No, I didn't buy into Thai International Fund after. I thought it traded on the LSE based on the information provided by the Trustnet website. However, it trades on Bangkok I now believe but I was never able to complete due diligence on it. The management co. is in Bangkok and I called several times and kept getting cut off on their end.
I'd be careful with any info on the Trustnet site but at the same time it's the best free site on closed end funds that I've seen.
The Thai Euro Fund does trade on the LSE, however, it also has 23.5% cash so it's not such a great hedge although the manager plans to invest much of the cash during this downturn. The main drawback is that the shares are thinly traded similar to the U.S. bulletin board system (according to my broker) although there is no volume information and no bid or ask. They just try to match you up in some "book" with a seller. I may still hedge at some point with this fund but with the Thai market and currency continuing to fall I haven't felt the urgency to do so and I really don't want to own this fund anyway.
Actually, last Monday I shorted more TTF (Thai Fund) at $12.50 because the premium went up over 60% again.
Today, I entered a short position on MF (Malaysia Fund) on the NYSE at $10 and hedged it with a long position on EWM (Malaysia WEBS) at $7.375. MF closed Friday at about a 25% premium to NAV versus its traditional 10% discount. EWM, as a WEBS product, trades at net asset value because large purchasers can truly arbitrage them by buying, redeeming for the actual holdings and selling. Actually, the premium at the point I shorted must have been higher than 26% because the sharp fall today in the Kuala Lampur exchange and ringgit of about 4-5% combined was only met by a 1/8 decline in the price of MF. The WEBS, however, declined by 1/4 to 7 3/8 in sympathy with the market. This is a much safer semi-arbitrage play then dealing in the Thai funds. I'd expect the discount on MF to approach 10% again sometime in the next 6-12 months. Whether Malaysia recovers or sinks lower from here, I expect to make a good return. |
