Great Eastern Smart Extender Max

Well, you if have been reading newspaper lately, you may come across Great Eastern launched their new product called Smart Extender Max. They promoted heavily "RM 1 Million Medical Coverage Extension for RM100 a month!"

So what is Smart Extender Max?
Is an extended/stretch coverage for your medical expenses limit (Annual limit/Lifetime limit) on your existing medical card (regardless of any other insurance companies).

So how does it works? Let's give you an example

Mr.X had a existing medical card with annual limit of RM100K. He purchased Smart Extender Max (SEM) with RM100K deductible and was admitted into hospital in Aug, Sept and Oct with medical bill of RM40K each month totaling to RM120K. The first RM100K will be paid by Mr.X existing medical insurance and the remaining RM20k will be payable under SEM100K.

As a consumer standpoint, what is the catch?
Simple, if so happen you have max-ed out your existing medical card lifetime limit and you admitted again next year with a medical bill of RM50K, Smart Extender Max will not be payable because the deductible amount is RM100K. In short, Smart Extender Max is payable (on remaining amount) medical bill above RM100K.

Drop me an email if you're interested to know more:

How to sign up for Private Retirement Scheme (PRS)

How do i come across PRS?

I joined a bank recently and usually banks will payout 3-4% extra as employer contribution towards EPF for their employee, so happen this bank will take the extra 3-4% and put in into PRS instead of EPF employer contribution. Story short, so:

What is Private Retirement Scheme (PRS)?

Private Retirement Scheme (PRS) is a voluntary long-term investment scheme designed to help individuals accumulate savings for retirement. It complement the mandatory contribution:

PRS provides - Investment Banks/House will use your contribution to invest in PRS unit trust and provide returns to you at the end of the day. You get to choose which PRS unit trust you would like to invest.

Private Pension Administrator (PPA) - acts as an administrator for PRS, something like Bursa malaysia who administrate the shares.

Suruhanjaya Sekuriiti/Security Commission (SC) - regulates and supervises all intermediaries in the PRS industry.

What are the Benefits?

1) Tax relief of up to RM3000 max for a period of 10 years

2) Youth incentive - Government will contribute RM500 into your PRS accounts if you have accumulated RM1,000 within a year AND you must age between 20 -30 yrs old. *From year 2014 to 2018

How to open account for Private Retirement Scheme (PRS)?

1) Open an account with Fundsupermart. - Doable online.

2) Open an PPA account here. - Photocopy ID and Reg form.

3) Choose your PRS funds you would like to invest in.

4) For step 2 and step 3, you need to provide original signed copy to fundsupermart. - mail or dropby their office.

DONE!

Things to note:

1) Withdrawal is allow only when:
    a) Reach the age of 55 - partial/full withdrawal.

    b) Permanent departure from M'sia.

    c) Death

2) EPF monies are not allow to withdraw and contribute to PRS.

3) PRS is the same concept like unit trust, there are sales charges incurred too!

How to trade on Bursa Malaysia?

How do you trade on Bursa Malaysia? Simple! You need to have TWO accounts:

1) Open CDS account Central Depository System Account

2) Open Direct Trading Account or Nominees Account

1) CDS account which is the account maintained by Bursa Malaysia where they kept all the shares you owned/transacted. (Something like your saving account where it will keep your Credit/Debit transactions)

2) Direct Trading/ Nominees Account is maintained by the stock broker. Where you need this account to trade shares.

Direct Trading Account

* Able to apply for IPO

* Your name shall be register in the Share Registrar

* Transfer of share to another direct trading is viable

* Annual Report, divided, etc will be mail directly to you

While Nominees account shall be the opposite of the mentioned Direct Trading Account:

* Unable to apply IPO

* Your name shall not be register in the Share Registrar (Stock Broking Company shall represent you on behalf)

* Transfer of share to another direct trading is not viable (If necessary you can have it transfer to a direct trading)

* Annual Report, divided, etc will not be mail directly to you

Since Direct Trading Account has all the advantage, why there is a Nominees Account? Simple! Nominees account has a lower brokerage fees as it act as an intermediate house to represent you.

Malaysia share market in 2014

Wow, it been so long since i touch on this Malaysia billionaire blog. Well, time really flies and we begin in the Year of 2015 (goat year).

Recab some of happening of Malaysia sharemarket in 2014:

1. MAS share dropped tremendously where MH 17 was shot down and Mh 370 went missing till now.
2. Ebola still continue and send some glove share market up and down - Supermax, Kossan, Topglove, etc. Supermax's direction - Datuk Seri Stanley Thai and his wife Datin Seri Cheryl Tan were charged by the Securities Commission with insider trading.
3. World Oil prices went down to USD 57 per barrel which sent Malaysia's Oil & Gas (O&G) counter drop like mad. - Perisai, Petgas, Petronas, Skpetro, etc
4. Westport shares sore to RM 3.5 where IPO price was just RM 2.5. Sell too early.

What's install for 2015? Still start research soon...

Westports Holdings IPO in Malaysia

By P.R. VENKAT (The Wall Street Journal)

Westports Holdings Bhd., a Malaysian port operator partly owned by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing, started taking orders from institutional and retail investors for its nearly $700 million initial public offering, the biggest such share sale in Malaysia this year.

The port operator, which manages one of Asia's busiest shipping terminals at Port Klang on the west coast of peninsular Malaysia, timed its IPO for subscriptions on a day when markets across Asia are rallying after the U.S. Federal Reserve's surprise move to leave its stimulus measures intact.

Asian markets have been volatile since late May on expectations that the Fed could start tapering off its $85 billion bond-buying program as U.S. data showed the economy was recovering. But, with the Fed's statement late Wednesday that it will continue with its low interest-rate policy, investors are likely to put money back in the Asian markets that offer a higher return compared with the U.S., which is expected to keep its rates low.

Westports is seeking to sell a total of 813.2 million shares at an indicative price range of 2.30 ringgit to 2.50 ringgit ($0.72 to $0.79) a piece, a term sheet seen by The Wall Street Journal showed.

Hutchison Port Holdings—the Singapore-listed port operator owned by Mr. Li—has a 31.5% stake in Westports. Westports was founded by G. Gnanalingam, whose son Ruben is now chief executive. Both Mr. Li's company and Mr. Gnanalingam are selling a portion of their stakes in this offering.

The offering could help rekindle Malaysia's deals market, which was home to some of the world's largest IPOs last year, including state-run palm oil planter Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd.'s $3.2 billion offering. But this year companies held back on IPO plans ahead of elections in May, and since then deals have been few, partly due to market conditions. A successful offering by Westports that is looking to list on Bursa Malaysia on Oct. 18, will give other companies in the IPO pipeline the confidence to proceed. They include state-backed conglomerate UMW Holdings Bhd's oil and gas unit and property firm real Iskandar Waterfront Holdings Sdn. Combined, those two could raise more than $2 billion before the end of the year, according to people familiar with their plans.

More than half of the IPO has already been taken by nine cornerstone investors, including life insurer AIA Group, Bermuda-based Utilico Investments Ltd. and Malaysia's state-run Employees' Provident Fund, the term sheet showed.

Cornerstone investors commit to buying shares in an IPO before it has been formally launched and to holding them for a fixed time period, making the IPO more attractive to other potential investors. The cornerstone investors in the Westports IPO have a three-month lock up period.

This year, Malaysia has seen a handful of IPOs since the May election, but none larger than $500 million. The last big IPO in Malaysia was nearly a year ago, when pay-TV operator Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd. made its $1.5 billion debut in October.

Separately, people with knowledge of UMW's Oil & Gas Corp. Bhd.'s up to $850 million IPO said last week that the deal has been mostly covered with as many as eight cornerstone investors agreeing to take up shares. UMW is also likely to start taking orders from institutional and retail investors next month and could see heavy demand on the success of Westports IPO, these people said.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse Group AG, Goldman Sachs and Maybank Investment Bank Bhd. are among the banks advising Westports on the IPO.

Thai billionaire, Charoen hot offer for Singapore's Fraser and Neave Ltd, a beverage conglomerate.

Written by Reuters:

Thailand's third richest man has raised his  takeover offer for Singapore's Fraser and Neave Ltd, valuing the property and drinks conglomerate at nearly $11.3 billion, a move to fend  off a rival bid from a group run by Indonesian tycoon Stephen Riady.

Thailand's TCC Assets Ltd, headed by billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, increased his offer to S$9.55 a share, above the S$9.08 made by a consortium led by Riady's Singapore-listed property company Overseas Union Enterprise Ltd.

A formal auction will begin on Monday if neither bidder declares a final offer, according to rules set by Singapore's securities regulator, the Securities Industry Council (SIC). The regulator stepped in this month to try to end the takeover battle that was sparked in July when Charoen bought a 22% stake in F&N from Singapore's OCBC group.

"It is unprecedented to go down the road of an auction of this format in Singapore," said David Smith, head of corporate governance at Aberdeen Asset Management Asia Ltd.

Charoen acquired an additional 90.8 million shares, or a 6.3% stake in F&N, at S$9.55 each on Friday. The move raised his total stake in F&N- held through TCC Assets Ltd and Thai Beverage PLC - to 40.45%, including acceptance from shareholders. Charoen's previous offer was S$8.88 per share.

The Thai gambit puts the pressure on the Overseas Union-led consortium to respond by either declaring a final offer or withdrawing from Southeast Asia's largest ever corporate acquisition. If it comes to an auction, both sides must revise their offers in cash and without conditions, until a final winning offer is accepted or until the securities watchdog steps in.

At stake is a 130-year-old group with property assets worth more than S$8 billion as well as soft drinks, dairy and publishing businesses. Members of the Overseas Union-led consortium, including US hedge fund Farallon Capital Management LLC, spent Friday night discussing their next move, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter.

The SIC, which presides over takeovers and mergers in Singapore,  has 16 members drawn mostly from the private sector, including industry  representatives, financial professionals and legal experts.

The auction structure is similar to the one proposed to resolve the stalemate between Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Thailand's PTT Exploration  and Production PLC as they battled for control over Cove Energy PLC. The Thai energy company ultimately won.

Charoen, worth $6.2 billion according to Forbes, is pitted against Overseas Union's chairman, Riady, who is also the president of the Lippo group of companies founded by his father Mochtar Riady.

Protracted battle

In the fight for F&N, Charoen has extended the deadline of his  previous offer seven times and the Overseas Union group twice. The multiple extensions have tested the patience of F&N shareholders.

F&N's independent financial advisor JP Morgan had previously said its sum-of-the-parts valuation of F&N is S$8.58 to S$11.56 per share. F&N stock last traded at S$9.58.

Hedge funds have piled into F&N, whose shares trade above Charoen's offer price in expectation of a protracted bidding war.

Kirin Holdings Co Ltd, F&N's second-biggest shareholder with a stake of around 14.8%, has given its conditional support to the Overseas Union group.

The Japanese brewer will offer to buy F&N's food and beverage business for S$2.7 billion if the Overseas Union group's bid is successful. JP Morgan's valuation of that unit is S$1.88 billion to  S$3.82 billion.

If Charoen wins control of F&N, analysts say he is likely to use F&N's distribution network in Singapore and Malaysia to sell his other products, and to market F&N brands in Thailand, where he already has an edge.

Charoen's Thai Beverage brews Chang Beer, second in Thailand in terms of market share by sales volume, on top of producing spirits, energy drinks and instant coffee. Charoen also has a sprawling property empire under TCC Land.

F&N is the leader in the soft drinks markets in Malaysia and Singapore, with a 31.3% and 21.4% market share, respectively, according  to research firm Euromonitor.

Want Want China Holdings Ltd

By The Wall Street Journal

Tsai Eng-meng, the famously persistent chairman of Want Want China Holdings Ltd., recently tightened his grip on the Taiwanese media market after he and a consortium of buyers finally struck a deal with longtime rival Jimmy Lai of Hong Kong to buy the Taiwan print and television operations of Mr. Lai’s Next Media empire. Mr. Tsai, ranked No. 1 on Forbes’ list of Taiwan’s richest people with an estimated net worth of $8 billion, is a controversial figure on the island for having once said he hopes for eventual reunification with mainland China. His involvement in the Next Media purchase has sparked fears over editorial independence in Taiwan – Mr. Tsai already owns a TV station, three newspapers and several magazines on the island – and helped earn the top spot on this month’s China Power List, a ranking of top corporate newsmakers in the world’s second-largest economy compiled using data from Dow Jones Insight.

Eccentric Alibaba founder Jack Ma, no stranger to the Power List, maintained his grip on the second spot, followed in third by Liang Wengen, chairman of Changsha, Hunan-based Sany Heavy Industry Co., who moved up from No. 7 following a recent flare-up in his company’s long-running public feud with hometown competitor Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science & Technology Co.

Indonesia Billionaires

By Eric Bellman - The wall street Journal

Indonesia now has more billionaires than Japan, as Southeast Asia’s largest economy’s expanding middle class continues to ignore the global economic slowdown and shop, pushing up the value of the companies that sell them new stuff and services.

Forbes Indonesia’s latest list of the country’s richest people, released this week, sets its billionaire tally at a record 32 people and families, edging out Japan, which Forbes says is home to 28 billionaires. Last year Indonesia had 26 billionaires, according to Forbes’ calculations.

While the archipelago’s crowd of coal magnates was hit hard by a plunge in coal prices, the commodities collapse was more than offset by the growing wealth of the people behind the country’s top retail, media, banking, food and tobacco companies.

“The thing that really stands out is that the money of those that produce something for the middle class has been rising while those that made money mostly from commodities went down” in ranking, said Justin Doebele, chief editorial adviser of Forbes Indonesia.

Topping the ranks were R. Budi and Michael Hartono, worth $15 billion thanks largely to their holdings in Bank Central Asia. Also in the top five was Anthony Salim and family ($5.2 billion), who are behind the world’s largest instant noodle company, Indofood.

Newcomers included mall and property developer Alexander Tedja ($790 million) and snack manufacturer Garudafood’s Suhamek ($760 million). The poorest rich man on the list was newbie Eddy Kusnadi Sariaatmadja ($730 million), who made his money selling computers and now manages television stations.

Many of the country’s coal barons got burned this year. Banyan Resources’ Low Tuck Kwong saw his worth slip by close to half to around $2 billion, according to Forbes, while presidential hopeful Aburizal Bakrie and his family fell off the list entirely, as falling coal prices and a boardroom battle over control of their London-listed company Bumi PLC BUMI.LN -4.85%slammed the value of their assets.

While a lack of public disclosure can make it difficult to estimate exact wealth, Indonesia’s bulging batch of billionaires shows that family fortunes have been largely protected across the archipelago even as most of the world struggles with a slowdown.

And though Indonesia’s billionaires club is still smaller than the ranks in China (more than 100 billionaires) and India (more than 50 billionaires), with less than one-fourth the population of China and India, it has more billionaires per capita.

Indonesia expects its gross domestic product to expand more than 6% this year as well as next year. It has been attracting a record amount of foreign direct investment as companies including Toyota Motor Corp. 7203.TO +0.98%, Nestlé SA and General Electric Co. GE +1.26% have been ramping up their capacities in the country to better target its emerging consumers.

Indeed, many countries in Southeast Asia have been shining while the rest of the world slumps. The region is now home to the world’s richest country by some measures – Singapore – and hundreds of thousands of new millionaires.

Malaysia Billionaire:

Indonesia is attracting lots of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), inclulde Air Asia HQ has been moved to Indonesia.