CapitaMalls Asia: Being offered $2.22 a share.

I have been a CapitaMalls Asia shareholder since middle of 2011 and when I found out that the parent is offering to delist the company, I had mixed feelings.

The positive is that at $2.22 per share, the offer price is fair. The NAV/share is $1.84. So, this offer is a 20% premium to book value. NAV grew 10% year on year. So, being paid $2.22 a share, it is like getting paid in advance for growth that is likely to happen in the next couple of years.

The negative is that I will lose the chance to buy more of a stock which I believe was going through a period of price weakness, given the concerns about China. So, I was looking forward to accumulating with a greater margin of safety (i.e. buying at a bigger discount to NAV). Well, not going to happen now.

With an IPO price of $2.12 a share in late 2009, privatising CapitaMalls Asia with an offer price of $2.22 a share makes sense. It is like borrowing money from the public and paying an interest of only 1.05% per annum over a 4 and a half year period.

This is, perhaps, a good time to remember what Warren Buffett once said.

The idea that an IPO, offered with significant commissions, with all kinds of publicity, with the seller electing the time to sell, is going to be the single best investment that I can make in the world among thousands of choices is mathematically impossible.

Buffett is the reason why I have not bought into any initial public offerings in many years.

Anyway, I will probably channel the funds from this divestment into a war chest and wait for Mr. Market to feel depressed again. There is no hurry to buy anything.

Read press release: here.

Related post:
A strategy to grow wealth and augment income.

Tea with Vic: Transferring funds from OA to SA?

This is a guest blog that originated as an email from a reader, Vic, who would like to share his concerns with regards to the transfer of funds from OA to SA:

I was quite alarmed by the 34 year old who transferred all his funds in his OA to his SA.

 

a) transfer is not reversible. (Is he aware or are readers aware?)

 

b) by doing so, he has cut off a pool of funds for the purchase of housing in the future. I am not sure if that is a good idea since there are opportunities for housing investment. I assume that this man must be single at this point in time.

 

c) there is a limit to the amount of money that can be given out under CPF Life. So, any amount put in beyond minimum sum, at the Retirement Account (RA) level, you still get 4%. If you do not withdraw money at 55 years of age, the money is stuck there. This happened to my father who is 66 years old.*

He has $144,000 in the RA but can only be given $620 per month. He cannot withdraw the excess. At 4% per year, the interest from the $144,000 is $5,760 but, every year, he can only get $620 X 12 = $7,440.  Net reduction is only $1,680 per year! In spite of this, he is not allowed to withdraw since he skipped the chance at 55. Medisave is full and untouched.

 

Based on this, my father has to live at least 50 to 70 years more to fully benefit from his CPF retirement funds.

 

Some background:

 

1. My father has faithfully contributed the maximum CPF amount every year, partly as a means of tax reduction ever since he was a young man. He is a CPF believer!

 

2. He has withdrawn $800,000 for purchase of condo in 2006. Condo is fully paid up by his CPF funds.

 

Related post:

Tea with Klein: CPF, SRS, HDB Housing Loan.

 

* AK is a bit kaypoh and checked CPF's website on this.
Check it out at: Withdraw CPF savings at age 55.
And also: CPF Life.

So, what we want to do is to withdraw from our CPF account all that we are allowed to withdraw at age 55 and what is left is the required CPF minimum sum which currently stands at $148,000. This will be transferred into our Retirement Account (RA).

Using the CPF Life pay-out estimator provided, assuming that the annual value of our place of residence is less than or equal to $9,500 and that our annual assessable income is less than or equal to $27,000, we could get the following benefits from the Life Standard or Life Basic plans.

Looks good to me as a minimum safety net.

What do you think?