BAT Recovers on Last Minute Heavy Buying

It is not everyone's risk appetite to buy into a full lot of BAT at RM52.56 per share.

So, when you see a 100,000 share purchase or 100 lots done at this price, it is really a big cash outlay. Estimated gross payment will top RM5.2 million.

I guess a foreign fund came in to take out this tranche.

The highest price it went up to recently was RM54.00.

Today, BAT went up to RM52.64 before retreating to end at RM52.56.

Is something burning in BAT that is going to make minority shareholders stir crazy?

That, we have to see.

The Greek Tentacles are Here

Talk about globalisation and the effects will be felt from now on.

While the formal economy can parade all kinds of cosmetic numbers to shore up support for the government and the stock market momentarily,you cannot mickey mouse with the man in the street.

Go to the wet market and you can feel the gloom and impending doom. Ask the nasi lemak seller hawking in the byways and she tells you she used to sell 6 kilos per day and now even with only a reduced 3 kilo of rice, there is a visible lack of sustained buying.

Where have all the buyers gone?

I guess every one is cutting back. In spite of the 2 million odd foreign workers here, the lack of demand for cooked food at the stalls is alarming.

I believe every one is cooking at home or eating bread which is cheaper in comparison.

The crunch is coming to the informal sector. Very soon, the put on cosmetization of numbers from the formal sector will peel off and turn ugly.

As the Eurozone rolls back its demand for our commodities,the Greek debacle will be at our doors soon and this time it is no Trojan horse!

How sad. As they say, "In times of crisis, cash is king".

So, hold on to your cash, avoid unnecessary expenditure and buy the cheaper alternative to stretch your ringgit.

Pray, we get out of this economic black hole.

TASCO-Buyers' Reaction

Early morning trading pushed the prise of this logistics company to RM1.94 before the share retreated to RM1.87. There is not really many buyers for this stock even though dividend has gone up to 10%.

A cursory analysis shows the biggest lot done is 3,0000 shares, indicating very small buyers are nibbling on the counter.

I think TASCO is a good stock to have in one's portfolio if it continues with its profit and dividend performance. I am also incline to believe that the Malaysian-Japanese management is doing one fine job efficiently in a challenging sector.

TASCO ended at RM1.90 for a 5 sen gain.

Foreign Land Deals-Silly Risk Taking?

Investing in land is a very good move towards developing a nest-egg. Remember, location of your land is very important if it is to appreciate in value.

Strangely, many Malaysians have invested much of their hard-earn money in overseas property from USA, Australia,UK to Canada.

There were a number of issues with regard to these overseas land investment. Some people are of the view that this type of investment is illegal and disallowed by Bank Negara Malaysia. A few years back, a local company dealing with UK land was in the lime-light. This land investment was advertised widely on Malaysian radio stations then but I do not know whether the issues were amicably resolved with BNM.

Buying land overseas is very risky. You do not know the laws in that foreign country. You can likely fell prey to sundry risks from illegal activities to misrepresentation. There are loop-holes just like what Edgeworth took advantage of, for their own nefarious leverage purposes or even those that constitute downright cheating of the gullible.

In many overseas land sales, foreign buyers have been duped to buy non-residential or commercial land with the most remote hope that it will be converted in due time. Sadly, not all such lands may be allowed to be converted and may be land to be reserved for 'green lungs'. After all, agents are just interested in their commision and not in after-sales service. They convince you to get your sale in grand style by giving you a hard talk,lunch at a 5-star restaurant as well as complimentary shopping vouchers. So, caveat emptor when approached by any such agents.You may just be the 'sucker' that they are waiting for!

When I read about the plight of Malaysians who fell prey to the Canadian land scheme sold through Edgeworth Properties, I remembered all too clearly my experience with one such company a few years back.

I do not know about anyone getting super returns from their risky investments but my investment forays overseas have been bitter sweet,at best. My investment in an overseas insurance policy in an off-shore facility was disappointing and that pertaining to an Australian scholarship trust was really not worth the while.

A friend of mine who invested in a piece of land in Florida had so much anxiety woes that he visited the land physically in the USA and seeing that there was no' safety net' in the investment, he sold it. Thank God, he did it before the sub-prime fiasco.

Some people are really gutsy. Investing RM750,000 in parcels of land overseas through dubious companies and agents.They dared to invest in the 'unknown' overseas and yet not invest in blue chips on Bursa KL or land in their back yard in Malaysia.These are definitely less risky, for sure!

I wonder why the so called investors are attracted to the remote, 'potential gains' from such land purchase overseas?

Gullibility, again, financial adventurism or just plain silly greed.

TASCO-Better Net Profits and Dividends

TASCO officially announced its results for the full fiscal year,paying good dividends of another 12.9%.

Performance has also improved. For the full year ending 31 Dec 2011, TASCO's revenue rose to RM469,211 million which is 5.5% better that that achieved in the corresponding period ending 2010 of RM443,362. Profit after tax for the period was RM34,676 million,almost 40% of that attained in 2010 of RM24,776 million. Basic earnings per shares has also risen to 34.59 sen from 24.78 sen in 2010.In terms of dividends, the dividend declared for the current year is 12.90% where 1.3% is tax-exempt while 11.6% is taxed at 25%,effectively translating net dividend to 9.13%. This is better that 9.3% gross declared in 2010.

The last quarter results, though, was lower than that achieved in the corresponding quarter in 2010.Revenue shrunk to RM113,870 million, RM10.8 million lower than RM124,692 million chalked up in 2010. This is equivalent to a 8.6% fall. Thankfully, net profit has been higher at RM13,963 million as compared to RM8,471 million registered in 2010. This is equivalent to a spectacular improvement of 65%.

Let us now look at TASCO's quarter results thus far.

Though revenue is so much lower than in 2010, net profit earnings per share, dividend (12.90%) and NTA (RM2.41)have been good.

Dividend-wise, this year has the best yield thus far ;comparing to the low pay-out of 7% in 2009 and 9.1% in 2010.

If the yearly and quarterly revenue is any indicator, the logistics industry continues to be challenging for TASCO though profits has indeed improved tremendously. Whether the industry can still support such a profit performance is very much dependent on both the global and domestic economy.

TASCO-Weak Holders, Tired Holders

After a few days of stimulating buying, TASCO is now taking a breather.

Just like the marathon runner, there are times you paced and there are times you may spurt.

So TASCO is now at an even keel as far as demand is concerned as weak and tired sellers sell down. It is definitely a buyer's market for this counter today but volume is small at only 30,000 shares.

An interesting question to ask is: Why was there volume from RM1.70 to RM1.90? Random board walk or something hidden under the corporate sheets?

Tasco is trading two sen down at RM1.88 now. Interesting number by Chinese geomancy,right?

At the end of trading, TASCO fell 5 sen to RM2.85.

Is there still a 'Crouching Tiger' and 'Hidden Dragon' somewhere in TASCO?

The Flight of BAT

Yes, BAT has done it again.

After some yoyo-yoyo motion, it took off for the final countdown, pushing the price up by an extraordinary RM1.38 to RM53.90, just before the finishing bell.This is ten sen shy of RM54.00. Some 31 lots out of 141 lots were done at this price.

Does that mean, BAT will hover higher tomorrow? Hindsight is 2020.

Let it test the water tomorrow.