Monday, 30 June 2025

Month of June 2025

The first day of the month brought about the start of school holidays. It's also when home renovation started while my family flew off to escape the noise and dust. Our hideaway was two hours away, at the sunny paradise of Bali.

We went with no plan, only a broad idea of splitting the entire trip into three blocks. It began at Canggu where our temporary home was a three bedroom villa. The housekeeper waited for us even though it was almost 9pm when we arrived. Yet, our main concern was to tame growling stomachs. The cafes nearby typically close at 11pm and as we were to discover, most are like that throughout the island, probably to cater to tourist nightlife. It was the high season and crowds were visible everywhere. We took in a day trip to Ubud, hung around in Monkey Forest, visited rice plantation and a waterfall. Other activities included La Brisa, massages, haircut and lots of coffee. A highly recommended one is Baked. It's quite the life waking up at 10am, decide on a cafe and then do whatever you feel like.

That changed slightly when we moved to Nusa Dua. Here, the accommodation was an apartment within a hotel premise. Location wise, the roads are better paved and ideal for a quiet retreat, meaning not much within walking distance. The beach was average with lots of seagrass washed ashore, making it look rather dirty. The street outside had a number of restaurants but they were similarly priced like the hotel. Good thing that food delivery was easily available and certainly cheaper. An interesting bit is the delivery riders will message us to inform that they have received the order, thank us for being patient and then, some directly asked for a tip. If the distance was further, we gave 10 - 20k IDR. Most times were spent at the pool and gym. We also had a day at Tanjong Benoa to do watersports. Very importantly, the rooms were so comfortable that at the end of each day, I could lie in bed with a cocktail and just watch Netflix.

Our final stay was at Jimbaran where we had two hotel rooms on the same floor. The famed beach restaurants were right outside our doorstep and the main thing was to catch the sunset. By 4pm, tables were set as the tide receded. Horses appeared to give a ride for fee paying customers. The BBQ smoke was omnipresent no matter where one sat. Amid a man made fog and fading light, the evening view was worth the wait. Another enjoyable place was Waterbom Bali. The resort featured more than ten waterslides, each having a degree of thrill for different ages. The kids played for five hours straight. Other times, we lounged at the beach from late morning with a beer in hand and dipped into the sea which had the best sand and medium waves. Before you know, time just flew by.

This trip was blessed by excellent weather, wonderful cuisines, top notch service, convenient laundry shops, friendly street roaming dogs... the list goes on. Except for a short episode of Bali Belly, even the volcano eruption at Mount Lewotobi didn't matter, we just relaxed and went with the flow.

Tip: Torres Reserva Real 2018, punchy oak, graphite and dark mocha, ready to roll

Sunday, 15 June 2025

Finance Investment Movement 58

It was a good resilient month as stocks held up, cryptos marched upwards and options trade went smoothly. Well everything but cash as a chunk was used to fully pay up the tax bill. A monkey off the back until next year. Hence, portfolio improvement target dipped to 4.8%, suggesting that I need to amp up returns. The big problem on hand is how to use idle SRS funds.

There's been a spate of company delisitings from the Singapore stock exchange, with a possibility of up to 16 and counting. It's a big jolt considering that the country prides itself as a financial hub. The optics were so bad till a task force at government level had to be setup. I recall prior to the 2000s, the stock market was a hot flurry of activities. Contra trading, explosive IPO debuts, penny stock intra day volatility etc were such common occurrences that had many people glued to the monitor. Stories of instant windfalls to the tune of few thousand dollars within minutes and lots of chatter even when walking on the streets. Trade orders were being placed over a phone call and lunch crowds gathered outside shops that had a TV display of stock prices. Those were exciting times. However, sentiments changed around mid 2000. Besides financial losses from market downturns, there were increasing issues with incompetent companies made worse by fraud findings. I think people could accept if a company loss is due to normal business operations. But issues such as opaque disclosures, safety compromise and sometimes non-existent sales contributed to an irreversible distrust mood. It happened to local and overseas companies especially from a certain jurisdiction. Personally, till today, that has put me off investing a single cent into those from a particular country on the SGX. Thus, I feel there’s a severe lack of confidence and better choices elsewhere. What Singapore lacks is the presence of big name local companies such as TSMC that could hold global investors’ attention. Once upon a time, Creative held that mantle but since then, there had been no notable ones. Add in some exciting startups and get the ball rolling. It can’t be just the banks and Reits doing the heavy lifting. How this is tackled and whether interest can be revived will be an uphill challenge. 

Dividends as of May 2025: $3735.99 (avg $747.20 per month)

Tip: Amabuki Tokubetsu Junmai, punchy dry, pairs well with heavy food