Bon Voyage Le Le

Thought of bringing *OEE* to River Wonders to have a last look at Le Le before he officially returns back to China for good. So here we are on 24-Oct and Thank God for making the trip happens! Little did we know that *OEE* will be down with mumps, fever and a swelling cheek the very next day! Little has changed in River Wonders....performances are still the same....and we get to see quite a lot of pandas actions! Well, the viewing quarters of the pandas do need a fresh coat of paint as we see lots of areas where the paints are peeling off the walls. Here are the pictures to document the trip.

*OEE* looking at fishes

Once Upon a River Show

Once Upon a River Show

Le Le

Jia Jia

Kai Kai - zzzzz

Le Le again!

Food wise, do not get the Chicken Cutlet Panda Bao Special at the Mama Panda Kitchen. The chicken cutlet is paper thin and hard, not worth the price to pay. You will be better off at ordering the chicken karaage instead! Other than this, all else is fine.

3Q 2023 Investment Strategy Update

A quarter of sideway movement, while investors at large waiting for the next economy cycle signal. This basically sums up the feeling for the last 3 months. Generally, economy are slowing down, inflation are slowing down and federal rate hikes are taking a pause, without pushing the market into a recession (Or they aim for a soft landing). Companies are cutting expenses and investment to preserve profit, hiring are slowing down in most of the markets, with all signs preparing for the next economy downturn. War between Ukraine and Russia are not looking to end anytime soon. China property market is a timebomb waiting to unleash the next major jolt (bomb) to the world, with major Chinese developers going into defaults. A silver lining though is that China government are trying to control the fallout, with aggressive slashing of local rates to pump cash into the local market. Hopefully, this cycle of slowing down can pass soon to put the world economy into a path of sustainable growth.

DJI ended at 33507, an decrease of 900 points (-2.61%) compared to 2Q 2023. For Singapore, STI ended at 3217, an increase of 12 points (+0.37%) compared to last quarter. Not much movement in the recent months as investors waits for a clearer direction.

Almost 1 year on (since 22 Nov 2022) when the Glazer announced exploring strategic directions for Manchester United, 2 bids have been submitted to the Raine Group, rumored around 5 billion pounds range. I am still waiting for Glazer's confirmation to SELL Man Utd. Understood they are looking at >6 billion pounds valuation, but realistically speaking, they are not a good owner to grow the football team (Currently 3W 4L, sitting at 10th place, definitely not a good start). The longer they drag, the lower the valuation, with poor performance on pitch. Hopefully, they can make up their mind soon to exit the business.

For this quarter, I am continuing to focus on accumulating US Reits (Except Manulife US Reit), as I believed they are too oversold in the Singapore market and their current yield is too good to be missed. Once the interest rates start to come down, US Reits should start appreciating in value.

Transaction 1: Participate in IREIT Global Rights issue in July.

Participated in the preference rights issue to “fund the acquisition of a portfolio of 17 retail properties located across France which are fully let to B&M France SAS.” Managed to get some excess rights to round up to the 100s for future trading purposes.

Transaction 2: Bought 1 batch Prime US Reit shares in July. 

30+% yield is just too tempting to be missed. Load up more as I don't think it will fold like the Manulife US Reit. Manager is quite prudent in controlling debt, carefully avoiding borrowing more to maintain dividend. Temasek being a 10% shareholder also adds to its credibility.

That is all for now. See you all in Q4 2023 update and thank you for reading thus far.

Renewal with Senoko Energy (With $60 rebate & Referral Code)

Time flies. 2 years have almost past since I signed up with Senoko Energy after the collapse of Ohm Energy. No trouble so far with this retail company. I decided to stick by it, mainly to take advantage of their current promotion of $60 bill rebate for any 2 years plan (Promo Code: LUV60) and a referral bill rebate at $20. What I like about this company is that even for contract renewal, you can also apply their bill rebate promotion.

Though they have long discontinued their discount off tariff plans, the fixed rate plan they have now essentially provides a 5% discount off SP Tariff rate. Below is the plan they are currently offering for renewal:

Refer a friend to sign up for an electricity plan with Senoko Energy and both of you will earn a $20 bill rebate each to offset your electricity bill. The more successful referrals, the more you earn! Feel free to use my referral code for an additional $20 rebate!

Use your referral code! 

713E8QCU

Penang Day 1 to 6 - The Top Penang & Bro Wedding

22 Jun - First time taking *OEE* overseas on a plane together as a family. Main item on the trip is to attend my brother's wedding. Now that *OEE* is 3.5 years old, he is learning to assert his own independence. We are not sure how challenging it will be, but on a bright side, the flight time is just 85mins. We are praying hard everything will be manageable and smooth sailing for the flight...

By God's Grace, no big issue came up. We managed to get a taxi (private car) from the airport counter and we soon arrived at our hotel - Courtyard Marriott Penang. The hotel has a good view overlooking part of the Georgetown area, and the swimming pool has a great scenic view as well.

First meal in Penang - Char Kuey Teow (using duck egg) [Nice!]

After dinner, it was time to put *OEE* to bed, and for us to conserve energy for a day out tomorrow at The Top Penang, where 3 attractions awaits.

23 Jun - Caught a Grab to The Top Penang and spend some time searching for the main entrance to the attractions. If anyone is coming via Grab, the location to choose on the app is "Komtar Walk" which will drop you right at the entrance steps.

LED Screen for Jurassic Research Center

First stop for us is the Jurassic Research Center. There are some outdoor exhibits. As the weather then is still good, we decided to visit this first. I would say the folks running this has made a good use of the rooftop of the building. Instead of wasting the space, they have convert it to some live moving dinosaurs.

Our next stop is the Top Boutique Museum. I would say the exhibits are nothing spectacular. But since our 3 in 1 pass has this attraction, we might as well not waste it.

Our last stop is the Rainbow Skywalk, where we hope to catch the sunset at Level 68 with a panoramic view of the whole Georgetown. For the skywalk portion (where it is a small section see-through glass floor jutting out of the building), there is a constant long line of people queuing for entry. We gave up queuing for that and instead, found ourselves a good spot and wait for the setting sun.

Wax figures before taking the lift up to Level 65

24 Jun - Whole day basically was spent shifting hotel to my bro wedding venue - Lone Pine Hotel, which will soon be rebranded as Lone Pine, Penang, a Marriott Tribute Portfolio Resort. Nice place with access to beach with water sport activities (external operators).

25 Jun - Morning was spent visiting the beach and let *OEE* play with sand for the first time and explore seawater. Afternoon was pretty much attending my bro wedding event. One interesting point was that *OEE* was busy dancing the whole night to the live band songs! Didn't know he is such a great dancer!

26 Jun - A chill and relaxing day to use the swimming pool for *OEE* to play with water and explore the much raved Penang food. Ordered from Grab Food their Michelin Signature - Duck Blood Curry Mee 鸭血咖喱面. We have no regrets! Their curry mee is really unlike what we have in Singapore, and it is really good. Their steam chicken as well! Coupled with the old school Kopi where they tied using raffia strings, the whole experience is just heavenly!

27 Jun - Check out and make our way back to Singapore. Plane got delayed 1 hour due to late take-off and *OEE* diaper leaked during landing. Opps... much apologies to the SIA cleaning crew. >.<

2Q 2023 Investment Strategy Update

Nothing significant changed compared to last quarter. Ukraine war is still going on, interest rate is still sky high, though there are signs that central banks are looking at taking a pause on the rate increase to see if inflation can be tapered to a sustainable rate, without dragging the economy into recession. I must say that things are not looking good. There are already signs that companies are holding back investment and new orders as things start to slow down, though only time will tell if this situation is only temporary, or it is the start of a recession cycle.

DJI ended at 34407, an increase of 1133 points (+3.40%) compared to 1Q 2023. For Singapore, STI ended at 3205, a decrease of 53 points (-1.62%) compared to last quarter. Markets are moving sideways in the recent months as investors waits for a clearer direction. 

For this quarter, not much action from me, except waiting for the official announcement if the Glazers are going to sell off Man Utd. I personally think at the end, they will leave Man Utd, but not before getting the highest bid for their shares. Other than this, I am focus on accumulating US Reits, as their current yield is still too good to be missed.

Transaction 1: Bought 1 batch Grab shares in May. 

GXS has started getting active with now accepting loans. Grab continued with adjusting their customer incentives system to make the business more profitable. Recently, Grab announced slashing 11% of their workforce to be aligned with the current business environment. I think Grab will be on target to turn profitable and has a great potential for share value increase.

Transaction 2: Bought 1 batch Prime US Reit shares in June. 

At least to me, this does not look like a Reit in distress. Tenants are still paying rents, occupancy rate is reasonably good, gearing % is not too bad, but this does not show in the share value, probably due to the high interest rate environment. But with the current yield at 30% for a reit, this is too good to be miss.

Transaction 3: Bought 1 batch Mapletree Industrial Trust shares in June.

Usual stocking up on this good counter, while waiting for interest rate to drop and the Kolam Ayer 2 cluster to start contribution to unlock more share price value.

That is all for now. See you all in Q3 2023 update and thank you for reading thus far.

NARUTO TV Animation 20th Anniversary Exhibition Singapore

Took leave today to visit the NARUTO exhibition at Marina Square Level 3. Overall, good experience to take pictures with the figurines and reminisce the anime scenes again, though I completed watching it some time ago. The ticket for the exhibition is priced at $22 with a 1 hour tour limit (the folks will start reminding you of the time when you have 15 mins remaining). The venue is not that big, though I appreciate that they can be more lax with the time, as my slot only have 2 groups. There is also a VR session that you can do at the end of the tour, but you will need to pay extra $3 (the $25 ticket option) when you buy the ticket. Merchandise shop at the end is on the pricy side (Imagine 1 T-shirt cost $60 with just a simple print).

Point to note: There is a lot lesser people if you choose to go during the weekday morning session.

For more information, you can take a look at this Mothership article. If not, enjoy the photos.

1Q 2023 Investment Strategy Update

What a curveball that history throws at us. Just when we thought we have seen the last of COVID-19 crisis, the world is opening up, economy is picking up, interest rate is rising to tamp the hot economy, then came the sudden news of the collapse of the Silicon Valley Bank after a bank run, marking the second-largest bank failure in United States history and the largest since the 2007–2008 financial crisis. 2 days later, Signature Bank also failed, and followed by Credit Suisse crisis 7 days later, with UBS taking over the company to save it from failure. This cast jittery repercussion around the world. Is this the start of another crisis? Or is this just a blip in the market? Only time will tell. As of now, investors are staying on the sideline, waiting to see how this situation will play out.

DJI ended at 33274, an increase of 127 points (+0.38%) compared to 4Q 2022. For Singapore, STI ended at 3258, an increase of 7 points (+0.21%) compared to last quarter. Singapore market has the 3 big banks (DBS, UOB, OCBC accounting for 43.5% of STI weightage) to thank for, keeping the index stable due to their strong fundamentals.

For this quarter, not much action from me, except trying to play out if Glazer indeed will call an end to their relationship with Man United. I personally think at the end, they will leave Man Utd, but not before getting the highest bid for their shares:

Transaction 1: Bought 1 batch Man Utd shares in January. Sold 1 batch in February. Bought 1 batch in March.

Buying in thinking Glazer will set a dateline for initial bid submission, which came true. Amid rumors of the amount of initial bid (4.5B pounds), sold them in February after news emerge that Glazer might not be selling after all as the bids are way below their expectation (6.0B pounds). Glad did not make a loss. Buy in again in March before the second bid submission. I highly think Glazer will narrow down to 2 preferred bidders and go for a third round. Personally, I think if Glazer do decides to sell, the final price will be between 5.5-6 billion pounds (6.6 - 7.2 billion USD) which translates to $40 - $43. We shall see in time what is the outcome.

Transaction 2: Bought 1 batch Grab in February. 

Grab is adjusting their customer incentives system to make the business more profitable - Lesser discount on delivery fee (drop from $4 to $3 discount), lesser discount on self pick-ups (drop from 20% to 15% discount), lesser points awarded from using GrabPay. I guess these streamlining results will start to show in the subsequent quarters as they do their adjustments. Plus GXS bank is now fully operational! 

That is all for now. See you all in Q2 2023 update and thank you for reading thus far.

Bidding Jurong Bird Park Farewell

Brought *OEE* to the Jurong Bird Park before they officially closed on 03-Jan-2023. And expectedly, the place is packed with people. Well, seems like most of the folks have put COVID-19 behind us as the majority of the people are un-masked. One final look around before the place shifted to the new Mandai Area. Yup, and this time we took the tram ride one full circle.

Something new, the flamingo lounge is open for business. I must say that their Char Kuay Teow, Chicken Satay, Pisang Goreng and Popiah are not bad. However, you can skip the Prawn Mee Soup and Curry Puff, they are not so nice.

On a hindsight, *OEE* caught the COVID-19 bug the very next day... Oh well. Safe and fast recovery, my little one. Pray that God will protect you from the nasty effect of the virus.

4Q 2022 Investment Strategy Update

It is the time of the year again where we take stock of what we have done and how we have performed. COVID-19 issues have taken a back seat now that countries around the world have started opening their borders since Jun 2022. China has dropped their long standing COVID Zero policy and remove their tight control on virus management starting Dec 2022. Residents within China cheered this move but globally, analyst still remains skeptical due to the usage of only vaccines developed in China, which is less effective than the ones developed by Pfizer or Modena. Now that China begins to open up, they are highly likely going to face a surge in infection rate, overwhelming their medical system and a high death rate among the elderly (which is what many countries faced during the early stage of COVID-19 pandemic 2 years ago). Russia Ukraine war is still on-going. US Federal interest rate has hiked by 4.25% in 2022, with forecast to raise another 0.75% in 2023. 2022 sure does not end on a good note, at least not something investors will cheer about.

For myself, business trip has re-started in the second half of the year, potentially exposing myself to other variants of COVID-19 in other countries. Thank God for keeping me safe, I still have not contracted the virus yet so far.

DJI ended at 33147, an increase of 4872 points (+17.23%) compared to 3Q 2022. For Singapore, STI ended at 3251, an increase of 121 points (+3.86%) compared to last quarter. Singapore market has the 3 big banks (DBS, UOB, OCBC accounting for 43.5% of STI weightage) to thank for, keeping the index stable and not fall like dominos in other countries. Overall, USA market welcome investors return to companies that largely outperform expectation but for the tech companies, they are still out in the wild (As seen DJI +17% vs Q3, compared to NASDAQ -1% vs Q3). Singapore market this quarter are relatively stagnant as the banking counters did not gain much, and the REITs are taking a beating due to the increase interest rate. For Q4, the investor community remains jittery over the potential of a world recession in 2023, with USA a 70% chance in entering a recession, up from 65% last forecasted in November.

With 2022 drawing to a close, it is time for the annual review against my 3 year plan (Next 3 years (2020 - 2022) Investment Plan) set back in Nov 2019. Below are my result:

Original 2020-2022 plan:

1. 50% Equity, 50% Reits/Trusts
2. Portfolio Dividend Yield to be 3.50% in 2020, 4.20% in 2021, 4.80% in 2022.

End 2022 result:

1. 55.55% Equity, 44.45% Reits/Trusts
2. 79.85% SG Equity, 20.15% USA Equity
3. Portfolio Yield at 3.58% in 2022 (+0.51% from 2021, but miss 2022 4.80% target)

Verdict: Miss Target

Below is my end 2022 portfolio snapshot:

Total dividend received in 2022: $5,655.22 (~$471.26/month)

With market retreating, if you look closely, opportunities awaits. I am closely looking at some of the USA REITS listed on SGX. Investors has been selling them due to the high interest rate the REITS are paying in US dollars and the potential of USA entering recession, affecting future yield distribution. Prices has dropped to an unprecedented low levels that most counter are on a 0.5 Price to Book ratio, with dividend as high as 15% yield! I believe most companies are sound and if you can wait for 3 years for this down cycle to recover, you will likely stand to reap the benefits. Now, enough talking, below are my transaction for this quarter:

Transaction 1: Sold 1 batch Man Utd shares in December.

Partly cashing out since Glazer announced commencing strategic alternatives with a possibility of a total sale. Their appointed advisor has placed a target of 6-7 billion pounds. Personally, I think the final price will be between 3-4 billion pounds (3.6 - 4.8 billion USD) which translates to $22 - $29.20. We shall see in time what is the outcome.

Transaction 2: Bought 1 batch Visa shares in December.

Long term investment with the recent drop in share price. Visa has been buying back their shares every quarter and with such a cash cow generating machine, if you have holding power, share price are bound to increase in the long term with a smaller pool of shares in the market as time goes on.

Transaction 3: Bought 1 batch Prime US REIT shares in December.

USA REITS listed on SGX has been given a hammering in the last 4 months, with the Feds aggressively increasing interest rates, leading to a declining pool of cash available for distribution. In addition, USA is now forecasted at 70% potential in entering a recession in 2023, further diluting investor appetite for such REITS. However, I find Prime US REIT to be sound, not highly geared (38.7%) and their portfolio have a decent occupancy rate. At current price, this will equate to a 15% dividend yield. Buying in to ride the once in a lifetime opportunity. Plus, they have just launched the Distribution Reinvestment Plan. Time to grab more free shares.

Transaction 4: Bought 1 batch Mapletree Industrial Trust shares in December.

Long term investment as the manager has the history of growing distribution and Net Asset Value. If you have holding power, the share price will rise with time.

That is all for now. See you all in Q1 2023 update and thank you for reading thus far.

Beware! Lots of scammers on Carousell

Experience Sharing:

Recently, I have listed an item on Carousell to sell. Thinking it is relatively safe plus I have a good experience using the app 2 years ago, I trust the buyers are genuine and trustworthy. I was wrong. It seems that the platform are now quite full of scammers. Here is how they operate:

Scammer 1: Contacted you through the app chat they are interested in the product. Tell you that they are unable to meet up and will like to arrange their own courier. They will be paying using the Carousell app payment system. Then they share with you a screenshot that to complete the payment, they will need your (seller) email. You will receive an email that payment has been made (Alert 1: this email is not sent from the usual carousell.com domain). This email will ask you to click a link which will direct you to an address not from Carousell, asking you for your credit card information to receive payment (Alert 2: Why do they need your CC information? There is already your own wallet in the Carousell app they can transfer the money to).

Scammer 2: Same mode of operation as scammer 1, asking for your email with a Carousell screenshot that says will need the seller email to complete the payment. This time, this account is only just registered 1 day old. (Alert 1)

Scammer 3: Interested in the product and asking to arrange their own courier. This account is just registered a few hours old (Alert 1) and from Lobang (I guess somewhere in India?) (Alert 2)

Scammer 4: Asking me to Telegram him instead of chatting through the Carousell app (Alert 1).

These all happened within 1 day. Naturally, I did not disclose any private information and reported these accounts to Carousell. All of these accounts are subsequently suspended with 2-18 hours.

Anyway, for genuine buyers, they will not need your emails to complete the purchase. Everything will be settled inside the Carousell app and you will receive genuine emails from the Carousell.com domain.

Looks like need to be more vigilant when listing items on Carousell now and not get scammed.

17th Year Blog Anniversary

All right, this space has been alive for the past 17 years and is still kicking. Times changed looking at the past history. From student life, to work, to married life and to parenthood. Things we blog about also changed with times. From everyday life, to touring around the world, to kids and to investment with aim of sustainable income. Wishing everyone good health and smooth sailing ahead to navigate this challenging times. Not to forget, giving thanks to Him whom have bless us with everything we need and good health. May I pray that may He continue to keep my family safe and healthy, and guide us in everything we do.

Some Statistic:

Page Count: 77648 +4370

Year on Year increase: +136 +3.21%

Side note: Manchester United Glazer has finally open to the idea to sell the club. Hopefully can close within the next months. I doubt anyone will bid 6 billion pounds to match what they are looking for. 3 - 4 billion pounds (3.6 - 4.8 billion USD) is a more feasible target in my opinion. We shall see.

Next 3 years (2023 - 2025) Investment Plan

2022 has become a year of upheaval. First the euphoria of post COVID-19 when countries started re-opening and economy starts picking up. Then came the Russia-Ukraine war where it drove up the prices of almost everything, sending inflation rates sky rocketing and countries on the heels of raising interest rates to tame inflation. Now, investors are in jitters that interest rates are increasing at too fast a pace that will send economies into recession and in the process sending equities on a downhill slippery slope!

Again, it is unlikely I will reach my 2022 goal set back in 2019. My portfolio dividend yield this year will probably be in the 3.2% to 3.5% range, way off the ambitious target of 4.8%. Re-balancing a portfolio with some dead weight stocks is not easy after all, while waiting for Noble Group, KrisEnergy and Eagle H Trust to officially delist from SGX. At least I managed to increase my dividend yield from 2.44% from 3 years ago.

Now, back to my main objective of investment - earning passive income. Again, I will be using the insurance projected returns as a guide, which typically ranges from 3.25% to 4.75% currently. For the next 3 year, I will set a target to get a better yield than the insurance projected returns (Example: 4.8%). I think this will be a very challenging target as I have never achieve it before. Well, here you are, the next 3 years (2023 - 2025) Plan:

1. 50% Equity, 50% Reits/Trusts
2. Portfolio Dividend Yield to be 3.80% in 2023, 4.30% in 2024, 4.80% in 2025.

I will likely to continue load up on high dividend yield REITS (Looking at US Reits listed on SGX) and Singtel (if price is below $3.00) till I reached at least 10k shares each counter, so that these counters can participate in the Securities Borrowing and Lending (SBL) Program. Other potential target also include DBS if it fall below $35.00, MIT and FCT.

Fun @ Singapore Zoo

Time flies! The last time *OEE* is at the zoo, it was 19 months ago, where he has to be carried and had no interest in seeing the animals. This time, he gets to walk around (most of the time insisting not to hold daddy and mummy hands) and spent time observing animals in the enclosure. He can now sit through the showtimes looking at the shows instead of dozing off comfortably in daddy's arms. *OEE* also has a particular interest with the orange trams, and would stop and point at every tram that comes along the way! Thank God for the great weather where the sun is kept hidden behind clouds during the time we are in the zoo. And yes, Kids under 3 is still Free Admission.

Nothing much has changed in the zoo. The new developments are the expansion of Kidsworld where the new facility is currently under construction. Most of their toilets are newly renovated and the route to the zoo from the multi-storey carpark has changed, with the Bird Paradise opening next year. We happened to see wild monkeys in the zoo this time, and visitors are advised to stay away from them, least the monkeys start getting aggressive with the uninvited attention. A great, fun day at the Singapore Zoo with *OEE*!

Like a boss inspecting a peacock running across

Looking at the majestic lion with interest

3Q 2022 Investment Strategy Update

What a combination of disaster. Russia war with Ukraine still grinds on, stubbornly high inflation has lead to central bank raising rates (0.75%) 3 times in a row. Businesses are forecasting recession and started laying off employees. Chances of USA entering recession in the next 12 months has increased from 40% to 52% just a few days ago. Market has been grinding down for the past 4 weeks with no ends in sight. What a disaster!

DJI ended at 28725, a decrease of 2050 points (-6.66%) compared to 2Q 2022. For Singapore, STI ended at 3130, an increase of 28 points (+0.90%) compared to last quarter. Singapore market bucks the global trends and are impacted lesser due to STI having a high weightage for banking counters (accounting for 42.5% of STI weightage), as rising interest rates is a positive for banks since they stand to earn more profits from the widening NIM. Ever since Putin started the war on 24-Feb-2022, DJI has lost 7613 points (-20.95%) compared to the end of 2021, while STI has increased 7 points (+0.22%) instead. For this quarter, I am just sitting ducks collecting dividends and taking opportunistic additions for counters that I deem have high growth potential:

Transaction 1: Bought 1 batch Singtel shares in July.

Rejoice! India Airtel has turnaround from loss to profits as competition eases and competitors started raising their product offering prices. Singtel and Grab GXS Bank has launched in August and is a positive catalyst for additional profits. Will continue to add if shares price is below $3.00.

Transaction 2: Bought 1 batch HPH Trust shares in July.

Management has guided they are continuing their debt reduction plan at a tune of HKD $1.00 billion a year. With the rising interest rate and plans for expansion of berths in the next few years, the distributable amount is expected to increase. Buy in today to enjoy the fruits later.

Transaction 3: Bought 1 batch China Everbright Water shares in July.

Last buy in for this counter as it has hit my internal target investable amount. Expecting China will continue to focus on Industrial Wastewater Management as the economy develops. This counter should do well in the long term as they continue to apply for price adjustment (increase) for their treatment services to combat inflation.

Transaction 4: Bought 1 batch OxPay Financial shares in July.

I continue to be sold on the company plans for riding on the digital economy wave as a financial services technology platform provider. The only obstacle now is if the company is able to onboard more partners to use their service and expand regionally. If they succeed, it will be a cash generating machine similar to VISA.

Transaction 5: Bought 1 batch Man Utd shares in July.

With poor performance, guess the end of road is near for Man Utd Glazer to sell off all their shares. Recently, news article reported that 3.75 billion pounds will be enough to entice the Glazer family to sell. Now, I am just waiting for the White Knight to appear.... 

That is all for now. See you all in Q4 2022 update and thank you for reading thus far.

Four Points by Sheraton Riverview Staycation

With the opening of Singapore borders, the hotel room rates are constantly on a northward trajectory since May 2022. Not wanting to spend too much money on staycation, we chose the Four Points by Sheraton Riverview since it is the cheapest Marriott hotel available in Singapore and we get to have our breakfast and dinner with the package. However, God seems to have other plans for us. 2 weeks before our stay, we received an email from the hotel that says our package has been dis-continued with immediate effect! In return, they offered us a reduced rate, changed our room from twins to King, allowed us a late check-out at 6pm, and gave us a $96 dining credit since we cannot take the Mookata counter offer as we have a toddler with us. Thank God! =)

We arrived a bit early than the official check-in time at 12pm and was informed our room is ready. Check in was smooth and we got the City View King Room. Room is clean and lovely but since this is the cheapest among the Marriott Hotels, don't expect much. We need to call the housekeeping for extra towels and bath robes (Not given, you have to request for it). Not wanting to waste more time, we headed straight to the pool on the 5th floor. Truthfully, the pool is quite small and don't expect it to accommodate more then 8 people. No one is manning the towel counter and it is pretty much self-service.

At night, we took a stroll along the Singapore River since the Alexandra Park Connector is easily accessible via the 4 Points eatery. Night scenery is not bad and we chanced upon fireworks display from the National Day Parade Rehearsal.

Breakfast buffet has a good spread of food. The downside is that the 4 Points eatery sitting capacity is not big. If you will like some time to have your breakfast, do come early. The café is still full with hotel guests right to the end of breakfast time at 10am.

To use our dining credits, we tried their "Old Time Bak Kut Teh", "Nasi Goreng Istimewa", and "Signature Baby Rock Lobster Laksa". The Bak Kut Teh in my opinion is not worth the price. I find the rice is dry and hard, the meat is too fat and not as tender. The soup is also on the peppery side. For the Baby Rock Lobster Laksa, tasted not bad with the thick Bee Hoon and they served you a full size baby lobster cut into two halves. For the Nasi Goreng, tasted not too bad as well. I personally find the chicken is the best among the ingredients.

That basically sums up our staycation. Wonder when will the next staycation be?

2Q 2022 Investment Strategy Update

Russia's war with Ukraine slowly grinds on into the 5th month, with failure not an option to Putin. With this war, food, crop and oil price escalated, causing high inflation unseen in many countries globally. To combat high inflation, central banks have been aggressively raising interest rate (June - 0.75%, forecast July - 0.75%, forecast September - 0.5%), hoping to cool the economy down. This however, have a damping effect on equity, as rising interest rate means a drop in consumer consumption (Yes, all your loans on floating rate are going to get more expensive!) which has a high risk of tipping the economy into recession. Currently, analyst is predicting a 40% chance of USA entering recession in the next 12 months and this is reflective in NASDAQ (entered bear 2 months ago); S&P 500 (entered bear 2 weeks ago); DJI (narrowly avoided bear 1 week ago by 400 points).

FYI: Bear Market refers to a drop of at least 20% from the index peak.

With the war seemingly not ending anytime soon (only God knows when and how this will end), let us spend a few mins in prayer for the people of Ukraine. May God in His sovereign will put an end to the Russian act of aggression and this unjustified war. May God in His mercy bring light to the people of Ukraine suffering the effect of war in this dark hour. May God also bless the people of the world with great health and protection against the Covid-19 virus that is ravaging the face of the Earth. Amen

Face with market uncertainty and volatility, I guess it is time we go back to the company fundamentals, where good and sound company will eventually pull through any crisis. DJI ended at 30775, a decrease of 3903 points (-11.25%) compared to 1Q 2022. For Singapore, STI ended at 3102, an decrease of 306 points (-8.98%) compared to last quarter. Singapore market are not spared from the high inflation rate concerns and rising interest rates, moving in line with the USA market, though for banking counters (accounting for 43.3% of STI weightage), rising interest rates is a positive for them as they stand to earn more profits from the widening NIM. For this quarter, not much actions from me except taking opportunistic additions for counters that I deem have high growth potential:

Transaction 1: Bought 2 batch Grab shares in April and May.

US investors still seem to not have confidence in Grab, continuing dumping its share to an all time low of $2.32 on 26 May 2022. For me, given they have won the digital bank license for Singapore and Malaysia speaks volume. Anyway, Grab will be focusing on returning to profitability by cutting down on consumer incentives. From end user point of view, this has seem to take effect after 19-May as the discounts given is not as high as per 3 months ago. Example: Self collect on GrabFood is now only entitled to 15% discount compared to previous 20%, unless you purchase their subscription, then you are entitled to 20% discount. Anyway, GxS bank is preparing to start operation soon in Singapore in the next few months. Hopefully, this will contribute to their bottom line profit.

Transaction 2: Exit Amara totally in June (at a loss).

High number of director resignations, plus the review for their flagship hotel in SG is not that great on major hotel booking websites, guess I better run first before more problems start surfacing. Having held this counter for close to 9 years, I don't think the management will be privatizing the company anytime soon.

Transaction 3: Bought 1 batch OxPay Financial shares in June.

I got won over by this up and coming business plan. Basically, they provide Merchant Payment Services (MPS) and Digital Commerce Enabling Solutions (DCES). Whenever a customer uses their system for payment, they will get a portion of the fee (~0.5%) as payment. Think of the card terminals and the software facilitating the payment between the customer, merchant and their banks. As long as their customer base is huge, this should be a stable cash generating machine to provide dividends.

Transaction 4: Bought 1 batch DBS shares in June.

Interest rates are rising, which will increase DBS Net Interest Margin (Profits) due to increasing loan interest rate. It was already reported a few days ago that all SG banks has revised their home loan interest rate up. Buying to hold for long term with the hindsight that business are growing and dividends declared are increasing yearly.

Marriott has restarted their dividend payout, and share buybacks will soon follow. I was right about Marriott TP. It did rise to $190.30 (>$185 which I predicted) on 20-Apr-22, before Putin's war destroyed everything. Oh well, guess I have to hold the shares a little longer. That is all for now. See you all in Q3 2022 update and thank you for reading thus far.

Daycation - Day out at the South (and East)

Since there is a long weekend and RL has invited us to visit her at the Westin Singapore while A is busy with helping out his friend wedding, we decided to bring *OEE* out to meet AM and play at the Westin infinity pool. Unlike JW Marriott South Beach, the water at the infinity pool is not that cold (and not that windy), which we are glad and *OEE* and AM have fun playing with the water all to themselves. Unfortunately, the infinity pool does not have a baby area and any child that is inside the pool needs constant supervision. View from the top is not bad, as we have a perfect view of the Singapore Flyer, the National Stadium and the sea.

Lunch was at Suntec Food Republic Blanco Beef Noodle and we are presently surprised how much Suntec has changed. Half the shops there are not what we remembered from years ago. The little ones are going cranky after lunch as it approaches their nap time and we went back to the hotel for them to take their nap. Dinner was at Changi Jewel Dian Xiao Er (An impromptu decision) where A joined us after the wedding lunch. It was really rare to see so many people out in the Jewel mall after the COVID restriction was lifted last week. Overall, a day well spent.