Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

The Star Online: Business

Pre-and-post GE to fuel adex growth
Leveraging through Putra Brand Awards
Alternative investments can derive big gains if expertly managed

Posted: 03 May 2013 04:59 PM PDT

THE Malaysian Advertisers' Association (MAA) forecasts that the pre-and-post periods of the general election (GE) will fuel advertising expenditure (adex) growth for this year.

At the MAA's AGM recently, president Khoo Kar Khoon attributed the growth to the high volume of expenditure committed by political parties before the elections.

He also points out that those advertisers who had steered their campaigns away from the glare of the elections would roll them out in the second half of the year.

In a statement, the MAA says the adex momentum will be maintained by the traditional festive seasons Hari Raya, Deepavali and Christmas and the Mega Sale promotions that take place in the second half of the year.

In the same statement, Khoo says he has "great expectations" for digital and social media.

"This medium has seen impressive adex numbers in the past five years and the advent of high-speed broadband, mobility, creative usage and consumer habits will see more brands placing digital options in their communications plans.

"The digital industry is growing fast with more players coming into the business in providing new and alternative communication platforms. We will definitely witness the emergence of more digitally related creative, media or consumer communication agencies."

MAA says it will continue to work with the various industry bodies to enhance the development of the industry and address issues that are of interest to members, namely industry talent issues.

Leveraging through Putra Brand Awards

Posted: 03 May 2013 04:58 PM PDT

4As looking to collaborate with SME Corp to promote home-grown brands

THE Association of Accredited Advertising Agents Malaysia (4As) is looking to collaborate with SME Corp to promote home-grown brands through the former's annual Putra Brand Awards.

"The function of SME Corp is to help grow small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and we'd like to work with them," 4As president Datuk Johnny Mun tells StarBizWeek.

He adds that the Putra Brand Awards would serve as a good platform to fast-track Malaysian brands locally as well as abroad.

"We'd like SME Corp to recognise the synergies it can have with us. We're here volunteering our service, know-how and people to help better local brands."

When contacted, SME Corp chief executive officer Datuk Hafsah Hashim says both parties had already met and discussed a potential "consolidation."

"We have discussed on how to consolidate. I have discussed at length on how to fine-tune the methodology of selecting winners for the awards," she says.

Mun says winners of the Putra Brand Awards undergo a stringent evaluation and judging process before they are announced.

Introduced in 2010 as an extension of the Malaysia's Most Valuable Brands (MMVB) programme, the Putra Brand Awards is organised by the 4As and supported by the Malaysia External Trade Development Corp (Matrade) as well as other industry associations.

"Under the Putra Brand Awards, we look at the Nielsen advertising expenditure report before selecting the top 10 to 15 brands. Then we shortlist them and send them to the Pulse Group (a research agency) for research," says Mun.

"We also invite the Branding Association of Malaysia for additional input to facilitate the research. Then we present the shortlisted winners to our board of governors, which comprise various industry captains," he says, adding that Matrade also sits in on the evaluation process.

According to Mun, for the recent Putra Brand Awards, some 6,000 consumers were polled to determine Malaysia's favourite brands in 21 product/service categories - arguably making it the largest survey of its kind in the country.

"It's important to know the methodology of how the winners are chosen. I'm not sure whether other awards go through such evaluation," he says, adding that winners at the Putra Brand Awards are also not obligated to pay money to be recognised.

"Of course, we would like the winners to buy a table at the awards because we want them to come and celebrate the victory. If you choose not to buy a table, we would still give you a ticket to attend the event anyway."

Alternative investments can derive big gains if expertly managed

Posted: 03 May 2013 04:56 PM PDT

THE market today is rife with unconventional investment opportunities.

From art to ores and wines to coins, assets are reckoned to appreciate with time and then flipped within niche circles.

Information technology major-turned-financial consultant Jonathan Quek learned that while many were deeply affected by the crash in the bond and stock market during the financial crisis last decade, his high networth clients remained unperturbed.

"Diversifying their asset class investments helped alleviate their finances slowly but surely," he says.

In general, financial consultants advise that investors adhere to the "tried and true" of niche asset classes that have shown consistent returns and appear to be reasonably sustainable over the long term.

Otherwise, investors will be merely chasing the flavour or theme of the month pushed by sales agents and fund managers who want to make a quick buck out of the unwitting, independent financial consultant Robert Foo says.

If you must invest in these mostly unregulated schemes, assign no more than 5% of your total investment funds, he cautions.

Quek, who specialises in gold, silver and crude oil, says that even Securities Commission-regulated schemes could default.

"Look at the business model of generating returns for you. Is it sustainable? Consider the management are they trustworthy? To me, these matter more than regulation," he says.

A nose for fine wines

These days, 52-year-old Dr Richard Lee, a medical practitioner, gets to enjoy the finest red wines about twice weekly throughout the year.

Each bottle costs between 50 euros (RM250) and 200 euros (RM1,000), which over five years sell for 70 euros (RM350) to 650 euros (RM3,250), respectively.

Lee hedges against his consumption over the long run by way of an initial outlay of RM30,000 towards a bulk purchase of Bordeoux wines.

Some he drinks, others he trades on the Live-ex Fine Wine Market.

He currently has 12 cases in stock, which cost him about RM90,000.

Lee is a classic example of a "passion investor", who is happy to consume what he can't sell.

He estimates that each case of wine rakes in about RM10,000 in profit.

On the flipside, investors like 47-year-old Prudence Loh, who owns a business in virtual assistance services, has cashed in about RM100,000 from the wines' long-term returns.

Her confidence is rooted in her wine manager's expertise and the fact that all five crates she bought, which are stored at the Octavian Vaults in London, are French wines.

"This investment is more liquid than property, which undoubtedly yields higher returns. But for that, greater effort is required and the risks are higher in terms of my trust in the developer," Loh says. "French wines can be sold within a month on Live-ex."

More people are drinking wine and growing demand by emerging markets far exceeds supply, Vintage Assets Pte Ltd co-founder Chris Low says.

Low explains that Bordeoux only produces 400,000 cases of wine 80% of which is consumed, the balance, left for market manipulation in a year.

"When currencies fluctuate, your cash can debase even if you put it in the bank," Low says and adds that individuals would fare better to have it vested in assets.

"It is asset value that goes up when that happens. And wine may just be the new currency," he says.

Low estimates that there are some 200 wine investors in the country, a third of which he reckons invests with his company.

Consultant Foo recommends that investments for the majority of investors be in the form of paper wine assets rather than physical.

To further safeguard investors against risks in this unregulated market, Low emphasises that the fine wines are purchased under the individual's name, not the broker's.

"People have made losses for that reason when wine brokerage companies wind up. When that happens, the Live-ex is unable to trace the individual investors' names," Low explains.

He adds the public has made the mistake of investing in Australian wines, which barely has a market in this context.

"Only the right wines, and in this case, produce from Bordeoux, have an active secondary market. French wines have the heritage," he says.

Low admits the difficulty in determining the returns on investment on an annual basis.

"In about 25 years, investors can expect to rake in some 20%-25% annual returns. But this has simply been the trend in the last decade. We don't use these figures to encourage our customers. Our company KPI, however, is between 6% and 8% per annum," Low says.

Low does encourage his clients, however, to keep their investments for the long term as not every year is profitable.

"Every three to five years, we have outstanding vintages, so don't be quick to sell your wines when prices are low that year.

Investors' exit strategy is to sell their lot to willing buyers at a brokerage fee of 10%, the same charge upon purchase.

In this situation, Low offers investors the convenience of selling their stock on Live-ex under his membership.

"Go for the top 10 Bordeoux wines from outstanding vintages. And buy them young," says Low, whose company facilitates customers' receipt of storage certificates from Octavian.

The certificate protects clients' benefits and indemnifies them from responsibilities in the event that something happens to the wine brokerage company, whose clientele is based in Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Vietnam.

Wines typically have a shelf life of 80 years, so the older wines have less of a maturity and profitability period for the secondary market, which comprises drinkers, collectors, auction houses and investors.

"Hong Kong is among the most active wine markets in the world, challenging the UK and US as the most active wine investment market in the world," he says, adding that wine performance is not directly related to equities. "There are no fundamentals in wine."

Wine serves the same purpose as gold and property, he says.

New investors typically start with a case of wine, which would cost about 2,000 euros (RM10,000).

Low typically advises clients to allocate 5,000 euros (RM25,000) to 12,000 euros (RM60,000) for a more balanced poftfolio.

Allocations, if necessary, depending on the risks and returns profile of the client should be minimal for this asset class, which is affected by economic performance, Foo says.

"I would recommend paper wine assets rather than physical," he adds.

"China seems to be new market for premium wines but as with all asset classes, wines can also be volatile," he says.

Oil palm growers scheme

It's been nearly a year since the failed Country Heights Growers boiled over, stirring a slew of investors at having their two-year funds returned devoid of long-term interest, dividends and bonus.

Understandably, hopefuls have needed some time to regain their faith following the debacle.

Consider why these plantation companies would want to open their profits to the public, a reasonably leery Robert Foo cautions.

"Well, it's just a business model like any other. Our company keeps 30% of the profits and others get to benefit too," Golden Palm Growers Bhd chief executive officer Rajan Thurairatnam says.

The company's executive chairman Andrew Phang offers some comfort and points out that profitability hinges on the structure of the scheme.

The plantation company, a three-year-old player in the industry, leased from the state government in 2007 land in Gua Musang, Kelantan to start the plantation.

Since 2010, investors have bought into the scheme, which promises yields after six years, during which, an annual dividend of 6% is distributed.

A discretionary bonus of 2% was included in the first two years.

Phang tells StarBizWeek that since oil palm isn't ordinarily available to the common person, the scheme would allow the general public to "buy and grow trees themselves sans the labour".

"By the sixth year, we will be ready to distribute 100% of the profits based on palm oil pricing then. Bear in mind that the 6% dividend we offer outstrips fixed deposit rates," Phang says, adding that the structured floor on minimum returns ensures that its financials are not stressed.

The scheme

For an outlay of RM9,600, an individual can buy a quarter-acre plot from Golden Palm.

About 90% of the land has been purchased at this point, mostly by middle-aged investors who have secured their investments in property and blue chip stocks.

Compared with the stock market, this acquisition is not tradable but liquid, in that it can be sold to a willing buyer within a 12-month holding period, or back to Golden Palm by 2016.

So far, only 1% of its clients have traded their plots in.

Phang emphasises that the grower scheme is a long-term investment vehicle for people who understand and like the oil palm industry.

An oil palm peaks for commercial yield from its 6th to 20th years, after which growers may consider replanting.

Targeted schemes like Golden Palm's differ from those of, for instance, Sime Darby's, as the latter's profits are spread across six different divisions, Phang says.

Oil palm is essentially a reliable crop with wide downstream demand.

"Rubber is good too but since it's prices started trending downhill years ago, many people lost interest in it. In general, there are just not that many crops with good returns in the long term," he adds.

Over the decades, the oil palm industry has faced much flak from outraged environmental non-governmental organisations (NGOs) seeking to protect natural forests and all that live within them from being cleared for new plantations.

Industry challenges

Phang admits that the negative perception only gets more challenging over the years.

"When they started talking about the adverse effects of palm oil to health, it was eventually debunked by scientists. Our greatest challenge remains to be that of wildlife conservation. We have our Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC), which uses facts and figures to counter those arguments but we're up against awareness commercials that play on the human emotion. That's tough to counter," he says.

Both industries are true to their beliefs, and it is the palm oil's claim that the world needs to be fed.

Even so, Phang maintains that there is great demand for palm oil from emerging countries China and India as well as Indonesia.

"The need will only continue to grow," he says.

At the moment, the Golden Palm Growers acreage is still in its infancy, so the industry-wide shortfall in labour is not yet felt.

As the Malaysian economy progresses, its people have become more selective about their jobs, Phang says.

This means that plantations need to turn to foreign labour.

The upstream oil palm business is very labour intensive, from the growing to maintenance, and is not easy to mechanise.

"We'll need 100 more workers in the next three years. For now, it's a question of how we manage their time," Phang says.

The good news is that over the last 50 years, research and development have done much to enhance plantation practices such as provide new techniques to deal with hilly areas and produce new fertilisers to increase yields.

Keen investors who are making comparisons between grower schemes need to fully understand what's at stake.

In retrospect, there are lessons to be gleaned from the CHGS issue, as Golden Palm was pressured to see to its rival's equivalences.

"Our overall profit sharing spells trouble bad if we don't make money," Phang says, "but it also means unlimited upside if we do, and we're confident of the demand."

Country Heights had claimed that poor plantation yield, overtly hilly terrain, the torrential rains and too many wild elephants were its bane; agricultural issues which Phang's team addressed from the get-go.

"Now, the problem is that our land sits just about 50km from their site. But there are many different types of soil for various crops. We purchased ours specifically for optimum oil palm yield," Phang says.

By the 19th year, Golden Palm will have a meeting, where investors can cast their vote to have the trees replanted for another 23-year cycle, or close off the scheme and the undertaker will sell the plantation.

Unlike exotic investments such as wines and art, oil palm plantation schemes are more mainstream, Phang says.

He adds: "Oil palm has had a 50-year history of doing very well in Malaysia, which at this point, can't be said of the former categories of investment.

Foo urges investors to evaluate carefully the growers schemes they enter into.

He adds: "Many times these schemes are under the Company's Commission's regulatory purview, but does it have the resources to check and ensure proper and best practice guidelines are imposed and followed to protect the interest of minority shareholders?"

Time for tea

Like wine, Chinese tea gets better with time.

But unlike alcohol, storing tea is simple just a temperate, clean environment in the house so there are no ancillary costs such as air-conditioning and construction of a cellar.

This, and reckoned health benefits have popularised the commodity amongst niche investors in the country over recent decades.

Teas come in a vast variety, the most popular of all being "Pu-Erh", a dark, aromatic produce of Yunnan in China, which costs and fetches the highest prices.

According to 34-year-old Mike Lee, a local teas distribution accountant, 24 cakes of Pu-Erh (about 500g each) cost between RM1,000 and RM2,000.

His own investment in the last 10 years totals over RM50,000.

He believes that in a decade, its sale will reap multi-fold profits.

He isn't concerned about a lack of market.

"There will always be people who believe in its health benefits and tea shops that would snap them up," says Mark Chong, a businessman in his late 20s. If ever there was the perception that the Chinese tea business was a game for the elderly, Chong and Lee are instances of quarter-life folk who want to take advantage of time.

Chong has in his keep about RM6,000 worth of Chinese teas, which fill a small cabinet at home which he hopes to sell in some years.

His little stash is the result of recommendations from tea specialists and friends because he sees this as a very casual investment with minimal effort yet one with certainty of success.

And he believes that the specialty shops he visits are steady businesses that will continue to be.

"I'm starting young because this is a time business," Lee says. "In any case, I'd be glad to consume the products myself for the health benefits."

What Lee says agrees with the advice from financial consultants and other niche investors to first enjoy as a consumer the product before investing in it.

Two years ago, the price for 42 cakes of 357g worth of Pu-Erh was about RM5,000, Lee says.

They were just two to three-years-old.

He explains that the stock was sold to hunters late last year for RM7,000 and that in China, where the industry is massive and government-supported, the same amount would be worth CNY26,000 (RM13,000)," he says.

Valuation, based on quality and age, is subject to the valuer's estimation.

Yes, it would be helpful to have direct connections with the mainland Chinese for higher profitability, but a middleman would do just as well, he suggests.

He estimates that shipping charges would come up to 5% of the overall bulk.

That adds to the call that investors should invest only in quality teas for better net profits, since the shipping expense commensurates with weight.

While Lee gathers that the local teas investment industry is small and unregulated, the ideal climate helps to keep investors interested.

To his knowledge, there are Taiwanese investors who store their teas here as the warm climate would ferment their stocks quicker and therefore sooner be saleable as mature, quality products.

Financial consultant Robert Foo, on the other hand, is rather apprehensive about investing in teas.

"Pu-Erh hasn't performed very well in Malaysia and the investment has been closed," he says.

He wouldn't recommend it unless the investor or his advisor is a specialist of teas, and has shown consistent performance managing money into this niche asset class.

Appreciate art, art appreciates

A reliable gauge of the local art auctioneering industry would be event revenues.

The two-day Art Expo Malaysia 2012 raised RM17.2mil.

Last May, the Henry Butcher Art Auction sold all 86 lots, making over RM4mil and went on to sell 86 lots in their October auction, raising RM3.7mil in revenues.

Just last week, they sold 101 of 102 items and turned over RM3.45mil in sales.

The KL Lifestyle Art Space auction last month drew in RM2.99mil, adding to last year's total of RM4.8mil raised in its events in September and December.

Henry Butcher Art Auctioneers director Sim Polenn says that investors should ideally have an innate liking for art before investing in it.

If you do, he says, the returns are great.

Local artist Yusof Ghani's 1999 "Siri Segerak Sketch II" sold for RM500 at one point.

Just before being auctioned off last December, it was valued at RM6,500.

More dramatically, a 1995 oil on canvas art piece by renowned artist Abdul Latiff Mohidin was sold in that same auction for RM715,000.

It was at that time valued at half a million ringgit.

In separate interviews with both auction houses, owners credit the heightened awareness of art to savvy marketing.

"Before art auctions were popularised locally, people did not know what Datuk Ibrahim Hussein's pieces were worth," HB Sim says. "Auction houses are important because they give you an estimated value of a painting's worth and those estimates go on record."

Those records are crucial for several reasons; for one, they protect owners against theft as art pieces move slowly and ownership is traceable; and they provide a comparative benchmark to its latest valuation.

Sim explains that art theft is not common in Malaysia as the industry is relatively cosy and people tend to know one another, as well as the artworks.

Certifications from specific art institutions also help safeguard owners against fake copies.

"Indonesia has been notorious for fake certificates, so be careful," Sim cautions.

Sim points out that the auctioning process can be emotionally taxing as bidders may feel challenged to purchase beyond what they were prepared to buy.

"But most times, they leave happy," Sim says.

"The emotional buyer, who buys for his personal enjoyment with no intention of selling. The art lover, who also has an aptitude for artwork and the people behind it, but unlike the emotional buyer, this guy also sees the investment value. And the big time collectors who accumulate them by the series," Sim explains.

"Then, there are the ones who buy art to as a declaration of their (heightened) financial status. They've arrived there and it's time their guests knew."

"Art collectors tend to spend on local and international artworks based on an 80-20 ratio."

"Some collectors develop an eye for choosing pieces that appreciate exponentially. Such individuals who have been right on several occasions tend to attract a following for their recommendations," he says.

"It would help those new to the scene to spend some time networking and attending art fares to acquaint themselves to the industry. Save yourself the pain of rookie mistakes," he says.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

Jumaat, 3 Mei 2013