Singapore Entrepreneur - Entrepreneur Reborn

18 Jan 2010 is my birthday, or rather I call the rebirth of my Entrepreneurship - I have left Wavex Technologies, a company I set up 9 years ago. Since my partners and I sold it to a Hong Kong listed company in 2007, we never looked back. The new management has taken over and I decided to leave the company on 15 Jan 2010. So 18 Jan 2010 is a day that I have set as a new milestone in my life. I have no concrete plans. I gave myself this great challenge to leave my comfort zone of 9 years and explore the world once again. People said I am crazy to leave without a job. To me, it is just my spirit. When there is challenge ahead, I will work even harder. It was a different scenario when I first stepped out of my comfortable job to start up Wavex. I was still single, no house mortgage nor any family burden to worry. If I had failed, I could still easily find another job at that age. Today, I am in my late 30's, an age when most working men start entering into mid-life crisis; I have a wife and 2 young children; I have ageing parents and house mortgage to pay; A comfortable family car which I am most reluctant to give up. Although the wealth that I have may be able to support all these burden for the time being, the time starts ticking from now on. The challenge is to find back my next livelihood. It is a new chapter of my life. I am starting to explore into areas which I have zero experience. I came from a school of hard knocks. So, looking ahead, I am well armed with experience to wade into the unchartered territory. Wish me all the best to my endeavours.

Singapore Entrepreneur - Entrepreneurship Spirit in Singapore

Great that the entrepreneurship spirit is still burning in Singapore. Read the article.

Singapore Entrepreneur - Market Correction Finally?

Speak of the devil! Just when I posted yesterday about a possible market correction, the stock markets across the world plunged today. Could it be the long awaited correction? It could jolly well be. It is so dishearting to see the indices all in the sea of red. But looking beyond that, it looks like a healthy correction. At least prices are trying to align with fundamentals. Continue to monitor the situation before taking the plunge immediately. It could a small window of opportunity to dive in or it could be another bear trap.

Singapore Entrepreneur - Aspiring Entrepreneur's Forum

I have chanced on a forum website set up by some aspiring Singaporean Entrepreneurs. I posted a couple of messages there. It's rather heart-warming to see the spirit of Entrepreneurship in Singapore is still very much alive. Feel free to visit: http://www.ssuf.biz/

Singapore Entrepreneur - Is the World Economy Recovering?

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has forecast the global economic growth at 3.1% for the year 2010, compared to a dismal -1.1% in the year 2009.

Asia, led by its growth engines China and India, is slated to outpace its US and Europe counterparts. This year, China alone is expected to emerge at 8.5% growth amidst a global recession. This feat is mainly attributed to its government stimulus package and continual strong domestic demand. Developing economies like ASEAN stands to benefit from these powerhouses.

On the other side of the globe in US where the epicentre of the financial tsunami is, growth has been laggard for this year. No clear signs of recovery has emerged. Same is felt in most European economies. High unemployment rate is still being faced in these countries. It will certainly take at least another year of two for the US and Europe climb back its their pre-crisis levels.

Although the decoupling effect theory has been in the talks for some years, the impact of the US economy on the rest of the world will, nevertheless, still be great.

In this year alone, we have witnessed the equity markets rising to as much as 80% from their lowest points. Asian markets have seen the most spectacular gains in anticipation of their quick recovery.

But are all these rises sustainable? Could we see another bubble or start of a W-shape recovery, as depicted by some analysts?

One argument point about the unprecedented recovery of the global market is that most governments' stimulus packages have taken effect. So whatever improvements we have witnessed are all artificial and may not be sustainable. How much more can governments continue to "feed" their economies until they can be back on their feet again?

Nonetheless, Asia is still slated to emerge strongly from this deepest recession in 70 years. Economists and analysts have unanimously agreed that any next bet would be on Asia. The spectacular rise over the last few months in Asia markets is mainly attributed to new investment monies entering from US and Europe.

In Singapore, many counters have risen from undervalue to fair or overvalue. In the short term, analysts are divided over which direction the Straits Times Index (STI) will head.

My analysis on the current trend is that most counters have been fully valued. All earnings have already been factored into the current price. Today's STI Price over Earnings (P/E) ratio stands at about 21x. It is no longer cheap as compared to the above chart (courtesy of Bloomberg), showing the historical STI P/E. The direction of the index will really depend on the earnings announcement for the last quarter and also any development in the US economy. A small correction may be eminent in the near future. It should be healthy for the market to cool off speculation. For long term investors, the current price is still reasonable for future growth. As for short term investors, be on your toes when looking into the suitable price to enter. Don't get caught up by a sudden correction.