Independent Investment Research Across Global Markets
Evidence-based company research, rankings and portfolio decisions across Singapore, Japan, Korea and the United States. Every conclusion is dated, price-sensitive and designed to be challenged as facts change.
Quality is not enough at any price.
- Separate business quality from entry valuation.
- Model the earnings mechanism, not only the narrative.
- Record disconfirming evidence and thesis breakers.
- Preserve dated conclusions and revision history.
Enter research by market
Singapore / SGX
Income, domestic defensives, regional compounders, healthcare, industrials and selected recovery situations.
Current published collection covers consumer, healthcare, utilities, telecom and industrial or European REITs.
Japan / JPX
Industrials, specialty materials, healthcare, machinery, financials and niche compounders.
Current published coverage begins with Japan Elevator Service Holdings; a market ranking remains pending until more companies share comparable price and forecast dates.
Korea / KRX
Capital-market infrastructure, industrials, materials, financials and governance or Corporate Value-up beneficiaries.
Current published coverage begins with FnGuide. Korea research explicitly separates business quality from controlling-shareholder governance and treats Corporate Value-up as an earnings mechanism rather than an automatic rerating.
United States
Long-duration compounders, financial platforms, infrastructure and selected technology exposure.
Current published coverage begins with S&P Global after the Mobility spin and Q2 2026 results; a US ranking remains pending until more companies are refreshed on comparable dates.
Leading idea or next action by market
Food Empire
Still the best published SGX balance of organic growth and balance-sheet quality, but 1H2026 makes margin and cash conversion the next proof points.
Japan Elevator Service Holdings
A high-quality domestic service compounder with a long share-gain runway; accumulation remains price-sensitive because the shares retain a premium multiple.
FnGuide
A high-incremental-margin index/data franchise at roughly 9.7x modeled FY2026 earnings, offset by ETF-AUM cyclicality and a real controlling-family governance discount.
S&P Global
An exceptional benchmark and data franchise whose AI risk is concentrated in Market Intelligence interfaces; the current price offers a reasonable but not exceptional return.
What changed recently
| Date | Market | Subject | Update type | What changed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 Aug 2026 | KRX | FnGuide (064850) | New research | Activated Korea coverage with a bottom-up financial-data plus index-royalty model at ₩18,810. The base case normalizes linked ETF AUM below the Q2 peak, treats Value-up as a market-structure tailwind and keeps a governance discount for the Hwacheon/Kwon controlling block. |
| 16 Aug 2026 | SGX | Food Empire 1H2026 | Valuation refresh | Refreshed the company after 15.0% revenue growth and 12.2% normalized NPAT growth. Central Asia strengthened, but operating leverage and cash conversion remain watch items; selective accumulation at S$2.42 with an 11%–14% base-case IRR. |
| 16 Aug 2026 | SGX | Food Empire comparisons | Decision recorded | Moved the Sembcorp and UltraGreen comparisons to Needs review because both alternatives have reported since the prior relative conclusions and require common-date refreshes. |
| 2 Aug 2026 | SGX | UltraGreen.ai (ULG / UGS) | New research | Published a normalized ICG-franchise thesis at S$1.53, a current Food Empire comparison, updated SGX ranking and a separate evidence/FAQ note for deeper product and company-history questions. |
| 28 Jul 2026 | US | S&P Global (SPGI) | New research | Published the first current US company page after the Mobility spin and Q2 2026. The broad AI-casualty thesis is rejected, but at $439.83 the base-case five-year IRR is only about 11%. |
| 27 Jul 2026 | SGX | Alpha Integrated REIT 1H2026 | Valuation refresh | Updated the thesis at S$0.520 after 95.0% occupancy, 10.8% NPI growth, 10.4% distributable-income growth and lower financing cost. Headline DPU growth was normalised for prior-period retention. |
| 22 Jul 2026 | JPX | Japan Elevator Service Holdings (6544) | New research | Published the first current Japan company page with contract-growth economics, modernization, margin leverage, historical valuation, OEM competition and scenario returns at ¥1,677.5. |
| 19 Jul 2026 | Cross-market | Comparison library | Framework update | Added schema-validated studies, search and filters, permanent current-study routes and a needs-review migration queue. |
| 19 Jul 2026 | SGX | All six company pages | Framework update | Rebuilt earnings drivers, evidence for and against each thesis, and thesis-critical monitoring. |
| 19 Jul 2026 | SGX | Current rankings | Decision recorded | Separated price-sensitive rankings from permanent comparison studies. |
| 19 Jul 2026 | SGX | Food Empire vs Sembcorp | Comparison added | Compared organic compounding and net cash with acquisition-led utility growth and leverage risk. |
| 19 Jul 2026 | SGX | Industrial REIT basket | Comparison added | Compared Alpha, Stoneweg and AIMS using DPU, NPI, leverage, financing coverage and valuation. |
Market-specific capital allocation
Singapore ranking
| Rank | Company | Base IRR | View |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Food Empire | 11%–14% | Accumulate selectively |
| 2 | Sembcorp Industries | 12%–16% | Accumulate |
| 3 | UltraGreen.ai | 10%–14% | Accumulate selectively |
Japan ranking
Japan Elevator Service Holdings is published as current research, but a one-company ranking is intentionally withheld.
- Refresh more Japan candidates
- Align price and forecast dates
- Apply consistent normalization and scores
Korea ranking
FnGuide is published as current research, but it is not labelled rank 1 because one company cannot form a capital-allocation ranking.
- Refresh more Korea candidates
- Apply a common Value-up and governance framework
- Normalize earnings and excess cash consistently
United States ranking
S&P Global is published as current research, but it is not labelled rank 1 because one company cannot form a capital-allocation ranking.
- Refresh more US candidates
- Use a common price date
- Normalize earnings and free cash flow consistently
One editorial slot per market
Food Empire (F03)
Food Empire remains the leading published SGX compounder after 1H2026: revenue grew 15.0% and normalized NPAT rose 12.2%, Central Asia accelerated before a full Kazakhstan contribution, and South Asia remains capacity constrained. The result is good rather than exceptional because operating profit grew slower than revenue, Southeast Asia softened in 2Q and peak capex plus working capital absorbed cash. At S$2.42, the base case relies on double-digit earnings growth and a mid-teens exit multiple rather than further rerating.
Japan Elevator Service Holdings (6544)
An elite domestic service compounder with mandatory recurring demand, only about 11% of a still OEM-dominated Japanese market and demonstrated route-density operating leverage. At ¥1,677.5, roughly 36.6x management’s implied FY2027 EPS, the valuation supports measured accumulation rather than an indiscriminate full position: the base case requires continued high-single-digit to low-double-digit contract growth, a 20%+ operating margin and a sustained premium multiple.
FnGuide (064850)
Accumulate selectively at ₩18,810. FnGuide has moved from a modest financial-data vendor toward a high-incremental-margin Korean index-royalty franchise. A conservative FY2026 model of about ₩55bn revenue, ₩27bn operating profit and roughly ₩1,940 EPS implies only about 9.7x earnings at the dated price. The base case deliberately resets FnGuide-linked ETF AUM below the Q2 peak and still produces a 17%–22% three-to-five-year IRR if index AUM compounds moderately and the exit multiple remains only 10–12x. Korea Value-up is a useful structural tailwind, not a standalone rerating assumption. The principal discount is governance: the Hwacheon/Kwon block controls nearly half the company, has real skin in the game and has recruited credible financial-industry talent, but its older listed companies show a history of excess cash retention and only middling minority-shareholder capital returns.
S&P Global (SPGI)
The market is right that AI can compress some Capital IQ desktop and document-search economics, but wrong to treat all of S&P Global as a replaceable research interface. Ratings, Indices and Energy generated about 78% of 2025 adjusted segment profit, while Q2 2026 Market Intelligence still delivered 6% revenue growth, 10% adjusted operating-profit growth and margin expansion. At $439.83, approximately 25x the midpoint of 2026 adjusted EPS guidance, the business quality is validated but the base-case return is only about 11%, below a 15% hurdle.
Focused decisions between competing investments
Latest recorded decisions
FnGuide activates Korea coverage; A+ withheld
Accumulate selectively at ₩18,810 with a 17%–22% modeled base-case IRR. The business has become a high-incremental-margin index/data franchise, but the controlling Hwacheon/Kwon family receives a governance and minority-capital-return discount, so the company is not yet classified A+.
Food Empire retains SGX rank one with a narrower return cushion
1H2026 keeps the growth thesis intact but does not yet prove operating leverage. The view moves to Accumulate selectively at S$2.42 with an 11%–14% base-case IRR; Kazakhstan contribution, margin recovery and cash conversion are the next gates.
Stale Food Empire relative conclusions withheld
The Sembcorp and UltraGreen comparisons move to Needs review because both alternatives have released new results. The old Food Empire preference is preserved in revision history but not presented as current.
UltraGreen enters SGX coverage; software remains optionality
Accumulate selectively at S$1.53 with a 10%–14% base IRR. The core case rests on regulated ICG consumables, volume, pricing and net cash; no material software value is assumed before paying sites and revenue are disclosed.
S&P Global becomes the first current US company
The view is Watch / selective accumulation at $439.83. Q2 2026 weakens the broad AI-casualty case, but a roughly 25x forward adjusted P/E produces only about an 11% base-case five-year IRR.
Alpha recovery validated; valuation now matters more
The view changes from Await results to Accumulate selectively at S$0.520, preferably below S$0.50 ex-distribution. The base case is a 10%–12% IRR from yield and modest DPU growth rather than a large NAV rerating.
Japan Elevator Service becomes the first current JPX company
The view is Accumulate selectively at ¥1,677.5, with a 9%–12% base-case IRR and a 34–36x exit framework. A one-company Japan ranking is intentionally withheld.
Comparison migration separated from publication
Old chat comparisons can enter the searchable queue without carrying an outdated conclusion into the public site.
Food Empire retained as the leading published SGX idea
Organic growth and net cash currently outweigh concentration risk at the dated valuation.
Rankings and comparisons separated
Rankings answer where capital is most attractive; comparison studies explain why one investment is preferred.
Scores organise judgment; they do not replace valuation.
A high-quality company can still rank poorly at an excessive price.
Read methodology →