Comparison of CapitaMall Asia 3.8% bond vs Frasers Centrepoint Limited 3.65% bond at current market price

I have recently purchased CapitaMall Asia (CMA) 3.8% bond at $1.003. The price of this bond has since increased. Frasers Centrepoint Limited bond is currently trading below par at $0.982, and I am wondering if it is a better buy than CMA. My philosophy of buying bonds is to hold till maturity whenever I can, as such, this comparison between CMA bonds and FCL bonds assume that they are held to maturity.

Like CMA 3.8% bond, FCL 3.65% bond also have an optional redemption date. However, for the FCL bond, if it were to be redeemed earlier than May 2022, the bond will be redeemed above par. La Papillon from BullytheBear blog gave good details about this bond which can be found here.

Since the coupon dates for CMA 3.8% are in January and July, while the coupon payment dates for FCL 3.65% are in May and November, I simplified my comparison, by looking at January and July periods. Hence, the January period, would mean that the FCL bond had paid the previous November coupon, and CMA having just paid the January coupon. Similary, the July period means that FCL had paid the previous May coupon, and CMA having just paid the July coupon.

I have assumed FCL 3.65% is trading at $0.982 while CMA 3.8% is trading at $1.003. The comparison involves 10,000 units of bonds, and using PEOMS as a trading platform. For different platform, the fees may differ slightly, and you may like to use the following calculator to determine the total cost for stock purchase in Singapore.

I calculated the cashflow for CMA 3.8% bond at each possible redemption date. Similarly, this is done for FCL 3.65% bond.

Cash Flow for CMA 3.8% Bond at each possible redemption date

Cash Flow for FCL 3.65% Bond at each possible redemption date

A comparison of the IRR for these two bonds, and the absolute extra amount to be received are as follows:

Comparing IRR for CMA 3.8% Bond and FCL 3.65% Bond at each possible redemption date

Comparing Absoluate Amount Earned for CMA 3.8% Bond and FCL 3.65% Bond at each possible redemption date

From above, it seems that the earlier FCL is redeemed, the better it is compared to CMA 3.8% in terms of absolute amount earned and the IRR.

If it were you, which bond would you buy?


Disclaimer: I am not a financially savvy person, so what I is written is based on what I deduce from my limited research and reading. This may not be an accurate account of the real scenario, and you are to do your own judgement on whether such funds are good or not for yourself. I won't be held liable for any inaccuracies or omissions (see also my disclaimer at the end of the blog).

CapitaMall Asia 3.8% 220112 Bond

I used to think that shares and bond prices should have an inverse relationship. However, it seems that it's not true for now. With share prices are dropping (with the STI dropping below 2600 points today), I see that 2 of the 3 retail bonds I hold are now trading below par.

I hold CMA 3.8%, FCL 3.65% and CMT 3.08% bonds. CMA is trading at one of the lowest price now since it was listed, and both CMT 3.08% and FCL 3.65% bonds are trading below par. Well, I am wondering is it due to poor market sentiments (like the shares in general), or is it due to an expected rise in interest rate (hence making current bond yield less attractive), or it could be since the market is down now, people are trading the bonds for higher yield items, such as stocks!

With these 3 bonds' prices going down, as long as the companies can still pay me the interests, and pay me back what I put in at maturity, I have no qualms about their trading price, since I intend to hold them to maturity. 

I am interested in getting CMA 3.8%. Note that this bond is still trading above par at $1.003 at this point of writing. This bond could be redeemed starting next year (at the discretion of the company), and at subsequent coupon payment date  (January and July). If the bond is not redeemed in January 2017, the interest paid per year would be 4.5%. 

I am using POEMS as my online trading platform. As such, if I were to purchase 10,000 units of CMA 3.8% bond at $1.003 per unit, it means that I will need to pay $10,064.34. To make calculation easier, I assume that this bond will be redeemed in January 2017 (thus I will receive 2 interest payment or 3.8% of 10,000 units).

I used the following method to estimate the IRR for this investment:

Thus, if this bond were to be redeemed next year in January, I would have earned about 3.1% for a one year bond. If this bond were not redeemed in January next year, I would be receiving 4.5% interest, making the effective yield closer to 4.5%.

I find it a relatively good buy. As such, I have added 10,000 units of CapitaMallAsia 3.8% 220112 Bond to my assets.


Disclaimer: I am not a financially savvy person, so what I is written is based on what I deduce from my limited research and reading. This may not be an accurate account of the real scenario, and you are to do your own judgement on whether such funds are good or not for yourself. I won't be held liable for any inaccuracies or omissions (see also my disclaimer at the end of the blog).