IOI Properties?

I peeped and I saw Dali talking about IOI Properties: Judging The VTO Of IOI Properties :p3

Errr....

Jan 10th 2008: IOI Prop unit buys Singapore land for condo project

• IOI Properties (S) Pte Ltd (IOIP), a wholly owned unit of IOI Properties Bhd, together with its joint venture partner, Ho Bee Investment Ltd, have successfully tendered for a 5.3-acre land parcel in Singapore’s Sentosa Cove, for S$1.097bil cash.


• Going by the existing market price of between S$2,000 and S$3,000 per sq ft for recent condominium projects in Singapore, the Pinnacle Collection project can expect to generate a gross development value of close to S$2bil while the Seaview project will gross around S$1.25bil.


• “Our association with luxury landmark developments in Sentosa Cove will enhance the IOI Properties brand name and reputation as a luxury quality homes developer not only in Malaysia and Singapore, but also in the larger South-East Asia region,” it added.

Jan 15th 2008: No plans to take property unit private: IOI Corp

• SHARES of IOI Properties Bhd rose as much as 8.3 per cent or RM1.10 yesterday, fuelled by a privatisation rumour which was promptly denied by the company. There was speculation that IOI Corp Bhd, which holds about 70 per cent of IOI Properties, could take its subsidiary private, offering RM15 a share. At that price, it would cost IOI Corp about RM1.5 billion to buy the remaining shares it does not own."It's not true. There's no such thing going on in the company," said a company spokesperson when contacted.

Feb 12th 2008: IOI Properties set to unveil project in IDR

• He said the project, on a 101.171ha, would have 2,000 residential and commercial units. Of the land, 20.2ha will be allocated for light industrial buildings. “It is timely for us to have a project in the Johor Baru district after our success in the ongoing Bandar Putra Kulai project,’’ Heng told StarBiz in a telephone interview. He said the location of Taman Kempas Utama in the Kempas-Tebrau growth corridor within the Iskandar Development Region (IDR) augur well for the company. Heng said the project was easily accessible from the NSE after the Skudai toll plaza, Jalan Kempas Lama and Jalan Senai-Seelong.
  He said the Kempas-Tebrau corridor was currently the hottest spot for property development in south Johor with more than 10 ongoing projects. Heng said the outlook for the property sector in south Johor was promising and some of the biggest names in housing development were launching projects there.
  He said IOI Properties was still working on the gross development value of the project, adding that it would take between eight and 10 years to develop the scheme.

26th Feb 2008: IOI Properties announced a rights issue ( IOI PROPERTIES BERHAD ("IOI PROP" OR "COMPANY") (I) PROPOSED SHARE SPLIT; (II) PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE MEMORANDUM AND ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION OF THE COMPANY; AND (III) PROPOSED RIGHTS ISSUE (COLLECTIVELY REFERRED TO AS THE "PROPOSALS") )

27th Feb 2008: IOI Properties to raise RM932m

• PROPERTY developer IOI Properties Bhd plans to raise up to RM932 million from a rights issue to part-fund its projects in Singapore.
  
  It will also use part of the money to refinance existing debt, it said in a statement to Bursa Malaysia yesterday.
  
  IOI Properties has total debt of RM225 million.
  
  In January, the company, a unit of IOI Corp Bhd, won a bid with its partner to buy land on the resort island of Sentosa, Singapore, for S$1.097 billion (RM2.5 billion).
  
  This followed its first successful bid in March last year. Then, it won a tender to buy land on the island for RM1.1 billion.
  
  "IOI Corp, being the controlling shareholder of IOI Properties, will give its irrevocable and unconditional written undertakings to subscribe in full for its entitlement," IOI Properties said.
  
  IOI Corp holds 71.15 per cent of IOI Properties as at February 15, 2008.
  
  Before the rights issue, IOI Properties will split its shares into two, to boost trading in the stock as it becomes more affordable.
  
  As at February 15 2008, IOI Properties has a paid-up capital of RM333.52 million comprising the same number of shares. After the split, the number of shares will double to 667 million.
  
  Then, it will offer investors one new rights share for every four existing shares held after the split. The rights are priced at RM5.50 apiece.
  
  Shares of IOI Properties closed at RM12.70 yesterday down 40 sen from Monday's close.

5th May 2008: IOI Properties in for steady flow of earnings

15th May 2008: Quarterly rpt on consolidated results for the financial period ended 31/3/2008

IOI Properties made 70.741 million for the quarter.

6th June 2008: Company was still active with their buybacks. Here is one such announcement Notice of Shares Buy Back - Immediate Announcement

18th June 2008: Rights Issue and Important Relevant Dates for Renounceable Rights were announced by IOI Properties

2nd July 2008: IOI Properties heading towards privatisation?

• IOI Properties heading towards privatisation?
  
  By Francis Fernandez Published: 2008/07/02
  
  IOI Corp can choose to privatise IOI Properties at a minimum price of RM4.85, says a research analyst with Credit Suisse
  
  IOI Corp Bhd, Malaysia's second most valuable firm, may take its property arm private, make fresh purchases or give its convertible bondholders treasury shares, three foreign investment firms speculate.
  
  Credit Suisse said in a report that there was a high chance of IOI Corp privatising IOI Properties Bhd (IOI Prop) if the latter's rights issue was grossly undersubscribed.
  
  In February, IOI Prop said it planned to raise as much as RM932 million, with its parent underwriting the issue.
  
  "As IOI Corp is underwriting the deal, then IOI Corp may end up with more than 75 per cent of IOI Prop. Although there are other options, IOI Corp can choose to privatise IOI Prop at this juncture, at a minimum price of RM4.85," wrote Tan Ting Min, a research analyst.
  
  Doing so would cost its parent some RM1.1 billion and improve its earnings next year by as much as four per cent, the research house said.
  
  In the year to June 30 2007, IOI Corp made a net income of RM1.48 billion.
  
  In another report, Citigroup said that IOI Corp was on the lookout for new investment opportunities.
  
  Over the past eight years, IOI Corp has pumped in more than RM3 billion to take IOI Oleochemical Bhd private, buy the India-based Aditya Birla's edible oil and oleochemical units in Johor, and acquire 100 per cent of Loders Croklaan BV and its related businesses in the US, Canada and Egypt from the Unilever group.
  
  The purchases have made IOI Corp the world's largest oleochemical group.
  
  Merrill Lynch expects the group to use its treasury shares, stocks bought under buyback exercises, to enhance value. In the first half of this year, IOI Corp paid some RM1.2 billion to buy its own shares.
  
  "The highest form of value-enhancement would be to cancel the shares bought back, or it could issue shares to the CB (convertible bond) holders via the shares bought back, thus mitigating any dilution arising from the conversion," Merrill Lynch's Andrew Lee wrote in a report.
  
  IOI Corp currently has a US$360 million (RM1.2 billion) convertible bond due in 2011, with a conversion price of RM4.70 a share, and a US$600 million (RM2 billion) convertible bond due in 2013, with a conversion price of RM11 a share.

24th July 20o8: Announcement on Bursa

• Aseambankers Malaysia Berhad (“Aseambankers”), on behalf of the Board of Directors of IOI Prop (“Board”), is pleased to announce that as at the close of acceptance of and payment for the Rights Shares under the Rights Issue at 5.00 p.m. on 21 July 2008, the total acceptances and excess applications received were for 170,866,635 Rights Shares over the 162,537,250 Rights Shares available for subscription under the Rights Issue, which represents an oversubscription of 8,329,385 Rights Shares or approximately 5.12%.

18th August 2008: Quarterly rpt on consolidated results for the financial period ended 30/6/2008

IOI Properties made 148.5 million for the quarter.

7th November 2008: Quarterly rpt on consolidated results for the financial period ended 30/9/2008

• IOI Properties 1Q Net Profit Dn 31% On Weak Demand,High Costs
  
  KUALA LUMPUR (Dow Jones)--IOI Properties Bhd (1635.KU) said Friday first-quarter net profit fell 31% on year due to weaker demand and higher construction costs.
  
  Net profit in the three months ended Sept. 30 declined to MYR55.5 million from MYR80.1 million a year earlier, while revenue slipped to MYR158.8 million from MYR205.5 million.
  
  "The decline is attributable to the softer property market and the margin reduction due to higher construction costs during the quarter," IOI Properties said in the notes accompanying its results.
  
  Property development accounts for the bulk of the group's income, although it receives contributions from plantations, property investments and other operations.
  
  The company expects its full-year operating performance to be lower than the previous year as the property market is expected to remain soft until the second half of the fiscal year.
  
  Overall performance should remain "satisfactory" in the current market environment as lower building material prices will enable it to accelerate construction activities and achieve better margins when the property market recovers, the company said.
  
  It added that properties in the Puchong township are still seeing steady demand.

5th Feb 2009: IOI Corp to buy out property arm

• By Chong Pooi Koon Published: 2009/02/05
  
  Planter IOI Corp Bhd (1961) plans to pay RM506 million, or RM2.60 a share in a cash-and-share deal to buy out IOI Properties Bhd before taking it private, the company said yesterday.....

---------------

Here is what has happened marked down in the chart.

The bigger picture.

Read more...

Maybank Again

Huge articles on Business Times on Maybank.

I was hardly impressed.

The article is published AFTER Maybank announced formally its rights issue dates.
First let's roll back what has happened so far. The following are the postings written on Maybank; Maybank Has Lost 24.1 Billion In Market Capital Since BII Deal!!!, More On Maybank PNB Is Saying Maybank rights a good buy

On today's business times: Maybank sees key businesses growing

• Maybank sees key businesses growing
  
  By Adeline Paul RajPublished: 2009/03/23
  
  Top lender Malayan Banking is counting on growth in consumer, Islamic and commercial banking to see it through the worsening economy
  
  Top lender Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) (1155) is confident it can grow its key businesses this year and the next despite a worsening economy, its chief said.
  
  President and chief executive officer Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar said he was counting on growth in consumer, Islamic and commercial banking to see it through these troubled times.
  
  The group's insurance and investment banking businesses, however, are expected to falter given the weaker capital markets.
  
  "We're actually entering this recession, or crisis, with a strong balance sheet and strong asset quality. Even if our non-performing loans (NPLs) were to deteriorate further, we think we should still be profitable," he told Business Times in an interview.
  
  Wahid has warned, however, that the group's net profit in fiscal year ending June 30 2009 will be lower than last year's RM2.9 billion given the more challenging environment.
  
  He said the bulk of profit will continue to come from Maybank's traditional commercial banking franchise.
  
  The group, which is dominant in consumer banking, should also be able to continue to lead in this area.
  
  "No doubt, in some segments, we might see some increase in NPLs, but I think those increases will be manageable. If you look at our current net NPL ratio of 1.8 per cent, even if that doubles to 3.6 per cent it would still be manageable," he said.
  
  The industry's net NPL ratio is now about 2.2 per cent.
  
  Loan growth should be able to come in at about 6 per cent to 7 per cent this fiscal year, which is still "very good" considering the current environment, he said.
  
  Maybank's share price has fallen of late as investors worry that its move to raise RM6 billion via a rights issue will dilute earnings. It fell below RM4 last Monday, but has since been on the rise.
  
  Wahid said the move to strengthen Maybank's capital base was necessary
  
  and formed a key part of the group's ambition to become one of the top five banks in Southeast as well as South Asia come 2015.
  
  The group expanded last year, buying three banks in Asia for RM11.5 billion.
  
  "When we look at our requirements for the next three to five years, we felt that RM6 billion would be an appropriate amount. This is actually very much pre-empted and, with that, Maybank will be one of the best capitalised banks in this region.
  
  "Once we have enough capital, then there'll be no issue to be able to grow in the market, so that means that we'll be able to capture some loan growth, with much better margins," he said.
  
  Investors are also concerned that Maybank's dividends will now come in at a much lower level, but Wahid has given the assurance that the bank intends to stick to its long-term dividend policy of paying out between 40 per cent and 60 per cent of net profit.
  
  "For the current year we will have to review this indication, but for the long term we are committed to the 40-60 per cent range," he said.
  
  Banking analysts, like Fiona Leong of AmResearch, believe it may come in at as low as 25 per cent of net profit this year. Last year, it paid out 61 per cent.
  
  OSK Research's Keith Wee said Maybank was likely to conserve a large portion of its capital for potential impairment losses on its bank buys in Indonesia and Pakistan.
  
  These factors - lower dividends, potential impairment and the rights issue - continue to weigh on Maybank's stock. It has shed 15 per cent this year.
  
  Most analysts are recommending either a "sell" or "hold" on it, but at least two have called a "trading buy" as they believe it may have bottomed.
  
  While the group's three new bank purchases will provide it with a new source of income from this year, it will take a while yet to be earnings accretive given the higher interest incurred on the RM9.1 billion of capital that the group raised over the last six months, Wahid said.
  
  For now, Maybank, which is present in 14 countries, is taking a break from making further acquisitions and focusing on maximising organic-growth opportunities.
  
  It still wants to increase its stake in Vietnam's An Binh Bank by another 5 per cent to 20 per cent as per the subscription agreement, but is in no hurry to do so.
  
  As and when the Vietnamese government approves such a move, Maybank will be ready to act as the funds are already in place for it.
  
  Wahid also said that he was not overly concerned about Maybank's lower market capitalisation, adding that he would rather focus on fundamentals.
  
  "At this moment, given volatile markets, we're less concerned in terms of market capitalisation. We believe that if you focus on the fundamentals and deliver the results, your share price will take care of itself."
  
  Maybank, with a market capitalisation of some RM21.3 billion currently, saw its shares close at RM4.36 last Friday.

First let me repeat what's needed to be repeated.

Before the BII fiasco, Maybank's market capitalsation was some 43.6 Billion!

Now it is only some 21.3 billion.

Anyway, the group CEO said this:

• "We're actually entering this recession, or crisis, with a strong balance sheet and strong asset quality. Even if our non-performing loans (NPLs) were to deteriorate further, we think we should still be profitable,"

I wonder. If Maybank's balance sheet is truly really strong, why the rights issue is needed? Maybank had overpaid for the banks and isn't this why the rights issue is needed?

And since the recession and crisis was known way back last year, why did Maybank overpay for their purchases? Doesn't make sense right? Since it was a crisis, why couldn't Maybank bargain?

Now a rights issue is needed.

A rights issue which would see Maybank's share base increase from 4881million shares to 7077 million shares. And if earnings do not increase, the earnings would be diluted.

And what did Wahid warn?

• Wahid has warned, however, that the group's net profit in fiscal year ending June 30 2009 will be lower than last year's

Lower net profit is already expected.

And with lower net profit, how could investors logically expect more in dividends?

The CEO then said.

• "For the current year we will have to review this indication, but for the long term we are committed to the 40-60 per cent range," he said.

And what about the impairment losses?

Yeah, Maybank closed at 4.38 last Friday. When I first blogged Maybank Has Lost 24.1 Billion In Market Capital Since BII Deal!!!, Maybank last traded at 4.00. LOL! :p2

And here is the other article on Maybank:

• Longer wait to realise earnings-accretive BII
  
  By Adeline Paul RajPublished: 2009/03/23
  
  Malayan Banking Bhd's (1155) chief says it could take a longer-than-expected four years for its RM8.2 billion investment in Bank Internasional Indonesia to be earnings accretive.
  
  Maybank, which owns 97.5 per cent of BII, had told analysts when announcing the acquisition last year that it expected BII to start enhancing its earnings in the fiscal year ending June 30 2010.
  
  "With the RM8.2 billion that we paid, it will take a longer period for that investment to be earnings accretive. As to when, it very much depends on how fast we can grow the earnings, so it will not be within four years," Maybank president and chief executive officer Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar told Business Times in an interview.
  
  For the deal to be accretive, earnings contribution from BII has to be higher than the cost of funding.
  
  Maybank's stock took a tumble upon the company announcing plans to buy BII last March, and again later when it concluded the deal in November.
  
  Banking analysts viewed the deal as being too expensive and said the timing was not right. It had, after all, bought 15 per cent of Vietnam's An Binh Bank and 20 per cent of Pakistan's MCB Bank earlier in the year.
  
  Today, BII shares are trading at some 44 per cent below the tender offer price, while MCB's market price is around 70 per cent lower than the acquired price.
  
  Keith Wee, an analyst at OSK Research, said Maybank might have to make a further impairment of between RM1 billion and RM1.9 billion this fiscal year for its investments in BII and MCB.
  
  "It's a drag on the stock," he remarked.
  
  Maybank had already made an impairment to the tune of RM242 million on its MCB investment earlier in the first quarter.
  
  Wahid, however, said Maybank was confident of continued profitability and that any further impairment would not lead to a loss in the group's net earnings for the current fiscal year.
  
  He is aware that he has an uphill task in making good on Maybank's three bank purchases last year, especially given the bleak outlook analysts are painting amid the weaker global economy.
  
  Its RM11.5 billion acquisition trail has had its share of challenges and criticism.
  
  "At the end of the day, from Maybank's and my personal perspective, we would like to move forward. We're not about to look back and try to justify at what prices the deal was done."
  
  He pointed out that his main challenge this year would be to follow through on the new bank buys and realise value from them.
  
  "Obviously, the primary focus of the three will be on BII given that it cost us RM8.2 billion out of the total RM11.5 billion that we spent on acquisitions," Wahid remarked.
  
  His first priority at BII is to assemble a strong management team.
  
  The new appointments, comprising new and existing talent, were announced last Friday.
  
  Ridha Wirakusumah, a former American International Group Inc (AIG) executive, was made the new president director of BII, subject to approval from Indonesia's central bank. He was AIG's head of Asia-Pacific consumer finance.
  
  Maybank has identified four immediate focus areas for BII's new team to improve on: credit-risk underwriting processes, its trade finance capability, the remittance business and Internet banking.
  
  In addition, it wants to support Malaysian and Singaporean businesses that have invested or intend to invest in Indonesia.
  
  Wahid said Indonesia was an important market with much potential for growth as the banking penetration rate was still low at less than 30 per cent compared with Malaysia's 98 per cent and Singapore's 102 per cent.
  
  "We expect to grow BII's branch network from the current 250 branches to something more sizeable," he said.
  
  Media reports last weekend quoted him as saying that he expected to increase the number of branches to as many as 450 in the next three years.
  

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Come on down to Chinatown

China may be lacking in the democracy department but they’ve got fine film directors coming out their ears. Don’t believe me? Well, then I suggest you judge their excellence for yourself at the Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA) in Brisvegas. As soon as they wrap up the Be Afraid north-American horror cinema screenings at the Australian Cinematheque, to coincide with The China Project exhibition at GoMA the next program is called Three Chinese Directors: Xie Jin, Zhang Yimou, Jia Zhang-ke. The screenings go for a month from March 28 to June 28 and profile the work of three extremely influential and hugely successful contemporary Chinese directors. Personally I think the highlight of the program will be 24 City from 2008 which is the latest from internationally acclaimed sixth-generation director Jia Zhang-ke. Some of the other films being shown are the epic tales Hero, Raise the Red Lantern and 1965 classic Strange Sisters.

In complete contrast there’s a more mainstream program on from May 31 to September 20 called The Age of Innocence: Hollywood on the Hudson. It’s a two-part film program reflecting life on the American East Coast over the turn of the twentieth century. For the gangsta’s out there a special event screening of The Godfather and The Godfather II (restored by director Francis Ford Coppola) is sure to tickle your fancy. Now, as great as these programs sound, I can’t help but ask the question why aren’t there more Aussie programs? After all, it’s the `Australian Cinematheque' so perhaps they should try looking and supporting Australian cinema, instead of featuring China, America and north-American horror. Don’t get me wrong, it’s awesome to learn about different facets of international cinema but there are fascinating elements and genres throughout the history of Aussie cinema which could be tied together perfectly for a program. How about examining Ozploitation cinema of the 70s and 80s? Or Australian horror films? Australian comedies? Three Australian directors? Great Australian actors? For fark sake, you could even whip up an excellent program showing off the talents of Australian special-effects artists like John Cox. Get it together GoMA.
You can find out ticket prices and more info on both of these programs at the Australian Cinematheque website here.

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Inflation Adjusted Chart Of S&P 500 Earnings

The following is from Inflation Adjusted Chart Of S&P 500 Earnings

• It's no secret that it's bad out there. Today's chart helps provide some perspective as to the magnitude of the current economic decline. Today's chart illustrates that 12-month, as-reported S&P 500 earnings have declined over 80% over the past 18 months, making this by far the largest decline on record (the data goes back to 1936). In fact, real earnings have dropped to a level not seen since the 1930s and 40s – the back end of the Great Depression. While earnings have been struggling since Q3 2007, it was the latest quarter (Q4 2008 the first full quarter following the financial meltdown), where the real damage was done. During Q4 2008, the S&P 500 came in with its first negative earnings quarter ever and the amount lost during the quarter was more than the index has ever earned during a single quarter.

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Eliot Spitzer: The Real AIG Scandal

Just in case you miss the editorial: The Real AIG Scandal

By Eliot Spitzer

Everybody is rushing to condemn AIG's bonuses, but this simple scandal is obscuring the real disgrace at the insurance giant: Why are AIG's counterparties getting paid back in full, to the tune of tens of billions of taxpayer dollars?

For the answer to this question, we need to go back to the very first decision to bail out AIG, made, we are told, by then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, then-New York Fed official Timothy Geithner, Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein, and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke last fall. Post-Lehman's collapse, they feared a systemic failure could be triggered by AIG's inability to pay the counterparties to all the sophisticated instruments AIG had sold. And who were AIG's trading partners? No shock here: Goldman, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, UBS, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, Barclays, and on it goes. So now we know for sure what we already surmised: The AIG bailout has been a way to hide an enormous second round of cash to the same group that had received TARP money already.

It all appears, once again, to be the same insiders protecting themselves against sharing the pain and risk of their own bad adventure. The payments to AIG's counterparties are justified with an appeal to the sanctity of contract. If AIG's contracts turned out to be shaky, the theory goes, then the whole edifice of the financial system would collapse.

But wait a moment, aren't we in the midst of reopening contracts all over the place to share the burden of this crisis? From raising taxes—income taxes to sales taxes—to properly reopening labor contracts, we are all being asked to pitch in and carry our share of the burden. Workers around the country are being asked to take pay cuts and accept shorter work weeks so that colleagues won't be laid off. Why can't Wall Street royalty shoulder some of the burden? Why did Goldman have to get back 100 cents on the dollar? Didn't we already give Goldman a $25 billion capital infusion, and aren't they sitting on more than $100 billion in cash? Haven't we been told recently that they are beginning to come back to fiscal stability? If that is so, couldn't they have accepted a discount, and couldn't they have agreed to certain conditions before the AIG dollars—that is, our dollars—flowed?

The appearance that this was all an inside job is overwhelming. AIG was nothing more than a conduit for huge capital flows to the same old suspects, with no reason or explanation.

So here are several questions that should be answered, in public, under oath, to clear the air:

• What was the precise conversation among Bernanke, Geithner, Paulson, and Blankfein that preceded the initial $80 billion grant?
  
  Was it already known who the counterparties were and what the exposure was for each of the counterparties?
  
  What did Goldman, and all the other counterparties, know about AIG's financial condition at the time they executed the swaps or other contracts? Had they done adequate due diligence to see whether they were buying real protection? And why shouldn't they bear a percentage of the risk of failure of their own counterparty?
  
  What is the deeper relationship between Goldman and AIG? Didn't they almost merge a few years ago but did not because Goldman couldn't get its arms around the black box that is AIG? If that is true, why should Goldman get bailed out? After all, they should have known as well as anybody that a big part of AIG's business model was not to pay on insurance it had issued.
  
  Why weren't the counterparties immediately and fully disclosed?

Failure to answer these questions will feed the populist rage that is metastasizing very quickly. And it will raise basic questions about the competence of those who are supposedly guiding this economic policy.

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Looking Back At Berjaya Land: Part I

It's great fun to read the chain of news and events following a stock over the years.

No joke.

Take the Berjaya Land story.

Let me say this again. Anyone who had purchased this stock early in 2007, would have been laughing all the way to the bank by end Dec 2007.

It was a bull market and Berjaya Land was simply a winner.

Oct 17th 2007, I wrote on Berjaya Land: Berjaya Land Is A Growth Story?

I questioned the growth story mentioned in the local papers. It featured ECM Libra incredible declaration that Berjaya Land was a growth story.

I questioned the claim and in the blog posting, I loaded the picture of the chart depicting Berjaya Land past earnings record and it was crystal clear for me that it was not a growth stock!

As per the table showed in the article, Berjaya Land Is A Growth Story?, one would have noted that ECM Libra DID NOT bother to mention what Berjaya Land earned for 2003 and 2004. Coming from a research house, I was amazed that ECM Libra did not bother to show the bare minimum of at least a five year track record. How could one declare a growth story based on a three-year track record?

Well Berjaya Land earned 134 million in 2003 and only 94 million in 2004 and if I lined these facts up, Berjaya Land's 5 year track record would had looked like this.

In 2003, it earned 134 million
In 2004, it earned 94 million.
In 2005, it earned 67.5 million
In 2006, it earned 89.1 million.
In 2007, it earned 32.3 million!

Would one declare this as a growth stock? The earnings DECLINED from 134 million in 2003 to only 67.5 million in 2005.

Anyway Berjaya Land closed at 3.32 on Oct 17th 2007.

Now I would note the sale of KL Plaza by Berjaya Land in Aug 2007. BLand sells KL Plaza for RM471m and of course Berjaya Land places out RM170m ICULS to UBS, Goldman Sachs (disposal would would result in a gain of about RM340 million )

And other research houses started to jump on to the bandwagon. Here is a snippet from an article on the EdgeDaily (url is broken since the Edge has changed server)

• 19-10-2007: BLand ripe for re-rating
  
  BERJAYA Land Bhd (BLand) deserves a re-rating based on its venture into Vietnam, which is currently enjoying a property boom on the back of rapid urbanisation and strong average gross domestic product growth of 7.2% over the last decade, according to SJ Securities Sdn Bhd.
  
  “In Vietnam, the current demand for property far outstrips supply. Thus, the group’s move into Vietnam to capitalise on this opportunity is indeed timely,” said the research house.
  
  In a research note yesterday, it placed an Overweight call on the stock at RM3.32 and expected to re-rate its realised net asset value (RNAV) valuation to RM10.16 per share based on a two-stage valuation of BLand’s local and overseas ventures.
  
  BLand is the first Malaysian com-pany to be granted with investment licence to undertake mixed development property project in Hanoi — a joint venture with a total gross development value (GDV) of RM1.7 billion over five years....

A RNAV valuation of 10.16?? LOL! Mind you that on 3rd January 2007, Berjaya Land was only trading at 70 sen (!) and at that moment of time when SJ Securities was looking at Berjaya Land trading at 3.32!

Huge news continued to flow for Berjaya Land. BLand, Jeju to build US$500m complex (a rm1.7 billion project in South Korea!)

31st Oct 2007, it was Kenanga's turn to blow the trumpet : BLand sees growth in property sector and Kenanga gave Berjaya Land a target of 7.61. The small little chart on that Star article is reproduced.

See how Berjaya Land was only 0.70 sen at the start of the year? See how ot was 4.30 on Oct 2007 (up an incredible 514.3%!)

There was no stopping Berjaya Land.

November 14th 2007. BLand Purchases luxury hotel in Vietnam from Tradewinds ( Deal was worth some US75 million or 253.3 million ringgit)

And all these while, loan stocks were converted. Shares were high and it was a good reason to convert them into ordinary shares. ( Here is one such announcement of many posted on Bursa ( Bbjland conversion ))

And Berjaya Land continued to hog the limelight. In December 2007, Berjaya Land to buy Faber Labuan for RM226.5m and BLand aims big in Vietnam property sector and 13-12-2007: BLand in RM8.4b Vietnam JV project

• 13-12-2007: BLand in RM8.4b Vietnam JV project
  By Gan Yen Kuan
  
  HANOI: Berjaya Land Bhd (BLand) has teamed up with Hanoi Electronics Corporation (Hanel) to undertake a US$2.5 billion (RM8.4 billion) integrated residential, commercial and industrial township project in Long Bien district, Hanoi.
  
  The latest project increases the total gross development value (GDV) of BLand’s projects in Vietnam to about RM40 billion, said Berjaya Corporation Bhd (BCorp) chairman and chief executive officer Tan Sri Vincent Tan Chee Yioun.
  
  BCorp, which is the parent of BLand, signed the agreement of cooperation with Hanel here yesterday. The joint-venture company Berjaya-Hanel Co Ltd is acquiring 405 ha of land from Hanel for the township project...

17th December, Berjaya Land's Quarterly rpt on consolidated results for the financial period ended 31/10/2007

The Edge quickly trumps on Berjaya Land 'success': Berjaya Land chalks upRM325.4m net profit in 2Q.

• KUALA LUMPUR: Berjaya Land Bhd’s (BLand) net profit soared to RM325.4 million in its second quarter (2Q) ended Oct 31, 2007, compared with RM8.6 million a year earlier, after it registered exceptional gains of RM339.2 million.
  
  Announcing its 2Q results yesterday, BLand said revenue for the quarter increased 44% to RM175.6 million due to higher sales in its property development business, in spite of lower revenue recorded from its hotels and resorts division, which completed the disposal of Berjaya Le Morne Beach Resort & Casino, Mauritius and Berjaya Mahe Beach, Seychelles last August.
  
  The group said it registered the exceptional gains from the placement of 170 million 5% BLand irredeemable convertible unsecured loan stocks (ICULS), the disposal of the hotels (gain of RM26.7 million) and the disposal of 100 million Berjaya Corporation Bhd ICULS (gain of RM12.9 million)....

A profit of 325.4 million boosted by exceptional gain of 339.2 million? ... ? :p

And folks from SJ Securities continued to be bullish about Berjaya Land despite Berjaya Land now trading at 5.60 on 21 Dec 2007. 21-12-2007: Better earnings outlook for BLand

• SJ SECURITIES has revised upwards its estimation of Berjaya Land Bhd’s (BLand) financial year ending April 30, 2008 (FY08) results and maintained an overweight call at RM5.60 on the property developer’s stock.
  
  The research house said its revision was based on exceptional gains reported in BLand’s second quarter ended Oct 31, 2007 (2QFY08) results.
  
  It said the gains comprised RM339.2 million from the placement of 170 million 5% BLand irredeemable convertible unsecured loan stocks (ICULS), RM26.7 million from the disposal of the Berjaya Le Morne Beach Resort & Casino in Mauritius and the Berjaya Mahe Beach Resort in Seychelles in August and RM12.9 million from the disposal of 100 million ICULS of parent company, Berjaya Corporation Bhd.
  
  “We are also revising our fair value for BLand to RM6.44, after imputing the contribution of its first Hanoi project, Thach Ban New City, into our valuation. We believe the revision is timely as our recent visit to Vietnam convinces us that the group is on track to launch this project by 1Q of 2008,” it said.

Then came January 25th 2008. Berjaya Lands announces it will abort its Vietnam project and I blogged on it the next day: What's to happen to Berjaya Land's Growth Story?

• BERJAYA Land Bhd's plans of developing residential and commercial properties in Vietnam's Nhon Trach district has fallen through.
  
  In an announcement to Bursa Malaysia yesterday, Berjaya Land said it will not proceed with its co-development plans with Tin Nghia Co Ltd, a leading state-owned enterprise in Dong Nai.
  
  The property development is inclusive of its transportation and infrastructure network.
  
  "The board wishes to inform that after much discussion and consideration, the parties involved have decided not to proceed with the project based on the findings of the feasibility study report," Berjaya Land said.

I was amazed. Despite this setback in Vietnam, the company came out strongly defending the company's growth potential.

See the following two articles Major projects set to push BLand ahead and Group has projects worth RM60bil in Asia-Pacific.

On the 29th January, Kenanga and SJ were both unfazed and I wrote Everything's Ok for Berjaya Land, so says ...

What were to happen to Berjaya Land???

To be continued...

Looking Back At Berjaya Land: Part II

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Looking Back At Berjaya Land: Part II

It's now Feb 2008.

05-02-2008: BLand raises stake in BToto to 48.96%

• KUALA LUMPUR: Berjaya Land Bhd (BLand) has raised its stake in Berjaya Sports Toto Bhd (BToto) to 48.96% as of yesterday from 48.76% on Jan 21, mainly due to the acquisition of one million BToto shares by a BLand subsidiary and BToto’s recent share buyback of three million shares.
  
  In a statement yesterday, BLand said the number of shares that had been bought back and retained as treasury shares was 93 million, while the number of shares with voting rights was 1.26 billion. BToto’s paid-up capital now stood at RM135.1 million comprising 1.35 billion shares of 10 sen each.
  
  BLand said several other subsidiaries of Berjaya Corporation Bhd (BCorp), the holding company of BLand, also had a total interest of 1.11% in BToto.
  
  “As BCorp group’s interest in aggregation with BLand group’s interest in BToto is now more than 50%, BToto will be deemed as a subsidiary of BLand,” the statement said.

20-02-2008: BLand unit places out ICULS to Goldman Sachs at RM250m

• KUALA LUMPUR: Berjaya Land Bhd’s (BLand) unit, Immediate Capital Sdn Bhd (ICSB), has placed out 50 million units of irredeemable convertible unsecured loans stocks (ICULS) 1999/2009 to Goldman Sachs International at RM5 per ICULS or a total of RM250 million cash, said BLand in a statement yesterday.
  
  The placement, which was carried out through a direct business transaction, would result in a gain of RM200 million, said the company.....

The company continued wheeling and dealing.

27 Feb 2008: BLand unit buys more stake in Piccolo owner

24th March 2008: Quarterly rpt on consolidated results for the financial period ended 31/1/2008, Berjaya Land announced a net profit of 115.057 million.

• ... pre-tax profit of the Group was mainly due to the recognition of gain on disposal of investment properties (KL Plaza properties by Noble Circle (M) Sdn Bhd and Sinar Merdu Sdn Bhd) amounting to RM140.0 million.

Yeah, despite being aided by the extra gain in disposal of property amounting to 140 million, Berjaya Land's net earnings was only 115.057 million.

And the wheeling continued. 30th April 2008: Berjaya in RM11b joint venture

20th June 2008: Quarterly rpt on consolidated results for the financial period ended 30/4/2008

Berjaya Land earnings soars to 627 million. Again it was NOT impressive! As stated by Berjaya Land in its earnings.

• The significant increase in pre-tax profit of the Group was mainly due to recognition of the gain on placements of 150 million units of 5% ICULS 1999/2009 amounting to approximately RM598.9 million and the recognition of negative goodwill amounting to RM34 million arising from several business combinations.

Gains made by Berjaya Land from its ICUL and the negative goodwill was already more than its quarterly earnings. What about Berjaya Land own core business? No contributions at all?

Let's look at the chart now.

July 2nd 2008: Vietnam project set to boost BLand property division

• HO CHI MINH CITY: Berjaya Land Bhd (BLand) expects its property segment to contribute up to 50% of total earnings in about four years.
  
  This will be backed by its largest overseas project, the US$7.5bil Vietnam International University Township (VIUT)....

Market now reacted negatively. Berjaya Land went from 4.28 to close at 3.98 on 2nd July 2008.

What to do now?

Share buybacks were the answer according to Berjaya Land.

31st July 2008: Notice of Shares Buy Back - Immediate Announcement. Berjaya Land paid between 4.36 and 4.40 for the first of its many buybacks. Do look where this spot is marked in the chart later. (do note the conversion of ICULS is still happening all this while)

Sept 16th 2008: Berjaya Land in US$2b Libyan foray

Sept 19th 2008: Quarterly rpt on consolidated results for the financial period ended 31/7/2008

Net earnings was only 683 thousand! Stock closed at 4.00 on the 19th. All quiet from ECM Libra and SJ Securities.

21st October 2008: BLand may put projects on hold

• KUALA LUMPUR: Property company Berjaya Land Bhd may put some of its projects on hold due to the current bearish market sentiment but is still confident of generating some RM350mil in property sales in its financial year ending April 30, 2009, said chief executive officer Datuk Francis Ng.
  
  But the company’s huge projects in Vietnam would not be affected, Ng said, pointing out he expected the property slowdown in Vietnam to be short term.
  
  “We will proceed with our Vietnam ventures because it is a long term investment,” he said, adding that the company’s four property development projects in Vietnam were worth about US$2.5bil in gross development value (GDV)....

I do understand the rational to put these projects on hold.

3 November 2008 Berjaya Jeju Resort slated to be launched in first quarter 2009

• BERJAYA Jeju Resort, which will be developed into a world-class integrated tourism and recreational destination on the honeymoon island of Jeju, will mark Berjaya Land Bhd’s (BLand) entry into South Korea’s property market when the project is launched in the first quarter of next year...

3 November 2008 High growth in BLand overseas ventures

• ....While cautious of the impact of the global financial meltdown on the property market, chief executive officer Datuk Framcis Ng said: “We are invested in these countries for the long term and we have confidence that these countries are resilient enough to weather the downturn and recover when the global economy picks up in time.”He does not discount the need to slow down or defer some of the company’s projects if the demand is not there....

Berjaya Land shares is now worth only 3.62...

17th December 2008: Quarterly rpt on consolidated results for the financial period ended 31/10/2008

• 18-12-2008: BLand posts RM48.5m 2Q loss
  
  KUALA LUMPUR: Berjaya Land Bhd (BLand) slips into red in the second quarter ended Oct 31, 2008 (2QFY09), posting a net loss of RM48.5 million in a sharp reversal from a net profit of RM325.4 million a year earlier.
  
  At pre-tax level, its profit fell 85% to RM49 million from RM329 million a year earlier.
  
  This was mainly due to lower progress billings and rental contributions from the hotels and resorts division, as well as additional impairment in value of investments in an associated company as well as certain quoted investments arising from the stock market downturn.
  
  Additionally, the previous year’s results included a total exceptional gain of RM378.8 million arising from the placement of 170 million 5% ICULS 1999/2009, disposal of Berjaya Corporation Bhd ICULS 2005/2015 and the divestments of Berjaya Hotels & Resorts (Mauritius) Ltd and Berjaya Mahe Beach (Cayman) Ltd.
  
  Revenue came in at RM1.06 billion versus RM175.6 million previously mainly due to the consolidation of Berjaya Sports Toto Bhd (BToto) as a subsidiary company effective February 2008.
  
  For the first half ended Oct 31, its net loss stood at RM47.82 million versus a net profit of RM363.5 million a year earlier. No dividend was declared.
  
  BLand said its directors took recognisance of the prevailing global economic conditions arising from the financial meltdown in the West and its contagion effect on the regional and Malaysian economies.

By now, Berjaya Land was trading around 3.28.

And Berjaya Land still continued its share buybacks...

Here's one announcement dated 27th Feb 2009. Notice of Shares Buy Back - Immediate Announcement. Price paid was between 2.98 and 3.00.

Remember back on 31st July 2008, Berjaya Land initial buyback was between 4.36 and 4.40!

Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!

Last night Berjaya Land announced its earnings.


And Bernama decides to talk about pretax profit.....???

• Saturday March 21, 2009
  
  Berjaya Land Q3 pre-tax profit down
  
  BERJAYA Land Bhd (BLand) says its pre-tax profit in the third quarter ended Jan 31 fell to RM78.9mil from RM122.3mil in the previous corresponding period.
  
  The lower pre-tax profit was mainly due to lower progress billings from the property development division and lower rental income from the property investment division, it says in a statement.
  
  In addition, the group recorded an exceptional gain of RM97.6mil from the disposal of the KL Plaza properties in the previous corresponding quarter, it says.
  
  BLand, however, reported a big jump in revenue to RM1.16bil from RM181.18mil, which it attributes mainly due to the consolidation of Berjaya Sports Toto Bhd (BToto) as a subsidiary company effective February 2008.
  
  For the nine months ended Jan 31, its pre-tax profit fell to RM211.6mil from RM484.8mil in the previous corresponding period while revenue rose to RM3.18bil from RM506.9mil previously.
  
  BLand expects the prevailing global economic conditions to affect the group’s hotel, resort and property development business in the remaining quarter of the financial year ending April 30.
  
  However, the numbers forecast operator business under BToto is expected to remain resilient, it adds. – Bernama

And I end my story on Berjaya Land for now with the chart of Berjaya Land since 2007.

Yeah, Berjaya Land last traded at 2.93. (see Looking Back At Berjaya Land: Part I )

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