Money Taken Away By Whatever Name

Money Taken Away!

In economics, money is what money does.

You spend it, save it or invest it.

Here are some of the terms used for money as it is received, used or taken away.

Enjoy!!

Is MAS Still Good?

Any Future?

MAS is the greatest penny stock on Bursa Malaysia
BY JAGDEV SINGH SIDHU

WHAT surprises me is that Malaysia Airlines’ (MAS) share price only dropped 2 sen to 19 sen yesterday, about a 10% drop after the airline revealed the extent of the financial damage to its business caused by MH370.

The action, though, was furious as attempts to defend the share price was futile in the face of an onslaught of selling. To hold the stock’s price when the company has 16.7 billion shares and the outlook bleaker than it has ever been means there could be more pain in the future.

The possibility is that losses will be worse in the second quarter, which is traditionally the weakest period for the company. The full impact of MH370 will also be felt from that quarter onwards.

What stock watchers, investors and employees of MAS will watch for from now is the plan to right the company. To put it bluntly, there is so much wrong at MAS which has never been fixed.

What I am alluding to is the various proposals in the past to rectify the airlines’ problems. We have all seen different rescue attempts crafted to right what is wrong, but the hard fact is that they have all failed. Maybe things would have been worse without those attempts, but the truth is none of them have worked.

So why should stakeholders of MAS be hopeful that it can be different this time?

Previous attempts to restructure MAS I suppose was done within certain constraints. Efforts to improve the operations of the airlines had been undertaken but what stood out was the balance sheet shuffling that took place.

Assets were either transferred or sold, in the case of the MAS building in downtown KL. And now talk is swirling that the airline’s engineering division is in the cross-hair for some form of intervention from management.

Like the catering business MAS disposed of, doing the same with its engineering business will likely not solve anything. In fact, the cash raised from the sale of assets will be whittled away if the airline does not tackle its fundamental problem.

Selling assets will raise money or free up cash flow but the one thing that MAS has been grappling with, and accentuated by the expected losses, is the operations of the airlines.

The latest financial results showed that management has been actively doing what it can to bring down costs, but with yields falling, it was always going to wade upstream against strong currents.

The opportunity is there now for MAS to take the big leap. Political will appears to be there after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the Government is willing to look at all angles after the huge first quarter loss.

Urgency to act is surely apparent as the airline is burning through its cash pretty fast and analysts feel the company will exhaust its cash by next year.

Although the Government says it will not bail-out MAS, the fact is that it’s a government-owned company and one that many feel will not be allowed to fail. Nearly RM 17bil in fresh capital raised either through bonds issuances or rights issues has been pumped into the airline since 1998. And what has all that money got to show up to now?

It’s time to take off the gloves. It’s common knowledge that MAS’ supply chain is not in the pink of health, and some will argue it’s rotten to the core. People have commented that the airline is overpaying for a number of its supplies and services, and one wonders why has that been allowed to continue?

Is it because of vested interest in the form of politics or employees? Whoever is going through the contracts and the supply chain needs to hold one big red pen to point out what is being paid above and beyond what is fair value.

That is where action needs to focus on. Tackle the cost structure that is dragging the airline down. The quick fix will be on staff salaries but that is only the tip of it.

If MAS staff cost as a percentage of total revenue is not the problem, then people who work for the airline shouldn’t be the ones paying for the legacy problems of structural inefficiencies within the supply chain of the company.

Furthermore, morale in the airline will be low and what MAS needs to do is to make sure that the mood and image of its airline is progressive amid the negativity from MH370.

Then MAS has to find a way to remain as a full service airline in the crowd of low-cost carriers. There is always room for such an airline in Malaysia, and being part of the One World Alliance will help MAS find its wings again.

If they do get the plan of action right, then expect the reverse of trading action to happen. MAS, although it has a lot to lose, could be the penny stock with the greatest potential on Bursa Malaysia.

Who Would Believe?

Key to a Scholarship

I am very thankful to hear about how my nephew Jemsen got a Star scholarship to do a Diploma course in ITC.

Jemsen likes to watch movies. He reads about up coming movies and blogs on them after seeing them with his own film review.

And so it came to pass.

He went for the scholarship interview and of all questions, they asked him about the movie called "The Journey"

Wow! Wasn't he not  in his element!

He let them had a earful of his impressions and won them over.

Now, you have to believe that seeing movies can lead to immense rewards!

Below Par Malaysian Students

I took this article from on on-line source.

PETALING JAYA (16 May 2014):

Malaysian students are below par when compared with their contemporaries in other countries, acknowledged Education Minister II Idris Jusoh.

Although literacy rates were rising in Malaysia, it was vital to assess and compare the Malaysian education system against international standards, he said.

“Out of 74 countries, Malaysia ranked in the bottom third in the Programme for Interna­tional Student Assessment (Pisa) 2009. This is below the international and OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) average,” he indicated during the 18th Malaysian Education Summit yesterday.

“Primary and secondary school education standards need to improve to bridge the gap between urban and rural areas. Though Malaysia has achieved commendable results in terms of providing access, we have to now ensure that access comes together with quality education of international standards.”

Meanwhile, at the higher education level, he said that the challenge was producing knowledgeable, competent and globally competitive human capital.

“Employers in Malaysia face a major problem when it comes to having fresh graduates fill out vacancies,” he said, citing poor command of English as one of the reasons.

The solution to this is the Malaysia Education Blueprint (MEB) 2012-2025, which was launched last September, as well as the soon-to-be-released National Education Blueprint for Higher Education 2015-2025 (Higher Education Blueprint).

Idris said the MEB offered a vision of the education system and students’ aspirations that Malaysia both needed and deserved and outlined 11 strategic and operation shifts that would be required to achieve that vision.

“The need for the Education Blueprint is justified in the context of raising international standards; the government aspiration of better preparing Malaysian children for the needs of the 21st century; and increased public and parental expectations of education policy,” he said.

“We have had international experts from the World Bank, UNESCO, and OECD to work with our national partners to evaluate the performance of our national education system in the development process of the Education Blueprint. Overall, more than 55,000 stakeholders were consulted in its formulation.”

“The Higher Education Blueprint will also be introduced in order to ensure consistency with the primary and secondary education system, and allow for seamless progression in terms of educational offerings, opportunities and advancement,” he added.

The Higher Education Blueprint will address challenges such as empowering university governance, democratising access to higher education and improving graduate employability.

Speculating on AEON

A  Pink Window of Opportunity

This is a rare window of opportunity not to be missed. So said my friend, Mr T.

What was he saying? He was speaking to me about this stock, Aeon.

In February, it was below RM 12.00.

Over the last three months, it has moved up slowly to above RM 14 before going down slightly by 50 sen to RM 13.50 somewhere in March.

It then crept up to RM 14.50 again before going beyond RM 15.50 in early April after it has announced its bonus and share split in February 2014. Very clean on a ratio of 1:1 before splitting into two 50 sen shares.

Falling a bit in early May, it has now trended the RM 15 level.

After yesterday'a AGM and EGM, the share is still trending at the same level.

Today it has just announced that it will ex-all on 28 May.

So, let us project whether someone who buys this share at RM 15.00 will make money or not if it goes ex.

He will first get 4000 shares of Aeon when the bonus is issued and the shares split.

The theoretical ex-scenario will be RM 3.75 per lot.

Let's assume that because the shares are now cheap and within the reach of most common men and is demand-driven , it will open  at RM 3.75++

Look at the following scenarios.

Scenario A: It goes up by 10% which translates to RM 3.75+0. 375 sen. This will amount to RM 4.12. So, if you have 4 lots, it means that your share is valued at  RM 16.48. (You stand to make RM 1,480)

Scenario B: It goes up by 20% translating to RM 3.75 + 0.75. This will amount to RM 4.50. Four lots will bring you RM 18.00. (You stand to make RM 3,000)

If by the end of this year, assuming each Aeon shares should rise to RM 5, it would mean that you would have an accumulated value of  RM 20.

If between now and December  2014 it has gone up by RM 1.25 , that would mean you have made RM 1.25 X 4 which will come to RM 5,000 for 6 months; meaning that the returns is RM 5,000 or  about 66% return to capital.

I guess that this will be an appropriate and happy scenario.

A scenario less than promising can still be encouraging if it is more than the current interest rate.

More will indeed be one big fat bonanza!

TEB's New Chairman

Saying Farewell to TEB Logo

As we were both in the civil service and he went places and up the rungs while I slept in the backwaters, I was curious to observe how Rahman Mamat will chair his first meeting as the Chairman of Time Engineering Berhad (TEB).

Maiden Speech in a PLC

He now wears a honorific Tan Sri title while I still use the layman's humble 'Mister'.

I guess he conducted himself well though he seems to be lost once in a while and had to be nudged back into reality. Also he has yet the learn the ropes of passing resolutions.

He was also confronted with unhappy investors who wanted a review of the director fees as the company is in the red.

As the Board was only 4 month's old (after CENSOF's takeover) , he has pleaded that the new board be given time to helm the digital technology company to greater heights such as looking outside the national boundary for revenue in the future.

After the meeting, I said "hello" to him and renewed our friendship and acquaintance.

The company will change its name to Dagang  nExchange Berhad to reflect the new nature of its business.

The Bandar Utama-Kelana Jaya-Klang LRT

Snaking its way to Klang

PETALING JAYA (12 May 2014):  Syarikat Prasarana Negara (SPN) has completed the feasibility study on the third light rail transit line (LRT 3) covering 36km from Bandar Utama in Damansara to Klang,

Apparently, SPN had submitted the study and recommendations to the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) for the construction of the new LRT line recently.

Chances are good that “the Government will give the go-ahead for the project as this line will cover some important areas of Selangor. It comes to RM250mil per km – all inclusive except for land acquisition cost,” StarBiz was told.

SPAD will review and approve  the feasibility study.

“If approved, work could begin as early as the first quarter of next year,” said a source.

The LRT 3 would start in Bandar Utama and intersect with the mass rapid transport system and go on to Centre Point before cutting across to Kelana Jaya.

“The Bandar Utama MRT station will be a transportation hub in that part of Selangor,” said the source.

Prasarana group managing director Datuk Seri Shahril Mokhtar was previously quoted as saying that Shah Alam was in dire need of the LRT service and it was acknowledged by the Government. He said the plan had been incorporated into the Klang Valley Public Transport Masterplan.