The 2nd QTR results should be out by this week. The 2nd QTR results would most likely be much better than the 2nd QTR results of last year judging by the QTR results of other plantation companies just reported. Most likely the dividend for this financial year will be higher compared to last year assuming a payout ratio of 60% and a higher earnings for the financial year.

Please note the followings. Menara Amfirst should not be listed above since the building no longer belongs to Amfirst and so care must be taken in reading the latest figures. Secondly for the SUMMIT, the figures for the office and retail were wrongly placed.

I have been collecting this counter for its coming dividend and its coming QR report which I think should be favorable. The company has big liquid assets which will bring in a high investment income in this higher interest regime. The other thing to note is that the price of input like iron ore (indirect) has drop quite substantially . I think this counter price could go much higher if there is restraint of selling by EPF.

The 3rd quarter results is good. The total earnings for 3 quarters has reached 25 sen per share. I am optimistic that total earnings for the whole financial year will be more than 32 sen per share. I will consider picking up some tomorrow.

I have been collecting lately at the price range of RM0.315 to RM0.32 due to several favorable factors which I think are
1)There is less pressure on the interest rates to increase as the interest rates in the US has peaked . There is less
inflationary pressure in EU and with unhealthy economic conditions (like in Germany) the interest rates will be
maintained or could be lowered.
2) The NSK grocer has its official opening in SUMMIT on 16/12/2023. Based on my rough estimates the opening
should bring in an extra revenues / earnings of at least half sen per share (with additional parkings) for each
calender year.
3) There is a new CEO for AMFirst and I hope his performance will be much better than the past CEOs.

If you are interested in making fast money, this counter may not be for you. However if you are in for a longer period, this counter could be rewarding based on the current price (RM1.13) and fundamentals. I think the current price is cheap and the movement is guided more by fundamentals (Maybank has also lifted the TP to RM1.40 recently).
MNRB will be paying out a dividend of RM0.0445 at the end of this month. If we assume the dividend is based on the FY2023 earnings of RM0.153, the payout ratio is approximately 0.29 (that is 0.0445/0.153). The first quarter earning of FY2024 is out at RM0.089. If we assume the average quarterly earning is RM0.065, the annual earning will be RM0.065x4=RM0.26. If the payout ratio of 0.29 is maintained for FY2024, there is the potential dividend of RM0.0754 (that is 0.29xRM0.26). Please bear in mind that the NTA for Q1FY2024 is already RM3.42 which means there is the potential of granting a bonus in the future.
The future investment income for MNRB should be good based on the compositions of her investment (high percentage of fixed deposits and extended loans to outside) amid the higher interests environment.
I hope I am right as there are always uncertainties (inside and outside) especially in this line of business.

I am sorry my earlier posting disappeared . I am not sure what happened. Anyway based on the article in the theedgemalaysia ( June 28,2023 ) there should be a net increase of 64000sf in occupancy at USJ Summit when all the seven tenants moved in. Given the rental rate of RM5 psf the net increase in revenue should RM5 X 64000sf X12 = RM3,840,000 per annum. The increase could be higher as NSK will lead to more customers which means more parking lots will be occupied. I hoped my calculations and inferences are correct.

It is true the parties taking up the PP would prefer a lower price. That is why I always feel a PP is a rotten deal for minority shareholders since they suffered so much and yet to received salt rubbed on their wounds. My point is this . The price is so low ( I think this reits P/NAV is the lowest among the reits) and as such the PP would not bring in much money. Since a PP is a private deal , why don't the management make a deal with the parties taking up the PP to push up the price by a certain percentage before the PP is announced. This will help to bring in more money and appease the minority shareholders. Anything is possible if the management care for the minority shareholders. If not consider other options . After all the majority shareholders have deep pockets.

The performance of AMFIRST REITS is truly disappointing. The NAV per unit is around RM1.17 and yet the last traded price is RM0.345 . The average annual return based on total return per unit since its listing date on 21 December 2006 is practically zero. I have interest in this counter and would like to bring out some options that are floating around that might provide some relief to the minority shareholders.

1) The major shareholder or anybody could privatize AMFIRST REITS by buying out the other shareholders at say
half the NAV per unit of RM1.17 which comes to RM0.585 . Taking a REITS private has been done before. Take the
case of AHP REITS of which I have interest indirectly. It was taken private at RM1.00 per unit when the last traded
was around RM0.80 +- .

2) Sell some more buildings with low occupancy even at a discount to their market prices. This will help to reduce
borrowings which will be useful in an increasing interest rates regime. There is no point keeping so many building
buildings. It is possible Malaysia could have a recession looking at the worldwide economy currently and if that
happens , one might find difficulty in selling.

3)There was talk of having a PP (private placement). Generally this is not in the interest of minority shareholders.
Moreover the amount raised will be minimum at current unit price and does not make a dent in the borrowings.
Let us assume the placement price is at a 10% discount and the placement quantity is 20%. This means that the
amount raised will be 0.9 x 0.345 x 0.20 x 686 = RM42.6006 millions. This amount does not make a dent in the
total borrowings of around RM800 millions. The minority shareholders get a rotten deal since the NAV will be
reduced quite a lot and the earnings per unit could be diluted. One possible solution is for the parties taking up
the PP to push up the unit price of the REITS before the PP is announced.

This piece of information on page 27 of the annual report 2022 should be of interest to shareholders. "The global pandemic led to a delay in the project due to travel and movement restrictions imposed by the Jordanian government, with commercial operations for Unit 1 and Unit 2 now expected to commence towards the end of the 2022 calendar year ." This is a positive development if there are no changes.

As regards the problem of higher interest rates , YTLP directors known for their shrewdness would have locked in using fixed rates when rates are favourable for a large part of her loans. In such cases the problem only comes in when the loans/bonds matures in an increasing rates regime. The question is how much of the loans are under fixed rates regime and how much are under variable rates regime. I suspect most are under fixed rates regime which should protect YTLP for the moment. There is the question of the pound exchange rate . Here one should focus on the future pound/ringgit exchange rates since YTLP is a Malaysian based company. One cannot say with certainty where these rates are going. However I am confident the earnings from Singapore would be favourable. There are several other developments going on in YTLP which we hope will be favourable.

MNRB could be a counter to collect at current prices of RM1.00 to RM1.05. As expected the 4th quarter earnings rebounded after the 3rd quarter loss due to massive floods. In a normal year the earnings per share would be over 21 sen which means a PE of less than 5 at the last traded price of RM1.04. The NTA per share is over RM3.00.

The insurance/reinsurance is a growing market. To me this industry has a characteristics of a casino and utility combined. It is like a casino because it uses probability to calculate premium and payout among others. It is like a utility because it is a necessity for most individuals and companies. The good thing is that MNRB is the house/owner providing the service. This means that for most periods the company will make good earnings based on law of averages except when there are calamities or mismanagement.

The earnings will grow if the company is managed well all things remaining the same. To encourage investors to buy MNRB shares , a positive move is to have a dividend payout policy .As an example , if the payout ratio is 35% and the earnings per share is 10sen, 20sen and 30 sen then the dividend will be 3.5sen, 7 sen and 10.5 sen respectively. You share in the good and bad of the company and the company still has the balance of 65% for reserves/expansion. I am confident and optimistic of this line of business. If every things progress well, the price of this counter will be much higher except you need to be patient. I generally collect when things are quiet , right prices by me and the potentials are there.

Dragon328, I think you have put in lots of efforts in your research for the above article. Thank you. One may or may not agree with you on certain aspects but I think you have brought out the several positive and recent developments of YTLP quite eloquently. Moreover at current prices (before it goes too high) of between 70 and 75 sen and with decent dividends around the corner based on history (I always believed a bird in hand......) I am positive about this counter.

Yes I think the board should consider a special dividend in light of the rare huge capital gain.

I do not wish to comment too much except to note that the Yeohs are well represented in the board and they have been well rewarded with a nice ESOS. They should also consider the minority shareholders interest when the time is right.

YTLP in Singapore should perform very well in the power sector for the next few quarters assuming all things remain the same.

YTLP power capacity in Singapore is large relatively to her share of power capacity in other regions. Seraya power is about 3100MW while TuasSpring is about 400MW which when combined is about 3500MW. The acquisition timing of TuasSpring is good considering the price paid for and when prices of natural gas and electricity tariffs in Singapore were low relatively.

In Singapore the prices of natural gas and electricity tariffs have high positive correlation. Electricity tariffs charged to consumers has fuel price as the major component besides others. When natural gas price goes up so will electricity tariff. Power plants would have locked in prices of future contracts in natural gas. Generally when prices of natural gas goes up ,power plants will have better earnings since the electricity tariffs will also go up.

The other point to note is that the safety excess capacity/reserve margin of electricity in Singapore is falling to more realistic levels which is good for operating power plants.

I am sceptical and concerned about the current interest shown by the U.S on South East Asia. There is/was so much misery and sufferings inflicted directly or indirectly on children in countries like Afghanistan,Yemen and Vietnam.We do not need big powers to come here to cause instability and sufferings when they are thousands of miles away.

YTLP share performance is a real disappointment but it gives me the opportunity to collect at current depressed prices.

Being a conservative company, YTLP has sound fundamentals. I think YTLP should perform much better in the coming years. Besides the usual (like the power plant in Jordan commencing next year), there could quite a substantial saving in interest payments if the bonds are refinanced as they become due as the current low interest regime is highly beneficial for the company.

I am puzzled why YTLP is not in the market buying back the company's shares at current depressed prices when she has bought earlier at much higher prices. The market value of the shares not under the control of the Yeoh's family is less than RM1.9 billion (that is approximately 0.38 x 8158 million x RM0.605).

Buying a controlling interest in A&W (Malaysia) SDN BHD from INTERMARK RESOURES SDN BHD. Please read the proposal and form your opinions and actions. .I think it is a positive direction for the company.

Philip,I sincerely hope you have better days ahead.

Please use the following information at your own risk.
1)The revenue of MCE should increase by a good amount for fye 2020 due to the two contracts of
RM105 million and RM51 secured in11/7/2018 and 21/3/2019 respectively and
2)MCE has been and will be supplying several traditional and also new parts for X70 on its own
and in collaboration with STEC in addition to parts for the revised Proton models. In fact MCE
has invested RM7.5 million in plants for fye 2019 to meet the new demand of spare parts. The
information can be found in MCE Bulletin Volume 20, November 2019.

If you look at the report of the latest AGM by Easy Wong (get the translated version), the company believed that the fiscal year 2019 should be good and the company performance should be quite good in the long run.

Let us see whether the above will come true. It is frustrating as a shareholder to get nothing in return compared to what the controlling shareholder is getting considering the low market capitalization of the company (I must admit the market generally is not good).

For those who are interested please refer to the press statement by DRBHCOM on the JV between
Proton and Geely in China. The JV has implications on vendors if you go through the statement.

Dear Stockraider,
Please read carefully what I wrote. I said it is sheer madness that those three counters can reach such ridiculous heights. I never said I bought them.
Also please note that I said I am conservative. Even buying blue chips which I did won't protect you when the composite index fell from around 1300 to around 240 unless you have sold out initially.
Have a good day and please don't jump to conclusions to what I wrote. I merely wanted to bring out the perils of a margin account through an experience of mine since several of you were discussing the pros and cons of margin accont.

KCChong, I strongly support your advice against using margin account. There are arguments for and against using margin account and below is a short account of my personal experience in using margin account.
During the time when Iraq invaded Kuwait, markets were down. I approached a foreign bank for a margin account to buy shares . When U.S invaded Iraq,markets rebounded and returns were good. Then came the sheer madness in the early 1990s for KLSE when cheap counters like SHChan, Hwa Tai and AHP reached prices of over RM60, RM200, and RM8 respectively. Practically everybody was making money and celebrating. Those having margin made more. I was conservative in using my margin account in my borrowings and in selecting my counters. Even then returns were very good.
Then came the financial crisis of 1997/1998. The market crashed and it is hard to believe how low the market went. Some of the dubious counters went limit down 3 times in a row. Those with margin accounts have no time to run and by the time the broker firms forced sell, they have not only lost their principals but owed the firms/banks substantial sum of monies. Those who invested in blue chips were not spared.The composite index fell from around 1300 to the unbelievable number of around 240. If I am not mistaken Maybank fell below RM3 and Berjaya Toto below 50 sen. Those who invested in a diversified portfolio of blue chips were not spared since the composite index fell so sharply. Those who had margin accounts suffered more since there were a lot of forced selling at each lower level of the composite index unless one was so skillful in liquidating all his/her blue chips in the initial stage of the market fall. I was not spared but it is a good lesson that margin account can wipe you out.

For MCE shareholders information. MCE has secured an approximately RM105 million contract to supply parts to Proton over 9 years which is expected to commence in the 4th quarter of fye 2019.

I still remember reading his book entitled " Stock Market Investment in Malaysia and Singapore " in the 1980s. He teaches you what to look for and warning you of the many dangers especially when you are a small fry in the stock market. It was a good book much better than many of the books in market that supposedly try to teach you on how to become rich or become a millionaire.Ha.ha... .Likewise over here I am extremely cautious when someone try to promote a counter when the price of the counter has gone up quite substantially. In this site one of the contributors that I have respect for is KCChong for he is guided by fundamentals and experiences. Even if one is good sometimes we do make mistakes due to changes in circumstances.

Calvintaneng,
I am collecting Protasco at current levels since the company has earlier this year secured several road maintenance and repair agreements. Moreover this company in the past has been giving out very decent dividends quite consistently and I hope the company will be able to continue to do so. Sometimes it is guts instinct just like recently when I bought YTLpower at below 80sen. Hopefully I am right with respect to Protasco.

My apologies. For NHFatt case,it is a bonus issue ,not a free warrants issue.

The free warrants is a stand alone thing . It does not involve rights issue as in both cases of NHfatt and DSONIC. As a personal opinion, it is a bad idea to build a hospital at this stage as the economic conditions are not favourable such as more difficult living conditions and more competition in the medical services. Moreover MCE is a small company relative to the big capital required and big boys in the medical services.

Dr Goh Kar Chun,
I think you should seriously consider the option of the company issuing free warrants to shareholders . This approach has been adopted by many companies including of late by companies such as NHFatt and DSONIC. This option has many advantages which among them are
1) It helps the company to conserve capital ,
2) It helps to bring in fresh capital and increase liquidity of the share when shareholders exercise
the warrants.
3) The percentage of shareholdings owned by the Gohs and Chuahs is not affected by this option
and
4) This option will maintain the goodwill of shareholders like me who would like to receive some
returns for investing in this company.
From my research, if I am not wrong the company has only once issue bonus since the company's
listing on the market.

For those who were unable to attend the recent AGM and yet interested to know what transpired at the meeting ( especially the developments with Geely),you can go to the company's website under the heading Q&A Summary-20 December 2017 (Investor Relations). I must give credit to the new management for keeping the shareholders who were unable to attend informed.

Decent earnings of 1.8 sen under difficult operating conditions for the latest quarter. One salient feature is that the cash holdings has increased from 13 million ringgit to 20 million ringgit. This is equivalent to 45 sen per share. The increased cash holdings is largely accounted for by changes in receivables and payables. Anyway I prefer a larger cash holdings to a larger receivables under current economic conditions. Borrowings has been slowly decreasing to the current level of 2.5 million ringgit which is negligible. The company should be able to pay a decent dividend assuming the earnings is there.

Please refer to these two webpages for information that has relevance to MCE Holdings. 1. http://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2017/05/24/drb-hicom-to-sell-49pt9pct-in-proton-to-geely-holding/
2. www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2017/05/24/govt-to-reimburse rm1-1-billion-rd-money to proton/

For the information of MCE holdings shareholders, according to MAA in total 53,717 sales units(passenger and commercial)were registered in March 2017,up 11,262 units or 26.5% from February 2017.The association expects April sales to continue at the level set last month(hat is March 2017)due to the continuation of "aggressive promotional activities." You can google to obtain this information.

It is a good start for the shareholders. The company under the new leadership of Dr Goh is able to make money and declare an interim dividend of 1.5 sen which I have looking forward to.

Calvintaneng,
The break up of a company into individual parts and sell them was a very common practice after the great crash of 1929. It was during this time many companies have very depressed prices and yet have valuable assets.
Calvin, you should read the book entitled 'The Great Crash 1929' by J.K .Galbraith (Penguin Books) if you can lay hands on the book. It a good read for investors since it tells the dramatic fall in the share prices of many of the blue chips. It also tell the stories of many Wall Street tycoons who became paupers and some committed suicide not able to face the change in their fortunes.

Stead,
This is just a forum where participants can exchange views/facts so that one will hopefully gain from the discussion .The limits of the discussion are determined by the administer of this site and not by any individual. The topics I brought up are to help myself and other minority shareholders hopefully. I am uncomfortable with the direction of our discussion and we should part in the spirit of agree to disagree.

It is because of the depressed price level and the good financial health that I suggest that maybe the company has a buyback scheme. I am neutral on the company's prospects currently. I support a buyback scheme based on the followings:
1)The current published nta is RM2.05 while the market price is RM0.66 .The nta is more than 3 times the market price. Any purchase at current price will enhanced the nta of the existing shares.
2)You do not require a big sum of money to buy and support the share at current price. At the current price of RM0.66 the market capitalization is just below RM30 million. An allocation of RM3 million will allow the company to buy back around 10% of the outstanding shares.
3) The market for this share is not liquid at all. As such any sudden 'big' purchase/sale will have a 'big' impact on the share price. Under such circumstances, the buyback scheme will come in handy when someone wants to liquidate his/her holdings due to his/her personal need of money. As an example you notice that the share of Yilai is very steady at around RM0.85 due to the company's buyback scheme. You will also notice that the gap between the nta and the market price of Yilai is not that drastic.

I do not think that market and fundamentals are mutually exclusive. I am inclined to believe that improving/deteriorating fundamentals set the trend of the price movement. It is the directors and/or syndicates who overplay the trend. Unless you are very good with technical analysis or have insider information like some of the privileged brokers, many will in the end be caught and overtime disappear from the market. Nothing beats the analysis of the fundamentals and prospects except situations when you have directors without principles and morals.

Mr/Miss Stead,
I have read your comments and the comments sound reasonable. You seems to have a good knowledge of what is going on. However there are some points I would like to raise.

1) I gained from you the knowledge that imported intermediate inputs made up 70%.. .Then there is issue of the impact from the depreciating ringgit. The question is will the ringgit keep on depreciating?. There are many determinants of the value of the ringgit such as the current surplus,fiscal deficit,national debt,amount of foreign reserves,interest rates,and others. I think the future value of the ringgit will largely be determined by the future price of petroleum other things remaining the same. Where will be the future price of petroleum is a million dollar question.
Secondly there is a sensitivity analysis for foreign currency risk done by the company (pp.83,annual report 2015). The analysis seem to suggest that the effects are not that terrible.
2)As regards the payment of dividend, as an investor I would prefer to invest in a company that tries to maintain a minimum dividend if she can. What is that dividend of 1% compared to what the executive directors are receiving. Dr. Goh KC is the new managing director (company's website) and so maybe he should try to implement the minimum dividend policy if the company can to maintain the goodwill of minority shareholders who have suffered from the depressed market price of the company.
3)It is true that owning 51% allows you to control 100%. There are value traps in a sense but choice do minority shareholders have?. Unless one have insider information, most of us will look at the good figures as you say in making the choice.
4)I would agree with you that attending the AGM is good but sometimes it is not practical. I have a friend who is a shareholder but he is from Kuching. With all the modern technology, the company could have a site where questions can be posed and answered.
As regards Mr. Lim Ming Kee, he is paid well as a managing director (currently executive director) before(pp.58 annual report 2015) and as such he should try to make MCE great again. The remunerations for an independent non-executive director is generally very small relative to what he is getting.
5)I do not know what is happening to the medical center at Setia Alam and I think you raised some valid points and issues.

The price of the company's share has reached quite a depressing level that maybe the company could set up a buyback scheme which will not cost much but yet greatly enhanced the nta of the share.

The question should well be directed to the executive directors since they should know better. The group financial balance looks good. From what I gather from the net, the bookings for the new proton persona and proton saga are very good. The price does not reflect the fundamentals. The group should try to maintain a minimum dividend payment and adjust upwards if performance improves (this is a common practice in the States). This payment will be an encouragement to minority shareholders. As an example, a payment of 1% would only cost the group RM 444,047 of which a large portion would go to the major shareholder. The group should keep things like remunerations/dividends in perspective to be fair.

The last quarter results was quite decent based on the current environment. There was increased
revenues, increased cash holdings, reduced loss and reduced outstanding debt compared to the 3rd quarter results.
The company is grossly undervalued based on the market price in comparison to the nta. The current nta is
RM2.05 on the surface. If one check on the annual reports of 2007 and 2015 (please refer to the company's website for details) one can make the following observations. The eight pieces of properties in JB has a total book/revalued value in 2007 of RM13,130,000. In 2015 the same eight
pieces of properties has a total book value of RM12,237,195 .The lower value is accounted for by
depreciations. I am sure the total market value in 2015 is much higher. If one assume that the market value is double that of the book value in 2015, one can generate a surplus of RM0.2756, that is RM12,237,195 divided by 44,404,700 the number of shares. This will mean that the nta could be RM2.05+RM0.2756 =RM2.3256. This is just my observation.

TheContrarian, there are obvious reasons (company,industry and country specific) that one can analyze using available data and there maybe non obvious reasons (manipulation and other issues). I am more concerned about the company maintaining her financial health which is good currently . If so, there is a limit to the downside with the current thinning volume.

I find the performance of the company's share price really disappointing. At the market price of
around 73 sen,the market capitalization is around RM32 million. The price of the piece of land in
Shah Alam which the company bought with cash was by itself close to the market capitalization.
Personally I find her current financial state to be healthy based on the company's accounts.
The company has to fix her revenue and/or cost the soonest.With such low market price and capitalization,any positive development will have a sharp positive impact on the share price. By the
way is there anyone interested in forming a private group of common interest in the company?

Multico can be a good candidate for someone who wants to take over a listed company or for the
majority shareholder to privatize the company. Among the reasons,
1)at 83 sen (yesterday) ,the market capitalization is very small of less than RM 37 million,
2)the assets and liabilities are well defined, not in vague or questionable forms (I am assuming that
there are no integrity issues),
3)the borrowings are minimum (around RM 7 million),
4)the net asset is around RM 2.09 per share,
5)if one revalue the six properties in Kawasan Perindustrian Pandan, a nice surplus can be
generated compared to their net book values in 31.7.2015. Likewise the market values of the
three properties in Mukim of Tebrau,Taman Desa Jaya and Telok Gong are likely to be much
higher than their net book values in 31.7.2015.
The current financial state of the company is good but the market capitalization is very small.

Xiao Tian, from what I understand, this Newco will be like a holding company with other companies under this company. I understand that there are positive legal and financial implications to this new arrangement. Also, it is good to have a new name for a replacement on the Bursa as a new start .

The paid-up capital of this company is very small. At current stage the company's balance of accounts looks healthy to me. The company's executive directors should be more prudent with their
remunerations to reflect the operating conditions. As an example, why is there a need for a bonus for fye 2015 when the company is in red? You would understand if you have invested in Homeriz in the past few years. At current stage I can only collect and hope for the best or join other minority shareholders in the future to form a collective voice.

It is hard to understand (though I can guess) how the revenue and profit can fluctuate so much even accounting for the problems in Thailand. When the share price is going up, you have glowing analysis and reports with endearing terms like undiscovered gem, strong compounded annual rate,outperform and what have you. Within a year things can change so much. Even for a conservative investor like me, it looks like I have to face some losses. Sigh.

If you are a investor in this counter, these two articles might be of interest as these articles carry
positive implications in my opinion.
1)NAP a boost for auto component players (StarBizWeek,19 July 2014,pp.6) ,and
2)TMC Life to boost hospital bedcount (StarBizWeek, 2 August 2014,pp.9).
This is just my opinion and whether the positive implications give rise to positive results in
the future is yet to be seen.

Based on past performance and what the executive directors are getting as their remunerations for fye 2013, I am disappointed with the Q3 operating results. I still think this company has good upside potentials if managed well.

Zhulian !stQ fye 2014 results was disappointing. However given the fact that the share price has fallen so much ,I think it is really worth accumulating if you agree to the followings
1)The current turmoil in Thailand is temporary and situation will return to normal,
2)The expansion in Indonesia and the intentions to enter the Mynamar and Indochina markets
bodes well for the company as the potentials are there,and
3)The financial position of the company is healthy with decent current earnings and dividends
( say with a yield of over 4% at current prices).
I think one needs to be patient and and hold this counter and wait for the counter to recover while
enjoying the decent dividends.