KLCI snaps 2-day rally, Tenaga, Genting weigh

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 10): The 30-stock FBM KLCI snapped its two-day run-up as investors decided to take profit and await the outcome of the long-awaited Greek debt deal which remained elusive, analysts said.

The profit taking was confined to Tenaga, Genting and IOI Corp, dragging the KLCI down 3.66 points to 1,561.66. Turnover was 3.35 billion shares valued at RM2.81 billion.

The broader market was firmer, underpinned by some nibbling of penny stocks and lower liners, enabling advancing counters to beat decliners 566 to 371 while 315 stocks were unchanged.

Reuters reported the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 0.55% at 1,067.63. The STOXX Europe 600 euro zone Banking Index, exposed to the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis, shed 1.4%.

Earlier, Asian stocks also lost ground, leaving global stocks as measured by the MSCI index down 0.6% at 326.04.

At Bursa Malaysia, Tenaga fell 19 sen to RM6.11 on rising concerns about further compensation for the power giant which is still facing a severe gas shortage. While Tenaga, Petroliam Nasional Bhd and the government had agreed to share the RM3 billion incurred between January 2010 and October 2011, there was no plan yet on how to absorb the additional cost of burning distillates after that period.

GENTING BHD [] fell 16 sen to RM10.30. DRB-Hicom, which had a strong run-up on its takeover of Khazanah Malaysia’s 42.7% stake of Proton, fell 16 sen to RM2.98.

Puncak Niaga fell the most, down 23 sen to RM1.66 after surging 44 sen on Thursday. KPS lost 15 sen to RM1.24 and KHSB 11.5 sen to 66.5 sen.

Tebrau Teguh rose 8.5 sen to 89 sen and it was the most active with 150.66 million shares done. The 89 sen closing price was a 13 sen premium over the takeover price of 76 sen offered by Iskandar Waterfront Holdings Sdn Bhd (IWH). IWH is buying a 33.15% stake in the company from Kumpulan Prasarana Rakyat Johor Sdn Bhd (KPRJ) for RM168.7 million.

Among PLANTATION []s, plantation player IOI Corp shed 13 sen to RM5.47. However, BLD Plantations was the top gainer, up 52 sen to RM9.67, Far East 30 sen to RM7.30 and United Plantations 20 sen higher at RM22.

Among consumer stocks, Dutch Lady added 50 sen to RM25.38 and Amway 14 sen to RM9.80.



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Water stocks rally

KUALA LUMPUR: Water stocks, in particular those related to Selangor, saw a rally yesterday, and Puncak Niaga Holdings Bhd became the latest company to be issued with an unusual market activity query after its share price saw a 44 sen spike in heavy trading.

Puncak Niaga opened at RM1.45 and shot up by 44 sen to close at RM1.89 with 30.9 million shares traded.

In its reply to Bursa Malaysia yesterday, the company said it was unaware of any rumours nor did it have any corporate developments that have not been announced.

On Tuesday, Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim said in a statement Bursa Malaysia has yet to explain satisfactorily why Puncak Niaga was given a waiver from being listed as a PN17 company.

Also on Tuesday, the Selangor government said in a statement that it would continue to push ahead for the restructuring of the water industry, claiming the water concessionaires will continue to fail the rakyat. It added that Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas) should not be retained as the water services operator in the state.

Kumpulan Perangsang Selangor Bhd also saw heavy trading yesterday with 23.8 million shares traded. Its counter opened at RM1.12 to close at RM1.39, up 27 sen.

Another Selangor state-linked company Kumpulan Hartanah Selangor Bhd saw its share price climb to 78 sen from 51 sen yesterday with 113.89 million shares traded.

Pipe maker Jaks Resources Bhd, which is involved in the Selangor-Pahang water transfer project, also saw a spike in its share price. The counter gained 14 sen to close at 72 sen with 45.6 million shares traded.


This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, February 10, 2012.



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Penny stocks see heavy trade, broader market firm

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 10): The two-day rally on Bursa Malaysia took a breather on Friday, with the FBM KLCI slightly in the red but the broader market displayed some resilience, with heavy trading in penny stocks.

At 12.30pm, the KLCI was down 1.96 points or 0.13% to 1,563.36, which was line with the cautious key regional markets. Turnover was 1.96 billion shares valued at RM1.30 billion. Advancers led decliners 503 to 297 while 344 stocks were unchanged.

All the major regional markets fell, except Shanghai’s Composite Index which edged up 0.36% to 2,357.98.

Japan’s Nikkei 225fell 0.22% to 8,982, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index 0.58% to 10,888.60, Taiwan’s Taiex 0.6% to 7,863.49, South Korea’s Kospi 0.88% to 1,996.87 and Singapore’s Straits Times Index 0.27% to 2,973.

US light crude oil fell 33 cents to US$99.51. Brent crude slipped from a six-month high towards US$118 a barrel.

Market sentiment could have been affected by investors’ concerned about prospects of restructuring Greece's debt and global lenders demanded more steps even after it struck a long-awaited deal on fiscal reforms.

Reuters reported that Greek political leaders clinched a deal on severe austerity measures and reforms indispensable for a second international bailout in two years, but the country's lenders sought a parliamentary seal of approval before providing any aid.

At Bursa Malaysia, traders were quick to cash out the Selangor related counters after the rally petered out in the absence of any significant news. Puncak Niaga fell 17 sen to RM1.72 with 15.63 million shares done, KPS 11 sen to RM1.28, KHSB nine sen to 69 sen and JAKS 5.5 sen lower at 66.5 sen.

Among the index-linked stocks, Genting fell 16 sen to RM10.30, IOI Corp 12 sen to RM5.48, Tenaga 11 sen to RM6.19, HL Bank eight sen to RM11.50 and Sime Darby two sen to RM9.68.

The top 10 most active counters were penny stocks. Metronic Global was the most active, with 82.74 million shares done, up 0.5 sen to eight sen.

Maybank rose four sen to RM8.51, Public Bank two sen to RM13.98 while MMHE was the top performer among the index stocks, registering a 13 sen gain to RM5.50.



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Water stocks rally dry up after one day, Puncak falls

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 10): Water stocks, especially those related to Selangor, saw the rally dry up on Friday morning, with Puncak Niaga leading the decliners.

At 10.51am, the FBM KLCI fell 1.17 points to 1,564.15. Turnover was 1.23 billion shares valued at RM688.83 million. There were 439 gainers, 260 losers and 314 stocks unchanged.

Puncak fell 15 sen to RM1.74 with 12.77 million shares done. KPS lost 10 sen to RM1.29 and KHSB eight sen lower to 70 sen.

The Edge Financial Daily reported on Friday that Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, had on Tuesday, said in a statement Bursa Malaysia has yet to explain satisfactorily why Puncak Niaga was given a waiver from being listed as a PN17 company.

Also on Tuesday, the Selangor government said in a statement that it would continue to push ahead for the restructuring of the water industry, claiming the water concessionaires will continue to fail the rakyat. It added that Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas) should not be retained as the water services operator in the state.



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Stocks to watch: MMC Corp, Gamuda, Bursa Malaysia and HL Industries

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 10): Stocks on Bursa Malaysia could extend their gains for the third day on Friday as investors could be emboldened after Greek leaders clinched a long-stalled deal on reforms and austerity measures needed to secure a bailout and avoid a messy default.

Reuters reported the deal was struck hours before the country's financial backers were to meet in Brussels on Thursday.

Athens' partners in the European Union and the International Monetary Fund have been exasperated by a lack of agreement on the sacrifices they demanded in return for a 130 billion euro ($172 billion) bailout, with time running out for Greece before a major March 20 bond redemption, said Reuters.

At Bursa Malaysia, MMC CORPORATION BHD [] and GAMUDA BHD [] would be among the stocks to watch as the joint venture will be appointed project delivery partner for the KL MRT project. MRT Corporation will be signing the agreement with MMC-Gamuda Joint Venture Sdn Bhd for the project on Friday afternoon.

Also in focus would be Bursa Malaysia and Hong Leong Industries following the release of their results.

Other counters which could see trading interest again are Selangor-related companies -- KUMPULAN PERANGSANG SELANGOR [], KUMPULAN HARTANAH SELANGOR BHD [], PUNCAK NIAGA HOLDINGS BHD [] and water pipe manufacturer JAKS Resources Bhd.

Bursa Malaysia’ earnings rose 29% to RM146.16 million for FY ended Dec 31, 2011 from RM113.04 million in 2010 and expects market volatility is expected to persist in 2012 unless there is more clarity on how the global economy will pan out. Its revenue increased 16.3% to RM420.14 million from RM361.05 million. It proposed a final dividend of 13 sen per share for the year under review, which was a distribution of 95% of its net profit.

For the fourth quarter, its earnings rose 5.2% to RM31.33 million from RM29.78 million. Revenue slipped 6.1% to RM95.67 million from RM101.91 million. Earnings per share were 5.90 sen compared with 5.60 sen.

Hong Leong Industries reported net profit of RM35.47 million for the second quarter ended Dec 31, 2011, down 39.6% from RM58.81 million a year ago.

Its revenue increased 14.5% to RM488.63 million from RM426.49 million a year ago. Its earnings per share were 11.51 sen compared with 22.48 sen.

HL Industries said that MALAYSIAN PACIFIC INDUSTRIES [] Bhd ceased to be a subsidiary of the group at the end of the previous financial year ended June 30, 2011.

BERJAYA LAND BHD [] (B-Land) recorded a net loss of about RM8.05 million at group level after it disposed of 18.301 million BERJAYA SPORTS TOTO BHD [] shares for RM79.61 million.

B-Land said the shares were disposed of on Thursday at an average selling price of RM4.35 and the shares represented about 1.37% of BToto.

“The disposed shares which were purchased since 1992, have a total carrying value of about RM87.66 million in the books of B-Land group. The net proceeds from the disposals will be utilised as working capital and repayment of bank borrowings of the B-Land group,” it said.

Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd has advised investors to be cautious following the recent sharp rise in the price and volume of Naim Indah Corporation shares.

Naim Indah shares closed 18 sen higher at 67 sen with 342.12 million shares done, off the day’s high of 75 sen. It fell to an intra-day low of 59.5 sen.



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KLCI stages late rally, banks advance on steadier economic outlook

KUALA LUMPUR: Blue chips on Bursa Malaysia staged a late push on Thursday, pushing the FBM KLCI closer its all-time high of 1,597 in mid-July 2011 as banks advanced on steadier outlook for the economy following the release of fresh economic data.

The KLCI closed up 12.14 points or 0.78% to 1,565.32 while volume was still strong at 3.31 billion shares valued at RM2.98 billion. Gainers led losers 446 to 456 with 309 counters unchanged.

December’s industrial production index expanded 3.0% on-year underpinned by the stronger manufacturing sector and electricity output, which was higher than expectations.

Meanwhile, Credit Suisse's Emerging Markets Economic Research expected Malaysia's real GDP growth to continue outperforming other small open economies in the region.

"Malaysia’s real GDP growth has outperformed industrial production growth since the global financial crisis, as the services sector has been the main contributor to real GDP growth during this period. Our real GDP growth forecasts for 2011 and 2012 remain unchanged at 5% and 4.8%, respectively, above the consensus forecast of 3.8% for 2012,” it said.

The growth would be underpinned by the strong domestic demand, high palm and crude oil prices, and the fiscal boost from the government, said the research house.

Despite starting the trading day on a weak note, the KLCI outperformed other regional bourses beating Shanghai's Composite Index closed up 0.09% to 2,349.59, South Korea's Kospi Index rose 0.54% to 2,014.62 and Taiwan's Taeix Index increased 0.52% to 7,910.78. Japan's Nikkei fell 0.15% to 9,002.24 and Singapore's Straits Index was down 0.16% to 2,977.31.

At Bursa Malaysia, among the lower liners and penny stocks which were the top performers were Selangor-linked stocks which were also involved in the water industry.

Dominating the top gainers’ list were KUMPULAN PERANGSANG SELANGOR [] and KUMPULAN HARTANAH SELANGOR BHD [] both up 27 sen to RM1.39 and 78 sen respectively. PUNCAK NIAGA HOLDINGS BHD [] was also up 44 sen to RM1.89, prompting an unusual market activity query by Bursa Malaysia. Water pipe manufacturer JAKS Resources climbed 14 sen to 72 sen.

Other index-linked stocks which closed higher include KLK up 56 sen to RM25.50, Carlsberg 29 sen to RM9.60, British American Tobacco 26 sen to RM50.26 and RHB Cap 20 sen to RM7.20.

Axiata gained 19 sen to RM4.97, pushing the index up 3.80 points, IOI Corp pushed the index up 1.97 points. Among the banks, RHB Cap added 20 sen to RM7.20, AMMB 14 sen to RM6.10, CIMB nine sen to RM7.20 and Maybank six sen to RM8.47.

Among actively traded stocks, Naim Indah rose 18 sen to close at 67 sen as a Bursa Malaysia Securities caution to investors saw it closing off the day’s best of 75 sen.

The worst performer was FarEast down 30 sen to RM7.00 followed by Maybulk 18 sen to RM2.01, Nestle 16 sen to RM55.52 and Aeon 15 sen to RM7.85.



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KHSB, KPS up on privatisation talk

PETALING JAYA: The share price of Kumpulan Hartanah Selangor Bhd (KHSB) and its largest shareholder Kumpulan Perangsang Selangor Bhd (KPS) both rose to multiple-month highs yesterday, following a report in The Edge weekly that KPS could privatise KHSB as part of a restructuring exercise.

KHSB’s stock rose by 13.5 sen or 37% to 50 sen yesterday, closing at its highest level in almost a year.

The property company’s stock was the most actively traded stock on Bursa Malaysia yesterday with close to 107 million shares transacted.

Its parent, KPS, shot up by 13 sen or 12.4% to close yesterday at RM1.18 per share, which is the highest level since end-May last year.

According to The Edge report, Amin Lin Abdullah, KPS’ head of public relations and media said the group is always looking at ways to enhance its investment value, and privatisation of its listed entity KHSB may just be one.

“As an investment holding company, KPS is always looking at all available ways and means to enhance the value of all its investments, regardless of whether it involves restructuring, reorganisation, mergers, acquisitions, privatisation and so on,” he stated in an email reply to questions from The Edge last week.

Market observers pointed out that by consolidating KHSB and KPS under one entity, investors would get a better value proposition to invest in, as both companies are linked to the investment arm of the Selangor government, Kumpulan Darul Ehsan Bhd (KDEB). It was reported that KDEB has given KPS the mandate to look into restructuring its investment holdings in both companies.

KDEB owns 60.57% of KPS, while the latter owns 56.57% of KHSB.

KDEB, as the Selangor government investment arm, operates in several industries such as property development, hospitality, waste management and utilities in the state through KPS and KHSB.

As at Sept 30, 2011, KHSB’s net assets per share stood at about 80 sen, while KPS has net assets per share of RM2.33.

For its nine months ended September last year, KPS posted a net profit of RM78.31 million on the back of RM305.09 million in revenue.

For its nine months ended September last year, KHSB suffered a net loss of 31.06 million from RM96.81 million in sales.


This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, January 10, 2012.



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KHSB confirms privatisation option by KPS

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 9): KUMPULAN HARTANAH SELANGOR BHD [] (KHSB) has confirmed The Edge report that its major shareholder KUMPULAN PERANGSANG SELANGOR [] Bhd (KPS) has been given the mandate to enhance or revive its investments.

KHSB said in a reply to Bursa Malaysia Securities on Monday that KPS was mandated by the board to explore and evaluate the available options, which might include a reorganisation and restructuring of its investments and mergers, acquisitions or divestments of its non-performing investments.

“As part of the available options to enhance or revive its investments, KPS has also been mandated to study the feasibility of taking KHSB private.

“However, to-date, consultants have not been appointed to conduct the feasibility study,” it said.



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KL shares firmer at mid-morning trade

Shares on Bursa Malaysia were traded firmer at mid-morning Monday, boosted by gains in selected heavyweights and supported by interesting local corporate developments, dealers said.

At 11.03am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was 3.03 points higher at 1,517.16, pushed up by gains mostly seen in Petronas Gas, which contributed 1.16 points, to the increase in benchmark index. Earlier, the FBM KLCI opened 0.93 of a point to 1,515.06.

The Finance Index rose 25.8 points to 13,413.51, the Plantation Index added 8.29 points to 8,445.22, while the Industrial Index advanced 12.99 points to 2,769.84.

The FBM Emas Index gained 23.851 points to 10,440.66, the FBM 70 Index jumped 30.399 points to 11,613.43, the FBMT100 Index was 21.771 points higher at 10,246.61 and the FBM Ace perked 19.33 points to 4,149.25.

Gainers thumped losers by 302 to 191 while 268 counters were unchanged, 727 untraded and 24 suspended. Turnover stood at 617.079 million shares worth RM377.513 million.

Two counters -- Jaks Resources Bhd and Inari Bhd -- were suspended during trading this morning. Jaks Resources, suspended from 10.10am, is expected to announce a proposed joint venture for an independent power plant project in Vietnam, while Inari, halted from trading since 10.42am, will also be making an announcement.

Leading the actives' list is Kumpulan Hartanah Selangor, tipped to be taken private by its major shareholder, Kumpulan Perangsang Selangor, saw its shares surging 10.5 sen to 47 sen, followed by Nextnation Communication Bhd, which earned one sen to 12.5 sen.

Meanwhile, Proton-CG:CW was up 7.5 sen to 55.5 sen after news on DRB-Hicom and General Motors Corp are keen on the national automaker's stakes.

Heavyweights, Maybank added one sen to RM8.24, Sime Darby was unchanged at RM9.06, while CIMB Group rose five sen to RM7.23 and Petronas Gas gained 30 sen to RM15.10. -- Bernama



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KPS, KHSB up on possible privatisation deal

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 9): Share of KUMPULAN PERANGSANG SELANGOR [] Bhd (KPS) and its subsidiary KUMPULAN HARTANAH SELANGOR BHD [] (KHSB) rose in active trade on expectations of a corporate exercise which could involve a privatisation.

At 11.37am, KPS was up 10 sen to RM1.15. There were 8.30 million shares done at prices ranging from RM1.06 to RM1.23.

KHSB added 10 sen also to 46.5 sen. There were 61.34 million shares transacted.

The FBM KLCI rose 2.51 points to 1,516.64. Turnover was 727.12 million shares done valued at RM521.91 million. There were 337 gainers, 210 losers and 281 stocks unchanged.

The Edge weekly reported KPS was looking to restructure the group with a possible eye on privatising KHSB. Both companies are Selangor government linked and the state is said to be looking to add value to the shareholders. KPS owns 56.57% in KHSB, whose core activity is property development and mining.



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KLCI stays lackluster at mid-morning as Asian markets fall

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 9): Trading on the FBM KLCI remained lackluster at mid-morning on Monday as lack of fresh local leads as well as negative external sentiment kept investors on the sidelines.

Asian shares fell as renewed gloom about the fallout from the European sovereign debt crisis overshadowed signs of vigour in the US economy, according to Reuters.

Data on Friday showed that while US employment growth accelerated last month, euro zone retail sales fell and economic sentiment soured at the end of 2011, pointing to recession in the currency bloc, it said.

The FBM KLCI shed 0.03 point to 1,514.10 at 10.10am.

Gainers led losers by 249 to 160, while 236 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 395.02 million shares valued at RM213.43 million.

At the regional markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 1.23% to 18,364.27, South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.31% to 1,818.92, Singapore’s Straits Times Index was down 1.03% to 2,687.49, Taiwan’s Taiex lost 0.77% to 7,065.53 and the Shanghai Composite Index shed 0.24% to 2,158.11.

Japan stock markets are closed for a national holiday.

BIMB Securities Research in a note Jan 9 said investors remained torn between US improving economic conditions and the “bubbling” undercurrent over in Europe.

As a result, Wall Street had a relatively mixed week before ending another 55 points lower amid a mixed performance from European bourses, it said.

The research house said that for this week, attention would be centred on corporate earnings for the 4Q11 in the US hence investors are expected to stay sidelined.

Taking lead from Europe’s weal opening, regional markets were rather mixed but the situation could be buoyed this week from signs that China has been easing its liquidity crunch with December’s loans growth higher than anticipated coupled with better M2 growth.

“In Malaysia, the FBM KLCI closed flat in tandem with regional performance.

“Unless there are fresh catalysts, we expect it to be another lacklustre performance. Immediate resistance is seen at 1,515 with 1,525 as the next level,” it said.

On Bursa Malaysia, Dutch Lady was the top gainer at mid-morning and was up 80 sen to RM26; Batu Kawan rose 42 sen to RM18.90, Harvest Court 32 sen to RM1.40, Can-One 19 sen to RM1.78, Hong Leong Bank 16 sen to RM10.92, Proton 15 sen to RM5.14, while Inno, Tradewinds PLANTATION []s and KPS added 12 sen each to RM1.48, RM4.45 and RM1.17 respectively.

Nextnation was the most actively traded counter with 27.4 million shares done. The stock added one sen to 12.5 en.

Other actives included KHSB, Takaso, DPS Gurney, DRB-Hicom, Proton and SYF Resources.

Meanwhile, decliners included Nestle, KLK, BLD Plantations, BAT, Parkson, Kian Jpp, Boxpak, Delloyd, Cepco and MMHE.



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KL shares close higher

Shares of the following companies had unusual moves in Malaysia trading. Stock symbols are in parentheses and prices are as of the close in Kuala Lumpur.

The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index advanced 0.6 per cent to 1,489.64, rising for a third day.

Cuscapi, a Malaysian software provider, fell 2.2 per cent to 44.5 sen after pricing its private placement at 43 sen a share, below the two-week average share price of 44.7 sen.

Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd, a Malaysian oil and gas industry investor, rose 2 per cent to 78 sen. The company was asked by the Kuala Lumpur stock exchange to explain a recent jump in its share price and trading volume. The stock increased 18 per cent yesterday. Hibiscus last month agreed to buy a 35 per cent stake in Lime Petroleum Plc for US$55 million.

KPS Consortium, which makes and trades paper products, rose 6.8 per cent to 31.5 sen as it plans to buy an office and a warehouse for RM9.8 million (US$3.15 million).

Kumpulan Jetson, a Malaysian builder, jumped 8.8 per cent to RM1.36, the most since March 23. The company plans to pay RM11 million to buy Asian Corporation Ltd, which owns Jetson Yangzhou, a maker of anti-vibration products for China’s car market.

Sanichi Technology Bhd, a Malaysian precision moulds and toolings company, increased 5.6 per cent to 9.5 sen, the highest close since Aug. 4. Sanichi confirmed that a German company called Protev had completed the first phase of a due diligence before buying a stake in the group.

Yung Kong Galvanising Industries Bhd, a manufacturer of steel products, dropped 4.6 per cent to 41.5 sen after reporting a net loss in the third quarter of RM4.7 million (US$1.5 million), compared with a profit of RM1.8 million a year earlier. -- Bloomberg