US$2M Bra

Bentong In The Limelight

Bentong shoots into the limelight, unfortunately for the wrong reason. Here's the interesting article.

Wednesday October 27, 2010

Bentong council paid RM871 for a toilet sign

THE Bentong municipal council paid RM871 for a toilet sign when the item could be bought for only RM65.

This was one of many items the council had grossly overpaid to spruce up its Rest House.

The Auditor-General’s Report said the council had overspent on furniture and fixtures by RM80,594.

Among others, the council spent RM38,700 on a set of spiral pendant lights, although the market price for the item was between RM1,500 and RM9,200.

A total of RM49,420 was spent on 14 nyatoh timber leg armchairs, or RM3,530 each, although the market price for a unit was RM990.

The municipal council also paid RM5,379 each for two units of nya toh timber leg three-seater sofas, which cost RM2,040 each in the market.

Like the “Male” and “Female” toilet signs, other signs were also grossly overpaid.

A “bedroom number” that can be bought at the store for RM38 each cost the council RM542 each.

The council paid RM542 for the “surau” sign, which normally costs RM60.

Three sets of a certain type of wall light, which sells between RM165 and RM225 each in the market, were bought by the local authority at RM968 each.

These items – bedroom signs, toilet signs, surau signs and wall lights – were bought at what was deemed “unreasonable” prices and led to excessive expenditure of RM8,859, the report said.

During an audit check at the Rest House, nine shower curtains, nine curtain tracks, two wall lights and a receptical could not be traced.

The total value of the missing items was RM8,765, said the re-port.

Maglev train

This is a maglev train. The sooner we have one in Malaysia, the better. Imagine how much benefit we will get if we can travel from KL to Singapore in one hour. Land value in Malaysia is sure to skyrocket, esp. those in KL, Klang Valley and the Iskandar region.

Lithium, Hybrid Cars and Electric Vehicles

Hybrid cars and electric vehicles (HEV) will be the rage in the immediate future. The beneficiaries to his change are not only the carmakers. Lithium miners will benefit even more.

Lithium will be in great demand and this demand will continue to increase as HEV become more and more popular. This commodity is most efficiently obtained from brines (water strongly impregnated with salt). But not all salt water contains lithium. Seawater does not contain lithium.

The key component in the next-generation electric car batteries is lithium.

One company that is listed in the NYSE stands to benefit the most in this respect. This company has the largest deposits of lithium in the world, thanks to its salt flat known as Salar de Atacama in Chile. Because of its location and the quality of its water, lithium produced by this company is about 30-50% cheaper than other lithium miners. Another advantage for this company is that the climatic condition there is such that the company can work all the year round.

Besides lithium, the company also produces fertilizer and many other industrial chemicals. I think this company will do very well in 2011 and beyond. Its price is likely to shoot up.

If you wish to know the name of this company, please join as a member of this blog, and write me an e-mail briefly introducing yourself.

As to when is the best time to buy the stock, I can't tell you because, simply put, I don't know. You will have to figure that out yourself.

Those who are already members of this blog can SMS or call me to find out. My phone no. is: 016-9321849.

Happy investing.

Mitsui partners Hyflux

Hyflux and Mitsui set up joint venture to capture growth opportunities in China’s water sector
Hyflux and Japan’s Mitsui & Co Ltd (Mitsui), a global diversified trading, investment and service group, have tied up to form a formidable partnership to capture the growth opportunities in the water sector of China... To read more, click here.

Olivia Lum

A Water Stock

Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink. If you are in the middle of an ocean, that's probably the case because sea water is not potable water.The importance of fresh water needs little explanation. In short, we can't live without it.

Only 3% of the world's water is fresh. Each day, more than one billion people do not have enough fresh water.

China has a population of 1.3 billion which is about one-fifth of the world's population. It has, however, only about 7% of the world's fresh water.

Industrial activities in the country has made the situation worse. Many rivers are now polluted with chemical waste. There is a heavy price to pay if China does not take steps to quickly reverse the deteriorating atmosphere.

Every industry, be it pharmaceutical, electronics, construction, food and beverages, etc. need fresh water.

Luckily, fresh water can now be created by converting salt water to fresh water by a process called: Desalination. The company which has this technology is practically sitting on a goldmine.

I have been hunting high and low for a safe company that has the potential to become great, to invest. After much time and effort, I finally short-listed a few. Among them, there is one company which I like most. This company is a pioneer in converting waste water and salt water into fresh water. It is a leading provider of integrated water management and environmental solutions with operations and projects in Singapore, Southeast Asia, China, India, Algeria, the Middle East and North Africa.

Here's some info about the company from a source which is as follows:

From 2004 to 2009. top-line growth was +594%. Earnings rose nearly +250%. From 2002 to 2009, the stock has returned 826%. The stock is listed in the Singapore Stock Exchange.

Going forward, I think there are huge potentials for this company which has won many awards and is among the Forbes Best of 200. The company excels in special filters used in desalinization. In 2008, it was selected as the supplier for the largest plant in Algeria.

Some of you may know the name of the stock. But for those who do not know but wish to invest in the stock, they can send me an e-mail requesting for the name of the stock.

My e-mail address is at the top right-hand side of this page.

Happy investing.

FimaCorp

This sleeping beauty is well on track to hit RM6 by year end. Volume has improved slightly with an improvement in the price. The stock is likely to announce sterling performance for the quarter ended 30.9.10 as palm oil price has been doing well the past few months. At the time of this post, the stock has put on 24 sen and traded at RM5.36. Better prices are ahead, in my opinion.

Chamang Water Fall, Bentong

Normally, the water is clear. On this particular day, it was muddy because of development uphill. Be careful when you are climbing the rocks. Some places are slippery and dangerous!

Chamang Water Fall, Bentong

The Bentong Chamang Waterfall is indeed a sight to behold. Located about 12 km outside the Bentong town, it is easily accessible by cars and buses. During certain week-ends as many as ten buses have visited the place in a day. If you have not been there, it's time for you to plan a visit.
This place will do well if developed further. The clean water, fresh air and natural atmosphere with its lush flora and fauna greenery coupled with tall trees and mountains are ideal for a week-end retreat. At one time it was rumored to have a cable-car connection to Genting. Unfortunately, the idea did not materialize. If it did, Bentong would have been up-rated and up-graded.
Those with the financial muscles and the right connection should bid to privatize the place and turn it into a viable beautiful resort.
The money is there for the taking. The big boys should think about it.
To read more, click here.

Lemongrass Kills Cancer Cells

Lemongrass, known as Serai in Malay is a tropical grass native to India & Sri Lanka. It has a pungent smell and is widely used in Asian cooking, especially in curry and seafood soup. The grass is also used for making perfumes. Used as a tea, it is said that the substance, citral, in Lemongrass, causes cancer cells to commit suicide. You can plant some at home in your planting pots and have them every day if you wish.
To know more, click here.

Silver

I highlighted silver in my post of 27 Dec 2009. One counter that I mentioned and invested in was SVM which was then traded at around 6.50. Yesterday the stock was last done at 9.42. This is an improvement of 44.9% in less than 10 months.

In some of my predictions I might be wrong, but on this one, I was right.

Below is an article about silver which I believe has plenty of upside in the years to come:


You Can Still Catch Silver's Rising Star
http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2010/10/14/you-can-still-catch-silvers-rising-star.aspx
Christopher Barker
October 14, 2010

These days it displays all the speed of a shooting star -- but shows none of the propensity for petering out.
I am speaking, of course, of silver, which is tethered to gold by the slingshot effect. Investors are witnessing that slingshot effect in action, as silver has surged briskly to bring the gold-to-silver price ratio nearer to the range of modern historical averages. Long-term, I expect silver to outpace gold until a ratio of about 40:1 is achieved, but at the present level of roughly 56:1, we are already well on the road to correcting the anomalous peak of 80:1 reached in 2008.
Silver's meteoric 36% rise -- from about $18 in late August, to more than $24.50 on Thursday -- has translated into some noteworthy moves among the shares of silver miners and explorers. Silver Wheaton (NYSE: SLW) has led the charge all year long, bringing my top stock pick for 2010 to an 84% increase year to date. Shares of junior miner Endeavour Silver (AMEX: EXK) have surged more than 50% since my mid-August interview with CEO Bradford Cooke documented his on-the-money call for a strong rise in silver prices. Popular Fool favorite Hecla Mining (NYSE: HL) has enjoyed a similar rise, though its shares have yet to record a fresh 52-week high.
Although I foresee a meaningful continuation of this secular bull market trend for silver (toward my long-term target price of $50 per ounce), I understand the difficult position that newcomers face in mulling fresh exposure to silver at these elevated price levels. Back in May, I proposed that any silver stock will do, but as the trend matures further, effective stock picking becomes increasingly significant as a means to ease concerns over downside risk.
When I want to sleep well at night while investing in a red-hot space like silver, I hunt for value. For newcomers seeking the widest value moat in the business, I recommend a careful look at major producer Pan American Silver (Nasdaq: PAAS).
At nearly twice the market capitalization of low-cost sensation Silvercorp Metals (NYSE: SVM), Pan American Silver is a well-established leader among primary silver producers that seems to garner little attention from investors. Following a long-awaited breakout through the $30 threshold, however, I suspect these shares could begin to rapidly close what I have presented as a meaningful valuation gap. This miner has a net cash position, holds massive untapped reserves, expects 23.4 million ounces of low-cost silver production for 2010, and even pays a small dividend. It is my contention that a major rift remains between the stock's present level and anything approaching fair value.
I am eager to hear your thoughts on the matter and encourage you to share your opinions in the comments section below.

As usual, you invest at your own risk absolutely.

Water Pollution in China

About one third of the industrial waste water and more than 90 percent of household sewage in China is released into rivers and lakes without being treated. Nearly 80 percent of China's cities (278 of them) have no sewage treatment facilities and few have plans to build any and underground water supplies in 90 percent of the cites are contaminated.
To read more, click here.

Drive Electric Cars

Lithium - What it is and how it is mined

(Reuters) - Here are the key ways of mining lithium, a highly reactive material that is used in batteries for electric and hybrid vehicles. Demand is likely to double over the next decade as more electric vehicles arrive on the road.

Lithium is mined from three sources: lithium brines, spodumene and clay deposits.

Analysts generally agree that cost of production for lithium brines is about half that of spodumene, which is a hard rock. As a result, salt lake exploration has boomed.

BRINES

Concentration: Not all salt lakes contain lithium, and in order to be cost effective, the concentration should be 600 mg of lithium per liter.

Magnesium: Too much magnesium can also cause problems, a ratio of more than 9:1 magnesium to lithium is considered uneconomical.

Evaporation: With brines, salt water containing lithium is pumped from the ground and into an evaporation pond. Filling the pond takes about a year, then the evaporation process can take anywhere from about eight months to three years.

MAIN BRINE PRODUCERS:

SQM - Atacama, Chile - over 1000 mg lithium per liter

Rockwood - Atacama, Chile - over 1000 mg lithium per liter

Rockwood - Silver Peak, U.S. - 200 mg lithium per liter

FMC - Hombre Muerto, Argentina - 600 mg lithium per liter

Bolivia - Salar de Uyuni - largest lithium deposit in the world

China - Zabuye, Dongtai, Xitai deposits in Tibet

SPODUMENE

With spodumene deposits, the rock must be mined, heated up to 1,100 degrees Celsius and then pulverized before the spodumene crystal are processed with acid to produce lithium.

Predictions

Predictions can make you rich only when you know how to make use of them.

Financial research outfit StreetAuthority predicts that:

a) A pain killer made from cobra venom will be on sale in 2011. This will push the stock of its maker 568% higher.

b) Tiny nuclear power plants will skyrocket the revenues of one company it is watching.

c) Electric cars will be the rage of 2011. Investors in a rare commodity from the Chilean desert will profit the most.

d) Online gambling will make a comeback in 2011, and Congress will legalize it.

e) The most critical commodity for China's economy in 2011 will be water, not oil.

If you are interested to read more of its predictions, click here.

NasdaqCM: ABAT

NasdaqCM: ABAT)

Is Advanced Battery Technologies a Buy? http://www.fool.com/investing/high-growth/2010/09/18/is-advanced-battery-technologies-a-buy.aspx Travis Hoium September 18, 2010 If you've followed the development of the lithium-ion-battery industry, you may have noticed that two kinds of companies emerging: companies that promise results and those that deliver. For years, American battery makers Ener1 (Nasdaq: HEV) and A123 Systems (Nasdaq: AONE) have talked about the promise of their technologies and the number of partnerships they've developed with the automotive industry. Yet they have very little to show for all their boasting. But while we've been distracted by federal grants and presidential speeches, Advanced Battery Technologies (Nasdaq: ABAT) has built a profitable business overseas in China. Part of Advanced Battery's success lies in its diversified product line of battery-powered products. Ener1 and A123 are still trying to build a business by selling to auto manufacturers, while Advanced Battery Technologies is running a business by selling electric scooters, bicycles, and sport-utility vehicles and providing batteries for electric motorcycles in the United States. Its business model is similar to that of Buffett pick BYD, which sells much more than just batteries. The following table illustrates the contrast of potential versus reality. If the electric-vehicle market takes off, Ener1 and A123 could enjoy a big-time upside, but Advanced Battery Technologies already has proven revenue and profits. Company Market Cap, Millions Revenue, Millions (Trailing 12 Months) Gross Margin (Trailing 12 Months) P/E Advanced Battery Technologies $230 $81.5 46.3% 6.49 Ener1 $477 $46.1 10.2% N/A A123 $960 $95.2 (7.3%) N/A Sources: fool.com, Yahoo! Finance. No one really knows how the electric-vehicle industry will develop or how much of its promise will come true. But whatever happens, with these three companies you have a choice between the hope of earnings and proven earnings. I'll take Advanced Battery Technologies' proven track record seven days a week over the competition. More on Batteries and Electric Vehicles: A Big Upgrade for Advanced Battery Technologies Will Anyone Buy Electric Cars? The Best Investment Wall Street Won't Touch

Paramount Corp

Paramount Corp (PC) has breached its overhead resistance. It is now poised to go higher. If you are not on board the ship yet, it may not be too late to jump onto the bandwagon.

As at June 30, 2010, PC has cash and bank balances of 231.64 million. From the sale of its JIB shares, it will add more than 130 million to its coffers. With so much cash in hand and little borrowings, PC is likely to give out some goodies to its shareholders. A bonus issue and a special dividend are possibilities. PC has a small paid-up capital of only RM117,482,000. Its par value per share is RM1.

EPS for the 6 months ended 30.6.10 was 36.23 sen. And according to the management, the group's prospects for the remaining 6 months are expected to be good. Using this figure to annulize, the EPS for the year would be 72.46 sen.

PC closed at 4.52 per share last Friday. At his price, the forward PE is 6.237. This is undemanding as the average PE in the property sector is much higher. If PC is rated at a PE of 8, which I think is not unreasonable, the price goes up to 5.80. Hence, there is still money to be made from PC if you buy the stock now.

The much-talked-about Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) which includes the mass rapid transit (MRT) and the high-speed train projects which if implemented successfully would result in rapid rise in the prices of land in Malaysia. This will boost the value of PC whose core businesses are in property development, construction, and education.

Stock prices are extremely difficult to predict. So, as usual, you buy or sell at your own risk absolutely.