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4.38% of fund is in Yum! Brands. That not Asia--- though surely, there are a bazillion fast-food joints in Asia that come under the Yum! bumbershoot.
I dumped MJFOX for this one: MAFSX. Since the change-over, it's up exactly 2.6% for me. No great shakes. Overall, with respect to the switch, I'm still down from my original amount by -2.95%.
As John noted, Yum has a huge presence in Asia. In terms of consumers in Asia, I like Jardine Matheson, which is the largest holding in the fund. Jardine's Dairy Farm subsidiary owns Ikea stores in Hong Kong and Taiwan (as well as soon to be Indonesia), as well as the large Maxim's restaurant group (which owns Starbucks in Hong Kong and Macau), 7-11 stores in various markets and many other various stores/chains.
As for Yum, the stock has bounced back, but as far as I know, KFC is still not doing that well in Asia lately. What's more interesting at Yum - at least to me - is the Little Sheep chain that they bought. I owned that briefly before it was bought. Hopefully there will be more locations of that in the US soon.
Jardine's Dairy Farm also owns Wellcome Supermarkets which has been a big success here in the Philippines as well as other places in Asia. JM is well placed for success here as they have their tentacles in a variety of business applications.
KFC had a brief scare with their chicken supplier but that has been resolved. Pizza Hut is one of a few places that makes a pizza that is not localized completely. What I mean by that is their are pizza chains here that make pizza but they serve to the local population. Ingredients such as fast melt cheese, hot dogs, and loose interpretation of what a pizza is supposed to be. Now Pizza Hut is not pure Italian pizza by any stretch of the means but the local pizzas give new meanings to the word. For example ketchup is used for pizza sauce at some outlets.
The best pizza I have had here was the Quattro Stragioni at the Marriott. Now that was pizza.
Yes, I recall a pizza under the "Greenwich" brand in Cebu City. That was the awful-est pizza I can recall. Wheat crust and all. (Interior of B.C., too, in Canada: mediocre pizza and a WHEAT crust, with no warning.) I believe what you say about the ketchup. Yux.
Mind you, this is a place with a culinary culture that includes BUTTER flavored ice cream served in a hamburger bun. Manila street food. I dunno if you can find it beyond the capital, though. OK, enough about terrible pizza.
It's all in the name. Chicken Adidas are grilled chicken feet. No thanks. Even hamburgers here are hard to eat. Green tomatoes, cucumber for pickles, and hot red onions. But there is still some good food to be had.
The influx of foreign brand eateries is very apparent. TGIFridays has been opening restaurants with big success. Italianni's also has some places here. Krispy Kreme is big in the cities where they are. A lot of this is due to the OFW workers investing new money into franchises they discovered while abroad.
For the uninitiated: "OFW" = Overseas Foreign Worker. My wife worked when she was younger as a live-in nanny in Singapore. Then later in Taiwan, making integrated circuits. What a shame, really, that there is not much of a future for them in their own country. Like it was for the Irish, years ago.
......Back to the original thread: I guess I own enough Jardine Matheson!!! Top holding in MAFSX, as previously noted. (7.08% of the fund's holdings.) ALSO, just saw it is the top holding in MACSX. (3.57% of the fund's AUM.)
Comments
Yum's KFC and Pizza Hut have a large presence in Asia and still growing. That is still a big chunk of total assets.
As for Yum, the stock has bounced back, but as far as I know, KFC is still not doing that well in Asia lately. What's more interesting at Yum - at least to me - is the Little Sheep chain that they bought. I owned that briefly before it was bought. Hopefully there will be more locations of that in the US soon.
Jardine's Dairy Farm also owns Wellcome Supermarkets which has been a big success here in the Philippines as well as other places in Asia. JM is well placed for success here as they have their tentacles in a variety of business applications.
KFC had a brief scare with their chicken supplier but that has been resolved. Pizza Hut is one of a few places that makes a pizza that is not localized completely. What I mean by that is their are pizza chains here that make pizza but they serve to the local population. Ingredients such as fast melt cheese, hot dogs, and loose interpretation of what a pizza is supposed to be. Now Pizza Hut is not pure Italian pizza by any stretch of the means but the local pizzas give new meanings to the word. For example ketchup is used for pizza sauce at some outlets.
The best pizza I have had here was the Quattro Stragioni at the Marriott. Now that was pizza.
The influx of foreign brand eateries is very apparent. TGIFridays has been opening restaurants with big success. Italianni's also has some places here. Krispy Kreme is big in the cities where they are. A lot of this is due to the OFW workers investing new money into franchises they discovered while abroad.
Top holding in MAFSX, as previously noted. (7.08% of the fund's holdings.) ALSO, just saw it is the top holding in MACSX. (3.57% of the fund's AUM.)