Wisdom Wise

Happy New Year 2012

2012-01-18T11:16:00.003+08:00

Here's Ben wishing all the members and readers of this blog a very Happy & Prosperous New Year.
May God bless your every trade.

My new year message is:
Remember your laughters.
Forget your tears.
What matters is the present.
It's here; its real.
Enjoy! It's Happy New Year.

Iskandar set to reach tipping point

2012-01-17T19:39:00.001+08:00

Tuesday January 17, 2012

By THOMAS HUONG  huong@thestar.com.my

PETALING JAYA: Iskandar Malaysia is set to reach its tipping point in the next 24 months after the completion of key catalyst developments and infrastructure improvements, according to HwangDBS Vickers Research.
The research unit believed that prospects for the economic growth corridor in Johor would be boosted by the successful bilateral talks during the recent Malaysia-Singapore Leaders' Retreat, the entry of more property developers as well as spillover demand for properties in Iskandar due to Singapore's latest stamp duty hike and high property prices.
It was noted that the recent bilateral talks had resulted in fruitful discussions on topics such as the construction of an undersea tunnel linking Johor Baru and Singapore, sale of electricity to Singapore (possibly from Pengerang), co-operation in aviation and airport services between Johor's Senai International Airport and Singapore's Changi International Airport, and the formation of a work group on industrial co-operation to promote Iskandar and Singapore.
“The industrial co-operation work group may be a springboard for more investments by Singapore in Iskandar, and could be a key re-rating catalyst,” HwangDBS Vickers Research said.
Since 2006, Iskandar has received RM77.8bil worth of committed investments.
The region had also recently seen property launches setting new price benchmarks, the research house said.
“We were pleasantly surprised by the strong 65% bookings for UEM Land Holdings Bhd's Imperia@Puteri Harbour condominiums, which were launched in Nov 2011 at a record RM725 per sq ft.”
It was also noted that UEM Land's Impiana@East Ledang condominiums had seen brisk sales with two blocks almost fully sold within six months at RM480 per sq ft (compared with RM300 per sq ft for the adjacent Ujana apartments launched in 2009).
For SP Setia Bhd, Johor is also a core market (accounting for 29% of its sales) with sales surging 57% in its financial year ended Oct 31, 2011.
Meanwhile, land values in Johor's Southern Industrial and Logistics Clusters continued to appreciate with the latest transactions hitting RM35 per sq ft (compared with 2010's RM25 per sq ft).
HwangDBS Vickers Research said its top stock picks, for exposure to Iskandar, were UEM Land, SP Setia, Eastern & Oriental Bhd and Genting Plantations Bhd.

Pos seen making RM2b revenue

2012-01-13T09:22:00.000+08:00

2012/01/13

KUALA LUMPUR: In the article headlined “DRB-HICOM sees RM2b Pos profit” published on January 11, it should have read “DRB-HICOM sees RM2b Pos revenue”.

DRB-HICOM Bhd has also clarified that Pos Malaysia Bhd is expected to generate RM2 billion in revenue by 2015 and not as reported.

DRB-HICOM sees RM2b Pos profit

2012-01-11T08:28:00.002+08:00

Cheryl Yvonne Achu (Business Times)
2012/01/11

DRB-HICOM has identified 17 areas of new businesses that can be tapped through Pos Malaysia including collaborating with Bank Muamalat Malaysia
KUALA LUMPUR: DRB-HICOM Bhd expects Pos Malaysia Bhd to generate RM2 billion in earnings by 2015, said DRB HICOM's managing director Datuk Seri Mohd Khamil Jamil.

DRB HICOM owns 32.27 per cent of Pos Malaysia, the country's largest postal company. It acquired the stake from Khazanah Nasional late last year for RM622.79 million or RM3.60 per share.

For the year ended December 31 2010, Pos Malaysia earned RM1.01 billion in sales, while pre-tax profit stood at RM99.06 million. Up to the nine months ended September 30 2011, Pos Malaysia's revenue stood at RM883.98 million, while pre-tax profit came in at RM128.55 million.

Mohd Khamil said that DRB- HICOM had identified 17 areas of new businesses that can be tapped through Pos Malaysia including collaborating with Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd.

"The management of Pos Malaysia had put forward more than 39 points of its transformation plans," Mohd Khamil said, noting that Pos Malaysia had 39 points of transformation plan before it was handed over and after being acquired.

Moving forward, DRB-HICOM plans to take Pos Malaysia to the next level of growth despite the postal business being a sunset industry. Worldwide, postal businesses have slowed down as people are moving away from traditional postal mail.

"The margin to improve is tremendous if we concentrate on courier services," he said noting that courier services have about RM1.6 billion worth of business to tap on.

NextNation

2012-01-09T09:23:00.002+08:00

NextNation was at 4 sen a share in late Sept 2011. Now it is 13 sen. This is gain of 225% in less than 4 months. Wow! Thank's great.

Many people were badly bitten by this counter and probably angry with it. Looks like the stock is coming back from its ashes. I think it will be big mistake to sell it now.

Cresendo Corp Bhd (Stock Code 6718)

2012-01-03T13:24:00.003+08:00

Iskandar Malaysia (IM) is accessible by air, land, rails and sea. It is flanked by three important ports. Strategically located, it has all the competitive edges of being developed into a metropolis. IM is twice the size of Hong Kong, and when compared to Singapore, it is thrice the size of the island.
There is now a hive of activity at IM. The Government has allocated RM6.83 billion to develop it. Newcastle Medical University has already started operation, and Legoland will likely open its doors for business towards 2012. Click here to read more.

Crescendo Corp Bhd (CCB) founded in 1989 is a leader in the property development sector in IM. According to its Chairman and CEO Gooi Seong Lim, its Cemerlang Township (562.51 ha) will keep the company busy in the next 12 to 15 years. The key statistics of the company are:

Share Issued: 175,114,000
Par Value RM1
EPS, trailing 9 months: 26.92; diluted 19.33
EPS, latest qtr: 12.48; diluted 8.95
Current Assets: 287,202,000 (Cash 67,514,000)
Current Liabilities: 84,303,000
Total Assets: 776,956,000
Total Liabilities: 233,010,000
NTA: 3.02
Borrowings: 138,704,000
Dividends paid during the 9 months ended 31.10.11: 2 sen less tax paid on 17.2.11; 5 sen less tax paid on 26.8.11, and now it has declared a dividend of 3 sen less tax.

The Business of Crescendo is centered in IM which is a high-growth area in Malaysia. The company has been well-managed. I believe it should have high-growth as well. The stock is last traded at RM1.60. In my opinion, this a property gem.

As usual, buy at your own risk. Happy New Year!

Some extracts from Bursa Announcements:
B1 Review of the performance of the company and its principal subsidiaries The Group recorded a significant increase in revenue and profit before tax ("PBT") to RM219.8 million and RM64.9 million respectively for the nine months of the financial year ending 31 January 2012 as compared to RM158.5 million and RM34.6 million respectively recorded for the previous corresponding financial period in the last financial year.
The 39% increase in revenue is mainly contributed from higher sales in industrial properties. The 87% increase in PBT is mainly contributed by higher sales and improved margin from industrial properties.
B2 Comparison of profit before tax for the quarter reported on with the immediate preceding quarter The PBT for the current financial quarter is RM30.4 million, which represent an increase of RM9.9 million or 48% as compared to the preceding financial quarter ended 31 July 2011. The significant increase in PBT is mainly contributed by higher sales in industrial properties.
B3 Prospects For the financial year 2012, the market conditions are volatile in view of the European sovereign debt concern and a recurrence of the global recession. The Group will continue to focus, with the encouraging locked-in sales, on the development of industrial properties at Nusa Cemerlang Industrial Park ("NCIP") located in Nusajaya in the financial year 2012.
The Board expects the Group's performance to remain good for the financial year ending 31 January 2012.

Risk and uncertainty into 2012

2011-12-24T13:32:00.001+08:00

The Star Online > Business
Saturday December 24, 2011
Risk and uncertainty into 2012

THINK ASIAN
By ANDREW SHANG

FOR most investors, 2011 must be an annus horribilis a year of losses for most except the short-sellers.

After a year of losses, you can almost believe anything. According to the Mayan calendar that ends 5,125 years on 21 December 2012, cataclysmic events will occur one year from now. Chinese astrologers believe that the Year of the Water Dragon is a year of fundamental change. If you believe euro-sceptics, the euro will collapse next year and a new order will emerge.

Christmas is a time to slow down for reflection. It is a time to get away from daily Blackberry emails to a world where life seems timeless.

Every year, my wife and I go backpacking somewhere East of Bali. Indonesia is an archipelago of 17,500 islands, exotic cultures and the world's fourth populous country. Here, we travel by local buses, shop in the rural markets, speak only Malay and just wander where our spirits take us.

Indonesia is one country where the Blackberry is still growing in usage, although amongst the more affluent, the iPhone4 is in. Inflation seems to have set in everywhere, but even in remote provinces, hot money has poured into gold and coal mines and building construction is ubitiquous. Indonesia is clearly on the move.

My scenarios for the next year are always defined by what books I bring along to read and reflect on questions I missed this last 12 months.

Why did the financial markets behave so dismally in 2011?

For this, I delved into Benoit Mandelbrot and Richard Hudson's 2008 book on The Misbehaviour of Markets A Fractal View of Risk, Ruin and Reward. The late French mathematician Mandelbrot worked all his life in IBM and invented “fractal geometry”, defined as rough or fragmentary geometric shapes that can evolve into great complexity.

In the late 1960s, Mandelbrot started applying his mathematics to the study of markets. The founder of the widely used Efficient Market Hypothesis, Eugene Fama, was in fact a doctoral student of Mandelbrot.

He argued that stock price movements are unpredictable and follow a random walk. His Hypothesis assumes that prices are independent and are normally distributed, namely, they follow the Bell curve.

In contrast, Mandelbrot, who studied the cotton market, argued that market prices are not independent of each other. Their evolution goes through periods of quiet and then extreme volatility. He felt strongly that power laws (curves with long tails) are more common in nature than “normal” statistical bell curves.

The violent market movements since 2008 suggest that Mandelbrot was more right than mainstream finance theory. The Nobel Laureates that founded the hedge fund LTCM (Long-term Capital Management) never expected market movements of more than four times standard deviation, but the Russian crisis in 1998 moved markets so much that LTCM ran out of liquidity before prices reverted back to normal. The lessons of LTCM were forgotten by market players and regulators alike in the run up to 2008.

How do we use Mandelbrot's insights to look into 2012?

First, markets are far more risky than standard theory teaches us. Second, big gains and losses concentrate into a small period of time. We may be exactly in that window of time when the markets are swinging wildly. No one is certain what is the right direction of the market. Third, prices often leap, rather than move smoothly. We see this in the foreign exchange markets they remain stable for a while, but then adjust dramatically. Fourth, bubbles are inevitable.

The fundamental challenge to central bankers and the public alike is whether there is going to be deflation or inflation.

With advanced-country central bankers printing money at near zero interest rates, many people think that inflation is inevitable. At the same time, inspite of the massive monetary creation, the greater fear is that we are entering into a worldwide depression of slow growth and rising unemployment.

Who is right?

Mandelbrot's work has challenged us to think very differently about time, scale and value. Human beings love to have stability, but nature moves in cycles, some short, some long.

Time has different meaning for different markets. Since companies report results quarterly, management behaviour tends toward short-term responses. The 4-5 year election cycle forces politicians to take short-term policies to gain popularity.

We know that 2012 will be an election year for the US, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Malaysia and perhaps India. We have already seen major transitions in Iraq, North Africa, Myanmar and North Korea. At a time where climate changes are adding to volatility, politics and debt deleveraging has become a heady brew for risks.

Strolling through the markets in Bali, the street chatter is about floods, inflation and traffic jams. Even here, there is a mood, even anticipation, of change.

Mandelbrot's true contribution to our understanding of markets is that intrinsic value is meaningless in a world of ever changing prices.

At the height of a bubble, the astronomical prices transacted bear no relationship to replacement cost. After a tsunami, what was valuable real estate had no buyers. Financial markets operate through arbitrage of different prices that can deviate hugely from the average.

Thus, what we want and value is not what everyone wants, but what we judge to be important at the point of decision. Our value systems are determined by our culture and that is today more determined by mother nature, technology and forces that we do not understand.

The volcanic islands in Indonesia provide rich soils for fertile agriculture, but earthquakes, tsunamis, flood and drought are part of the cycle of nature.

What we know for certain is that 2012 will be a year of major change. As Mandelbrot the scientist said, we can forecast the intensity and path of a hurricane, but we cannot predict how much damage it will do.

We have reached an inflexion point when technology no longer has all the answers to our future.

Crisis has a habit of throwing up new leaders who emerge as heros, whilst others are condemned by history as failures.

Be prepared for both in 2012.

Tan Sri Andrew Sheng is president of the Fung Global Institute.

Buffett Got Burned on Bank of America

2011-12-22T09:46:00.002+08:00

Is Bank of America a Value Trap at below 5.50? In Nov 2006, the stock was being traded at a high of 54.85. It was lasted traded at
5.23. Here's an interesting article by Jeff Reeves:

Buffett Got Burned on Bank of America, and There’s No Bottom in Sight
BAC is a value trap and only fodder for day traders
Dec 20, 2011, 11:35 am EST | By Jeff Reeves, Editor of InvestorPlace.com
Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) is one of the most hated companies in America. Aside from past robo-signings, proposed fees and general shenanigans amid the financial crisis, the company continues to prove all of its critics right with continued missteps and ugly headlines. Its earnings can’t be trusted and its CEO, Brian Moynihan, is completely out of touch.

So it’s no surprise that despite briefly breaking below the $5 mark, nobody came out yesterday and labeled Bank of America stock as a bargain. An intraday low of $4.92 and a close of $4.99 marked the lowest levels for the stock since March 2009 — the bear market bottom that saw stocks rebound with a vengeance.

The S&P was at 676 — now it’s at 1,234. But while the major indices have doubled, Bank of America is just as ugly to investors now as it was during those dark days two-and-a-half years ago.

Very few stocks are at 2009 levels. Some of them deserve to be there — Eastman Kodak (NYSE:EK), for instance, which appears to be doomed for bankruptcy without extraordinary intervention. You simply can’t lose money and have debt that large and expect to stick around.

However, Bank of America is not like Kodak. Aside from a brutal second quarter in 2009 when it took some $20 billion in write-downs, it is nominally profitable. It trades for a paltry 0.25 price-to-book ratio — while Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) is at 1.0 and JP Morgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) is at 0.6!

So, BAC shares could be a bargain at $5, right?

Right?

Unfortunately, hardly anyone on Wall Street is buying that argument. It’s remarkable how few people came out of the woodwork yesterday and today trumpeting Bank of America’s bargain potential.

In fact, the biggest talking point I’ve noticed is about how Warren Buffett might be taking a bath on his risky play in Bank of America. BofA gave Buffett warrants to buy a whopping 700 million shares of common stock at $7.14 when the Oracle of Omaha plowed $5 billion into preferred shares of BAC stock. Obviously those warrants don’t really matter when shares are almost 30% under that strike price.

By some estimates, Buffett has lost $1.5 billion on the deal since that August buy-in, when shares were around $6. But don’t weep for Warren — his nice 6% dividend on his shares will keep paying him, and BAC stock has moved up from under $5 today and could keep rising.

But the fact that Buffett could ride in on his white horse with the “smart money,” buying Bank of America at $6 only to see shares hit $5 four months later … that’s enough to make every investor think twice.

As result, Bank of America should be seen as an extremely short-term play for only the most aggressive traders … akin to Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S), Sirius XM (NASDAQ:SIRI) or other big-name stocks that are super cheap and super volatile.

As for the buy-and-hold crowd, sit this out for now. Bank of America is the ultimate value trap.

Plenty of folks think Bank of America is getting what it deserves as some kind of karmic payback for its misdeeds. While there might be some cosmic justice here, the reality is that the only true recovery will see banks recover, too.

Here’s hoping Bank of America turns it around — not for shareholders, but because we simply can’t afford to see another financial behemoth go under.

Jeff Reeves is the editor of InvestorPlace.com. Write him at editor@investorplace.com, follow him on Twitter via @JeffReevesIP and become a fan of InvestorPlace on Facebook. Jeff Reeves holds a position in Alcoa, but no other publicly traded stocks.

KSeng Cash Rich & Asset Rich

2011-12-20T12:56:00.004+08:00

The bullish run of KSeng on the 14th & 15 Dec 2011 has dismayed many supporters of the stock. After hitting a high of 4.21, the buyers backed off and retreated. What happened? Obviously this question is best answered by the insiders. In my opinion, this retreat is likely to be short-lived.

The company is cash rich and asset rich as well. As at 30.9.2011, it has cash and short-term investment of RM722,422, 000; its total investments in quoted securities at cost = RM188, 271,000, but are now worth RM432,522,000 in market value.
Its land and landed properties in Johor, KL and Singapore are worth very much more than their book value as most of these properties were last valued in 1980.

The present ongoing development in the Iskandar region will greatly enhance the value of KSeng in the forseeable future.

Some key statistics of KSeng as at Sep 30, 2011 are as follows:

Share Capital: RM361,477,000
Par value: RM1
Current Assets: RM1,022,280,000 (Cash & Short-term investment RM720,422)
Total Assets: RM2,043,811,000
Total Liabilities: RM 139,766,000
Short-term borrowings and overdraft: RM39,645,000
NTA: RM4.90 per share

As can be seen from the above figures, KSeng has a very strong balance sheet. This, however, is no guarantee that it share price will move up. So, the best action is to wait until the chart shows some positive signals before you buy again.

If KSeng does not know what to do with its cash, it should return at least some of them to its shareholders.

KSeng on track for a Bullish Run

2011-12-14T19:54:00.003+08:00

KSeng opened at 3.76 today with 630 lots traded. It commenced trading with a gap in the afternoon at 3.82. From then on the stock was in steady demand throughout the afternoon session. It closed at 3.97 for a gain of 17 sen. The stock appears to have woken up from its slumber. Now that its previous high at 3.86 is breached, the stock is likely to move up stongly. Resistance is seen at 4.20. Hold on to your shares in KSeng for a big new year anypow.

Households as clean, sustainable electricity producers

2011-12-13T08:38:00.002+08:00

In the mid-1990s, there were only “big” boys in electricity generation such as YTL Corp, Genting Sanyen and Malakoff. They were popularly known as Independent Power producers' or IPPs and were looked upon with envy as it was alleged that they were making big bucks because of relatively high rates they received from TNB.
Fast forward 15 years. Now you and I can also be an IPP (the term “clean and sustainable electricity producer” is preferred) albeit a very much smaller one but with a difference.
Any owner of a link, semi-detached or bungalow house can now be, subject to approval, a small clean and sustainable energy producer by generating green electricity (as opposed to fossil-fuelled electricity by the big IPPs) and distribution licensee (such as TNB) is obliged to purchase it. What all this means is that if you have a solar photovoltaic (PV) generator at home, you can apply to connect this generator to the grid, and get paid for selling the electricity generated to TNB over the next 21 years.
Solar energy is clean, environmentally friendly and has zero emissions. There is no depletion of natural resources and it is one of the fastest growing energy sources in the world.
And yes the rates are very attractive for generating electricity using solar photovoltaic (PV) technology; it is about four times the normal domestic TNB electricity rates (at RM0.40 per kWh). All you have to do is simply to apply and obtain a feed-in approval from the newly-established Sustainable Energy Development Authority Malaysia (Seda Malaysia), sign a renewable energy power purchase agreement (REPPA) with TNB and install the solar PV system on your rooftop.
On the average, the bungalow is able to produce about 1,000 kWh of electricity per month (based on 10kW installed PV capacity). Given this, the owner may earn about RM1,200 per month (based on FiT rate RM1.20 per kWh if the PV system is commissioned by 2012) and recoup his investment within eight to nine years. The earnings may be even higher if the house owner meets other bonus criteria such as installing as a building-integrated PV system. The current cost of 1 kW solar PV system ranges from RM12,000 to RM14,000.
The interesting thing is that for your average household needs, you purchase the electricity from TNB at between RM0.33 to 42.6 per kWh but when you produce the clean electricity, you can sell it at between RM1.20 to RM1.70 per kWh depending on the installed capacity and the qualifying bonus criteria for solar PV.
The longer the sun shines, the more one can “export” electricity to the national grid during daylight hours (when power is urgently needed) and earn income. The downside and risk is that during cloudy days, the income can be reduced significantly when the sun is not shining. If you apply now, you can lock in these premium rates for the next 21 years!
Unlike the huge IPPs which use natural gas or coal as feedstock to generate electricity, the household does not need to pay for any raw material or fuel because sunshine is free. For as long as the sun is shining, the solar PV panels will generate electricity. Another advantage of solar power is that no extra space is required because the panels can be installed on the rooftop. (Suddenly rooftops have income potential. Many factory owners are now contemplating installing solar PV panels on their rooftop to earn extra revenue while others are approaching factory owners to rent them their roofs.)
On Dec 1 2011, Seda Malaysia invited the public including households, small and not-so-big IPPs (maximum size is 30 MW but only 5 MWp rated capacity for solar PV) to apply and book the amount of green electricity they intended to produce to sell it to the distribution licensee. There are fixed quotas for each of the four renewable energy sources namely biomass (including solid waste), biogas (including landfill), small hydro and solar PV. There was overwhelming response to solar PV especially for the non-individuals.
The good news is that bookings are still open for individuals and households intending to install solar PV systems as there is still available capacity for this category. As at Dec 7, Seda reported that the total unfulfilled quota for solar PV is 6,650 kW; 1,650 kW to be commissioned by the first half 2013, 2500 kW each for second half of 2013 and first half of 2014.
Translating these figures into households, it would mean that about 665 bungalow owners can avail themselves to the remaining capacity (assuming their average capacity is 10 kW). If all of the remaining capacity is taken up by semi-detached owners, the number will increase to 1,330 assuming their installed PV capacity is 5 kW. The figure for typical link houses, assuming an installed capacity of 3 kW, is 2,217 households.
The price guarantee for 21 years has been made possible by the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) scheme implemented by Seda Malaysia. This scheme will be financed by the newly-established Renewable Energy (RE) Fund, to which all electricity users (except for those domestic customers consuming less than 300 kWh per month) will be required to contribute an additional 1% of their electricity bill.
House-owners who do not participate in solar PV electricity generation should not begrudge the payment of the additional 1%. Instead they should view it as one of their contributions to a cleaner and healthier environment. This is their social contribution for cleaner air. The public and community must also share in undertaking this heavy responsibility with the Government.

The article above is by Dr Pola Singh who is a board member of the Sustainable Energy Development Authority (Seda), Malaysia. The views expressed are his own. The public can apply for the feed-in approval via efit.seda.gov.my and more information can be obtained from Seda's official portal at www.seda.gov.my

Silver Mining and Exploration Hotspots

2011-12-10T10:32:00.001+08:00

November 14, 2011 @ 3:23 pm In Feature Articles,Silver Articles

By Michelle Smith-Exclusive To Silver Investing News [1]

[2]

Silver mining is a diverse affair as the metal is extracted around the globe from a long list of countries. But, despite the number of sources, there are three nations which are silver hotspots because their production volumes exceed the others by great lengths and there are no apparent threats that they will be robbed of their top ranking statuses.

Mexico

Dr. Thomas Chaize, a raw materials specialist, described [3] Mexico and Peru as the two pillars of world silver production. He stated that the countries are to silver what South Africa is to gold [4]and Saudi Arabia is to oil [5].

Of them, Mexico has now become the dominant pillar. The nation's silver production surpassed that of Peru in 2010 according [6] to Sergio Almazan Esqueda, Director of the Mexican Mining Chamber.

Last year's figures [7] credit Mexico with the production of nearly 129 million ounces of silver. In the first half of 2011, Mexico's silver output had reportedly [8] already surpassed 66 million ounces, showing that production has grown and providing support for projections of further growth.

Fresnillo [9] (LSE:FRES [10]) is recognized as a playing a prominent role in the expansion of Mexican silver mining. The company opened the Saucito mine this year, which it now operates in addition to the Fresnillo silver mine, one of the world's largest.

Mexico is considered a location ripe for further growth in silver production. It has an impressive record of attracting foreign investment, especially from Canadian interests. Between 2010 and 2012, over $13 billion in mining investments is expected and a significant portion is projected to be spent on silver mining projects.

Peru

Despite being stripped of its heavyweight title, Peru's silver mining sector would have to experience a severe, almost unimaginable, decline for it to lose its silver hotspot status. Last year, the nation produced 116 million ounces of the white metal. From January to August of this year, Peru's production was reported [11] at approximately 71 million ounces.

In conjunction with being a silver-rich nation, Peru is considered a mining friendly nation, with a pro-mining president, Ollanta Humala. The recent declines in silver mining have been blamed on factors such as bureaucracy, labor strikes and community outlashes against miners. The government recognizes the positive contributions of the mining sector and has announced [12] its commitment to cracking down on violent protests.

Declines were also attributed to reductions from Volcan [13], a mining major, which was busy implementing an optimization program. In post-Q1 2011 correspondence, Volcan said [14] the outcome of these efforts, designed to lower costs and boost efficiency, and the company's investments in production growth were good. Volcan said volume reductions were compensated by higher grades and greater recovery. And, the company also claimed the title of the first Peruvian silver producer to exceed output of 20 million ounces.

Despite the difficulties, Peru has seen healthy investments in mining and optimism for the future appears well warranted. The Engineering and Mining Journal says [15], that in addition to the world class operators that have already been attracted to Peru, others are following developments closely. The publication also says that companies continue to harvest the results of the dollars put into exploration.

China

Feng Jucong, a chief analyst for Beijing Antaike Information Development Company, said [16] China's silver production, including mined, by-product output and recycled material, grew by an average 14.9 percent every year from 1990 to 2009.

By 2010, China was credited with producing over 99 million ounces, making it the world's third largest producer of mined silver. The nation is considered a silver hotspot because in addition to its production growth, its appetite for the white metal has grown so large that China has converted from a net exporter to a net importer of the metal.

Silver is produced in China largely as a by-product of other mining efforts and as they grow silver production is also likely to grow. For example, CPM Group predicts [17] that Jiangxi Copper [18] (SHA:600362 [19]), which produced 14.8 million ounces of refined silver last year, may supply 15.6 million ounces this year, a production rate exceeding 8 of the top 20 silver producing nations.

There are also projects that are expected to come online in the next few years that will boost China's silver production even further. However, given the size China's appetite for silver products ranging from medals to investment bullion, it's unlikely that the nation's production will gain pace with its demand in the near future. CPM Group says China's production could total nearly 105 million ounces in 2011. However, fabrication demand this year is projected to exceed 177 million ounces.

China Our Biggest Client

2011-12-08T08:52:00.002+08:00

Malaysia's biggest palm oil client is China.

During his second official visit to Malaysia in April 2011, China Premier Wen Jiabao promised Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak that it will continue to buy big quantities of Malaysian palm oil.

As the largest vegetable oil consumer in the world, China makes up 15 per cent of global palm oil consumption. Palm oil is the second most consumed there, after soyaoil.

In the last few years, Shahrir noted that China has started to import more soyabeans instead of soyaoil. This is because the Chinese government wants more crushing activities domestically and more soya meal to feed its pig, cattle, dairy and poultry farms.

"Although we see this situation prevailing, we're not too worried. China has a big appetite for palm oil," he said.

Shahrir was speaking to reporters after the opening of the Palm Oil International Congress (Pipoc 2011) by Plantation Industry and Commodities Minister Tan Sri Bernard Dompok here yesterday.

In the first 10 months of this year, China bought 3.34 million tonnes of palm oil, about 13.5 per cent more than the same period last year.

"Also, India has bought 1.35 million tonnes, 33.6 per cent more from the same 10 months of last year," Shahrir added.

Click here to learn more.

The 10 Commandments of Wealth and Happiness

2011-12-02T17:51:00.003+08:00

The article appended below is worth every second of your time reading it. It is by Stacy Johnson of MoneyTalksNews

1. Thou shalt live like you’re going to die tomorrow, but invest like you’re going to live forever.
The ease of making money in stocks, real estate, or other risk-based assets is inversely proportional to your time horizon. In other words, making money over long periods of time is easy – making money overnight is the flip of a coin.
Money is like a tree: Plant it properly, care for it every so often, then wait patiently. Stare at a newly planted tree for 24 hours, and you’ll be convinced it’s not growing. Fixate on your investments the same way, and you could miss out on a game-changer.
The biggest winner in my IRA is Apple stock. I don’t remember exactly when I bought it, but I’m guessing it was in 2002 or 2003. My split adjusted price is around $8/share: As I write this, Apple’s trading at around $300/share, for a gain of 3,800 percent. Had I been listening to CNBC or some other “news” outlet that promotes constant trading, I almost certainly wouldn’t still own it.

Patience is certainly a virtue when it comes to investing. I invested a bunch of money and built my online portfolio when the Dow was hitting generational lows back in spring 2009. I had no idea where the market was going next. I was every bit as scared as the next guy.
But having lived through similar times before – I was a stockbroker during the market crash of 1987 – and since I’m only in my mid-50s, I was confident the economy would rebound sometime before I died. While the stock market has come back quite nicely since then, in many parts of the country, housing prices haven’t. That’s why I’m now looking for real estate investments. Are you?
In short, enjoy your life to the fullest every day – live like you’re going to die tomorrow. But since you’re probably not going to die tomorrow, plant part of your money in quality stocks, real estate or other investments; then hold onto them. Don’t ignore your investments entirely – sometimes fundamental things change that indicate it’s time to move on – but don’t act rashly. Patience pays.

2. Thou shalt listen to thine own voice above all others.
My job as a consumer reporter has included listening to countless sad stories about nice people being separated from their money by people who weren’t so nice. While these stories run the gamut from real estate deals to working at home, they all start the same way: with a promise of something that seems too good to be true.
And they all end the same way: It is. Just last week, I helped someone who was about to lose money by applying for a government grant.
If someone promises they can make you 3,000 percent in the stock market, they’re either a fool for sharing that information or a liar. Why would you send money to either one? When you hear someone promising a simple solution to a complex problem, stop listening to them and start listening to your own inner voice. You know there’s no pill that’s going to make you skinny. You know the government’s not handing out free money for your small business. You know you can’t buy a house for $300. Stop listening to commercials and start listening to yourself.

3. Thou shalt covet bad economic times.
Wealth is realized when the economy is booming, but that’s not when it’s created. Wealth is created when times are bad, unemployment is high, problems are massive, everybody’s freaking out, and there’s nothing but economic misery on the horizon.
Would you rather buy a house for $400,000, or $200,000? Would you rather invest in stocks when the Dow is at 12,000 or 7,000?
Obviously, nobody wants one in 10 Americans to be out of work. But the cyclical nature of our economy all but assures that this will happen periodically. If you’re one of the 90 percent who still has a job, this is the time you’ve been saving for. Stop listening to all the Chicken Littles in the media: The sky isn’t falling. Get busy – put your cash to work and create some wealth.

4. Thou shalt not work.
MSN Money’s Liz Pulliam Weston recently wrote a great story called Pretend You Won the Lottery. She asked her Facebook fans to describe what they would do if they won the lottery. From that article:
Most of the responses had a lot in common. People overwhelmingly wanted to:
Pay off all their debts.
Help their families.
Donate more to charity.
Pursue their passions, including travel.
Note that these goals are largely achievable without winning the lottery. And that was her point: Listing what you’d like to do if money were no object puts you in touch with the way you’d really like to spend your life.
My philosophy takes this concept a step further: When it comes to work, you should try to do something that you regard as so fulfilling that you’d do it even if it didn’t pay anything. In other words, the word “work” implies doing something you have to do, not something you want to do. You should never “work.”
I’ve chosen to spend nearly all of my adult life in warm climates – I lived in Arizona for 10 years and have now lived in Fort Lauderdale for nearly that long. Why? Here’s what I’ve always said: “You already spend a third of your life sleeping. Why spend another third of it freezing your tail off?”
No offense to you Northerners. I realize some people enjoy the cold. The point is that if you’re going to spend a huge part of your life working, don’t fill that time with what makes you the most money. Fill it with what makes you the most fulfilled. I made more money in 1990 managing a branch office for a Wall Street investment firm than I will this year. But I feel a lot less slimy (no offense to stockbrokers) and lot more fulfilled. You can’t put a price tag on that.

5. Thou shalt not create debt.
I’m always getting questions about debt. “Should I borrow for this, that, or the other?” “What’s an acceptable debt level?” “Is there such a thing as good debt?”
There’s way too much analysis and mystery around something that isn’t at all mysterious. Paying interest is nothing more or less than giving someone else your money in exchange for using theirs. Rule of thumb: To have as much money as possible, avoid giving yours to other people.
Don’t ever borrow money because you want something you can’t afford. Borrow money in only two circumstances: when your back is against the wall, or when what you’re buying will increase in value by more than what you’re paying in interest.
Debt also affects you on a level that can’t be defined in dollars. When you owe money, in a very real way you’re a slave to that lender until you pay it back. When you don’t, you’re much more the master of your own destiny.
There are two ways to achieve financial freedom: Have so much money that you can’t possibly spend it all (something exceedingly difficult to do) or don’t owe anybody anything. Granted, since you still have to eat and put a roof over your head, living debt-free doesn’t offer the same level of freedom as having more money than you can possibly spend. But living debt-free isn’t a matter of luck or even hard work. It’s a simple choice, available to everyone.

6. Thou shalt be frugal – but not miserly.
The key to accumulating more savings isn’t to spend less – it’s to spend less without sacrificing your quality of life. If going out to dinner with your significant other is something that you enjoy, not doing it may create a happier bank balance, but an unhappier you – a trade-off that is neither worthwhile nor sustainable. Eating an appetizer at home, then splitting an entree at the restaurant, however, maintains your quality of life and fattens your bank account.
Finding ways to save is important, but avoiding deprivation is just as important. In short, diets suck.
Whether they’re food-related or money-related, if they leave you feeling deprived and unhappy, they’re not going to work. But there’s a difference between food diets and dollar diets: It’s hard to lose weight without depriving yourself of the foods you love, but it’s easy to reduce spending without depriving yourself of the things you love.
Cottage cheese isn’t a suitable substitute for steak, but a used car is a perfectly acceptable substitute for a new one. And the list goes on: watching TV online rather than paying for cable, buying generics when they’re just as good as name brands, using house-swapping to get free lodging, downloading books from the library instead of Amazon… No matter what you love, from physical possessions to travel, there are ways to save without reducing your quality of life.

7. Thou shalt not regard possessions in terms of money, but time.
You go to the mall and spend $150 on clothes. But what you spent isn’t just $150. If you earn $150 a day, you just spent a day of your life.
Almost every resource you have, from physical possessions to money, is renewable. The amount of time you have on this planet, however, is finite. Once used, it can never be replaced. So when you spend money – especially if you earned that money by doing something you had to do instead of what you wanted to do – you’re spending your life.
This doesn’t mean that you should never spend money. If those clothes are all that important to you, by all means, buy them. But if it’s really not going to make you that much happier, don’t. Think of it this way: If you can live on $150 a day, every time you forgo spending $150, you just get one day closer to financial independence.

8. Thou shalt consider opportunity cost.
This is related to the commandment above. Opportunity cost is an accounting term that describes the cost of missing out on alternative uses for that money. For example, when I said above that not spending $150 on clothes puts you $150 closer to independence, that was a gross understatement. Because when you save $150, investing those savings gives you the opportunity to have more savings. If you’re earning 10 percent, $150 invested for 20 years will ultimately make you $1,000 richer. If you can live on $150 a day, ignoring inflation, you can now retire nearly a week sooner, not just a day.
One of the exercises in my most recent book, Life or Debt, is to go around your house and identify things you bought but probably didn’t want or need. A quick way to do this is to find things you haven’t touched in months. These were probably impulse buys. Add up the cost of these things, multiply them by 7, and you’ll arrive at the amount of money you could have had if you’d invested that money at 10 percent for 20 years rather than wasting it.
And when you do this, consider the stuff in your closet, the stuff in your garage, the rooms of your house that you heat and cool but don’t use, the new cars you’ve bought when used would have worked. The truth is that most of us have already blown the opportunity to achieve financial independence much sooner. Maybe now’s the time to stop.

9. Thou shalt not put off till tomorrow what thou can save today.
Shortly after I began my television career in 1988, I went on set with a pack of smokes, a can of soda, and a candy bar. I explained that these things represented the kind of money most of us throw away every day without thinking about it – at the time, about $5. But compound $5 at 10 percent for 30 years, and you’ll end up with about $340,000. That’s why learning to save a few bucks here and there and investing it is so important.
Fortunes are rarely made by investing big bucks, nor are they often made late in life. Wealth most often comes from starting small and early.
In short, there are limited ways to get rich. You can inherit, marry well, build a valuable business, successfully capitalize on exceptional talent, get exceedingly lucky – or spend less than you make and consistently invest your savings over time. Even if you’re on the road to any of the former, why not do the latter?

10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s stuff.
If this commandment sounds familiar, that’s because it resembles the Biblical 10th commandment:
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor’s. (Exodus 20:17)
Envy may not be the root of all evil, but it is the root of much wasted money. As I’m fond of saying, you can either look rich or be rich, but you probably won’t live long enough to accomplish both. I’ve lived both ways, and trust me: Being rich is way better than using debt to look rich.
We’ll all admit that when on the verge of making a purchase decision, we’re often thinking of what our friends will say when they see it. Normal human behavior? Sure, but it’s not in your best interest, or theirs. Making your friends feel jealous isn’t nice, and feeling envy for other people’s possessions is silly. Possessions have never made anyone happy, nor will they.
Decide what really makes you happy, then spend – or not – accordingly. When your friends make an impressive addition to their collection of material possessions, be happy for them. One of the stupidest expressions ever coined was: “The one who dies with the most toys wins.” When you’re on your death bed, you won’t be thinking about the things you had – you’ll be thinking about the times you had.

Subscribe by email
Like this article? Sign up for our email updates and we’ll send you a regular digest of our newest stories, full of money saving tips and advice, free! We’ll also email you a PDF of Stacy Johnson’s ’205 Ways to Save Money’ as soon as you’ve subscribed. It’s full of great tips that’ll help you save a ton of extra cash. It doesn’t cost a dime, so why wait? Click here to sign up now.

Source: Money Talks (http://s.tt/12mMw)

TDM Good Yield Good Growth

2011-11-25T12:03:00.007+08:00

For the latest quarter ended 30.9.2011, EPS equals 21.88 sen. This is indeed commendable. It is 95% better than the previous corresponding period, and 71% better than the preceding quarter. Review of performance of the group reads as follows:

Plantation Division Our Plantation Division reported a 95% increase in profit before tax for the first nine month ended 30 September 2011 compared to the same period last year mainly due to:
i) Higher production of CPO & PK by 12% and 7% respectively. ii) Higher average CPO & PK prices by 32% and 78% respectively:
Healthcare Division Healthcare Division registered higher revenue and profit before tax by 16% and 15% respectively due to increase in number of patients being treated at our hospitals by 8% .
Food Division (Discontinued operation) Food Division recorded profit of RM2.0 million due to increse in average prices of livebird by 20%.

Based on the prevailing CPO and PK prices, the outlook for financial year ending 31 December 2011 remains favourable. Barring unforeseen circumstances, the Group is expected to continue to record satisfactory performance in the current financial year.

Going forward, the group will become more and more profitable as more and more of its lands in East Kalimantan mature. Besides that, its healthcare business is also doing well. The group is cash-rich and has the potential to take opportunity to grow as and when an opportunity arises.

For the year ended 31.12.2011, its EPS is likely to exceed 71 sen. Based on EPS of 71 sen, and on the basis of being traded at 10 times earnings, the stock is worth RM7.10 per share.

At RM3.45, the forward PE works out to be 4.86 which is undemanding. This means the stock is not overvalued.

Disclaimer: As a result of this article, whether you buy, sell or hold TDM, you do so at your own risk absolutely.

Tit for Tat

2011-11-24T07:16:00.001+08:00

Son: Father, I am in love with 3 girls who are all in love with me. I want to marry one of them. They are all from Kampong Lovers, the town in the neighborhood.

Father: Sorry son, but I have to tell you this. You can't marry any of them because they are your half-sisters.

The son was greatly annoyed by this sudden turn of event. He went to his mother and told her what his father had said. Upon hearing it, the mother smilingly said, "Don't worry son. You can marry any of them; you are not his son."

Oil palm sector on alert of bud rot disease threat

2011-11-22T10:55:00.000+08:00

Monday, November 21, 2011
Oil palm sector on alert of bud rot disease threat

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s oil palm industry is on alert for the bud rot disease that has killed millions of trees in South America. The disease is estimated to have wiped out some 50,000ha of oil palm estates in South America, said planters from Colombia, the world’s fifth largest oil palm producer in the world.

Although no cure has yet to be found, Malaysian planters should not panic, said Dr Ahmad Kushairi Din, Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) deputy director-general.

“We’re taking proactive measures from prevention to control, should there be any contamination. Our stringent quarantine controls have always been in place,” he told Business Times on the sidelines of an international seminar held here last Friday.

Malaysia is the world’s second largest palm oil producer and exports from this industry is forecast to hit RM80 billion this year, its second straight record year. The country will soon be sending a team of agronomists to South America to study the disease.

Kushairi, who is also International Society For Oil Palm Breeders president, explained that the bud rot disease is caused by a microbe called phytophthora palmivora. “Based on our initial study carried out more than 10 years ago, we find that the bud rot disease can spread very quickly because this pathogen is able to swim in the water. It thrives in a very humid and cloudy environment,” he said.

MPOB has also signed a research agreement with Cenipalma, the research institute of the Colombian Palm Oil Growers Association.

Colombia, the oil palm hub in South America, has 350,000ha planted with oil palms. It is the fifth largest oil palm country in the world after Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Nigeria.

Jorge Corredor, a Colombian oil palm smallholder attending the seminar, revealed the bud rot disease had wiped out all 3,200ha of his oil palm estates in just two years.

“We tried sanitation, it didn’t work. Even the replanted Dolly Partons we sourced from Malaysia died. Until today, we have not found the cure,” he said.

Malaysia’s oil palms are affectionately called Dolly Partons by planters because the trees are short and produce very big fruit bunches compared to the original palms brought in from West Africa, a hundred years ago. In the last 50 years, our agronomists have been marrying the Dura and Psifera palms (DXP) to get the Dolly Parton hybrids that bear voluptuous fruit bunches.

Corredor said the bud rot disease is not just in Colombia as it has spread to Panama, Suriname, Brazil and Ecuador. "So many of our mills have closed down and many people have lost their jobs. My country and your country is situated along the tropical belt of the globe, we share the same weather. I'm telling you, this bud rot disease is a serious threat."

"I have nothing to gain from talking about what has happened to the oil palm industry in my country. This is something I would not wish upon planters in other countries. This is potentially a global problem," Corredor said. He thinks that the world could face a shortage of cooking oil if the disease finds it way to Southeast Asia.

Palm oil may rise to RM4,000/ton: Mistry

2011-11-17T12:42:00.001+08:00

2011/11/17

Malaysian palm oil may rise to RM4,000 per metric ton by June amid rising demand for the commodity, said Dorab Mistry, director of Godrej International Ltd.

Demand for palm oil and biofuels are “buoyant,” he said in a Bloomberg TV interview in Singapore today.

Palm oil supplies will fall as trees enter a “flat” output cycle, he said. -- Bloomberg

Buy When There's Blood In The Streets

2011-11-15T08:25:00.001+08:00

by Daniel Myers, CFA, CFP (Contact Author | Biography)
Baron Rothschild, an 18th century British nobleman and member of the Rothschild banking family, is credited with saying that "The time to buy is when there's blood in the streets."

He should know. Rothschild made a fortune buying in the panic that followed the Battle of Waterloo against Napoleon. But that's not the whole story. The original quote is believed to be "Buy when there's blood in the streets, even if the blood is your own."

This is contrarian investing at its heart - the strongly-held belief that the worse things seem in the market, the better the opportunities are for profit.

Most people only want winners in their portfolios, but as Warren Buffett warned, "You pay a very high price in the stock market for a cheery consensus." In other words, if everyone agrees with your investment decision, then it's probably not a good one.

Going Against the Crowd
Contrarians, as the name implies, try to do the opposite of the crowd. They get excited when an otherwise good company has a sharp, but undeserved drop in share price. They swim against the current, and assume the market is usually wrong at both its extreme lows and highs. The more prices swing, the more misguided they believe the rest of the market to be. (For more on this, read Finding Profit In Troubled Stocks.)

Bad Times Make for Good Buys
Contrarian investors have historically made their best investments during times of market turmoil. In the crash of 1987, the Dow dropped 22% in one day in the U.S. In the 1973-74 bear market, the market lost 45% in about 22 months. The September 11, 2001, attacks also resulted in a market drop. The list goes on and on, but those are times when contrarians found their best investments.

The 1973-74 bear market gave Warren Buffett the opportunity to purchase a stake in the Washington Post Company (NYSE:WPO) - an investment that has subsequently increased by more than 100-times the purchase price - that's before dividends are included. At the time, Buffett said he was buying shares in the company at a deep discount, as evidenced by the fact that the company could have "… sold the (Post's) assets to any one of 10 buyers for not less than $400 million, probably appreciably more." Meanwhile, the Washington Post Company had only an $80 million market cap at the time. (For more on Buffett's strategy, read Think Like Warren Buffett and What Is Warren Buffett's Investing Style?)

After the September 11 terrorist attacks, the world stopped flying for awhile. Suppose that at this time, you had made an investment in Boeing (NYSE:BA), one of the world's largest builders of commercial aircraft. Boeing's stock didn't bottom until about a year after September 11, but from there, it rose more than four-times in value over the next five years. Clearly, although September 11th soured market sentiment about the airline industry for quite some time, those who did their research and were willing to bet that Boeing would survive were well rewarded.

Also during that time, Marty Whitman, manager of the Third Avenue Value Fund, purchased bonds of K-Mart both before and after it filed for bankruptcy protection in 2002. He only paid about 20 cents on the dollar for the bonds. Even though for awhile it looked like the company would shut its doors for good, Whitman was vindicated when the company emerged from bankruptcy and his bonds were exchanged for stock in the new K-Mart. The shares jumped much higher in the years following the reorganization before being taken over by Sears (Nasdaq:SHLD), with a nice profit for Whitman. Thanks to moves like this, the Third Avenue Value Fund has earned a market-beating 14.3% return since Whitman founded the fund in 1990.

Sir John Templeton ran the Templeton Growth Fund from 1954 to 1992, when he sold it. Each $10,000 invested in the fund's Class A shares in 1954 would have grown to $2 million by 1992, with dividends reinvested, or an annualized return of about 14.5%. Templeton pioneered international investing. He was also a serious contrarian investor, buying into countries and companies when, according to his principle, they hit the "point of maximum pessimism." As an example of this strategy, Templeton bought shares of every public European company at the outset of World War II in 1939, including many that were in bankruptcy. He did this with borrowed money to boot. After four years, he sold the shares for a very large profit. (To learn more about Templeton and other great investors, see the Greatest Investors Tutorial.)

Putting It On the Line
But there are risks to contrarian investing. While the most famous contrarian investors put big money on the line, swam against the current of common opinion and came out on top, they also did some serious research to ensure that the crowd was indeed wrong. So, when a stock takes a nosedive, this doesn't prompt a contrarian investor to put in an immediate buy order, but to find out what has driven the stock down, and whether the drop in price is justified.

Conclusion
While each of these successful contrarian investors has his own strategy for valuing potential investments, they all have the one strategy in common - they let the market bring the deals to them, rather than chasing after them.

by Daniel Myers, CFA, CFP (Contact Author | Biography)

Daniel Myers has earned the CFA designation, the CFP certification and has managed money for investors since 1998. Read more about him at his company's website, King Capital Management, LLC.

More Singaporeans crossing over for cheaper medical treatment

2011-11-14T08:19:00.000+08:00

Sunday November 13, 2011

SINGAPORE: When Goh Chai Gek wanted to deliver her baby boy, she decided it would be cheaper to head across the Causeway.

The total cost of her caesarean section delivery was about RM8,190, including three nights.

It would typically have come up to about S$5,840 (RM14,333) in a hospital here, meaning she enjoyed savings of about 40%.

“I could also claim the amount from Medisave,” said the 30-year-old accountant.

Lured by savings of up to 50%, growing numbers of Singaporeans and PRs are travelling to Malaysia for medical treatment. It comes after the Singapore Government relaxed rules in March last year to allow Medisave to be used to pay for hospitalisation and day surgery treatment in 12 hospitals there.

Those crossing the Causeway for hospital treatment will soon have more choice, when a S$2bil (RM4.9bil) medical hub a joint project between billionaire Singa-pore investor Peter Lim and the Johor royal family opens in 2015.

Before the liberalisation, Medisave could be used only in Singapore, or for emergency treatment overseas.

Health Management International (HMI) and Parkway Pantai Group are currently the only two healthcare groups here accredited to refer patients to Malaysia.

An HMI spokesman said yesterday that 120 patients had used Medisave overseas for their medical treatments to date.

HMI has two hospitals in Malaysia the Regency Specialist Hospital in Johor Baru and Mahkota Medical Centre in Malacca.

Most of the cases are obstetrics and gynaecology. Cardiology, colorectal surgery, ophthalmology and orthopaedic surgery are other commonly sought treatments. - The Straits Times / Asia News Network

KL-Singapore high-speed rail project on track

2011-11-09T03:45:00.000+08:00

By Sharen Kaur and Zuraimi Abdullah
bt@nstp.com.my
2011/11/09

It is believed that up-and-coming rail tycoon Tan Sri Ravindran Menon has teamed up with UEM Group to vie for the project.

Kuala Lumpur: The high-speed rail system linking Kuala Lumpur and Singapore could take shape by next year, with three groups leading the early race to win the multi-billion ringgit job, people familiar with the plan said.

The Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) is expected to start a feasibility study on the project early next year.

The commission had already completed a pre-feasibility study, SPAD chief development officer Azmi Abdul Aziz told Business Times.

SPAD will undertake a feasibility study next, which should take six to 12 months to complete, Azmi added.

If feasible, the project is estimated to cost as much as RM12 billion, with the interested parties offering either European or Chinese technologies.

It is believed that up-and-coming rail tycoon Tan Sri Ravindran Menon has teamed up with UEM Group to vie for the project.

Ravindran controls Skypark Terminal, which recently received an offer from the government to undertake a RM1.5 billion rail project.

The project is to connect the Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd (KTMB) station in Subang Jaya, Selangor, to the Skypark Terminal at the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport.

Business Times understands that the Ravindran-UEM venture made a presentation to the government early this year, specifically on the more than 300km high speed rail line.

Sources said they planned to lay railway lines parallel to the North-South Expressway from Kuala Lumpur, Seremban and Malacca to Johor Baru, before connecting to Singapore.

Others said to be in the running for the job are China Infraglobe Consortium-Global Rail Sdn Bhd and YTL Corp Bhd.

China Infraglobe-Global Rail consortium last made a submission for the job in 2009.

To date, it has yet to make a revised proposal to the government, a company official said.

YTL group managing director Tan Sri Francis Yeoh Sock Ping, who is in New York, declined to comment when asked if the company had made a fresh submission.

YTL, operator of the KLIA Express, first mooted the idea to build a high-speed rail in the late 1990s and again in 2006.

The project was put on hold in April 2008 due to high cost, which was estimated at RM8 billion.

In the middle of 2009, YTL expressed hope that the government would relook at the proposal.

It said it would build the rail line on the coastline of Peninsular Malaysia, rather than that mooted in an earlier proposal of building on the existing track.

Last year, the government said it would revive the project.

It was highligted as a high impact project in the government's Economic Transformation Programme roadmap in a bid to increase economic activities.

Yesterday, the government reiterated that it may go ahead with the project.

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha said it would wait for feedback from its Singaporean counterparts as the track would go into its land.

Germany's Siemens had previously offered its solutions to the project.

It proposed the use of its Velaro trains, which have a top speed of 350kph.

Rising tide of China investments in Malaysia

2011-11-04T06:33:00.002+08:00

By Bilqis Bahari
bt@nstp.com.my
2011/11/04

Kuala Lumpur: Cash-rich Chinese are splurging their money on Malaysian assets and equities in recent weeks.
The move comes just after Malaysia witnessed a wave of Japanese companies buying up local assets.

During the past couple of months, Japanese investors bought some RM4.48 billion worth of Malaysian assets.

Among the notable acquisitions from them were the purchase of CI Holdings Bhd's Permanis Sdn Bhd for RM820 million, Motor Trader and Autocar Asean magazines for RM109.7 million, Khazanah Nasional Bhd's 30 per cent stake in Integrated Healthcare Holdings Bhd for RM3.3 billion and HPI Resources Bhd for RM258 million.

Now the new trend seems to be originating from China and to a lesser extent, Taiwan.

"Investors from China accumulated a lot of cash in the last couple of years and they are looking for a place to put their cash to work," said Pong Teng Siew, Jupiter Securities head of research.

Indeed, Malaysia has seen many Chinese investors, be it from mainland China, Hong Kong or Taiwan, aggressively investing in local stocks, properties and projects.

"Some people think that it is because these investors are worried that the booming China market will fall, and that is why they are moving their funds to other markets, including Malaysia," an industry observer said.

Chinese companies invested some RM3.1 billion in recent period. They include investments made by Wenzhou Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Bureau in the East Coast Economic Region (ECER)'s special zone in Kuantan, Zhuoda Real Estate Group in an Iskandar Malaysia project, as well as a Chinese firm, which partnered Mah Sing Group Bhd in the Icon Residence Mont' Kiara project, to name a few.

On Bursa Malaysia, Chinese investors purchased shares in several listed companies. They include Hong Kong-based Christian Kwok-Leun Yau Heilesen, who today controls some 24 per cent of GPRO Technologies Bhd.

Heilesen also bought a combined 19.9 per cent shares in DVM with Raymond Yip Wai Man in August this year. However, he sold his stake in less than three weeks.

This month, two Chinese nationals - Xu Sheng and Jiang Chuan Yi - have emerged as substantial shareholders in Envair Holdings Bhd, controlling some 13.5 per cent of the company.

They each bought eight million shares in Envair at between 27.3 sen a share and 35 sen apiece.

In August, Fong Shu Cheong, a Chinese national in Hong Kong, became a subtantial shareholder of Cybertowers Bhd by buying 12.11 million shares, or 12.11 per cent, of the company last Friday.

Analysts said Chinese firms or businessmen investing in Malaysia is not unusual since it is only natural for them to forge links with foreign businesses.

"The primary motivation for them to invest in other countries is to establish linkages with overseas businesses. They could tap into the market by importing or exporting their products or our products," Pong said.

Edmund Tham, head of research at Mercury Securities, said the reason for the Chinese to invest depends on the value of the business or investment.

He added that as long as Malaysian businesses relate to their core business and there is value in the investment, they will come to Malaysia.

"The question of why Malaysia (being a preferred destination) depends on the business opportunity whether it is suitable for their business, if there is high risk for them and if the returns are good.

"They evaluate this on a case-to-case basis. Therefore, they don't just invest only in Malaysia, but other countries as well," Tham added.

With the influx of funds from Japan and China buying into Malaysian assets, properties in Malaysia will appreciate and continue to appreciate.
Investors should pay attention to property counters now.

Investors leave Singapore office empty-handed

2011-11-03T12:45:00.004+08:00

2011/11/03

SINGAPORE: Retail investors in Singapore trying to salvage their doomed investments from the local MF Global office were left frustrated and empty-handed yesterday after they were told their trading positions were closed and their funds were frozen.

Dozens of worried local investors lined up at the MF Global office throughout the day seeking to recoup their money, but all they received was a form to complete after being told no money would be disbursed until liquidators wound down the bankrupt US brokerage.

"Of course I'm afraid I may not get back anything, that is why I am here," said Andre Chia, a 32-year-old pilot. "I'm waiting for the liquidation, MAS (Monetary Authority of Singapore), maybe I'll end up at the Speakers' Corner," he added, referring to the only place in Singapore where protesters can gather without a permit.

In the wake of the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008, hundred of Singaporeans gathered at Speakers' Corner to protest their losses from mini-bonds linked to the failed US bank.

Liquidators from KPMG have assured MF Global customers in Singapore that they are working to ensure all money in client accounts is returned to them.

However, several investors vented their anger that they were closed out of trading positions at a loss, with no option to wait for the market to turn. "I feel uneasy, I don't know how much I will lose. If I have to cut losses, I have to know how much I will lose," said 57-year-old John Wong, who had invested around S$8,000 (RM19,680) with the brokerage.

Around 20 investors went to the office yesterday afternoon, while local media reported that at least 60 people converged on the premises that morning. - Reuters

Dealing with a foreign broker firm you are not familiar with can be disastrous.
BETTER BE SAFE THAN SORRY. Luckily for Malaysians, MF Global has not been in Malaysia.

It's the Management that makes the difference

2011-10-30T14:42:00.004+08:00

Do you know why companies have different destiny? While some are able to grow and prosper, others have failed miserably. Logic tells us that it's the management that makes the difference.

The CEO is the most important person in a company. If this person is competent and has integrity, the company is bound to grow. Competency without integrity is disastrous. You may see the money, but it does not go to you. Of what use is cash if you can't get your hands on them.

In the stock market, everything is not what it appears to be. You have to be very careful. Misleading statements, fraud accounting, manipulation, such as "pump and dump" or "short and distort" are common traits. Although the SEC is here to see law and order, it can never do enough to protect the laymen from being cheated. Take care to note the names of those CEOs in failed companies. This will go a long way to save you from getting involved with people who have no integrity. I am not saying that every CEO in failed companies is bad. But it's better to mix with people who succeed rather than those who fail.
Get close to black ink, and you will be black; get close to gems, and you will shine.

You must upgrade yourself all the time just to stay in play. Time and again, you may feel that you have become proficient only to realize later that once again you are at the wrong end of the bargain.

The world is forever changing. You need to stay focus on your job and stay well informed on what is happening locally and abroad as well.

The present flooding in Thailand, the worst in the last 50 years, is causing great havoc to the country. Malaysia needs to be careful. Obviously, climatic change is one of the factors. Malaysia should find out the causes and take preemptive steps to prevent such flooding if possible.

Fire and water have no emotion. They can really punish you when they are the masters at their fury.

How To Effectively Investigate A Stock

2011-10-09T13:03:00.001+08:00

Thanks to the internet, there is an information overload when it comes to investigating stocks. Simply type in a ticker symbol in any search box, and within seconds you have dozens of articles and related links on that particular stock. Properly navigating through the haystack of information and determining how to use it can be daunting and intimidating, and while there are no shortcuts to properly evaluating a stock, investors can eliminate a lot of unnecessary or repetitive effort by knowing how to effectively investigate a company.

TUTORIAL: Investing 101 For Beginner Investors

Basics First: What is a Stock?
As elementary as it sounds, many investors know what a share of stock is, but often ignore what it means. Stock is an equity claim on the business. Specifically, owning stock is defined as having a residual claim on the business. A stock investor's claim on a company is residual by debt holders and preferred stock holders.

Balance Sheet
Because of this residual claim, the very first place investors should go when investigating a stock is the balance sheet. The balance sheet is one of three principal financial statements of any company, with the other two being the income statement and the statement of cash flows. The balance sheet gives a snapshot of the company's financial position at a specific moment in time. As such, it is more important than the income statement. (For more information, see 5 Tips For Reading A Balance Sheet.)

Often, investors first examine the income statement in order to determine profitability. Profits are extremely valuable, but the balance sheet shows you how healthy a company is. A profitable unhealthy company is a disaster that many investors fail to consider. A quality balance sheet protects a company when times get bad. Consider the various recessions in the U.S. in the past 50 years; most of the companies that failed to make it through had a balance sheet problem.

When looking at the balance sheet, you want to examine the indebtedness of a company. Evaluate the debt in relation to total assets and equity value. Consider the quality of the company's assets. How do current assets stack up against current liabilities? How much cash is on the balance sheet in relation to debt? How much goodwill or other intangible assets are on the balance sheet? Under tough operating environments, goodwill and intangibles are usually worth very little for most companies.

Once a balance sheet has been examined, it can be connected with the other financial statements. Look at the interest expense line item on the income statement and compare it to the company's earnings before interest and taxes. Is the company comfortably making its interest payments?

Management
Once you get a handle on the financials, investigate management. An effective way to do this is by reading a company's annual proxy statement (DEF 14A), which can be found on the company's website or at the Securities and Exchange Commission website. A proxy statement will show you insider ownership levels and management pay, two good metrics for evaluating management. (For related reading, see SEC Filings: Forms You Need to Know.)

Investigate Industry
If you are still comfortable with the company, it's time to investigate the industry. One quick way to do this is to compare numbers between competitors. Some great numbers to investigate:

1. Operating Margins
Does one company have significantly higher or lower margins than the others? Is this a long-term occurrence or a one-time benefit?

2. Debt to Equity Levels
Is the industry characterized by high or low levels of debt? How does the company stack up?

3. Capital Expenditures
Found on the cash flow statements. Is the industry capital intensive? If so, this could be a problem during weak environments.

4. Competition
Is there a lot of competition? Coca-Cola only competes with a couple of companies. Teen retailer Abercrombie and Fitch has lots of competition. A great deal of competition can make it difficult for a company to consistently earn profits, as these businesses have to compete on price.

Detective Work
Once you have done all the above, the detailed detective work begins. Now you should go back and read the company's financial releases and get a feel for the how the company is looking at growing and creating value for the business. Examine the company's additional SEC Filing, including 13D filings which show if other major investors are taking stakes in the company.

If the particular company you are looking at has operations in your area, go visit them. Some of the best analysis on a company is not found in documents, but visible through the day to day operations.

Conclusion
In the end, this investigative work will give you your unbiased insight into the company. As a result, you are far more likely to make better investment decisions based on quality data and analysis. (For related reading, also take a look at Blending Technical And Fundamental Analysis.)

by Sham Gad (Contact Author | Biography)

** This article and more are available at Investopedia.com - Your Source for Investing Education **

Thumbs up for home-grown RFID system

2011-10-03T12:57:00.000+08:00

2011/10/03

THE impending deployment of a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag system by the Royal Malaysian Customs at all its checkpoints nationwide to facilitate trade and security is a potential plus for Malaysia in giving peace of mind to investors.

Prior to the soft launch in Penang last week by its developer Smartag Solutions Sdn Bhd, the RFID-based security and trade facilitation system has been given the thumbs up by local and foreign logistics players that participated in a three-month trial-run, which ended in August.

The project, which is set to be financed by newly-listed Smartag Solutions, is one of 12 initiatives under the government's Economic Transformation Programme.

From Saturday and over the span of two years, the home-grown RFID system will be implemented in stages at more than 200 customs checkpoints and 600 high-value bonded warehouses nationwide.

Some of participants of the project, which essentially allows users to secure their containers (whether by air, land or sea) with RFID seals and track their movements electronically while entering, leaving or moving within the country, were DHL, TNT, Federal Express, Western Digital and Priority Cargo.

For these companies, whose reputation is built on speed, reliability and just-in-time delivery, the introduction of the RFID system is most welcome since it has the potential to increase customs clearance efficiency, along with paperless clearance and processes.

RFID is a generic term for technologies using radio waves to identify people or objects and has been available since the World War Two when the British army used it to recognise, among other things, friendly aircraft.

It is not every day that a logistics giant like TNT Express Worldwide NV comes forward and lends it endorsement to the Malaysian Customs for introducing this project.

The pilot run of the project was a collaboration between the Royal Malaysian Customs, industry users and Smartag, with facilitation by the Performance Management and Delivery Unit.

The company's regional network manager (Asia Road Network), Dinesh Kanapathy, said at the soft launch that his company had accrued a time-reduction savings of at least 50 per cent for customs clearance when participating in the trial run.

Other global names have also endorsed the RFID tag, as it has been proven to work in favour of safe logistics.

Penang investors remember only too well the international embarrassment caused to the country in 2006 by a RM50 million computer chip heist at the Batu Maung Free Commercial Zone, near the Penang International Airport.

The world's biggest chipmaker Intel Corp - whose investment presence in Penang spans close to four decades - said it was a victim of the microchip robbery, which left everyone in the state spooked over the lack of security measures in the movement of high-value goods.

By making available to investors, both local and foreign, the option of a cost-effective resource to save time, reduce labour requirements and afford better visibility of moving goods and services, Malaysia can only improve its position as a preferred site for doing business.

Depending on how successful efforts by Smartag Solutions are in convincing importers, exporters and their suppliers on the value of adopting RFID-based security systems, the field is wide open in Malaysia and elsewhere for other sectors - such as the judiciary and healthcare industry - to adopt this system of profiling, tracking and communicating.

Eat That Peanut

2011-09-30T15:07:00.001+08:00

New Rules New Confidence

2011-09-29T09:07:00.001+08:00

Effective from next year, companies listed in Bursa will have to be more transparent. Because of new rules, they have to reveal more.

In their quarterly reports, they will have to give a detailed analysis of their businesses, and inform investors how the current world scenario will affect the present and future development of their companies.

More revelation means less possibility for the management to cook their books. Corruption, cheating and fraud will also be made more difficult.

If the new rules are effectively implemented, Bursa Malaysia will get a much-needed boost. This means that not only foreigners will like it but local investors will like it as well.

Transparency and integrity are essential traits for any stock exchange to flourish. Stringent rules to curb fraud and misleading statements when introduced without fear or favor will result in Bursa getting more investment, be it local or foreign.

The public love a level-playing field. Bursa will do well to ensure they have one.

Smartag Potential of a Ten-Bagger

2011-09-27T09:56:00.003+08:00

Mention any ACE counter, and you'll probably get a repulsive response. This is to be expected because most if not all, the ACE counters at Bursa have been performing poorly even before the recent downturn. Nonetheless, there is one stock in this category that has caught my fancy. It's Smartag.

The company has just successfully completed its pilot trial with the Royal Malaysian Customs. The article appended below is a must-read if you believe that RFID is the right technology of the present and the future:

Smartag Solutions and Customs completed successful pilot trial
- -
Security and Trade Facilitation using Radio Frequency Identification (“RFID”) deployed in Royal Malaysian Customs’ Checkpoints nationwide

Pilot commercial trial was successfully conducted from 1 June till 31 August 2011, achieve cost saving to the industry, and increase efficiency of Customs process by 9 times.

Pulau Pinang, Malaysia: 26 September 2011 – Total RFID solutions provider Smartag Solutions Berhad (“Smartag”, the “Group”, “智能电子标签解决方案有限公司”) together with Royal Malaysian Customs (Jabatan Kastam Diraja Malaysia or “JKDM” or “Customs”) announced the successful completion of the trial run of the RFID-based Security and Trade Facilitation System at Royal Malaysian Customs Checkpoints in the country.

Speaking at a press conference during the soft launch of the Security and Trade Facilitation System (or the “System”) at the Second Air Cargo Complex Penang, Smartag announced that JKDM jointly with Smartag have successfully completed the trial run of the Security and Trade Facilitation System and have obtained positive results and feedback from the industry users.

Under the trial, the users will be able to use the RFID seal to secure their containers when entering, leaving, and moving within the country. With the usage of the System, the users will be able to automatically identify the containers’ movement electronically via the RFID seal to the RFID readers that are set up by Smartag at the various Customs checkpoints across the country.

During the trial run, participants were able to achieve 50% reduction on time taken for customs clearance, and have obtained cost savings from the usage of the system. During the trial run, JKDM is able to increase its efficiency by 9 times as compared to using the manual process. At the same time, the system deployed is able to solve “hanging” K8 forms.

According to the Chairman of the Air Freight Association of Malaysia, Mr. Walter Culas “The industry welcomes the usage of the system as we value speed, efficiency, and time. The system demonstrated its potential to increase customs clearance's efficiency, and paperless clearance and processes. The industry is fully supportive of the project, and the nationwide implementation."

“Based on our internal cost and benefit analysis has shown that the trial demonstrated that TNT will be able to have at least 50% reduction of time taken for customs clearance and all these benefits will create multiplier effect to the economy in the country", according to Mr. Dinesh K. the Regional Network Manager Asia Road Network for TNT Express Worldwide N. V.
“PEMANDU is pleased that the Security and Trade RFID Facilitation System will be used commercially at Royal Malaysia Customs checkpoints throughout the country. This is a clear indication that the ETP is being implemented, since its launch in October 2010,” said Dr. Fadhlullah Suhaimi Abdul Malek, Director Communications, Content and Infrastructure NKEA and Business Services NKEA.

This project was one of the 12 initiatives announced by YAB Dato’ Sri Najib Tun Razak at the fifth Economic Transformation Programme Update in April. Amongst other objectives, the implementation of the project is targeted at improving the efficiency of container clearance using paperless RFID approach, enabling automatic detection of compromised or tampered containers, and facilitating faster and more transparent trade.

About Smartag Solutions Berhad (ACE: 0169)
Smartag Solutions Berhad (Smartag) is a track and trace solution provider that utilizes Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and other wireless technologies to enable users to have visibility, transparency and security. For more information on Smartag, go to www.smartag.my
Smartag was lasted traded at 26 sen per share. At this price, the stock is an excellent bet. I have this intuitive feel that this stock has the potential to be a ten-bagger over time.

As usual, please remember, that whatever action you take, you do so at your own risk absolutely.

Gold, silver and other commodities tumbled

2011-09-23T06:11:00.000+08:00

The Associated Press, On Thursday September 22, 2011, 4:37 pm EDT
NEW YORK (AP) -- Gold, silver and other commodities tumbled amid a global sell-off in financial markets.

Gold fell $66.40, or 3.7 percent, to finish at $1,741.70 an ounce on Thursday. Silver, a precious metal that has wider demand for industrial production, plummeted $3.89, or 9.6 percent, to $36.58.

Analysts said that much of the selling was driven by margin calls for hedge funds and other big investors. "We're seeing hedge funds that have to raise cash, and to do that they have to sell what has been working for them so far this year," said Ryan Detrick, senior technical strategist at Schaffer's Investment Research.

Analysts also said that silver had a harder fall because about half of its demand comes from industrial uses. "If the economy contracts at all, there's going to be a lot of excess silver that's sitting in the supply chain," said Phil Streible, senior market strategist at MF Global.

Gold is up about 22 percent for the year. Silver is 16 percent higher than at the start of the year.

Copper, a metal that closely tracks the economic cycle, fell 27.6 cents, or 7.3 percent, to $3.4885. It is down 23 percent for the year.

Oil, wheat and other raw materials fell significantly because of increased fears that a recession would cut demand. Benchmark crude fell $5.41, or 6.3 percent, to $80.51. It was the biggest drop for oil since Aug. 8, when it fell 6.4 percent after Standard and Poor's downgraded the credit rating of the U.S. Oil has dropped 29 percent since April as global growth has slowed.

Wheat contracts fell 33 cents, or 5 percent, to $6.3375 a bushel. Corn lost 35.75 cents, or 5.2 percent, to end at $6.50. Sugar dropped 1.1 cents, or 4.3 percent, to 24.81 cents. And soybeans fell 37.5 cents, or 2.8 percent, to finish at $12.83.

Follow Yahoo! Finance on Twitter; become a fan on Facebook.

The Trading Doctor - Master Yourself Master the Markets

2011-09-10T09:01:00.003+08:00

We come nearest to the great when we are in great humility... Rabindranath Tagore

Traders and investors alike—we are all guilty.

We have all committed the cardinal sin of exhibiting arrogance towards the markets. We must never ever think that we know more than the markets or that we can predict or that the markets care what we think. The markets do not even know who we are—let alone what we think.

If we approach the markets with pride, we will be punished swiftly and without compassion. The markets have no compassion. They want our dramas, our overconfidence, our rat-brained thinking and our money. They will gladly take our needs to suffer, be accepted, be loved, be hated or be punished--- and fulfill them without mercy and with often brutal consequences. The result is a shattered emotional and financial landscape of wealth distribution where the few take from the many. Read more.

Carson Block of Muddy Waters

2011-09-08T16:54:00.002+08:00

This guy may have cost John Paulson RM500 million in 24 hours. Read more here.

Current estimated 1-to-16 ratio will narrow

2011-09-06T15:16:00.003+08:00

M'sia's Iskandar plan may aid S'pore housing market 12 AUGUST 2011 , BY CHANNEL NEWS ASIA

Malaysia's ambitious Iskandar development in southern Johor may have a spin-off effect that would eventually aid Singapore's crowded housing market.

It may even help cool prices, as foreign investment meets increased demand for services and homes.

A plan for seamless connectivity from Johor Baru, Malaysia, to Woodlands in Singapore by 2018, is an attractive allure for investors.

Funds are pouring in, in the hope the development will yield economic benefit.

Singapore has invested some US$153 million (RM 463 million) into the services, education and health sector of the Iskandar Malaysia development, and analysts say further down the line, this will have a positive impact on the Singapore economy.

CIMB Research economist Song Seng Wun said: "If we do have at our doorstep an increased pool of qualified knowledge based labour force, we may be able to tap on that pool, bring them to Singapore and add to Singapore's productivity growth prospect, going forward.

"So if those two investments in those two areas were to work out over the near term, I think it could lead to more significant investment from the Singapore side.

"So I think while the outlook is positive, there are still perhaps many hurdles along the way before we can say we are going to get a significant upgrade with regard to property being moved to a higher plain in Johor.

"That could mean the pressure on property in Singapore could be alleviated because there is certainly now a much more viable option in Johor as a result of the improved communication, logistic network, the whole landscape as an alternative for Singaporeans to base themselves in Johor either for home or for business."

Singapore has already implemented measures to cool booming property prices, and the government may get some help in calming the market, now that the Iskandar project is open for investment.

Credit Suisse analyst Tan Ting Min said Malaysia will benefit from stronger investments from Singapore while Singapore could operate out of Iskandar, which has good infrastructure, and relatively cheaper land and labour.

"Hence, we expect the land price arbitrage to narrow from the current estimated 1-to-16 ratio.

"How quickly this land price arbitrage narrows depends very much on how quickly Singaporeans adopt the idea of moving their manufacturing bases to Johor," Tan added.

"I think we are realistically talking about something that is still in the works, perhaps a decade or more before we can really talk about Johor as a real hinterland," Mr Song said.

KPMG corporate finance partner Vishal Sharma said: "I think in terms of the land price arbitrage I expect you would see the Iskandar land prices going up.

"I don't particularly envisage Singapore land prices... coming down so the arbitrage will narrow but I don't think that it is ever going to go away. But yes, I expect that the arbitrage is going to narrow."

Why only palm oil?

2011-09-01T08:44:00.001+08:00

By Zaidi Isham IsmailPublished: 2011/08/31

THE next time you go to the shopping mart to buy a food item, take a look at the ingredients label.

Chances are it will say the generic term vegetable oil rather than soyabean, rapeseed or palm oil.

Labelling of vegetable oils in the US, Europe and Malaysia has been accepted as the industry norm due to health reasons.

However in other parts of the world, such as Australia and New Zealand, the vegetable oils labelling is not carried as there are no laws requiring food manufacturers to do so.

Since 2009 however, some of Australia's lawmakers have been taking steps to change all that. They want to ask food manfucturers to specify the vegetable oil content, especially palm oil.

This has riled up Malaysia, which sees the move as unfair and discriminatory and can be seen as a non-tariff barrier on palm oil.

Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Tan Sri Bernard Dompok said it is okay to label palm oil on food products but Australia must compel other vegetable oils to do the same.

The playing field must be fair.

"Why just palm oil? What about the other oils? if you just single out palm oil, people will be asking, what's wrong with this product? We want to put things right from the start. Palm oil poses no danger to health at all."

Isn't it good to label palm oil? The oil is already known for its health benefits. So what is there to fear?

No problem, if the labelling is based on health grounds.

But Malaysia sees the whole labelling issue as a front by the non-governmental organisations to weed out which food manufacturers use palm oil and which do not.

Once it is able to identify the company which uses palm oil, it will launch an attack on the food company to stop its imports, like what they did to Cadbury and Kit Kat.

Their campaigns were so intense that both companies have stopped using palm oil.

NGOs will also link palm oil to forest degradation and the destruction of orang utan habitats.

It is because of this, Dompok led a 10-day trade mission last July to woo Australian parliamentarians not to support the initiative.

The Australian Parliament is due to convene this September to debate the "The Truth in Labelling - Palm Oil Bill", passed last month by the senate and is now on its way to the house of representatives.

The Bill is spearheaded by the independent senator Nick Xenophon and has received strong support from the Greens, the World Wildlife Fund, Zoos Victoria and Greenpeace as well as crucial backing in the senate from the coalition.

Dompok said the Malaysian Government will continue to negotiate with Australia's lawmakers by sending envoys in the coming months to talk them out of it.

Dompok said the Bill threatens the livelihood of 570,000 smallholders in plantations and a further 290,000 in downstream industries.

Out of the four million hectares of oil palm estates in Malaysia, 40 per cent is handled by smallholders.

"The industry has helped a lot of our people to come out of poverty. We have almost reached the point where we can't go much further with palm oil plantations," said Dompok.

He said Malaysia, which has national parks and world heritage sites, is very conscious of its need to preserve its own forests, which cover 55.7 per cent of its total area, well above the 50 per cent it guaranteed to retain at the 1992 Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit.

Besides arguments by NGOs that it destroys the habitat of Malaysia's 11,000 orangutans are baseless as the primate can only be found in Southeast Sabah and Southern Sarawak, which has been gazetted as forest sanctuary and are far from oil palm estates.

There are no orang utans in Peninsular Malaysia.

Malaysia's land used for agriculture, including for palm oil, is governed by strict laws and must be registered and licensed by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board.

"The move to label and and penalise palm oil has the potential to reverberate globally," said Dompok.

He said the labelling will also be cumbersome to Australia's food makers which can cost up to A$60,000 (RM186,000) just to label palm oil on a single food item.

Dompok said the government is deeply disappointed that the Liberal, National and Greens parties and Senator Xenophon have chosen to put politics ahead of the mutually advantageous relationship between Malaysia and Australia.

"This legislation undermines the spirit of our co-operation, especially now when our two countries have forged an asylum seeker deal."

All is not lost for Malaysia however. Should the Bill be passed, Malaysia can take up the battle at the World Trade Organisation where Malaysia can present its case against Australia's discriminatory move on palm oil.

Malaysian Palm Oil Council chief executive officer Tan Sri Dr Yusof Basiron said Malaysia has to fight all the way as NGOs are using Australia and New Zealand as their testing ground to see whether the Bill can be passed.

"Should it be passed, the NGOs know that if they can do it in Australia, it can also be done in the US and Europe," said Yusof.

Good money for good governance

2011-08-31T08:05:00.002+08:00

By Adeline Paul Raj
Published: 2011/08/31
Share
Kuala Lumpur: Institutional investors are keen on companies with good corporate governance (CG) and are willing to pay top dollar to invest in them but sadly, few fit the criterion in Malaysia, says Aberdeen Asset Management, one of the country's top investment firms.

"We care about things like GCG because a company with sound governance policies will outperform over the longer term. We don't mind paying a premium for CG because we know there'll be a board that will always be watching our backs," said Abdul Jalil Rasheed, its head of equities, who helps manage US$2.5 billion (RM7.5 billion) of assets at the firm.  He said CG is a key criterion for Aberdeen when analysing companies to invest in.  "If it fails our CG test, we won't invest in the company," he remarked.  Jalil, who has been with Aberdeen for eight years, said the firm visits at least 100 companies a year in each key country in its quest to find undervalued stocks with good fundamentals to invest in.

"It's not as easy as you'd think," he shared. "We're long-term, fundamental, bottom-up investors ... so investing in the right company is key."

In Malaysia, Aberdeen's major investments include AEON Co (M) Bhd (15 per cent stake), Public Bank Bhd (5 per cent), CIMB Group Holdings Bhd (5 per cent), British American Tobacco Malaysia Bhd (5 per cent), Guinness Anchor Bhd (about 7 per cent) and Pos Malaysia Bhd (6 per cent).

Aberdeen has some RM11 billion invested in 29 companies here, Jalil said.

At a recent accounting-related conference held here, he shared his views on what institutional investors like Aberdeeen want to see in companies, especially on the matter of CG.

"We ask if a company will still be in the same business in 20 years' time. And if it's got a good track record, is it run fairly for all shareholders, and are they transparent? How independent are the board of directors?

"What we want are directors that are knowledgeable of the industry. We want experienced and really independent people. There are some companies out there where the independent directors are former employees of the company - it's not wrong, but it's not right in the spirit of corporate governance," he remarked.

Jalil noted that boards play a key role in setting the CG tone for the company, and so directors shouldn't be sitting on boards for too long as investors would then find it difficult to see them as being truly independent.

"Changing board members is a good thing ... it brings a rejuvenation of the board. Younger board members would bring in new perspective," he voiced.

Another problem commonly seen by investors is companies providing sparse information in their quarterly financial reports.

"They should at least have a performance commentary on how the company has done in the past quarter. We see similar words being used in almost every quarter," he lamented.

Jalil said institutional inves-tors like Aberdeen would also like to see a more transparent voting process at shareholder meetings, like a poll voting system.

He noted that Singapore has made it mandatory to vote by poll and have the results audited by an independent auditor. "I hope this is something we can move to," he said.

Jalil said it would also be good for independent directors to be given a few minutes to explain the operations of the company to shareholders at annual general meetings. "We have seen this in Thailand, and to a certain extent in Singapore.

"In Malaysia, they are rather quiet ... it would be nice if they were given a bit of airtime," he suggested.

Jalil opined that in Malaysia, companies do the bare minimum when it comes to CG. "It's more about form than substance, a mere box-ticking exercise, and I think that's wrong. If you want to adopt CG, you've got to do it in the right spirit," he said.

TM commits to returning excess cash, sees jump in UniFi take-up

2011-08-26T13:33:00.001+08:00

Tags: First half results | Telekom Malaysia Bhd | Zamzamzairani Mohd Isa
Written by Cindy Yeap
Thursday, 25 August 2011 13:55

KUALA LUMPUR: Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) announced an average interim dividend with its 1HFY11 earnings release yesterday, but group CEO Datuk Zamzamzairani Mohd Isa promised the company will return any excess cash it has after assessing its needs.  “It’s expensive to keep extra cash. We’ve always said we would return any extra,” Zamzamzairani told The Edge Financial Daily on the sidelines of its earnings briefing. “Active capital management will continue,” he told reporters earlier.  Expectations TM would make a special payout rose after the company fattened its coffers by some RM468.3 million (about 13 sen per share) last month with proceeds from the sale of its remaining stake in Axiata Group Bhd.  TM’s cash pile stood at RM2.7 billion as at June 30, 2011, down from RM3.5 billion at end-2010, having just made a RM1.04 billion (29 sen per share) capital distribution in May.   That was on top of the 26.1 sen per share dividend (13 sen interim and 13.1 sen final) paid for FY10. In FY09, TM made a 98 sen per share capital repayment, on top of 23 sen in regular dividends (10 sen interim and 13 sen final)  Analysts are forecasting dividend per share to be between 20 sen and 49 sen for FY11, averaging at 26.5 sen per share. TM has a policy of distributing at least RM700 million cash back to shareholders a year, or up to 90% of its normalised profits, whichever is higher.  TM announced an interim dividend of 9.8 sen per share yesterday, which represents a RM350.6 million payout. This was after saying earnings for 1HFY11 ended June 30 fell 18.5% to RM311.7 million from RM382.4 million in 1HFY10, even as revenue rose 2.5% to RM4.38 billion over the same period, shored up by higher revenue from Internet, multimedia and data services.

Take-up of the UniFi service has exceeded TM's expectations.
The reduced bottom line is primarily due to higher operating costs and lower foreign exchange gains on translation of foreign currency borrowings, which fell to only RM49.5 million in the current period against RM180.5 million in the same period last year.   Net profit of RM137 million in 2QFY11 was smaller than the RM174.7 million booked in 1QFY11, but 4.2% above the RM131.5 million booked in 2QFY10. Excluding non-operational items like translation gains, 2Q earnings would have increased by 20.8% year-on-year and be up by 10.4% quarter-on-quarter, TM said.  “Overall, we’re very pleased with the performance, which shows continued operational improvement,” Zamzamzairani said, adding that strong demand for its UniFi high-speed broadband (HSBB) service “has exceeded expectations and the momentum we saw at the beginning of the year”.  UniFi’s subscriber base jumped from 63,541 in 1Q11 to 109,019 in 2Q11 on the back of 904,000 premises passed. As at Aug 18, TM has installed UniFi to more than 142,000 customers on the back of more than 973,000 premises passed covering 76 exchange areas with 46 IPTV channels. “This shows a ramping up of the take-up rate from 12% as at June 30 to 14% to date, exceeding our initial expectations of 8% to 10% take-up for the first two years, Zamzamzairani said.  TM is on-track with its plan to cover 1.1 million premises by end-2011 and 1.3 million premises by end-2012, it said.   While capital expenditure to revenue ratio improved from 18.8% to 17.1% in 1HFY11, with total capex falling from RM804 million in 1HFY10 to RM749 million in 1HFY11, group CFO Datuk Bazlan Osman said capex on HSBB is likely to be higher in 2HFY11. “Overall capex was about RM1.6 billion last year. This year’s capex will be about the same, if not slightly higher,” he said.  Foreseeing a challenging outlook ahead, Zamzamzairani said TM will continue to spend where necessary while keeping a tight watch on costs. “We hope the momentum of revenue growth we are seeing will continue,” he said.  Based on its headline KPI guidance for FY11, TM is expecting 2.5% revenue growth this year against 2.1% in FY10, with momentum picking up further to 3.5% to 4.5% in FY13. Guidance on earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) margins, however, is at 32% for FY11 against 33.1% in FY10, before rising to the “mid-30s” in FY13.   TM rose eight sen or 1.95% to RM4.18 yesterday, after trading between RM4.11 and RM4.18.  At press time, it had nine brokers calling it a “buy” against 13 “holds” and seven “sells”. Target prices range between KAF Seagroatt & Campbell’s RM3.23 and CIMB Research’s RM4.92.   This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, August 25, 2011.

EPIC Offered 3.10 a share Not a fair price

2011-08-25T07:13:00.002+08:00

Shares of EPIC belonging to Ahmad Zaki Resources were sold to the Trengganu Government at RM3.10 a share on Nov 4, 2010. At that time, EPIC was traded at around RM2.10 per share.

EPIC was last traded at RM2.93. Thus the offered price should be higher than RM3.10. In my opinion RM3.30 per share would be a fairer price.

The Hidden Dangers in Safe Havens

2011-08-24T08:48:00.000+08:00

by Paul Sullivan
Monday, August 22, 2011

As Europe's debt troubles intensified earlier this month and United States debt was downgraded, many people rushed into gold and Treasury securities as a safe haven. It was the latest sign that in uncertain times, investors act in ways that can hurt them in the long run.
"They fled the perceived risk of falling stock prices right into the assured risk of overvalued assets," said G. Scott Clemons, chief investment strategist for the wealth management division at Brown Brothers Harriman.
What drove those decisions was not logic but fear — fear of a repeat of September 2008. And that fear may only have intensified when markets dropped again late this week, sending yields on 10-year Treasury notes to record lows and the price of gold above $1,800 an ounce.
Even if the fear is understandable, however, acting on it may not be the best long-term strategy.
"If you were right about the timing decision to get out, you're going to have to be right again about when to get back in," said Joseph W. Spada, managing director at Summit Financial Resources in Parsippany, N.J. "Even professionals have trouble doing it. If that's not going to be your strategy, then don't do it once."
But now that people have done it once, what are the risks of holding on to large positions in gold and Treasuries?
TREASURIES While the economy may seem bad to many people, it would not take much improvement for investors to lose money quickly on their investment in Treasury bonds.
A week and a half ago, the 10-year Treasury note was yielding only 2.10 percent, after Standard & Poor's downgraded the United States' credit rating. Since the yield of a bond moves in the opposite direction of its price, this meant demand for 10-year Treasuries was high.
If over the next six months, the yield were to move up another half of a percentage point to 2.60 percent, however, investors owning those bonds would have a negative 6.25 percent return, said Barbara Reinhard, chief investment strategist at Credit Suisse Private Banking in New York. If the yield curve were to move up a full percentage point during that time, the loss would be 14 percent.
She said such a quick increase could easily happen, as it did from October 2010 to January 2011 when the Federal Reserve began its second round of large-scale purchases of government debt, the program known as quantitative easing.
Now, plenty of people buy bonds with the intention of holding them until maturity. In doing that, it would seem that they would earn a return of 2.10 percent. But they would actually lose 1.5 percent, when the most recent inflation rate of 3.6 percent is factored in.
"That's assuming inflation doesn't rise," Ms. Reinhard said. "Right now, you're betting inflation will fall below 2.10 percent. You're betting against history because inflation has been around 3 to 4 percent historically."
This is not the brightest picture for people who added to their allocation of Treasury bonds. But many felt it was the only safe place.
J. D. Montgomery, a managing director at Canterbury Consulting, an investment consulting firm in Newport Beach, Calif., said he had a client who wrestled with where to put $5 million that he needed to keep safe. The client chose a three-month Treasury note, even though the interest was only $1,000.
There was at least some logic behind this. Most people who bought Treasuries were abandoning their investment strategy, and wealth advisers say that is more troubling than paltry returns.
"The risk of changing your strategy when it's being tested as opposed to changing it when it's not being tested is you risk derailing your long-term investment plan," said Gregg Fisher, president and chief investment officer of Gerstein Fisher, a wealth management firm in New York.
So what should nervous investors have done? Selling Treasury bonds when everyone else was buying them would have been a start. But that might have taken too much discipline. Moving to cash was the top option because at least investors would have money ready when they felt comfortable returning to the markets.
GOLD Investors in gold are a different breed. They often have a passion for the metal that goes beyond returns. And they are not going to be swayed by arguments that gold, hovering around $1,800 an ounce, is overvalued.
"When you buy gold you're saying nothing is going to work and everything is going to stay ridiculous," said Mackin Pulsifer, vice chairman and chief investment officer of Fiduciary Trust International in New York. "There is a fair cohort who believes this in a theological sense, but I believe it's unreasonable given the history of the United States."
As for the nonbelievers who piled into gold, they need to think practically now. Only about 11 percent of gold has an industrial use. While gold can get lost or buried, it does not get used up like oil or natural gas. And its actual cost is between a third and half of where it is trading. Dan Denbow, co-manager of the USAA Precious Metals and Minerals Fund in San Antonio, said it cost about $600 to produce an ounce of gold, but that rises to about $1,000 when all the costs of mining are factored in.
Yet a bigger risk may come from exchange-traded funds for gold. While they let small investors buy gold easily — the price of one share of the GLD exchange traded fund is roughly one-tenth the price of an ounce of gold — that same ease of buying means investors can just as quickly sell their shares in a panic.
No one I spoke to would venture a guess as to how high gold would rise before it hit its peak. But most stressed that people forgot that gold's value was driven by sentiment.
"Gold doesn't have any intrinsic value," said Larry M. Elkin, president of the Palisades Hudson Financial Group in Scarsdale, N.Y. "It's this era's wampum. At one point you could buy Manhattan for beads."
(Mr. Elkin said what bothered him the most about investing in gold was how irrational it was, unlike buying a blue-chip stock whose value rises and falls based on what the company produces.)
That said, having gold in a portfolio is still a good buffer against swings in other markets. Mr. Fisher calculated that over a 43-year period ending in June 2011, the average annual increase for gold, accounting for inflation, was 3.82 percent compared with 4.92 percent for the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index. Gold, however, was 28 percent more volatile.
"The smoother the ride, the more likely the investor is going to stay in his strategy," Mr. Fisher said. "That produces a better result."
He said that from the perspectives of both return and volatility, a better strategy would have been to put 10 percent in gold and split the rest 60-40 between stocks and five-year Treasury bonds. Rebalancing the portfolio to maintain those ratios would have meant an average annual return of 4.66 percent, with more than half of the volatility of gold alone.
For those who fled to gold and Treasuries, the hardest part will be deciding when to get back into other securities. The best way in uncertain markets may be to go slowly in small chunks — a practice known as dollar-cost averaging.
"There are real and psychological benefits to it, because getting someone to take that first step is the hardest," said Christopher Wolfe, chief investment officer for the private bank and investment group at Bank of America. "With a five-year time horizon, it makes a big difference. You might get one of those wicked big down days you could benefit from. But if you have a 30-year time horizon it doesn't matter."
Of course, if people had thought on such a long time horizon they might not have rushed to buy gold and Treasuries in the first place.

Is the generosity of Genting at the expense of the minority shareholders? You be the judge

2011-08-16T17:31:00.004+08:00

Genting gives big payout to directors published: 2011/08/16

KUALA LUMPUR: Genting Bhd topped the list with a big payout of RM111.48 million to its board, up 21 per cent from RM92.11 million previously.

The company also has the highest remuneration band of RM106.65 million to RM106.70 million for a single director, says the Malaysian Business in a statement today.

The company, however, did not name who the director was. The top executive listed is its executive chairman and chief executive Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay.

According to the business magazine's annual survey of the "Highest-Paid Directors", listed companies paid out substantially higher remuneration to their directors last year compared to 2009 on the back of an improved economic climate.

Some companies, however, lowered their boardroom remuneration last year, including CIMB Group Holdings Bhd.

The second largest bank paid RM18.51 million or 13 per cent less to its board members and lower remuneration to its group managing director and group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Mohd Nazir Razak.

He received RM12 million last year as opposed to RM14.5 million in 2009.

IOI Corporation Bhd came in second with a total payout amounting to RM56.29 million, 71 per cent more from a year ago, said the Malaysian Business.

Meanwhile, with three companies -- YTL Corp, YTL Power International and YTL Cement -- Tan Sri Yeoh Tiong Lay received a combined remuneration of RM13.10 million.

Interestingly, out of 630 companies, 95 companies with huge losses are still rewarding their directors with huge payouts.

The survey lists a total of 630 companies with a remuneration band of RM300,000 and above as stated in the company's annual report.

Of these, only a handful of the companies were transparent in stating the exact remuneration of their top executives. -Bernama

Read more: Genting gives big payout to directors http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20110816165524/Article/index_html#ixzz1VBO8toXp

Malacca becomes Malaysia´s first smoking-free city

2011-08-14T18:49:00.001+08:00

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian world heritage city of Malacca will be smoke-free from June 15, a first for the country, the health minister said Monday.

The move was to bring in more tourists and help stamp out smoking in a country where the habit is widespread, Liow Tiong Lai told AFP, insisting it would also help preserve the city.

"The idea is to create fresh air and a clean environment for tourists and Malaysians alike to enjoy the historic city," he said.

"It will also aid in preserving the old monuments and buildings as the ban will reduce pollution in the area and promote a healthy lifestyle."

The no-smoking area covers the entire 4.2 square kilometres (1.6 square miles) of the city and four other areas in the southern state of Malacca.

"These areas will be free from cigarette smoke and make Malacca city the first smoking-free city in the country," said the minister.

"Those caught will be hit with a fine of 300 ringgit (100 dollars) although the maximum penalty is 5,000 ringgit."

Malacca chief minister Mohamad Ali Rustam told the Star daily that the state was also serious about declaring more tourist destinations in the state smoke-free zones.

With more than 500 years of trading and cultural exchanges between East and West, Malacca's multi-cultural heritage is seen its ornately designed government buildings, churches and forts.

It is where the Malay sultanate originated in the 15th century, before being invaded by the Portuguese and Dutch in the early 16th century.

In 2008, UNESCO included Malacca and Georgetown, on the resort island of Penang, in its world heritage list but there have been recent concerns that the southern port city could be de-listed because of redevelopment in its historic quarter.

Malaysia is hoping the heritage listing will boost tourism, which is a key foreign exchange earner.

Warren Buffett buying in down market

2011-08-12T16:41:00.000+08:00

NEW YORK - Warren Buffett has been buying amid this week's sharp declines in the market, and has not yet seen anything that suggests another downturn is emerging, the legendary investor told Fortune magazine.

In an interview published on Thursday, Buffett also told the magazine he understood why Standard & Poor's lowered its outlook on the credit rating of his conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway, but said he disagreed with the underlying premise - the downgrade of the United States' credit rating.

The 80-year-old "Oracle of Omaha" is known for his love of a good deal, which is why his company made an unsolicited offer below book value for reinsurance company Transatlantic Holdings last weekend, and why Berkshire sold $2 billion of senior unsecured notes this week at historically low rates.

In that vein, Buffett told Fortune Managing Editor Andy Serwer the market declines have not fazed him.

"The lower things go, the more I buy. We are in the business of buying," he said, adding that he had "never been better."

Buffett also told the magazine that he was not seeing fresh indications of the economy turning bad again, though things could change if market conditions do not improve.

"Up until right now, all of our businesses have been coming back - even Europe isn't doing that badly - except for businesses relating to home construction which is on its rear end," Buffett said.

TDM Doing Well

2011-08-11T12:53:00.002+08:00

TDM, considered one of the cheapest plantation stocks in Malaysia, closed up nearly 3 per cent to RM2.92 yesterday. Its net profit more than doubled to RM32 million for the quarter ended June 30 2011.  The improved stock performance of the Terengganu state government outfit was in line with other plantation stocks on the market, which collectively increased by 121.54 per cent yesterday.  Plantation stocks are in the limelight this results season as companies like TDM post stellar profits on higher crude palm oil (CPO) prices.

TDM posted a net profit of RM32 million on revenue of RM126.9 million for its second quarter due to higher crude palm oil production, which increased 26 per cent.

Hong Leong Investment Bank said TDM is one of the laggard plays within the plantation sector and was worth a second look due to a clearer business strategy, improving financial performance and standing, as well as continued dividend payouts.

"We are projecting TDM's net profit to rise from RM92 million in 2010 to RM129.1 million, RM105.2 million and RM100.2 million in 2011, 2012 and 2013 respectively, mainly on the back of higher CPO price assumptions of RM3,200 a tonne in 2011 and RM3,000 a tonne in 2012-2013," it said in a research report.

The above article is an excerpt from Business Times

Sweet Victory for Malaysia

2011-08-10T19:13:00.001+08:00

By Rupa Damodaran

KUALA LUMPUR: Palm oil industry players, in lauding the move by the Australian Senate committee to reject a mandatory palm oil labelling bill, say the battle is far from over for the commodity to gain wider market access in international markets.

The decision from Canberra spelt a sweet and significant victory for Malaysia's important commodity against the unjust and misleading anti-palm oil campaigns by environmental non-government organisations (NGOs), they added.

Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) CEO Tan Sri Yusof Basiron said while the report is seen as a significant repudiation of environmental NGOs' anti-palm oil campaigns, the industry must continue to fight against global efforts to require mandatory labelling.

Efforts must continue to ensure producers retain market access across the globe and consumers, such as those in Australia, continue to benefit from the use of a low-cost vegetable oil.

"We appreciate the committee's professionalism, especially taking into consideration a rigorous scientific evaluation instead of relying on the NGOs (in drafting a bill), which if allowed, can lead to zero trade," he said yesterday.

Yusof led a team when presenting Malaysia's case to the Senate hearing in Canberra on the mandatory labelling of palm oil proposed under the Truth in Labelling - Palm Oil Bill in April.

In Malaysia's case, Yusof pointed out, the palm oil industry has been a pillar of economic growth and societal advancement as smallholders account for 39 per cent of palm oil production, while producers enjoy incomes four times above the national poverty level.

The industry is also committed to conservation efforts through initiatives like the Malaysian Palm Oil Wildlife Conservation Fund.

Meanwhile, United Plantations executive director of corporate affairs Datuk Carl Bek-Nielsen welcomed the news, saying it was a decision made based on facts and figures and not "emotional exaggeration".

"It's a positive development for Malaysia in terms of how palm oil is viewed abroad - which not everything thrown by the NGOs are swallowed hook, line and sinker.

"We consider it a fair and just decision, not only to the industry, but to smallholders. Had it (the Bill) gone through, it would have put in more wind to the detractors out there to tarnish palm oil," he commented.

Bek-Nielsen, who was also present at the Senate hearing, said some of the comments from the organisations on the planting of oil palm were based on wild exaggeration.

He said palm oil producers in Malaysia and Indonesia should not be afraid to take on battles (against the crop) as long as there is injustice taking place and counter them.

Understanding S&P's downgrade of the United States

2011-08-07T21:54:00.000+08:00

NEW YORK - The United States lost its top-tier AAA credit rating from Standard & Poor's on Friday, a move that will affect the country's borrowing costs and investor opinion of U.S. assets. Here is a Q+A on what the downgrade means for investors, consumers and to the country.

WHAT IS A DOWNGRADE?

Standard & Poor's, one of the three major credit rating agencies that assign scores to debt issued by institutions, municipalities, and governments, said there is a heightened degree of risk in holding debt issued by the United States. So it lowered its rating from the AAA, the highest possible level, by one notch to AA+. It also said the outlook is negative.

WHY DID IT LOWER THE RATING?

The credit rating agency believes the outstanding debt of $14.3 trillion and projected deficits for coming years in the United States no longer warrant the top-tier rating that it had assigned to the United States since 1941. It also said that the political environment does not build confidence that the United States can agree on how to lower the deficit in a meaningful way any time soon.

DOES THIS MEAN THAT U.S DEBT IS NO LONGER SAFE?

No. At AA+, the U.S. is still considered to have a "strong" ability to meet its obligations. In fact, only a handful of countries now have the AAA rating - among them Canada, Germany, France and the United Kingdom. In addition, Treasuries have rallied this week, driving the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 2.34 percent, its lowest level in about 10 months. This suggests people still view the U.S. as a safe place to invest.

BUT WASN'T A DEBT DEAL JUST SIGNED IN CONGRESS?

Yes, but the savings from this are projected at $2.1 trillion. S&P has said that a larger level of savings is needed - at least $4 trillion either through spending reductions or tax increases - are needed in order to start lowering U.S. deficits in coming years.

WHAT IMPACT DOES THE DOWNGRADE HAVE?

Over time, a lower rating will cause investors who buy U.S. government debt to demand a higher interest rate to hold that debt to reward them for the risk. If that is the case, benchmark long-term interest rates will rise. Most major rates, including the debt of corporations, mortgages purchased by investors, and other types of loans, are priced in relation to the U.S. Treasury benchmark. That means borrowing costs across a number of spectrums over time will rise, making loans and bonds more expensive. The more an individual or company is devoting to interest payments, the less they have for other activities.

SO WHAT WILL IT COST?

The downgrade could add up to 0.7 of a percentage point to U.S. Treasuries' yields, increasing funding costs for public debt by some $100 billion, according to SIFMA, a U.S. securities industry trade group.

WHO OWNS U.S. DEBT?

Other than the U.S. Federal Reserve, the most recent data from the U.S. Treasury shows that China, with $1.16 trillion in U.S. Treasury securities, is the biggest holder of our debt. China has repeatedly warned of the unsustainable trend of U.S. deficits and has talked of diversifying its holdings to other economies. But because China maintains the value of its currency through buying of U.S. dollars, it is likely to continue to be a major holder of Treasury securities for some years ahead.

WILL MY MONEY MARKET FUND HAVE TO SELL ITS TREASURY DEBT?

Not likely. The credit rating change affects long-term debt - the short-term credit rating of the U.S. is A-1+, the highest short-term rating. Money market funds with short-term debt are unlikely to be affected.

WILL INVESTORS PREFER DEBT FROM HIGHER RATED COUNTRIES?

This is possible. Some large investors, such as William Gross of PIMCO, have said other markets such as Canada offer more value. But the U.S. market retains significant appeal because its bond market was more than $35 trillion at the end of March 2011, according to SIFMA. No other bond market is close to that size.

NOW THIS HAS HAPPENED, IS U.S. SAFE FROM OTHER DOWNGRADES?

No. To begin with Standard & Poor's has assigned a "negative" outlook to the US long-term credit rating. That means another downgrade was possible in the next 12 to 18 months if it does not see an improvement in debt reduction.

The other ratings agencies, Moody's and Fitch, currently still have a AAA rating on U.S. debt, which they just affirmed. But both of those agencies have suggested the U.S. could also be downgraded if projected government deficits are not reined in. Moody's currently has U.S. debt on review for possible downgrade.

HOW LONG HAS THE U.S. HAD AN AAA RATING?

S&P has maintained a AAA rating on the U.S. since 1941. Moody's has had an Aaa rating on the U.S. since 1917; Fitch's top-tier AAA rating dates to 1994.

Breast-touching Festival is on in China

2011-08-07T19:15:00.001+08:00

1078
Share
The Daily Chilli
Friday, Aug 05, 2011
The Chinese have entered the seventh month of the Lunar calendar, known as the Hungry Ghost month, which began July 31.

This period is considered unlucky for many Chinese as they believe that the ghosts are allowed to return to the human realm as the Hell Gate opens throughout the month.

While the Buddhists and Taoists prepare offerings for the homeless ghosts, a minority tribe in China have their own interesting celebration.

The Yi people in Ejia town of Yunnan province, who are still singles, will head to the streets for Breast-Touching Festival (Monai Jie) on the 14th, 15th and 16th days of the month.

On these days, the men are welcome to touch the women's breasts.

Legend has it that the festival began around the Sui Dynasty (AD 581 - 619) when most of the teenagers of the Yi tribe were forced into the army and died in wars.

The people then carried out prayers to commemorate the dead, and it happened that the ceremony was held in the seventh month.

According to the wizards, the dead were unrest because they had not touched a woman before.

And so, they wanted 10 "pure and untouched" ladies to accompany them in the afterworld.

In a move to prevent them from being chosen, the single women - aged 15 and above - then asked the men to touch their breasts, and the custom is past down for generations.

M'sia, S'pore and HK picked as top spots for investments

2011-08-04T07:41:00.000+08:00

SINGAPORE: Pacific Star Group, one of Asia's leading real estate investment houses, says commercial properties in Asia will continue to do well in the second half of 2011.
Within the commercial sector, its top pick is retail real estate, while the top three destinations in the region for retail property investment are Hong Kong, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.
The group's senior vice-president and head of research and strategic planning Leslie Chua said Hong Kong was supported by tourist spending especially from outbound mainland Chinese visitors.
“Singapore likewise is enjoying a surge in visitors attracted especially to its integrated resorts.
“Over in Malaysia, domestic factors are at play. Strong wage growth and positive retail sentiment have boosted retail spending and real estate fundamentals in Kuala Lumpur,” he said, commenting on the group's biannual Asia Property Outlook and Strategy report here yesterday.
According to the report which highlights its key investment themes in regional real estate markets, the shine of Asian real estate environment continues despite greater global uncertainty, as it is supported by favourable economic fundamentals and positive consumer sentiment in most markets.
It says capital values have risen on the back of solid rental growth as regional economies continue their strong expansion, and the economic recovery in the region is moderating to a more sustainable rate which should provide steady support for Asian real estate.
The key factors supporting retail properties are tightening employment conditions, which are driving buoyant retail spending, and rising tourism inflows to Asia, which are becoming an important source of revenues for some cities.
After retail, the group favours office properties, as the region's rapid economic growth is fueling a steady upturn in the office sector.
Demand for office space in Asia has been driven mainly by corporate expansions, upgrading as well as relocations with financial, insurance, real estate and information technology tenants leading the way.
Pacific Star's top destination for office property investment is Singapore. Singapore continues to exhibit strong fundamentals in several key drivers including services outlook, political stability, and ease of doing business.
Although fundamentals for Asian residential real estate remain intact, the group is less sanguine on the residential sector citing a disproportionate amount of policy risk and rising interest rates as the key threats.
Taking into consideration loan structures, incomes and home prices, the group expects home buyers in Seoul and Ho Chi Minh to be the hardest hit in the region.
It says Kuala Lumpur will be least affected because policy risk is relatively low and economic conditions are generally healthy.
The biannual Pacific Star Asia Property Outlook and Strategy report surveys Bangkok, Beijing, Ho Chi Minh, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore and Tokyo. Bernama

Buying Stocks When The Price Goes Down: Big Mistake?

2011-07-27T11:40:00.001+08:00

Elvis Picardo
Contact | Author Bio
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
• Averaging down involves buying more of a stock when its price drops.
• This strategy works when a stock is truly undervalued.
• Some stocks deserve a price drop and may continue to decline, rather than rebound.

The strategy of "averaging down", as the term implies, involves investing additional amounts in a financial instrument or asset if it declines significantly in price after the original investment is made. It's true that this action brings down the average cost of the instrument or asset, but will it lead to great returns or just to a larger share of a losing investment? Read on to find out.

Tutorial: The World's Greatest Investors

Conflicting Opinions
There is radical difference of opinion among investors and traders about the viability of the averaging down strategy. Proponents of the strategy view averaging down as a cost-effective approach to wealth accumulation; opponents view it as a recipe for disaster.

The strategy is often favored by investors who have a long-term investment horizon and a contrarian approach to investing. A contrarian approach refers to a style of investing that is against, or contrary, to the prevailing investment trend. (Learn how these investors profit from market fear in Buy When There's Blood In The Streets.)

For example, suppose that a long-term investor holds Widget Co. stock in his or her portfolio and believes that the outlook for Widget Co. is positive. This investor may be inclined to view a sharp decline in the stock as a buying opportunity, and probably also has the contrarian view that others are being unduly pessimistic about Widget Co.'s long-term prospects. Such investors justify their bargain-hunting by viewing a stock that has declined in price as being available at a discount to its intrinsic or fundamental value. "If you liked the stock at $50, you should love it at $40" is a mantra often quoted by these investors. (To learn about the downside to this strategy, read Value Traps: Bargain Hunters Beware!)

On the other side of the coin are the investors and traders who generally have shorter-term investment horizons and view a stock decline as a portent of things to come. These investors are also likely to espouse trading in the direction of the prevailing trend, rather than against it. They may view buying into a stock decline as akin to trying to "catch a falling knife." Such investors and traders are more likely to rely on technical indicators, such as price momentum, to justify their investing actions. Using the example of Widget Co., a short-term trader who initially bought the stock at $50 may have a stop-loss on this trade at $45. If the stock trades below $45, the trader will sell the position in Widget Co. and crystallize the loss. Short-term traders generally do not believe in averaging their positions down, as they see this as throwing good money after bad.

Advantages of Averaging Down
The main advantage of averaging down is that an investor can bring down the average cost of a stock holding quite substantially. Assuming the stock turns around, this ensures a lower breakeven point for the stock position, and higher gains in dollar terms than would have been the case if the position was not averaged down.

In the previous example of Widget Co., by averaging down through the purchase of an additional 100 shares at $40, the investor brings down the breakeven point (or average price) of the position to $45. If Widget Co. stock trades at $49 in another six months, the investor now has a potential gain of $800 (despite the fact that the stock is still trading below the initial entry price of $50).

If Widget Co. continues to rise and advances to $55, the potential gains would be $2,000. By averaging down, the investor has effectively "doubled up" the Widget Co. position. Had the investor not averaged down when the stock declined to $40, the potential gain on the position (when the stock is at $55) would amount to only $500.

Disadvantages of Averaging Down
Averaging down or doubling up works well when the stock eventually rebounds because it has the effect of magnifying gains, but if the stock continues to decline, losses are also magnified. In such cases, the investor may rue the decision to average down rather than either exiting the position or failing to add to the initial holding.

Investors must therefore take the utmost care to correctly assess the risk profile of the stock being averaged down. While this is no easy feat at the best of times, it becomes an even more difficult task during frenzied bear markets such as that of 2008, when household names such as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, AIG and Lehman Brothers lost most of their market capitalization in a matter of months. (To learn more, read Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac And The Credit Crisis Of 2008.)

Another drawback of averaging down is that it may result in a higher-than-desired weighting of a stock or sector in an investment portfolio. As an example, consider the case of an investor who had a 25% weighting of U.S. bank stocks in a portfolio at the beginning of 2008. If the investor averaged down his or her bank holdings after the precipitous decline in most bank stocks that year so that these stocks made up 35% of the investor's total portfolio, this proportion may represent a higher degree of exposure to bank stocks than that desired. At any rate, it certainly puts the investor at much higher risk. (To learn more, read A Guide To Portfolio Construction.)

Practical Applications
Some of the world's most astute investors, including Warren Buffett, have successfully used the averaging down strategy over the years. While the pockets of the average investor are nowhere near as deep as deep as Buffett's, averaging down can still be a viable strategy, albeit with a few caveats:
• Averaging down should be done on a selective basis for specific stocks, rather than as a catch-all strategy for every stock in a portfolio. This strategy is best restricted to high-quality, blue-chip stocks where the risk of corporate bankruptcy is low. Blue chips that satisfy stringent criteria - which include a long-term track record, strong competitive position, very low or no debt, stable business, solid cash flows, and sound management - may be suitable candidates for averaging down. 
• Before averaging down a position, the company's fundamentals should be thoroughly assessed. The investor should ascertain whether a significant decline in a stock is only a temporary phenomenon, or a symptom of a deeper malaise. At a minimum, factors that need to be assessed are the company's competitive position, long-term earnings outlook, business stability and capital structure.  
• The strategy may be particularly suited to times when there is an inordinate amount of fear and panic in the markets, because panic liquidation may result in high-quality stocks becoming available at compelling valuations. For example, some of the biggest technology stocks were trading at bargain-basement levels in the summer of 2002, while U.S. and international bank stocks were on sale in the second half of 2008. The key, of course, is exercising prudent judgment in picking the stocks that are best positioned to survive the shakeout.
The Bottom Line
Averaging down is a viable investment strategy for stocks, mutual funds and exchange-traded funds. However, due care must be exercised in deciding which positions to average down. The strategy is best restricted to blue chips that satisfy stringent selection criteria such as a long-term track record, minimal debt and solid cash flows.

by Elvis Picardo

Durian Raja Kunyit

2011-07-19T17:29:00.005+08:00

The flesh of the Raja Kunyit is creamy and yellowish like the turmeric (yellow ginger). It has a strong fragrance. The seeds are small, flat and uneven. The origin of the fruit is Gua Musang. Hence the name Musang King. The are many fake Raja Kunyit in the market. The opened ones posted above are the real ones. Have a good look. Don't get cheated.

Reflexology Path

2011-07-16T10:36:00.006+08:00

A Reflexology Path is good to have in any condominium. It enhances the ambience of the place, promotes good health and friendship as well. It's a nice place to meet and to know.

Quarterly Report (QR) Vs Half-Yearly Report (HR)

2011-07-12T13:50:00.003+08:00

QR is much more desirable than HR. When an investor wants to invest, he needs the latest information. Thus the QR is more useful to him than the HR.

If the HR is to replace the QR, activities in the stock market is bound to drop. This is because investors make changes in their portfolios using, among other things, the QR, to evaluate stocks and make decisions. If changes in portfolios are made once every 6 months instead of once every 3 months, volume transacted at Bursa will drop immensely. This is bad for Bursa, broker firms, the government and the banks as well. The only people who will benefit are obviously, the insiders.

Why is it necessary to change the QR to HR? In fact a monthly report would be much better.

The plantation stocks make known their productions once every month.

Investors need the QR. It would be foolish to replace it with something less useful or informative.

AT 3.19 Jerneh is a good bet

2011-07-11T11:24:00.002+08:00

Jerneh looks a good bet at RM3.19 per share. It is paying a dividend of not less that 1.87 per share soon. Later on it is likely pay a capital distribution of RM2 per share. At the present price of RM3.19 per share, you have a good chance to make about RM680 before expenses and tax if you buy 1000 shares now and keep them for the next few months.

As at Dec 31, 2010, its NTA per share was RM3.91 per share. No matter from whatever angle you look at it, there is money at Jerneh at RM 3.19 per share.

Nonetheless, nothing is certain in the stock market. If you like calculated risk, this is a good one for you.

As usual, you buy at your own risk absolutely.

KFima & FimaCorp to merge?

2011-07-05T10:45:00.001+08:00

MONDAY, JULY 4, 2011

TheEdgeWeekly just had an article on KFima and FimaCorp of which both of them could be merged under a single entity and could be somewhat similar to the merger between Sunway and Suncity OR it could be via privatization of FimaCorp. KFima is also cash rich with net cash of RM151.2 mil. If KFima is to take FimaCorp private, it has to fork out RM200 mil to take FimaCorp private and might need to borrow additional RM50 mil. TheEdge mentioned that it doesn't make sense for the exercise to be fully paid by cash. It's quite true in the sense that if fully paid by cash, KFima shareholders would benefit more than FimaCorp shareholders as KFima shareholders would stand to benefit from the additional earnings contributed by the extra 39% equity stake in FimaCorp while earnings from FimaCorp would not be diluted by extra share issuance. However, FimaCorp shareholders could not participate in the potential upside of KFima's share price. Perhaps a share swap would be more ideal as FimaCorp shareholders would stand to benefit from potential upside of merged entity's share price. A bumper dividend from FimaCorp could be ("Could be only :p") on the cards to sweeten the deal and could pump in cash from FimaCorp to KFima. Another thing, just to make things clearer as the article could be somewhat vague about the plantation hectarage, they would have a total of about 23,000 hectares of agricultural land (Oil palm and pineapple) if both entities are merged. Usual benefits of merger are economies of scale and elimination of inefficiencies etc etc. The merger would be good for the shares as well as FimaCorp shares are hardly traded, remains illiquid and trading at such low valuations, thus better to be taken off KLSE. On the other hand, KFima's or the merged entity's shares could have a larger share base to enhance liquidity when merged.

Major shareholders of KFima are buying KFima shares over the past few weeks. There should be some good deal in the offing for KFima. Valuation remains very attractive as KFima is still trading at low PE of only 6.4x based on historical earnings while PBV is at about 1x. KFima share price has remained at this level for a very long time, thus it's about time to make a move. At this price, it's still good to go in. Dividend yield remains commendable at 4%. It has strong balance sheet with net cash of RM151.2 mil coupled with cash cow businesses in printing government security and confidential documents in addition to oil palm/pineapple plantations.

Having said all these, the deal remains uncertain as there is no official announcement yet on KLSE. Nonetheless, based on its fundamentals alone, KFima is an attractive share to accumulate.
You might also like:
Fajarbaru (RM1.21): Watch out for LCCT award in November
Fajarbaru (RM1.26) 1QFY06/2010 Results: Ok ok, in line
Yee Lee (RM2.53): Big timers accumulating? Liquidity to ...
LinkWithin
Posted by David Koay at 10:42 PM
Labels: Fima Corporation, Kumpulan Fima

Pessimism, Skepticism, Optimism & Euphoria

2011-07-03T12:44:00.004+08:00

Buy during times of pessimism: “Bull markets are born on pessimism, grow on skepticism, mature on optimism and die on euphoria. The time of maximum pessimism is the best time to buy, and the time of maximum optimism is the best time to sell.”

Among the maxims that I know, the one mentioned above is one that I like to commit to my memory.

Maximum pessimism here, means that most people if not all, are pessimistic about the stock market. At this time, the market is very quiet, volume transacted is very low, nobody wants to talk about equities, and more and more remisers are going for their holidays. How long this period will last? Nobody knows. During this period, political news and economic news will be bad not only in your own countries but in foreign countries as well. Most people will be in a state of despair. Some may even be cursing and vow not to touch equities again. But savvy investors will be building up their portfolios. They will buy slowly; they will take their time to pick and choose undervalued stocks. You can be sure that many such stocks will be on offer.

Someday the market will start to move up. But there will be many false dawns. Slowly and quietly, as the market continues to improve, skepticism surfaces. At this stage, many are doubtful, and many are still fearful and critical. From skepticism, the markets moves to optimism. Volume improves and prices move up daily. More and more people are throwing cautious to the wind. Those who have the courage to enter the market make money. They buy high and sell higher.

As the market continues to improve with more encouraging news daily, newbies commence to come in droves. Initially all will make money. They call this: "Beginners' Luck."

The last stage of a bull market is the stage of euphoria. It is at this time that many will say, "this time is different." The sad truth is that "this time is different" will eventually turn out to be the most expensive four-word sentence. I call this euphoria, "Extreme Optimism."

During this period of Extreme Optimism, all the small boys will be involved in the stock market. Hawkers, ice-creme sellers, vegetable sellers, shoeshine boys and even barbers will be talking about the market. Price improvement will be phenomenal and something that is to be expected every trading day. Every tip turns out to be a winner.

"The market is most dangerous when it is most attractive." This is another maxim you should not forget.

Whether you want to buy low and sell high or buy high to sell higher is entirely up to you.

You and only you alone know your own risk-tolerance.

In the stock market, if you do not have knowledge, wisdom, patience and discipline, you will find that making money here is most difficult whether you invest or trade. Upgrade yourself first before you think of profit.

River of Life

2011-07-03T11:04:00.001+08:00

Jul 2, 2011
River of Life in full flow
KUALA LUMPUR: The much-anticipated River of Life project, which aims to revitalise and transform the city’s dirty rivers, has taken off.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak yesterday launched the project which seeks to transform the Klang and Gombak rivers into iconic waterfronts on par with waterways in cities like Amsterdam, London, Melbourne and Paris by 2020.

The Greater KL-Klang Valley project is an Entry Point Project under the Government’s Economic Transformation Programme.

“I believe there will be a drastic change to Kuala Lumpur’s image. This is what Kuala Lumpur folk have been waiting for.

“The Klang river has all the elements to become an attractive waterfront bustling with daily activities,” Najib said at a ground-breaking ceremony near Jalan Pahang yesterday.

He said there would be a joint effort to clean the rivers and improve water quality.

“It is estimated that 170 tonnes of rubbish enter the Klang river every year but only 25 tonnes are cleared.

“There is also treated and non-treated sewage entering the river every day,” he said.

Najib said strict enforcement and a change of mindset were needed to ensure the rivers were kept clean.

The project, he said, had huge economic potential, would attract more tourists, create jobs as well as raise property value along the Klang and Gombak rivers.

Najib said the project was expected to contribute RM11.3bil to the country’s Gross Domestic Product until 2020.

The project is divided into three parts, namely river cleaning, which will involve a 110km stretch along the Klang river basin; river beautification along a 10.7km stretch by the Klang and Gombak river corridor which will include pedestrian walkways; and corridor development.

Najib also viewed the five masterplan proposals for the river beautification master planning competition.

Later, at the launch of the Kuala Lumpur Architecture Festival, he said a new affordable home scheme for low and middle-income earners would be launched on Monday.

The 10 Maxims of Successful Investing

2011-06-26T07:50:00.002+08:00

Weekend: The 10 Maxims of Successful Investing
By Steve Christ | Saturday, June 25th, 2011

Templeton's 10 Maxims

He called them Templeton's 10 Principles for Successful Investing. They included the following:

Invest for real returns: “The true objective for any long-term investor is maximum total real return after taxes.”

Keep an open mind: “Never adopt permanently any type of asset or any selection method. Try to stay flexible, open minded and skeptical. Long term top results are achieved only by changing from popular to unpopular the types of securities you favour and your methods of selection.”

Never follow the crowd: “If you buy the same securities as other people, you will have the same results as other people. It is impossible to produce superior performance unless you do something different from the majority. Buying when others are despondently selling and selling when others are greedily buying requires the greatest fortitude and pays the greatest reward.”

Everything changes: “Bear markets have always been temporary. And so have bull markets.”

Avoid the popular: “When any method for selecting stocks becomes popular, you will need to switch to unpopular methods.”

Learn from your mistakes: “'This time is different' are among the most costly four words in market history.”

Buy during times of pessimism: “Bull markets are born on pessimism, grow on skepticism, mature on optimism and die on euphoria. The time of maximum pessimism is the best time to buy, and the time of maximum optimism is the best time to sell.”

Search worldwide: “To avoid having all your eggs in the wrong basket at the wrong time, you should diversify. When you search worldwide, you find more better bargains than when you monitor only one nation. You also benefit from more safety thanks to diversification.”

Hunt for value and bargains: “Too many investors focus on outlook and trend. Therefore, more profit is made by focusing on value. In the stock market the only way to get a bargain is to buy what most investors are selling.”

No-one knows everything: “An investor who has all of the answers doesn't even understand the questions.”

Of course, those aren't the only words of wisdom Templeton had to offer. He also once said, "It's nice to be important, but it is more important to be nice."

Templeton passed away in July 2008 at the age of 95.

As for some places to start building a lifetime of wealth, our editors have put together a few of their best ideas for the years to come in this week's top-read articles from Wealth Daily and Energy & Capital, below.

Have a great weekend.

Your bargain-hunting analyst,

Steve Christ
Editor, Wealth Daily

Sell when Investors Are Most Optimistic

2011-06-17T11:12:00.002+08:00

Everything has a value. In times of extreme optimism shares become overvalued. In times of extreme pessimism, shares become undervalued. A savvy investor is able to exploit these extremes.

When a stock becomes overvalued, it may become more overvalued and stay overvalued for a long time. As long as the trend keeps going up, you should hold on to your stock. In a bullish scenario, man can become mad with enthusiasm. Thomas Edison said, " I can calculate the movements of the stars, but I can't calculate the madness of man."

In the bull market of 1971 to 1973, OCBC went up to a high of $50 per share. Stocks were then traded at 1000 shares per lot. That means if you buy 1 lot of OCBC, you have to pay $50,000 which was then equivalent to the cost of 2 terrace houses that could fetch an annual rental of $4000. As for 1 lot of OCBC, your annual dividend is only $100. Such was the madness of the stock market then.

The bubble in OCBC eventually burst. Within less than 3 months, if I am not mistaken, OCBC plummeted to $3 per share.

You will do well to remember that when shares are sold ex-hope and cum-despair, it is the time to buy. But when shares are at the other extreme, you should get ready to sell everything, and sell everything when the trend reverses.

Bank Negara warns of phishing email

2011-06-16T19:15:00.000+08:00

PETALING JAYA: Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has warned of an email aimed at deceiving members of the public into disclosing their personal banking details.

A statement issued by the central bank Thursday said the email, which claims to be from Bank Negara, urges people to update their account details through a provided hyperlink.

"Intended victims receive emails purportedly from BNM, informing them that BNM is collecting personal banking information to update its database. They will be prompted to either click on a link or reply to the email directly.

"Once the victim clicks on the link provided in the email, they are directed to a fake website requesting disclosure of personal financial details such as credit or debit cards details including card code verification or other personal identification numbers (PIN)," the statement said.

BNM said financial institutions, including credit card issuers and BNM and all banking institutions will never request for personal banking information when contacting customers, be it via telephone calls, SMS or emails.

People who have received such emails are advised to contact their respective banks or contact the Associations of Banks in Malaysia (ABM) toll-free service at 1-300-88-9980.

For more information on financial scams activities, visit the financial fraud alert site at http://fraudalert.bnm.gov.my.

The public can also contact BNMTELELINK (Customer Contact Centre) at 1-300-88-5465 or email to bnmtelelink@bnm.gov.my for enquiries.

Control Your Emotion or Others will Control You

2011-06-14T11:33:00.006+08:00

When you buy a stock,
Hope is high that you will make a lot.
But things are normally not that rosy.
The moment you buy, things become messy.

The price drops and drops and drops.
You become frustrated, 'cos your attempt flops.
Your hope of a profit vanishes.
Already set in are much damages.

You hope and pray for a rebound.
One day it comes and things seem to turn around.
Just when the going looks good,
The price stops moving and just stood.

Moments later, the price starts to retreat.
Nothing is left to benefit.
Your hope has turned forlorn.
Your hope remains unborn.

Next time it moves up, I will sell, you say.
But for long, the price has gone astray.
At the darkest hour, comes the dawn.
Despair is now a conclusion, forgone.

As the price turns around,
Your chance to sell at a small gain is abound
Soon the price hits your target.
You sell with joy and without regret.

But your joy soon turns to frustration,
'Cos you sell at a bullish occasion.
If you have held on to your gains,
You would have much much more to gain.

Ten commandments for life

2011-06-10T10:26:00.001+08:00

Someone has written these beautiful words. Must read and try to understand the deep meaning of it.
They are like the ten commandments to follow in life all the time.

1] Prayer is not a "spare wheel" that you pull out when in trouble, but it is a "steering wheel" that directs the right path throughout.

2] So a Car's WINDSHIELD is so large & the Rear view Mirror is so small? Because our PAST is not as important as our FUTURE. So, Look Ahead and Move on.

3] Friendship is like a BOOK. It takes few seconds to burn, but it takes years to write.

4] All things in life are temporary. If going well, enjoy it, they will not last forever. If going wrong, don't worry, they can't last long either.

5] Old Friends are Gold! New Friends are Diamond! If you get a Diamond, don't forget the Gold! Because to hold a Diamond, you always need a Base of Gold!

6] Often when we lose hope and think this is the end, GOD smiles from above and says, "Relax, sweetheart, it's just a bend, not the end!

7] When GOD solves your problems, you have faith in HIS abilities; when GOD doesn't solve your problems HE has faith in your abilities.

8] A blind person asked God: "Can there be anything worse than losing eye sight?" He replied: "Yes, losing your vision!"

9] When you pray for others, God listens to you and blesses them, and sometimes, when you are safe and happy, remember that someone has prayed for you.

10] WORRYING does not take away tomorrow's TROUBLES, it takes away today's PEACE.

If you really enjoy this, please pass to others. It may brighten someone's day...

2011-06-09T04:31:00.002+08:00

Published: Wednesday June 8, 2011 MYT 8:38:00 PM

Public warned about syndicate passing off as HK police

Be extremely careful when you remit money to another account, because the money remitted may never come back.

MALACCA: The state police have advised the public to beware of a fraud syndicate, which passes itself as the Hong Kong police and Bank Negara staff to cheat victims.

Explaining the modus operandi, state police chief SAC Datuk Chuah Gee Lye said that syndicate's members would introduce themselves as policemen from Bukit Aman and tell the intended victim that his identity has been used to launder money abroad.

They will ask the victim to contact the Hong Kong police using a number they give, Chuah told reporters here.

“On calling the number, the victim will be told that Bank Negara has been contacted. Shortly after that, he will receive a call from an officer, supposedly from Bank Negara, who will confirm that his account was used for illegal activity.

“The syndicate members will then advise their intended victim to transfer his money into another account if he does not want his funds to be frozen,” he added.

Chuah said that two cases had been reported in the state but the intended victims were lucky to escape from being cheated.

He advised members of the public who are similarly approached to contact the state Commercial Crime Investigation Department at 06-2854196.

The 6 Rules For Successful Investing In Chinese ADRs

2011-06-08T06:38:00.001+08:00

By DOUG TSURUOKA, INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY Posted 05/11/2011 05:50 PM ET

The Chinese flag is displayed on an electronic screen at Nasdaq on Wednesday for the initial public offering of Jiayuan.com. China's largest dating... View Enlarged Image
A passel of U.S.-listed Chinese stocks have run into trouble lately. Some have restated earnings or undergone trading halts as the SEC probes accounting glitches or allegations of malfeasance.
Trading in the last two months was halted on China Electric Motor, NIVS Intellimedia Technology and Puda Coal, to name a few. Fertilizer and feed maker Yongye International's (YONG) production figures and ties are also being questioned by analysts.
Shares of several others tumbled without any company-specific news. The volatility comes at a time when Chinese IPOs in general are struggling. Renren (RENN), "China's Facebook," fell below its $14 IPO price Wednesday after hitting 24 intraday in its May 4 debut. But appliance maker Deer Consumer Products (DEER) brushed off criticism to post Q1 profit and sales growth above 40% on Tuesday.
There are no hard rules to investing in China-based companies that trade in the U.S. But analysts say these six points offer a good checklist:
1. Are they industry leaders in China?
2. Do the companies use any of the Big Four global accounting firms (KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Ernst & Young)?
3. Do they have the sponsorship of big investment funds?
4. Is there serious backing from venture capital funds?
5. Are sizable chunks of equity owned by management?
6. Are Americans on the board?
"The best rule of thumb for investing in China is whether that company is No. 1 in its space," said venture capitalist David Chao, co-founder of early-stage tech VC firm DCM. "Competition is fierce in China. Such companies have withstood the test of time."
Chao compares China's situation to Japan, where giants like Sony (SNE), which led in the early 1960s, are still pretty much the leaders today. Chao is on Renren's board.
John Mattio, a senior vice president at investor relations firm HC International in New York, says many U.S. fund managers won't take a stake in a Chinese company unless its auditor is one of the Big Four. It stems from a belief that smaller bookkeepers can't check or balance their work.
But Mattio warns that bigness alone won't ensure accuracy. Chinese law requires large foreign auditors to join with local accounting firms, he notes. This means Chinese partners, not U.S. expats, often do the books.
"It's not like the team from midtown Manhattan is flying to China to do the audit," he said.
China MediaExpress (CCME) hasn't traded since March 11 after months of claims of cooked books. That same day, a Deloitte Touche affiliate severed ties.
Sponsorship and rising holdings by big mutual funds, hedge funds, banks and other institutions are other positives.
Janet Stites, publisher of China Business Knowledge, an online newsletter that tracks U.S.-listed Chinese firms, says big funds have the staff and resources to conduct due diligence.
"If Fidelity is investing, it's not a 100% good call, but it's a good place to start," Stites said.
Also desirable are credible margins and strong EBIDTA, though those can be hard to pin down in fast-changing, booming China.
Analysts like to see top executives with a stake in future performance. For example, managers own 17% of Chinese search engine Baidu (BIDU).
The downside: Some heavily family-owned Chinese firms are used as cash dispensers.
Depth and length of VC funding is another guide. Internet firm Qihoo 360 (QIHU), which raised $175 million in a successful March IPO, had over five years of substantial VC backing, Stites says.
DCM's Chao says having U.S. directors shows that a Chinese firm can tap U.S. expertise and will likely adhere to U.S. governance standards.
Stites cites hog producer Tianli Agritech (OINK). One director is Peter Gadkowski, an ex-SEC enforcement attorney and founder of a 30,000-sow farm in Colorado.

Malaysia's Most Expensive Fish

2011-06-07T13:34:00.003+08:00

Presently, the Empurau is the most expensive fresh-water fish in Malaysia. The fish is known as Wang Pau Liao in Mandarin. It can grow up to a size of more than 20 kg.
In KL Restaurants, the price ranges from RM1100 to RM1800 per kg. The fish originates from Sarawak.

CMSB Is Undervalued

2011-05-28T09:47:00.006+08:00

CMSB is a conglomerate involved in cement manufacturing, trading in construction materials, construction, road maintenance, property development, financial services, technology, education and other services.

Its vision is: To be the Pride of Sarawak.

The key statistics as at March 31, 2011 are as follows:
1Q2011: Vs 1Q2010
Revenue: RM 226.367m Vs 177.633m
Profit before tax: 43.095m Vs 21.347m
EPS : 9.30 sen Vs 3.68 sen
NTA: RM4.08
Current Assets: RM1,267,736,000 of which 189,614,000 is in cash
Current Liabilities: RM378,669,000
Borrowings: RM299,668
Share Capital: RM329,446,000
Par Value per share: RM1

In 2010, the government has allocated RM4.7 billion for the construction of roads & bridges, and RM2.6 billion for water supply & sewerage services. It is hopeful that more will be allocated in 2011. These government spendings will be a boast for the bottom line of the company. Looking at the above figures, there is every reason to believe that company will do well going forward. The stock was last traded at RM2.30 per share cum dividend of 10% less tax. At this price, the stock is undervalued.

Technically speaking, the stock was seen to be in demand when trading started last Friday. It is now coming out of a well-formed base. Demand is likely to continue when trading resume come Monday morning.

Review of performance (Excerpt from filings with Bursa)
The Group’s recorded a pre-tax profit of RM43.10 million for the three months ended 31 March 2011, compared to a pre-tax profit of RM21.35 million for the 3 months ended 31 March 2010. The higher contribution was registered by the Construction Division and there was a gain on acquisition of CMS Roads Sdn. Bhd. and CMS Pavement Tech Sdn. Bhd. of RM12.21 million.
The profit before tax for period ended 31 March 2011 was contributed by all Divisions except Property Division. The Manufacturing Division, being the largest contributor to the Group’s profitability, continued to achieve healthy results. The Construction Materials Division continued its excellent performance, recording a hike in profit before tax riding on the back of the government’s spending on continued projects.
The Construction Division registered a jump in profit primarily because of the re-acquisition of the profit-making entities namely CMS Roads Sdn. Bhd. and CMS Pavement Tech Sdn. Bhd., which contributed positively in the quarter under review. The higher contribution was also due to the profit from government’ s spending on periodic road maintenance work and road rehabilitation.
The Group’s associate in the steel fabrication and manufacturing of steel pipes industry, namely KKB Engineering Bhd continued its sterling performance in the 3 months period ended 31 March 2011. However, the Group’s other associate in the investment banking industry reported a lower profit for the current period compared to previous corresponding period.
B2. Material changes in profit before taxation for the quarter
The Group’s profit before tax of RM43.10 million in the quarter under review was 19% lower than the profit before tax of RM53.16 million in the preceding quarter. This was because the Construction and Manufacturing Division registered exceptionally high profits in the preceding quarter.
However, the Group’s associate in the investment banking industry returned to profit this quarter as compared to a loss in the preceding quarter primarily due to the loss incurred previously as a result of impairment made in respect of the investment bank’s loans and advances and impairment of investment in an associate.

In the stock market, nothing is certain. It is said that the only thing certain is uncertainty. Therefore, do exercise caution when you buy. Know your risk tolerance and don't be controlled by greed.

Whistleblowers To Get Reward

2011-05-26T09:18:00.003+08:00

America has decided to reward whistleblowers who raise red flags against frauds, cheating and other insidious crimes that are detrimental to the health and growth of stock exchanges. To promote integrity and transparency at Bursa and elsewhere, Malaysia should follow suit. Here's the story:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Whistleblowers who report corporate fraud or other misconduct to the government could receive sizable cash awards under new rules adopted Wednesday by federal regulators.

Tipsters would be eligible if they give the Securities and Exchange Commission information that leads to an enforcement action resulting in more than $1 million in penalties. The SEC would pay up to 30 percent of the money it recovers from a company or person.

A divided SEC voted 3-2 to adopt the whistleblower program. The two Republican commissioners objected.

The new rules will take effect in about 60 days. Whistleblowers who provided information starting in July 2010, when the overhaul law was enacted, also would be eligible to receive awards.

The whistleblower program was mandated by the financial overhaul law enacted last year. It was contested by big U.S. companies, like AT&T Inc., Best Buy Co., FedEx Corp., Google Inc., Target Corp. and Verizon Communications Inc., in addition to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

They argued that whistleblowers should first have to tell their companies of misconduct and give them a chance to correct problems before informing the SEC. Otherwise, the corporations contend, it will take longer to address wrongdoing.

On the other side, advocates and lawyers for whistleblowers say they would be discouraged from reporting wrongdoing if required to inform company officials first.

The new rules would seek to discourage employees from bypassing their companies' compliance programs. Once employees report potential wrongdoing to their company, the SEC would officially designate them as whistleblowers, potentially eligible for awards -- provided they give the SEC the same information within 120 days.

In addition, the SEC will credit whistleblowers whose companies pass their information to the agency, even if the whistleblowers themselves do not. That way, whistleblowers could receive awards by reporting wrongdoing internally to their companies.

The new rules represent the first time that whistleblowers will be given a financial incentive to report misconduct to company authorities, SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro said before the vote.

Companies' internal compliance programs play "an extremely valuable role" in preventing fraud, Schapiro said. She said the new rules strike a balance between encouraging whistleblowers to pursue internal compliance when appropriate and giving them the option to go directly to the SEC.

"It is the whistleblower who is in the best position to know which route is best to pursue," she said.

Advocates of the new program say whistleblowers can be an effective line of defense against corporate wrongdoing. The SEC was embarrassed by its failure to halt Bernard Madoff's multibillion-dollar fraud over nearly two decades, despite red flags raised by whistleblowers.

The SEC has made few awards to whistleblowers under its bounty program. Until now, it's been limited to insider trading cases. And its system for processing tips from whistleblowers was criticized as chaotic.

Under the new program, if an insider at Goldman Sachs had given the SEC information leading to its $550 million civil fraud settlement with Goldman over its marketing of mortgage securities, that person could have collected up to $165 million.

"The SEC has chosen to put trial-lawyer profits ahead of effective compliance and corporate governance," the Chamber of Commerce said after the vote. "This rule will make it harder and slower to detect and stop corporate fraud, by undermining (internal) compliance systems."

Follow Yahoo! Finance on Twitter; become a fan on Facebook.

The Red Collar Crime Wave

2011-05-21T07:08:00.002+08:00

Before you invest in any Chinese stock listed in America, you are advised to read carefully the article appended below.
Better be knowledgeable than be sorry.

Joshua M Brown May 15th, 2011
We are under attack.

Chinese corporate criminals and their US-based enablers are committing Capital Genocide against American investors. We're not talking about "a few bad apples" or "a handful of exceptions", we're talking about a full-blown epidemic. Subterfuge and malicious avarice are simply the tools of the trade when many Chinese companies do business with outsiders.

This undeniable Red Collar Crime Wave is larger in scope and financial consequence than any other international criminal enterprise in the history of the world. We are talking about hundreds of millions of dollars, possibly billions should the Yahoo - Alibaba revelation prove itself to be a harbinger of shocks to come.

At the low end of the spectrum, corrupt representatives of sketchy or even non-existent Chinese companies are conniving their way onto US exchanges via backdoor IPOs, reverse mergers and SPACs. They are slithering through every exchange and regulatory loophole they can find to raise money and establish their fraudulent beachheads here. The penalties for Chinese nationals fudging numbers on a local exchange could range from exile to imprisonment to disappearance. The penalties they face for pulling that stuff here in the US? I don't know, a letter in the mail? "Don't ever do it again"?

Mainland Chinese fraudsters are untouchable, they can only be barred or banned from US exchanges once caught, and so they will get away with whatever they can as long as there are investors here who are stupid enough to capitalize them. And so the ownership of one factory in China becomes the ownership of three for the purposes of a quarterly balance sheet calculation. The ticker symbols will be cutesy and clever while the names of the companies will almost always include the word "China". After all, let's not forget that the name of this game is the exploitation of Americans who "want to play the growth".

It has become an absolute free-for-all.

For a nation that was so economically backwards and pathetic that it could barely feed itself 15 years ago, China's executives have certainly come a long way. They're employing every scam and dirty trick in the book against American corporations and investors while we say thank you and send even more opportunity and cash their way.

I've held my tongue for the last 9 months, watching one scam after another appear on our exchanges. I've said nothing as these financial landmines have been detonated beneath the feet of whichever unfortunate shareholders happened to find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. No longer.

We'll limit the scope of my rage here to corporate fraud. For the purposes of this post I'll leave out the Chinese poisoning of America-bound toothpaste, pet food and toys at their manufacturing operations. I'll also leave out the FoxConn factory at which all the Apple products are assembled, a workplace so abusive and abhorrent that the employees must take an oath that they won't kill themselves.

But no, let's not get distracted here, we should simply focus on the accounting chicanery and falsified filings with which Chinese companies are daily relieving US investors of their capital.

The reverse mergers are by far the most insidious manifestation of the contempt that Chinese companies have for our exchanges and rules. Working with American law firms and shameless stock promoters, these companies have found a financial engineering solution that lets them steal on our shores. They've been able to subvert the more highly scrutinized public offering process that would normally have weeded them out. By "cleaning up" shell companies, which should not be trading or available to begin with, the disease gets a foothold first on the pink sheets and then onto the American Stock Exchange where the real grifting can begin.

White Collar Crime columnist Walter Pavlo has collected a slew of recent examples on his blog at Forbes, including:

China Electric Motor – Shareholders lawsuit filed claiming underwriters violated federal securities laws by issuing materially false and misleading information.
China Natural Gas – Class action lawsuit alleges directors and officers issued materially false and misleading statements. CFO of company resigned in late 2010.
Duoyuan Printing – SEC investigating company for fraud, NYSE delisted April 4, 2011
China MediaExpress Holdings, Inc. – Deloitte quit as auditor because “no longer able to rely on the representations of management”. CFO resigned. Stock trading halted March 11
China Agritech – Shareholder lawsuit pending. Dismissed its auditor Ernst & Young.
China Sky One Medical – Under investigation by SEC.
Orient Paper, Inc. – Reauditing previous financials due to license issues with previous auditor (Davis Accounting Group)
The full list is actually quite larger, it includes some of the higher profile blow-ups you may remember with stocks like RINO International and China Green Agriculture - spectacular flame-outs complete with massive insider selling prior to the denouement.

Where are the regulators, you might ask? They are finally getting involved. The SEC's Mary Schapiro is aware of the epidemic and is now on the case...

From Barron's:

Since March 2011 alone, she noted, more than 24 China-based companies have disclosed auditor resignations, accounting problems or both – following the auditors' inability to confirm the amounts of cash or receivables shown on the companies' balance sheets. The SEC has recently suspended trading in three Chinese businesses that "reverse-merged" into U.S.-traded shell companies

The smarter thing to do would be to halt the entire shell company process in its entirety right this minute until we can get the rules up to a standard that will protect investors outright from these foreign liars and thieves. Capital formation can wait fifteen minutes while we get our act together and crack down on this disgusting shell syndicate.

An even more disturbing development of late is taking place in the large cap arena, in full view of the world's media and the global investor class. With the success of Baidu and Sina, Chinese technology companies are now finding themselves as the Belles of the Ball. In at least one case that we are aware of, they are also finding that they can easily mislead their Western partners and shareholders.

Here in the deep end of the pool, newly-minted billionaire Chinese executives are violating contract law, globally accepted corporate best practices and fiduciary responsibility to shareholders. They are disclosing things when and as they choose. They are "on the level" in their own government's eyes so long as they are playing fair with their fellow Chinese investors. This isn't a brand new phenomenon but as the companies involved get bigger, the danger grows.

This week's still-unfolding fiasco involving Yahoo being tricked out of their Alipay subsidiary by Alibaba, a company in which they hold a 43% stake, is just the latest and most outrageous example of what we're dealing with. Here's what Jacob S. Frenkel, a former SEC enforcement lawyer who is an expert in securities law matters and a partner at Shulman Rogers in Potomac, Maryland had to say (via iChinaStock):

"Yahoo! is a victim, plain and simple. With all the negative attention that US-listed Chinese companies, this action by Alibaba only makes worse an already difficult situation. It creates the unfortunate appearance that executives in China may totally disregard their contractual and fiduciary obligations to shareholders. The important message to US partners and owners is to review the effectiveness and enforceability of contracts under both US and Chinese law."

Yahoo will attempt to sue, but they have lost the asset at the end of the day, an asset whose potential was a big part of the investment thesis for the company to begin with. US shareholders were pummeled over something that took place in secret seven months ago, escaping everyone's notice. If major shareholders like Yahoo and Japan's Softbank can be scammed in front of everyone, what chance have any of us got?

The Red Collar crime wave is beguiling American investors both large and small. These crooks are laughing at our securities laws and manipulating their own. None of us are immune:

Not the savviest and most seasoned asset managers - see Glickenhaus & Co watch $4 million evaporate as China Agritech blows up. (Bloomberg)

Not Yahoo, a player in Asian web properties since the late 90's - listen as Alipay's Jack Ma regales us with his tale of how he bitch-slapped the "declining" web portal company. (iChinaStock)

Not even the diligent Warren Buffett can sleep soundly with his Chinese investments - see how the car company he invested in there (BYD) is essentially a counterfeiter playing games with the rules of the Chinese court system to get away with it. (Reuters)

Can American investors trade and hold Chinese stocks? I suppose they can...but they can also practice juggling with live hand grenades and roaring chainsaws...just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should.

I've disagreed with almost everything Donald Trump has had to say during his part-Presidential run, part final humiliation speech circuit this spring. But where Trump and I do find common ground is in our distaste with how the Chinese do business and the lack of regard they show our companies and investors from almost every perspective.

As long as Chinese corporate officers and executives are going to blow cigarette smoke in our faces as they take advantage both here and on their home turf, I'll gladly sit out. Until I get the sense that they have an ounce of respect for our investors, I'll watch the pickpocketing from the sidelines and focus my capital and attention elsewhere.

TDM on aggressive healthcare, oil palm drive

2011-05-20T08:37:00.000+08:00

By Zaidi Isham Ismail
xydee@nstp.com.my
2011/05/20

KUALA TERENGGANU: TDM Bhd, one of Malaysia's smallest plantation and healthcare companies, is on an aggressive mode to expand its landbank by more than threefold to 100,000ha in eight years, and own more hospitals from four at present.

TDM chairman Datuk Roslan Awang Chik said the company plans to spend RM30 million to set up its first oil palm mill in Kalimantan, Indonesia, once its hectarage reaches 10,000ha in the next three years, from 3,000ha at present.

"Ultimately, we aim to own a total of 40,000ha in Indonesia in eight years and will need an oil palm mill for each 10,000ha. Each oil palm mill will cost RM30 million.

"We have spent RM44 million on our oil palm estates in Indonesia and the first batch will start to impact our earnings in 2013," Roslan told reporters after its annual general meeting here yesterday.

TDM, which is 70 per cent-owned by the Terengganu state government, has a total of 33,284ha and two mills in Malaysia.

It aims to own a total of 100,000ha of oil palm estates, of which 30,000ha will be in Malaysia and 40,000ha in Indonesia.

The location of the remaining 30,000ha has not been decided yet.

TDM chief executive officer Badrul Hisham Mahari said the firm, which has a warchest of RM208.7 million, plans to open estates in Cambodia and Papua New Guinea but it has to balance its growth with dividend payments, cash reserves and staff strength.

Badrul said it is also on the lookout to buy or build new hospitals when the opportunity arises.

"We want to grow both our plantations and healthcare businesses but plantations will always be our core business."

TDM's plantation division currently accounts for 90 per cent of its earnings, healthcare (9 per cent) and food (1 per cent).

It started construction of its RM120 million Kuantan medical centre last year, which is slated for completion by the first quarter of 2013.

TDM also owns and manages the Kuala Terengganu Specialist Hospital and Kelana Jaya Medical Centre. It acquired the Taman Desa Medical Centre for RM16.5 million last year.

"We plan to build a new medical centre in Kuala Terengganu to replace the current one for RM150 million with 150 rooms."

Roslan said TDM's growth prospects are good as crude palm oil prices are expected to remain above RM3,000 a tonne from last year's average of RM2,659 a tonne, and ride on good export of oil palm products.

The company also plans to build its second biofertiliser plant, which can give it a 15 per cent, or RM10 million, savings on chemical fertiliser purchase.

Roslan said the firm is still in the process of selling its poultry business to Vision Poultry Sdn Bhd for RM9 million. It will be completed in the next two to three weeks and the state government has no plans to divest its 70 per cent stake.

TDM has a dividend policy of paying at least 30 per cent of its annual net profit. It employs almost 3,000 workers and has total assets of RM965.6 million with almost zero gearing.

Rubbish Pork

2011-05-16T12:34:00.003+08:00

Are you eating rubbish? Here's the story taken from theStar:

ABOUT 90% of pig farms sell low quality pork or “rubbish pork”.

The Malaysian Pork Sellers' Association claimed that this activity had been going on for over 10 years, reported Sin Chew Daily.

Association chairman Goh Chui Lai said rubbish pork was in abundance in Ipoh, Perak and in Tanjung Sepat, Selangor.

The sale of such meat, he said, became widespread after the Nipah virus outbreak.

“Some processed food operators also buy dead pigs for their products as it is cheaper,” he said.

Goh was commenting on a news report that low quality pork were used in the making of sausages, pork balls, dim sum and buns in the market.

However, Federation of Livestock Farmers Associations of Malaysia's pig unit chief Beh Kim Hee refuted Goh's claim.

He challenged Goh to lodge a police report, claiming that Goh had no evidence to support his claims.

He also accused Goh of trying to bring down the price of pork products “with his baseless claims”.

On Saturday, the Health Ministry and Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Ministry assured that it would conduct an investigation to ensure that pork-related products in the market were safe for consumption.

Since the issue was highlighted, Nanyang Siang Pau reported that sales of pork-based products were on the decline.

If you are not sure what is what, better avoid pork products, at least for now, than to fall sick.

Malaysian Durians To Enter China

2011-05-12T19:13:00.000+08:00

Over the years the planting of durians in Malaysia has been a fiasco. It takes at least 7 years for a durian tree to bear fruits. For some variety, it may take up to 10 years. Once a durian tree starts to bear fruits, great care must be taken to ensure that the tree remains healthy. The worst is the D24. Especially those in the low flat land, many will die after fruiting once.

Durian trees are easily diseased and need to be sprayed with insecticide and fungicide periodically. Fertilizer is also a must. All these and labor charges cost a lot of money. The price of durians should be not less than RM7 per kg when collected by durian agents for a durian farmer to have any chance to show a profit.

In Malaysia, there are many varieties. The most popular and expensive is the Raja Kunit which originated from Gua Musang in Kelantan. The fruit is also known as the Musang King.
Next in line are the D24, D2, D78, D88, D168, Red Prawn, Tekar and many other varieties.

Malaysian durians are definitely a class above those in Thailand. Whether in taste or in smell. they are better. Once you have tasted the Raja Kunit, you will never like Thailand durians again. However, taste is subjective. Thus some may disagree with me.

China has never allowed Malaysian durians to be imported into China. After the recent visit of the Chinese premier, Wen Jia Bao to Malaysia, things have changed. Among the many agreements between the two countries, China has agreed that Malaysian durians are now allowed to enter China. As China has a vast population that is likely to like durians, the demand and import of the fruits could be tremendous. This will jack up the price and will benefit durian farmers.

Durian is said to be a powerful aphrodisiac. "Sarongs go up when durians come down", is a popular saying among Malaysians.

Lands in Bentong and Raub are suitable for durians. The most popular varieties are the Raja Kunit and D24. Swiftlet farming is also popular in these two districts. If you are thinking of investing in any of the above two activities and need help, you may contact me for assistance. Be assured that I don't charge you anything.

Doing the right thing at the right time yields the most profit. The time to get involved with durians is now.

Manager loses RM4,200 with just one mouse click

2011-05-12T07:58:00.000+08:00

Thursday May 12, 2011 (From StarOnLine)

KUALA LUMPUR: Accounts manager Chua Ming Choo opened a message in her e-mail informing her that there was some irregular activity occurring in her account.

The e-mail told her to click a link to her bank’s website to update her particulars for safer online banking.

Less than five minutes later, the simple mouse click cost her RM4,200.

Chua, 35, from Port Dickson, said she received the e-mail last Thursday.

She added that about two minutes after she clicked on the bank’s website, she received an SMS requesting a Transaction Authorisation Code (TAC) number.

Chua realised that something could have happened to her account and she called her bank to inform them about it.

“They told me they would block my account and I was told to change my e-pin number,” she told a press conference at the MCA Public Services and Comp laints Department here yesterday.

Chua said she then went to the nearest ATM to check her account and discovered the money missing even though she did not key in her TAC number on the website.

She lodged a police report on the same day.

Another victim, Chong Wen Shan, 24, from Teluk Intan, Perak, said he received an e-mail on May 1 informing him that his online services account was about to expire due to a database update on the bank’s system.

Chong said he was asked to update his particulars and being new to e-banking, he thought it was a normal procedure and clicked on the link.

He also keyed in his TAC number when asked and discovered that RM5,000 had gone missing from his account a few hours later.

Department head Datuk Michael Chong said the two cases were the first that he had received so far this year.

He asked Bank Negara and banks to be on alert for such scams.

“I do not rule out an inside job. Otherwise, how do these criminals know our personal details?” he added.

Oil Palm The Golden Crop

2011-05-04T17:57:00.002+08:00

TDM is now a member of RSPO. It is committed to sustainable practices, balancing economic viability with environment and social respensibility. By end 2012, one of its mill complexes is expected to obtain certification. This is a positive reflection of TDM, going forward.

TDM Good For Long-term Hold

2011-05-01T22:09:00.002+08:00

It came like a bolt from the blue when TDM announced a single-tier first interim dividend of 3 sen for the financial year ended 31 Dec 2011. This together with the single-tier first and final dividend of 13.5 sen for the year 2010 means that for every 1000 shares you will get RM165 which is payable on the June 09, 2011. The x-date for the dividends is May 25, 2011. At RM3 per share, the dividend-yield works out to 5.5%. Considering that the interest rate of fixed deposits at banks is at 2.75% p.a. it is worthwhile to buy TDM now.

As reported in the just released annual report for TDM, the company has cash of RM176.7 million and almost zero gearing. The company is well managed with a strong balance sheet and good earnings per share of 41.49 sen for the year ended 31.12.2010.

The management of the group is confident that its business will continue to do well. It has a piece of very good land measuring 25,000 ha in East Kalimantan. I understand that 5000 ha have been planted with oil palm in 2007 and the remaining land is scheduled for planting of oil palm within the next 3 years. This ensure that the company will have good growth in the foreseeable future.

On its healthcare division, TDM has acquired TDMC Hospital Sdn. Bhd, a 128-bed hospital in Taman Desa. This acquisition is expected to contribute positively to the group in the coming years. This sector has already been doing well, and with the new hospital, more profit is expected to come in.

The food division of the group is the sore spot. It has not been doing well over the years. For 2010, the division still shows some losses. Management has the intention to dispose off the sector when someone suitable to take over comes along.

Action to take: Continue to hold on to your TDM or buy more for long-term hold.

The Chinese are coming

2011-04-25T12:19:00.004+08:00

The Chinese are coming because America does not want them.

Listings via RTO / merger have recently been suspended in the U.S. stock exchanges. This is due to lack of interest in such listings.

Many Chinese companies listed in the U.S. are now being sued by investors for fraud, inflated reporting and misleading statements. In the light of the present scenario, Bursa is likely to experience an influx of Chinese companies applying for listing in Bursa. A few Chinese stocks are already listed here. They are not well received and some are still below their IPO price.

Before a stock is allowed to get listed, a due diligence must be carried out. This means visiting its factories, testing and checking its products, talking to its CEO and workers and its customers as well. Bursa should have its own team of auditors to do this instead of depending too much on other auditors to ensure propriety. Does Bursa have the workforce to do this? If not, it should upgrade itself first.

Integrity, transparency and reliability must be implemented without compromise. Unless people feel safe to invest, they would rather leave their money in the banks.

Therefore if Bursa wants more activities in the stock market, it must do everything to ensure that it is a safe place to invest.

Most of our ACE counters are rubbish shares. Over the years, they show no growth, no dividend and no appreciation in their prices. They should be classified under a category called, "Useless". I wonder why anyone wants to invest in such counters.

Time for harsher penalties

2011-04-18T08:09:00.002+08:00

There are many ways to destabilise or mismanage a company, and in Kenmark case, its top executive and directors from Taiwan went AWOL

There are many ways to destabilise or mismanage a company, and along the way, upset and annoy its minority shareholders.

In the case of Kenmark Industrial (M) Co Bhd, its top executive and directors from Taiwan went AWOL. The furniture maker's shares were sold down, losing some RM140 million of market value in a matter of days. The stock did bounce back, but not before a big damage was done and a new, "friendly" major shareholder was installed.

The latest file marked "How to upset your minority shareholders" involves Linear Corp Bhd. Initial company probe showed that one of its directors had used his autocratic rule to hand out RM36 million to a project owner/developer. The amount was an advance for a RM1.66 billion contract Perak Linear had secured from the developer, but appeared not viable.

Kenmark and Linear are among a list of listed companies that have run foul of corporate rules. Kimble Corp Bhd and Tat Sang Bhd are counted in the list, too.

Kimble, another Taiwan-owned furniture maker, breached a listing requirement in 2008 for failing to disclose in its fourth quarter 2007 results that it had made provision for doubtful debts of RM33.7 million.

Its managing director Datuk Yao Bor Bin and former executive director Yao Po Chen were fined by Bursa Malaysia a total of RM75,000 "for being ambiguous and inaccurate in the announcement". The company was delisted in April 2009.

Tat Sang, another furniture maker, shocked investors with its accounting irregularities and the disappearance of key management personnel back in 2002.

Its former managing director Lim Chai Hock was sentenced to five years' jail by the Sessions Court for making false statements to Bursa Malaysia. The sentence was revised by the High Court to a five months' jail and a fine of RM200,000 in default of two months' imprisonment.

Tat Sang was plagued with financial woes just a year after its listing in 2000. It was eventually delisted in 2003.

The point here is that once a corporate manipulator is caught and goes to court, make sure he (interestingly, women is almost or non-existent in the issue) is punished accordingly.

While our local stock market watchdogs, the Securities Commission particularly, may have been swift in their action, the punitive measures appear lenient on corporate manipulators.

Some have said in jest (or are they not kidding?) that our corporate punishments are the laughing stock among foreigners. Swindle loads of money from your company and leave the country, you can then come back and face the low-decibel music.

We may have read that a man was sentenced to 25 weeks in jail for stealing 80 pairs of women's panties. For mismanaging or embezzling millions of ringgit or causing hurt and grievance to many investors, you just get a fine or a brief spell in prison. Some balance in blue and white collar crimes, right? Is there a very fine line in steal, cheat or lie between a corporate man and an ordinary Joe?

In February 2006, it was reported that Fountain View Development Bhd former director Datuk Chin Chan Leong and ex-remisier were found guilty of share manipulation.

Chin was fined RM1.3 million or in default of 13 months' jail as well as sentenced to serve one day in prison for manipulating its share price seven years before.

Hiew Yoke Lan, a former Avenue Securities Sdn Bhd remisier, was fined RM1 million or 10 months default jail sentence for abetting Chin in the offence.

The offence was committed between November 18 2003 and January 20 2004. During this period, Fountain View stock had a low of RM1.99 and a high of RM6.15.

Back in November 2003, at a low of RM1.99, Fountain View carried a market capitalisation of RM885 million. At the peak of the share manipulation of around RM6.15, Fountain View carried a market capitalisation of RM2.73 billion!

If Datuk Seri Idris Jala can overhaul the various subsidies enjoyed by us, how hard can it be to review and slap the harshest possible punishment on corporate manipulators?

The above article is written by Zuraimi Abdullah of Business Times

Gaming for Gambling, the only winner is the House

2011-04-14T10:49:00.003+08:00

The only winner in the casino or lottery game is the house or the banker. When odds are not in your favor, over time, you are bound to lose. Unfortunately many people do not realize this. It’s okay if you bet what you can comfortably lose and get some excitement out of it once in awhile. But to bet the farm, you must be out of your mind.
Don’t ever think you can beat the house, whether it gaming or gambling. Read more here.

Chinese Products How Scary

2011-04-09T08:21:00.002+08:00

Tainted milk, fake eggs, contaminated red wine, bleached mushrooms, fake tofu, recycled edible oil & clenbuterol-added pork products. All these items come from China. Be careful; read more here.

Short Attack in America

2011-04-02T14:54:00.003+08:00

In the U.S. shorting in the stock market is legal. Shorting means selling stocks you do not own. The idea is to short, smear and cover. Many Chinese U.S.-listed stocks are the subjects being utilized this way. The latest is a company known as Advanced Battery Technologies (ABAT).

Many bullish articles have been written about ABAT before a negative one brought it down 42.7% in one trading session. This means that if you have $100,000 invested in the stock, you lose $42,700 overnight. Whether anyone of those bullish articles has anything to do with the negative one is anybody's guess. But one thing is certain. I will never read any article without skepticism, even though it is written by a reputable analyst.

ABAT was doing pretty well. Its price was hovering at around $3.75. As soon as the smear-campaign article was published at : http://seekingalpha.com/article/260883-advanced-battery-technologies-an-egregious-chinese-rto, on 30th March 2011, the price commenced to slide rapidly. At the end of the day, it closed at $2.01 for a lost of 42.7%! This is indeed frightening.

The next day, it plummeted again hitting a low of $1.51! At the time of this post, the stock managed to hold at $2.07.

At Bursa we have what we called "Circuit Break". This means whenever we have a drastic drop of 30% in price, the underlining stock will be immediately suspended pending investigation.

In the U.S., they don't have such a system in place.
Well, such is the scenario there. If you can't stand the heat, please get out of the kitchen.

Talking about short attacks, some stocks quickly come to mind. They are: CEU, CCME and
Yongye. All these companies are small-cap Chinese stocks listed in the U.S.

My advice: Don't invest in Chinese stocks listed in the U.S. unless you have money you want to lose or the skill to match the shorts. Swimming in shark-infested water is dangerous.

20% Rule For Big Profits

2011-04-01T08:32:00.002+08:00

Investor's Corner: Use 20% Rule For Big Profits
By VINCENT MAO, INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY

You'll never know for sure if a stock is going to be a huge winner if you sell it too soon. So if the stock you just bought makes a big jump right away, resist the urge to take the money and run.

Watching a stock go up after you sell it can be truly frustrating. That's where the eight-week rule comes in. The rule states that if a stock breaks out from a proper base and gains 20% or more in three weeks or less, you should hold it for at least eight weeks.

It's normal for a stock to pull back after breaking out, so don't panic unless the stock starts to give back the bulk of its gains. Only then should you sell. You never should turn a good profit into a loss.

Stocks that gain 20% or more soon after the breakout are showing you unusual power. These have the potential of doubling, tripling or more.

The eight-week rule is designed to help you avoid the heartache of missing out on what could be a monster winner. Stocks that surge hundreds of percentage points will seldom do so in a short period of time. Big gains need time to brew.

In "How To Make Money In Stocks," IBD founder and Chairman William O'Neil wrote, "Your objective is not just to be right but to make big money when you are right."

If you bought a stock with great earnings and sales growth, healthy margins and institutional sponsorship as it just cleared a base, you have to give it time to do its thing. In investing, patience is a virtue.

Avoid thinking too much once you're in the stock. You don't have to watch every tick. Doing so can cause you to get shaken out. But be aware of signs of weak action and act if they appear.

Palm Oil is Safe, Inexpensive and Healthy

2011-03-30T08:31:00.003+08:00

Feeding the world in the 21st century
Published: 27/12/2010 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: Business

One of the biggest challenges the world faces over the next half century is how to feed a global population that is rapidly increasing. Some estimates have world population topping out at nine billion by mid-century, a near 50% increase.

World demand for calorie-rich, nutritious fare is starting to jump. Feeding so many hungry mouths is a complex task. But it will never happen unless we substantially increase food yields, especially the yields of staple foods such as palm oil which is already used by over one billion consumers around the world.

The good news is that our industry has the potential to meet the rising demand. We have invested in productivity-enhancing technology to boost yields. And we have done this while protecting the global environment. Palm oil is the world's most sustainable vegetable oil as it produces significantly more calories per acre than competing products. Thus our industry contributes safe food products to enhance global food security; protects valuable natural resources such as forests; and provides good jobs and careers for an aspirational middle class.

But there are potential roadblocks to feeding the world's billions. Those obstacles come from a small but loud minority of misguided policymakers and activists who wish to put parochial interests ahead of the broader public interest.

Take for example the World Bank, for many years they supported palm oil development and other plantation agriculture projects in poorer, less developed countries. The Bank's mission is to help kick-start economic growth. So supporting plantation agriculture was long viewed as a worthy goal.

But now the Bank has bowed to the wishes of a few environmental groups that have pressured the Bank to halt funding for plantation agriculture in the developing world and impose far-reaching regulations that will stifle the future of the industry. Environmental groups claim palm oil harms forests and wildlife. Knowledgeable observers have pointed out that this isn't true; and that it is likely that these Western-based environmental groups are instead trying to help Western agriculture interests.

Whatever the reason for the NGO opposition, it is worrisome that the Bank would bend under pressure from activist groups. It is especially troubling when the need to feed three billion more people around the globe is just over the horizon.

Most worrisome of all, the World Bank is not alone. Regulators throughout the West are starting to question the industrial practices of companies in tropical Asia. Their criticism is tinged with irony. After all, Western nations harnessed their natural resources and endowments on their path to becoming wealthy and developed. Asian nations are simply following this time-honored path to success.

Either way, it is important that all stakeholders keep their eyes set firmly on what's most important - the pressing need to feed the billions of people who currently live on less than $2.00 per day, as well as the billions more that will need to be fed in the coming decades. To do that we must produce food that is safe, inexpensive and sustainable. Palm oil is the anchor of that global strategy.

The author is the chief executive officer of the Malaysian Palm Oil Council, Tan Sri Dr Yuson Basiron.

Some Wisdom Worth Remembering

2011-03-28T19:16:00.001+08:00

01) Always keep your words soft and tender because you may have to eat them someday.

02) Advice is best given when it is requested or in a life-threatening situation.

03) If you work too hard, you have no time to make money.

04) Man should be taught as if you taught them not.

05) Being kind is more important that being right.

06) A smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.

07) All who you know deserves to be greeted with a smile when you meet them.

08) When you harbor bitterness, happiness will dock somewhere.

09) Take good care of the pounds; let the pennies take care of themselves.

10) To be successful, mix with successful people.

11) Kind acts are worth more than kind words.

12) Be aware that everyone is hungry for appreciation, respect and love.

13) Being understanding is more important than being understood.

14) Opportunities are never lost. Someone will take the ones you missed.

15) Discretion is the better part of valor.

16) Love, not time, heals all wounds.

17) Seek excellence, not perfection.

18) If you can't beat them, join them; if you can't join them, leave them.

19) To overcome the odds of losing, you must learn the knowledge of winning.

20) Success is getting what you want; happiness is wanting what you get.

About ECS ICT Berhad

2011-03-26T08:36:00.003+08:00

ECS ICT Berhad (“ECSB”), an MSC-status company, and its group of subsidiaries started in 1985 with the establishment of ECS KU Sdn. Bhd. Today, the Group is a leading distribution hub for Information & Communications Technology (“ICT”) products in Malaysia via ECS ASTAR Sdn. Bhd. and ECS PERICOMP Sdn. Bhd. Listed on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad on 15 April 2010, ECSB is an associate company of ECS Holdings Limited, a Singapore Exchange main board company which is one of the leading ICT distributors in Asia Pacific, accessing to a network of more than 21,000 channel partners across China, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines.
ECSB distributes a comprehensive range of ICT products comprising notebooks, desktop computers, printers, software, network and communication infrastructure, servers, and enterprise software from more than 30 leading principals like Hewlett Packard, IBM, Cisco, Microsoft, Apple, Oracle, Epson, Samsung, Buffalo, Adobe, Juniper, Blue Coat, VMWare and Google.
With a nationwide channel network of more than 2,500 resellers comprising retailers, system integrators and corporate dealers, ECSB also provides value-added product support and technical services. In 2009, ECSB’s revenue surpassed RM1.3 billion with a compounded annual growth rate of 24.5% for the past 5 years.
For more information, please visit www.ecsm.com.my.

The above is an excerpt from the press.

Last Friday the counter was in great demand. Its price shot through the overhead resistance level. Better days are ahead for this counter. Go for it? Do so at your own risk.

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself

2011-03-16T09:58:00.000+08:00

Content Provided by Zacks.com
Analyst Blog
The Only Thing We Have to Fear Is Fear Itself
By: Steve Reitmeister
March 15, 2011 | Comments: 1
Recommended this article (2)
SPX | QQQ | TBT | TLT
The world media has done wonders to stir fears about potential nuclear meltdowns in Japan. Yes, it is a real possibility. Just not as likely as the headlines or glorified reporting would suggest. More importantly, its economic impact on every part of the globe outside of Japan is negligible. Maybe even a net positive as Japan would need a large stimulus plan to rebuild parts of the country.   Please note that I’m not trying to be callous about the personal devastation caused in Japan to date or the potential for more to come. But as an investor I need to cut through the panicked market reaction to assess the underlying dynamics. For me, it is clear that the sell-off is already overdone based upon the fundamentals. Yet still the downward pressure may linger a bit longer because fear is such a strong emotion.   So why are world markets selling off this morning? Because a rise in fear begets a decrease in risk-taking. This leads to stocks getting dumped in exchange for larger cash and government bond holdings. That is the short-term picture.   Over the long haul stocks will trade based upon their ability to generate earnings. So let’s reflect on how even the worst case scenarios in Japan would cause the lowering of earnings power for US companies.   Yes there are some insurance firms who will be hurt in paying out extra claims. And yes, some specific companies may have their supply chains disrupted if they get goods from the affected areas. Overall, the toll on US companies in the short run is very limited.    The further out you look, the more potential positives will emerge for US companies, as Japan will need to spend massive amounts of money to rebuild their infrastructure. This stimulus spending will have wide-spread benefits within Japan and for their major trading partners: US, China and South Korea.   So how long will the fear stay in place and risk-taking assets remain under pressure because of events in Japan? That is unknown and unknowable. But if I had to make a guess, it will only be a couple more weeks. Maybe less.  What is the best strategy for investors who already have hefty stock positions? Given that the positive long-term picture for US company earnings is unchanged or maybe even improved, then I say sit tight.   Yes, that means the beatings may continue in the short run, especially for smaller cap or higher beta positions. But at some date in the near future stocks will rebound and head back towards the recent highs at 12,400 and hopefully beyond. When that happens, then these same stocks that took the biggest losses will now reverse course and gain the most. So you don’t want to shed them just when they are about to do you the most good.   If you have a fair amount of cash on the sidelines, then indeed this is presenting a great buying opportunity for you. Just make a list of your favorite stocks (hopefully Zacks #1 Ranks) and look to buy them on these dips.   I know that these are the hardest times in which to enact these strategies. Yet these are exactly the moments that make or break the year.   Weak hands get tossed off the bull. Don’t be one of them. Just keep your eye on the clearer horizon, which bodes well for the US economy and stocks.

The Rule of 3

2011-03-13T12:08:00.003+08:00

In the stock market: We talk of Fear, Greed and Hope.
Buy, hold and monitor. Warren Buffett said, "Don't lose money."

At road junctions, we can see the sign: Stop, Look, Go.

For health advice, we have: Be wise, Be healthy, Be a non-smoker.

When it comes to investment in property, it's Location, Location, Location.

In priorities. Tony Blair said, Education, Education, Education.

For survival, you can live only 3 minutes without air, 3 days without water, and 3 weeks without food.

In school, we have 3 terms,

In a day we have morning, afternoon, and night.

In meals, we have breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

In sports, competitors are given 3 attempts.

In fables and movies, we have the 3 Musketeers; the 3 Stooges; and the 3 Blind Mice.

At CNN, we have: Go Beyond Boarders.

In religion, Jesus rises on the third day.

In hard time: Pull up your socks; Roll up your sleeve, and Let your hairs down.

When you forget your password, you are only given 3 attempts to get it right.

Popular phrases in threes include the following:

I came, I saw, I conquered.
I speak, the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
Fathers, sons, and holy spirits
Friends, Romans, Countrymen
Blood, Sweat and Tears
Lock, Stock and Barrel
Line, Hook and Sinker
Drink, Eat, and be Merry
Do no evil, Think no evil, Speak no evil
The Government of the people, by the people, and for the people

Three simply has its magic. So if you failed twice, don't give up.
You could be third time lucky.

Some tips for thoughts

2011-03-10T15:29:00.003+08:00

1) Don't buy what you don't understand.

2) Never overpay for a stock no matter what.

3) Buying at major support with strong fundamentals is generally safe.

4) Buying in a downtrend is foolish.

5) Stocks with high debts, low or negative earnings, and no dividends are
somebody's problems. Don't make them yours.

6) Averaging up is better than averaging down. Follow strength, not weakness.

7) Don't be lured into buying a stock because of great promises and some rosy pictures.

8) Times of extreme pessimism are the best times to buy.

9) When prices are moving fast, from strength to strength, pay close attention to your charts.
Sell as soon as the exaggerated uptrend line is breached even amid bullish news.

10. Everyone has the right to wait for the best opportunity. Patience is a must if you want to win.

Yongye International CEO Wu Zishen

2011-03-06T14:57:00.004+08:00

"If you invest 40 yuan in one mu of land, I promise you can earn more than 400 yuan, but in reality it is likely to be 3,000 to 4,000 yuan; If you invest 100 to 200 yuan in a cow, I promise you can earn 2,000 yuan and it might exceed 10,000 yuan," Wu said.
The wonder of Shengmingsu: Read more.
Yongye is one of the fastest growth stock in China. Its 1 year target price is 14.67. The stock is listed in Nasdaq and is lasted traded at 6.83.
May God bless your every trade.

Vincent Tan to donate half of this wealth

2011-02-27T10:20:00.002+08:00

Vincent Tan pledges to donate half of this wealth.

Wow! that's great! May god bless him.

Bill gates and his wife Melinda and Warren Buffett initiated "The Giving Pledge". For Vincent to join them is indeed an honor for Malaysia.

According to Bernama, Vincent has RM2.43 billion, and is ranked the 12th richest man in the nation. Read the full article here.

The catalyst that triggers Vincent to such an adorable act is hard to fathom. An article about it will surely be interesting.

Vincent, by an act of great generosity, has propelled himself to the top in the list of philanthropists in the country.

I hope other tycoons will join *The Giving Pledge" and make the world a better place.

To Bill Gates, Melinda, Warren Buffett and Vincent Tan, I salute you.

Outlook for 12 animals

2011-02-25T08:03:00.003+08:00

By Sherry Koh | Jan 13, 2011
Feng Shui 2011: Outlook for 12 animals
Feng Shui master Prof Joe Choo shares the overall outlook for the 12 animals in the Chinese calendar. How will your year be? Find out below!

Rat
Good news for singles − you will have opportunity to meet your life partner this year. Although there are gossips, you have to take it lightly because you know what you are doing. Money luck is strong during the seventh Chinese month and those born in 1948 are the luckiest among all.
Ox
Don’t have to worry over the situation. You have guardian angels with you throughout the year to lift you up and help you solve problems. Those born in 1985, your money luck is exceptionally good; but those born in 1961, you have to watch your health. Don’t overlook it and let it become a serious issue during the first and second Chinese months.
Tiger
This is a lovely year for tigers; a better year than last year. Guardian angels stand by you throughout the year. Money luck is good during the first Chinese month, but after this period, it will be slow. Therefore, you must have a budget plan, especially while you are travelling. Among the tigers, the luckiest is the 1950’s tiger.
Rabbit
You will be given a special task or project to lead. Complete it without expectation of returns, other than words of appreciation. Those born in 1975 and 1963, your career is good and you will do well financially. It is a good year to learn new knowledge or skills and there are opportunities to push you to do it.
Dragon
It is a peaceful year, with no major ups and downs. Dragons of 1976 must take care of health and don’t over-stretch yourself. Your money luck is good during the seventh Chinese month.
Snake
You are very lucky. Guardian angels always show up when you need help. Those born in 1977 will do well in both career and finance. Friends of opposite sex will bring you opportunities. Money luck is good during the third Chinese month.
Horse
The year starts with good news, but you must pace yourself to ensure that your energy lasts throughout the year. Whenever you have problems, remember to go back to your family, as they will give you love and support this year. Those born in 1990 will have travelling luck, but do be careful. You will have extra financial gains in the fourth Chinese month.
Goat
There are guardian angels around to help you, so take up a special job or project and show your ability. Your career line is going upward, not in terms of money, but it will make you happy. Life will be smoother after the fifth Chinese month, so just hold on to what you want to do.
Monkey
Your career is going on an up-curve but not for your finances. Despite this, you will end your year with some celebration. You can avoid financial issues, if you have a plan to follow while you are travelling. Those born in 1968 are going to pick up new knowledge, but do it at your own pace. Your money luck is good in the seventh Chinese month.
Rooster
One after another good news will come to you. You may get a promotion and a good increment. You have guardian angels helping you in the beginning of the year, and in the second half of the year, you will have good financial income.
Dog
Good news for the singles! You have extra financial gain during the fourth Chinese month. Those born in 1958 and 1946, you must take care of your health, especially during the fifth Chinese month.
Pig
It may sound difficult to work and study at the same time, but go ahead and do it. There are plenty of guardian angels to lift you up. This will help to elevate your career to a higher level. For those born in 1947, you must take care while you are travelling in the first Chinese month. Everything will move smoothly after the fourth Chinese month.

Triggers of heart attacks

2011-02-25T07:41:00.002+08:00

Air pollution triggers more heart attacks than using cocaine and poses as high a risk of sparking a heart attack as alcohol, coffee and physical exertion, scientists said on Thursday. Read more.

Panic Over Chinese Stocks Just a Matter of Accounting

2011-02-23T17:18:00.000+08:00

Panic Over Chinese Stocks Just a Matter of Accounting
Wednesday - November 03, 2010 4:35pm
By Crocker Coulson

FOR CHINA DAILY
The summer of 2010 was a miserable time for investors who favored Chinese stocks listed in the United States markets. Despite generally reporting excellent earnings, smaller Chinese equities were crushed by a wave of scandals, short-selling and suspicion. Major financial journals and investing websites wrote about widespread fraud in Chinese accounting practices.

Previously unknown “analysts” published exposé-style reports insinuating all kinds of wrongdoings, including chairmen who stole money from their shareholders, inflated their revenues and skimmed profits from supplier contracts.

As a result, retail and institutional investors fled these stocks in a panic, driving down valuations to low levels. There is a famous saying that Wall Street knows only two emotions: greed and fear. In this simmering summer of 2010, fears about China burned up investors’ holdings, leaving many high-growth companies in ashes.

What led to this sudden explosion of panic about Chinese companies? It wasn’t the economy. China’s economic growth has trounced every developed country and moved to No 2 GDP position in the world. Instead, a few high-profile accounting scandals and massive restatements by prominent US-listed Chinese companies sparked fear that there was a systemic accounting problem in China.

Bearish market commentators such as James Chanos went so far as to say that China’s entire economy is a fraud, and that the books are cooked at almost every Chinese company his firm has researched, making it a “short seller’s dream”.

In an article entitled Beware This Chinese Export, the financial newspaper Barron’s said US investors should shun investing in any small Chinese companies, showing a systemic bias against companies from the fastest-growing economy on the globe.

These articles were even picked up and repeated in the Chinese media. Suddenly every Chinese company was guilty until proven innocent.

This environment of fear created a playground for short sellers and their cronies, amateur analysts and media, who could concoct almost any allegations based on snippets of information and heavy helpings of speculation.

Even flimsy “short” reports could drive down stocks values by 30 percent to 70 percent overnight, making huge profits for the hedge funds that sponsored these articles.

As a result many fine Chinese companies were sucked into a vortex of attacks from all sides, forced to defend themselves against rampant rumors and whisper campaigns.

What has driven this storm of anti-China sentiment in the US equity markets? Some Chinese companies have had very serious problems, including one whose chairman was sentenced to death for corruption, another which restated its earnings by 50 percent, and third which saw its auditor, audit chairman, CEO and CFO all resign in one day.

Every time there is a major stock meltdown, it drags down the value of all the other Chinese companies. Too many of these explosions, and investors start to think that Chinese accounting is synonymous with fiction.

Many Chinese Companies also filed reports to the local administration for industry and commerce offices that vastly understated their revenues and profits, giving short sellers the chance to claim that they fabricated the figures in their US financial filings.

The accounting oversight board in the US, the PCAOB, has been turning up the heat on smaller audit firms that have “outsourced” their responsibilities to local consultants. And the SEC has launched a number of investigations of Chinese issuers.

If Chinese equities have been a “short sellers dream,” the situation has been a nightmare for Chinese management and for US retail investors, many of whom have lost large parts of their savings due to the unscrupulous market manipulation of these funds and the unbridled China-bashing financial media outlets like Barron’s.

Dozens of shareholder lawsuits have been launched by ambulance-chasing law firms. Many mainland companies that are growing at 25 percent or 100 percent a year are now trading at under seven times this year’s earnings, a huge discount to comparable American companies or mainland companies traded in Hong Kong.

This has even led to talk of a “return to the mainland” in which mainland companies would delist from the US and Hong Kong and try their chances for an A-share IPO on the mainland.

In recent weeks it appears the tide has begun to turn and smaller Chinese stocks have been on a tear, bouncing back from extremely depressed levels. Why?

First, China is just too big to ignore and investors who like growth companies are finding slim pickings in the anemic recovery in North America, Japan and Europe.

Second, private equity funds are now on the prowl to buy out these undervalued companies. Baring Private Equity and Goldman Sachs recently teamed up to snap up the public shares of Nasdaq-listed Harbin Electric at a 20 percent premium to its trading price in a $750 million deal.

Several other such deals are reputedly in discussion stages, showing that big money recognizes the value of Chinese small caps.

Third, Chinese IPOs in the US have been the best-performing stocks in the US markets in the past few months.

But for this rally in China small caps to be sustained, Chinese management will need to raise their game to attract international capital and play on a global stage. Larger, reputable auditors have now become a requirement for many fund managers, who don’t want to be blindsided by the next China stock scandal.

Investors want to see a board of directors that is truly independent and providing constructive oversight to management. Insider transactions and family members in the executive ranks are going to be highly scrutinized.

From this summer of misery, good things will come. The best Chinese companies will raise their standards
of accounting and corporate governance and come out stronger.

Auditors and board members will take their oversight function more seriously.

The weak companies will wither and the strong will flourish. And those who had the nerve to invest
when panic was running wild in the streets will draw a rich harvest from China’s ongoing economic miracle.

Crocker Coulson is the president of CCG Investor Relations, a leading adviser to Chinese mainland companies listed in the US and Hong Kong.

Futuristic Japanese Cars

2011-02-22T11:08:00.000+08:00

Score Cards Explained

2011-02-16T09:38:00.002+08:00

What are Score Cards?
Score Cards are an experiment! The idea is to provide all of the most relevant financial data for a growth stock in a quick overview and to compute an automatic Score based on this data. Our theory is that stocks with a high score (8 or higher) will outperform, and those with a low score (0 or lower) will underperform.

IMPORTANT: The Score is automatically generated, no human input is involved. The Score Cards incl. Score are designed to be a starting point for your own research, not to replace it. There are many decisive factors for the valuation of a growth stock that can not and are not reflected in the Score Cards. There can be company-specific reasons why a stock with a very high score is traing at a very low price.

Investing in microcaps, sub-$5 stocks, OTC/BB or Pink Sheets stocks, generally small capitalized stocks without significant institutional backing and especially also U.S.-listed China small caps always comes with a high degree of risk! You should NEVER invest in a stock based on the Score Cards alone, and if you get interested in a stock with a high Score you must dig deeper into the story yourself, look out for other sources, read the company's SEC filings and look at metrics as liquidity and ownership.

The Score is automatically generated and should not be seen as a recommendation to buy or sell a security. The ratings (Buy, Hold, Sell) that are posted next to the Score are also automatically generated and should be interpreted according to the metrics that are used for calculating the Score only! Based on those metrics alone the system says the stock is rated "Buy" or "Sell", but there are many other metrics that are not based on financial data which always have to be considered before making an investment decision.

How is the Score Generated? Click for details here.

BioStar Pharma Tech

2011-02-15T12:15:00.002+08:00

China is too big to ignore. Its growth has been fantastic, so is its inflation which it has been trying to curb.

In Jan, 2011, its imports have gone up by 50% while its exports have gone up by 38% compared to the corresponding period a year ago. It has now overtaken Japan as the 2nd largest economy in the world as reported in the media.

If you are interested to invest in small-cap Chinese stocks that are listed in the NYSE or Nasdaq, be wary that China is infamously popular for fraudulent accounting. In this respect, you have therefore to be particularly careful. To mitigate this risk, do not invest in any company that has high debt, poor cash flow and low earnings. Another factor worthwhile remembering is that growth is of utmost importance. Without growth, a company is best avoided.

One company that I like is BioStar Pharmaceutical (BSPM). The stock is lasted traded at $2.47.

An excerpt: The Company's most popular product is its Xin Ao Xing Oleanolic Acid Capsule, an over-the-counter ("OTC") medicine for chronic hepatitis B, a disease affecting approximately 10% of the Chinese population. In addition to its hepatitis product, Biostar currently manufactures two broad-based OTC products, two prescription-based pharmaceuticals, one medical device and five health supplements. Read more here.

Ronghua is the CEO of BSPM. He is a member of President Hu Jintao's economic advisory group and a representative of medicine. This is a competitive advantage for the company.

For the first 11 months of 2010, the company has shown tremendous growth. Its rural distribution network has surpassed 9500 locations. Going by the numbers, BSPM is a fast-growth stock, probably among the fastest in China. If there is no hanky-panky in the accounts, this one is worth going after. At $2.47, the PE (ttm) is 6.53, and its forward PE for Dec 31, 2011 is estimated to be 3.17. The company has no debt.

In the stock market, risk is always there. If you want the tiger calves, you have to go into the tiger's den.

Nothing Venture, Nothing Gain.

Money Money Money Money Money

2011-02-13T09:26:00.000+08:00

Silver In Great Demand

2011-02-09T18:47:00.001+08:00

Silver is very much undervalued at $30 per ounce

2011-02-09T17:21:00.001+08:00

Corruption Has Gotten Worse

2011-02-09T16:28:00.000+08:00

Terengganu geared for growth

2011-02-08T11:39:00.002+08:00

Under the East Coast Economic Region program, the establishment of Kuala Terengganu City Centre will help turn Kuala Terengganu (KT) into a vibrant Heritage Waterfront City and an international tourism gateway to the East Coast. Accordingly to the MB of KT, there are 38 projects approved for implementation under the 9th Malaysia plan. To read more about these developments, click here.
Two companies that stand to benefit from any development in KT are EPIC & TDM which are my favorites for investment in 2011.
At the present price of 2.40 and 3.16 respectively, they are value for money.

Yongye International Receives Awards Recognizing Products, Technology, and R&D Initiatives

2011-02-01T07:11:00.000+08:00

Yongye International Receives Awards Recognizing Products, Technology, and R&D Initiatives

Long Piau Piau Gongxi Gongxi

2011-01-30T12:42:00.001+08:00

The lunar year of the rabbit 2011, commences on the 3rd February, 2011. Celebration normally last 15 days. The Hokkiens consider the 9th day as the most important day when offerings are made to the "Sky God". To Penangnites, they celebrate the 15th day, Chap Goh Mei, grandly. A maiden who wishes to get a good husband should throw mandarin oranges into a river.
This belief has existed over the years. Believe it or not, that's up to you.
Well ladies, if you want to get a good husband, don't forget to throw some mandarin oranges into a river.
Good luck and Happy New Year to all and sundry!

The manipulation of silver is about to end

2011-01-27T11:46:00.001+08:00

The price of silver is manipulated. The price of silver is intentionally kept low. While this is criminal, it's not illegal. Yet for decades, COMEX, the commodities exchange, has been in cahoots with the biggest silver investors at the expense of the little silver investor. This is about to end, thanks to some regulatory changes that may offer the biggest opportunity for silver investors between January and March of 2011.

What has changed?

Rumors are flying that more than 25 lawsuits have been filed against commercial investors such as JP Morgan and HSBC, accusing them of price manipulation to keep the price of silver artificially low.

The Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which is to the COMEX what the SEC is to the New York Stock Exchange, has passed a new law which will force COMEX to play fair, forbidding such massive short positions on silver.. The actions of the CFTC are one more reason for last November's 14 percent price rise in silver. The price manipulation of silver is about to end.
Read more.

Tri-Technology (Nasdaq: TRIT)

2011-01-19T17:17:00.002+08:00

Accordingly to the World Bank, 90% of the rivers and lakes in China are heavily polluted. Because of urbanization and industrialization, tons of toxin waste are discharged into these waterways yearly. This is a huge problem for China and a great opportunity for companies that have the technology to help the government mitigate this problem.

TRIT is one of these companies. It is a small company based in Beijing. As at 30.9.2010, the total number of shares issued was only 8.03 million. The company is growing very fast. In 2007, its revenue was $4.7 million; in 2008, it was $8.4 million, and for the 12 months ended 30.9.2010, it reached 35.1 million. The company has cash of $29m and very little debt.

Click here for more.