Stock Chart Request: C&O

Immediate Resistance: 0.45
Immedate Support: 0.435

At this point of time, I dun really recommend ppl to take up new positions because I am quite bearish on the market now. However, someone has requested the technical analysis on C&O, so I will try my best to interpret the chart. C&O has lost the major support at 0.48 on 25th April(third chart). Looking at the chart carefully, I notice that C&O has just finished a small Elliot Wave (first chart) which i missed out in the last analysis on 14th April. Wave 1 started from 0.355 to 0.41, Wave 2 ended at 0.385, Wave 3 went up to 0.47, Wave 4 retracted to 0.445 and Wave 5 finished at 0.52. After that, as everyone knows, C&O is facing a correction. In the long term, C&O is still on the uptrend(second chart). For my analysis on 14th April to stay valid, C&O must stay above the next major support shown in the second chart above. If this support is lost, run for your dear life!

Stock Buy Call: Biosensors with price target of 1.61 sgd by UOB Kay Hian!

Biosensors (BUY/S$1.23/Target: S$1.61)

Biosensors' subsidiary Occam denies allegations of unethical practices highlighted in Dutch TV programme. Maintain BUY.

Stock Sell Call: STATS with fair price of 1.39 sgd by UOB Kay Hian!

STATS ChipPAC (SELL/S$1.40/Fair: S$1.39) 1Q06:

Revenue at higher end of guided range due to growth from Consumer & Multi-Applications.

Stock Upgraded: Keppel Corp price target to 17 sgd by UOB Kay Hian

Keppel Corporation (BUY/S$15.00/Target: S$17.00) 1Q06:

Bullish earnings guidance for Infrastructure Division. Target price raised on higher O&M and Infrastructure earnings.

Stock Earnings: Venture Corp reported 1st quarter earnings that missed expectations!

Venture Corp Ltd may edge lower after reporting first-quarter earnings that missed market expectations. Venture posted net profit of 49.36 mln sgd for the quarter, inclusive of foreign exchange losses of 14.8 mln sgd due to a sharp depreciation in the US dollar. Analysts polled by XFN-Asia were looking for profit of 50-51 mln sgd, from 44.81 mln in the same quarter a year ago. Venture ended unchanged at 12.60 sgd yesterday

Stock Earnings: UTAC 1st quarter net profit grew more than fivefold!

United Test and Assembly Center Ltd (UTAC) may rise after its first-quarter net profit grew more than fivefold from last year to 20.7 mln usd due to strong semiconductor demand. "Overall, this is a positive start to our goal of growing our business organically by 40 pct for the current financial year," UTAC CEO Lee Joon Chuang said. "We are only in the first month of the (second) quarter; we have two more months to go. (It) depends on how the (business) mix comes in in the second quarter. I would say that between 15-20 pct (in net profit margin) is some comfortable range that UTAC will be looking at," Lee said. UTAC closed 0.07 sgd higher at 1.07 yesterday ahead of the results announcement.

Stock Earnings: Keppel reported flat 1st quarter net profit!

Keppel Land Ltd may drop after reporting flat first-quarter net profit due to higher finance costs. The property developer posted net income of 36.34 mln sgd compared to 36. 25 mln the year before. The company said operating profit in the quarter fell to 38.45 mln sgd from 41.63 mln a year earlier although total revenue grew 26 pct. Keppel Land finished up 0.04 sgd at 4.82 yesterday.

Stock News: KS Energy and Ezra Holdings joining venture for 95 mln sgd!

KS Energy Services Ltd and Ezra Holdings Ltd may gain on their joint venture deal to acquire a self-propelled rig that will be chartered to a US oil company for 95 mln sgd over five years. KS Energy will supply the parts and equipment and other procurement services needed to support the rig's operations. KS Energy closed 0.02 sgd higher at 2.45, while Ezra was up 0.05 at 2.75 yesterday.

Stock Profit Warning: STX expects weaker profits in 1st quarter!

STX Pan Ocean Co Ltd, the Singapore-listed shipping arm of South Korea's STX Corp, may decline after it said it expects weaker profits in the first quarter ended March 31. "Although vessel charter-in costs were reduced due to lower charter-in hire rates, the impact of the decline in freight rates and increase in bunker prices are expected to be significantly higher, resulting in lower profits," STX Pan Ocean said. STX Pan Ocean was unchanged at 0.845 sgd at the close of trading yesterday.

Stock Earnings: GES Int reported 46 pct rise in 3rd quarter net profit!

GES International Ltd may advance after reporting that its third quarter to March net profit rose 35 pct to 13.09 mln sgd, driven by strong sales at its terminals and original design manufacturing segments. The company said revenue increased 11 pct to 157.14 mln sgd. GES closed down 0.01 sgd at 0.965 yesterday.

Stock News: Ascott Group to invest 50 mln usd!

The Ascott Group Ltd said it will invest about 50 mln usd in four new serviced residence projects in China, part of plans to expand in that market. "Ascott currently has 12 properties with about 2,600 units in six cities in China. With the addition of these four new Citadines properties, we will enhance our position as the largest international serviced residence owner-operator in China with more than 3,000 units in 16 properties," said Ascott CEO Cameron Ong. Ascott has signed a management contract with Shaanxi New Trend Real Estate Co Ltd to manage Citadines Xi'an Central for a period of 10 years, with an option to renew the contract for another 10 years. The property is a 133-unit serviced residence in Beilin District, Xi'an and is targeted to open in the second half of the year. Ascott also entered into a binding provisional sale and purchase agreement for a 36-unit serviced residence which will be refurbished and is targeted to resume operations in the second half. Ascott will be investing 26. 5 mln usd in the project. The serviced apartment operator also acquired an 80 pct stake in the 167-unit Citadines Suzhou Xinghai from Suzhou Chong Rui New Century Real Estate Development Co Ltd. Ascott's total investment including acquisition cost in the project is 10 mln usd and is also targeted to open in the second half. Ascott also bought a land in Suzhou Industrial Park to build, operate and manage the 250-unit Citadines Suzhou, Lejia. The property is targeted to open in the second half of 2008 and Ascott's total investment in the project is 10. 8 mln usd.

Stock Earnings: Memtech Q1 net profit more than doubles!

Memtech gains after Q1 net profit more than doubles Mobile phone and automotive components maker Memtech International Ltd was higher after reporting that first-quarter net profit more than doubled to 4.76 mln usd due to strong mobile phone demand in China. Memtech was up 0.02 sgd or 5.80 pct at 0.365 with 1.76 mln shares traded. "We have seen strong growth in our international customer base since the fourth quarter of 2005 and will continue to work towards adding more to our list," Memtech executive chairman Chuang Wen Fu said. The company supplies mobile phone components to local manufacturers in China, such as Ningbo Bird, UT Starcom, and Lenovo. It also counts Motorola, Siemens and Flextronics among its customers. Barring unforeseen circumstances, Memtech said it expects to perform better in the second quarter.

Stock Earnings: SP 1st quarter profit dropprf 6.6 pct!

Singapore Petroleum Co Ltd (SPC) may ease after reporting that its first-quarter net profit dropped 6.6 pct year-on-year to 67.88 mln sgd, despite improved sales, due to soft demand for refined products and weaker refining margins. "The demand for refined products in the Asia-Pacific region in the first half of the quarter was subdued due to the continued high oil prices, high inventories and the withdrawal of fuel subsidies in several countries," SPC said. "Refining margins were relatively weak in the first two months of the quarter. Margins, however, staged a strong recovery in March," SPC said. "With the continued limited global refining capacity, we expect stronger refining margins going into the next quarters." SPC said the group should continue to do well this year, despite the weak first quarter.

Stock earnings preview: Venture 1st quarter result by Macquarie!

Electronics contract manufacture Venture Corp is expected to report tomorrow first quarter net profit of 50-51 mln sgd, up from 44.80 mln sgd a year ago, with net margins likely to have improved further, analysts said. However the net earnings estimates are weaker than the 54.80 mln sgd profit achieved by Venture in the fourth quarter of 2005 as the first quarter is typically a weaker one for demand. Daiwa Institute of Research analyst Pranab Kumar Sarmah said he expects Venture to have posted net profit of 51 mln sgd on sales of 730 mln sgd. "The net margin would have improved to 7.1 pct in the first quarter from 6.3 pct in the fourth as contributions from the high volume low margin printer/storage business will have been lower due to the seasonal factor," Pranab said. ABN-AMRO Securities and Macquarie Equity Research both expect Venture to post first quarter net profit of 50 mln sgd, with Macquarie expecting sales of 846 mln sgd for the quarter. Macquarie said Venture's diversification efforts should have shown more traction in the quarter with the possibility of increased contributions from the automotive, medical electronics and test and measurement segments. These segments acounted for 17 pct of Venture's revenues in the fourth quarter of last year. But Venture's fortunes are still heavily dependent on key customer Hewlett-Packard. "Key customer HP's strong operating momentum bodes well for Venture in 2006. In sharp contrast with the trends being reported by other printer firms, HP's print unit saw 8 pct year-on-year growth in revenue last quarter with its operating margin at 14.9 pct," Macquarie said.

Stock Downgraded: OSIM to sell by Citigroup!

Citigroup has cut its rating on OSIM International to "sell" from "buy" after the company announced weaker first quarter earnings, weighed down by higher financing costs and the poor performance of its unit Brookstone. OSIM International Ltd said yesterday its first-quarter net profit plunged to 430,000 sgd from 8.12 mln last year. It said a combination of higher financing costs and lower revenue from Brookstone resulted in a net loss from associates and joint ventures of 13.9 mln sgd in the three months to March. However, excluding its share of net losses from associates and joint ventures, OSIM said net earnings 100 pct to 14.4 mln in the first quarter. "The first quarter results showed strong core business growth but a worse than expected performance from Brookstone. We downgrade to sell," Citigroup said in a client note. At 2.05 pm, OSIM was down 0.30 sgd or 14 pct at 1.86 on volume of 3.485 mln shares.

Stock Upgraded: TAC to neutral by Credit Suisse!

Credit Suisse has upgraded its rating on Total Access Communications (TAC) to "neutral" from "underperform" after the stock price fell below its 3.60 usd target. While we don't expect an immediate earnings impact from regulatory progress, an increase in 'option value' will likely balance further downside risks to earnings from the price war," Credit Suisse said in a note. "TAC remains a binary trade on regulatory change. In our view 'option value' begins to balance downside earnings risk at these share price levels," it said. The brokerage said it expects Thai regulators to make progress on interconnection, which is positive for the telco industry, within weeks. TAC's share price has underperformed the market by 13 pct with the heightened price competition among Thai telcos. Credit Suisse cut its 2006 EBITDA forecast for TAC by 14.9 pct to 16.8 bln baht citing pricing pressure and the company's likely response at least on the prepaid segment of its mobile business. "There could be further earnings downside if TAC is also forced to respond on post-paid pricing," it said. Credit Suisse expects TAC to post 4.66 bln baht in net profit this year from 4.61 bln a year ago. At 3.09 pm, TAC was up 0.02 usd or 0.57 pct at 3.52 on volume of 1.45 mln shares.

Stock earnings preview: UTAC 1st quarter result by Macquarie!

Macquarie Equity Research said it expects United Test and Assembly Center (UTAC) to report tomorrow a first-quarter net profit of 20 mln usd, more than the 3.90 mln usd it made a year before, but flat compared to the previous quarter's 20.06 mln usd. "We believe that the current tightness in the semiconductor test and assembly arena will allow UTAC to enjoy some form of pricing power, even though it will be modest in this cycle, given the industry's growing end exposure to consumer products," Macquarie said. Macquarie rates UTAC "outperform", with a target price of 1.22 sgd per share. At 4.33 pm, UTAC was down 0.01 sgd or 0.99 pct at 1.0, with 22.62 mln shares traded.

Stock Upgraded: Adamapk Ltd price target to 0.33 sgd by Westcomb Financial Group!

Westcomb Financial Group has raised its target price for Adampak Ltd to 0.33 sgd from 0.31 on expectations of strong earnings growth driven by bright prospects in the hard disk drive industry. Aident manufactures and supplies labels and precision die-cut components for the telecommunications and electronics industries. In a client note, Westcomb also maintained its "buy" rating on the stock and cited its proposed acquisition of the Aident group which will be earnings accretive for the company. "We have increased our earnings forecasts to include the positive impact expected from the additional 50 pct stake in Aident," Westcomb said. "We expect revenue and net profit to grow at double digit levels in both 2006 and 2007, driven by continued optimism in the HDD industry and the group's new production facilities in Suzhou that gives them access to the vast China market." Adampak was up 0.005 sgd at 0.205 on volume of 799,000 shares.

Stock Buy Call: Best World Int target price of 1.0 sgd by SBI E2-Capital!

SBI E2-Capital said it has initiated coverage of Best World International Ltd, which develops and distributes beauty and lifestyle products, with a 'buy' call and fair value of 1.0 sgd per share. "We like Best World's scalable business model with low capex, high cashflow generation and lucrative margins," SBI E2-Capital said in a client note. The brokerage said the company's growth will be driven by product and market expansion, and its rising membership base. "Best World has experienced solid profit growth since 2002. We expect the market to re-rate the stock on the back of its positive outlook over the next three years," it said. "Based on 14 times 2006 forward price earnings, our target price is 1.00 sgd, implying an upside of 43 pct." SBI E2-Capital expects net profit for Best World to rise to 11.7 mln sgd this year from 8.5 mln sgd in 2005. Net profit for 2007 is pegged at 15.8 mln sgd and 21.1 mln sgd in 2008. Best World was up 0.005 sgd at 0.705 on volume of 371,000 shares.

Stock News: Global Testing Corp to sell 245 mln shares at 0.3125 sgd!

Global Testing Corp Ltd said it will sell up to 245 mln shares via placement at 0.3125 sgd per share, with the proceeds to be used to fund its expansion plans. The placement comprises of 175 mln new shares and 70 mln vendor shares, representing about 20 pct and 8 pct of issued shares of the company respectively. The company said it hopes to raise net proceeds of about 52.6 mln sgd from the sale of new shares, a major part of which will be used for the purchase and installation of equipment at its plants. "With these new proceeds, we will continue to undertake growth strategies to enhance value to both existing and new shareholders," Global Testing CEO Paul Yang said in a statement.

Star Stock: Shang Turbo going for turbo chiong?

Immediate Resistance: 0.49
Immediate Support: 0.455

Shang Turbo has formed a Morning Doji Star formation on monday with a significant high volume. Looking at the chart, Shang Turbo is in an uptrend. Currently, the counter is in Wave 3. Wave 1 starts from 0.355 to 0.44, Wave 2 begins at 0.44 and ends at 0.405. The target price of Wave 3 should be around 0.54. Recommend a buy between 0.455 to 0.47. cut loss if 0.45 support is lost.

Market News: Nikkei Outlook!

[Dow Jones] Despite Nikkei's sharp drop (now down 2.4%), no need to worry about market outlook, Mizuho Investors Securities manager says. Index briefly lost more than 450 points on double whammy of high oil prices, fall in USD/JPY at a time when many players reluctant to buy ahead of earnings reports by big Japanese firms this week. Slump today just temporary drop; Investors mostly expecting strong earnings, and such solid fundamentals will support market, he says. (YOT)

Stock Earnings: OSIM International Q1 net profit 430,000 sgd vs 8.12 mln!

Healthcare company OSIM International Ltd's first-quarter results:

Sales - 155.22 mln sgd vs 86.82 mln
Pretax profit - 19.61 mln sgd vs 8.37 mln
Net profit - 430,000 sgd vs 8.12 mln
EPS - 0.10 cents vs 1.80
Quarterly div – nil

Stock News: Pacific Century higher as Newbridge raises bid!

Pacific Century Regional Developments Ltd (PCRD) was higher after a newspaper reported that Newbridge Capital has raised its offer to buy 25 pct of the company to 0.305 sgd per share from 0.27 sgd, dealers said. In early trading, Pacific Century rose 0.015 sgd or 5.09 pct to 0.310, on volume of 2.31 mln shares. The South China Morning Post cited a company statement on Newbridge's improved offer for a quarter of Hong Kong tycoon Richard Li's PCRD. PCRD's main subsidiary is Hong Kong-listed Pacific Century Insurance Holdings Ltd and it has a significant investment in its Hong Kong-listed associate, PCCW. If it succeeds in buying a quarter of PCRD, Newbridge would become the third largest shareholder in PCCW, with 5.7 pct.

Stock Buy Call: Chartered target price raises to 1.86 sgd by OCBC!

OCBC Investment Research said it has upgraded its call on Chartered Semiconductor to "buy" from "hold" and raised its fair value for the company to 1.86 sgd from 1.38 as it expects better earnings for the chipmaker over the next two years. It has raised its profit forecast for Chartered this year by 24 pct to 100.3 mln usd and by 40 pct to 126.2 mln usd for 2007 given the firm's positive outlook and expected improvement in margins. Chartered reported last week first-quarter net profit of 25.27 mln usd, ahead of its own estimate of 10-20 mln. OCBC analyst Derek Cher expects Chartered to get a boost from the deal signed with Microsoft Corp to manufacture CPU products for Microsoft's Xbox 360 game consoles with production expected to begin in the first quarter of 2007. Higher chip orders may also come from Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) as it has been gaining market share from rival Intel, Cher said. "We are not ruling out the possibility of AMD raising its chip orders to meet increasing demand over the next few quarters," he said. Chartered closed up 0.08 sgd at 1.66 last Friday.

Stock Buy Call: Chartered target price raises to 2 sgd by UBS!

Chartered Semi extends gains; UBS ups target to 2 sgd Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd extended Friday's gains after brokerages lifted their price views on the chipmaker following its forecast-beating first-quarter results. At 9.14 am, Chartered was up 0.05 sgd or 3.01 pct at 1.71 on volume of 6. 62 mln shares. The Straits Times Index was down 5.42 points at 2,598.03. Chartered reported last week net profit of 25.27 mln usd for the three months to March, ahead of its own estimate of 10-20 mln. UBS Investment said it raised its target price for Chartered to 2.00 sgd from 1.70 and maintained its "buy 2" recommendation, also citing the chipmaker's new deal with Microsoft Corp to manufacture CPU products for Microsoft's Xbox 360 game consoles starting in the first quarter of 2007. "We see this as a positive extension of a previous agreement. In our view Chartered has successfully carved out a niche position in the CPU space by leveraging on IBM's SOI technology," UBS said in a note. Separately, OCBC Investment Research upgraded its call on Chartered to "buy" from "hold" and increased its fair value estimate to 1.86 sgd from 1.38 as it expects better earnings from the company over the next two years. It raised its profit forecast for Chartered this year by 24 pct to 100.3 mln usd and by 40 pct to 126.2 mln for 2007 given the firm's positive outlook and expected improvement in margins.

Stock News: LKN-Primefield Ltd selling stake in Hotel Equartorial for 16.5 mln sgd!

LKN-Primefield Ltd said it will sell its 27 pct stake in Hotel Equatorial for 16.5 mln sgd to streamline its business and divest its non-performing assets. In a disclosure to the exchange, the net sales proceeds from the proposed disposal after deducting all expenses and foreign tax is estimated to be approximately 16.18 mln sgd. LKN-Primefield said the net loss attributable to the proposed disposal upon its completion is estimated to be 1.91 mln sgd, after deducting all expenses.

Stock News: Delong to increase production for steel for heavy demand!

Delong Holdings Ltd may extend gains after the company said it will accelerate plans to increase production capacity for steel to meet burgeoning demand from China. Delong will boost its output capacity to 2.40 mln tonnes by end-2006 from 1.60 mln tonnes currently. It had originally planned to expand capacity early next year but it advanced the timetable as it is already operating at full capacity. "Our order books are fully booked for this year. There's no more capacity for this year," Delong investor relations manager Poh Kiat said at a conference sponsored by CIMB-GK Research on Friday. "We plan to increase capacity to 7 mln tonnes (annually) in two years," he added. Poh said Delong is also on the lookout for acquisitions and is eyeing two plants in China. A deal may be concluded next year, he said.

Stock News: Biotreat won wastewater project worth 95 mln yuan!

Bio-treat Technology Ltd said it won a new turnkey municipal wastewater treatment project worth 95 mln yuan in Western Dongguan City in China's Guangdong province. Construction of the plant will start in August and is expected to be completed in 14 months. The deal is expected to have a positive impact on Bio-Treat's earnings for the years to June 2007 and 2008, it said.

Stock News: Analysts bullish on UTAC's earnings!

United Test and Assembly Center Ltd (UTAC) may extend gains as analysts could increase their earnings estimates for the chip tester and assembler after UTAC announced plans to buy NS Electronics Bangkok (1993) Ltd for up to 175 mln usd to expand its semiconductor packaging business. The acquisition should bring UTAC closer to its annual revenue target of 500 mln usd, which it hopes to achieve within two to three years. An analyst with a foreign brokerage said he is looking to upgrade his earnings forecasts for UTAC following the deal.

Star Stock: Global Test - Trading halt pending good news?

Immediate Resistance: 0.335
Immediate Support: 0.315

Seems like the recent good news of Chartered Semiconductor and UTAC have lifted the overall sentiment of the semiconductor industry.Global Test requested for trading halt on monday pending for announcement. Will it be a positive news? Looking at the candlestick chart, Global Test had formed a Morning Star formation on Friday, which is a bottom reversal signal. Using Elliot Wave, Global Test has Wave 1 ranging from 0.295 to 0.315, Wave 2 ending at 0.305. Global Test is currently in Wave 3 with a price target of 0.345! Let's await a "good news" in a few hours time!

Stock News:UTAC buys over NS Electronics!

United Test and Assembly Center Ltd, a leading independent global provider of semiconductor assembly and test services (“SATS”), announced today it intends to acquire NS Electronics Bangkok (1993) Ltd (“NSEB”), a full turnkey SATS provider based in Thailand, in an all-cash transaction amounting up to $175 million for a 100% stake. The proposed acquisition will be funded through internal resources and bank borrowings.

Stock Earning: Ascott Q1 net profit soars 18-fold!

Ascott Q1 net profit soars nearly 18-fold on divestment gains The Ascott Group said its net profit for the first quarter to March surged nearly 18 times to 43.78 mln sgd from 2.44 mln in the same period last year on divestment gains after it sold 12 assets to a real estate investment trust firm. It said its first quarter net profit has already topped its full-year profit of 41.9 mln sgd in 2005. Sales for the first quarter rose 7 pct year-on-year to 106.54 mln sgd.

ART is a the real estate investment trust (REIT) arm of Ascott Group and is listed on the Singapore Exchange. CapitaLand unit Ascott Group first quarter to March results:

Revenue - 106.54 mln sgd vs 99.66 mln

Pretax profit - 48.34 mln sgd vs 5.73 mln

Net profit - 43.8 mln sgd vs 2.44 mln

EPS - 2.72 cents vs 0.15

Quarterly div – nil

Stock Earnings: Chartered Semiconductor Q1 result beat estimate!

Chartered Semiconductor swings to profit in Q1; sees weaker Q2 net Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd said it returned to profitability in the first quarter as sales of the chipmaker almost doubled from a year earlier. The world's fourth-largest custom maker of microchips reported net profit of 25.27 mln usd for the three months to March against a loss of 84.52 mln a year ago. The net profit was ahead of Chartered's estimated range of 10-20 mln usd made in January and included 2.1 mln in cost related to stock-based compensation. First-quarter sales jumped 96 pct to 355.23 mln usd, within the company's estimate of 352-360 mln, due to strong growth in both the consumer and communications sectors, it said. Compared to the previous quarter, however, sales and net profit fell 3.3 pct and 4.7 pct, respectively. For the second quarter, Chartered expects net profit to drop to 11-21 mln usd despite sales rising to 359-367 mln.

Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd first quarter to March results:

Sales - 355.23 mln usd vs 181.35 mln

Pretax profit - 31.80 mln usd vs loss 81.08 mln

Net profit - 25.27 mln usd vs loss 84.52 mln

Earnings per ADS - 0.08 usd vs loss per ADS 0.34

Stock Upgraded: CapitaLand fair value raised to 5.44 sgd by CIMB-GK

CapitaLand Ltd may rise after CIMB-GK Research raised its fair value for the stock to 5.44 sgd from 5.30 on hopes it will win the government license to build a resort with casino on Marina Bay and as the firm grows its fund management business. On Wednesday, CapitaLand said unit CapitaLand Retail India Investments Pte Ltd agreed to invest 75 mln usd in Horizon Realty Fund LLC, an international fund sponsored by India's biggest retailer Pantaloon, to pursue retail and property opportunities in India. CapitaLand also agreed with Pantaloon to form a 50-50 joint venture retail management company and a 50-50 joint venture fund management firm. CapitaLand rose 0.09 sgd to close at 5.05 yesterday.

Stock News: Chartered Semiconductor signed agreement with Microsoft!

Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing said it signed an agreement with Microsoft Corp. to manufacture CPU products for Microsoft's Xbox 360 game consoles. Financial terms were not disclosed. Production is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2007. Separately, Chartered Semiconductor also said it has licensed the 90-nanometer Silicon-on-Insulator technology from International Business Machines. Financial terms were not disclosed. Singapore-based Chartered said the agreement allows it to expand its use of the technology to areas such as consumer, multimedia, communications, automotive and industrial applications. Chartered shares were up 4 cents at $10.11 in after-hours trading Thursday.

My Opinion on STI and Memory Device!

I have been warning ppl to be cautious when STI reaches 2580. ( see my previous posts in channelnewsasia). Indeed, there is a correction( start of bear trend?) for the past 2 days. Did you ever notice that some pennies which u may not even know their existences start to move this week? Not a very good sign. Let's see if the announcement of General Election can spark off a mini rally tmr. I will keep my finger crossed.

If you have followed my buy call on Memory Device and are in paper loss now, I wish to apologize. I am surprised that Memory Device open at such a high price(0.515) the very next day after I had posted. After the gap up, Memory Device began to cover up the gap between 0.48 to 0.515. At the same time, it had formed a big red candle. Another red candle yesterday did not help either. However, take note that yesterday's drop was coupled with very low volume, at least some comfort. Another point to note is that the Ex-dividend of Memory Device is on the 26th April, which means that tmr there might be some dividend play by contraians. If the support of Memory Device at 0.46 did not hold, cut loss and be an Initial Donkey( As what a channelnewsasia forumer said). Don't worry, you will not be the only Donkey. ( I will join you) On final note, I am still quite bullish that my price target of 0.585 can be reached in weeks. Let's wait and see.

Stock Downgraded: Jurong Tech to "hold" by DBS Research

DBS Equity Research said it has downgraded its rating for electronics contract manufacturer Jurong Technologies to "hold" from "buy" and reduced its 12-month price target to 1.78 sgd from 2.41 sgd amid doubts that the company can sustain its growth this year. "We downgrade the stock to 'hold' and would recommend investors to consider the stock at levels below 1.50 sgd, based on current expectations," DBS said in a note to clients. "We believe doubts are growing over Jurong Tech's growth prospects in the current year, given possible margin squeeze by key customers and the prospective loss of hard-disk-drive orders in the second half of 2006," DBS said. "Jurong Tech has enjoyed strong earnings growth over the last five years. However, we see the group entering a crossroads, now that it could lose a major portion of its business as Seagate acquires Maxtor, while Motorola sees competition rising within the handset space," it said. "Jurong Tech has worked hard to diversify its customer base but it is insufficient, in our view at this point, to sustain earnings momentum," it said. DBS said it has cut its estimates of net profit for Jurong Tech for this year by 12 pct to 69.90 mln sgd and for next year by 18 pct to 77 mln sgd. Last year, Jurong Tech posted a net profit of 66.40 mln sgd, compared to 48. 10 mln sgd in 2004. At 11.16 am, Jurong Tech was down 0.04 sgd or 2.37 pct at 1.65, with 392, 000 shares traded.

Stock News: UTAC bullish outlook on 5 years expansion investment!

UTAC to invest 500 mln sgd in next five years to expand capacity Chip testing and packaging firm United Test and Assembly Center Ltd (UTAC) said it will invest 500 mln sgd in the next five years to boost its manufacturing capacity. The investment will create more than 1,000 jobs, the company said. UTAC currently employs 2,400 in Singapore and 3,500 in the region. "Our expansion in Singapore is driven by higher customer demand for our industry-leading services and is part of a larger effort to alleviate current capacity constraints across the group," UTAC group president and CEO Lee Joon Chung said at the opening of a new production facility. "Our expansion in Singapore will be the first in a line of subsequent expansions of our other regional production facilities," Lee said. With a built-up area of more than 376,000 square feet, the addition of the new plant will give UTAC Singapore a combined floor space of more than 770,000 square feet, the company said. UTAC also has manufacturing facilities in Shanghai, China and Hsinchu, Taiwan.

Stock Upgraded: Innovalues Precision target price raised to 1.18 sgd by CIMB-GK

CIMB-GK Research said it has raised its target price for electronic components maker Innovalues Precision to 1.18 sgd per share from 0.91 sgd on expectations the company will achieve robust earnings growth over three years. "We believe this valuation is undemanding relative to its 34 pct compound annual growth rate potential over 2005-2008, and relative to its historical price earnings ratio band," CIMB-GK said in a note to clients. "Our recent discussions with management reveal that business remained robust in the first quarter, especially for automotive components. All facilities were operating at close to full capacity, and we believe the company is on track to achieve record earnings in 2006," CIMB-GK said. "We believe there could be upside to our forecasts if the automotive components business takes off," it added. At 9.29 am, Innovalues was up 0.025 sgd or 2.91 pct at 0.885 with 3.30 mln shares traded.

Stock Downgraded: Man Wah to "neutral" by Kim Eng

Man Wah Holdings Ltd may ease after Kim Eng Securities unit Kelive downgraded its rating for the stock to "neutral" from "buy", because it sees limited upside in the share price. "Man Wah has appreciated by over 70 pct since our initial coverage in January 2006, and surpassed our last target price of 0.55 sgd," Kelive said in a note to clients. Man Wah closed down 0.015 sgd at 0.595 yesterday.

Stock News: Cheung Woh Holding expects losses in 2nd half of finiancial year!

Cheung Woh Holdings Ltd said it expects to post losses in the second half to February due to project delays and high prices of steel. "The prices (of steel) had remained at a high level during the second half of the financial year to the extent that it had affected the group's profitability," it said. "In addition, due to certain changes in business conditions and developments which were not anticipated such as customers' delays in the issuance of projected orders for air combs and sheet metal components and costs incurred in relocating some of the manufacturing activities the second half (results) are expected to show a loss," it added. But Cheung Woh said it will stay profitable for the full year ended Feb 28. It expects to announce its full-year results next week.

Stock News: Memory Device signed letter of intent with Potevio!

Memory Devices Ltd may gain after it said that it has signed a letter of intent to supply Potevio Group, China's biggest handset producer, with solid state memory storage products. Memory Devices said purchase orders from Potevio could potentially reach 50 mln usd. The stock closed up 0.025 sgd at 0.480 yesterday.

Stock News: DMX secured 1 mln usd contract!

DMX Technologies Group Ltd may advance after it said that it has secured a 1.0 mln usd contract to build an optical backbone network for a China-based cable television (CATV) operator.DMX gained 0.010 sgd to close at 0.980 yesterday.

Stock News: M1 1st quarter earning beat forecast!

MobileOne Ltd may rise after reporting a 12.2 pct year-on-year rise in first quarter net profit to 45 mln sgd. The figure was better than Merrill Lynch's forecast of 40.8 mln sgd. First-quarter operating revenue was 189.5 mln sgd -- the same as it was the year before -- while operating expenses dropped 5.3 pct to 131.7 mln sgd from 139 mln. "Based on the current outlook, MobileOne expects to achieve single-digit growth in profit after tax for the year," company chief executive Neil Montefiore said. MobileOne closed up 0.03 sgd at 2.21 yesterday.

Stock News: Biotreat secured 110 mln yuan project!

Bio-Treat Technology Ltd may gain after it said it has secured a new 110 mln yuan turnkey municipal project in the Chinese province of Guangdong. It expects positive revenue impact from the deal for the years to June 2007 and 2008. Bio-Treat dropped 0.01 sgd to close at 1.29 yesterday.

Star Stock: Memory Device racing like Initial D!

Immediate Resistance: 0.49
Immediate Support: 0.46

This stock has just corrected from 0.505 to 0.44 recently, completing Wave 4 of the Elliot Waves. Wave 1 starts from 0.315 to 0.4, Wave 2, on the other hand, retreats from 0.4 to 0.37. Wave 3 rallies from 0.37 to 0.505. Currently, Memory Device should be in the final Wave with a price target of 0.585.

STI market outlook by Merrill Lynch

Merrill Lynch said the benchmark Straits Times Index may hit 2,840 points by yearend, citing strong economic and corporate fundamentals. "Due to strong macroeconomic outlook, the increase in our GDP expectation, the increase in the 2006 corporate growth rate expectation and the signs of positive wealth effects, we believe it is too early to back away from our positive view on the Singapore market," Merrill Lynch research head Tony Raza said in a note. Merrill Lynch said 2,840 points for the key equities index is based on a multiple of 17.5 times earnings forecasts for 2006. It was earlier looking at a mid-year target of 2,460. He said the brokerage continues to recommend market laggards such as banks which would benefit from the economic upswing. Merrill Lynch said DBS Group Holdings and United Overseas Bank should lead the rally in the second half, along with Suntec REIT, Fraser & Neave, Singapore Airlines, City Developments, Jardine Cycle & Carriage, Chartered Semiconductor, Singapore Press Holdings and Singapore Petroleum Corp.

"We continue to believe that small caps and China caps that have extraordinary runs are merely correcting significant miss-pricing and still offer more upside though on a more selective basis from these levels," Raza said. Unisteel, GES, Memtech, OSIM and Petra Foods are its bets among small capital stocks while the brokerage favors Beauty China, FibreChem, Celestial, DMX and Fung Choi among China-linked stocks. Merrill Lynch dropped its rating on real estate investment trusts to "market weight" on account of "the combination of interest rates and capital raising headwinds.""We also downgrade property largely as we think the casino theme has largely played out and we could pave softness into the actual announcement, especially since the Sands bid appears compelling," Raza said. At the close of morning trade, the Straits Times Index was up 2.13 points at 2,552.47.

Stock News: Honguo boost shoe production capacity!

Hongguo to boost shoe production capacity by 50 pct China-based Hongguo International Holdings Ltd said it will invest 18 mln yuan to boost its production capacity for women's shoes by 50 pct to 3.90 mln pairs annually by June 2007. The additional capacity will help the company meet growing demand for both its in-house ladies' footwear labels C.Banner and E.Blan, as well as orders from other shoemakers. Apart from expanding its production capacity, Hongguo is also investing 8 mln yuan to develop a new design and logistics center in Guangzhou. When completed by end-2006, the company's design capability will increase from 1,000 to 4,000 models a year, it said. Separately, Hongguo said its wholly owned subsidiary Mayflower (Nanjing) Enterprise Ltd has signed a memorandum of understanding with San-Diego based KIA Group Inc, a US-based designer and manufacturer of fashion footwear Naughty Monkey. Under the MOU, Mayflower Nanjing will receive exclusive distribution rights for Naughty Monkey footwear in China for the next five years.

Stock Upgrade: Koda's fair value raised to 0.705 sgd by OCBC

OCBC Securities said it has raised its fair value for furniture maker Koda to 0.705 sgd per share from 0.52 sgd as it expects the company to post stronger earnings for the year to June 2007. OCBC said it has raised its estimate of net profit for Koda for the year to June 2007 to 9.80 mln sgd from 8.70 mln sgd to factor-in potential contributions from new furniture orders so far this year. Koda recently announced that it had secured 8.50 mln sgd-worth of new orders in the three months to March, bringing the value of its order book at the end of March to 31.50 mln sgd. "In view of its surging order book, improving margins and proximity to its financial year ended June, we now have a fair value estimate of 0.705 sgd (versus 0.52 sgd previously) for Koda. This is based on an undemanding eight times year-to-June-2007 earnings," OCBC said. t 11.24 am, Koda was up 0.01 sgd or 2.04 pct at 0.50, with 134,000 shares traded.

Stock News: Tat Hong joint venture with KS Energy to charter 2 land rigs for 10.8 mln usd!

Tat Hong Holdings said it will set up a joint venture with KS Energy Services to charter two land rigs to a Chinese oil company, which it did not identify, for 10.8 mln usd. In a statement, Tat Hong said it will provide support in the maintenance of the rigs, while KS Energy will engage in the procurement, installation, commissioning and the subsequent management of the rigs. Tat Hong will have a 30 pct interest in the venture, with the balance to be held by KS Energy. The rigs are under construction in China and will be delivered in the second half of 2006. At the end of the charter period, with the consent of the Chinese oil company, the joint venture, as owner of the rigs, will be able to re-deploy the assets.

Stock News: STAR Pharmaceutical Ltd acquire research institute for 55 mlm yuan!

STAR Pharmaceutical Ltd said it has agreed to acquire 60 pct of research institute Beida Shijia Technology Development Co for 55 mln yuan from Milion Power Holdings Ltd. Peking University will hold the balance of 40 pct in Beida Shijia, which specializes in the research and development of innovative drugs formulated from traditional Chinese medicines. STAR Pharmaceutical said that the acquisition will be funded from the proceeds of its initial public offering and internal resources.

Stock News: Labroy Marine Ltd won 28.8 mln usd contract!

Labroy Marine Ltd said it has won a contract worth 28.8 mln usd to build two 63-meter anchor handling tug supply vessels for an unnamed customer. "This shipbuilding contract is not expected to have any material effect on the earnings per share and net tangible assets per share of Labroy group in the current year," the company said.

Stock Buy Call: China Essence price target of 0.855 sgd by Philip Securities Research

China Essence Group Ltd may continue to edge higher after Phillip Securities Research initiated coverage of the producer of potato starch with a "buy" recommendation and a target price of 0.855 sgd, citing positive industry outlook. The brokerage believes that growth in the potato processing industry will continue in the next 10 years or more. China Essence gained 0.035 sgd to close at 0.710 yesterday.

Star Stock: C&O 3rd wave coming!

Immediate Resistance: 0.52
Immediate Support: 0.48

C&O is currently on the uptrend. This stock should be in Wave 3 now. With Wave 1 ranges from 0.21 to 0.385 and Wave 2 ended at 0.315, wave 3 should have a target price of around 0.595. Try to catch this counter between 0.48 to 0.5. Cut loss if 0.48 support is breached.

Stock News: AMD reaffirmed chip orders with Chartered Semiconductor

Chartered Semiconductor higher on orders news Chartered Semiconductor was sharply higher after Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) reaffirmed last week that it would place chip orders with the company from the second half of this year, dealers said. In early trading, Chartered was up 0.05 sgd or 3.33 pct at 1.55, with 3. 11 mln shares having changed hands. An analyst with a local brokerage said of AMD's reaffirmation: "This is a positive development." Investors are also hoping that Chartered will report this Friday better-than-expected results for the first quarter. Chartered expects revenue in the first quarter to have been in the range of 352-360 mln usd and net profit to have been 10-20 mln usd because of seasonal factors. The previous quarter's sales were 367.21 mln usd and net profit 26.52 mln usd. "There is a chance they might outperform their guidance," the analyst said, noting that orders for chips for Microsoft's X-Box have been strong.

Stock Upgraded: Singtel fair value raised to 2.95 sgd by Citigroup

Citigroup has raised its fair value estimate for Singapore Telecommunications Ltd to 2.95 sgd per share from 2.90 on expectations of better earnings and dividend payout for the year ended March 31. While the operating environment in Australia remains tough for unit Optus, Citigroup said the deconsolidation of loss-making C2C should enhance SingTel's earnings. Citigroup said it also expects SingTel to announce a special dividend of 0.10 sgd per share on top of a 0.09 sgd ordinary dividend when the company announces its full-year results next month. At 10.18 am, SingTel was down 0.02 sgd or 0.74 pct at 2.67 with 4.03 mln shares changing hands.

Stock News: China Petrol signs new oil contract contract!

China Petrotech Holdings Ltd said that it has entered into an oilfield service contract with China Zhen Rong Cambodian Energy Co Ltd. Under the agreement, China Petrotech will provide technical advisory and project management services to China Zhen Rong's offshore oil project operations in Cambodia. China Petrotech said it will be paid a project management fee and a separate technical advisory fee for each consultancy project. "We expect this project to contribute to the revenue of China Petrotech group from the second half of 2006," China Petrotech executive chairman William Chan said in a statement.

Stock News: Hi-P reduces 1st quarter forcast!

Hi-P International Ltd may drop after announcing that it expects a 7.5 pct drop in first quarter to March revenue to 185 mln sgd from 200 mln in the fourth quarter of 2005. Earlier the company was looking at first quarter sales and profit to be flat compared to the preceding quarter. Net profit for the first quarter is estimated to amount to 11 mln sgd, compared to the 21.9 mln it reported in the preceding quarter. "The revenue shortfall comes from a weaker-than-expected performance in March due to unexpected order push-outs. The push-outs were due to component shortages affecting some of our customers," Hi-P said. Hi-P expects to release its first quarter results on May 3. It closed 0.02 sgd lower at 1.43 last Thursday.

Stock News: Robinson selling stake for 203 mlm sgd!

Robinson and Co Ltd may gain after Auric Pacific Group unit Red Oasis Pte Ltd agreed to buy a 29.9 pct stake, or 25.71 mln shares, in the retailer for 203 mln sgd, or 7.90 sgd per share. Auric Pacific is paying 17 pct premium above Robinson's closing price of 6.75 sgd on Thursday. The Robinson shares are being sold collectively by Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp Ltd and its units Great Eastern Holdings Ltd, the Overseas Assurance Corp and Orient Holdings Pte Ltd. The proposed acquisition is subject to approval by shareholders of OCBC and its units. Upon completion of the divestment, OCBC and its units' stake in Robinson will be reduced to 6.1 pct from the current 35.96 pct. "Selling this stake in Robinson meets several objectives. The transaction allows us to comply with regulations requiring us to divest our non-core assets, achieves a healthy gain for our shareholders and adds to our resources for investing in our core financial services businesses," OCBC chief executive David Conner said. The OCBC group will realize an exceptional gain of 98 mln sgd from the divestment.

Stock News: China Hongxing robust earnings in next 3 years!

China Hongxing Sports Ltd, which makes sports shoes, said it expects robust earnings in the next three years. The company forecasts net profit to rise to 180 mln yuan this year from 127.53 mln in 2005, and increase further to 300 mln next year and to 400 mln in 2008. The forecast was made as a guarantee to the 80 mln redeemable convertible non-cumulative preference shares (RCPS) the company is selling at 1.25 sgd each to US-based fund manager Och-Ziff Capital Management Group and CIM VII Ltd. Net proceeds of 95 mln sgd will be used to finance the group's expansion plans, provide working capital, and step up marketing efforts. "The RCPS is a great way for us to gain access to funds to accelerate our growth, while at the same time having the benefit of not immediately diluting the shareholding of existing shareholders," China Hongxing CEO and executive director Wu Rongguang said. "The proceeds from the RCPS will enable us to accelerate the construction of Phase 2 of our production facilities. Commercial production is expected to commence by the second quarter of 2007, instead of fourth quarter as originally planned," Wu said. "This will add approximately 5.6 mln pairs of shoes to our capacity per annum. The full completion of Phase 1 and 2 of our production facility will bring our total annual production capacity to approximately 16.8 mln pairs of shoes." China Hongxing will raise another 100 mln sgd once the preference shares are fully converted into shares at 1.25 sgd each, subject to the company meeting profit targets set between 2006 and 2008. Upon full conversion of the RCPS, Och-Ziff will hold a 16.7 pct stake in the Chinese shoemaker.

Star Stock: China Essence - Essence of the bullish market!

Immediate Resistance: 0.685
Immediate Support: 0.655

This stock has been rising steadily since the day of ipo. In the last 2 sessions, this counter has been testing the major resistance level at 0.655 and it finally breakout on Thur 13 April. The next major resistance will be 0.685 and 0.705.

Star Stock: Chartered back on recovery track!

Immediate Resistance: 1.59
Immediate Support: 1.49

This is a follow-up of my analysis back from 29th Mar on Chartered Semi Conductor: Genuine Recovery. Chartered was hammered recently in the last 8 sessions. However, with a Doji formed on Thur 14 April, and CHRT up 0.43 in Nasdaq, it is very likely that the CSM may develop a Morning Doji Star Candlestick formation in the next session, which is a bottom reversal signal. At this point of time, Elliont Wave shows that CSM has just ended Wave 4. Wave 1 began from 1.16 to 1.37, Wave 2 retraced from 1.37 to 1.26. Wave 3 edged higher from 1.26 to 1.64 and Wave ended at 1.5. the Target Price of Wave should be around 1.84.

Star Stock: Sky Petrol Final Wave is here!

Immediate Sesistance: 0.63
Immeidate Support: 0.575

Yesterday I was too tired, so I decided to post the chart of Sky Petrol today. Sky Petrol is right now in the 5th Wave. Wave 1 starts from 0.445 to 0.54, Wave 2 range from 0.54 to 0.495. Wave 3 shoots up to 0.615 from 0.495 and Wave 4 ends at 0.555. The target price of Wave 5, which is the final wave, should be around 0.655.

Stock News: China Fishery on quest for new fishing areas

China Fishery up on quest for new fishing areas China Fishery Group extended its gains, with the stock trading near a 52-week high of 3.10 sgd per share, as the company makes efforts to secure new fishing grounds, dealers said. In early trading, China Fishery was up 0.07 sgd or 2.34 pct at 3.06, with 537,000 shares traded. China Fishery's need for new fishing grounds is an indication that its business is continuing to do well, dealers said. "The company is currently in preliminary negotiations with certain parties on the possibility of increasing the group's fishing grounds," China Fishery replied when Singapore Exchange asked it to explain the surge in the price of its shares and the volume traded. Last year, China Fishery's net profit surged to 30.66 mln usd from 17.65 mln usd the year before, driven by strong demand. DBS Equity Research, which initiated coverage of China Fishery in February, expects the company's net profit to rise to 70.8 mln usd this year and to 87.9 mln usd next year.

Stock News: Metax Engineering wins 9.1 mln sgd contract!

Metax Engineering wins water treatment contract in India Metax Engineering Corp Ltd said it and partner Nuchem Ltd have won a contract to build and operate reverse-osmosis plants in India. In a statement, Metax said the contract worth 9.1 mln sgd was awarded by Mangalam-Eastern Water Recycling Company Ltd. Work on the treatment plant will start in the second quarter and the plants are expected to be fully operational by March 2007.

Stock News: Ho Bee sell 120 mln shares placement at 0.9-0.93 each

Ho Bee Investment Ltd said it will sell 120 mln shares at 0.90-0.93 sgd each via a share placement to be handled by DBS Bank as placement agent. Final pricing for the placement will be fixed tomorrow. The net proceeds of 106.6-110.1 mln sgd will be used by the company to repay 75.9 mln sgd of debt, to fund future property developments projects, for working capital and for land acquisition, it said. Ho Bee was suspended from trading this afternoon pending the announcement. It ended the morning session down 0.01 sgd or 1.03 pct at 0. 965, with 38,000 shares traded.

Stock News: Pan United Marine won 3 contracts worth 45 mln sgd

Pan-United Marine Ltd said unit Pan-United Asphalt Pte Ltd has won three contracts together worth 45 mln sgd with the Land Transport Authority here. In a statement, the company said the contracts include a two-year project for the ad hoc repair and upgrading of roads in the West Sector worth 22 mln sgd; planned maintenance of roads in the East and West Sector worth 9 mln sgd; and a one-year contract for the milling and patching of roads in the west of Singapore worth 14 mln sgd.

Stock News: Labroy Marine won 34.58 mln usd contract!

Labroy Marine Ltd said its unit Labroy Shipbuilding And Engineering Pte Ltd has won a shipbuilding contract worth 34. 58 mln usd to construct a cement carrier, with delivery scheduled for March 2008. "This shipbuilding contract is not expected to have any material effect on the earnings per share and net tangible assets per share of Labroy Group in the current year," Labroy Marine said in a statement.

Stock News: China Milk strong prospects!

China Milk sharply higher on strong prospects China Milk, which breeds dairy cows and produces raw milk, was sharply higher on strong earnings prospects given the rising demand for cows in the Chinese dairy industry, dealers said. "There is a lot of demand for cows in China. That is what they are leveraging on," an analyst with a local brokerage said. China Milk started trading on the Singapore Exchange four weeks ago and its share price has almost doubled from its IPO price of 0.62 sgd per share. Dealers said heavy trading in China Milk shares has also been spurred by speculation that call warrants on the stock may be launched soon. China Milk was up 0.09 sgd or 9.0 pct at 1.09, off a high of 1.11, on top volume of 26.21 mln shares.

Stock News: CHT to raise 34.5 mln thru convertible notes

CHT (Holdings) Ltd may gain after it said it has entered into an agreement with CIMB-GK Securities Pte Ltd and two other institutional investors to raise 34. 5 mln sgd via the issuance of three-year unsecured convertible notes. "We intend to use the proceeds to finance the expansion of (our) production facilities in Zhuozhou and Shanghai, for research and development and for working capital purposes," said CHT executive chairman Wong Fung. He added the funds will also allow the company to raise its production capacity and meet a projected increase in demand for its products in mainland China and overseas.

Stock Buy Call: Ascott Residence Trust target price of 1.50 by OCBC

Ascott Residence Trust (ART) may rise after OCBC Investment Research initiated coverage of the stock with a "buy" rating and a target price of 1.50 sgd because the real estate investment trust (REIT) for serviced residences is expected to benefit from the growth of economies in East Asia. In a note to clients, OCBC said it expects ART to buy more assets to drive growth. "We see ART to eventually achieve an asset size of 2 bln sgd in 2-3 years' time. In terms of valuation, we value ART at 1.50 sgd per unit, based on [its] expected target portfolio size of 2 bln sgd," OCBC said. "This in turn translates to a 2006 distribution per unit forecast yield of 4.1 pct and is consistent with comparables with higher risks like Mapletree Logistics Trust, which trades at 4.7 pct." Ascott ended down 0.01 sgd at 1.24 yesterday.

Stock Buy Call: ElectroTech target price of 0.75 by Philip Securities

ElectroTech Investments Ltd may extend gains after Phillip Securities initiated coverage of the stock with a "buy" rating and fair value of 0.75 sgd. Phillip said ElectroTech's mechatronics division and semiconductor segment will be the growth drivers for the company. "Investors can look at ElectroTech as a conservative proxy play to the semiconductor industry," Phillip said in a client note. "With two key customers, ASML and FEI, involved in the capital equipment market for the semiconductor industry, it will stand to benefit from an industry upturn." ElectroTech yesterday closed 0.025 sgd higher at 0.57.

Stock News: CSE won 3mln contract!

CSE Global Ltd may rise after its unit CSE Servelec won a contract worth over 3 mln stg for the supply of the backbone for the UK Meteorological Office's weather monitoring system. The system, which will allow the Met Office to carry out data processing and analysis centrally in a flexible and manageable way, will go live in September 2007, the company said. CSE yesterday finished 0.015 sgd higher at 0.93.

Stock Buy Call: Mediaring far value of 0.71 sgd by CLSA

MediaRing extends gains on positive outlook Internet telephony service provider MediaRing Ltd extended recent gains on expectations of strong earnings going forward as web-based telephony becomes increasingly popular to consumers worldwide, dealers said. "The earnings outlook remains rosy," CLSA said in a note to clients last week. "MediaRing is the world's largest listed profitable voice over Internet protocol pure play, with 80 pct revenue exposure to high growth markets in the Middle East," it added. CLSA rates the stock a "buy" with a fair value of 0.71 sgd. MediaRing was up 0.03 sgd or 6.67 pct at 0.48 with 31.70 mln shares traded.

Stock Upgraded: Ellipsiz with fair value of 0.78 sgd by DBS

DBS Equity Research said it has initiated coverage of Ellipsiz with fair value of 0.78 sgd per share. "Ellipsiz has managed to make a few acquisitions. It bought the probe card business from Kulicke & Soffa Industries Inc and raised its stakes in iNETest Resources Pte Ltd and SV Probe Pte Ltd," DBS said in a note to clients. "These acquisitions are potential growth drivers for Ellipsiz. It can now fully ride on the growing probe card market," DBS said. At 9.24 am, Ellipsiz was up 0.015 sgd or 2.46 pct at 0.625 with 427,000 shares traded.

Stock Upgraded: CapitaLand fair value raised to 5.15 sgd by Macquarie

Macquarie Equities Research has raised its fair value estimate for CapitaLand Ltd to 5.15 sgd from 4.85 before amid expectations of further improvement in office rents and residential property prices. "Should office rents and residential prices rise a further 10 pct from our base case scenario, that would translate to a further 0.26 sgd increase (plus 5 pct) to our revised net asset value (RNAV)," Macquarie said in a note published last week. In addition to improving property market fundamentals, Macquarie said CapitaLand should see further upside if it and partner MGM-Mirage win the license to build an integrated resort with casino on Marina Bay. "The winner of the Marina Bay bid will be announced in June 2006. Should the MGM Mirage-CapitaLand joint venture win, CapitaLand's 40 pct stake in the joint venture could be worth at least 0.55 sgd per share," Macquarie said. Another catalyst for CapitaLand's share price include the possible distribution of proceeds from the sale of Raffles City commercial complex as special dividend, it added. "Hence, a blue sky scenario could see the RNAV lifted to circa 6 sgd," Macquarie said. At 9.50 am, CapitaLand was up 0.08 sgd or 1.70 pct at 4.80 with 14.66 mln shares traded.

Stock Upgraded: TeleChoice target price raised to 0.45 by DBS

TeleChoice International Ltd may advance again after DBS Equity Research raised its target price for the stock to 0.45 sgd from 0.34 previously on expectations of strong profits given rising demand for mobile handsets. The brokerage maintained its "buy" recommendation for the telecommunications equipment distributor. "Demand for mobile handsets should remain robust in the Asia Pacific, according to Gartner's estimates. TeleChoice should benefit from this growth in markets like Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. The group is also seeing strong growth from the network engineering business and has introduced new services in the telecom segment," DBS said in a note to clients. TeleChoice closed up 0.015 sgd at 0.345 yesterday.

Stock News: OCBC selling development site for 329.1 mln sgd

Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp Ltd (OCBC) may advance after announcing that its wholly-owned unit Kim Seng Properties Pte Ltd is selling a residential development site at Kim Seng Road here to Lippo Karawaci Corp for 329.1 mln sgd. OCBC said the sale is in line with the bank's effort to unload non-core assets and use the funds to invest in its core financial services business. OCBC said it expects to recognize a gain of approximately 260 mln sgd from the sale. The stock closed flat at 6.75 sgd yesterday.

Star Stock: GES something is brewing?

Immediate Resistance: 1.02/1.03
Immediate Support: 0.98

0.98 GES is up 2 cents even though most of the singapore stocks have ended lower today. Looking at the chart, GES has an abnormal high volume today. On opening, GES has already gap up a cent, there may be something that is brewing which we are unaware of. In addition, it seems that GES has formed Wave 1 from 0.935 to 1 and Wave 2 from 1 to 0.97. Currently, it should be in Wave 3 with a price target 1.07/1.08. However, Wave 3 is usually the longest among all the waves. Since Wave 1 was formed from 14 Mar to 31 Mar, the price target of Wave 3 should be not be reached in the short future. Instead, GES may need to cover up the gap between 1 to 1.01 that is created today. Recommend a buy between 0.98-1 with a initial price target of 1.07/1.08. Cut loss if 0.975 support is lost!

Stock Upgraded: SIA Engg by Citigroup

SIA Engg fair value raised to 3.76 sgd – Citigroup Citigroup has raised its fair value for SIA Engineering Co Ltd to 3.76 sgd from 2.75 because it expects the aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) unit of Singapore Airlines Ltd (SIA) to pay a special dividend whether SIA sells it or not. Citigroup estimates SIA Engineering's dividend potential is supported by cash balance of about 0.43 sgd per share and zero debt as of end-2005. SIA Engineering is one of two SIA subsidiaries that Mentor Minister Lee Kuan Yew recommended that the airline divest to enable it to focus on its core operations. "We expect SIA to retain a meaningful stake in SIA Engineering, which works well for SIA Engineering in our view as being airline-linked has more advantages," Citigroup said in a research note. "SIA Engineering continues to be in a sweet spot of rising MRO demand and a nearly full order book," it said. SIA Engineering's earnings will be driven by SIA's fleet of B777s, most of which are due for their first major overhaul, as well as robust contributions from its joint venture MRO operations, it added. At 9.34 am, SIA Engineering was up 0.02 sgd or 0.63 pct at 3.18 with 249, 000 shares traded.

Stock News: Sembcorp Marine wins 165.5 mln USD deal!

SembCorp Marine unit wins 165.5 mln usd rig deal SembCorp Marine said unit Jurong Shipyard has won a 165.5 mln usd order for a deep drilling offshore jack-up rig from JackInvest I Pte Ltd, a unit of Larsen Oil and Gas. Construction of the jack-up rig is expected to start next month and it is expected to be delivered by December 2008. "Barring unforeseen circumstances, SembCorp Marine expects a positive contribution to its earnings from the contract," the company said in a statement. However, it said that the contract is not expected to have any material impact on the net tangible assets and earnings per share of SembCorp Marine for this year.

Stock News: Digiland Int one for 10 right issue at 0.005 sgd!

Digiland International said it will raise 2.28-3. 23 mln sgd via a one-for-10 rights issue. The company plans to issue up to 696.3 mln new shares at 0.005 sgd each. Each rights share entitles shareholders to subscribe to three warrants free of charge. The warrants entitle holders to subscribe within 18 months to one new share at 0.01 sgd each, Digiland said. Digiland will have raised another 15.20-20.89 mln sgd once the warrants are exercised.

Stock Downgraded: Creative "underperform" by Macquarie

Creative Technology Ltd may slide again after Macquarie cut its rating to "underperform" from "neutral" and lowered its target price to 9.00 sgd from 12.20, citing the company's falling operating margins. Creative said it expects an operating loss of about 55-65 mln usd in its third quarter to March due to margin pressures. Creative said the operating loss is due to a sharp drop in flash memory prices over the quarter which resulted in lower revenues, gross margins and inventory writedowns. "Taking these new inputs together with the 34 mln usd in restructuring charges leads to a loss of nearly 100 mln usd at the net line for the third quarter. This will reduce shareholders' funds by nearly 17 pct for the quarter," Macquarie said. Creative closed 0.10 sgd lower at 10.90 on Friday.

Star Stock: Global Voice ~ Reaching peak of wave 3!

Immediate Resistance: 0.19

Immediate Support: 0.17

Global Voice had risen from 0.135 on 14th Mar to 0.185 last Friday. With Wave 1 0.135 to 0.16 and Wave 2 from 0.16 to 0.15, the stock is reaching the target price of 0.19 for Wave 3 soon. After the target is reached, a pull back to 0.175 for Wave 4 is highly likely. the target price for Wave 5 will be around 21.5.

Stock Downgraded: Man Wah downgraded to neutral by CIMB-GK

Man Wah downgraded to 'neutral' - CIMB-GK CIMB-GK Research said it has downgraded its rating on Man Wah Holdings Ltd to "neutral" from "outperform" after the Hong Kong-based sofa maker sold 43 mln new shares at 0.56 sgd per share via a placement. The net proceeds from the placement of 23.18 mln sgd will be used to fund the group's expansion plans. CIMB-GK said it has also lowered its fair value for Man Wah to 0.63 sgd per share from 0.71 sgd previously as the the placement will dilute earnings per share (EPS) estimates for the year to March 2007 through 2008 by about 15 pct. "Man Wah's share price has done well recently, rising almost 32 pct in the last month. The company is trading at a 9.5 times prospective (2006) price earnings ratio, at the high end of its historical trading band," CIMB-GK said. "With only 5 pct upside to our target and no near-term catalysts, we are downgrading our recommendation from 'outperform' to 'neutral'," it said. At 9.05 am, Man Wah was down 0.01 sgd or 1.67 pct at 0.59 with 657,000 shares traded.

Stock Trading Buy Call: JEL by CIMB-GK

CIMB-GK Research said it has initiated coverage of JEL Corp (Holdings) Ltd, a distributor of photographic and consumer electronic products, with a "trading buy" rating and a target price of 0.51 sgd. In a note to clients, CIMB-GK said JEL has an extensive network in growing markets such as Indochina, Africa and Latin America, and distributes a wide range of products, which has recently expanded to include Motorola mobile phones and Apple iPods. "We initiate coverage with a 'trading buy' rating and expect strong earnings and possible new distribution rights to act as near-term catalysts," CIMB-GK said. "Among the product segments, we believe that the wireless business presents the most exciting growth opportunities for JEL. Low handset penetration rates in these emerging markets, coupled with Motorola's strong brand name and wide range of models, offer good growth prospects." At 11.42 am, JEL was up 0.01 sgd or 2.6 pct at 0.39, on volume of 5.211 mln shares.

Stock News: City Dev re-evaluate the launching of own REIT

City Developments may be in focus after saying it will re-evaluate the merits of launching its own real estate investment trust (REIT) after its attempt to sell some 788 mln sgd worth of commercial properties last year was scuttled. In June last year, City Developments agreed to sell the properties to Suntec REIT but the deal fell through after the Monetary Authority of Singapore failed to clear it before it could be presented for approval by Suntec REIT shareholders at a meeting on September 30. "The group is mindful of the recent tax incentives and the enhancements to the regulatory framework for REIT vehicles in Singapore," City Developments executive chairman Kwek Leng Beng said in the company's latest annual report. "With the improving rental rates for the office market and growing appetite for REIT offerings, the group will re-evaluate the merits and feasibility of various REIT transactions involving our existing asset portfolio through the listing of a new REIT vehicles and other REIT-related transactions," Kwek said. City Developments yesterday closed 0.20 sgd higher at 10.80.

Stock News: Mah Wah Holdings 43 mln shares placement at 0.56 sgd!

Man Wah Holdings Ltd, a Hong Kong-based home furniture group, said it will sell 43 mln shares at 0.56 sgd each through a placement. The company said it hopes to raise net proceeds of about 23.18 mln sgd, of which much will be used to fund expansion costs. Man Wah said the placement shares represent about 14.82 pct of the company's present issued share capital.

Stock News: China Dairy expansion in milk powder production!

China Dairy Group, the largest dairy producer and distributor in northwest China, may rise after reporting that it has had preliminary discussions with major shareholder F&N Dairy Investments Pte Ltd for a possible milk powder joint venture. Replying to a query from the Singapore Exchange as to the possible reasons behind the brisk trade in its shares and the rising price, the company said it is planning to construct an additional milk powder production facility in Xi'an City in China amid rising consumer demand. "The matter has not been brought up to the board. No decision has been reached by the board as at the date of this announcement in respect of the aforesaid matters," the company said. China Dairy yesterday closed flat at 0.595 sgd, after trading between 0. 585 and touching a 52-week high of 0.650.

Stock Buy Call: China Petrotech from SIA Research

China Petrotech Holdings Ltd may extend gains after SIAS Research initiated coverage of the stock with a "buy" rating and a target price of 0.925 sgd because of the company's dominant position in providing technological services for upstream activity in the Chinese oil and gas industry. "With ongoing exploration activities, China Petrotech is on course to ride along this energy exploration trend," SIAS said in a note to clients. "The company is strong financially. Its operation yields strong margins at gross and net levels, and is cash-generating. The balance sheet is in net cash and has no debts. Its return on equity ranks among the highest when compared to its peers." China Petrotech closed 0.025 sgd higher at 0.70 yesterday.

Stock News: SGX may rise!

Singapore Exchange Ltd (SGX) may rise after Deutsche Bank said it expects the bourse to report next Tuesday third quarter to March net profit of 54 mln sgd, up 94 pct year-on-year, supported by robust equities and derivatives trading volumes. Deutsche said it expects SGX to declare a quarterly dividend of 0.015 sgd per share. Deustche rates SGX a "buy" with fair value of 4.70 sgd. SGX finished 0.30 sgd higher at 4.50 yesterday.

Star Stock: Global Test - End of Correction?

Immediate Resistancce: 0.335
Immediate Support: 0.315

Global Test seems to have ended the correction at 0.285 on 14th Mar. With the upgrade of Global Test by DBS Vickers, this stock is likely to head north. Of course, this is provided that US Nasdaq continue its climb to break new highs on the way.

Stock Buy Call from DBS: Global Test

Global Testing rated 'buy'; fair value 0.42 sgd – DBS DBS Equity Research said it has initiated coverage of Taiwan-based Global Testing Corp with a "buy" rating and fair value of 0. 42 sgd per share. Global Testing provides testing services to integrated design manufacturers (IDMs), IC designers and foundries such as Philips, Sunplus and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. "Its competitive advantage rests on its focus in mixed signal logic (MSL) chips that are widely used in consumer electronics and communication devices such as LCD monitors, hard disk drives and DVD players," DBS said. "Demand for independent testing services remains high due to tight capacity amid a slew of new consumer electronics products," it said. At 9.10 am, Global Testing was up 0.01 sgd or 3.23 pct at 0.32 with 6.27 mln shares traded.

Stock News: Datacraft earned 5.6 mln contracts

Datacraft gets 5.6 mln usd of contracts from SKorea firm Systems integrator Datacraft Asia said it has secured 5.6 mln usd worth of contracts with hanarotelecom, a South Korean fixed-line telecommunications service provider. Datacraft said it has been awarded a 3.6 mln usd deal to expand the IP backbone network of hanarotelecom. "Korea's fixed-line sector is consolidating and we have an important continuing role to play at hanarotelecom to ensure that it sets the benchmark both for quality-of-service and cost-effective operations," Datacraft Korea general manager Young-Jong Hur said. Separately, the company said hanarotelecom has also renewed its annual 2 mln contract for service managment with Datacraft.

Stock of the day! China Sun Bio-chem - Sweet Prospects from UOB Kay Hian

High sugar prices are driving demand for corn sweeteners, andconsequently corn starch. Separately, the PRC government reiterated itscommitment to develop renewable energy resources during the recent NationalPeople's Congress.Ø Point: CSBT should benefit from higher corn starch sales, butmodified starch margins could be affected with rising corn costs. We alsoremain optimistic about CSBT securing the fuel ethanol license although thedecision may take longer than expected.Ø Relevance: CSBT is trading at attractive 50% discount to global cornstarch players. We reiterate our BUY recommendation, with a raised targetprice of S$0.95.High sugar prices driving corn starch demand. Sugar prices in China havedoubled over the last year, which led to increased usage of corn-basedsweetener, a cheaper substitute. This in turn, led to higher demand andprices for raw materials i.e. corn starch and corn. Historical datasuggests CSBT had been able to adjust its corn starch prices to match thefluctuations in corn costs to maintain profitability. However, modifiedstarch prices are more resistant to change, which may lead to marginsqueeze in a rising corn price environment. An improving product mix shouldnevertheless help CSBT mitigate the potential negative impact.Still optimistic about fuel ethanol license. The PRC government reiteratedits focus on renewable energy resources during the National People'sCongress in March 2006, but there were no specific discussions on fuelethanol licenses. The government could be taking more time to explore theuse of other crops like potato and tapioca, given the tightening cornsupply in China. Nevertheless, we remain optimistic that it willeventually award corn-based ethanol quota to support corn prices andfarmers' income. CSBT also has limited competition for the license inLiaoning, which enhances its chances of securing the quota.1Q06 earnings growth expected to exceed 20% y-o-y. CSBT should see profitgrowth supported by higher sales although margins are likely to decline.Its valuation remains undemanding at 8x FY07F PE ? it could re-rate up withthe fuel ethanol license or new acquisitions. With the successful executionof CSBT's capacity expansion, we lower our WACC assumption from 18% to 16%to derive a new DCF-based price target of S$0.95. This excludes potentialupside of S$0.25-0.50/share if CSBT were to secure the fuel ethanollicense. Key risks could be unexpected margin squeeze due to sharp spike incorn prices and the rejection of CSBT's fuel ethanol license application.

Stock Buy Call from iOCBC

Full Apex Holdings- Full Apex experienced a 26% drop from a high of $0.425 on 9 Feb 2006. It leveled out at a low of $0.315 on 14 Mar 2006 and began rising thereafter, appreciating by 15%.- The bullish candlestick formation on 24 Mar 2006 has yet to be neutralized; hence this gives us a positive indication of more upside to this stock.- Medium term price indicators signal that the share price still has ample room to rise before entering into overbought regions, thus supporting our bullish forecast on Full Apex.- Elliot wave patterns indicate Full Apex is experiencing a correction, however, given that it is currently trending over its 10-day moving average. We believe this correction is likely to be mild.- We recommend a BUY on Full Apex. Target price set at $0.40. Entry price set below $0.35.

Star Stock: UTAC at the cross road!

Immediate Resistance: 0.955/0.965

Immeidate Support: 0.95

Thanks to the positive motivation of "Big Brother" Chartered, UTAC has finally shown some sign of life in the last few trading sessions. On 4th April Tues, UTAC ended the day with a Doji. Therefore, the performance of the next trading day can determine the short term movement of this stock. If the stock can break the resistance of 0.955 and 0.965 ( previous high) tmr, it will test the pyschological barrier of $1 soon. At the point of writing the article, Nasdaq is up, Chartered is up 0.23 at 10.28. As a result, it is highly likely UTAC is going up tmr. Recommend a buy at current price with a target price of $1, if tmr ended below 0.95, cut loss.

Star Stock: Landwind "Buy" Call

BROKER CALL - Landwind rated 'buy'; fair value 0.70 sgd – OCBC OCBC Securities said it has initiated coverage of Landwind Medical Holdings, a distributor and manufacturer of ultrasound and radiation imaging equipment in China, with a "buy" rating and fair value of 0. 70 sgd per share. "The company is riding on a positive industry backdrop over the medium term, due to rising income/standards of living, an aging population, and increased public expenditure on healthcare," OCBC said. "Looking ahead, revenue and earnings in 2006 will see a strong boost from acquisitions of new product lines from Siemens and Fujifilm," it said. "Revenue growth is further supported by the firm's order book, which had more than doubled to 85.40 mln yuan as of end-January 2006," it added. Landwind was up 0.025 sgd or 5.75 pct at 0.46 with 5.90 mln shares traded.

Star Stock: China Life "buy" Call

BROKER CALL - China Lifestyle a 'buy' - Westcomb Securities Westcomb Securities has assigned China Lifestyle Food and Beverage Group Ltd a 'buy' rating and a target price of 0.40 sgd on initial coverage. "China Lifestyle is currently trading at undemanding prospective price earnings ratio of 7.1 times for 2006 and 6.0 times for 2007," Westcomb Securities said in a client note. "We peg its valuation at 10.5 times 2006 earnings and this will result in a price target of 0.40 sgd." The brokerage believes that China Lifestyle will benefit from the large market size for jelly products in China, estimated to be about 5-6 bln yuan. The brokerage said the company has the potential to increase its market share further from around 10 pct currently, ranking second in the Chinese market. Westcomb expects net profit for China Lifestyle to rise from 69.68 mln yuan in 2005 to 79.11 mln this year and further to 93.82 mln in 2007. At the midday close, China Lifestyle was flat at 0.295 sgd on volume of 4. 07 mln shares.

Jokes: Kids say the darndest thing!

TEACHER: How old were you on your last birthday?
STUDENT: Seven.
TEACHER: How old will you be on your next birthday?
STUDENT: Nine.
TEACHER: That's impossible.
STUDENT: No, it isn't, teacher. I'm eight today.

TEACHER: Willy, name one important thing we have today that we didn't have ten years ago.
WILLY: Me!

SUBSTITUTE TEACHER: Are you chewing gum?
BILLY: No, I'm Billy Anderson.

TEACHER: Alfred, how can one person make so many stupid mistakes in one day?
ALFRED: I get up early.

TEACHER; Didn't you promise to behave?
STUDENT: Yes, sir.
TEACHER: And didn't i promise to punish you if you didn't?
STUDENT: Yes, sir,but since I broke my promise,you didn't have to keep yours.

HAROLD:Teacher, would you punish me for something I didn't do?
TEACHER: Of course not.
HAROLD: Good, because I didn't do my homework.

TEACHER: I hope I didn't see you looking at Don's paper.
DON: I hope you didn't either.

MOTHER: Why did you get such a low mark on that test?
JUNIOR: Because of absence.
MOTHER: You mean you were absent on the day of the test?
JUNIOR: No, but the kid who sits next to me was.

TEACHER: Well, at least there's one thing I can say about your son.
FATHER: What's that?
TEACHER: With grades like these, he couldn't be cheating.

TEACHER: If you received $10 from 10 people, what would you get?
SASHA: A new bike.

TEACHER: If you had one dollar and you asked your father for another, how many dollars would you have?
VINCENT: One dollar.
TEACHER(sadly): You don't know your arithmetic.
VINCENT(sadly): You don't know my father.

"Isn't the principal a dummy!" said a boy to a girl.
"Say, do you know who I am?" asked the girl.
"No."
"I'm the principal's daughter."
"And do you know who I am?" asked the boy.
"No," she replied.
"Thank goodness!"

Stock downgrade TPV ( "hold" DBS Vickers)

TPV downgraded to 'hold' – DBS DBS Equity Research said its has downgraded its rating on TPV Technology to "hold" from "buy" after the LCD maker posted full year 2005 results that were in-line with expectations. Yesterday, TPV said its 2005 net profit rose to 149.58 mln usd from 103. 59 mln the year before. DBS said it is maintaining its 2006 net profit growth estimate of 42 pct for TPV as it expects LCD monitor shipments to grow more than 50 pct this year. "Key risks to our estimate are a steeper than expected fall in LCD panel prices and a sharp slowdown in global economic growth which could retard sales of monitors and flat TVs," DBS said. TPV closed yesterday unchanged at 1.78 sgd.

Stock News from UOB Kay Hian

Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd may gain after the Semiconductor Industry Association said global chip sales rose 6.8 pct year-on-year in February as the industry started building inventory. The industry group also maintained its forecast for 2006 global chip sales of 246 bln usd, an increase of nearly 8 pct from 2005. A strong holiday sales season for consumer electronic goods is fueling inventory replenishment and potential double ordering by electronics suppliers, analysts say. Besides Chartered Semiconductor, the robust February chip data also bodes well for chip testing and packaging firms STATS ChipPAC Ltd and United Test and Assembly Center Ltd.

Keppel Corp Ltd may rise after its unit Keppel FELS secured a contract with Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc to upgrade a semi-submersible rig for 102 mln usd. At present, Keppel FELS is constructing one jack-up rig for Diamond Offshore. Its sister company, Keppel AmFELS is building another jack-up rig for the same customer. Diamond Offshore provides contract drilling services to the global energy industry. Keppel Corp closed up 0.10 sgd at 13.90 yesterday.

Neptune Orient Lines Ltd (NOL) may see brisk trading after its freight volumes in the four weeks to March 10 rose 20 pct year-on-year to 156,200 40-foot equivalent units (FEUs). The company also said it plans to invest over 400 mln usd this year to expand its container shipping fleet and acquire terminal equipment, logistics infrastructure and new information technology capability. In the Feb 11-March 10 period, average freight rates rose 1.0 pct year-on-year to 2,640 usd per FEU, NOL said. NOL said its logistics revenue increased 4.0 pct to 97.7 mln usd. The stock closed flat at 2.18 sgd yesterday.

STX Pan Ocean Co Ltd said it has entered into a shipbuilding contract with South Korea's Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Co for the construction of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier for 215 mln usd. In a disclosure, STX Pan Ocean said the LNG carrier is to be delivered on Dec 31, 2009.

CapitaLand Ltd may still gain after JP Morgan raised its fair value for the stock to 5.13 sgd from 4.50 to take into account the recent sale of Raffles City complex to CapitaCommercial and CapitaMall Trust. Last month, CapitaLand unit Raffles Holdings Ltd sold Raffles City for 2. 09 bln sgd to CapitaCommercial Trust and CapitaMall Trust, both real estate investment trust units of CapitaLand. It also securitized serviced apartments held by unit Ascott Group into Ascott Residence Trust, which started trading last week. CapitaLand finished 0.08 sgd higher at 4.92 yesterday.

Pine Agritech( Kim Eng)

Pine Agritech - Needs time for earnings to catch up We believe PAG's fundamentals remain robust but the share price has exceeded our twice-revised price target and valuation has more than doubled since we initiated coverage in Dec 2005 at less than 8x 2006 earnings. Currently at more than 17x earnings, PAG is the most expensive of the China plays in Singapore, surpassing China Hongxing Sports's 16x PE, its peers' 12x and China H-shares' 15x. Further, the closest upgrade catalyst is still a few months away. We are optimistic on its industrial-grade soy peptide product as the accessible market is much larger than the retail version. But it is still three months away from completing its R&D and probably six months away from the first order. As PAG also needs to market the product first, cashflow positive returns are only expected in late 2H 2006. Downgrade to Hold with fair value of S$1.61.

Rotary Eng (UOB Kay Hian buy call)

Rotary Engineering: Big contract in the bagRotary is an integrated engineering, procurement and construction (EPC)group, which is capable of handling approximately 75% of the worksin-house. Rotary has secured a huge S$535m EPC contract for an oil terminalin Jurong Island from Universal Terminal (S) Pte Ltd in January. Thisboosted current net order book to S$649m, compared with S$143m as of endFY05 and S$109m as of end FY04. As such, we expect Rotary to have anotherrecord earnings year in FY06, boosted by an unprecented surge in order bookand a huge jump in profit margins. We project net profit to jump 272.5% YoYto S$31.2m in FY06, after factoring in the expected surge in interest costsrelating to higher project financing. Looking ahead, Rotary should see morebusiness opportunities in the booming demand for petroleum storage in Chinaand Singapore, increasing works for offshore structures, and industrypreference for onshore tankage due to port security issues. Our fair valuefor Rotary is S$0.73, based on 2.2x P/B ratio, and an implied 9.5x FY06PER. We believe that the use of P/B ratio is the most appropriate valuationmetric for Rotary, due to the cyclical nature of the EPC market and itslumpy contract wins. As such, we are initiating coverage on Rotary with aBUY rating. (Chong Wee Lee)