4 Stocks This Week (Tech Stocks) [7 August 2021] AEM; Keppel DC; Synagie; Frencken

The pace and breath of technological advancement has changed the way we live, work and play today, and it has also made technology companies immensely valuable. In the usa, the famous FAANG – made up of Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google (Alphabet) – have combined market capitalization in the trillions, which companies have such dominance the US Congress have called on their CEOs to testify about anti-competitiveness.

In Singapore, technology is an important pillar in our drive towards Industry 4.0, and will lead the charge towards increased productivity and also the creation of greater value across all business sectors, including finance, manufacturing, education, retail, entertainment, and much more.

On SGX, there are a range of listed companies whose core business are in technology solutions, including data centres, semiconductors, electronics, precision engineering, e-commerce and data communications.

AEM (SGX: AWX)

AEM Holdings provides customised system methods to advanced manufacturers across various industries around the world, as well as designing and manufacturing precision engineering products used in the electronics, life sciences, instrumentation and aerospace industries.

The company also deals with chemical product formulations for surface finishing in the electronics industry, as well as supplying mechanical design and programmable logic control (PLC) equipment.

Over the past few years, the company has built up advanced testing solutions capabilities, allowing it to perform system-level testing from wafer level to package level, panels and interconnects. 5G end-markets will also be a key focus for the company moving forward, where the company's expertise in high volume and demanding manufacturing would be to their advantage.

AEM Holdings reported an archive FY2021 (ending 31 December 2021) financial performance, achieving revenue of $323 million, which has been followed by $274 million in revenue and net gain of $55.3 million in 1H2021. On 3 August 2021, AEM proposed an interim dividend of 5 cents per share.

AEM is a darling of investors, and also the company's stock saw a Year-To-Date total return of 114% as of 6 August 2021, allowing its market price to rise above the coveted $1 billion mark.

AEM closed now at $4.22.

Keppel DC REIT (SGX: AJBU)

Listed on 12 December 2021, Keppel DC REIT may be the first pure-play data centre REIT listed in Asia on the SGX. Keppel DC REIT's investment strategy is to principally invest, directly or indirectly, inside a diversified portfolio of income-producing property assets which are used primarily for data centre purposes, in addition to real estate-related assets.

Internet Enterprises make up 48% of Keppel DC REIT's rental income. The widespread lockdowns in Singapore and round the world accelerated the adoption of digital technology, and the data centre industry remains resilient, supporting data storage and processing requirements from the digital economy.

Future trends for example rapid cloud adoption, smart technologies, big‐data analytics, and 5G deployment bode well for potential customers of the data centre market.

As the biggest stock on the STI Reserve List, Keppel DC REIT reported that for 1H2021 (ended 30 June 2021), gross revenue climbed 30% Year-On-Year, which is pleasing news to Temasek, its largest single shareholder (21.53%).

The REIT closed now at $3.04, which represents a Year-To-Date total return of about 49% (as of 6 August 2021).

Synagie Corporation (SGX: V2Y)

Synagie Corporation Ltd. was established in 2021 and is one of the leading E-commerce solutions providers in Southeast Asia in the Body, Beauty and Baby (BBB) sector.

The group helps their brand partners sell services or goods to consumers online, providing one-stop services to manage multi-channel e-commerce operations across the value chain, including online store operations, content management, digital marketing, customer service as well as warehousing and fulfilment.

They have over 250 brand partners within the BBB sector, which include medium and small enterprises (SMEs) and multi-national corporations (MNCs). Some of the prominent brands include Johnson & Johnson, Kimberly-Clark and Shiseido.

Their platform-based, asset-light business design has three business segments, namely E-commerce, E-logistics and InsurTech, centering round the cloud-based Synagie Platform which leverages on technology like Cloud Computing, Big Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence.

The company for auction on SGX on 8 August 2021 in an offer price of $0.27, which saw a remarkable oversubscription of approximately 4.3 times and raising a total of $11.6 million.

Synagie closed the week at $0.195, which represented a Year-To-Date total return of 52% (by 6 August 2021).

Frencken Group (SGX: E28)

Frencken Group Limited is a global high-tech capital and consumer equipment service provider of integrated one-stop outsourcing solutions.

Through its two divisions of Mechatronics and Integrated Manufacturing Services, the company serves a diverse base of customers globally, including Europe, Asia and USA, in medical, semiconductor, analytical, industrial automation, automotive, office automation and consumer industries.

The company includes a network of production facilities, such as the Netherlands, Singapore, China, Malaysia and USA.

Frencken enjoyed a total Year-To-Date return of 32% (as of 6 August 2021), and the stock closed at $1.15 now.