Straco Corporation

[weijian]

Good news!
Spore Flyer will resume normal operation from 20 March 2020.

Now Straco just needs the people to return.

https://links.sgx.com/FileOpen/Reopening...eID=601349

[weijian]

Straco says Shanghai Ocean Aquarium to remain closed due to Covid-19

https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/compani...o-covid-19

[holymage]

Straco says Shanghai Ocean Aquarium to remain closed due to Covid-19

https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/compani...o-covid-19

This piece of action undertaken by the Chinese government speaks volume, much more than any official statistic from China.

[Shiyi]

This is an interesting case to know on the ground that how much is "the business as usual" in China.
How is it that the aquarium was closed again after reopening for less than two weeks?
Or it has not resumed business at all after the announcement on Mar 17?

[weijian]

I was just looking through the Ctrip comments for both SOA and its competitor SHCOP. It was funny to observe that the comment/rating section continue to register new comments when they were closed from 25th Jan to mid March. During this time, SHCOP racked up ~200 comments, while SOA had ~150 comments.

Granted some people do post late after their visits but it is probably apt to say that the majority are bots (or paid human comments) at work over here.

SHCOP ratings on ctrip: http://you.ctrip.com/sight/shanghai2/4651499.html
SOA ratings on ctrip: https://you.ctrip.com/sight/shanghai2/18722.html


@shiyi, like all other entertainment/tourist spots which opened somewhere mid March, all were forced to close down after the U-turn came from the CCP.

[holymage]

Nice observation Weijian.

Compared to Dianping, these Ctrip comments are indeed very low quality one-liner comments without photos. Any other observations that can provide more conclusive evidence that these are bots or paid comments at work? Also, what is the intent of Ctrip? Wouldn't doing so discredit the legitimacy of its brand in the long run?

[weijian]

Somewhere in mid April, the PRC Tourism Ministry had released a guideline where only outdoor parks can open again with a maximum capacity of 30% + strict social distancing and health measures

Straco is still closed as of now since it is fully indoor while its neighbour SHCOP (the fav comparison with SOA at VB) opened ~2-3 weeks ago with the mentioned rules in place. Also interesting to see Shanghai Disney theme park itself still closed as well.

https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/130763926

[weijian]

SOA reopens (with all the new rules) today!

STRACO’S SHANGHAI OCEAN AQUARIUM REOPENING– An Update

https://links.sgx.com/FileOpen/STRACO%20...eID=610920

[weijian]

With ~1 month of operations (till ~25th Jan), Straco records a 3.39mil loss. After adding back the depreciation charges of close to 3mil (based on 1Q19 results), we are talking about ~0.5mil-1mil negative FCF in 1Q20. I thought this speaks of the strength of the FCF generative capability of Straco - when the chips are down, this strength really stands out.

Business Update

Overall visitation to all our attractions in the first quarter was 86% lower than the corresponding period in the prior year.

The Group incurred losses of $3.39 million for 1Q2020, compared to a profit of $8.51 million in 1Q2019, mainly attributable to the loss of revenue, while exchange gain recorded in the period mitigated the adverse impact brought about by the black swan event.

https://links.sgx.com/FileOpen/Straco-Bu...eID=611995

[weijian]

Answers for certain relevant questions also asked and discussed on VB.

The question about rising prices is interesting. In current Covid-19 situation, I suspect rising prices to protect your profitability would be a PR disaster. Also interesting to note Mgt admitting that SHCOP "may" also be a factor. On a similar note, from ctrip, SHCOP is giving free entries for all medical staff (inclusive of HK/Macau too) but SOA isn't doing the same.

RESPONSES TO SUBSTANTIAL AND RELEVANT QUESTIONS RECEIVED FOR THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING TO BE HELD ON 19 JUNE 2020

https://links.sgx.com/FileOpen/Straco-AG...eID=619524