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It's Time Again
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pikachu
Veteran |
13-Apr-2008 21:47
Yells: "Holy Cow!" |
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Sun, Apr 13, 2008 The Straits Times A medical doctor turned entrepreneur, Dr Anthony Soh had kept a low profile until the recent aborted takeover of little-known Jade Technologies catapulted him into the corporate spotlight. The 52-year-old chief executive of Jade speaks of going through the 'most challenging' period of his life now. 'It actually is more than challenging, it is a life-awakening experience,' he told The Sunday Times in a phone interview last Friday night as he struggled to describe the past few weeks. Just a month ago, investors were lauding him as the latest hotshot corporate figure who, soon after his entrance in Jade last May, propelled the company's shares to heady heights. Today, his role in the failed takeover of Jade is being questioned. On April 5, he had to pull the plug on his proposed buyout because he had no funds to do the deal after losing Jade shares he had pledged. Investors who have seen the shares plunge 70 per cent are screaming blue murder, wondering if there is more to Dr Soh's withdrawal than meets the eye. OCBC Bank, which advised Dr Soh, is hinting that it may have been misled and has made a report to the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD). So how did a doctor turned businessman turned venture capitalist turned corporate figure wind up in this whirlwind of trouble? The eldest son of a bus driver and a hospital amah, Dr Soh took a path many bright youngsters in his cohort embarked on. He attended Catholic High School and went on to National Junior College and medical school at the then-University of Singapore. While training at the Singapore General Hospital, he met Jane, a nurse, and they married soon after he qualified. He spent the following years as a general practitioner. But being a GP was a 'tiring, hectic life', he recalled. 'I had many friends, GPs, who told me that they regretted they did not leave until it was too late. I thought that business would give more diversity to my life.' Being 'strongly admonished' by the Singapore Medical Council in 1992 for his handling of a patient who later died of malaria probably did not help. He gave up his practising certificate only a few years ago. In 1992, at the age of 37, he quit being a GP, but he did not quit the medical field. He had started a company looking at developing either a telemonitor which could monitor heart rates from a distance or a non-invasive diabetic device which would allow patients to test their blood sugar without breaking the skin. He managed to sell this business off for a couple of million dollars. Dr Soh had a passion for the Internet and got a job as a consultant to home-grown Pacific Internet (PacNet) in 1994, where he created content for medical online sites. He helped PacNet start up Doctors Online which offered medical information and professional services via the Net. Some time later, PacNet wanted to concentrate solely on being an Internet service provider, so Dr Soh and his team continued with this loss-making content business separately. 'I was known as the first Internet doctor,' he said. In 1998, the now renamed business - Health Online - won an Innovative IT Service Award given by the National Computer Board. It connected doctors via the Internet, offering them access to online medical resources such as medical journals. The business was successful enough for French company Havas Medimedia to buy it over in 1996. Havas, as is common with many buyouts, required Dr Soh to stay on for three years. But he welcomed the experience. After all, he was getting to know about the nuts and bolts of business. 'I had a lot of responsibility for profits. I was the regional managing director, and represented 14 countries.' He later joined a listed Hong Kong company dealing in medical services. He travelled to China and Taiwan, handling mergers and acquisitions such as buying homes for the aged. In 1999, he was headhunted and returned to Singapore to lead a biomedical fund launched by United Overseas Bank, which would invest in companies in the biomedical field, then a relatively new area for Singapore. 'People were surprised to find a doctor in the bank. But while I was doing financial work, we were investing in companies which made medical devices, for example, or drug companies, so that was related to the medical field.' He is proud to say: 'I picked up my financial knowledge along the way. It wasn't easy but I was passionate about what I was doing. When I was in the Internet business, there were people with master's in IT working for me. When I was at the bank, there were also CFAs (certified financial analysts) in my team.' He feels that he did not do too badly; six investments were sold off at a good profit, including China Medstar which listed on London's Alternative Investment board and Cord-life on the Australian Stock Exchange. Always ahead of the curve, he entered the venture capital world - investing in start-ups and helping them list - in 2002 when it was taking off. A contact from Indonesia was willing to put in $1 million. Dr Soh and his friends eventually raised about $20 million and this became Asia Pacific Venture Capital, he said. This entity identified China companies which could go public. As the initial public offering (IPO) market boomed, he branched out to offer asset management and IPO advisory services. But it was not that easy to make money. More IPO houses joined the market and there were also more laws. 'We would get an IPO fee of between $300,000 and $400,000 but we had to spend a few years working on the project. That was when I thought investments including investing in listed companies would bring in better returns.' Jade, a precision engineering firm, was a unit of a US company and had listed on Sesdaq in 1997. Through its US parent, it had become an indirect unit of US banking giant Citigroup. When Citigroup wanted to exit, Dr Soh bought into it and became its group president. Investors were cheered, hoping the struggling company would get a new lease of life. Dr Soh has since taken stakes in two other listed companies. Last October, he became the largest shareholder in computer game developer Netelusion. He is also a significant shareholder in a loss-making technology company, Ei-Nets, now known as E3 Holdings, with plans to transform it into a China real estate player. Of the mess he is now staring at, he said: 'How can a victim be a culprit overnight? When you are successful, you are king. When something goes wrong, people will turn around and say you are the culprit.' He added: 'Maybe I was running too fast. Could I have spent more time grooming the first company?' Some four years ago, when Dr Soh, who was then running his venture capital fund, met this reporter, he came across as a dynamic personality who wanted to expand his business. His office at International Plaza was a hive of activity. Someone who worked with him several years ago recalled that Dr Soh struck him as a 'down to earth and energetic professional'. However, a banker said he did not seem cut out to be a wheeler-dealer type. Some of the negative aspects of the Jade deal have echoes of the past. There was a failed attempt to get financing to buy a Bali bank in 2005, although Dr Soh said that he withdrew from the deal as it did not fit his criteria. Dr Soh said his wife - who works in a health-care business he founded - and two grown-up children have been extremely supportive. 'They have lived with me for more than 30 years. I cannot have changed my character in the space of two months,' he said. As the CAD and the Securities Industry Council, the enforcer of the takeover code, scrutinise the deal and angry investors wait for the outcome, the staunch Christian who attends the Victory Family Centre said he is also drawing strength from his faith. 'Last year, I gave $100,000 to a church in Nigeria. The poor pastor was desperate then because no one wanted to donate. People hear Nigeria, they think it is a scam,' he said. 'Now, thousands of miles away, people are praying for me. I was told that 2,000 people fasted overnight. They said that they will storm heaven with their prayers to ensure that justice is done.' |
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teeth53
Supreme |
13-Apr-2008 21:39
Yells: "don't learn through life, learn to grow with life " |
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Yalor...it's something call GREED that got him into Jade failure. just wondering will the will of god haven move him to be become a better reborn man again. But 1st better perpare for on coming CAD attack about not disclosing his....doing. no need to tell us, better find an answer fast for CAD, if not.......Enjoy while it last. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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jackjames
Elite |
13-Apr-2008 18:10
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i don't feel very comfortable that the newspaper said he is christian, and etc... i think he should not link his faith in religion to stocks.. it will always create many confusion, and opinions from different angles, better tell us what is your next step instead of telling us how credible you are before. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Snappers
Senior |
13-Apr-2008 16:51
Yells: "Buy when there is Fear, Sell when there is Greed" |
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one thing that i know for sure is "promises" are meant to be broken at times... if it ain't meant to be broken, then it won't be known as "promises".... anyway, when i juz started into investing last year july, i bought jade at 0.475 with my CPF, 30 lots of in all.. with high expectation that it will gap up and double my monies... but alas, it went down 85%... so now all i can do is watch it goes down... ironically, i'm holding on to digiland too.... haha.... dats the price to pay for investing blindly... well, it's a lesson learnt; a hard one though... i stopped trading in january 2008 after losing all my savings and ended up taking loans.... now gotta be careful... i'm glad dat a fellow buddy trader of mine who went for a course on trading guiding me thru my hard times.. with his guidance, i made abt 5K from mid march 2008 till date... i'm very grateful to him... buddy, if you are reading this now, you know who you are... thanks and kudos to you..... back to jade after side tracking... haha.... in the short term, don't think there will be chances of jade gapping up... but of course i hope it will... as for now... i can only clinch on to the life buoy... haha.....
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teeth53
Supreme |
13-Apr-2008 15:33
Yells: "don't learn through life, learn to grow with life " |
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What a good foresight..with new management team and new ideas... ??? is will it be feasible to turn it into a reality with so many promises, based on past record is possible, however too much is depending on other parties to make Jade a very successful stock. In short term, is it been speculated on....and over long term, anything can happen (reguired fundamently sound business plan) and how long will that profit be sustainable...So why i came out with this Buy on promises, sell on promise, where R all the goods that promises ?. |
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:idea:
Member |
13-Apr-2008 14:15
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Yalor that's why you know why Hai Si Ren forumers got kicked out of the forums... you dun see this BadDay guy anymore.
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XiaoMaGe888
Senior |
13-Apr-2008 14:01
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Another keppel corp
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XiaoMaGe888
Senior |
13-Apr-2008 13:41
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"Another KEPPEL CORP" Hai Si Ren
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teeth53
Supreme |
13-Apr-2008 13:28
Yells: "don't learn through life, learn to grow with life " |
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Not vested in Jade, just saw something not rite when they is a calling by so & so to buy into such & such infomative counter, on so called 1st hand info from those BBs. I have believe such info is not likely to be 1st, Be'cos there is no 1st hand info unless one is a insider and even as insider, one cannot buy /sell or trade as a sider or Director and those who bot are those BBs who long oredi knew.....how to make $$$ liao.
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teeth53
Supreme |
13-Apr-2008 13:15
Yells: "don't learn through life, learn to grow with life " |
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The 52-year-old CEO of Jade speaks of going through the 'most challenging' period of his life now. (May as well enjoy it now...,....then later....). OCBC Bank, which advised Dr Soh, is hinting that it may have been misled and has made a report to the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD). So still managed to sell his business off for a couple of million dollars. (Will the will of haven help him this time???). As the CAD and the Securities Industry Council, the enforcer of the takeover code, scrutinise the deal and angry investors wait for the outcome, the staunch Christian who attends the Victory Family Centre said he is also drawing strength from his faith. 'Last year, I gave $100,000 to a church in Nigeria. The poor pastor was desperate then because no one wanted to donate. People hear Nigeria, they think it is a scam,' he said. 'Now, thousands of miles away, people are praying for me. I was told that 2,000 people fasted overnight. They said that they will storm heaven with their prayers to ensure that justice is done.' |
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787180
Master |
12-Apr-2008 22:43
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teeth53..U seem to hve very good forsight...most all yr predictitons quite accurate...so are U particularly affected by stocks other tha jade?
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teeth53
Supreme |
12-Apr-2008 22:36
Yells: "don't learn through life, learn to grow with life " |
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Just be cautious......Ya. Hope it help to remind all vested. GREEDy one will keep falling deeper.
From techsys what do you mean by "switching good again" Buy on promises, sell on promise, where R all the goods that promises ?. Those whom has long made alot...may hav switch their attention onto other goodies...hmm leaving others to do their betting. http://info.sgx.com/webcoranncatth.nsf/VwAttachments/Att_DD6357A4B4846A5F4825735E00292ADF/$file/ResignationOfTwoOfOurIndependentDirectors.pdf?openelement
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JamesAng
Member |
12-Apr-2008 22:13
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law of gravity, really?
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787180
Master |
12-Apr-2008 21:57
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On 18feb 2008 I also warned the deal at 22.5cts will not go thru...lucky to have thrown all my Jade when it went from 42 to 50cts....in fact in 2007 july was still accumulating between 30 to 35cts...so idea get the facts right
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787180
Master |
12-Apr-2008 16:20
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Reply to idea...don't quote out of context ..happy day had already sold all jade when it was 42cts. The man behind the Jade Tech saga
by: conrad@mediacorp.com.sg Who exactly is Dr Anthony Soh. According to a profile he placed on the Internet, he was a man with ?vision, focus and commitment?. But a former director of Jade Technologies, the company he took control of in May last year, described him as ?a dreamer?. Following a general offer in May last year, Dr Soh ? a qualified medical doctor who had stopped practising medicine and ventured into IT and financial businesses ? bought 76 per cent of the company, which was called Jade Technologies Singapore, for 1.5 cents a share. The firm raised about $20 million through private placements, diluting his interest held through Asia Pacific Links, to 46 per cent, and announced its intention to issue convertible notes to raise another $150 million. These would fund his forays into coal-mining, oil and commodities trading and property development, after the company had junked its manufacture of integrated circuit encapsulation moulds for the semiconductor industry. ?I felt we were getting into businesses for which we had no expert knowledge and therefore no way of assessing the risks associated with them. He was always promising that these would bring big profits in. Perhaps they could have, but I wasn?t comfortable because these ideas often came with talk of raising the share price,? his former associate said. In September last year, the company said it had bought a piece of land in Daerah Johor Bahru for $17.35 million and had immediately sold it for $27 million, giving the company a pre-tax profit of about $8.8 million. This was to be booked into the current financial year?s profits. In January, Jade and another Catalist-listed firm Dr Soh controlled, E3 Holdings (formerly known as Ei-Nets) announced that they had agreed to buy a combined 49-percent stake in an oil refinery and a 100-per-cent stake in 3 square kilometres of nearby land in Jilin, China, for 95.2 million yuan ($18.5 million) in cash and assumed debts of about 145.8 million yuan. It would be involved in an extension of the refinery at a cost of nearly $4 billion ? big for a company of Jade?s size, whose revenue last year amounted to over $35 million and reported an attributable loss of about $458,000 (with accumulated losses of $11.2 million). ?He just could not convince me and several others that his projects were viable,? said the former associate. At one time, Dr Soh was a director of UOB Ventures and head of the UOB?s bio-investment team. He claimed he was ?responsible for the establishment of a bio-fund and instrumental in making several key bio-investments?. He also claimed he was responsible for establishing a joint-venture fund with a Chinese government-linked venture capital firm in Guangdong Province. According to his bio-data, before UOB Ventures, Dr Soh was the senior vice-president of a Hong Kong-listed company responsible for evaluating various acquisitions and investment possibilities in Greater China. Before that, he was the regional general manager of ?a global medical communications company with regional profit-and-loss responsibilities in 14 Asian countries?. ?Dr Soh was also an entrepreneur who founded a medical device company and a medical portal that were acquired by a multi-national and listed company. He has been a successful medical physician, an IT entrepreneur and financial professional before his current appointment in listed companies that deal with energy, mining, real estate and solar sectors,? his bio data added. Besides Jade and E3 Holdings, last month, Dr Soh bought a 28-percent stake in mainboard-listed Netelusion, which is in the online gaming business. He is said to be looking into diversifying into ?other profitable fast-growing businesses?. But there are plenty of questions being asked about his business acumen, especially his pledging of about 300 million Jade shares with the now-failed Australian brokerage Opes Prime. There are also questions about why he had failed to disclose that his shares had already been pledged when he made his offer to take over the rest of Jade at 22.5 cents a share. |
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:idea:
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12-Apr-2008 14:26
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This one sounds familiar:-?!!
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winsontkl
Elite |
11-Apr-2008 23:26
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Digiland ...ha..ha...soon...with the rate BB is cutting their stakes. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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teeth53
Supreme |
11-Apr-2008 23:12
Yells: "don't learn through life, learn to grow with life " |
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Jade closed at....
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teeth53
Supreme |
11-Apr-2008 13:47
Yells: "don't learn through life, learn to grow with life " |
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I can only imagine......BBs trading at....
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JamesAng
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11-Apr-2008 13:13
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sounds bad. will AS get margin call again, now that is worth only much less?
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