'Alice in Wonder City' MEET & GREET

This Saturday at Bugis+'s Atrium on Level 2, Aaron Yan and Lara from mio TV Jia Le Channel's (Ch 88) highly-anticipated 'Alice in Wonder City' are here in Singapore to celebrate Jia Le's first anniversary!

Step into a world of musical fantasy as the stars serenade you with songs and games. The Meet & Greet session begins at 2.30pm.

IHH - up 15% since IPO

Share price boosted by 2Q result

This year’s third largest IPO, IHH rose the most in three weeks, after reporting a fivefold jump in its second quarter earnings.

The health-care provider said on Tuesday evening that its 2Q net income surged to 403.5 million ringgit (US$129 million), from 76.7 million ringgit the same period last year. Boosted by inaugural contributions from Acibadem Saglik Hizmetleri & Ticaret AS, Turkey’s largest hospital group, in which IHH bought a 60% stake in January, 2Q revenue tripled. Its recent IPO in both Singapore and Malaysia has also lent strength to the company’s balance sheet.

In Singapore, IHH made its biggest advance since July 26 after climbing 2.8% to $1.275. The stock is now up 14.6% from its IPO price of $1.113 on July 24. Over the same period, the STI registered an increase of 1.4%.

In Malaysia, IHH also surpassed the +0.8% performance of the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index for the same period with its 13% gain since July 24.

SGX Inks Listing MOU with Shandong Finance Office

Singapore Exchange (SGX) further enhanced ties with China by entering into a Listing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Shandong Finance Office Tuesday.

Under the MOU, SGX and the Shandong Finance Office will co-operate to develop communication channels and foster continued ties in areas including information exchange and the listing of more Shandong companies on SGX.

Shandong Finance Office is the government body which drives the financial development of the province and helps Shandong businesses in their structuring and fund-raising plans.

Of the 144 Chinese companies listed on SGX, 17 are from Shandong, making it one of the top three originating provinces for such companies.

“We look forward to a closer working relationship to help more Shandong companies understand our market environment and offering so as to enable them to tap the Singapore capital market,” said SGX head of listings Lawrence Wong.

SGX also has MOUs with Chongqing, Fujian, Jiangsu, Liaoning, and Zhejiang, as well as the Agricultural Bank of China.

《2012 萧敬腾世界巡回演唱会 - 新加坡安可站》签票会

萧敬腾将于 9 月 3 日 （星期一）办唯一的签票会！地点是 COMPASS POINT， LEVEL 1， MAIN ATRIUM， 时间是晚上 7 点 30 分。只要携带 “2012 萧敬腾世界巡回演唱会 － 新加坡安可站” 的门票，就有机会索取他的亲笔签名。

Stand a chance to win a priority ticket autograph pass to meet Jam Hsiao (萧敬腾) on 3 Sep with a min. spend of $80! Whatsmore, spend $120 and get a lucky draw chance to win a pair of tickets to his concert on 10 Nov worth $138 each!

SIAS, SGX Launch First Singapore Investment Week

In an attempt to bring investing knowledge to the masses, the Securities Investors Association (Singapore) (SIAS) and the Singapore Exchange (SGX) have launched the inaugural Singapore Investment Week 2012, which will run from August 25 to 31.

“The Singapore Investment Week is yet one event for investors to get educated and updated in their investment knowledge. Over the week, participants will get exposed to investment concepts like value investing and how to build an investment portfolio that provides passive income. In addition, there will be video interviews dated daily onto the website and workshops for investors to get more knowledge to invest wisely,” said Mr David Gerald, President & CEO of SIAS.

Mr Gerald noted that with the rising inflation rate as well as low interest rate, Singaporeans could not afford to keep their savings in the bank for a comfortable retirement.

Hence, SIAS intends to “instil the importance of investing amongst Singaporeans to help them make informed investment decisions,” and the Singapore Investment Week is an important part of the campaign.

“While there is a growing interest amongst Singaporeans to know more about investing, there is still a gap in understanding that there are risks in any investment. Being able to understand the associated risks and, more importantly, their own risk profile and investment style will greatly go towards being a successful investor,” he added.

Supporting the move is SGX, one of SIAS’s main partners for the campaign.

“Like SIAS, SGX is passionate about improving financial literacy, and helping investors understand financial planning and long-term investing. We believe that good investment decisions can only be made if investors are well-informed and have a strong understanding of risks and rewards,” said Magnus Bocker, CEO of SGX.

Over the past few years, SGX has undertaken several programmes to ensure financial literacy.

An online investor education portal called “My Gateway” was launched by the exchange earlier. The portal helps investors by combining educational resources from SGX, SIAS, and brokers all onto one platform. This includes market research and updates, product video-clips and investment.

Further, the SGX Academy also provides more than 200 seminars and courses catering to all levels of investment experience.

For its part, SIAS is also launching an investment guide book, the 3 Dimensions Of Successful Investing, written in collaboration with Sim Kee Boon Institute of Financial Economics, Singapore Management University.

The book, which will soon be available to the public at the SIAS website and in bookstores, provides investors with an introduction to the various investment products, their features and associated risks.

In addition to the book, readers will also have an online resource that is hosted on the SIAS website. The website will also contain additional reading material and chapters covering alternative investments, property and also FOREX.

“Equally important is the need to understand one’s self better and the guide highlights the importance of knowing one’s self, the products and the strategies as a framework to successful investing,” said Mr Gerald.

IHH Healthcare: BUY (Initiating Coverage) S$1.24

·    One of largest private healthcare providers in the world with presence in
  8 countries

·    Poised to capture demand for healthcare with aging population, medical
  travel

·    Established presence, strong growth profile with 55% profit CAGR (FY11 -
  14F)

·    The key healthcare player in the region; Initiate with Buy, TP: S$1.38

A growing healthcare mammoth.  IHH Healthcare Berhad is one of the largest
private healthcare providers in the world; and is a market leader in
operating integrated healthcare and related services in Singapore, Malaysia
and Turkey. In total, it has a geographically diverse network, spanning 8
countries and operating over 4,800 licensed beds in 30 hospitals. Over the
next few years, the Group is projected to add over 3,300 hospital beds in
17 hospitals across the region bringing total beds to 8,350.

Healthcare is the right sector.  We believe current industry trends favour
IHH’s growth over the next few years. These include ageing population,
developing healthcare markets in Asia, rising affluence and increasing
medical tourism in the region. We forecast a topline CAGR (FY11-14F) of
16.4%, driven by its expanding network, higher patient load as well as
intensity. Coupled with margins expansion as operating efficiencies
increase, as well as lower interest expenses, we project a robust net
profit CAGR of c.55%, reaching RM$920m in FY14F.

Initiate with BUY, sum-of-parts TP: S$1.38. We value the various parts of
the Group, and derive at a target price of S$1.38. This equates to 36x/ 30x
FY13F/14F PE. While this is a premium to regional healthcare peers, we
believe IHH offers investors growth as well as leading healthcare market
exposure in various countries, hence it should command a scarcity premium.

Global Logistic Properties: Growing from strength to strength

·    Operational ramp ups and revaluation gains lift 1Q13 earnings
·    Leasing and J-Reit catalysts still intact
·    Maintain Buy, TP raised to S$2.61

1QFYMar13 boosted by better operations and revaluations.  GLP reported a
57% y-o-y boost in bottomline to US$153m on 32% higher revenue of US
$170.5m, thanks to better operational performance, additional contributions
from new acquisitions such as Yupei, Vialog and Transfar, fee income of US
$6.5m and total revaluation gains of US$57m (incl assoc & JCEs). Excluding
the latter, bottomline would have been US$107m, still an impressive 45%
expansion. A total of 0.18msf GFA of new space was completed during the
quarter while it renewed/leased 0.28msm GFA, up 38% from 4Q12 as the group
expanded into new areas such as Wuhan, Hefei and Yangzhou. Lease and rental
rates in China inched up to 91% at an average Rmb1.03psm/day. In Japan,
both metrics remained stable with additional 0.02msm GFA of new and
expansion space.

Growth catalysts still in the works.  The group is maintaining its target
development starts of 2msm GFA for this year (0.47msm in 1Q13) in China.
While macro outlook is more muted, there is still robust demand for
logistics space from tenants that cater to domestic consumption trades such
as e-commerce players. Indicative tenant demand remains at 4.2msm,
relatively unchanged from the previous quarter. GLP’s growth visibility is
backed by a huge land reserve of 9msm GFA and 2.4msm of land held for
future development while rents are still renewed at 5-7% higher than
previously. In Japan, development of 0.17msm GFA in the Development Fund
with CPPIB has commenced. This will enable the group to generate more fee
income as the development kicks off. The planned capital recycling through
a J-Reit is on track. Our current numbers have not imputed any reinvestment
potential from this activity.

Maintain Buy.  We retain our Buy call with a revised RNAV of S$2.61 as we
roll forward our assumptions for the next 12 months. We continue to like
GLP for this leadership positioning in the Asian logistics warehouse space
and strong execution track record. Stock price catalyst remains the planned
monetization of Japan assets and subsequent capital recycling into new
accretive investments.

Victory Parade for Team Singapore Paddlers

Returning from their two Bronze medals win at the London Olympic Games, Team Singapore Paddlers will appear at a Victory Parade on Saturday, 11 August 2012 organised by the Singapore Table Tennis Association and supported by the Singapore Sports Council to congratulate and honour this historic win.

Led by Captain Feng Tianwei and Gao Ning, the Team Singapore paddlers will cruise in an open-top bus to meet and greet fans as well as to receive congratulatory wishes from supporters. The event will flag off at STTA at 9.30am and make pit stops at Blk 846, Yishun Ring Road and Jurong Point, before driving through Orchard Road and ending at Tampines West Community Club. 

Joining their captains in the parade are Team Singapore paddlers Wang Yuegu, Li Jiawei, Yang Zi and Zhan Jian, who will get close and personal with their fans, autographing and giving away exclusively-designed fans.

Members of the public are also allowed an once-in-a-lifetime chance to play a game of table tennis with the Olympians at the 26 hours Table Tennis Extravaganza Table Tennis Tournament at Tampines West Community Club at 2.30pm.  There will also be an autograph session for fans at the event.

Therefore, please come and join us with your friends in cheering our Team Singapore paddlers at the Victory Parade.  

Flag off

Time:     9.30am

Venue:  Singapore Table Tennis Association, 297C Lorong 6 Toa Payoh, Singapore 319389

Stop 1

Time:     10.00am

Venue:  Blk 846 at Yishun Ring Road  Singapore 760846

Stop 2

Time:     11.00am

Venue:  Jurong Point

Stop 3

Time:  1.30pm – 2.00pm

Venue:  Driving through Orchard Road, starting from (1) Ion Orchard, (2) Takashimaya, (3) 313 Orchard Somerset, ending at (4) Plaza Singapura

Stop 4

Time:  2.30pm

Venue:  Tampines West Community Club (5 Tampines Avenue 3).

SGX Trading Costs Decline in 12 months to June

Trading costs of Singapore shares went down substantially for large, mid and small-cap stocks in the last 12 months to June, the Singapore Exchange (SGX) announced Tuesday.

The local bourse operator said the lower trading costs across the board, along with higher average daily number of trades and quotes for the overall market, was likely a result of market initiatives implemented over the past year.

“The decline in trading costs is a likely result of market liquidity enhancing initiatives such as the changes to minimum bid sizes in July 2011. In June 2012, there was a further sharp decline in price impact cost across all size categories, despite lower volumes,” SGX said in a statement.

Meanwhile, there was a general decline in traded value throughout the year but trading volume increased significantly in the first four months of 2012, indicating a focus on penny stock trading during this time.

Daily traded value halved in the last two quarters of 2011 from over S$1.9 billion in August 2011 to S$0.8 billion in December 2011. The market saw an improvement in traded value during the first quarter of 2012, but declined again during the second quarter.

“Trading activity slowed for large-cap and mid-cap stocks in the second quarter of 2012 amid renewed fears of the eurozone sovereign debt crisis and an easing of China’s expansion,” SGX noted.

Volumes for small-cap stocks, however, remained at levels significantly higher than the July to December 2011 period.

Significant changes in trading activity took place in the months following July and August 2011, when minimum tick sizes were reduced for securities and SGX’s Reach trading engine was implemented respectively.

Average daily total trades in the August 2011 to June 2012 period were generally sustained at levels twice the average number of trades transacted in the first-half of 2011. Furthermore, there was a permanent reduction of approximately S$20,000 in average trade size during this period.

SGX Enters Electricity Market, Acquires 49-Per cent Stake in Energy Market Company

Singapore Exchange (SGX) Monday said it has acquired 49 per cent of Singapore-based Energy Market Company (EMC).

SGX is acquiring the stake from M-Co (The MarketPlace Company) Pte Limited, for a consideration of S$17.64 million and a deferred consideration of up to S$2 million over three years, subject to certain conditions being met.

The acquisition marks the bourse’s entry into the electricity sector, expanding its current portfolio of energy products and OTC clearing services. SGX said this acquisition will also enable it to pioneer electricity and related derivatives.

EMC is the operator of the National Electricity Market of Singapore (NEMS), the local market for wholesale electricity trading and the first such liberalised market in Asia. Wholesale electricity in Singapore is bought and sold through the NEMS.

Despite the huge stake in the company, SGX said EMC will continue to run independently with its own board and management.

“The stake in EMC affirms our commitment towards building a leading presence in the energy and commodities market. The demand for electricity and energy products will increase in line with Asia’s growth and this acquisition will position SGX to take advantage of these opportunities,” said Magnus Böcker, CEO of SGX.

The acquisition is expected to have a marginal positive impact on SGX’s net tangible assets and earnings per share for the financial year ending 30 June 2013.

Singapore Exchange Makes Stride in Derivatives and Commodities Business

Derivatives and commodities trading grew year-on-year for the month of July reported the Singapore Exchange (SGX) on Friday.

Volume of derivatives contracts was up 12 per cent year-on-year at 5.8 million contracts while daily average volume grew 7 per cent to 270,798 contracts.

Notably, the number of China A50 futures contracts traded tripled to 700,071 contracts from a year earlier while volume of the Nikkei 225 and the MSCI Taiwan contracts grew 7 and 4 per cent respectively.

However, trading volume of Nifty contracts dipped 8 per cent year-on-year.

On the whole, end-July equity index futures open interest at 818,563 was 7 per cent higher from a year ago.

As for the commodities business, SGX said that SICOM rubber futures volume grew 12 per cent year-on-year to 23,938 contracts while volume of OTC iron ore swaps cleared more than doubled to a record-high 20,961 contracts.

Securities turnover was up 19 per cent from June, but plunged 9 per cent to S$26.5 billion year-on-year.

On a positive note, the Catalist board saw greater interest with a 31 per cent increase in volume year-on-year to S$614 million.

The securities borrowing and lending programme recorded a 37 per cent growth year-on-year in daily average outstanding loans to S$26.6 million.

SGX has been redoubling its efforts to increase trading volume and enhance liquidity for its securities market.

As part of its plan, it inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Securities Investors Association (Singapore) (SIAS) earlier this week to bring investing knowledge to the heartlands.

Kick-starting the cooperation is the Community Outreach Education Programme which includes various investment seminars conducted in the heartlands jointly by SGX and SIAS. These seminars range from the basics of financial literacy, such as managing your money to courses on the fundamentals of investing in financial products.

Singapore Exchange and SIAS Bring Investing Knowledge to the Heartlands

Faced with rising inflation and increasing life expectancy, obtaining a proper financial education to secure a decent retirement life is becoming ever more important for Singaporeans.

Recognising this, Securities Investors Association (Singapore) (SIAS) and Singapore Exchange had inked an Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to formalise their commitment to bring investing knowledge to the heartlands for the next 3 years.

The highlight of this cooperation is the Community Outreach Education Programme which includes various investment seminars conducted in the heartlands jointly by SGX and SIAS. These seminars range from the basics of financial literacy, such as managing your money to courses on the basics of investing, like details on stocks and dividends.

The programme will be customised according to the needs of the community.

Another highlight is the Youth Chapter in which SGX and SIAS will cooperate with tertiary educational institutions to equip young investors with basic knowledge of SGX-listed stocks and investing.

Kick starting this cooperation is the inaugural Singapore Investment Week 2012, starting from 25th to 31st August 2012, launched by SIAS.

This year theme will be “Securing One’s Financial Future,” which aims to educate Singaporeans on investment concepts and associated risks. Members of the public can learn more about investing through a series of investment seminars, online videos and radio programmes.

“As we go through turbulent times with an uncertain economic outlook, it is even more important that Singapore investors are equipped with the knowledge to cope with the fast changing investment landscape and to make sound investment decisions for their secure future. The collaboration with SGX is, therefore, timely and meaningful to the community. SIAS looks forward to working closely with SGX to roll out a series of investor education programmes to benefit different community groups,” said Mr David Gerald, President & CEO at SIAS.

The above initiatives build on SGX’s recently launched ‘My Gateway’ investor education and complement the 200 investor education seminars and courses organised by SGX Academy over the last year.