Although we are growing crops called cassavas right now, we are also paying attention to crops called sweet sorghum. Sweet sorghum is a crop, which could play an important role for the world food supply and the energy supply. Since its seed has so much protein and its stem has a great sugar content as well, it is possible to produce alcohol (bio fuel) by fermenting the juice of sweet sorghum. In addition, it is also known as a crop which has a high-yielding.
I heard that one of my Cambodian friends, he owns a farm as well, was going to have some tests to grow this sweet sorghum on a large scale, so I just visit him to listen to his story. He was saying, “I am thinking to grow a crop called super sorghum, which one of the Japanese companies has already succeeded to grow in Indonesia. In order to produce basic materials of the biomass power generation, we make pellets with super sorghum stems and Mitsui & Co., Ltd from Japan is going to purchase them”. Two facts, one is that a Japanese company has already done this test in Indonesia and the other one is that Mitsui & Co., Ltd is going to purchase the pallets from Cambodian farmers, made me so surprised, so I decided to study about this super sorghum a little bit.
The company, which does the business with the super sorghum, is a corporation in Singapore called SOL ASIA HOLDINGS PTE., and its parent company is SOL Holdings, one of the listed companies of JASDAQ (6636). Until few years ago, they were in the field of semiconductor business, however since all the member of the management were completely changed, they have started to do the business with the super sorghum. In the twinkling of an eye, they made a great success, which even caught an attention of the Indonesian government, and now they are trying to get their hands on Cambodia while expanding their business to Mexico. It can be said that they are the company carried all before it.
Their current stock price is 242 yen and the market capitalization is four billion and three hundred million yen. I thought that even though they had a great success, the stock price (I mean the corporate performance) didn’t reflect it, so I did some researches on their IRs and found one of them, which was issued on July 3, 2014, showing an interesting fact.
http://www.sol-hd.jp/pdf/20140703.pdf
In short, it was just one of the corporation notice, which was saying “we have issued the stock option”. However, the number of the stock option they issued is 2,002,000 stocks, which covers 11.16% of the total number of their issued stock, which is 17,933,612 stocks. Furthermore, they have set two conditions in order to enforce the stock options, which are; “in the case of the stock price is over 800 yen per stock at least once (even at least ‘moment’) between present and May 31, 2016” and “in case of the sales amount of March 2015 or March 2016 exceeds over two billion and four hundred million yen”. According to this fact, it ab be said that they are a company, which adopt an amazing game-like compensation structure. Well, their current stock price is 242 yen and this amount is still far away to enforce the conditions of the stock options (it means the condition, with which you can get stocks for free), so I was wondering what was going on and took a look at their stock price chart from the past.
http://www.nikkei.com/markets/company/chart/chart.aspx?scode=6636&ba=9&type=6month
Well, well, the stock price had exceeded the amount totally! Moreover, the price respectfully exceeded over 800 yen for only one day! After that, it went down outstandingly to the level of 200 yen and it looks like it keeps staying there, no sign to boost again.
Anyway, one of the conditions is completed, so if the sales amount closed on next March reaches two billion and four hundred million yen, all the management team will get entitlements to gain a massive number of stocks. Of course, even after they get the stocks, the price has to be over 372 yen, otherwise, there is no profit to them. Well, even though I am just an amateur for the stock market, I am able to see that their stocks or their conditions is as suspicious as delusion. I’ve been wondering whether Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission or whatever it is called comes and investigates them or not.
I mean, I don’t see any connection between the field of agriculture, which needs hard work and persistent improvements, and “the ex-semiconductor company”, which uses their stocks for their money game…, is it really ok? The story, which Mitsui & Co., Ltd buys the pallet made of super sorghum in Cambodia, is really true?
Well, if the business of the super sorghum by SOL HOLDINGS is true and if the Cambodians, who simply believe this business and do the test of the super sorghum, make a great success at end, that is, of course, the best scenario. However, I don’t know exactly why but various things weigh on my mind. Of course I told my Cambodian friend what I’ve found from the research and how I felt about the company. Well, I heard that it is very hard to change people’s minds especially after he/she has believed and made up his/her decision. And first of all, it is only my guess that the company is suspicious…
I just hope Cambodians won’t have any nasty experience anymore because of Japanese companies.