27-Oct-2020:  Chairman's Address to Shareholders

They chose to use the word "Chairman" in the announcement title on the ASX, but in the announcement itself they used "Chairperson", since their Chairperson is Margaret Towers.  PAI have had a good FY20, one of their better years, and some of the previous ones have been rather ordinary.  They've recently announced an on-market share buy-back for up to 10 per cent of the Company’s issued share capital - to be implemented over a period of up to 12 months.   However I note that no shares have been bought-back yet - to date.  This is quite a typical Kerr Neilson move, to announce a share buy-back, and then never actually use it.  He has done it with the management company (PTM) also.  It is supposed to put a floor under the share price, and I guess it does to some extent because they have their own internally agreed limit at which point they will start buying their own shares on-market, but the share price never seems to reach that limit.

I own PAI shares, and also EAI (Ellerston Asian Investments).  They both have decent positions in Alibaba and Tencent, which I like.  So does MFG's various funds, including MHH and MGG (I hold both of those also).  The upcoming IPO of Ant Group (previously Ant Financial) is probably going to be the world's largest ever IPO, and holding the parent company (Alibaba) when Ant is spun out is going to be a very positive move in my opinion.

21-Oct-2020:  September 2020 Quarterly Investment Manager's Report

That is another example of where the ASX's added "FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY" watermark obscures text and makes the report very hard to read.  PAI have NOT yet uploaded this announcement to their own website at this point (10:50am Sydney time) but when they do - you will be able to access it from here:

https://www.platinum.com.au/Our-Products/All-Products/Platinum-Asia-Investments-Limited

from the "ASX releases and updates tab", then by expanding the "Quarterly Investment Manager's Reports" section.  

They do have a shorter monthly report for September uploaded.  Reports downloaded from PAI's website do NOT have that watermark up the left hand edge.

Here are the main points from their September Quarterly Report:

• Most Asian economies witnessed a robust rebound in activity over the quarter.
• The re-opening of economies post lockdown has affirmed our belief that strong companies would emerge stronger while the weaker competitors would dwindle, and that working from home would accelerate some inexorable trends driven by internet connectivity.
• The stocks we added to during the sell-off reflected this conviction with many delivering remarkable returns, including Reliance Industries (+31%), LG Chem (+33%) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (+38%).
• Stocks benefiting from the re-opening of economies included China Tourism (+45%), Focus Media (+45%), Huazhu (+23%) and Li Ning (+46%).
• PAI's exposure has been pre-emptively reduced to take into account the possibility of a broader market consolidation.
• Economic prospects for the Asia region are, however, uniquely favourable. Reforms are taking place. The pandemic is well controlled. Stimulatory policies have thus far been limited and the local authorities will hence have significant flexibility on the policy front if needed.
• PAI will continue to deploy capital in attractive and strong businesses that we believe are still under-appreciated by the markets.

[I hold PAI, as well as EAI, both for Asian Tech exposure.  Of the two, EAI is on my Strawman.com scorecard, and PAI is not.]

20-July-2020:  Platinum Asia Investments (PAI) June 2020 Quarterly Report

PAI returned 7.0% for the quarter and 14.6% for the year.  After a volatile start to the year, it was an exciting quarter for PAI, which was well positioned for a market recovery after weathering the steep sell-off earlier in the year.

In Brief:

• Global equity markets staged an extraordinary rally over the quarter despite the global economy only just starting to recover from the depths of the largest economic setback in modern economic history.
• After a volatile start to the year, it was an exciting quarter for PAI, which was well positioned for a market recovery after weathering the steep sell-off earlier in the year.
• Stocks in PAI are predominantly strong Asian companies that we believe will likely be resilient in an obviously difficult environment. Reliance Industries (+55%), LG Chem (+61%) and Sea Ltd (+96%) were key contributors to performance. Stocks benefiting from a recovery in Chinese domestic tourism also performed well, including China International Travel Service (+129%) and Huazhu (+22%).
• Starting valuations are a key determinant of future returns. Asian stocks are currently trading on low valuations versus their long-term averages - and economic prospects for the region are favourable.
• Our bottom-up process is hard at work, generating numerous prospective ideas. It is an exciting time for investors like us, as attractive valuations coincide with significant capacity for further policy stimulus in Asia.
• PAI will continue to deploy capital in attractive and strong businesses that are under-appreciated by the markets.

--- click on the link above for the full June Quarter Report from PAI ---

[I hold PAI shares]  

21-Apr-2020:  March 2020 Quarterly Investment Manager's Report

Also:  21-Apr-2020:  Weekly Net Tangible Asset Backing (as at Friday 17th April 2020)

PAI's pre-tax NTA at COB 17-Apr-2020 was $1.1238.  Their SP was 96c.  (14.6% discount to NAV).  I hold PAI shares.  Their two largest investments are Alibaba and Tencent.

26-Feb-2020:  PAI's Total investment Income for the 6 months rose +188.1% to $30.73 million.  Profit from ordinary activities after tax attributable to members rose +171.9% to $19.224 million.  Net profit for the period attributable to members was the same (up +171.9% to $19.224m).

Half Yearly Report and Accounts

They've finally beaten their index - the MSCI All Country Asia ex Japan Net Index - which rose +6.6% (in $A's) in the 6 months to December 31, 2019.  PAI’s portfolio performance over the 6 month was +7.3%.  However, they have only equalled that index's +18.3% performance over 12 months and they've underperformed the index over 3 years and since inception.  At least their performance is finally improving.

In share price terms, they closed today at $1.015, and their pre-tax Net Tangible Asset (NTA) backing per share as at Friday, 21 February 2020 was $1.1824.  They closed at $1.075 on Friday (Feb 21), so were trading that day at a 9% discount to their pre-tax NTA.

Disclosure:  I do hold PAI shares as I think they're a sensible choice for Chinese and other Asian (ex-Japan) exposure, since most people still consider Platinum to be the Asian experts.  However, I attended the Magellan roadshow in Adelaide today and was interested to hear that on top of taking a significant stake in Alibaba (which Hamish Douglass considers to be one of the top 5 best companies in the world - FYI: Amazon was the only one of the 5 that Magellan does NOT own shares in), Magellan have also now added Tencent to their high conviction list (and added them to their various portfolios).  Other than those two companies, Hamish prefers to keep most of Magellan's exposure to China mainly via companies that are listed outside of China that have strong growth ahead in China, like Starbucks and Estée Lauder.  Platinum on the other hand have many more direct Chinese investments.