Ratdog,
I've enjoyed this thread for some time as a lurker. I enjoy the microcap / OTC game.
I thought I'd make my first contribution and see what you think of it. SEGB, Stock Exchange Global
seglobal.com
The stock itself is only a few months old, created in a reverse merger with an otcbb shell. They are focusing on Direct Access trading overseas, and are marketed in numerous countries by existing established dealers. They are reviewed here by Larry Oakley: (text attached below)
wallstreetcorner.com
They are very tightly held and while they are unrealized now, I think that with a little promo, they could really move. I own shares in their parent company, CPT-CDNX, who own about 80% of the outstanding SEGB float.
Let me know what you think of the stock or the industry. I have made a purchase of SEGB at $0.96 "for the record"!
Jason
Current Weekly Stock Pick:
Date Posted: 10/20/2001 12:00:00 AM.0
SE Global Equities Corp. (OTC BB/SEGB)
I'm just beginning to investigate SEGB -- it appears to be a situation you can look at from two aspects:
First, as an investment. Second, as a service you may well want to take advantage of.
With offices in Vancouver, Montreal, & Hong Kong, SEGB is a global provider of financial & direct-access trading information & services. Through its subsidiary companies, it allows you to make both online investments & "real-time/direct-access" trades in U.S. & international securities markets. It has alliances with over 25 international brokerage firms on five continents.
With its software you have "direct access" trading capability. That means you can make U.S. equities trades instantaneously - at a lower cost than traditional methods. SEGB also provides important links to essential information & resources -- I suggest you look at its main web site: www.seglobal.com -- I checked it out yesterday & was quite impressed -- you can get a good idea of what kind of information is available by taking the "Tour" offered.
Management recognized several years ago that, with cross-border investing in equities doubling every three years, the global demand by both retail & institutional investors to effortlessly trade equities across international borders would continue to grow. They also recognized the growing demand from international investors for software that would allow them to make "real-time/direct-access" trades in the U.S. equities market.
When I lectured at investment conferences in Zurich, Geneva, London, & other foreign cities, my audience would crowd around me after I recommended a few special situations & share their problems. The main one was their inability to easily buy the shares of emerging growth situations. They put up with high transaction costs, lack of information on foreign companies & economies, & serious delays that came with placing orders through traditional channels. If SEGB had been available then, they would have been very happy.
Although several large international brokerage firms do offer clients today the ability to trade in a limited number of international markets, the layered cost structure associated with cross-border trading often results in these firms charging high transaction fees to complete these trades. The cost to a foreign investor to buy a U.S. issue could be between 2% & 4% -- a very high commission. The cost using the SEGB process ranges between $12 & $20, & if you are in the U.S., I have been told your cost is $12 per ticket. Keep in mind that the $12 fee a U.S investor pays is regardless of the amount of money involved in the stock purchase. The only limitation is the number of shares. The $12 applies to up to 1,000 shares -- if you buy more than 1,000 shares, the extra cost is about $0.005 per share for the number of shares over 1,000 shares.
Let's look at an expensive transaction: say a person overseas wanted to buy 500 shares of IBM (it closed last evening at $102.65) -- that would cost $51,325 for the stock. The commission through traditional channels might be 3%, or $1,539.75. With SEGB, that person would pay a commission of a maximum of $20 -- big difference. No wonder SEGB has the potential to grow fast.
I interviewed president/CEO Toby Chu yesterday. I learned that the cost of the software that is required to do this low-cost trading is $125. I also learned that you can use that software for researching a specific stock & get all the features I witnessed in the Tour I took on their web site. You do not have to buy any stock in order to utilize those features. Frankly, I was so impressed that I plan to acquire the software just to get those features for some of my research. The charts they provide are outstanding, & the information related to which market makers are doing what is invaluable.
Many countries do not have high bandwidth Internet connections. Most existing U.S.-based "real-time/direct-access" trading software companies require high bandwidth connections to function properly. SEGB's "direct access" software has low bandwidth requirements, so it can be used in all of those countries.
With SEGB's system, you have direct access to major U.S. securities markets, real-time execution, Level II data, & sophisticated technical analysis & charting technology. The direct access software routes your orders directly to ECNs, market makers, & U.S. exchanges. It offers the best execution & integrity of order routing, & eliminates expensive middlemen & third parties. Before it was launched, this software underwent over five years of continuous development, testing, & refinement.
In relation to the second aspect -- as a service you may well want to take advantage of yourself -- after I test the software, I'll bring you the results of my review. Many of you have followed my software reviews in my "Business Computer Report" columns in various trade journals over the last 17 years -- I'll put this program through its paces & report to you in a future editorial either here at WallStreetCorner, or at Small-CapTrader.
In relation to the first aspect, as an investment, I feel you should look into SEGB -- do some homework. I did, & so far, I like what I see. There are 14.4 million shares out, with a float of about 2.3 million. Of that number, I understand a considerable percentage is restricted until about 2/2003, so the effective float is modest. The 52-week range is 0.55 to 1.15. SEGB closed last evening (10/19/2001) at 0.98, up during the day from 0.94. Watch for any upcoming news -- I suspect it will reflect fast revenue growth, based on my initial evaluation of the quality of its products & their substantial usefulness, especially to international securities firms, asset & portfolio management companies, fund managers, & professional investors. |
