The problem with the Singapore market

These companies are on my wish list; 1) Raffles Education 2) OSIM 3) Eu Yan Sang 4) Heng Long 5) Best World 6) Ezra 7) Armstrong Industrial Wearnes 9) Micro-Mechanics 10) OLAM

I think Asians as a whole are prone to punting since gambling is a part of their culture. HK has Asia\'s biggest warrants market? A gambling instrument in my view. But they have some good shareholder activists; visit David Webb\'s site where he relates all the scandals that have transpired in the HK market and you\'ll know Hong Kong people are a cunning lot and the innocent could get killed. Singapore was known as a tightly-regulated market in the 1980s but the authorities loosened their reins because it was believed a tight regulatory environment stifled innovation. Indirectly, I guess, it encouraged a punting culture. But I think the lack of depth in liquidity is the biggest problem and it is most obvious now. There is a lack of people willing to bet on value and take the opposite side of the trade from institutions who need to exit to meet fund redemptions. The undervaluation in the market is amazing. And then you have brokers jumping on the bandwagon and launching CFD instruments to facilitate retailers to short, presumably.

Wearnes is an interesting choice. Why do you like it?

Would provide a more detail explaination over the weekend, now working. In brief, Good franchise value Technology business turning around PRC property in good hand More importantly, the management seems to take a more proactive approach to meeting up with investors nowadays.

btw, I caution against taking too big a position in the equity market now. The US credit crunch is definately not over. My guesstimate is that it is at best 30% done. Heard from a friend in US banking sector that there are at least 30 US banks lining up to file for Chapter 11 (Please verify this fact yourself). The credit crunch would lead to hedge funds withdrawing from the equity market. This in turn will spiral into depressing share price. Mutual funds will be subsequently hit by redemptions, which will depress the share price further. In the worst scenario, we could see a depressed market for the next 1-2 years.

One solid year has past. The doomsayers got mud in their face. Most people cannot believe the stock rally has been so strong. Oil is back up again. The Americano stock index is above 10,000. Life is full of surprises - only this time, the surprises were shocking and then damn shiok. What about 2010? Who dares to predict Q1? What stcoks will win? My guesses: a) Oceanus - Watch out for Xmas Eve start of trading for TDRs in Taiwan. This one has the fundamentals to appeal to Taiwanese - it\'s abalone food mah! b) Design Studio. Have already turned in solid 9-month results; q4 will put the finishing touches to a splended year. Dont follow me.... I can be very wrong!