SINGAPORE (Mar 16): Amid the stock market bloodbath over the past week, companies with strong balance sheets are expected to ride out the market tailspin better than others.
In this light, Phillip Securities Research has put together a list of 20 companies that enjoy some of the strongest net cash positions in comparison to their market capitalisation.
Phillip included only companies with market capitalisation above $100 million. The research house also excluded financial companies such as banks and insurance firms, as “a large part of their cash holdings are customer deposits”.
“The screen not only shows the healthy balance-sheet of the company, but it can also reflect how cheap the valuations of the company especially when we strip out the cash,” says Paul Chew, Phillip’s head of research.
Among the top 20 net cash companies, Phillip notes that two – Penguin International and PropNex – are under its coverage. The research house has “buy” recommendations on both companies.