Malaysia-Finance Blogspot

Remembering Bukit Merah

2012-02-27T11:36:00.000+08:00

Mitsubishi Quietly Cleans Up Its Former Refinery

Rahman Roslan for The New York Times

Lai Kwan prepares to bathe her son, Cheah Kok Leong, who was born with severe mental disabilities. She believes that his condition is related to the radioactive exposure she received while working at the Mitsubishi Chemical’s refinery in Bukit Merah.

By KEITH BRADSHER

Published: March 8, 2011

REPRINTS

BUKIT MERAH, Malaysia — Hidden here in the jungles of north-central Malaysia, in a broad valley fringed with cave-pocked limestone cliffs topped with acacia and durian trees, lies the site of the largest radiation cleanup yet in the rare earth industry.

Residents blamed a rare earth refinery for birth defects and eight leukemia cases within five years in a community of 11,000 — after many years with no leukemia cases. Seven of the leukemia victims have since died.

The Bukit Merah case is little known even elsewhere in Malaysia, and virtually unknown in the West, because Mitsubishi Chemical quietly agreed to fix the problem even without a legal order to do so. Local protesters had contacted Japanese environmentalists and politicians, who in turn helped persuade the image-conscious company to close the refinery in 1992 and subsequently spend an estimated $100 million to clean up the site.

Image-burnishing was important because the company is part of the Mitsubishi Group of Companies, which has long made Malaysia the cornerstone of its southeast Asian operations. The group has dominant positions in manufacturing a range of products, including air-conditioners and cars.

Mitsubishi Chemical also reached an out-of-court settlement with residents here by agreeing to donate $164,000 to the community’s schools, while denying any responsibility for illnesses.

Osamu Shimizu, the director of Asian Rare Earth, the Mitsubishi Chemical subsidiary that owns the mine, declined to discuss details of the factory’s operation before it closed in 1992. But he said that the company was committed to a safe and complete cleanup.

Workers in protective gear have already removed 11,000 truckloads of radioactively contaminated material, hauling away every trace of the old refinery and even tainted soil from beneath it, down to the bedrock as much as 25 feet below, said Anthony Goh, the consultant overseeing the project for one of Mitsubishi’s contractors, GeoSyntec, an Atlanta-based firm.

To dispose of the radioactive material, engineers have cut the top off a hill three miles away in a forest reserve, buried the material inside the hill’s core and then entombed it under more than 20 feet of clay and granite.

The toughest part of the Bukit Merah cleanup will come this summer, when robots and workers in protective gear are to start trying to move more than 80,000 steel barrels of radioactive waste from a concrete bunker. They will mix it with cement and gypsum, and then permanently store it in the hilltop repository.

The refinery processed slag from old tin mines — material rich in rare earth ore. The company and Malaysian regulators said that it was statistically possible that the leukemia cases were a coincidence because tin mining towns tend to have above-average levels of background radiation. But an academic study of another tin mining town suggested that communities of Bukit Merah’s size should only have one leukemia case every 30 years.

Lai Kwan, aged 69, still recalls how she cheerfully moved in the 1980s from a sawmill job to a better-paying position in the refinery that involved proximity to radioactive materials. She remembers that while pregnant, she was told to take an unpaid day off only on days when the factory bosses said that a particularly dangerous consignment of ore had arrived.

She has spent the last 29 years washing, dressing, feeding and otherwise taking care of her son from that pregnancy, who was born with severe mental and physical disabilities. She and other local residents blame the refinery for the problems, although birth defects can have many causes.

“We saw it as a chance to get better pay,” Ms. Lai recalled. “We didn’t know what they were producing.”

A version of this article appeared in print on March 9, 2011, on page B4 of the New York edition.

Classic Value-Momentum Investing Candidate

2012-02-25T14:49:00.000+08:00

I wrote about Ewein back in November which had a run then and then fizzled out. Over the last few days, volume and price activity have perked up significantly again. Will that fizzle out as well? No one knows. Sometimes, we have to note these momentum driven plays (with good fundamentals), sometimes it may take more than one run to "confirm" things. A stock may run on news of certain corporate developments, but as we all know the germination of an idea takes time to execute. Maybe this run is a better prelude to a proper move, I might be wrong again, but considering that the share has not had a significant run for more than a year, its a calculated good bet.

Key levels, 99 sen, its 4 week high and 1.15 its 52 week high.

Date	Open	Range	Close	Change	Volume
24/02/2012	0.925	0.92 - 0.975	0.965	+0.04 (4.32%)	1,213,900
23/02/2012	0.89	0.88 - 0.93	0.925	+0.035 (3.93%)	1,011,300
22/02/2012	0.84	0.835 - 0.895	0.89	+0.05 (5.95%)	764,100
21/02/2012	0.805	0.825 - 0.85	0.84	+0.035 (4.35%)	60,600
20/02/2012	0.99	0.80 - 0.84	0.805	-0.185 (18.69%)	28,600
17/02/2012	0.99	0.00 - 0.00	0.99	0.00 (0.00%)	0
16/02/2012	0.805	0.79 - 0.99	0.99	+0.185 (22.98%)	15,100
15/02/2012	0.83	0.78 - 0.805	0.805	-0.025 (3.01%)	25,100
14/02/2012	0.84	0.79 - 0.83	0.83	-0.01 (1.19%)	5,100

Previous write up back in November 18, 2011:
http://malaysiafinance.blogspot.com/search?q=ewein

NOTE: The above opinion is not an invitation to buy or sell. It serves as a blogging activity of my investing thoughts and ideas, this does not represent an investment advisory service as I charge no subscription or management fees. The content on this site is provided as general information only and should not be taken as investment advice. All site content, shall not be construed as a recommendation to buy or sell any security or financial instrument. The ideas expressed are solely the opinions of the author. Any action that you take as a result of information, analysis, or commentary on this site is ultimately your responsibility. Consult your investment adviser before making any investment decisions.

Tickets Moving Well (Updated)

2012-02-24T11:09:00.000+08:00

24 seats left (10am, 24 Feb)
37 seats left (10am, 21 Feb)

Sold 160, 53 seats left (9am, 20 Feb)
Sold 151, 62 seats left. (10am, 15 Feb)
Sold 144, 69 seats left. (10am, 14 Feb)
Sold 135, 77 seats left. (10am, 13 Feb)

Must Watch This Concert

2012-02-22T13:42:00.003+08:00

Chinese modern music, well, we are basically talking of music in Mandarin, in the 70s and 80s and even 90s, was blooming. The masters who basically shared the 3 decades were Lau Ka Cheong and Lee Choong Seng (in Cantonese). Between the two of them, they composed the best songs for that 3 decades. While Lau's music may be more recognisable to the seniors, the songs are still classics.

Lee, to me is a greater artiste, as his lyrics can literally floor you, straight from his heart, straight through your heart. Tickets are limited to 400 and it has been selling well, get yours quick. Plus the highly polished team led by Tay Cher Siang, its bound to breathe new life to these classics.

Have a look at the videos, the first two by Mr. Lau and the rest by Mr. Lee ... OMG, what I would pay to get front row seats at a Lee Choong Seng concert ... my fav, the last song Ling Wu (note the lyrics).

When Liu Jia Chang Meets Li Zong Sheng

The recent comeback of Chinese Pop Godfathers, Liu Jia Chang and Li Zong Sheng (Jonathan Lee) ,into the Chinese pop music scene only indicates one thing: Chinese pop in the 70s and 80s have more substance and is still well cherished and is way better than today’s overly commercialized Chinese pop.

The structure of their music lends itself naturally to jazz re-arrangement. Our idea is to give it a pop/jazz treatment and some wicked twists, with the hope of revitalizing the music of these two great musicians.

Winnie Ho, pop pop music's established Chinese Jazz Sensation (fresh from her 3 stunning concerts of "The Jazzy Sounds of Teresa Teng" last year) , together with Worm Lee and Jeffery Lim, our two guest male vocalists, would be the singers to carry out the vocal tasks. As usual, they are strongly backed by Hotcake-Music Director Tay Cher Siang’s WVC trio+1.

【街燈下的寂寞難耐】

70年代的音樂教父劉家昌，80年代的樂壇教父李宗盛，最近又串紅起來。兩位大師曾經創作過無數耳熟能詳，膾炙人口的好歌，更因此造就許多樂壇天王天後的誕生。兩位大師的作品又在一次被大家大量傳唱。這印證了，歷久不衰的好歌是經得起時代的考驗的。

透過【街】音樂會，我們再一次喚醒這些歌曲的記憶。巧妙結合爵士樂的手法，讓兩位音樂大師的代表作在爵士樂中更天馬行空。

Winnie Ho何芸妮，大馬新一代的【爵女】，加上她最有默契的搭檔WVC trio+1。同時擔綱重要角色的Worm Lee 和阿飛，是pop pop music重點推薦的兩把極具性格的好聲音。

Concert Date: 10^th March 2012 (Saturday)

Time: 8:00pm to 10:00pm

Venue: Bentley Music Auditorium, Mutiara Damansara

Admission Pass: RM125 and RM85

Ticketing Outlets: Popular Bookstore outlets:

CDRAMA (Ikano Power Centre): 03-77259188

CDRAMA (1-Utama, Old Wing): 03-77225416

Telephone Booking: 012-2083790

Hotline : 012-2083790

Why Felda Global Ventures Is So Important To So Many

2012-02-22T09:20:00.000+08:00

The investing community seems to regard Felda Global Ventures as another mega sized listing, and just happily trading the stock when it lists. It is a cash cow for sure, but its also about the equitable treatment of the settlers/stakeholders/peasants/farmers. There are news, theories and conspiracies. Read and try to discern and ask more probing questions, we all should arrive at our own conclusions. At least for now the injunction is approved, thus halting the steamrolling listing.

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From Business Times today:

The highly anticipated drama at Koperasi Permodalan Felda Malaysia Bhd (KPF)’s headquarters here today fizzled out when it cancelled its extraordinary general meeting (EGM).

In a statement yesterday, the 224,000-strong cooperative said the meeting was called off following the Kuantan High Court’s temporary injunction blocking the transfer of shares from the cash-rich cooperative to Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd.

Felda Global is on its way to a listing on Bursa Malaysia, expected to be as early as May.

“The cancellation is due to the Kuantan High Court order, through an interim injunction dated February 17, 2012,” KPF secretary Abidin Abd Rahman said in a statement yesterday.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had been scheduled to attend the event. Last week, eight settlers who are members of
the KPF filed an application at the same court for an injunction to block the share transfer from KPF to Felda Global or for discussing it at the EGM.

It was the third application for an injunction against KPF.
The National Felda Settlers Children’s Association (Anak)
had filed a similar action twice, one to prevent KPF from holding its EGM end of last year, and the other today.

Lawyer Mohd Haris Abdullah, representing the settlers, said the application was made to prevent KPF from disposing of all or part of its equity in Felda Holdings Bhd to Felda Global.

KPF owns 51 per cent of Felda Holdings while the remaining 49 per cent is owned by Felda Global. Among the grounds for the application was that the KPF’s proposal to dispose of its equity
in Felda Holdings and other subsidiaries, worth RM3.13 billion, to Felda Global would not benefit them or KPF shareholders.

The settlers also claimed that the delegates who would attend the February 22 meeting were never given the mandate by KPF members to represent them at the EGM.

National Association of Smallholders Malaysia president Datuk Aliasak Ambia said the EGM was cancelled probably due to, among
others, the non-compliance with the Cooperative Act and the cooperative rules and regulations.

“KPF must do its homework first before carrying out the EGM. But I see this as temporary as the majority of settlers are all for the listing.

“The cancellation is good as it gives members more time to reflect on electing new board members such as a new chairman, secretary or treasurer at the next elections.”

An analyst at a local brokerage said it was unlikely that the listing would be derailed as the government is the ultimate owner of Felda.

"The Felda management must resolve this fast to build up investors' confidence," said the analyst.

Felda chairman Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad said the EGM cancellation would not derail the listing, which is on track for as early as May.

He declined to elaborate as he did not want to contravene the Securities Commission listing rules.

Felda Global is the commercial arm of the government-owned Federal Land Development Authority (Felda). It has operations in 11 countries, partly contributing to Felda's annual revenue of more than RM20 billion.

Read more: Koperasi Permodalan Felda cancels EGM http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20120222002438/Article/index_html#ixzz1n4Igrg00
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From Malaysia Today's site:

That was what The Edge reported on Valentine’s Day, 14 February 2012. You can read the other news reports below, mostly controversial in nature.

Now, what I want you to focus on is this: Ethos & Company. And this is what they say on their website:

Ethos & Company is a boutique strategy-consulting firm based in Kuala Lumpur. We focus on serving private and public-sector clients on business and organisational transformation - from upfront planning to execution and implementation support. We aim to deliver value through building trusting relationships with our clients, working closely with our clients to solve their most critical issues, and creating lasting impact through insightful recommendations. (http://www.ethos.com.my/)

And the main man in Ethos is Omar Mustapha Ong, the person who is advising Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak on his corporate moves and has been doing so even back in the days when Najib was still just the Deputy Prime Minister.

Omar Mustapha Ong is a member of Khairy Jamaluddin’s ‘Fourth Floor Boys’, the team that helped Abdullah Ahmad Badawi run the country when he was the Prime Minister. They not only ran the country. They ran it into the ground.

Do you remember The Khairy Chronicles that Malaysia Today published in the days when Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was the Prime Minister? Well, the whole story of ‘The Fourth Floor Boys’ had been revealed in great detail in this series that ran for more than a year.

Basically, what the news reports below have not revealed is how much are the boys within Najib’s inner circle going to make out of this entire exercise which is going to run into tens of billions of Ringgit? Yes, we are no longer talking about millions. We are not even talking about billions any more. We are talking about tens of billions.

That is called inflation.

Felda was the creation of the Second Prime Minister, Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, Najib’s father. It was so successful that the United Nations FAO used to send people from Africa and Latin America to Malaysia to study what Felda did so that they can go back to their own countries and do the same thing. Felda was the example for the world to follow.

Well, it is so successful that it has become a cash cow with a potential exceeding RM20 billion. So now they want to milk this cash cow till its tits run dry. And those boys surrounding Najib are going to dip their straw into the pail to sip the milk. And because there will be so much milk no one is going to notice the absence of a few drops.

Isn’t it nice to have cows around, you know, that animal with four legs and a tail and that goes moooooo? Hmm…I wonder what Moohidin’s boys are going to do about this. Surely they are not going to just keep quiet. This is the perfect opportunity to bring Najib down.

Hey, hold on a minute! Isn’t Omar Mustapha Ong one of Khairy’s boys? And are not Najib’s boys plus Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad pissed big time because Najib has given this assignment to someone they perceive as Khairy’s boy -- plus appointed him to the Board of Petronas? And aren’t Najib’s boys plus Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad trying to cut off Omar Mustapha Ong’s head with a rusty sword?

If I were a person with a suspicious mind I would say that Omar Mustapha Ong is setting Najib up for a fall with this Felda thing while making big bucks in the process. But then you know me. I have a wild imagination. I see conspiracies even when there are none.

I am sure this is a legitimate corporate exercise merely meant to help poor land settlers make some retirement money, that is all. And there are no behind-the-scenes goings-on at all. I mean, surely Umno is not going to screw the Felda settlers when the next general election will soon be upon us and Umno needs every vote it can get.

By the way, do you know who Omar Mustapha Ong’s father is? Yes, that’s right, the same man who tried to fix up Anwar Ibrahim on sodomy charges. (Read more here:http://www.freeanwar.net/jan2003/Anwar_Appeal_Hearing_Day2_b.htm ).

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This was what Anwar Ibrahim said in June last year:

Malaysian citizens have the right to know all information pertaining to Felda Global Ventures Sdn Bhd and its parent body the Lembaga Pertubuhan Felda, including the losses suffered by the subsidiaries and not only the main Group.

This is vital because we believe that Felda Global Ventures and Lembaga Pertubuhan Felda have borrowed about RM6 billion from the Employees Provident Fund, which of course is money belonging to the Malaysian citizens. Lembaga Pertubuhan Felda had firstly borrowed RM6 billion from EPF, out of which RM3 billion it loaned to Felda Global Ventures.

Why was the borrowing done by Felda without the Bill being tabled in Parliament, where the voice of the Malaysian citizens are being represented? Who authorised the EPF to loan such a big sum to the Felda Group? We also believe that overseas investments undertaken by the Felda Group using the funds borrowed from EPF have all incurred losses.

We believe that all the overseas investments undertaken by Felda Global Ventures using the borrowed funds from EPF and investing under the names of Felda Iffco Sdn Bhd, Twin Rivers Technologies US, TRT-ETGO Canada, Felda Global Ventures Middle East and also Felda Global Ventures Arabia have all suffered accummulated losses from the years 1997 to 2010 amounting to the sum of RM500 million and the stupidity of the management of Felda Global Ventures is just as great if not greater than the mismanagement of Sime Darby.

With Felda Global Ventures suffering such a massive loss in its overseas investments, we believe that the loan from EPF will not be repaid, but the repayment period will be extended and this will be borne by the Malaysian citizens. We believe that the Prime Minister has no knowledge of the terrible losses incurred by Felda Global Ventures in its overseas investments as the losses have been concealed by the massive profits made by Felda Global Ventures in its annual palm oil trading activities.

In reality, the profits from the palm oil trading by Felda Global Ventures have been used to subsidise the overseas losses suffered by Felda. The Prime Minister has proudly praised Felda Global Ventures for its overseas investments, but it is really shameful, as we believe that in actual fact, nearly all the overseas investments made by Felda Global Ventures have incurred losses.

We are made to understand that the investment that was made under the name of Twin Rivers Technologies US, a factory processing food and protein fats in the United States of America is the worst investment ever made in the corporate history of Malaysia. The early investment sum totalling RM175 million was forked out to buy over Twin Rivers Technologies US, which was sold by Procter & Gamble.

We are made to understand that after buying over Twin Rivers Technologies US, the Bank of America has made a demand for the loan amounting to USD100 million owed by Twin Rivers Technologies US. Felda Global Ventures then borrowed RM300 million from CIMB to pay Bank of America.

It also came to our knowledge that Felda Global Ventures have spent around RM600 million for a processing factory in Canada under a subsidiary of Twin Rivers Technologies US which goes by the name of TRT-ETGO Canada which until to-date has never made any profits.

Did Felda Global Ventures give any more loans to TRT-ETGO Canada amounting to the sum of RM100 million? Due to this, we believe that the overall investment of Twin Rivers Technologies US inclusive of its subsidiary is around RM1.175 billion. Although the investment is massive, we believe that Twin Rivers Technologies US has incurred losses every year from year 2007 to year 2010 with the amount close to being RM500 million.

If it is true that the Felda Group has borrowed RM6 billion from the Malaysian citizens via the EPF, we demand that an investigation be made into the activities of the Felda Group similar to what is being done in regards to the investigation on Sime Darby's activities and those in the Felda Group, for instance, its Chief Investment Strategy Officer, Suzana Wati Idayu Othman and its board of directors who are guilty in making these decisions that made Felda Group incurred such massive losses should be held responsible for their negligence in carrying out their duties.

Under the Felda Act, all the investments of Felda Group, in principle requires the approval of the Minister who is responsible for Felda, which since 1997 has been Dato' Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Whether the investment losses have been revealed to Najib or not revealed to Najib by the management of Felda Global Ventures, the responsibility of the losses must be borne by Felda Global Ventures and Najib. An investigation must be ordered into the matter and the results of the investigation revealed to the Malaysian citizens.

It is understood that Ethos Consulting, a firm where one of its partners Omar Mustapha Ong is a former special officer attached to Prime Minister Najib has been appointed as a consultant for Felda Global Ventures. We demand to know what is the consultant fee that is paid to Ethos Consulting by Felda Global Ventures and how is it that a consultant firm that has no expertise in the agriculture industry has been appointed as consultant for Felda Global Ventures?

If it is true that the overseas investments of Felda Global Ventures have incurred losses, then consultant fee payments should not be made to Ethos Consulting as it is obvious that it has failed to give sound advice. The Malaysian citizens demand answers to all the above questions because Felda has borrowed RM6 billion from us.

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FGV listing: Corporate vs. Peasant Settler

(Sakmongkol AK47, 26 December 2011) - Two upcoming events are waited upon with great anticipation. (1) The outcome of an injunction application by a few settlers to stop the FELDA FGV listing and (2) the 5th January EGM of Koperasi Permodalan FELDA.

The outcome of the second event is a foregone conclusion. Chairman Isa will get elected as the KPF chairman despite not having the qualifications to become an office bearer. He is not a settler nor is he a FELDA employee. But the Minister in Charge of FELDA has given his approval, what can people do. The Minister is also the PM. He is lord over whoever lives in this land.

We must not be sidetracked by this sideshow involving the two-bit actor Isa Samad. The more pressing matter concerns the listing exercise.

Why the injunction? Why should four people extend energy and time and assume the risks of being called traitors and all that want to apply an injunction? Greed can’t be the overriding objective? If it is, it’s more profitable for the four people to side with Chairman Isa who can be generous as he is pleased.

The object of the injunction is to stop FGV taking over assets and shares belonging to KPF in FELDA Holdings. These people believed that the 350,000 hectares of land which FELDA took was actually meant for settlers. All the assets owned by KPF in FELDA Holdings will be leased to FGV for the next 99 years.

They will no longer exercise control over the assets as their interests are all converted into shares. FELDA Holdings is 51% owned by settlers and 49% owned by FELDA Global.

They are willing to risk it all, because they believe settlers are being sold out.

This listing is the ultimate short-changing of settlers. The first occurred when FELDA withheld more than 300,000 hectares of land from being given to settlers. By assuming ownership of the land, FELDA was able to become a planter itself.

So we have the peasant settler and the corporate settler. The corporate settlers have moved on to becoming fabulously rich while the peasant settler (Tun Razak’s regimented landless and jobless) have remained relatively behind. They get to enjoy the trickle down effects defined and determined by FELDA who practically run the business on behalf and for the benefit of settlers.

The corporate settler sells CPO and busies itself in a wide range of downstream manufacturing and marketing activities. They were even able to go into various businesses out of the capital created from ownership of the land, which was supposed to go to the landless and jobless.

The second took place, when FELDA listed its sugar refining business. It made over RM800 million out of that IPO. How much did KPF make by virtue of owning 20% of the business? On paper it made 300 million?

How did Sabri Ahmad cull this figure? If KPF makes a paper gain of 300 million and the 300 million is 20%, then the whole gain is 1.5 billion. But Sabri says, FELDA made 800 million. Maybe it’s just a figure of speech - the point is, he wanted to say KPF made money albeit on paper. Does that raise the share value of KPF in FELDA Holdings now that it made 300 million paper gain?

If the injunction is successful, the proposed listing of FELDA Global will be delayed. The listing will see the merger of FELDA Holdings with FELDA Global. The smaller partner in terms of equity, FELDA Global is buying out KPF who has 51%.

How is the nature of the transaction? Does it involve and offer by FGV to buy out KPF at a certain price or will it involve just a share swap? You priced it with premium fella - that’s why KPF is getting 61%.

But the share price of the new listed entity is also at a premium. You can easily inflate the price of the would be listed entity, paint glossy pictures, introduce exotic phrase such as unlocking value and so forth- you will probably induce KPF representatives to believe they are getting a good deal. KPF will get 61%. That’s good you say. Isa Samad goes around berating ungrateful settlers - apa lagi awak semua mahu - dari 51% jadi 61%?

But we ask in return - 61% of how much? If 30% of the shares are sold to the public, the settlers end up with 61% of 70% of the business. That’s not all. 30% is held by the public - the interests of settlers are converted into shares, which are tradable in the market place. As with the track record of bumiputera held equities, you can bet that chances are, the shares will be sold.

We have to go back to the primary source of dissatisfaction. The peasant settler has remained more or less the same. The corporate settler has made it big. The peasant settlers get palliatives - bonuses here and there. RM1,200 as yearly bonus translates into RM100 per month. 400 per year translate into 30 Ringgit per month - not even enough to buy a T-bone steak at Meatworks.

The peasant settler gets MRSM colleges, indoor stadiums, futsal stadiums and other social amenities but the value of these, pale in comparison with the amenities and wealth enhancing resources obtained by the corporate settler. The corporate settler has moved on into oleo chemicals, downstream activities, hotels, sugar business, etc., why can’t the peasant settler be organised that same way?

The fundamental reason why this listing is vehemently opposed is that people believed it’s a sell-out and it’s the culmination of unconscionable acts by FELDA.

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Felda Global Ventures gets new status

(The Star, 26 January 2012) - Felda Global Ventures Holdings Sdn Bhd has obtained approval from the Companies Commission of Malaysia to change its status from a private limited company to a public limited company.

Accordingly, it will now be known as Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd.

The company is currently pursuing a listing on Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd. The status change, approved on Jan 18, is part of the preliminary process of preparing for its initial public offering (IPO).

In a statement, Felda Global Ventures group president Datuk Sabri Ahmad said the company’s panel of listing advisers were in the final stages of working out the details.

“Everything is going according to schedule and we should be ready to make a formal submission for listing to the Securities Commission,” he added.

Felda Global Ventures has appointed several advisors for its listing by June. The listing was announced by the Prime Minister when tabling Budget 2012 in parliament last October.

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Felda overhaul could harden opposition to FGVH listing

(The Malaysian Insider, 20 February 2012) - Stiff resistance to the proposed Felda Global Ventures Holdings (FGVH) listing will likely grow once plans for a corporate overhaul of Felda are announced, Singapore’s Straits Times reported today.

The daily, quoting sources familiar with the deal, said “potentially contentious” issues include settlers handing over land to FGVH and surrendering control of the Koperasi Permodalan Felda (KPF) settlers cooperative to government-appointed representatives in exchange for shares.

“The main points of the deal appear palatable, but the conditions on the settlers to hand over their land through long-term lease agreement and surrender corporate control of their stake to the government will need to be resolved to get this deal to fly,” a senior Felda executive told the ST.

The as yet unfinalised proposal will also see the financially strong KPF transfer its assets to FGVH based on a valuation that will likely be hotly contested.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is set to meet senior representatives from Felda and KPF this week to iron out any sticky issues that could derail the IPO.

The ST said Najib’s handling of the listing will have serious implications for Barisan Nasional (BN) and Umno in the coming election, noting that KPF was collectively owned by some 113,000 Malay settlers who represented a key demographic for the lynchpin party.

“Land is a sensitive matter for settlers, particularly from a family inheritance perspective. So any plan that doesn’t deal with this properly is surely to be exploited (by the opposition),” the chief executive of a financial institution involved in the listing plan told the paper.

Putrajaya has said it intends to list FGVH in April, instead of the middle of the year as announced earlier during the prime minister’s Budget 2012 speech.

But critics contend that the proposed listing, which will see loss-making FGVH assume control of KPF, will short-change smallholders and saddle Felda with up to RM1.5 billion in yearly deficit.

FGVH units such as Felda Iffco Sdn Bhd, Felda Global Technologies, Felda Global Ventures Middle East and Felda Global Ventures Arabia reportedly chalked up accumulated losses of around RM500 million up to last year.

Opposition to the government’s plan to list FGVH has been led by the National Felda Settlers’ Children’s Association (Anak), which won a temporary court order on Friday blocking the transfer of shares from KPF to FGVH.

Nerdy But Funny And Decent - Linsanity

2012-02-21T20:09:00.000+08:00

This is the guy people are going nuts over right now. Jeremy Lin is the talk of the sports world right now, but he might be one of the biggest nerds to occupy space in an NBA locker room. As a member and superstar of the New York Knicks, Lin is wearing his third NBA jersey after spending time with both the Houston Rockets and the Golden State Warriors.

If Elvis Was Born In India

2012-02-19T19:00:00.002+08:00

My Political Leanings

2012-02-18T23:54:00.001+08:00

It has been said again and again that if you want to do business, don't get too involved in politics. Readers of this blog will surely be aware of my political leanings. However, after having heard the stupid MCA hired guns asking stupider questions, I have to say something.

As a Malaysian who happens to be Chinese, I cannot for my life accept why some chose to stay in MCA (other than for very personal reasons which we all know but need not elaborate). To me it is akin to be a "running dog". Ask yourself sincerely, how can you be an MCA person, ... and I am not even talking about Malaysian Chinese interest alone, if you are really sincere about your kids' future, and the kind of Malaysia you truly desire.

I salute LGE for smiling throughout, rising above the "staged mayhem".

Now and Then - Leslie/Anita vs Eason/Denise

2012-02-17T17:39:00.000+08:00

Talk about pushing the envelope here. Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui shook the earth when they did their song. In a tribute to them, Eason Chan and Denise Ho upped the ante and it was a highly sensual, risque, erotic even, but magnificent performance.

3.11 Arigato From Japan

2012-02-17T17:00:00.000+08:00

A moving video message for the world, from Tohoku residents. Heart warming indeed!

China Finally Comes To The Party

2012-02-15T17:12:00.000+08:00

Its significant, maybe expected, but until they come out to say so, it was still a big unknown. China took its time to see how the E.U. went about trying to solve their own crisis. The fact that China took this step was inevitable as it has just as much to lose with Europe being a major trading partner.

As things stand the Chinese government were already getting anxious over the tightening effects in their own economy. As recent as a month back, Beijing has suddenly loosen the purse strings by reducing the statutory reserve requirement demanded on banks. This was seen as a major move acknowledging that they have tightened too much or the domestic economy is suffering too much from the shrivelled exports to Europe.

The E.U. can keep throwing funds at their problems but it is the missing link of who will continue to buy the government bonds of the weaker E.U. nations that saps confidence over any given solution. This may not absolutely clears the air over E.U. crisis but is certainly a major step to solving the puzzle.

From Reuters:

China will continue to invest in euro zone government debt, the country's central bank governor said today, while calling on Europeans to produce more attractive investment products for China.

Zhou Xiaochuan admitted that China and other emerging nations like Brazil, Russia or India were waiting for the right time to help the bloc, after a European Union state visit was once again met with encouraging words but no concrete public commitments on fresh funding from China.

But he also suggested Europe needed to work harder to entice Beijing to part with its capital.

"We also hope that the euro zone and EU can innovate their mechanisms to offer new products that are more helpful for Sino-Europe cooperation," he said.

The central bank governor reiterated previous comments from Premier Wen Jiabao that China was ready to play a bigger role in solving Europe's debt problems, noting China had not cut its reserves exposure to the euro zone.

"At the G20, our state leaders promised European leaders that, amid the global financial crisis and the Europe sovereign debt crisis, China will not cut the proportion of euro exposure" in its reserves, Zhou said in a speech at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing.

Although Zhou's comments largely underlined China's established stance, the remarks helped push the euro to an intraday high of $US1.3163. Traders said some investors were short of the currency, which had exaggerated the rise.

Any bigger role in solving the debt crisis would be via the International Monetary Fund and the European Financial Stability Fund, or EFSF, Zhou said, echoing Wen's comments.

"We strongly believe European countries can work together to handle the challenges. They are able to solve the sovereign debt crisis," Zhou said.

"The People's Bank of China has always maintained close cooperation and contacts with the European Central Bank, and we support each other in many policy aspects. The PBOC firmly supports the ECB's recent measures to address the difficulties."

Verbal reassurances from Zhou and senior Chinese leaders come as European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso are visiting Beijing for a China-EU summit.

Van Rompuy assured his Chinese hosts that they should not underestimate the strong political incentive to keep the euro zone intact.

The summit was delayed from late last year as European leaders struggled to deal with an escalating debt crisis.

China, with $US3.2 trillion worth foreign exchange reserves at hand, is seen as having the potential financial firepower to bail out some European governments.

Beijing has been consistently reluctant to make firm financial commitments, although it has repeatedly said it supports a stable euro.

Analysts estimate that about a quarter of China's foreign reserves are held in euro-denominated assets.

The head of China's sovereign wealth fund said on Monday that hard assets are more attractive than European government bonds.

Chinese leaders have expressed alarm at protests and strikes sweeping Europe, while lauding a fiscal agreement to be signed in March that will build up a massive fund to backstop European debt.

"We believe the fiscal agreement will mark a big step toward closer economic and fiscal union, which will significantly boost EU member countries' fiscal sustainability and improve the sovereign debt conditions," Zhou said.

China and other countries beyond the 17-country euro bloc want to see its members stump up more money before they commit additional resources to the IMF, which had requested an additional 500 billion euros in funding.

The European Stability Mechanism (ESM), a 500-billion-euro permanent bailout fund that is due to be operational in July, is expected to replace the EFSF, a temporary fund, which has been used to bail out Ireland, Portugal and will help in the second Greek package.

Detailed policies and reforms to be launched by Europe can serve as "platforms" for China and other BRICS countries to help Europe, Zhou said.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/world-business/china-vows-to-keep-investing-in-euro-zone-debt-20120215-1t5q9.html#ixzz1mRI4BuhZ

Dude, What Happened To My Country ...

2012-02-14T10:03:00.001+08:00

This is the Malaysia we all want (I think), Alvin's story is almost like mine growing up. Enjoy, people.

http://www.loyarburok.com/2012/02/02/country-can%E2%80%99t-love/?doing_wp_cron#idc-cover

The Country in My Blood

2 February 2012 | Bolehland | Posted by Alvin Teoh

Alvin Teoh, Executive Creative Director of NagaDDB, shares with us a Malaysia we can hopefully still remember in the years to come.

I love Malaysia. I mean, I could do with some nice, cool San Francisco weather sometimes, but yeah, I love this lady because she’s such a part of me.

Recently, I joined an international community of Catholics on the net. I thought it’d be cool to exchange views of our universal faith with people from all over the world. (Having the occasional fight online is exciting, too). But one thing about the community stood out. Amazing and learned as some of them were, I did find some of their points of view a tad narrow. Not so much because of the faith, but more so, I feel, because of their monolithic culture.

Quite unlike our rojak one, hor?

Over the years, I am blessed to have met Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, Sikhs, Protestants, Agnostics, Malays, Chinese, Indians, Eurasians, ‘Bananas’, ‘Chindians’, ‘Mat-Salleh Celups’, ‘Rockers’, ‘Jinjang-Joes’, ‘Diskangs’, and those categorised as ‘Dan lain-lain’.

Different colour, different faiths, same mischievousness | Photo by Alvin Teoh

My first real friend was a John Skelchy. He was as Eurasian as they come. We met in kindergarten when we were 5. From him I learnt that boys have penises and girls, something different altogether. One day, our teacher caught us comparing private parts. Our parents were called, and so, they too became friends. This Skelchy fellow was my classmate all the way to form 5.

In Standard 1, I met Sheik Faizal. He didn’t look like the average Malay boy. I have to admit he was rather good looking. I wonder if he had Arab blood. He was a great artist; he could do caricatures. And he did a mean pencil sketch of characters from ‘Planet of the Apes’. We hung out all the way through Standard 6. He was a very deep and intense sort of fellow. He wrote in my book:

Allah gave you wings to fly, so fly high. Don’t let Satan’s arrows shoot you down.

Other friends I hung out with during those days were Julian Hassan, Lim Hong Bok and Jaswinder Singh. Julian Hassan (mum: British, dad: Malay) taught me how to eat rice with tomato sauce. I loved it. Meanwhile, Hong Bok taught me how to write mystery stories. We’d find some flattened patch of grass in a field or an abandoned house to do this. Occasionally, we felt certain we’d chanced upon a crop circle formed by aliens, or an evil house haunted by some creepy entity. We would then ‘investigate’ these ‘phenomena’ and record them in our journals. It was classic Hardy Boys sort of stuff.

As for Jaswinder Singh – well, Jaswinder had a habit of snatching our journals and reading them aloud for all to hear, laughing his head off as he debunked each mystery with great pleasure. This always became an exercise of epic embarrassment for Hong Bok and me. Then Jaswinder would finish with a flourish: “What the fuck is this all about?”

I suppose I should mention that this Singh taught me how to expand my vocabulary. From hanging around him, I learnt to pepper every sentence with the word ‘fuck’. It was cool to say ‘fuck’. For a while anyway.

Hong Bok and I were in the Boy Scout Troop together, too. From this group, we learnt the art of shoplifting and we performed this feat with another kid we called KKK. We were quite good at it, I must say. Our prize was always some Airfix model plane or Matchbox model tank. We shoplifted from Standards 4 till 6 until some plainclothes detectives finally caught us. Our lookout, KKK, fled the scene at our hour of need. Thanks bro.

[Just so you know, I was caught in my scout uniform. During interrogation, I peed in my pants. The Indian interrogator then told me he’d pull out all my fingernails and cut off all my hair, then use them to make soup for my dinner in jail. When you’re 11, you tend to believe these sorts of things.]

From KKK, I learnt the jentik game. You open a page from your textbook and add the numerals in the page number. For example, page 35 meant 3+5. If you lose, your finger gets flicked by the winner’s, hence jentik. Now, KKK had rather large fingers. I was amazed that our fingers didn’t break under the pressure of his. I still remember the sound…thok, thok, thok. From our fingers being jentik-ed, we progressed to having our manhood being treated in the same manner. I am amazed I managed to have children later in life.

Yeah, I had a healthy and happy childhood.

No handphone or i-pad but no boredom either | Photo by Alvin Teoh

My neighbour was a Malay boy. All the boys in Ampang Jaya were mostly Malays, really. Anyway, I called this boy Boy because his mum called him that, too. Thanks to Boy, my spoken Bahasa Malaysia improved a lot. We played catch and football, climbed trees and plucked cherries for our cherry guns and shot paper bullets at goat’s balls – they were large and hard to miss.

From Boy, I learnt the word dosa. So whenever the occasion arose, I’d tell the other Malay kids, “Hei, jangan buat ‘gitu…dosa lah!” Their response? “Ha? Cina pun ada dosa ke?” Ha-ha.

Opposite my house lived a ‘Chindian’ family. They had a daughter my age named Tina. She was my first crush. One day, when I was coming back from school on a bus, she ran out of the house and after the bus yelling my name, “Alvin…Alvin…Alvin!” That was the happiest day of my life. (Yeah, I’m big on cheap thrills.)

By the time I entered Secondary School, most of my friends had changed. Most of the Malay kids went to the asrama and most of the Chinese ones became gangsters. And the Indian boys? Most of them became Catholics for reasons unknown to me.

During these years, I learnt a new lesson: it’s possible to fail seven subjects at a time. Most of my classmates failed above 5 subjects. In my class, that was a badge of honour, like a Purple Heart. Well, you had to be brave to fail that many subjects! But yeah, in reality, we were pretty hopeless.

These years were also a time when I joined the Scout Troop. It was a whole different world. In the initial years there, I grew close to one John Williams. If you see that name in the West, he’d be a white dude. But in Malaysia, you can bet he’d be Indian. John was our scoutmaster and he, God bless him, introduced me to the fabulous world of Indian food.

Manna from Heaven modelled by Machas from Kelana Jaya | Photo by Alvin Teoh

I first tasted thosai in 1982 after a fishing trip near Bukit Takun. We were at Lebuh Ampang and my God, did that stuff taste like heaven! I remember it was a masala thosai and I still recall my fingers surveying the brittle surface and coming into contact with hot chunks of potato and beans in some yellow sauce. Topped off with dhal and chutney, then mashed up with crushed vadai and Lord, you’d died and gone to Heaven, like, maybe twice.

Many times, I could be found in John’s house, and Edwin’s (another scout) house and having these unreal Indian lunches. Lovely!

Original finger-licking good food of the gods | Photo by Alvin Teoh

From my Indians friends, I learnt another new word – mutal – which means ‘stupid’. Now, mutalwent with another word – Malayali. I soon found out that Tamils and Malayalis didn’t get along. Or at least, pretended they didn’t get along. I had both Tamil and Malayali friends and they called each other, yup, mutal. And they could do this the whole day, too. (Yes, there was a lot of love in the air.)

It was during these times too that I met some Orang Asli and Kampung folks. Twice a week, a few of my friends and I would find ourselves in Hulu Langat. In fact, it was there that I met and befriended one Encik Zainal. He was in his 40s and he looked after the mini hydroelectric dam in Pansoon.

Happiness is... | Photo by Alvin Teoh

He’d take us trekking up Gunung Nuang, and then we’d swim in the dam at Lolo, at the waterfalls at Lepuh and also Upper Ponsoon. Through him, us Chinese city dwellers met otherKampung folk. I remember a heavy bamboo-grass smoking old gentleman called Mat Katun. I challenged him to a sport of tree-climbing halfway up Nuang. I managed to ascend 20 feet and was quite pleased till I looked back: Mat Katun was already 10 above me and he was, like, 60 years old, too!

From Encik Zainal and his family, I picked up a thing or two about the Kampung life and also life as a simple and humble Muslim. He also regaled us with Pontianak stories when we got lost after a hike to Latar Siak. I learnt later that ‘Latar’ was the old word for air terjun.

And oh, Zainal had a daughter. My God, I could not stop staring at her. My friend Benson, a Chinese-speaking Eurasian who looks Indian described her as a ‘natural beauty’. He intended to introduce himself to her this way: “Me Tarzan. You Jane.” It was the lamest thing I’d ever heard so I stopped him.

From the Orang Asli, I discovered that one could pick amber with one’s bare hands. They’d even asked us to try. Now, I know I failed seven subjects in school, but I wasn’t that stupid. From these warm, earnest people, I also learnt to trek jungles carrying very little with me. That a small piece of newspaper placed over a leech bite could stop bleeding quite effectively.

Thanks to them, I was introduced to the magical world of glowing plants, too, just like the ones in the movie, ‘Avatar’. They were little mushrooms and fungus-like plants that thrived under rotten leaves and damp tree barks. It was an amazing sight, one that could not be described with words

Little fellow had style & a pet hornbill, cool or what? | Photo by Alvin Teoh

These are all the experiences I’ve enjoyed in the first 22 years of my life. This is the Malaysia I remember and the Malaysia I cherish. The excitement and beauty I experienced during these years stem from a life thrown into and shaped by a mix of many cultures and faiths. And I’m rich beyond measure because of it.

Muslim grave site next to Buddhist temple | Photo by Alvin Teoh

Today, I see a different Malaysia. I see fear, insecurity, suspicion and anger. There seems to be a lot of sentiments of frustration boiling under a seemingly harmonious surface. And I blame self-serving community leaders for this. While I see our diversity as a blessing, many of these fellows seem to look at it as a threat. They don’t see that we’re a blessing to each other. They don’t see that we have much to gain from each other. They don’t see that we can be good together. In fact, we are good because we are together.

Instead of celebrating our diversity, they’ve turned it into something divisive, raising one race above another, and causing each one to be suspicious of the other. Essentially, they’ve turned a blessing into a self-inflicted curse. After all, our diversity is our gift from God, yet look at what we’ve done to this gift!

A Hindu deity hangs out at a Chinese altar with Jesus | Photo by Alvin Teoh

My plea to all who’re reading this is that we may stand together and deny these small-minded and irresponsible people as well as their goal of dividing to conquer us. If this spirit of bigotry is in us to some degree because we’ve been contaminated by their sickness, let’s cast it out. It’s never too late. Don’t let their darkness overcome our light.

I say to all Malays, Indians, Sikhs, Chinese, Eurasians, Bananas, Orang Asli and Orang Asal, DLLs, Muslims, Hindus, Christians, Buddhists, Atheists and Agnostics: we’re all beautiful. We’re all unique. We’re all special. We’ve so much to share with each other. Don’t let a bunch of idiots rob us of who we truly are or perverse the Malaysian in us. Don’t let them steal the blessing of being a rojak culture. Let us fight to keep Malaysia beautiful. So that when our time here on Earth comes to an end, we can go knowing that our children – and their children – will experience the kind of Malaysia we experienced as a child. The Malaysia in our blood.

Masjid Keling amidst Chinese shops; a beautiful sight | Photo by Alvin Teoh

A Tribute To Leslie Cheung @ NoBlackTie

2012-02-13T12:26:00.000+08:00

21 Feb and 22 Feb
9.30pm-11.30pm
@NoBlackTie
Cover Charge: RM50
Bookings (after 5pm): 03-21423737
Hotline: 012-2083790

p/s: more than half of the seats have been booked already

Be A Better Trader If You Must Trade

2012-02-12T18:35:00.001+08:00

You know who you are out there. You call yourself an investor when you are really a trader. You describe your activities as investing when its really punting. You know next to nothing about the stock, how many shares, what is the free float, what biz, what sector, have they been making losses, how close to PN17, who is helming the company, what about the reputation of management, what is their normal net margins, how sustainable are those margins and will the product or services need reinventing every few years, what was the high-low during the last "play", whats the overhang for the stock, and at what levels ...

If you do not know remotely any of the above, you are not a trader but a PUNTER. A genuine trader may not know all of the above, but he/she would check quickly. Naturally you can ignore all of the above and rely solely on technicals, but then you need not read my blog anymore.

I will cite a few examples of what constitutes good trades and bad trades:

NICORP - A stock that has hovered forever below 10 sen, suddenly perks up to 20 sen and then 30 sen, then 40 sen. Its PURE GORENG. If you must trade these type of stocks, you MUST BE IN AND OUT in the same day, heck, same session, heck even same hour or shorter. Never, never overnight, you do not know whether distribution is finished, or suddenly Uma Thurman comes a calling or a designation. A more reasonable financial engineered stock would set bases, build bases, move in predictable ranges, collect and distribute but always not going very long on your own account. Then when its time to distribute, start moving out of your usual range. NICORP is not a normal goreng stock.

Think about it. If someone bought the counter at 10 sen, would it be worth 40 sen overnight? I don't care what assets you inject, somebody must win and somebody must lose in a RTO. It trades at 40 sen, do you think the new business will get shares in exchange for their business at 40 sen a share. Of course not, it will be at 12-15 sen at most because the owner will want A LOT MORE shares of Nicorp for him/her to inject. So, note the dilution.

The only way is for that business to be giving 40% net margins, let me know if you find one that does that. If you do, you might want to keep that private, very private.

GREEN OCEAN - This has not moved for over 3 years. If you do your research quickly you will find that the new owner who came in at 30 sen, has been writing down doubtful debts by previous management to near zero. The newsflow on Novelin is substantive since its from MPOB. If you talk more with industry insiders, you will find that companies such as IOI has this technology "fractionation" which makes oil palm not to solidify. But IOI's technology goes to 8 degrees Celcius. Green Ocean's technology allows oil palm not to solidify at zero degree. Hence as you know more, you may choose to trade in and out of this stock as the story may not be over for sometime. Discover and familiarise the stock's daily range so you can move in and out. Know the ranges and normal daily volume well, so that you will double up when it registers significantly higher volume and price jumps.

DBE - The news flow was there, the volume was magnificent. Supposedly there was a bid to buy control at 20 sen. If you examine the free float, there was more than 70% out there, with over 600m shares. If any of the news was remotely close to reality, the shares would have reached 17-18 sen with little problem. Genuine traders will note the humongous queues at every levels. With such a high free float, that is to be expected, but usually the long term overhang sellers would have been eradicated after a few bids involving a hundred to two hundred million shares. At every fresh level, there are more shares.

"Orcam's Razor", the simplest answer is the probable truth, the news is probably not correct. There are probably a lot of stale holders just wanting out. Maybe there is still a deal for the company to be sold, but certainly not at 20 sen. I would avoid trading this baby looking at the terrible free float. What are the chances of going for 100m-150m shares traded a day again?

PREMIER NAFLIN - You look at the stock, it has cash per share of 33 sen. Speculation began to surface as investors look at the potential of the acquisition of a substantive business. Its a PN16 stock, which means with the cash it has to give back all to shareholders or buy some business soon to prevent being delisted. The fact that volume has perked up recently means the counter is in play and/or an RTO is coming very soon. What is the downside? Naturally when it has cash of 33 sen, it was hovering around that price forever. When there is action it should never be at 33 anymore. The bare minimum for the counter should be 43 sen - the reasoning being what would you pay for a clean counter for RTO? Take out 33 sen as cash, consider it as a penny stock, it should sell AT PAR of 10 sen. The news report may have prompted a few other big investors to clamour for control of the stock because what more you want? 33 sen cash, add another 10 sen or even 15 sen, you get a very clean counter for RTO. Hence as a trader I would anticipate a lot more activity for the stock, I would buy aggressively when there is no volume or on down days, and wait for levels above 50 sen to trade out.

Why would big investors be interested in the counter for RTO? Imagine you have submitted an IPO application for your company but was rejected for various reasons. Imagine you found out that it takes 2 years to list your company. Now imagine looking for companies to buy to inject your business, you can locate some, maybe at 12 sen or 15 sen (par value 10 sen) but inside the receivables are very doubtful that they can be collected and the liabilities are very certain that they would need to be paid, you get shitty balance sheet. Which is why I would pay a premium for Premier Naflin if I have a business to inject: 33 sen cash per share plus at least 10 sen par and another 5 sen to 8 sen premium = 48 sen to 53 sen.

Knowing that, I will continue to trade this baby within those ranges. Not all penny stocks are the same. Learn and research more. If you rely on pure technicals, you will make a good living if you are good at it, but you will also miss out on the valuable nuances/confidence in trading that specific stock if you don't spend a bit more time on them.

Why We Are At Where We Are Now

2012-02-12T12:12:00.001+08:00

The independence of the judiciary, the rule of law, the integrity and standing of the police force, the vigilance against corruption .... things that will remake Malaysia into a great country again. It is very simple, the same formula has been adopted in Singapore and HK. I salute Tun Mohd Dzaiddin.

Judiciary now cowed due to Dr M, says ex-CJ

By Melissa Chi

February 11, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 11 — The courts have become subservient to politicians in the executive arm of government today because of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, former Chief Justice Tun Mohd Dzaiddin Abdullah said today.

The retired judge highlighted the amendment to Article 121 of the Federal Constitution, made during Dr Mahathir’s administration in the 1980s, which effectively clipped the judiciary’s wings for over two decades.

Mohd Dzaiddin said the judiciary is not a tool to be used by the government for any kind of political expediency. — Picture by Jack Ooi

“As a result of the amendment, the judicial powers of the courts were removed and they have only such judicial powers as Parliament gives,” Mohd Dzaiddin said, adding that it meant “Parliament is more superior than what the judiciary was.”

The man, who once headed the country’s courts, said the amendment was repugnant “because Parliament attempted to dictate to the judiciary that it only has judicial powers which Parliament itself says the judiciary has.”

He stressed: “This alters in my view in a very fundamental manner the basic structure of the Federal Constitution, from the concept of the independence of the judiciary to dependence of the judiciary on the executive for its judicial powers.”

Malaysia’s judiciary is not a tool to be used by the government for any kind of political expediency, Mohd Dzaiddin said.

“The judiciary should be completely independent both of the executive and the legislature,” the retired judge said in his keynote speech celebrating Tunku Abdul Rahman’s birthday and the Institute of Democracy and Economic Affairs’ (IDEAS) second anniversary at the Tunku Abdul Rahman Memorial today.

In 1988, then Lord President Tun Mohamed Salleh Abas was sacked by then-Prime Minister Dr Mahathir.

Mohd Dzaiddin said the incident was due to clashes in opinions between Dr Mahathir and Salleh over the roles of the two arms of government.

Bar Council president Lim Chee Wee also said the incident in 1988 should never be repeated.

“I think there is a recognition now by everybody, we must never go back to the days of ‘88, we must never allow a prime minister to sack judges just because he made a judicial pronouncement which was unfavourable to the government of the day, that must never ever happen again,” he said.

Lim said for commercial cases, Malaysia’s judiciary system was credible enough to handle cases from the region.

“But the ultimate test is of course when it comes to politically sensitive cases or religious cases and how our appellate courts deal with it.

“On that score, I still give them a minus because so far as religious cases go, the conversion cases, there is a fear by our appellate courts in having to make a decision. They keep postponing, the controversial cases just being postponed, then there is of course the Perak crisis,” he said.

On Wednesday, a three-man panel of judges in the Court of Appeal ruled that the rights and freedom of speech enshrined in the Federal Constitution are not absolute.

As a result, veteran DAP MP Karpal Singh’s statement at a press conference in 2009, that the Sultan of Perak could be sued, had crossed legal lines and amounted to sedition, the judges said.

“To be fair, we have very courageous judges who have awarded substantial damages against the government for wrongful detention. So to be fair there are those, in the words of Tun Dzaiddin, ‘silver lining out there’,” Lim said.

The Choices We Make

2012-02-12T10:51:00.001+08:00

To die at 48 ... for such a brilliant talent is such a waste. Literally grew up with Whitney's music. She was nothing short of amazing, her voice, ... We all should be responsible for our actions and decisions in life. Her downfall was when she hooked up with Bobby Brown, you can basically trace her drug use and abuse from that moment onwards.

Whitney Houston, who reigned as pop music's queen until her majestic voice and regal image were ravaged by drug use, erratic behavior and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown, has died. She was 48.

The singer's publicist, Kristen Foster, confirmed the news.

Dead at 48 ... Whitney Houston. Photo: AP

US police said Houston was found dead in a room at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Los Angeles. Her cause of death is unknown.

At her peak, Houston was the golden girl of the music industry. From the middle 1980s to the late 1990s, she was one of the world's best-selling artists. She wowed audiences with effortless, powerful, and peerless vocals that were rooted in the black church but made palatable to the masses with a pop sheen.

Her success carried her beyond music to movies, where she starred in hits like The Bodyguard and Waiting to Exhale.

Top-selling artist ... Whitney Houston bows after performing "I Didn't Know My Own Strength" at the American Music Awards in Los Angeles, California in November 2009 Photo: Getty Images

She had the perfect voice and the perfect image: a gorgeous singer who had sex appeal but was never overtly sexual, who maintained perfect poise.

She influenced a generation of younger singers, from Christina Aguilera to Mariah Carey, who when she first came out sounded so much like Houston that many thought it was Houston.

But by the end of her career, Houston became a stunning cautionary tale of the toll of drug use. Her album sales plummeted and the hits stopped coming; her once serene image was shattered by a wild demeanour and bizarre public appearances. She confessed to abusing cocaine, marijuana and pills, and her once pristine voice became raspy and hoarse, unable to hit the high notes as she had during her prime.

Whitney Houston has died, aged 48. Photo: Michael Clayton-Jones

"The biggest devil is me. I'm either my best friend or my worst enemy," Houston told ABC's Diane Sawyer in an infamous 2002 interview with then-husband Brown by her side.

It was a tragic fall for a superstar who was one of the top-selling artists in pop music history, with more than 55 million records sold in the United States alone.

She seemed to be born into greatness. She was the daughter of gospel singer Cissy Houston, the cousin of 1960s pop diva Dionne Warwick and the goddaughter of Aretha Franklin.

Things Getting Back To Pre-Floods Level Swiftly For Notion Vtec

2012-02-11T00:23:00.001+08:00

The key to the announcement is the 3 new HDD clients, we can expect the earnings to even surpass pre-floods levels, but the share price is nowhere near RM2.30 yet.

Description

Notion (Thailand) Co. Ltd Factory affected by Floods

Announcement Details/Table Section :

Further to the announcements made on 11 October 2011 and 23 November 2011,
the Board of Directors of the Company wishes to update on the impact to the Group
arising from the floods on the operations of Notion Thailand Co. Ltd (“Notion Thailand”)
as follows:-

1) Following the dry out by end November 2011, Notion Thailand’s factory located in
Ayutthaya had to be cleaned out and all affected stock and inventory were recovered.
Work-in-Progress and finished goods were sent back to the Group’s factory located in
Klang for cleaning and recovery.

2) Electrical, telecommunication and water supply were fully restored soon after the
drying out.

3) The process of insurance claim is still on-going and only expected to be completed by
March 2012.

4) Notion Thailand will now recommence operations of anodising and sub-assembly of
lens before June 2012 but all support for the Single-lens Reflex (“SLR”) camera
segment will be from the main Klang factory. As a result, the financial impact of the loss
of revenue to the Group arising from our affected Thai factory will be minimal as
Notion Thailand contributed less than 3% to the Group’s revenue.

5) The Group’s business outlook has turned for the better with a strong recovery in
January 2012 sales to much higher than pre-flood level. The trend is expected to be
upwards for the remainder of the financial year ending 30 September 2012 (“FY2012”)
and beyond as the Hard Disk Drive (“HDD”) segment is expected to be in short supply
until mid 2013 due to backlog of orders. The average selling price of HDD is expected
to remain above pre-flood level for multi-quarters ahead.

6) One of our major HDD customers is reportedly estimating full pre-flood operations
by September quarter 2012.

7) With the entrance of 3 new Japanese major customers in the HDD segment and the
ramp up in HDD component sales, we expect FY2012’s revenue to grow in strong
double digit over FY2011. The sustainability of this new business is expected to be good
as the customers’ commitment is assumed to be long term.

8) Meanwhile we expect robust camera orders in February 2012 onwards as the camera
segment is expected to be on route to full pre-flood operations by March 2012 while the
Auto/Industrial segment remains stable.

The above is internal management’s estimation and is not a forecast or projection and has
not been reviewed by our external auditors.

This announcement is dated 10 February 2012.

SMR Tech Looks To Have Moved Up To The Next Level

2012-02-10T12:40:00.006+08:00

SMR has been listed on the ACE Market (previously known as the MESDAQ Market) of Bursa Malaysia since March 2006. The SMR Group, founded by Dato’ Dr. R Palan, was established in 2001 although its flagship software product, HRDPower™, has a longer history where it was first developed in 1998 by Dato’ Dr. Palan. SMR started initially as a HR competency management solutions and HR outsourcing services Group that operates on the HRDPower™ software system. Over the years, SMR’s scope of offerings has expanded rapidly and today, its products and services encompass the areas of Learning & Development, Learning Resources, Consultancy, Outsourcing, Events, Talent Search, as well as Software and Technical Services.

Dato’ Dr. Palan continues to helm SMR as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Being an internationally recognized HR expert and an author of 12 books on HR-related subject, he also serves as the brand ambassador for the Group.

SMR Tech is an integrated HR solutions provider offering comprehensive products and services ranging from software, consulting, outsourcing, learning and talent search. Its solutions focus on the strategic HR development aspect rather than the transactional aspect such as payroll or timekeeping.

Turnaround story. SMR was adversely affected during the 2008/09 credit crisis which coincided with its mistimed expansion into the US market, resulting in the Group suffering losses in FY08 and FY09. However, it has since exited the US market, and shifted its focus to the ASEAN and Middle East regions. The realignment efforts paid off with SMR returning to the black in FY10.

Growth catalysts. SMR clinched a 3-year project worth RM89.5 mln in September 2010 from the MOE in Malaysia (ELT Project). This project is significant as it propels the Group’s revenue base to the next level while lifting earnings back to pre-crisis level. Additionally, earnings contributions from the ASEAN and Middle East markets are on the rise too.

In terms of shareholdings, substantial shareholders in SMR are Special Flagship Holdings Sdn Bhd (38.2%) in which Dato’ Dr Palan is a major shareholder, and Fikir Wawasan Sdn Bhd (15.9%).

Business
SMR provides a comprehensive range of HR development (HRD) solutions, as illustrated in the table below:
The SMR Group focuses on the strategic aspects of human capital development such as competency issues, performance management and training, instead of the operational matters of HR, i.e. payroll system, staff leave management or time keeping where competition is more intense.

Central to SMR’s offerings is its in-house proprietary software platform, HRDPower.net system (HRDPower™), which is available as installed applications as well as Software as a Service (SaaS).

Solutions available under HRDPower™ include:-
• Integrated Competency-based HR Management;
• Entreprise Performance Management;
• Talent Management;
• Succession Planning and Career Development; and
• Enterprise Dashboards.

SMR has worked with over 2,000 companies from various industries across 30-odd countries worldwide. Some of its key local clients include Ministry of Education (MOE), Petronas, Giant, PLUS, Mudajaya Group, Perodua, Murphy Oil Corporation, OSRAM Opto Semiconductors, SHARP and DST Group, to name a few.

Meanwhile, its current overseas clients are Abu Dhabi Polymers Company Ltd (Borouge) in UAE, Rabigh Refining And Petrochemical Company (Saudi Arabia), Ministry of Works (Bahrain), Authority for Info-Communications Technology Industry (Brunei), and Petrodar Operating Company (Sudan).

In the past 12 months alone, SMR has successfully clinched a number of projects both in Malaysia as well as overseas, with a combined contract value in excess of RM95 mln. These major recent wins are listed below:-

Contract for Consultancy for Competency and Talent Management Project
Abu Dhabi Polymers Company Ltd (Borouge) UAE / RM4.275m

Competency Assessment Project Contract
Rabigh Refining And Petrochemical Company Saudi Arabia RM1.47m

Direct recruitment and management of ELT Consultants and implementation of In-Service Teachers Training for English Language Teachers
Ministry of Education Malaysia RM 89.5m

Succession Management System
Ministry of Works Bahrain Bahrain / RM 819,000

The most notable contract is the Recruitment and Management of ELT Consultants and Implementation of In-Service Teachers Training for English Language Teachers (ELT Project) awarded to SMR by the MOE in September 2010 that amounts to RM89.5 mln. This is the single largest contract bagged by SMR todate. The 3-year project, which SMR won via open tender, involves recruiting and managing up to 120 ELT Consultants to implement In-Service Teachers Training for English Language Teachers for Central and North Malaysia. All ELT Consultants have already been recruited and deployed, and the implementation of the programme is currently progressing on schedule.

Results:
For the quarter ended Sep 2011:

SUMMARY OF KEY FINANCIAL INFORMATION

30/09/2011

		INDIVIDUAL PERIOD		CUMULATIVE PERIOD
		CURRENT YEAR QUARTER	PRECEDING YEAR CORRESPONDING QUARTER	CURRENT YEAR TO DATE	PRECEDING YEAR CORRESPONDING PERIOD
		30/09/2011	30/09/2010	30/09/2011	30/09/2010
		$$'000	$$'000	$$'000	$$'000
1	Revenue	10,713	2,754	30,148	6,115
2	Profit/(loss) before tax	2,321	49	5,452	-1,466
3	Profit/(loss) for the period	2,266	36	5,374	-1,505
4	Profit/(loss) attributable to ordinary equity holders of the parent	2,266	32	5,372	-1,505
5	Basic earnings/(loss) per share (Subunit)	1.48	0.02	3.52	-1.04
6	Proposed/Declared dividend per share (Subunit)	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00

		AS AT END OF CURRENT QUARTER		AS AT PRECEDING FINANCIAL YEAR END
7	Net assets per share attributable to ordinary equity holders of the parent ($$)	0.2150		0.1863

Date	Open	Range	Close	Change	Volume
09/02/2012	0.26	0.25 - 0.27	0.265	+0.005 (1.92%)	2,210,400
08/02/2012	0.25	0.25 - 0.26	0.26	+0.01 (4.00%)	1,525,700
03/02/2012	0.25	0.24 - 0.26	0.25	0.00 (0.00%)	2,293,000
02/02/2012	0.235	0.24 - 0.26	0.25	+0.015 (6.38%)	4,502,700
31/01/2012	0.23	0.235 - 0.245	0.235	+0.005 (2.17%)	3,555,200
30/01/2012	0.235	0.23 - 0.24	0.23	-0.005 (2.13%)	2,151,400
27/01/2012	0.24	0.23 - 0.24	0.235	-0.005 (2.08%)	4,154,000
26/01/2012	0.225	0.225 - 0.24	0.24	+0.015 (6.67%)	2,871,700

As one can see from the price and volume traded, its rise has been on the quiet side, a ripe candidate for value momentum investing.

For the full year of 2011, the company is on track to record net profits of RM8m, what a turnaround, that translates to around 5 sen EPS, and the shares are still just 26 sen. Looking at the ongoing projects, the company is secured for the next 3 years at least. What has not caught the attention of investors is that for 2012, the company will be making at least RM14m net profit of an EPS of 8.75 sen. That drives the current PER to less than 4x.

Is the current run a reflection of astute buying by investors who have done their research early or an indication of possibly some positive corporate exercise. Either way, the shares have few reasons to be below 40 sen. Word has it that the company is very likely to obtain another RM200m contract from the Malaysian government via open tender after having done so well implementing the existing government contract. Certainly a company that is going places.

NOTE: The above opinion is not an invitation to buy or sell. It serves as a blogging activity of my investing thoughts and ideas, this does not represent an investment advisory service as I charge no subscription or management fees (donations are welcomed though). The content on this site is provided as general information only and should not be taken as investment advice. All site content, shall not be construed as a recommendation to buy or sell any security or financial instrument. The ideas expressed are solely the opinions of the author. I may already have shares in the above mentioned stock/s. Any action that you take as a result of information, analysis, or commentary on this site is ultimately your responsibility. Consult your investment adviser before making any investment decisions.

What If There Was A Cure (Preventive As Well) For Alzheimer's

2012-02-09T13:14:00.000+08:00

It all has to do with ketones in coconut oil. No one has much to gain from promoting this, there are no pills to sell. Chinese have avoided coconut oil (lemak) in curries and other stuff for fear of high cholesterol. Ask your doctors for the fuller picture about LDL and HDL. Plus, its not COCONUT JUICE, its the fleshy white part that produces the oil people. So, go for your lemak curry and kuih talam with gusto.

Something's Brewing In Notion Vtec

2012-02-09T00:01:00.001+08:00

OK, the Nasdaq has gone to an 11 year high. More localised news, the Thailand floods wreaked havoc on the HDD and related components supply chain. While this blog picked it up at 50 sen, JCY's current price and dramatic change in fortunes seems implausible 2 months back.

If you look at the recovery in Notion Vtec, it was OK but nowhere as spectacular as some of the rest in the same industry. There is still a lot of unknowns and uncertainty as to who are the real winners and losers from the Thailand floods.

While JCY did not see any of their factories affected, and they benefited from strong additional clients. I think some investors still think Notion Vtec came off from the floods worse than before. Management has guided analysts that 1Q2012 will see revenue declining 40% q-on-q. However, there are strong newsflow from the industry that Notion Vtec actually benefited significantly from the floods as well. Apparently their Thai factory which was affected only contributed a small portion of revenue.

If one were to dig deeper, fortuitously, they have excess capacity in Klang, and it appears that they have ramped up production there owing to the fact that they have secured 3 new big clients owing to the redirection of logistic supply chain away from the affected areas in Thailand.

Some are hinting that profits and revenue are even higher now than their results prior to the floods. If that is going to be the case, then the share price should be closer to RM2.40-2.50 and not dawdling below RM2.00.

Notion Vtec mother share price and volume:

03/02/2012	1.97	1.91 - 1.97	1.91	-0.06 (3.05%)	506,800
02/02/2012	1.96	1.94 - 1.99	1.97	+0.01 (0.51%)	175,800
31/01/2012	1.94	1.92 - 2.03	1.96	+0.02 (1.03%)	1,654,800
30/01/2012	1.84	1.82 - 1.94	1.94	+0.10 (5.43%)	890,800
27/01/2012	1.83	1.80 - 1.84	1.84	+0.01 (0.55%)	270,000
26/01/2012	1.82	1.82 - 1.86	1.83	+0.01 (0.55%)	305,300
25/01/2012	1.85	1.82 - 1.86	1.82	-0.03 (1.62%)	189,300
20/01/2012	1.84	1.84 - 1.85	1.85	+0.01 (0.54%)	45,000
19/01/2012	1.86	1.83 - 1.86	1.84	-0.02 (1.08%)	93,100

However, if you want to spot something brewing, the sharp uptick in the warrants and volume as well over the past few days may indicate some substantive good news or corporate developments to follow soon.

NOTE: The above opinion is not an invitation to buy or sell. It serves as a blogging activity of my investing thoughts and ideas, this does not represent an investment advisory service as I charge no subscription or management fees (donations are welcomed though). The content on this site is provided as general information only and should not be taken as investment advice. All site content, shall not be construed as a recommendation to buy or sell any security or financial instrument. The ideas expressed are solely the opinions of the author. I may already have shares in the above mentioned stock/s. Any action that you take as a result of information, analysis, or commentary on this site is ultimately your responsibility. Consult your investment adviser before making any investment decisions.

This Little Piggy Went To The Market ....

2012-02-08T22:59:00.001+08:00

How bullish is the market? Obviously some of it looks to be engineered. The wonderful stories accompanying DRB Hicom, Gamuda, Tebrau ... stories that evoke dreams and esoteric pricing. Then there are the penny mania. To be fair not all are devoid of fundamentals.

I like the developments in Green Ocean, which I think is an exception to the usual penny mania run ups. Nextnation just announced the contract with PT Inovisi, another relatively genuine game changer.

Markets running so hot, I am loathed to mention any specific stocks as it takes little brain power to locate gains. In fact, the dumber you are, chances are you will make supernormal gains trading ruthless and reckless penny counters. Just be careful to run and trade vigilantly.

How long can this go on? It seems at least till the end of February, making the likelihood of a May/June election likelier.