Lum Chang's 9-storey HQ in Kung Chong Road, in the Leng Kee area.
Photo: Company
LUM CHANG HOLDINGS is another zzzzzzz stock.
For at least the past 2 months, Raymond Lum, the executive chairman, has been nibbling in the market to increase his direct holding through atom-sized purchases.
The purchases had largely been at $0.37 to $0.38 with the highest an earth-shaking $0.385.
Daily volume on the stock exchange has been just as minuscule, usually not exceeding 200k shares a day.
So last Friday was like 6.5 on the Richter scale, as volume rose to 830k shares and the counter closed at $0.39/0.395 with $0.39 being last done.
As we all know, the Lum brothers ratted off with the sale of their own stake only in LCD at $0.30 a share. (The buyer was able to make a quick exit at 0.33 when the Koh bro from Fragrance made what I think was an ego-driven purchase.)
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So the Lums are flushed with cash and Lum Chang share price continues to be firmly rooted at a third discount to NAV.
And I am expecting that its construction business will be heading for a rollicking good time as Indonesia, Myanmar Philippines and former French IndoChina start to move into a higher development gear.
The AIIB complemented by the Japs will give a big boost to infrastructure development like never before seen.
I have been a very very long time holder of Lum Chang. After years of uninspiring, though not unsatisfactory, performance, perhaps it may be making a return to its more robust past.
For info, Lum Chang used to own the Paragon Shopping Mall but sold it to the SPH group in the late nineties.
So as not to appear unduly speculative, I would just say that if they seriously want to expand, the opportunities in Southeast Asia are definitely there.
Eugene Lim is a qualified accountant with over 30 years experience in financial control and planning, and business management. Spent most of his career in multi-national companies in the oil, gas, energy and power generation businesses and also in public accounting, manufacturing and retail and trading businesses.
