Wednesday, December 26, 2007

一眨眼,转换工作跑道已有半年时间了
突然间,想谈谈过去这六个月的变化

从每日的不固定工作时间到朝九晚五上班制
从绩优股`蓝筹股`大公司到未上市的中小型企业上班
从一个华文写作世界到一个以英文为主的环境
从为普罗大众提供最新消息到为投资者提供及时信息
从忙着赶新闻报道到必须以最快速度写完新闻宣传稿
从只专注写新闻报道的记者到懂得multi task的八爪鱼
从热闹的办公室到较为安静的工作环境
从对财经新闻一知半解到有所掌握和认识
从喜欢炒股票到爱观察股票市场
从随波逐流到从善如流


其实,还有很多大大小小的改变
一一列出挺琐碎的
另外,新加坡真的好小
以前在媒体业,A会认识B,C也会认识A和B
现在也一样
或许都一直处在必须建立联络网的环境
经常发现,即使A未真正认识B,但A也会知道B的动向和传闻,尽管B并非什么大人物
听起来,其实还蛮可怕的

话说回来,nvestor Relations在新加坡属于较新的行业
好几家公关公司近几年因看好越来越多的上市公司需要这样的服务,纷纷设立IR部分,提供财经公关服务
大家都希望分得这块大饼,毕竟在新加坡交易所上市的企业有700多家
接下来,会有更多的外国企业,尤其是中国和越南企业前来本地上市
财经公关公司之间的竞争也会越来越激烈,IR这个新兴行业的素质也会有所提升
我非常希望看到在不久的将来,本地有更多的`蓝筹股`大公司会更重视IR,单愿这个行业未来几年能蓬勃发展。。。

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

i wish to say, sgx being the regulator, has to take the lead in improving corporate governance.

Give an example, the announcement of substantial shareholder's transaction reporting, it is very gray in the listing manual. At times, one can sell a bulk of it and report the sales sometimes later, making unfair dealing to minorities, or majorities.

SGX listing rules are very vague and their market surveillance team is weak. Most of the time, their queries are standard and ended, getting the same standard reply from the company.

Coming to IR business, perhaps as a retailer, the only value I got out of them is a consolidated info stop. I can retrieve old news that may already went offline in sgx. I find the book, Shares pretty useful though I don't buy it. Listedcompany.com is good but if one were to look deeper, it offers nothing. If IR business clients are of high net worth, probably you are getting revenue from both side of the table.

If there is a need to bring the IR biz to the next dimension, there is a need for better product offering and innovation. IRAsia is pretty good in my opinion for their webcasting.

Anyway, to end this, I echo your view on the prospect of IR biz in Singapore and the region. Start-up cost is low and human capital is the most valuable asset. Thus, like to see a lot of competition. From the perspective of a business itself, there aren't much competitive advantage among many that I have seen or heard about.

lastly, I may be wrong. Just my humble 2 cents worth. Cheers~

Oh yeah, what is your view on market direction for year 2008 since you are into observing market action. Tks

Anonymous said...

And yes, Hope 2008 will be a better year for YOU and ALl!

cheers~

兔子部落 said...

Helo.thanks for your insights...may i know your name?just curous:)gee

talking about IR business,i just understand from a HK fund manager that Spore's IR industry is actually much more vibrant in HK. What i have heard so far is that there are more than 20 IR companies in Singapore,big and small...some PR companies like August Consulting have switched totally to do financial public relations/IR as they find this business more lucrative,and also of the rewarding lump sum of IPO fees(though its really hard work).

Like what you say,start-up cost is low and human capital is the most valuable asset.I believe if an experienced analyst with good network were to set up his or her own IR firm,he or she will have many clients through referrals.
However,on the whole,(just my observation),i feel most IR companies are doing more PR work than IR work.

I agree with you that SGX listing rules are very vague,and there are definitely loopholes here and there.I guess it results in even more insider trading.Going forward,i feel this industry will firm up and many companies might even have their own inhouse IR. I guess with more and more companies listed in SGX,every company will have to put in more effort to catch the attention of the small community of investors in Singapore.
On the other hand,it can be more challenging and interesting.

Looking at 2008,i feel it's a volatile year for stock market.Somehow,investors have turned very cautious.But i guess the whole year will be on buying the dips and selling on rallies.

I'm sure there are quite a number of stocks that have become undervalued with very low PEs,but pple are still wary due to the external negative news eg US subprime crisis,also its reported that a few states of american have slided into recession.So did you buy any stocks? Are you optimistic of the stock market and IR biz on the whole?

anyway HAPPY NEW YEAR to you! ALL THE BEST!

Anonymous said...

I offer what SGX can offer, vauge info! haha... Improving corporate governance, will improve IR and indirectly PR. IR company strengths can lie on its marketing team, relationship with analysts and houses..etc. You work in Oaktree, don't you. Haven't get the time to read through it but sometimes back, I know Oaktree has its own funds, if not managing fund for others.

Managing IR for companies require quite a bit of ..... probably, ethnics??? Coz they will definitely ask what IR can offer? Buy calls? Sell calls? No way!!! Sell calls relate to throwing the biz deals away. Likely. Further, number crunching can be reserved engineered to suit the bias. Then, largely depends on the analyst and where he is working. If he is in IB, likely his clientel can move the underlying due to the financial strength.

I am also not too aware of the IR arena in HK but have dealt with some IR companies in Singapore due to my thirst for knowledge. One that I corresponded had actually invited me to meet up with one of the CEO which I delightedly rejected as I am not some substantial investor.

In year 2008, it is a challenging year for ALL. Every year, investors are faced with new set of scenario. No long buying blindly and ride the bull. Some made huge losses in a bull year too. Wrong stock at the wrong time. Market is always sentiment driven, multi-polar! See human behavior, during GSS, everyone rush into robinson/johnlittle..etc, to buy the "50% discount items" while when the same metaphor applies to stock market, all shun away. It is very interesting! haha.....

Inflationary problem is happening all over the world. Stock market indices created new high, oil prices shot through the roof, all new highs reported here n there. I look at my $$ in the bank, new low! lol!! haha... sigh!

Alright, year 2008 should be a good year for HK market where direct train money, and the QDII fund should give propel it further. In Singapore, property and banks should be good as the loan book will grow from the booming, albeit slowing housing craze. I look at my crystal ball, it is empty! That means, I can't tell too. Whatever one buys, one should know what he/she is doing, also, an investor or trader, TA/FA/GA/AA?. Balance the bets, meaning, long and short. Some may disagree but to think of standing on one leg for long is at times quite painful. Hedging allows one to cushion for any uncertainty.

Anyway, what I have written is of no intelligent. I don't buy any stock, but dabble some warrants.

Cheers~

兔子部落 said...

u Mr Alan right?
no la....oaktree where got manage its own funds...anyway there's many oaktree companies in singapore lei

Anonymous said...

Oh, you asked for my name ah? haha... Overlooked that. My name is sopskysalat. Some Czech foodies..

Anyway, I am not Mr. Alan nor any one that you know. Just a accidental blog reader who happened to feel the finger itch, thus wrote something down.

Oh yeah, today's market activity was superb! Volatility is your best friend!

兔子部落 said...

ohaha cicic...but why did you say i work in oaktree?

oh yup...think it went down in the morning and up again in the afternoon....roller coaster huh

兔子部落 said...

oh i tink u r referring to oaktree capital..they r one of the fund houses in spore...my company is doing purely IR.. ..

ahhh i do not want volatility to be my best friend.its hard to promote a company when market is facing so many uncertainities....
..i want mr bull to be my best friend....haha

Anonymous said...

In times of uncertainty, separating the chaff from the wheat is kinda tough! IR is doing the awareness programme, thus, it is very important of you to sell the company to the investors. By creating publicity, you create awareness which like you mentioned, over 700+ listed companies, how can one go through the tedious process of doing the filtration? Well, one can put it that if you are not serious about your money, who else would? Fund manager? Then, if you are not pro, better leave it to the pro... haha...

I still think IR in Singapore is pretty restricted to retailers where info is not distributed equally.

Can you share what are the values created from IR to investor? Just curious and trying to understand from another perspective. Thanks!

兔子部落 said...

on the whole,i guess it enhances the transparency of the company(even when there's bad news,we explain to the investors), and of cos IR ensures constant communication btw the management n investors
like what u say,there are over 700+ listed companies,some companies's stocks r really undervalued but have always been remained unnoticed...which is quite sad....of cos investors need to exercise their own discretion

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the post!

I read this, our Worldclass Exchange propose....

http://info.sgx.com/webnewscentre.nsf/b9c7...af?OpenDocument

Options issuers/market makers drive ferarris. Now it seem that we are going to give them yachts too.

If you read about the latest error done by DB, they priced one of their warrant wrongly and is seeking SGX to invalidate the trades. This is totally unfair to retailers as I believe many of them do keyed/executed wrongly. Do they have the chance to make good on their errors? Those honest ones?

Anyway, do you know if there is any avenue to address some dispute against ... listed companies/houses on unfair dealing? Just curious.

兔子部落 said...

oops sorry i'm not too sure of the avenue to address these disputes.......

兔子部落 said...

i really dun understand....y is the stock price of china hongxin n china sports international doing so well wif not much corporate developments........*scratch* u have any idea?

Anonymous said...

You asking me? I do not have the answer but can try shooting some blanks if you don't mind.

You mentioned, "...y is the stock price of china hongxin n china sports international doing so well wif not much corporate....".

I trust that you have access to almost all the research reports and if you can track back the history of China Hongxin (I have little knowledge on CSI), there were several BUY calls in the early days. Some were from the IB and foreign houses. Note that IB and FH have affluent clients to buy in large quantities. These buying together with funds accumulation and convertible bonds issued 1-2 years ago resulted in heavy trading of the share.

The focuses from analysts were in the area of china double digits growth, limelight of HK equivalent listed in HKSE, olymipcs, blah blah...etc attracted much limelight resulting in the aforementioned activities.

Before Hongxin was listed, look at the ladies shoes maker, Hongguo, it was trading at a pathetic price range as compare to last year run up. Although it is not a direct competitor of HX, but the sexy story had overflown into the "shoes sectors". Thus, people see the sport shoe as China NIKE instead. Anything that deal with that will equate to having a midas touch on itself. Needless to explain further, you may already knew all these. Yes, HX has very little corporate activities and in fact, little IR too. When it is good, houses will find it sexy to push. You do not want to sell a company that offer anything less than that right?

After two splits/bonus issues, HX is still doing pretty well on its share price. The latest placement at 118, if I can still remember, makes market hard to digest the dilution in earning.

Lately, I don't track the prices but it should look good for accumulation on dips as S-shares may rise on china stories and china direct train monies effect. This is pure speculative - since the placement is 118, naturally, the placement agent for the 30mil(think so) will have some invisible forces for the share recipients to offload at a high price. Of coz, find out who they are.... Certain houses have good "pushing effect" after placement exercise. The caveat being the effect may be overwhelmed by the negativity in late.

Lastly, it is just purely my own interpretation on market activities. Not an inducement on any form. Caveat Emptor!