Oceanus - eat abalone

Monday 5 Jan 09: (XFN-ASIA) - Oceanus Group is moving up the food chain. The Singapore-listed abalone farmer is planning to open as many > as 100 abalone restaurants in mainland China by the end of this year > in a bid to hook more of the country\'s expanding middle class on the > shellfish delicacy. > Oceanus sees the move into the restaurant business as a way of > developing new customers and a strong brand in China despite sliding > prices for the high-end product amid a global recession. > \"If you want to be a substantial player, and if you want to have > a big production base, you have to be in the backyard. That is the > reason why we are (in China),\" said company chairman and CEO Ng Cher > Yew. > \"Understanding the mix in China, we think the growth of the > middle class will take place anyway despite the recession of today,\" > he told XFN-Asia in an interview. > Much of the abalone sold in China now goes to the top one pct of > the population, often sold at prices around 300 yuan a piece, but Ng > said he wants to make it available to 10 pct to 20 pct of the country. > > Daiwa Institute of Research said in a recent report that Oceanus > will have plenty of abalone by 2010 but the key risk is developing > sales channels to meet demand. The company is Daiwa\'s top small-cap > pick in Singapore. > Ng said the restaurants will be set up as part of a joint venture > with Ah Yat Abalone Group Ltd, the operator of a successful chain of > eateries in Asia. > The first outlet will be opened in Shanghai early this year under > the name \"Ah Yi Tian Xia\" or \"World of Ah Yat.\" It will quickly be > expanded to four other outlets in the city as a trial and then > expanded to around 50 to 100 locations. > \"Abalone is a sign of success in China,\" said Ng. \"Abalone has > always held up as the king of seafood, so to speak, and has been > highly priced.\" > He said the new chain will give people the chance to eat > relatively affordable abalone at around 38 yuan to 48 yuan per meal > set, which Ng said has traditionally been sold mainly at high-end > restaurants. > China, which has seen a big expansion of its middle class due to > strong economic growth, is now the largest source of demand for the > shellfish, accounting for some 50 pct of total consumption worldwide, > according to Ng. > Oceanus, which is the only listed abalone-farmer in the world, > specializes in the finer breed of Japanese abalone, which according to > Ng is more tender and grows to a larger size. > Besides restaurants, the company recently set up a subsidiary to > process abalone. That operation will be open around June and will also > be able to serve the restaurant outlets as well as other distribution > channels. > Ng said the company also has plans to supply pre-made recipes to > high-end restaurants and plans to make canned and frozen abalone, some > of which could be sold abroad. > For the time being, the company has no problem keeping up with > demand from high-end restaurants for live abalone. > To keep up supply, the company has continually expanded its > operations for abalone farming. It now keeps tanks off the coast of > China\'s southeast province of Fujian. > \"We have been on track this year to get where we want, which is > 30,000 tanks, and we have already surpassed it, and next year (2009) > we will reach 40,000 tanks,\" Ng said. > He said the company has been making acquisitions to reach the > 2009 target. > According to Daiwa, the company had around 171.4 mln abalone as > of the end of September and should roughly double the figure by 2010. > Most competitors are small operators that raise the Taiwanese > breed of abalone, according to Ng, who also noted that the company has > been acquiring other producers in Fujian and integrating them into its > system. > He said Fujian province is an ideal place for raising the seafood > as it has the right climate and access to deeper ocean water that can > be filtered with sand, a cheaper filtration system that helps reduce > overhead. > Small operators, which are mainly family businesses, have a > harder time in the market since it can take seven to eight years to > grow a mature abalone and the costs can be high. The older and larger > the abalone, the higher the price it commands. > \"We are going downstream to develop brand, and retail will help > us grow. They will improve and we can market the product under our > brand,\" Ng said. > But Ng noted that recent government regulations that will allow > farmers to own land may make land acquisitions harder in the future. > He also said that could help the company in mortgaging its assets, > however. > On the plus side, the company benefits from government tax breaks > for agricultural companies, such as no value-added tax. > Ng said that companies need to be able to adapt to a less certain > financial environment, including a slide in prices of 10 to 15 pct. > He added that Oceanus is well prepared. > \"I see that the recession has bitten into the economy > everywhere,\" he said. \"We expect, basically, people to be more wary > about spending money on the high end. Abalone for high-end restaurants > should drop but we expect the food chain we are creating is the way to > go.\" > Ng said abalone is still in quite short supply so the prices > should not drop off as much as for other seafood in the near future. > Oceanus also recently insured its stock against possible disease, > which can kill off the abalone at considerable financial cost. > Australia and China have been hit in the past by such problems, which > Ng attributes to poor sanitation. > So far, the company\'s financial standing is strong. It has no > bank loans and is in a good position to ride out the current economic > storm. > \"We have no real concern for cash flow; it should only get > better,\" Ng said. \"As you stay longer in the business, you are > generating better cash flow.\" > He said the company should mirror analysts\' forecast comfortably, > which put net income at 353 mln yuan in 2008 and 833 mln yuan in 2009. > \"We should no have trouble making our targets,\" Ng said. > The company reported net income of 151 mln yuan in 2007. > Ng also said he is expecting to start paying a dividend, possibly > in 2010. > Analysts have raised concerns that Ng might leave Oceanus before > the company is firmly established in the market. But the venture > capitalist, who is also a trained veterinarian, said he has no plans > to leave in the next five years. > \"It is very exciting, and of course longer than five years is > hard to make promises, but as of now I have no plan whatsoever on > leaving the company,\" he said. > (1 usd = 6.8 yuan) > randall.jensen@afxasia.com[1]

happened to read the wire story on oceanus. it\'s been about 6 months since that article was published and to me it seems that Oceanus has met the promises it set out. the business model is quite interesting, and it remains to be seen if the market will fall in lovve with this stock. today it shot up to 28.5 cts. i dont see that as a sign of market love, simply becos every stock went up today.

Published May 18, 2009 in Business Times: Oceanus raises $73.5m from investors ABALONE producer Oceanus Group announced over the weekend that it had successfully obtained funding of $73.5 million from private equity firms AIF Capital Asia III subsidiary Ocean Wonder International and Hupomone Capital Partners Singapore as well as strategic investors. The 9 per cent interest rate three-year loans due on June 30, 2012, also come with the option of being repaid through the lenders exercising warrants in Oceanus shares which will be issued according to the proportion of loan given. Ocean Wonder is taking the lead portion with $37.5 million, followed by Hupomone with $17 million and various strategic investors taking the remaining $19 million. Of the proceeds of about $69.5 million, $37.5 million will be used to fund the group\'s farm expansion activities or related acquisitions, $15 million will go towards expanding the activities of Ah Yi Tian Xia cafes and the development of the group\'s downstream activities and $17 million will be used for general working capital. Oceanus reported an 85.8 per cent increase in net profit to 107.6 million yuan (S$23 million) for the first quarter ended March 31, 2009. \'During this difficult time of the financial crunch and economic uncertainty, we are pleased to announce that the investment interest in this financing exercise was overwhelming,\' said Oceanus executive chairman Ng Cher Yew. Oceanus also announced that it will be a new constituent of the MSCI Singapore Small Cap Index with effect from the close of trade on May 29.

Oceanus abalone population *********************** The number of caged abalones increased 197% from 46.6millions as at 31-Dec-2007 to 138.8millions as at 31-Dec-2008. Based on these caged abalone population, the fair value of Oceanus\'s biological assets were assessed in an independent valuation at RMB 211.6million (including fishes) as at 31-Dec-2007 and at RMB 445.0million (entirely abalones) as at 31-Dec-2008. The group has also bred an estimated 150million abalones in 4Qtr of 2008. As a prudent practise, these 150million new-bred abalones and 14.1million uncaged juvenile abalones are not valued for inclusion in the financial statements. When these abalones mature and valued in near future, the gain arising from changes in fair value will increase exponentially and will contribute significantly to the group\'s bottom line.

June 5 Friday SINGAPORE - Singapore\'s Oceanus Group , which breeds premium Japanese abalones, said it aims to enter the Japan market next year to supply the chilled marine product and sees Abalone prices rising 5 percent. \"It\'s a niche market but not a small market, quite substantial,\" Chairman Ng Cher Yew told Reuters about the chilled frozen abalone market in Japan. Oceanus, which farms Abalone along coastal lines of Fujian and Shandong provinces in China, has a cost advantage against other suppliers, he said. \"We are definitely well-positioned, we have the Japanese species, others are selling the Australian species not the same. We are very low cost,\" Ng said in an interview. He also said that he sees abalone prices for the industry rising 5 percent this year.

www.businesstimes.com.sg/sub/companies/s...,4574,339234,00.html ? Published June 26, 2009 Capital Grp ups Oceanus stake Email this article Print article Feedback THE Capital Group Companies Inc (CGC) has emerged as a new substantial shareholder of Oceanus Group after its deemed stake in the company rose from 4.73 per cent to 5.22 per cent or 92.1 million shares. CGC is a holding company for several subsidiary companies engaged in investment management activities. Through its various subsidiary companies, CGC manages The American Funds family of mutual funds and also serves as investment managers to various institutional clients around the world. Oceanus has been a draw for some international funds. Recently, AIF Capital and Hupomone Capital invested $37.5 million and $17 million respectively in Oceanus. Neither CGC nor any of its subsidiaries own shares of Oceanus for their own account. Yesterday, Oceanus shares were unchanged at $0.30, after 16.65 million shares changed hands