Sunday, 16 December 2007

China New Town 3Q loss

Luckily I didn't buy into the company while it was 68 cts. Only a few days after, they announced the 3Q loss which cause the price to go into violent downward swing. Before the announcement, I was expecting them to show some good result. Especially that is the 1st result announcement after listing. I guess the price would drift down for quite a while. However, I suspect the fund manager would keep buying the company's share. This could provide some support to the price.

In year 2007, two of the most interesting China company listed on SGX should be China New Town and China Oilfield Technology. Valuation aside, both of them offer a good growth story to investor. However, listing timing is also important sometime. If they listed before subprime rout, the valuation should be much higher.

China Oilfield commands a high margin and have an unique niche in its own area. Valuation is at a compelling level now, but it could go cheaper if overall market remain weak. Company risk is higher than other China company, because the business is harder to understand and they rely on one big customer.

China New Town offers a good story on the urbanization which is a big and strong theme. The business is a little bit harder to understand, because it is different from your usual property developer and they have short operating history. Valuation has come down to a more manageable level, although I won't say it is cheap. Nevertheless, I think fund managers would think otherwise. Key risks are execution, getting more new projects and financing as the initial development requires huge capital. Having said that, I think key risk are mitigated by having strong connection and strong parent/shareholder. For short term, I don't expect it to fly. It is for long term holder.


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