While visiting Pech Merle, I was staying in a B&B in Sarlat-la-Caneda.
The owner does not speak English.
He also did not list his email contact.
Only phone.
Luckily, someone helped me to call up the owner and booked my 2 night stays at Sarlat.
A nice dinber (set menu) at a local restaurant, recommended by the B&B owner.
Your typical Foie gras, steaks, wine.
Enjoy.
Next day is a weekend and everything turns into a carnivals.
Perfect timing.
*Frame On*
The next conversation is 100% imaginary and is written by me and only me:
Q: Good evening, Boss. Nice to see you again.
Boss: Sure. What can I help you?
Q: Nothing. I am here to relax.
Boss: Great. Come sit down and join me. Tea for you?
Q: Yes.
Boss: Some moon cake for you. It's Red dates from Ritz Carlton.
Q: Ok. Where are the red dates? These small bits?
Boss: Ha Ha. The big pieces is on my hand, actually.
Q: Wow. You lucky one.
Boss: Yes. Sometime I'm very lucky. Most of the time just because I work and think hard.
Q: Really?
Boss: Of course. Well, I need to thank you for alerting me about the SGX guys.
Q: What happen?
Boss: They talk to me and offered to mediate on my pending court case.
Q: Oh.
Boss: You'll read from the newspaper soon.
Q: Hur?
Boss: The SGX guys asked me what will takes for me to drop the court case.
Q: and...
Boss: Very simple. I'm not here to fight. I just can not stand being seen as weak.
You know.
I'm the founding executive chairman.
I had been in the same industry for half a decade.
I even have an ex Deputy Prime Minister in my board.
Two very experienced legal trained directors in my board too.
How can I swallow my pride?
Q: Mmm.
Boss: Well I told the SGX guys, no problem at all.
We can drop the charges so long as the chap agrees not to says or write anything about me and my companies.
Q: That simple?
Boss: Yes. That's my only condition. If the chap is clever, he should know what to do.
Q: Sure. But, you had not address his concern on low dividend payout?
Boss: I don't really care about him. Let me be frank.
The slow-downs in the economy, market downturns is real.
With the increasing interest rate, depreciation of the AUD adn NZD,
looming oversupply, Airbnb is changing the rules of an entire industry.
Nobody in the right mind will pay high or higher dividend.
Our number 1 priority is to preserve our cashflow.
We had been paying up bank loans in order to reduce interest payments.
Do you know that we are an asset heavy property company without gearing?
Not an easy achievement.
Of course, I did consider paying scrip dividends without affecting our cashflow.
There are others additional cost doing scrip dividends and also growth area that I do not want to be distracted.
My focus is to acquire good assets in strategic locations with stable recurring income
and long term capital appreciation.
Do you realise that our earnings had always been
lumpy and declining?
Moving forward, with headwinds the Group will face in the coming years, our earnings will also be
lumpy and declining.
We need to have stable results, increasing revenue and STRIKING THE RIGHT CHORD.
*Frame off*
Can't believe that I'm a fool again
I thought this love would never end,
How was I to know?
You never told me.