Interesting (albeit somewhat promotional) recent article in the Philippine Star about the history and evolution of First Pacific as well as the decades-long friendship between Ed Tortorici and Manny Pangilinan. First Pacific was set up in 1981 in Hong Kong with an initial focus on investment banking and financial services. It was backed by the Salim family of […]
Book Review: “East to West to East”
Randolph Kwei’s memoir “East to West To East” tells of a fascinating life story that spans multiple careers, continents and historic world events. The author grew up in the 1940s in a Shanghai under Japanese occupation, completed his studies and early training in the US and then eventually returned to Asia to help play a part in the economic development […]
Readings For The Week (30/4)
Bumper edition of readings this week. Enjoy! Indonesia’s fearless finance minister is ready for her next fight: Bloomberg Markets special on how Sri Mulyani Indrawati wants to recharge Southeast Asia’s largest economy. A short guide to short selling: Scott Fearon, author of Dead Companies Walking, on the insights gained from identifying stocks that are likely to decline. Hugh […]
Singapore Maritime Week 2017
It’s almost the end of Singapore Maritime Week 2017. You can see the full calendar of events here. Below is a compilation of some media highlights / coverage from the week: Andreas Sohmen-Pao: The chairman of the BW Group discusses his outlook for the industry and how his company is positioning itself (CNBC). Roundtable: Business leaders from Singapore’s maritime […]
Standard Chartered: The Race To Save
Standard Chartered Bank have published their 2017 Emerging Affluent Report, an in-depth study into the savings habits of 8,000 emerging affluent consumers across eight markets (China, Hong Kong, India, Kenya, Korea, Pakistan, Singapore and Taiwan). They explore what defines the next generation of savers across some of the world’s most promising economies, as well as the problems they face. […]
Portfolio Positioning & Updates
I generally don’t like to write posts like this one for good reason: I am not a professional investor nor a qualified financial advisor. Unfortunately for readers, the “have blog, will write” syndrome now compels me to share my unsolicited opinions. The standard disclaimers still apply. Outlook & Positioning: I am increasingly uncomfortable with the market environment today. The macro picture looks […]
Readings For The Week (23/4)
This week’s readings include the macro outlook from Platinum’s Andrew Clifford, annual shareholder letters from Jeff Bezos (Amazon) and Wong Fong Fui (Boustead), latest thoughts on the Chinese economy from Michael Pettis and a wide-ranging interview with Arundhati Bhattacharya of the SBI. Macro overview: Platinum’s Andrew Clifford says the global economic and political landscape continues to […]
James Hay On BFM
The straight-talking James Hay, manager of the Pangolin Fund, was a recent guest on BFM (an independent radio station in Malaysia). He discussed his outlook for Malaysia, positioning of the fund and the rise of passive investing. You can listen to the full podcast here. Some highlights below: He struck a cautious tone overall. Said that more […]
CC Asia Focus On TK Group, BAT Malaysia
Coupland Cardiff’s Asia Focus Fund recently released their letter for March, which you can access via their website. The fund is managed by Charlie Erith and is focused on small and mid cap listed equities in the Asia ex Japan market. The March update includes commentary on a number of their portfolio holdings including TK Group, Venture Corp and International Container […]
Chew Gek Khim On CNBC
Straits Trading’s executive chairwoman, Chew Gek Khim, was interviewed recently on CNBC Managing Asia. She discussed her career, the company’s evolution over time and her own vision for its future. You can watch the entire ~12 minute interview on the CNBC website (link here). Straits Trading is a Singapore-based holding company with primary investments in real estate, hospitality, […]