IPO - Boustead Plantation Bhd

Here I go again, salivating at an IPO. Since the announcement of the proposed listing of this pure plantation stock following the privatisation of the Al-Hadharah Boustead Real Estate Investment Trust ( BSDReit)  last year, I have made up my mind to apply for this new kid on the block in the plantation counter.

I have a thing about this stock as I had had shares of BSDReit since 2007 purchased at 1.04 and made a substantial gain when I sold all off at 2.06 just before the company's exercise in late 2013. I kept it very long because I was enjoying an annual  dividend rate of about 9%. I had calculated that I would make much more by clearing my position than staying on and be given Boustead Plantation Bhd shares at a given ratio of  three Boustead Plantations shares for every five Boustead REIT units held - without balloting.

And now I am going after its plantation IPO.

The name Boustead itself gives a sense of confidence for me when looking at how the company Boustead Holdings Berhad (Bstead) stock has risen in values over the years. The last closing price on Friday 25 April was 5.56 and currently volatile due to the impending removal of its plantation arm for the new listing.

Lembaga  Tabung Angkatan Tentera (LTAT)-linked Boustead Holdings Berhad, listed on Bursa is involved in businesses of the following sectors: Plantation ,property pharmaceutical,heavy industries, trading & industrial and finance and investment.

To unlock the value of its plantation business, Boustead has decided to list it separately (removing 18 plantation companies from Boustead Holdings Berhad). The indicative price is said to be 1.60 subject to bookbuilding by  AffinBank. So far I am made to understand that the majority of its 580 million new offers of shares are allocated to existing Bstead's shareholders and directors and those of the delisted BDSReit. There are no cornerstone investors as yet. A small proportion (64 million) is allocated to the Malaysian public via balloting.

I used to have several plantation stocks during their heydays before the global financial crisis in 2008: THPlant,Sarawak Plantation,Kwantas,MHC and Unico. I held them for far too long and  as a result made great losses on all those except for THPlant in 2009. It's water under the bridge now. I had wanted to purchase one plantation stock to add excitement to  my portfolio last year but missed the opportunity due to packed commitments. By that time, my target stock (giving generous dividend) THPlant has risen from 1.60 to 2.00.

And so I thought this is another opportunity to own a plantation stock and ride with the current good crude palm oil prices.

The Boustead Plantation Bhd IPO is not launched yet but I would not like to miss the opportunity to compensate for my previous specific losses on those plantation stocks and this time I have to be more aware of factors affecting the crude palm oil (CPO) prices such as rating agency's evaluation of the industry,  production, consumption, "greenie" attacks and competition from other vegetable oil like soya.

Even if I am not successful in my IPO application, I will buy the shares on the open market. And this is when you have to gauge the stock performance on post-listing. A lot may have to do with luck, though, beside good knowledge on the company: one way is through reading its prospectus. And of course, the CPO price factor, which even if it's high may not be reflected in the stock price.

All said, stock market is a playground for people who are not averse to taking risks, and either way, will take it in their stride and move on.

An Update on Boustead Plantation (BPLANT) IPO timetable:

Last day of IPO application : 11 June 2014 at 5pm
Balloting date : 16 June
Allotment of shares to successful applicants : 24 June
Tentative Listing : 26 June, Thursday

Julio Iglesias - Historia de un amor ( A Love Story)

A classic song and sensuously delivered by Julio Iglesias. Sensitive, tender and relaxing. The song is about a man's old love written by Panamanian songwriter Carlos Eleta Almarán . I enjoy listening to the melody and the beautiful Latin voice and the sounds of those lyrics.

Music can be therapeutic to the mind.

Tuberculosis - Unnecessary Spread Through Poor History Taking

Last week a 37-year old woman came all the way from a district to the city in search of a "cure" for her malady. The night before she saw me, she had gone to one of  Klinik 1 Malaysia nearby for breathlessness and she was nebulised ( given a bronchodilator through a spray pump). Normally patients are given this treatment to alleviate their asthmatic attacks.

This poor woman gave a long history of coughs (more than five months). She had gone to the district hospital a couple of times and getting no relief, she started to medicate herself, buying over the counter (OTC) medicine apart from  seeking traditional treatment.

Her relatives brought her to the city when her condition deteriorated with severe breathlessness. Upon questioning, it was revealed that she coughed badly and occasionally her sputum was blood-streaked. She has evening fever and excessive sweating and her weight has drastically declined. Physical examination revealed reduced air entry on her left lung with fine crackles on auscultation but no wheezing was heard. And there are enlarged lymph nodes (lymphadenopathy) on the left neck area ( posterior triangle). All classic signs and symptoms of tuberculosis.

This is the patient's Chest XRay- her left lung is
virtually consolidated with a very small unaffected apical area.
The right lung is over expanded to compensate for affected breathing function of the left lung.

The next thing to do was a chest X-ray and sputum test for acid fast bacilli ( Mycobacterium tuberculosis- the germs causing this preventable disease). Her chest xray shows widespread consolidation of the left lung with a tiny area of respirable lung tissues. The sputum was positive for the bacteria.

The question is how many persons has this lady infected over all those months that she was not detected? She had had contact with a health facility last February 2014 on two occasions and yet was not diagnosed.

A colleague opined that the case was due to a low index of suspicion but for me it was more likely due to poor history taking and worst still if it was a case of pure laziness on the case of the health worker to take the history. It could be a case of " What is your complaint?" and the timid patient would have replied "coughs" and the doctor proceeded to prescribe a cough medicine and dismissed the woman without going into the nature,character and duration of the symptom.

The woman is put on an anti-TB treatment but the extensiveness of the infection on her right lung would affect the prognosis and as a result, her morbidity and impact on her family and economic contribution.

As TB is a notifiable communicable disease, Public Health  service  would have to trace all her contacts and test them and given treatment should any found to be positive.

TB is still a public health problem in Malaysia particularly in areas where there are many immigrants, legal and illegal.

Respiratory Virus - MERS-CoV has landed in Malaysia- The First Death in Asia

The first case of death due to the Middle East respiratory syndrome corona virus , MERS-CoV has been reported in Malaysia. According to the Ministry of Health, Malaysia's statement, the victim is a 54 year old man who went to Mecca for Umrah (pilgrimage) and returned to Malaysia, using a Turkish airline on 29 March 2014. He started to have signs and symptoms of respiratory disease on 8 to 9 April and as these deteriorated, he was admitted to a hospital in Batu Pahat, Johor on 10 April and expired three days ago on 13 April. The first reported death due to the virus in Asia.

MERS CoV and Distribution of Cases since 2012 with most detected in Saudi Arabia

The Ministry of health has put on a public health alert on this potentially fatal disease.

The virus was first detected in 2012 in Middle-eastern countries ( I posted in my blog earlier) . It causes similar signs and symptoms to the dreaded SARS (severe acute respiratory syndromes) and its origin is believed to be from animals such as bats and camels. The disease can be transmitted through close contact. The frightening thing about this disease is that it kills about 50% of reported cases (high case fatality rate) and it has no vaccine. And there are no medications against it. For a more detailed information on this disease you can visit the CDC Atlanta website .

All close contacts of the case would have been investigated. But like all other diseases caused by viruses, they show a spectrum: some are very ill, some have mild disease while other cases may not show the signs and symptoms, in fact they appear well but may carry the virus (known as carriers) and could transmit to others through their body fluid. You might like to read this report from Manila on a health worker tested positive for the virus but has not shown symptoms. This is the part which is causing problems or anxiety to public health so we must all do our part by being overcautious through awareness,good personal hygiene and knowledge of the disease.

PRTASCO : The Slow and Steady Tortoise

I invested in PRTASCO about three years ago when its share was priced at about 99 to 1.05 sen. The good thing about this construction company is it gives a steady dividend between 5 to 8 sen a year and last year it gave a special dividend of 6 sen making the annual total of 14 sen.

As I was looking for a short term gain, I was not patient enough to ride this slow tortoise.  For almost two years its unit price hovered between 1.00 to 1.05 and so I cleared my position after a couple of dividend issues.

This company which traditionally has a contract on road maintenance and later migrated to construction. It has consistently been issuing an annual dividend for more than seven years. Another feature I like about this construction company is its wealth sharing with employees. I suppose many big companies have already been doing this through Employee Sharing Scheme (ESS). I know Westports has such an arrangement.

Late last year (2013) I reviewed my portfolio and in the process decided to re-purchase PRTASCO shares at 1.42 much to the the mirth of my better half. Well, he is no longer laughing at me now as PRTASCO has climbed up to 1.84  as at 1pm today.

PRTASCO_The Turtle seems to be sprinting
Source:BURSA MALAYSIA

I invested all my 2013 dividend from AS1M and a hefty loan from Jeff (already paid up with no interest) on this stock and the capital appreciation is now about 26.8% in less than six months, albeit unrealised gain. Last January 2014, I received its dividend at 4 sen a unit. I was quite pleased with it.

A dig at my better half ;)

I bought PRTASCO for two reasons; firstly I like its dividend policy , secondly I have been following its development, diversification activities and looking at its fundamentals generally. It's now into oil and gas as well.

I should have bought the stock much earlier but was mulling over it a long time and eventually forgot about it till last October 2013 when the tortoise has traversed so far ahead and now is crawling fast steadily.

I am glad I made a considered choice as far as investing in PRTASCO is concerned but really it's not always like this though. Take it from me, a small time investor who has gone through the up and down of the market, at times gritting my teeth.

Look What A Virus Can Do to Your Skin

A 31 year old man came to the clinic yesterday afternoon complaining of itchiness and pain over his left back extending to the front of his abdomen. He could not sleep the night before due to pain and itchiness. He said the skin condition started off with a few blisters on the described skin area four days ago and thinking nothing of it he did not see any doctor.

Well, the eruptions became more extensive with intense itching and pain which became so unbearable that he hardly could sleep. He had applied an anti-itch lotion bought over the counter (OTC) for relief. And when the spread became larger and pain worsened, he decided to seek medical attention.

I just took one look and I knew what the condition was. If he had come to the clinic a day following the appearance of blisters, he could be given medication to prevent more extensive eruptions hence reducing itchiness and alleviating pain which he described as sharp and pricking.

Crops of blisters starting from the midline to the left

Eruptions extending around his right side

The blistering crops kept traversing till just before the frontal body midline

The skin condition is called Herpes Zoster (shingles) and it is as a result of reactivation of Chickenpox (varicella) virus which have been dormant in the spinal nerve of the patient following an earlier infection. The infection follows the nerve distribution area called dermatome and so you see a characteristic pattern on the body.

It can occur in any part of the body like the face , the neck or upper part of the body.

It is unknown why this virus become reactivated. Most likely the immune system changes could have something to do with the condition.

I had another patient a female who came to see me some time last year with a complaint of pain and fleeting numbness on the right side of her face of about two day-duration and later she noticed small crops of tiny blisters on the right side of the face nearer to her right year. She came to the clinic the next day.

I made a diagnosis of Herpes Zoster and treated her with a course of anti-viral and on review 21 days later, the blisters had subsided and there was no new eruptions and extension. She no longer complained of any pain or discomfort over the right facial area.

An early crops of blisters on the face of a 30 + yr old woman

The condition would not have been as extensive like the above male patient had he come to the clinic within 24 hours of the blisters appearing as an anti-viral treatment would have been prescribed. Yet, not many people know as to when to visit a doctor so the best thing to do is to just come and ask for an opinion if you suspect abnormal crops of tiny clear, fluid-filled swellings on your face or any part of your trunk that may be accompanied by pain or uneasy numbness or less commonly itching.

IHH - Solid Performance and Planned Expansion

I remember when IHH was about to be listed, I had already made up my mind that I would apply for its IPO, failing which I would still purchase it on the market. In fact one of my best friends advised me to ensure I wouldn't miss this stock. She is one of the country's heads of major hospitals who was offered the pink form ( apply and you would sure get) How lucky could one be!

Well, I managed to get 75% of my applications at an IPO price of 2.80 per share and proceeded to buy  more after waiting for about a week and the price had never gone down following its opening price! And I thought Westports would follow the same trend but I was dead wrong. Anyway, IHH has gradually uptrended right up to 4.16 and had a jolt late December 2013 following reports of the political turmoil with high inflation in Turkey and the decline of its currency. IHH has stakes in  Turkish hospitals (the group’s newly opened Acibadem Bodrum Hospital and Acibadem Ankara Hospital)

IHH showing a decline in its share price due to anxiety
on political upheaval, high inflation and weak Lira in Turkey.
(Source: Bursa Malaysia)

I am not perturbed as when you are looking for growth and long term prospects, you would see this kind of glitches as an opportunity to buy additional shares due to its lower price. The stock has since remained volatile and its closing price last Friday 14 March was 3.69 ( target price is 3.60)

According to Alliance Research,the company's 4QFY13 is within expectation.The group has proposed a first and final single tier cash dividend of 2 sen for FY13. Management has also announced its newly formulated dividend policy of paying minimum 20% of PATMI (  profits after tax and minority interests)  , excluding exceptional items. A low rate but the unrealised capital appreciation has been more than 30% as of last week. Under normal circumstances,  a fully established healthcare business with good governance would generally generate profit allowing it to distribute dividend to its shareholders on a regular basis.

I will stick with this company for a fair bit longer while hoping that things will improve in Turkey. Its operations (Gleneagles Hospitals) in Malaysia and Singapore are on track and it is building another 500-bed hospital in Hong Kong that is scheduled for operation in early 2017. The one in Kota Kinabalu is being completed by 2015. I am actually tempted to buy more IHH shares at the current price and keep them.