Uni-asia Group (formerly: Uni-asia Finance)

[Nick]

Yea..very messy with all the disposal or restructuring made in the past 1.5 years. I guess it makes better sense to purchase a shipping trust ? At least their income seems more stable (and tax-free) and you get a share of the dividend. You are already vested in Rickmers Maritime Trust so do you plan to diversify into Uni-Asia while gaining exposure from its hotel and property business ?

Tempted to collect this and see...

Still holding onto Rickmers...
Rickmers is pretty stagnant though...

I am pondering whether to divest Rickmers and go into this..
I will still get exposure to shipping and gain additional exposure to Jap...

But then I am also vested in Saizen...

So far all my counters are deep discount to NAV..

Except my Mapletree Log...

Hi Zelphon,

I was a unit-holder of Rickmers Maritime for a quarter (short time) before divesting it very recently. I penned my reason for divestment here - http://www.valuebuddies.com/thread-156-p...ml#pid2203 - but it reflects my own views and need for portfolio balancing.

Personally, I don't think it is wise to jump into Uni-Asia especially when its business isn't very stable as compared to RMT. Its margins is terrible and it is generating negative operating cash-flow. RMT also has exposure to Evergreen (and a few other blue chip charterer) so it looks more like a step down if you are selling RMT to buy Uni-Asia just for its ship leasing exposure. I guess it has a much cleaner balance sheet though. Hotel-wise in Japan, I can't comment too much. IPC Corp has been purchasing business hotels in Japan this year so you may wish to see whether do they have similar margins and profitability. If you are looking for growth companies, I am certain you can find better ones out there. If you are looking for high yielding companies, then you have to be prepared for stagnating stocks. Rickmers won't be flying anywhere for the next few years unless they refinance their loans successfully. But as long as you are getting your dividends, why worry about share price being stucked ?

Cheers !