Speaking In Front Of BCA's Board Of Directors, Veteran Investor Lo Kheng Hong Admits He Is Reluctant To Buy Digital Bank Shares: It's Like Buying Bajaj For Mercy

Lo Kheng Hong. (Photo: Doc. HR ITB)

JAKARTA - Seasoned investor Lo Kheng Hong admits he doesn't want to invest in the digital banking sector. As a "senior" investor, the man nicknamed Indonesia's Warren Buffett sorts out investments, aka not just any issuer.

"In my portfolio, there are absolutely no digital companies, it's terrible for me as a value investor", said Lo Kheng Hong, quoted from the Instagram account @bca_sekuritas, Wednesday 9 February.

In the virtual discussion which also presented the President Director of BCA, Jahja Setiaatmadja, and Director of BCA, Vera Eve Lim, Lo Kheng Hong also compared the differences between digital companies such as digital banks and the banks in general that he chose.

"I can't buy a small (digital) bank, a small bank with assets below IDR 10 trillion but the price to book is 50 times. Meanwhile, there are banks whose assets are IDR 200 trillion to IDR 300 trillion, the price to book is only 0.5. So, it's impossible for me to buy a digital company", he said.

According to him, the ratio of 50 times is very high. The man who is familiarly called Mr. Lo is also reluctant to glance at digital bank shares.

When buying a digital company, Lo Kheng likens it to buying a Bajaj which is sold at Mercy prices.

"Bajaj is sold for Mercy, I don't want to buy it. But if Mercy is sold for Avanza, I want to buy it", he said.

Mr. Lo also shared a few investment tips for investors from the millennial generation who have just invested in stocks. He warns millennials to really understand the intricacies before buying shares of a company.

"For millennial customers, of course, we have to really understand the stock we want to buy. We have to do our own research carefully, read financial reports, annual reports and find out the growth and valuation of the company", explained Lo Kheng Hong.

Mr. Lo also reminded potential investors to really understand and be careful in making investment choices. This is because he said, the stock market does not forgive investors who do not know exactly what they are buying.

He also asked investors not to easily trust any party who promotes an investment asset. According to him, the final decision is in the hands of every investor.