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Apartment values in Korea

The average apartment price in the so-called "bubble seven" areas is triple the national average. The number of apartments in the seven districts is less than a tenth of the nation's total, according to property market information provider Real Estate Service Inc.

The appraised value of the apartments in the seven areas - Seoul's Gangnam, Songpa, Seocho and Mokdong districts and the three satellite towns around the capital of Bundang, Pyeongchon and Yongin - totaled 357.7 trillion won. The sum accounts for 29.1 percent of the nation's total value of apartments of 1,229 trillion won. That represents a gain of 3.7 percentage points over two years and four months from 25.4 percent in January 2004.

The appraised value of Gangnam apartments topped the list with 99.9 trillion won, followed by Yongin (60.3 trillion won), Bundang (58.6 trillion won), Seocho (56.5 trillion won), Songpa (55.2 trillion won), Mokdong (17.6 trillion won) and Pyeongchon (10.3 trillion won).

The total number of apartments in the "bubble seven" districts, 545,296 units, represents only 9.6 percent of the nation's total, indicating the extraordinarily high property prices of these areas.

The Korean economy faces a long-term struggle with an asset bubble, U.S. investment bank Morgan Stanley's chief economist for the Asia Pacific region Andy Xie noted in a recent report. "Aging and a strong currency are causing capital to flow into property, especially high-end property, similar to what occurred in Japan," Xie said. "While speculation is a major factor in the property market, the government should address demand for luxury properties in a maturing, aging and cash-rich economy to root out the fundamental cause of the bubble."

As for the appraised value of apartments in metropolitan cities and provinces, Seoul took the lead with almost 500 trillion won, followed by Gyeonggi Province (391 trillion won), Busan (63 trillion won), Incheon (53 trillion won) and Daegu (47 trillion won). No single municipality across the country excluding Seoul and Gyeonggi Province surpassed the single district of Gangnam in Seoul in terms of the aggregate value of apartments.

posted by Syam @ 9:37 AM 0 comments

Apartment values in Korea

Value of 'bubble seven' apartments is triple the national average
	The combined value of apartments in the nation's seven most speculation-prone districts account for nearly 30 percent of the total value of apartments across the nation, data showed yesterday. The average apartment price in the so-called "bubble seven" areas is triple the national average. The number of apartments in the seven districts is less than a tenth of the nation's total, according to property market information provider Real Estate Service Inc. The appraised value of the apartments in the seven areas - Seoul's Gangnam, Songpa, Seocho and Mokdong districts and the three satellite towns around the capital of Bundang, Pyeongchon and Yongin - totaled 357.7 trillion won. The sum accounts for 29.1 percent of the nation's total value of apartments of 1,229 trillion won. That represents a gain of 3.7 percentage points over two years and four months from 25.4 percent in January 2004. The appraised value of Gangnam apartments topped the list with 99.9 trillion won, followed by Yongin (60.3 trillion won), Bundang (58.6 trillion won), Seocho (56.5 trillion won), Songpa (55.2 trillion won), Mokdong (17.6 trillion won) and Pyeongchon (10.3 trillion won). The total number of apartments in the "bubble seven" districts, 545,296 units, represents only 9.6 percent of the nation's total, indicating the extraordinarily high property prices of these areas. The Korean economy faces a long-term struggle with an asset bubble, U.S. investment bank Morgan Stanley's chief economist for the Asia Pacific region Andy Xie noted in a recent report. "Aging and a strong currency are causing capital to flow into property, especially high-end property, similar to what occurred in Japan," Xie said. "While speculation is a major factor in the property market, the government should address demand for luxury properties in a maturing, aging and cash-rich economy to root out the fundamental cause of the bubble." As for the appraised value of apartments in metropolitan cities and provinces, Seoul took the lead with almost 500 trillion won, followed by Gyeonggi Province (391 trillion won), Busan (63 trillion won), Incheon (53 trillion won) and Daegu (47 trillion won). No single municipality across the country excluding Seoul and Gyeonggi Province surpassed the single district of Gangnam in Seoul in terms of the aggregate value of apartments.

posted by Syam @ 9:17 AM 0 comments

Rare Pictures of Early 1900s Korea Go Online

A set of rare photos showing the way ordinary Koreans lived at the beginning of the 20th century has been made public. The University of Southern California’s library website features some 150 pictures taken by the Rev. Corwin Taylor and his wife Nellie Blood-Taylor, who worked as missionaries in Korea from 1908 through 1922. The pictures have been put through a precision digital restoration process by the Korean Studies library, and some have been color-tinted. Doctors at the ear, nose, and throat, ward of Seoul Severance Hospital treat Japanese, Chinese and Korean patients. Country girls and elderly woman spread a straw mat on the ground for fulling cloth by pounding it out. Dressed in traditional clothes, Japanese girls play house in front of a clothing store while Korean toddlers dressed in Korean skirts and coats look on. Students at Paichai Academy, Korea’s first mission school founded in 1886. A Korean wearing a gentleman's horsehair hat is being treated by a western doctor.

posted by Syam @ 9:16 AM 0 comments

Team India Test profiles

Rahul Dravid (Captain)
Born: 11-01-1973, Indore,Madhya Pradesh
Type: Right Hand Batsman, Right Arm Off Break Bowler & Occasional Wicketkeeper
Test Debut: v England at Lord's, 1996
Highest Score: 270 v Pakistan at Rawalpindi, 2003-04
Best Innings Bowling: 1-18 v West Indies at St.John's, 2001-02
Captaincy record: played 13, won 4, lost 4, drawn 5.

MS Dhoni
Full Name: Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Born: 07-07-1981, Ranchi, Bihar
Type: Right Hand Batsman & Wicketkeeper
Test Debut: v Sri Lanka, Chennai, 2005-06
Highest Score: 148 v Pakistan at Faisalabad, 2005-06
Most dismissals in an Innings: 4 (all ct) v Pakistan at Faisalabad, 2005-06
4 (3 ct + 1 st) v England at Mohali,2005-06
Most dismissals in a match: 6 (5 ct + 1 st) v England at Mohali,2005-06
6 (5 ct + 1 st) v England at Mumbai ,2005-06

Wasim Jaffer
Full Name: Wasim Jaffer
Born: 16-02-1978, Bombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra
Type: Right Hand Batsman & Right Arm Off Break Bowler
Test Debut: v South Africa at Mumbai,1999-00
Highest Score: 100 v England at Nagpur, 2005-06
Best Innings Bowling: 2-18 v West Indies at St.John's, 2001-02

Mohammad Kaif
Born : 01-12-1980, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh
Type: Right Hand Batsman & Right Arm Off Break Bowler
Test Debut: v South Africa at Bangalore, 1999-00
Highest Score: 91 v England at Nagpur, 2005-06

Anil Kumble
Born: 17-10-1970, Bangalore,Karnataka
Type: Right Hand Batsman & Leg Break Googly Bowler
Test Debut: v England at Manchester, 1990
Highest Score: 88 v South Africa at Kolkata, 1997-98
Best Innings Bowling: 10-74 v Pakistan at Delhi,1998-99

VVS Laxman
Full Name: Vangipurappu Venkata Sai Laxman
Born: 01-11-1974, Hyderabad,Andhra Pradesh
Type: Right Hand Batsman & Right Arm Off Break Bowler
Test Debut: v South Africa at Ahmedabad, 1996-97
Highest Score: 281 v Australia at Kolkata, 2000-01
Best Innings Bowling: 1-32 v West Indies at St.John's, 2001-02

Irfan Pathan
Full Name: Irfan Khan Pathan
Born: 27-10-1984,Baroda,Gujarat
Type : Left Hand Batsman & Left Arm Fast Medium Bowler
Test Debut : v Australia at Adelaide, 2003-04
Highest Score: 93 v Sri Lanka at Delhi, 2005-06
Best Innings Bowling: 7-59 v Zimbabwe at Harare, 2005-06

Ramesh Powar
Full Name: Ramesh Rajaram Powar
Born: 20-05-1978,Bombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra
Type : Right Hand Batsman & Right Arm Off Break Bowler
Test Debut : Yet to be made

Suresh Raina
Full Name: Suresh Kumar Raina
Born: 27-11-1986, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh
Type: Left Hand Batsman & Right Arm Off Break Bowler
Test Debut: Yet to be made

Virender Sehwag
Born: 20-10-1978, Delhi
Type: Right Hand Batsman & Right Arm Off Break Bowler
Test Debut: v South Africa at Bloemfontein, 2001-02
Highest Score: 309 v Pakistan at Multan, 2003-04
Best Innings Bowling: 1-17 v New Zealand at Ahmedabad, 2003-04

Harbhajan Singh
Full Name : Harbhajan Singh Plaha
Born: 03-07-1980, Jullundur (now Jalandhar),Punjab
Type: Right Hand Batsman & Right Arm Off Break Bowler
Test Debut: v Australia at Bangalore, 1997-98
Highest Score: 66 v Zimbabwe at Bulawayo QSC, 2001
Best Innings Bowling: 8-84 v Australia at Chennai, 2000-01

VRV Singh
Full Name: Vikram Rajvir Singh
Born: 17-09-1984, Chandigarh
Type: Right Hand Batsman & Right Arm Fast Medium Bowler
Test Debut: Yet to be made

Yuvraj Singh
Full Name: Yuvraj Singh
Born: 12-12-1981, Chandigarh
Type: Left Hand Batsman and Left Arm Slow Orthodox Bowler
Test Debut: v New Zealand at Mohali,2003-04
Highest Score: 122 v Pakistan at Karachi,2003-04
Best Innings Bowling: 1-25 v Pakistan at Multan,2003-04

S Sreesanth
Full Name: Shanthakumaran Sreesanth
Born: 06-02-1983, Kothamangalam, Kerala
Type: Right Hand Batsman & Right Arm Fast Medium Bowler
Test Debut: v England at Nagpur, 2005-06
Highest Score: 29* v England at Mumbai, 2005-06
Best Innings Bowling: 4-70 v England at Mumbai, 2005-06

Bowling

Test Career Record against West Indies
Batting & Fielding

Bowling

Note: Dravid and Sehwag have represented India in 99 and 44 Tests respectively. They played for ICC World XI against Australia in Super 'Test' which has been accorded official status by the ICC.

posted by Syam @ 9:02 AM 0 comments

A talk about the stock market

Managing Partner at TCI New Horizon Fund, Madhav Bhatkuly went to the London School of Economics, LSE, to beef up on the many theories that abound in the field of financial economics.

But he was always intending to come back to India because something here had caught his interest. It was the way the stock market works - the intricacy and the mechanism and the beauty of it appealed to him.

Inspiration & motivation

But another source who lit the fire within him about the stock market was his best friend's father, who was then the chairman of Citigroup. Bhatkuly told CNBC-TV18, "I had a close friend and his father used to be the chairman of Citigroup at that time and he used to lecture at the stock exchange, virtually after every budget. So I was chatting with his son one day and his father was preparing for the budget speech and I asked what is this? He said that I am going to talk about the stock market and the implication of the budget."

He recalled, "So I asked him what is the stock market and how does it really function? So he said if you want to be a part of a very big, successful and famous company but you don't have the money to own it, and you want to own just a small part to be part of the story, then the stock market is the place to go. And actually, in many ways that was the defining moment. It first got me interested, that here was an opportunity to be a part of history or a part of success."

At the LSE, he majored in derivative products. The entire field was new back then so he didn't have many textbooks to study from except the one written by Fischer Black & Myron Scholes, which had come out just a few years before he graduated.

He was lucky enough to study original research. But when he got back to India, he realised that all those theories he studied were of little use. It was really experience that counted.

He began his career with ICICI, which was purely a project finance institution at that time. Madhav recalled, "I was busy going to greenfield project sites and doing spreadsheets and cash-flow analysis on Lotus (software).

"But it was an extraordinary experience. That gave me insight into corporate India and helped and shaped me as an analyst. I think that job really taught me or gave me the bridge between everything that I had learned in theory and the real world - of what drives earnings models and businesses and also to work with entrepreneurs, which I think has actually contributed to the process of investing today."

Investing principles

He doesn't believe that investors reach a magical circle of competence, as supposed by some. But investing is a process of trial and error, just like everything else. He said, "I think with experience and consistently just simply going out and doing the job, you begin to understand some things naturally better than somebody else."

After all, even the billionaires of the world have not made their money following any one holy grail. Benjamin Graham has been quoted telling Warren Buffett, "Warren the money won't make a damn difference to you and I, our wives might just live a little better!"

All the same, some of these successful investors have followed their own path to riches. Warren Buffett has never invested outside the US. On the other hand, Sir John Templeton wanted to go out and buy the entire Indonesian Stock Exchange, the very first time he felt bullish about Indonesia!

George Soros keeps it simple - he buys when the price is not right and sells when it is - the very essence of stock market trading. So, each of these men are rolling in money but have all arrived at it, in their own individual style.

So which style does Madhav call his own? He explained, "If I have to identify myself with one particular approach, at heart I would call myself a value investor. But value can mean different things. Is it prospective value? Is it enduring value? Is it value based on history etc. I spent most of my early career or the last few years as well, in small cap stocks, where perhaps the market efficiencies were higher and maybe because they were illiquid or for whatever other reasons."

Evaluating businesses

He looks at different valuation methods for different businesses. For instance, if it's utility, he may use the discounted cash-flow method but for anything else, he might use a different concept.

He added, "But along with that, it was also important to understand leadership in the business in its entirety. And what I looked for primarily was whether there was hunger enough to inspire that CEO to want to make it into a bigger business. Also, was there a cogent strategy and more often than not if you meet a lot of business leaders, you will find that some of the best or the most successful leaders are very well put together in their thoughts."

Also managements which spend time in execution of strategic visions is what makes "the

difference between a good idea and a successful one." Madhav also believes in getting his facts and figures cross-checked with the mid-level managements of companies.

He explained, "It is important to visit second and third-line managements across the company. To first of all understand whether you were receiving the same soundbytes as you would hear from the top. But more importantly, were there processes. Was there enough in terms of execution capability and deliverable action points built into the system itself."

According to him, Sun Pharmaceuticals and Godrej Consumer Products are two companies, which demonstrated his belief in executing strategies and that had processes in place for doing so.

Indian stories

Analysts need to be able to spot what's going to provide a margin of safety with regard to every stock their looking at. It could be prospective earnings or absolute assets. He spotted this safety point in the shares of Oriental Bank of Commerce, OBC, when it was in the red and was burdened wth NPAs that were not serviced.

He elaborated, "We were the first foreign investors in OBC, at roughly about Rs 55 a share. It went through a terrible period as a result of which it had accumulated non-performing loans in excess if 9 per cent.

"But two years prior to that, there was a change in leadership. There was a new leader who had cleaned the processes. So as a result of, which the company had begun to have a shift towards identification and greater disclosure.

"We also found that interest rates in India had fallen so much, that OBC had 41 per cent of it's book in Indian government bonds or treasuries, and that the unrealised gains on the securities portfolio was greater than the market cap.

"This meant good news - that it could have wiped off the NPAs in one shot! So the margin of safety was very clearly visible."

He found absolutely great value waiting to be unlocked in United Breweries. He reiterated, "I think United Breweries is a very good example of startling value. The company went through two phases.

"One, when it was a consolidated entity and it had non-core assets including 40 per cent holding in McDowell as well as huge real estate holdings. So there was huge value which could be harvested at some point of time."

He added, "If you look at or dissect the management of the business in two facets - corporate governance and market leadership. They have delivered dramatically on market leadership, I mean, here was a company which clearly knew what to do in the market place, Kingfisher made up 40 per cent of the Indian beer market for several years and eventually went up to 50 per cent. Kingfisher as a standalone brand was 27 per cent of India's beer market. So obviously the company knew what to do in the marketplace but it wasn't translating that into profits."

Spotted deals

"When we first looked at just the beer business, we spent a lot of time figuring out what normalized earnings would be because the company had no profits. So what was the intrinsic worth of those profits?

"For that we looked at a company in Sri Lanka called Lion Beer, which was a Carlsberg's joint venture in Sri Lanka. We were just trying to do a little bit of analysis in terms of the dynamics and what the costing was and we figured that the margin of safety was very large and there was an opportunity here."

For more such reports, log on to www.moneycontrol.com

posted by Syam @ 8:51 AM 2 comments

5 great mutual funds

Some funds only invest in large-cap stocks, others in mid-cap or small-cap.

Ever wanted to invest in a fund that would not stick to any one preference? A fund that would invest in companies irrespective of their size or sector? That can do whatever it pleases: hunt for hidden gems, allocate money to well-known companies or buy stocks investors are bypassing? Basically, a fund that will 'go anywhere' it seeks to?

Well, there are a few wanderers of the mutual fund industry who attempt to pluck the best fruit of all seasons. And, since we all know that no one style can work forever, these funds should do well in the long-term.

We have short-listed five best 'go anywhere' options in the diversified equity funds category in alphabetical order. These funds have a long history of picking winners across market captalisation and earn consistent returns year after year. Yet, all of them have something different to offer.

DSPML Opportunities

This fund is projected as a tactical fund that will maximise returns by investing predominantly in certain sectors and stocks. It began that way. Today, it has a well-diversified portfolio dominated by large-caps with ample representation of mid- and small-cap stocks.

It was launched in April 2000 during the tech boom peak. With that sector collapsed that year, its Net Asset Value crashed. Yet, the fund continued to remain heavily invested in tech stocks.

This did not help and the fund continued to fare miserably. That is when the fund began to buy more stocks and invest in more sectors and stocks.

It now has a well-balanced portfolio and has displayed an ability to capitalise on good times and is one of the better funds around.

In the five-year period ended April 3, 2006, the fund's 49.63% return makes it one of the top 10 funds in the category.

The verdict: The fund has delivered, but not exactly in the way it is supposed to. Hence, investors would do well to ignore the word 'opportunities' and treat this like any other diversified equity fund.

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Franklin India Prima Plus

This fund rarely delivers surprises -- on both upside as well as downside. But that is its real charm. It quietly goes on and gets the job done.

Managed by one of the finest minds in the Indian mutual fund industry, Franklin India Prima Plus offers a well diversified large-cap portfolio, low volatility and decent returns. The fund has a disciplined investing approach with a preference for stability. It has seen the boom and bust of the IPO and tech bubbles and survived as one of the best options of all times.

Even the ongoing bull run has not forced the management to take any outrageous steps to catch on with some of its hot performing peers.

The fund manager continues to pick stocks with conviction and waits for them to blossom. Stocks like Infosys, Hindalco, Grasim, Cummins, Madras Cements, Marico, NDTC and TV 18 have all done well for the fund.

Launched in September 1994, the fund's portfolio was totally out of focus by March 1996, with nearly 200 stocks in its kitty. The fund relentlessly cleaned its portfolio and now has a more focused portfolio.

The verdict: One should not expect a miracle here. This fund will work hard to generate returns and keep your money safe. If you prefer stability over flashy returns, this is the fund to have.

• What you must know about interest rates & rate of return

HDFC Equity

A number of factors have gone towards making this fund a success: ability to spot the right opportunity at the right time, swift moves to exploit the opportunity, investing with a lot of conviction, courage to take big stock and sector bets, out-of-the-box thinking and a mix of large-, mid-, and small-cap stocks have helped the fund deliver great returns year after year.

It is the only diversified equity fund that has outperformed the average return of such funds every year for the past eight years.

The fund manager's ability to think ahead of time and change the portfolio accordingly have resulted in good performances in bull and bear phases. For instance, mid- and small-cap stocks began to lose some steam in the fourth quarter of last year, while interest in large-cap stocks went up. As usual, the fund manager had already tilted his portfolio in favour of big companies. This helped the fund earn 15% in the last quarter of 2005, nearly double the returns of the average.

The fund manager invests with a lot of conviction and stays committed to them. Close to 40% of the entire portfolio is invested in the top five stocks. The rest of the investment is over 25 stocks.

The verdict: A combination of low risk and above-average return grades make this fund a compelling option in this category.

• Should you invest now or wait?

HDFC Top 200

This fund concentrates primarily on India's top 200 companies by market capitalisation and hence offers a portfolio consisting of large-cap, blue chip and highly liquid stocks.

In 1999, the fund was heavily invested in FMCG and pharma and bought tech stocks rather late in the dotcom rally. In 2000, a third of all investment was in tech stocks and the fund lost tremendously when tech stocks crashed. In 2001, the situation improved because it had invested large amounts also in FMCG stocks.

Since then, the fund has always performed well

A lot of the investment is concentrated in the largest stock holding which regularly crosses 8% of the total assets. Half the investments will be in stocks from three sectors, with the technology sector being the favourite. This makes the fund volatile.

The fund manager attempts to maintain diversification by spreading the rest of the portfolio across sectors (energy, metal, pharma) and around 50 stocks.

The verdict: The fund tends to be aggressive but has delivered consistent returns.

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Reliance Vision

This fund has generated outstanding returns for its investors through shuffling the portfolio among large-, mid-, and small-cap stocks.

In the five-year period ended May 5, 2006, its the second best fund with returns of over 64%, way ahead of any other fund with a similar portfolio.

The fund is not a great believer in the buy-and-hold strategy. With an investment in just around 30 stocks and a few sectors, the fund is aggressive and does not cater to the conservative investor.

The year 2002 stands out in the fund's excellent track record. It generated a massive 74.58% return as against a modest 19.43% rise of its peers. The second best that year (Reliance Growth) gave returns way behind of 55.75%.

The next year, the fund gave a return of 155% compared to the category average of 112%.

In 2004, the fund gave a return of just 19.81% when the category average was 25.92%. It was back on track in 2005 with returns of 53.47% when the average return was 46.67%.

This year, the fund seems to be doing well.

The verdict: Aggressive investors willing to wait for the long-term may find this offering to their liking

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