Tan Chong International (0693.HK)

[paullow]

hi, was going through a list of old listed companies with a sizeable land bank and found that tan chong owns huge plots of lands some 4acres freehold at bt timah and this ciuld be used for residential purposes. huge huge potential like yeo hiap seng sort of senario.
market cap 600m. yield 4%. anyone got any views?

[soros]

The main business of the company ( 00690.hk) seems to be in selling motor cars and trucks.

There was a little snip about sale of a property in singapore to one of its directors posted on the aastocks website.

http://www.aastocks.com/en/ltp/LTP_RT_Qu...88810.html

[paullow]

thats sharp. small news but u picked it up. anyway, tan chong freehold land holdings in singapore are at an astonishingly great 16acres at various locations. no wonder quekvleng chan holds 18% of tan chong and is ever ready to strike when thevtime is ripe.

[soros]

Is quek Leng the tycoon behind Guoco which is now under takeover offer ? Guoco shares in HK soared 30% yesterday

[paullow]

yes. he is. he is cousin of kwek leng beng

[lonewolf]

When I bought into this stock back in 1999, its huge land bank was the investment 'angle'.

Today, more than 10 yrs later, the stock has not exactly soared and if I reckon my real return is probably negative. Its also one of the few companies in my portfolio that has consistently give interim and final dividends every year - though the yield is not fantastic. The stock trades in HK dollars on the CLOB so you will be exposed to fx risk.

Conclusion: It does not matter if the firm has a desirable asset if neither the company and/or interested 3rd party is even mildly interested in monetaising those assets.

[paullow]

but when the assets gets revalued over the years, dun they also exert an impact on the stock price?

[money]

When I bought into this stock back in 1999, its huge land bank was the investment 'angle'.

Today, more than 10 yrs later, the stock has not exactly soared and if I reckon my real return is probably negative. Its also one of the few companies in my portfolio that has consistently give interim and final dividends every year - though the yield is not fantastic. The stock trades in HK dollars on the CLOB so you will be exposed to fx risk.

Conclusion: It does not matter if the firm has a desirable asset if neither the company and/or interested 3rd party is even mildly interested in monetaising those assets.

Time is the friend of the wonderful company, the enemy of the mediocre.
~ a famous quote from warren buffett

[freedom]

Thought Quek Leng Chan sold its stake already?

[soros]

4 acres of land in Bukit Timah works out at 170K sq ft approx. I searched on web for price of land in BT and came up this report for land auction in December last year :

"Residential site at Upper Bukit Timah up for sale

The tender will close on Thursday, 8 December 2011, 3 pm.

According to a release, DTZ has been appointed as the sole marketing agent for the collective sale of Green Lodge at 19 & 19A Toh Tuck Road, Singapore. The sale is being conducted through a tender exercise which will close on Thursday, 8 December 2011, 3 pm.

Green Lodge is on elevated grounds in a predominantly low-rise residential area surrounded by established landed housing estates including Toh Tuck Garden, Eng Kong Park, etc. The site is located within a tranquil neighbourhood and yet is within short walking distance to a host of amenities including eateries, banks and shopping conveniences. The popular Pei Hwa Presbyterian Primary School is located within 1 km to Green Lodge.

The property is highly accessible via major roads such as Jalan Jurong Kechil, Bukit Timah Road, Dunearn Road, Old Jurong Road, Clementi Road, PIE and BKE. The Beauty World MRT Station on the Downtown Line, expected to be operational in 2015 and located about 800 metres away, will provide easy accessibility to destinations including Methodist Girls’ Primary School, Raffles Girls' Primary School, Hwa Chong Institution and National Junior College as well as to MRT Interchanges at Botanic Gardens, Newton and Little India stations.

The freehold property sits on a land area of approximately 14,035.3 sq m (151,075 sq ft). According to Master Plan 2008, the site can be developed into a five-storey condominium development at a gross plot ratio of 1.4. Green Lodge has an approved density of equivalent plot ratio 1.4896. Development charge is not payable for proposed development of up to plot ratio 1.4896.

The owners are expecting above $195 million for the site. This will work out to about $866 per square foot per plot ratio".

So the 4 acres of BT land may be worth $236 Million ??