HI-P

HI-P: Founder, Chairman & CEO Yao HT bought 4.1m shares via married trade at 75.5c each, raising his stake from 60.07% to 60.57%. The purchase which cost $3.122mln is significant as it is Yao HT’s largest purchase since the coy’s listing. He last bought 3m shares in 3 transactions in Mar ’07 at an average price of 69c each, costinghim $2.07m. If minority investors had followed Yao HT’s purchases in Mar ’07 they would have been rewarded with the stock having staged a strong recovery to peak at $1.02 (48% gain) 4 mths later. Hi-P’s share price has taken a beating since hitting a peak of $1.09 on 21 Sept ’12, bottoming out late last wk at 72c after its 3Q ’12 profit of $3mln came in way below market expectations of between $20-25m due to project delays and start-up costs. However according to mgt, these delayed projects in the smart-phone and tablet business segments will gradually be resolved as the supply chain issues and component shortages abate. Hi-P’s mgt remains cautiously optimistic of prospects as they continue to ramp up production capacity over the next year by between 50-60% in anticipation of the strong growth prospects of the smart-phone and tablet businesses.