Started with RM65 / month. Now worth RM33.8 Billion.

I love rags to richest stories. I personally think it’s much better to become rich because of one’s effort and not because of the family. 🙂 These days, if we have a great idea and we are able to ‘sell’ it to the world, we could become rich super fast. Company valuation of online companies are already much higher than many traditional brick and mortar companies in the world today. For example,
FORBES estimated GRAB’s valuation at US$16 billion.
Meanwhile
Tan Chong Bhd’s market capitalisation is at RM1.16 Billion currently.
 The next story is not about online company but one engineering graduate who started working for US$16 (RM65) per month and today is worth US$8.3 billion. (RM33.8 billion).

Article in businessinsider.my
 Wu Yajun was born in 1964 in Chongqing, China and studied at the Northwestern Polytechnical University in Xi’an when she was 16 and left with a bachelor’s degree in engineering. She then worked at a factory for $16/month. In 1988, she was a journalist for the China Shirong News Agency. In 1993, Wu was inspired to start what would become known as Longfor Properties with her then husband, Cai Kui. Longfor sold its first property project in 1997 in Chongqing at $157 per sq metre and was one of the earliest shopping-mall developers in China. Wu was CEO from 2005 to 2011 then stayed as chair. She was the richest woman in China until 2012 when she got divorced and lost almost $3bil. In 2017, she was seventh on a global list of self-made women billionaires in 2017. Today, Wu is the richest self-made woman in the world, followed by Diane Hendricks who is worth $5.5bil. She avoids publicity and said this when asked why. “Well, I have nothing to talk about. I am just a person focusing on my own business.”
Article in businessinsider.my

Yes, Wu Yajun is another super-wealthy individual which is related to real estate. Perhaps that idea we have in our minds should just be property related instead? That’s why I have started kopiandproperty.com mah. Haha. My story here.
Journey to more than pocket money
 One of the fastest and easiest way to start anything with any idea is to write about it. Today, perhaps we could video ourselves talking about it and become a successful Youtuber earning many thousands every month.
My friend, Cooking Ah Pa is already doing it.
Okay, okay, I will start very soon. Remember to subscribe to my channel when I start ok. Till then, happy investing into our ideas.

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News article summarised by Dina Batrisyia. Article written and edited by Charles.

written on 2 March 2019

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Starting the property investment journey right

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Starting the property investment journey right

I started my property investment journey in 2005, 2 years after buying my first home. I personally believe property investment journey starts from property number 2 onwards. My second property was technically an upgrade and thus I was able to change from a  smaller apartment of 730 sq ft to a condo of 1,258 sq ft. Remember, the first property is usually the hardest decision to make. We often want to buy something we love and yet, may not be able to afford just yet. Actually, it does not need to be like that. Enjoy what you buy and make the best of it. Focus on the continuous journey instead. Just like upgrading our cars, we will feel good when we are moving into a bigger home. In fact the good feeling lasts much longer than when you change to a bigger or more powerful car. 🙂  So, how do we start?

Know WHY you want to buy – That first property
 is usually to make sure you stop paying high rentals which would also help you to save some money for your next purchase. Oh yeah, my tenant of 4 years saved enough to buy his landed property in Penang. So, it can work both ways. As long as there are savings. You also want to buy because property investment has been a proven investment over a long period of time. Look at examples all around us and even countries outside Malaysia.

Know WHAT you want to buy – What’s out there? What’s available? Please do not just rely on some predictions or sales pitch and decided. There is no other choice but to research, to view and to compare before we buy. We must know what we are buying because this will usually
involve a huge sum of money.

Plus lots of commitment in terms of time and effort too. Search from major property sites and read their reviews for your first understanding about the area and property.
iproperty.com.my
 or
propertyguru.com.my
 or
propsocial.my
 would be a few good starting point.

STOP forecasting WHEN to buy. DO the first two above right and the ‘when’ would just fall into place. Of course I would still advise that we should buy only WHEN we have accumulated enough ‘bullets.’ A very good point would be when we are comfortably paying for our first home and have enough spare change for another one. By the way, there is no need to rush. Property investment is not going anywhere yet. Malaysia is just too young, still.
Demographics Malaysia
.

Yes, it is risky. This is going to be the biggest purchase we will ever make. (Except for some who has a more expensive car than a home). It might just be the biggest regret too and there are many sad stories around. This is why it should not be just buy anything that sounds good. It should be a REALISTIC comparison and remember, when some deals are just too good to be true, it usually is.
Insider tips, why must it be insider tips?

What’s the investment horizon? Well, just like savings, treat it like one which is as long as it takes. In fact if we have kids today, it would be possible to gift them a property instead of money when they grow up. With the home, they could still have money. With just money, we would have to save like crazy for the pool of money to grow to say, half a million when they grow up. It is NOT realistic to become a sudden millionaire from property investment. (Okay, there are those courses around and if you like them, do go ahead)

We do not usually see much from the first few years. However, just rest assured that as long as there are always more baby shops and more diaper brands, it meant that the market is still going to be growing. The kids of today needs a place to stay too, in the future, right? As parents, do not spend too much on the kids. They need us to invest in things that will grow for them in the future. Happy investing yeah. (Nope, property is NOT the only thing we can invest in.)

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written on 30 Oct 2017

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Is this the starting point for crazy parking space price?

How much can ONE (1) car park slot be worth? Well in some places, it could be so expensive that just buying that spot is already like buying a secondary condominium here in Malaysia. Read here:
RM348,000 for a 12-square metre car park slot

In Hong Kong, a car park space in the CBD may be priced higher! Reported in South China Morning Post (April 19 2016). When a consortium of developers launched 147 parking lots in a resident project in West Kowloon called The Hermitage, the lots were sold out within first day and the prices ranged between HK$2.3 million (RM1.19 million) to HK$2.7 million.(RM1.4 million). YES, this is ONE CAR PARK LOT only.

In KL, motorists would soon be able to park for just TWO hours as per the Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor. He said, “We also want to encourage people to take the public transport when they come into the city as well as encourage people to park at designated parking centres and walk.” He added that this will help the people stay healthier. The price of the parking fee would also be increased toRM2 for the first hour and RM3 for the second hour. Anyone caught exceeding this, the car will be clamped or towed away. The two hour ruling will start at CBD (Central Business District) areas like
Bukit Bintang, KLCC, Ampang and other areas in the city centre.

To be honest, if it’s two hours, I think it’s best to park at some LRT stations and take it into the city centre instead. Else, GRAB or UBER. One usual meeting with a customer could easily take more than one hour and it would be terribly impolite to leave just because ‘my car is about be towed away.’ The article  does not state if
private owners of car parks
 inside CBD is exempted. It does not also say how would it track the 2 hour because assuming I parked at left side of the road for the first two hours, then I move my car to another road, would I be able to park for another 2 hours? As usual, Malaysians are the most creative lot. I think we would be able to figure out a solution to this pretty fast. As for walking, I do think everyone should do more walking.We areal becoming lazier and fatter too. Sigh, that includes me. Will this be the start for expensive car park lots? I think we are still safe. Nothing much changes for now. Happy parking.

written on 7 July 2016

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KL prime office space rental rates on the way down, accelerating too

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Will we spend when we rent? Do we do more when we own.

In one of my previous employments, I was tasked to look for a new office. I decided that I would ONLY look for offices which are partially renovated. Somehow I found one where the tenant had just moved out and somehow, their main wall at the reception was painted the same colour that I wanted! Anyway, to cut the story short, the reason for partially renovated is so that I do not need to pay too much for renovation, an investment which is also a cost because I do not own them when I move away. It’s just a rented office. In fact, this is one reason why many new
start-ups choose co-working offices instead.
 It’s easy to move in, have access to everything that has been renovated well in-advance and it’s financially more sound. After all, even minor renovations like painting the whole unit, new furnitures, office carpeting, some shelves here and there and even lighting points etc would have cost easily RM10,000 or more. Perhaps best to use this RM10,000 to pay for a longer rental instead!

That was years ago. Today, I met two good friends for a cup of coffee. They trained / facilitated a Leadership programme for my previous employment and I must say that they are one of the best in the market. Yes, I have attended way too many programmes during my 20 years of working life. Corporate leaders looking for a very comprehensive leadership workshop, do let me know. I can recommend to you. They have just moved to Sunway GEO office suites from their previous office in Puchong. The one in Puchong was rented (1,500 sq ft) and the current one (nearly 1,000 sq ft) was purchased. One major reason? They find it tough to spend money to renovate a unit which they do not own because it’s not going to belong to them. Now, with a new unit, even if it’s smaller, they will spend money to renovate it and make it into a small training hub. I have just been to their unit and it’s turning out nice and professional. I am very sure their current and future clients would be happy to learn that they do not need to pay substantial venue rental if they only needed a course for a few pax. They would sent their staffs over instead.

Even when I look for a secondary property to buy, my preference is always for renovated units. Unless it is a new property, then I would prefer to renovate it myself. I think it will be true for a long time more. In fact, I seriously do think that we need to change the way we look at offices these days. If we are serious in what we do, then we must plan for continuity. Co-working offices are certainly great to start but if we have more clients visiting us, it will not look good to meet him at a ‘hot-desk’ or even in a small room where there’s 4 chairs and we already occupy 3 for example. As for making the office look good, there’s no point in doing so much to a rented unit and when the owner suddenly changes his mind, he may just ask us to move. Thus, I think it’s probably starting in a co-working office / rented office which is renovated and when the business gets serious, then we get a unit of our own. Happy ‘entrepreneuring!’

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written on 27 Aug 2018

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Starting may be similar. Progress is up to us, seriously.

The talk in the Melody FM a few mornings ago was about the expected salary of fresh graduates in Malaysia. It ranges from RM3.5k all the way to RM6k. Many called in with comments and I think everyone was condemning these unrealistic expectations. Allow me to share a real story just a few years ago, told to me by my marketing manager. Following was the conversation, after the fresh graduate has stated her salary expectations:

My friend:  May I know why you put RM4,500 as your expected salary? You are only a fresh graduate.

Interviewee: Oh, I have to put RM4,500 because my father gives me an allowance of RM4,000 per month. If I earn anything lower, he will ask why do I need to work.

My friend: (Unsure whether to cry or laugh at her answer)

For me, I would just like to ask these fresh graduates, if they are the ones hiring, would they be willing to pay these salaries. I know, these days the argument is always about why is the pay only increasing by nearly nothing for so many years. Malaysia is such a bad place for fresh graduates. Haha. Allow me to share the few countries where the property markets are already internationally known and all three considered developed markets. Yes, even the property prices have reached price levels beyond many.

Hong Kong: The median monthly income for fresh graduates have DROPPED by almost 20 percent when compared to 20 years ago. Real case confirmed by even the Melody FM anchor, Chui Ling. Her pay then was higher than the pay of fresh graduates in Hong Kong today. An actual study based on the data from Census and Statistics Department on the salaries of fresh graduates was done by New Forum and New Youth Forum. In 1993, the salary was HK$13,158 and by 2013, it has dropped 17 percent to just HK$10,860. Property prices? Read here:
Hong Kong is very expensive. Fresh cooling measures

Singapore: Reported in Straitstimes.com on 28th February 2015, Median salary for fresh graduates in 2014 was $3,200. Quite a good number indeed. The only issue is that you better be staying with your parents because even rental for a room would already take up a huge chunk of the salary.  Note, if however you can change your lifestyle and stay in JB instead and commute daily, then your salary is going to be very attractive. Personally, not for me. For those who wanted to say HDB flats are so cheap….. ok……

London: According to highfliers.co.uk  It said, “Graduate starting salaries at the UK’s leading graduate employers are expected to increase for the second year running in 2015, reaching a median of
£30,000
 for the first time.” Monthly is thus around
£2,500.
Pretty good salary especially for those who want to buy a car. Note that the same thing applies. As long as the fresh graduates are not thinking about buying a property, it should be fine. Renting a room? It’s easily
£600 – 800 per month.

Sorry if you think I want to tell you that these countries are worse than Malaysia for fresh graduates. I seriously do not think they are worse. I just want to remind all fresh graduates again. Life’s tough in ALL or at least majority of the countries for fresh graduates who are just starting. In fact it’s extremely tough for majority to escape from the rat race into entrepreneurship for example. Majority of all fresh graduates would only graduate into a full-time employee paid normal pay until they retire. The best part is however, opportunities are available. Two weeks ago, I went to the wedding of a close young friend in Penang. His age? Barely 30. He’s already a senior manager in one of the Big 4 accounting firms. He completed his ACCA when he was just 21 years old. Worked extremely hard, always learn from many mentors and has also built up a property portfolio.

Compared to him, I may not be much but I also graduated at the age of 21, first salary was just RM1,750 and bought my first property at the age of 25. For the first few years, I saved like crazy and buying that first Ericsson phone took days of thinking. Some days in a month, it was just Gardenia bread with kaya and margarine. I survived. My close friend thrived. If you are a fresh graduate and you read till here, I think you understand what I am trying to tell you. We determine our own success and surprisingly, it has very little to do with our first pay. Happy working.

written on 18 Dec 2015

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Startups: Focus back on fundamental; profitability and not subsidy.

Will write this so that I can look back in the future.

If we have no idea how it works, then that is not an investment

I have been investing for the last 24 years I think. I started buying unit trust way back in 2020. Haha. I continue to be invested in the stock market and the amount remain substantial. I do NOT look at my stocks every minute, hour and day. Call me lazy, call me busy or even just say I know what I am reallying buying into. I also have no cryptocurrency. I do not understand it enough.

How to understand start-ups?

Today, we talk about start-ups. You know, the ones with super high valuations?The ones they call “unicorns”?  Ever higher valuations and yet not profitable even after over 5 years? The ones where new investors pump ever money and pushing the valuation ever higher? Well, if you notice recently, even the profitable ones are announcing their retrenchment plans yeah. Theese profitable ones grew their headcounts too fast or they were just too optimistic with their future and thus overhired.

Cannot keep losing money and more money kept coming in yeah

The ones which continue to run losses have already started letting people go for some time now. Go google yeah. By the way, I do not sway here and there. My views about startups which are just simply having ever higher valuations? I wrote this article in June 2017.
Internet stocks? However high, watch for profitability, first
  Too many people were too crazy with investing into these startups which has suddenly become big.

It’s about what you do and not how much money you have to keep subsidizing!

Companies must focus on becoming profitable. Not keep subsidizing and subsidizing and then saying that they are having higher market shares!  They hope that their competitors would die and then they can start charging higher. Hey, focus on providing better service and NOT attracting people with just lower prices because your investor has deep pockets to keep subsidizing…

I wrote another article in Dec 2020.
I wonder if one day people would realise valuation on startups (after 5 years) should be based on profits…?
  I reiterated that startups must focus on profitability. I do not care if you agree with me or not yeah.

A responsible CEO builds the company, not kept pushing numbers to get higher valuations!

Of course, these days, many executives are forced to do that same modus operandi. Push up market shares, show the potential of the company (never mind if all the new business came in because of subsidies…). Chances are there would be some investors looking for higher returns and they may just invest their money because they believe in the near future, someone would buy their shares for more money. The cycle continues until the company really turns profitable or collapses.

If a start-up cannot be profitable because of the service or the product alone, then this is NOT healthy

Company B: They launched promotion. We must quickly launch a promotion and we must make the promotion more attractive to attract buyers.

Company A: It seems that they are launching a counter promotion to counter our promotion. Their deal is more attractive, let’s do a better one then them. Throw in some freebies!

Company B: Oh dear, they are throwing in freebies! We need better freebies than them. Add in some extra giveaways too.

These continue and people say it benefits the consumers. Sorry yeah, it does NOT benefit consumers because the subsidy which went into these could have been invested into proper companies instead which could have created more jobs, could have pushed economic multipliers and many more. However, when it goes into subsidies, it benefits that small group of people until the company goes bankrupt and now the whole market collapses.

Am I the minority? I think so

They say election is won when the majority has spoken. Just remember that even in the salary range statistics, a small number earns many times more than the majority of everyone in the country. Majority of all companies could be earning profits but only a small number may earn extraordinary profits. I have no issues at all to be a minority yeah. Oh yeah… this is what Warren Buffet said,
“Risk comes from not knowing what you are doing.”

Happy investing and all the best.

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Statistically speaking, positive numbers and news

It’s unusual that there are slightly more good news than bad news about Malaysia currently. Somehow, even though I am quite positive but majority of the news I read are usually negative. From the currency depreciation to the slowdown in economy and the downtrend in property transactions and last but not least all those dying or half-dead malls. Familiar news right? Okay, statistically speaking, the ringgit has been one of the best performers currently and is said to be at 6 months high or today a top banker said in an article in TheStar that the ringgit should rally to 8 month high soon. Here’s the full article in
TheStar: Malaysian ringgit to rally to eight month high, top banker said.
I think the banks are also pretty happy because most of them have released a positive set of numbers, all are up. Here’s an earlier article:
When banks show better results, it’s a good sign

What about the GDP growth for Malaysia? 18 months ago, World Bank said that Malaysia’s GDP would slow down in 2016 because the government will try to keep the fiscal deficit goal. At the same time, 2017 growth would moderate too. Here’s that article in
themalaymail: Malaysia GDP growth set toslow in 2016
 By the end of 2016 which was 6 months ago, World Bank said it expects the Malaysian economy to stay resilient even if there are concerns. Here’s that article in
 FreeMalaysiaToday.
 When we read all these predictions by World Bank researchers / economists, the theme has been one of growth. Not at all negative since 18 months back. Recently, World Bank seems to think positively of us. It has revised upwards on its projections for the GDP growth for Malaysia for 2017 and 2018. It now expects the GDP growth to be 4.9 percent for 2017. It expects both 2018 and 2019 to return more positive numbers but we can revisit these later. For now, read what it says about Malaysia for 2017.
NST article here. World Bank revises Malaysia GDP forecast, up 4.9 percent.

Malaysia has also been ranked as the third best in terms of retail development. The survey did not come from any XXX company. It came from A T Kearney. Here’s what it says in full.
Article in theedgemarkets.com
 In brief, the superb ranking is because of
an influx of tourists,

higher disposable income and government investments in infrastructure, all of which have provided a boost to the retail industry. Due to the increase in number of tourists, the retail sales growth for 2017 should beat that of 2016. This is according to the Malaysian Retail Chain Association (MRCA) president Datuk Gerry Chua. Full article in
themalaymailonline here.
Our neighbour’s most prominent newspaper also reported that those foreign funds which ‘ran away’ when Bank Negara Malaysia tried to stem speculative activities with the ringgit many months BACK are now BACK. (Pun intended…) Full article in
StraitsTimes here: Foreign investors who fled ringgit crackdown returning.
The use of the word ‘crackdown’ is unfortunate but as long as it’s positive, oklah, will accept.

No one has any idea how all these positive developments can continue. Let’s just hope it’s the start of another phase of growth. Another good sign? Job titles. Based on the all those new job titles that companies are hiring today, I do think we have ever more highly paid jobs. Some examples in the image from
jobstreet.com.my.
These are jobs paying over RM20,000 or higher. Now you know why people can still afford to buy new cars and new properties? By the way, employment numbers would always be another key indicator as to whether the economy is moving up or moving down. More higher paying jobs mean more disposable income or it could be the other way round. Do note though that there are people losing their jobs and there’s a potential for another mega merger between RHB and AMBANK which may mean some rationalisation of workforce is coming in the future. Keep investing. Stop speculating or gambling yeah.

written on 9 June 2017

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Staying for 50 years, landowners should pay ‘adequate compensation’

I read a piece of news about Penang which got me thinking. Should illegal squatters be compensated because they have been squatting for more than 50 years when the landowner decides to do something with the land? If yes, what would be a proper or adequate compensation? Is giving them a token sum, enough for them to buy a low-cost home be considered adequate? Or must the landowner provide them a place to stay instead of money? I think it is in every party’s benefit to have some of these put in place. Why do I say so?

Well, Bukit Bendera MP Zairil Khir Johari and Tanjung Bungah assemblyman Teh Yee Cheu said that villagers in Kampung Mutiara Batu Ferringhi deserves proper compensation since these villagers have been staying in the village for 50 years. They said this because these residents, numbering 1,000 have been served an eviction notice by the landowner. They hoped the landowner would do this based on humanitarian grounds. The only thing both of them did not mention was what would be considered an adequate compensation. Both of them also urged the state government not to approve any development on the two plots of lands until these villagers are properly compensated.  Well, a proper intervention aiming at a win-win situation is on the way. Penang Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Rashid Hasnon had sent a letter requesting the landowner for a discussion.

Personally, I sympathise with these villagers because they have not many avenues to fight against this eviction. In fact, they would lose and even the two assemblymen said the same thing which was why they were appealing based on humanitarian grounds. However, I also feel that because nothing is a certainty here, everyone may also be asking for things which are way too much from the landowners. This is nothing more than a commercial business transaction where the new landowner needs the land. Perhaps this is time that the assemblymen concerned can bring this up in Parliament and get it properly legislated? If they are able to, Penang state can lead the way for all the rest to follow. This is possible because the power to approve projects actually rests with the state government. Let’s read on and see what happens.

written on 14 Aug 2015

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Staying further away is a fact of life, everywhere

These days, I seldom argue with those who kept talking to me about the usual, traditional areas which are already a hotspot. I would just tell them to buy if they love that area. They would tell me that they are considering it because the developer was selling it for just RM750 per sq ft while all the rest of the surrounding developments were already priced higher. Since it’s such a good deal, I think they should buy it. It’s just not my cup of tea, that’s all. Today, let me bring you to some real happenings all over the world, even in those markets where everyone regard as more advanced than Malaysia.

In Singapore, due to the prices becoming extremely high, for example SGD1 million for just one HDB flat. The buyers are much more willing to consider places which are secondary. For example, areas which are far away from Orchard or CBD area. No idea how expensive? Read here:
SGD955,000 for a 14-year old flat in Singapore

Now, for those who wants to argue that the transportation system in Singapore is so effective, it is okay to stay further away! I agree totally to this statement but a further question would reveal that almost everyone would have loved to stay right next to the place that they work and not somewhere far away where they have to wake up early, rush to the MRT station and standing for 40 minutes to reach their office and repeating this everyday. One real reason why they are willing to stay further away is simply because it’s too expensive for the nearer ones.

In Australia, perhaps we use Melbourne as an example since I have quite a few friends who have migrated there and have settled happily there. This is the usual median price there. Read here:
Crazily hot, 28% of Melbourne apartments bought by foreigners

A usual question to many of these friends would reveal that majority of them own a landed property there which is great because until today I am still staying in a high-rise unit. A further question would reveal that they are mostly staying in suburbs which meant that the distance they travel daily to work is definitely longer than my current 21km. Oh yeah, 21km is already considered extremely far for many of my colleagues. I just smile these days. Given a choice, do we seriously think anyone would want to stay far away from their working place?

Last but not least Dubai. According to one recent article, the investment bankers, lawyers and top managers at multi-nationals are earning seven figure salaries and these are the ones staying within the expatriate neighbourhoods. According to property consultant JLL, for the other expats including architects, accountants and IT managers to legal secretaries and HR executives who earn just 10,000-30,000 UAE dirhams (US$2,720-US$8,170) a month, they have to stay in cheaper neighbourhoods. For example, run-down areas near Dubai’s creek and parts of the city’s outskirts such as International City and Dubai Outsource Zone. Some even stay in Sharjah, which are more than an hour’s drive away during rush hour and lacks every creature comfort such as dining, shopping and nightlife that Dubai has.

Truth is, there is nothing wrong with staying further away. This is a fact of life and everyone should just start looking and stop waiting or pushing up the prices of that few popular neighbourhoods. It’s not the first choice but perhaps some inconvenience in terms of duration may be small compared to the prices that one would have to pay today or in future. Oh yeah, we can also think duration and not just distance. Read here:
It’s the duration, not the distance, ok?

As of now, choices are still plenty especially for secondary but as usual, the slightly better secondary areas would join the ranks of hotspots while the rest of the other areas grow slowly. I hope my friend would not come to me again with the theory of buying at RM750 per sq ft and selling it at 30% up at over RM1,000 per sq ft when it’s completed. I would still wish her the best because truth is, there are still many who are determined to buy in those more ‘upscale’ neighbourhoods even if they have to pay through their nose. For Chinese, it’s called, ‘Got Face’ mah. Happy deciding.

written on 4 Oct 2015

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Staying in a police station and paying RM59,430 per night?

I am not sure about you but I would not want to stay overnight in the police station. I think the closest I ever got to do that was enjoying a dinner in a Prison-themed restaurant in Penang. I believe it has since closed down. This must be just me because in the Great Scotland Yard, London’s first police station would be undergoing a £50 million refurbishment. It will be turned into a seven-storey ultra-luxurious hotel. The rooms would set you back a whopping £10,000 (RM59,430) a night. If there are NO demand, how could the price be so high? It’s really funny to pay so much to get ‘arrested’ for a night. Haha.

Well, according to the developer, for the refurbishment, they’ll preserve the building’s Edwardian Imperial red brick and stone facade as well as its name, The Great Scotland Yard. This is definitely needed, or else the hotel would just be another typical hotel and definitely cannot fetch such a premium for one nights stay. The decor inside would be “contemporary and stylish”. As with many of the special or iconic developments, it would have some foreign components. This project is a collaboration between Abu Dhabi-based property conglomerate Lulu Group International and London develop Galliard Homes. If we start saving money today, perhaps we can afford the flight and a stay in the hotel when it opens in early 2017.

I am not sure how many Malaysians would know about Jack the Ripper but it is within this police station that police officers tried to solve the grisly murders committed. Oh yeah, Jack the Ripper was never captured and the case remain unsolved. This is also the police station which was immortalised by authors such as Charles Dickens and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who wrote Sherlock Holmes. So I think where history is concerned, this police station turned hotel is really rich. No wonder then that it’s rooms are only for the super-rich. 🙂   Yeah, happy staying and if you are there, kindly take photos and post in your Facebook yeah.

written on 30th July 2015

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Staying with family, thus no property yet

Recently, a foreign bank invited me to share about the property market. I arrived slightly late but I think they were very interested and everyone was already seated. After the sharing in which some participated actively, some took notes, some took photos and some just nodded, the event ended and everyone adjourned for dinner. I spoke with a few of the participants and it validated my personal understanding. Majority of the younger ones do think property is important but majority did not yet buy any. Main reason during this particular session? Staying with family. This is the same reason that I got from friends in Penang too. In fact it was the parents who told them, ‘no need to buy, save the money and stay with us’ First of all, be reminded that
buying a place
 and moving out of your parents house need not be at odds with one another.

Many of the participants were even older than me and since the participation was voluntary, I think their reason was more of validating what they knew or heard. There were a few who expected
property bubble to burst
 very soon and I shared with them that no one can be sure but I already know of one friend who sold his property, kept the cash and is now renting because he truly believe the time may be soon that he can ‘sapu’ the properties once the bubble bursts. In my talk, I highlighted that a few years ago, the risks were not that many but recent developments were all pointing to a
potentially risky investment especially for luxury ones

and not for own stay or secondary ones for rental. Australia property market, London property market and even the Singaporean market has continuously been connected to potential bubble bursting. This has continuously been denied with reasons by the governments of the respective countries.

The talk ended on a good note. I think the interest level is high. I wrote about this before.
Property market is slowing. Agree. However, there are today MORE interested people.
 The actions would determine the successful ones compared to the slower ones. In fact one asked me about Gold Investment and said, ‘but gold prices are dropping’. I smiled. Why would you want to only buy when prices are going up?
If it is up, when do you know when to buy?
 Also cleared the myth of ‘I will buy when the bubble burst’. If you did not dare to buy during good times, you seriously think you dare to buy during bad times? Lots of many other questions which I will continue to answer in the next few articles.

Do note, even if you are staying with your parents, nothing should stop you from buying a property. In fact it should encourage you to buy. Unless you have used up all the savings for Iphone or Samsung Notes or even an amazingly fancy car which you have to continuously spend even more to maintain and run. Happy learning.

written on 30 October 2014

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Steps to start your property investment

Assuming that you have accumulated sufficient downpayment for a property. We also assume that you have a stable job which will enable the bank to approve your mortgage loan. What would be the next step that you should take?

Goal / Objective: Understand why you
want to buy in the first place
. There are so many different objectives that you may have. For example, you may want to retire earlier. Or you may want to buy one property for each of your children. Set something which is very important to you and remind yourself about it everyday.

Decide on a strategy: Focus on property rental or potential capital appreciation? The former meant most of the time, it is secondary property play and the latter, buying the right
new property in the right location
 certainly helps tremendously. If you say I focus on both rental and capital appreciation, you are too good for this article already. Skip reading and perhaps start sharing. 🙂

Homework time: If it is your first time in swimming do you jump into the pool directly? Perhaps, if it is a 1.4 metre pool and you are 1,7metre, then maybe. Otherwise, do your homework. Start
reading on property related news
 / articles. Subscribe to a property magazine, perhaps Property Insight Malaysia. Subscribe to newsletters from propertyguru, iproperty and any other free stuffs you can find online. Buy one property book, finish reading it and buy another and then another. Names such as Milan Doshi, Azizi Ali, Renesial would spring into mind as the more famous ones. Alternatively, skip all these and go direct to the professional workshops costing a few thousand RM. That would catapult you right into the ‘know what is property investment’ almost immediately. If you ask me, I prefer the slow and steady route though.

View, View, View: Once you are familiar with how property investment works, start to view units. The more the better as you learn a lot during these viewings. Note the surrounding, the route leading to the property, types of properties, what are nearby, what about the traffic condition, is it nearby MRT, etc. My personal opinion, view 20 before deciding when you first started. If you viewed enough, you should be able to decide objectively.

Offer and Negotiate: If you think you have viewed enough and have decided on a very attractive one, do call the agent and tell the agent to negotiate for the best for you. Tell him specifically that if it hits your target price you would buy. There’s nothing wrong to give a discount offer of up to 10% though you are unlikely to get it but no one ever tried 20% discount. If I am the owner, I would tell the agent to stop listening to your calls. Be serious. If you are not, sooner or later, the agent community would know who you are. You are in this for long term, why tarnish your image right at the beginning?

Reminder. Nothing is easy. If it is easy, why would people pay thousands of RM to listen to a 2 or 3-day workshop? If it is easy why are so many friends discourage you from buying? If it is easy, there are no need for any property magazines or sites. You just bring along a banner to any apartment, hold it up and surely some owners would see it and walked down and offer to sell to you.

The best part about property investment is, you get better as you go along, as long as you are not the impatient type because property is not a gamble. It is a long term investment just like your unit trust. Surely you do not call your unit trust agent every few days and ask him how is your unit trust doing?!

Happy investing.

written on 12 Jan 2014.

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Alternatively, do read the
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Is there really such a thing as BBB today?

BBB has nothing to do with Malaysia’s rating. It’s a term in the property market called buy, buy, buy. I think it must have started during the crazy times of yesterday. When queues started days before. Well, I read from  quite a famous Facebook property page that a new property is about to be launched in the Klang Valley. Despite it’s huge number of units which was over 2,000 units, it will be
BUY, BUY, BUY
. As usual, the entry point is considered affordable as it is around RM500,000.

My question is, are there really still projects where it’s BBB? Truth is, for BBB to happen, it must also be supported by real demand. Those who really want the unit for own stay. If it’s only for the investors, then once the whole block is
filled with these ‘investors,’
 it becomes a whole block of speculators instead. In terms of demand, it’s still way above what the market can supply sufficiently. However, current situation? There’s way too many negative people who are also affecting everyone within and outside Malaysia. The economy just grew 4.9% in Q 2015 but already the comments are focussing on when is Malaysia going into a recession. So, how could there be BBB today?

Granted, perhaps the concept is really very nice. Perhaps the developer is well known to be a good one. Perhaps the location is also not that bad. Perhaps ever unit comes with 2 car parks
which many secondary properties do not provide.

However, to anyone who is visiting the property showcase of today, at least know a bit on those who are buying. Understand the prices per sf. The first giveaway is usually a higher price per sf than what you would pay  BUT then the developer would give you a rebate. Come on, BBB situations do not really need
big rebates right?
 Haha. Second giveaway? Very low downpayment. If I am really serious about buying and it’s BBB situation, no developer would want to take a very small downpayment.

Third giveaway? That’s when every agent whom you know and you see in Facebook are telling you about that BBB project. Seriously,if the project is good, there is a need to appoint just one agency since majority of developers do not have a big sales team. However, I would be very wary but two different agents from two different agencies are telling me about the same project. Sorry guys, BBB does not apply for this situation ok. Look at how fast the news travel today. If it’s indeed attractive, it’s known already. Period.

Not true? It’s okay, the prices per sf of new launches today are already considered okay and unless
Malaysia really spins into a recession
 for many years, the prices would still move up slowly. Hopefully when your unit is completed, even if you have paid high price per sf for it, perhaps the market acceptance then is better. As for BBB situation, NO, I do not agree there’s such a thing anymore. However, if you are buying for your own need and you are thinking really objectively, then everything should be just fine whether it’s today or tomorrow. Oh yeah, BBB should just stand for ‘Better Beware Brother’ Haha. Happy buying.

written on 15 Aug 2015

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Still buying property? There are lots of bad news, actually.

These days, when people talk about property, they point to the lower transaction numbers. They point to the potential oversupply in Iskandar. They talk about the units without lights at night which meant that potentially prices will fall. Everything seemed to happen domestically. Have we forgotten about the world? How about the war in Middle East. The one by Islamic State (IS) which is attracting fanatics from all over the world to join their war against everyone who does not conform to their beliefs? Arrests in many countries including Malaysia. There are definitely the possibilities of terrorist attacks in many of these countries which are in confrontations with the IS.

China is trying to warm up its way too cold property market which is killing the weaker developers and threaten to bring down its economy. Success of such a measure is not a certainty though as everyone knows, China has the largest reserves in the world and is considered the world’s engine. I am not so sure if any country would want them to fail. US grew 4% last quarter. What an amazing growth for a developed nation but annually, the growth is expected to be just marginal and the 4% is unlikely to continue in Q3. Singapore’s property market has already dropped where prices are concerned. HDB prices expected to drop close to double digit by end of this year versus one year ago while the luxury condos has already seen double digit drop. All these three are closely related to Malaysia. So, if they are not doing that well, should we not be worried?

Malaysian stock market has fallen for past few weeks. Foreign funds are dumping shares weekly. Fortunately, these positions are supported by domestic funds and even people like you and me. Yes, recently I have bought a few more stocks that I like. All these are bad news, actually. So, are you still buying property? Well, my friend asked me the other day if I am still buying properties. I told him my answer remained the same. When you buy objectively, anytime is a good time to buy. I am not sure if I am right but I think when markets are slow, that’s when you may find bargains and not the other way round. At this moment, I am still saving but hopefully I can buy another secondary property within the next few months.

Never stop reading and knowing what is happening. If all the bad news above become worse news, you may want to take precautionary and defensive actions. Happy reading.

written on 16 Oct 2014

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This is Malaysia’s stimulus to fight effects of COVID-19

Many governments have announced their COVID-19 stimulus packages to help the economic growth which has been badly affected by COVID-19. This includes Hong Kong’s stimulus:
Hong Kong’s budget to combat COVID-19
  and our close neighbour Singapore’s measures:
Singapore’s budget to combat COVID-19
  I think both have their own advantages and both gave out cash to the people.

When the people spend this cash, they will help the consumption for goods and services and it should help in economic growth due to the multiplier effects from the spending. So, what would be Malaysia’s stimulus for COVID-19? Do we also have cash for the people to spend? Well, yes but not to all Malaysians. Then again there are measures which will help to put more money back into the people’s pockets. Take a look at it here.

Article in thestar.com.my
  Our interim Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has unveiled the RM20bil stimulus package to offset the fallout from the Covid-19 coronavirus. The stimulus package has three strategies: counter Covid-19 impact, boost people-based growth, encourage quality investments. Some selected ones as follows:

For businesses:

Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN) provides RM200 million micro credit at 4% interest rate
Postponement of income tax monthly installments for income tax allowed for tourism-related companies
Bank Negara Malaysia provides RM2 billion guaranteed financial aid for SMEs at 3.75% interest rate
Temporary six months discount of as much as 15% for electricity bills for hotels, tourism agencies, airlines, and shopping centres
Securities Commission Malaysia and Bursa Malaysia will waive listing fees for one year, for companies seeking listing on Leading Entrepreneur Accelerator Platform (LEAP) or Access, Certainty, Efficiency (ACE) markets, as well as companies with market capitalisation of less than RM500 million seeking listing on the Main Market

For / from the people:

Minimum EPF contribution by employees to be reduced by 4% from 11% to 7%, with effect from Apr 1 to Dec 31, 2020. This will potentially unlock up to RM10 billion worth of private consumption. Malaysian workers have the option to opt out from the scheme and maintain their contribution rate.
A payment of RM200 to all Bantuan Sara Hidup (BSH) recipients scheduled for May 2020 will be brought forward to March 2020. An additional RM100 will be paid into the bank accounts of all BSH recipients in May 2020. Subsequently, an additional RM50 will be channelled in the form of e-tunai.

The full list could be viewed here at
Article in thestar.com.my

If we look at the effects, one measure which could help tremendously would be the reduction in EPF contribution. Then again, I think many may choose to maintain their contributions instead because taking the money out means they will not get the interest on these contributions next year when EPF announces the dividend again.
Here’s that earlier announcement on EPF dividend.

For many of the other measures, it will have to also depend on the sentiment in the market. If we own a business and there are some uncertainties in the market, we may choose not to expand yet and wait till the situation is better first. An interesting one is definitely the waiver of listing fees. Let’s see how many companies will take advantage of this and quickly try their best to get listed this year. We have to also note that some companies may prefer to list when the market is more bullish yeah. I just hope that the COVID-19 will soon be under control in all other countries because the virus seems to be under control in China already.

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Stimulus to revitalise the property market?

Remember the recent confusion about foreign buyers of property in Malaysia? Here is a strong view from Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents immediate past-president Siva Shanker, “I think our property market has been in a negative territory for so many years now. The thing to do is to introduce stimulus, not restrictions, even at Forest City. When you have too much speculation, then you can introduce restrictions. But the days of introducing restrictions are gone. Overall, although I don’t have statistics to back me up, I do not think foreign participation in the Malaysian property market is so high that it warrants concerns. However, we need to look at this holistically. We cannot take the whole country and use it as a ratio. Perhaps, there are concerns that there are too many foreigners in Forest City and that it will become a foreign city.” His views were published in an
Article in NST here.

He further reiterated the need for the government to introduce stimulus to revitalise the property market. He further shared that Johor may have higher foreign participation than any other states but this is because Singaporeans are buying there and also due to mega projects that have attracted foreigners.  He agrees that it is not right to offer visas to foreigners who buy properties in Malaysia but foreign property participation in the market is good for the industry. According to
Country Garden PacificView Sdn Bhd executive director Datuk Md Othman Yusof, Forest City is an international project. With regards to the issue of ‘too many’ foreign buyers in Johor, he disagrees. He said,
“By and large, I do not think such a problem exist. Perhaps it exists in Johor, but if you take the whole of Malaysia and average it out, i don’t think there is a problem.” Currently, China buyers accounted for about two-thirds of the owners of Forest City units sold so far. A few reasons they bought include relocation to Forest City, as a place to retire and as a long-term investment. Here’s that
Article in NST for reference.

I personally believe instead of debating on the number of residential units which are coming up, it’s even more important to start sharing about the number of new industries opening up in Iskandar. The number of new jobs for example will be a very important factor to determine if the current number of residential units is healthy or is way too many for the next couple of years. From reports, there has also been higher number of tourists visiting Johor Bahru due to the many theme parks. Beyond just these, what about the education institutions. Surely the management of these schools, colleges and universities did not decide to open in Iskandar simply because the land is cheap? Once these become more transparent, the discussion will become much more beneficial. Another matter would be the RTS between Singapore and JB. Personally that’s a huge catalyst to the Johor property market too. Hopefully the relevant parties will keep everyone updated. Happy following.

written on 17 Sept 2018

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Stock down? Stock up!

Recently, Bursa has been very volatile with a downward bias. Most days and majority of all the stocks are down. Foreign selling is still continuing and recently, the support and interest amongst the locals have been increasing. I think this is a good sign or is this the beginning of the end? Even Ringgit was not spared and the real cause was said to be the falling oil price which will affect the economy. Thus, with oil prices down, everyone is afraid and is rushing for a safer currency and that is US$. How convenient right? Ok, when stocks are down, let’s stock up! No, that’s not from me. That’s from many people who continuously quoted the famous quote of, ‘be brave when others are fearful and be fearful when others are ‘crazy’. (I changed a bit but meaning’s the same). Is the time now? Let’s refer to the guru in stock market and some of the things he said before.

Everyone knows Warren Buffet. Many of us have read some books written to tell us how he invests. On and off we see quotes which are attributed to him and we would go, ‘wah…’. Two examples I love a lot: “Buy into a company because you want to own it, not because you want the stock to go up.” Another one: “People have been successful investors because they’ve stuck with successful companies. Sooner or later the market mirrors the business.” Until today, I still cannot say that I can follow all but in terms of fundamental investing I think I am following pretty closely. For the past many years, I have stopped buying any stock because someone told me to buy, even if that someone is richer than me. The very last 2 times I did that, I lose money. Plain simple. If I did not understand and I buy and I profited, that’s luck. I think I was not lucky in those two times. Today, BURSA is very volatile, mostly negative anyway. I did a survey just weeks ago, and written an article on it. It seems nearly everyone is not interested in buying shares and majority said they lost money. Article is here:
Is stock market scary for many? It does seem so.

This brings us to the question of should we buy or not buy? Should we not wait for market to be stabilised before buying? I always ask myself three questions before I buy. Of course I would do research etc but I have only three questions before I buy.

1) Is it a business I personally understand? For example, if I am buying a semi-conductor company, do I know what kind of products are they producing, which are their export markets etc? If I am buying stocks of a property developer, do I know what cycle are they in today? Just launching? Already halfway building the properties? Near to completion and delivery of their latest project? Well, I do not buy both these types of companies because I could not know for sure.

2) Is it profitable? If yes, does it have good margins? Return on investment is very important. Thus, if a company has a profit margin of just a few percentage points, I am worried too. What if the market slows? This would affect it easily. Should we then look for companies with only high margins? Not true all the time but between a low margin and a high margin, please tell me your choice? 🙂   If it is not profitable, I would skip immediately even if my best friend tells me that within 2 years, the company would boom. It’s ok, there are way too many companies to choose from.

3) Debt-Level.  There are many types of companies with huge operating expenditure.  For example, does the company need to buy ever more equipments to get ever higher profits? If they incur such high debts, what would happen when the market slows? For example, airlines need to buy new planes all the time so that they can expand their routes and offer connectivity. They may be looking at record profits etc but their debt level would always be pretty high unless they intend to continue using old planes or stop expanding.

Once it passes these three levels, I would then look at its management team, cash reserves, net tangible assets etc. Oh yeah, I must admit well in advance that I do not understand as much as any of the professional brokers or analysts from the research houses. However for the three questions above, I understand as much as anyone in the market. Should we buy now or should we buy later? Actually, the three questions above would already give you the answer. Even during economic slowdowns or recessions, there are still companies which are considered safe. For example, poultry related, food processing, alcohol, pharmaceutical and more. However, even during good times, you have also seen companies going bust because they were not well managed etc. Thus, the question is never when is the best time to buy. The question should be what is the best company to buy. Just buy and leave it there until its its share price mirrors its business.

Oh yeah, if you expect to earn fast money, going to casino is faster than buying stocks. Alternatively, online betting, informal football betting and more. So, when stocks are down, stock up. Happy waiting, listening or buying during current volatility.

written on 31 Dec 2014

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Stock market is still attractive for me.

I read a good article about the state of the stock market. In brief, it gives a frank overview cum assessment of where the stock market stands against all the other competing investments (for our money since it’s limited). Here’s that article by Ben Shane Lim in
TheEdgeMarkets.com: Cover Story: When the stock market can’t compete
  If anyone happened to read such concise articles, please share yeah. Many times, articles which are too short may not explain enough and the overly long ones are usually skipped. So, is the stock market in trouble then? Ben compared the stock market versus these three other alternatives: Cryptocurrency, property and small businesses. First of all, he says that based on the latest figures from Bursa Malaysia, retailers accounted for only 14.6% of the value traded last month. The rest are institutional investors. He compares this to the Stock Exchange of Thailand where 40-45 percent of the trading participation is by retailers. he says that perhaps institutionalisation of the Bursa Malaysia has made it more boring.

Source: TheStar.com.my

Cryptocurrency meanwhile has had its ups and downs and the major advantage the cryptocurrency has would be the extremely high volatility which meant that speculators can make (or lose) huge amounts of money in a relatively short period of time. He says that this is something the stock market, at least the local one, is not able to offer.
(I personally would not prefer to go into the stock market by trying to speculate on some stocks and either gain big or lose big. When we look at the stock market changes, even for today (23 Feb 2018), the % of rise is still huge, for the top 10 most active stocks. Imagine buying a stock in the morning and gaining 50 percent by the end of the day? NOTE: It may also be a LOSS of 50 percent by the end of the day. So, I think volatility wise, it really depends on the individual stock itself. Perhaps buying some bluechip counter would be less exciting. )

He then compared the stock market to property prices. Since 2009, the House Price Index (HPI) has risen by a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.88 percent. (This is definitely very healthy because it’s higher than even
EPF’s return over the past 5 or 10 years.
)  He says that people looking for stable returns may find a safe haven in property versus stocks. Besides that, banks may finance up to 90% of the value of a property. This made property awesome because of the benefits from leveraging. Besides that, this has been helped by the low interest rates for the past decade. In fact he gave lots of different calculations.
Please do refer to the article by Ben Shane Lim in TheEdgeMarkets here.
(Personally, I think as long as we did not buy the wrong property, or bought at the wrong price or from a wrong developer, everything should be just fine. So property investment does have its own risks too. Stocks in the BURSA Malaysia meanwhile would have lots of coverage from analysts and this may provide more clarity on the company that we buying into before we actually buy them. By the way, property investment is extremely illiquid too and takes a lot of time too)

Last but not least he says that the wave of young entrepreneurs mean that there are a lot more choices for investors. Whether they are start-ups or new cafés or fund raising through equity crowd-funding platforms to kickstarters, there are more and more ways for people to invest directly in smaller businesses. The more investors invest into these potential new businesses, there would be lesser investments into the stock market. (I personally think that this is more for sophisticated investors because if I am scared with buying a stock which is listed on the Bursa Malaysia, I would be even more worried to invest in some companies that I have never heard of in my life or heard it for the first time through one presentation from the founder cum CEO. Anyway, I have invested into three startups currently. Hopefully at least one of them would give me ‘crazy’ returns. 😛 )

I think Shane Ben Lim has given a very concise and objective assessment of the competitions to the stock market. I personally think that one major reason why participation is lower is also because many people are just worried about having huge losses by investing in the stock market. Thus, they may prefer to buy unit trusts instead. I still remember 2 years ago when I asked 10 friends about unit trust investment, nearly everyone said they have some money invested in them. Some would say not much profits etc

but nearly everyone has funds inside unit trust.

When it comes to stock market however, only 1 said he is active in the stock market. Another 2 said they used to buy but they lost money so both have stopped. While I did not ask but I think majority of them are also not property investors, yet because the property market had already slowed down by then. As for startups, for these 10 friends, the answer is a definitely ‘not ready’ or ‘do not know enough.’  Perhaps the main reason for not investing into stocks is simply because they have spent it all on new handbags, new handphones and even a new car. Happy investing and yes, I love the stock market, still.  If you like to read more about retail investors into BURSA Malaysia, there’s also another article in
TheEdgeMarkets by Supriya Surendran and Kathy Fong.

written on 23 Feb 2018

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What is ‘slight fatigue’ for the share market?

According to Oxford dictionary via google, this is the meaning of fatigue. “extreme tiredness resulting from mental or physical exertion or illness.” Well, if this is used to describe the share market, should we be running away in the near future?

According to financial-dictionary.thefreedictionary
, fatigue is described as “Exhaustion”. When used in the stock market potentially, this is the meaning:  “A situation in which demand has overwhelmed supply or vice versa. The term is especially used in investing when too many traders have taken a short position or a long position relative to the number of traders on the other side. This can be an indication that the price for a security has peaked (if there are too many buyers) or bottomed (if there are too many sellers).”

Okay, briefly, it says that perhaps many people (investors) have started thinking that just perhaps the stock price in the stock market may have reached the peak based on business fundamentals. Thus, perhaps it’s best not to buy and hold because the chance for it to  fall would be high. Now, moving forward when you hear anyone saying that BURSA Malaysia starts to show fatigue, you can confidently tell them what is ‘showing fatigue.’ Right? Here’s what JP Morgan is saying about the U.S. stock market.

Article in markets.businessinsider.com
 In a note to investors, JP Morgan said that investors need to more discerning over the next 6 months before markets are showing a ‘slight fatigue.’ These are the main things they said about the stock market in the second half of 2020.

Investors should be more selective over the next six months as some assets will outperform others, JPMorgan said in a recent note.
“Own anything but cash” paid off after the market crash, but that strategy could lose steam in the second half of the year, the strategists said.
The bank advised betting on COVID-19 “endgame winners” such as tech, communications, and healthcare as opposed to all cyclical or defensive stocks.

Please do read their recommendations in the article yeah.
Article in markets.businessinsider.com

There were no articles about BURSA Malaysia suffering from any ‘fatigue.’ However, foreign funds have been selling.
This was the latest news about another RM600 million being sold by foreign funds. (click to read)
 Maybe the foreign funds exited our stock market to back into their home markets? If they were returning those funds back to the U.S. then they should also heed what JP Morgan is saying too.

Have you been buying some stocks lately? Yeah, I think many friends I know have bought some stocks in recent weeks. I think many stocks are undervalued if we use their past performance as benchmark. Just need to note that past performance does not guarantee future performance and we really do have a crisis currently which is worldwide and not limited to just Malaysia or a few countries. However, when I compare it to the Fixed Deposit (FD) rates, I seriously do think the dividends may just beat the FD rates. Plus with stock, there’s that potential to sell if prices go up. With FD, it is fixed yeah.  However, if you have not read anything about any listed company, please skip the stock market. Knowing nothing means you are speculating. Please do not do it yeah.  Happy investing and stay safe.

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Anything overvalued is best skipped, stocks for example

Blue chips, blue chips. Stock market. Everyone loves them. Big names are those known by everyone and bought by everyone. Sometimes, the share price is already pushed to its maximum and yet people still buy because of EXPECTATIONS. Surely it should continue to earn ever more profits, right? This is no different from investors who kept buying those online startups which has been around for such a long time that sometimes you wonder why are they still not yet profitable? Coming back to the stock market. There is one article talking about how the world stock market is now at its highest point in 17 years. This was revealed by a Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML) survey of fund managers
Here’s the article in TheStar.
 Fortunately, emerging markets are still seen as UNDERVALUED by a large proportion of the investors polled. Yes, Malaysia is definitely under the emerging market category.

Pong Teng Siew, head of research in Inter-Pacific Securities said, “Much more caution in stock selection is necessary currently than at the start of the year. There are still value buys on Bursa Malaysia but the selection is diminishing. This makes it more likely for mistakes in stock selection to occur.” In brief, it meant that if you currently have no idea what is the current PER, it’s time to read a bit more before buying. According to 81 percent of the respondents in the BAML poll, US market is the most overvalued. (Then why is the US$ still so strong???)  44 percent thinks emerging market stocks are undervalued. According to Christopher Brightman, chief investment officer (CIO) at Research Affiliates, a sub-adviser to money managers including Pacific Investment Management Co (Pimco), Invesco Ltd and Charles Schwab Corp, ”

Stocks in emerging markets cost more than when he first made the call in February last year, but they remain an “enormous bargain.” (Be reminded, enormous bargain here is not saying every stock is a bargain….)

The Star Columnist Yap Leng Kuen sums it up best. She hopes these hot players are not caught dancing when the plug is pulled. Anyway, it’s never just stocks which are overvalued. Even properties can be overvalued. The whole area is RM1,000 per sq ft and the development you are buying is 20 percent higher. Well, there better be very valid reasons to buy such a unit. If it’s simply because you BELIEVE it’s worth it, the next buyer may not believe so. When a property is a small unit which can only be inhabited by a single occupant or at max a couple, let’s not think the sky is the limit. Unfortunately Malaysia is not Hong Kong, Singapore or even Australia. By the way, when we google, we would note that Hong Kong’s properties are already said to be extremely unaffordable, Singapore is already the city with the highest cost of living and Australia’s household debt to GDP is already 125 percent. I think this article in TheStar has reminded all of us that it is must to understand what we are really buying into. Happy reading.

written on 27 March 2017

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Investing in stocks? How about ‘net cash’ ones?

Whenever I invest in any company, I look at the business that it is in first. If I like it’s business, I would look further at its profits as well as whether they have lots of cash which they can utilise for expansion or even just to tie them over during bad times. Of course, do not just use this cash position as benchmark because truth is, they may have lots of cash simply because they do not know what to invest! Of course, net cash is definitely better than a company full of debts no matter how awesome its business model may seem. Remember, if the business model works, it should work both during good times and bad times. If it works only during good times, that’s called ‘here today, gone tomorrow,’ company. Yes, today there are lots of companies that I would put in this category within BURSA Malaysia.

In an article in a local daily, it gave a few examples of companies with net cash positions. In fact its net cash position is so much that I think these companies would be the main beneficiaries during a downturn; it can buy up lots of undervalued companies. One example is Genting group which even after deducting all of its borrowings and debts, still has RM13 billion! As a conglomerate, Genting group has businesses in leisure, hospitality, plantation and property all over the world. How much is its stock price today? As at 30 March, you can get 1 unit of Genting Group for RM8.88. What an auspicious number indeed!

Another company with a huge net cash position would be Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd which is an integrated chemicals producer. It has RM9.8bil in net cash. I think this company would be able to buy good assets when opportunities arises. This company’s parent company is pertroliam National Bhd (Petronas). Another would be a company founded by the late Tan Sri Loh Boon Siew; Oriental Holdings Bhd. It has cash amounting to RM2.26bil. Oriental Holdings is a conglomerate with businesses in automotive, palm oil, real estate, hospitality, plastics manufacturing, building materials and healthcare. Its best known business would be the distribution of Honda vehicles in Malaysia.

Should these companies be your choice instead of those companies with lower net cash positions instead? Actually, I have zero units of all three companies listed here. Major reason is because there are many other companies which are growing faster and yet still in a good net cash position. Perhaps you may also want to consider companies with high dividend yields instead? Just buy the Saturday newspaper, refer to the business section. Search for all the stocks. Look under DY or also known as dividend yield based on its history. When you see the DY being 7% or two times today’s fixed deposit rate, do learn more about the company. I think during the current uncertainty, this may be a safe investment instead of trying to guess which company’s stock price would jump suddenly. Then again,
Speculation is much faster.
Yes, you can also refer to online sites but with online sites too! A good recommended site for news and even analysis as well as rumours, take a look here: http://klse.i3investor.com/index.jsp    Happy buying.

written on 30 Mar 2015

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“Stone’s friend”, what’s the problem?

What’s in a name? Well, depending on what it actually meant, it may mean a lot. For example, the name of Batu Kawan is said to be not suitable for “the most modern satellite township in Malaysia.” Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said that when translated into English, Batu Kawan meant ‘a stone’s friend.’ This is considered inappropriate because once everything planned is completed, it would be a future metropolis in the northern region. I shall not comment on whether this would be the most modern satellite township in Malaysia but to change the name because the translation showed that it’s inappropriate?

While there was no explanation about what CM meant by “most modern” but I think some of the things happening there in the future should explain. Batu Kawan is reported to be having an IKEA store, a new Columbia Asia Hospital as well as many other residential and commercial components which would be developed in phases over a period of 10 years. It meant that by 2025, Batu Kawan or whatever its new name may be would be considered the “most modern satellite township in Malaysia.”

Coming back to the name change, is it really necessary? This is a very personal opinion, I have many friends who changed their name to something more special. Adding another alphabet for example. It was supposed to bring them better luck, more wealth etc. I found out that they have remained almost the same. The successful ones are still very successful. The not so successful ones, well I think maybe its because not a lot of people know about their new name yet. So, my conclusion is this. Make Batu Kawan a real metropolis. Have more plans to make mainland Penang be as great as the island part. Make it desirable to stay, play and display. Display meant you are proud to tell people you stay in mainland. Today, what happens is usually Penangites are more proud to stay in Greenlane versus say Relau. I am not sure where mainland is ranked at the moment for the pure islander Penangites currently.

For the actual name change, it can wait. If a very grand name is given today, it will still NOT change anything currently. Yes, I do look forward to a much more vibrant Batu Kawan because this weekend when I crossed the second bridge into Penang, there were hardly any cars. When I left Penang, I chose the first bridge instead. Hope everyone understands my meaning. If not, it’s okay, let’s focus on having a “better” name for Batu Kawan then. How about “BK Metropolis?” Happy naming.

written on 28 June 2015

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Press Release –
Stonor3 Awarded GreenRE Gold Certification (Provisional)

A golden opportunity for buyers looking to own a piece of Green Property right in the heart of Kuala Lumpur.

23 November 2018, Kuala Lumpur – Stonor 3 KLCC, a freehold development in the heart of Kuala Lumpur City Centre by Tan & Tan Developments Berhad, has been awarded a significant achievement with the GreenRE Gold Certification (Provisional) by the Real Estate and Housing Developer’s Association Malaysia (REHDA) under residential category yesterday.

Mr. Tan Yee Seng, Chief Executive Director (CEO) of Tan & Tan Developments Berhad was on hand to receive the award from Datuk Seri FD Iskandar, the Chairman of GreenRE Sdn Bhd and immediate past President of REHDA Malaysia, accompanied by Dato’ Soam Heng Choon the new President of REHDA Malaysia year 2018/2020.

Green Real Estate (GreenRE) is one of the leading Malaysian green certifications that rewards buildings designed and built to be environmentally responsible and resource efficient. It is recognized by Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water (KeTTHA), Malaysian Green Technology Corporation (MGTC), Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA) and local authorities.

This green rating tool was initiated by the REHDA in 2013 to drive the Malaysia real estate industry towards a more sustainable and livable built environment. GreenRE certified developments are required to go through a rigorous process following a set of criteria to verify that they are designed to be environmentally responsible and resource efficient.

Thoughtfully designed and constructed, the key sustainable elements in Stonor 3 that contributes to its Gold GreenRE Certification (Provisional) include:

?  Good passive design to reduce the Residential Envelope Thermal Value (RETV). Minimal window to wall ratio and the use of appropriate glazing to achieve energy efficiency and thermal comfort of the building.

?  Energy efficiency – usage of energy efficient light in all common areas; natural ventilated car park floors; energy efficient lift and air conditioning system; usage of cool paint on the exterior of the building.

?  Water efficient fittings – all sanitary wares are fitted with water efficient fittings approved by Water Efficient Product Labelling Scheme (WEPLS) and the building has rainwater harvesting system.

?  Usage of sustainable products and low volatile organic compounds (VOC) paints on the interior walls.

?  Good Greenery Plot Ratio in common areas.

?  Compost recycled from horticulture waste for landscaping planting.

?  Recycling bins for collection of different recyclable wastes.

? Green transport – provision of bicycle parking lots and car charging stations in common area.

? Green features and innovations – provision of recycle compost bins and Herb Garden.

Located within the iconic KLCC precinct, the 41-storey residential tower consists of 400 units with sizes ranging from studios (649 sq.ft.) to 3 bedrooms condominium (1232 sq.ft.). The development is due for completion in 2019.

For eco-conscious homeowners or investors looking to invest in green residence, Tan & Tan is offering a Guaranteed Rental Return (GRR) of 6% per annum for 2 years with fully fitted out units.

Interested parties should contact +603 2283 3993 or email ask@TanTan.com to find out more about the development. The Stonor 3 Showroom is open for visit from 10am to 5pm at Tan & Tan Sales Gallery, Level 8, Annexe Block, Menara IGB, The Boulevard, Mid Valley City, Lingkaran Syed Putra, 59200 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

— end of press release —

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Stop guessing what time is it. (property clock)

A good friend forwarded to me this article in
TheStar: unsold properties on the rise
 Inside the article, my friend Warrick Singh was sharing about a group of property club buyers asking for his help. They were aged between 28-42 and most of them bought two or three property units 2011. They received the keys in 2014 or 2015. Warrick shared, “They bought the properties based on what they were taught about the good debt versus bad debt principle, that buying properties is a good debt.” Warrick shared that these buyers were disgruntled now because they are unable to rent out the units to meet the monthly mortgage payments and they do not want to sell at a loss, although some have done so. They are also unhappy they have to pay for the monthly management charges and sinking fund.

Warrick shared with them about the property clock. Some call it property cycle which is roughly every seven to 10 years. He said, “Prices will not be down all the time. Just as there is a peak, there will be a bottom. That is the first thing buyers must understand. So timing is important.” In fact what is happening now is that current situation will need more time to get settled because the number of unsold units continue to rise. National Property Information Centre’s (Napic) Property Overhang Report for the second quarter 2018 showed Malaysia’s unsold and completed units at 29,227 units, valued at RM17.24bil as at June 30, 2018. A year ago, it was 20,876 units, valued at RM12.26mil.
Earlier article here on unsold units.

Warrick believes we are currently at 7 o’clock (of the property cycle clock), while the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas) senior fellow and economist Dr Carmelo Ferlito is of the view we are currently between 3 and 6 o’ clock.
Dr. Carmelo Ferlito has predicted a property bubble bursting
and has asked the government to just let it burst but just be prepared for it. Beyond just Warrick and Ferlito,
here’s another version of where Kuala Lumpur is based on property clock.
  There’s also a  much
earlier version of a property clock here.
  Perhaps this is the reason why it’s not that important to debate where we are on the property clock.
 To read the full article, please refer to the article in TheStar here.

For many seasoned investors, looking at the property clock may provide some clues as to what to expect or even the action to be taken. To most Malaysians,especially first-time home buyers, it’s even more important to understand WHY we are buying in the first place. If it’s because of our father-in-law asking us to buy before getting married, then we better buy. Haha. However, if we are thinking of buying and then flipping, then this may be easier done through the stock market and it’s by far faster too. As for those who are just looking at an affordable property, likes it and could afford it, just proceed. The property clock is not a show stopper and it should never be. There’s no need to question if prices will rise or not in the future. Here’s an earlier article:
Will affordable home prices rise?
  Everyone’s clock in terms of income versus property price may be different. Happy taking action.

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written on 20th Oct 2018

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Wait, stop speculating. Reclamation for PTMP is NOT confirmed

As everyone has read and talked and even speculated about all the potential happenings in the Penang Transport Master Plan, the Gamuda-led SRS consortium finally said something. Earlier article here:
Penang: PTMP, new airport, catalyst till 2050
  Gamuda group managing director Datuk Lin Yun Ling said that the reclamation plan is still very far away. In fact the proposal for the reclaimed land as an asset for the state to raise funds for the timely delivery of the project may or may not happen. It said that the next thing is to get the public consensus first via a public display. SRS consortium is now starting a comprehensive impact studies on the society, environment and cost and this should be completed in the next 6 months. Once these are ready, it would be displayed for the public’s feedback.

After all these are done that the payment structure would be discussed. In other words, if risks outweighs the benefits and public is against it, perhaps the plan may be changed. “It will all depend on public support,” Gamuda group managing director Datuk Lin Yun Ling told the press after its AGM and EGM yesterday. Lin said that the company understood the perception of way too many reclamation and thus the company would practise great transparency in its studies and public engagement. Two reclaimed plots known as South Reclamation Scheme would include areas spanning 930ha and 445ha. There is a third plot of 323ha identified as well but is for future demand for land activities.

I like Lin’s brief explanation on the concept. “You will only need to expand on the light rail transit Pan-Island Expressway linking Bayan Lepas to Tanjung Bungah. This is supposed to take development away from the saturated Georgetown and make development on the island more sustainable, at least, in the next 50 years.”

I believe it’s time Penang has the next catalyst after the important second bridge and UNESCO Heritage city status. Besides with the jam getting worse, there’s not a lot of time to waste. The current Penang international airport is also nearing its maximum capacity and unfortunately, building an airport from scratch CANNOT take just 2-3 years when the land for it to be built has yet to even be reclaimed. I hope the public would weigh the benefits versus the impact to the environment carefully. I would rate some minor impacts as avery small ‘investment’ so that Penang can grow for the next 50 years. Happy investing.

written on 8 Dec 2015

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Stop me travelling? I hate you IRB!

Not too long ago in Facebook I saw a friend commented that Inland Revenue Board (IRB) stopped some people from travelling because they owed tax. They said, the amount is so small, why IRB making people so inconvenient. The travellers would have already made all their plans and now the whole plan is derailed. What if the whole family is already at the airport but the father was stopped from leaving because he owed tax? Two Sundays ago, I read an article in a local daily about IRB stepping up its effort in blacklisting people who owe tax from travelling abroad. The youngest person in Malaysia prevented from travelling is just 21 years old. At 21 years old, I have not even started to pay tax and had only started working after my first degree.

My question is, even if you dislike IRB for being so ruthless, then why are you not willing to pay the tax owed? Sure, the reasons may be plenty such as you think the money is not going to be used wisely or that you only want to pay if they give you discount or whatever reasons but WHY are you not paying if that amount is really owed by you? Many years ago when I first started to earn a slightly better income as I was in sales, I told my mum that the tax I was paying is so much higher than the year before. She asked me, ‘do I want to pay higher tax with higher income or lower tax with lower income or even zero tax when I earn below the income tax bracket. The answer was very clear.

Okay, coming back to these people who may now argue that the amount owed is too small. Why the IRB is inconveniencing people? FYI, the payment can be paid online, can be paid in IRB offices, can even be paid in instalments. The notices would have been sent way earlier than the day that you are supposed to travel and the blacklisting do not happen as soon as they sent you the first notice. Oh yeah, the best reason, I DID NOT receive the notice. Great. I will let you win but I can tell you this in advance. be happy if you happen to be the one who got blacklisted and your whole family left the country with you still in the airport, very angry and frustrated and blaming IRB. Yeah, you have won the argument of not needing to take action and everyone else is wrong. As for me, I will still pay unless there’s dispute and I will go settle it with them in their office. Perhaps I am just too obedient…..

written on 21 Apr 2015

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STP2: RM1.078 billion to reclaim, GDV of RM25 billion

I stayed in Tanjung Bungah for 1 year plus and I loved my time there. However, it was only a rented home and when I needed to buy, I bought in Relau instead. Yes, it was because of affordability. Today, the focus is next to Tanjung Bungah, it’s on Seri Tanjung Pinang which is now becoming a favourite new area. It’s situated in the Tanjung Tokong area but was non existent before this. Total area reclaimed for Seri Tanjung Pinang 1 is 240 acres. It is now considered complete and even the prices of the residential homes have increased by leaps and bounds.

Reported in The Star, E&O has announced that STP2 reclamation would start end of January 2016. It said that all the approvals to comply with prevailing regulatory requirements, the key requirements and authorities’ approvals has been obtained. These included approval of the project’s detailed environmental impact assessment (DEIA) study by the Federal Department of Environment, endorsement of the STP2 masterplan and the most important one of all, the granting of the Planning Permission for STP2 reclamation by the Penang state authorities.

Tanjung Pinang Development and the Penang state government signed a supplemental agreement tot he one signed in 1992. Under this supplemental agreement, the reclamation works which started in 1997 are required to be completed by Dec 31, 2022. The company to carry this out is China Communications Construction Company (M) Sdn Bhd and the cost of this would be RM1.078bil. The award was done earlier in October 2015 to CCCC(M). cess of STP2,” it said. E&O has also secured the required banking facilities from Maybank Islamic Bank Bhd and RHB Islamic Bank Bhd to cover part of the reclamation costs as well as infrastructure costs.

For E&O’s STP1, I could still remember when the prices were at the RM600,000 level for the landed ones. Some friends asked why are there so many crazy people buying it? Well, perhaps today, those not buying would be considered ‘crazy.’ The next phase is now starting. Seri Tanjung Pinang 2. (STP2). Happy viewing.

written on 23 Jan 2016

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Straits Chinese Antique Auction (SCAA) Series 3/2018 (SCAA III)

Many people say antiques are an alternative investment. It’s also way too expensive for anyone to start. Some say better buy property lah. Some people even remarked, ‘got people know how to appreciate meh?’ Haha. Actually an awesome property can be enhanced by a good piece of antique. It’s also far easier to buy and sell a piece of antique versus a home. Beginning today, 22 June 2018, we have an opportunity now to take a closer look at some of these antique items. Drop by and speak to the staffs (MNP Auctioneers) or even to some members of the public there. Understand what’s happening to the Straits Chinese Antique scene, learn the historical value of the pieces and decide today or even a few years later if we want to bid / buy a couple of pieces.

The venue is a grand one; Carcosa Seri Negara, Kuala Lumpur. Yes, the colonial building up the hill where our Independence declaration was signed. Public preview is already open. The auction of all the items would be on Sunday (24th June 2018) at 11am.

Click here to see details for all the items.

Date : Sunday, June 24, 2018 11:00 AM

Location : Merdeka Room – Carcosa Seri Negara,Persiaran Tuanku Ja’afar, Tasik Perdana, 50480 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur Malaysia.

We often hear of some paintings or banknotes being auctioned off for huge sums of money. These auctions usually happen in some advanced economies outside Malaysia. Actually, these asset auctions are already happening in Malaysia. The actions during these auctions are hot as well because the collectors are in the market because they would like to collect / own a piece of ‘history.’ During these auctions too we could see some new collectors and even the curious public. Many would have items in their possession which may be worth having it auctioned off to the highest bidder. The sellers could also choose to sell the item to individual collectors but in all these one to one transactions, the price would often be determined by the single seller instead of being offered to the highest bidder.

In the previous Straits Chinese Antique Auction conducted by MNP Auctioneers on 26th November 2017 in Penang, many items saw keen bidding interest and one such item, a ‘very rare lime green goldfish bowl’ started at RM15,000 but the bidding frenzy ended only at RM40,000. There are many more rare items which had new owners too. Based on the age of these items, it is very safe to conclude that every piece broken accidentally today or tomorrow meant that there is one less piece in this world, not just in Malaysia. Happy visiting and appreciating these items which are truly Malaysian, especially those items belonging to a Baba and Nyonya family. Every piece is the only piece of its kind in the world because every piece would have been customised to the family who ordered for it to be made in China.
Click here to see details for all the items.

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The next ‘Straits Chinese Antique Auction’ is coming in May 2018

Message from MNP Auctioneers (Central) Sdn Bhd

We often hear of some paintings or banknotes being auctioned off for huge sums of money. These auctions usually happen in some advanced economies outside Malaysia. Actually, these asset auctions are already happening in Malaysia. The actions during these auctions are hot as well because the collectors are in the market because they would like to collect / own a piece of ‘history.’ During these auctions too we could see some new collectors and even the curious public. Many would have items in their possession which may be worth having it auctioned off to the highest bidder. The sellers could also choose to sell the item to individual collectors but in all these one to one transactions, the price would often be determined by the single seller instead of being offered to the highest bidder.

In the previous Straits Chinese Antique Auction conducted by MNP Auctioneers on 26th November 2017 in Penang, many items saw keen bidding interest and one such item, a ‘very rare lime green goldfish bowl’ started at RM15,000 but the bidding frenzy ended only at RM40,000. There are many more rare items which had new owners too. Based on the age of these items, it is very safe to conclude that every piece broken accidentally today or tomorrow meant that there is one less piece in this world, not just in Malaysia. To understand more, please feel free to take a
look at all the items here.
 If you have some pieces that you would like to auction off, do not miss the next Straits Chinese Antique Auction 2018. (SCAA 2018)

MNP Auctioneers would be organising the next Straits Chinese Antique Auction in Carcosa Seri Negara on 13th May 2018. The consignment for all items are open now until 15th March 2018.  This event is supported by Asian Heritage Museum Sdn Bhd and will be powered by
Best2Bid.com
 which is Malaysia’s most experienced dual-bidding system. Bidders could choose to bid onsite or online at the same time. Feel free to Whatsapp the photo of your item to
016-723 1440
 to find out more. Alternatively, send an email to
enquiries@mnp.com.my
  You can also choose to walk in to the MNP Auctioneer office(s) in Penang / Kuala Lumpur too. The addresses are as follows:

PENANG OFFICE:

Address:  No. 161, Jalan Sungai Pinang, 10150 Penang.

KLANG VALLEY OFFICE:

Address:  B-12-12, Block B, Megan Avenue II, Jalan Yap Kwan Seng, 50450 Kuala Lumpur.

Happy consigning!

— end of message from MNP Auctioneers —

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