Inphyy Corner

Cosco - Delivery Of Sevan Louisiana

The Board of Directors of COSCO Corporation (Singapore) Limited (the “Company”) wishes to announce that COSCO (Qidong) Offshore Co., Ltd (“COSCO Qidong”), a subsidiary of the Company's 51% owned COSCO Shipyard Group Co., Ltd, has delivered its new build Sevan Louisiana to Sevan Drilling ASA (“Sevan Drilling”) on 23 October 2013. The Sevan Louisiana is the third Sevan 650 Ultra-Deepwater Cylindrical Drilling Rig COSCO Shipyard Group has built for Sevan Drilling.

The delivery documents were signed by and between COSCO Qidong and the buyer recently.

The Sevan Louisiana, measuring 99 meters in LOA (length of all), 75 meters in breadth and 24.5 meters in depth, has a working depth of 3,800 meters and drilling depth of 12,000 meters.

By Order of the Board
Wu Zi Heng
Vice Chairman and President
28 October 2013


cosco.listedcompany.com/newsroom/2013102...257C1200313A44.1.pdf

Super Group - 5 Things You Should Know About Super Group

By Alison Hunt - October 29, 2013

While many of us enjoy a cup of freshly brewed coffee in the morning, few actually have the time to make one before rushing off to the office.

Kopitiams (coffee shops) aside there is a speedy solution – those ubiquitous 3-in-one sachets of coffee, creamer and sugar that just need boiling water, many of which are produced by the modestly named Singaporean firm, Super Group (SGX: S10) run by David Teo and family.

Printing

Mr Teo, the oldest of nine children, lost his father at the age of 18, and was left the family’s coconut candy factory. However, poor business encouraged him to close it down and open a noodle stall instead, before setting up a business printing price tag stickers with a friend of his father’s.

Fuji Offset Plates Manufacturing Limited

The printing firm proved a success and after a chance connection got him a meeting with Fuji of Japan, the company became Fuji Offset Plates Manufacturing Limited – a leading regional supplier.

Speedy coffee…

However, in 1987, Mr Teo had another idea – he believed busy Singaporeans would appreciate a faster option for getting their cup of coffee in the morning. Instead of measuring instant coffee, creamer and sugar separately into a mug, why not combine all three in one handy sachet?

However, the idea didn’t take off and sales for the new Super Group were slow.

Undeterred, Teo and his wife Te Lay Hoon realised they could adapt the ingredient ratios to suit the Singaporean palate and tested their concoctions on family and friends. With some fine-tuning and heavy marketing this perseverance paid off and second year sales of their 20-gram Super 3-in-1 CoffeeMix sachets reached almost S$3m.

Malaysia, Thailand and Myanmar

Once Singaporeans were hooked it was time to make their mark further afield. Teo realised that his coffee-mix ratios could be further tuned to suit different palates across South East Asia.

However, this took time and patience. With barely any retail “chains” and a plethora of “Mom-and-Pop” (small, family-owned, independent) stores, shops had to be approached individually and shopkeepers persuaded to sell their product.

Tailoring sales

Another factor was price. In a country like Myanmar where the average daily wage is about $2 per day, coffee is an unaffordable luxury for many.

Super tackled this by selling its Coffeemix in Myanmar, the Philippines and Thailand in perforated strips. This way single sachets could be torn off and sold for a more manageable 10 cents apiece from shops, pushcarts and motorcycles and helps to explain Super’s rapid expansion across these relatively untapped markets.

But did you know…
1.In 1993, a second-hand car-parts dealer from Myanmar was on a working trip to Singapore. After discovering Super CoffeeMix in the supermarket, and enjoying the taste he foresaw it being a hit in Myanmar – and called into Super’s office to ask for 50 cartons to import. However, after being advised to “buy them from NTUC (Fairprice)” by Super’s sales manager he headed out of the door. Fortunately, Teo had observed this exchange and raced after him – and the two were soon working out ways they could introduce Super Coffeemix to the Myanmar market. Today, Myanmar is Super’s second-biggest market, selling about 650m sachets of 3-in-1 coffee mixes to the country annually – and is the country’s number-one instant coffee retailer.

2.David Teo appears at position 37 in Forbes’ 2013 listing of Singapore’s 50 Richest – reckoned to be worth a cool $505m.

3.Coffee arrived in Singapore and Malaysia in the 1800s via British Colonialists. Locals proceeded to adapt the process to suit their tastes – creating the thick and sweet versions of “kopi” we know today. Coffee is still one of the most traded commodities in the world today.

4.Super Group is the exclusive manufacturer of Pringles potato crisps outside the USA, having cut a deal with its parent company Procter & Gamble back in 2004.

5.David Teo is an expert chef and can whip up anything from char kway teow to lobster thermidor.

Super Group continued to expand and added many other products to its repertoire. Today, it produces more than 300, 3-in-1 mixes for coffees, teas, as well instant cereals, rice, oats, chocolate and even cup noodles at its 15 factories throughout Asia.

In addition, it makes non-dairy creamers and other food ingredients in bulk for ice cream makers and bottled drink companies – which have all helped it to grow from a humble coffee mix producer into a S$2-billion food processor.

Ten-bagger

Indeed, Super Group has gone from strength to strength and has earned itself “ten-bagger” status – meaning the value of its stock has increased ten-fold in four years.

Advertising

Super also believes strongly in advertising – spending a generous 10% of its revenue annually on promotion in an effort to build its brand in consumers’ minds, as well as recently sponsoring Myanmar’s largest film awards ceremony in a bid to appeal to younger customers.

This has certainly had one positive outcome – Super Group stands at position 40 in the 2013 ranking of Singapore’s most-recognized brands.

Future Plans

With business in China growing rapidly, the company is currently setting up a plant in Mongolia and has its sights set on India.

David Teo’s biggest headache is no doubt deciding who will take over his position when he retires.

While he is in the fortunate position of having three, eminently capable children already working in the family firm, none have any sense of entitlement, knowing that the “throne will not be passed down on the basis of who’s closest to the chairman but who is most capable”.

As for the future, who knows – by producing its own ingredients, benefitting from such a strong network in countries such as Myanmar, as well as the huge potential to increase its presence in countries such as China, Singapore’s Super Group could be well on the way of achieving David Teo’s goal of being Asia’s answer to Nestle.


Courtesy of The Motley Fool

Yanlord Land - acquires Nanjing Eco-Island site for RMB2.877b

Will develop residential apartments and offices.

Singapore Exchange-listed real estate developer Yanlord Land Group Limited (Yanlord) announced today that it has successfully acquired a 386,000 sqm GFA prime integrated development site in the Nanjing Eco-Island for RMB2.877 billion or at an average purchase price of approximately RMB7,447 per sqm in a public land auction.

Yanlord said that the site's location is one of its biggest advantages. "Ideally situated within the Nanjing Eco-Island – a flagship economic collaboration program developed under the auspices of the Singapore Jiangsu Cooperation Council – the site rests along the island’s idyllic riverfront offering an unobstructed view of the Yangtze River and is in close proximity to the New One North Science Park."

"Well connected via planned key thoroughfares running through the island as well as the adjacent metro station of the No. 10 metro line, the site will consist of approximately 274,000 sqm GFA of residential development, 59,200 sqm GFA of commercial and office space as well as 53,500 sqm GFA of research and development facilities," it added.

Yanlord said that to further enhance the comprehensive suite of amenities available for its residents, a 4,700 sqm kindergarten will also be built on-site to allow residents to better meet their children’s schooling needs.

Commenting on the latest acquisition, Mr. Zhong Sheng Jian, Yanlord’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, “This latest acquisition opens a new chapter in Yanlord’s 20 year history of residential and commercial development within Nanjing City and builds on our extensive track record of developing quality residences which Nanjing citizens have grown to trust and support. Located ideally within the picturesque Nanjing Eco Island, the site possesses unique qualities such as excellent connectivity, proximity to key business locations and upcoming amenities as well as scenic surroundings which provide the necessary foundations for the creation of a prime integrated development.”

Buckle Up For High Frequency Trading

By David Kuo - October 29, 2013

Charlie Munger described it as being “basically evil”. In fact he went as far as saying that it was akin to allowing a bunch of rats into a granary.

Warren Buffett was more measured. He said it doesn’t make a difference if you own stocks long term. He added that while real-time quotes are good, people have made them a bad thing by being swayed by what the market tells them at any moment.

Welcome to the controversial world of High Frequency Trading that looks set to make its entrance on the Singapore market. The Singapore Exchange (SGX: S63) is reportedly considering rebates for high frequency market makers to boost liquidity.

Whether you agree with Munger or Buffett, High Frequency Trading, which are trades executed in millionth of a second, are undoubtedly divisive.

On the one hand it creates liquidity, which is welcome in any market. It could also make stock prices more reflective of information available in the market place. In the long run, it could even bring down transaction charges as the cost of running an exchange is borne by those who trade more frequently.

However, the downside is that it could introduce unwanted volatility. It could also cause unwanted spikes and mini crashes, which are obviously undesirable if they should happen at the exact moment that you plan to either buy or sell shares.

That said Buffett is right. As investors we should focus on the long-term prospects of the companies we invest in. Consequently, if a business does well, the stock price should eventually follow, regardless of what might happen in the short term.

As investors, we should continue to focus on the long-term economics of the companies we like. Remember, we should be investing in good companies quoted on the stock market. We should not be buying and selling tickers just because they happen to be on the stock market.


Courtesy of The Motley Fool

Ezra Holdings secures US$110m worth of new projects

www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/si...cures-us/867656.html

Midas - poised to clinch RMB2.5b-3.2b high-speed rail orders by end-2015

Here are its 3 competitive edges.

According to CIMB, China’s aggressive railway expansion plans present a tremendous opportunity for Midas given the company’s 60% market share and strong track record in the industry. CIMB estimates that Midas can win Rmb2.5bn-3.2bn worth of high-speed rail (HSR) orders by end-2015.

Here's more from CIMB:

We raise our FY14-15 EPS to 17-19% above consensus; the market is likely to follow suit. We believe further HSR contract wins could catalyse the stock.

China’s railway spending

To improve connectivity between provinces and cities across China, the government plans to add 11,200 high-speed train cars (10,400 currently) and extend the high-speed railway to 18,000km by 2015.

To achieve this, it has allocated a Rmb3.3tr budget for railway investments over the current five-year
plan period that ends in 2015.

In 2011-12, Rmb1.21tr was spent on building railway infrastructure, which leaves a budget of Rmb2.09tr for 2013-15.

As the procurement of railway equipment (including train cars) tends to be back-end loaded, there could be an increase in the remaining budget to Rmb2.16tr that the market has yet to factor in. Based on Midas’s 60% market share, we estimate that it could win Rmb2.5bn-3.2bn of HSR orders by end-2015.

Why Midas

Midas has built up several competitive advantages over the years: 1) close relationships with its key customers, CNR Changchun, CNR Tangshan and CSR Bombardier Sifang, 2) having the dies to produce a variety of extrusion profiles, and 3) strong track record of manufacturing quality products.

As a result, we believe Midas can maintain its position as a preferred supplier to its key customers, which will help it to retain its leading market share of 60% and win the bulk of the HSR contracts.