If you are going to use facts to validate your opinion just make sure they are correct. I went to the trouble of copy and pasting relevant information the other day so people can access actual information not poorly formed opinion.
Two of our board members are in Agribusiness, including the Chairman who also chairs Graincorp. You're saying Spenda has no expertise in Agribusiness. It sounds like you may not have heard of Graincorp before. This is from their website:
"Underpinned by our grains and oilseed storage, handling and processing assets in eastern Australia, we offer a global end-to-end supply chain, from origination to the end user.Servicing more than 350 customers in more than 50 countries, we originate grain from Australia, Canada, the UK and Ukraine, and connect directly with customers through overseas offices in Singapore, Beijing, Shanghai and Delhi. With seven ports on east-coast Australia and a joint-venture port in the final stages of construction in Vancouver, Canada, we offer high-speed long-distance rail export capability.Our processing businesses service foods customers with edible oils that are specially blended for infant formula, bakery and large-scale food manufacture.Our bulk commodity business is Australia and New Zealand’s largest exporter tallow and Used Cooking Oil (UCO), some of which is processed for upcycling into biofuel.Meanwhile, our feeds businesses use edible oils and molasses-based products to boost farm productivity."
Was it you that said the other day that our Chairman cannot be involved in any details? If it was, I asked you to substantiate that wildly speculative and most likely incorrect assumption.
We have done a referral deal with Australian Agri Finance. Now I don't know whether that relationship is going to work out or blow up. I've got no idea to be frank. Are AAF going to just refer any old rubbish customers to Spenda and take their commission? I don't know. But, if I take the information in the announcement and on the AAF website at face value they do appear to have expertise in Agri finance:
Website:
"Australian Agri Finance has been proudly providing the Agricultural sector with comprehensive, flexible and affordable financing since 2012.
"The AAF team are not just finance experts – they have genuine experience in the agricultural sector, and bring a wealth of understanding to the table for every client.
"Our team’s passion and commitment to Australia’s agricultural sector and the positive feedback from Aussie farmers have seen Australian Agri Finance grow and thrive."
Announcement:
"Cirralto has signed a binding agreement with Australian Agri Finance (AAF) and its parent company In Front Australian Business Solutions Pty Ltd (In Front) to deliver farm enhancement lending and input financing.
"The In Front group of companies are based in Perth & Adelaide. They specialise in Equipment Finance & Agri financing and have a large portfolio of more than 2000 customers across Australia."
Last but not least is our relationship with Fresh Supply Co. Co-founder and non-executive Associate Professor Chairman Ben Lyons is Director of the Rural Economies Center for Excellence, University of Southern Queensland.
"Ben Lyons has worked across Asian markets since the mid 1990s and is highly experienced in perishable value chains and provenance platforms. He implemented the first traceability program from fleece to retail for the international wool industry in 2007 whilst working for The Woolmark Company and worked on provenance marketing with retailers located in Japan, China, the US and Europe. He was instrumental in linking Japanese retailer Onward Kashiyama and an Australian land care group in one of the first retailer-backed on farm sustainability initiatives in the early 2000s."
I think investors here underestimate how impressive Fresh Supply Co. is. Sure they are IT people not bankers but they are impressive in what they are doing in the digitisation of agri trade and are lead by a Chairman that is a rural economist.
Sure there is a lot of risk in agribusiness and agri-finance. Price risk; primary producers are price takers. Existential risk; weather events cannot be predicted including flood, drought, fire, pestilence. Yes its risky. Yes it could blow up. I don't know anything about it, but I don't know anything about copper mining too but that doesn't stop me from owning shares in copper miners.
Obviously Spenda doesn't have a track record in Agri finance but I submit it is not correct to say there is no expertise on-board in that area. Yes its risky. If the risk is not for you then you should follow your sentiment and sell instead of taking out your frustration on here.
SPX Price at posting:
3.1¢ Sentiment: None Disclosure: Held
(20min delay)
