It's time to meet

It’s back to panic grocery buying again in Beijing, after residents in one of the largest districts were told not to leave their homes unless necessary. 

Rising Covid infections across China are challenging authorities who want to move towards more targeted control measures and dampening the optimism of investors. 

The good news closer to home is that in-person events are back in full swing. 

After months of hearing from us through our webinars and weekly newsletter, we’d be organising our first community meet-up this week. 

Join us if you’d like to find out more about Beansprout and hear our thoughts on the markets in the coming year! 

We hope to see you soon. 

⚠️ China re-opening hopes dashed

What happened? 

China’s daily Covid infections rose to a record high of 29,754 cases on Wednesday, exceeding the previous peak in April.

What does this mean?

Cities in China are accelerating on their testing efforts and building makeshift hospitals to quarantine infected people, even as no city-wide lockdowns have been announced. 

Zhengzhou, where Apple’s largest iPhone manufacturing site is located, will be largely locked down for five days from Friday onwards. 

Despite commitments by authorities to make responses more targeted, the growing restrictions are expected to slow down economic activities once again. 

Why should I care?

Chinese stocks have rebounded after China earlier announced sweeping changes to its Covid policy. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index is now trading at close to 20% above its lows in late-October. 

This may mean that investors will be looking out closely for whether the bullishness is justified. Any dampening of re-opening hopes might prove to be a disappointment. 

🚗 MOVING THIS WEEK

• Walt Disney’s (DIS) former Chairman and CEO Bob Iger will be returning as CEO, replacing Bob Chapek, in a surprise move could shift the company’s focus towards driving subscriber growth. 
• Zoom Video Communications (ZM) issued weaker-than-expected guidance for the current quarter ending January, after sales growth slowed for the seventh straight quarter.
• Tesla (TSLA) saw volatile trading after the stock fell to a 52-week low on concerns Elon Musk might be distracted by his role at Twitter.

• Yangzijiang Shipbuilding gained on rising investor optimism about its traction in building clean energy vessels, including liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers.

• Chip Eng Seng chairperson Celine Tang’s voluntary cash offer to acquire the company has turned mandatory. 

Source: Bloomberg, CNBC, Business Times, Edge Singapore

💡 THE BIG IMPORTANT STORY

T-bill yield falls further to 3.9%! Here's what we learnt from the latest allotment result

In the latest auction on 24 November, the cut-off yield on the Singapore 6-month T-bill auction fell further to 3.90% p.a.

🤓 WHAT WE’RE LOOKING OUT FOR THIS WEEK

• Monday, 28 Nov: Pinduoduo earnings
• Tuesday, 29 Nov:  Bilibili earnings
• Wednesday, 30 Nov: Xpeng, US GDP data. SGX Academy Webinar: REITs vs T-bills – What are the investment opportunities in the market?
• Thursday, 1 Dec: Beansprout community meet-up and sharing of 2023 outlook
• Friday: 2 Dec: US unemployment rate data

Source: SGX, Bloomberg, Refinitiv

🍭 THAT’S INTERESTING

How to earn a luxurious lifestyle

A majority of young Singaporeans in their 20s worry that they cannot afford housing and retirement in a recent study done by OCBC. 

However, 34% of respondents in their 20s chose a “luxurious lifestyle”, involving owning and living in a private property, owning a high-end car, affording private healthcare, a full-time domestic worker, lifestyle and wellness experiences, and taking two international holidays in a year. To achieve this, they are more willing to invest in high-risk portfolios for investments. 

Source: Todayonline