The Beauty of Sichuan Province

ST Jimmy | Tuesday, November 22, 2011 | , | 0 comments

THE BEAUTY OF SICHUAN PROVINCE, CHINA FOR A HOLIDAY…..this is a worthwhile place to visit if you have not been there before. My group of 10 friends took a 9-day trip in October, 2011 (autumn). I was mesmerised by what I saw and perceived.


Visit Chengdu, Huanglong, Emei, Leshan, Meishan, Jiuzhaigou etc. for sceneries, culture and arts, historical venues, interesting live shows (including Tibetan in Jiuzhaigou). Go in Autumn season for variety, cool climate and adventure. But be prepared for long walks if you want to see as much as you can. And also be prepared to bring along sufficient warm clothing as the temperatures in Autumn can fluctuate unexpectedly and be quite cold in Huanglong and Emei, especially in the mountainous places. Food quality is reasonable. Vegetables and fruits are plenty. But some meaty dishes can be a bit too oily and/or spicy to those who are health conscious. Soups are also common in menus of most restaurants.

This is my suggestion for the visit to Jiuzhaigou, which is on higher grounds than Chengdu. Take a coach up from Chengdu, but return by flight to Chengdu. The 7 to 8 hour journey up by coach through winding road allows visitors to have rest stops (in which case the entire journey will take longer to reach Jiuzhaigou) to view and snap photos of beautiful landscapes and sceneries. The flight from Jiuzhaigou to Chengdu takes about 45 minutes to 1 hour. However,  flight delay is quite normal especially when the weather is misty or rainy. Don’t forget to visit the various historical venues which bring you back to the olden days, such as the eras of the famed 3 Kingdoms, Tang Dynasty, Qing Dynasty, Han Dynasty etc.

Maxims For You To Reflect On

ST Jimmy | Monday, November 21, 2011 | | 0 comments



For a change, I want to leave two self-coined maxims for you to reflect on for the time being. I will elaborate the meanings by citing real events in the next article (sequel to this) in a few days’ time.
Yes, both sound very paradoxical. Therefore, please feel free to let me have your response and feedback what your interpretations are by giving your inputs in the “post comment” segment.

About Reality of Working Life in Large Organizations
“The more you know, the more you don’t know, for you may not know how much and what more that you don’t know.
The more you don’t know, perhaps the more you know, when you experience what you don’t know.
Whether you know or don’t know is immaterial if you are working in a large organization, for anyhow you got to know.”

About Working Life Politics
“If you are soft, I will be softer.
If you are harsh, I will be harsher, in the softest way possible.”

My best regards to you until I come back with the elaborations within the next few days.



Anticipating The General Elections & The Stock Market In Malaysia

ST Jimmy | Sunday, November 20, 2011 | | 1 comments



I believe all of you would concur with my statement that speculations on the 13th General Elections date and the local stock market are getting more intense as the country approaches near to the final curtain of 2011. As in my previous commentaries, I am inclined to feel that the two are much related, based on the events that have been reported of late in the news media. I believe you would also concur with me that the mainstream newspapers have been positively playing up news about some latest developments said to have taken place. Allow me to cite a few pertinent ones:

1.      1. The list of goodies and hand-outs to be delivered to the “rakyat” at large, including civil servants, under the 2012 Expenditure Budget announced by the Prime Minister. Commencement of delivery is to begun from now in phases.

2.      2.  Announcements of joint venture investments and the progress of ETP projects like the latest news about the Iskandar development area in Johor, China and Taiwan firms involved in buying assets and equities in recent weeks, and so forth.

3.      3. The announcement that the Government is confident the national GDP growth would end up at 5 per cent in 2011 despite the uncertainties in Europe and US.

4.      4. What came as the latest surprise news to me: The granting of 7 months bonus to PKNS staff by the Selangor state government which is controlled by the opposition component political parties. 

5.      5. The rise of trading in penny stocks, especially by the retails segment, in the local scene up to a few days ago. It was said there was growing speculative interest in penny stocks by retail investors. Securities Commission Chairman Tan Sri Zarinah Anwar, in reaction, advised investors to be cautious because prices of penny stocks had skyrocketed of late without material corporate elements. Why the sudden surge in trading of penny stocks now? Have this to do with the goodies and hand-outs and the impending elections? These are the questions you and I may be keen to find out.

For the benefit of readers who are new to the term penny stock, here is an outline:

·        * A penny stock trades at relatively low price and market capitalization. In Malaysia, the prices of such stocks are below RM1.

·         *Generally considered speculative and of higher risk in view of lack of liquidity and small capitalization.

·         *Generally appealing  to investors who do not have sufficient capital to put into large companies or blue chips, but still wish to try their hand in the stock market.

·        * Due to lesser money invested, the downside loss is minimal. But the potential for upside or gains is higher through appreciation over a period of time.

·        * Not expected to pay dividends on a regular basis, compared to companies with strong fundamental base.

Also allow me to quote some excerpts from two business print media for your reflection.

·         BUSINESS TIMES, NOV. 14, 2011:

-          Meanwhile, ACE Market and penny stocks are likely to continue attracting strong retail participation, with strong expectation of a general election in the first quarter of next year than in the immediate term after the prime minister’s statement last week that it will not be held this year potentially easing concerns about market uncertainty in the immediate term.

·         MALAYSIAN RESERVE, NOV. 14, 2011:

-          The Malaysian equity market is expected to do well as positive economic and business news flow are anticipated in the next few weeks following Prime Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Razak’s recent open statement that the general election (GE) drums have sounded, said an international research firm.
-          The research firm said Najib has dished out bonuses, increments and handouts to civil servants, pensioners and the low income groups, hence, Citi expected more goodies and bad news downplayed to keep the momentum going until Parliament is dissolved.
-          “There would be awards of concessions, major infrastructure contracts and positive  Economic Transformation Programme updates in the coming months through 1Q12,” said Citi, highlighting that these could inject excitement into the market.
-          “In fact, we expect the MRT packages, West Coast Expressway and New Pantai Expressway extension to be awarded within this period.”
-          “There is upcoming listing of Gas Malaysia, newly merged Kencana-Sapura Crest and perhaps, Felda listing, if it is rushed,” said Citi, pointing out that a stock market recovery and resultant positive wealth effect should work to the prime minister’s coalition advantage.”

·         BUSINESS TIMES, NOV. 19, 2011:

-          It’s a crazy market indeed, with even warrants trading almost on par with the mother share.
-          Basically, the retail market is being run by those who are very well versed in finance, and followed by those with minimum knowledge of how finance, valuations and the balance sheet really work.
-          A mixture of greed and lack of know-how means the stock market is being used like a casino.

A friend who is a market follower told me a few days ago that he was considering putting money in some stocks; and if he did, he would go in now and then get off just before the elections take place. This would be short term speculative move, no doubt. He said that in the face of global uncertainties and market volatility still expected to cast their shadows at least for 2012, he preferred not to look at the stock market too far ahead. Probably, investors who have gone into penny stocks of late share the same mental frequency as him??

Happy reflecting!


Latest Developments

ST Jimmy | Thursday, November 10, 2011 | | 0 comments


The Greece government on Nov. 4 decided to scrap its plan for holding a referendum with regard to Eurozone’s terms for a bailout package while its Prime Minister George Papandreau got a vote of confidence from his peers. This development, to some extent, would be received by global markets with a sigh of relief. As immediate reaction, Asian markets rose.

Along with the relief at the same time was the report from the labour department of US which indicated slight improvement in unemployment rate, reducing  to 9 per cent level in October after a three-month stifle. It added that a modest 80,000 jobs were created. The October rate was said to be modestly better than expected although job creation did not meet economists’ expectation. President Barack Obama has set out to create more jobs in order to further improve the rate to 8 per cent by 2012 elections.

In Japan - now the third largest economy after China overtook it last year - Gross Domestic Product (GDP) gained ground in the 3rd quarter, for the first time this year.  According to Bloomberg News, GDP rose 6%.

In the latest news (Nov. 9), Asia stocks climbed higher in reaction to news that Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who is besieged with personal issues, has indicated he will step down. At the same time, there were some cheers with regard to news that China’s inflation fell in October.

On the local front,  complementing  the latest news of foreign funds being net investors  of stocks in Malaysia are cash-rich China and Taiwan firms in acquisition spree for assets and equities in recent weeks. The trend sets in after having witnessed a wave of Japanese firms in merging and acquisition foray here. Business Times, in its Nov. 4 issue, quoted an analyst as saying “some people think it is because these investors are worried that the booming China market will fail, and that is why they are moving their funds to other markets, including Malaysia.”  Meanwhile, Iskandar Investment Bhd (IIB) and China’s Qingdao Zhuoyuan Investment Holdings are embarking on a joint-venture RM2.5 billion residential project in Medini Iskandar development area (Johor).

Do the news point to a relief – albeit probably temporary - for global markets, Asia and Malaysia? Well………at this juncture when the world overall is still in volatile times, just keep our watchful eyes open and observe diligently for more “signals”, especially in the face of the soon-to-be general elections in our home ground.

I remember a friend, who is in fund management, once told me that stock market swings are linked with stories to a larger extent than economic fundamentals. Even a set of simple statistics released to the media can either pep up or shoot down prices in the stock exchange. I cannot agree with him more.

Regards.



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