Mano Sabnani: On TAI SIN ELECTRIC, Lack of Questioning @ AGMs

Mano Sabnani (left) is the Chairman and CEO of Rafflesia Holdings, a company he founded in 2008 to pursue opportunities in the media and financial sectors. He was the Chief Editor of Singapore’s Business Times from 1986 to 1992. From May 1992 to the close of 1995, he was the Managing Editor of The Straits Times. From January 1996 to August 1997, Mano was the Director of Research at DBS Securities. He then moved on to be the MD for Investments at Individual Banking, DBS. Mano also served as the MD for Equity Capital Markets, DBS Bank from July 2000 to June 2001 when he left to join Corporate Brokers International as Executive Director. He was CEO and Editor-in-Chief of daily newspaper TODAY from April 2003. He had developed the paper into the second most read in Singapore by the time he left in Nov 2006.

The following are views and analysis which Mano shared recently on Facebook:

570_cable-yard A worker transports a drum of finished cable. Tai Sin Electric's CEO (since Jul 2013), Bernard Lim, is in the foreground.
NextInsight file photo@ Tai Sin AGM now (31 Oct 2014). Home-grown company run by honest people. They are expanding steadily and leadership has passed over from Bobby Lim to his son Bernard Lim.

Bernard is capable and has restructured group so each segment is driven in its own and yet the segments work together.

Tai Sin Electric traditionally strong in Singapore but now moving steadily into Indonesia and Malaysia as well as Cambodia.Group is a good dividend paymaster.

Worth holding tight for further steady growth.

mano_sabnani_staug12 Mano invariably asks questions at AGMs he attends. NextInsight file photo.When will shareholders get the best results out of company annual meetings? I wonder.

Why do so many shareholders attend company meetings? Most times, they bother to journey from all over Singapore and dutifully take their seats in the auditorium.

But during the meeting, when important matters are being put forward for approval, hardly any questions are asked.

One or two shareholders are allowed to hog the microphone and regale directors with their minor complaints and anecdotes. Or else they can turn rude and make unwarranted accusations Pity.

Time is limited and so the meetings end all too soon. Questions that were high in many minds remain unanswered.

Then it's time for that cheap buffett or bento meal. Everyone then comes alive! This is exactly what happened today (Sept 26) at the SGX annual general meeting. Long wait for a cheap meal. For relatively well-off shareholders. Sigh.

Recent story: TAI SIN ELECTRIC: 6% dividend yield, 51-c target price

Counter Name	Last	Change
AEM Holdings	2.360	-0.130
Best World	2.450	-0.010
Boustead Singapore	0.955	-
Broadway Ind	0.126	-0.004
China Aviation Oil (S)	0.930	0.010
China Sunsine	0.415	-0.005
ComfortDelGro	1.490	-0.010
Delfi Limited	0.910	0.015
Food Empire	1.280	-0.020
Fortress Minerals	0.310	-
Geo Energy Res	0.305	-0.005
Hong Leong Finance	2.510	-0.020
Hongkong Land (USD)	3.210	0.100
InnoTek	0.550	-0.010
ISDN Holdings	0.305	-
ISOTeam	0.044	-
IX Biopharma	0.043	-
KSH Holdings	0.250	-
Leader Env	0.050	0.003
Ley Choon	0.049	0.005
Marco Polo Marine	0.070	-
Mermaid Maritime	0.141	-0.001
Nordic Group	0.315	0.005
Oxley Holdings	0.086	-0.002
REX International	0.132	-
Riverstone	0.785	-0.035
Southern Alliance Mining	0.430	-
Straco Corp.	0.485	-
Sunpower Group	0.205	0.005
The Trendlines	0.065	0.002
Totm Technologies	0.022	0.001
Uni-Asia Group	0.820	-
Wilmar Intl	3.230	-0.110
Yangzijiang Shipbldg	1.760	0.040

Counter Name

Last

Change

AEM Holdings

2.360

-0.130

Best World

2.450

-0.010

Boustead Singapore

0.955

Broadway Ind