DJIA 20000; Time To Cash In?, New Companies Act in Malaysia

2017 started on a great foot with icings of presidential scares. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) measuring the price performance of top 30 American companies hit a recent high of 20000. Time to cash in?

[What is the DJIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dow_Jones_Industrial_Average ]

Well, if you have short term horizons and your stocks/shares have done well and, if you can find a better stock, one would recommend selling.

The prices of stocks are tied eventually to its business performance & more so its value per share. Hence, say if you valued a stock to be a bargain at $130 and is now at $175, this does not mean the business is still only a bargain at $130. The stock of the business you have purchased could have much fewer outstanding shares, delivering a higher percentage ownership per share, hence higher value, all only from share buybacks for instance. The stock referred to is IBM which we believe is still valuable at current price level. Companies could have also grown in size, profits, sales, etc by the time it has reached a price you previously had set to sell at.

Sadly valuation per share basis and proper price discoveries are still developing themes in Malaysia. 

Lets look at history. The DJIA have closed thereabouts 878 points and 875 points both respectively on 31/12/1964 and 31/12/1981. That is a 3 points difference over a span of 17 years. 

However, at the same time the GDP of U.S. (business done in the country) rose 5x or by 370% and the sales of Fortune 500 increased more then 6x.

[ The above are references from an amazing article by Fortune Magazine, 1999, by Warren Buffett;  Carol Loomis. This article summarises a bundle of wisdom surrounding business reality, behavioural finance and investment.

Full Article: http://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1999/11/22/269071/index.htm  ]

In short, the stock market can go up or down, regardless. However, look out for severe political climate changes. The Trans Pacific Partnership which is seen to be highly beneficial for the States has now been rejected by President Trump and Mexico that produces and supplies a good deal of factors of production is now in a state of dubiousness besides other happenings. 

Without doubt these things will pan out eventually. The biggest fear one may have are more drastic executive orders. Hopefully congress and others maintains some form of checks and balances. 

Malaysian COMPANIES ACT 2016

Some major changes for Private Companies will be seen coming into effect today, 31/1/2017;

• Single director and single member Sdn. Bhd. allowed
• No mandatory AA & MA, replaced by a Constitution for newly forming companies. Pre-incorporation contracts are allowed. (AA=Articles of Association, MA=Memorandum of Association)
• Company Registration can be done online via MyCoID portal found at https://mycoid2016.ssm.com.my 
• AGM not required. Written resolution with easier majority rule to pass resolutions
• Solvency test with higher director accountabilities & liabilities.

How or how much of the new law will apply specifically to cases will develop with future guidelines and case law.

Stocks In View

An interesting list of stocks:

http://www.barrons.com/articles/2017-roundtable-part-2-manual-for-a-mixed-up-market-1484976857 

NATIONAL BEVERAGE CORP.

Sells La Croix, their most interesting product. The stock currently appears pricey at a P/E of 27 with a high price to book ratio being common with more successful consumer goods companies. However, more research is recommended as water products typically exist in high competition markets.

Happy investing until next time. 

The writer is contemplating ceasing updates as we have included rich resources surrounding stocks and alternative investments since our first post, meant to help investors in understanding investments, specifically in Value Investing.
We strongly recommend to read through our previous posts which are meant to be timeless whilst discussing major occurrences of the month in view.
Secondly, we have numerous current stock ideas that unfortunately cannot be shared due to conflict of interests.

Regardless, we wish all traders & investors much luck & prosperity ahead.

[DISCLOSURE: The writer currently does not own any minority stake among the mentioned stocks as of 31/01/2017 under his personal account. JR Capital LLP has minority interest in IBM among mentioned stock as of mentioned date.] 

[DISCLAIMER: Everything stated in this blog is purely the opinion of the writer and any decision taken should be based on sound judgement with risks fully born by the decision maker. The writer shall bear no responsibility for any losses due to adherence of advices blogged by the writer or any commenters.  Informational discrepancies are possible and will be corrected if any.]

2017, A New Hope for Stocks

2016 has been a great year for stocks in the U.S., but not much in Malaysia except for some companies if evaluated via value investing methods. 

Expect another volatile but seemingly positive year ahead, barring any unforeseen events. Trump’s possible future business friendly policies should help businesses as mentioned in previous posts. 

We maintain all previous outlooks, hence, hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and have a great New Year ahead.

Stocks In View

Tune Protect Group Berhad (5230)

Good future business prospects however seen with setbacks due to loss of 2 top level executive employees. 

British American Tobacco (Malaysia) Berhad (4162)

Stock is down at its more than 5 year lows. However, high duty tax remains the usual skimmer of company profits.

Steel companies in Malaysia 

The Store Corporation Berhad (5711)

The offered buyout price appears too little considering the company’s asset value. All shareholders are advised to not sell at a bargain. 

[ Note: Shareholders own shares/stocks that are pieces of a business that you own, wherein the business took money from the first shareholder in exchange for ownership to grow. Hence, any buyouts should be at a price a business owner would sell his business e.g. How much would you sell a restaurant or a franchised outlet that you bought at $100,000, now worth $400,000 but offered lower say $250,000? ]

Until next time, happy investing.

[DISCLOSURE: The writer currently does not own any minority stake among the mentioned stocks as of 31/12/2016 under his personal account. JR Capital LLP has no minority interest in mentioned stock as of mentioned date.] 

[DISCLAIMER: Everything stated in this blog is purely the opinion of the writer and any decision taken should be based on sound judgement with risks fully born by the decision maker. The writer shall bear no responsibility for any losses due to adherence of advices blogged by the writer or any commenters.  Informational discrepancies are possible and will be corrected if any.]

Donald Trump and Stocks

U.S.: DJIA

• is up 10.90% 1 year (YR) and up 9.74% Year To Date (YTD)

China: Hong Kong Hang Seng Index

• is up 7.72% 1YR and up 4.09% YTD

Malaysia: KLSE

• is up 0.39% 1YR and down 3.93% YTD

[Data: bloomberg.com 29/11/2016]

U.S. stocks have done well year to date and swell post election. Coincidentally, Mr Trump’s presidency feels like a reoccurrence of Ronald Reagan’s presidency back in the 1980s. If this is the case, U.S. companies & stocks should very much benefit from a likely reduction in red tapes for businesses, possible tax cuts, among others. Nevertheless, it is important to note that the president alone is insufficient to drive all policies without congress.

During Reagan’s administration between 1981-1989, The Dow Jones tanked to below 2000 and back up to well above 4000, more than double. Are we expecting such returns? Certainly we don’t know with given global debt levels and slowdown, however moving forward the dow jones index is likely to go on an upwards long term trend, or in other words, stocks should continue doing well. 

These information are great for those in or thinking of Index Funds i.e. by Vanguard. This is as anyone could have made an above 6% return if invested in an overall U.S. stocks YTD, looking at the returns on the DJIA; up 9.74%YTD.

Example: https://personal.vanguard.com/us/funds/snapshot?FundId=0085&FundIntExt=INT

As for stimulus package(s) and inflation targets, should investors be expecting a future increase in inflation in the U.S., here’s an interesting short quote by nobel prized economics Yale professor Robert Shiller,

“ Inflation has always baffled economists. Hence, no one can accurately predict inflation, why and when it happens. ”

Malaysian Insurance Industry

With the government starting off with charging schemes in public hospitals, more costs should be seen being pushed to individuals meaning patients will have to purchase more policies hence more  underwriting and potential growth for insurance companies; as such that has happened in the states post Obama care or even before when the private sector started financing medical cases.

Stocks in View

Parkson Holdings Bhd (5657.KL)

Update: 
Tax free scheme launched for foreign travellers including residents in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan to enjoy 9% tax savings. [ Article: http://ttgasia.com/article.php?article_id=28424 ]
Capex remain high due to new store openings, new business introductions, with slowing same store sales in China. Strategies to introduce on-sight experiences; restaurants are still ongoing however management's outlook remains cautious. Ongoing Rmb1.6bil fixed Asset Liquidation (Beijing Huadesheng Property Management Co Ltd. equity interests) should be beneficial to liquidity for investment;

- TOTAL liquidation is expected to see a cash inflow of Rmb2.3bil/RM1.4bil with a net gain of RM300mil to Parkson Bhd Group acccording to Parkson Bhd's Quarter Q1 2017 report announced on 23/11/2016 for period ending 30/9/2016.
This would translate into a gain of approximately RM0.14 per Parkson Bhd share by way of 51% plus ownership of Parkson Retail Group Ltd. (PRGL).
- The disposal is expected to generate a net gain of Rmb0.9bil/RM580mil to PRGL Group according to PRGL Q3 2016 unaudited report announced and dated 17/11/2016.

Perak Corporation Bhd (8141.KL)

Update: 

- Q3 Interim Report 2016
- http://blooloop.com/articles/sanderson-procures-record-breaking-intamin-inversion-coaster-for-maps-theme-park/42976/#.WCVHDHdh13n

Until next time, happy investing.

[DISCLOSURE: The writer currently owns minority stake in Parkson Holdings Bhd and Perak Corporation Bhd among the mentioned stocks as of 30/11/2016 under his personal account. JR Capital LLP has no minority interest in mentioned stock as of mentioned date.] 

[DISCLAIMER: Everything stated in this blog is purely the opinion of the writer and any decision taken should be based on sound judgement with risks fully born by the decision maker. The writer shall bear no responsibility for any losses due to adherence of advices blogged by the writer or any commenters.  Informational discrepancies are possible and will be corrected if any.]

U.S. Elections, Making an Investment Decision

As U.S. elections are coming to a close, some investors might be anticipating sudden changes in the stock market direction. To keep it simple, here’s a brief passage from Kenneth Fisher’s Forbes article from June, 2015.

“Playing purely historical odds, for a strong 2016, hope for a Republican; if you prefer a heady 2017, hope for Hillary.”

You can find the full article at:

https://iliveidreamitranscend.blogspot.my/2015/07/global-stocks-mixed-china-down-malaysia.html

[ After opening the above blog post, Click on the 2nd blue highlighted link that will redirect you to Forbes ]

All in all, the article is a marvellous synopsis of Kenneth Fisher’s studies into political party wins and stock market gains over a period of decades.

For simple display of the power of statistical conclusions, today’s morning Eastern Time headlines in http://www.theedgemarkets.com/my read;

“KLCI slips as fresh FBI probe into Clinton emails jolts markets”.

Despite calculating the odds, making an investment decision based on statistics is only part of the process for all great investors. We move on to quote another prolific investor.

“All the correct reasoning in the world is of no benefit in stock investment unless it is turned into specific action” - Phillip A. Fisher 

“How to decide on an investment?” is basically the question. One may easily find numerous sources on this topic on the internet. 

The point to be made here is acting on a well researched and thought-about investment as the primary way to do well. We emphasise “acting on” as many investors tend to have good information but typically forgo them for a hyped up investment opportunity. 

[ In example, you may have waited for a stock i.e. Parkson Holdings Bhd to hit a certain predetermined value/price, but because there was a new hyped up IPO coming up, you forgo your well thought about target for a company with vague or no track record. The same would apply for alternative investments as such property investment. ]

Long term (LT) investors may be regarded as the boring herd in the investment world as most decisions are made only after ensuring an investment opportunity fits every preset criteria. In other words, a LT investor typically has made up his/her mind as to what qualifies as a good investment, then he/she just waits patiently to grab the best opportunity that comes by. This gets boring as the criteria set rarely changes and the stories told usually go around the same bush.

However, “waiting” as above means keeping yourself up to date with all relevant latest news and continuously keeping an eye out for those targeted investments. Rushing into any investment has more often than not led people to terrible results. 

[ Note: Once an investor determines an investment criteria set/list that fits him/her the most and is successful at applying them, they stick with it, but there will come a time to evolve those criteria ]

An interesting related article from 2015:

The Janitor that amassed a $8million Fortune- 

http://www.wsj.com/articles/route-to-an-8-million-portfolio-started-with-frugal-living-1426780320

[ Note: Globally investors are currently predicting a non repeatable stock performance since 1930s, however, looking at history, the more accurate a prediction the more likely it misses ]  

Stocks In View

PARKSON HOLDINGS BHD (S) (5657.KL)

• Annual Report 2016 is out; http://disclosure.bursamalaysia.com/FileAccess/apbursaweb/download?id=177482&name=EA_DS_ATTACHMENTS

TUNE PROTECT GROUP BHD (5230.KL)

• Despite the suspicious resignation of former CEO and CFO, Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (Diperbadankan) has been increasing their stake since July-October by about 0.3% Direct & Indirect interest.

Until next time, happy value investing.

[DISCLOSURE: The writer currently owns minority stake in Parkson Holdings Bhd among the mentioned stocks as of 31/10/2016 under his personal account. JR Capital LLP has no minority interest in mentioned stock as of mentioned date.] 

[DISCLAIMER: Everything stated in this blog is purely the opinion of the writer and any decision taken should be based on sound judgement with risks fully born by the decision maker. The writer shall bear no responsibility for any losses due to adherence of advices blogged by the writer or any commenters.  Informational discrepancies are possible and will be corrected if any.]

Outlook, Long Term Trends, Business Updates

Volatile Outlook is maintained into year end. 

Property stocks in Penang and Kuala Lumpur are likely to do well as long business conditions remain stable including developments i.e. by Titijaya Land Bhd, and Ken Holdings Bhd in Forest City of Johor with its duty-free status since March 2016, should developments continue unimpeded. The property market has obviously slowed down due to numerous reasons, among them, lower number of bank loan approvals as mentioned in the past.

For more on Property Investment/Stocks:

https://iliveidreamitranscend.blogspot.my/2014/09/properties.html

[ Note: The above article is from Sept. 2014 but is still very much applicable as the dynamics of property investment typically does not change much ]

Consumer technology based stocks are likely to suffer more in any downturn. During this period, people tend to allocate more of their money and resources towards necessities i.e. food and pleasurable activities as such travelling. Nevertheless, companies as such Apple should continue to do well especially with upcoming IBM-join-venture service products launches i.e. in medical field wherein iPads may be used to accurately diagnose xRay scans instantly via Watson’s computing capabilities among others. 

Hence, the Food and Beverage (F&B) industry should continue to do well as long as prices reflect the spending power of local markets and costs of F&B business operations do not increase dramatically. Even if cost do increase, i.e. should Starbucks suffer from an increase in coffee bean prices caused by some fungus, they should be hedged from forward contracts if done properly. This will allow enough time for astute traders to roughly ascertain impending cost pressure that might affect profitability and possibly even dividend payouts. For longer term investors, the ever increasing trend of coffee consumption in particular Asia should be a boon for well positioned companies as mentioned Starbucks and Oldtown Bhd or even Super Group Ltd.

[ Note: Coffee is a form of commodity. The article below is regarding the coffee fungus ‘epidemic’ also know as coffee rust that hit around 2012 globally

http://observer.com/2015/09/central-americas-slow-recovery-from-coffee-ravaging-epidemic/ ]

The Long Term Trend given today’s developments would be advancement and good returns in these industries: 

Healthcare, Education and high-tech based companies i.e IBM. 

[ For more on Long Term Trends: 

https://iliveidreamitranscend.blogspot.my/2016/07/manufacturing-globalisation-localisation.html ]

Interesting Updates & News - Malaysia

• A New market for Small, Medium Enterprises (SMe) to be created for SMes’ not yet ready to be listed on the ACE exchange: http://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2016/09/02/bursa-releases-paper-on-new-listing-market-for-smes/

• Private Equity (PE) companies are ramping up promotions as to how they can not only invest and profit from investing into local businesses, but from also bringing in knowledge and expertise to help management in expansion and in enhancing profit maximisation strategies. As long as business founders and PE operators can both come to an agreement on business direction, both parties stand to benefit much. 

• Change in Takeover Rules for Public Companies on the Bursa - August news
  http://annx.asianews.network/content/mixed-views-malaysias-new-takeover-rules-25786
  The above article is a followup of
  “PRIVATISATION TALKS of your stock/share/saham” from previous post;
  https://iliveidreamitranscend.blogspot.my/2016/03/positive-bursa-news-big-quotes.html

• Consumers of financial products can resolve disputes with financial service providers for cases up to RM250,000 for free including insurance claim disputes via Ombudsman for Financial Services formerly known as the Financial Mediation Bureau since 2005.
  For more view their website: http://www.ofs.org.my/en/scope 

Until next time, happy value investing.

[DISCLOSURE: The writer currently owns minority stake in Oldtown Bhd among the mentioned stocks as of 30/09/2016 under his personal account. JR Capital LLP has minority interest in IBM among mentioned stock as of mentioned date.] 

[DISCLAIMER: Everything stated in this blog is purely the opinion of the writer and any decision taken should be based on sound judgement with risks fully born by the decision maker. The writer shall bear no responsibility for any losses due to adherence of advices blogged by the writer or any commenters.  Informational discrepancies are possible and will be corrected if any.]

Gold and Business as a Medium Of Exchange

Gold as a Medium Of Exchange (MOE) has been used for centuries alongside other metals i.e. silver & copper. In today’s world, gold is considered an investment. So, does it also mean that silver, copper or fiat money; the currencies that we use today, can constitute as a form of investment? 

Essays in Persuasion by John Maynard Keynes, the famous economist provides wonderful details on gold and the gold standard from which most countries have given up, amongst others; why was that an important decision, how gold was previously transferred between countries physically but now typically sits in certain locations only (central banks) and basically why is gold a fundamental part of the global economy. (There are also key mentions of how inflation plays an important role for businesses and governments)

[ Essays in Persuasion by John Maynard Keynes (full); 

http://www.gutenberg.ca/ebooks/keynes-essaysinpersuasion/keynes-essaysinpersuasion-00-h.html#Economy 

Please self check for any breach of copyright laws in relation to this link to which was sourced via internet ]

In brief, post world war 1, the world fell into economic disarray and numerous countries had opined to revert back to their previous gold standard, Britain being one of them but this proved to be a bad move as the currency exchanges had varied by a great degree. Export, Import, Inflation, Deflation, Budget deficits/surpluses, all showed that a free exchange rate without reverting to the gold standard was the way forward towards economic prosperity. In short in today’s era, USD to MYR 4.07 as of 31/08/2016 provides much benefits to domestic parties of both countries benefitting both economies while being able to adjust conditions via government policies (monetary/fiscal) without resorting to the gold standard system.

[The Gold Standard ran on a basis that the world was a stable playground, which it relatively was 100 years prior 1930 in reference to global pricing and inflation among others. Upon divergence in domestic and foreign prices of goods and capital post WW1, it was more conducive for governments to help stabilise their economies with monetary policies in example rather than try stabilise the world wholesomely via a global gold standard)

This might seem gold is of lesser importance today as central banks are able to manipulate the value of gold through various means besides the relatively stable mining supply output of gold and demand from technological & retail sectors among others. 

In essence, gold can be said to be an oldest and time tested MOE that mankind will probably continue to use for a long time to come. Money that we use today is after all a  lesser durable piece of paper guaranteed by central banks to be a form of a MOE looking at their physical durability.

However, one would opine gold is to be viewed as a MOE and not a form of investment the same way one would feel the urge to store Foreign Currencies. 

The best way to view an investment with regards to MOEs is to figure out what unit/item will probably be used for a long time to come as an exchange medium. Besides gold, it is highly probable well established branded products, superior quality goods as a result of patented R&D or even  unique primary goods i.e. agriculture produce will be a highly in demand items that can be exchanged anytime with the MOE of the day for hundreds of years to come. In short, a good business producing something essential in fulfilling the pursuit of happiness of mankind is in itself a MOE, a bet to garner sufficient returns regardless of future currency fluctuations or MOE woes.

Despite these arguments, one would opine that due to the constant increase in the supply of capital globally now in trillions of dollars, gold price may increase in tandem due to numerous market forces tying up the value of these capital supply to the metal despite our straying from the gold standard. One may also argue, should there be a global currency disaster, gold may take the pedestal and rise as the ultimate MOE and appreciate drastically in price. 

In conclusion, considering businesses are constantly keeping in tandem with economic reality, investment in business is still promoted as the wisest decision. 

[ Note: Self Sustainability can be considered the most essential personal investment in regards to future disasters ]

Malaysian SME

Numerous articles have been published in YR2016 explaining the readiness of local banks to continue providing funding for local Small and Medium enterprises which is on a positive note, as long as these businesses have strong interest coverages. Agriculture Bank of Malaysia (Agro Bank) continues to present support for credit towards local businesses. Agribusiness is viewed to have a relatively conducive and improving domestic environment with support from domestic government and SMEs.

Brief Global Outlook

General business sentiment globally seems to be negative and in line with previous posts, with regards to possible effects from the maturing of the long term debt cycle in many countries. In an interesting twist, if we were to apply an analogical story from Sylvie and Bruno mentioned by Mr Keynes in his book Essays in Persuasion, between a Professor who ordered a suit and the suit maker. The suit maker comes to collect his tailor costs of 2000 pounds for the past many years from the Professor. The Professor cleverly proceeds to encourage the tailor to hold off the debt and only to be paid next year, double the amount. The dialogues ends as such:

 "Will you ever have to pay him that four thousand pounds?" Sylvie asked as the door closed on the departing creditor.

"Never, my child!" the Professor replied emphatically. "He'll go on doubling it till he dies. You see, it's always worth while waiting another year to get twice as much money!"

The world may go on in this fashion, debt piling to infinity until and unless more rational methods are taken up concerning debt cycles for examples those mentioned in Economic Principles by Mr Ray Dalio of Bridgewater Associates or by many other intelligent people in the financial, educational and governmental organisations.

[ Economic Principles by Mr Dalio; http://www.economicprinciples.org ]

Until next time, happy value investing.

[DISCLOSURE: The writer has no investment or purchases of gold and has no credit relationship/affiliation from/to any SME banks or Agrobank.] 

[DISCLAIMER: Everything stated in this blog is purely the opinion of the writer and any decision taken should be based on sound judgement with risks fully born by the decision maker. The writer shall bear no responsibility for any losses due to adherence of advices blogged by the writer or any commenters.  Informational discrepancies are possible and will be corrected if any.]

Manufacturing, Globalisation, Localisation

The global economy continues chugging along.

Manufacturing is key to advancement in a developing/emerging country. Is this a generic true statement? That has been the standard since the industrial revolution & prior to that it was advancement in agriculture that made up the bulk of any country’s economy growth. How about today? What do countries and businesses need to focus on to continue driving growth? Globalisation In Retreat, a short video, is a very interesting idea that answers the above questions, put forth by Professor Bruce Greenwald of Columbia Business School;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCMB41bdTP0

In short, his longterm advocation; localisation/domestic domination in business, is key to being successful i.e. Walmart that has done tremendously well in its home ground, the U.S. and relatively bad overseas (e.g. in China). 

Dominating local market(s) is essential prior expanding overseas. 

As for globalisation, more countries is projected to focus on producing goods locally once robots can make up the bulk of the workforce. Robots have already filled in uncountable manufacturing jobs, hence the lack of wage growth via employment in manufacturing in particular the auto industry. The future according to the short video will be in education, travelling, healthcare and retirement related industry.

One is of the opinion, businesses that focus on dominating their local markets and maintaining/advancing their products will be around for a long time to come. In example, in a small town in Penang, Malaysia, there was once a very famous restaurant ‘mamak’ X which is still in business after 40 years plus in service selling roti canai among others. Within that 40 years, countless restaurant ‘mamak’ popped up and replicated/franchised themselves across the country some dominating successfully certain niches i.e. indian food. This 40 year old restaurant could have easily dominated their local state as they had the resources, great product and the goodwill however poor resource allocation skills have led them to stagnate in size. 

In short, globalisation wherein the cheapest resources available are employed by countries, will be in full retreat once countries can manufacture cheaply via machines locally. Locally based businesses will still be around as long as they maintain their goodwill and quality of service. Of course which business will grow into successful giants will depend on many other factors spoken in the past.

Stocks In View 

TUNE PROTECT GROUP BERHAD (5230) 

The CEO and CFO have recently resigned due to stated “personal reasons” even though the company has grown continuously in their hands with many projects in sight. The company this year has started marketing to a wider target market. The actual reasonings for resignation is very much of concern; could the asset quality of the premiums/float be increasingly in jeopardy due the expansion in new products underwritten. 

PARKSON HOLDINGS BERHAD [S] (5657)

The company is continuing its turnaround now with their many, 50-100 over partnerships with merchants i.e. restaurants like Ayamas that offer special discount when presented with a Parkson card. This link shows all of the new merchants that have recently joined Parkson’s Lifestyle Brand strategy; 

http://web.parkson.com.my/whatson/parkson-card/ 

[ click on Merchant Partner Privilages and then any of the following categories 

i.e. Dining;  http://web.parkson.com.my/whatson/parkson-card/dining/ ]

Parkson’s cash flow from operation has declined in health. New stand alone stores brands, join venture brands, own brand strategy are to help with the recovery as long as customers and shoppers enjoy & accept the new lifestyle brand being offered as compared to Parkson’s competitors that are also ramping up their unique point of sale strategies. 

BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO (MALAYSIA) BERHAD (4162)

Good dividends, depressed price (more than -10% past 1 week), extensively high tax base, illicit cigarette problem, communal health issue. 

PROPERTY STOCKS - MALAYSIA

A reduction in rates should be a boon however, still the industry is experiencing a slowdown, liquidity in the local financial sector could be an issue, still tight lending policies by banks & high sub-sale offer volume. In the longer term, strategic locations i.e. Penang should do well for property owners and/or positioned developers. The property market mainly relies on credit hence any deterioration in the credit market will impact new property sales hence affecting developers. That being said, domestic property market size is big and transactions are likely to continue. Lower price range developers are likely to benefit as previously recommended.

Until next time, happy value investing.

[DISCLOSURE: The writer currently owns minority stake in Parkson Holdings Bhd among the mentioned stocks as of 31/07/2016 under his personal account. JR Capital LLP has no minority interest in mentioned stock as of mentioned date.] 

[DISCLAIMER: Everything stated in this blog is purely the opinion of the writer and any decision taken should be based on sound judgement with risks fully born by the decision maker. The writer shall bear no responsibility for any losses due to adherence of advices blogged by the writer or any commenters.  Informational discrepancies are possible and will be corrected if any.]