work has started on the remaining 10 stations (Admiralty, Ang Mo Kio, Choa Chu Kang, Khatib, Kranji, Marsiling, Sembawang, Woodlands, Yew Tee and Yio Chu Kang) on elevated stations on the North-South Line.
The doors will be installed by June next year.
Yishun, Bukit Batok and Bukit Gombak Stations have already been fitted with the doors. It takes between four and six months to install the doors at each station, as works can only be carried out during non-operational hours between 1.30am and 4am.

The LTA said it had worked closely with its contractors and the SMRT within these constraints to complete the retrofitting as quickly as possible without compromising safety.

CHANNEL NEWSASIA

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01-Sep-2011 11:05

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A worry if PA thinks political rather than people

Letter from Chan Chi Yung

THE stand taken by the People’s Association

(PA) on why opposition Members of Parliament

cannot be advisers to grassroots bodies

is disturbing because of its implications.

For instance, that opposition MPs exist only to oppose the Government instead of playing the roles of offering alternative views, holding the Government accountable and representing their constituents.

In that case, ruling party MPs who oppose the Government’s policies during Parliamentary or internal debates, which are often said to be conducted robustly, should not take the adviser’s role, even if they are forced to vote according to party Whip.

Other implications:

The taxpayer-funded PA is set up to further the Government’s goals above all other aims, such as serving the community, while opposition MPs will oppose, for no good reason, community efforts such as active-ageing and anti-dengue programmes.

It seems only People’s Action Party (PAP) members are qualified to become advisers even if they are voted out and that the PA is not apolitical, after all.

The name “People’s Association” is then a misnomer it should be the “Government’s Association”.

I fail to see how the PA’s stand is in line with oft-stated exhortations to have a harmonious political system.

Instead, it feeds the perception that most government bodies are political and controlled by the PAP for partisan interests.

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01-Sep-2011 10:58

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To serve residents is to respect their mandate
Letter from Nicholas Loh Huashan
THE revelation of the dispute between the Workers’ Party and the People’s Association (PA) in Aljunied Group Representation Constituency and Hougang as well as its wider implications are worrying.
The General Election (GE) has been held and elected Members of Parliament have been given the mandate by the people in their constituency to serve them.
Therefore, is it not unfair and disrespectful towards the people’s mandate for the PA, a publicly-funded statutory board, to choose to work with the political opponents of elected MPs — whose offer to serve had been rejected by the constituents?
Why is the PA, an organisation meant to serve the people, going against the wishes of the majority of Aljunied and Hougang residents?
Additionally, shouldn’t priority in the use of constituency resources, such as common areas, go to whomever the constituents have chosen to serve them?
Singapore society has been polarised already, and such ground rivalry is not in the best interests of the country and its people.

Given the call for national reconciliation, unity and fairness after the bruising GE, a bold reform of grassroots-level politics is needed.

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01-Sep-2011 10:53

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Political stability is the Government’s responsibility

Letter from Edwin Yeo Tee Yeok

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01-Sep-2011 10:51

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Swim queen Tao Li has parted with coach Barry Prime, her second split in as many years.

Does Singapore know how to make a champion?

Join us tomorrow on Talkback, after the 8am news.

Call us at 6691 1938 and share your views.

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01-Sep-2011 10:49

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Isn’t the Presidential El ection supposed to be non-partisan?
I read Minister Yaacob Ibrahim’s comment, in the article “PE showed strong support for PAP” (Aug 31), that the results of the Presidential Election showed there was strong support for the People’s Action Party.
Isn’t the Presidential Election supposed to be non-partisan?
As we have heard Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong say, the President should remain above politics.
I urge government leaders to speak cautiously on such matters.
To make such conclusive remarks on the election results may be superficial.
I believe in the judgement of Singaporeans and that we voted based on the credentials of each presidential candidate, neutral to political parties.
Letter from Ivy Lam Bee Lian

TRUTH OR LIE ? ? ? ?

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01-Sep-2011 10:45

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Thumbs up to Jurong Town Council

In the past, whenever something was faulty in my estate, the former town council took forever to solve the issue. At the recent General Election, we were “moved” to the Jurong Group Representation Constituency, and we got a new town council.

After the GE, I tested the system, I went around my estate, listing some faults that the last town council did not resolve.

To my surprise, the new town council replied, and the faults were rectified within a week.

I am impressed and wish to give my compliments and thumbs-up to the Jurong Town Council.

Letter from Gerald Yong

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01-Sep-2011 10:39

User Research/Opinions / SOVERIGN # DEBT # RATINGS

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WILLIAM PESEK

Japan needs an Arab Spring.

WILLIAM PESEK

Minister. Next came Mr Naoto Kan, who last week resigned to make room for yet another leader.

Analysts and pundits are busy criticising politicians in Tokyo for going with the safe choice — Mr Noda — when Japan is navigating a world economy that is anything but.

Yet let’s put blame where it belongs:

Japan’s 127 million people.

There’s some truth in the old saw that people generally get the leaders they deserve.

In Japan’s case, voters need to begin demanding more of leaders and speaking out forcefully for change.

Instead, they offer nothing more than numbing silence.

If you’d told me 10

years ago, when I moved to

Tokyo, that today I’d be writing

about an eighth leader, I

never would’ve believed it. Yet

here we are, analysing and philosophising

about whether Mr

Yoshihiko Noda will last longer

than the last five.

In April 2001, Mr Junichiro

Koizumi grabbed the job from

the hapless Yoshiro Mori.

Mr Koizumi stuck around

for an unthinkably long five

years. He talked big about economic

reforms, promised even

bigger and managed to get a

few things done. Then Mr Koizumi

turned the keys over to

the forgettable Shinzo Abe, who

then passed them to Mr Yasuo

Fukuda and Mr Taro Aso.

Political lightning struck in

August 2009. Voters tossed out

the Liberal Democratic Party

that had been in power for

roughly 54 years. The Democratic

Party of Japan might have

fared better if it picked someone

other than political lightweight

Yukio Hatoyama as Prime

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01-Sep-2011 10:35

User Research/Opinions / SOVERIGN # DEBT # RATINGS

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As Finance Minister, Noda was a one-trick policy-maker.

Expect more of the same from Prime Minister Noda and lots of talk about raising taxes to pay for earthquake reconstruction. Mr Noda should first divert money from wasteful spending on public works projects, given the hit the economy will take as tax bills rise.

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01-Sep-2011 10:31

User Research/Opinions / SOVERIGN # DEBT # RATINGS

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That 200% debt is cry for revolution

Japan’s new Premier isn’t known for fresh thinking or bold ideas — but change is what its people must demand

pharoah88 ( Date: 26-Aug-2011 08:50) Posted:

SOVERIGN DEBT RATINGS:

25th AUGUST 2011

- SINGAPORE AAA

- JAPAN AA3

2nd AUGUST 2011

- AMERICA AA+

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01-Sep-2011 10:22

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SMRT files defence against lawsuit by family of Thai girl who lost legs

Transport operator argues that negligence led to her falling onto train tracks

Tanya Fong

tanyafong@mediacorp.com.sg

SINGAPORE

In its defence papers, the SMRT reiterates that all the safety warnings and precautions — such as the yellow lines — were in place and that the distance which the train travelled after the driver slammed on the brakes were within “safety specifications”.

The SMRT argues that 15-year-old Nitcharee Peneakchansak’s “negligence” contributed to her falling “onto the tracks at the MRT station on her own accord”.

It also claims that the girl was “aware of the danger of the oncoming trains and that by standing behind the yellow safety line until the train had stopped”, she would have been reasonably safe from falling onto the tracks.— The SMRT has filed its defence in the S$3.4-million lawsuit brought against the transport operator by the family of the Thai girl whose legs were severed after she fell onto the Ang Mo Kio MRT Station tracks in April.

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01-Sep-2011 10:14

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Discourage practice of COV, industry body urges in letter

SINGAPORE

The Singapore Institute of Surveyors and Valuers (SISV) cautioned yesterday — in a statement from its president (valuation and general practice) Lim Lan Yuan — that the practice will lead to a rapid rise in housing prices, encouraged by “exuberant sentiments ahead of economic fundamentals”.

The SISV added: “As ‘cash over valuations’ arise from specific individual buying decisions and are not necessarily paid in all transactions, they should not be recognised as such in the market. We should discourage the practice of ‘cash over valuations’.

The SISV reiterated that buyers and sellers should use market valuations or actual prices of recent transactions when negotiating the price of a HDB resale flat.

While median COV data — which had been published by the HDB until recently — is now used by sellers as the basis for the right to ask for a cash amount in any resale transaction, the SISV said COVs should only be paid in isolated cases where the buyer is “overly-anxious” and feels pressured to pay a cash premium. The HDB stopped releasing such data in its most recent official quarterly statistics in July.

Professional valuations already take into account market conditions but if COVs are consistently paid it will be subsequently incorporated into market value of the flat pushing up prices, said the SISV.

It also noted that as housing loans are made on the basis of the market valuation of a property — without taking into account the COV — COVs may affect affordability for buyers as more cash will be required for the purchase.

Last month, Mr Khaw had noted on his Facebook page that abolishing COV and relying on a professional valuer to set the price of resale flats was tried “years ago”.

“COV then went underground as ‘under counter cash payment’,” he had noted.— Supporting National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan’s decision to stop releasing the median cash-over-valuation (COV) data, the industry body representing property valuers here has urged the authorities to go a step further and “discourage” the practice of paying COV.

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01-Sep-2011 09:53

TeleChoice Intl / Telechoice

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Fundamentally:

TeleChoice (TLC SP S$0.23 BUY TP S$0.26) - A dividend stock for these uncertain times. Mix one portion of ultra-conservative management, one portion of highly net cash balance sheet and one portion of limited (capex) needs and wants. Voila, you get a strong dividend paymaster.

We initiate TeleChoice with a BUY, dividend yield being its key attraction.

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01-Sep-2011 09:41

User Research/Opinions / SOVERIGN # DEBT # RATINGS

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ROBERT STONE: " I'm actively buying S-chips and Vietnam shares"

Written by Robert Stone

Thursday, 01 September 2011 06:00

As the market turmoil hit a peak last week, we asked Robert Stone, a familiar name to regular readers of NextInsight, to share his views on the market and what he had been doing in recent times. Early this week, he obliged with the following interesting article:

Robert Stone, who has a multi-million-dollar portfolio of stocks, is among the top shareholders of several Singapore listed companies.

I RECENTLY READ an article with a table that indicated the real interest rates in various Asian countries. Singapore had the distinction of having the highest negative rates on the list. With negative interest rates here of -5% savers are really getting hammered.

I think this situation is likely to continue for some time. MAS policy of strengthening the exchange rate does little to contain domestically generated inflation which is the major component of inflation in Singapore.

At present I’m cashed up, having sold what I think are overvalued shares in Indonesia and having completely exited the Sri Lankan market for the same reason.

For people with cash it is presently a losing proposition to keep it in the bank. It’s not my inclination to keep cash in the bank in any situation but I feel an even greater incentive now to invest it. I’m not interested in buying over valued property here in Singapore or the current hot favorite, commodities and precious metals. The alternative is to buy into businesses that I think should grow in the future regardless of the short and medium global economic outlook.

That means I’m still actively buying shares of S-chips which in Singapore is where I perceive the best value to be. It’s a strategy that I’ve been pursuing for the last 3 ½ years. If I could sell all the shares I’ve bought during that time at current market prices I’d be in the red. This might seem discouraging but during my 35 years of investing its been the pattern for me to spend several years accumulating positions in unloved companies before something triggers the market to suddenly wake up and notice the company.

An example is my largest holding with a business in China, Hong Kong listed Dawnrays Pharmaceutical Holdings. I spent 4 ½ years accumulating shares of that company. In Singapore dollar terms I paid almost exactly the same price per share for the first lot I bought in September 2004 as the last lot in January 2009.

I stopped buying at that point as the share price started escalating and topped out with a 600% rise by the end of 2010. The price has since come down about 30% from the peak but the profit I’d make if I sold it now would just about pay for all the purchases I’ve done of S-chips in Singapore since 2008. As of now I have never sold a share of Dawnrays but as the price of the company has fallen and its business has improved I’m considering buying again.

Besides buying S-chips in the last few months I’ve also started buying in Vietnam. This is a change in strategy as I almost completely sold out of Vietnam in 2007 when I thought shares prices were greatly overvalued.

Vietnam is currently suffering from high inflation but I’m betting that the government will get that under control as they have in the past. Valuations of many companies are also becoming very attractive. One feature of Vietnamese listed companies that I particularly like is their propensity to pay generous dividends. It’s now possible to find companies with good track records of growth paying dividends of 15 % or more. The managers of most S-chips could learn something useful from their Vietnamese counter parts in this regard.

On the macro outlook whether there is a world wide recession or not in the near future it won’t affect my investment plans.

It seems likely that inflation world wide is likely to increase. Even so buying gold and commodities now as a hedge is not a strategy I intend to follow. News of central banks buying gold and other precious metals may be a sign of a market top, historically they have proved to be terrible market timers.

The last investment I made in the USA was shorting dotcom stocks in the late 1990’s. I’ve been negative on the American economy for at least 25 years. Now the negativity is so great and so commonly believed that it makes me wonder how much worse it can get.

It seems that the American political system has become totally dysfunctional with no real willingness on either side to address the problems they must correct. However compared to China I am more optimistic in the longer term on the political situation in the US than I am about China.

To my way of thinking, the risk of investing in China is not so much the chance of individual companies going bust, it’s the inherent risk of a one party state becoming unstable. I think it’s a very low risk at present but it’s not one that I ignore.

Previous articles by Robert Stone:

SUNMART: 'Why I became a substantial shareholder'

ANWELL: " My take on its solar biz prospects"

ROBERT STONE reaping the rewards of 3 decades of investing

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01-Sep-2011 09:37

Genting Sing / GenSp starts to move up again

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CAPITAL SECURITIES: MGM CHINA's valuation 'undemanding'

Capital Securities says it is beginning coverage of Macau-based luxury resort, hotel and casino operator MGM China Holdings Ltd (HK: 2282) with a BUY recommendation and target price of 17.08 hkd.

Capital also calls MGM China a " lagging player.”

“The company is also exploring other casino gaming development opportunities in Macau.

" We find the current valuation is undemanding,” Capital said.

Capital added that MGM China benefits from the “strong growth rate of the industry.”

Key risks include political and policy risks, interest rate risks, intensifying competition and uncertainties from the black market.

“MGM China operates a premium integrated casino resort on the Macau Peninsula, and enjoys an 11.4% market share out of the 33 casinos in Macau.

“The flagship property is MGM Macau, which is an award-wining, five star integrated casino and luxury hotel resort located on the Macau Peninsula, which is in the same neighbourhood as Wynn Macau and Encore at Wynn Macau, Casino L’Arc Macau, Galaxy StarWorld, and the Grand Lisboa.”

MGM China saw a robust first half, with total operating revenue up 94.8% y-o-y at 9.9 bln hkd, which was due to a combination of factors, including strong overall Macau market growth, enhanced marketing efforts and property improvements.

MGM China now: 14.10 hkd

“Investors should bear in mind that MGM China released net debt to capital ratio of 28.1% (1H10: 72.8%),” Capital added.

Listed on June 3, 2011, Capital said there is really a lack of a track record for MGM China.

“As such, we find pure play approach is feasible for estimating the beta of MGM China.

" That said, we need to find a similar casino operator to derive the beta of MGM China.”

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01-Sep-2011 09:25

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Dr Tony Tan resigns from posts at NRF and RIEC

SINGAPORE — President-elect Dr Tony Tan has resigned from his posts as chairman of the National Research Foundation (NRF) and deputy chairman of the Research Innovation and Enterprise Council (RIEC).

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01-Sep-2011 09:15

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Dr Tan Cheng Bock was surprised with the result as he expected Dr Tony Tan to garner a higher percentage of votes.

He said: " Tony’s ahead of me, not many, about 113 votes. So actually I’m quite happy, because I thought overseas votes (on) my side would be a bit low. Surprisingly, I’m quite good."

Observers say the results show that all four candidates’ appealed in the same way to both local and overseas Singaporeans.

The Elections Department says the total number of votes cast is some 2.156 million.

This is 94.80 per cent of the registered electors for this election.

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01-Sep-2011 09:12

User Research/Opinions / SOVERIGN # DEBT # RATINGS

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Thu: 1 September 2011

- Credit rating agency Moody’s said that it expects Singapore’s gaming revenue to grow in the double digits over the next 12-18 months.

Is Moody's PAID by sOmebOdy ? ? ? ?

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