2009年10月31日

半新股神冠 肉腸冚珍珠

Quoted from SCMP dated 31 Oct 2009

Shenguan hopes business sizzles

German statesman Otto von Bismarck once remarked that laws are like sausages - it is better not to see them being made.

While politicians are still making unsightly laws, companies such as Shenguan Holdings (Group) are finding sausages a prettier proposition. Indeed, for Shenguan, the humble snack food is finally proving a money-spinner after some hard years.

The former state-owned factory that produces the rubbery skins for sausages of all types has a market capitalisation of HK$7.34 billion following an initial public offering in Hong Kong last month.

The company is hoping sausages, considered by most to be a Western invention, will become just as popular as pot noodles as a quick snack on the mainland.

To be sure, Shenguan produces a lot of casings - enough of the material to stretch 13 times around the globe each year.

On paper, the Guangxi-based company appears to be another mainland enterprise that has simply borrowed foreign technology to produce for the mass market.

研發膠原卅年

However, the group has actually invested in collagen casing technology for 30 years. It has two wholly owned subsidiaries, Shenguan Biological and Shensheng Jiaoyuan, involved in everything from the construction of factories to production and research.

As Bismarck quipped, sausage-making is not for the faint-hearted. A strong material is needed to hold the filling in when the sausage is thrown into a pan or on to a barbecue.

Apart from collagen, cellulose and plastic are often used in the making of sausage casings. Collagen, the main protein in the connective tissues of animals, can be broken down and reconstructed again in different forms using an industrial process.

The use of collagen in food processing has increased as it is more hygienic and cheaper than using the intestines of animals - the traditional material used for sausages. Higher-quality and pricier collagen is often used in cosmetic surgery and medical science.

Shenguan uses only beef proteins to produce its casings, with the particular type of casings based on whether the sausages are instantly edible or if they need to be cooked. But in recent years, there have been technological advances in the manufacturing of pure pork collagen, considered safer than beef casings.

British sausage casings manufacturer Devro was the first to introduce pork protein casings three years ago, which can reduce the risk of bovine spongiform encephalopathy and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, directly related to beef.

Sausage casings makers worldwide are facing increasing costs and demand from meat processors for cheaper products.

門檻高競爭少

Shenguan chairman Zhou Yaxian said the barrier to entry was relatively high and there were no big competitors on the mainland at present. Shenguan's Western-style sausage casing products cost between 33 and 46 fen per square metre - lower than rival imports, it said.

At present, Shenguan's collagen sausage casings business depends almost entirely on mainland consumption of "Western-style" sausages, including cocktail sausages, frankfurters, salami, hotdogs and chicken sausages.

Last year, 87.1 per cent of the group's revenue came from making these sausages and 12.9 per cent from producing casings for Guangdong-style dried sausages.

Mainland consumers, who are now buying more high-quality food products such as milk and processed meat, are behind growing consumption of sausages.

"The Western-style sausages are really a new thing in China, especially among younger people," Zhou said.

將取代杯麵 成即食品新貴

She believes sausages will become more popular on the mainland and could replace pot noodles as the preferred convenience food.

Last year, the mainland consumed about 374,220 tonnes of processed meat products including sausages, an annual compound growth of 12.74 per cent from 205,450 tonnes in 2003, according to Access Asia, a research company.

Following its listing on the Hong Kong stock exchange, Shenguan increased its production lines to 116 from 106, taking its capacity to 2.42 billion metres of collagen casings. A further 50 lines will be added by next year, ensuring a minimum increase of 40 per cent in production capacity.

管理層製腸經驗豐

The factory runs 24 hours a day with more than 1,400 employees working in three shifts. Zhou joined the then state-owned Wuzhou Protein Factory as a technician in 1979.

"We could not choose what we wanted to do at the time," said Zhou, now 49. "I was sent by the authority to work in a laboratory in the factory after finishing college."

Zhou described the laboratory as tiny, with not many facilities. But the government was keen to develop its protein-manufacturing business.

Her first job was to remove the hair from the cattle's skin, which was then divided into layers and taken away for disinfection.

Making collagen requires processing of the inner skin of cattle. Roughly, a tonne of cattle skin can produce 80,000 to 100,000 metres of collagen casings. Only by trial and error over eight years did the factory finally have some success in producing the casings.

The collagen fibre from the inner skin is extracted by applying pressure, which transforms it into a dough. It is then sent into an extrusion machine to form tubular casings that are then dried. The casings then have to be reshaped at 70 to 80 degrees Celsius before packaging can take place.

"Initially, the casings were too thin," said Zhou. "We started testing again to see if we could make something that had just the right strength."

In 1989, the factory had a breakthrough when two machines bought from Poland helped standardise the casings and speed up the manufacturing process.

But Zhou and her colleagues found that the machines were not compatible with their feedstock, so they decided to construct their own machines based on the Polish models. It was not until 1995 that the production was finally trouble-free.

虧損國企MBO

"The factory was making losses all along," said Zhou. "It couldn't have survived if the government wasn't backing it up financially."

The company had several ownership changes, going from a state-run firm to being partly listed on the mainland from 1997 to 2000.

It returned to state ownership before becoming a private company in 2004, when business started to take off. That year, two key customers, Low Jee Keong, a Malaysian, and Wei Cheng, an American, bought the factory for 75 million yuan (HK$85.13 million) at an auction organised by the state government.

Zhou, who was made head of the factory in 1992, became a shareholder the same year and Wuzhou Shenguan was born. "I didn't want to give up," she said. "We had come a long way and it was special for me."

Even with the additional investment in expanded production, Zhou said it would be difficult for the company to meet growing demand for its products.

Last year, Shenguan sold 1.04 billion metres of casings, an annual compound growth of 51.7 per cent from 454.4 million metres of casings in 2006. Its top clients include Hong Kong-listed China Yurun Food Group from Nanjing and the country's largest meat processor, China Shuanghui Group.For the first half, Shenguan sold 783.7 million metres of casings.

The company raised HK$1.43 billion from a listing last month, attracting investment from China Life Insurance, a cornerstone investor that holds US$12 million worth of shares

2009年10月22日

北京發展 嘟得起

Quoted from the Standard dated 22 Oct 2009


One stock that lost HK$400 million in market valuation last year is worth a fresh appraisal. Beijing Development (Hong Kong) (0154) provides smart-card systems in the capital. Its biggest shareholder is Beijing Enterprises (0392), the business arm of the municipal government.

Beijing Development has issued more than 25 million cards, through which around 14 million transactions are conducted daily on public transport and in hotels and convenience stores.

The capital's finance bureau provided Beijing Municipal Administration & Communications Card, a Beijing Development unit, with a 100 million yuan (HK$113.5 million) subsidy for card settlement handling charges. But because BMAC has yet to conclude a profit- sharing agreement with bus and subway operators, it has not contributed any profit.

This explains why Beijing Development is making a loss despite despite having a well-developed smart card system. Dr Check believes a deal can be reached in the future. When this happens, Beijing Development will see profits.

The stock has fallen from HK$5 in 2007 and now hovers between 90 HK cents and HK$1.40, closing at HK$1.15 yesterday. Its downside should be limited as the net asset value per share is HK$1.17.

2009年10月20日

Meditech picture of good health

Quoted from the Standard dated 20 Oct 2009

In recent years some of the better companies to list on Hong Kong's Growth Enterprise Market have migrated to the main board after failing to lure enough investor attention.One such firm is Golden Meditech (0801), which stands to benefit from China's growing health-care sector.

Meditech makes autologous blood recovery machines and disposable blood processing chambers. It also operates the mainland's first cord blood bank.

For the year ended March 31, Meditech had a turnover HK$498 million, up 18 percent year on year. Gross profit margin stood at a relatively high 71 percent.

醫療服務一條龍

Following the acquisition of Daopei Hospitals Group, the firm became a one-stop health-care provider.

Beijing's one-child policy and an increased public awareness of the benefits of stem cells will continue to help the cord blood bank division.

9650億醫改商機

China has earmarked 850 billion yuan (HK$965 billion) to revamp the national health-care system over the next three years.

The stock peaked at HK$4.80 in 2007. At yesterday's closing price - HK$1.38 - it looks reasonable.

I must mention yesterday's suggestion - Chuang's International (0367) - soared 14.5 percent. I hope this is enough to convince investors to hold on to the property firm.

2009年10月13日

內需大過天 利郎搭匹克

摘錄自2009年10月13日南方都市報

國慶前一周,內地知名男裝品牌利郎和運動品牌匹克相繼登陸香港聯交所,且均宣佈將加速布局內地銷售網點。另一方面,中信證券發佈最新研究報告稱 ,中國宏觀經濟形勢為消費回升奠定堅實基礎,內地服裝消費也處於“穩中上升”的趨勢。同時,報告認為,四季度為服裝消費旺季,全國服裝零售數據有望再超預 期,預計即將披露的三季報中,內銷品牌服裝類公司業績將有較好表現,因此四季度行業投資仍以內銷品牌服裝類公司為首選。


10月有望再現攀升

“環比繼續改善,上游最為明顯。”中心證券研究報告顯示,今年1-8月,全行業收入、利潤分別同比增長7%和12%。值得注意的是,利潤出現了09年首次正增長。其中,設備製造業和化纖業1-8月利潤同比增幅分別為-9.6%和42.4%。較1-5月提高3.9和77個百分點,改善最為明顯。

另據統計,2009年8月紡織服裝社消與大型百貨商店銷售增幅分別為21.6%和23 .96%,分別創下09年新高,中信證券預計,10月還會再現攀升。不過整體內銷情況仍不宜過於樂觀,原因在於不少品牌服裝企業2010年第一季度的訂貨會增長均低於預期。


上市融資蘊含擴張勢頭

除了宏觀數據向好,“雙節”消費攀高峰外,不少以內銷為主的服裝企業更乘勢加快上市融資步伐,進一步布局國際化,也從側面顯現出對市場的信心。

9月25日,利郎男裝在香港聯交所成功上市,正式登陸全球資本市場。作為在香港上市的首家內地男裝品牌,利郎招股說明書披露,公司未來將投入1.95億元用于推廣、品牌塑造活動,贊助更多國際明星,參與更多有廣泛影響力的國際服裝周,加強國際服裝界的話語權。此外,利郎方面還透露未來將投入1.47億港元支持子品牌L2的拓展,主攻20至30歲年輕人市場。據瞭解,利郎目前在國內31個省市及地區,擁有超過2400多家終端店面。

幾乎同一時間段,內地體育服飾品牌匹克總計發售約合4.19億股股份,于9月2 9日開始登陸港股,總計募得19億港元。目前匹克集團全國性的銷售網絡包括超過5 600間由其分銷商獨立自有及經營,或由分銷商授權的第三方零售店鋪運營商經營 的品牌零售店,遍佈中國的4個直轄市和27個省份。據瞭解,匹克擬投入約合2.44 億元,繼續擴充銷售網絡。

出口明顯回暖仍需至2010年至於出口情況,中信證券研究報告統計顯示,2009年三季度紡織服裝業出口表現低於預期。“盡管08年三季度紡織服裝出口增幅較低,同比基數不高,但09年7 、8月行業出口降幅仍未實現收窄。”報告稱,其中8月出口同比下滑15.57%,降幅進一步擴大3.2個百分點,並預計四季度出口增長仍有壓力。

福田又要望多眼

“目前紡織業正處在企穩回升關鍵時期,這並不意味著困難時期已經過去。尤其是外銷處於比較困難的市場環境,內銷又需要有一個適應過程。”中國紡織工業協會副會長王天凱近日在一次服裝出口高層論壇上表示,2009年以來,美國5大服裝零售商銷售比較慘淡,5月份美國服裝零售雖然環比上升0.42%,但是當月同比仍然下降6.96%;歐盟、日本服裝消費沒有完全轉暖,市場需求還將繼續低迷。