I have tweaked the format of this newsletter many times and it continues to remain unsatisfactory. The articles are works that I am not proud of producing.
A well edited free article takes up too much precious time, a paid newsletter creates too much pressure to produce, short articles seem just a waste of time for the readers, long articles seem like a verbal diarrhoea, writing about a particular portfolio position creates unknown biases and inclination within myself, while writing about learnings seem too inconsequential to anyone but myself.
Authors often write for an audience in their mind. It could be their aunt, their sister, their wife. Since I am already writing a weekly letter to my wife this is primarily for myself. The purpose is to provide documentation, clarity and transparency, which I think I have failed to achieve in my previous writing.
Instead of aiming to have the heart of a craftsman, I will go with the heart of a swordsman instead. Letting the arrogance of my heart take precedence over my selfish brain.
Hope I will go unpunished.
Unlike meditation, which took me almost 20 years to know how to breathe or yoga, which took a long 10 years to know how to sit and stand, daily writing has yet to teach me much about thinking and doing...
While the benefits remain uncertain, I will persevere… just for a little while more.
So, this will be the final tweak for a public platform… Like a swordsman who is at his death's end, I will go with the flow and let fate decide if I can get out of this conundrum.
I will just muse what I have seen and done for the week.
No intention to influence but just my honest thoughts on how I am positioning to take advantage of the market.
–
Capita Plc:
Capita Plc is one of the major mistakes for this year. Capita is releasing positive news before the earnings release. I started writing right when there are tons of insider purchases and got more pumped up as the share price reacted to the divestment news. The release of the article on divestments cemented my belief that I am on the right path leading to more purchases.
I have overestimated the intelligence of the UK market. I have written that there would be a kitchen sinking exercise done in the second quarter when the new CEO arrives. I have expected that news to be factored into the share price when I release my thoughts but apparently ain’t so. Share crashed when earning results were announced and I am down 27.57% in 6 months. Ouch!
Overall, I still think I am on the right track and so I am waiting for the price to stabilize or stop falling before I dip my toes into the market again.
–
Offshore Sector: XES and Mermaid Maritime
I have been positive on the offshore services sector for a while.
There is a lack of drillships available on the market, but I just do not know how to handicap the valuation of the listed US peers like Valaris, Transocean and Noble Corp since I was late to the game. So I have chosen to invest in XES (bought at an average price of USD 74.28).
Sometimes, it is worthwhile to outsource the thinking.
Other than drillships, there are other specialized offshore vehicles to invest in.
One of the segments is the Dive Support Vehicle (DSV) which supports the subsea sector. Mermaid Maritime (Mermaid) is one of the few surviving owners and operators of DSV. The global DSV count had decreased from 104 to 52. Mermaid’s decision to host the shareholder briefing in Singapore tilted me into buying more shares.
I started buying Mermaid at SGD 0.074 on 13th April 2023, did the last purchase at SGD 0.108 on 27th March during the investor conference and today it is at SGD 0.123.
–
Taste Gourmet:
While 500,000 Singaporeans cross the border into Johor, Hong Konger are all heading to Shenzhen. It has led to a hollowing out of Hong Kong during the Easter holidays.
So how much is this going to affect the catering sector in Hong Kong?
My guess is lots…
My only catering business is Taste Gourmet listed on the HKEX.
While they are undoubtedly one of the best operators in HK, they cannot escape when the whole industry suffers…
–
Kaspi.KZ
Kaspi.kz is a company which I bought during the Ukraine war period for USD 56. The plan is to buy and keep it in the coffee can. The plan is going all fine until their announcement of delisting in LSE.
Stupid Saxo initially told me to wait till the delisting date before they can inform me if they can support the transfer of Kaspi.kz from LSE to Nasdaq. After more ding-dongs, they decided they are going to charge me EUR 300 and an unspecified admin fee before they can do the transfer.
So to save myself some money and Saxo the trouble, I just sold Kaspi.kz before the LSE delisting.
I sold at USD 116 it is trading at USD 135 now. Haaizzzz…
I had really wanted to keep Kaspi.kz till the end of time…
—
This is just so much easier and more enjoyable to write.