I should qualify my statement. I still find these companies interesting, because on any metric they appear to offer excellent value, but it's not realised thus far because of some unusual factors, including the share structure. This may change, and like I've said before, I'm not sure how this will play out in the end.
I think the Hong Kong and Nasdaq exchanges may have frowned upon the share structure when NNW went searching for alternative listings last year. Not sure of the reason, but it all collapsed. My impression is, rightly or wrongly, that the ASX, and maybe Singapore, were the only exchanges that allowed such concentrations of ownership in a supposedly public company.
ENC is another example of an ASX Chinese listed entity by the Australian InvestorLink group. Liquidity is a problem there too. And they are also making good profits after tax, something like A$8 million, but nobody is buying, similar to NNW.
ECG chose a different path. They kept private ownership of the Logistics business, where they make all the money, and sat a publicly listed channeling business on top of it, that fed work through to the Logistics. It seems a much more understandable design.
I still think NNW is a good buy at these prices.
Anyway, it's all very interesting, and I'm happy to exchange ideas on this topic.
Gw
NNW Price at posting:
8.0¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
