Paulo ‘The Alchemist’ Coelho fascinates me….”If you chase your dreams,your dreams will chase you”…Wow !

love visiting his blog…he’s embarking on a spiritual retreat from tomorrow for a few days and will have access to the internet for only 20 minutes everyday…uncanny coincidence !…because I too am doing the same later this week !

Caught my eye was this link on his blog  on Napoleon’s penis…what an Investment !…unique,exclusive and cannot be recreated or replicated !…Holding History,literally and figuratively, in your Hands !

http://paulocoelhoblog.com/2010/05/30/5-sec-read-napoleons-penis/comment-page-1/#comment-561486

Allegedly cut off in 1821 by Napoleon’s Doctor during the autopsy and not well preserved through the years,the Penis was purchased by a New Jersey Urologist in 1977 for US $ 3000…he kept it under his bed!…his daughter has now inherited this ‘relic’ and has been offered US $ 100000

‘Time’ magazine lists the Penis in the Top 10 List of Famous Stolen Body Parts …the List is as below

1. Maori Heads
2. Santa Claus’ Bones
3. Geronimo’s Skull
4. Anne Boleyn’s Heart
5. Benito Mussolini’s Brain
6. Napoleon’s Penis
7. Remains of Thomas Paine
8. St. Francis Xavier’s Toe
9. The Head of King Badu Bonsu II
10. The Purloined African

Read : http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1988719_1988728_1988720,00.html

Just Imagine  a similar hypothetical Indian Top Ten List of Famous Departed Souls !…wonder whose body part would be a good investment !…or is this a sacrilegious thought !

I’ve categorised this blog under both ‘Investing Themes’ and ‘INVESTOR MISTAKES’ ….depends on whether you think it’s a sacrilegious investment or not !

Cheers !

Have a look at this link

Apologies to anyone I have left out above !….Oh ! I forgot the Imported Cheerleaders !

Cheers !

Was wondering should I also categorise this blog under ‘Entertainment’ or ‘Cricket’….Never Mind !..it’s under both!

This Sunday morning,I was ‘googling’ to see if the validity of the Scheme of Amalgamation of Sesa Industries with Sesa Goa was extended beyond October 31,2009…a host of sites came up on the search

I happened to click on one of them… www.multibaggerpennystocks.com …. imagine my surprise when I saw that their lead analyst in Noida had posted a blog on Sesa Goa on October 29,2009,two days after I had a similar blog to exit Sesa Goa and had ‘copy pasted’ from my blog !…This site runs several paid advisory plans on the net 

I’m flattered,but please do have the courtesy to give credit or mention the source,if you’re going to ‘Copy and Paste’ material which effectively means no change in the wording..remember, like you can access information on the net inside a second of searching,so can you be trapped !

Several times in the past I have been the victim of plagarism and have even received apologies from leading press and even top securities firms…The Internet is a great source of information at a click…but I hope this Lead Analyst will realise the folly of lifting ideas and material from others without crediting them…you have not even bothered to change the wording !…I hope your CEO too acknowledges this

I am assuming that this Lead Analyst will see this blog posting too as he have been viewing my blog…how else could he have lifted material from my Sesa Goa blog of October 27,2009!?…so I’m not emailing the CEO and him seperately 

If it’s any consolation to this Lead Analyst,you are on the right track when analysing and advising on Companies…because you are treading the Fundamental Path…However I’m not passing any judgement on your interpretation of data and your views,conclusion and advice formed from it…leave that to your clients and viewers to decide.

Be Cool…but remember it’s not ‘Cool’ to ‘Copy and Paste’ unless you are quoting verbatim and attribute the source !…I assume as Lead Analyst,you’re getting paid for ’Leading’ and not ‘Following’ ! 

For Years ,Brand Valuation has been part of my sessions on Valuation of Equity at BSE and Other Forums….so it was with great Interest that I read the Economic Times Front Page atricle today on ‘Cos flash brands to raise cash’

Strapped for cash,Kingfisher Airlines has managed to Borrow from State Bank of India against it’s Brand of ‘Kingfisher Airlines’ which has been valued at Rs 1900 crs,that’s US $ 391 Million at an Exchange Rate of US $ =Rs 48.50 

Interestingly,Kingfisher Airlines has actually included this Brand Value as an Asset in it’s Balance Sheet…If it had not,then the Debt/Equity ratio would have computed higher….However,It’s probably because the Brand  is shown in the Balance Sheet,that PSU Bank,State Bank of India has been convinced to lend against this Asset

‘Kingfisher Airlines’ is a seperate registered Brand than ‘Kingfisher’ for Beer and Wines…Just a thought…if the Airlines defaults ,then the bank could opt to make the Brand it’s property…It would need to monetise this to recover dues…so it will have to sell the Brand !…to a Competitor Airline or a new Airline maybe !?…does the Borrowing Agreement categorically state that this Brand also include all the licenses and permissions  etc ?…what’s the hairline % taken by the Bank for this Asset value when lending?

Now Brand Value,like Intellectual Property Rights and Goodwill is an Intangible Asset.It normally is never reflected in the Accounts,because no real consideration has been paid for it…Thus this makes this Asset Class,riskier to lend against…It may be difficult to liquidate or realise monies for it in case of default

Being an Intangible,Brand Valuation is one of the most subjective and controversial areas in Valuation…Valuing Tangible Assets is a more objective exercise

Will Banks lend against Brand Value even if it is not reflected in the Books as an Asset !?

Clearly,Corporates appear to be running out of Tangible Assets to pledge or offer as Collateral and therefore borrow against…….They are resorting to prop up their  Brand Values for actual Funds leverage 

An interesting Valuation and IPO assignment I was involved in recently,threw up this demand from the Promoters when we were working to price the placement and the IPO…”Does not our Brand count for anything ?”…Of course it did…In fact it is one of India’s largest companies in it’s field and has been in existence for over a hundred years !….but potential buyers were reluctant to negotiate a higher valuation that included,both soft and  hard numbers

This is also the reason many IPOs are priced simply too high,perhaps to capture even Brand Value…Mahindra Holidays and Resorts at Rs 300 is a very recent example…Last year Reliance Power short circuited us at Rs 427.50…Now we have Adani Power coming out in the Rs 90-Rs 100 Band…and all the pre-issue orchestrated Hype of the Company,Investment Bankers,Brokers,Paid Advisors and the Media suck all of us into applying for the IPOs at vulgar and excessive and obscene premiums,when Market Times and Sentiments are bullish

I recollect three very interesting instances in the past of Brand Valuations

1. Prakash Chauhan of Parle actually sold only his Brands of ‘Thumbs Up’,'Limca’, and ‘Gold Spot’ for Millions of Dollars to Coca Cola when they re-entered India
2. Goenkas of Raptakos Brett,quietly transferred out Four Pharmaceutical Brands into their Private Company and within a year had sold one of them for as much amount as they had paid Raptakos for all four Brands
3. In the 1990s,Amitabh Bachhan had promoted Amitabh Bachhan Company Ltd (ABCL)…Kotaks,who were advising ABCL, had valued Amitabh for,I think, Rs 18 crs and reflected this in the Equity of ABCL,without any Monies really coming in…When ABCL faced bankruptcy,it showed this Intagible Asset which could not be realised for any tangible and immediate Monies at the time   

And yet another recent and very Interesting Brand Valuation showed that the World’s Top Three Brands are

1. Google………..US $ 101.4 Billion 
2. Microsoft…….US $ 77.3 Billion
3. Coca Cola…….US $ 68.5 Billion

And if you pitch Google’s latest Market Cap of US $ 135 Billion (It quotes at US $ 428) against it’s Brand Value,it gives you a Valuation parameter of 1.33….Incidentally,Apple,with a Market Cap of US $ 140 Billion, has just surpassed Google….Google quotes at a ttm 30 Earnings Multiple….Mahindra Holidays and Resorts recently priced it’s IPO at Rs 300 at 30 times FY 09 Earnings   

Kingfisher Airlines is quoted at Rs 50,giving a Market Cap of Rs 1296 crs…if you pitch this against the Brand Value of Rs 1900 crs,you’ll get a lower Valuation parameter of 0.68…Clearly the Market is skeptical of the Company’s and Sector’s Prospects and is ignoring the Brand Valuation in the Balance Sheet

And hey ! someone told me that www.gauravblog.com is valued at US $ 1292.1 !…I googled this to be true !

I’m amused

Come on Guys ! I need all of you out there to help me add the Unit ‘Million’ to the Valuation !

This Blog will then be worth US $ 1.292 Billion !…I can then leverage it like Kingfisher Airlines ! …or just sell it ! Wishful Thinking ! 

Cheers !

This is what I had blogged on October 27,2008

Some Pundits called Sensex of 12000 irrational…some saw irrationality at 10000…So what would they call 7500 ! ? …Begin to slide in now

We saw the Sensex again collapse to 8000 levels in March 2009 after reviving from October end 2008 lows…Then we had the Elections and the Budget and Sensex has crossed 15000 on good momentum….Just be cautious at these levels of 15500….It’s now at an 18 Multiple on FY 10 Sensex EPS…Market ,driven by Liquidity,is yet again living up to it’s reputation of displaying extremes…now it’s beginning to look like exuberance on future growth prospects and the feeling that the worst is behind us….Buoyed by encouraging Q1 FY 10 results so far,the Markets seem to have begun to run a trifle ahead of Fundamentals…that’s what I sense and how I feel….Expect Volatility…Be very Stock Selective  

And Kumar,you seem to be following me like a Watchdog !…I hope you don’t become a Bloodhound ! Yes,my above Blog on October 27,2008 had said look at these Prices,IFCI at Rs 15/16 and  Sicagen at Rs 4/5…You have queried on Sicagen as I don’t feature it in yesterday’s blog on portfolio performance….You must have picked it up from my October 27,2008 Blog ! To answer your query in your response to yesterday’s portfolio performance blog,No I am no longer recommending Sicagen…It’s at Rs 8 today…Anyway such scrips have limited portfolio exposures.For your other request to elborate on Damania Group,I suggest you use the search feature on my blog,typing out ‘Damania,Core Project,Damania Capital Market,Damania Airlines,Damania Pharma or Agritech Hatcheries’…you’ll get some sense of my animosity towards this Group

And Nitin…a paid Blog !?…Nah! would defeat the purpose of this Blog…but you could get in touch with me at gaurav@scriptechgroup.com or gaurav@scriptechindia.com and I’ll tell you how you can access our Investment Ideas when we make them…For that matter,anyone out there who is genuinely interested too, can do so…We need to know your Needs and Profile,before we can suggest which of our Personal Annual Advisory Plans would suit you.They begin at Rs 25000 a year and go up to Rs One lakh a year for Retail Investors and there is personal interaction with me,often proactive…We have yet to launch our cheaper Value Based Web Advisory Plans,but where there will be no personal interaction with me  

Cheers !

Here’s what a close friend emailed me…Thanks Rajiv….an interesting and heart warming blog by Singapore’s Youngest Millionaire, Adam Khoo…you can access Khoo on www.successwithnlp.com where he’s offering, heavily discounted, his bestseller ” Master Your Mind.Design Your Destiny” for an immediate download

By Adam Khoo  |Some of you may already know that I travel around the region pretty frequently, having to visit and conduct seminars at my offices in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Suzhou (China). I am in the airport almost every other week so I get to bump into many people who have attended my seminars or have read my books.

Recently, someone came up to me on a plane to KL and looked rather shocked. He asked, ‘How come a millionaire like you is travelling economy?’ My reply was, ‘That’s why I am a millionaire.’ He still looked pretty confused. This again confirms that greatest lie ever told about wealth (which I wrote about in my latest book ‘Secrets of Self Made Millionaires’). Many people have been brainwashed to think that millionaires have to wear Gucci, Hugo Boss, Rolex, and sit on first class in air travel. This is why so many people never become rich because the moment that earn more money, they think that it is only natural that they spend more, putting them back to square one.

The truth is that most self-made millionaires are frugal and only spend on what is necessary and of value. That is why they are able to accumulate and multiply their wealth so much faster. Over the last 7 years, I have saved about 80% of my income while today I save only about 60% (because I have my wife, mother in law, 2 maids, 2 kids, etc. to support). Still, it is way above most people who save 10% of their income (if they are lucky). I refuse to buy a first class ticket or to buy a $300 shirt because I think that it is a complete waste of money. However, I happily pay $1,300 to send my 2-year old daughter to Julia Gabriel Speech and Drama without thinking twice.

When I joined the YEO (Young Entrepreneur’s Organization) a few years back (YEO is an exclusive club open to those who are under 40 and make over $1m a year in their own business) I discovered that those who were self-made thought like me. Many of them with net worths well over $5m, travelled economy class and some even drove Toyota’s and Nissans (not Audis, Mercs, BMWs).

I noticed that it was only those who never had to work hard to build their own wealth (there were also a few ministers’ and tycoons’ sons in the club) who spent like there was no tomorrow. Somehow, when you did not have to build everything from scratch, you do not really value money. This is precisely the reason why a family’s wealth (no matter how much) rarely lasts past the third generation. Thank God my rich dad (oh no! I sound like Kiyosaki) foresaw this terrible possibility and refused to give me a cent to start my business.

Then some people ask me, ‘What is the point in making so much money if you don’t enjoy it?’ The thing is that I don’t really find happiness in buying branded clothes, jewellery or sitting first class. Even if buying something makes me happy it is only for a while, it does not last. Material happiness never lasts, it just give you a quick fix. After a while you feel lousy again and have to buy the next thing which you think will make you happy. I always think that if you need material things to make you happy, then you live a pretty sad and unfulfilled life.

Instead, what make ME happy is when I see my children laughing and playing and learning so fast. What makes me happy is when I see my companies and trainers reaching more and more people every year in so many more countries. What makes me really happy is when I read all the emails about how my books and seminars have touched and inspired someone’s life. What makes me really happy is reading all your wonderful posts about how this BLOG is inspiring you. This happiness makes me feel really good for a long time, much much more than what a Rolex would do for me.

I think the point I want to put across is that happiness must come from doing your life’s work (be in teaching, building homes, designing, trading, winning tournaments etc.) and the money that comes is only a by-product. If you hate what you are doing and rely on the money you earn to make you happy by buying stuff, then I think that you are living a meaningless life.

 

 

 

KEEP SHARING…………….