2020 Jan Update

Didnt go as well as i expected due to the nCOV outbreak. Readers of my blog will know that i am quite bullish on REITs of the chinese market. Not such a good start to the year of the rat!

I bought into Sassuer REIT mid December last year thinking that it is a keeper ( I had that reit a few months a go but i sold it after it appreciated close to 20%). Well it was, until the nCOV infection accelerated throughout China. The impact was Sassuer had to temporarily closed down all 4 of its malls for an unknown duration till the whole thing stabilize. Another of my China focused REIT, the Capita Retail China Trust, a long time darling of mine, had the same fate, but not as bad as Sassuer. 

In the end, i cut lose on Sassuer, and decided to divest CRCT and FEHT as well. Hospitality , and airline stocks are always the hardest hit when it pandemic hit. I also divested Valuetronics as well. 

Now, suddenly i have a war chest close to 120k SGD, which im not very used to as im always almost 95% vested, most of the time. Anyway, let's see whats going to happen! 

With regards to the nCOV outbreak, it's sad that China didnt learn her lesson on eating wild game. In anycase, it is most likely not the eating that causes the infection, it's the handling of the wild game that causes the inter species jump on the virus. Having said that, i applaud the resolve of the Chinese Government trying to stop the spread. Which other major country in the world can actually lock down a city of 12 million without even batting an eyelid and thinking about the economic repercussions?  The only other country that i can think of, will be North Korea, but it is not a major player in the world as of now. 

In anycase, stay safe and calm everyone! Remember that the very common flu. influenza actually had a bigger impact than the nCOV"and nobody bat an eyelid about it. I feel that this has something to do with how the major medias of the world trying to paint a very bad picture of China. Everyone kinda just ganged up on the country. Reminds me of the “Siege of the International Legations” of Qing China. 

""CDC estimates that influenza has resulted in between 9 million – 45 million illnesses, between 140,000 – 810,000 hospitalizations and between 12,000 – 61,000 deaths annually since 2010.