Goodbye Xiao Lan, Hello Da Bai

 

 

After serving me and my loved ones faithfully for the past 7 years, I finally had to part with my workhorse Xiao Lan.

 

It was honestly not an easy decision. Even a pen if used for long, I will find it hard to throw it away.

However judging from the government's policy on cars, I think it's pretty clear EV is the future and if I don't cash in on the remaining value now, it would be pretty taxing for me in 3 years time when I have to change car. Who knows how much the COE will cost by then.

As a matter of fact, COE for my first car in 2009 was $4,000+.

 

COE for my second car which is Xiao Lan was $26,301.00.

COE for my new car which I got in February this year is $108,220.00.

I still remember I got Xiao Lan when my daughter was around 9 months old and since then she has ferried us around. She was also the one who fetched my son home after he was discharged from hospital after birth.

On a personal note, Xiao Lan has accompanied me through my many ups and downs and has never given me any major problem for the years I've been with her. She's robust.

 

She is such an easy drive. When I'm with her I understand the feeling of 车人合一.

I am still missing her after parting with her on 13/3/2026. So do our whole family. We took a family photo with her on the day of parting.

 

It is my good fortune to have you, Xiao Lan. Good bye and all the best. I hope to see you on the road one day.

 

Da Bai came into our family on the day Xiao Lan left. I have since driven her for slightly more than 2 weeks with slightly more than 1,000 km mileage.

 

It seems almost fated to have Da Bai. I visited the showroom because the agent for another brand was having his day off when I called. I then decided to visit Da Bai's showroom with the intention to just get a best deal for comparison.

However the agent who served me was so sincere and I managed to get almost whatever I asked for. In the end I put pen to paper and confirmed my relationship with Da Bai on the spot.

 

I am slowly getting used to Da Bai now. She has lot more functions than Xiao Lan, not least the voice command which the kids loved to play with.

 

"Hello Baby. Please open the sunshade."

 

"Hello Baby. Please turn on the aircon."

 

"Hello Baby. Please play some music."

 

I guess Da Bai is also a head turner. Recently a lady approached me to chat about the car. She said she has seen my car for 2 days already and was hoping to catch the owner.

 

Also unlike what others said, there is no range anxiety for me at all. I don't actually understand why would some people feel that.

 

EV chargers are everywhere now. Nowadays when I enter a carpark I just move into the EV charging lot, plug in and go run my errands. When I get back I just remove the plug and drive off. Just like juicing up your phone whenever you see a wall socket.

It doesn't matter how much it got juiced up. Just let the charging do the job in the time the car is idling in the parking lot while you do your stuff.

 

To me this is the premise of EV. To charge while you do your stuff. Not finding stuff to do while charging.

 

Couple of days ago I had this shiok experience. I was meeting a friend at Ang Mo Kio for lunch and the carpark was full with several cars waiting for parking lot.

 

I literally just drove into an EV charging lot, plug in and went off to meet my friend.

 

I will probably write a review on Da Bai, maybe with the running cost too, when I get to know her deeper.

 

For now I'll continue to tinkle and have fun with the different functions.

February 2026 Updates - Tale of 3 Purchases and 2 Sales

1st purchase

 

I've finally decided not to be held hostage by the oil companies anymore. These people hike up their pump price whenever there is justification but take ages to reduce when crude price comes down.

 

I took the plunge and bought an EV last Friday.

 

Have been thinking about this for some time because of the above but what firmed up my mind to make the move are three primary reasons:

 

Firstly, my current car is left with less than four years of COE. While there is still time to consider my choices, the trade-in value also correspondingly goes down with time.

 

Secondly, I saw a report recently which states that the number of COE to be released in the coming quarter will be reduced. This is in contrary to what I have thought.

Last but not least, the move by the government to reduce the PARF rebate recently shows that they are firm on their push towards EVs for the local roads.

 

I have actually narrowed my choice to two models recently - BYD Seal 6 and Aion V.

 

The plan is to compare both and take the one that offers the best deal.

 

So last Friday I have planned to go to the BYD showroom. However the sales contact that I had was on his off day. So I popped by the Aion showroom instead.

 

Long story short, what was supposed to be a chat to get the best package evolved into a purchase because the sales person managed to give me what I want.

 

I was impressed by the test drive too. So was wifey who sat as a rear passenger.

 

Honestly, it's hard to find another SUV in the market at this price point that comes close to the spaciousness, features and comfort that the Aion V offers.

 

2nd purchase

 

Second purchase also happened on the same day - Ascendas REIT.

 

This is an accumulation to existing holdings.

 

Have been queuing at $2.69 for couple of days and managed to get it on the last trading day on the month. Was pretty sure I would get it sooner or later since this price has been tested a few times over the week already.

 

As mentioned before for this counter, anything less than $2.70 is a buy.

 

3rd purchase and 1st sale

 

Tried the OCBC precious metals account. Bought my first tranche of paper silver and sold them slightly more than two weeks later for a profit of S$466.14.

 

2nd sale

 

This is for a put option that I wrote for a premium of US$2.80.

Big news

The strike by Israel and the US on Iran, and the subsequent retaliatory strikes by the latter on Israel and US bases around Middle East have a definite impact on various markets. However the magnitude and how long it stays on the temporal scale remains to be seen.

To me it all boils down to one person - Donald Trump, and how wide he wants this latest conflict to be.

Ultimately when this guy wage a war, it all boils down to one thing - oil. Same for Venezuela, same for Iran.

It's so delusionary that he feels he should be getting the Nobel Peace Prize.

So what's this means for me on the investment front?

On my main income portfolio, it probably means suddenly there would be more opportunities at least in the coming week to add new counters that I have been eyeing or accumulate to existing positions.

On the put option that I've just sold, I have to wait and see if the counter dives. Fundamentally the counter is pretty solid. However if I gets assigned I would take it up since the strike price is one which I am comfortable to pay for owning this counter.

On the precious metals side, it seems like they have already ran up and logically so since it's a flight to safety for investors. For me I would wait for the next opportunity to trade for this asset class.

On the more immediate front, I need to go top up petrol now before anything else.

Ciao!

Takeaways from ComfortDelGro AGM 2018

ComfortDelGro AGM 2018

Date: 26/04/2018

Duration: 10.00 - 11.55 am

Turnout: ~80% of the auditorium

Chairman Mr Lim Jit Poh opened the meeting with an introduction of the board and a speech on ComfortDelGro's (CDG) performance and business overview followed by a summary of 2017 financial results presented by the CFO.

Questions from the floor

Q: With regards to the current disruptions to the businesses, what are the approaches by the board to deal with these? So far CDG is using defensive moves. Can CDG be more proactive?

A: CDG is always actively looking forward though they did not say it publicly. Management and board are looking actively at autonomous vehicles and electric vehicles (EV) for now.

They are also talking to Singapore Power to set up electric charging stations.

In London their buses are already electrically charged.

They are also bringing new directors including one with artificial intelligence (A.I.) expertise to the board*.

* News of this have been announced publicly this afternoon

Q: CDG has acquired vehicle fleet from Uber. How does it impact CDG and what is the ROI?

A: The vehicles are not purchased yet. Money is not spent yet. The acquisition proposal is now at Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS).

CDG recognise that the sharing economy is here to stay and partnering with an existing player is the best and fastest way to go into this market.

Definitely CDG is moving into the private hire segment.

Q: What does the agreement with Uber entails?

A: Partnership with Uber app but this is ending on 7th May 2018.

Signed an agreement with Lion City Rentals (LCR) to buy 51% of LCR subject to regulatory approval.

Q: Since there will be no more Uber Flash after 7th May, what is the next step for CDG?

A: CDG will be using only CDG's own app after that. But they are actively looking around for partnership with other apps.

Q: Is Vicom ready for EV?

A: Yes.

Q: Why has CDG's inventories gone up?

A: Because of the rail business.

Q: Is CDG collaborating with Grab to put CDG's taxis on their platform?

A: Currently Grab is tying with other operator with 40% market share. If CDG also tie up with Grab, will CCCS agree? (this question is posed back by the chairman as a response)

Q: How much further will CDG push down the taxi rental fare to attract more drivers?

A: Drivers attrition rate has in fact gone down. This month might even see a net gain of drivers. So the answer to this question depends on the attrition rate.

Q: CDG has a large fleet of taxis idling. What is the current idling rate compared to last year?

A: To date the idling rate is 2 - 3% which is about 400 vehicles.

CDG downsized the fleet by swapping older taxis with newer taxis for the drivers. Scrapping older taxi is cheaper.

Q: What is the rationale for buying LCR when CDG is already trying hard to retain drivers?

A: If CDG buy LCR, they will only buy hired vehicles not unhired ones.

Q: What is the FX impact for this year?

A: 2017 FX positive impact from the AUD but pound and RMB dropped. For this year, it is the reverse so far.

Q: What is the chairman's comment on his recent interview on Straits Times about CDG having to contend with lower margin business in the future?

A: CDG has to be realistic about today's market. For example they lost the last two bus contracting model (BCM) contracts because they only dropped a little bit of margin.

Q: 9 year rule by MAS - Director who has served for more than 9 years is no longer considered independent director. CDG has 9 directors who have served for > 9 years.

A: CDG is renewing the board.

Q: Will CDG consider buying over Uber?

A: No. These tech companies are losing billions of dollars.

Resolutions: All passed.

Snippets

1) After the registration of my attendance, I had wanted to get myself a drink before going into the auditorium. However I was stopped by a lady.

I told her I just want some water but she replied if she allows that the floodgate will open. Ok reasonable enough.

Then I asked if they have bottled water inside the hall she said no as they are environmental-friendly. Ok fair enough too.

2) As for the buffet after the AGM, I did not queue for that as I did not want to join the snaking queue.

Summary and my thoughts

Chairman Mr Lim Jit Poh, is a former top civil servant and an experienced businessman whom I believe most of us would have heard of his name.

CEO and MD Mr Yang Ban Seng, is of course an old hand in the land transport business having joined the group in 1989.

I find both of them to be direct, jovial and candid when answering questions from the floor.

Both of them knows what they are saying and are sincere in doing so.

This is one of the best AGMs I have attended in terms of the Q&A.

Many good questions are asked during the AGM though many are related to the LCR acquisition.

Importantly I see the chairman took a keen interest in answering the questions from the floor. He also showed that he is a hands on person by the way he made the effort to personally explained what the individual resolutions are about instead of just reading from the notes on resolutions.

I like that.

What do I feel about CDG?

Business-wise, big challenges await CDG in the land transport sector. However they have not been sitting idly. This is evident in their aggressiveness on the M&A front with 3 acquisitions in 2017 and 8 this year so far.

From what I see, these are synergistic businesses. Whether these are profit-accretive, I'm sure the management would have done their homework.

Moving forward in the near term, the key is how they manage the private hire challenge and how they can turn that into an advantage instead.

On the longer horizon, we have to see how the recent acquisitions work out. Meaningful contributions might not take long I suspect.

Finance-wise, cash flow remains strong. Net cash position of >$590 M is no joke (though probably that has been reduced with the most recent acquisitions).

Dividend amount has been increasing every year with dividend payout from the net profit increased from 70.1% in 2016 to 74.6% in 2017. There is still room for growth.

Personally I am interested in adding ComfortDelgro at prices translating to at least 5% dividend yield for my income portfolio.