Good Deals, Bad Deals, Win-Win Deals

The way a company handle acquisition and disposal of assets tells us a lot about management's savvy and the way they would handle corporate strategy.



London Biscuits / Lay Hong / QL

I like QL and London Biscuits, but following the deal, I would have to take London Biscuits off the list. I liked their expansion plans, but obviously London Biscuits had no inkling of how to leverage, improve, rebrand, strategise their acquisitions. I doubt there was any positive value add management input from London Biscuits. Since they acquired Lay Hong, which was a good deal relative to Lay Hong's NTA, nothing has changed, Lay Hong was still barely profitable but trades at a 50% discount to NTA. Its share price did not budge much from the time London Biscuits bought them a few years back. Why buy in the first place??? Yes, bought at a good price, so what, you loaded debt to do it, unless you think you can increase value in Lay Hong, or the earnings from Lay Hong would more than cover your interest cost, why buy?

Now, Lay Hong is a lot better than TPC, why two egg companies? Both also not profitable and you sell the more attractive one. How do shareholders of London Biscuits view your selling of Lay Hong, and then to see Lay Hong's share price double literally in a matter of days??? What does that tell you???

That was a good deal by QL but a very bad deal for London Biscuits. Was it to pay down debts? Your debt level was just as high a year ago, and almost the same as when you loaded debt to buy Lay Hong, what gives?

I don't think its necessary to bring down debts by selling Lay Hong. They have been poorly advised. If you know there is deep value in Lay Hong, you should be selling close to NTA. If the buyer is not willing, then take QL shares, not cash. At least you can ride the unlocking of value in Lay Hong. Now London Biscuits look very silly indeed. If anyone asks London Biscuits about the Lay Hong deal now, they can only shrug their shoulders. Sigh...

Cocoland / F&N

Win-win deal. Fun is over when investors realise that F&N bought their stake at such a deep discount. Couldn't fault Cocoland as the deal would secure a big customer and a platform to emlarge earnings. This shows Cocoland management having the vision to forgo a bit to gain a lot. Look at where their share price is now.

3A / Wilmar

Win-win deal. Same as above. If I was 3A, I would have done the deal at 50 sen even, because the platform would be so enlarged and the prospects improving by multiples with just Wilmar inside.

MFCB / Jadi

It may not make sense to many but I think MFCB is on a winner and will be able to leverage and extract more value by having Jadi into its stable. Win-win deal.

Management needs to know when to do deals and using the right way. It can be cash, convertible notes, shares issuance, even a put and call deal ~ each option is important in its own way depending on how things would flesh out following the deal. An asset may be multiplied in a different company's ownership. There has to be consideration of "opening of doors", "whether you can take the asset to the next level", etc...

In the same note, advisers and bankers should be able to advise these deals better and not just do the deals for deal making sake, just to earn some fees.

Where Top Companies Will Be In 3 Years?

If you were to chart CIMB against Maybank or any other local banks on its progression over the last 3 or 5 years, you'd begin to understand the importance of management strategy. Too often research reports focus on just the financials to make their calls. Financials only indicate data, data can look attractive when compared to peers but it does not tell us anything about management ability. Great strategy and execution will mean that the stock commands or deserves a premium rating. Too often analyst reports do not even write a view on management 's ability in execution and strategy, and/or management's grasp of its industry, competition or soundness of its business model. To me, that is the most important consideration when going to bed with a stock in a big way. Its different when you are punting or trading, but if you are being a genuine investor for a prolonged period, rating management is the number one criteria.

If you have a look at where they are now in terms of market cap, you can do a good guesstimate on where they will be in 3 years time just based on the perceived management's ability, as that will tell us a lot on deployment of resources, ability to execute, ability to manage costs and improve margins, the ability to navigate and plan ahead of crisis and opportunities, etc. Of course another big factor will be the industry they are in as certain industries will grow faster than others.

Well, in my view, CIMB will maintain its #1 position. May I add that I still think CIMB will merge with Public Bank. Maybank will slip from its third position to maybe 6th or 7th - even with recharged management, its structure is too unwieldy to effect significant changes to culture and transformation of processes.

I predict IOI Corp will rise from #5 to #3 owing to a strong bull phase for soft commodities over the next 2-3 years. Tenaga Nasional will gradually move down the ladder as other stocks are managed for growth and profits, and TNB is managed for many other reasons than just profit and growth factors.

Genting at #8 will move out of the top 10 as I see massive consolidation in the gaming industry, too many players, too much money money being poured into the industry. AMMB may move up slightly, not aggressive enough in human resource management, top people are not empowered enough to act and raise the bar.

Maxis may make it into the top 10 but at the expense of other providers. PPB Group will no longer exist as a listed vehicle, probably shuffled to under Wilmar. Telekom Malaysia will drop a lot faster than we can say "what tf" to high teens.

KLK will be KLK, staid, slow and predictable. Even if soft commodities rally, their beta will be lower than for IOI. YTL Corp will stay there, but YTL Power should charge towards the top 10. Great long term assets that can only grow inline with replacement cost, its good yield will mushroom its market cap base towards the RM10bn mark within 3 years.

DIGI may have reached its peak in terms of branding cycle, they were in front of the curveball. Now, quality issues will see them lose out to other providers, have you used DIGI broadband??? Expect to dip from #18 to out of the top 20.

Possibly the biggest riser will be HLB, its at #21 and would be seen as the "great alternative" to Public Bank should you know what happens. Its branch base and deposit base have gone past critical mass which would see them enjoying the same stellar growth path as Public Bank did back in the 90s. I expect it to jump from #21 to #15 or higher in 3 years.

UMW, good strategy into critical O&G and China, I expect UMW to just make the top 20 from its current #23. B Sports Toto, still under valued in terms of its games potential, should move up a bit. Tanjong, same, should move up a bit. MMC will see a gradual dropping out of the top 30 for reasons I would be better off not elaborating.

RHB Capital, is in a dicey place. Uncertainty among ownership and seeming uncertainty over management's strategy and positioning makes this a strong candidate for consolidation. RHB Cap should no longer exists within 3 years (not that its very bad, but that it would have been bought out by then).

Freight Management, Better Coverage Now

Freight Management is another gem of a company that is starting to get better coverage. The company is professionally run by the husband and wife team Chew Chong Keat and Gan Siew Yong. Freight Management is engaged in providing freight services. It offers international freight services covering sea, rail, air freight and tug barge services, customs brokerage and distribution container haulage and conventional trucking services.The company operates in Malaysia, Australia, and Singapore. It is headquartered in Port Klang, Malaysia and employs 380 people.

The company's offices are located in Port Klang, Klia, Penang, Ipoh, Malacca and Johor in Malaysia. It operates a network of 107 independent agents covering 127 ports in more than 47 countries. The company’s freight services include seafreight, airfreight, railfreight, tug & barge, warehouse, and transport and haulage. It offers sea freight services which include port to port, port to door, and door to door deliveries through a network of 107 reliable agents covering 127 ports. The seafreight services offer both export and import freight services for both less than container Load (LCL) and full container load (FCL) shipments. It provides direct LCL consolidation to over 40 major ports of the world. Its FCL services cover most of the major port of the world.

Its air freight services comprise both inbound and outbound shipments through Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and Penang International Airport. Also, the company operates warehouses leased from Malaysian Airline, within the FCZ (Free Commercial Zone) in both KLIA and Penang International (Bayan Lepas) Airport. FMHB offers fully containerized landbridge rail services between Malaysia and Thailand. It operates a train route from Port Klang to Lat Krabang, Bangkok with a stopover at Butterworth on its North bound service and returning on the reverse route for its southbound service.

It owns and operates a fleet of about 800 containers in 20 foot and 40 foot units. The company, through its subsidiary, TCH Marine operates a fleet of eight pairs of tugs and barges with cargo carrying capacities ranging from 3,500 to 5,000 metric tones per barge. It specializes in the movement of dry bulk cargoes such as gypsum, feldspar, limestone, granite aggregate and silica sand operates between South Thailand, the West Coast of Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore. FMHB offers warehousing solutions through a 200,000 square feet warehousing complex which is temperature control storage, value added cold room and new racking systems located in Port Klang. It also offers 30 loading bays with motorized dock levelers and a raised road for conventional trucks to load and discharge. This facility offers both general and bonded storage. The company operates container freight stations (CFS) in its leased space at Klang Container Terminal (KCT), North Port and the Free Commercial Zone (FCZ) in Penang Port, these two faclities has a total storage space of about 50,000 square feet.

In the transport and haulage services, the company offers container haulage, conventional trucking, and customs brokerage services. The container haulage operates a fleet of 30 prime movers and 150 trailers and the conventional trucking operates a fleet of more than 20 trucks, of various sizes. It offers customs brokerage services through it subsidiaries at all the major gateways of Port Klang, Penang, Ipoh, Johore-KLIA and Penang Airport.

Share price: 68 sen
Shares: 121.7m
52 week High-Low: 0.85 - 0.57

Chew Chong Keat 27.85%
Singapore Enterprises Pvt Ltd 20%
Yang Heng Lam 18.3%
Gan Siew Yong 4.34%
Pheim Asset Mgmt 1.97%

Strong points:

a) Its not just a freight company anymore. It has diversified upstream and downstream, and is one of the more visionary transportation company with a sensible and spread out platform. It makes them being a more "value-add" company to clients. This will ensure stickiness and customer loyalty.

b) Its still smallish but I like their cohesive business model. Gearing at 7%. Good dividend policy, which means main shareholders are keen to keep owning the shares and growing the company: Dividends June 08 4.5 sen, June 09 4.5 sen, expected June 10 5.5 sen. Consistent payout ratio above 40%.

c) Management is considering the possibility of venturing into the distribution of pharmaceutical products to hospitals and clinics. Those not in FMCG might not be aware that there are a lot of logistical problems and inefficiencies in distribution. I see this as a huge problem and considering the platform Freight Management is on, it could carve out a profitable niche by bringing about a strong inventory management system and coordinated distribution scheme. Imagine a pharmacy chain getting 1,000 products from 200 distributors - yes, you can have a storage center and then distribute with your own trucks, but capital inefficiency. Why the need to even have trucks and inventory space if you can outsource this to a company like Freight? Its a juicy opportunity that not many logistic and transportation company can afford to offer. Its solutions driven and capital/cost efficient.

d) Year ended June 08, revenue RM222m, net profit RM12.2m, EPS 10 sen. Year ended June 09, revenue RM229m, net profit RM13.6m, EPS 11.1 sen. So far, for the year ending June 2010, the company is on track to record revenue of RM2.70m and a net profit of RM17m, or an EPS of 13.9 sen.

e) Its new haulage division made significant improvement with a 41% y-o-y jump in revenue as more prime movers are deployed and its geographical coverage extended. The improvement across all its divisions boosted overall EBITDA margin from 12.2% in 1Q to 13.8%.

NOTE: The above opinion is not an invitation to buy or sell. It serves as a blogging activity of my investing thoughts and ideas, this does not represent an investment advisory service as I charge no subscription or management fees (donations are welcomed though). The content on this site is provided as general information only and should not be taken as investment advice. All site content, shall not be construed as a recommendation to buy or sell any security or financial instrument. The ideas expressed are solely the opinions of the author. Any action that you take as a result of information, analysis, or commentary on this site is ultimately your responsibility. Consult your investment adviser before making any investment decisions.


p/s photos: Reon Kadena

How The West Was Won & Lost - Why Has This Not Been The Headline For The Past Week???

Almost every major international papers have made this their headline news for the past few days - well, not in Malaysia apparently. With two gigantic Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) entering into effect on New Year’s Day—China- Asean and India-Asean—Asia’s economic interlinking has taken off. Asia has for long been divided into self-contained sub-regions like South Asia, West Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia and East Asia. Now, Asean’s two path-breaking FTAs with Asia’s second (soon to be first) largest economy, China, and third largest economy, India, enmesh the fortunes of South Asia, Southeast Asia and East Asia into a mosaic. Together with the currency swap agreements among South Korea, Japan and China, these FTAs signal a definite turn towards Asian countries viewing each other as valuable partners, markets and investors.

For decades, the target of reference for Asia’s leading economies was the West. The FTAs couldn't have come at a more ironic time. Now China is about the major engine of growth to lift the global trade. It is also timely as the US and EU are at a weakened position economically. Talk about salting the wounds. The financial meltdown since 2008 has reconfigured these horizons and brought home the imperative for Asian producers to diversify their export markets away from just the West.

A similar pattern of China's successful engagement with neighbors can be seen in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization with Russia and Central Asia and, less successfully, in the six-party talks in northeast Asia over North Korea's nuclear program. With the exception of China's trans-Himalayan border, promotion of regional multilateral institutions has progressed hand-in-hand with strengthening bilateral relationships.

Every country in Southeast Asia has benefited from broader and deeper relations with China, and ASEAN as a regional organization has been strengthened by China's involvement.China's single most successful gesture in its regional relations. In 1997, China held the value of the yuan steady against the dollar while the Southeast Asian currencies were falling. Its neighbors were impressed that China could succeed where they failed, and they were grateful that China prevented a race to the bottom in currency devaluations.

Since August 2008, China has pursued exactly the same policy, but its effects on Southeast Asia are the opposite of a decade earlier. Now the yuan's peg to a declining US dollar is forcing neighbors to compress their currency values in order to maintain market share. China's neighbors wonder how long currency compression will last and what will happen when the yuan finally does revalue. There is little reassurance from China, and no claim that it is helping the neighborhood.

World's Third Largest Free-Trade Zone Takes Full Effect Between ASEAN and China / 31 Dec 09

A free-trade agreement between China and 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will come into force on 1 January 2010, liberalising trade and investment in an economic zone covering 1.9 billion people. IHS Global Insight Perspective Significance China and South-East Asian countries will tomorrow establish the world's third largest free-trade area, after the European Union (EU) and the North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA). Coming into effect, the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA) is set to cover 1.9 billion consumers and an estimated trade volume of US$1.2 trillion, with a combined GDP of US$6 trillion. Implications The FTA is a key milestone for Asian regional integration, heralding a more open market for goods and services in the region. While zero tariffs for 90% of the agreed products, and the removal of 6,682 import duties on Chinese goods, offer great business opportunities for some, not all are enthusiastic. The ACFTA raises economic and political concerns in South-East Asia over China's increasing dominance. Outlook The ACFTA is likely to provide a major boost to regional trade and investment following a year of sharp economic slowdown. Given the similarity of ASEAN and China's industrial structures, competition in domestic markets will increase, however, provoking fears particularly in those less economically developed ASEAN countries. For China, the ACFTA offers great prospects of being able to sate its enormous hunger for natural resources. New Year's Day 2010 marks the establishment of the world's third largest free-trade area between China and the ten member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Under the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA)—signed in 2002—China, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand will eliminate barriers to investment and enforce zero tariffs for 90% of the agreed products, ranging from textiles to steel and vegetable oils. This will require the average tariff rates charged by ASEAN countries on Chinese products—currently at 12.8%—to be cut to 0.6%, while average tariffs imposed by China on ASEAN goods are set to fall from 9.8% to 0.1%. The late participants to ASEAN—namely, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam—will follow behind gradually reducing tariffs and totally eliminating them by 2015. The new free-trade zone will have an estimated trade volume of US$1.2 trillion and a combined GDP of US$6 trillion. It will cover 1.9 billion consumers—more than any other regional economic block. Clearly, this marks a huge milestone for Asian regional integration, traditionally less advanced in comparison with Europe and the Americas, as the region has played "catch up" in recent years. Although the realisation of ACFTA brings huge opportunities for both China and ASEAN, it also raises concerns over China's increasing economic and political domination in South-East Asia. China's Expanding Economy—Driving Force Behind Integration The rise of China in economic and political terms has been the most important development in pushing Asian integration further. The ACFTA framework agreement was signed in 2002 and was the first stand-alone free-trade agreement signed by China. The agreement followed China's joining of the WTO and its decision to start pursuing a regional trade policy that led to the initiation of negotiations on free trade with the ASEAN bloc. Evidently, from China's point of view, the ACFTA will help in securing access to South-East Asia's abundant natural resources. Despite the economic downturn, China's economy is expanding and it needs resources to satisfy its hunger for energy. Closer trade relations with South-East Asian countries also provide China greater control over the crucial nexus between the Indian and Pacific Oceans. There is also the opportunity to strengthen political ties within a region that has traditionally been under strong Japanese influence. ASEAN Opportunities and Fears The ACFTA is set to determine regional co-operation and trade relations in 2010. What ASEAN seeks through the ACFTA is to gain greater market access for exports and the ability to attract more foreign direct investment (FDI). "In 2010 we are sending as a strong signal that ASEAN is open", Sundram Pushpanathan, of ASEAN, told Agence France-Presse yesterday, indicating that the pact is set to offer huge benefits for ASEAN economic growth, too. In particular, as U.S. and European demand for ASEAN exports plummets following the global economic crisis, China's growing economic interaction will generally be very welcome. Given the huge economic and development disparities within ASEAN, the impact of the free-trade regime will, however, be felt differently across the region. Under the ACFTA Early Harvest programme, China granted ASEAN economies very beneficial terms to export more competitive agricultural products to China, bringing benefits to grassroots-level farmers in South-East Asia. However, as soon as the clock strikes midnight tonight, small- and medium-sized farmers and enterprises throughout ASEAN will face a harsh reality—they will need to compete with more price-competitive imports from China. Rising fears and subsequent social tensions have already been evident in some countries. Earlier this month, the Indonesian government came under mounting pressure from the country's domestic industries to delay full implementation of the ACFTA. A number of business associations proposed a temporary exemption of 11 additional industries from the FTA. The proposed exemption list included textiles, footwear, steel and iron, food and beverages, plastic, transportation, tools, electronics, forestry and plantations, the downstream chemical industry, the creative industries, and machinery. While the government opted not to take an eleventh hour appeal further, it has agreed to seek a delay in eliminating import tariffs on over 300 goods that are deemed too "fragile" to compete with cheaper Chinese imports. Indonesia is still "committed to the [agreement]… but we will ask for a tariff modification on 303 products whose competitiveness we consider has declined because of the global economic crisis", said Edy Putra Irawadi, Deputy Minister for Industry and Trade at the Co-ordinating Ministry for the Economy. Outlook and Implications Even though ACFTA's final realisation comes after years of gradual implementation, it is still a landmark event, promising great opportunities for traders and investors and raising the region's status in the international trade arena. No doubt there will be challenges too. What the ACFTA does not mean, however, is that China-ASEAN integration is complete. Instead, it will provide further impetus for deeper economic co-operation between the two entities. Further progress is expected to be made across the board, including laws and regulations on the free-trade area; construction of infrastructure facilities; agriculture and rural co-operation; sustainable development; and cultural and social exchanges. Although bilateral trade between China and ASEAN has already exploded over the past decade, the most eagerly awaited advancements that the ACFTA is expected to bring are in the fields of greater trade and investment volumes. China and the ASEAN bloc are already each other's fourth largest trading partners, and trade volumes have been growing from US$105.88 billion in 2004, to US$202.5 billion in 2007. This is nevertheless likely to increase significantly now, with ASEAN's secretary expecting exports to China to grow by 48%, while China's exports to ASEAN will increase by 55.1%. Integrated markets and lower market risk and uncertainty are also expected to generate more foreign investment into ASEAN countries, not just from China, but also from U.S., European, and Japanese companies. In addition to this positive impetus, there will be increasing competition which will likely decrease the enthusiasm for integration among the general public in those involve countries, for example particularly in Indonesia. All in all, the realisation of ACFTA represents a turning point in the Asian economic and political sphere, and is another indication of China assuming a leading role in the South-East Asian region, where it looks set to stay.

p/s photos: Reon Kadena

The Nasties Of Hot Money In Asia

Is there "hot money" in the system? Yes, the Fed's and ECB's low interest rates policy has already started the USD carry trade a few months back, and it could add a Euro carry trade to its banner soon. So, where do you think the money is headed or has been residing? Its Asia. The easy way to see where it has been headed over the past few months is to look at Asia's strongest currency this year. At the top of the heap was the Indonesian rupiah, followed by the Korean won and then the Indian rupee. So much so that the central banks at South Korea and Indonesia have expressed strong concerns over the inflow of hot money into their system. Beware of the current gains you have been seeing in stocks, property and currency in these two countries. They could just as easily disappear overnight. It also appears that the new favoured son by these carry trades is Taiwan.

Hence, we may well appreciate the efforts of Bank Negara a bit more over the past 18 months because Zeti refused to join in the bandwagon to "allow" the ringgit to appreciate too much. Rightly or wrongly, much of the hot money bypassed Malaysia and the ringgit because the ringgit is still not "that accessible and free-floated". By maintaining a disciplined approach, Bank Negara has basically staved off any future problems that may have to do with hot money moving too fast into the system and then too fast out of the system.

Many have been wondering why the Malaysian markets did not rise by as much as their regional peers. In fact Malaysian stock market has been in the bottom quartile in performance when compared to other Asian bourses. A huge part of the answer lies in the currency issue just discussed. Safe to say that taking that point further, we may argue that much of the rise in asset prices in other Asian markets may have been mostly "inflated" by the liquidity rush.

Is the region in grave danger of a collapse when these funds exit? What would cause the funds to exit? Well, if the Fed starts to raise rates, not likely over the next 6 months at least. Well, if there is a fresh war or political instability somewhere that causes people to rush to the reserve currency, and/or a massive jump towards risk aversion. The key I guess, is to monitor the rumblings and big trades in USD and the interest rate policy discussions.

On November 10, 2009, Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission barred foreign investors from parking their money in time deposits after bringing funds into the country. Plus, foreign investors will not be allowed to extend the deposit maturity beyond three months. Until now, foreign investors were allowed to deposit 30% of the inflows in time deposits for three months with a possible extension for another three months. Portfolio investors can still invest 30% of the net inflows in government bonds, money market instruments, money market funds and derivatives. As of October 2009, foreign investors had parked US$15.5 billion in Taiwan dollar accounts, almost five times the level considered appropriate by the central bank. The central bank has voiced concerns that beside investing in Taiwanese stocks, foreign investors were putting money into Taiwan Dollar deposits to earn interest plus currency arbitrage given the appreciating Taiwan dollar.

The move follows large capital inflows into Taiwan's dollar accounts recently which is putting upward pressure on the Taiwan Dollar and hurting export competitiveness. The central bank has been intervening in the FX market and had recently hinted at capital controls to contain currency strength.

This need not be an explosive issue as it seems that the central bankers in the affected countries are aware of the situation. The danger is when the central bankers do not have the political will to act as they should, or they act too slow to temper the liquidity inflow. One can easily reduce the inflow with various measures, so as to minimise the ill-effects of withdrawal of these kind of hot money.

Funnily, the US Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia president Charles Plosser said that the capital flows into Asia are a result of a stronger recovery in the region. He added that the flows are not such that he would consider them to be threatening or inconsistent with fundamentals. OMG, the danger is when enough people in high places in Asia believe that diatribe. These are not long term FDI, its short term, its a play on currency outlook and interest rate differentials, is short term - how in the world can Plosser say its not threatening. It can move asset prices up by 30%-50% in 6 months, and we know its seriously never going to be long term, so when they exit, how can Plosser say that it won't be threatening???!!!


p/s photos: Reon Kadena

A Good Lesson in History & Etymology

Its a wonder that we use phrases so often but do not know why or how they came about. Below are some wonderful historical context on some of these phrases. Its good to know. Etymology has never been more fun.

Cost An Arm & A Leg In George Washington's days, there were no cameras. One's image was either sculpted or painted. Some paintings of George Washington showed him standing behind a desk with one arm behind his back while others showed both legs and both arms. Prices charged by painters were not based on how many people were to be painted, but by how many limbs were to be painted. Arms and legs are 'limbs,' therefore painting them would cost the buyer more. Hence the expression, 'Okay, but it'll cost you an arm and a leg.' (Artists know hands and arms are more difficult to paint) Big Wig As incredible as it sounds, men and women took baths only twice a year (May and October) Women kept their hair covered, while men shaved their heads (because of lice and bugs) and wore wigs. Wealthy men could afford good wigs made from wool. They couldn't wash t he wigs, so to clean them they would carve out a loaf of bread, put the wig in the shell, and bake it for 30 minutes. The heat would make the wig big and fluffy, hence the term 'big wig.' Today we often use the term 'here comes the Big Wig' because someone appears to be or is powerful and wealthy.

Chairman
In the late 1700's, many houses consisted of a large room with only one chair. Commonly, a long wide board folded down from the wall, and was used for dining. The 'head of the household' always sat in the chair while everyone else ate sitting on the floor. Occasionally a guest, who was usually a man, would be invited to sit in this chair during a meal. To sit in the chair meant you were important and in charge. They called the one sitting in the chair the 'chair man.' Today in business, we use the expression or title 'Chairman' or 'Chairman of the Board..'

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Losing Face
Personal hygiene left much room for improvement. As a result, many women and men had developed acne scars by adulthood. The women would spread bee's wax over their facial skin to smooth out their complexions. When they were speaking to each other, if a woman began to stare at another woman's face she was told, 'mind your own bee's wax.' Should the woman smile, the wax would crack, hence the term 'crack a smile'. In addition, when they sat too close to the fire, the wax would melt . . . Therefore, the expression 'losing face.'

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Straight Laced
Ladies wore corsets, which would lace up in the front. A proper and dignified woman, as in 'straight laced'. . Wore a tightly tied lace.

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Not Playing With A Full Deck
Common entertainment included playing cards. However, there was a tax levied when purchasing playing cards but only applicable to the 'Ace of Spades.' To avoid paying the tax, people would purchase 51 cards instead. Yet, since most games require 52 cards, these people were thought to be stupid or dumb because they weren't 'playing with a full deck.'

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Gossip
Early politicians required feedback from the public to determine what the people considered important. Since there were no telephones, TV's or radios, the politicians sent their assistants to local taverns, pubs, and bars. They were told to 'go sip some ale' and listen to people's conversations and political concerns.. Many assistants were dispatched at different times. 'You go sip here' and 'You go sip there.' The two words 'go sip' were eventually combined when referring to the local opinion and, thus we have the term 'gossip.'

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Mind Your P's & Qs
At local taverns, pubs, and bars, people drank from pint and quart-sized containers. A bar maid's job was to keep an eye on the customers and keep the drinks coming. She had to pay close attention and remember who was drinking in 'pints' and who was drinking in 'quarts,' hence the term 'minding your'P's and Q's '

p/s photos: Reon Kadena

Survey Results & Analysis

The 10 hour survey had a very good response rate. Usually less than one quarter of blog visitors will ever complete a survey on a site. Mine had a completion rate of 56% resulting in over 700 completed responses.

The first question was obvious. Even though you cannot get everybody to "like" you, it still hurts a bit when they answered "No, at any price" ... sigh... The good bit would be that there was 59% positive respondents, which meant that out of 700 surveyed, 413 would be positive about attending - imagine if I can get a few of the girls featured on my blog to act as ushers!!?? The 20% that answered "other" were mainly those seeking for the talks to be free - aiyah... must make it worthwhile for me to get out of bed la.

I will be doing the Career Talk on Financial Markets first, which is aimed at A-level students, biz college students and fresh graduates, people considering a mid career change to financial markets, and concerned parents. Following that, I will look into the Investing Talk. It will be basically my own thoughts on investing, things that one should look out for, things to improve our investment decision making skills, etc...

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Would you be interested to attend an investment talk by S Dali, about 3 hours long?

1 No, at any price			20%
2 Yes, provided its btw RM 70 - 110 pp			48%
3 Yes, even if its btw RM 120 - 180 pp			11%
Other, Please Specify			20%

2. The FBM-KLCI index is now hovering at 1136, where do you think it will be end of the year 2009? 1 -1000 or lower 15% 2 -1050 9% 3 -1100 8% 4 -1150 15% 5 -1200 25% 6 -1250 or higher 24% Other, please specify 4%

3. How do you feel about the female photos being featured in my blog?

1 Don't mind them, not the main reason I come to your blog.			39%
2 Prefer you not to put them up, its a distraction and it cheapens your blog.			9%
3 The photos are excellent and blends well with your information, both equally important.			31%
4 Without the photos, I will visit your blog a lot less, sorry but its true.			14%
Other, please specify			7%

As for the markets prediction, this is a very strong indicator. Some 49% of respondents think the local bourse will finish at 1200 or higher by year end. If I were to ask the same question in February 2009, I am pretty sure the percentage would be more than halved. The 49% figure shows that there is a strong underlying belief that things are turning around globally and locally we are not that badly affected.

This surveyed figure is all the more important because the visitors to Malaysia Finance are more attuned to business and finance matters than the general public. Rightly or wrongly, this survey looks at a supposedly more "knowledgeable" populace.

As for the female photos, its very very clear: 39% + 31% + 14% = 84% ... the photos stay!!! I can afford to lose the 9%.

As for what to write more of, or less of :

1	More on market views and market information
2	more market outlook and world wide economy development and what about your tropic on investors mistakes ?
3	keep to your current mixes. Do not want it to be overly focused in any particular area.
4	What you are doing is fine. Keep it up.
5	what you are doing presently is okay maybe a bit more on the economic situations
6	stocks pick
7	You are excellent. Thanks for all the very informative and interesting articles.
8	more on asean & china
9	your own investments.
10	Please write more of your views on our local stock market and the stocks you favour. I notice that your comment on certain stocks do have impact on the market price. Cheers
11	continue to write about the "behind story" of the each broker/analysist report as they are mostly biased
12	comments on specific listed companies
13	more on klci direction. buys or sells pick. ongoing macro readings of malaysia as well as Asean and the world. oil and gold direction.
14	General economic condition. Retail data survey, consumption pattern..and also holiday destination
15	A suggestion: Post those photos according to the temperament of your postings. :)
16	Quality of Malaysian share
17	Sometimes a bit of humility goes a long way, as some of your calls are good, some are very bad, do admit mistakes when calls are wrong....
18	your blog is heaven sent. if ppl want you to write other stuff, they might as well visit other blogs. and keep the girls pls.
19	It is good as it is now. Very helpful.
20	write more foreign stocks, less of american economist view
21	Locally context-related.
22	more on malaysian stocks
23	Write more on investment perspectives.
24	market gossips
25	Property market.

51	continue with what you are doing. it's fine with me.
52	up to you,it 's yr blog remember?
53	Good food. A hard day's labour to be compensated with a fine man's dinner
54	More on global economy, malaysian stock market.
55	More investment ideas.
56	More of your analysis, not just of regurgitating what others wrote.
57	Undervalue stocks and those stocks which are worth more dead than alive like for example Oriental Holdings Bhd
58	analysis of the market trend with respect to international on going issues, local political aspects etc. I am a malaysian who have not in malaysia for the past 20 years but still investing from time to time, in case I will retired in Malaysia, which is still consider a home for me.
59	It's yr blog, u can write what u know. tks
60	More on counters selection (or de-selection) and why.
61	the same
62	Very informative with the fact support .
63	Nothing
64	u are very good at stock market
65	more of - market updates; learn more about investment; understand what to and what not to look for in share investment. less of - no preference as alright with all your postings so far
66	CONCENTRATE ON KLSE
67	Write more on oil and gas exploration/production companies.. I believe that with good research, there are gems waiting to be discovered. Also more words on why you like the females that you feature?
68	Keep the things you do....
69	more of rumours
70	Your choices are ok except I wish you have less Roubini's article. He's too pessimistic. Maybe bring in somebody who's a bit more optimistic for a change? Or at least some positive note. :)
71	local regulatory changes in the investment industry
72	more tips, you have been very accurate so far. Regret I did not hear of your blog sooner. your general info is good also.
73	local economy, real estate and stock market outlook....
74	I would prefer to share with us which particular stocks to buy and sell (with price mentioned).
75	local market

The above are just a sample, ... how to please anybody or even a majority, or even just a substantial number of you??? Its all over the place. Everybody has their own objective and interests. What I write may go over the heads of some, or be too simplistic to others. Its a hard line to walk. Still, I will try to take some of the suggestions though. Thanks.


p/s photos: A tribute to Miss X'cellent Discovery 2008 Haruna Yabuki, and the new Miss X'cellent Discovery 2009 Reon Kadena, I am sure you readers would agree with the choices.