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October 13, 2010

Solar Panels in India – Complete Guide on Buying Low Cost PV Panels from Solar Energy System Manufacturers

Note Solar Panels prices differ widely depending on the technology,power,brand and quality.Thin Film Panels in general cost lower than crystalline silicon panels.Higher Power Panels have a higher price as they generate more electricity.Good Brands also have a higher price tag while cheap imported Chinese panels cost less.Solar Panel prices have decreased by almost 50% in the last 2-3 years and now sell for around Rs 1800-2500 per panel internationally and should fall to around Rs 1000 in the next 3-4 years . However for small installations on house of 1-5 KiloWatts,panels sold by distributors is more expensive and can cost you almost 50% more.Also Solar Panels form only a part of the total Solar System Cost.The total cost of installation,equipment and wiring can cost upto Rs 30,000/Kilowatt.
October 12, 2010

Can GE Dethrone First Solar from its Leadership of the Solar Energy Market

GE is now looking to dethrone the No.1 Solar Energy Producer First Solar using its all round strengths.GE had invested in a Cadmium Tellurium Startup Prime Solar which is ramping up production.Note Cd-Te is the same technology which is used by First Solar.GE has said that it has managed to attain 15% efficiency on commercial glass.Don't know how much of it is true since First Solar only manages around 12% efficiency despite around 10 years of dedicated R&D.However if GE can even manage to get near to that level then it would surely give First Solar a run for its money.GE has also tied up with Japanese Solar Frontier to market its CIGs based modules.Note Solar Frontier or Showa Shell is building a massive 900 MW plant in Japan.This would make Frontier Solar one of the biggest Solar Players in the world.GE is offering an integrated solution comprising of modules,inverters,services and other BOS equipment to get a leg up on competition.
October 12, 2010

Solar c-Si PV Industry overcoming its Polysilicon Fixation with Focus Changing to Energy Efficiency and Optimization

With most of the low hanging fruit of polysilicon costs already gone,the industry has to focus on efficiency to cut down on costs.Selective emitters,microinverters,DC-DC optimization and other technologies are already finding takers.A Number of microinverter companies like Tigo,Enphase Energy etc are tying up with global heavyweights like Suntech and Sunpower to increase their penetration and cut costs.National Semiconductor has also tied up with Suntech to integrate its products with Suntech Modules to improve efficiency and reliability.The Balance of Systems costs for Solar Panels and their Performance are not usually paid a lot of attention.But with every cent now making a big difference,these technology could make or break a company in this commoditizing industry.While the value addition and costs of these new products are still subject to market acceptance,its a major change for the industry.This is the next phase in the evolution of the solar energy industry as it looks to additional ways to cut costs and bring solar energy to grid parity.Look for M&A in this space as well since the industry is fragmented with a host of VC backed startups.
October 12, 2010

Global No.1 Nuclear Equipment Supplier Areva faces Russian Rosatom Intrusion in its Shrinking European Home Turf

Rosatom has strong competencies despite the Chernobyl disaster as a black mark in its history.The Company has already constructed reactors in China,India and Iran during the Soviet Union Days and is constructing 5 reactors in foreign markets.With strong technology expertise and with laxer safety standards at home,it is trying to outflank Areva in its home turf.Note Areva is already facing losses from the Finland Nuclear Project which has proved to be a huge disaster.It additionally faces competition from Toshiba-Westinghouse which is ramping up its efforts to compete with Areva.GE-Hitachi suffers from a technological handicap compared with Toshiba and Areva,however GE cannot be underestimated because of its Global Reach and Industrial Strengths.Rosatom is that last thing that Areva needs in its shrinking home turf of Europe.Germany is facing huge opposition just for extending the life of its nuclear reactors while France has pretty much saturated its Electricity Market with Nuclear Energy.
October 12, 2010

Glass Giant Saint-Gobain plans second Solar Thin Film CIGs plant with Hyundai Heavy Industries

Saint Gobain like Semiconductor Giant TSMC is betting on Copper Indium Gallium Selenium (CIGs) Technology rather than the mainstream crystalline silicon technology.CIGs is getting the most significant investments these days compared to other thin film technology.Yesterday Ascent Solar (ASTI) got an IEC certification for its flexible modules which would enable it to target the mainstream rooftop market from niche applications earlier.Miasole has improved the efficiency and costs of it CIGs greatly while Nanosolar can't be counted out because of its strong backers.Solyndra however remains mostly in the shadows despite around $1 billion in private investment.Stion is another strong contender partnering with TSMC and also thinking of opening a plant in Taiwan on its own as well.Saint Gobain is already a big player in the solar market as it suppliers glass to a lot of solar companies for their modules.Getting into panel manufacturing will further allow it to get a foothold of this new potentially giant industry.Du Pont,Dow Chemicals,Corning all have considerable presence in the solar equipment market as well.
October 12, 2010

Are Institutional "Anchor Investors" in Indian Primary Market Incompetent , Compromised or Both

Indian IPO Rules allows the Merchant Bankers of the Issue to give favored institutional clients a part of the IPO even before the issue starts.This has the advantage for both parties as funds get a guaranteed portion of the IPO and Bankers can tout the quality of the company.However you would have to question these "Anchor Investors' on how they invest in such IPOs.Prestige Estates a Realty Company coming out with an IPO is another low quality company to come out with a high valuation.So finding 21 Anchor Investors is a surprise.Despite the Real Estate Market being avoided by Fund Mangers due to questionable practice,23 Funds have found it worthwhile to add Prestige Estates to their portfolio.Makes you wonder if Institutional Investors are Plain Incompetent ,Compromised or Both
October 12, 2010

US Money Printing Causes Sharp Spike in Agriculture and Food Commodity Prices Raising Starvation Dangers Yet Again

The US Federal Reserve is hell bent on preventing deflation through whatever means possible.It has raised the prospect of 2008 when Commodities all over the world raced to new highs due to cuts in Interest Rates.2010 has already seen its first food riots in Africa and 2011 should more of the same.Every Commodity be it Gold,Silver,Coffee,Sugar,Rice,Wheat is jumping higher as the common denominator Dollar gets Debased by US Policies.While the stupidness of the Monetary Easing is a big exhaustive issue in itself,the prospect of higher commodity prices is a huge danger.It is already fueling dangerous equity bubbles in the emerging markets of Asia.Currency Wars are already starting to happen on a small scale as Crazy Monetary Policies take hold in the US.Food Prices are a very major problem in poor countries unlike developed countries where food forms only a small part of the daily expenditure.With Food forming 50-80% of the expenditure of poor citizens,a 50% increase in Prices immediately leads to hunger and starvation.However don't think the US Fed concerns itself with such trivial issues.
October 12, 2010

Prestige Estates IPO Review and Analysis – Valuation Too High for a Bad Company (Low Margins,High Debt,Stagnant Sales) in a Bad Sector (Real Estate)

Prestige Estates is an Indian Real Estate Company with its operations focused in the southern part of India mainly in the techie city of Bangalore.The company is one on the long list of Realty Companies which have been waiting impatiently to raise money from the Stock Markets trying to pay off their debts.It is raising around Rs 1200 crores or $250mm .Oberoi Realty was a decent Realty Stock as far as the Sector goes which managed good subscription numbers in the last week.With "animal spirits" returning fueled by Bernanke's Helicopter Policy expect more such shoddy Realty issues to hit the market.Note the Sector is an investor minefield with even well connected Fund Managers not trusting the financial statements published by these companies.With the Indian Stock Market already featuring a wide variety in terms of quality and quantity of Realty Stocks,Prestige Estates brings no difference and on analysis seems easy to avoid.Here are some features to this company Summary Prestige Estates is another low quality shady highly indebted Realty Company which should be strictly be avoided.It defies any simple analysis because of its convoluted structure and cross holdings.The Company Sales have been stagnant and Margins Low and it has high concentration risk as well.The Management inspires no confidence at all and is a typical example of the badly managed Real Estate Sector in India.Should be avoided at all costs by investors.Note 5 of the last 9 IPOs in India in the last month are giving losses to investors.This promises to be no different given the fundamentals.
October 11, 2010

Abu Dhabi Lowers its Green Ambitions Further as Reality Humbles MultiBillion Dollar Zero Carbon Dreams

Abu Dhabi has got the largest sovereign wealth fund in the world with asset of over $600 Billion.The small emirate which is a part of the larger United Arab Emirates is one of the richest countries in the world due to its Oil Riches.The country had made ambitious Renewable Energy Plans setting up a Fund/Company dedicated to its Green Ambitions called Masdar.The Company has faced a number of reverses as it tried a number of things all at once in a new industry.Its "Jack of All Trades" Strategy has proven to be a failure as it lost/fired a number of top executives.Its Solar Plans have also come up a cropper as Thin Film Technology has faced a lot of reverses in recent times.The Company has tried to change tactics by concentrating now on Solar Thermal Technology partnering with Abengoa and Total in building a CSP plant near Abu Dhabi.With its Renewable Energy Arm facing a number of reverses,its plan for a futuristic,zero carbon Green Masdar City has also been scaled down.
October 11, 2010

Why has Nuclear Energy hit a Wall in the Developed World

Constellation Energy has become the latest USA Utility to cancel its proposed new nuclear energy plant to be built in Maryland.Despite a Loan Guarantee from Department of Energy (DOE) as part of the US Green Stimulus,Constellation has found the economics of the Nuclear Reactors as unworkable.In fact this is keeping with the trend of other utilities in the Developed World who have found New Nuclear to be too expensive.While a number of cyclical factors are at play (Wind Energy has also been affected) in hindering the development of these plants,it seems a secular shift has occured.Finland has become the poster boy of a Nuclear Project Disaster with the main developer Areva bleeding from losses as time and cost overruns have almost doubled.The increaseing costs of environment and safety regulations has increase manifold since the last spurt of nuclear energy construction in the 1980s.The Nuclear Renaissance has proven to be a complete failure in the Western Countries.While China continues with its aggressive Nuclear Expansion plans,construction in the US has come to a virtual halt.Exelon which is the largest Nuclear Energy Operator in the USA has also halted developed of 2 new reactors in Texas.These Utilities have said that they need much higher energy prices and a carbon tax before going ahead with reaction construction.Note Exelon recently bought a Wind Energy Operator as Solar/Wind become the favored Green Energy choices.
October 11, 2010

Was Iranian Nuclear Plant Computer Virus Made in China to Disable Indian Communications Satellite

A US expert has said that India was the target of the Stuxnet Attack rather than Iran.India's Insat 4B Communications Satellite suffered from a malfunction recently and it used the same Siemens software which was the target of this Worm Attack.India has been subject to Chinese cyberwarfare attacks in the past .This has led to a general wariness in the Indian Establishment over Chinese origin companies like Huawei operating in India.Tensions between Indian and China have been rising over a range of issues such as territory,supply of arms and nuclear reactors to Pakistan and construction of military bases around India.The failure of an Indian Communications Satellite without any explicit attack done surreptitiously by Chinese hackers does not seem far fetched.Nothing would be clearly known to the general public given the clandestine nature of these cyberwarfare between nation states.However India's decision to bolster its cyberwarfare capabilities and the recent decision by Google to abandon China,all point to China using cyberattacks as an instrument of statecraft.
October 11, 2010

Risks and Negatives with Highly Rated Coal India IPO

Coal India is coming out with India's biggest IPO offering in the Stock Market History.The company seems fundamentally strong on almost all aspects and is also pricing itself at a significant discount to its global peers.Both superficially and deep down,the analysis points CIL to be a very safe investment at a cheap valuation.Other analysts are also coming to the same conclusion,as Rating Agency has given CIL a 5/5 Rating which is probably the first in the history of IPO Grading .In order to give a more balanced perspective and avoid herd tendencies,I am listing out what the risks and negatives are with this company.Note this does not make me negative on the stock on which I am very positively biased.It is just to give investors the other side of the debate which I think general analysis will lack. Despite the above Risks , I think that Coal India is one of the best quality stocks to come out in India's Primary Markets.However investors should be wary of the risks which will be glossed over by the mainstream media and brokerages . As with every investment however safe it might look,there are risks.This does not mean that investors should be fearful of every investment.It is by being aware of the risks,that prudent risk management can be done which is essential to successful investing.
October 10, 2010

Guest Post – Should Funds Hire Manic Depressives to Correct for "Optimism Bias"

In the last 4-5 years, the real estate investment community seems to have been a victim of optimism bias. This is most exemplified in the severe under estimation of time/duration required for construction/operation of project investments. For fund managers who have made investments in major parts of Asia (China, Vietnam, India, Indonesia) in the last 4-5 years, under estimation of timelines is the one area in which they all concede to have erred. The experience has shown how easy it is to fall into the optimism bias trap and start believing that once the finance is secured and the contracts awarded, things just roll on in an automode. Following are some of interesting reasons (these are all true) by which projects have gone significantly delayed It is believed that the only section of the population that isn't susceptible to the optimism bias are people with major depressive disorder. Probably funds should consider hiring some of them.
October 7, 2010

Mazda Late to Push the Pedal on EcoFriendly Vehicles to catch up with other Japanese AutoMajors

Mazda the Japanese Automobile Producer has decided to double the R&D spending on EcoFriendly Vehicles over the next 5 years.The Company has decided to up the percentage spend on Green Automobile Technology to 40% by 2015 from 20% at present.This implies almost $450 million in annual R&D spend on Hybrid and Electric Vehicles.Mazda has been a latecomer to the new generation Green Automobiles.Like Honda,Mazda trails Toyota and Nissan in the EV and Hybrid Car Technology. Mazda has already tied up with Toyota to fast track the development of Hybrid Vehicles,the first one which it plans to introduce by 2013.Note Honda and Toyota have already introduced Hybrid Cars and Mazda will face tough competition as it is a latecomer to the Hybrid Party.Other AutoMakers around the world like Hyundai,GM,Ford,Geely,BYD are already well on the way to introducing Green Cars.
October 7, 2010

Gyscoal Alloys IPO – More Crap taking advantage of Bernanke Fueled Emerging Markets Bull Run

The Crap continues to hit the Indian Primary Market with another Junk  Microcap trying to raise $11 mm from the market.The company will dilute around 48% […]
October 7, 2010

Renewable Energy Certificates (REC) Multiply Wind Energy in Romania despite Bureaucratic Hurdles

Eastern Europe has seen a massive Green Energy Boom driven by EU 20% Renewable Energy by 2020 Target.Romania has been no exception to their Region Wide Green Growth.In fact Romania is said to have the best Wind Energy Sites in the whole of Europe with a 14 GW potential.The Government has attracted big Wind Developers like CEZ,E.ON and others through a generous Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) Scheme.Note the REC Subsidy Mechanism is a popular way of promoting Green Energy by making it mandatory for Utilities to procure a certain portion of their Energy Needs from Green Sources.They have to buy RECs from Trading Exchanges if they are unable to meet their targets.
October 7, 2010

Eastern Europe sees Unprecedented Green Energy Growth driven by EU 20% RE by 2020 Target leading to a Subsidy Backlash

Renewable Energy is Easter Europe has boomed driven by government incentives and subsidies.Many of these countries like Estonia,Bulgaria and Czech are cutting or already have cut generous feed in tariffs paid to Green Energy Investors.While Czech has seen an unprecedented Solar Boom leading to a massive public backlash,Estonia and Bulgaria have seen huge wind energy projects.The Green Energy has boomed in the last 2 years mainly as governments in these countries try to meet the Renewable Energy Target of 20% by 2020 set by the European Union.These East European countries have been hit hard by these EU directives as the costs have spiralled
October 7, 2010

Northrop Grumman joins other Global Shipbuilders in Tapping Offshore Wind Energy

Northrop Grumman the US Defense Giant and the largest US Shipbuilder as well is entering the Offshore Wind Energy Field.With Cape Cod very near to receiving the final approvals for setting up the first Offshore Wind Farm in the USA,Northrop sees a good opportunity.Shipbuilders around the world have recently entered the growing Green Sector of Offshore Wind.Korean Shipbuilders like Hyundai,Samsung have already set up Wind Turbine plants.Northrop on the other hand will team up with Gamesa to explore the Wind Energy field in the United States.Note Shipbuilding Industry is facing tough times with overcapacity and competition from Asian Players.Its critical for shipbuilders to look for newer greener pastures and Offshore Wind Energy is the best positioned space for them.It requires heavy industrial engineering and offshore operations both of which at shipbuilders excel at.
October 7, 2010

Coal India IPO to be priced at a Sharp Discount to Comparable Global Coal Plays sees Huge Investor Demand

Coal India Limited (CIL) is the biggest IPO in the history of the Indian markets.The Company has generated a lot of investor interest because of a number of firsts.It is the largest coal producer in the world in one of the biggest demand growth regions.The company has excellent fundamentals being rated 5/5 by the rating agency.The government has disallowed anchor investors for the IPO as it finds that allocation could be construed as biased.Note Anchor Investors in Indian IPOs are favored investor who are preallocated a fixed amount of shares by investment bankers.This is similar to the US practice where all of the IPO is offered to institutional investors by investment bankers solely on their discretion.India is much more egalitarian in its approach to IPO regulation with a fixed amount 35% reserved for retail investors .The pricing of the issue has been a hot topic of speculation with the expected price range to give it a multiple of around 15x which is around 20-30% cheaper than comparable large US and China coal companies like Massey,Shenhua and others.
October 5, 2010

Guest Post : Indian Shopping Mall Owners have Little Bargaining Power in an Oligopsonic Market

Organized retail industry in India is largely an oligopsonic market. (An oligopsony is a market form in which the number of buyers is small while the number of sellers in theory could be large. It contrasts with an oligopoly, where there are many buyers but just a few sellers. An oligopsony is a form of imperfect competition. One example of an oligopsony in the world economy is cocoa, where three firms (Cargill, Archer Daniels Midland, and Callebaut) buy the vast majority of world cocoa bean production, mostly from small farmers in third-world countries.) Shopping centres in India have well defined product categories. These including the multiplex, the food court, the hypermarkets, the departmental stores (loosely referred to as anchors) and then the vanilla stores. In each of the anchor product categories, there are virtually 4-5 established players that all the retailers have to go to. This gives rise to an oligopsonic market with the retailers having the relationship power balance tilted in their favour. Also, with shopping centres being capital intensive (with large amount of debts) and the retailers working on negative working capital, the cash flow pressures are that much more on the shopping centre owners than the retailers. It gives retailers much more time to play hardball in their negotiations with the shopping centre owners.
October 5, 2010

Green Investing in India – Government to Replace Diesel Usage of Telecom Towers by Renewable Energy

The Government of India has formed a high powered panel to look into replacing the usage of diesel powered gensets by Renewable Energy in Telecom Towers.India has around 300,000 Telecom Towers most of which are powered by expensive diesel generators.The reason is that a lot of the telecom towers are situated in far flung areas where the grid does not exist.Also the power supply in India is erratic and not reliable with 10 hour electricity blackouts not an infrequent occurrence.In these cases a backup supply of electricity supply is badly needed.Diesel Generators are the most popular form with Diesel heavily subsidized by the government in comparison to normal petroleum.Also Diesel Generators are widely available without huge capital costs.
October 5, 2010

Scared Japan to Mine Rare Earth Minerals in Kazakhstan,Vietnam and Surrounding Seas

Japan is now looking to develop mines in Vietnam and Kazakhstan to secure these minerals which are essential to the green and defence industries.The desperation seems high amongst the Japanese as they are also looking to prospect for these minerals in the seas surrounding Japan.Besides these efforts to secure these minerals from newer sources,METI is also looking to recycling and efficiency measures.The Government will set up reprocessing plants in Japan in order to reduce dependence as well as invest in newer methods and processes to increase the efficiency of the usage of these Rare Earth Minerals.While the embargo seems to have eased with reports that the Chinese have allowed one ship with Rare Earth Minerals to proceed to Japan,the future seems uncertain.Lynas Corp ,the Australian Rare Earth Miner which is going to start production in 2011 has said that it has got a Japanese customer for its products.
October 5, 2010

Oberoi Realty IPO Analysis and Review- Indian Real Estate Stock not really compelling without being bad

Real Estate Companies have been trying to raise money from the primary markets for a long time.The depressed markets and the negative sentiment about the real estate sector had prevented that from happening.Realty companies are known for their "creative accouting" shenanigans and their financial statements are not even trusted by Fund Managers.However the Current Bull Run has sparked renewed interest in all sectors even depressed ones like Realty.This has presented a golden oppurtunity for Real Estate Companies to do IPOs.While the last 2 Real Estates issues Jaypee Infratech and Nitesh Estates were disasters,this ones looks better than the last 2 lemons.Oberio Realty has good profits,cash flows and zero debt.This makes their issue much better,however the Realty Sector is a dangerous one to play because of the corruption that pervades the entire industry.So you make an investment here not really knowing what you are getting into.Not a Warren Buffet Investment by a long shot.The upside is limited with huge amount of downsides in the form of unknowns.Here are some of the features of Oberio Realty
October 5, 2010

Infra BeES ETF Review and Analysis- Good though not Great Way to Invest in India's Infrastructure Growth

India suffers from a lack of variety as well as depth in ETFs compared to developed markets such as USA.Only Benchmark Asset Management Company (AMC) has seriously invested in the ETF space and its NiftyBeES ETF which follows India's Nifty Index is the most successful one so far.India's Infrastructure Sector has attracted a lot of investor interest given the stupendous $500 Billion Investment planned over the next 5 years.This will be 2.5x the investment in the past 5 years and will help India's crumbling ports,roads,railways,power and communications sectors to gear up to India's 8-9% GDP growth.Recently EGShares launched INXX which also markets itself as a play on India's Infrastructure Growth in the US Markets.However that ETF was found wanting in a lot of areas.The new InfraBeES ETF launched by Benchmark seems much better than INXX and has been launched in the Indian markets.This ETF is based on CNX Infrastructure Index and its 1 unit will be 1/10th of that Index.Here are some of the key features of this new ETF
September 30, 2010

For Nokia the more things change, the more they remain the same – Alarming 18% Loss in Indian Mobile Marketshare

Nokia had lost a big chunk of marketshare in 2009 to local competitors like Micromax,Lava,Spice and MNCs like Samsung,LG and others.In 2010,this trend has accelerated with Nokia losing an astounding 18% marketshare in the first 6 months of 2010.The company's markshare has been whittled down to just 36% from 54% earlier with local Indian mobile makers gobbling up a 33% marketshare.In the $6.5 bb annual revenue market for mobiles in India,this implies a loss of $1 billion in 2010 revenues.For Nokia,this is another resounding defeat as its Indian Fortress crumbles.Nokia is getting squeezed both on the high end as well as the low end.Local Indian companies are coming up with better features at lower price points and beating Nokia black and blue.Despite huge R&D,manufacturing strengths and an enviable distribution network,Nokia has lost the pulse of the Indian customer.The smaller Indian companies like Micromax are receiving Private Equity money to expand faster given their huge success.Nokia clearly needs more than a change of CEO,it needs to change the whole culture and DNA of the company like IBM in the 1990s.
September 29, 2010

General Electric Smartly Bolsters Presence in Biggest Wind Market through Local JV to circumvent Foreign Discrimination

General Electric being Smart in its Chinese Expansion General Electric is looking to Invest Heavily in the new Age Green Industry like other Industrial Giants like Siemens,ABB etc.Having a Local Partner is a Huge Advantage since almost the whole of the Chinese Wind Industry is controlled by Chinese SOEs who favor local companies over foreign ones.EU and Japan have protested against discrimination over their domestic firms but not to much avail.GE is trying to circumvent the Discrimination Problem by giving a majority stake of 51% to Harbin Electric Machinery (HEC).However the Going will not be Easy for GE which is a Global Wind Market Leader because Competition is intensifying in the Chinese Market.Ming Yang Wind Power is looking to expand six fold to take advantage of the Growth in Chinese Wind Energy.Other Companies are doing the same.
September 29, 2010

Why is United Kingdom Reviewing Feed in Tariffs for Green Energy just 6 months after Starting it

United Kingdom a Laggard on Renewable Energy UK has been the biggest laggard in Renewable Energy amongst the European Union.Despite being a leader in Offshore Wind,it severely lacks in other forms of Green Energy like Solar,Biomass etc.It has been very late in introducing a Feed in Tariff Scheme which has been a huge success in Germany and other countries.While there have been booms and busts caused by poorly designed FIT schemes in Czech and Spain,UK does not suffer from this problem.The Subsidy Scheme adopted by UK favors small distributed installations which is currently the aim of the other EU countries.This review has led to uncertainty in the minds of Green Investors as Government Subsidy is essential for reasonable returns. Why UK is Reviewing the FIT The Labour Government which implement this Green Policy has changed and the new PM David Cameron is trying to radically change the Government Policy.He has sharply curtailed the UK Budget and may want to change the Opposition Party set Green Policy as well.This seems to be the only justification behind this move which can only be described as erratic.
September 29, 2010

Commercial Engineers & Body Builders IPO Analysis and Review – Bad Management,Negative Cash Flows and Super Expensive Valuation

2) Expensive Valuation - Despite Negative Cash Flows for 3 out of the last 5 years,Cyclical Industry and Customer Concentration Risk,the Management wants around 35x P/E Valuation for their company.This is quite amazing as I would not consider the company a Buy at even 20x.However even shadier and crappier issues have managed to listed.Prakash Steelage,Aster Silicates are all examples of investors trying their hand at such Junk. 3) Customer Concentration - The Company is dependent on a few customers like Tata Motors and Indian Railways for most of its revenues.Competition for supplying Wagons to Indian Railways has increased drastically with even State Owned Companies joing the fray.CV is a cyclical industry and margisn in the CV Body Building Business are nothing great.The Company has failed to show consistent margins in the business Summary This is one of the more crappier issues to hit the market.Investors should not be even considering subscribing to the issue given the bad management history,cyclical sector and competition.Margins are nothing great.Growth has been inconsistent and the stock is overvalued even at half of its asking price.
September 28, 2010

Chinese Renewable Energy Company Ming Yang Wind Power to IPO in US – Should you Buy it

MingYang is the first Chinese Wind Energy Company to list its shares in the American Stock Exchange.There are a number of Chinese Solar Companies like Renesola,Trina Solar,Suntech etc which are traded in the USA but no Wind Energy Plays.In fact the number of Wind Companies trading on US Exchanges is almost non-existent.Clipper and Broadwind are hardly big players in the global market and provide little direct exposure to Wind Energy for US investors.MingYang is issuing 25 million ADS at a range of $14-16 share diluting around 20% of the company and giving it a market cap of roughly around $1750 million.The proceeds will be used in capacity expansion and R&D mostly.MingYang is the only significant non-state owned Chinese Wind Energy Company with a 2009 marketshare of around 4%.The Company has a very short history installing its first Wind Turbine just 2 years ago and has seen an exponential growth riding on the incredible Wind Industry Growth in China.Here are the advantages and disadvantages of the Company.
September 27, 2010

Currency Chaos – "Buy Dollar and Sell Local Currency Club" Growing Rapidly

Brazil,Peru,Colombia and now South Korea have all joined the "Buy Dollar and Sell Local Currency" Club.The Brazilian Real has appreciated by 34% in the last 2 years while similar stories lie behind Peru and Colombian interventions as well.With yields at near zero,Developed World Investors are pouring money into debt,equity and commodities fueling some of the Emerging Markets to all time highs.Some of the valuations like the Indian market are already stretched with local investors shunning the bubble markets.Countries with large Export Sectors like South Korea are particularly sensitive to currency appreciation and are joining in the chaos that the currency markets have become.The $4 Trillion Currency Markets are too big for a single country to take on as the Swiss found out losing Billions of Dollars in the process.The Currency Chaos is set to persist as the Financial System has become Unstable with Huge Debts,Moral Hazard and Central Bank Meddling.Gold has touched an all time high of $1300 with Silver following closely.With such volatility in Currencies,Business has become quite difficult with faith in currencies eroding at a fast pace.