GOLF debentures can be a lucrative form of investment but, like everything else in the topsy-turvy world of high finance, when to sell and when to buy is imperative.
For instance, debentures in regional clubs which cost in the tens of thousands of dollars a decade or two ago are now in the hundreds of thousands, their prices have been fuelled by a fantastic surge of interest in golf, not only in the SAR but throughout Southeast Asia.
The demand led to the feverish construction of more courses, especially in Thailand, the Philippines and southern parts of the mainland, and in some places the building continues.
More golf clubs have, of course, led to more debentures but, with prices now out of the reach of many, they have become the domain of the elite.
An Australian club, as lavish as any in Asia, is offering investors a double-barrelled chance to be part of its investment strategy at a fraction the price of spiralling Asian debentures.
Cypress Lakes Group, which operates a resort, championship golf course, villa hotel and conference complex at Pokolbin in the heart of the Hunter Valley wine-growing belt a 90-minute freeway drive north of Sydney, has fully-transferable debentures. Alternatively, investors can buy shares in the group which recently announced the launch of a public issue and share market listing.
The decision to offer a minimum one million shares at Aust$1.30 (HK$6.75) each represents the first strategic step in the development of the group as a substantial developer and operator of resorts and provides an opportunity for smaller investors to reap the benefit of future growth.