When China circuit breakers triggered twice this week, STI plunged. Yes, three bank stocks and two Singapore conglomerate Keppel Corp and Sembcorp with profits mainly made up from Oil and Gas industry have their share price tanked as well. Many will reckon that this is the best time to buy these blue chips. However, did you ever wonder why these five stocks dropped more significantly than other blue chips in the Telco, Medical or Transport etc sectors?
Bank stocks
In volatile period like this, banks will be hit the most. The worries of Non-performing loans (NPL) rise. Corporate companies with exposure in China, who borrowed US$ to fund growth during the good times without hedging the currency, will be faced with increasing debt load with the CNY devaluation now. There will be capital outflow and bonds with high yields will be de-rated to junk, causing increasingly NPL.
Furthermore, bank stocks ......