EPF is considering to buy basic life insurance policy for it's members especially the lower income group . This will bode well for MNRB?

@Mikecyc, monetising some valuable plantation land is nothing wrong by itself . Sime Darby, IOI, KLK, GENP and others did that too. It is a right decision to monetising valuable land with development value instead of maintaining it for CPO production.which give low return per hactare.

Will Bstead and LTAT BOD consider to divest their block of share in Bplant to an interested buyer just like IJM divest ijmplant to KLK? Why not ! It is the fastest way to solve the debt woes of Bstead and LTAT.

@krish52, on operational capability and corporate governance, Bplant management and BOD Isreal below par. I only hope the new Group CEO ex celcom can put things right .
On valuation side, if Bstead and LTAT decide to sell their block of shares to an interested buyer ( same like ijm sell ijmplant to KLK), I think it will not be lower than $3.10. per share taking into consideration that Bplant own substantial freehold land in west Malaysia.
Divesting Bplant will straight away solve the debt woes of bstead and LTAT . Afterall, profit contribution from Bplant to Bstead and LTAT is not expected to be fantastic in future years ..
The KLK and ijmplant deal may ignite some thought to bstead and LTAT .
Just my assessment for sharing

@Goh123, it won’t go down well to most investors . Investors expect to be rewarded handsomely from over $1bil cash pile after the insurance sales . I will start a movement with many other minorities to block the privatization if the controlling shareholder is thinking of privatizing before compensating us with handsome special dividend first . Shareholders have not received a single sen since listing 7-8 years ago, reason is BNM is the hurdle.
In fact , I am not surprised if a hostile takeover attempt is in the making . You know what I meant if you look into the balance sheet of the company and if you study in details the potential value of all the lands and properties in Penang, Selangor, kL and Pengarang. The list of properties is available in the annual report..
The day controlling shareholders taking minorities for a ride is over.

@emsvsi, I have long ago lost respect to the many so called analysts. They bluff their way thru’ by just working from computer desktop. No actual insight in the business and industry at all. They are in fact doing disservice to the investing public!

@klee, agreed. Good dividend is important. By paying good dividend, it will also spur the share price increase. It’s a double effect. On the matter of possible hostile takeover launch by any interest party , all the shareholders in IJM and especially the minorities like us stand to benefit from realization of fair value to our investment. Hostile takeover is only fear by controlling shareholder losing his control , but in the case of ijm there is no controlling shareholder.

@shah800710, Choivo Capital has a detailed report released on 5/12/20. His assessment is it worth $1.52 based on present value . You may take a look .

@ipohwhitecoffee, I am actually quite surprised any profit taking was very well absorbed on Friday, especially the price shot up 20% the previous day . Notwithstanding that there may be pullback along the way (which is very normal) I am.convinced thatba lot more price appreciation is on the way . I am anticipating TP of $3.00 when the privitasation kicks in. Its just my view . Do you own assessment.

For anyone who missed this boat, there are many more extremely undervalued plantations out there for you to take advantage of. Just to name a few : HSplant, swkplant, sop , Kim loong . All these are solid and well managed plantation like ijmplant.

@Stockraider, I am afraid that your maths is merely based on your own assumption that the company is going to buy back 10% of its own share amounting 363.3 mil unit. May we ask on whatn basis is your assumption made?
Assuming your assumption is true such massive buyback will cause share price to shot up $0.50 to $0.80 which is actually not a bad thing for shareholders.
Secondly, as there is no controlling shareholders in IJM (the shareholdings are quite fragmented in the hands of many funds and institutional investors). who's iinterest is the BoD or Management protecting from any hostile takeover ? All the shareholders welcome any takeovers offer at the right price . In the end of the days all the shareholders of IJM wants to receive good return either in dividend or capital gain. Without takeover offer and/or good dividend, you can be sure that the share price will forever be depressed / undervalued in a dying Malaysian stock market .
I think all shareholders know this .

Anyone have idea why its share price plunge on Friday ?
Possibly forced selling ?

@Stockraider, I am a lot more optimistic on the special dividend quantum than you . This is because IJM is in very strong financial position to reward shareholders.
To assess IJM's financial capability , we must look at IJM financial position at Company level.

As at 31/12/20 closing,
Fixed Asset $7,912 mil. Vs
Long term Liabilities $2,329 mil
(Out of which $1,400 mil is Bond and 173 mil term loans) The company is not over gear at all.

Current asset $2,408 mil. Vs
Current liability $886 mil
(Very strong nett current asset position and the current asset which are mainly trade receivable of $2,216 mil is sufficient to cover all long term and short term borrowing)

From the above you can also see that the total liability to total asset ratio is only about 30% which is considered very well managed by any standard. There is no hurry to redeem the Bond of $1,400 mil which is the bulk of the borrowing.

The $1,534 mil disposal proceed will come straight to the Company book as Cash!

Don't be alarmed by the Group level.debts as those debts are in the book of subsidiaries and for financing their respective businesses. The disposal of ijmplant itself will reduce the debt at Group level by about $1bil ie the portion of debt of ijmplant. Most debts at group level are bonds used to finance the toll road concession which are scheduled progressively matching to the life of the concessions.

The 30-40% dividend payout from PROFIT ,as the way you view it,.is acceptable if It is a normal course of profit generated from an asset which is still held by the company . However, we are now talking about disposal of asset entailing its capital + profit. As such it should be treated differently.

I am sure majority of the shareholders will be angry if special dividend is only the amount you predicted.

Just my analysis for sharing.

@Inv3stOr69,. Do you really trust the valuation given by the so called Analysts? Based on my years of observation, I would like to say most of them are not better than you and me. Bear in mind that many analysts have vested interest in what they want you to hear.
You are correct to say that most privatizations are below NA and minorities are being taken advantage of for too long. We have seen in recent day quite a few unfair privatization failed eg MAA , CCB, FGV etc.
KLK pay 2x higher than NA of ijmplant should be applaud for their seriousness in the deal.

@SincereStock,. There is no right or wrong in the approach. It's just how you read and assess the development and what cost position you are in. Although my cost is $0.72, I will vote against it if the offer is lower than $2.50 The same go for investors who held on the share at much higher cost . I think in the context of minorities rights in general. Minorities in Malaysia have been taken for a ride by controlling shareholders for too long . It's shameful and shakeninvestors's confidence in Bursa . That lead to poor performance of Malaysian stock market we see today.

@SincereStock,. Under normal circumstances what you said make sense. But under special circumstance, we as minorities can take different approach. In this case, it is a matter of who need who most. If SM has a grand plan for MMC's great assets that he can profit substantially, he need enough minorities to to vote for it. Consequently, he will have to pay the price palatable to most minorities. On the contrary, if there is NO benefit for him after paying higher than $2 ( say $2.50), he will abort the plan. My feeling is he has to make sure the privatisation go thru. Simply because he can eventually monetization all the assets one by one after gaining 100% control and the sum afds up substantially more than. SM must share the gains.
@simcereStock, you are very happy to receive $2. Bear in mind that many other long term investors has cost higher the $2 . No reason for thiese investors to give in easily for the benefit of SM solely.

@BilisMrJ39,. For IJM to acquire all the remaining share in WCE they don't own olny require BoD approval . If the acquisition is significant ( I think if exceeding 25% of IJM market capitalization) a EGM is called and need 51% yes vote to go thru . Minorities has NO say at all. To fully consolidate the WCExpressway and 1,800 acres of Rimbayu in its arm make sense for IJM in its longer term plan. Just my view for sharing.

@stockraider,. IJM Corp must also reward it's shareholders. I am more incline to think that at least half of the proceed will be paid out as special dividend like what @BilisMrJ39 said,. Otherwise, what is in for the shareholders of of IJM to support the deal ? If you look at the shareholders listing IJM is owned by various institutional investors and funds and they need to see return too.

@Good2harvest,, you have overlooked one condition for a successful SCR ie there must not be 10% or more of the disinterested shareholders voted against. The disinterested portion is 48%. 10% of the 48% is merely 4.8% of the total issued share is enough to stifle the plan or to bargain for better deal.
On the offer price vs NTA, you are correct to say that NTA can not be the sole basis to judge . The quality of the NTA or asset matters a lot more. In MMC's case, the quality of the NTA is very high and the RNAV is much higher.

@mfbs and @HLTGang,. The day that you have to eat your words will come . My humble advise to both not to waste your life here . Spend you precious time to look for counters that make you rich .

I think the deal is as good as done at IJM Corp level. The BOD has already expressed support in the disclosure to Bursa. The next event is the GO KLK obliged to offer to minorities shareholders of ijmplant.

The new comers to the stock market can benefit a lot from the knowledge and information presented by @beluga.

It is wishful thinking to expect consecutive price up even after 20% surge yesterday.. Good to be more realistic .

@beluga, thank you for presenting the various possibilities for all to think about . I seriously believe SM has already done all necessary ground works which include BOD's support, regulatory support and support from some of the big institutional funds before making the offer. Bear in mind he is a season corporate raiders who has taken so many strategic companies private without any hiccups. He is also very well connect with people in power. The only hurdle he has to clear is minorities' support at EGM.

Over the years , the controlling shareholder has bought so much that the free float share has gone down slightly below 20% of the total capitalization. In order to meet Bursa listing requirement of min 20% free float , they sold a few lots every now and then over the last year. My take is they are just buying a little bit of time to take the company private. If there is no intention to privatise this net cash company why the hell soak up to 80% stake?

@Mikecyc, you are correct to point out that the average age of the palms for bplant is higher than ijmplant , I think by only 2 years . But you have seriously overlooked at the location of Bplant's lands and their much higher land valuation as compared to ijmplant. Also, replanting expenditure is not an expense, it is capitalised as asset. All plantation do keep aside reserve for replanting as when they depreciation the estate every year .

Parksonguy, may I suggest that you don't waste your time in this forum since you absolutely so negative and dislike it . .Better spend your time on what you like .

@Goldberg, Good analysis. I think PE of 10x for Mnrb is too cheap. This is because Mnrb business is still in growth stage. You should also compare the Net Asset (NA) multiple . MNRB NA is $3.27 per share . Assuming MNRB price at $3.60 (ie 15x PE) , it is only at 1.1x NA (3.60/3.27).
Whereas, most other insurance are trading at 2-3 x NA.
MPHB is selling the insurance unit to Generali at over 3x NA or book value.

Will someone offer to buy the controlling in Bplant from Bstead excatly the same way KLK do ? Worth speculating what will be the offer price given that bplant is bigger and own more valuable land especially those freehold land in.west Malaysia. Then you know much bplant potentially worth.

Will someone offer to buy the controlling stake in Bplant from Bstead excatly the same way KLK do ? Worth speculating what will be the offer price given that bplant is bigger and own more valuable land especially those freehold land in.west Malaysia.

Speakup , welcome here .

@speakup, I agree with you that KSeng is undervalued at today's price. However, there is no sign of any corporate activity from the company at the moment. However, for MPHB the ongoing monetization of assets, expected special dividend and eventually privatisation are some exciting development that may possibly take place within this year . It's just how the market read it

@ipohwhitecoffee,. You must do the necessary research to convince yourself this is truly a counter worth holding. That's what I do before I put money in it . I am convinced it is a good one .

@JL999, agreed that businessman will not buy anything overvalued . They will buy if undervalued or at fair value.
Just like KLK willing to pay substantially more ( 2 times NA value ) to acquire ijmplant. Question we have to ask ourselves whether the businesses IJM own is undervalued. If it is , the undervalued assets can potentially be monetised to achieve fair value for shareholders.

MNRB will soon be a 'goldmine' to be discovered by the investment bankers

@speakup, MPHB refrains from dividend is because it is a financial holding company owning an insurance business. Dividend for financial holding is regulated by BNM. This is the reason MPHB is divesting the insurance unit so that they are free to pay dividend as they wish . I would expect very handsome special dividend from the insurance divestment as it take in about $1 per MPHB share of cash from this divestment alone .

Ipohwhitecoffee, saya iIpoh mari punya...
NTA will be $3.10 once the ongoing insurance sales is completed. More importantly, 2/3 are in cash and liquid securities investment.

As at 31/3/21, cash and investment securities under current asset in BS is $1,102,237,000. We may expect another $350 Million (?) cash from the ongoing insurance disposal . This will bring cash + liquid asset to $1,45 bil in total or $2.03 per share . No of share issued is 715 mil unit .
What about all the valuable landbank and properties in Penang , KL , Selangor and Pegarang which could fetch multi $bil more .
Mind you this stock traded above $2.70 In Sept 2014 before he asset monetization materialised.

Csan is correct. The profit you can make is at least 20 sen or!7% if you buy it at $3.00 this morning. Not bad to make 7 % or more over 3 months.

Privatisation at $3 is in the making

There is high possibility IJM will use the cash to privatise WCE holding so that IJM has full ownership of WCE highway and the 1,800+ acres of Rimbayu development next to kota kammuning. As at now , IJM has 20% direct ownership in WCE highway and 60% direct stake in Rimbayu. IJM control about 30% of WCE Holding which in turn own there remaining 80% of WCE highway and 40% Rimbayu. I was recently reported in the edge that IJM is also looking to spin off the highway asset to a Trust. like what Gamuda is pursuing now.
Such movie will eventually see IJM as a neat infrastructure and property company.

There is no information yet from ijm’s management what they want to do with the $1.5 + billion cash from ijmplant disposal. That’s why share price of ijm is flat !

Conglomerates should take the footsteps of MMC and IJM to get fairer value for shareholders. The market is imposing too much discount to conglomerate which is the holding company! The discount is often 40-70% on total valuation of the individual businesses . Unjustifiably low!
Just breakup the conglomerates !

JL9999, good or not depends on the price offered.

@shah800710,. I am not surprised at all if this happens. IJM already own 30% in WCE holding , the listed company. WCE holding own 2 main asset :. 80% WC Expressway and 40% ownership in the 1800 acres Rimbayu development next to kota kammuning. IJM own directly 20% in WCExpressway and 60% in Rimbayu.. Effectively, IJM already own quite substantially , directly and indirectly,. in both assets. After taking full control, IJm will package all its highway asset to fully divest to a trust company or separately list it . This shall create substantially value for shareholders. The Rimbayu project will consolidate under it's property arm and can be further divest as one valuable property company.. conglomerate is breaking up to realize full value

HSplant is the most likely candidate for privatisation after ijmplant. HSplant Is in nett cash position, 80% owned by hap Seng consolidated, trading well below NTA and seriously undervalued. Only 20% free float is easy for privatisation. Afterall, there is no benefit at all for hap Seng to keep it's 80% owned subsidiary listed .

KLk pays almost 2 times of NA of ijmplant . Yet most other Bursa listed plantations are presently trading well below NA. Hopefully, klk/ijmplant deal shall ignite a whole new valuation for all other plantation counters.

I think it is very important for KLK to fully acquire ijmplant so that synergy can be optimized. As such, I don’t think ijmplant will be remain listed . After securing the 56% stake held by IJM, KLK obliged to offer at least the same term to other shareholders of ijmplant. If there is resistance from minorities of ijmplant, KLK may be forced to sweeten the offer .

IJM which has no controlling shareholders is truly a public companies owned by many institutional investors and funds . I think IJM’s mgt and BOD are incline to breakup the conglomerate and divest pcs by pcs to realized value for shareholders. First to go is plantation divestment. Follow by divesting the highways including WCE highway to a Trust . And Property and infrastructure unit to follow at much later stage …
Just my view .

There is slew of privatization recently. When LTAT will have the gut to do so!