Tradewinds (M) Berhad: your rice and sugar daddy

Previously, I wrote about Tradewind (M) Berhad borrowing RM1 billion to acquire shares of Padiberas Berhad at interest around 5.20-6.50%.


It is also interesting to note this:
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http://www.theedgemalaysia.com/first/17961-working-out-a-new-role-for-bernas.html

Working out a new role for Bernas
Written by Cindy Yeap
Monday, 29 June 2009 00:00


Hong Kong-based Wang Tak Co Ltd, which has been actively mopping up Bernas shares on the open market since early 2006, continues to be a buyer. Wang Tak, which is linked to IGB Corp Bhd’s Tan family, held a 14.34% stake in Bernas in late 2006; it has since doubled its holdings to 30.14% as at June 16

Wang Tak’s* average investment cost — RM1.75 per Bernas share — while above the prevailing market price, is 0.88 times Bernas’ net asset per share of RM1.98 at end-March.
* no relationship with the author

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On page 52 of Tradewinds(M) Berhad's 2009 annual reports and accounts, it has this disclosure:

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2. Material Contracts Involving Directors and Major Shareholders

(a) a Share Sale agreement dated 28 august 2009 between Tradewinds (M) Berhad (“TWS” or the “Company”) and Wang Tak Company Limited (“WT”) for the acquisition of 148,281,100 ordinary shares of RM1.00 each in padiberas Nasional Berhad (“Bernas”), representing 31.52% of the total issued and paid-up share capital of Bernas from WT for a total purchase consideration of RM308,424,688.00. The said acquisition was completed on 2 November 2009.

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hence TW paid an average RM2.08 per share and base on the average cost of investment reported above at RM1.75 per share, a cool profit of RM56.35 million has been shifted to good old Hong Kong while Malaysians will foot the loan repayment and interest. Another consequence of privatising something that the federal government should be overseeing.


TW is also a major player in Malaysia's sugar supply chain. According to its Managing Director, Bakry Hamzah in his operations reports included in the annual accounts and reports,
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" For the financial year ended 2009, the Sugar Division generated total revenue of RM976.2 million as against RM862.2 million posted in the previous year.......

....presently, Malaysia has only four sugar refineries, of which two are owned by TWS i.e. Central Sugars refinery Sdn Bhd (“CSr”) at Batu Tiga Shah alam, Selangor and Gula Padang Terap Sdn Bhd (“GPT”) at Kuala Nerang, Kedah."


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According to note 29 of its 2009 accounts, government grant /tax payers money of RM287 million was received by TW Group for rice and sugar.





Amazingly, this was disclosed in the accounts:


RM203.6 million or roughly 21% of the subsidized sugar was sold to......Bukhary Sdn Bhd



And on what trade terms? According to the accounts, normal trade terms for TW is 7 to 90 days. At RM203million per annum, average daily sales is about RM550K to Bukhary Sdn Bhd and the balance of RM118 million owing by Bukhary Sdn Bhd amounts to 212 days of sales, about 7 months owing. For 2008, TW sold RM165 million worth of sugar to Bukhary Sdn Bhd and the receivables not collected from Bukhary Sdn Bhd of RM170 million even exceeded the whole year sale of sugar!




I wonder what does Bukhary Sdn Bhd do with so much sugar? Can they assist in the sugar shortage that we are facing in Malaysia?

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90777/90851/6743421.html

Syed Bukhary has apparently benefited for a few years from his shareholdings in Padi Beras Berhad by way of dividend pay outs plus disposal of Budaya Generasi Sdn Bhd's substantial 145 million shares to TW.

Further examination of TW's operating expenses is interesting. In 2009, RM20 million was paid out to Albukhary International University.






This is a private university located in Kedah and provides scholarship to many studens from all over the world.
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http://www.aiu.edu.my/sponsorship.html

The Albukhary Foundation Scholarship
Albukhary International University (AIU) is fully funded by the Albukhary Foundation, Malaysia and all students attending AIU shall be sponsored through the Scholarship described herein.

The Albukhary Foundation intends to make available ten (10) scholarships for each country to assist disadvantaged youths, mainly Muslim youths, to graduate with a degree from the Albukhary International University.

Instituted in 2003, the Albukhary Foundation Scholarship has been offered to 382 students from almost 50 countries of whom many are currently studying at the International Islamic University Malaysia.

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Fine, if a very successful and rich man wants to be charitable with his earning but when a lot of the money comes from tax payers' subsidy and revenue from sales of staple diet of Malaysians i.e. sugar, rice and palm oil, there is an element of public interest we are talking about.


In the light of the annual brain drain and insufficient scholarship for all top scorers outcry plus the "Rakyat Diutamakan" rally call, the lucky foreign recepients includes Afghans, Albanians, Laotians, Yemenians, Ethopians, ...would we get any benefit out of this?



















6 comments:

  1. You should know by now that syed mokhtar started business as a rice smuggler in kedah.
    It wasn't a success, so he move down south and conned muhyiddin yaseen, by taking over Johore port of Pasir gudang, and using land acquisation act to acquire private land which was sold to syed mokhtar cheaply.I beive the first victime was stanfor group of singapore, who had rubber estate acqired by the johore state and sold to syed mokhtar and recently, Lee rubber suffered similar fate.
    It is possibly cheaper to buy rice in singapore, which is free from monopolistic cartel.
    Just look at the history of his listed companies.The cash were looted by syed mokhtar, no dividend ever declared.
    meanwhile sucker FELDA bought over Robert Kuok's shares in tradewinds.We are talking about the poor mak ciks and pak ciks who planted palm oil and rubber, and got a pittance in return for their hard work, while felda burns away hundreds of millions of their money into dubious investments.
    And this syed mokhtar is a first generation yemeni, who migrated to south thailand, and later settled in kedah.Unlike many chinese immigrants, he can camouflage as a malay very well due to his spoken malay language and islamic practice, much like the chinese in thailand who does the same.
    The scholarship and University in kedah is probably to train future terrorist and probably promote terrorism in the country.
    Perkasa is probably funded by syed mokhtar and othe mahathir's cronies.

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  2. well anom, i think you do know a thing or two about this tycoon.

    if you were to read tradewinds's annual accounts, you will see a lot of corporate deal. the strong position granted to him in sugar and rice is an ideal platform for more M & A activities....

    personally I really dislike too much M & As...all these premium paid over net assets, professional fees, restructuring fees, stamp duty, golden handsakes etc have to be re-couped from end-consumers

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  3. http://www.malaysia-today.net/mtcolumns/from-around-the-blogs/35813-tradewinds-m-berhad-your-rice-and-sugar-daddy


    ...
    written by eloofk, November 08, 2010 18:13:43

    sorry - its typo error.

    It should be demand.
    +2 ...
    written by longjaafar, November 08, 2010 15:35:54

    Robert Kuok was the 'sugar king' for decades, and he appealed so many times to raise the price of sugar but was rejected. With this scenario, the price that he got for the shares, reflected the low price of sugar in Malaysia. He was arm twisted to sell his shares. He had no choice, because big big guns were used to 'persuade' him to sell out.
    The moment he sold, the price of sugar was raised, not once, but twice! Robert Kuok is one of the richest man in the world, but he plays by the rules, and he is very very disappointed that they could do this to him. But then, this is 'boleh land', and he paid the price.
    +16 ...
    written by eloofk, November 08, 2010 15:20:56

    What to do with so much sugar?

    Let me just say that they are hoarding up the supply of sugar to create a great demard for it thereby superficially raises up the price and then release it to the market at their desired price.

    Doesnt it makes business sense??
    +16 ...
    written by syd, November 08, 2010 13:40:19

    Syed Mokhtar started work as a rice smuggler. Now he is back into it BIG TIME, plus sugar bonus.
    Syed Mokhtar steals from his shareholders and the state of johore( land acquisation for his projects and airport). None of his listed companies are worth a dime as you will get no dividend. he moment the comopany accumulate cash, he steals the whole lot from the company by selling over priced assets which he bought for peanuts, complimentary from Muhyiddin yassin and the johore state, incluidng ports.

    The BIG losers are Lee rubber estate, which could not be compensated for their ;and, forcibly acquired by the state of johore, for his airport expansion plan, whch was instead, used to build an airport shopping mall for the surrounding areas to shop.
    +19

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  4. The scholarships are just a legitimate way of laundering money.

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  5. It is sad. This is Mahathir"s gameplan. A half Malay, a Malayalee, goes to Syed Mohktar's hse in his later part of his life as PM and cheat the Malays. we non Malays do not need this. Don't hurt the poor guy Najib. He is lumped with the 22 years of shit and trying to work it out with the Malay brain that got con by their own. Now you know they are all pendatangs...Yemen brains

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  6. That's what 1 Malaysia is about. stop this shit about Mongolian Model and about Rosmah and give them a chance.
    If Najib and Muhyddin cannot make the Malays think gobal then lets dump them.
    What PKR? I prefer PAS and Hudud law. Cut the hands that steal and make Malaysia a safe and beautiful country, then the indians will wake up. We make money from tourism and a safe country. I travel a lot. Malaysia is the most beautiful country in the world. it must be safe. our history is unmatched but the Malays of Mahathir killed it. Mahathir told the Malays that they are then chosen race then he stole the money from them to feed his kids. he dont trust no body but AK, Arumugan and then thieves like Syed Mokhtar.

    Please, not that Najib is our leader, but in life we are taught in a church, in a temple, to give a human being a chance. Give him that chance and dont judge him.God is the ultimate, he decides not you or me.
    Bye guys

    ReplyDelete