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https://sg.itradecimb.com/gcCIMB/fla...ame=YHM& View=R

Date: 27-Sep-2013 16:42) Posted: 

Is Albedo rally just a speculative punt? 

THE stock of Catalist-listed Albedo, the company that is aiming to be an Iskandar property player through a reverse takeover deal, has been in the trading limelight, with some touting it as " another Rowsley in the making" . Others wonder whether the hot play is just a speculative punt.

Observers drawing a parallel with Rowsley were of course referring to Rowsley's share price rally following its unveiling of plans to buy the RSP Group and the Vantage Bay site in Iskandar.

The active trading of Albedo, a loss-making steel trader, has seen the stock top the active list at least twice last week, with volumes surpassing the billion mark.

What's fascinating about the story of this penny stock is that the company has been unprofitable for some time now. Amid weak demand in the steel industry, the company found itself with yet another net loss of $205,000 for the first half of this year. This was after net losses of $1.37 million, $584,000 and $16.07 million for 2012, 2011 and 2010 respectively. This being so, there is no price-earnings ratio to speak of.

Proposed $774m RTO

In April, its independent auditors, Foo Kon Tan Grant Thorton LLP, highlighted that there were factors that indicated " the existence of a material uncertainty which may cast significant doubt on the group's ability to continue as a going concern" . Albedo responded to say it was able to continue as a going concern and maintain its listing status, citing its fund-raising exercises and continued support from its principal bankers.

Then in June, the company said it had entered into a memorandum of understanding to buy Coeur Gold Armenia Ltd, a gold miner in Armenia, only to abort the purchase on Aug 16. Four days later, it announced its intention to buy land in Iskandar, Johor.

Albedo said it was planning to become a major property player in Iskandar, the much-hyped special economic zone across the Johor Straits. Details were unveiled on Sept 20. Meanwhile, Albedo shares quadrupled from two cents each to about eight cents.

Indeed, there's plenty to stoke the hype surrounding Albedo's proposed $774.14 million reverse takeover deal.

The proposed reverse takeover deal is for Albedo to be taken over by Infinite Rewards Inc, which belongs to prominent Malaysia tycoon Danny Tan, the younger brother of another high-profile businessman, Vincent Tan.

The younger Mr Tan is a Malaysian entrepreneur with more than 30 years of experience in property development, resort management, restaurants, leisure and entertainment operations. He is also the controlling shareholder and group executive vice-chairman of Tropicana Corp, a property developer listed on the mainboard of Bursa Malaysia.

Infinite owns Reflections Oasis Inc, which is in the process of buying seven parcels of land with a total area of 267.8 hectares in Gelang Patah, Johor. These agricultural sites have been earmarked for commercial, industrial and residential development. Based on a valuation by Knight Frank Malaysia, the total market value of the properties was about RM2.71 billion (S$1.05 billion) on Aug 30.

Albedo and Infinite Rewards are also in talks for the inclusion of two parcels of land of about 94 ha in the agreement. If the RTO deal is successful, the bets are that the deal will transform the otherwise lacklustre steel trading company into a prominent property player in Iskandar.

Promising future?

All of a sudden, the future looks bright.

However, it's worth noting that Albedo plans to issue a hefty 34.55 billion new shares to pay for what is still farmland. And if investors are banking on getting something back from any potential capital reduction exercise or similar corporate action to distribute cash and cash equivalents in the company's account before the completion of the transaction, they must temper such expectations given Albedo's balance sheet. As at end of June 2013, the company had $6.46 million in cash and cash equivalents and 1.11 billion shares in issue.

Also, investors should note that there is no assurance that the deal will not be aborted like the Coeur Gold MOU. The bottom line is this: Albedo is undoubtedly an exciting play, but at this stage, it is also a speculative punt. Investors rushing into the stock would do well to bear in mind the adage " buyer beware!" .