Berjaya Food Berhad: A Wholesome Investment?

To buy or not to buy Berjaya Food Berhad (BFB)? Would that be the question?Not by any measure, a Hamlet moment.

This share which was offered at 51 sen on IPO opened at 53.3 sen on 8 March 2011,went to a low of 53 sen and ended the day at 63.5 sen on a commendable volume of 36 million shares. 

Pushed to a high of 74.5 sen on 9 March, it touched a low of 64.5 sen before ending at 67.5 sen. Volume decreased to 21.5 million shares. By 10 March, volume shrunk to only 3.7 million shares and the share price lost its upward direction to close down 4 sen at 63 sen. 

By 16 March, the price limboed down the price pole to 58.5 sen on a volume of 2.3 million shares. Volume shrunk to 1.5 million shares by 17 March when BFB share price leveled at 58.5 sen. Volume started going up again on 21 March to 3.3 million shares.  BFB’s share price then moved up strongly to close up 3.5 sen at 62.5 sen on 23 March on a buying wave of 3.5 million shares.

From a layman’s view- point, from the BJRetail fiasco, BFB is a stock that will also go nowhere soon. Contingent on only one product, Kenny Rogers Restaurants, has yet to grow its business the way KFC went.  It has only 49 restaurants and most of them are located in shopping complexes unlike KFCs that are literally every where. Moreover, the food industry has a low barrier to new entrants who can spoil the market for existing players.

To me, there is no hurry to buy this share. Every time there is a substantive price rise, sellers will come in like a mini tsunami and price will slide. 

I do not foresee it to beat the dismal share price performance of BJRetail but I also see little price upside. There will be little speculative buy and only parties close to Vincent Tan and know the going-ons in that group may be biting from time to time.

Watch for volume, if you intend to take a position on this counter. Remember- there is little likelihood of short term trading profits here. 

Postscript:

At the time of writing, volume has spiked to 60 million shares and BFB touched 71 sen before climbing down to trade at 69 sen for a 6 sen gain.

I think day traders are shoring up the price to profit take by the day's close. They could also be shorting the counter. If the price remains close to the 70 sen level, it only means that Vincent Tan and gang are playing the counter.

Let us see how the scenario pans out this evening at 5pm.

Bye-Bye Dame Elizabeth!

Elizabeth Taylor passed on today (24 March 2011) at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles.

A consummate actress, Taylor acted in her first film at the age of 10, three years after her American parents had returned to the United States from London, where she was born in Hampstead in 1932.

After just one film, she was hired by MGM, and became a child star with National Velvet, starring opposite Mickey Rooney.

One of the longest-surviving stars of the old studio system, she was widely acclaimed for her roles Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Raintree Country and Cleopatra - as well as Butterfield 8, for which she won her first Oscar in 1960.

This blog says good-bye to another legend.