26 February 2020

China has a Flu and the Whole World Gets Sick

Taxi drivers are complaining about low pick up rate and are suffering from massive income cut. SMRT and Comfort Delgro will suffer.

Tourists are not coming to Singapore. So the likes of Gentings and Straco are suffering from zilch revenue.

Tourists are staying away from flying into Singapore given the number of cases. Singaporeans are also worried about flying out. So SIA will suffer, and the effect will cascade to SATS.  SIA has already cut large number of flights in the months ahead and staff are surplus a plenty.

No tourists, no major events, the MICE sector also suffers. So Kingsmen will suffer.

Trade grinding to a halt because China factories are only slowly trying to resume amidst their lockdowns and containment. So all the industrial and shipping side are facing slowdowns. I think Yangzijiang and industrial REITs will suffer.

Malls are pretty empty these days. All staying home to avoid crowded places.  So REITs like Suntec REIT will suffer.

Who gains in times like this? Maybe the likes of TopGlove and Riverstone, and hospitals (Raffles Medical, First REIT). Maybe the supermarket chains too, if they have a strong Internet ordering front with home delivery service.

Banks are going to suffer from increasing bad loans and slow down in loans for business.  OCBC, UOB, DBS will suffer.

Will the Telcos (Singtel, Starhub) do better as there could be more Internet traffic? But the margins are poor, and if the traffic are largely generated while at home with their existing broadbands, the effect is likely neutral.

Capitaland and even Temasek Holdings are tightening their belts and freezing pay. They are trying their best not to retrench the workforce.

Meantime, Breadtalk is being taken private. Alas.

All in, a bleak picture of downtrend in the months ahead. Another Black Swan event as nature rears its head. Definitely BUY opportunities if they survive this. Only a question of when?

I pity the graduating students from all walks joining the workforce this year.