Memory Devices has a relatively short history as were all tech company. It was established in 2001 and managed to be listed on the Mainboard of the Singapore Exchange on 9 November at an issue price of 20.5 cents. Memory Devices is in the business of research and development, manufacture and sale of solid state memory storage products for use in personal computers, notebooks, servers and networks as well as a wide array of consumer electronics, industrial and communications applications.
Its products, broadly categorized into DRAM memory modules and Flash memory products are sold to both ODM and OEM customers.
Memory Devices
He makes BIG MONEY in shares, not soccer - By Joyce Lim
Great work there Chyelink.
Cheers
Niversphere.
Article excerpted from He makes BIG MONEY in shares, not soccer
* LAST WORLD CUP: Civil servant turns down friends' offer to bet on matches, instead he buys shares
* Now: They've gone broke, but he's worth $800,000. His salary? Just $3,000 a month
MR Roger Koh aims to become a millionaire in less than 10 years.
And it is not just a pipe dream for the 33-year-old civil servant, even though he draws a monthly salary of just $3,000.
In fact, he's just $200,000 shy of it.
Like some Singaporeans, Mr Koh has $500,000 in CPF, insurance and housing.
--Joyce Lim
But unlike many Singaporeans, he has $300,000 in cash and shares. His four-room HDB flat in the west and Japanese saloon car have also been fully paid for. This brings Mr Koh's total assets to $800,000.
Showing his latest bank and CPF statements to The New Paper on Sunday, Mr Koh proudly declares that he is debt-free.
And in a country where Singaporeans are quick to swipe and sign, Mr Koh is a rare breed.
He claims he has never owned a credit card.
Indeed, Mr Koh, married with a 1-year-old son, hates spending on credit and prefers to pay with cash or by Nets.
But he might not have the comfortable life he's leading now if he had gambled on the World Cup four years ago.
He contacted us after reading our report about a man who became a bankrupt after he gambled away all his money on World Cup matches.
The story struck a chord with Mr Koh as he too had once come close to losing his life savings on soccer bets.
He recalled: 'My friends and colleagues asked me to chip in on their bets. They told me, 'Sure win'.
'But I didn't believe them because they were soccer fanatics, and every match to them was a sure win.
'I'll place my money only on something I know well. Though I like playing soccer, I don't really follow soccer news or watch the matches.'
So Mr Koh watched from the sidelines as his friends placed huge bets.
'When I told my friends, 'No, thanks', some of them made fun of me and called me kiasu and kiasi (afraid to lose and die in Hokkien),' he said.
'When they won, they would say to me, 'See, told you to buy, but you didn't want'.'
STOOD HIS GROUND
Many times, he was tempted to take the plunge, but each time he said he stood his ground.
Instead, he put his money in shares, even though the stock market was languishing then.
'My friends, who won in the soccer matches, laughed at me for putting my money in stocks. They said that the market will keep going down. But I thought otherwise,' said Mr Koh, who holds a local diploma in business studies.
'I recalled how there was a rebound in the stock market after the 9/11 incident. So I decided to take the chance and invested all my money then.'
'I spent my time reading up on financial news and wrote e-mails to company CEOs to ask about their financial reports.'
With a capital of $30,000 in his CPF account and $50,000 cash, Mr Koh first invested in unit trusts and stocks.
Withing a year, he made $100,000.
His current portfolio includes shares in HTL International, Unisteel, BestWorld and TPV.
In four years, his investment portfolio increased by more than 160 per cent.
His friends, on the other hand, landed themselves deep in debt - many of them got burnt by gambling on the World Cup.
Mr Koh said: 'They lost their promotions, advancements, and most importantly, their loved ones, as the debt was too much for them to handle.
'Some of them tried to borrow money from me. But I refused because I didn't think it would do them any good.
FRIEND DECLARE BANKRUPT
'One of them, a property agent, was more than $50,000 in debt and finally had to declare himself a bankrupt.
'Another colleague's career was affected when his boss found out about his gambling from debtors who visited him at the office.'
Looking back, Mr Koh said he was glad he stayed away from football betting.
'Now, I aim to help my friends or relatives in their investment portfolio.
'I don't just concentrate on making money. I also want to give back to society by donating blood 100 times before I reach 50. I have since donated blood 42 times.'
And since the World Cup is just round the corner, Mr Koh has pasted The New Paper on Sunday report at his work desk to remind his colleagues about the pitfalls of soccer betting.
'I'm glad your paper ran the report. I hope it can serve as a reminder to readers not to blindly place their money on something they don't know about.'
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Odds are stock market will be hit
FORGET about the stock market.
Come June, punters will be watching the likes of Ronaldinho, David Beckham and Roberto Carlos make their runs down the soccer field rather than the rise and fall of the Nikkei, Dow Jones and Hang Seng indices.
With Berlin 2006 kicking off in just over a month, punters are more likely to be putting their money on the World Cup.
Some analysts believe that many retail investors and contra players, who look for short-term gains in shares, will shift their resources to football betting.
Remisier James Quek, 30, feels that the World Cup will ease share-trading activities.
'There will probably be less speculative trading,' he said.
'Even though share trading and soccer betting are two different things, the latter is still an opportunity to make money.'
HYPE
With less liquidity, share prices are set to fall.
'Some people may just take advantage of the situation and come in during the World Cup period,' said Mr Quek.
There are bound to be some brokers who will be distracted by the World Cup and their work attitude will be affected.
'Maybe there'll be a lot of hype in the first few matches. The middle part will be quieter until the finals,' said Mr Quek.
During the last World Cup in 2002, turnover on the SGX was almost halved in June, compared to the previous month. Share prices also took a hit.
However, a veteran remisier, who declined to be named, feels that today's market cannot be compared to four years ago.
She said: 'There was the crisis back then. Our economy has since recovered and we've recently been seeing a high volume of China stocks here.
'Also, with the General Elections, the market will do well,' she said.
Share investor Andy Ang, 28, agreed.
'In fact, people are speculating that the STI will go up even more,' the engineer said.
He is looking forward to the World Cup's kick-off on 9 Jun, but said he will not neglect his stock market activities.
Most of the investors we spoke to also said they would not be dumping their money into football preferring shares.
Though share speculation is also a form of gambling, it is still safer than soccer betting as losses can be reversed if the share price recovers.
Share investor Andy Ang said although he is looking forward to the World Cup's kick-off on 9 Jun, he will not neglect his stock market activities.
Engineer Ray Tan, 30, is also not bothered by the World Cup.
'I don't give a damn about the World Cup. Not everyone is into soccer,' he said.
'Some investors will probably be watching soccer matches and be less focused on the stock market.
'In that case, fewer stocks will be traded, which could result in depreciating share prices.'
This means the World Cup may actually be a good time for investors to go bargain hunting.
Why Global Testing share price not affected by recent share placement?
I have been reading some forums on Global Testing and noticed that some investor's education(in stocks) less than satisfactory. There was another thread which claimed that TMSC and other shareholders are selling Global Testing on the open market following the share placement news.
To clear some doubts, i wrote this article here. Global Testing placed 245,000,000 Ordinary Shares comprising:- (A) 175,000,000 New Shares; And (B) 70,000,000 Vendor Shares. The net asset
Thanks for your question as to why Global Testing’s net asset value (NAV) went up instead of down after the issue of 175 million new shares. Why isn’t there a dilution of its NAV?
The NAV went up because the new shares were issued at 31.25 cents which is higher than the pre-issue NAV of 22.54 cents.
The 175m new share actually was supposed to cause a dilution in the share price as the issue price of 175m new shares was at a discount of 4% to the prevailing market price of 32.5 cents (if my memory serves me right). The announcement of the new share issue caused a pull back in share price for only a day or so. When the market realized that the proceeds would be used for expanding and upgrading the production facilities in anticipation of a soaring demand, the share price then reversed its pull back and skyrocketed to 38 cents within a matter of days.
Normally new share issues cause a dilution in share price but not NAV because NAV is usually less than half or even one third of the traded share price for manufacturing and trading companies and a smaller fraction for service companies like education or IT services. But for property and hotel companies, share prices are commonly 20 to 40 % below NAV. For such companies, a new share issue could result in a dilution of NAV.
The Wit and Wisdom of Peter Lynch - By Kaushal B. Majmudar, CFA
We were fortunate to have an opportunity to hear Peter Lynch speak at an investment conference in New York about a year ago. Peter is, of course, the famed ex-manager of the Fidelity Magellan Fund. Under his stewardship, the Magellan Fund, which he ran from 1977 to 1990 grew from a small $20 million fund to $14 billion in assets when he stepped down to focus on family and other interests. In 1983 (just 6 years after he took over), the fund had grown to $1 billion on the back of Peter's exceptional performance. More specifically, according to a secondary source quoting Valueline, Lynch achieved an average annual return of 29% per year over his 13 years running the Magellan Fund.
Besides his fame as an exceptional investor who helped thousands through the fund, Peter is also well know for writing two very good books on investing that became best sellers. Peter's fund continued to perform well even as the fund became the largest equity fund in the country. Peter Lynch was only 46 when he retired (no doubt to the consternation of his many investors) at the top of his game. According to Peter, the fund continued to outperform the market for the next 7 years after he left! Also interesting to students of investing and value investors in particular is that Peter's approach featured wide diversification and opportunistic flexibility to buy any company for the Magellan Fund without arbitrary size or value versus growth limitations (in today's parlance the fund had a "core" approach).
In sharing his comments, Peter was exceptionally funny and entertaining. Though he has probably delivered some version of this talk many times (indeed he had a handout with his main bullet points on it - summarized below), he also made some comments that were clearly off the cuff. For example, the host of the conference was an investment bank that was very proud of being the bank with the highest profits per employee and after Peter was introduced, he quipped that "It makes you wonder why they don't hire more people."
In any event, the meat of Peter's comments were essentially straightforward and very common sense oriented. Peter shared his rules/observations on investing (8 of them) and proceeded to share some thoughts on each point and then talked about 10 wrong-headed and dangerous things that people say (often to themselves) about investing. It never hurts to review the fundamentals and glean insights from superstars like Peter so we took the time to share the essense of his message below.
After each of Peter's fundamentals, we provide a brief synopsis of his key comments or message relating to that fundamental. The discussion below includes our own observations on the several parallels to Warren Buffett's wisdom on investing. At The Ridgewood Group, we find it encouraging that many long-term successful investors like Peter Lynch and Warren Buffett seem to share many of the same key fundamentals since it means that other investors also have a fighting chance to learn and learn to properly apply these same fundamentals in order to become better investors.
Peter S. Lynch's Fundamental's of Investing
1.) Know What You Own - Most people don't really know the reasons why they own a stock - you should. Ed's Note: Similar to Ben Graham and Warren Buffet's Businesslike Investing in your Circle of Competence
2.) It is Futile to Predict the Economy, Interest Rates and the Stock Market(So Don't Waste Time Trying) - "If You Spend 13 minutes per year trying to predict the economy, you have wasted 10 minutes" Focus on the "facts" now at hand rather than predictions about the future
3.) You Have Plenty of Time - to identify and recognize exceptional companies. If you bought WalMart AFTER it rose 10x in its first 10 years, you got another 60x return over the next 30 years. Bottom line: Don't be in a rush - look at plenty of stocks, but be patient. Note: Buffett's "Wait for the Perfect Pitch"
4.) Avoid Long Shots - his record was ZERO out of 25 investing in companies with no revenues but a "bright future" to sell. His advice if you run across a company that falls into this category but still excites you - do nothing and write down the name. Look at it again in 6 to 12 months and see if you still think it is good. If it is one of the good ones and went from 5 to 15 while you waited, per point #3 above, you probably still have plenty of time. Note: Following this rule could keep you out of trouble. Benjamin Graham and Warren Buffett talked about avoiding Speculations and focusing on Investments instead
5.) Good Management is Very Important and Buy Great Businesses - good management is very important - maybe even the most important consideration. It may also be the most difficult item on this list to get right. His advice: look for good companies because a good management in a bad business will probably fail. "Buy a business any fool can manage because eventually one will" Buffett has also observed that when a good management meets a bad business, it is the reputation of the business that generally prevails.
6.) Be Flexible - lots of unexpected things happen, some good and some bad. Many of his best investments happened for the "wrong" reasons, i.e. his original thesis was off, but the investment still worked out. Sometimes he was absolutely right about the growth but the investment was still lousy and he did not make any money. So be flexible and humble
7.) Knowing When to Sell is Hard - before you make a purchase, you should be able to explain why you are buying/own it in terms that an 11 year old could understand - three sentences at most. Remember this reason and sell the holding when the reason no longer continues to hold. Investing well does not take a genius - only need 5th grade math - so math has nothing to do with being a great investor
8.) There is Always Something to Worry About - and this makes things interesting. The 1950s were one of the best decades to own stocks, but from a geopolitical basis everyone was scared of nuclear war. In the early 1990s, everyone was scared about the Japanese taking over the world and beating America. Not coincidentally, more all-time worst market days occur on Mondays because people have the whole weekend to WORRY. His advice is to forget about all the global bad stuff because the key to good investing is not the brain/intellect, its having the stomach.
In addition to the above points, Peter also shared his Ten Most Dangerous Things People Say About Stock Prices reproduced below. Even more than the points above, Peter's good sense of humor came through when he discussed these old saws:
1.) "If it's gone down this much already, how much lower can it go?" (answer: Zero)
2.) "If it's gone this high already, how can it possibly go higher?" (some of the best companies grow for decades)
3.) "Eventually they always come back." (no they don't - there are lots of counterexamples)
4.) "It's only $3 a share, what can I lose?" ($3 for every share you buy)
5.) "It's always darkest before the dawn." (Its also always darkest before it goes absolutely pitch black. Don't buy a business just because price dropped and it is cheaper now)
6.) "When it rebounds to my cost, I'll sell." (The stock does not know you own it! Don't take it so personally Note: this comment is explained by the well documented psychological tendencies called loss aversion and anchoring bias which are talked about in Behavioral Finance. If you liked it at ten, you should love it at 6 so either buy more or sell)
7.) "What me worry? Conservative stocks don't fluctuate much." (There is no such thing as a conservative stock - the average stock fluctuates between 50% to 70% from its high to its low price every year. There is a graveyard where all the "conservative" stocks get buried. Companies and businesses change!)
8.) "Look at all the money I lost - I didn't buy it!" (Don't beat yourself up about the missed opportunities because it is not productive - when he managed the Magellan Fund, he almost never owned one of the 10 best performing stocks in a given year, but he did fine anyway).
9.) "I missed that one. I'll catch the next one." (Doesn't work that way)
10.) "The stock has gone up - so I must be right" or "The stock has done down - so I must be wrong." (Technical analysis is not worth much. So many people like something at 20 and hate it at 12 - never made much sense to him).
Peter's fundamentals, like those of many other super investors are grounded in common sense and an understanding of human misjudgments and failings. At the Ridgewood Group, we draw inspiration from outstanding investors like Peter who remind us that in investing our greatest challenges are often internal and psychological.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.
UPDATE 2-TSMC April sales up 44 pct y/y, sees better 2006
Wed May 10, 2006 5:03 AM ET
(Recasts with TSMC April sales, more details)
By Kirby Chien and Baker Li
BEIJING/TAIPEI, May 10 (Reuters) - TSMC <2330.TW>, the world's top contract chip maker, on Wednesday posted a 44 percent jump in April sales amid growing demand for new consumer devices that could help boost 2006 revenue up 22 percent from last year.
At a conference in Beijing, TSMC
"We should see $10 billion in sales this year," he said.
"For net profit, $4 billion." Chang did not elaborate.
A company spokesman later told Reuters that Chang's comments did not constitute an official forecast, saying the company does not issue annual financial forecasts.
Forecasts from 19 analysts surveyed by Reuters Estimates put TSMC's 2006 net profit at an average T$131.9 billion ($4.2 billion). TSMC earned a net profit of $2.91 billion in 2005.
Analysts expected the company to garner revenue of T$327.3 billion ($10.42 billion) this year, compared with last year's $8.23 billion.
"TSMC definitely can reach the target," said KGI Securities analyst Tiffany Chen. TSMC's 2006 sales and earnings forecasts were 2.5 percent and 5 percent lower than Chen's own estimates.
The rare forecasts came after TSMC reported a near doubling in first-quarter profit last month as it recovered from last year's chip glut. Analysts have widely expected the company's profit to grow quarter by quarter this year.
Later in the same day, TSMC reported sales of T$27.162 billion for last month, up from T$18.903 billion in April last year and slightly higher than March's T$27.107 billion.
While demand slowed after the year-end shopping season, new generation mobile phones, game machines and flat-screen televisions are gaining popularity, boosting demand for chips.
TSMC has forecast second-quarter sales to rise 2.2 to 4.8 percent from the first quarter, with gross margin up as much as 1.6 percentage points -- a guidance that was more conservative than its rival United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) <2303.TW>.
UMC
Hurt by losses in U.S. peers, TSMC's ordinary shares slid 2.21 percent to end at T$66.50 on Wednesday, worse than the benchmark TAIEX's <.TWII> 0.87 percent drop. UMC shares lost 4.7 percent to T$21.30.
But so far this year, TSMC has risen 6 percent and UMC was up 15 percent as investors bought into their solid fundamentals.
Output of chips below 130 nanometre circuits would make up 50-55 percent of TSMC's total revenues in the second half of this year, compared with 49 percent in the first quarter. UMC also expected output using advanced technology to grow this year.
Both TSMC and UMC count Texas Instruments Inc. (TI)
References:
Global Test Website
Kim Eng - Global Test
Results Announcement :: China Sun BioChem
Another set of expected good results announced from China Sun Biochem. The challenge now is to utilise its expanded production capacity and gain more market share from its competition. The highlight regarding the issuance of the ethanol should be regarded as a potential growth driver however exercise against over excitement.
For corn starch production, the major competitors are:-
1. Changchun Dacheng Corn Development Company Limited;
2. Yellow Dragon Food Industry Company Limited;
3. Shandong Zhucheng Xingmao Corn Developing Company Limited; and
4. Jiliang Cerestar Corn Industry Company Limited
For modified starch production, the major competitors are:-
1. Cargill, Incorporated;
2. National Starch and Chemical Company; and
3. Changchun Dacheng Corn Development Company Limited;
For other corn-based products, the competitors are:-
1. Yellow Dragon Food Industry Company Limited; and
2. Shandong Zhucheng Xingmao Corn Developing Company Limited
Highlights:-
* Group revenue jumped 45% on increased sales volume and enhancement of sales mix.
* Gross profit increased 27% and profit before tax increased by 24% despite rising material prices and administrative overheads.
* Positive outlook well-supported by increasing utilisation of Group’s expanded corn starch facilities.
* New ethanol plant to be completed within this year will be one of Group’s key performance drivers.
SGX Announcement - Financial Statement
SGX Announcement - Press Release
Cheers
Niversphere.
Ace Achieve SOLD !
Probably inspired by Steve Chia, "..unless there are enough people who hates PAP, i will not return to politics ..." In my case, unless there is enough genuine investors in Ace achieve, i would not buy back Ace achieve.
Is the investor relations in existence for Ace achieve? Communications company not communicating with shareholders. The email address that was given on SGX does not exist. Undeterred, i send in another email to the email published on their website. Waited patiently for the reply but not even a single reply from them and not even a single acknowledgement reply from them. If they do not respect us minority shareholders, i do not want myself involved in this company, frustrated! A good IR is important for any listed companies. Lose your IR, lose your shareholders.
For its highly visible low price earnings multiple and higher book order from customers, Ace achieve is now lower than its own IPO price of 0.20 and is at the same price a year ago.
However fellow investors whom are already vested in Ace achieve or interested in Ace achieve should look forward that results announcement is "expected" to be released soon. Make your decision based on facts.
For me, i am done with Ace achieve. Emotions are never good friends with investing in stocks.
Regards
Niversphere.
Please read the prospectus and perform your analysis before making any investment decision. The above does not constitute a recommendation to apply for this company. I will not be liable for any losses incurred by anyone who invests based solely on the above-mentioned information
Global Testing :: 1Q2006 RESULTS SNAPSHOT
GLOBAL TESTING’S 1Q2006 NET PROFIT SOARS 125 TIMES TO US$5.03 MILLION
- Revenue surges 110.0% from US$8.29 million in 1Q2005 to US$17.40 million in 1Q2006
- Surpasses prior sequential guidance for revenues for 1Q2006
- Maintains a strong operation margin level
- 2Q2006 set to see sequential growth in revenue of approximately 5% to 10%
- Target revenue growth of more than 40% in 2006 with further upside from recent new projects
- Gearing improved from a gross ratio of 64% in 4Q2005 to 54% in 1Q2006 and a net ratio of 48% in 4Q2005 to 39% in 1Q2006
Article excerpted from Announcement on SGX
Documentary - History of Stock Market - Modern Marvel
Part 1: Brief Introduction to the Stock Market History dating back to ancient Greece period
Part 2: How the stock market became exclusive to brokers and the bull and bear story, hear what the richest person then had to say and good things never changed a bit, and who was the first shortist
Part 3:Milestones: Telegram, DJIA Legend of Mergers: JP Morgan
Part 4: The Boom, extreme optimism and inflow of "uneducated" investors, margin calls => Panic and Run!!! => The Great Depression
Part 5: The reformation and Merril Lynch's contributions, Concept of diversification coined and earned the Noble
Part 6: Modernization
Cheers
Niversphere.
Just to share some light hearteners with ya readers
Received this from an email.
In Singapore, the majority of us live in Highly Dangerous Buildings (HDB), And most people have already got used to Paying and Paying (PAP).
Not only do you have to pay, you Pay Until Bankrupt (PUB).
If that's not enough, somebody still Purposely Wants to Dig (PWD) and get more from you.
So what more can you do when you are in the Money Only Environment (MOE)?
With the current Mad Accounting System (MAS), you are forced to Pay the Sum Ahead (PSA), Which will leave some people Permanently Owing Some Banks (POSB).
And forced to live on the Loan Techniques Always (LTA) system. When you fall sick and happen to be admitted to a Money Operating Hospital (MOH),
You might be able to use your Cash Prior to Funeral (CPF) fund.
If you are out of luck, you may meet doctors who Never Use Heart (NUH) to treat you, And you will be Sure to Give up Hope (SGH).
To help ease the traffic, motorists have to pay Cash On Expressway (COE).
If that doesn't help, they can always Eternally Raise Prices (ERP) on the roads.
If you don't own a car, you can always make a Mad Rush to the Train (MRT), OR get squashed in a bus Side By Side (SBS).
Lastly, under all these pressures, there are not many places we can relax, not even the good old place we used to go because it has become So Expensive and Nothing To See Actually (SENTOSA)!!!
Quotes For The Day
"Success in investing doesn't correlate with I.Q. once you're above the level of 25. Once you have ordinary intelligence, what you need is the temperament to control the urges that get other people into trouble in investing."
~ Warren Buffet
(1930 Founder, Berkshire Hathaway)
"It is not how right or how wrong you are that matters, but how much money you make when right and how much you do not lose when wrong."
~ George Soros
(Founder, Soros Fund Management)
UTAC - Really Good Times Ahead
As per my previous posts on UTAC below:
United Test And Assembly - Good Times Ahead
Previous posts
UTAC just announced expected good news. UTAC 1Q net profits grew more than 5 fold to $20.7 Million.
• 1Q06 revenue grew 63.4% over 1Q05 to $103.2 million
• Record performance marks 11th consecutive quarter of sequential revenue growth and profit
• Guidance of 3-8% sequential revenue growth in 2Q06 vs 1Q06
• Target organic revenue growth of 40% for FY06
Announcement on SGXNet 1
Announcement on SGXNet 2
The fundanmentals of the company improved after the acquistion of NSE.
Based on DCF discount model and management guidance, I derived that the fair value of UTAC is around S$1.40 which is probably 30% undervalued.
Nothing really much to add except to say Well Done UTAC!
Cheers
Niversphere.
Please read the prospectus and perform your analysis before making any investment decision. The above does not constitute a recommendation to apply for this company. I will not be liable for any losses incurred by anyone who invests based solely on the above-mentioned information
Ethanol
Bill Gates invested in Pacific Ethanol since 2005 and recently pumped in more capital into it.
Below is a useful link I found while surfing information for ethanol uses. It provides up to date news specifically on ethanol.
http://www.ethanol360.com/
Cheers
Niversphere.
UTAC Launches 2nd Singapore Facility; To Invest Additional S$500 Million in Singapore To Support Thriving Demand
Media Release
(all figures in US$ unless otherwise stated)
• Minister Mr Lim Swee Say opens 376,000 square foot plant in Ang Mo Kio to
augment current 400,000 square foot facility, alleviating floor space constraints
on growth
• To invest additional S$500 million over the next 5 years in Singapore, potentially
generating more than 1,000 additional jobs
• Expanded capacity driven by broad-based customer demand
SINGAPORE, 20 April 2006 –
United Test and Assembly Center Ltd (“UTAC” – SGX:
UTAC), a leading independent global provider of semiconductor assembly and test
services, opened today its second production facility in Singapore, and announced it
would invest about S$500 million in the next 5 years in the country to meet increased
demand for test and assembly services for semiconductors.
The opening ceremony was officiated by Mr Lim Swee Say, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office of the Republic of Singapore.
The new plant in Ang Mo Kio will add to the test and assembly capacity and capabilities of homegrown UTAC. With a built-up area of more than 376,000 square feet, the addition of the new plant will give UTAC Singapore a combined floor space of more than 770,000 square feet. In addition to Singapore, UTAC’s manufacturing footprint includes production facilities in Shanghai, China and Hsinchu, Taiwan.
UTAC plans to consolidate all test and total backend services for mixed-signal and logic processing (“MSLP”) products at the new facility. The new facility will also house the combined logistics center for all products shipping out of Singapore. The existing facility in the Serangoon North industrial area, in addition to housing UTAC’s corporate headquarters, will focus on high value-added memory test and packaging activities.
Renovation and refurbishment of the new plant began in January 2006, and has since
been qualified by and commenced production for several customers. Full renovations
and refurbishment of the entire facility is targeted to be complete by early 2007.
The investment, when fully utilised, will add potentially more than a 1,000 workers to its current workforce of 2,400 in Singapore and 3,500 regionally. About half of new personnel hired are expected to be operators with the remaining half as engineers and support staff.It will also boost the maximum capacity of MSLP machines across the Group to 360 MSLP testers, 255 memory testers and 1,000 wirebonders, up from the current 168,185 and 319, respectively. UTAC’s Singapore operations currently account for about two-thirds of the Group’s total revenues.
Of the investments in the new facility, the majority will be used to purchase MSLP
testers, with the rest used for renovation, refurbishment works and the purchase of the land lease from the previous tenant. The investment will be funded from internal
resources.Buoyed by strong orders for semiconductors used in digital consumer electronics,wireless products and even cars, UTAC’s net profit trebled to $41.8 million on the back of a near-doubling in revenue to $325.5 million for the financial year ended 31 December 2005. The new plant is expected to contribute to the Group’s performance in 2006.
“Our expansion in Singapore is driven by higher customer demand for our industry-
leading services and is part of a larger effort to alleviate current capacity constraints across the Group,” said Mr Lee Joon Chung, Group President and CEO of UTAC.“Our expansion in Singapore will be the first in a line of subsequent expansions of our other regional production facilities.” Mr Ko Kheng Hwa, Managing Director of the Singapore Economic Development Boardwelcomed the opening of UTAC's second manufacturing plant in Singapore. He said, “UTAC's second plant reinforces its key role in growing Singapore's semiconductor industry by providing critical assembly and test services. It also demonstrates that Singapore will continue to be competitive in attracting major investments and creating good jobs in the manufacturing industry.”
“Even as UTAC expands regionally and globally, Singapore remains our home base
and an excellent location for high value-added manufacturing. The highly skilled and
flexible workforce in Singapore has allowed us to grow and prosper. This expansion
demonstrates UTAC’s commitment to Singapore,” added Mr Lee.
UTAC’s investment is being supported by the Singapore Economic Development Board through extension of its tax incentives and employee training benefits.
Mr Lee Hoong Leong, UTAC’s President of Singapore Operations said, “The new Singapore facility is necessary to enhance UTAC’s leadership in semiconductor test and assembly services for the Asia-Pacific region, one of the fastest growing semiconductor, markets in the world. With the increased capacity and improved capabilities, we believe that we will be able to better respond to market changes and support our customers with services that offer them faster time-to-market."
Support for Charities by UTAC and Partners
As a token of appreciation and gratitude to the society and community that has allowed UTAC to prosper, the company has proposed diverting the costs of congratulatory advertisements, gifts and flowers by its partners to designated charities. The designated charities are Children’s Cancer Foundation and Students Care Service.
“We are deeply appreciative that our partners have responded enthusiastically, and
have collectively raised S$49,088. UTAC will match the amount of money raised, which
will bring the total quantum to almost S$100,000,” said UTAC’s Chairman Mr Charles
Chen.
.
The list of donors is listed in the Appendix.
~ End of Release ~
Appendix
UTAC raises almost S$100,000 for
Children’s Cancer Foundation and Students Care Services
Premium Donors
1. ABN AMRO BANK NV
2. ADVANTEST CORPORATION
3. ASAHI ENGINEERING CO., LTD
4. DBS BANK LTD
5. DELTA DESIGN SINGAPORE PTE LTD
6. LS CABLE LTD
7. MANUFACTURING INTEGRATION TECHNOLOGY LTD
8. RABOBANK INTERNATIONAL SINGAPORE
9. SUMITOMOMETAL MINING ASIA PACIFIC PTE LTD
10. TERADYNE (ASIA) PTE LTD
Donors
1. ACCRETECH (MALAYSIA) SDN BHD
2. BANK OF AMERICA N.A.
3. CITIBANK N.A., SINGAPORE BRANCH
4. EO TECHNICS SINGAPORE PTE LTD
5. HANMI SEMICONDUCTOR
6. JARDINE LLOYD THOMPSON PTE LTD
7. LTX ASIA INTERNATIONAL, INC
8. OVERSEA-CHINESE BANKING CORPORATION LIMITED
9. POWER TEAM TECHNOLOGIES (S) PTE LTD
10. PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS
11. ROKKO SYSTEMS PTE LTD
12. SHINKAWA SINGAPORE PTE LTD
13. SHINKO ELECTRONICS (S) PTE LTD
14. SITEL SEMICONDUCTOR
15. UNITED OVERSEAS BANK LTD
16. ZMC TECHNOLOGIES (SINGAPORE) PTE LTD
About United Test and Assembly Center Ltd (UTAC)
United Test and Assembly Center Ltd ("UTAC", SGX-ST: UTAC) is a leading independent provider of semiconductor assembly and testing services for a broad range of integrated circuits including memory, mixed-signal, logic and radio-frequency ICs.
The company offers a full range of package and test development, engineering and
manufacturing services and solutions to a worldwide customer base, comprising leading
integrated device manufacturers (“IDMs”), fabless companies and wafer foundries.
UTAC operates manufacturing facilities in Singapore, Taiwan and China, in addition to
its global network of sales offices in the United States, Europe, Japan, Korea, China
and Singapore. More information on the company can be found at
www.utacgroup.com.
***************************
For further information, please contact:
UTAC
Josephine Lim
Manager, Corporate Communications
Email: media@sg.utacgroup.com
Tel: (65) 6551-1511
Fax: (65) 6483-8172
Issued on behalf of the Company by
WeR1 Consultants Pte Ltd
Stephen Chen
Senior Associate Consultant
Email: stephenchen@wer1.net
Tel: (65) 6737-4844
Fax: (65) 6737-4944
Address: 29 Scotts Road, Singapore 228224
Article Excerpted here Article
Technical Side For Ace Achieve
Not a TA kind of investor. Just sharing some links i found on Ace Achieve.
Ace Achieve from Gallen
Cheers
Niversphere.
China Sun Bio Chem Valuation
DBS Vickers had a TP of $0.95 with a potential upside if $0.25-$0.50 cents if CSBT were to secure the fuel ethanol licence. Meaning a possible new TP of $1.2 - $1.45
Based on my conservative calculations, I had two evaluations based on whether CSBT obtains the ethanol license or not.
With ethanol license,
Today's share price of $0.98 is approximately 93.8% undervalued from the rough estimate of intrinsic business value. 
Without ethanol license,
Today's share price of $0.98 is approximately 22% undervalued from the rough estimate of intrinsic business value. 
Cheers
Niversphere.
Please read the prospectus and perform your analysis before making any investment decision. The above does not constitute a recommendation to apply for this company. I will not be liable for any losses incurred by anyone who invests based solely on the above-mentioned information
Time and Sales for Ace Achieve
Rarely,I watch at price movements, but just for this time. 
Cheers
Niversphere.
Quote of the Day.
Each night, when I go to bed, I die. And the next morning, when I wake up, I am reborn."
- Mahatma Gandhi
Company Update : Noble Group Develops Ethanol Plants in USA
Noble Group (NOBL: SGX), a global supply chain manager of agricultural, industrial and energy products, has announced that the first ethanol plant under construction by MABE, a Nebraska based holding company specializes in the development of ethanol plants. The 44 million gallon plant located in Madrid, Nebraska is expected to reach mechanical completion by December 2006. Senior lenders to the Madrid plant are lead by Societe Generale, for whom this project represents the first ethanol transaction in the USA.
Noble, a shareholder of MABE, is the assigned marketer of all ethanol output produced by the Madrid plant as well as any new projects including the development of a new ethanol plant to be based in Cambridge, Nebraska. Noble's investment in MABE is US$6.5 million “We have been building this business for several years and are well placed to capitalize on the emergence of alternative energies such as ethanol which has been positively affected by the passing of the US Government Energy Bill last year and the transformation of agricultural products such as corn, wheat, barley and sugar to fuel,” says Fabrizio Zichichi, Noble’s US based Executive Vice President of Clean Oil Products.
In concert with its CBOT market maker status for the ethanol futures contract, Noble is integrating a global ethanol expansion - sourcing and merchandising in the World markets including Brazil and China.
As early as January 2007 Noble will be distributing in the US ethanol market, volumes in excess of 200 million gallons per year. The Group has over one billion gallons in off-take agreements signed for plants under development and is actively seeking to finalize additional contracts.
This transaction is not material for the purposes of the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited Listing Rules.
Announcement excerpted from:
http://info.sgx.com/webcorannc.nsf
/e876e9cf6461aa6b48256fc800090876/
e7c52e405c03ebf44825713a000355a3?OpenDocument
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