Arowana Care For All The Passionate Hobbyist...

I knew about this company early last year when a friend in Malaysia sent me information about this company. I must say that I was quite skeptical about what they were trying to ‘sell’ to the public. I’m still skeptical but you be the judge of it and decide for yourself whether this would be a good investment or not. You can also check out more about them from this site, http://www.arowanaventure.com but the below is the article that came out recently about the service that they were providing..

‘Luck’ a draw as firm sells 10-year bonds to raise money for fish stocks and farms

Malaysian housewife Leong Yoke Ping bought a Sapphire Gold Arowana, otherwise known as a dragon fish, for US$3,000 (S$3,765), but says the result was more than worth it.
“After we bought it, my husband’s business has become better, jobs are pouring in, things are okay and smooth,” said Ms Leong, watching the fish swim in a customised tank at her home in a suburb of Kuala Lumpur.
“It also brought a small fortune to me,” she added.
Now, an investment firm is hoping the belief in luck brought by the dragon fish, which is shared by Ms Leong and thousands like her, will pay off – in the form of investment in 10-year bonds based on the Arowana.
Prized across Asia for warding off evil, the mustachioed dragon fish is turning into a hot pick for those keen to profit from surging Chinese demand for good luck charms at a time when the global economic outlook seems cloudy.
Known for its agile body, sleek shiny scales and the”whiskers” that give it a resemblance to a Chinese dragon, demand for the fish is so high that some fetch up to US$50,000.
“Many believe it is auspicious to keep a ‘dragon’ at home because it brings luck and wards off evil,” said Mr Michael Liu, chief executive officer of Arowana Venture Berhad, a Kuala Lumpur-based firm working with a fish farm in Bukit Merah, about 300km from Kuala Lumpur,
His firm is selling 10-year bonds to investors to raise money for buying fish stocks and running fish farms.
At the hatchery in Bukit Merah, Mr Liu gestured to rows of tanks filled with fish at various stages of growth, from bright-orange embryo fish to adults that resemble mythical dragons.
Muddy ponds are used as breeding and harvesting grounds where female fish lay eggs that are fertilised and scooped up by males for incubation in their mouths.
Every 56 days, farm workers pry open the fish mouths to collect the orange eggs and move them to a special container before they hatch. Doing so minimises the mortality rate.
Once grown, the fish will be sold to pet stores across China, Taiwan and Japan.
Dragon fish are also valuable because they are endangered. Rapid agricultural development and pollution have destroyed much of their swampy habitat in South-east Asia.
Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia have successfully bred the Asian Arowana in captivity and are the only countries allowed under international laws to ex¬port them in a global market that ranges between US$250 million and US$350 million, Mr Liu said.
“Breeding helps counter the threat of extinction by boosting reproduction,” he said, adding that all exported Arowana from the farm are implanted with microchips to keep track of them.
By buying the 10-year bonds – undivided interest investment lots – at RM2,500 (S$ 1,042) each, bond holders become part owners of the fish.
In turn, they receive thrice-yearly dividends, and so far the scheme has brought good luck for all.
Investors snapped up almost all the 5,000 bonds on offer this year, which also happens to be the Chinese Year of the Dragon, and sales of the native South-east Asian fish species are up as much as 20 per cent.
“They have helped my business,” Mr Liu said. “With Arowana, things just tend to go smoothly.” Reuters

11 March 2012 The Sunday Times