Dividend Chaser on Reits picking criteria

(From Article)

Land is scarce in Singapore 

as it is a tiny island nation. 

Therefore, property rentals 

are generally and historically 

high. The Singapore REIT 

market can be categorised 

into 5 main sectors - retail, 

office/commercial, industrial/logistics and healthcare. 


Benefits of investing in REITs:
- REITs allow investors be 

like "property owners" 

without the normal hassles 

of renovation, maintenance, 

repairs, security, collecting 

rental and dealing with 

difficult tenants. It is a 

more convenient way of 

property investment for 

small investors.


- REITs provides regular 

cash flow for investors. 

Most REITs in Singapore 

distribute dividends every 

quarter.


- REITs provides attractive 

annual yields (5% - 9%) 

compared to the 

embarrassingly-low 

interest rates of banks. 


However, not all REITs 

are of good, or even 

decent quality. Therefore, 

investors must be really 

selective. Otherwise, you 

might end up like the early 

investors of Saizen REIT 

during the sub-prime crisis 

in 2008/2009. I do not 

want to bore you with the

 depressing details. 

Basically, Saizen REIT's 

stock price plunged and it 

stopped distribution for a 

long period of time T T. It is 

recovering slowly now.

 

REITs-picking Guide:
In order to help myself 

make the right decision 

while selecting REITs, I 

have a guide to picking 

REITs which I want to 

share with you all. Of 

course, feel free to make 

adjustments according to 

your personal preference ^^

1. Gearing of 30% - 35%


2. Yield 5% - 8%


3. Increasing DPU over the 

years


4. Stock price below or 

near NAV 


5. Type (retail, 

office/commercial, 

industrial/logistics and 

healthcare)


6. Geographical exposure 

(China, Singapore, 

Indonesia, Malaysia, 

Australia etc.)


Alright, let's put the 

REITs in my dividends 

portfolio to the test.

Suntec REIT:

1. Normal Gearing of 33% (excellent)
2. Yield of 6% (moderate)
3. Decreasing DPU (poor)
4. Stock price below NAV (excellent)
5. Type: Retail and Commercial (excellent)
6. Geographical exposure: Singapore (excellent)
Overall verdict: Moderate REIT


CapitalMall Trust:

1. High Gearing of 37% (poor)
2. Low Yield of 5% (moderate)
3. Stable DPU (moderate)
4. Stock price above NAV (poor)
5. Type: Retail and Commercial (excellent)
6. Geographical exposure: Singapore (excellent)

Overall verdict: Moderate REIT

CACHE:

1. Low Gearing of 23% (excellent)

2. High Yield of 8% (excellent)

3. Stable DPU (moderate)

4. Stock price above NAV (poor)

5. Type: Logistics (excellent)

6. Geographical exposure: Singapore (excellent)

Overall verdict: Excellent REIT

First REIT:

1. Low Gearing of 17% (excellent)

2. High Yield of 8% (excellent)

3. Stable DPU (moderate)

4. Stock price same as NAV (moderate)

5. Type: Healthcare (excellent)

6. Geographical exposure: Singapore and Indonesia (moderate)

Overall verdict: Excellent REIT

Parkway Life REIT:

1. Normal Gearing of 35% (excellent)

2. Low Yield of 5% (moderate)

3. Increasing DPU (excellent)

4. Stock price above NAV (poor)

5. Type: Healthcare (excellent)

6. Geographical exposure: Singapore and Japan (excellent)

Overall verdict: Excellent REIT

There is actually one more criterion when choosing a REIT - strong backing from parent company. However, I did not include this in my guide because this can be rather 

Dividend Chaser on Sabana quarterly results

(From Article)

Sabana REIT: 2Q 2013 2.4c DPU.

Sabana REIT has declared a DPU of 2.4c and will go XD on 23 July. Unit holders will be paid on 29 August.

The numbers are nothing out of the ordinary:

NAV/share: $1.06

Gearing: 37.1%

Interest cover ratio: 5.1x

Occupancy: 100%

Some people wonder why Sabana REIT is trading with such a high distribution yield. It is nearly 8%.

Well, there are many possible reasons but one reason is probably because 5 of its master leases are expiring in November this year and this is something I have blogged about since the second half of last year.

In the latest report, the management revealed that 1 of the master leases will be renewed while the other 4 are still undergoing negotiations. It has been revealed that in the event these 4 master leases are not renewed, the REIT will see a 7.3% vacancy rate. This would impact income available for distribution negatively even if temporarily.

As asking rents of industrial properties have risen over the last 3 years, I expect Sabana REIT to renew these leases with positive rental reversions if they should be successful in securing renewals. Failure to secure renewals would mean some temporary loss of income but it could be a good thing as the asking rents could be scaled higher compared to that of a master lease.

Dividend Chaser on Indian men gang-raped school girls

(From Article)

Eight men have been arrested over the abduction and gang-rape of four young girls from a convent boarding house in eastern India.

The girls aged between 12 and 14 were taken from the hostel in Jharkhand state by men armed with knives, who then assaulted them in a nearby forest.

"We have made some arrests and we are interrogating eight persons accused in the case," said police superintendent YS Ramesh.

"These girls are shocked and frightened after the incident," he said, adding that police would press for a speedy trial if the men were charged over the crime.

The school principal told police that the gang had locked him and other teachers in a room at the school run by a Christian missionary in the state's Pakur district.

The men then entered the dormitory and took away the four girls, all from a local tribal community, police said.

Medical tests on the girls confirmed they were raped.

India faces intense scrutiny over its efforts to curb violence against women following the fatal gang-rape of a student on a bus in New Delhi last December.

The death sparked protests across the country throughout December and January.

Parliament has passed laws aimed at protecting women better, including doubling the minimum prison sentence for gang-rape to 20 years.

Dividend Chaser on How to Retire

(From Article)

Read? HOW TO RETIRE?


You can retire only when you fulfil these 4 pre-conditions:

1. Your children are financially independent (e.g. they got jobs),

2. You have zero liability (all your borrowings are paid up),

3. You have enough savings to support your lifestyle for the rest of your life,

AND most importantly,

4. You know what you would be doing during your retirement.

DO NOT retire till you meet ALL 4 Pre-Conditions. And of course you should not retire if you enjoy working and are getting paid for it! 

The problem cases I know of are those who failed to meet Pre-Condition #4. 

Dividend Chaser on K-green Results

(From Article)

Monday, 15 July 2013

K-Green: 1H FY2013 RESULTS HIGHLIGHTS

1. Excluding construction revenue arising from the flue gas treatment upgrade following its completion last year, Group revenue for 1H 2013 remained stable at $33.8 million compared to 1H 2012.

2. Profit after tax for 1H 2013 was $7.1 million, contributing to earnings per unit (EPU) of 1.12 cents for the period. Excluding the contribution from the construction of the flue gas treatment upgrade last year, profit after tax was $0.5 million or 6.4% lower compared to 1H 2012.

3. Distribution per unit (DPU) for 1H 2013 remained stable at 3.13 cents compared to 1H 2012.

4. Net asset value per unit as at 30 June 2013 was $1.02.

5. Cash generated from operations was $23.0 million for 1H 2013.

Dividend Chaser on Insurance and you

(From Article)

Insurance and You  - The Three Big Fallacies  

Fallacy #1: Insurance is for savings and investments 

The insurance industry has successfully indoctrinated the public into accepting that insurance should be used for savings and investments. This idea cannot be farther from the truth.  

Often, when insurance agents prospect us, they would pitch by espousing the benefits of higher returns in their insurance products (Endowment, Whole-Life, ILPs) vis-à-vis money in a savings account or fixed deposit account. They might start by asking “How much do you save each month?” followed by “Do you want to earn higher returns on your savings?” 

By linking the positive perception of savings and tapping on the greed of prospects, they have turned many unsuspecting prospects into their clients. Years later, if clients want to withdraw their “savings”, they might be told that they would suffer a "penalty" of a certain percentage.

Clients would not have much recourse since they had agreed to the insurance contract.

Read carefully before signing on the dotted line!

Truth #1: Insurance is a risk management tool

Insurance is simply a risk management tool where, for a small outlay (called ‘premiums’) the user can transfer the financial risk of a catastrophic event to the insurance company. The concept of insurance is similar to gambling; if nothing happens to the insured (‘player’), the insurance company (‘house’) pockets the premiums (‘bet’). If the covered event should happen, the insurance company would pay out the claims to the insured (‘winnings’).

By confusing consumers on the true functions of insurance, many insurance agents get away with selling high premium, high commission products to their clients. Successfully selling such products ensures that they are well fed, enjoying fat bonuses and overseas incentive trips all at the expense of their clients.  

Always remember, insurance agents do NOT earn from their misleading professional advice, they ONLY earn by selling you their company’s products. You know what they say about free advice - It’s worth exactly what you paid.  

Fallacy #2: Get yourselves well protected by spending as much as you can on insurance 

Insurance agents might say that a person’s insurance needs are unlimited. In financial planning, there are established models that professionals use to quantify the insurance needs of an individual.

In fact, spending more on insurance does not necessarily equate to comprehensive coverage! Read the account of a lady who spends $1,000/month for three critical illness policies and she couldn’t even claim on a single one when she contracted early stage cancer.

READ your insurance contract. KNOW what you are covered for!  

Truth #2: Get sufficient insurance by using less than 10% of gross income only

By propagating Fallacy #1, insurance agents can easily get away with encouraging consumers to spend much more on insurance. Following Truth #1, Insurance should never be treated as an asset; it should always be treated as an expense!  

Think about it, would you want to spend majority of your income preparing for events that are statistically unlikely to happen? Of course, unlikely doesn’t give us the excuse to ignore wealth protection.

A balance must be sought when budgeting for insurance. Not too much, not too little. Personally, I am currently only spending around 5% of my gross income for sufficient insurance coverage.  

Fallacy #3: You need insurance FOREVER  

By the time Singaporeans reached retirement age (currently 62 years old), they should have minimal financial obligations; mortgages are paid off, children are financially independent etc. Life insurance will no longer be a necessity at this stage. 

Furthermore, the cost of insurance rises at an exponential rate after age 60 due to a higher probability of death. This means that insurance loses its cost-efficiency as a risk management tool going into our retirement years.

Truth #3: Insurance needs vary throughout your lifetime    

Our insurance needs differ according to life stages.  

For example, a sole breadwinner supporting a family of four would definitely need more life insurance than a fresh graduate who just joined the workforce. Pre-mature death of the sole breadwinner would be catastrophic, as the widow would have no income to rely on to raise her school-going children.   

Life insurance needs will typically peak when one is raising young children and paying off huge debts such as mortgages and car loans. As children grow up and debts are progressively paid off, the amount of life insurance required decreases accordingly.

In summary:
(1) Buy insurance for wealth protection.
(2) Spend less than 10% of your income on insurance.
(3) Analyse your insurance needs before committing.

Dividend Chaser on Beancurd dish

(From Article)

Steamed (Tofu) Beancurd with Minced Meat in Oyster Sauce

Steamed Beancurd with Minced Meat in Oyster Sauce

Protein is important to our body, it helps to repair our body tissues and build up our immune system. More to it, it strengthen our hair and for guys who are training up, protein should not be lacking in our daily food consumption.

There are a lot of high protein food, eg. eggs, beef, chicken, etc.. and Beancurd or Tofu in Chinese is one of the "healthier" choices.

There are a lot of different varieties of beancurd dish, for this recipe, it is a light and appetizing dish that go very well with rice.

A healthy, easy to cook and taste good dish. Try it now! =)

Ingredients

1. One pack of Bean Curd (Tofu) (eg. Brand Fortune)
2. 100 grammes of Minced Pork
3. 1/2 tablespoon of Chopped Garlic
4. 2 teaspoon of Light Soya Sauce (eg. Brand Tai Hua)
5. 3/4 tablespoon of Oyster Sauce
6. 1/2 teaspoon of Sugar
7. 1 teaspoon of Corn flour
8. Fine White Pepper

Preparations

1. Add 2 teaspoons of Light Soya Sauce and 1/4 teaspoon of White Pepper into Minced Meat, mixed them together and marinate for 10 to 15 minutes
2. Mix Corn flour with 1 tablespoon of water into a starch mixture
3. Slice the Bean Curd into 4 pieces
4. Place Bean Curb flat on a steam-proof plate with some depth (1 to 2cm will be good enough) to contain the gravy and steam it for approx 10 minutes

Steps

1. Add Garlic into hot pan and stir-fry until fragrant before it turned brown
2. Add Minced Pork and stir-fry until it is 80% cooked approx 3 to 4 minutes
3. Add Oyster Sauce, 3 tablespoon of hot water and stir to mix well
4. Slowly add starch mixture while stirring for approx 1 minutes
5. Pour mixture to onto beancurd and it is good to serve 

Serve while Hot.

Good to go with Rice and 2 to 3 otherChinese Dishes