Investors should look at the company’s business ByKoon Yew Yin

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Investors should look at the company’s business

ByKoon Yew Yin

Most investors are short term traders. They look at the quarterly announcements and the price charts but they do not examine what kind of business the company is doing.

For example, when JAKS reported losses in its annual accounts, most of the short term investors just dumped their holdings as if there was no tomorrow.

If you look at JAKS’ announcement on 28^th February of its losses, you can see that I bought 6.9 million shares at Rm 1.06 per share. Since then my wife and I have accumulated a total of 138 million shares and became the controlling shareholders.

We bought so much shares because JAKS has secured the contract to build 2 X 600 MW coal fired power plant for Rm 7.6 billion to sell electricity to the Vietnamese Government for 25 years. JAKS has subcontracted the whole project to the Chinese party which has been involved in 90 % of the production of electricity in China.

I know how much profit JAKS will make every year for 25 years as an Independent Power Producer (IPP).

When I was Managing Director of Mudajaya, we built almost all the 19 coal fired power plants in Malaysia as a contractor and not as the owner. As you know, contractors do not make much money. Owners of power plants make fantastic amount of money because they are selling electricity to consumers who have no alternative but to buy from them.

Most of the plants are currently owned by TNB, Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar and Tan Sri Yeoh Tiong Lay. According to the latest report of the top 50 richest men in Malaysia, Yeoh Tiong Lay is No 7 and Syed Mokhtar is NO 10.

As the controlling shareholder, I believe with my long experience in doing business, I can help JAKS to make more profit.

For a start, I will not want the company to tender any more construction contracts. Studies has shown that almost all construction contracts cannot be completed on time. The biggest obstacle that all contractors have to overcome is the open competitive tender system, the cheapest tender gets the contract.

In order to achieve the cheapest price, every tenderer has to be very optimistic while making his estimate. He has to assume that he can get all the required labour and materials at the current prices. He has also to assume that he will not meet inclement weather during construction.

When he is awarded the contract, almost all his assumptions will not come true. Due to inflation and many other reasons, the prices of labour and materials invariable are higher than what he has allowed in his tender. There is also more rain than he has assumed.

Moreover, he has construction difficulties which he did not foresee during tender preparation.

As a result, almost all construction contracts cannot be completed within scheduled time.

In fact, one of JAKS’ contracts is already being penalised for late completion.

After many decades of experience in the contracting industry, I have developed a system or method to complete contracts within programmed time to save cost and avoid penalty for late completion.

JAKS must concentrate on producing electricity business

JAKS must concentrate in getting another contract to build coal fired power plant. As I said earlier, getting contract to build power plant to sell electricity is so profitable, I will help JAKS secure another contract in Myanmar. If you visit Yangon, you can see that almost every shop has a standby diesel power generator because there is a terrific shortage of electricity supply.

About 4 years ago, I arranged Mudajaya to sign a MOU with the Chief Minister of Mandalay to build a coal fired power plant in Mandalay which you can see the photo of the signing ceremony below.

Unfortunately, we could not find a consortium of banks to finance the project. Now with the Chinese partner, I believe I can arrange JAKS to undertake a contract to build a coal fired power plant in Myanmar.