22-01-2017, 07:02 PM
(22-01-2017, 06:42 PM)soros Wrote: Control of Wheelock Marden (the HK listed Company ) was acquired by Sir Y K Pao, the HK Shipping Magnate back in 1985 and for many years "Wheelock" has been under the control of his son-in -law Peter Woo. Since Wheelock Properties ltd ( the Singapore listed subsidiary ) has been under control of Peter Woo for past 31 years and you can expect the dividend payout to remain conservative and unlikely to be generous.
Conservative is relative. Wheelock currently has 31cts per share of cash on hand. Giving out 6cts every year consistently even during the 2009 financial crisis in todays term is closed to 4%. In my view, with such a fortress of a balance sheet that they have and with 76% of their shares owned by the parent, I dont mind treating this as a 4% bond while waiting for them to be privatized.
There are a few clues as to why i think wheelock will ultimately be privatize by its parent in HK. Firstly, they do not have a ceo for quite some time after David died. Means they do not want someone to give directions for wheelock sg. Secondly, they have no more land bank in sg. Thirdly, with such a potential accumulation of cash in their coffeurs and with no new ventures going forward, it makes for an approriate target for its parent to buyout and focus more on their china/hk ventures. My view.
That being said, i might be wrong, but the 4% yield makes it more bearable for the wait.