First, one needs to know what are preference shares.

It is a share issued by a company to increase its capital but don't want to issue bonds (have to pay interest) and don't want to dilute their share holdings (reduced share price, need shareholder's approval etc).

Why offer?  This is an alternative to bonds, because in case the issuer cannot pay the dividends, they do not go into default.  It will have preference of dividend (hence it's called preference shares), which means it must pay dividend to these shares first before paying to common stock.

You may ask, then why people buy common stock, since preferred offer better dividends?  This is because preference shares are non-votable.  Which means, if the company want to change from a bank into a kopitiam, you have no say.  Also, it has a callability option.  Meaning the company may redeem in whole the issued share at offer price (par value) at agreed upon dates.  Which means, even if your shares are now more valuable on the market, the company still can buy them back at par value.

On this product, it states that it's non-convertible and non-cumulative.

Non-convertible means these shares cannot be converted into common shares.  This is to prevent it diluting the current share amount.

Non-cumulative means the dividend which is agreed upon, will be paid at the time stated.  The dividend will not and can not be deferred.

Preferred stock must also be rated by rating agencies unlike common stock.

In short:

Pros: You enjoy higher dividends than bonds and common stock.  You have more stable dividend payout than common stock.  In case company goes under, you get preference on payout before common stock.

Cons: You have no voting rights.  You have no participation in substantial growth of the company because if the company makes lots of money, their dividend to you is still fixed.  They can redeem the shares at par value, meaning if the company's value grows, and they have cash in hand, they will redeem the shares and save on future dividends.

6.68 P/B ratio is quite expensive.

However, I'm not well-versed in evaluating bank stocks. They are too opaque in their accounting.  Too creative, hard to value.

What you can do is compare the ratio with other banks in the region.  If the number is lower than others, then OCBC is cheaper than the rest.  If you see Bank of America (one of the more stable american banks) or Deutsche Bank, they have less than 1 I think.

Why not look at their previous dividend payout ratios and see if they can sustain the dividend payments?  As far as I know, preference shares have fixed dividend payments but if the company can't pay them, they have the right not to pay.  You have to look in the prospectus yourself.

evaluate them like bonds not shares. I'll give a longer explanation when i have the time. Catching a plane home.

Thanks in advance! I'm so confused about what is required of this question!