Why DBS

Nov 2013
DBS sold its remaining stake in Bank of Philippine Islands for S$850 million to focus on key financial hubs like Singapore, Hong Kong. A realised net gain of S$447 million came from the sale.

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-12/dbs-sells-philippine-bank-stake-for-681-million-to-gic-ayala.html

Mar 2014

DBS redeemed preference shares early, returning $895 million. The returning of debt shows that DBS is in a financially stronger position for growth opportunities ahead.

Source: http://business.asiaone.com/news/dbs-redeeming-preference-shares-early-returning-895m 

At the same month of March, DBS had constantly been doing share buybacks of about S$5 million a month

My prediction of future occurance

Business Owners

According to tradingeconomics.com, Singapore's corporate tax rate in 2014 stood at 17% while US corporate tax rate stood high at 40%. 

Investors

Singapore do not have capital gains tax as compared to US. Fool.com states that for short term capital gains, taxes can go up to 39.6% while long term capital gains tax range between 15-20%. High-income tax payers in US, whose income ranges more than $200,000 or $250,000 joint filers, get an extra 3.8% on capital gains tax, which made selling or buying even more costly.

Dow Jones Industrial Average (Yahoo Finance)

Straits Times Index (Bloomberg)

Conclusion

It makes more sense to be a Singapore citizen to be an investor as no capital gains tax is being charged for buying or selling of stocks. Foreign investors are also not liable for capital gains tax in Singapore. Furthermore, the US stock markets are constantly on the upward trend with no sign of correction while the Straits Times Index suffered periodic correction. 

High net worth individuals in US might not like that tax system in the country and could avoid high taxes in US by becoming a Singapore citizen as they need to pay more taxes as a owner of a business and also an investor there.

I predict a correction in US stock markets as a result of higher interest rates and higher tax rates. The funds from selling could be diverted to Asia as stock markets here remain low, namely the STI in Singapore and also the rest of Asia (Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, South Korea)

My take on falling yuan

In a scenario of a falling yuan can translate to profits from the Chinese government or even the investors in China.

Here's an example:

Chinese government and its investors make use of strong yuan to purchase strong currency assets in London or maybe Singapore. When yuan started falling, these assets translate into more yuan and thus become profits for the Chinese government and its investors.

A weaker yuan could also lead to a weaker rupiah as Indonesia needs to export coal to China. Singapore listed firm, XMH holdings could be affected due to reliance on the Indonesia coal exporting industry.

recent share buyback, SATS

SATS recent share buyback could indicate that the price is being under-recognized by investors. Its recent acquisition of Indonesia's key gateway provider could give itself a larger slice of the gateway pie.