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Fairfax India new issue


thrifty

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FIH is only listed in Canada. Why would the management have to report to SEC?

 

This is a genuine question. I don’t know what form the US listed entity is. It’s not an ADR. It’s a Wall Street manufactured trading instrument of some type.

 

It trades as FFXDF on the OTCmarkets. is this not a US traded instrument. sorry, i am not clear about it, but i thought its traded in the US and hence needs to registered with the SEC

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Might be easier to get your fidelity account approved to purchase the Toronto shares directly vs. waiting for something to be 'fixed' on an unsponsored adr.

 

I have access to purchase toronto shares and tried that. It gives the same message : 144A restriction

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If the FIH thesis depends on Modi being in power, I’d recommend this not be a long term holding. As far as I know, Modi is mortal. I expect the basket of well bought growing businesses will outlast him or any other politicians.

 

The reality is that Indians have seen and tasted the future. They have tasted capitalistic progress and all the trappings that come with it. Even if the Congress comes back in power I don’t expect India to close its borders again.

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Haven't Modi's reforms been somewhat lackluster anyway? I'm no expert on Indian politics, but from what I've read Modi isn't in trouble because people are sick of his reforms, it's that many people haven't seen any real progress. Though I'd be skeptical that the new Ghandi's could produce better results.

 

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Modi reforms considered to favor the billionaire class and hurt the middle class. So some sheen has come off d agenda. In addition as mentioned here progress has been slower than people had hoped. It is correct that Congress and Gandhi unlikely to do anything positive. Most sensible people do realize that. Most likely scenario is a Modi minority gov't.

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+1

India is essentially run by a couple of hundred billionaire families and their businesses. They are called the modern maharajas.

 

Modi government hasn't delivered on some of the reforms they promised (e.g:, removing retro-active tax on mergers) and they change the law to favor some of the above families. This was also the case with the previous government.

 

USA/India trade has gone up to 150B/year in 2018. Direct foreign investment is at 45 Billion in 2017. It won't matter who comes to power, this trend will continue.

 

If the FIH thesis depends on Modi being in power, I’d recommend this not be a long term holding. As far as I know, Modi is mortal. I expect the basket of well bought growing businesses will outlast him or any other politicians.

 

The reality is that Indians have seen and tasted the future. They have tasted capitalistic progress and all the trappings that come with it. Even if the Congress comes back in power I don’t expect India to close its borders again.

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I don't know anything about the shipping industry but purchasing a tanker company in a country dependent on oil imports seems like a smart move. Hopefully it can expand like Saurashtra.

 

I think its likely a good time to be investing in the sector, rates have been in a trough over the past couple of years and operators have been taking losses. New deliveries are at a turning point in 2019 and capacity should start decreasing over the next few years, rates have steadied and could continue upwards.  New legislation in 2020 for low sulphur fules will increase the cost of running older ships so scrapping could increase further.

 

A lot of these tanker operators have been trading at discounts to the liquidation value, hard to tell at first glance but they could have got a very good price.

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Having said that, don't forget there are a heap load of well-run family companies in India to choose from - it's not tricky to create a small basket, or find a fund manager who knows what they're doing.

 

Can you name some examples of well run family business conglomerates?

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This is a question for American investors in FIH.  It was noted earlier in this thread that FIH could well be deemed a PFIC by the IRS.  Jurgis commented, "It likely will be [a PFIC] unless it acquires controlled operating businesses fast."  So I'm wondering how others are dealing with this issue.  Possible strategies:

 

(1) Ignore the risk and hope the IRS either doesn't notice or decides it's not a PFIC.  Might work if you're a small shareholder.  Huge losses if it doesn't work.

 

(2) Try to figure out the PFIC rules, and go by them.  My impression is that the taxes one would then owe would make the investment much less attractive--I think essentially, all unrealized gains are taxed like ordinary income each year.  Also it's unclear to me what information is needed for tax filing, and how to get it if the company doesn't help out. 

 

I've only owned one PFIC, and the (Canadian) company provided Americans a sheet each year with the necessary information to deal with PFIC filing. 

 

Useful link:

 

https://ustaxcompliance.wordpress.com/tax-triggers/a-pfic-primer/

 

Did you ever receive any closure on this issue?

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From Oct 19, 2018 - an email from Fairfax India

 

Hello Eric

Fairfax India is considered a PFIC for tax purposes.

Thank you

John Varnell

VP

 

 

This is a question for American investors in FIH.  It was noted earlier in this thread that FIH could well be deemed a PFIC by the IRS.  Jurgis commented, "It likely will be [a PFIC] unless it acquires controlled operating businesses fast."  So I'm wondering how others are dealing with this issue.  Possible strategies:

 

(1) Ignore the risk and hope the IRS either doesn't notice or decides it's not a PFIC.  Might work if you're a small shareholder.  Huge losses if it doesn't work.

 

(2) Try to figure out the PFIC rules, and go by them.  My impression is that the taxes one would then owe would make the investment much less attractive--I think essentially, all unrealized gains are taxed like ordinary income each year.  Also it's unclear to me what information is needed for tax filing, and how to get it if the company doesn't help out. 

 

I've only owned one PFIC, and the (Canadian) company provided Americans a sheet each year with the necessary information to deal with PFIC filing. 

 

Useful link:

 

https://ustaxcompliance.wordpress.com/tax-triggers/a-pfic-primer/

 

Did you ever receive any closure on this issue?

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For U.S. shareholders - the rules have been clarified where those who own shares in PFICs in tax-free and tax-deferred accounts are exempt from the tax treatment and reporting required by taxable PFIC investors.

 

I'm having trouble locating any official documentation on it. I can find text in a google search from PWC, but can't identify the source of the quote on their actual website or from their publications.

 

Quote from PWC google results

s a result, US persons that are beneficiaries of or have interests in an organization or account exempt from tax (e.g., an individual retirement account (IRA) or a Section 529 plan) that own stock of a PFIC will not be subject to tax and reporting obligations under the PFIC rules.

 

 

I did find the below on some Cohen & Steers CPA site:

The final regulations codify prior IRS guidance related to the definition of a shareholder of a PFIC. Specifically, owners of an interest in a PFIC that is held through a tax-exempt entity are removed from the definition of PFIC shareholders. Therefore, for example, neither beneficiaries of pension funds nor owners of an IRA should be treated as shareholders of a PFIC if the pension or IRA is invested in an offshore feeder fund (blocker) that is formed as a foreign corporation. This clarified definition should be a welcome relief to a significant portion of alternative investors who are now exempt from filing Form 8621, Information Return by a Shareholder of a Passive Foreign Investment Company or Qualified Electing Fund.

 

https://www.cohencpa.com/insights/articles/updated-pfic-rules-and-relaxed-reporting

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It is currently selling at 85% of book value.  I will put myself on the line and say the stock is cheap now and it's a good to buy (I have bought some more shares recently and I intend to add more).  I am not too worried about these short-term quarter losses and marco-economic noise in the news.

 

The portfolio of investments - airport, chemical company, financial services, grain storage, banking, shipping etc... are all companies and industries that will grow with the India.

 

Added Prem's 20-30 year experience of doing business in India makes me very comfort to be shareholder.

 

In other news (I am not sure if anyone has posted yet).  CSB formerly Catholic Syrian Bank is going public.

 

https://www.fairfaxindia.ca/news/press-releases/press-release-details/2019/Fairfax-India-Announces-Filing-of-IPO-Prospectus-by-CSB-Bank-Limited/default.aspx

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