K-REIT: Swap agreement.

"Keppel Land, the Singapore- based developer controlled by Keppel Corp., agreed to sell its stake in the first phase of Marina Bay Financial Center (MBFC) to K- REIT Asia for $1.43 billion, as part of a swap agreement...


"Keppel Land will buy two properties, Keppel Towers and GE Tower (KTGE), from K-REIT for $573 million for redevelopment into about 620 premium residences."

Keppel Land sells Marina Bay property stake to K-REIT: Update
Monday, 11 October 2010

© 2010 - The Edge Singapore

What does this mean for K-REIT?

On 24 Sep, in "FCOT, CCT and K-REIT", I mentioned that "K-REIT closed at $1.31 today. NAV as of Jun 10 at $1.47. K-REIT is trading at an 11% discount to NAV. Gearing ratio is at 15.2%.  This is very attractive to me as it gives the REIT plenty of room to leverage up for potential yield accretive purchases. 1Q 2010 DPU at 1.33c.  Annualised DPU should be 5.32c which means a yield of only 4% based on the current price of $1.31.  K-REIT has, arguably, the strongest balance sheet amongst the three office property REITs discussed here.  The low yield might put off investors but its low gearing paves the way for future acquisitions which could bump up its DPU." Well, it has happened.

Some effects of the swap agreement:

1. The aggregate leverage of K-REIT after completion of the MBFC Acquisition and the KTGE Divestment is approximately 39.1%.

2. K-REIT’s weighted average debt maturity profile will be extended to approximately 4 years. In addition, the portfolio’s average borrowing cost will also be reduced from 3.54% to approximately 3.05%.

3. Weighted Average Lease to Expiry (WALE) from 5.7 years as at 30 June 2010 to 7.8 years.

Read announcement here.

The actual DPU forecast following the completion of the transactions will be disclosed in the Unitholder Circular which is not available yet. Will this swap agreement be DPU accretive?  It should be since we are seeing a more than doubling of gearing ratio from 15.2% to 39.1% and a boost to K-REIT’s assets to about $3.4 billion from $2.5 billion.

Jade Technologies: Rights issue.

A friend asked me what do I think of Jade Technologies Holdings Ltd.  Apparently, it is issuing rights and my friend would like to have my take on this.  Frankly, apart from a faint impression that this company was involved in some scandal in the past, I do not know what it does.  So, I dug around for details.

It seems that the company is now investing in the production of titanium dioxide in China.  It has a substantial stake in Daqing XinLong Chemical Company Ltd, a titanium dioxide producer in China. The decision to move in this new direction has transformed Jade from a loss making company to a profitable one as it reported a profit of S$1.6m in its 3QFY2010 (ending June 2010) after experiencing losses in the first two quarters (and indeed for the last 9 years).  It would be interesting to see if it continues to be profitable by end of FY2010 (September 2010).  By all indications, it seems that it would be so.  See slides here.


As a result of its return to profitability, Jade’s Earnings Per Share (EPS) is now 0.02 cents for 3QFY2010, reversing from a loss of 0.10 cents in 3QFY2009. The Group’s Net Asset Value (NAV) per share also improved from 0.31 cents to 0.67 cents over the same corresponding period. Read announcement here.

Jade is currently trading at 1.5c. With a NAV of 0.67c, it is trading at more than twice its NAV. Assuming that its 4Q could turn in similar results as its 3Q (i.e. a net profit of S$1.6 million), it would mean a full year profit of >$2m.  Assuming that in FY2011, the company is able to replicate $1.6 million in profit every quarter, it would have a full year net profit of S$6.4m.  Based on approximately 2.461 billion shares in issue, it has a market capitalisation of S$36.9 million (at a share price of 1.5c) and we would have a forecast PE ratio of 5.77x.

What about the rights issue? The company is proposing 3 rights for every 4 shares owned.  For every 3 rights accepted and paid for, 1 warrant would be given free.  Price of rights at 1c each.  Warrants must be exercised within 2 years at a price of 0.3c each.  This effectively means that the number of shares in issue will double in the near future.  This means a halving of EPS and a doubling of the PE ratio, ceteris paribus.

Rationale of this exercise: The Company is currently exploring certain business expansion opportunities but none of these plans has progressed to a stage where they may be announced. The Company proposes to undertake the Rights Shares and Warrants Issue to raise funds and to strengthen the capital base of the Company for its expansion aspirations.  Read announcement here.

Anyone who is investing in this company and subscribing to the rights must be a firm believer that it could double (in order to keep its PE at the forecast FY2011 level), triple or quadruple its earnings (post rights and warrants) in the near future.

What's my take on MIT and GLP?

A reader sent an email asking me what is my take on the IPOs of Mapletree Industrial Trust (MIT) and Global Logistic Properties (GLP).  My reply was:

"I don't have enough data on hand to make an informed commentary on these.  That's why I have kept quiet about these although I have friends who would like me to blog about them.

"However, IPOs are not usually available at a bargain, especially in these bullish times. So, generally, I would avoid IPOs.

"With MIT, the expected yield of 7.6% seems ok. I do not know what is the NAV per share. I know it is using some of the proceeds to pay down debts to bring its gearing level to 30% to 35%.  Exact figures, I do not have.

"With GLP, it is being offered at a 10% premium to NAV. It does not even have any income distribution guidance. So, we don't know what is the yield.  What would be its proforma gearing level?  Too many unknowns. I would avoid."

Mapletree Industrial IPO priced at top of range. Mapletree Industrial will sell units at $0.93 each, which translates to an annualised dividend yield of about 7.6%.
Monday, 11 October 2010

© 2010 - The Edge Singapore

Singapore’s GLP confirms IPO price of $1.96 a share
Monday, 11 October 2010

© 2010 - The Edge Singapore

Saizen REIT's properties: Would I buy?

Saizen REIT reported on 8 Oct that they have managed to sell another property in its YK Shintoku's portfolio.  Villa Kaigancho was sold for JPY 250,710,000 (S$3.9 million) which was at a 3.9% discount to valuation. 

The proceeds would go to repaying partially YK Shintoku's CMBS. After this repayment, the remaining balance of the YK Shintoku CMBS is estimated to be approximately JPY 6.3 billon (S$99.1 million). See announcement here.

Saizen REIT has been announcing a slew of sales in recent weeks and I mentioned that this is a good sign as it signals the return of buying interest.  

Saizen REIT owns freehold residential real estate in Japan.  

I have also mentioned before that although the real estate values in Japan have been declining, rental rates have declined at a much slower pace. Buying residential real estate in Japan now and being a landlord is a very lucrative proposition.  

So, would I buy Saizen REIT's residential real estate in Japan, assuming that I have the spare cash and if I were allowed to do so under Japanese laws?  Without a doubt, I would.

Take for instance Villa Kaigancho located in Hakodate, comprising 50 residential units, 1 commercial unit and 24 car park lots. The buyer paid JPY 250,710,000 (S$3.9 million) for an annual revenue of JPY 41.4 million (98% occupied).  That is a gross yield of 16.5% per annum!  Remember, the property is freehold! 

In Singapore, if we invested S$3.9 million in a condominium, we would be lucky to get a 6% gross yield per annum!  Sadly, I do not have that kind of money.

Related posts:
Saizen REIT: Divestment of properties.

Golden Agriculture: CPO at a new high.

I am certain that price of CPO would go higher in time given all the economics which I have blogged about before.  Today, CPO price went to a new high of RM2,919, up RM159 or 5.76%.  I have been bullish on Golden Agriculture for the longest time given its inexpensive valuation and highly leveraged position to the price of CPO. I have made a few rounds of profits trading the shares of Golden Agriculture for more than a year now.

On 30 Sep, I mentioned that "56c is only one bid shy of 55.5c which is where we find the rising 200dMA which coincides with the uptrend support line.  This is, therefore, likely to be a rather strong support.  So, buying at 56c for anyone who would like to have a stake in Golden Agriculture seems fairly safe.  Personally, I am waiting for the dust to settle."  For those who went long at 56c, congratulations as Golden Agriculture broke out on extremely high volume today to touch a high of 61.5c before closing at 60.5c.

Unfortunately, Golden Agriculture's problems with the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and how it lost customers such as Burger King Holdings, Nestle and Unilever, who have said they will stop buying from Sinar Mas (which controls Golden Agriculture) because of environmental concerns, have cast a pall on an otherwise clearly undervalued proposition.

There is just too much uncertainty for my liking.  I rather err on the side of caution. By not having a substantial long position in Golden Agriculture anymore, I might not gain from any positive price movement but at least I would not lose money either.

Related posts:
Golden Agriculture: 56c support.
Golden Agriculture: Unable to break out.

Courage Marine: Steady as she goes.

On 30 Sep, I said "A friend asked me what I think of Courage Marine and I told him I like its numbers and I like how the BDI seems to have stabilised at $2,500 thereabouts.  I feel that Courage Marine shouldn't have bad news with regards to earnings. The main reason why I have not really talked about Courage Marine very much recently is the lack of anything newsworthy." Things have hardly changed since.

The BDI is currently at US$2,696 which is quite comfortable and at an investor meeting on Thursday, Chairman Hsu Chih-Chien said he was very bullish on the ability of China in particular to continue driving the market for bulk cargo going forward.

“Our Capesize vessel mainly transports coal, bauxite and iron ore while our four Panamax ships focus on thermal coal mainly for the energy needs of China. We feel there is huge potential for growth in the Chinese coal market,” he added.

“This country still relies on coal for the vast bulk of its energy needs. So if you want to know if I expect any slowdown in China’s coal demand, I would say – Not in my lifetime,” Mr. Hsu said.

My opinion that Courage Marine is a good investment at current prices has not changed and from what was revealed on Thursday, it seems that Courage Marine could continue to deliver a good set of numbers in time.  I remain vested.

Read complete article in Next Insight here.

Related post:
Courage Marine: Lengthy consolidation.

CitySpring Infrastructure Trust: Thoughts on divestment.

On 5 Oct, OCBC reported that they were suspending coverage on CitySpring Infrastructure Trust as they see limited positive price catalysts in the near term. Furthermore, Hydro Tasmania which is owned by the Australian government is proceeding with dispute resolution and is demanding for A$6.9m in commercial risk sharing mechanism (CRSM).

For a long time now, I have regarded my investment in CitySpring Infrastructure Trust as a mistake. I blogged about it in "High Yields: Successes, failures and the in betweens."

With a quarterly DPU of 1.05c, the yield is 6.94% at the current unit price of 60.5c.  As of 30 June 2010, it had S$1,450,941,000 in borrowings against S$2,014,838,000 of total assets. This gives a gearing level of 72%. This is being optimistic as intangibles account for S$432,026,000 of total assets. Yield is not fantastic and gearing level is extremely high.

Comparing CitySpring Infrastructure Trust with K-Green Trust, we see that the latter has a similar yield but with zero gearing, it is almost immediately apparent that K-Green Trust presents a more compelling proposition.

At CitySpring Infrastructure Trust's current unit price, removing it from my frozen portfolio would result in a small loss but with the many quarters of income distribution collected, I would probably end up with a small gain.  Time to close a chapter, I think.

View slides here.

Related post:
K-Green Trust: Possibly stabilised.

Genting SP: Bollinger bands narrowing.

The Bollinger bands are narrowing on Genting SP's chart.  This usually precedes a large magnitude price movement. Would it be up or down? Your guess is as good as mine.

Yesterday, I mentioned that "the 20dMA was breached as recently as last week (and) does not inspire confidence that it would be a strong support". Today, price broke under the 20dMA and it seems that $2.02 is now resistance but this needs confirmation. Price could retreat to the recent low at $1.85 which could act as immediate support. If that breaks, we could see the rising 50dMA as the next support.

The MACD continues to decline beneath the signal line in positive territory while the MFI has formed a lower high. The correction is in earnest but overall momentum is still positive.

Related post:
Genting SP: Fatigue.

Hock Lian Seng: Retreating.

On 5 Oct, I mentioned that there was "strong demand and accumulation but buying momentum (was) muted by strong selling pressure at resistance (32c)" and that "I sold some of my shares at the 32c target .... Although I still see strong support at 30c where we find the rising 20dMA, 30.5c could very well be resistance turned support."

Today, Hock Lian Seng retreated and closed at 30.5c, the support provided by the 20dMA. However, the retreating price is on the back of much reduced volume and does not worry me. Could the support at 30.5c hold? With the MACD on the verge of forming a bearish crossover with the signal line, we could see share price tested further on the downside.  This is especially true when we realise that the MFI has been entrenched in overbought territory for a few sessions now. This could be corrected in future sessions.  The RSI has formed a higher high which suggests to me that the buying momentum is intact.

What would I do? Notice that the 20dMA has been guiding the price of this counter higher? See the uptrend support is in between the 20dMA and 50dMA? This would be at about 30c.  The 50dMA is at 29.5c.  I would buy more at these price levels.  For anyone who is not vested but would like to be, buying some at the 20dMA (30.5c) could be a nice hedge.

Related post:
Hock Lian Seng: Target hit.

AIMS AMP Capital Industrial REIT: Resistance.

This REIT's price action is testing 23c resistance, the upper end of the old trading range (20c to 23c).  Looking at the trade summary, of the 58 trades done, more than half (36) were buy ups at 23c but the volume was only 260 lots out of a total of 2,339 lots which changed hands.  This suggests to me that the buy ups at 23c lacked conviction.  23c is still a significant resistance to watch, it would seem.

Could 23c be taken out? The MACD has completed a bullish crossover with the signal line in positive territory. The MACD histogram buy signal has been confirmed.  OBV is up, suggesting accumulation.  MFI has formed a higher low, suggesting that the longer term demand is intact.  There is a chance that 23c could be taken out.  Then, the next resistance would be the recent high of 23.5c.

With all the daily MAs rising gently, this REIT could be on a sustainable uptrend and I would accumulate on weakness.

Related post:
AIMS AMP Capital Industrial REIT: Good value.

Japanese Yen at 15 year high.

I have been following news reporting on the strength of the Japanese Yen as well as the actions taken by Prime Minister Naoto Kan's team.  I am, naturally, very interested in economic and financial news from the Land of the Rising Sun as I am vested in Saizen REIT.

I applaud Bank of Japan's (BOJ) decision to cut its interest rate to zero recently.  This would, in theory, make credit cheaper and more readily available in the country. This would encourage borrowing and could possibly give the economy a shot in the arm. However, taking note that the interest rate was near zero to begin with (at 0.1%), cutting its rate to zero could have limited positive effects.

For investors in Saizen REIT, a strong Yen is good because we receive income distributions in S$. However, a strong Yen is not good for Japan as, being an exporting economy, a strong Yen reduces Japanese companies' competitiveness. As Japanese MNCs repatriate earnings back to Japan, a stronger Yen reduces the value of repatriated earnings. A stronger Yen could also propagate the deflationary spiral which Japan is suffering from.

While, as investors in Saizen REIT, we want to have a strong Japanese Yen, we want it strong enough to give us good returns (i.e. an attractive yield on our investment) but we do not want it so strong as to jeopardise the well being of the Japanese economy as that would, in time, have negative ramifications for Japanese residential real estate.

Latest update:
The dollar was trading at 82.36 yen in Tokyo midday.
08 October 2010 1231 hrs, CNA.

Related post:
Japan's debt issue and Saizen REIT.

AIMS AMP Capital Industrial REIT: Good value.

On 28 Sep, I mentioned that I bought more units at 21.5c believing that the REIT still offered good value at this price with a yield of 9.67%.  I also said that "21.5c is psychologically important as it is the midpoint of the old trading range of 20c to 23c".

Today, we see some quiet buying up in this REIT. Of the 2,085 lots which changed hands, 1,672 lots were bought up at 22.5c. Technically, this has created a buy signal in the MACD histogram. The MFI has just dipped into oversold territory while the RSI is bordering on oversold.

There are some who believe that the price would suffer on the 15th when the rights units commence trading with pessimistic forecasts of as low as 20c. If people are willing to sell at 20c, well, I am willing to buy as that would give me a yield of 10.4% per annum.

Related post:
AIMS AMP Capital Industrial REIT: Cheaper please.

Genting SP: Fatigue.

Price gapped down today and formed a doji, closing at $2.03. It is quite obvious now that a lower high was formed yesterday and price is being supported by the 20dMA today. That the 20dMA was breached as recently as last week does not inspire confidence that it would be a strong support.

The MACD histogram has turned red, a sell signal, while the MACD continues its decline beneath the signal line in positive territory. The correction has resumed. MFI and RSI both formed lower highs which suggest reduced demand and slowing buying momentum. OBV suggests ongoing distribution.

Unless there is a sudden spike in volume in buying up, the odds are that prices could move lower and the next support, if $2 should break, is at $1.85.  Of course, just as prices do not move up in a straight line, prices would not move down in a straight line either. There is always a river of hope.

K-REIT: Immediate target.

I suggested that K-REIT's price action could be falling into trading bands.  If we look at the chart, it seems quite obvious.  Today, price traded at and above $1.34, the resistance identified on 14 Sep when I said "K-REIT seems to be trading in a 6c trading range recently: $1.16 to $1.22 and $1.22 to $1.28".  I also said "in the event that $1.28 resistance is taken out, one could therefore expect $1.34 to be the next resistance level."

With $1.34 now possibly resistance turned support, the next resistance level should be at $1.40.  This is likely to be a stronger resistance level as it is also a round number.  Fundamentally, at $1.40, K-REIT would be trading at a mere 4.8% discount to NAV and its yield would be pretty low at 3.8%. I would probably do a partial divestment if price does test $1.40.

Related posts:
K-REIT: Moving into the next band?
FCOT, CCT and K-REIT.

Buying gold? Wait for a correction.

Jim Rogers predicts "more turmoil" in the currency markets, more problems in the stock market, weakness in bonds and, ultimately, inflation.

 
Posted Oct 06, 2010 07:30am EDT by Aaron Task

"Gold could correct for a few months [but] the bull market in gold is not over - far from it," he says. "I'm much more bullish on agriculture than I am even on gold. I own both."

In the meantime, he owns the Swiss franc, euro and yen but is not actively short any currencies, including the greenback.

In case of a correction, I see immediate support at US$1,250 an ounce, followed by US$1,200 an ounce.

Related post:
Gold can double from here over the next 5 years.

FSL Trust: Approaching target.

On 9 August, I said that "I also have some units which I bought in the recent crash. Why? I explained that the purchases were made based on TA and are for a trade. Looking at the charts, FSL Trust's price has not just found a floor, it has most probably bottomed.  So, would I sell at the bottom?  No." and that "From a FA perspective, it is true that FSL Trust has very high risks and its propects seem bleak in the longer term but would it go belly up in the next few months? Rather unlikely as the world economy is still on the mend and the fortunes of the shipping industry are looking up."

On 4 October, I said "46c is still the resistance to watch although it was briefly taken out today on higher volume. Eventual target remains defined by the descending 200dMA, currently at 50.5c."

Today, a white candle was formed as price closed at 47.5c.  46c could possibly be resistance turned support and we are a step closer to the eventual target. MACD has been rising in positive territory. MFI has formed higher lows and higher highs. Things are looking benign. However, volume is lacking suggesting that a lack of sellers rather than an abundance of buyers is the reason behind the price appreciation. This puts into question the sustainability of the recent buoyant price action.

Related posts:
FSL Trust: Where to from here?
FSL Trust: Challenging resistance.

Gold and silver: New highs.

"Gold, up 2pc this year, is heading for its 10th consecutive annual gain, the longest winning streak since at least 1920. On Tuesday, bullion for immediate delivery added as much as $13, trading at $1,326.97 an ounce in early London trading....

"Also on Tuesday, silver advanced to a 30-year high, increasing 1.3pc to $22.2319 an ounce – the highest level since September 1980. "

Read complete article here.

Related post:
Gold can double from here over the next 5 years.
Buy more silver on weakness.

ASTI: Testing support at 11c.

ASTI's share price tried unsuccessfully in earlier sessions to stay above the 12c resistance. Today, share price closed at 11c amid weakening technicals.  The MACD just completed a bearish crossover in positive territory.  RSI is testing support at 50% which suggests weakened buying momentum.

11c is where we find the rising 50dMA.  A stronger support would be at 10.5c which is where we find the rising 100dMA which coincides with the uptrend support line. I believe that the fortunes of the semi-con industry would continue to improve and would, therefore, accumulate if ASTI's share price should retest support at 10.5c.

Related posts:
ASTI: A doubling of share price in time.
ASTI: Breakout, almost.

Hock Lian Seng:Target hit.

On 27 Sep, I mentioned that "A support seems to have formed at 30c for this construction stock.  Further upside would give a target of 32c." Today, Hock Lian Seng's share price touched a high of 32.5c before closing at 31.5c as volume exploded.

The MACD completed a bullish crossover in positive territory as the MFI spiked into overbought territory while the OBV turned up sharply. The RSI, however, is somewhat lukewarm and has yet to break out from a series of lower highs.  This coupled with a white candle formed today with a long upper wick puts into question the sustainability of today's upmove in price. Interpretation: Strong demand and accumulation but buying momentum is muted by strong selling pressure at resistance (32c).

I sold some of my shares at the 32c target today. Although I still see strong support at 30c where we find the rising 20dMA, 30.5c could very well be resistance turned support. I would buy again if it gets to those levels. Immediate resistance remains at 32c and if that breaks convincingly, the next target is at 34c.

Related post:
Hock Lian Seng: 32c target.