Craftprint International

When I set out this blog, I really wanted to make sure that I not only documented my winners, but also my losers as well.

And this is a classic case of me being way too greedy for my own good. When the fingers get too itchy and the yearn to earn a quick buck backfires in the worst way. When a moment's lack of concentration and lack of research results in a prolonged period of hurt.

Enter Craftprint International.

This is quite an illiquid counter that basically rocketed from 2c to 20c in the last couple of months. At it's height, a few major shareholders dumped a boatload of shares and it's come down as fast as it went up (maybe even faster!). Where I came in was to catch a falling knife without doing any research. At 10c, I thought it was cheap to buy and therefore got in at a whim, only for the price to plunged even further.

Currently it is hovering around 8c.

If I had done my research properly (like I do with alot of my investments), I would have been able to identify that this is another pump-and-dump scheme. The syndicates basically 'create' some news like an RTO or potential buy-out etc, and drive the price up on big volume so that the retailers get hyped. Retailers who try to short the counter, knowing that there are no fundamentals, get 'killed' by the sheer volume. And syndicates have the time and money to withstand shortists. Once their target price is reached, they dump their shares like no tomorrow. And usually a couple of major shareholders are involved. The biggest case of such a scheme was the ABL saga last October.

So in Craftprint International's case, it was drummed up from rumours of a potential RTO. Then two major shareholders (including the owner) dumped their shares at the high. Now everyone's just catching the bits and pieces.

I really need to learn to be more careful about these counters.

Guess I will have to take this as another expensive lesson.

Plus I'm suspecting Giken Sakata to be of similar ilk.

Be careful out there.