Tea with AK71: Korean noodles for lunch.

I had Korean noodles for lunch. No, I did not go to some fancy Korean restaurant nor did I go to a food court. I cooked the noodles myself in my office. Yes, you guessed it. Instant cup noodles! Well, in this case, it would be more accurate if we call it instant bowl noodles because it came in a big bowl! Oh, fork included too.

I have seen these noodles before and they are usually quite pricey. Yesterday, while shopping at NTUC Fairprice, I saw it under the "Must Buy" section and they were sold at $2.95 for three bowls! That is less than a dollar per bowl! Irresistible and I finally got to find out why so many people I know like it so much.

Chopsticks not included. I always have spare disposable chopsticks at work as I would take an extra pair each time I make purchases at the food centres. They come in useful in times like this, I dare say.

The noodles were cooked in five minutes. The spicy aroma was really mouth watering.

The noodles are thicker than the usual Myojo or Maggi variety. The soup base was full bodied and spicy. Not for anyone who would find hot food a challenge though. One bowl of noodles and I was really full. A tasty and value for money lunch!

Perennial China Retail Trust.

Perennial China Retail Trust (PCRT) is focused specifically on shopping malls but with a China focus. Although I am not usually interested in IPOs, I am curious about this one since I have vested interest in CapitaMalls Asia which has a large exposure in China.

PCRT has two objectives:
1. Provide unitholders with long-term capital growth from a steady growth in net asset value (NAV).
2. Provide unitholders with regular distributions from the income of its completed and stabilised assets.

PCRT will have an initial portfolio which includes:
1. 50% stake in Red Star Macalline Global Home Furniture Lifestyle Mall, Shenyang.
2. 50% stake in Shenyang Longemont Shopping Mall, Shenyang.
3. 100% stake in Foshan Yicui Shijia Shopping Mall, Foshan.
4. 100% stake in Chengdu Qingyang Guanghua Shopping Mall, Chengdu.

Only Red Star Macalline Global Home Furniture Lifestyle Mall, Shenyang, which was completed on 30 Sep 2010 is income contributing at listing date. The rest of the initial portfolio is expected to be completed from 3Q 2010 to 2Q 2014. If we are investing for income, this is not very reassuring.

However, PCRT has zero debt. This is attractive and also important as it would seek NAV growth through acquisitions. It has at least S$3.0 billion of pipeline projects in prime high-speed railway commercial development projects. Zero debt would probably mean that it would not have to be overly reliant on equity fund raising in the form of share placements and rights issues, at least in the early days.


PCRT's IPO has a price range of 70c to 76c and would raise between S$785,187,000 and S$852,580,000.

PCRT's forecast distributions (representing at least 90% of PCRT's distributable income):
2011's DPU 3.71c, representing a yield of 4.88% to 5.3%.
2012's DPU 3.86c, representing a yield of 5.07% to 5.51%.
Distributions are made half yearly.

From 2013, PCRT will distribute at least 50% of its distributable income. This might or might not mean a lower DPU since the rest of its initial portfolio would be contributing to distributable income by then with the exception of one property.

NAV per unit at date of listing is estimated at 67c.

Up till this point, there is little to interest me in the IPO. A distribution yield of 4.88% to 5.51% in the years 2011 to 2012 also does not provide enough compensation for the risks which investors are being asked to bear, in my opinion.

How does PCRT compare to CapitaRetail China Trust (CRCT)? Here are the numbers, as of 31 March 2011:
NAV/unit: $1.10
Gearing: 32.6%
Annualised DPU: 8.6c
Last done price: $1.26 which means a distribution yield of 6.83%.

With zero gearing, could PCRT do better than CRCT in future? Will the management be able to execute its future plans successfully? Forecasts are easy to make but whether the numbers would be realised is something else.

If PCRT's unit price were to fall to a much lower value and, in the process, offer a much higher distribution yield to compensate for the perceived risks, I could be interested then. Not now.

See PCRT's prospectus here.
See CRCT's 1Q 2011 presentation here.

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Perennial seeks to raise $843m in Singapore IPO: Update
Thursday, 19 May 2011

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