Extension To The Great CEOs List

To only put up 5 CEOs as great may be doing a disservice to many who can be categorised as greats as well. I have decided to extend the list:



Abdul Halim bin Harun - UMW

Dato’ Abdul Halim bin Harun was appointed to the Board of Directors of UMW Holdings Berhad on 15 October 1990, before becoming the current Group Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer on 5 April 2001. He received his formal education from Universiti Teknologi MARA and Emile Woolf College of Accountancy, United Kingdom. He is a member of the Malaysia-China Business Council, Malaysian Oil & Gas Services Council, Member of the Advisory Panel of Malaysia-Japan University Center, Member of the Advisory Board (Master of Science in International Business), Universiti Utara Malaysia and a Member of the Board of Trustees, MERCY Malaysia.

In 2007, he was awarded Malaysia’s CEO of the Year by Business Times. He was also a finalist in Asia Business Leaders by CNBC Asia for 2007. Prior to joining UMW Holdings Berhad, Dato’ Abdul Halim was the Managing Director of Klang Port Management Sdn. Bhd. and Klang Container Terminal Berhad.




Francis Yeoh - YTL Group of companies

The eldest son of Malaysian billionaire Yeoh Tiong Lay. He obtained a Bachelor of Science (Hons.) Degree in Civil Engineering from Kingston University, UK in 1978. Francis had his secondary school education at VI in KL where he was School Captain. He became the MD of YTL Corp in 1988. Under his stewardship, the YTL Group grew from a single listed entity in 1985 to a force comprising five listed companies, and is now one of the biggest conglomerates in Malaysia.

On February 13, 2004, he was conferred an Honorary Doctorate of Engineering from his alma mater, Kingston University. He was awarded Business Week's 25 Stars of Asia in 2003; and was ranked 21 by Fortune Asia's 25 Most Powerful Business Personalities in 2004. In 2006, he was conferred CBE by Queen Elizabeth II for his philanthropic endeavours.

To me, his strong points are the ability to crunch the numbers deep enough and when the numbers match up, he is not averse to raise capital to complete the deals. He will wait to strike when the time is ripe. In almost all his purchases, he ends up looking very smart when you look back after a few years.

KPJ Healthcare Bhd Managing Director Datin Paduka Siti Sa'diah Sheikh Bakir

Datin Paduka Siti Sa'diah has been the Managing Director of KPJ Healthcare since 1 March 1993. An Economics graduate from University Malaya in 1974, Datin Paduka began her career with JCorp in the same year. She has been directly involved with JCorp's Healthcare Division in 1978. She was the Chief Executive of KPJSB, the holding company of KPJ Healthcare, from 1989 until the restructuring of KPJ Healthcare in November 2002.

Datin Paduka is also a Director in other companies within the JCorp Group, such as Kulim (M) Berhad, Puteri Hotels Sdn Bhd, Willis (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd and JMF Asset Management Sdn Bhd, as well as Klinik Waqaf An-Nur, a nongovernmental organisation dedicated to the provision of healthcare services to the less fortunate. Her commitment to excellence in healthcare has driven her to be active in professional organisations, such as becoming the Vice President of the Association of Private Hospitals in Malaysia (APHM), from 1994 to 1996, and the President of the Malaysian Society of Quality in Health (MSQH), since its inception in 1997.

Datin Paduka has also been a Board Member of MATRADE since 1999, Chairman of the Audit Committee of MATRADE since 2003, a member of the National Productivity Corporation's Consultative Panel on Healthcare since 2001, and a member of the National Patient Safety Council, Ministry of Health since 2003. Since 10 April 2004, Datin Paduka was elected as an Independent Director of Bursa.




Krishnan Tan Boon Seng - - IJM

He is likely to step down by December 2010. He joined IJM as financial controller in 1983 and was appointed deputy managing director on Nov 1, 1993. He rose in rank to assume the post of Group Managing Director on 1 January 1997. He was re-designated as Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director of IJM on 26 February 2004. He qualified as a Certified Public Accountant in 1978 after graduating with a Bachelor of Economics (Honours) degree from University of Malaya in 1975. He also holds a Master's degree in Business Administration from Golden Gate University, San Francisco, USA.

Prior to joining IJM, he was with Kumpulan Perangsang Selangor Berhad for 7 years, his last position was Group Financial Controller. His directorships in other public companies include IJM Plantations Berhad, Industrial Concrete Products Berhad, MASSCORP Berhad, Torsco Berhad and Grupo Concesionario del Oeste S.A. He is also President of COBRA (Combined Old Boys Rugby Association) since 1995 and a Trustee of Perdana Leadership Foundation since 2003.He became CEO and managing director on Feb 26, 2004.

IJM had its best growth period under his tenure. The acquisition of Road Builders was quite spectacular. It was also under Tan that IJM went successfully overseas in a big way.

Great Shows At Dewan Philharmonik Petronas

Who says that its no fun at the Petronas Philharmonic Concert Hall!!! I am definitely going to be there for at least two shows highlighted below.Btw, don't you think Ramli Sarip sports an uncanny resemblance to Rocky Bru (A. Attan)??!! See you there!

POPS SERIES 12 & 13 March 2010 8.30PM Showstoppers Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra Stephen Rahman Hughes vocals Join multi-talented actor, dancer and singer, Stephen Rahman Hughes – star of Puteri Gunung Ledang – The Musical and Emmerdale – as he lends his vocal talents to some of the great numbers from Broadway hits like West Side Story, Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera and Bombay Dreams. Limited Seats! Ticket Price (RM) 95 | 75 | 55 | 25 Dress Code Formal

DFP SHOWCASE 15 & 16 March 2010 8.30PM Pink Martini With a wildly diverse repertoire and a cohesive body of beautiful songs, Pink Martini can take you from a samba parade in Rio de Janeiro at one moment, to a French music hall of the 30s or a palazzo in Napoli the next. This unique ensemble, described by critics as “sophisticated and cosmopolitan”, will perform selected pieces from their various albums including their latest, Splendor in the Grass. Limited Seats! Ticket Price (RM) 180 | 150 | 110 | 60 Dress Code Smart Casual

DFP SPOTLIGHT:JAZZ 27 April 2010 9.00PM Rachel Guerzo Rachel Guerzo presents an exquisite jazz experience infusing the elegance of the traditional with the dynamism of the new. Malay classics, bossa nova, swing and standards provide timeless music for an engaging and lyrical journey brought to life by an outstanding young artist. Ticket Price (RM) 40 Dress Code Smart Casual

Your Name : Your Email : Recipient Name : Recipient Email : Your Message :

DFP SHOWCASE 10 & 11 May 2010 8.30PM Ramli Sarip There is no other way to reveal the secret except to listen to his music. There is no other way to connect with his heartbeat except through an open mind. Immerse yourself in the spirit of Ramli Sarip’s music and let it touch your soul. That which is touched will be transformed. Presented by Impress Creative & Editorial Ticket Price (RM) 180 | 150 | 120 | 80 Dress Code Smart Casual

Asset Class Returns As At end-February 2010

REITs continued to be bought up aggressively as the deep discounts saw many funds taking the plunge to buy for value and recovery. Commercial properties are still a long way off to normalisation but its gratifying to see activity there, and the returns for the past 12 months was nearly 100%.

The trend in February was again one of posting a wide range of results and a shifting pattern of winners and losers on a monthly basis. This isn’t a shock, but more of it is probably coming, meaning that a new set of challenges await for managing asset allocation relative to the trend for much of the past 12 months.

February saw some weakness triggered by the Greece situation. Commodities and US stocks were the only ones posting positive monthly gains. Sovereign debt issues were hit as investors priced in the higher default risk.

I suspect the better performance of REITs and commodities were probably linked to rising yen and dollar carry trades. We can expect more of the same. Other than that, I do not see any strong asset class trends appearing, expect muddling performances from the rest over the next few months.

Property Bubble Concerns Across Asia-Pacific

Asian countries fearing a disastrous US-style property bubble are striving to cool down their real-estate markets as the region powers out of the global financial crisis. Policymakers are worried that excessive exuberance could push property prices far above their real value, only to crash and bring down with them banks that lent money too freely and individuals who borrowed beyond their means.



"It is better to pre-empt a bubble than wait for it to get serious and have to take more drastic measures," Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said last month after the city-state took fresh measures against speculation. Low interest rates, strong demand and speculation have pushed property prices in many Asian cities higher, in some cases surpassing peaks reached in 2007.

"The risk of an asset bubble is quite high in certain (economies) such as China, Hong Kong and Singapore," said Chua Yang Liang, head of Southeast Asia research at property consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle.

In China, property prices in 70 major cities hit a 21-month high in January.Beijing has tightened lending, requiring buyers of second homes to put up a downpayment of at least 40 percent, and they also face higher interest rates on their mortgage loans. In Singapore, where housing prices have been heating up since last year, the government slapped additional duties on sellers who flip a residential property within a year of buying it.

Home buyers are also now limited to borrowing up to 80 percent of the property's value, instead of 90 percent.In densely packed Hong Kong, home to one of the world's most frenetic property markets, authorities are fretting about a surge of speculative money since late 2008.

Starting April, the territory will increase the stamp duty for sales of flats worth 20 million Hong Kong dollars (2.6 million US) or more from 3.75 percent to 4.25 percent. Prices of some Hong Kong luxury flats have returned to 1997 boom levels.

Australia's central bank on Tuesday lifted interest rates afresh. One factor it cited was a "solid" increase in mortgages, "and dwelling prices have risen significantly over the past year". Median house prices in Sydney rose 12.1 percent in 2009 and 18.5 percent in Melbourne, and observers said the rise was likely to continue.But Simon Vinson, head of Asian property at AMP Capital Investors, said he did not see the overall Asian market overheating.



When you ask around, most will cite bubble conditions in HK, Singapore, Australia and China. But somehow no one seems to think Malaysia is having a property bubble as well???!!! Do I think there is a bubble in Malaysian property, oh yes! Ask me that question again during the talk.

How do you know there is a bubble? When everyone cites only the positives: low interest rates, comparative valuations ... I see big bubble in HK and Singapore, driven by truckloads of buyers from China. In Singapore, they cite the inflow of PRs pushing up prices in private apartments and HDB housing. The whole thing reside on the recent financial crisis which saw truckloads of stimulus left, right and center, but Asian banks and corporates were really not that badly affected. Properties in Asia DID NOT go to the extremes like in the US subprime party or CDOs driven gains in most of Europe, in particular the UK and smaller European nations. Now with the stimulus, we have too much liquidity swishing in the system. Most Asian central banks are still keeping rates low to keep in step with US and EU rates as exports and real economy are still recovering. I see liquidity being diverted into property in Asia-Pacific.

Yes, some countries are hotter, such as Australia, HK and Singapore. China is next but Malaysia is not far behind. In Malaysia there are two markets, its the new developments that are getting the bulk of the funding and cheap financing. Seriously, look at our affordability ratios, how can families keep up with RM500,000-RM800,000 loans??? Unless I am mistaken, most middle class families don't make more than RM10,000 a month.

Have a look at just completed properties over RM1.5-2.0m, even after 6 months, more than half are empty. Those below RM1m still mainly owner occupied. Many of the higher priced ones are people's second or third investment homes or owned by foreigners. We all know what kind of yields these properties can get locally don't we.... lucky to get 3% yield. However, the party is still on because the foreigners are mainly Asians and they are riding on a good property wave in their own turf, hence no need to sell. See if there are buyers for properties above RM2m in the secondary market... very very few.

Of course no property developers would be caught dead saying its bubbling over. So, how will the whole thing unwind, we need one major market to correct and then you see the domino effect. Property markets are different to stock markets, their bull run is more sustained and the unwinding takes a lot longer. When you are in the property markets, its hypnotic and crowd driven. Every profitable sale gets whispered louder and louder, do you want to miss that. I have a friend who bought a Desa Park City link house and it has risen by RM400,000 in 6 months, how to argue that that is wrong.

Safe to say that a lot of new developments are still being built, even the super luxury condos in KL and Bangsar are mostly still under construction. It takes time to see a correction but its coming. You just cannot make a timeline prediction. Unless you can see a normal executive in their 30s being able to buy at RM1m, without any help from their parents, then you can say its affordable.

The worse defense is that Malaysia is still cheap compared to Singapore or HK .... so what???!!! When is there an average for Asian property prices??? That argument is the same as saying my salary in Malaysia will soon double because its so far from Singapore's salary - yes, quite bullshitty. So, make your money while the sun shines, and then hope that it is sufficient to cover the losses when they correct.

p/s photos: Titi Kamal

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Friday, March 10, 2006

Asian Real Estate

Or Why Malaysian Real Estate Is So Cheap

Did you know that KL real estate is one of the cheapest in Asia - another reason why 5 star hotels in Malaysia are also among the cheapest in the world. One can understand if Malaysian real estate values lag those of more developed nations such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Seoul or Tokyo... but KL even lags Indian cities, Bangkok and certain places in Jakarta. We can understand why Shanghai or Beijing would be more expensive too compared to KL - population, out-sourcing and investment.

Is this a correlation to our GDP per capita (roughly translated is how much money a citizen earns in a specific country a year). The figures were obtained from CIA files, yes the American Central Intelligence Agency for 2005: www.gov/cia/publications/factbook/rankorder/2004rank.html

1) Luxembourg US$62,700
2) Equatorial Guinea US$50,200 (where is that, I want to move there ... but a cafe latte will probably cost US$15)
3) Norway US$42,400
4) USA US$41,800
8) HK US$36,800
16) Canada US$32,800
18) Australia US$32,000
20) UK US$30,900
22) Japan US$30,400
26) Singapore US$29,700
36) Taiwan US$26,700
41) New Zealand US$24,100
42) Brunei US$23,600
51) South Korea US$20,300
82) Russia US$10,700
83) Malaysia US$10,400
86) Mexico US$10,000
88) WORLD AVERAGE US$9,300
97) Thailand US$8,300
118) China US$6,200
132) Philippines US$5,100
150) Indonesia US$3,700
155) India US$3,400
229) Somalia US$600
231) Gaza Strip US$600
232) East Timor US$400

If you look at the table above, it bears little correlation. A poor country can have high city real estate values - hence a big factor is city population. You need to cram a lot of people into a tiny space, then real estate values will soar - take New York, Tokyo, HK, Singapore, Bangkok, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Karachi, Mumbai ... many are in the region of 10-30 million city population. KL has about 5 million but it is also quite spread out. So, another factor is it has to be CRAMPED - or rather business activity CBD has to be cramped.

Another factor for high real estate values is whether you are a financial center. Is your city a crucial outpost to doing business in the region - HK, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo, Mumbai, New York, etc... KL is neither here nor there. What about Bangkok? Well, it has a super duper population (have you seen the weekend exodus from Bangkok every Friday). Even though it is not a financial center, it the the center for a country with a decent population size. If your capital city is the center of a country with a decent population, you can be assured of good commercial real estate values - e.g. Thailand, Taiwan, South Korea. We need Malaysia to move quickly from 26 million to at least 60 million. Then you can have some good ripple on effect on real estate values.

If you are not a financial center, you can still command high rates if high-value services businesses are aplenty. Hence Singapore's commercial real estate will have a very strong long term uptrend as it does not depend on its reputation as a financial center/port/MICE biz like HK but moves higher up the value-added curve by encouraging designers/inventors in animation, biotech, education, etc. Does KL look like a city with good high value added industries?

Good amenities and public infrastructure would not be a bad thing, look at Tokyo, HK, Singapore or even New York - but infra is not crucial in giving higher real estate values. If you look at the capital cities of the high GDP per capita countries such as Oslo, Amsterdam, Stockholm, etc.. you will find that good infra is a good thing but not necessarily stratospheric real estate prices.

Lack of good quality commercial space will also spruce up real estate values. Just look at Indian cities, cities in Vietnam or even Jakarta. We in KL, unfortunately builds okay buildings cheaply as land is cheap and plentiful. I mean, KL commercial just keeps getting drawn wider and wider. First the CBD, then the city kind of move wider to include PJ, then it moves out to Shah Alam, now Klang. Too much cheap flat land.

So, commercial real estate value in Malaysia will lag the rest of Asia, even some cities in Vietnam (my gawd), and it will not change until the fundamentals change. The only exciting part for Malaysian real estate is residential, and you know how people get crazy with houses, every now and then, good houses in good locations will have its own bull run. The rental yields never match the house prices - but hey, who the heck cares. Commercial and retail, fergedaboudit!

Marketocracy Portfolio Updated - March 3, 2010

Further updates to Salvador Dali Mutual Fund (SMF) at Marketocracy. Beating the S&P500 by 52.04 percentage points for the last 12 months.

Previous update: http://malaysiafinance.blogspot.com/2010/02/marketocracy-portfolio-updated-february.html

	SMF m100 S&P 500 DJIA Nasdaq
	Graph Period: [7 Days] [30 Days] [90 Days] [6 Months] [1 Year] [2 Years] [3 Years] [4 Years] [5 Years] [Since Inception]

recent returns vs. major indexes
		Today MTD QTD YTD SMF -0.26% 1.09% 0.90% 0.90% S&P 500 0.23% 1.02% 0.40% 0.40% DOW 0.02% 0.76% -0.23% -0.23% Nasdaq 0.32% 1.58% 0.19% 0.19%

recent returns
		RETURNS Last Week 1.81% Last Month 5.46% Last 3 Months 5.05% Last 6 Months 11.75% Last 12 Months 107.22% Last 2 Years N/A Last 3 Years N/A Last 5 Years N/A Since Inception 27.45% (Annualized) 16.34% RETURNS VS S&P500 Last Week 1.07% Last Month 1.32% Last 3 Months 3.94% Last 6 Months -1.53% Last 12 Months 52.04% Last 2 Years N/A Last 3 Years N/A Last 5 Years N/A Since Inception 35.14% (Annualized) 21.21%

alpha/beta vs. S&P500
		Alpha 23.43% Beta 1.14 R-Squared 0.77

turnover
		Last Month 16.44% Last 3 Months 40.46% Last 6 Months 100.66% Last 12 Months 402.79%

Symbol Price Value Portion of Fund Inception Return F $12.22 $122,200.00 9.61% 53.47% BDD $15.49 $77,450.00 6.09% 52.81% Details NYB $15.73 $94,380.00 7.42% 43.58% Details NVDA $16.84 $84,200.00 6.62% 26.09% Details PLD $12.84 $104,235.12 8.20% 16.39% Details QSII $57.98 $86,970.00 6.84% 15.44% Details MIDDLE LOW $23.69 $82,915.00 6.52% 8.92% GE $15.90 $63,600.00 5.00% 7.36% NATH $15.31 $76,550.00 6.02% 5.95% FMC $58.41 $87,615.00 6.89% 4.04% BAC $16.46 $148,140.00 11.65% 22.50% VXZ $69.44 $69,440.00 5.46% -1.55% Details VXX $25.35 $38,025.00 2.99% -5.68% Details C $3.40 $102,000.00 8.02% 16.71% Details

Recent Transactions:

Close Date Type Symbol Shares Net Avg. Price Net Feb 24, 2010 Buy VXZ 1,000 $70.5357 $70,535.73 Feb 24, 2010 Buy VXX 1,500 $26.8776 $40,316.38 Feb 24, 2010 Buy FMC 1,500 $56.1421 $84,213.17 Feb 18, 2010 Sell KBW 4,500 $25.4103 $114,346.36 Feb 18, 2010 Sell MGM 9,500 $10.8018 $102,616.71 Jan 13, 2010 Buy C 30,000 $3.6092 $108,275.10 Jan 13, 2010 Sell SNV 25,000 $2.4918 $62,295.66 Jan 13, 2010 Sell JNPR 2,000 $25.8191 $51,638.17 Jan 12, 2010 Buy BAC 9,000 $16.4607 $148,146.52 Jan 6, 2010 Sell PSQ 3,000 $42.9924 $128,977.08

Euro Being Shorted In A Big Way - Collusion?

On January 20, the euro fell to a five-month low against the U.S. dollar (USD) to trade at 1.4160, due to concerns about the fiscal crisis in Greece. On February 5, 2010, the Euro fell to US$ 1.3638 on budget concerns in Greece, Spain and Portugal. It had traded as high as US$1.50 in October 2009. Several hedge funds have placed big bearish bets against the euro, with some speculating the single European unit will fall to parity with the dollar. On February 8, 2010, traders and hedge funds bet US$8 billion against the euro, the largest short position in the currency ever, due to concerns over contagion from the Greek budget crisis.

Apparently the large bets against the euro emerged following an exclusive "idea dinner" earlier this month that included hedge-fund titans SAC Capital Advisors LP and Soros Fund Management LLC. During the dinner, hosted by a boutique investment bank at a private townhouse in Manhattan, a small group of all-star hedge fund managers argued that the euro is likely to fall to equal on an exchange basis with the dollar.

I really don't think you need some parties to collude to weaken the euro. If the patient wasn't very sick already, the vultures would not be circling. The elite traders' bearish bets, reminiscent of the trading action at the height of the US financial crisis, had added to the selling pressure on the currency, and to the pressure on the European Union to stem the Greek debt crisis. Yes, it has added to the downward pressure but you cannot blame the traders.

However, the main street readers would like to bash Soros and fellow hedge funds managers for the woes. They remember the US crisis, which shook the foundation of the financial industry and plunged the world's largest economy into its worst recession in decades, hit peak levels in late 2008 with the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

At that time major hedge fund managers, such as Greenlight Capital chief David Einhorn, who also was at this month's euro-dominated dinner, determined that the fortunes of Lehman and other firms were dim and bet heavily against their securities, accelerating their fall.

An SAC manager, Aaron Cowen, who pitched the group on the bearish bet, said he viewed all possible outcomes relating to the Greek debt crisis as negative for the euro. SAC's trading position on the euro is unclear.

George Soros, head of his 27 billion dollar asset fund, warned last weekend that if the EU did not fix its finances, "the euro may fall apart." A spokesman for Soros Fund Management said the legendary investor did not attend the dinner on February 8, but did not deny that his firm was represented. At the dinner, the speculators are said to have argued that the euro is likely to plunge in value to parity with the dollar.

The single currency has been under enormous pressure because of Greece's debt crisis, plus financial worries in Portugal, Italy, Spain and Ireland. But, it has also struggled because hedge funds have been placing huge bets on the currency's decline, which could make the speculators hundreds of millions of pounds.

Mr Soros, who made more than $1billion by currency speculation when the pound was ejected from the Exchange Rate Mechanism on Black Wednesday in 1992, believes the structure of the euro is 'patently flawed'.

Greece is desperate to restore the confidence of investors in its debt after revealing that the previous government understated its budget deficit by half. Outlining the precarious nature of Greece's finances, Mr Papandreou said: 'There is only one dilemma: Will we let the country go bankrupt or will we react? Will we let the speculators strangle us, or will we take our fate in our own hands?'

The Greek leader also called for more help from the EU with its debt crisis. Until now, the EU has offered political support but no bailout.

I do not see parity but I think it will get very close, maybe 1.15 within 6 months.

Don't shoot the messenger!

Stephen Chow, China's Next Murdoch

Many people in Asia like Stephen Chow, in particular, his movies. Most will think he is a reasonably rich person - that's where most are very wrong, he is a bloody rich person. Funnily it took him a long time to accumulate wealth as in the early days, he did not get paid a lot (HK$2m-HK$5m a pop) for his movies as they were "produced by triads", which was why you see him coming out with 4 movies in a year sometimes (e.g. the Fight Back To School series, the God of Gamblers II, III). Once he broke free from these "triads' production companies, he started to make decent money, between HK$10m to HK$20m a pop (e.g. the special CNY movies produced by Wong Pak Ming).

When he had more artistic control, he showed that his comedic skills had another level to rise to. Certainly he was brilliant in the conception and execution in A Chinese Odyssey (1994),From Beijing With Love (1994) and God of Cookery (1996). That period of lull following the Asian crisis saw him taking on sporadic roles helmed by other directors, but he commanded outrageous fees. It was after the financial crisis that saw him rising to the super wealthy class.

Like they say, once you don't have to worry about money, you just do what you love. His following movies were a few years apart but required a lot more behind the scenes work. Shaolin Soccer in 2001 and Kung Fu Hustle in 2004 were masterpieces.

He bought a smallish shopping mall during the height of the crisis for about HK$300m, refurbished it and sold it a couple of years later for a whopping amount of nearly HK$1bn. While everyone is guessing, his net worth should be around the US$200m mark (HK$1.56bn).

Now he might be turning himself into a media tycoon, and who would want to bet against him. He is one smart cookie. He is aiming to build a Chinese version of Time Warner in the mainland after being appointed executive director of Emcom International (8220), a listed company in HKSE's GEM.

Emcom is principally engaged in manufacturing and trading of mobile phones; sales of digital versatile disc players; provision of telecommunication services; Sales and trading of telecommunication and electronic equipment, commodities, and computer hardware and relevant peripherals. It has 2.7bn shares and a market cap of HK$637m.

"My dream is to build a company to become another Time Warner, to make movies, animated series and merchandise that belong to the Chinese film world. A market as big as China needs a large entertainment company like Time Warner", said Chow.

He denied reports that he invested in Emcom to speculate in shares of the firm, which is listed on the Growth Enterprise Market. "Speculation is not my aim, it cannot satisfy me."

Chow expects to use the resources to produce more films every year, but he declined to reveal an annual target. The company will focus on producing movies that can derive other products like animated versions, related merchandise and online games, for instance CJ7.



Chow said the animated version of CJ7 - which he made and starred in - is set to be completed this summer.

"Chinese kids should have cartoons that are made in their homeland," Chow said, noting that mainland animations have the advantage of government support for the industry.

"It is inevitable to consider the China market as a whole, though we also want to cater to Hong Kong people's taste," he said, revealing that he started targeting the mainland market since the production of Shaolin Soccer.

Emcom is proposi g to change its name to Bingo Group, which Chow says he likes because he loves hitting the jackpot. The movie legend, who is the largest single shareholder of Emcom with a 14.59 percent stake, sold the image rights for CJ7 characters to Emcom to develop them into peripheral products. The company will issue HK$45 million worth of convertible bonds to Chow with an option to subscribe for 250 million new shares that can boost his stake to 35.64 percent. It will also have investment priority for Chow's future films.

Now that is quite brilliant, how to control a company without even putting out one cent. By selling the image rights, he gets 15% stake plus HK$45m bond. The bond will allow him to convert, if he wishes, to boost his stake to 35.6%.

When he was young, Chow learned Kung Fu by watching TV because his parents couldn't afford lessons. He still enjoys watching instructional Kung Fu videos to this day. Chow learned Wing Chun as a youth, and is himself a huge fan of Chinese Kung Fu legend Bruce Lee, and his films often contain direct references to him. Chow was, for a time, the president of the Bruce Lee fan club in Hong Kong and had a statue of Lee built. Knowing that, we all should have a deeper appreciation of the labour of love when he made Kung Fu Hustle.

I just hope he has time to make more movies, and hopefully not the gawd-awful CJ7, you are allowed one dud every 10 years.

btw... my favourite Stephen Chow's movie of all time is Out Of The Dark (Wooi Wan Yeh)