I wrote about this subject before (here and here).
The CIA has recently released files from their archive, and this document (unfortunately a "sanitized" copy) has to do with the Carrian case.
Has anything been learned from this scandal from the past? Looking at the more recent scandals like 1MDB, I strongly doubt it.
Showing posts with label Carrian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Carrian. Show all posts
Wednesday, 25 January 2017
Saturday, 28 June 2014
Asian fund managers (2)
I wrote about the Carrian scandal before: here and here.
I wrote before about successful Malaysian fund manager Cheah Cheng Hye, founder of Value Partners based in Hong Kong.
But what I didn't know was that these two items are connected. In "The Value Investors" by Ronald Chan, it is mentioned that Cheah was a journalist in 1983 with the Wall Street Journal Asia:
"... while investigating red-hot Hong Kong-based conglomerate Carrian Group, Cheah discovered that the company had incomprehensible accounting practices and was involved in strange dealings with Bank Bumiputra Malaysia. The company soon collapsed amid a chain of dramatic events, including accounting fraud allegations, the suicide of a company advisor, and the murder of a Malaysian bank auditor. Cheah's resulting story in the Asian Wall Street Journal was an impressive combination of crime investigation and in-depth analysis of the company's financials."
This is just one of the gems in the above mentioned book:
I have lamented that almost all investing books centre around Wall Street, that there is hardly any book dealing with markets in Asia or Europe. The above book makes a refreshing change in that.
Twelve fund managers are interviewed:
The Asian component is clear in the last five fund managers, two of which (Teng and Cheah) were born in Malaysia. Teng is running the Singapore based Target Value Fund, about which I wrote here.
Cheah's reasons to set up an own fund are described as follows:
"Honestly, I had become a little fed up with the finance industry and wanted to do my own thing because the industry was, and probably still is, full of what I call 'financial pirates'. These individuals join finance not because they are passionate about investing, but because they have the 'money disease'. Because they think the industry will enable them to make a lot of money, so instead of becoming engineers or lawyers they become bankers. They are a disgrace to human civilization because they contribute nothing!"
Walter Schloss was interviewed for the book a few months before he passed away on February 19, 2012 and the views he provides reflect the wisdom gained over a long and successful life.
An interesting book for people who like to read about fund managers from all over the world, their biography, what drove them to become value oriented and issues like: humility, being contrarian, margin of safety.
This book is not meant for people who like to read about concrete (valuation) techniques or even stock tips.
I hope to read more of these books, especially with an Asian component in it.
I wrote before about successful Malaysian fund manager Cheah Cheng Hye, founder of Value Partners based in Hong Kong.
But what I didn't know was that these two items are connected. In "The Value Investors" by Ronald Chan, it is mentioned that Cheah was a journalist in 1983 with the Wall Street Journal Asia:
"... while investigating red-hot Hong Kong-based conglomerate Carrian Group, Cheah discovered that the company had incomprehensible accounting practices and was involved in strange dealings with Bank Bumiputra Malaysia. The company soon collapsed amid a chain of dramatic events, including accounting fraud allegations, the suicide of a company advisor, and the murder of a Malaysian bank auditor. Cheah's resulting story in the Asian Wall Street Journal was an impressive combination of crime investigation and in-depth analysis of the company's financials."
This is just one of the gems in the above mentioned book:
I have lamented that almost all investing books centre around Wall Street, that there is hardly any book dealing with markets in Asia or Europe. The above book makes a refreshing change in that.
Twelve fund managers are interviewed:
- Walter Schloss, Walter & Edwin Schloss Associates
- Irving Kahn, Kahn Brothers Group
- Thomas Kahn, Kahn Brothers Group
- William Browne, Tweedy, Browne Company
- Jean-Marie Eveillard, First Eagle Funds
- Francisco García Paramés, Bestinver Asset Management
- Anthony Nutt, Jupiter Asset Management
- Mark Mobius, Templeton Emerging Markets Group
- Teng Ngiek Lian, Target Asset Management
- Shuhei Abe, SPARX Group
- V-Nee Yeh, Value Partners Group
- Cheah Cheng Hye, Value Partners Group
The Asian component is clear in the last five fund managers, two of which (Teng and Cheah) were born in Malaysia. Teng is running the Singapore based Target Value Fund, about which I wrote here.
Cheah's reasons to set up an own fund are described as follows:
"Honestly, I had become a little fed up with the finance industry and wanted to do my own thing because the industry was, and probably still is, full of what I call 'financial pirates'. These individuals join finance not because they are passionate about investing, but because they have the 'money disease'. Because they think the industry will enable them to make a lot of money, so instead of becoming engineers or lawyers they become bankers. They are a disgrace to human civilization because they contribute nothing!"
Walter Schloss was interviewed for the book a few months before he passed away on February 19, 2012 and the views he provides reflect the wisdom gained over a long and successful life.
An interesting book for people who like to read about fund managers from all over the world, their biography, what drove them to become value oriented and issues like: humility, being contrarian, margin of safety.
This book is not meant for people who like to read about concrete (valuation) techniques or even stock tips.
I hope to read more of these books, especially with an Asian component in it.
Friday, 21 September 2012
Blast from the Past: the Carrian case (2)
Interesting documentary from Crime & Investigation about Jalil Ibrahim, the real hero in the Carrian case:
According to this website, Jalil Ibrahim is the only civilian who ever received the highest federal award of Seri Pahlawan Gagah Perkasa ("Gallant Warrior" or "Warrior of Extreme Valour").
David webb has a collection of articles about George Tan of the Carrian case, but unfortunately his website started only in 1998.
Through Google many newspaper clips can be found, here is one of them:
"The Banker who knew too much"
According to this website, Jalil Ibrahim is the only civilian who ever received the highest federal award of Seri Pahlawan Gagah Perkasa ("Gallant Warrior" or "Warrior of Extreme Valour").
David webb has a collection of articles about George Tan of the Carrian case, but unfortunately his website started only in 1998.
Through Google many newspaper clips can be found, here is one of them:
Tuesday, 18 September 2012
Blast from the Past: the Carrian case
I received several comments regarding the Carrian case. From Wikipedia:
The Carrian Group was a Hong Kong conglomerate founded by George Tan, a Singaporean Civil Engineer working in Hong Kong as a project manager for a land development company. The Group's principal holding company Carrian Holdings, Ltd. was founded in 1977.
In January 1980, the group, through a 75% owned subsidiary, purchased Gammon House (a commercial Office building, now Bank of America Tower) in Central District, Hong Kong for $998 million. It grabbed the limelight in April 1980 when it announced the sale of Gammon House for a staggering HK$1.68 billion, a price that surprised Hong Kong's Property and Financial markets and developed public interest in Carrian.
In the same year, Carrian capitalized on its notoriety by acquiring a publicly listed Hong Kong company, renaming it Carrian Investments Ltd., and using it as a vehicle to raise funds from the financial markets.
The group grew rapidly in the early 1980s to include properties in Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Philippines, Japan, and the United States. At its peak, the Carrian Group owned businesses in Real Estate, Finance, Shipping, Insurance (China Insurance Underwriters Ltd), Hotels, Catering and Transportation (A Taxi fleet that was the largest ever in Hong Kong).
Carrian Group became involved in a scandal with Bank Bumiputra Malaysia Berhad of Malaysia and Hong Kong-based Bumiputra Malaysia Finance. Following allegations of accounting fraud, a murder of a bank auditor, and the suicide of the firm's adviser, the Carrian Group collapsed in 1983, the largest bankruptcy in Hong Kong.
Of the group's numerous businesses, only the Carriana Restaurant remains.
Other links:
Bowring
ICAC 1
ICAC 2
BMF 1
BMF 2
Gwulo
Parmalat and Carrian
Asiasentinel 1
Asiasentinel 2
The Carrian Group was a Hong Kong conglomerate founded by George Tan, a Singaporean Civil Engineer working in Hong Kong as a project manager for a land development company. The Group's principal holding company Carrian Holdings, Ltd. was founded in 1977.
In January 1980, the group, through a 75% owned subsidiary, purchased Gammon House (a commercial Office building, now Bank of America Tower) in Central District, Hong Kong for $998 million. It grabbed the limelight in April 1980 when it announced the sale of Gammon House for a staggering HK$1.68 billion, a price that surprised Hong Kong's Property and Financial markets and developed public interest in Carrian.
In the same year, Carrian capitalized on its notoriety by acquiring a publicly listed Hong Kong company, renaming it Carrian Investments Ltd., and using it as a vehicle to raise funds from the financial markets.
The group grew rapidly in the early 1980s to include properties in Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Philippines, Japan, and the United States. At its peak, the Carrian Group owned businesses in Real Estate, Finance, Shipping, Insurance (China Insurance Underwriters Ltd), Hotels, Catering and Transportation (A Taxi fleet that was the largest ever in Hong Kong).
Carrian Group became involved in a scandal with Bank Bumiputra Malaysia Berhad of Malaysia and Hong Kong-based Bumiputra Malaysia Finance. Following allegations of accounting fraud, a murder of a bank auditor, and the suicide of the firm's adviser, the Carrian Group collapsed in 1983, the largest bankruptcy in Hong Kong.
Of the group's numerous businesses, only the Carriana Restaurant remains.
Other links:
Bowring
ICAC 1
ICAC 2
BMF 1
BMF 2
Gwulo
Parmalat and Carrian
Asiasentinel 1
Asiasentinel 2
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