Many Stock Market indexes have now rebounded approximately 20% from their lows. Now market spectators are divided- some say this is a technical rebound and the bottom has not arrived; while another group says the Monday close was the bottom and we are out of the woods.
I will weigh in my thoughts on market bottoms, based on what I observed of the GFC 2008-2009
GFC 2008-2009 Bottom - 2 Bankruptcies in 2 Industries
There were two events that triggered US markets to crash each time. I will be basing on the Dow Jones Index Performance as a reference.
The first was the collapse of Lehman in late Sept 2008. This resulted in the Dow crashing from its 11,000 point level. The crash happened for a period of market days and the Dow only stated to range bound when TARP was officially implemented in Oct 2008. The Dow remained at the 7000-8000 levels for the rest of the year after this. However, this did not spell the end of the market crash.
The second event was the collapse of the US automakers where a bailout was announced in Dec 2008 and was finally implemented in March 2008. Again the Dow crashed over a 2 months period and only stopped its decline when the US government officially took control of GM and Chrysler in March 2008. The second event caused the Dow to fall from the 8700 levels to the 6500 mark.
From these 2 events, my view is that it takes the entire implementation of a policy before markets will regain normalcy. And if there is a bankruptcy in another industry, markets will collapse and only stabilise when the subject industry stabilises.
Back to 2020
By now, we know the collapse of airlines have been starved off with countries providing credit lines to their airlines. For our markets to resume normalcy, the proposed legislations have to be implemented. As of now, US has signed its legislation but has not put it into place yet.
Hence one may expect things to be volatile for the next few months until the official implementation. After that, the next order of thinking is if there are any more industries that are poised for bankruptcy.
Saturday, 28 March 2020
Saturday, 14 March 2020
What Low Oil Price Environment Means to Investing?
It has been one week since the Saudi and Russia disagreed in their production cuts. The week long price movement in WTI Crude and Brent gives an indication of where prices will be in the year or so.
To me, it seems WTI will trade in the band of US$30-40, while Brent will trade in the band of US$35-$45. It is at this junction one will wonder how they can position themselves in their oil investments
Four Main Ways to Extract Oil
There are 4 ways to extract way: I) Onshore (land) drilling, ii) Extracting Oil from shallow Water wells (less than 150 metres), iii) Deep water oil wells and iv) Shale Oil.
Each method has their own breakeven cost. Onshore land drilling is the cheapest where the Saudis are extracting oil at a single digit per barrel, the Russians are extracting oil in the USD$10-$20 range. This means at current levels, it is still cashflow positive for many onshore drillers to extract oil. Do note, I am looking at the cost of extracting oil, there are other cost items to look out for such as corporate overheads etc which is why there are news that says "Russia need $40 oil per barrel to break even/balance their budget" etc.
For me I am looking at purely the cost of extracting oil which will affect the immediate businesses supplying to the 4 different oil extraction Segments. Their is another cost analysis people look at which is the total breakeven cost, this affects their decision to intiate a new oil well or otherwise. For shallow water, deep water and shale, such breakeven cost tend to be US$50-US$70 per barrel. This means it is unlikely we will see new oil projects coming in.
How much it cost for Shallow Water Drillers and others?
Moving on, the cost of extracting shallow oil is unknown to many of us; fortunately, there is one listed Shallow Water Oil Producer company here- Krisenergy. Based on their corporate presentations, the cost of extracting oil ("Lifting cost:) in South East Asia shallow waters is US$20-25; it means shallow water oil operations is still cash flow profitable under current circumstances.
Deep Water drilling cost is about US$25-40, while Shale is US$25-60, the US Permian basin has one of the cheapest extraction for shale oil but its the only one, the rest are in the range of US$30-50s.
Seen in this light, at current oil prices, it is definite shale oil is not profitable to extract and companies will not be adding new shale oil wells (Shale oil companies need about US$50-60 to justify drilling new shale wells). My view is that Shale Oil will fail in the next 2 years.
How it Affects SGX Companies
There are only a handful of companies that has exposure to shale such as CSE Global. At current low oil prices, CSE is going to see a fall in revenue especially when the US segment is one of its largest revenue.
The other SGX companies tend to service the shallow oil producers. Examples are Nam Cheong, Penguin Holdings, Marco Polo Marine, MTQ (MTQ services companies across the 4 extraction segments). While shallow water oil producers extract oil at a much lower cost, the lower oil prices will affect their revenue and they will try to ask for lower quotations from the mentioned companies for the services they provide.
Sembcorp Marine and Keppel Corp services the deep water and shallow oil segment where the profitable contracts tend to be deep water oil rigs. It is likely with such low oil prices, Sembcorp Marine and Keppel will see very little new orders. They will have to rely on refurbishing ships to sustain their yard operations.
However as we progress through this oil crisis, it is likely shallow oil producers will emerge from the woods first. This is due to their lower cost base
My rough gauge is that Shallow Oil needs US$50-US$55 per barrel to breakeven from all costs they have.
How Long will the Oil Price War Continue?
In my opinion, this can go on for a long time. Saudi Arabia and Russia carry very little debts. So if they continue to sell oil at below their budget breakeven, they can resort to taking on more debts at cheap rates. They have to be thankful for the QE by the 3 main reserve banks (US Fed, ECB, Bank of Japan).
Shale oil producers will not last long because they are already in a state where they have taken a lot of debt and are struggling to repay their debts even at these low interest rates. Russia and Saudi Arabia can move to the phase of taking more debts and with their low oil extraction rates, they can easily service the low interest on their newly issued debts.
In 2021 and 2022, we will likely see shale oil being almost wiped out and at that junction, I believe Oil will then move on to $40-50 range. I do not think Oil will go back to above US$70 for a long time because this makes it profitable to drill new shale oil wells.
To me, it seems WTI will trade in the band of US$30-40, while Brent will trade in the band of US$35-$45. It is at this junction one will wonder how they can position themselves in their oil investments
Four Main Ways to Extract Oil
There are 4 ways to extract way: I) Onshore (land) drilling, ii) Extracting Oil from shallow Water wells (less than 150 metres), iii) Deep water oil wells and iv) Shale Oil.
Each method has their own breakeven cost. Onshore land drilling is the cheapest where the Saudis are extracting oil at a single digit per barrel, the Russians are extracting oil in the USD$10-$20 range. This means at current levels, it is still cashflow positive for many onshore drillers to extract oil. Do note, I am looking at the cost of extracting oil, there are other cost items to look out for such as corporate overheads etc which is why there are news that says "Russia need $40 oil per barrel to break even/balance their budget" etc.
For me I am looking at purely the cost of extracting oil which will affect the immediate businesses supplying to the 4 different oil extraction Segments. Their is another cost analysis people look at which is the total breakeven cost, this affects their decision to intiate a new oil well or otherwise. For shallow water, deep water and shale, such breakeven cost tend to be US$50-US$70 per barrel. This means it is unlikely we will see new oil projects coming in.
How much it cost for Shallow Water Drillers and others?
Moving on, the cost of extracting shallow oil is unknown to many of us; fortunately, there is one listed Shallow Water Oil Producer company here- Krisenergy. Based on their corporate presentations, the cost of extracting oil ("Lifting cost:) in South East Asia shallow waters is US$20-25; it means shallow water oil operations is still cash flow profitable under current circumstances.
Deep Water drilling cost is about US$25-40, while Shale is US$25-60, the US Permian basin has one of the cheapest extraction for shale oil but its the only one, the rest are in the range of US$30-50s.
Seen in this light, at current oil prices, it is definite shale oil is not profitable to extract and companies will not be adding new shale oil wells (Shale oil companies need about US$50-60 to justify drilling new shale wells). My view is that Shale Oil will fail in the next 2 years.
How it Affects SGX Companies
There are only a handful of companies that has exposure to shale such as CSE Global. At current low oil prices, CSE is going to see a fall in revenue especially when the US segment is one of its largest revenue.
The other SGX companies tend to service the shallow oil producers. Examples are Nam Cheong, Penguin Holdings, Marco Polo Marine, MTQ (MTQ services companies across the 4 extraction segments). While shallow water oil producers extract oil at a much lower cost, the lower oil prices will affect their revenue and they will try to ask for lower quotations from the mentioned companies for the services they provide.
Sembcorp Marine and Keppel Corp services the deep water and shallow oil segment where the profitable contracts tend to be deep water oil rigs. It is likely with such low oil prices, Sembcorp Marine and Keppel will see very little new orders. They will have to rely on refurbishing ships to sustain their yard operations.
However as we progress through this oil crisis, it is likely shallow oil producers will emerge from the woods first. This is due to their lower cost base
My rough gauge is that Shallow Oil needs US$50-US$55 per barrel to breakeven from all costs they have.
How Long will the Oil Price War Continue?
In my opinion, this can go on for a long time. Saudi Arabia and Russia carry very little debts. So if they continue to sell oil at below their budget breakeven, they can resort to taking on more debts at cheap rates. They have to be thankful for the QE by the 3 main reserve banks (US Fed, ECB, Bank of Japan).
Shale oil producers will not last long because they are already in a state where they have taken a lot of debt and are struggling to repay their debts even at these low interest rates. Russia and Saudi Arabia can move to the phase of taking more debts and with their low oil extraction rates, they can easily service the low interest on their newly issued debts.
In 2021 and 2022, we will likely see shale oil being almost wiped out and at that junction, I believe Oil will then move on to $40-50 range. I do not think Oil will go back to above US$70 for a long time because this makes it profitable to drill new shale oil wells.
Tuesday, 10 March 2020
FTS International (NYSE; FTSI)- Hydralic Fracking Solution Company with No Turnaround soon
This is my first foray into evaluating a company outside of Singapore. This company was brought to my attention in a forum and because the format it reports its financials are similar to how Singapore companies report here; likely because its institutional shareholders are Singaporean linked companies, I was able to analyse the company easily.
Background of FTS International (FTSI)
FTSI is in the USA Fracking Industry. Its main business is the leasing of fracking units to oil exploration and production companies in the US Shale Oil industry (also known as Fracking). Their model is similar to rig companies who own the rigs and leases these rigs to oil exploration companies who are extracting oil in the sea.
FTSI financials can be found in this link, under "Current report filing" dated 12 Feb 2020. The group has only two full years of financial results because it IPO'd in 2018 to raise funds for its operations.
Will it be Able to Repay its Debts?
As of writing, the company is trading at a range of US$0.40-US$0.50 per share. It made a loss of US$72.6 million or US$0.67 loss per share in 2019. It is now selling at a book value of 1.45 times. Quite an expensive valuation in my view.
What is interesting is its debt profile and cashflow generation ability. FTSI has two tranches of debt:
(A) Term Loan Due in April 2021 of US $90 million
(B) Senior Notes (Bonds) due in May 2022 of $369.9 million
Its cash profile is as follows:
(A) Cash Reserves of US$223 million, of which it needs only about US$100+ million to run its business (a Q&A asked during the presentation of financial results by FTSI management), indicating an excess of US$100million in excess cash.
Weakening Fundamentals of US Shale Oil
One of the biggest news that happened this week was the disagreement between Saudi Arabia and Russia in maintaining oil prices. This resulted in oil prices falling to the US$30 per barrel range which was last seen in 2015-2016.
For the past 2 years, FTSI had been operating in an oil environment where WTI price was in the US$50-70 range. If one observes the free cash flow generated by FTSI in those 2 years, one can notice a pattern: In 2019 when WTI was at a US$50-60 range, FTSI produced $26 million from the leasing of its fracking units. In 2018, when WTI was in the range of US$60-70, FTSI produced about US$280 million in free cashflow. See Page 6 of the financial report in the Link
If WTI is to stay in its range of US$30+ to US$50 range over the next 2 years, we can perhaps say that FTSI will be producing very little free cash flow for its business. Furthermore, the current low prices means US frackers will definitely reduce their drilling activities in the USA. Furthermore, some fracking oil E&P US companies are poised for bankruptcy under current oil conditions. All these point to a fall in demand for FTSI fracking units.
As mentioned, FTSI is definitely able to repay its 2021 term loan due to its cash pile, however I doubt FTSI will be able to redeem fully its 2022 bonds, especially when capital markets are now less welcoming to the energy sector. In the market, FTSI bonds are currently selling below the 70 cents range which indicates distressed levels.
Furthermore, with US fracking industry poised to decline, there is going to be an oversupply of fracking units in the market.
Expected Value of FTSI
The weakening of US shale raises the question if FTSI will be able to roll over its debts in 2022. Until WTI moves to above US$50, it is prudent to value FTSI at a book value of between 0.25 to 0.50 times its book value, to indicate some form of distress. This points to a US$10-US$20 million market cap or US$0.10-US$0.20 range
Background of FTS International (FTSI)
FTSI is in the USA Fracking Industry. Its main business is the leasing of fracking units to oil exploration and production companies in the US Shale Oil industry (also known as Fracking). Their model is similar to rig companies who own the rigs and leases these rigs to oil exploration companies who are extracting oil in the sea.
FTSI financials can be found in this link, under "Current report filing" dated 12 Feb 2020. The group has only two full years of financial results because it IPO'd in 2018 to raise funds for its operations.
Will it be Able to Repay its Debts?
As of writing, the company is trading at a range of US$0.40-US$0.50 per share. It made a loss of US$72.6 million or US$0.67 loss per share in 2019. It is now selling at a book value of 1.45 times. Quite an expensive valuation in my view.
What is interesting is its debt profile and cashflow generation ability. FTSI has two tranches of debt:
(A) Term Loan Due in April 2021 of US $90 million
(B) Senior Notes (Bonds) due in May 2022 of $369.9 million
Its cash profile is as follows:
(A) Cash Reserves of US$223 million, of which it needs only about US$100+ million to run its business (a Q&A asked during the presentation of financial results by FTSI management), indicating an excess of US$100million in excess cash.
Weakening Fundamentals of US Shale Oil
One of the biggest news that happened this week was the disagreement between Saudi Arabia and Russia in maintaining oil prices. This resulted in oil prices falling to the US$30 per barrel range which was last seen in 2015-2016.
For the past 2 years, FTSI had been operating in an oil environment where WTI price was in the US$50-70 range. If one observes the free cash flow generated by FTSI in those 2 years, one can notice a pattern: In 2019 when WTI was at a US$50-60 range, FTSI produced $26 million from the leasing of its fracking units. In 2018, when WTI was in the range of US$60-70, FTSI produced about US$280 million in free cashflow. See Page 6 of the financial report in the Link
If WTI is to stay in its range of US$30+ to US$50 range over the next 2 years, we can perhaps say that FTSI will be producing very little free cash flow for its business. Furthermore, the current low prices means US frackers will definitely reduce their drilling activities in the USA. Furthermore, some fracking oil E&P US companies are poised for bankruptcy under current oil conditions. All these point to a fall in demand for FTSI fracking units.
As mentioned, FTSI is definitely able to repay its 2021 term loan due to its cash pile, however I doubt FTSI will be able to redeem fully its 2022 bonds, especially when capital markets are now less welcoming to the energy sector. In the market, FTSI bonds are currently selling below the 70 cents range which indicates distressed levels.
Furthermore, with US fracking industry poised to decline, there is going to be an oversupply of fracking units in the market.
Expected Value of FTSI
The weakening of US shale raises the question if FTSI will be able to roll over its debts in 2022. Until WTI moves to above US$50, it is prudent to value FTSI at a book value of between 0.25 to 0.50 times its book value, to indicate some form of distress. This points to a US$10-US$20 million market cap or US$0.10-US$0.20 range
Saturday, 7 March 2020
Sembcorp Marine- No end in Sight and Possible Privatisation Target?
Just when we thought the oil and gas downturn is over, it seems the night just got darker. Sembcorp Marine, one of the bellwether company, posted a higher year on year losses. Loss per share was at 6.5 cents per share. Sembcorp marine's financial results can be found here.
Here are two insights into the company:
1) Construction of Rigs and other offshore vessels is still weak
This is the main business of Sembcorp Marine and is found in Pg 21 and 22 of the financial report. As observed, revenue in this segment has fallen along with a wider loss. That said, revenue recognition for such business is lumpy and it could be that in 2018, SembCorp Marine recognised a larger portion of its projects. Hence we turn our attention to Sembcorp Marine's order book. It is seen that the company has not replenished its orderbook and it has fallen from 3.1Billion to 2.4 Billion as of end 2019. It means Sembcorp is not getting enough orders to replace the older projects it is completing or completed
A lack of orderbook mean significantly lesser revenue will be recognised in the near term. With fixed overheads to cover, it is likely Sembcorp Marine is going to post another financial loss for FY2020.
2) Weak Cashflow
This can be seen in Pg 11 of the report. Operating cash flow before working capital changes was a positive $103 million. Sembcorp is paying $108 million for interest on its loan and receiving about $68 million from dividends and finance sources. Furthermore with the need to pay about $300 million to maintain its plant and equipment, the conclusion is that the current business is in a net cash outflow situation. With $380 million in cash reserves left, its going to be tough on Sembcorp Marine
Possible Privatisation Play
Given the large fall in share price and weak fundamentals, my opinion and possibly the market's as well is that there may be plans to consolidate Keppel Marine and SembCorp Marine into one entity to reap cost savings.
Sembcorp Marine is struggling on its own and with our sovereign wealth funds not coming in to act as a back stopper; if no merger is going to happen, it is likely Sembcorp Marine will sink.
Hence how much will Sembcorp Marine be privatised at?
To me, a price book of about 0.7 times is the likely number (this means 70 cents). This is because business condition in the oil and gas is still deteriorating and we are right now in a monetary easing scenario with QE and close to negative interest rates, yet Sembcorp Marine is struggling!
Hence the acquirer is likely to only buy where there is a significant discount to its current book value of $1.03 per share which is set to decline again this financial year.
Here are two insights into the company:
1) Construction of Rigs and other offshore vessels is still weak
This is the main business of Sembcorp Marine and is found in Pg 21 and 22 of the financial report. As observed, revenue in this segment has fallen along with a wider loss. That said, revenue recognition for such business is lumpy and it could be that in 2018, SembCorp Marine recognised a larger portion of its projects. Hence we turn our attention to Sembcorp Marine's order book. It is seen that the company has not replenished its orderbook and it has fallen from 3.1Billion to 2.4 Billion as of end 2019. It means Sembcorp is not getting enough orders to replace the older projects it is completing or completed
A lack of orderbook mean significantly lesser revenue will be recognised in the near term. With fixed overheads to cover, it is likely Sembcorp Marine is going to post another financial loss for FY2020.
2) Weak Cashflow
This can be seen in Pg 11 of the report. Operating cash flow before working capital changes was a positive $103 million. Sembcorp is paying $108 million for interest on its loan and receiving about $68 million from dividends and finance sources. Furthermore with the need to pay about $300 million to maintain its plant and equipment, the conclusion is that the current business is in a net cash outflow situation. With $380 million in cash reserves left, its going to be tough on Sembcorp Marine
Possible Privatisation Play
Given the large fall in share price and weak fundamentals, my opinion and possibly the market's as well is that there may be plans to consolidate Keppel Marine and SembCorp Marine into one entity to reap cost savings.
Sembcorp Marine is struggling on its own and with our sovereign wealth funds not coming in to act as a back stopper; if no merger is going to happen, it is likely Sembcorp Marine will sink.
Hence how much will Sembcorp Marine be privatised at?
To me, a price book of about 0.7 times is the likely number (this means 70 cents). This is because business condition in the oil and gas is still deteriorating and we are right now in a monetary easing scenario with QE and close to negative interest rates, yet Sembcorp Marine is struggling!
Hence the acquirer is likely to only buy where there is a significant discount to its current book value of $1.03 per share which is set to decline again this financial year.
Saturday, 29 February 2020
Will Starhub maintain its 9 cents Dividend Policy?
Starhub has released is latest financial reports and investors are probably keen to know if starhub's fortune has turned and is its 9 cents dividends sustainable.
ARPU has Stopped Declining
Let's focus on the positives: the first is that ARPU for Starhub's mobile subscribers has stopped. In Dec 18, average revenue per post paid user (ARPU) was $41, it declined to $39 in Sep 19 and then moved to $40 in Dec 19. Based on the other previous quarter results, the decline in ARPU has probably stopped. This is a positive since mobile revenue is the largest contributor to Starhub's business. Its mobile revenue has experienced a slight decline by about 2%
The second positive is the growth in the enterprise business largely due to its recent acquisitions as it can be seen revenue has grown by 10 million, which offsets the negative I am seeing in a certain revenue segment of Starhub's - its PayTV business.
Shrinking PayTV Business
Netflix and Disney streaming services are probably chipping away consumers who used to purchase Starhub's pay TV bundle for their usual entertainment. The decline is still moving in the double digits with recent PayTV revenue falling by 14 million.
Stable Revenue for Now
Thanks to Starhub's recent acquisition strategy, I do expect revenue for FY2020 to be similar to that of FY2019. Given that Starhub's business model allows its revenue to flow down to its cashflow generation easily, a stable revenue also signifies that cashflow generated in Starhub's business should be about the same as this year's. This year the company generated about 621 million before netting off finance and income tax expense, I think this will be the same as the next few years as well.
So let's estimate the potential cashflow generation ability of Starhub.
In its cashflow statement, it seems Starhub has cash outflows of s$230 Million in PPE. This number is rather low from my past data of its PPE spent which ranges about s$290-300 million. It is likely due to the new line in lease liabilites which is recorded as s$60 million cash outflow. The new lease liabilities is a result of accounting method changes in Singapore.
With other cash outflows of s$70 Million in income taxes, s$37.7 million of interest expense and s$7.9 million in perpetuals payment. Starhub is likely to be left with s$215.4 million to give out as dividends. Concidentally, this cashflow genreation projection amount is similar to what I have written in my 2018's coverage of Starhub.
Starhub has bonds due in 2022 and my personal feel is that the company definitely has to reduce the bond amount because the interest rate environment will not be low forever. With 2-3 years left, it is prudent for it to set aside 100 million tover a 3 year time frame.
This leaves Starhub with about s$180 million for dividends. With its share base of 1.7 billion shares, it seems Starhub can give out a dividend of 10 cents per share. Hence I won't be surprised if the management provides the same dividend guidance policy of "80% of earnings or 2.25 cents per quarter."
Its cashflow generated from its business should be sufficient to support it, even if there is an increase in annual CAPEX in implementing the new 5G network which it is bidding with M1.
Good Dividends but at What Rate?
Considering that Starhub perps are now yielding 3.95% with a potential increase to 4.95% if it is not redeemed within a timeframe, one can reasonably peg Starhub as a 5% dividend yielding machine.
If you are considering Starhub at its current price of $1.50, my feel this is just about right and one can consider it as part of your dividend portfolio.
ARPU has Stopped Declining
Let's focus on the positives: the first is that ARPU for Starhub's mobile subscribers has stopped. In Dec 18, average revenue per post paid user (ARPU) was $41, it declined to $39 in Sep 19 and then moved to $40 in Dec 19. Based on the other previous quarter results, the decline in ARPU has probably stopped. This is a positive since mobile revenue is the largest contributor to Starhub's business. Its mobile revenue has experienced a slight decline by about 2%
The second positive is the growth in the enterprise business largely due to its recent acquisitions as it can be seen revenue has grown by 10 million, which offsets the negative I am seeing in a certain revenue segment of Starhub's - its PayTV business.
Shrinking PayTV Business
Netflix and Disney streaming services are probably chipping away consumers who used to purchase Starhub's pay TV bundle for their usual entertainment. The decline is still moving in the double digits with recent PayTV revenue falling by 14 million.
Stable Revenue for Now
Thanks to Starhub's recent acquisition strategy, I do expect revenue for FY2020 to be similar to that of FY2019. Given that Starhub's business model allows its revenue to flow down to its cashflow generation easily, a stable revenue also signifies that cashflow generated in Starhub's business should be about the same as this year's. This year the company generated about 621 million before netting off finance and income tax expense, I think this will be the same as the next few years as well.
So let's estimate the potential cashflow generation ability of Starhub.
In its cashflow statement, it seems Starhub has cash outflows of s$230 Million in PPE. This number is rather low from my past data of its PPE spent which ranges about s$290-300 million. It is likely due to the new line in lease liabilites which is recorded as s$60 million cash outflow. The new lease liabilities is a result of accounting method changes in Singapore.
With other cash outflows of s$70 Million in income taxes, s$37.7 million of interest expense and s$7.9 million in perpetuals payment. Starhub is likely to be left with s$215.4 million to give out as dividends. Concidentally, this cashflow genreation projection amount is similar to what I have written in my 2018's coverage of Starhub.
Starhub has bonds due in 2022 and my personal feel is that the company definitely has to reduce the bond amount because the interest rate environment will not be low forever. With 2-3 years left, it is prudent for it to set aside 100 million tover a 3 year time frame.
This leaves Starhub with about s$180 million for dividends. With its share base of 1.7 billion shares, it seems Starhub can give out a dividend of 10 cents per share. Hence I won't be surprised if the management provides the same dividend guidance policy of "80% of earnings or 2.25 cents per quarter."
Its cashflow generated from its business should be sufficient to support it, even if there is an increase in annual CAPEX in implementing the new 5G network which it is bidding with M1.
Good Dividends but at What Rate?
Considering that Starhub perps are now yielding 3.95% with a potential increase to 4.95% if it is not redeemed within a timeframe, one can reasonably peg Starhub as a 5% dividend yielding machine.
If you are considering Starhub at its current price of $1.50, my feel this is just about right and one can consider it as part of your dividend portfolio.
Monday, 20 January 2020
Ways to use Your Grabpay Credits
Now that Grab has banned people from using Grab credits to top up into Multi-Currency Prepaid Cards, people are now looking for other ways to utilise their Grabpay credits; this is especially so for those who still plan to utilise the UOB x Grab rebate or were caught out with the sudden ban by Grab and are stuck with large amount of credits. Below are some ways utilising your Grabpay Mastercard (GPMC) to use up the credits:
Use GPMC with Lazada
The GPMC card can be linked with your lazada account to fund purchases on Lazada, this allows you to "shop the universes" happily while earning outsized cash rebates via the method of topping up your grabpay credits using the UOB one card. In my view, this method is better than Citi Lazada Card which gives a 4.4 mile per dollar.
Because many of us do not have the GPMC physical card yet, this means the GPMC is only useful for online shopping. However do not fret, many things can now be bought online and is cheaper than those at physical stores. Hence, if you have plans to switch for a new handphone/laptop, perhaps this is the time to browse online and buy them online using your GPMC.
In addition, you can also link your GPMC to pay recurring bills such as teleco (I have linked my Circles life billing to my GPMC)
So there you have it- some ways to utilise your Grabpay credits. The above should help you to sustain the next few months of topping up into grab to optimally enjoy the grab cashback in your current billing quarter with UOB one card.
Use GPMC with Lazada
The GPMC card can be linked with your lazada account to fund purchases on Lazada, this allows you to "shop the universes" happily while earning outsized cash rebates via the method of topping up your grabpay credits using the UOB one card. In my view, this method is better than Citi Lazada Card which gives a 4.4 mile per dollar.
Use GPMC with Shopee
The GPMC card can be linked with your Shopee account to fund your purchases at Shopee. This means should you have upcoming big ticket items to be purchased, you can use your GPMC to make the purchase (provided you have the credits).
Pay any Big Ticket Item or Recurring Bill Online
Because many of us do not have the GPMC physical card yet, this means the GPMC is only useful for online shopping. However do not fret, many things can now be bought online and is cheaper than those at physical stores. Hence, if you have plans to switch for a new handphone/laptop, perhaps this is the time to browse online and buy them online using your GPMC.
In addition, you can also link your GPMC to pay recurring bills such as teleco (I have linked my Circles life billing to my GPMC)
So there you have it- some ways to utilise your Grabpay credits. The above should help you to sustain the next few months of topping up into grab to optimally enjoy the grab cashback in your current billing quarter with UOB one card.
Friday, 27 December 2019
Updates to the Grabpay Hack - AXS Mobile App payment no longer avaliable
By now, readers will know that Grabpay and Grabpay Mastercard (GPMC) has stopped its link to AXS mobile app payment. This has rendered a significant amount of bills including that of income tax to be no longer payable by Grabpay, as what I highlighted in my last post. This has invalidated the "Singtel Dash" and "AXS Mobile App" method
With that here are some alternative forms, that is still viable with GPMC
Payment of Utilities and Phone Bills, Allows the continued topping up into Singtel Dash
The current method you can use is have an online account with your phone or utility subscriber and pay the bills online. GPMC can be used to pay the bills. I have tried it with paying my Singtel bill and it works. In addition, I am able to accumulate Grab reward points as well. This also means Singtel dash can be topped up.
Payment of School Fees/Hospital Bills/Income Taxes
As mentioned Grab has closed the door shut especially for AXS where we can no longer pay via Grabpay or GPMC. However, a way forward to continue paying this bill is to make the payment at Cardup. Cardup is a platform which converts bills into payment that can be paid by credit cards. However take note Cardup charges a 3.3% fee in this conversion. So the 8% rebate which is previously enjoyed is now cut down to only about 5%. This is a viable method albeit you get lesser rebates.
<This is not a sponsored post for Cardup etc>
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