The Ng family that is most famous for owning real estate giant Far East Organization, has emerged as a substantial shareholder of resort operator Banyan Tree Holdings, whose business has been affected by the ongoing pandemic.
According to a regulatory filing, Goodview Properties, controlled by the Ngs, on Aug 3 acquired 1.5 million Banyan Tree shares for $465,387 on the open market. This works out to an average of just over 31 cents. With the purchase, the Ngs now hold a total of 43.5 million Banyan Tree shares, equivalent to 5.12%, up from 4.94% earlier.
In its 1QFY2021 ended March business update on June 10, Banyan Tree notes that financial performance and cash management for the quarter has gradually stabilised through fiscal prudence, recording a net cash balance up $24 million from asset sale, receivables collections and scheduled repayments at the end of March.
Banyan Tree reported “steady” hotel revenue per occupied room versus 2HFY2020 ended December 2020 amid extended recovery although the level of occupancy varies across the different markets. While its China properties registered an occupancy of 39% for 1QFY2021, the ones in Maldives registered an occupancy of as high as 66%. The rest of the properties in the region were between 17% and 28% occupied.
Besides operating the resorts, Banyan Tree has a portfolio of properties it develops and sells as well. According to the company, its Surfers Paradise project in Queensland has made A$75 million ($74.5 million) worth of sales. The land for this project was acquired six years ago at A$44 million.
For the FY2020 ended December 2020, Banyan Tree reported a 55% drop in revenue to $157.8 million. It was $95.8 million in the red, versus earnings of $0.65 million for FY2019. From the low of 22 cents back in July 2020, Banyan shares have enjoyed some recovery to close at 32 cents on Aug 10, valuing the company at around $272 million.
Rewarding employees
Victor Neo, group CEO of Revez Corp, on Aug 2 gave out more than 2.8 million shares to a selected group of employees in “appreciation and recognition for their years of loyalty, commitments and contributions to the company,” states the company in an Aug 6 filing. Based on Revez’s then share price of 31.5 cents, Neo has effectively given away $890,710.
Neo, who founded the company in 2010, now has a direct stake of about 6.7 million shares or 4.01%, down from 5.7% before he gave away the shares. In addition, Neo has a deemed stake of some 90.1 million shares or 53.8%. The deemed shares are held via an entity called L3N Capital, in which he holds a 34.5% interest. As such, Neo’s interest in Revez dipped from 59.5% to 57.81%.
Revez provides a range of digital products and services. In FY2021 ended Dec 2020, the company reported earnings of $98,000, a sharp swing from a loss of $12.25 million incurred in the preceding year. Revenue in the same period was up 18% to $6.6 million, with overall improvement in its businesses. The company booked around $1.3 million in various government support and grants as well. In June, the company made a slew of announcements.
On June 28, it announced an agreement to distribute products of cybersecurity firm Ridge Security in Singapore, the Philippines, Australia and New Zealand. On June 21, it announced an MOU with Nanyang Polytechnic to collaborate via joint development and cross-training in areas such as Internet of Things, data science and engineering, and cybersecurity.
On June 10, Revez launched its first-ever online augmented reality-powered advertising campaign across more than 600 digital out-of-home screens under PGK Digital Network’s YOUTV Network island-wide. This was followed by the announcement of a contract from a public sector client for Revez to provide AI-driven cybersecurity solutions.
