Investment Portfolio
Telecommunications: CamGSM
Overview:
- Invested $5.0 million in a $421 million senior secured acquisition loan to CamGSM Co. Ltd. – Cambodia's #1 mobile telecoms operator
- CamGSM is owned by local conglomerate Royal Group (shareholder in ANZ Royal Bank, KFC, etc)
- Operates Cambodia's largest cell phone network, Mobile/Cellcard, with GSM and 3G service
- First transaction of its size and complexity in Cambodia; awarded Telecomfinance's "2009 Asia Deal of the Year"
- Invested alongside ANZ Bank, Standard Bank, and several large global private equity funds
Status:
- Repayment due in 2011 following sale of a majority stake in CamGSM to a global telecom operator
Banking: ACLEDA / ASA
Overview:
- Majority investor in a consortium that indirectly owns 1.47% of ACLEDA Bank Plc via 7.7% stake in ACLEDA Staff Association (ASA)
- ASA shares will be converted into ACLEDA shares in the future
- ACLEDA is the leading retail bank in Cambodia, with over US$900mn total assets and a leading deposit base.
- Only bank with a nationwide/rural network; de facto monopoly bank in many areas
- High interest spreads generate unusually high ROE
- Quality shareholders (Jardine Matheson, IFC, DEG, Triodos, etc.), and a “model” of good governance and transparency
Status:
- Expecting dividend income plus capital gain
- Exit via expected IPO on Cambodia Stock Exchange
Beer Production: Kingdom Breweries
Overview:
- Invested $2.0 million for 55.5% of a boutique brewery venture
- Creating a high quality beer for tourists, expats, affluent locals, and niche export markets
- Brewery in Phnom Penh will offer tours and tasting
- Possibilities to expand into contract production, and to add complementary products, e.g. carbonated beverages
- Management team led by a Chairman/Senior Advisor (52yrs of brewery experience at Carlsberg etc.), an international CEO, and an award-winning German brewmaster skilled at creating new beers
Status:
- Renovating leased ex-Nestle factory into a showcase brewery
- Purchased new brewing and bottling lines from Europe
- Hired the leading local branding/marketing agency (Bates121)
- On track to be bottling by August 2010
- Exit by trade sale or IPO
Seafood Processing Plant: Nautisco Seafood
Overview:
- Acquired 31.5% equity stake in Cambodia’s largest and most modern seafood processing plant, near Sihanoukville coast
- Production commenced September 2009 with plant capacity of 10 tons raw material/day; targeting 30 tons/day in 2012
- Processes wild-caught shrimp supplied by local Cambodian fishermen
- Customer targets: Cambodia, Japan, Korea, Russia, Europe
- A labour intensive industry suitable for Cambodia workforce
- Small producer Cambodia will avoid US and EC anti-dumping penalties that hamper Thailand and Vietnam processors
- Factory facilitates emergence of a prawn farming industry in Cambodia, which will expand local raw material supply
Status:
- Hiring external seafood consultant to help further improve production facility and process
- Exit by trade sale or IPO
Housing Development: Angkor Residences
Overview:
- Invested $1.5 million for 24% of Angkor Residences project
- majority partner is a leading local construction group; also two foreign minority shareholders
- 3 hectare freehold land site located in residential area near Wat Damnak, just 800 meters walk from downtown Siem Reap’s popular “Pub Street".
- Our site's neighborhood was gifted a $10mn project to upgrade the canals running through it; this upgrading project is now underway with donor funding from the EU and Korea.
Status:
- Widening and paving key access roads to site
- This investment was made before the global financial crisis. Development plans will be reevaluated once the Siem Reap property market revives.
Power Transmission: Greenside Holdings
Overview:
- Invested US$1.3 million in a secured equity financing which provides a fixed 20% p.a. return
- Greenside holds 45% of GTS Transmission (GTST) which built and leased to the state-owned Electricité du Cambodge (EDC) a US$4.25 million power grid in Kampong Cham
- EDC pays GTST a fixed $1.05 million p.a. for 25 years
- GTST’s $472,500 p.a. dividends to Greenside amply fund the required $260,000 p.a. interest payments to our Fund
- Loan is secured by Greenside’s share pledge of 45% of GTST, a dividend pledge, and owner's personal guarantee
- GTST renovated and expanded a 120 kilometer system of medium and low voltage networks, bringing grid power to 7,700 households and 375 new commercial and industrial customers
Status:
- Monthly loan payments have been received on time
- Loan is due in Dec 2015, with put option to recall earlier
Additional information is available under our Newsletter and Media Coverage sections.