Article in todays Herald Sun

Not sure about the 54% a month.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/busines...-brave-investors/story-fni0d787-1227432864377


WHILE Australia still has one of the highest levels of direct share ownership in the world, it seems increasing volatility has driven some investors away.
A 2 per cent fall to 36 per cent of the population probably reflects a flight to seemingly more stable alternatives such as property and cash while there has also been a distinct and clever move towards more offshore exposure.
Investors are also dumping managed funds and buying lower-cost exchange-traded funds, which also shows a welcome concentration on getting the maximum bang for the buck.
In a bid to encourage our brave direct investors I have a couple of interesting companies that hold plenty of promise.
SmartTrans has been building a mobile and online payments business in China that is starting to kick some real goals as it gradually spreads to various provinces.

Revenues have been growing by a staggering average of 54 per cent a month over the past 11 months.
Chief executive Bryan Carr said being an Australian listed company was a big advantage doing business in China.
“We are small enough not to get in the way of the massive players but we have been building a very loyal group of customers because we deliver on our promises,’’ said Mr Carr.
A recent $5.5 million capital raising was swamped with applications of $9.1 million and other than the $3.6 million that was returned to disappointed shareholders, the cash will be used to drive further growth in the platform through online marketing and geographic expansion.
The cash will also support growth in the logistics software division in China and Australia.
SmartTrans has been growing its team in China and has a range of agreements with China Mobile, China Unicom, China Telecom CMPay, UnionPay and Alipay.
Smartphone use within China continues to grow rapidly and in many cases it remains the main and most trusted way to use the internet, so the potential for online payment systems is obviously enormous.
With a carefully managed growth plan, established technology and a local Chinese workforce, SmartTrans remains a speculative buy despite a large share price rise since the last recommendation.

THE other company is the rather better known National Australia Bank but investors need to use their imagination to think what the bank would look like without its UK banks.
The answer is Australia’s best value bank with a solid performance that has been hidden from view beneath years of UK writedowns, capital injections and disasters.

The charts.
With the plan to float off the Clydesdale Bank later this year now taking shape and
the tough task of raising $5.5 billion of capital behind it, NAB is starting to look much more attractive.
Admittedly, when you start to flick through the 542-page booklet on the mooted Clydesdale float, that bank starts to look like a reasonable asset in its own right but that shouldn’t concern current buyers, given that NAB shareholders will probably end up with around 80 per cent of Clydesdale anyway.
The key task here is to get the UK monkey off NAB’s back and chief executive Andrew Thorburn has shown he is no slouch at getting things done.
Floating Clydesdale will be his biggest and most complicated task so far and it comes with a strict timetable of December this year before regulators will have a second look at contingent capital for dodgy advice.
I think NAB will make it and it remains a buy.