Company AGMs: Dos and don'ts

[shanrui_91]

i am going to see how interesting agm is 2morrow...

[dzwm87]

some of the agm does give out some pretty good perks - especially so for retail and consumer products

will be attending starhill global reit agm tomorrow.. looking for some good discount vouchers..

[FFNow]

i am going to see how interesting agm is 2morrow...

Which company u going for, shanrui?

[shanrui_91]

i am going to see how interesting agm is 2morrow...

Which company u going for, shanrui?

I only have 1 company for this quarter, though I am considering staying longer to be an observer for SBS transit since it is 3pm at the same venue.

[FFNow]

I only have 1 company for this quarter, though I am considering staying longer to be an observer for SBS transit since it is 3pm at the same venue.

Then should be Vicom. Let me know how it goes. Thanks.

[nutty]

I spotted two people in this picture in Chip Eng Seng's AGM as well.

1. Lady in orange flowery outfit in the middle.
2. Guy in white shirt, seated on the right side of the pic.

[Image: ST_IMAGES_EYGENTINGe.jpg]

The guy really spoke a lot... of pointless stuffs.

[dzwm87]

One uncle I met in AGM told me he only buy one or two lot s, and as many companies as possible so that he can attend the AGMs to pass time.

That's sad. Old age really seem like nothing but boredom.

Anyway, Starhill AGM was pretty interesting today. Some of the so-called "uncles" made some good suggestion regarding the Toshin court case that Datuk Francis Yeoh told his team to take note.

[Coattails]

Anyway, Starhill AGM was pretty interesting today. Some of the so-called "uncles" made some good suggestion regarding the Toshin court case that Datuk Francis Yeoh told his team to take note.

I was there too. The best suggestion I heard was the last uncle who told management to do a rights issue to existing shareholders instead of a private placement if they wanna raise cash to buy another mall. This is because the share is currently undervalued, so private placements are not beneficial for existing shareholders. That uncle knows his corporate finance well!

[d.o.g.]

The best suggestion I heard was the last uncle who told management to do a rights issue to existing shareholders instead of a private placement if they wanna raise cash to buy another mall. This is because the share is currently undervalued, so private placements are not beneficial for existing shareholders. That uncle knows his corporate finance well!

Starhill did a rights issue in Apr 2009 which was totally unnecessary as their debt was not due for refinancing until Sep 2010, one and a half years later. They then sat around and waited ONE YEAR for the market to recover before buying assets... from their own Starhill REIT in Malaysia. It was a massive misuse of shareholder funds as they could have waited one year before raising money. Instead they took money at the bottom of the market, when that capital was most precious, and sat on it. In that one year shareholders could have bought a multitude of other stocks that doubled.

That one exercise demonstrated very clearly that the Yeoh family has little or no understanding of shareholder value. IMHO it is no accident that Starhill Global trades at a discount to CMT and FCT.

[dzwm87]

I was there too. The best suggestion I heard was the last uncle who told management to do a rights issue to existing shareholders instead of a private placement if they wanna raise cash to buy another mall. This is because the share is currently undervalued, so private placements are not beneficial for existing shareholders. That uncle knows his corporate finance well!

Eventually, it is still a benefit-cost analysis. I am certain when the time arrives for the rights issue, people will question as well. The fact is given the structure of a REIT, where they are almost 'mandated' to distribute back 90% of its net profit, the only way they can acquire assets is either through share placements, rights, or taking on more debts.

Probably the better financing is to use a perpetual bond - in which case, they can choose never to pay back the full nominal debt sum. But I am certain it has its cons too.

Anyway, for Starhill, during the post-AGM discussion, Francis Yeoh did state that chances are very slim for them to win the Toshin appeal. The bottom line is the court thinks Starhill is trying to get the best of both world by securing Toshin as an anchor tenant and thereafter, complaining that their rent is too low.