Singpost

FY07 : Steady growth in underlying profit SingPost reported FY07 net profit of S$139.8m, up 13.3%. This is in line with our S$137.6m forecast. The variance is primarily due to the S$2.2m one-off impact from the reduction in corporate tax rate from 20% to 18% on deferred taxes. Underlying net profit, which excludes profit from sale of properties and one-off tax impact, was up 7.0% to S$132.2m. Revenue was up 5.6% to S$436m, with all the business segments maintaining their growth momentum : (a) mail revenue rose 4.4% (or S$14.2m) to S$338.4m, with domestic mail and international mail contributing S$6.8m and S$5.5m respectively - mail volume was up 4.1%, with Direct Mail’s growth of 9.4% partly offsetted by a 2.3% decline in public mail; (b) logistics revenue grew 5.7% to S$64.3m, due to growth in Speedpost revenue and shipping contributions from vPOST online-shopping transactions; and (c) retail revenue rising 12.1% (or S$6m) to S$55.6m, driven primarily by a 88.6% increase (or S$7m) for financial services to S$14.9m - remittances and EzyCash, which drove growth, each accounted for 40% of financial services revenue. Operating profit rose 11.5% (or S$17.4m) to S$169.3m, with contributions from mail (+4.6% or S$5.9m) and retail (+40.1% or S$2.7m). Operating margin improved from FY06’s 36.8% to 38.8%. Though mail operating margin are relatively flat – 39.8% in FY07 versus 39.7% in FY06, logistics operating margin widened a more significant 0.8 ppt to 16.1%, and retail was the star performer, with its operating margin rising 3.4 ppt to 17.1%, due to financial services. Balance sheet strength has improved. With the S$60m term loan partially repaid, and the S$160.9m operating cash flow for FY07, SingPost has lowered its net debt to equity ratio from Mar 06’s 202% to 133%. Dividend yield stays high. SingPost declared a final dividend of 2.5¢ ps for FY07. Including the interim dividends of 1.25¢ ps for each of the earlier 3 quarters, the total dividend is 6.25¢, giving a yield of 5.3%. SingPost remains a BUY. Compared against the FY07 underlying net profit of S$132.2m, our FY08 net profit forecast represents a 11% rise. This factors in the earnings enhancement from higher postage rates, effective 18 Dec 06. SingPost is also attractive based on our DCF valuation of S$1.31 per share – we have assumed a terminal growth rate of 0.5%, a WACC of 5.6% (which factors in cost of debt of 4.6% and cost of equity of 7.4%). Our FY08 forecast 5.5% dividend yield and undemanding PE ratio of 15.6x will also support share price

Property

URA unveils 1Q real estate statistics Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) released the real estate statistics for 1Q07 today. Private home prices rose from 130.2 points in 4Q06 to 136.5 points in 1Q07, an increase of 4.8% qoq. Private home rentals rose 7.6% qoq to 113.8 in 1Q07 outpacing the price appreciation resulting in a marginal increase in the yield showing that the capital appreciation is supportive of the yield. The occupancy rate of completed private residential units increased from 93.9% to 94.9% qoq. The number of private residential transactions increased 6.3% qoq to 9230. High-end residential market outperforms mass market. The price index for the core Central region, which is a proxy for the high-end residential market, outperformed the price index for the area outside the Core region, which is a proxy of the mass market, from the 1Q04 level by a margin of 24.4% (see table below). The 5.5% qoq increase in the high-end residential market is the major contributor to the steep increase in the overall property price index. The number of sub-sales in the high end segment (CCR) accounted for 10.4% of all the property sale transactions in 1Q07 compared with 1.9% in the mass market (OCR). The number of transactions in the high-end luxury segment (>1800 psf) has been increasing steadily since first quarter 2006 showing that interest in high end is still strong. Sustained foreign interest to boost high-end residential segment. High levels of foreign interest and the growing affluence of Singaporeans are key catalysts for the high-end residential market. Singapore is becoming an increasingly favoured cosmopolitan destination for mid- to high-level executives due to its environmental friendliness, stable political environment, attractive business opportunities and great lifestyle. The recent leasing agreement for office premises at the new Marina Bay financial centre endorsed by the premier UK-based Standard Chartered Bank is one of the largest deals ever in the history of Singapore and is a clear signal of more mid- to high-level expatriates coming to Singapore, resulting in higher demand for luxury housing. With prices reaching S$4000 psf, the high-end residential market in Singapore is beginning to challenge that of New York and Hong Kong on the highest average unit prices quoted in terms of psf. We believe the growing acceptance of Singapore as a choice destination in which to live and work will fuel prices further because the property prices in Singapore are still lower than those of Hong Kong. Based on our discussion with some of the developers, we note that there is an increasing trend in the expatriate community to relocate from Hong Kong to Singapore due to the similar set-up here which is available at a lower cost and, more importantly, the lower pollution levels here. Our preferred picks that offer the greatest exposure to high-end property are Ho Bee (Current Price: S$2.40/Target Price: S$3.00) and SC Global (Current Price: S$5.00/Target Price: $5.63), with Wheelock (Current Price: S$3.38/Target Price: S$3.40) in third place due to its lower liquidity. Ho Bee offers the highest upside from the current levels

Telemarketing Lists

Martin Worldwide is one of the leaders in the direct marketing industry, has built a reputation by offering innovative mailing list products to its clients. One of its most successful, ground breaking products is ResponseCom™. Be on the Telemarketing Lists where a powerful database that offers extreme versatility and over 100 demographic and psychographic selects. The special synthesis of compiled and response data has created an unparalleled, powerful database that accurately identifies prospects with the most active, responsive, and impulsive buying history. The website “ResponseCom™ is the result of decades of tracking, compiling, and optimizing data merged into one vast database of proven direct mail responders.

URA

URA unveils 1Q real estate statistics Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) released the real estate statistics for 1Q07 today. Private home prices rose from 130.2 points in 4Q06 to 136.5 points in 1Q07, an increase of 4.8% qoq. Private home rentals rose 7.6% qoq to 113.8 in 1Q07 outpacing the price appreciation resulting in a marginal increase in the yield showing that the capital appreciation is supportive of the yield. The occupancy rate of completed private residential units increased from 93.9% to 94.9% qoq. The number of private residential transactions increased 6.3% qoq to 9230. High-end residential market outperforms mass market. The price index for the core Central region, which is a proxy for the high-end residential market, outperformed the price index for the area outside the Core region, which is a proxy of the mass market, from the 1Q04 level by a margin of 24.4% (see table below). The 5.5% qoq increase in the high-end residential market is the major contributor to the steep increase in the overall property price index. The number of sub-sales in the high end segment (CCR) accounted for 10.4% of all the property sale transactions in 1Q07 compared with 1.9% in the mass market (OCR). The number of transactions in the high-end luxury segment (>1800 psf) has been increasing steadily since first quarter 2006 showing that interest in high end is still strong. Sustained foreign interest to boost high-end residential segment. High levels of foreign interest and the growing affluence of Singaporeans are key catalysts for the high-end residential market. Singapore is becoming an increasingly favoured cosmopolitan destination for mid- to high-level executives due to its environmental friendliness, stable political environment, attractive business opportunities and great lifestyle. The recent leasing agreement for office premises at the new Marina Bay financial centre endorsed by the premier UK-based Standard Chartered Bank is one of the largest deals ever in the history of Singapore and is a clear signal of more mid- to high-level expatriates coming to Singapore, resulting in higher demand for luxury housing. With prices reaching S$4000 psf, the high-end residential market in Singapore is beginning to challenge that of New York and Hong Kong on the highest average unit prices quoted in terms of psf. We believe the growing acceptance of Singapore as a choice destination in which to live and work will fuel prices further because the property prices in Singapore are still lower than those of Hong Kong. Based on our discussion with some of the developers, we note that there is an increasing trend in the expatriate community to relocate from Hong Kong to Singapore due to the similar set-up here which is available at a lower cost and, more importantly, the lower pollution levels here. Our preferred picks that offer the greatest exposure to high-end property are Ho Bee (Current Price: S$2.40/Target Price: S$3.00) and SC Global (Current Price: S$5.00/Target Price: $5.63), with Wheelock (Current Price: S$3.38/Target Price: S$3.40) in third place due to its lower liquidity. Ho Bee offers the highest upside from the current levels.

SingPost

FY07 : Steady growth in underlying profit SingPost reported FY07 net profit of S$139.8m, up 13.3%. This is in line with our S$137.6m forecast. The variance is primarily due to the S$2.2m one-off impact from the reduction in corporate tax rate from 20% to 18% on deferred taxes. Underlying net profit, which excludes profit from sale of properties and one-off tax impact, was up 7.0% to S$132.2m. Revenue was up 5.6% to S$436m, with all the business segments maintaining their growth momentum : (a) mail revenue rose 4.4% (or S$14.2m) to S$338.4m, with domestic mail and international mail contributing S$6.8m and S$5.5m respectively - mail volume was up 4.1%, with Direct Mail’s growth of 9.4% partly offsetted by a 2.3% decline in public mail; (b) logistics revenue grew 5.7% to S$64.3m, due to growth in Speedpost revenue and shipping contributions from vPOST online-shopping transactions; and (c) retail revenue rising 12.1% (or S$6m) to S$55.6m, driven primarily by a 88.6% increase (or S$7m) for financial services to S$14.9m - remittances and EzyCash, which drove growth, each accounted for 40% of financial services revenue. Operating profit rose 11.5% (or S$17.4m) to S$169.3m, with contributions from mail (+4.6% or S$5.9m) and retail (+40.1% or S$2.7m). Operating margin improved from FY06’s 36.8% to 38.8%. Though mail operating margin are relatively flat – 39.8% in FY07 versus 39.7% in FY06, logistics operating margin widened a more significant 0.8 ppt to 16.1%, and retail was the star performer, with its operating margin rising 3.4 ppt to 17.1%, due to financial services. Balance sheet strength has improved. With the S$60m term loan partially repaid, and the S$160.9m operating cash flow for FY07, SingPost has lowered its net debt to equity ratio from Mar 06’s 202% to 133%. Dividend yield stays high. SingPost declared a final dividend of 2.5¢ ps for FY07. Including the interim dividends of 1.25¢ ps for each of the earlier 3 quarters, the total dividend is 6.25¢, giving a yield of 5.3%. SingPost remains a BUY. Compared against the FY07 underlying net profit of S$132.2m, our FY08 net profit forecast represents a 11% rise. This factors in the earnings enhancement from higher postage rates, effective 18 Dec 06. SingPost is also attractive based on our DCF valuation of S$1.31 per share – we have assumed a terminal growth rate of 0.5%, a WACC of 5.6% (which factors in cost of debt of 4.6% and cost of equity of 7.4%). Our FY08 forecast 5.5% dividend yield and undemanding PE ratio of 15.6x will also support share price

Chartered

1Q07: Erosion in ASP Chartered reported net profit of US$5.3m in 1Q07. This is in line with our net profit forecast of US$6.5m. Weakness from Consumer sector. Revenue declined 4.5% qoq to US$323.8m in 1Q07 (guidance: -3% to –6%). The decline was due to weakness in the Consumer sector, partially offset by strength in the Communications sector. Sales from Consumer sector fell 26.6% qoq to US$64.8m due to seasonal weakness for video game console. Sales from the Computing sector decreased 6.7% qoq to US$139.2m due to weakness for workstations, PC motherboards, printers and monitors. Sales from Communications sector gained 15.9% qoq to US$110.1m due to strength for mobile phones, wireless broadband and wireline infrastructure. Average utilisation was unchanged at 70%. Lower ASP due to change in product mix. Wafer shipment increased 1.3% qoq to 318.2 thousand wafers but average selling price (ASP) fell 5.6% qoq to US$1,071. This is due to lower contribution from advance 90nm process technology, which contracted from 37% of sales in 4Q06 to 29% of sales in 1Q07. The lower ASP is due to the unfavourable change in product mix. Merely breaking even in 2Q07. Management guided revenue to be flat in 2Q07 (-2% to +2%). Wafer shipment is expected to expand 15% on a sequential basis, helping to increase average utilisation to 77% in 2Q07. This will primarily come from older 0.13μ and 0.11μ process technologies for applications such as TV, DVD player and recorder, mobile phone and optical storage. However, contribution from 90nm will reduce from 29% of sales in 1Q07 to 19% of sales in 2Q07 due to lower shipment to AMD. ASP is expected to fall a further 13.9% qoq to US$922 due to the unfavourable change in product mix. Chartered is expected to merely breakeven in 2Q07. Rapid ramp up for 65nm in 2H07. Chartered is executing ahead of schedule for 65nm and will start commercial shipments in 2Q07. Chartered will migrate from 90nm to 65nm for Microsoft XBox 360 in 2Q07 and AMD64 microprocessors in 2H07. It will start volume production for baseband products on 65nm for Texas Instruments and Qualcomm in 2H07. Revenue contribution from 65nm, including revenues from both SOI and bulk technologies, is expected to reach 5% of sales in 2Q07 and exceed 10% of sales in 4Q07. Chartered’s capex plan remains unchanged and will invest US$800m this year mainly to expand capacity at Fab 7 from 18,000 to 25,000 12-inch wafers/month. Qualification by customers for 45nm process technology will commence in 4Q07. Chartered has also extended its joint development efforts with IBM to include 32nm bulk CMOS technology. Maintain HOLD. We have cut our FY07 net profit forecast by 25.9% to US$67m. Our entry price for the stock is S$1.13, which represents a 20% upside to our fair price of S$1.35 or FY07 EV/EBITDA of 5x.

options trading

I love inveting in shares and stocks but have you tried options trading. If you are new to this then you will need help, what you need are the best software tools. I found this website called PowerOptions. It provides the essential data you need to invest with stock options. With a patented SmartSearchXL® technology is not available anywhere else. It’s the best way to Find, Compare, Analyze, and Make Money On Stock Option Trading. Currently in the market it is the only internet-based data provider that gives investors SmartSearchXL®, a patented decision support technology that identifies the highest return option trades. With its sorting and filter control and it capability to analyze all 3,000+ options in the market. Why not try it out, I have been given a 14-day free trial, to check it out.

TAC

Flash: TAC (TACC.SI): Hold: 1Q07 Results at a Glance - Full Steam Ahead on Interconnect. 1Q07 results disappoint – Recurring net profits of Bt1.6bn (+23.5%QoQ, +23.7%YoY) was only 19% of Citi's FY07 estimates largely due to weaker than expected service revenues (ex-interconnect) of Bt12.7bn (+5.4%QoQ, +7.4%YoY), 23% of Citi's FY07 results. Following these results, we maintain our Hold/High Risk rating. https://www.citigroupgeo.com/pdf/SAP04875.pdf

Suntec

Suntec REIT (SUNT.SI): Buy: Continued Strength in Office Rentals. Target price raised to S$2.37 — We raise our target to reflect 1) a lower 10-year government bond rate of 2.65% vs. 3% previously; and 2) higher-than- expected signing rental rates at Suntec City Office Towers. With a favorable expiry profile, Suntec REIT should gain from office rental increases. We believe Suntec REIT is worth S$2.46, including a 12-month DPU of 8.7 cents. https://www.citigroupgeo.com/pdf/SAP04860.pdf

Home Remodeling Contractors

I just bought a resale unit and the biggest headache is doing the renovation. Just trying to get the various contractors together is a nughtmare. Try coordinating them to come in at the right timing is murder. What I want is a quick and easy contractor matching system. Just finding the right residential general contractor can be challenging. Contractors can at times be undependable. So how do you find one that you can trust? I stumble on this website that is called OnCallContractors. Immediate you are match to a Home Remodeling Contractors for your home improvement needs. Not any other contractors can be found on this site, they have to 'fight' to get in, meaning that must meet certain criteria to be on the A list. So get all your home improvement needs under one roof or uneder one site.

Keppel Corp (KEP SP/S$21.70/Target: S$25.00/Maintain BUY)

1Q07 results: Net profit up 48% yoy, driven by O&M and property Keppel Corp (Keppel) reported a net profit of S$252m (+48% yoy) for 1Q07. There was a deferred tax write-back of S$18m following the recent change in Singapore’s corporate tax from 20% to 18%. Compared with our forecast of S$996m, results were marginally ahead of our expectation. 1Q07 earnings growth was driven by the O&M and property divisions which recorded an earnings growth of 91% and 73% respectively. O&M: Net profit contribution rose 91% to S$151m with turnover rising by 26% to S$1.5b. Margins improved better than expected. EBITDA margin improved to 11.5% from 11.0% in 4Q06 and 9.9% in 1Q06. Management said this was due to higher economies of scale. Despite a low level of new contracts worth S$0.6m secured in 1Q07 ($1.5b including contracts secured in Apr 07) compared with S$3.2b in 1Q06 (FY06 total: S$7.3b), management remains confident and has indicated job enquiries level is at all-time high. As a result of the lower level of new contracts in 1Q07, outstanding O&M orderbook has fallen from S$10.5b at end-06 to S$9.9b at end-1Q07. Within the jack-up market, Keppel is shifting to niche high value-add type of jack-ups such as the KFELS N Class jack-up contracts it recently secured. These contracts are close to US$400m apiece, much higher than the normal jack-up contracts of US$200m each. Going forward, Keppel sees more of non-rig contracts such as floating production system conversions and newbuilds (e.g. FPSOs, production semi-submersibles, etc) and shipbuilding. Property: Net profit contribution to Keppel in 1Q07 was S$38m (+73% yoy), much higher than 1Q06’s S$22m. Keppel Land earlier reported a net profit of S$62.5m, up 72% yoy. While Keppel has not disclosed the earnings contribution from Keppel Bay, we reckon it would have done very well as evidenced in Keppel Land’s associates’ contributions of S$36.6m, six-fold higher than 1Q06’s S$4.7m. Keppel Bay is a 30:70 joint venture between Keppel Land and Keppel respectively. Reflections@Keppel Bay (99-year, 1,129 units) was launched early this month at S$1,900 psf on average. Infrastructure: Turnaround performance gathered momentum with net profit contribution at S$9m in 1Q07 compared with S$6m in 4Q06 and a loss of S$3m in 1Q06. 1Q07’s better performance was due to the full quarter impact of the deployment of Keppel’s power barges to Ecuador in 4Q06 following a period of unemployment. We expect strong Infrastrcuture earnings from FY07 onwards as Keppel will see maiden earnings contributions from various newly completed Infrastructure projects in Singapore such as the NEWater plant and the Cogen power plant in Singapore as well as its new solid waste management plant project in Qatar. Investments: Earnings were 25% yoy lower despite a strong performance reported by associate SPC (1Q07 net profit: S$112.1m, +65% yoy) as 1Q06 had benefitted from large investment gains. We raise our FY07, FY08 and FY09 earnings forecasts marginally by 6-7% to S$1.060b, 1.275b and S$1.326b respectively. And we raise our target price by 28% from S$19.50 to S$25.00 based on our revised sum-of-the-parts (SOP) valuation of S$24.95/share on the back of higher valuations across the board, in particular Keppel Land's valuation (from a target price of S$8.00 to S$10.50/share). We have also raised the earnings contributions from the O&M business due to higher margins and now value the business at 15x FY08 earnings (previously 12.5x FY08 earnings) on PEG of 1x. The value of Keppel’s other listed assets has also been increased as a result of higher share prices. Maintain BUY.

UTAC

Benefiting from Qimonda’s new wafer fab in Singapore More investment in Singapore. Qimonda, a leading supplier of memory chips, will be building its first fully owned 12-inch wafer fab in Singapore. It plans to invest €2b (S$4.1b) over the next five years. The new wafer fab will have 20,000sm of clean room space and adds 60,000 wafer starts per month to Qimonda’s overall front-end capacity when fully ramped. Construction is scheduled to commence at end 2007, with production expected to start in 2009. The new plant will employ more than 1,500 staffs. Joint R&D collaboration with Qimonda. UTAC has completed the first joint R&D collaboration with Qimonda on ultra-thin large die-stacking process development. The project involves innovative multi-chip package solutions with high density of functionality and high performance in reliability. Both companies have extended the R&D initiatives by a further 18 months due to success of the initial collaborative effort. The next stage of the project encompasses advanced stacking and Flip Chip technology. UTAC will benefit from Qimonda’s investment in Singapore. UTAC provides assembly and test services to Qimonda via its JV wafer fabs in Taiwan. The new wafer fab in Singapore provides locational advantages and allows UTAC to further expand its business with Qimonda. Reiterate BUY.

san diego real estate

The demand for luxury housing has been on the rise, especially in Southern California communities of San Diego, La Jolla, Coronado, San Clemente, Rancho Santa Fe, and Laguna Niguel. Alot of people are turning to san diego real estate for good investments. Some are just buying housing just because they know that California is the sun city. We not talking about low end market but million dollar homes. It is the place for the rich and rich, looking for a place to retire. The weather is the main draw to such city. More and more land will be set aside for more luxury housing.

Singpost

SingPost reported its FY07 results this morning. Net profit was up 13.3%to S$139.8m. This is in line with our S$137.6m. The variance is primarilydue to the S$2.2m one-off impact from the reduction in corporate tax ratefrom 20% to 18% on deferred taxes. Underlying net profit, which excludesprofit from sale of properties and one-off tax impact, was up 7.0% toS$132.2m.Revenue was up 5.6% to S$436m, with all the business segments maintainingtheir growth momentum : (a) mail revenue rose 4.4% to S$338.4m, withimprovements in contributions from domestic mail, international mail,hybrid mail and philatelic; (b) logistics revenue grew 5.7% to S$64.3m, dueto growth in Speedpost revenue and shipping contributions from vPOSTonline-shopping transactions; and (c) retail revenue rising 12.1% toS$55.6m, due to higher contributions from higher-value financial servicesand retail products.Operating profit rose 11.5% (or S$17.4m) to S$169.3m, with contributionsfrom mail (+4.6% or S$5.9m) and retail (+40.1% or S$2.7m).SingPost declared a final dividend of 2.5¢ ps for FY07. Including theinterim dividends of 1.25¢ ps for each of the earlier 3 quarters, the totaldividend is 6.25¢, giving a yield of 5.3%.

Regional Morning Meeting Notes, April 27, 2007

CHINA China Unicom (HOLD/HK$11.66) 1Q07: Strong quarterly results. Maanshan Iron & Steel (BUY/HK$5.35/HK$6.60) 1QFY07 results show mill on the road to recovery. Maintain BUY.MALAYSIA Tanjong plc (BUY/RM16.90/Target:RM16.00-Under Review) Potential spinning off of its power division for overseas listing, possibly by year-end. Estimated value of RM4.5b (based on DCF and 13x FY08 PE). Maxis Communications (BUY/RM13.20/Target: RM12.90-Under Review) Strategic investor for NTS to be identified in a few weeks. Less uncertainty as to the direction for Maxis in Indonesia, with NTS moving closer to rollout.SINGAPORE Mar 07 IPI IPI contracted 2.9% yoy on a sharp drop in pharmaceutical output. Keppel Corp (BUY/S$21.70/Target: S$25.00) 1Q07: Net profit up 48% yoy, driven by O&M and property divisions. Target price is raised by 28% to S$25.00. STATS ChipPAC (HOLD/S$1.88) 1Q07: Achieving operational excellence. Total Access Communication (BUY/US$4.80/Target: US$5.60) 1Q07: Earnings continued to grow on the back of lower interest expenses. The introduction of IC may bring balanced market competition. Maintain BUY. United Test & Assembly Center (BUY/S$0.915/Target: S$1.16) Benefitting from Qimonda's new wafer fab in Singapore. Venture Corporation (BUY/S$16.40/S$17.70) 1Q07: Full-quarter contribution from GES.THAILAND Major Cineplex (BUY/Bt16.00/Target: Bt20.60) A lifestyle entertainment provider sets to register an average EBIT growth of 30% p.a. in the next three years. Expect strong 1H07 performance. TOP Plc (SELL/Bt64.50/Fair: Bt56.50)Good trading opportunity but we remind investors to be cautious. MaintainSELL.TALKING POINT: Golden Eagle (3308 HK) ? Great Buying OpportunityFor more details, click on the link.http://research.uobkayhian.com/research/content.show.action?filename=2007042709280644410582424.pdf

mexico vacation

The latest to hit the market, in travel vacation is vacations.net. Check out their websites, they are offerring 50% discount off their regular travel prices. After doin a great amount of reserach, consumers and indutries feedback and competitive site benchmarking, vacantion.net is in placed as one of the top of the market leaders. The website has a new look with a customized booking engine and intuitive functionality that sets it above its competitors. The booking engine is user friendly and you get images of the various travel site for you to make your choices. It is like a one-stop portal with all your travel need in one website. So now your travel plans is just one click away. I have done my booking for a mexico vacation. Bon Voyage.

China Market

China stock market resumed its bullish momentum after yesterday's downturn. The benchmark Shanghai composite index opened at 3,460.9£¬closed at 3,584.20£¬up 3.92%. The Shanghai A-share Index open gained 129 points, closed at 3,766, while the Shenzhen A-share Index also increased 4%, moved from 1,011 to 1,052. Total trading volume remained high at RMB 239.37 billion, little than previous trade day. The sector of financial firms guided the marking index increasing, with 6.91%. Shangxi International Trust (000563.SZ) and Haitong Securities (000837.SZ) both contributed 10% increasing. According to Shangxi International Trust's major annual report of 2006, it showed the earning per share was RMB 0.0283 and the net profit was RMB 10 million. Shangxi International Trust spent the whole year to make up the deficits and get surpluses by adjusting the market strategy. Other financial firms also performed well. Ping An (601318.SS), ICBC (601398.SS), China Life (601628.SS) and China Bank (601988.SS) increased 6.46%, 1.92%, 4.03% and 1.85%, respectively. On the other side, the sector of steel increased 6.29% intensively. Bengang Steel (000761.SZ), Xinxin ductile iron pipe (000778.SZ), Chengde Xinxin Vanadium (600357.SS) ,Fushun Special Steel (600399.SS) and Liuzhou Iron (601003.SS) were on the daily maximum 10% increase list. The steel field is favored by large amount of on stream projects, as Tibet Railway, Beijing Olympic and national electronic power transportation. Although there was any issued rules to clamp down on the stock market, but the analyst indicate the following any news from the following week will open out the attitude of the government.

Hard Disk Drive

More competition for 3.5-inch HDDs Price war for 3.5-inch HDDs. Price competition in the HDD industry has intensified after merger between Seagate and Maxtor. PC makers typically prefer to buy from more than one supplier and do not want to be overly reliant on Seagate. Rivals such as Hitachi GST have therefore cut prices for 3.5-inch HDDs to persuade PC makers to broaden their supplier base beyond Seagate. As a result, Seagate experienced price erosion of 10% to 15% for 3.5-inch HDDs used in desktop PCs and digital video recorders (DVRs) towards end of March, twice the magnitude the company previously projected. Price erosion was particularly severe for high capacity HDDs providing storage space of 400GB to 750GB. Full impact of pricing actions by competitors will be felt in 2Q07. Seagate guided revenue of US$2.65-2.75b for 2Q07, a sequential decline of 2.8% to 6.3%. The company also guided EPS of US$0.29-0.33, lower than US$0.37 recorded in 1Q07. 1.8-inch HDDs already affected. Fujitsu halted plans to produce 1.8-inch HDDs as it became evident that manufacturers for handheld devices prefers using NAND flash memory and solid state drives (SSDs). Fujitsu had originally planned to commence production of 1.8-inch HDDs used in ultra mobile notebooks and digital media players in 1H08 (Apr-Sep 07). We believe the change of plan was precipitated by news that Apple will be using NAND flash memory instead of 1.8-inch HDDs for new versions of iPod video to be launched in 3Q07. The new products come with storage capacities of 16GB or 32GB. The 32GB version can store up to 40 hours of video. Apple has chosen NAND flash memory due to the significant improvement in battery life. Correction in Seagate and Western Digital share prices. Seagate and Western Digital corrected 17.5% and 15.1% respectively on a YTD basis. Both stocks underperformed the NASDAQ 100 index, which gained 5.1%. The correction in share price for the two HDD makers indicates deterioration in outlook for the HDD industry. The market for 1.8-inch HDDs is already affected by NAND flash memory and SSDs. SSD’s penetration in the notebook PC market could reach 50% by 2013 (source: In-Stat). This will affect demand for 2.5-inch HDDs. Unfortunately, price competition has also intensified for 3.5-inch HDDs.

silver

Start investing in silver or other precious metal. What with the rising prices of silver due to demand outweighing production, the prices of silver will keep on rising. Through Monex Deposit Company (MDC) you can purchase silver or other precious metals for immediate personal delivery or arrange for convenient and safe storage at an independent bank or depository. For over 30 years, the Monex companies have been America’s silver and precious metals investment leader. Monex Precious Metals is a dedicated company that takes care of your investment needs when investing in precious metals investment needs and being America’s best dealer with a convenient market and competitive precious metals prices.So start investing when the prices are still reasonable to buy.

Regional Morning Meeting Notes, April 23, 2007

CHINA Telecommunications 1Q07 subscriptions statistics: Results indicated Caller Party Pays (CPP) policy intensified mobile substitutions Qingling Motors (SELL/HK$1.45/Fair: HK$1.10) 2006: Revenue rose 4% to Rmb3.4b and net profit grew 100% to Rmb79m. Maintain SELL. Brilliance China (HOLD/HK$1.86) Junjie did not break-even although its sales increased dramatically. We need 1H07data to make a further analysis. Meanwhile, downgrade stock to HOLD. China Mobile Limited (BUY/HK$74.90/Target: HK$90.00) 1Q07: Net profit up 22.3% yoy. Target price raised to reflect continuous strong growth. HONG KONG Lung Kee (NOT RATED/HK$3.63) Benefit from increasing attention on the sector. Resume growth due to improving penetration of automobile industry and Eastern China market. INDONESIA Bank Mandiri (BUY/Rp3,150/Target: Rp3,475) 1Q07: Getting stronger. Draw on strong top line performance in 1Q07 to strengthen loan-loss coverage. Bank Niaga (HOLD/Rp880) 1Q07: Fair results but stiffer competition from bigger banks could depress future performance. MALAYSIA Warrants Bursa-CC ? Leverage on improved conditions in equity market. Axis REIT (BUY/RM1.93/Target: RM2.25) Acquired industrial property in Shah Alam for RM18.5m, 5th acquisition to date. Fair price of RM100psf, gross yield of 8.2% (yield accretive). Unisem (BUY/RM2.05/Target: RM2.32) Strengthening core Assembly & Test business. SINGAPORE Hard Disk Drive More competition for 3.5-inch HDDs. Olam (HOLD-Under Review/S$3.48) To acquire 100% of Universal Blanchers, the world's largest independent peanut blancher and ingredient processor. Epure International (BUY/S$2.10/S$2.00-Under Review) Acquisition of additional interests in subsidiary THAILAND Bangkok Bank (BUY/Bt112.0/Target: Bt146.0) 1Q07: Net profit of Bt4.6b was unexciting but stable Bank of Ayudhya (BUY/ Bt21.3/Target: Bt23.5) 1Q07: Net profit collapsed 33% yoy as bank resumed normal tax charge. Kiatnakin Finance (BUY/Bt29.25/Target: Bt33.00) 1Q07: Profit fell 56% yoy on lower NII and weak non-interest income. Krung Thai Bank (BUY/Bt11.5/Target: Bt15.0) 1Q07: Showing slight signs of weakness. Bottom line saved by tax management. Siam City Bank (SELL/Bt17.1/Fair: Bt17.0) 1Q07: Weak loan growth, lower NIM and surge in provisions resulted in poor quarterly earnings. Maintain SELL. Thai Military Bank (SELL/Bt1.77/Fair:Bt1.70) 1Q07: Bottom line continued to suffocate from high provisions. Thanachart Capital (BUY/ Bt14.4/Target: Bt16.3) 1Q07: Provision write-back and slowing OPEX helped to turn a profit of Bt577m. TALKING POINT: China's steel sector update For more details, click on the link. http://research.uobkayhian.com/research/content.show.action?filename=2007042310064395720375640.pdf

Olam

To acquire Universal Blanchers Olam announced it will acquire 100% of the world’s largest independent peanut blancher and ingredient processor, Universal Blanchers (UB), for a total cash consideration of US$77m. This acquisition will enable Olam to expand into peanut blanching and ingredient manufacturing in the US. UB, a Georgia-based food ingredient company, is a market leader in outsourced peanut blanching, roasting and bulk manufacturing of peanut butter and paste in the US. Its major customers include large shellers such as Birdsong and Golden Peanut, as well as branded food manufacturers such as Hersheys, Mars, Kraft Foods, General Mills, Kelloggs, Nestle and J B Sanfilippo. In 2006, US generated revenues of US$72.5m, EBITDA of US$11.0m and PBT of US$7.5m. Our current FY08 net profit forecast of S$129.6m has not factored in the Mar-07 announcement of acquisition of Queensland Cotton Holdings (QCH), as the deal has met with some opposition from one of QCH’s shareholders – the Louis Dreyfus Group of France. The UB acquisition is earnings accretive from the first year. Assuming the UB acquisition was completed on 1 Jul 05, Olam’s FY06 net profit would have been S$95m, 9% higher than the actual S$87m. We will await more details from management before revising our earnings to take into account this UB acquisition.

payday cash loans

There are more and more people who are turning to payday cash loans to meet the need for emergency funds needs. What with the bi-monthly payday, alot of people are run short of cash before the next payday and have no choice but to turn to such scheme then rather rely on relatives or friends. Payday advance service works on the principle of give a small loan to the people and instead of taking an overdraft or using credit card loans where the interest rate could be very much higher. With this gap in the market for financial and banking services, small loan companies are offering payday cash advance services. Some Uk payday loan companies serve Ireland, Scotland and England. Registering for a payday loan account is easy as it can be done online. Cash loans of up to 800 pounds are available and it is possible to have the money by the next business day. When the person gets paid, they can choose to repay the cash advance amount or part of it.

Zhongguo Powerplus

16:36 11Apr2007 RTRS-ZHONGGUO POWERPLUS SAYS TALKING TO PRIVATEEQUITY FIRMS, OTHERS ABOUT INVESTMENT OR TIE-UP16:38 11Apr2007 RTRS-China's Zhongguo in talks with new investors By Jan Dahinten SINGAPORE, April 11 (Reuters) - Zhongguo Powerplus , aChinesemaker of leaf blowers and hedge trimmers, said on Wednesday that it is intalks with investors, including private equity groups, about the sale of astake in the firm. Zhongguo Managing Director Xue Yongwen has spoken to private equityinvestors and industry peers in Europe and Asia since March and furthermeetings will take place next week, a spokesman said. The discussions could lead to the acquisition of a stake in Zhongguo, across-shareholding with an industrial partner, or a joint venture in thecoming weeks. Nicholas Fong, Zhongguo's spokesman, said a takeover was possible butthat the management would prefer to sell a minority stake and retain itsstock market listing in Singapore. The talks were prompted by Zhongguo's decision to hire Lehman Brothers as advisers as it looked for an investor to help it expandinternationally. Zhongguo generates a quarter of its sales outside China but hopes toincrease that to 50 percent in the coming years. Its rivals include Singapore-listed China Farm Equipment andItalian gardening and forestry tools maker Emak . The company earned net profit of 63.5 million yuan ($8.2 million) in2006, down 11 percent from the previous year as the company focused onhigh-volume, low-margin products and was hit by one-off costs. Sales rose11 percent to 322 million yuan. ((Reporting by Jan Dahinten, editing by Sara Webb;jan.dahinten@reuters.com, Reuters

Tat Hong Holdings .

Tat Hong Holdings (TAT.SI): Buy: Stronger Balance Sheet for China Push. Modifications — We have made the following changes: (1) factored in the 40m new shares placement at S$1.46/sh, (2) raised our FY08E and FY09E earnings estimates by 6.1% and 8.7% to factor in the group's China push; (3) increased our FY08E target peg from 14x to 16x, justified in our view by net earnings growing at a 3-year CAGR of 21.5%; and (4) raised our 12-month target price from S$1.63 to S$1.82. We reiterate our Buy/Low Risk rating. https://www.citigroupgeo.com/pdf/SAP04338.pdf

bullion

Have it cross your mind about buying silver, gold or other precious metals, but never knew how to go about buying them. Have you heard of Monex Deposit Company (MDC)? Through them you can buy through them and there is 2 methods of storing them either have it personally delivered to you or have them arranged to safe keep it at an independent bank. These precious metals are mainly bought for investment and there come in the form of coin or ingot. The come in various sizes. The time is right to invest is either silver or gold bullion as the prices have been steadily going up.

SingTel

SingTel (STEL.SI): Buy: Revising Down Optus; Capital Mgmt Kicker Due on May 9th. We stay Buyers. Cuts to Optus fair value estimates are offset by higher Bharti stake value to leave our sum-of-parts unchanged. Solid capital mgmt message with results (May 9) should buoy sentiment. Potential value crystallization in Taiwan an emerging catalyst. Value accretion in Telkomsel and Bharti should continue. All in all, we maintain our best “one-shop Asian telco stock” thesis. https://www.citigroupgeo.com/pdf/SAP04331.pdf

Asia Strategy View

Asia Strategy View - Singapore: Postponing Decision to Another Day. Maintaining the status quo on the SGD policy stance in our view merely postpones, not eliminate, the possibility of a re-centering of the SGD policy band to the next policy review in October when the inflation backdrop may provide a more compelling reason to do so. https://www.citigroupgeo.com/pdf/SAP04275.pdf

small business phone systems

Did you know that you no loger have to pay high prices for overseas calls. Everyone is using VoIP or Voice Over IP to make calls, once such company that provide such services for small business phone systems is Xpander Communications. What they deliver is simplicity, reduced costs, and drastically reduced maintenance. This is all the concern of small companies high phone bills. Now small businesses can share the same phone system on the same private list of extensions across all branch offices equally. The benefits VoIP phone systems have to offer the small business world are endless.

Baker Tech

What’s next? Recently acquired a 15% stake in PPL Shipyard. Baker Technology recently acquired 100% of PPL Holdings (PPLH) from Dr Benety Chang and his wife Dr Doris Heng, Anthony Sebastian Aurol and Tan Yang Guan at a purchase consideration of S$3.6m cash. PPLH’s main asset is a 15% interest in PPL Shipyard (PPLS). The remaining 85% interest is owned by SembCorp Marine (SMM). Dr Benety Chang, via Saberon Investments Pte Ltd owns 69.6% of Baker Technology and is the company’s CEO. Anthony Sabastian Aurol and Tan Yang Guan are also directors of Baker Technology. The four vendors of PPLH have granted Baker Technology a Put Option for 18 months effective from the acquisition’s completion date, which when exercised will require the vendors to repurchase PPLH at Baker Technology’s purchase price plus interest at 5% p.a. PPLS is the main jack-up rig building shipyard of SMM with Dr Benety as its Deputy Chairman. According to PPLS’s FY05 accounts, Anthony Sabastian Aurol is also a director of PPLS while Tan Yang Guan is his Alternate Director. SMM is currently undertaking the fabrication of 15 jack-ups and five semisubmersible rigs. Of the jack-ups, 11 are being handled by PPLS. Five units will be delivered in 2007 and six in 2008. These 11 jack-up contracts have a combined value of US$1.6b (S$2.6b). Acquisition price appears cheap. We estimate PPLS’s FY07 and FY08 turnover at S$1b and S$0.5b, respectively from these 11 contracts (before factoring in new contracts likely to be secured in these two years). Assuming a PBT margin of 8.5% and a tax rate of 18%, this would imply a net profit of about $70m and S$35m, respectively. A 15% interest of PPLS would translate into a net profit share of S$10.5m and S$5.3m. At a purchase price of S$3.6m cash, it would appear that Baker Technology has bought PPLS cheap. SMM does not disclose PPLS’s earnings separately. Baker Technology said PPLS made a net profit of US$2.4m (S$3.8m) and US$21.7m (S$34m) in FY04 and FY05, respectively. Baker Technology ill not be able to equity account PPLS’s earnings unless it can show that it does exercise “significant influence” over PPLS’s management and business. In the event that Baker Technology could equity account PPLS and assuming it can sustain its FY06 net profit from its current business, we estimate the company’s proforma FY07 EPS at 1.8 cts (before accounting for its 28.5m outstanding warrants exercisable into shares at S$0.025 each), implying a FY07 PE multiple of 8.0x. ASL Marine, the smallest marine stock under our coverage, is currently trading at 7.3x FY07 calendarised earnings. Baker Technology is trading at a price/book of 4.1x compared with ASL Marine’s 2.0x. What’s next? PPLS presnetly handles jack-up rig construction only while SMM’s other offshore & marine contracts are handled by its other shipyards. Jurong Shipyard handles semi-submersible rig fabrication and FPSO conversions, Sembawang Shipyard carries out shipbuilding, and SMOE the fabrication of fixed production platforms. We understand that PPLS is capable of fabricating semi-submersible rigs. In the event of a slow-down in jack-up contract flow, which is likely in view of the current large global jack-up rig orderbook, PPLS’s capacity can be diverted to semi-submersible rig fabrication. The vendors, by injecting their 15% interest into PPLS, are essentially unlocking the value of the asset to reap the benefit of the past three years’ jack-up rig building boom. This acquisition may not be the last. There could be other asset injections though we think the back door listing of China-based Yantai Raffles Shipyard through Baker Technology is unlikely. Brian Chang, brother of Dr Benety Chang, owns Yantai Raffles.

Regional Update

CHINA Datang International (BUY/HK$7.82/Target: HK$9.90) 2006: Net income missed our forecast by 8%. Cut target price to HK$9.90. Industrial fundamentals would improve in 2H07. Reiterate BUY. Greentown China Holdings (BUY/HK$13.94/Target: HK$18.20) FY06: Solid earnings growth of 104% to Rmb1.27b. Maintain target price and BUY rating. China Netcom (NOT RATED/ HK$19.90) Results below market expectations.HONG KONG Jan-Feb 07 Retail Sales Solid growth in Hong Kong's retail sales for the first two months of 2007 CNCB (NOT RATED/) First glance at preliminary IPO prospectus.INDONESIA A newly enacted Investment Law is expected to boost market sentiment and encourage long-term foreign direct investments. Mar 07 Consumer Price Index Inflation accelerated to 6.5% yoy as food prices rose higher due to the impact of the floods. Still expect further cuts to key policy rate by year-end. Ciputra Surya (BUY/Rp920/Target: Rp1,150) FY06: Net profit surged 41.2% yoy to Rp169.1b, but still below our expectation. Our view of the stock remains positive. London Sumatra Indonesia (BUY/Rp6,200/Target: Rp6,900) FY06: Net profit went down by 14.8% yoy to Rp303.1b, but revenue increased by 17.2% yoy to Rp2,148.4b. Summarecon Agung (BUY/Rp1,100/Target: Rp1,500) FY06: Results in line with our expectation. We expect 2007 earnings prospect to be good. Maintain BUY with target price of Rp1,500.MALAYSIA Shangri-La Hotels Malaysia (BUY/RM2.75/Target: RM3.75) The luxury hotel owner to benefit from the upcycle in revenue per available room. Strong earnings momentum with net profit 3-year CAGR of 54%.SINGAPORE Baker Technology (NOT RATED/S$0.145) Share price rallied on injection of a 15% stake in PPL Shipyard. What's next?THAILAND Shin Satellite (BUY/Bt7.00/Target: Bt9.45) Trading at a discount due to political concerns.TALKING POINT: Luk Fook (590.HK) - Hidden Gem In The World Of JewelleryFor more details, click on the link.http://research.uobkayhian.com/research/content.show.action?filename=2007040309493859883271116.pdf

dallas internet marketing

Looking for a web development company that provides technical services, then look no further, Dallas Web Services is an operating division of WiWorks, Inc. Situated in Dallas it handles web services clients Nationalwide. It offers web hosting, website design, custom graphics, logo creation, content writing, marketing specialists, database programming, search engine marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), business consulting, E-commerce resources and internet marketing. This company has been growing for the last 9 years its web development has grown from dallas internet marketing to clients throught Texas and now has National clients.

Cosco

Cosco Corporation (Singapore) (COSC.SI): Initiating at Sell: Tuition Fees Waived? A pricey stock — Trading at 21.7x FY08E earnings (ex-shipping) versus Keppel O&M's 11.4x and SembMarine's (ex-CSG) 9.7x, we believe Cosco Corp's (COS) valuations already capture much of its strong position in China and growth potential. Despite the macro growth drivers, we initiate coverage on COS with the only Sell on the Street in view of: 1) its high valuations; 2) potential execution risks; and 3) management selling down their stake. https://www.citigroupgeo.com/pdf/SAP04055.pdf