Glomac-wa update 25% profit in 3 weeks

I last talked about Glomac/Glomac-wa on 9 September 2009. I do not trade Glomac but i trade Glomac-wa. Here is the link to my previous on Glomac and Glomac-wa. (http://cathoon.blogspot.com/2009/09/glomac-berhad-glomac-wa.html)

Glomac-wa outperformed KLCI during the last 2 week. I bought Glomac-wa at RM0.30 on 8 September 2009 and now it is trading at RM0.375. It provides me with an unrealised profit of 25% within 3 weeks. This is really a good profit as most of the stocks in KLSE declined during the same period.

Last friday, Glomac-wa jumped 14%. I believe it was a pre-earning jump. Glomac is scheduled to released its quarterly financial report within the next few days. I expect it to be a good one and i guess most of the investors share the same view that Glomac would release a good quarterly financial result.

From both of the charts above, we can see that trading volume for both Glomac and Glomac-wa are starting to increase. What do i see here? Refering to what i said on my previous blog about Glomac/Glomac-wa, it is better that we trade Glomac/Glomac-wa by buying them when volume is thin and selling them when volume is high. I expect myself to close the trade when Glomac trading volume reaches 2 million like it was on 6th, 7th and 8th August 2009.

Both Glomac and Glomac-wa reach their resistance, I think a good quarterly financial would provide a significant catalyst to fuel Glomac/Glomac-wa to a greater height. From my humble opinion, i think the next resistance level would be RM1.28 for Glomac. After that, it would be RM1.46.

Ok, good luck in your trading.

GOon

My previous Glomac/Glomac-wa related post link

http://cathoon.blogspot.com/2009/09/glomac-berhad-glomac-wa.html

Caught between two extremes

It is really an interestign article i get from The Star (published on 22 Septmember 2009). I hope to share this article with everyone.

It is by Karim Raslan, Caught between two extremes.

LAST week I received a call from an old friend. She was agitated because her daughter had decided to apply for permanent residency abroad.

I can still remember the call. She had started talking almost as soon as I answered the phone: “Karim, I can’t stop her this time. She’s old enough to sign all the forms for herself. I’m upset, but there’s nothing I can do. She is adamant, she says things are only getting worse and that there’s no future for her here.”

What the mother didn’t say – but I could sense from her tone – was the fact that she no longer had the confidence or courage to persuade her daughter otherwise.

She in effect had agreed with her daughter’s choice.

And given the events of the past few months, can anyone blame them?

Moreover, unlike in the late 90s when I found myself fielding countless calls from non-Malay friends talking about emigration, this was one of the first from a Malay counterpart – someone from the Bumiputera middle class who’d benefited enormously over the past few decades from the Government’s largesse.

I should add that those with daughters appeared to be the most concerned.

However, a slew of landmark cases have rattled the Malay middle class.

The list is long – the part-time model Kartika’s impending caning for drinking a beer, the bizarre decision (which was subsequently reversed) to bar Muslims from an upcoming Black Eyed Peas concert, and the demonstration over a temple relocation in Shah Alam are just a handful.

With each incident, the lines between private and public morality, race and religion have become increasingly blurred and, indeed, hotly contested.

As we settle into the Hari Raya Aidilfitri festivities – spending time with friends and families, it’s clear that many are beginning to feel a sense of deep discomfort with the mounting tensions within the Malay community.

To my mind, the biggest losers in all this are the Malays themselves or rather ourselves.

As politicians seek to stake a claim to the Malay vote, they define the community in ever narrower and more exclusive terms – a series of dead-ends where your Malay-ness bars you from doing different things and being different.

Furthermore, the politicisation of Malay identity – the basis of political power in Malaysia – means that all Malays, whether or not they’re directly involved in politics are feeling the “heat”.

At the same time, Umno’s insistence on attacking Pakatan Rakyat on this terrain (hence relinquishing the multiracial ground to the Opposition, it would seem) has left many middle class, professional Malays feeling increasingly exposed and uncomfortable.

For them (and that includes myself) the broader, more cosmopolitan multiracial appeals – such as the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s 1Malaysia – allow for a greater degree of flexibility in terms of lifestyle and personal choice.

To be frank, the Malay middle class has been complicit in this situation.

Over the past decades most have drifted away from active engagement in politics.

In short, we’ve always thought that politics is too dirty and corrupt for us – that public service is something that those who can’t get good jobs spend their time doing.

Instead, we live our lives totally separate and apart from party politics – rarely meeting with Umno, PAS or PKR activists.

We’ve been more focused on our families and our careers. This has allowed others to set the agenda politically.

Nonetheless, we’ve started to view Umno with alarm, seeing party members as rowdy, corrupt, ill-disciplined and greedy.

We also worry at the current unrepentant tone and the way “winning at all costs” has supplanted any other higher aspirations.

At the same time PAS’ antics in Selangor in particular remind us of what the Ullama-led party is capable of when the opportunity arises.

The constant pressure to take the moral high ground, neglecting more serious governance and social issues, reveals the conservative faction of PAS’ narrow-minded bigotry at its very worst.

So where does that leave the Malay middle class?

Well we’re nowhere. We are lost and we are without a voice.

There is no doubt that we want PAS’ uncompromising attitude to corruption.

Indeed, there are moments when we can’t help thinking that maybe – just maybe – syariah penalties would be a good deterrent for high-level, white-collar crime?

Moreover, we admire PAS’ commitment to openness and transparency. At the same time the party seems to be manned by so many clever and well-educated professionals.

However, when it comes to social and moral issues (as in Selangor) the party’s stance is worryingly extreme and at times downright frightening.

The Malay middle class is caught in a no-win situation.

We desperately want Umno to clean up its act, to reform and repent, but this seems increasingly unlikely.

At the same time Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has all but disappeared from view and PAS is seeking to dominate Pakatan’s social policies.

Is it any wonder that some Malays – some of the best and brightest – are starting to vote with their feet?


http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/9/22/focus/4756918&sec=focus

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri

Hi, I would like to you all Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri. Maaf zahir dan batin. Hope all you guys have a memorable time with your family.

GOon

Warren Buffett: No "Bounce" For Economy, But Residential Real Estate Has Improved

Warren Buffett tells CNBC that while the economy "hasn't gotten worse" but also hasn't "gotten much better" over the past three months, he doesn't expect a 'double-dip' recession and sees significant improvement in residential real estate.

In a taped interview with Becky Quick airing this morning on Squawk Box, Buffett says he looks at a number of indicators, including data from Berkshire Hathaway companies, and "we have not bounced -- but we've quit going down."
Unless there's some "horrible event," Buffett thinks the odds are "very much against" another significant downturn for the overall economy in the near future.

He also sees "important" signs of life for housing: "I think we're certainly—we’re through the worst of it in residential real estate in all probability. And-- and-- and the reason is we're building a lot fewer houses and we're-- and we're forming households, so that solves itself over time. Doesn't do it in a day or a week, but it solves itself. So we're further on that."

Becky also asked Buffett about Kraft Food's $16 billion bid for Cadbury, since Berkshire Hathaway is Kraft's biggest shareholder. While he says he's not opposed to the offer and has confidence in Kraft's management, he does think the bid is at a "pretty full" price, and Kraft will have to "do a lot of things right to justify this price." Cadbury has rejected the bid and called for Kraft to increase its offer.

Here's the transcript and video clip of the portion of Becky's interview airing today. Another part aired last night on CNBC. That video and transcript have already been posted on Warren Buffett Watch. The complete interview, including brief sections that did not air on TV, will be available here later this morning.

BECKY: Who do you think the biggest heroes (of the financial crisis) are?

BUFFETT: Well, I think the heroes are-- are-- (Federal Reserve Chairman) Bernanke. I think (former Treasury Secretary) Paulson's a hero. I think (Treasury Secretary) Geithner’s a hero are-- I-- I-- you know, you can look back and say you could have done this a little differently or that a little differently, but at the time I called it an economic Pearl Harbor and in the end we got through Pearl Harbor. And-- and it could have turned out a lot differently.

BECKY: There are some people, including (bank analyst) Meredith Whitney, who say-- we've just kicked things down the road. That the banks-- are-- are still struggling. That we have a lot of problems that could still come up from credit cards, from other areas, from consumers getting pinched for-- needing credit. Are we through the worst of it? And--

BUFFETT: Oh, I think we're certainly—we’re through the worst of it in residential real estate in all probability. And-- and-- and the reason is we're building a lot fewer houses and we're-- and we're forming households, so that solves itself over time. Doesn't do it in a day or a week, but it solves itself. So we're further on that. We're gonna have unusual losses in credit cards and in commercial real estate, all of that. But we're a lot better off than we were a year ago. I mean for one thing on some of the-- some of the toxic assets have been flushed through. There's been capital raised. There’s -- we're immeasurably better than we were-- off than we were a year ago.

BECKY: But is there a risk of a second downturn? Will unemployment levels climb to a point where it becomes a leading indicator rather than a lagging indicator?

BUFFETT: I-- I think the odds are very much against getting significantly worse. It's sort of plateaued at the-- at the bottom right now, but if you got some horrible exogenous event, some-- some, you know, 9/11-- type event or worse-- you know, you could have something that would be dis-- really disruptive and start things all over again. But in terms of problems that we've identified and are working with, we've got more to come. But we're-- we're-- we're past the-- we're past the critical point.

BECKY: What are the most important economic indicators that you watch? Is there a series of numbers? Are there-- some statistics that you look at most closely?

BUFFETT: Well, I look at our businesses every day. But I-- I look at everything. I mean I-- I-- I look at car loadings. I look at the Fed's balance sheet. Whatever it may be. I mean I-- and-- and we have not bounced-- but we've quit going down. I'm and-- and it—the world will come back. I've never been able to tell whether it's gonna be a week or a month or-- six months. But we are on the mend. And-- and if you look at-- at housing prices and activity in the mid to lower price range, it changed dramatically from a year ago. We're seeing some stability.

BECKY: All right. Let me go at this another way. Let's pretend you're on a desert island for a month. There's only one set of numbers you can get. What would it be?

BUFFETT: Well, I would probably look at-- perhaps freight car loadings and-- perhaps-- and-- and truck tonnage moved and-- but I’d want to look at a lot of figures. (LAUGHTER)

BECKY: You are the biggest shareholder-- Berkshire Hathaway is the biggest shareholder in Kraft. Is the Kraft bid to go after Cadbury a good one?

BUFFETT: Well, it's a pretty full one. I mean-- the-- Kraft-- Kraft has got-- anytime you're in a takeover, you know, that-- the animal spirits run high and all of that. But Kraft has the disadvantage of using an undervalued stock. So if you-- if part of your currency is a stock that's worth more money than it's selling for and you're-- you're paying full negotiated value for the other guy’s property and you wouldn't sell your own property for anything like the market price, it's-- it's a-- it makes it a tough game. So it's-- it's a full price.

BECKY: Are-- that makes it sound like as if you're not in favor of this bid?

BUFFETT: No, I-- I've got a lot of confidence in (Kraft CEO) Irene Rosenfeld. She'll-- but they have to do a lot of things right to justify this price.

BECKY: What do you think about the-- the talk towards health care and where things are headed right now?

BUFFETT: Well, I think that-- unfortunately, I think that the -- what-- what-- we're really talking about reforming health insurance more than health care. So I-- the incentives that produce the 16 or so percent of GDP that's going to health care, I think unfortunately they're getting-- they're going to get changed. But-- so I think that we really-- and I'm talking as much about reforming health care as we're talking about reforming the insurance. And I think that will be an opportunity missed if we don't do more about looking at what-- what the incentives are in the present system and what they would be in an ideal system.

BECKY: And then finally, if-- if you had to-- give a gauge of where you stand on the economy again right now-- versus what you were thinking three months ago, is it the same? Is it better?

BUFFETT: It-- it hasn't gotten worse. It hasn't gotten much better either. But the very fact that time is passing, it's-- it's gotten better in residential real estate. That’s important. Certain things haven't hit much yet. Commercial real estate, for example. But we are moving through a recession. And-- and-- and I see nothing that makes me worry about the fact that it's going to be worse than I would have thought three months ago.

1Malaysia F1 team to be formed

The 1Malaysia F1 Team, a joint venture between the Government and private sector, will participate in the F1 race beginning next year, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced on Tuesday.

The Prime Minister said the project involved the combined expertise of Proton and Lotus with the support of the Sepang International Circuit (SIC), Motorsports Association of Malaysia, Naza Motor and AirAsia.

Najib, who is also the Finance Minister I, told reporters when making the announcement at the Finance Ministry that leading corporate figures such as Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes, Datuk Kamarudin Meranun and S.M. Nasarudin S.M. Nasimuddin were also involved in the initiative.

“This is the Malaysian team. The car was designed at the SIC, manufactured at the SIC, tested at the SIC and the car is Malaysian-made. Even the pit-stop team consists of Malaysians,” he said.

He said the 1Malaysia Team would identify a suitable Malaysian driver, adding that the project could lift the country’s image in the international arena.

Najib said the FIA had received Malaysia’s application to participate in the World F1 Championship next year.

Asked on the budget and the total investment by the Government, Najib said: “The Malaysian government’s investment is through Proton.”

Najib said the project was not a waste because it would provide a strong marketing element to the country when it competed in the F1 championship.

“If we want to export the Proton, we must ensure that the brand is strong. There is a strong element of marketing.

“It is not merely a sporting activity because there is an element of marketing for Proton and Malaysia while at the same time, the AirAsia and Naza brand names can be popularised,” he said.

According to a press release issued by a local public relations company for the 1Malaysia F1 Team, the national team will be based at SIC.

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia and Universiti Petronas as well as Composite Technology Research Malaysia (CTRM), a leading local composite manufacturing expert, have already been engaged to participate in the project.

The statement said the national F1 team would integrate the Malaysian technical and pit crew totalling 200 people to be managed by one of Formula One’s most respected technical director, Mike Gascoyne.

He had already recruited a core team of international experts with a proven record in the various engineering, design and manufacturing disciplines needed to ensure that the 1Malaysia F1 team was of international standard, readiness and capable of competing with the world’s greatest drivers.

Currently, six local and international drivers have been shortlisted for evaluation and the team is expected to announce its two drivers by end of next month.

The statement quoted Najib as saying that the country’s participation in Formula One with the national team had far reaching objectives, mainly the advancement of the country’s automotive industry development from the technological aspect including initiatives in green technology.

“By establishing our racing centre within the country, we hope to also attract more foreign investments and the best technical minds which, in turn, will spur the growth of our automotive industry where we hope to see more R&D into lighter, safer and more cost-effective cars,” he said.

“We further anticipate higher commitment by organisations and attendance by individuals during the F1 Petronas Malaysian GP which will be coupled with increased tourism related returns,” Najib said.

He claimed that by creating a national F1 team, the country was taking “its motor sports to its pinnacle, thus ensuring its place in this internationally embraced sports that had scaled the heights of entertainment.”

The 1Malaysia F1 Team takes its name from the “1Malaysia People First, Performance Now” policy mooted by Najib in June this year as the unifying foundation for all Malaysians to come together in celebrating cooperation among its multiethnic, multicultural and multireligious society for the betterment of the nation.

Petronas, the national oil giant, has also made advancement in this arena via its sponsorship of the BMW-Sauber Team for the last four years.

Bank stock

Lately Bank stocks have been grabbing the headlines. I bought some bank call warrants few weeks ago when not many people were talking about bank/finance stocks.


Now more and more analysts are recommending bank stocks. Please remember these analysts are merely expressing their OPINIONS. Analysts are not always right. I DON'T really (if not NEVER) rely on their OPINIONS.

In my humble opinion, when analysts are recommending a certain stock, normally it have already gone up a lot before the analysts recommend it.

Lot of analysts are recommending us to buy CIMB. I don't seem to really understand the reasons behind their recommendation.

CIMB is not attracted to me both fundamentally and technically.

CIMB's P/E is 20.26 (5 years average P/E is 15), Public Bank's P/E is 9.79 (5 years average P/E is 14), AMMB's P/E is 15.02 (5 years average P/E is 17), HLBank's P/E is 11.14 (5 years average P/E is 14), Maybank's P/E is 67.31 (5 years average P/E is 14) and RHB's P/E is 10.37 (5 years average P/E is 11).

These are the largest banks in Malaysia. CIMB and Maybank are two of the highest P/E banks. Beside, they are trading far above their 5 years average P/E.

I wonder what will happen to CIMB if our prime minister is no longer around. For your information, CIMB CEO is our prime minister's younger brother.

For me, I prefer Public Bank (Pbbank) and AmBank (AMMB). Their P/E are low compared to others and at the same time their current P/E are lower than their 5 years average P/E.

Besides, Pbbank and Ammb call warrants are some of the lowest premium call warrants listed in KLSE. ammb-cd and pbbank-cj are worth a look.

Ok, good luck.

GOon

my previous related post.
WARNING!!! Don't always follow what analysts say!
http://cathoon.blogspot.com/2009/07/warning-dont-always-follow-what-analyst.html

Mulpha sells paint, petrochemical biz for RM129.3m to HK-listed COL Capital

MULPHA INTERNATIONAL BHD's units are disposing of their entire combined stake in Pacific Orchid Investments Ltd, whose group core business is paint manufacturing and trading in petrochemicals, to Hong Kong-listed COL Capital Ltd for HK$281.25 million (about RM129.37 million).

Mulpha said on Sept 11 the disposal was in line with the group's strategy to dispose of its non core assets and focus on its core businesses in property and property related sectors.

"The disposal will result in a one-off group gain of RM16.81 million for the year ending Dec 31, 2009. Based on the current issued share capital of Mulpha International, the gain is equivalent to earnings per share of 1.43 sen," it said.

Its indirect units Mulpha Strategic Ltd (MSL) and Jumbo Hill Group Ltd had on Sept 4 signed a sale and purchase agreement to dispose of the entire stake in Pacific Orchid to True Focus Ltd, a unit of COL. MSL and JHGL own 68% and 32% respectively in Pacific Orchid.

Pacific Orchid, in turn, owns 68.7% of Greenfield Chemical Holdings Ltd, whose shares are listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and is involved in the paint and petrochemicals business.

Greenfield posted group net profit of HK$14.90 million (RM6.9 million) based on its latest audited accounts for the year ended Dec 31, 2008. Its net assets were HK$391.16 million (RM180 million) as at Dec 31, 2008.

Mulpha said of the RM129.37 million, it would use RM122 million to repay its borrowings while the remainder would be for working capital.

Trade, jobless claims figures show recession fades

The U.S. trade deficit in July hit the highest level in six months as a record rise in imports outpaced a third straight increase in foreign demand for American products, according to government data released Thursday. Both gains provided more evidence that the most worst recession since the 1930s was losing its grip on the global economy.

A rebound in the American labor market has yet to take hold, but first-time claims for jobless benefits did fall more than expected last week.

Companies are laying off fewer workers as the U.S. economy shows consistent signs that the recession is over. The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that 11 of its 12 regional banks reported the economy is stabilizing, an improvement from previous reports.

The Commerce Department said Thursday that the trade deficit rose 16.3 percent to $32 billion in July, much larger than the $27.4 billion imbalance that economists had expected. It was the largest imbalance since January and the percentage increase was the biggest in more than a decade.

Imports rose 4.7 percent to a total of $159.6 billion, the largest monthly advance on records that date to 1992 and the second consecutive gain after 10 straight declines. The rebound reflected a 21.5 percent spike in imports of autos and auto parts, partly due to increased production at U.S. auto plants owned by General Motors and Chrysler that had been slowed when the companies were struggling to emerge from bankruptcy protection.

Exports edged up 2.2 percent to $127.6 billion. It marked the third straight monthly increase, but left exports well below their record level of $164.4 billion set in July 2008.

The export gains reflected big increases in shipments of civilian aircraft, computers, industrial machinery and medical equipment.

American companies have been hampered by a drop in demand at home and in major export markets as the recession that began in the U.S. spread worldwide. However, economists are hoping that a rebound in global economies as well as further weakening in the value of the dollar will help boost exports in coming months. A weaker dollar makes U.S. products less expensive in overseas markets.

"While wider trade deficits are normally not good news, in this case, the rise in demand for foreign consumer and business goods tells us the U.S. economy is healing," Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors, wrote in a note to clients. "This was a positive report in that it provides further evidence that both the U.S. and foreign economies are coming back."

On the jobs front, the Labor Department said Thursday that initial claims for unemployment insurance fell to a seasonally adjusted 550,000 from an upwardly revised 576,000 in the previous week. Analysts expected claims to drop to 560,000, according to Thomson Reuters.

The number of people continuing to receive benefits fell by 159,000 to nearly 6.1 million, the lowest level since early April.

Still, unemployment claims remain significantly above levels associated with a healthy economy and indicate that jobs remain scarce. Weekly initial claims are generally at 325,000 or below in a growing economy. A year ago, only 3.5 million people were receiving unemployment aid.

"The labor market's healing process is agonizingly slow," Joshua Shapiro, chief economist at MFR Inc., wrote in a note to clients.

A Labor Department analyst said that the jobless figures for seven states, including California and Virginia, were estimated because state governments were unable to provide data due to the holiday-shortened week. Such estimates haven't previously resulted in large revisions, the analyst said.

Economists closely watch initial claims, which are considered a gauge of layoffs and an indication of companies' willingness to hire new workers.

While the figures are volatile, first-time claims have trended downward in recent months. Initial claims topped 600,000 for most of this year, until falling below that level in early July.

The four-week average of claims, which smooths out fluctuations, fell by 2,750 to 570,000 last week. That's almost 90,000 below the peak for the current recession, reached in early April.

When federal emergency programs are included, the total number of jobless benefit recipients was 9.16 million people in the week that ended Aug. 22, up from 9.14 million in the previous week. Congress has added up to 53 extra weeks of benefits on top of the 26 typically provided by the states.

The large number of people remaining on the rolls is an indication that while layoffs may have slowed, companies are still reluctant to hire new employees.

Job losses have slowed recently. The Labor Department said last week that companies cut 216,000 jobs in August, a large amount but the smallest in a year. The unemployment rate, however, jumped to 9.7 percent from 9.4 percent in July.

The Fed and many private economists predict the jobless rate will hit 10 percent by the end of this year. The recession so far has eliminated a net total of 6.9 million jobs.

More job cuts were announced this week. MEMC Electronic Materials Inc., a maker of semiconductor materials based in St. Peters, Missouri, said it plans to shut two plants starting next year, eliminating about 540 jobs. Valero Energy Corp. said it will close part of an oil refinery and lay off 150 employees and 100 contract workers.

Among the states, New York had the largest increase in claims of 4,546, which it attributed to greater layoffs in the transportation and service industries. The next largest increases were in Texas, Florida, New Jersey and Georgia. The state data lag initial claims by a week.

Michigan had the largest drop in claims of 1,915. The next largest decreases were in Ohio, Oregon, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

Genting falls on Genting S'pore rights share plan

GENTING BHD's share price fell the most in more than a month during afternoon trade on Sept 9 after Genting Singapore announced its rights issue to raise S$1.63 billion at 80 cents each or 32.8% below the previous day's closing price.

It closed 30 sen lower at RM6.87, the most since July 29. There were 16.4 million shares done.

Genting Singapore's proposed rights issue involves up to 2.04 billion new shares of 80 cents each and it would be on the basis of one rights shares for every five held.

"The rights issue is expected to raise gross proceeds of up to S$1.63 billion and is undertaken to pro-actively strengthen the balance sheet of the company and its subsidiaries (the group), enhance its financial flexibility and competitive position and facilitate future business expansion," Genting Singapore said in a statement to the Singapore exchange.

Genting Singapore, which is about 54% held by Genting Bhd, is building one of the city-state's two integrated casino resorts. It is also the largest casino operator in the UK.

Genting Singapore will resume trading on Thursday, Sept 10.

I really think it is a good time to sell some of my genting-co. I still remember that airaisa-ce started to fall like hell after airasia announced right issues on 4th August 2009. Maybe the same will happen to my genting-co.

Ok, good luck in your trading.

GOon

Glomac Berhad & Glomac-wa

Lately I have been trying to search for some good trades. I try to search for safe trades. I always think that it is safer and better to enter a trade after a correction has just ended. Beside Brem-wa, I also find Glomac-wa interesting.

Glomac Berhad is an investment holding company that, through its subsidiaries, is primarily engaged in property development and the holding of investment properties. It is organized in three segments: Property development, which is engaged in the development of residential and commercial properties for sale, and sale of land; Construction, which is engaged in the construction of buildings, Property investment, which is engaged the investment of land and buildings held for investment potential, and rental income. During the fiscal year ended April 30, 2008 (fiscal 2008), it launched three projects, such as Glomac Tower, Glomac Galleria and Sri Bangi. In fiscal 2008, its ongoing projects included Suria Stonor, Plaza Glomac and Bandar Saujana Utama. In fiscal 2008, it acquired Glomac Segar Sdn. Bhd., Glomac Al Batha Mutiara Sdn. Bhd. and Glomac Mauritius Ltd. In February 2009, the Company acquired 100% of BH Interiors Sdn Bhd (BH).

One of the reasons i like Glomac Berhad is Glomac is so actively buying back its own shares since 28 July 2009. To be exact, Glomac Berhad acquired 482,000 shares of its own shares with price ranging from RM0.94 to RM1.08. That are a lot of shares! Besides, Glomac's independant non-executive director (Professor Datuk Ali Bin Abdul Kadir) also bought a lot of Glomac Berhad shares last August. This is a good sign!

Fundamentally, Glomac's P/E is 9.94. It is reasonable comparing to its property sector peers. Glomac's NTAB is RM1.85. Glomac is trading at RM1.08, so it is trading below its NTAB. Good! Besides, Glomac has a proven stable earning record. Glomac makes profit for the last 9 consecutive quarters (at least)! Good! Glomac is actively buying back its shares. Good!

Technically, Glomac is supported by its 14-d, 25-d and 50-d moving average. MACD, stochastic and RSI are rebounding. Glomac is trading at thin volume too. Good! Refering to the chart, we can see that it is better that we trade Glomac by buying them when volume is thin and selling them when volume is high. Simple!

Now i think we just need a catalyst to make Glomac/Glomac-wa jumps. Glomac is going to announce its quarterly result at the end of this month. Let's hope this quarterly report can jump start the rally.

Glomac-wa's premium is 29.6%. Gearing is 3.6, expiry date is 24/10/2012 (another 1141 days to go). The high premium should not be a problem since it is still have another 3 years to go before it matures.

Ok, good luck in your trading.

GOon

Brem-wa jumps 30%! Bravo!

Bravo! Today Brem-wa jumps 30%. It is really such a good thing to happen.

I last talked about Brem Holdings Bhd/Brem-wa on 27th August 2009.

Currently Brem-wa is dicount 0.5% (premium -0.5%), so i expect Brem-wa to move up again.

Brem Holding Bhd is starting to wake up. I really can't wait to see Brem-wa keep jumping up.

Ok, good luck.

GOon

previous post regarding Brem
http://cathoon.blogspot.com/2009/08/brem-holdings-bhd.html
http://cathoon.blogspot.com/2009/08/brem-holding-bhd-1q-net-profit-soars.html

Up close & personal with Pua Khein-Seng (the man behind the pen drive)

IT’S not easy running a multi-billion dollar business. Such an accomplishment is more impressive when you consider that the person doing it is a young man who not that long ago struggled to pay his tuition fees and living expenses.

The company is Phison Electronics Corp, a listed technology company in Taiwan with a market capitalisation of almost NT$40bil (RM4.3bil). Its main claim to fame is that it changed how many personal computer users store and transfer data.

According to Phison’s website, in 2001, the company came up with a product that led to the demise of the floppy disk. It was the world’s first USB (universal serial bus) “flash removable disk”. Most of us know it simply as a pen drive. In fact, that was what Phison named the product.

(USB flash removable disks are also known as thumb drives, yet another trademark that has evolved into a generic term.)

Phison’s president and co-founder is Pua Khein-Seng, an energetic 35-year-old whose childhood memories include fishing trips and living in a place surrounded by paddy fields. After all, he grew up in the pretty village of Sekinchan, Selangor.

Yes, the man behind the pen drive is a Malaysian. Although he has been living in Taiwan for the past 16 years, Pua still considers Malaysia as his home.

His success story began in 1993, when he arrived in Taiwan to study electrical control engineering at the National Chiao Tung University. During his three years there, he worked part time, earning about NT$80 per hour (RM8), to help pay his way.

“My intention was to come back to Malaysia after graduating,” he says, adding that he had already given up his ambition to get a master’s degree because it cost too much to prepare for a qualifying examination.

Then, in his third year at the university, the rules changed. Students need not sit for the exam to gain entry into a master’s programme if they do very well for their first degreee. Pua not only obtained first class honours but was also top in his faculty. He thus kept his dream alive.

Phison takes off

After Pua obtained his master’s degree, a professor at the university offered him a salary of NT$5,000 per month to research and develop memory controllers. The professor set up a company with his friends, and Pua became an employee.

As a key engineer in the company, he travelled to places like South Korea and Japan for meetings. It was a time to gain valuable experience and exposure. That ended when friction and office politics nudged Pua into a decision to leave. However, complications over his work permit blocked his exit and forced a long negotiation.

Eventually, the shareholders promised to invest NT$30mil in a spin-off company where Pua would have a lead role alongside some friends. But things did not go as planned. The shareholders only invested NT$1mil and later opted to give up.

“We faced some problems that time as we had purchased equipment, and the resources were ready,” Pua recalls.

Clinging to the principle of never backing down in the face of adversity, Pua and his friends chose to forge ahead with the new venture. But first, they needed fresh capital.

The target was NT$6mil which they hoped to achieve through borrowings and their own savings. At that time, venture capitalists were not exactly in a hurry to put money in the fledgeling business. Through his contacts, Pua finally secured some investments to get the business running. With that, Phison got off the ground.

According to Pua, the company was not producing USB drives when it began operating in 2000. Instead, it was making USB card readers. In fact, Phison also claims to make the world’s first 5-in-1card reader.

In January 2001, an Australian customer approached the company on the possibility of producing a USB drive. This put Phison on the path to its rapid rise.

“There was already a USB drive but we invented the USB drive SoC (system on chip), which uses a single chip,” Pua explains. He was only 27 at that time.

Despite this milestone, the company still had to grapple with teething problems. It was tough, for example, for a start-up with limited funds to attract talent. “We tried to hire Malaysians who had just graduated in Taiwan but it was hard to obtain work permits,” he says.

The company’s stature and appeal have since grown following its listing on the Taiwan Stock Exchange in 2004. It now has 430 employees, of whom 210 are engineers. Its principal activity is designing USB flash controllers and related NAND (a type of technology for flash memory) flash applications. It also designs integrated circuits and provides system integration services.

Its products include controller ICs (integrated circuits) for card readers, pen drives, memory cards, flash disks, and other electronic devices.

These are exported worldwide.

Its revenue has ballooned from US$500,000 in the first year of operation to US$580mil last year. It spends between US$15mil and US$20mil annually on research and development. Clearly, Phison has overcome the rocky start.

What is it that motivates Pua in dealing with huge obstacles? “My passion has helped me overcome the hurdles and also, there is the desire to prove that we are right. It’s thanks to the support from my staff, partners and shareholders,” he says.

His maxim in life is to do things correctly everyday and to be patient so as to grow better. “I just want to raise my quality of life and be myself,” he adds.

To grow further, you have to keep improving yourself, he says. “We are our own worst enemy. We have to be patient and concentrate on the things we are doing.”

For those who want to go into business at a young age, he urges them to consider carefully such a move because setting up a business is not easy without working experience. “You need a team as it is not a one-man show. You need to have your core technology and values to stay competitive,” he adds.

Leadership management and creating a good environment are essential in the development of a company. So how does Pua treat his staff members?

They are like his family, he says. “We have to do the right thing for our staff and they will do the right thing for you.”

Local pride

To him, it is a simple principle: “Don’t treat others the way you wouldn’t want others to treat you. Your staff will like you more if you treat them like your friends. They will not like to work for you if you treat them as part of a money-making machine.”

This has been tested during the global financial crisis, when millions of people have lost their jobs. Although Phison’s revenue decreased from US$630mil in 2007 to US$580mil last year due to the downturn, Pua does not believe in retrenchment and insists that the company’s best assets are its employees.

“We didn’t implement a retrenchment programme. In fact, we increased salaries and paid bonuses,” he says. He points out that although last year’s net profit dipped, it was a nevertheless a good sign that it was possible to register a profit even in these hard times. Thus, rewarding the staff was necessary.

Pua says his priorities in running a business are the staff, followed by suppliers, shareholders and customers. “I promise to share the company’s profits with my employees,” he maintains.

After being away from Malaysia so long, how does Pua feel about his homeland? “I’m like a foreigner in Malaysia but I like the place very much. I’m not really familiar with it now but I really miss the food here. This is my country and I keep track on the news in Malaysia,” he says.

He describes Malaysia as his motherland and Taiwan as his second home. “I am proud to be Malaysian, ” he adds.

He comes back to Malaysia once in three to four months as his parents are staying here.

“The quality of life is good in Malaysia as the pace is not so fast. This is a nice place to relax and enjoy, as there are mountains and the seaside. I will come back for my retirement.”

Fact File

Born: Malaysia (June 15, 1974)

Personal: Married with three kids

Education: Master's in Electrical Control Engineering

Career: President of Phison Electronics Corp (Taiwan)

Favourite food: Curry rice, Noodles, Hokkien Mee

Favourite place: Malaysia

Hobbies: Golf, Swimming, Sleeping

Values: To judge other people's feelings by one's own and to treat others with sincerity.

China eases inbound investment rules, HK shares surge

China announced new draft rules on Friday on inbound portfolio investments, increasing the amount some institutions can invest in the country's stock markets, in a move likely to bolster market sentiment, according to Reuters on Sept 4.

The upward limit for individual institutions' quotas under the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII) programme will be raised to US$1 billion from US$800 million under the draft rules, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said.

The agency also said it would reduce the lock-up period for insurance funds, pension funds and open-ended China funds to three months from the one-year requirement others must follow.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index soared after the announcement on hopes of bigger capital inflows into China, ending up nearly 3 percent. The Shanghai stock exchange had closed up 0.6 percent before the news.

The move comes after a sharp drop in Shanghai shares in August amid growing concerns about a drop in Chinese bank lending, but some analysts saw it more as part of the regulator's overall efforts to gradually open the capital account.

Andrew Sullivan, a sales trader with MainFirst Securities in Hong Kong, said increasing the quota would not have a huge impact on the stock market.

Only large QFII investors such as UBS have a full US$800 million quota, while the majority currently have quotas of less than US$200 million, Sullivan noted.

"There is quite a bit of additional quota available," he said.

The agency also lowered the minimum required quota to $20 million from the original US$50 million, opening the scheme up to smaller institutions.

The overall investment quota of US$30 billion will remain intact, as only about US$15 billion of that amount has been used so far, Chu Yumei, an official with SAFE, told a news conference.

It was only in 2007 that SAFE raised the overall limit from US$10 billion to US$30 billion. The programme was formally launched in 2002.

"Although the total holdings of QFII investors amount to only a small fraction of the A-share market, these liberalisations (and potentially an accelerated pace of approvals) may signal official efforts to stabilise the domestic equity market," Jing Ulrich, chairman of China equities with JPMorgan, said in a note.

Nick Scott, chief investment officer for Asian equities at BlackRock, one of the world's biggest asset managers, told Reuters in an interview the move was a sign Beijing does not want asset prices to fall too much.

The announcement on inbound investments followed a statement earlier this week by SAFE promising to give domestic investors more channels for outbound investment under the Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor (QDII) scheme.

It was followed later on Friday by the securities regulator's approval of an initial public offering (IPO) by China National Chemical Engineering Co (CNCEC), dousing rumours it had put new offerings on hold.

Worries over too many new share supplies were another part of the reason behind the fall in share prices in August.

SAFE will be seeking market feedback on the rules until mid-September, but such rules are typically very close to their final state before being published in draft form.

The agency said it would also try to ensure the institution that applies for a particular quota is the one that uses it and will crack down on illegal transfers or trading in quotas.

Responsibility for approving QFII return remittances has been passed to local SAFE offices from the central office, it said.

It will also allow QFIIs to set up separate accounts for their own proprietary investments and for open-ended China funds; previously they were combined in one.

"This new measure could only increase the potential supply of funds in the stock market, but nobody knows how much of the expanded quotas would be used," said Qiu Yanying, an analyst at TX Investment Consulting Co Ltd in Shanghai.

"Of course this move reflects the government hope to boost market sentiment -- from this sense, it can be interpreted as a bullish factor for the market." - Reuters

Pakatan reps arrested, state secretariat blocked

Temple demo: Residents march with cow's head

Why September May Not Be that Scary

September has historically been a month when stocks rose only if they had fallen in the preceding months, but this does not mean this month should be the same, as conditions now are very different, two market analysts told CNBC Tuesday.

"What we think is that most fund managers or at least part of them have missed the rally," Christian Blaabjerg, equity strategist at Saxo Bank, told "Worldwide Exchange".

Combined with the record low interest rates and stimulus money across the world, this can keep the market consolidation going, Blaabjerg added.

The US economy is under the influence of an "enormous monetary and fiscal stimulus," and it is possible that stocks will continue to rise on the back of improved hopes for recovery, Michael Ivanovitch, president at MSI Global, told CNBC.

"I'm glad I am out of New York for this September superstition," Ivanovitch said.

Apart from the better data, there is also a better mood about the economy that might continue to influence stocks, he said. "Hopefully, some doom and gloom people have been put out of business for a while," he added.

US Recovery Slower than Normal

We are now at the beginning of a world recovery, but it will be slower than normal because of multiple problems still affecting consumers, Richard Hoey, chief economist at Bank of New York Mellon, told "Squawk Box."

"The financial crisis was very dangerous but we got past it because we got such an aggressive response," Hoey said.

But he said problems in the commercial and residential real estate sectors will still hang on growth, which will likely between between 3 percent and 3.5 percent for the next few quarters.

Unemployment is still a serious problem, and will probably get up to 10 percent in the spring before falling down to the current levels later in 2010, he added.

Some economists have said that the US consumer has been hit so hard that the savings rate may go up to 10 percent, even 20 percent.

"I don't agree with the super-bear argument that we're not going to stop at 5 percent (savings rate)," Hoey said.

For the moment, people's incomes are not rising and this is why they don't spend, but once the number of hours worked in the economy will rise, their income will grow, he added.

Asia the Best Place

Asia is still the place to be to take advantage of the recovery, as China had a "very vigorous" stimulus package, according to Ivanovitch.

"To put it bluntly, Asia is where the action is," he said, adding that even in the case of Japan, where investors have doubts whether the new government will manage to instil life in the economy, there may be pleasant surprises.

The Democratic Party of Japan wants to get away from an export-led growth strategy by stimulating domestic demand, something the previous government had failed to do, Ivanovitch said.

He brushed aside objections that the government will find it hard to amass the cash to stimulate its economy.

"Japan can do it. Japan has the means to do it and I am quite confident that they will do it," Ivanovitch said.

As for the recent volatility seen in the Chinese stock market, it will likely always exist in Shanghai because of the different structure of the market, Blaabjerg said.

"I'm not happy about volatility but I can live with it compared with the sort of investment scenarios in the European region," he added.