Property investment? Time is essence.

Reported in a local English daily, Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin said, “I am already 57. Do I wait for 10 years? Or do I retire and just count my money? I have the skills and the people who have the skills and the expertise. Business is about taking opportunities.” He was referring to the application of EWI for an initial public offering (IPO) in the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia instead of a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) instead. Someone asked him why is EWI moving so fast. EWI aims to raise about RM2 billion to fund its acquisitions. So, time is of essence.
What about timing? On and off, the first question posed to me has always been, ‘can still enter ah?’ My answer remains the same, ‘do you know what’s your objective of buying?’ If you are clear, then anytime is a good time to buy. However, the issue with majority is, that objective is, ‘earn more money oh.’ For this kind of objective, it meant that you have no objective. If it’s to buy a luxury condo to flip, then it’s not about timing, it’s about luck. You better pray that you are lucky. Not just the first time, but everytime. The same applies for buying shares too.
Coming back to EWI, I think the IPO is going to to be smooth. EWI already has the following: three strategic residential sites in London and one prime residential site in Parramatta, Sydney. The first one, London City Island was launched in May and the Parramatta project will be previewed in the final weekend of June and launched few months down the road. Total estimated gross development value is ,£2.257bil (RM13.176 billion) If we assume a nett margin of 10% over a development period of 10 years, EWI is looking at RM130 million profit on a yearly basis. Seems really encouraging. Please note that this is a developer, the profits may not happen evenly on a yearly basis.
So, anyone queuing to buy its IPO? I admit, I will try maybe 10,000 units, just to show support for a Malaysian company going big in London and Australia. Note, stocks for developers are not the best choice for a short-term investor because they (stocks) are very cyclical and if we are taking a short term to medium term approach, then TIMING is critical. Happy investing ANYTIME.
written on 27 June 2015
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