LTA, Minister Lui led by the nose by SBS Transit

[scroobal]

More than a little bird at a less than crowded Prata shop told me that President And SAF scholar and current SBS transit chief Gan Juay kiat was the guiding force behind the "new paradigm" ( his words). SBS transit thru its companies currently operate selected bus routes in London and Sydney amongst other countries using the same model. Thus the announcement and the mention of London and Australia. How interesting that SBS transits involvement was not mentioned.

Maybe Lui and LTA CEO Chew Hock Yong should step down and hand over the portfolio to Gan.

Why so shy about SBS's involvement in London and Australia.

Looks like Ravi Philemon called investigation into insider trading will have to include London and Australia. Surely these places were tapped on the operating model.

 

[winnipegjets]

Another $68-million man!

Mr Gan Juay Kiat
Chief Executive Officer & Director
[email protected]
Mr Gan Juay Kiat was appointed Chief Executive Officer of SBS Transit Ltd on 1 March 2010. Mr Gan first joined ComfortDelGro Corporation Limited as Group Corporate Planning Officer in February 2006. Subsequently, he was also appointed the Chief Executive Officer and Director of ComfortDelGro Bus Pte Ltd. In April 2007, he assumed the role of Chief Operating Officer of SBS Transit Ltd, and was appointed Executive Director on 1 March 2009.

Prior to joining the ComfortDelGro Group, Mr Gan was the Chief Corporate Officer at the Ascott Group and Senior Vice President (Corporate Planning) at CapitaLand Limited. Mr Gan started his career in the Singapore Armed Forces where he held several senior command and staff appointments. He moved on to join General Electric Company as a Divisional Director, and later to Times Publishing Limited as Senior Vice President (Retail & Distribution).

Mr Gan was a President's Scholar and SAF (UK) Scholar in1976. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (Engineering Tripos) from the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.

 

[winnipegjets]

He is so 'competent'

[video=youtube;XX9Cb6HO08s]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XX9Cb6HO08s[/video]

 

[virus]

Becos London line offers free rides for elderly which leads one to wonder why they even wanna talk about singapore first.

More than a little bird at a less than crowded Prata shop told me that President And SAF scholar and current SBS transit chief Gan Juay kiat was the guiding force behind the "new paradigm" ( his words). SBS transit thru its companies currently operate selected bus routes in London and Sydney amongst other countries using the same model. Thus the announcement and the mention of London and Australia. How interesting that SBS transits involvement was not mentioned.

Maybe Lui and LTA CEO Chew Hock Yong should step down and hand over the portfolio to Gan.

Why so shy about SBS's involvement in London and Australia.

Looks like Ravi Philemon called investigation into insider trading will have to include London and Australia. Surely these places were tapped on the operating model.

 

[winnipegjets]

How to Invest in the Transport Sector Through ComfortDelGro

Other than cars, there are various other ways to get around Singapore; there is the MRT, buses, and of course taxicabs (though some may argue that you can also use your own legs). Over half of Singapore’s population utilises the public transport system. One quick way to invest in the Singapore transport sector would be to cast your investor’s eye to ComfortDelGro Corporation (SGX: C52).

Not many are aware that Comfortdelgro currently operates in 7 countries across 3 continents. In fact, about 50% of their revenue and profits are derived from outside of Singapore. In Singapore, they are well-known for having the largest taxi fleet in the country and they operate their bus and rail business through their 75% listed subsidiary, SBS Transit Ltd (SGX: S61). VICOM Ltd (SGX: V01), the main inspection and testing company in Singapore, is also their 67% subsidiary, which has proven to be one of the crown jewel of their business.

Casting our eyes at the company’s international operations, we first look to Asia. In China, ComfortDelGro owns a large fleet of taxis and buses in more than a dozen cities. In other parts of Asia, they are present in the taxi industry in Vietnam and the car rental industry in Malaysia. Over in Australia, ComfortDelGro manages public and private bus services in Sydney and Melbourne. The company is also a leader in Perth’s taxi industry, controlling about 91% of the market. Further in Europe, they control bus and coach services in major cities that include London, Glasgow, and Dublin. It is interesting to note that the company’s taxi business operates on a different model overseas as compared to Singapore. Instead of ComfortDelGro owning the taxi fleet and renting them out, the drivers will own their vehicles. Instead, ComfortDelGro operates the radio circuit system for the drivers in return for a subscription fee. Their taxi radio circuit business covers cities like London, Liverpool and Birmingham.

An investor who owns shares in ComfortDelGro would not only be invested in the local Singapore market, but also in the transport sector internationally. Other companies with a predominantly local focus include SMRT Corporation (SGX: S53) and SBS Transit Ltd.

http://www.fool.sg/2013/12/12/how-to-invest-in-the-transport-sector-through-comfortdelgro/

 

[winnipegjets]

Metroline London
Comfort DelGro (Comfort) – Q4 FY13 Analysis and Outlook
POSTED ON MARCH 8, 2014 UPDATED ON MAY 24, 2014

The next analysis shall be of Comfort Delgro (Bloomberg – CD:SP, Reuters – CMDG.SI, SGX – C52) Q4 FY13 results. Comfort is part of my watch list stocks for 2014 (http://feb10capital.wordpress.com/2014/01/13/watch-list-stocks-for-2014/). Comfort is a Singapore based public transportation operator (Bus, Rail, Taxi) with major operations in Singapore, Australia, UK and China.

Personal Disclosure: Currently I do not hold Comfort shares (http://feb10capital.wordpress.com/2014/02/09/feb10-capital-portfolio-february-2014/) and planning to buy them in next 6months.

Green (Factors that may encourage investors to invest)

Comfort is dominant public transportation provider in Singapore (Taxi, NEL & DownTown MRT, SBS Transit Bus) & has a big presence in major cities of Australia, UK & China. The Comfort taxi fleet in Singapore is more than double that of combined fleet capacity of all other taxi operators and has major presence in china (fleet size of more than 10000) taxi market. Comfort runs metro bus services in London, Melbourne and Sydney.

Attractive yield of 3.5% (At current share price of $1.955) for a blue chip category company.
The company is able to consistently increase Year over Year revenue & profit by mid single digit percentages (5 %- 6%) through growth in market share, acquisitions of newer businesses as well as divestment of unprofitable businesses.

Around 50% of the operating profit is derived from non Singapore operations with well balanced spread among Australia, China & UK. The overseas operations are very profitable as their revenue contribution is 40.5% of overall revenue but contribute around 50% of operating profit (Without forex losses would be even higher).

Except Australia bus business, the company expects to maintain or increase the revenue in every other business. The Singapore market growth prospects are underpinned by growth in business & tourist arrivals, opening of new Downtown metro rail service and government commitment to make public transport as primary mode of transpiration by making it hugely expensive to own a car (New Toyota Camry costs more than USD100K).

The company cash flows are strong with cash & cash equivalents are at $830million. Without inventory & current bank borrowings (payable with in 1 year), the current net cash (Current assets – Current liabilities) stands at around $350 million. On average the company generated positive cash flow of more than $120 million per year for last two financial years. The cash in hand allows the company to acquire new businesses to drive future growth, earnings & share holder returns.
Red (Factors that may restrain investors from investing):

The raise in Singapore staff, repair & maintenance expenses are outpacing the raise in passenger growth & revenue. The rail service is registering operation loss of around $2.5 million per quarter & the bus business margin eroded significantly over the last few years as fares were stagnant. Except taxi segment, the overall public transportation business in Singapore is either in loss or barely profitable (Comfort main competitor, SMRT, is in even more dire status) as the company continue to invest in staff, repair & maintenance to meet high service standard expectations from the public. Although the recent marginal increase in fare tariffs, government funding towards purchase of buses & opening of downtown line could alleviate some of the expenses, without a major overhaul of tariff formula or operation model, the Singapore rail & bus businesses shall continue to struggle.

As Comfort gets 50% of the operating profit from overseas operations, the profit is highly exposed to variances in currency exchange rates. This is particularly true with respect to Australian dollar (A$) as A$ weakened significantly over the last year as compared to Singapore dollar and at constant currency terms, the FY13 operating profit would have been increased by nearly $5 million (1.2% of FY13 operating profit). Although A$ seems to have stabilized since beginning of FY14, the FY14 profit (as compared to FY13) would continue to be hit by forex translations.

Verdict (My personal opinion & readers should exercise their conscience in making decisions):

Short Term (3 – 6 months): Moderate increase in Q on Q profit

The stabilization of A$, opening of downtown line in Singapore, marginal fare increase in Singapore (takes effect in Q2 FY14) as well as continuos growth in most of the businesses will contribute positively towards Q1 & Q2 FY14 revenue & profit. The growth percentage shall be in the region of mid to high single digits.
Medium Term ( 1 – 2 years): Growth in Q on Q profit.

The public transportation is an essential pillar of any economy & demand is sustainable due to geographic limitations (especially in Singapore), government policies, high cost personal transport maintenance etc. The Comfort would continue to grow revenue & profit in high single digit percentage terms & may even see double digit raise with acquisition of new businesses, favorable exchange rates and/or improved operational efficiency in Singapore.

http://feb10capital.wordpress.com/tag/metroline-london/

 

[dr.wailing]

............that President And SAF scholar and current SBS transit chief Gan Juay kiat was the guiding force behind the "new paradigm" ( his words)......

Over a period of more than three decades of observation, I have come to realize that our President and SAF scholars are just that: scholars.

They aren't biz-savvy in the real world.

It's laughable to credit this Gan Juay Kiat for nationalizing Sinkapore's bus services. He copied the model from somewhere else. Like all other President and SAF scholars, he lacks originality and creativity.

If I remember correctly it was the opposition that clamored for LHL to nationalize public transport. The term "socializing costs, privatizing profits" arose from it.

As further examples of how our President and SAF scholars are unable to tackle real world problems and how much lacking they are in foresight, consider the following cases:

1. mass immigration a/k/a Ponzi scheme to beef up GDP figures (copied from USA)
2. nationlization of bus services (copied from London and Sydney)
3. creation of AEC (copied from EU and NA)

A. severe hospital bed crunch
B. severe stress on public transport system
C. integration of different races and nationalities
D. housing problems

 

[ByTheWay]

By the way i enjoy picking my nose.

 

[dr.wailing]

Another $68-million man!

Mr Gan was a President's Scholar and SAF (UK) Scholar in1976. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (Engineering Tripos) from the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.

He's only 56 years old.

How come he looks like a 68-year old man?

 

[blackmondy]

He's only 56 years old.

How come he looks like a 68-year old man?

Keng too much brain-juice to squeeze money from Sinkies....hence the lao uncle look

 

[winnipegjets]

He's only 56 years old.

How come he looks like a 68-year old man?

You need reading spectacles.

 

[steffychun]

Lui is still out at see so he can't manage Land transport.

 

[borom]

He's only 56 years old.

How come he looks like a 68-year old man?

Now we know why-too many 'personal indiscretion'

 

[ToaPehGong]

Another multimillionaire potential. See his face you know is PAP calibre. Long live PAP, huat ahhhhhhh