GSH Corp (formerly: JEL Corp)

[Musicwhiz]

A punter's favourite. Can the Company pick itself up and show consistent earnings?

The Straits Times
May 22, 2012
JEL hopes to get off SGX watch list soon
Penny stock has paid debts and reported $4.7m profit in first quarter

By Anita Gabriel

JEL Corp has settled its debts and clawed its way well into the black in the latest quarter with a plumped-up kitty.

Now the penny stock sweetheart expects to climb off the dreaded Singapore Exchange (SGX) watch list very soon.

The distributor of consumer electronics products such as Apple and Fujifilm recently received an extension until next March from the SGX to shape up or face being delisted. But it may not have to wait that long.

'We will soon be in a position to apply for removal from the list. It will likely happen shortly as we've met the criteria in terms of profitability for fiscal year 2011, and soon, will meet the one on market capitalisation,' said Mr Gilbert Ee, JEL's chief executive and controlling shareholder with a 32.6 per cent stake.

For the first quarter ending in March this year, the firm said it made a net profit of $4.7 million, up from $100,000 last year, largely from gains from a scheme of arrangement completed in February and improvement in operations. Revenue rose by 23 per cent to $27.8 million.

With that, the firm, to be called GSH Corp starting on Thursday, appears on track to rebuild its business and explore new ventures.

Playing an integral role in the firm's turnaround story is food tycoon Sam Goi, widely known as the 'Popiah King', whose 15 per cent stake is set to get bumped up to 58 per cent soon.

Mr Goi will pump some $14 million into the mainboard-listed firm through the subscription of two billion new shares at 0.67 cent apiece. Then, Mr Ee's stake will be reduced to 14 per cent. The proposal is pending shareholder approval. Mr Goi has also sought a seat on the board.

'While he has invested in many companies, he doesn't sit on their boards, except for Super Group. He's here for the long term,' said Mr Ee at a media briefing here on the firm's recovery plan and outlook yesterday.

JEL completed a rights issue that raised $5.3 million in February which was used to repay debt. On completion of the second cash call, Mr Ee said the firm will have $37 million in net assets, zero debt and $20 million in its coffers.

JEL plans to expand its product range while exploring new businesses by tapping Mr Goi's wide contact base. The firm expects to soon distribute information technology products made in China in markets where it already has a presence, such as Central Asia, the Middle East and Indochina.

'We are also expanding our product range to medical imaging products and medical consumer goods which have higher margins of between 10 per cent and 20 per cent.'

Mr Ee, a former banker who took over the helm of the firm in mid-2007 and has since slashed costs by half, said the firm will announce its foray into a new business by next quarter.

In recent months, JEL has been a magnet for punters and syndicates looking for a quick gain amid an adrenaline rush for penny stocks. It is a regular in the 'most actives' list in the market.

In the year to date, the ultra penny stock has risen 15 times to 0.6 cent. On April 25, over one billion JEL shares changed hands, a rarity for a single counter.

'I was aghast but I can't help it if speculators get in. At that time, the stock was fairly illiquid, which attracts speculators as the price can move (easily). We can't prevent people from buying and selling our shares. We are what we are - a penny stock,' said Mr Ee.

anitag@sph.com.sg

[yeokiwi]

GSH Corps. Short form for Goi Seng Hui Corps. Wow..
Uncle Goi is going in big.

wonder whether he will inject 第一家 into GSH Corps.

[CityFarmer]

I can only think Maybe the value of distribution network, I recall vaguely during wallstraits forum it was mentioned somewhere they had very comprehensive and strong distribution network hence able to be appointed distributor for companies like P&G.

So for someone who is in the business of package foods like Mr Goi having such network that move his products should be very valuable to him. (just guessing )

I had taken a look into the 2011 AR. It seem that GSH has an unique position of distribution network in Middle East and Central Asia. There are where the emerging markets located.

Probably Mr Goi expecting positive synergy with Tee Yih Jia Group and Super Group distribution networks.

Will keep it in my watch-list. Candidate for a turn-around?

[greengiraffe]

Global Strategic Holdings = Goi Seng Hui...

Mah Bao Tan and Far East Organisation also on the register. However, with share price more than 3 times the book value, is there value in it?

http://infopub.sgx.com/FileOpen/AGMPrese...eID=292285

http://business.asiaone.com/sme-central/...ess-awards

Popiah King turns emotional at Singapore Business Awards
20140404_samgoi.jpg

PrintPrint
Jacqueline Woo
MyPaper
Friday, Apr 04, 2014
SINGAPORE - When his father died at age 90 some months back, food tycoon Sam Goi rummaged through the old man's cupboard. There he found clothes that he had bought his dad, lying unused and still brand-new.

The Popiah King became emotional, lamenting that despite his own wealth, his father had remained frugal to the end.

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When he was 19, it was a $10,000 loan from his father that kick-started his first business venture in electrical repairs.

Last night, when Mr Goi was crowned Businessman of the Year at the Singapore Business Awards, organised by The Business Times and DHL Express, his father was not there to see it.

"But I know he would be proud of my achievements. Thank you, father!" said Mr Goi, 65, turning emotional again.

The award is Singapore's most prestigious business accolade, and in the past has gone to United Overseas' Wee Cho Yaw, Hyflux's Olivia Lum and OSIM International's Ron Sim.

Mr Goi is worth US$2 billion (S$2.5 billion), according to Forbes Asia, and is the executive chairman of Tee Yih Jia, which churns out 35 million pieces of frozen popiah skin daily.

At his 50,000 sq ft house in Nassim Road, he has a fleet of luxury cars, a 1,000-year-old olive tree and parrots that sing "Happy Birthday".

These trappings are a far cry from the days when he was six years old and his family had fled communist China to move into a one-room unit at Geylang Lorong 17.

The odds seemed stacked against him. He was not fluent in English and failed the subject in Secondary Four. His father paid him $60 a month to work at the family's drink distributor shop - and deducted half of that for family expenses.

He decided to strike out on his own. But his company folded as he had no customers. This taught him a lesson that he shared with My Paper.

"Having big problems is part and parcel of being a businessman," he said. "I've always thought that if a businessman has no problems, he has no business."

He taught himself engineering skills through night classes, borrowed money from an uncle and set out to repair machines again. Some nights, he slept only two hours. Within five years, his company Sing Siah had exceeded $500,000 in annual turnover.

In 1977, he bought over a business then owned by one of his customers, Tee Yih Jia, which made popiah skins by hand.

The rest is history. He personally drove the automation process, and those machines are used in his factories to this day.

"My capabilities were always in getting my hands dirty rather than scoring in exams," he said.

The next step was to expand beyond Singapore. He set out wooing Chinese chefs in Australia. At first, they resisted his square, machine-made skins - but he convinced them that his product was easier to handle.

Today, 90 per cent of his skins are sold overseas, and the product range has expanded to include frozen prata and dim sum treats.

The man is not slowing down. He works 10 hours a day and still wears an employee pass on a lanyard - just like any other worker. When asked about his hobbies, he said: "It may seem very weird, but running my business is my greatest hobby."

His business empire has expanded to include property developments in China and the acquisition of the Sutera Harbour Resort in Kota Kinabalu.

In his acceptance speech last night, he did admit to one solitary regret. "My busy schedule did not permit me to spend more time with my family and my children," he said.

tsjwoo@sph.com.sg


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[greengiraffe]

PUBLISHED APRIL 25, 2014
Sale of Equity Plaza may be in the works
Sam Goi-controlled GSH Corp said to be in talks; price tipped at $550-560m

BYKALPANA RASHIWALA
kalpana@sph.com.sg @KalpanaBT
PRINT |EMAIL THIS ARTICLE
BT 20140425 KRBUILDING25 1060238
Prime spot: Preliminary approval has been given for strata sub-division of the 28-storey building
NEGOTIATIONS are under way for a potential sale of Equity Plaza, a landmark quadrant-shaped office block beside Republic Plaza in the Raffles Place financial district.
Talk in the market is that listed GSH Corporation and its chairman and key shareholder, Sam Goi Seng Hui, are teaming up with a view to acquire the 28-storey office tower. They may be entering an exclusive due diligence period on the asset, BT understands.
The price is thought to be around $550-560 million, which would work out to $2,177-$2,217 per square foot based on the building's net lettable area of about 252,600 sq ft.
It is thought that Equity Plaza's owners - Keppel Land and a fund managed by Alpha Investment Partners - were looking for $580 million or $2,300 psf for the asset. Alpha is KepLand's wholly owned property fund management arm.
Equity Plaza - which was formerly known as The Exchange and The Quadrant - is on a site with a balance lease term of about 74 years. Offices fill levels three to 28 of the building, while the first level has a retail unit. There are close to 90 carpark lots in the basement levels.
Market watchers reckon that GSH and Mr Goi could be looking for a source of steady rental income from the asset, which stands at a busy corner bound by Cecil, Church and Market streets. Or GSH could potentially occupy part of the building in future.
However, the potential buyers may be eyeing the possibility of sub-dividing the building into smaller units and selling them.
BT understands that the authorities granted preliminary approval for strata sub-division in the building last November.
Completed 22 years ago, the building may have about 15,000 sq ft of unutilised gross floor area (GFA) - roughly 5 per cent of the existing GFA. The additional space could be utilised for food & beverage use, say market watchers.
GSH - which stands for Global Strategic Holdings - was a struggling consumer goods distributor that took on new life as a property developer after Mr Goi boosted his stake in the company and took a more active role a couple of years ago. The company, formerly known as JEL Corp, has its headquarters at GSH Centre along Changi North Way.
Opposite Equity Plaza, a potential deal is said to be in the works at Prudential Tower, for a 92.8 per cent stake in the building that is owned by Keppel Reit.
KepLand is the Reit's sponsor. A consortium, whose members are said to include private equity group KOP and listed group Lian Beng, is believed to be doing exclusive due diligence on a potential purchase of Keppel Reit's space in Prudential Tower.
Based on BT's report last week, the price could be around $2,340 psf or close to $520 million.
Prudential Tower is on a balance lease term of about 81 years. It is already a strata-titled property - with one strata title per floor on the higher levels and two units per floor on the lower levels.
This would facilitate strata sales in the building by any new owners.