The richest man in Hong Kong invited me to a free lunch again last week.  Li Ka-Shing’s flagship company Hutchison Whampao Ltd. has again delivered a set of earnings which deviated from market expectations.  Unlike previous two quarters when it smashed earnings estimates on the upside, Hutchison Whampao surprised on the downside this time.

In August last year we have demonstrated how investors can benefit from trading with news from markets in different time zone, using Hutchison Whampoa as an example how Li Ka-Shing treated savvy traders free lunch.  A few days ago, the same company again announced earnings which beat analysts’ estimates, and the same trick of buying Hutchison Whampoa ADR in US which had not reacted to the announcements which took place after market closed in Hong Kong worked again.  And this was not the only free lunch we could have benefited on the same day.  This is also not an April Fool’s Day joke.

People who have invested in the stock market for a while will tell you there is no free lunch in the market.  Even if there is, it is usually arbitrage on cross border price differentials or a small sure profit during a takeover offer.  Such profits, if any, are usually very small and you cannot make a killing out of it.

However, I will demonstrate to you it is indeed possible to have free lunches in the market provided you know how to get them.  And these free lunches invitations come more frequently than most people would expect. And just yesterday (August 5th), Lee Ka Shing gave me a treat as his flagship Hutchison Whampoa Ltd smashed analysts’ expectations by achieving net profit of HK$6.45 billion.

Hutchison Whampoa share price soared 9.7% today in Hong Kong to HK$58.20 after it reported a 12% increase in first-half net profit to HK$6.45 billion, beating market expectations of HK$4.51 billion, and said its third-generation mobile-phone business was finally on track to make a positive contribution to its full-year results on an earnings before interest and tax basis.

You could have bought Hutchison Whampoa at yesterday’s price last night after learning about the earnings results if you know how to!

Many companies are looking to have dual listing in order to boost the market valuation, hoping that higher valuation for their stocks in foreign markets will boost share price.

But is that always the case?

If the share price performance of Media Chinese International Limited (MEDIAC) is an indication, many would be disappointed.  Media Chinese is listed in both Bursa Malaysia and Hong Kong Stock Exchange (0685.HK).  On May 3^rd 2010, Media Chinese closed at RM0.815 in Malaysia and HK$1.78 in Hong Kong.  Using an exchange rate of RM0.4127 per HKD, the share price in Hong Kong was RM0.735.  This is a 9% discount over the share price in Malaysia.