I have been informed by a party who is "in the know" that the disposal was effected for a highly strategic reason. I was told the reason but cannot share with you guys on this forum. Suffice it to say that taciturn has got it partly right. However, the real reason goes beyond what has been expounded on this blog. What is certainly not true is that the majority shareholders are "cashing out". If that is their agenda, they would have done so long ago - and at much higher prices than the current price. On the matter of corporate governance, if the Board was not firm and decisive in taking the drastic action that has led to the current scenario, I am sure that the share price would be half (or even lower) of what it is today. Anyone who has been caught up in a litigation case before will testify that it takes a lot of effort, time and money to get to the end of the episode, without any assurance that the legal outome work in your favour. For Benalec to very quickly move to contain and manage a situation which could have caused permanant and irreparable damage to the company is, to me, very commendable. Therefore, those who are fair-minded and have the capacity to think logically should be able to make sense of the circumstances surrounding the company and its share price.

By the way, the warriors are not defending their case, they are on the rampage to exterminate the lunatics!

You are nuts! Every time someone sells his shares by following your so-called advice, there is someone else who buys them. It is therefore a zero-sum game. How, then, do you win? What is it that you actually win? What a deluded one-eyed Jack!

Taciturn, I am in full agreement with you. This clown kukuman is a complete and utter idiot. He doesn't seem to understand that a company's share price is subject to a variety of factors, most of which fall within the domain of personal judgement and belief. Then again, overall market sentiment, which itself is significantly influenced by global issues, has a dominant effect on share prices. In short, in the absence of bullish market sentiment, even news or announcements which are normally deemed good will not necessarily result in a proportionate share price increase. In Benalec's case, there is evidence that a few parties are quietly and consistently collecting at the expense of the weak holders, the misinformed and the non-believers. I personally am convinced that before the year is out, we shall see a decent increase in the share price. I happen to know that a number of institutional investors are beginning to warm up to the counter again. They will most likely make their moves once the EGM is out of the way. Coming back to kukuman, the more I think about it, the more I suspect that he is planted to make irrational, ludicrous and unfounded comments on this blog by a party which has an axe to grind against the company, such as a competitor or someone who has a personal agenda.

wkimchuan, you can buy back now at 89 sen. I bet you that you won't regret.

Crawler, I am on the same page as you and taciturn. A very important investment criterion is the calibre of the prime mover of the company, i.e. the MD. People should research on the competency and capability of the guy. As far as I know, he single-handedly transformed the company from a run-of-the-mill family-run construction company to the very respectable marine engineering player that Benalec is today. I am holding on to my investment purely because I am very confident he will take the company to the next level, especially now that he is rid of the interference of his two brothers. Time will prove me right!

Kukuman, the water always looks murky to one-eyed Jacks!

I am sure that, at the right time the company will make all the strategic moves to put the counter back on the radar. I suspect that the company would want the EGM to be put to bed before going on the promotion offensive.

Crawler, you are right. Nobody will commit tens of millions of his money to invest in any counter which is "rubbish". Also, the smart cookies will "manage" the share price so that they can buy into a substantial block of shares at a favourable price. Hence, the share price may not reflect the true value of a company's shares at any given time. I personally would read the transaction announced yesterday in a positive light.

I gather from a reliable source that the substantial block of Benalec shares has been taken up by a couple of O&G players who may have connections to royalty. Apparently the crossing of the shares is based on a strategic rationale since Benalec's impending projects in Johor are going to be related to O&G business activities. So, sleep soundly everyone.

It is not a case of the giant waking up, it is more like some small-time investors are waking up!

You are right, I just can't stand people who open their mouths so they can put their feet inside!

The safest place for Kukuman to be is the nearest lunatic asylum. When the share price is down, he is always the first one to say "I told you so"; when the price goes up, he says that the gain is too small to be significant. When some investors say that they are holding on to the shares, he claims that they are "trapped"! What utter hogwash! We should all be thankful that this guy has no part in running the country. If he was to sit for an exam he would fail miserably because he does not have one iota of logic in his entire body, let alone the brain.

By the way, the Tan Chong feud lasted all of 10 years!

Thanks a lot, taciturn. You've done a great job in rebutting the idiotic statements and claims posted by kuku. If I had not been otherwise pre-occupied earlier today, I would have composed a similar, albeit less detailed, posting on this forum. One point I would especially want to drive home to that lunatic is that, contrary to his claim that Benalec has a governance issue, the opposite is true. If there was a governance issue, would the two brothers be stripped of their executive powers by way of the termination of their service agreements? Would the Board have resolved to call an EGM to remove the same two brothers as directors of the company? Would the Board have taken all the well-documented action to protect the company's (and hence the shareholders') best interests?

The final point I want to make for now is that the moron (you know who I mean) has persistently and mistakenly asserted that anyone on this blog who ventures to put the record straight is guilty of misleading other forum members into investing in Benalec shares. What a thick-head!

True, everyone is entitled to his or her opinion or comments. What is important though is that the comments are fair, both to the other investors as well as to the investment vehicle, i.e. the company. in terms of the share price movement being tracked is 100% correct, this is no big deal. The share price is available on many websites on a realtime basis throughout the trading day. I don't for a moment think that there are that many investors who would make decisions purely and simply on the basis of comments posted on this blog.

You guys must have noticed that Kuku keeps tracking only one dimension of a share's performance, i.e. the price and nothing else. Any savvy investor will tell you that it is equally important (if not more so) to track the volume of shares transacted day by day. If anyone had been doing that, then a very marked trend would have been discernable. Tracking price alone is for the one-eyed Jacks. Such people normally reign supreme in the kingdom of the blind!

Kukuman,
You dummy, you said I was in denial. What did I deny?

Look, Kukuman, I am not in denial as you seem to repeatedly claim. If you find it difficult to understand, let me tell you one more time, it is my conscious decision to invest my money the way I want. It is none of your business.

What gets up my nose is this self-proclaimed investment expert (Kuku) slating people who believe in the counter and continue to hold their investments. He asks if forum members have ever sat on the board of directors of listed companies, as if to say that he has! I am sure that a lot of us know more about corporate governance than this disgusting loud-mouth!

Kukuman,
You sound like a sore loser to me. Just because you've lost a few bucks on your investment in Benalec shares doesn't mean you must spend the rest of your life cursing the company and anyone who does not share your screwed-up opinion. By the way, you still have not been able to tell everyone here why you reckon the company is "rubbish".

You are wrong. I am not losing at all because I bought in at around 86 sen per share. Don't be too cock-sure that you can out-smart everyone!

By the way, I make no apologies for having invested in this company. In fact, I intend to buy more at the current price. I want to test my brain against your crystal ball.

Kukuman,
You do amaze me. Unlike most of us mere mortals, you give the impression that you have a crystal ball that can tell you what the future holds, especially in the case of Benalec. You certainly seem to know much more than the financial analysts and fund managers. That being so, you should not waste your time on this forum. Go and bet your last dollar on what your crystal ball tells you are the winners in the stock market!

To be fair, any investment in Benalec should not be made with the intention of making a quick kill. This is a counter for those with a longer-term investment horizon because of its organic growth potential. Any savvy investor ought to have a well-balanced portfolio, combining short-term investments with longer-term investments.

Kukuman,
There's no need for you to be sad. If you own any of their shares, just sell them. If you don't own any, don't buy the shares. I'm sure nobody is pointing a gun at your head and forcing you to buy!

Kukuman,
You seem to have a lot of difficulty understanding that just because some of us believe in being fair with our comments, it does not necessarily follow that we are enticing others to invest in the counter. All I hope to read on this blog are fair and well-reasoned comments. You have been rubbising the counter for some time, why don't you give us your VALID reasons why you think this company is rubbish?

Kukuman,
Instead of running down companies you don't like for whatever reasons, why don't you just recommend the "best buys" to members of this blog? Do them a favour.

Kukuman, you are wrong on a few counts. First and foremost, you have not given me an answer to my question re the number of "rubbish" companies that you know which have delivered results that can match those of Benalec's. Secondly, if numbers are not important, can you tell us what is? Thirdly, you seem to want to brand everyone who doesn't agree with you a "typical street player". May I ask what your investment expertise is? How do you actually out-perform guys who really know what they are talking about? Also, fyi, I posted my previous comments not because I want to promote any particular counter (heck, I won't be paid for doing that!) but because I can't stand ignoramuses going on a rampage making a lot of unfair and unjustified statements. Typical street player!

Kukuman,

Tracking a listed company's share price movements is something that any dummy or dimwit can do, simply because this kind of information is freely availabe on the internet, e.g. by logging onto Bursa's website. A company's share price changes from minute to minute on the stock exchange and does not necessarily reflect the true value of the company's shares.

A smart or well-informed investor will normally ascertain the strength of the company's balance sheet as well as the viability of its business model. In Benalec's case, the price-to-book metric is 1.28 times, without taking into account the market value of its reclaimed land-bank. If the market value of its land-bank is incorporated into the metric, the price-to-book could well be one-to-one. In layman's terms, this means that if the company were to be liquidated tomorrow, the investors will get back their money without loss. In other words, the investment risk is minimal in this case.

Further, I have been tracking Benalec's financial performance (and not just its share price movements) since their IPO in early 2011. For their financial years ending (30 June) 2011, 2012 and 2013, their reported after-tax profits have been RM96m, RM82.6m and 56m respectively. For the first half-year to 31 Deember 2013, the unaudited after-tax profit is RM20.7m. Now, tell me, how many "rubbish" companies do you know which have delivered such respectable financial results. My suggestion is this: go do some meaningful research before shooting from your mouth!