How to become rich in Malaysia...

is very easy if you know who and know how.


How to become very rich in Malaysia
BY P GUNASEGARAN in The Star
(excerpts):


Connections and the ability to flip assets can get you going places

If you have ever wondered how to get rich in Malaysia – fabulously rich and very quickly at that – here’s a model that you might want to look at very closely. Not easy to do but if you do have a couple of projects in the bag, it will set you up for several lifetimes.


First you need connections – strong ones, the higher the better and if it goes right up to the top all the better. You need this because you need to convince the powers that be that your projects are good.
But you might ask if your projects are so good, why do you need connections? Why don’t you just go out and execute? Good questions, those. Here’s the answer - you need the state to give you something to do the deal that will help the nation.

Let’s take it a step further. If you want to realise the value of all of these things that you have and still keep control of them, it’s nice to have a listed company into which you can inject them. Inject one asset for shares and you gain control of the company.
And then inject others over the years for cash, taking the money out of the company. Who says you can’t have your cake and eat it too?

Do it right and get a flow of assets to inject in (you can do anything with discounted cash flow valuations – just change the discount rate, and presto, the value changes!), and you get a tidy flow of profits and cash into your personal accounts over the years. I mean a really tidy flow.

The problem is that some keep a low profile and enjoy their good fortunes while others like to brag about their achievements without acknowledging the fact that one cannot run a big business in Malaysia smoothly without the consent and goodwill of top leadership.


Meanwhile,


Air Asia has seen a 645 million ringgit (US$177.5 mil) reversal in its revenue for the July to September quarter, compared with the same period 12 months ago. Last Friday, Air Asia announced a loss of 465.5 million ringgit (US$128 mil) which the airline spokesman said was due to 'unwinding of fuel hedging contracts' and foreign currency exchange losses.


Warren Buffet’s advice is still fresh and relevant:

“If somebody has decided that they know everything that is there to know, nobody can help them. The best way to learn and succeed is to know that we know nothing. There is an entire universe out there and still some of us think we can know everything. In the world of investing a few people after making some money tend to imagine they are invincible and great. This is the worst thing that could happen to any investor, because it surely means that the investor will end up taking unnecessary risks and end up losing everything - arrogance, ego and overconfidence are very lethal.”