The second screen that I’ve decided to look at is Malaysia because of geographic proximity and ease of investment for investors located in Singapore.
When looking at Malaysia, I’ve tried to stay away from any agricultural companies that are purely focused on palm oil for ESG reasons. A quick scan of the companies on the list revealed that JCY has been struggling (although management is confident their situation will improve mid-2013). Puncak Niaga looks interesting prima facie but the profitability has been volatile over the past couple of years and the business model is based on receiving contracts to repair and operate dams making it difficult to value. I’ve also shied away from holding companies that have a menagerie of businesses in their portfolio.