“not fair” and “not reasonable”. Period

1)
Available-for-sale financial assets : 199,440,000 (30 June 2017) 36,779,000 (31 December 2016) . What are those other financial ASSETS that they've invested in ? Beside Acquisition of Properties with PIMA (RM37.5 mil) , Philippines Insurance (RM27.25 mil) and the Australia Altech Chemical (AUD2 mil)

2)
Loans and receivables 188,057,000 (30 June 2017) 140,540,000 (31 December 2016) . Why are they behaving like hedge fund? What kind of debts are they buying (is it triple A? corporate or government?) ? Have they not learn their previous bad corporate loans experience? What is the bond yields on average that the company getting?

My guess is Wahid will list Takaful Ikhlas to realize its value (through IPO) later on. Wanna bet? :)

they should buy back more aggressively with the kind of war chest (cash) they have.

what "analyst dont look favorably...?" excuse nonsense they give. MAA is NOT covered by any analyst and even if so, why bother what they think if your own company share price is truly undervalued.

http://www.linde.com.my/en/news_and_media/local/news2011_08_14.html

http://www.linde.com.my/en/news_and_media/local/news2021_01_12.html

http://www.linde.com.my/en/about_linde_malaysia/corporate_history/index.html

Linde is known to acquire companies they see fits to their portfolio. As said, it's just a drop in the ocean for them (the acquisition) . The question is at what PRICE ? They got to offer something the board willing to let go and propose to shareholders.

I think someone here know some privilege information about this counter. Perhaps its true that it's related to Linde and Siggas. Star paper only published the above article yesterday and already someone knew , commented that "banker are finalising the Linde's proposal" and then now deleted those comments. :)
With the volume and price spiked , i think something is really brewing between Linde and Siggas. News already leaked out, just not to us. It makes more sense for Linde to take over Siggas to expand their business.

and yet no news leaked ? whats going on?? I'm not selling until i know whats going on.

To takeover Siggas is just a drop of the ocean for their size.

@cheer76 Linde is world's biggest industrial gas company.

@Stead , where you get this info (Linde's proposal) ?? Cant find the news. Thanks.

Proposed increase in Directors’ Fees for 2017 (Approval to be sought at 19th
AGM)
RM326,400 per annum

WTF ? Sold off core business and have fewer things to run already, still want more fees?

Mr Ewe & Mr Tan Thiam Hock should take the company private.

http://www.altechchemicals.com/

i wonder if Murly of Aspen Group will try backdoor listing via Yi-Lai again. It's been one year since the last failed attempt.

http://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2017/03/20/om-sarawak-plans-to-make-a-wide-range-of-products/

More business for SIGGAS. All these heavy industries consume lots of special gasses.

“I’m sorry to say that, but if you look at the picture for overall retail, it’s not good at all.”

Brick-and-mortar retailers may be at a watershed moment, as plunging market share and store traffic force fundamental changes to a 100-year-old model,” Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Poonam Goyal and Jeffrey Langbaum wrote in a report. “Getting smaller may be the new path to success.”

Retail Malaise Puts Pressure on Chains to Shutter More Stores http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-23/retail-malaise-puts-pressure-on-chains-to-shutter-more-stores

coming report is going to be good.... USD has strengthen against MYR substantially. And BNM ruling has force companies to convert those forex into MYR.

Department stores have to be the longest, slowest, more painful death in history https://twitter.com/bespokeinvest/status/819899773654364160 …

If only we can short sell stock in Malaysia ..

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-13/one-chart-that-explains-why-traders-are-shorting-retail-stocks-like-crazy?cmpid=socialflow-facebook-business&utm_content=business&utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social

Directors get huge increase of salary compare to last year 2015. Why not throw some breadcrumbs (small dividend) to shareholders?
Seems like they have been working harder than before ; even after selling so many subsidiary companies. Yeah, next year increase your own salary to another additional million.


Page 89 of Annual Report 2016
13. Directors’ remuneration

The number of directors of the Company whose total remuneration during the year fell within the following
bands is analysed below:

Number of directors
2016
Executive directors:

RM600,001 - RM650,000 1 -

RM2,450,001 - RM2,500,000 1 -

@kensen I think it is already like TH Heavy. They are too "small" to withstand this tsunami. Everyone (O&G industry) is badly hit, but the big one may withstand... not the small boat.
Honestly with such bad quarterly report now and previously, Scomi = Zombie .
If anyone wants to bet on oil recovery, it's better to bet on those big boys.

They should reinvent their business model and close more stores. Those that still want to debate there is nothing wrong or their biz model is not broken is really deluded.

"The reality of the situation is that technological advancement is moving at the speed of light. By the time the owners and directors wake up, someone has taken their lunch. NOTHING BROKE. It was just taken away." Tan Thiam Hock

Even in America, Macy's start to close stores.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/macys-closing-100-stores-heres-171352828.html

Go research more about other country's departmental stores. You think Parkson is so special?

Netflix started as DVD rental by mail business. They changed their course and become streaming media giant globally today.

this ah pek is very stingy. only 2 cent dividend for shareholders . :(

I read the Annual Report 2015. See the paragraph item number below.

So each year about RM 3.1 millions go to directors???
(RM1682930 for those retired + RM1437745 current directors) = RM3,120,675



21. PROVISIONS (page 84 & 85)

Directors’ Retirement Benefits
At 31st December 2015 RM1,682,930

(iii) Directors’ Retirement Benefits
Provision for directors’ retirement benefits is based on existing contractual obligations with the director which is equivalent to two months salary of the director for every year of service. The entitlement is based on the last drawn salary prior to retirement.

29. SIGNIFICANT RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURES (page 89)

Directors’ fees RM108,000
Directors’ salaries, bonuses and allowances RM1,437,745

yes, in a nutshell, your shareholding in any de-listed company will still be protected by law (company act 1965). it is still there. the main difference is that you cant sell/liquidate your shares to the public on bursa trading platform after de-listing. you are holding a private company shares. you will still be entitle to any dividend if any. if you need to liquidate your shares, you need to find a private buyer or ask the company buy back from you.

let's say you bought the share at 0.50 per share. the company is returning 90% of your capital back to you (0.45). You just need to park 0.05 of your capital to invest in a company that has net asset value of 0.16 (mainly the 3 properties and cash). you have to wait for the boss to liquidate/sell those properties and crystallize those properties investment.

The buyback engine has resumed back from today onwards. *vroom*vroom*

http://www.bursamalaysia.com/market/listed-companies/company-announcements/5152685

Expect to see more buyback as long as the share price stay ridiculously cheap. Good job directors.

LAWS OF MALAYSIA : COMPANIES ACT

https://www.ssm.com.my/acts/fscommand/act125s0132E.htm

https://www.ssm.com.my/acts/fscommand/act125s0132C.htm

https://www.ssm.com.my/acts/fscommand/act125s0181.htm

Originally wanted to invest in this company. I believe soon Generali Asia will exercise the call option to buy the remaining 21% of their insurance. It was part of the contract when they close the deal 2 years ago.

However what bothers me about MPHB is how they revalued their properties.
Came across this old article about MPHB
https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/mphb-capital-berhad-forced-divest-080000166.html
Go to the paragraph "1. What method did the property valuers use that resulted in such massive increases? "

Other concern is the loans in default which incurred by their subsidiary moneylending business.

Maybe you guys can give your opinions and help to address my concern before I invest in this company?

Someone ("WhoKnows") wrote that in theory, the price will be adjusted downward 0.35 after the special dividend ; but not necessary in real life.

I completely agree with this person. In theory, if you believe the market is always efficient and based on rational expectation, yes , it should be adjusted ex dividend price.

With the way MAAG shares price is behaving in real life, it is already fundamentally inefficient and irrational, so I won't be surprise to see an abnormal behavior from the market in terms of pricing MAAG value (it can be either further downside/discount or better reflection of its true value, lesser discount).

If you own a stock that you think is worth $10 a share, and I also own that stock and I think it's worth $20 a share, I can try to convince you that I'm right. I can make predictions about the company's future prospects and etc... to prove that the stock really is worth much more. And you can make different assumptions about the future and try to convince me otherwise. But this is all kind of dumb. I should just pay you $12 for your shares. Then you get paid more than you think the stock is worth, and I get stock that I think is worth more than I paid, and we never have to discuss it. This is such a good and pleasant way of avoiding discussion that it is the principal way that people in finance make arguments. You buy or sell. Mostly when investors think a stock is going to go up, they buy the stock and vice versa. The buying or selling is the argument.

Investors in Malaysia cannot short sell a stock like other countries. So, forums like this usually attract investors whom are bullish about the company. We seek validations. If you check other company page on this forum, you tend to see the same. That's because it's a one way bet in Malaysia equities market. In investing, there is this phenomena called confirmation bias where an investor would be more likely to look for information that supports his or her original idea about an investment rather than seek out information that contradicts it. Confirmation bias is a source of investor overconfidence and helps explain why bulls tend to remain bullish and bears tend to remain bearish regardless of what is actually happening in the market. Confirmation bias helps explain why markets do not always behave rationally.

I am very bullish on MAAG because of its balance sheet and assets. I bet very big on MAAG. I think the price is irrationally undervalued and the market simply don't get it yet. It is misunderstood by the market, maybe due to its misrepresented status in PN17 or whatever unsubstantiated reasons. The market perception doesn't reflect its true value (for goodness sake its mostly all cash; yes my argument is backed by its balance sheet because I believe numbers can't lie ). It is a hidden gem.

To be a great investor one needs to first have the confidence to invest without perfect information at a time when others are highly skeptical about the opportunity you are pursuing. This confidence, however, has to be carefully balanced by the humility to recognize when you are wrong.

The assets left after capital repayment and special dividend will be the 3 properties (valued at 15.3 million ; page 6 of the circular ) and some cash reserves (Net assets 0.16 after the proposals ; page 9 of the circular) .
If they liquidate at much lower price for those properties, you can call Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to investigate the family for selling the properties at below market value! :)

Hmmmm... I wonder if this will cause further delay?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQV51olbv54

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaV-PMIyRkA

Yay!!! 5 Aug payment date!! 30 days from now. :D

refer to page 19 of the circular paragraph #13 : Tentative Timetable .
"End-Aug 2016 Payment date and completion of the proposed special dividend ... Barring any unforeseen circumstances....."

Actually I forget to factor in the previous years dividend received (0.18 sen since 2013). Almost got back all the capital pro rated. Best investment ever.

Congrats everyone! *High 5*

Yay! I can't wait for the special dividend. If the price doesn't drop much after the sp dividend and if they continue paying 6 sen dividend each year.... The dividend yield will be more than 15% yearly for me already.

I'm sure some of you will get even more. I kept piled up MAA shares until recently. I will buy more with the special dividend proceeds if the discount still stays at this crazy level.

Only MIGHT consider selling if the price hits above 1.80 (versus its NAV 2.00) to crystallize the capital appreciation gain.
Maybe not. Where am I going to find an investment that give such high dividend? Why sell your golden goose?

The EGM tomorrow is to ask for shareholders approval (vote) to dispose the Takaful biz.
If you think its not fair price, fine, then vote no. I think it is very very good price. I will vote yes.

It has nothing got to do with if you vote yes , you are giving green light to the board to use the proceeds to acquire other business. I think some of you misunderstood or misinformed. They need another EGM to get approval if they propose to acquire other business. I don't see the correlations that if you vote no, you can limit the board's power. You are only voting against the resolution (selling takaful to zurich).

Honestly, I think the board has done a great job SO FAR. And why would they do something that's not in their and the group best interest?

The board cannot privatize MAAG. The board can repurchase MAAG own shares a lot more and sooner. The biggest shareholder (TY) can privatise (which I suspect he will much later on if this silly undervalue price still persist... ok this story another time... don't want to confuse other). So feel free to pressure the board tomorrow to buy back own shares a lot more and sooner. Yes, you can express whatever views and opinions (eg. more dividends, please don't simply buy other biz, ask TY to make general offer so that it will create a floor price to MAAG, more capital repayment etc...). But please understand the vote is solely about asking your approval to sell Takaful to Zurich.

I know most of you don't read the circular mailed to you all. I'm in the market quite a while to know most retail public investor don't read those circulars etc.

This upcoming EGM on 28 June is to ask for shareholders approval (our votes) on 2 special resolution - proposed disposal.
First is the disposal of Maa Takaful to Zurich for CASH RM393.75 million.
The second is to approve the special dividend 0.35 .

In other words, by law, the board has to ask shareholders permission to sell its takaful business and also to approve the special dividend. This is the whole purpose of the 28 June EGM.

Any dissatisfaction about OTHER matters has nothing got to do with the vote at EGM.
You can voice your anger to them. You can ask questions about its future and plan. Most of all you can express your views and opinions. I hope you all understand this.

I'm not dictating what you should vote. But please understand whats your vote about.

I would vote FOR (YES) because we (MAAG) got a bloody good price for that Takaful disposal to Zurich. Zurich will buy Maa Takaful at 4.63 times the book value ! One of the highest price sold ever in other insurance transactions in Malaysia in terms of price/book value ratio. See it as , MAAG 's book value of the Takaful is 100million. Now MAAG is selling to Zurich for CASH 463million!

The second resolution is do you want MAAG to give you 0.35 special dividend? I want. Hence I will vote FOR (YES) .


Regarding the new right issues question; why would MAAG issue any rights issue? They have plenty of cash ! Having said that, it depends if the really do acquire other business(es) in future and at what price?

In order to acquire businesses (depends on the size), the board have to ask shareholders approval/permission (at another EGM... in future).

I think the most efficient way to create value in MAAG situation after they got money from Zurich etc is just to break the company up and return the money to its shareholders. That means go and liquidate MAAG. Then we will get back RM2.01 (post the 0.35 special dividend) per share.

Will the board do that? I still hope they will. I know I'm dreaming big.

I have said before, i SUSPECT TY will make voluntary general offer to all shares not owned by him in 2017. The big question is AT WHAT FUCKING PRICE HE WILL OFFER TO BUY??

MAAG NAV will be RM2.01 after the 0.35 special dividend.

Will TY make an offer at RM2.01 (best case scenario) ?

Judging from other buyout offers (such as ECM LIBRA, HWANG CAPITAL ).... i think it's going to float somewhere like those nonsense kind of offer price. The typical bullshit of "NOT FAIR BUT REASONABLE" price. Malaysian companies are very used to this shameful nonsense of corporate governance (exploiting and take advantage of minority shareholders). Lets say, i guess he will offer to buy our shares at RM1.60 (20% discount to NAV of RM2.01). Please vote AGAINST then. IF the board ever come up with such nonsense proposal, let's all then group up all the minority shareholders and file a class action appraisal suit against the board. The good thing about MAAG shareholding is it is very fragmented and only ONE big shareholder.

@Kin Fatt Wong : Under Bursa Securities’ Listing Requirements governing purchase of own shares by listed corporations, MAAG may only purchase its own shares listed on Bursa
Securities at a price which is not more than fifteen per cent (15%) above the weighted
average market price of the Shares for the five (5) market days immediately before
the date of the purchase(s).

Since all the resolutions were approved, MAAG can purchase at any time up to ten percent
(10%) of the issued and paid-up ordinary share capital of the Company

MAAG will or should accelerate its share repurchases in greater magnitude.
After collectively paid almost RM6million a year, just remind them (BOD) that they owe fiduciary duty of loyalty and duty of care to the company and its shareholders. I think we will see more shares buyback from now on. They should not delay value creation for shareholders.

May I ask if there were many shareholders attended the AGM on Monday? Roughly how many? Thanks.

Maybe someone can create a Facebook Group for MAA minority shareholders. The rest of the shareholders are all minority (holding less than 5%) and fragmented. We can see how many shareholdings in total those in concerns are holding.

Some important percentage numbers

5% - substantial shareholding level which requires the holder to disclose its
substantial shareholding to the company, the SC and the stock exchange. Any
change in interest and cessation of substantial shareholding is also required to be
disclosed;
over 10% - the holder may block compulsory acquisition;
over 25% - the holder may block special resolutions of the company; takeover guide - malaysia
33% - threshold for triggering the mandatory offer;
over 50% - a mandatory offer ceases to be conditional;
75% - holder can ensure special resolutions are passed;
over 75% - the minimum public float required for companies listed on the stock
exchange may not be satisfied;
90% - generally, confers the ability to compulsorily acquire the remaining shares
in the target company;
90% - trading of the shares may be suspended by the stock exchange. The
shares may also be de-listed by the stock exchange.

I am only SLIGHTLY concern about what TY will do LATER on. I suspect after all the proposals are finalised... TY will make voluntary take over offer (maybe in 2017) at a price relatively 'much' discounted to NAV. "Not fair but reasonable" that kind of bullshit we are familiar with in Malaysia corporate scene. I'm just speculating. Anyway being an insurance investor, i also like to hedge on all probable circumstances. Like insurance re-insure their risks. :)

Why i think he will make voluntary take over later on? Long story short. I am speculating that he will follow Hwang's path in the recent take over offer in HWANG CAP BHD. Something similar. You can google more stories about Hwang Capital after they sold their core business to Affin.

http://www.bursamalaysia.com/market/listed-companies/company-announcements/5099609

Is Melewar new to this cheap buyout kind of thing? Nope. In 2008 Melewar tried to take over M3nergy Bhd but unsuccessful. Can read the story here...
http://whereiszemoola.blogspot.my/2010/07/that-unfair-offer-on-m3nergy.html
MAAH was notorious in corporate scenes before already. MAAH screwed up big time in bad investments previously, left it no choice but to sell its general insurance to Zurich too in 2011 to survive. http://www.ram.com.my/ratingannouncements.aspx?id=1338

Ok.. that's HISTORY. Now MAAG is very healthy and has lots of money. Very attractive balance sheet. Its enormous net cash position continues to grow while the company’s shares are still dramatically undervalued. Since MAAG is almost a cash company, the valuation by independent advisor should be relatively straight forward. There shouldn't be too much discount if any buyout offer arises in future coz its assets are mainly cash. Honestly, I don't know how the board want to play this out yet. I am willing to wait and see.

For those of you who is attending the AGM and EGM, ask the Board to accelerate and increase the magnitude of share buyback. With such an enormous valuation gap and such a massive amount of cash on the balance sheet, there is no reason why the board would not move more aggressively to buy back share. We must have a board whose primary concern is enhancing the value of shareholders.

Anyway so far all is good. I will hold MAAG. I've just bought more. I think MAAG is deeply undervalued and its low valuation did not match its balance sheet but rather reflected "investor concerns" and also the fact that the market "simply don't get it" yet.

" If you own a stock that you think is worth $10 a share, and I also own that stock and I think it's worth $20 a share, I can try to convince you that I'm right. I can make predictions about the company's future prospects and earnings, and build a discounted cash flow model to prove that the stock really is worth $20. And you can make different assumptions about the future, and build different models, and try to convince me that $10 is the right number. But this is all kind of DUMB. I should just pay you $12 for your shares. Then you get paid more than you think the stock is worth, and I get stock that I think is worth more than I paid, and we never have to discuss it. This is called the efficient markets hypothesis.

This is such a good and pleasant way of avoiding discussion that it is the principal way that people in finance make arguments. Mostly when investors think a stock is going to go up, they buy the stock. The buying is the argument. "

EPF has been slowly dumping this stock since god knows when.

To the minority shareholders of MAAG:

The shareholdings for MAA are very fragmented. There are no local funds except one from overseas. The rest are individuals, hence they are very dispersed. Beside the only single largest shareholder (TY) who owns 36.6%, the rest all own less than 5%. In the latest Annual Report2015 there are new unnamed shareholders emerged compare to previous years 2014AR and 2013AR in the List of Top 30 Shareholders. They hold to near 2%. They could be anyone or any of the directors bff that might act as party in concert. I don't think so because this might mean breaching those insider trading rules. Still those shareholdings are small .

The question that daunt me at first is, can TY use the cash in MAAG to buy his steel company (Melewar Industry Group Bhd and Mycron Bhd) with whatever corporate takeover/merger? According to the relevant guidelines and rules, MAA needs to gain the approval of 50% of its shareholders if it is the acquiror. TY holds 36.6%. Assuming the shares buyback program goes into full force (accumulate 10% of the share capital, his share will be 40%).

I will vote no. And I write to all minority shareholders to vote no and file to SC,Bursa & MSWG. I don't think any of the other shareholders will vote yes anyway. Worst case, we can sue the company and the directors for breaching fiduciary and statutory duties if for any reasons a nonsense proposal were ever brought to vote. After collecting good salaries of RM5850148.00 per year; Page 37 of MAAG AR2015, I hope the board of directors continue perform their obligation to protect and enhance the investment of all shareholders. I applaud them for the sale of the MAA Takaful which is a great development to MAAG. I really thank the board for good job done.

Be it as it may, even if such nonsense proposal were ever brought up by the board, TY cannot vote for such proposal (if it is to buyout Melewar Steel or Mycron Steel). Bursa Malaysia previously in Oct 2014 rejected the EPF from voting in the proposed merger of RHB Capital Bhd , CIMB Group Bhd and Malaysia Building Society Bhd. Bursa said that by virtue of the EPF being a common major shareholder in all three affected companies, as well as the single-largest shareholder of both RHB Cap and MBSB, there existed a potential conflict-of-interest situation, whereby the EPF may be able to influence the proposed merger for its own benefit. So, by virtue of TY being a common major shareholder in the affected companies as well as being the single largest shareholder of MAA, Melewar or Mycron, there exists such a potential conflict of interest situation, where TY may be able to influence the proposed merger to its own benefit; if it ever brought up.

So, I don’t think this will be an issue for us to worry. Sorry Melewar & Mycron shareholders. (Lately both counters have soared)

The next question is what does the board want to do with all MAAG money if not return them to the shareholders? (35sen of special dividend;RM102million is very little relatively to its swelling cash reserve). Perhaps, as reported,this uncertainty of the company’s direction cause the deep discount of its valuation. Regardless of its “direction”, I strongly believe it is an irrational market behaviour that grossly undervalue MAAG share price.

What business does the board want to acquire? For sure is not finance related company. Property? Power generation? Honestly I don't know. In fact, I don't think the board have anything in mind too. I doubt they will find any undervalued and good companies to buy in the next 24 months period. (I’ve mentioned in my previous post that Hwang Capital Bhd is kinda in similar path after selling their core business to Affin). I think maybe they just want to buy some time while happily withdrawing salaries and fees. I mean it is not illegal. I'm not sure yet what legal rights we have as minority shareholders if we want to stop this. In fact it is too early to guess or suspect what the board will do. The official announcement of the Takaful sale is just 2 weeks old.

I hope you all will attend the AGM and the EGM (in future) to ensure that your voices are heard. Ask the board to engage methods that can remove the substantial discount at which the shares trade and its net asset value (NAV). Buyback more shares, more aggressive than before. The board should step up efforts to narrow the discount to the NAV.

There are other options to narrow the gap which I’m sure Datuk Umar knows. You can hire me as your advisor if you don’t know what I mean, Datuk Umar. Thank you.


PS: In the matter of full disclosure, I bought more MAAG shares yesterday on 11 May at RM1.15
And of course I believe MAAG is ripe for take-over.

http://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2016/05/09/maas-growing-cash-pile-fails-to-boost-share-price/

I'm not preaching that equities should trade above or near at its NAV. In fact, if i go by that rule, there are many other stocks on Bursa trade below its NTA. Many. So MAA is really not unique in that sense.

But when company trades in much deep discount to its net cash reserve, with no debts and only small portion of other illiquid investment/assets (which may go down or up in value...) ,I feel that it is a good bet that highly unlikely to go wrong. In fact if they sell their Philippines insurance arm, i think it will be a premium ; not just book value.

Again, is MAA really a unique case? No. For sure its not first time this had happened. In fact, its quite common. Let's ake only Bursa listed companies. Also, let's restrict and narrow down to much more similar industry (insurance or finance related). I've mentioned in my previous post about the Kenanga bought ECM Libra. There has been few consolidations or mergers&aquisations of financial related companies in recent years. RHB bought OSK. Pacific Mas Bhd insurance sold to OCBC Bank. Affin Bank bought Hwang DBS 's core business.

Lets take Affin and Hwang DBS precedent since it was only in 2014. Hwang declared almost all the net profit accrued from the sales of its core business to Affin to its shareholders. Like MAA, they want to maintain listing status and is on lookout to acquire business. They requested for extension recently. Yes, it trades below its NTA too. But the discount is not as deep as MAA case.

I believe the price will come to its equilibrium , lesser discount to reflect fairer value.
To me, best case scenario; MAA privatised. Worst case scenario, the board manage to get shareholders' approval to acquire some "donkey" business or to bail out his steel mills (but then lately his steel listed stocks soared in price for God-knows-why). And purposely delaying while still withdrawing salary of millions for doing nothing (running a cash company). Maybe this is the reason for its huge discount now.

Maybe, we should all attend the EGM and send a clear message to the board "Please be kind, generous and reward your shareholders that have been patient and faithful all these years. You have done a great job. Thank you. Please retire in Bali, at the Nagasutra villa which bought under MAA."

This is a good arbitrage opportunity.

I'm still not selling even at this price that secure me abt 90% profit. I'm willing to wait till MAA at its breakup value of near RM2 per share.

I don't know what the board will do after this. Who knows Tunku Yaacob might do MGO. I guess there will be more capital repayments and dividends.

They may kinda follow ECM Libra Group's path SLIGHTLY which was also in PN17 after selling their core business. ECM sold their investment bank to Kenanga and have since made capital repayment via combination of cancellation of shares, special dividend and other structuring. MAA one will not be as complicated since Zurich is paying all in cash. I'm using ECM as comparison only because it was also financial holdings company.

I like company with 'too much' cash. I did the same to Abric Bhd. The arbitrage on Abric Bhd with its cash have been positive and winning formula.

Just be patient. What else do you want to invest in nowadays? Please share what other stocks have limited downside risk and potential higher upside reward?

Oh yes, don't forget our "beloved" leader's mantra : Cash is King

It will trade at near its NA value after the proposal (page 14/17) NA per MAAG Share RM2.01
That already discount on all its other smaller business (mortgage lending in australia, Philippines insurance etc) which might sold at premium too and also the special dividend. It's quite obvious they are divesting their business and planning to do so for the rest.

The share price will come to its equilibrium. Just sit back, wait and relax (meantime expect more dividend too). :)


" 8.2 The Proposed Disposal will not have any effect on the earnings and EPS of the MAAG Group for the FYE 2015 as the Proposed Disposal is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2016.
However, the Proposed Disposal is expected to increase the earnings and EPS of the MAAG
Group for the financial year ending 31 December 2016. The MAAG Group expects to realise
a non-recurring gain on disposal arising from the Proposed Disposal. Nonetheless, MAAT will
no longer contribute to the future consolidated earnings of the MAAG Group upon completion
of the Proposed Disposal.
For illustration purpose only and based on the audited financial statements of the MAAG
Group for the FYE 2015, the Proposed Disposal would result in a proforma non-recurring gain
on disposal of about RM289.5 million (after deducting the estimated expenses of RM2.5
million to be incurred for the Proposals) representing an EPS of approximately RM0.97 to the
MAAG Group.
Upon completion of the Proposed Disposal, MAAT’s PBT of approximately RM2.8 million for
the FYE 2015 will no longer be consolidated as part of the MAAG Group. However, the actual
gain on the Proposed Disposal can only be determined once the completion date is
determined, which is expected to be in the third quarter of 2016.
The Proposed Special Dividend will not have any effect on the earnings of the MAAG Group. "



The disposal of its Takaful arm already will net approx. RM0.97 per share
I think nowadays very few people bother to read.

Congrats everyone.
I didn't foresee they sold at such high valuation (price-to-book ratio of approximately 4.49 times).
I'm beyond happy. My best bet ever.

http://www.reuters.com/article/zurich-ins-group-takaful-idUSL5N17V07C

"MAA Takaful held 1.2 billion ringgit ($306.7 million) worth of assets as of June 2015"

ehh??

not even rumours abt the price ?? this is malaysia. everything is "leak-able" . just no accountability.

This is the stock that i can hold and sleep well regardless the political outcome, who is replacing Tan Sri Zeti, the implosion of 1MDB debt default, the commodities prices slump, etc...

What pisses me about MAA board are : Why can't they get MAA out of PN17 after so many years with some minor corporate restructuring (not rocket science to switch its core business to takaful right after selling their core conventional insurance biz?) Why didn't Yacoob & Umar leverage on their status & connections to mingle more with those fat cats & analysts so that they can cover us. I mean they are very well-known people in finance industry and elites. Yeah, they always appear on Tatler n all those shits. Not difficult to ask your friends to "support"...

On the other hand, this STM is getting re-rated despite being "over-valued relative to MAA". Today's paper :-

CIMB Research has maintained its “add” rating on Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Bhd (STM) given its potential re-rating catalysts.

“We continue to rate an ‘add’, given the potential re-rating catalysts of good growth prospects in the Takaful industry, bright earnings outlook with projected earnings per share (EPS) growth of 16.8% in FY16 and 12.3% in FY17, and one of the strongest return on equity of 25-26% among the financial services stocks in Malaysia,”

CIMB said STM management sees a stable outlook for the Takaful industry in 2016. It said the strong growth in this segment would partly come from the cannibalisation of the conventional insurance premiums. It is aiming for a gross contributions (premium) growth of 15% in 2016, which is higher than CIMB’s projected 10.7%



I like how they wrote ..."cannibalisation of the conventional insurance premiums.." :D :D
Anyway pardon my rant. Just want to vent it after reading the "add" rating on STM.
I thank MAA for the generous dividend. Thanks Umar. Looking forward to another 3 cents again. But please do more... Cheers