Friday, November 18, 2011

Yanlord's hidden treasures may lie beyond stormy sea

Published November 18, 2011


By KENNETH LIM


RECENT exuberance about Yanlord Land Group Ltd following the emergence of prominent investors needs to be tempered by the possibility that the new substantial shareholders may be looking at a longer horizon than most.


Shares of Yanlord, the China luxury real estate developer, shot up by 12.7 per cent on Wednesday after billionaire Peter Lim, Wilmar International chairman Kuok Khoon Hong and UOB Kay Hian chairman Wee Ee Chao emerged as deemed substantial shareholders.

The company said after the close yesterday that Wilmar executive director Martua Sitorus is also deemed to hold more than 5 per cent of the company's stock.

Yesterday, the shares eased by just half-a-cent to close at $1.19. Between Aug 4 and Nov 16, when word about the tycoons' stake emerged, the stock had not closed above $1.17 even once.

Because the recent stock purchases were done through investment vehicles that have some degree of joint control between the four men, it remains unclear how much stake in Yanlord they actually own.

But the fact that such successful investors are adding to their holdings of Yanlord stock at all suggests that they must see value in the company.

The question is what value they might perceive. As one dealer said, Yanlord's shares had been 'battered' before the substantial shareholdings were announced.

One analyst told BT that the stock was trading at a discount of about 60 per cent to revised net asset value, which tries to adjust for the market value of the company's property assets.

Of course, that discount was largely because of a string of negative events.

On Oct 24, Yanlord said it would pay about 1.8 billion yuan (S$365 million) for a 60 per cent stake in two Zhuhai residential sites.

On Nov 4, the company said it would spend 1.7 billion yuan for a half stake in a Shanghai development.

It followed those heavy spending plans with disappointing third-quarter results on Nov 9, reporting a 99 per cent drop in profit attributable to equity holders because of global economic uncertainties and cooling measures by the Chinese government.

The weak earnings outlook and the aggressive spending have led to credit downgrades for the company. And three out of five analysts polled by Bloomberg in November had sell recommendations on the stock. The other two were neutral.

Do the tycoons see something that the analysts are missing? The answer is probably that they are looking at different things - Yanlord next year versus Yanlord after many years.

Carol Wu, an analyst at DBS Vickers Securities who has a hold call on Yanlord, said the short- to medium-term risks to the company are significant, but the longer-term prospects are actually positive.

'Next year whether they can do well depends on the performance of the luxury segment in China,' Ms Wu said. 'As long as the recession is in place, it's really challenging...

'But for those guys, they are quite long term, so at this level maybe you can hold for very long.'

That is a very important distinction that investors have to understand before jumping on the rally bandwagon.

Sure, the stock is cheap compared to underlying assets, but in order to unlock the value of those assets, investors may need to weather some rough waters in the short term.

As another analyst said, 'If it goes down 20 per cent tomorrow, Peter Lim doesn't mind.'

But investors who might need liquidity in the short term or are looking for a quick profit may want to think twice. - BT

Friday, November 11, 2011

Peter Lim, M'sian royals to build JB medical hub

By Millet Enriquez | Posted: 10 November 2011 2303 hrs

SINGAPORE: Singapore investor Peter Lim is joining forces with the Johor royal family to set up a medical hub and marina city in Johor Bahru.

The two parties signed the agreement Thursday to acquire a 10-hectare freehold waterfront site for the development, a news release said.

The first phase of the project includes the construction of a private hospital and healthcare-related facilities.

This medical hub will also feature serviced apartments, a mega shopping mall and a mega fully-secured car park with sophisticated security systems.

The hospital will have 200 beds and will offer centres for diabetes, orthopaedics, ophthalmology, women's health, and day surgery.

The medical hub is expected to be a one-stop centre for chronic disease management of diabetic patients, among other things.

Thomson International Health Services, a division of Thomson Medical, will manage the hospital when completed.

Singaporeans and Malaysians with Central Provident Fund accounts will be able to use their Medisave reserves for treatment from the upcoming hospital via referrals from Thomson Medical Centre Singapore, the statement further said.

Meanwhile, the marina city -- which includes hotels, residential apartments, waterfront leisure and entertainment facilities and a marina - will be constructed during the second phase of the project.

- CNA/wk

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Yanlord: Peter Lim Eng Hock Emerged Substantial Shareholder With 5.24% Stake.

10 Nov 2011 11:54

Peter Lim Eng Hock increased his stake in Yanlord via Open Market Purchase of 5,476,000 shares at S$0.9918 per share on 04/11/2011. He currently holds 5.24% of Yanlord or 102,065,000 shares. Peter Lim Eng Hock is a Singapore billionaire. In July 2011, Forbes magazine rated eighth amongst Singapore's 40 richest people with an estimated net worth of $1.8 billion...

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Singapore Tycoon Peter Lim Buys Stake in McLaren

Aaron Low — Straits Timea Indonesia
August 20, 2011

Singapore billionaire businessman Peter Lim loves fast cars so much he is buying a stake in one of the world’s top sports car makers. McLaren Automotive said on Friday that Lim had made a “significant investment” in the company, which produces ‘supercars’ that can be driven on public roads legally.

The company also has its own Formula One team — and the deal is in time for next month’s F1 Grand Prix in Singapore.

Lim, 58, who is worth an estimated $1.8 billion, has also joined McLaren Automotive’s board of directors with immediate effect, the firm said.

The company spokesman declined to disclose the amount of the investment, but said that more details will be released at the next F1 race here next month.

Lim made his fortune first as one of the most successful remisiers here in the 1990s, and then with a $10 million investment in palm oil company Wilmar International — now worth about $1 billion.

Ron Dennis, executive chairman of McLaren Automotive and McLaren Group, said in a statement that he is looking forward to working with Lim as the company expands into Asia.

“This is a very exciting time for us and, as part of our growth strategy, we have been absolutely rigorous in ensuring that the right partners join us; those who are focused on supporting McLaren Automotive through investment that generates strong returns and strategic growth for the future,” he said.

McLaren Group launched McLaren Automotive last year along with its first supercar called the MP4-12C.

The car, which boasts a 3.8-liter twin-turbo V8 and can reach 100km per hour in 3.1 seconds, is priced from $900,000 without COE in Singapore.

In June, McLaren said they had an order book for 1,821 cars even before the first unit was delivered, which means it is sold out until next year.

There had been talk that Lim was involved in a deal with the sports car maker as early as February but when asked by The Straits Times, his public relations consultant had then denied the link.

Lim, who has a passion for sports cars and owns several of his own, is known for his uncanny ability to spot a good deal.

Earlier this year, the Singapore tycoon, also known as the ‘Remisier King’, bought Thomson Medical Centre.

He also made an unsuccessful bid to buy English football club Liverpool FC for 360 British million pounds ($593 million) last year.

Asian tycoons, boosted by the massive wealth being generated in the world’s fastest growing region, have been moving into the high-end luxury and sports sector with several high-profile acquisitions.

Hong Kong tycoon Carson Yeung bought English football club Birmingham in 2009.

And just this week, Malaysia multi-millionaire Tony Fernandes completed the takeover of another English football club Queens Park Rangers.

Fernandes made his money through his successful AirAsia budget airline business and also owns the Team Lotus F1 outfit.

Reprinted courtesy of Straits Times Indonesia.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

S'pore billionaire plans Johor medical centre

Sun, Apr 17, 2011
AsiaOne

SINGAPORE - Singaporean billionaire Peter Lim is currently working on bringing Thomson Medical Centre across the causeway and into Johor.

The Straits Times reported that the, The Edge weekly said: Mr Lim who took over the Singapore-listed Thomson Medical private last year, has bought 14ha of land in the southern Malaysian state for the project.

The land, in the Stulang Laut area, about 2km from the Johor Causeway, was bought for a purported RM200 million (S$83 million), it reported.


A source added that 'Mr Lim is working to bring in Thomson Medical group to possibly build a health-care facility on that land, probably in an effort to capture more of the medical tourism market.'

The Edge also said he was eyeing a piece of land near Singapore's Botanic Gardens that is currently owned by Johor royalty.

Friday, April 1, 2011

Peter Lim gives $2m for Hwa Chong scholarship

Mar 25, 2011
IN THE NEWSPAPER
By Jane Ng

Students Tiong Yee Eng (left) and Yap Pui Yee, both 17, are recipients of the HCIS Peter Lim Scholarship. Mr Lim said he wanted to help students from humble backgrounds who want to get an international school education but do not have the means to do so. --ST PHOTO: DESMOND FOO

FORMER remisier Peter Lim has donated $2 million to Hwa Chong International School's (HCIS) scholarship fund, one of the largest donations he has made to a school so far.

Mr Lim, 58, whose teenage daughter has been studying in the school since the middle of last year, had told the school he liked the 'attitude change' in her since she enrolled because she has become more scholarship enthusiastic in her studies.