Portfolio Pending Activity

We are reaching the end of 2011 and I have only made two purchases for the whole year, namely additional lots of Etika International as well as initiating a position on Auric Pacific. They have not been doing well due to the weak overall sentiment.

To keep the readers posted, I intend to set aside some money to subscribe for the rights share of GMG Global. Based on my current holdings, I am entitled to subscribe to twenty lots of rights share at 9.1 cents each. Also, I intend to take up ten more lots in Etika International bringing to a grand total of forty lots.

That said, I will have to figure what to do once shares in C&O are acquired mandatorily by Shinogi Group. I will have to email the company to know when the proceeds of the acquisition, estimated to be SGD 4,500, will be credited to my bank accounted. I will be sussing for deals in the mean time. If you have any good ideas, do let me know.

China Animal Healthcare Updates

China Animal Healthcare made an interesting announcement. In response to a Straits Times article that suggested the company was an attractive candidate for privatisation, China Animal Healthcare said that it was possible that a restructuring (not privatisation) exercise take place. This would involve only delisting those shares listed on SGX, while those on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (SEHK) remain trading.

Just yesterday, the company announced its third quarter results for 2011 which were quite impressive. Revenue for the nine months increased 33.8 per cent while net profit rose 84.2 per cent. The strong results were attributed to strong sales of its powdered form drugs and biological drugs.

Putting the two pieces of news together, I would think that such a move is very likely to happen. This is because in general, S-Chips such as China Animal Healthcare have always felt that they are underpriced on the SGX compared to on the SEHK. This is something that the new SGX CEO Magnus Brocker has tried to refute.

GMG Global 1-for-1 Rights Issue

GMG Global announced today a 1-for-1 rights issue, at 9.1 cents per rights share. This is the second time in two years that the company has proposed such a fund raising exercise. The company said that the proceeds may be used for acquisitions or financing purposes. The full document can be read here. I should be subscribing to the rights issue via the ATM.

Update December 31, 2011: I applied for 20,000 rights and 2,000 excess. In the end, I have got only 1,000 excess on top of my entitlement. This brings the total number of GMG shares I currently hold to 41,000 at an average price of SGD 0.094.

Book buying spree in October

I went on a major book buying spree during October and I think I spent close to SGD 700 dollars!

I bought one career-resource book for my friend's birthday; something on philosophy for my library (I do read philosophy!); and three very expensive books related to the industry I am covering at work.

One was a reference book which cost me SGD 256, which I saved SGD 60  on as I had the Kinokuniya membership card during their promotion period. The other was ordered online and inclusive of shipping, cost me about SGD 240.  The last was a textbook that was SGD 100.

The books you do not read

Although I am tempted to expense the cost of the book, I would like to keep the books for myself as well. This is because, at least I know I can bring the books along with me even if I change my company, unless of course some one knicks it from me from the office.

I was also reminded by sister, who read The Black Swan, that it is not about the books you have read, but those you did not read. The underlying idea is that what you do not know is more important than what you already do know.

But that is besides the point. The reason for buying the books is that I feel slightly inadequate at work and I need some form of structured literature to get me through one more year. Continual learning. It has been three years since I have left the University and I think my career path is more or less fixed. And to be good at what I am doing, I will need to use the free time at work and at home to read up on the industry. And so, even if I feel the temporary pain, I know that it may pay off further down the road. If not, I can always try to sell the books on ebay. Off to the bookstore to get a book jacket!

Debt crisis at home

I have been doing something silly recently - applying for credit cards. Previously, I only had one plastic, which is a supplementary card given by my father, the POSB Everyday card.

My "crisis" occurred recently when I started traveling overseas for holidays and for work. The expenses that were charged on the card was within limits, but it affected my savings because say in June when I had booked a hotel, I only paid up in July or even later because the bills were overlooked (but were paid due to GIRO deduction) as they were not addressed to me. Now that I have got myself a personal card, I hope I can bring my spending and saving into a balance (more savings definitely!).

The lessons learnt here are simple. Always set aside money to pay off credit card bills. And while it may be convenient to have and use a credit card, you tend to overspend because you do not feel the pain immediately and it screws up your mental accounting. Therefore, unless you are going overseas or trying to impress your date, you should leave your credit card at home. That way, you will not overspend your month's budget.