Bursa Securities dismisses appeal by Maxbiz, to be delisted on Monday

KUALA LUMPUR (March 21): Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd has dismissed the appeal of MAXBIZ CORPORATION BHD [] and will delist the securities on Monday, March 26.

The stock exchange said on Wednesday that it considered all the facts and matters and decided to dismiss Maxbiz’s appeal.

“Accordingly, the securities of Maxbiz will be removed from the Official List of Bursa Securities on Monday, March 26, 2012,” it said.

Bursa Securities said the securities of Maxbiz currently deposited with Bursa Malaysia Depository Sdn Bhd, may remain deposited with Bursa Depository notwithstanding the de-listing of the securities from the Official List of Bursa Securities.

“It is not mandatory for the securities of a company which has been de-listed to be withdrawn from Bursa Depository,” it said.

It also said shareholders who intend to hold their securities in the form of physical certificates can withdraw these securities from their Central Depository System (CDS) accounts with Bursa Depository, at any time after the securities of the company is de-listed.

Bursa Securities said upon the de-listing of Maxbiz, it wouldl continue to exist but as an unlisted entity.

“Maxbiz is still able to continue the company’s operations and business and proceed with the company’s corporate restructuring and the shareholders can still be rewarded by the company's performance. However, the shareholders will be holding shares which are no longer quoted and traded on Bursa Securities,” it said.



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Maxbiz delisting deferred after appeal submitted

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 14): Bursa Malaysia Securities has deferred the delisting of MAXBIZ CORPORATION BHD [] after the company submitted an appeal to the regulator on Feb 10.

Maxbiz said on Monday the appeal was against the regulator’s application to reject the company’s application for an extension of time to submit its regularisation plan.

“As such, the removal of the securities of the company from the Official List of Bursa Securities on Feb 16, 2012 shall be deferred pending the decision on the appeal,” it said.



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Maxbiz to submit application against Bursa’s proposed delisting plan

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 3): MAXBIZ CORPORATION BHD [], which faces suspension on Feb 14 and de-listing on Feb 16, says it will file an appeal to Bursa Malaysia Securities.

“The board intends to submit an application to Bursa Securities to appeal against Bursa Securities’ decision to remove the securities of the company from the Official List of Bursa Securities,” it said in a statement on Friday.

On Feb 2, Bursa Securities informed that Maxbiz had failed to submit a regularisation plan to the Securities Commission or Bursa Securities for approval within 12 months from the company’s first announcement under the Main Market Listing Requirements of Bursa Securities, which was on or before Jan 17.

Maxbiz's application for an extension of time to submit the regularisation plan was rejected.

Bursa Securities then cautioned the company that trading in its securities would be suspended from Feb 14 and de-listed on Feb 16 “unless an appeal is submitted to Bursa Securities on or before Feb 13”.

The regulator had also stated that any appeal submitted after the appeal timeframe would not be considered by Bursa Securities. However, if the company submitted an appeal to Bursa Securities within the appeal timeframe, the removal of the securities of the company on Feb 16 would be deferred pending the decision on the company’s appeal.



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Maxbiz active, down after Bursa Securities rejects application for time extension

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 3): MAXBIZ CORPORATION BHD [] shares fell on Friday after the company’s application for extension of time to submit the regularisation plan to the authorities was rejected by Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd.

At 9.05am, Maxbiz fell four sen to 5 sen with 7.31 million shares traded.

“The board is currently deliberating on the decision made by Bursa Securities and will announce the next course of action in due course,” the company said on Thursday.

Earlier, a Bursa Securities circular said trading of Maxbiz’s securities faces the threat of suspension from Feb 14 unless it can submit an appeal before Feb 13.

A Bursa Malaysia Securities circular said on Thursday that Maxbiz failed to submit its regularisation plan to the Securities Commission or Bursa Securities Bhd for approval within the timeframe stipulated.

Maxbiz, could still however, submit an appeal to Bursa Securities on or before Feb 13. Any appeal submitted after the appeal timeframe would not be considered by Bursa Securities.



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Stocks to watch: MBSB, Maxbiz, Hibiscus, DBE Gurney

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 3): Trading volume on Bursa Malaysia could taper off on Friday, ahead of another four-day holiday next week.

Traders and investors could be seeking to square off their positions on Friday rather than wait for the market to resume trading on Feb 8 amid concerns about the euro debt issue, though it seem to be showing much progress.

European shares steadied after hitting a six-month high on Thursday as strong gains in miners on merger talks between Xstrata and Glencore were offset by a sell-off in defensives, with Unilever down on poor outlook.

Reuters reported analysts saying this week's key economic indicators could set the market's near-term direction, as encouraging numbers after recent upbeat global manufacturing data might cement the view that the global economy was gradually recovering.

On Thursday, trading volume was high on Bursa Malaysia with nearly 2.6 billion units transacted in a market which also saw active trade in smaller capitalised stocks.

Among the stocks which could see trading interest are MALAYSIA BUILDING SOCIETY BHD [] (MBSB), MAXBIZ CORPORATION BHD [], Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd, DBE Gurney Resources Bhd and KNUSFORD BHD [].

MBSB posted a stellar set of earnings in the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2011, with net profit up 554% to RM83.82 million from RM12.81 million a year ago. Its earnings were boosted by higher net income from Islamic banking operations via the expansion of personal financing and also lower taxation. Profit before taxation and zakat was RM101.19 million compared with RM72.43 million.

For FY ended Dec 31, 2011, its earnings jumped 122.8% to RM325.43 million from RM146.02 million in FY10. Its revenue rose 64.8% to RM1.269 billion from RM769.94 million.

Maxbiz Corporation Bhd said it was informed by Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd that the latter had rejected its application for extension of time to submit the regularisation plan to the authorities.

“The board is currently deliberating on the decision made by Bursa Securities and will announce the next course of action in due course,” it said.

Earlier, a Bursa Securities circular said trading of Maxbiz’s securities faces the threat of suspension from Feb 14 unless it can submit an appeal before Feb 13.

A Bursa Malaysia Securities circular said on Thursday that Maxbiz failed to submit its regularisation plan to the Securities Commission or Bursa Securities Bhd for approval within the timeframe stipulated.

Maxbiz, could still however, submit an appeal to Bursa Securities on or before Feb 13. Any appeal submitted after the appeal timeframe would not be considered by Bursa Securities.

Hibiscus Petroleum clarified it posted net losses of RM1.27 million for the quarter ended Sept 30, 2011 instead of net profit.

In its amended financial statements, it said the net losses were due to the higher expenditure. It also said it posted net losses of RM13,000 in the quarter ended Sept 30, 2010 instead of a net profit of RM13,000.

DBE Gurney Resources announced its group managing director Ding Seng Huat disposed of 32 million shares or 4.75% stake for 11.56 sen each on Thursday.

Knusford Bhd’s associate CBD Development Sdn Bhd secured two contracts from the Johor state economic planning unit to undertake the transformation plan for the state capital.

Knusford said CBD received a letter regarding the transformation of Johor Bahru central district and the relocation of the city hawkers to a new building.

CBC Development would be appointed master developer for the transformation project, which would also hinge on a detailed proposal and business model.



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Maxbiz has until Feb 13 to submit appeal or face suspension

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 2): Trading of MAXBIZ CORPORATION BHD []’s securities faces the threat of suspension from Feb 14 unless it can submit an appeal before Feb 13.

A Bursa Malaysia Securities circular said on Thursday that Maxbiz failed to submit its regularisation plan to the Securities Commission or Bursa Securities Bhd for approval within the timeframe stipulated.

Maxbiz, could still however, submit an appeal to Bursa Securities on or before Feb 13.

Any appeal submitted after the appeal timeframe would not be considered by Bursa Securities.

“In the event the company submits an appeal to Bursa Securities within the appeal timeframe, the removal of the securities of the company from the Official List of Bursa Securities on Feb 16, shall be deferred pending the decision on the company’s appeal,” it said.

Bursa Securities said upon the de-listing, the company would continue to exist but as an unlisted entity.

“The company is still able to continue its operations and business and proceed with its corporate restructuring and its shareholders can still be rewarded by the company’s performance. However, the shareholders will be holding shares which are no longer quoted and traded on Bursa Securities,” it said.



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Maxbiz expects 5% to 15% profit margin from fibre network connection project

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 27): MAXBIZ CORPORATION BHD [] expects profit margin of between 5% and 15% from the fibre network connection (FTTx) project, estimated to cost RM5,100 for each connection to a house and office.

The company, queried by Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd several times over its announcement of a letter of intent (LOI) for the project totaling RM510 million from Fibre-N Sdn Bhd (FNSB), had on Friday provided the possible profit margins.

“The LOI that was received by Maxbiz states 100,000 FTTx homes and office connections and the price per connection is RM5,100 hence the amount of RM510 million is derived, the contract value would be determined when the LOI becomes a letter of award (LOA),” it said.

FTTx is a broadband network architecture using optical fibre to replace all or part of the usual metal local loop used for the last mile telecommunications.

On Jan 9, Maxbiz said FNSB had a contract for 100,000 FTTx connections and the LOI was for Maxbiz to be one of companies developing the fibre network connection project.

Maxbiz had then stated it received a LOI and it would be working towards converting it to a LOA.

In the latest announcement, Maxbiz said it would be informed of the actual number of connections upon confirmation by FNSB after the submissions expected in February 2012.

“Based on quotations from similar projects, and the price of RM5,100 a profit margin 5% to 15% is acheivable, 5% being the lowest and the 15% being the best case scenario.

“The profit margin is dependent on the logistics, if the buildings assigned are in close proximity to each other, the profit margin would be better because of the time and labour factor,” it said.

Maxbiz said that as at any start of a project, the cost of equipment or rental would lower the profits but with the continuation of the project, the margin was expected to increase due to re-utilisation of the sub-contractors and materials.

“Maxbiz expects to complete the study and submission to FNSB by the end of February 2012. The company is already engaged in discussions with FNSB on the project and is on-going,” it said.



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Stocks to watch: SapuraCrest, Can-One, XDL, Maxbiz, JCY

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 6): The local stock market could see some intermittent profit taking activities on Friday as investors lock in their gains ahead of the weekend.

European shares were lower early Thursday afternoon, led by bank stocks on concerns about their financial health and as sovereign yields rose across the region after a French debt auction.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 0.8 percent at 1,012.78 points, with Italy's FTSE MIB index down 3.2 percent and France's CAC-40 down 1.1 percent.

The uncertain external developments could see investors taking a more cautious stance despite the firmer close of the broader market on Thursday.

Concerns would for stocks which had run-up in the absence of positive corporate developments like Can-One, Box-Pak and BOUSTEAD HEAVY INDUSTRIES CORP [] (BHIC).

The FBM KLCI surged 10.21 points to close at 1,514.43, with KL Kepong surging RM1.76 to RM25.26. Turnover was 1.67 billion shares valued at RM1.46 billion. Advancers beat decliners 467 to 325 while 324 stocks were unchanged.

Can-One, whose share price surged 31 sen to close at RM1.37 with 6.95 million shares done, replied to a Bursa Malaysia Securities query that there were no factors for the unusual market activity.

Box-Pak could see profit taking, after rising 26 sen to RM2.52, despite earlier announcements that there was no plan to privatise it.

BHIC, which gained 26 sen to RM4.11, could also see a retracement in the share price after it clarified that it had not received any indication or direction from its shareholders about any major acquisition of shares in the company which might include potential privatisation.

However, on a positive note, SAPURACREST PETROLEUM BHD [] had secured two contracts worth combined US$227 million (RM712.78 million) to build two units pipelay cum heavylift offshore CONSTRUCTION [] vessels.

Its unit TL Offshore Sdn Bhd had finalised the contracts with Cosco (Nantong) Shipyard Co. Ltd. SapuraCrest said both parties had agreed that the contract be effective from Sept 10, 2011.

In XiDeLang Holdings Ltd (XDL), the company said Navis Capital has approached the former’s major shareholder Hong Peng International Holdings Ltd to acquire its stake.

The British Virgin Islands’ registered Hong Peng owns 240 million XDL shares or 60% as at Nov 11, 2009.

MAXBIZ CORPORATION BHD [] said the contract value of the letter of intent (LOI) of RM510 million from Fibre-N Sdn Bhd was based on the infrastructure works of RM5,100 per connection.

Maxbiz said the LOI was for the fibre-to-the-home and fibre-to-the-office (FTTX) infrastructure works for 100,000 connections to high- rise residential and office buildings in Klang Valley, Penang and Johor Bahru.

LION CORPORATION BHD [] has received Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd’s approval to list up to 950 million new shares to settle the overdue amount owed by its 79% owned Megasteel Sdn Bhd.

JCY International Bhd might extend its gains from Thursday after the company’s recent statement it was likely to record a surge in earnings for the quarter ended Dec 31, 2011.

CIMB Research had stated said JCY’s profit guidance for the December quarter was even better than its already-above-consensus estimate.

It expected JCY’s positive earnings momentum to continue for at least the next two to three quarters and should catalyse a rerating of the stock.

“The favourable impact of a higher ASP, better product mix and stronger US$ prompts us to revise our above-industry forecasts again for FY12-14. “This raises our target price to RM1.54, still based on 6x CY13 P/E. Maintain Trading Buy,” it said.



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Maxbiz: RM510m LOI based on RM5,100 per connection to 100,000 homes, office

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 5): MAXBIZ CORPORATION BHD [] says the contract value of the letter of intent (LOI) of RM510 million from Fibre-N Sdn Bhd was based on the infrastructure works of RM5,100 per connection.

Maxbiz said on Thursday the LOI was for the fibre-to-the-home and fibre-to-the-office (FTTX) infrastructure works for 100,000 connections to high- rise residential and office buildings in Klang Valley, Penang and Johor Bahru.

“By way of comparison, TELEKOM MALAYSIA BHD []’s cost for the High Speed Broad Band (HSBB) project of a similar nature was stated as RM11.3 billion for 1.3 million connections, spanning over 10 years,” it said.

In its reply to a query from Bursa Malaysia Securities that Fibre-N had undertaken to deploy one million homes specifically in multi-tenanted buildings (high rise condominium and office buildings) over three to five years.

Fibre-N is a fibre optic cabling turnkey contractor for both in-building cabling works and roadside cable laying works. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Open Fibre Sdn Bhd and the directors are Ranjeet Singh Sidhu and Hasniza Hashim.

Maxbiz said the overall cost of the project based on Fibre-N’s current rate of RM5,100 per connection was RM510 million.

However, this included both out-plant works and in-plant works and also related scope of works such as project management, site survey works, testing & commissioning.



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Maxbiz jumps on RM510m job

KUALA LUMPUR: Maxbiz Corp Bhd was yesterday’s third most active stock as investors chased the stock higher after it bagged infrastructure work contracts worth over RM510 million.

Maxbiz rose 12.9% or two sen to close at 17.5 sen yesterday, the highest since January last year, with over 52.7 million shares traded. The stock rose to as high as 19 sen intra-day after the company said it received a letter of intent from Fibre-N Sdn Bhd for a fibre-to-the-home and fibre-to-the-office contract for 100,000 high-rise buildings in Klang Valley, Penang and Johor Bahru worth RM510 million.

In a statement to Bursa Malaysia yesterday, Maxbiz also said its wholly-owned Dutamas SME Sdn Bhd had received a letter of award for an infrastructure works job worth RM4.94 million from Harta Mesra Development Sdn Bhd for a development in Ipoh, Perak. No other details were provided for the contracts that Maxbiz expect to positively boost earnings for FY ending Dec 31, 2012.

A Practice Note 17 (PN17) issuer, Maxbiz has two weeks to submit its regularisation plan for authorities’ approval, unless it is granted a three-month extension from the Jan 18, 2012 deadline. The request for extension was submitted yesterday.

Maxbiz, which took over the listing status of Geahin Engineering Bhd via a reverse takeover exercise, is still trying to recover what it alleged to be “missing” assets. In late June 2011, Maxbiz filed a suit against 18 defendants including accounting firm Ernst & Young, Public Investment Bank Bhd and Pacific Trustees Bhd. Maxbiz is claiming damages to the tune of RM163.48 million from the defendants along with general and exemplary damages, interest, legal costs and other relief deemed proper by the court.

Maxbiz, which is also categorised as a Practice Note 1 (PN1) issuer, is also in default on RM3 million of redeemable unsecured loan stocks (RULS) and RM22.62 million of redeemable convertible secured loan stocks (RCSLS).

In a separate filing yesterday, Maxbiz said the trial date for a suit involving its wholly-owned unit MKK Industries Sdn Bhd against Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) has been fixed on Feb 24. On Dec 23, 2011, Maxbiz said MKK is claiming RM1.3 million (the amount overpaid to TNB due to TNB installing the wrong meter), damages, and costs and other relief.

For its 3QFY11 ended September, Maxbiz said its revenue decreased by almost 98% compared with the preceding quarter last year, as operations were suspended due to a dispute with TNB. Maxbiz posted a revenue of RM52,000 in 3QFY11 compared with RM2.83 million a year ago. It posted a net loss of RM1.33 million compared with a net loss of RM1.95 million last year.



This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, January 4, 2012.



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KL shares wring gains at midday

Share prices on Bursa Malaysia remained in positive territory at mid-day today, despite gains being capped by selected finance and property counters, dealers said.

As at the end of the morning session, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 1.21 points to 1,514.75, after opening 4.15 points lower at 1,517.69.

The economic data from major markets have been encouraging, thus bolstering investor sentiments globally, dealers said.

On the local front, investors were cautious over concerns on the eurozone debt crisis.

The Finance Index fell 14.86 points to 13,446.37, the Plantation Index gained 95.18 points to 8,313.62 and the Industrial Index was up 4.72 points to 2,743.06.

The FBM Emas Index advanced 10.35 points to 10,427.64, the FBM Mid 70 Index added 8.12 points to 11,660.45 while the FBM Ace Index advanced 37.06 points to 4,116.71.

Gainers beat losers by 377 to 267 with 306 counters unchanged, 524 untraded and 17 suspended. Turnover stood at 958.424 million shares worth RM782.151 million.

The actives were led by Ho Wah Genting-WB, which gained 6.5 sen to 32 sen, Ho Wah Genting added six sen to 41 sen and Maxbiz was flat at 17.5 sen.

Among heavyweights, Maybank lost three sen to RM8.31, Sime Darby erased four sen to RM9.06, CIMB lost one sen to RM7.23 while Petronas Chemicals added three sen to RM6.22. -- Bernama



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Stocks to watch: Maybank, OSKVI, LBS Bina, Maxbiz

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 4): Stocks on Bursa Malaysia could open on a firmer note on Wednesday as sentiment would be underpinned by firmer external events.

Overnight on Tuesday, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 179.82 points, or 1.47 percent, to 12,397.38. The S&P 500 Index added 19.46 points, or 1.55 percent, to 1,277.06. The Nasdaq Composite gained 43.57 points, or 1.67 percent, to 2,648.72.

The US market's rise was foreshadowed by a large jump in stock index futures after weekend data showed China, the world's largest consumer of metals, avoided economic contraction in December.

Though the FBM KLCI closed down 1.12% or 17.19 points to 1,513.54 on Tuesday, weighed by losses at banking and key blue chips, the broader market was steadier with gainers leading losers by 446 to 325.

Wall Street opened higher as better-than-expected Chinese and German data boosted optimism about the global economy, according to Reuters.

Among the stocks which could see trading interest are MALAYAN BANKING BHD [], OSK VENTURES INTERNATIONAL BHD [] (OSKVI), LBS Bina Bhd and MAXBIZ CORPORATION BHD [].

Maybank has been given a further extension until June 1, 2012 to sell down its stake in PT Bank Internasional Indonesia Tbk (BII).

Maybank had received a letter, dated Dec 27, from Indonesia’s Badan Pengawas Pasar Modal dan Lembaga Keuangan (Bapepam) where the latter had given it more time to undertake the corporate exercise. Maybank owns 97.5% of BII which it had acquired in 2008.

OSK HOLDINGS BHD [] director Ong Leong Huat @ Wong Joo Hwa has been buying shares of OSK Ventures International Bhd. He bought 930,000 shares on Dec 27 at 31 sen a piece and 600,000 shares the next day at an average price of 30.1 sen.

The recent acquisitions raised his direct shareholding in OSKVI to 25.86% or 50.62 million shares.

LBS BINA GROUP BHD [] is targeting RM1 billion annual property sales target in the near term as the company focuses on the various segments of the residential market apart from commercial and industrial PROPERTIES [].

Managing director Datuk Lim Hock San said LBS was expected to achieve property sales of RM800 million and RM 950 million in the financial year ending Dec 2012 and 2013 respectively.

Maxbiz has received a letter of intent (LOI) in respect of a fibre-to-the-home and fibre-to-the-office (FTTX) contract worth RM510 million.

The company had received the LOI from Fiber-N Sdn Bhd on Dec 30, 2011 for the infrastructure works for 100,000 FTTX connections on high rise residential and office buildings in Klang Valley, Penang and Johor Bahru.

ESTHETICS INTERNATIONAL GROUP [] Bhd’s rights issue of 52.80 million new shares and 52.80 million free detachable warrants were undersubscribed by 28%.



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Maxbiz gets letter of intent for FTTX infrastructure works worth RM510m

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 3): MAXBIZ CORPORATION BHD [] has received a letter of intent (LOI) in respect of a fibre-to-the-home and fibre-to-the-office (FTTX) contract worth RM510 million.

The company said on Tuesday that it had received the LOI from Fiber-N Sdn Bhd on Dec 30, 2011 for the infrastructure works for 100,000 FTTX connections on high rise residential and office buildings in Klang Valley, Penang and Johor Bahru.

Meanwhile, the company also said its unit Dutamas SME had received a letter of award for infrastructure works for a project in Ipoh worth RM4.94 million from Harta Mesra Development Sdn Bhd.

It said the contracts were expected to contribute positively to its earnings for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2012.



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Maxbiz gets 2 contracts worth RM515m

Maxbiz Corporation Bhd's wholly-owned subsidiary, Dutamas SME Sdn Bhd, has secured a RM4.935 million contract, from Harta Mesra Development Sdn Bhd, to undertake phase 1A of infrastructure works for a proposed development in Klebang, Perak.

The company also received a letter of intent from Fibre-N Sdn Bhd, in respect of a RM510 million contract for the Fibre-to-the-Home and Fibre-to-the-Office (FTTX) Infrastructure Works, for 100,000 FTTX connections on high-rise residential and office buildings in Klang Valley, Penang and Johor Baru. -- Bernama



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Market Commentary

The FBM KLCI index gained 6.97 points or 0.48% on Monday. The Finance Index increased 0.51% to 13007.11 points, the Properties Index up 1.41% to 957.51 points and the Plantation Index rose 0.85% to 7927.41 points. The market traded within a range of 10.82 points between an intra-day high of 1474.55 and a low of 1463.73 during the session.

Actively traded stocks include UTOPIA-WA, PROTON-CG, SANICHI, UTOPIA, COMPUGT, PROTON-CH, LFECORP, PROTON-CI, DRBHCOM-CI and FLONIC. Trading volume increased to 1595.73 mil shares worth RM1129.18 mil as compared to Friday’s 1296.67 mil shares worth RM1057.03 mil.

Leading Movers were GENTING (+20 sen to RM10.82), CIMB (+6 sen to RM6.95), IOICORP (+6 sen to RM5.10), AMMB (+12 sen to RM5.86) and PETCHEM (+8 sen to RM6.08). Lagging Movers were MISC (-20 sen to RM5.60), TENAGA (-3 sen to RM5.50), DIGI (-1 sen to RM3.68), MAXIS (-1 sen to RM5.48) and HLFG (-6 sen to RM11.42). Market breadth was negative with 357 gainers as compared to 362 losers. -- JF Apex Securities Bhd



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Near two-year record in UMA

KUALA LUMPUR: With penny stock spurts resulting in nine queries in half a month, November is turning out to be a record month for so-called unusual market activity (UMA) queries.

With three queries issued yesterday to SYF Resources Bhd, DPS Resources Bhd and Flonic Hi-Tech Bhd, it is now one query away from the record 10 Bursa Malaysia issued for October 2009, filings show.

Yesterday’s fifth most actively traded stock, SYF saw over 102.6 million shares, a whopping 60% of its share base, traded on the open market, even as investors chased the stock to its highest level in over five years.

In its reply to the stock exchange, SYF, which manufactures rubberwood furniture, said it is in the final stages of negotiations for the joint development of properties with “landowners who are mainly related parties”.

The company — which on Oct 25 was lifted from Practice Note 1 status following a cash call and debt restructuring exercise — also cited a recent media report that a son of a senior government official will soon be joining its board, which it did not confirm or deny.

Closing at 92 sen yesterday, the loss-making furniture maker gained 25 sen or 37.31% for the day, but was off an intra-day high of 97 sen. Its warrants, SYF-WA, made it to the eighth spot on the top gainers’ list yesterday, after gaining 30 sen to close at 65 sen.

Another usually quiet counter -- another rubberwood furniture maker -- DPS Resources Bhd was also queried after the closing bell yesterday.

More than 100% of its share base changed hands yesterday, making it the most actively traded counter with over 266 million shares transacted.

The stock surged as much as 19.5 sen or 144.4% to 33 sen intra-day yesterday before settling at 31 sen. That was still more than double last Friday’s 13.5 sen close, with a more than 10 times jump in volume yesterday, though trading interest has gone up since last Thursday.

On Sept 27, DPS welcomed to its boardroom Datuk Tahir Hassan, 62, who has 32 years experience in the civil service.

He is currently a member of the Melaka state legislative assembly. Executive director Datin Chu Kim Guek sold 1.21 million shares at 13.5 sen apiece on Nov 11, filings dated Nov 14 showed. She is the wife of DPS chairman and managing director Datuk Sow Chin Chuan.

DPS and Flonic had yet to reply to the query at the time of writing.

Closing at 28 sen yesterday, Flonic, which began seeing increased trading interest on Nov 3, has gained 87% over seven market days from its 15 sen close on Nov 2. Its volume of 35.3 million shares yesterday was about 25% its share base.

Flonic is a manufacturer of precision cleaning systems for hard disk drives and other industries.

Harvest Court Industries Bhd, meanwhile, in which investors have been warned to exercise care when trading its shares, continued to climb yesterday to reach its highest since May 2000.

Gaining 29% or 48 sen to close at RM2.13, Harvest Court, which was still a penny stock just a week ago, is already 28 times the 7.5 sen it closed at seven weeks ago on Sept 27.

Stoking interest was the emergence of a new shareholder and director, Datuk Raymond Chan, the controlling shareholder of Sagajuta (Sabah) Sdn Bhd, which is awarding projects to the company. Chan was appointed to Harvest’s board on the same day as 28-year old Mohd Nazifuddin Najib, the prime minister’s second son.

Others that have been queried so far this month are Emico Holdings Bhd, Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd, Sanichi Technology Bhd, GPRO Technologies Bhd and Maxbiz Corp Bhd.


This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, November 15, 2011.



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SC: Actively-traded stocks under watch

Over the recent weeks, several stocks, including penny shares, outperformed the best performing FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI component stock by multiple fold.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Securities Commission (SC) says it is monitoring actively-traded stocks to ensure fair and orderly market.

"In the discharge of our regulatory obligations, the SC vigilantly monitors all counters and price movements to ensure a fair and orderly market," said an SC spokesperson.

Over the recent weeks, several stocks, including penny shares, were in the limelight. A number of them outperformed the best performing FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI component stock by multiple fold.

Petronas Dagangan Bhd, the best-performing FBM KLCI component stock, has been rising 40 per cent so far this year. In contrast, the likes of Harvest Court Industries Bhd, Envair Bhd and GPRO Technologies Bhd gained between 175 per cent and over 500 per cent year-to-date.

Bursa Malaysia is also doing its best to keep the market in order.

So far this month, four companies have been queried for "unusual market activities" by Bursa. They are Harvest Court, GPRO, Maxbiz Corp and Sanichi Technology.

The SC said it is also looking into the activities of local and foreign investors, as well as detecting any unusual market activities for all transactions.

For example, GPRO, over the last two to three months, saw the emergence of Christian Kwok-Leun Yau Heilesen, who now owns almost 25 per cent of the company.

Heilesen was a controversial figure after the DVM Technology incident, where he, along with another foreign investor, had bought a substantial stake in the company and asked for an extraordinary general meeting to seek the removal of several directors including its founder. However, Heilesen disposed of his entire stake in DVM about a week later.

"The SC has its own market surveillance system to monitor and detect any irregular or unusual market activities for all transactions, be they local or foreign investors.

"The SC then reviews these transactions to determine if any further action is required," it said.

GPRO, Maxbiz get UMA query

KUALA LUMPUR: The spike in the share prices of Maxbiz Corp Bhd and GPRO Technologies Bhd prompted Bursa Malaysia to query the two companies on the unusual market activity (UMA).

GPRO was the most actively traded stock yesterday, bucking the downtrend on the broad market with a gain of about 29%. The stock hit an intra-day high of 25.5 sen before retreating to close at a six-year high of 24.5 sen yesterday. Some 47.9 million shares changed hands yesterday.

Shortly after the opening bell, Maxbiz surged 83% or 7.5 sen to an intraday high of 16.5 sen from Monday’s closing price of 9 sen.

Maxbiz ended 33.3% higher to 12 sen, the highest level since March. About 33.9 million shares were traded yesterday, making it the third most active counter on Bursa.

In reply to Bursa yesterday, both Maxbiz and GPRO said their boards were not aware of any material activities that would have contributed to the UMA yesterday.

Interestingly, the two companies recently saw some movements in their boardrooms.

Last Friday, garment maker Maxbiz told Bursa it had appointed two new directors — Datuk Mohamad Taufik Omar and Wong Kam Wah.

GPRO's RFID solutions for garment professionals.
GPRO has been in the red since FY05 ended Dec 31.

A director at Vasseti Bhd, Taufik was made chairman and audit committee chairman of Maxbiz while Wong was appointed executive director. Wong is currently managing director of Container Link Sdn Bhd and Serai Makmur Container Depot Sdn Bhd.

Maxbiz is still bidding to recover what it alleges are “missing” assets after it took over the listing status of Geahin Engineering Bhd via a reverse takeover exercise.

In late June, Maxbiz filed suit against 18 defendants including accounting firm Ernst & Young, Public Investment Bank Bhd and Pacific Trustees Bhd.

The PN17 firm Maxbiz is claiming damages to the tune of RM163.48 million from the defendants along with general and exemplary damages, interest, legal costs and other relief deemed proper by the court.

Maxbiz, which is also categorised as PN1, defaulted on RM3 million of redeemable unsecured loan stocks (RULS) and RM22.62 million of redeemable convertible secured loan stocks (RCSLS)

GPRO, which develops IT solutions for textile and apparel manufacturers, on Oct 14 appointed Christian Kwok-Leun Yau Heilesen executive director.

Shares in GPRO have been heavily traded since early September after Heilesen surfaced as a substantial shareholder in the company.

It is not known what the new shareholder has in the pipeline for GRPO.

But the stock has gained nearly 160% or 15 sen after Heilesin bought into the ACE Market-listed firm, whose market capitalisation was only RM20 million at end-August.

Heilesen, who is founder and CEO of Funmobile Holding Ltd (a Hong Kong-based mobile content developer), has increased his stake in GPRO to 24.89% on Oct 15 from 15.29% oan Sept 12.

Coincidentally, GPRO’s single largest shareholder Vital Research Sdn Bhd had substantially reduced its stake to 10.79% on Sept 8 from about 20% in March.

Its executive chairman Tang Tiong Seng, who held interest via Vital Research, has also trimmed his indirect stake in the company from 14.92% on Sept 6 to 0.12% on Sept 13.

This is the second ACE Market- listed loss-making company that Heilesen has bought into in less than two months. The first was DVM Technology Bhd, which he later sold down under three weeks.

GPRO has been in the red since FY05 ended Dec 31. For the six months ended June 30, it incurred a net loss of RM1.34 million or 0.54 sen per share, compared with RM1.59 million or 0.64 sen per share a year earlier. Revenue was at RM503,000 versus RM246,000 a year ago.


This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, November 2, 2011.

KL shares end lower on profit-taking

KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices on Bursa Malaysia ended sharply lower today on profit-taking amid the uncertainty in the short-term market outlook, dealers said.

The FBM KLCI fell 16.25 points, or 1.1 per cent, to close at 1,475.64, after opening 7.76 points lower at 1,484.13.

The benchmark index hovered between 1,474.61 and 1,485.9 as continuous selling pressure dragged it into negative territory.

Dealers said the market started the new trading month on broadly weaker sentiment led by the consumer and services sectors.

The manufacturing sector was also affected after the release of weak manufacturing figures from China.

China's purchasing managers index for October fell to 50.4 in October from 51.2, reflecting the slow pace of China's manufacturing expansion.

TA Securities senior technical analyst, Stephen Soo, said the market has reached 'overbought' position after a strong rally, so profit-taking was not a surprise.

"The investors also took their cues from Wall Street's losses due to weak leads from European markets as Greece government announced that the country would hold a referendum on a new aid package," he told Bernama here today.

The overall market sentiment was negative with losers led gainers by 583 to 198 while 213 counters were unchanged, 476 untraded and 20 others suspended.

Trading was moderate with a volume of 1.19 billion shares worth RM1.29 billion compared with 1.33 billion shares worth RM1.58 billion yesterday.

The Finance Index fell 60.83 points to 13,433.37, Industrial Index eased 33.40 points to 2,692.24 and the Plantation Index dropped 80.34 points to 7,484.96.

The FBM Emas decreased 116.61 points to 10,052.71 and the FBM 70 Index declined 148.39 points to 10,806.78.

The FBMT100 fell 114.42 points to 9,873.79 and the FBM Ace Index slipped 48.07 points to 3,983.37.

Among losers, Panasonic Manufacturing fell 32 sen to RM19.70, Litrak dropped 17 sen to RM3.47 and Innoprise Plantations slipped 15 sen to RM1.35.

Of the actives, GPRO rose 5.5 sen to 24.5 sen, MBSB-Wa increased half sen to 91 sen and Maxbiz gained three sen to 12 sen.

Among top gainers, F&N rose 20 sen to RM17.20, Hong Leong Bank increased 12 sen to RM10.72 and Jaya Tiasa added 11 sen to RM5.82.

In heavyweights, Maybank gained one sen to RM8.37, CIMB lost eight sen to RM7.49 and Sime Darby was down five sen to RM8.85.

Volume on the Main Market decreased to 916.54 million shares valued at RM1.25 billion from 1.06 billion shares valued at RM1.54 billion on Monday.

Turnover on the ACE market increased to 166.23 million units worth RM27.52 million from 156.02 million units worth RM26.49 million previously.

Warrants slipped to 107.83 million shares valued at RM10.16 million from 111 million units valued at RM8.38 million yesterday.

Consumer products accounted for 64.55 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products 212.6 million, construction 47.63 million, trade and services 271.32 million, technology 36.63 million, infrastructure 16.4 million, finance 136.63 million, hotels 458,600, properties 91.7 million, plantation 28.79 million, mining 33,000, REITs 2.49 million and closed/fund 27,000. - Bernama

KL shares lower at mid-afternoon

Share prices on Bursa Malaysia remained lower at mid-afternoon today as the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) failed to sustain its position, sliding due to profit-taking activities, dealers said.

As at 3.10pm, the benchmark index declined 11.21 points to 1,480.68, after opening 7.76 points lower at 1,484.13.

Volume stood at 740.35 million shares worth RM663.38 million, with losers leading gainers 453 to 190 with 233 others unchanged and 594 untraded.

The Finance Index fell 62.48 points to 13,431.72, the Plantation Index declined 51.82 points to 7,513.48 and the Industrial Index lost 18.5 points to 2,707.14.

The FBM Emas Index decreased 75.261 points to 10,094.06, the FBM Mid 70 Index fell 94.29 points to 10,860.89 and the FBM Ace ndex declined 7.13 points to 4,024.31.

Among active stocks, GPRO added 5.5 sen to 24.5 sen, Maxbiz gained 4 sen to 13 sen and MBSB-Wa rose 1 sen to 91.5 sen.

For the heavyweights, Maybank decreased 1 sen to RM8.35, CIMB fell 8 sen to RM7.89 and Sime Darby declined 3 sen to RM8.87. -- Bernama