Shareholder's member card

"As a token of appreciation for the continued support of our valued shareholders, the Board of
Directors of the Company is pleased to announce that the Company will be giving a Privilege Card
(the “ST Card”) to its shareholders. The ST Card shall entitle the shareholders, their family members and friends to a special room rate and 10% discount on food and beverage at our Nantong and Suzhou hotels.

Hotel Room Type Rate

Nantong Santeh Hotel Deluxe Standard Room with breakfast for one RMB410 per night
Suzhou San Teh Hotel Superior Standard Room with breakfast for one RMB398 per night

Shareholders whose names are registered in the Depository Register and Register of Members of the
Company as at 5.00 p.m. on 31 July 2013, including CPF investors will be entitled to the ST Card."

Source: http://infopub.sgx.com/FileOpen/Privilege_Card_for_Shareholders.ashx?App=Announcement&FileID=249014

This is the first of such initiatives i've seen to provide shareholders with benefits.

Cheaper Suntec REIT, but is it worth buying?

Source: bloomberg

Suntec REIT currently have a NAV of $2.03 and priced at $1.53 on 20 Jul 13, Fri. However, gathered sources reveal that it had one of the most expensive management fees in SGX REIT section, and also had stopped receiving income support for its One Raffles Quay (ORQ) property. Management blamed the 4.7% fall in DPU on the partial closure of Suntec Mall and Suntec Singapore for enhancement works.

Source: http://www.todayonline.com/business/suntec-reit-posts-47-fall-q2-dpu
Source: http://infopub.sgx.com/FileOpen/Suntec-2Q2013-Presentation.ashx?App=Announcement&FileID=248407

Suntec REIT might be affected by the possible hike in interest rates in the future, However, with the basket of good portfolio assets, it may become profitable in future when its Suntec assets reopened fully and is able to extend the lease of the current office tenants which lease is set to expire in 2013.

Apart from that, it is also able to benefit from the increasing office rates, especially in key CBD areas in MBFC and OFQ

Manipulating the stock market

Ben Bernanke had once again manipulated the markets with his speech on continuing the $85M monthly bond purchase which he previously hinted a possible tapering in purchases.

Stocks across the world rallied on the comment, but despite the rally, the euro zone crisis is still not over and interest rates are quietly rising.

Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertlenzner/2013/07/12/how-bernanke-manipulates-the-markets-in-3-easy-steps/

I still think that there are downsides to the market sometime around mid 2014 due to the forecast of bond tapering by Bernanke and markets will still continue to be on the uptrend for the next few years due to inflation caused by bond purchases.

Banks are a good bet against rising interest rates and stocks with low borrowings as higher interest rates affect profit.

Investing in SGX

There had been much volatility in the stock market this week and stocks were moving up and down in anticipation of the Fed's announcement to the tapering of bond purchases in the US.

Portugal's economy was left in a mess when two ministers resigned from coalition government. Stocks around the world plunged in reaction to this incident, causing more uncertainty looming in global equities.

I was prepared for a crisis, seeing SGX plunged from a 6 months high of $7.8 to $7.03 on 28 June 13. And furthermore SGX, reported higher revenue and net profit amid a 10% drop in price. A 10% drop in price does not justify the strong performance of SGX, which is the sole leader of equities and derivatives products in Singapore.

Source: Bloomberg