Singapore Tourism Story

[snowcap]

Today's OUE story prompted this. I have been bullish on Singapore tourism for some time. If we believe the tourism forecasts, what would be good counters to invest in?

So for me I screened and vested in a few:
OUE - Mandarin Orchard, Marina Mandarin, and Crowne Plaza Changi Airport some of its key assets.
UOL - beneficiary of the Singapore GP F1
Hotel Royal - another asset play
CDL HT - unlike Ascendas HT, has assets mainly in sg. Unlike Far East HT, I was able to get it (relatively) undervalued at about $1.50-$1.70

Others I'm not vested, but can benefit from strong Singapore tourism are:
FJ Benjamin - tourist shopping dollars
Genting - (I do not invest in gambling or tobacco based companies as a principle)

Comments?

[investingsgx]

Today's OUE story prompted this. I have been bullish on Singapore tourism for some time. If we believe the tourism forecasts, what would be good counters to invest in?

So for me I screened and vested in a few:
OUE - Mandarin Orchard, Marina Mandarin, and Crowne Plaza Changi Airport some of its key assets.
UOL - beneficiary of the Singapore GP F1
Hotel Royal - another asset play
CDL HT - unlike Ascendas HT, has assets mainly in sg. Unlike Far East HT, I was able to get it (relatively) undervalued at about $1.50-$1.70

Others I'm not vested, but can benefit from strong Singapore tourism are:
FJ Benjamin - tourist shopping dollars
Genting - (I do not invest in gambling or tobacco based companies as a principle)

Comments?

I'm also bullish with the tourism prospects in singapore. The recent F1 contract renewal with Singapore is one of the signs. The Gardens By the Bay completion followed by the attractive night skyline in raffles place makes it very attractive place for tourist to flock in.

One of the counter i am bullish about is SATS.

SATS which mainly handles gateway services in Changi airport now operates the New Cruise Terminal. And also they won contract to handle gateway services for the new SIA budget airline, Scoot.

They also partly own Singapore Food Industries (SFI) which caters food to the army camps. how can they not earn when almost 100% of SG guys need to go NS.

And also lastly, the forward looking new Terminal 4 which is set to be completed in 2017. And more likely, SATS will be handling the gateway services as well.

[snowcap]

Since the F1 contract got renewed, some other ideas on the tourism story:

- Pan Pacific Hotels (smack within the F1 area, beneficiary)
- FEH Trust
- Ascendas HTrust
- Singtel (main sponsor)
- Hotel Grand Central (asset play?)

Haven't had time to analyse the financial statements / annual reports yet.

I used to own SFI. Bought it as a dividend play, cuz the income from army camps is recurring and stable as a rock. However, divested when they came under cost pressures.

(not vested in any counters in this post)

[Some-one]

Most of Ascendas H Trust properties are located in Australia. I don't think the Tourism stories in Singapore would have any impact on Ascendas H Trust.

[investingsgx]

Most of Ascendas H Trust properties are located in Australia. I don't think the Tourism stories in Singapore would have any impact on Ascendas H Trust.

Any REITS to recommend. What you guys think of GP Hotels. It is now trading at a slight discount on NAV value.

[snowcap]

Hi investingsgx,
I suppose you're asking for recommendations to do due diligence on, and not recommendations to buy. Recommendations to buy are dangerous because you should always do your own homework and select those stocks that are within your circle of competence, and suited for your portfolio and risk appetite. The same counter may be suitable for one person, but not suitable for another. Example, Mr A has 90% of assets in "safe" holdings, and uses 10% to buy "risky" counter X. If Mr B tries to put 100% of his portfolio into counter X just because Mr A did so, it may not be a wise thing to do, because he is risking his entire portfolio.

That said, my approach is to only touch what I researched. So I must say I haven't researched GPH, so I can't comment. With a day job, I cannot cover the whole universe of SGX stocks. Anyway my philosophy is that I don't need to find *all* the profitable stocks. I just need 8-10 good, solid counters to build my portfolio. If there's a #11 or #12 that makes super profits, which I missed, then it's ok. Don't need to be greedy. I will be happy with my #1-10.

[Ben]

They also partly own Singapore Food Industries (SFI) which caters food to the army camps. how can they not earn when almost 100% of SG guys need to go NS.

SFI is 100% owned by SATS.

[KopiKat]

They also partly own Singapore Food Industries (SFI) which caters food to the army camps. how can they not earn when almost 100% of SG guys need to go NS.

SFI is 100% owned by SATS.

I was vested in SFI before they got delisted (taken over by SATS).
The SAF biz is only a small part of their biz. In fact, non-Singapore biz accounts for 65% of Revenue (refer to last AR2007 pg 25).

But, the profitability of the non-Singapore segment (mostly in UK/Europe) had been declining even before the Euro crisis. With the continued strength in S$, that may be why SATS is slowly selling those assets?

[investingsgx]

Hi investingsgx,
I suppose you're asking for recommendations to do due diligence on, and not recommendations to buy. Recommendations to buy are dangerous because you should always do your own homework and select those stocks that are within your circle of competence, and suited for your portfolio and risk appetite. The same counter may be suitable for one person, but not suitable for another. Example, Mr A has 90% of assets in "safe" holdings, and uses 10% to buy "risky" counter X. If Mr B tries to put 100% of his portfolio into counter X just because Mr A did so, it may not be a wise thing to do, because he is risking his entire portfolio.

That said, my approach is to only touch what I researched. So I must say I haven't researched GPH, so I can't comment. With a day job, I cannot cover the whole universe of SGX stocks. Anyway my philosophy is that I don't need to find *all* the profitable stocks. I just need 8-10 good, solid counters to build my portfolio. If there's a #11 or #12 that makes super profits, which I missed, then it's ok. Don't need to be greedy. I will be happy with my #1-10.

Thanks for the insight. But you sound familiar when you talk about risk appetite. Good luck with your counters

---

They also partly own Singapore Food Industries (SFI) which caters food to the army camps. how can they not earn when almost 100% of SG guys need to go NS.

SFI is 100% owned by SATS.

I was vested in SFI before they got delisted (taken over by SATS).
The SAF biz is only a small part of their biz. In fact, non-Singapore biz accounts for 65% of Revenue (refer to last AR2007 pg 25).

But, the profitability of the non-Singapore segment (mostly in UK/Europe) had been declining even before the Euro crisis. With the continued strength in S$, that may be why SATS is slowly selling those assets?

Apart from food solutions, they are moving more towards gateway services. One example is the New cruise terminal.

Next we will be looking forward is the opening of the new Changi Terminal 4

[Some-one]

Most of Ascendas H Trust properties are located in Australia. I don't think the Tourism stories in Singapore would have any impact on Ascendas H Trust.

Any REITS to recommend. What you guys think of GP Hotels. It is now trading at a slight discount on NAV value.

There is not much history for GP Hotels and so I would not invest in it. As for what REITS to recommend, I would say look at PLife Trust.