A Friday afternoon, a BIG cup of beer, and a rather interesting conversation about suburban malls. 🍺

‌

Caught up with Wong Siew Lu, Head of IR at $UtdHampshReitUSD(ODBU.SI) (UHREIT), over some beers and bites at Westgate to wind down the week.

‌

I've known Siew Lu for a couple of years now, so it was really just a long-overdue catch-up. Some market talk, some non-market talk, and of course, we ended up chatting about UHREIT too. Haha.

‌

Funny enough, Westgate was quite a fitting place for our conversation.

‌

Think about it. Suburban malls like Westgate serve the people living and working around them. Whether it's grabbing a meal, buying groceries or running errands, people keep coming back.

‌

And that's where I see some similarities with UHREIT's properties in the US.

While not quite the same kind of malls, UHREIT focuses on grocery-anchored retail centres with supermarkets, Walmart and other necessity-based retailers. Businesses that people rely on for everyday needs.

‌

One thing I found interesting was that UHREIT has maintained a 90% tenant retention rate since its listing in 2020.

‌

That's quite impressive, and together with its long leases and high occupancy, says something about the stability of its tenant base. These are businesses that tend to stay put, especially when they're serving the surrounding neighbourhoods.

‌

Now, here's what caught my attention.

‌

Despite the relatively defensive nature of its properties, UHREIT is trading at a distribution yield of around 10%.

‌

Interesting, isn't it? Especially for investors looking for regular income rather than chasing the next hot stock.

‌

Of course, a 10% yield is not a free lunch. We also talked about interest rates, borrowing costs and the broader REIT environment. These risks are real, and a high yield alone doesn't automatically make something a bargain.

‌

People may cut back on holidays or luxury shopping when times are tough. But groceries? Still got to buy lah. 😂

‌

Anyway, good to catch up with Siew Lu over some cold beers. Thanks for the beer, Siew Lu! 🍺 Always nice to exchange views outside the usual office setting, especially after a long week.

‌

We spend so much time looking for the next exciting investment. But sometimes, maybe the boring ones deserve a bit more attention too.

‌

Especially when they are quietly collecting rent while the rest of the market is making noise

𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐖𝐫𝐚𝐩 (𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝟏𝟔/𝟏𝟎/𝟐𝟔)

‌

After last week's sharp plunge, the $STI(STI.SI) seems to be catching its breath, consolidating between 5,362 and 5,453. Not exactly the best of weeks, especially with Wall Street turning weak again. As of Friday noon, the STI rebounded a bit to close at 54,29 as of Friday noon.

‌

Amidst the market jitters, a few stocks caught my attention.

‌

$YZJ Shipbldg SGD(BS6.SI) was one that caught my attention this week, having been one of the few bright spots during last Friday's bank slaughter. And I must say, it has held up pretty well! It hit as high as $5.23 on Friday (coming from sub $5.00 level. The uptrend remains intact, with consolidation near its highs looking constructive. OCBC and CGSI have also issued positive coverage, with targets of $6.00 and $6.01 respectively. Of course, targets are not guarantees, but earnings expectations remain encouraging.

‌

$JMH USD(J36.SI) is another interesting one. The group raised its FY2026 earnings guidance and is taking full control of Gammon Construction for around US$331 million. Good to see some companies quietly growing their businesses despite the market noise! Chart-wise, I see this as a potential recovery tradeFollowing the positive guidance, but price dip back to ard sub $52 level amidst volatile trading range as of Friday noon.

‌

$HPL(H15.SI) confirmed receiving interest regarding the redevelopment of Forum, HPL House and voco Orchard, following reports of Hongkong Land potentially taking a majority stake. Nothing agreed yet, but certainly worth watching. Hit a high of $5.20 in the week

‌

Meanwhile, $SouthernAlliance(QNS.SI) jumped from $0.38 to as high as $0.48 in the week after news that Malaysia's King Sultan Ibrahim acquired around 2.25% of the company from its MD. Interesting development. While the jump in price is impressive, the volume is erratic. Hardly a “beautiful” chart. Personally, I would prefer to stay on the sidelines until price and volume show more consistency. No need to chase every moving train!

‌

On a different note, I was at SGX's opening bell ceremony for the launch of 4 new Xtrackers ETFs. What caught my attention wasn't just another four tickers, but how global investing is becoming more accessible locally. These Ireland-domiciled UCITS ETFs offer exposure to the S&P 500 ( $XT S&P 500 SGD(XUS.SI)), MSCI World ( $XT MS World SGD(XWR.SI)), Nasdaq 100 ( $XT NASDAQ 100 SGD(XND.SI)) and S&P 500 Equal Weight ( $XT S&P 500 EW SGD(EUS.SI)). For Singapore investors, the attraction includes SRS eligibility, a generally lower 15% US dividend withholding tax at fund level and no US estate tax exposure from holding the Irish ETFs directly. To me, these are more portfolio-building blocks than trading instruments. Of course, liquidity still needs time to develop.

‌

More thoughts here:

https://tinyurl.com/GoingGlobalStayingLocal

‌

Who says investing globally must always mean going overseas?

‌

Rgds,

Dan

tinyurl. com/TTP-dan

tinyurl. com/dan-disclaimer

#danccs

𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞t 𝐔𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 *16/10/26*

.

STI: 5403 (-19) | HSI: 24062 (-251) | Dow: 52178 (+556) | S&P: 7744 (+25) | Nasdaq: 26713 (+20)

.

*US Markets Overnight*

.

*The Dow Roars, Nasdaq Snores!*

.

Looks like Wall Street is having a change of heart! After months of chasing AI stocks, investors are now turning their attention to some of the more traditional sectors. Quite interesting actually. The market is still willing to buy, just not necessarily the same stocks anymore. Perhaps boring is becoming beautiful again?

.

Wall Street bounced back, with the Dow jumping 1.1%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.3% and Nasdaq barely managed a 0.1% rise. Small caps did better, with the Russell 2000 climbing 1.4%. So while the indices were green, it wasn't the usual AI names doing the heavy lifting.

.

Inflation is still a headache though. *US producer prices* jumped 1.3% in September, bringing annual inflation to 6.3%, while retail sales rose 0.8%. The economy is holding up, but inflation isn't cooling fast enough. Not exactly what the Fed wants to see! Interestingly, the 10-year Treasury yield eased to around 5.09%, while Brent crude remained around US$106.

.

And *AI stocks*? Still struggling. Nvidia slipped nearly 2%, while Dell and HPE also fell. Even TSMC dropped nearly 2% despite reporting a fantastic quarter, with revenue jumping 50%. Imagine delivering such strong numbers and still getting sold down! That tells us how much optimism was already priced into these stocks. On the brighter side, CoreWeave rebounded 6% after Wednesday's sharp plunge. Meanwhile, money was finding its way into other sectors. Nike jumped around 6%, while healthcare names like Moderna and Eli Lilly also gained. Even Walmart attracted buying interest following an analyst upgrade.

.

I actually find this rotation quite encouraging. Investors aren't running away from equities altogether. They're just becoming more selective. But whether this is the start of a more sustained rotation or simply a temporary breather for AI stocks, we'll have to see.

.

*What’s Brewing Today*

.

*Three Banks Took a Hit. Only One Is Fighting Back!*

.

Of the three local banks, $UOB(U11.SI) was the only one to end in the green yesterday, gaining 63 cents to close at S$41.69. Interestingly, looking at the charts, UOB is also the only one showing consecutive green candles after last week's plunge. The stock has bounced off the S$39-ish level, which is also near its 200-day moving average, an important technical support. Could the worst of the selling be over? Still too early to say, but the price action is certainly encouraging. So, if you're looking at our three banks, you know which one deserves a closer look? 😉

.

Another new face on SGX today! $Deluge(9DC.SI) , Singapore’s largest fire detection and protection specialist, makes its Mainboard debut on 16 Oct at an IPO price of $0.60, valuing it at around $87M. Not exactly the most exciting business, but definitely an essential one! Quite a sizable $433M order book as at mid-September, with exposure to infrastructure and data centre projects. However, FY2026 net profit fell 34%, so execution will be key. Let's see how the market welcomes this new kid on the block! *Deluge (9DC)* IPO was 3.86 times subscribed, with its public tranche 11.97 times subscribed, raising S$23.4 million at S$0.60 per share ahead.

.

===

*Happening Today*

EU:

— Eurozone CPI (YoY) / Eurozone Core CPI (YoY) / Eurozone Trade Balance

US:

— Import Price Index (MoM) / Industrial Production (MoM) / Capacity Utilization Rate

.

===

*SG Stock news*

👍— *SIA* September passenger traffic rose 2.8% YoY, with passenger load factor easing 0.3 percentage point to 86.8%, while cargo loads jumped 9.4%.

https://links.sgx.com/1.0.0/corporate-announcements/6L2BSIF2LDQ6XB5K/907128_opstats-sep26.pdf⁠

👍— *CapitaLand Investment* unveiled its new Chennai data centre with 53MW gross power capacity and an investment of approximately INR1,940 crore, targeted for completion by end-2026.

https://links.sgx.com/1.0.0/corporate-announcements/74ZQQ3NBZ1LTP96R/907147_CapitaLand%20Investment%20reaffirms%20long-term%20commitment%20to%20Tamil%20Nadu%20with%20unveiling%20of%20new%20Chennai%20data%20centre.pdf⁠

‼️— *Food Innovators Holdings* swung to a 1HFY2027 net loss of S$0.4 million from a S$0.2 million profit as revenue fell 5.8% to S$22.5 million, despite a 32.4% rise in food retail gross profit.

https://links.sgx.com/1.0.0/corporate-announcements/YS8XQ9ZL8F37Q69B/907197_FIH%20FY2027%20Press%20Release%20for%20Half%20Year%20Results.pdf⁠

— *First Resources* said some fires in West Kalimantan originated outside its operating boundaries before spreading into its managed areas, reaffirming its zero-burning policy and ongoing firefighting efforts.

https://links.sgx.com/1.0.0/corporate-announcements/3G4VYSXKSRG3VMSY/907196_First%20Resources%20-%20Response%20to%20Reports%20on%20Fires%20in%20West%20Kalimantan.pdf⁠

— *Jardine Matheson Southeast Asia* completed the sale of its Cycle & Carriage businesses in Singapore and Malaysia to a subsidiary of Indonesia’s Chandra Asri Pacific.

https://links.sgx.com/1.0.0/corporate-announcements/UDWA2XMVKJ5D1600/907163_Attachment_15Oct2026.pdf⁠

— *NutryFarm International* received a clarification from parties identifying themselves as Corpbond creditors regarding pledged shares and related security rights, which it is reviewing with legal advisers.

https://links.sgx.com/1.0.0/corporate-announcements/6UGQ99XKDTIP54FI/907174_NutryFarm%20-%20Receipt%20of%20Clarification.pdf⁠

— *DISA Limited* subsidiary Advance Digital Healthcare signed a 12-month agreement with Eureka Group to expand AI-assisted osteoarthritis assessment and care through three heartland clinics in Singapore.

https://links.sgx.com/1.0.0/corporate-announcements/JBXLFTCURM095QJ4/907210_News%20Release_Signing%20of%20Affliate%20Agreement%20_Eureka.pdf

.

*Earnings calendar:*

21/10 - OUEREIT

22/10 - FCT^, Suntec

23/10 - Capland China^

26/10 - iFast, Micro-Mechanics

27/10 - Capland Ascott^, KIT^, MIT, Digicore REIT, Aztech, UI Boustead REIT, First Resources

28/10 - Capland India^, Wilmar, Landmark REIT, MLT

29/10 - Ultragreen^, CICT^, CDLHT^, FEH^, Capland Ascendas, Starhill

30/10 - MPACT^, LREIT

2/11 - Elite UK REIT^, GE^

3/11 - SIA Engg

4/11 - UOB^, CLI^, ACROPHYTE HT^, Manulife US REIT^

5/11 - DBS^, UOI, AVEPoint

6/11 - OCBC^, Singpost^, FLCT^

11/11 - SATS, SIA, NTTDC

13/11 - UHREIT^, Frasers Property

.

Rgds, Dan

https://www.phillip.com.sg/talktophillip/danccs/

https://tinyurl.com/dan-disclaimer

#danccs