Book Recommendation + Stock Focus

I just finished Adam Khoo's book, "Secrets of Self-Made Millionaires". I like the book mainly because he has captured many important points in life which I would not have thought of. He covers also some startup businesses and well as tips on the stock market! I find his insights on investing quite interesting and relevant to the local market. His straightforward style of writing is also quite comprehensive, even for an unexperienced investor. The book has inspired me to give more thought inot my future, and hopefully yours too.

Stock Focus! Genting International has climbed tremendously for the past 3 days. It has reached 140% increase in stock price since its IPO price of S$0.35! The stock has occupied the top volume for the past few days as well...a friend suggested it may be the fund managers pushing the stock up to increase the values of the convertible bonds. I fear the stock price has already been overvalued and a sudden pull out from the fund managers may result in a sudden drop.

New Blog !!! & Good News!

I decided to start another Blog! It will be entirely on my illustrations as well as my drawings. Feel free to take a look and who knows, it may just lighten up your day! There is a link on the left panel of the site ---------"The Simple Cartoonist"--->

Good new is...Singapore market closed on a year high record of 2985.83 for the year 2006!

Hopefully this good news leads us to another good year! Upcoming local news that may be interesting to note (and affect the market) are: the increase in GST....the CPF 3% cap on sales fees of investment products....

2007 - Year of US president election.....expect a good year of investment ahead! As they say, a good president who takes care of its country's economy, wins the votes of his citizens......

8 Criteria of Choosing Stocks

Adam Khoo's 8 Criteria of picking good stocks!

1) History of consistently increasing sales and earnings
2) Sustainable competitive advantage
3) Future Growth Drivers
4) Conservative Debt - Low Long term debt
5) Return on Equity (ROE) must be consistent and high
6) Low Capital Expenditure required to maintain current operations
7) Honest & Competent management
8) UNDERVALUED: Share price < Intrisic price

Pretty basic stuff, but these are the things which we always overlook...

Good news for STI?

After reading up what Adam Khoo has wrote on Warren Buffet's approach to picking stocks and NOT losing money, I developed this fear for the Singapore stock market. STI has reached a record high of 2960 by mid-day. Does this mean that the market is really breaking through the 3000 mark, as mentioned in the papers? Analysts believe so, as I read from reports by investment institutes. But I fear for a huge correction coming up for the market.

If according to Warren Buffet's approach, the market will always go up. It is just a matter of time, because inflation will always make prices go higher.

He says,
"Buy when the prices are falling, when they become undervalued. Sell when the prices are rising, when they become overvalued."

So is the Singapore market becoming over-valued?

I always believe what goes up will eventually come down, if you know what I mean....

Local Stock Focus "Asiapharm"

I have taken interest in a particular local stock, "Asiapharm". Its core business lies in manufacturing of pharmaceutical products with its factories in China. I believe the sector is still in its booming stage and given the huge potential of the China market, the company should be able to expect higher earnings in the future. It range of products targets specific treatment uses and thus monopolises areas in the sector. With good fundamentals and potential gowth....a good buy perhaps? (Mid-day price on 26Dec06 - S$0.665)

Warren Buffet's Two Rules of Investing

Investing Rule 1:
Never Lose Money.

Investing Rule 2:
Never forget rule number one.

I find this very interesting. Apparently, Mr Buffet, world second richest man, world most recognized investor, neber invest when he do not have confident of making profits. I always thought he made money from single BIG investments, but what he does is manage a balanced portfolio and generates only about 20 to 30% each time.

I also read up Adam Khoo's "Secrets of Self-Made Millionaire" and I agreed with him on the part on local stocks (SGX stocks). I quote,

" US stock market is so huge and there is so much money pouring into it, the market is a lot more efficient as compared to Asian markets in general. As a result, stock prices tend to follow stock earnings more closely.......In Asian and emerging markets, where the market is small and where prices depend a lot on foreign institutional investors, stock prices may not reflect the value and earnings of the company......there is not enough liquidity, or cash in the market."

The first post!

After reading so many people's blogs, I finally decided to start a blog myself. But instead of sharing with everyone my thoughts on investing, I decided to share with everyone the latest news and updates in the market! I aim to be a successful investor, and I hope all those who share my dream achieve success together with me. I will try share my virtual portfolio, my real portfolio and latest news on the market. I will also express my views and opinions as well as topic for discussions. Lets make money together! Keep the comments coming in! Cheers!