Macquire Infrastructure Fund- Boardroom showdown

Announcement by MIIF:
"Macquarie International Infrastructure Fund Limited (MIIF or the Company) wishes to inform its shareholders that a valid requisition for a Special General Meeting of the Company (the Requisition) was lodged by Raffles Nominees (Pte) Limited on behalf of its clients, who hold 10.27 per cent of MIIF’s paid-up share capital, (together the Requisitioning Shareholders) at the Company’s registered office in Bermuda on 5 November 2012 (the Operative Date)."

The latest news is the mysterious shareholder wants to nominate 3 directors to the BOD. Looks like an upcoming boxing match.

Religare Health Trust

Fate is kind to me, I was not allocated any shares for the IPO of Religare Health Trust. It tanked on the first day of trading (22 Oct 2012). From IPO price of 90 cents, it dropped to 80 cents and at the lowest point in time, it traded at S$0.785. 

The reason for trying for this IPO was to diversify my portfolio further into Healthcare which is supposed to be defensive in nature. Fortis has injected part of their hospital assets into this trust and waived their entitlement to the dividends for 2 years. At 80 cents, the dividend yield projected would be 10% right now. If including sponsor share, the yield would be probably 8% which is still extremely tempting.

Risk of holding on to this trust are as follows:

(i) Currency risk. But this has been mitigated by 2 year forward contracts entered by managing agent.

(ii) High dividend yield due to sponser Fortis waiving off their share for 2 years.

(iii) Political stability and business environment. There is also a perceived lack of trust in assets based in India.

Interestingly, an Indian friend told me that if I am really so keen to invest in India, why not just put the money in India fixed deposits which is giving an interest of 8%.....hmm....very true indeed.....

River Isles Review (NorthEast District- Punggol)

Details of this project
Developer: Qingjian Realty
Property Address: Punggol Central/ Edgedale Plains
Legal Description: Lot 2497A of MK 21
Site Area: Approximately 20,256.10 sqm or 218,034.64 sqft
Type of Development: Full condominium facilities
No. of Blocks: 9 blocks of 17 Storeys comprising of a total of 610 units
No. of Car park lots: 610 (one for one as per agent)
Tenure: Leasehold 99 years commencing from 6 Feb 2012
Expected T.O.P date 31 March 2016
Expected Legal Completion Date 31 March 2019

Overview:

Qingjian's River Isles development is beautifully landscaped with generous water features throughout the whole estate....lovely from the artist impression....another quality development by Qingjian. The developer has announced that it is planning an IPO. Not surprisingly, you can see tremendous effort by the developer in terms of reasonable pricing, finishing and concept being conceived and catered to all walks of life for residents at all of it's recently launched projects.

Grand Entrance

Show Flat Model

Large swimming pool

Night view of clubhouse

Beautiful landscape and facilities

Exterior facade

Artist Impression of main entrance

Site Layout

Location and Amenities

• In terms of public transport, extremely near to Coral Edge LRT station which  is 3 stops to Punggol MRT.
•  Vehicle owners can take Tampines Expressway (TPE), Central Expressway (CTE) and Kallang Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE) to get to the business hub or shopping district in the city.
• Punggol Plaza is a mere 5 minutes walk away. Super market and shops to cater to resident's daily needs thus close by.
• Megamall Waterpoint is just 2-3 bus stops away. It will be ready by 2016.
• Well located and close to parks and gardens with jogging and cycling tracks by the resevoir. Residents also get to be close to watersports (kayaking and jet skiing) which will benefit the young ones.
• Near to good schools. Schools close to River Isles include Greendale Primary School, Horizon Primary School, Greendale Secondary School, Mee Toh School, Edgefield Primary School and Punggol Secondary School.
• Punggol is up and coming. MND Minister Mr Khaw has just announced the next chapter of development for Punggol. In addition, the number of apartments in Punggol will be increased from the current 26,000 to nearly 100,000. This will mean Punggol becoming twice to size of Ang Mo Kio in future. A truly vibrant satellite town in the making.
• Developer will be providing free shuttle bus service to Watertown/Punggol MRT FOC for the first year.

Showflat and finishing

Superb finishing for a suburbia development. The developer went all out to sell this project. Marble flooring finishing for living, dining, master and common bathroom for most unit types. Timber flooring in bedrooms. Sanitary and kitchen fittings by renowed brands Kohler and Hansgrophe. Even the toilet bowls comes with anti-slam silent type cover. 

Extract from brochure

Picture taken from Showflat

There are various unit sizes in this development. Will focus on two layout that was at the showflat.

• 3 bedder-109sqm (1,173sqft)

3+1 Bedder

The 3 bedroom with study is strangely V-shaped. Not exactly efficient in terms of layout and Fengshui. Also, the wardrobe for the master bedroom is small. But I like the long balcony that stretches from living to dining area. I also like the balcony in the master bedroom.....can place an outdoor mini coffee table and chair set to read newspaper.

• 4 +1 bedder-137sqm (1,475sqm)

4+1 Bedder

The 4 bedroom + 1 study is my all time favourite layout for this development. It is extremely spacious....superb and generous space provided at the living and dinning area. Walk in wardrobe in the master bedroom also significantly more spacious than the 3 bedder version. Another excellent design feature is the exclusion of an additional attached bathroom to the junior master bedroom. Such extra bathroom is a waste of space. The developer and architect has done a good job in the layout. Interestingly, the 4 bedders starting prices are from 760psf during launch. Where can one get such spacious layout for less than S$1.2Mil nowadays? 

I think that Singapore is going Hong Kong style. Such generous layouts are rare and a premium in the market. Definitely a good buy....comes TOP, my guess is the psf will shoot up to at least 900psf in view of the premium layout and development potential in Punggol.

Just for the fun of it, also included the 4 bedder dual key unit. Great for those who wants rental or getting parents to stay in.

4 bedder Dual Key

Ending Note:

I think that the prices starting from 760psf plus to mid 800psf are very much value for money in terms of the various initiatives launched by the government to develop Punggol. Not forgetting, the developer is throwing in real quality finishing such as marble flooring to buyers. On a personal note, I find it strange that there are many people who only wants to buy projects near MRT or shopping malls and willing to pay large premium of S$1250psf to developers in view of the current economic conditions. River Isles is fairly priced with good potential for future upsides.

October 2012 Investment Portfolio Upate

Got the same feedback from my network of friends, that is, worsening business results in Singapore and poor future outlook in 2013.  Sold off Wilmar and bought more stocks of Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) as a pure defensive play. I like the SPH management diversification strategy into Retail Mall management with their investment into Clementi Mall and Selatar Mall. Printing of money by US (QE3) will not heal the underlying rotting fundamental of the world's biggest economy. 

Also took additional punt on Macquire Infrastructure Fund (MIIF). The board of directors have appointed a financial advisor to look into measures to unlock the value which is firmly undervalued by the market despite various rounds of share buy back. I hope to have a return of excess cash from MIIF as they have not been able to find a M&A target since the last round of fund raising. Hoarding onto huge pile of cash is detrimental to not just the company but also all investors due to high inflation eroding the value. Other possible financial plan may involve selling off of assets to realise the intrinsic value.

Allocation of S$217K:

 

Riversails Review (NorthEast District)

Details of this project
Developer: Allgreen Properties Limited
Property Address: Upper Serangoon Crescent (New side road to be built)
Legal Description: Lot 9557A MK22
Site Area:24,620 sqm/Approx. 265,000 sqft
Type of Development: Full condominium facilities
No. of Blocks / Storey / units 12 blocks / 18-storeys / 920 units
No. of Car park lots 930 carpark lots (Extra 10 lots)
Tenure 99 years commencing from 7 December 2011
Expected T.O.P date 30 September 2017
Expected Legal Completion Date 30 Sep 2020

Overview:

 This is the plot of land that Allgreen got at a steep discount relative to surrounding sites such as Riversound and Boat Quay. The psf ppr approximately S$290 however, Allgreen is launching this project in line with the surrounding market pricing. Reason is that there were many cheques offered in particularly for the 4 bedders and which leads to preview pricing of S$840-S$850psf on average...wow....Allgreen is making supernormal profits out of this project....cool! The 1 bedders were itself 3 times oversubscribed. During my visit today, noted lots of cars and potential buyers swamping the showflat....demand is still hot for private properties despite the economy slow down.

Nice water features outside the showflat

Another shot of the water feature

Carpark lots were fully taken!

Location and Amenities

There will be a mini commercial centre from the BTO opposite Riversails. This will benefit the all residents staying in the area. The park connector will also bring one to the Punggol Promenade...so good for those who likes cycling and jogging. This location is also just next to the KPE exit thus making it extremely convenient for those who drive. The nearest LRT will be Kangkar station which will take one to Seng Kang MRT (10-15mins walk). But no worries, the developer Allgreen will be providing complimentary shuttle bus services to Hougang MRT/Bus Interchange for the first 2 years....extremely generous of them.

I actually like how the neighbouring area are being developed with modern clean cutting BTO, DBSS, Executive Condominiums (Austville and Heron Bay) and Private Condominiums (Riversound and Boat House) which give rise to an exclusive and unqiue district. Riversails is also set to benefit from the up and coming Selatar Aerospace industry.



Site Plan: Part 1 of 2 (Ground Level)



Site Plan: Part 2 of 2 (Sky Lounge)



Unit Distribution of Riversails

Showflat and finishing

There are 4 models on display: (i) 1 Bedroom; (ii) 2+1 Study (914sqft); (iii) 3 Bedroom (1108sqft) and 4 bedroom (1367sqft). For all units, built in shoerack outside main door and also built in fridge. The rubbish chutes are built within the units. Toilet bowls given are also of the silent type. Marble floor finishing (timber flooring for bedrooms and study) by Allgreen. Good quality finishing by the developer. But I am not exactly a huge fan of marble floor and marble walls in the Master Bathroom, just think that it is not practical. My personal preference would be non slip tiles over perceived grandness.

My favourite layout and facing are actually those 2+1 Study units that are facing the 50M main pool or the dip pool. Get low floor (2nd to 6th floor) to enjoy the pool view. The 2+1 units are also suprisingly spacious and decent size. Rare these days to get 2+1 over 900sqft. The balcony is also spacious enough for the dining table to be shifted there if the buyer choose to do so. This will free up even more area in the unit.



2+1 Floorplan of Showflat on Display

On the other hand, the 3 bedder on display is quite disappointing. A unique selling point here is the transparent glass installed in the Master bedroom and bathroom. This allows couples to see what each other are doing in the toilet. I was told the developer would not accept any request for customisation. For those who wanted privacy has to settle this issue themselves when it TOP. 3 bedder also a little too small for comfort. Just do not like the feel of the Masterbedroom which was more cramped than I expected. My personal advice would be to stay clear of units facing the busy Upper Serangoon Road as it does get very noisy.

3 Bedroom Floorplan of Showflat on Display

The 4 bedroom also has the same issue as the 3 bedder: It felt cramped. Strange that developer are still building junior master bathroom. For better and more efficient usage of space, one common toilet/washroom is actually more than enough. Why waste precious space? Good thing about 4 bedder is that they come with bathtubs in the Master....awesome!

4 Bedroom Floorplan of Showflat on Display

Ending Note:
I think that for the price on offer, the units at Riversails are still very much value for money. But if Allgreen had not revised upwards the prices for the 4 bedders (the last I heard was going for 800psf or less during the intial planning), it would have even been better for buyers. The cheques gathering exercise has shown a strong and robust underlying demand for private properties despite the huge supply in this area as well as weak global economic condition.

Sep'12- Returns on Investments

Quite good dividends received for past 2 months. Singapore REITS also performing well.

Below is the total returns (unrealised gains and dividends received so far):

Sep'12 Investment Allocation

S$210K allocation: