KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 23): Stocks on Bursa Malaysia will have to take their cue from the European and US markets in the holiday-shortened trading week, starting on Wednesday.
Trading activity is expected to see lower trading volume as most traders and investors take leave for the Chinese New Year holidays.
In Europe on Monday, fresh signs that a deal may be reached on a Greek debt restructuring, as euro zone finance ministers prepared to decide on acceptable terms for approving further bailout funds.
Reuters reported demand picked up after French Finance Minister Francois Baroin told journalists in Paris that a deal with private sector investors about resolving Greece's debt crisis was taking shape.
However, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, at the same event, said he wanted a second bailout programme for Greece to be in place by March.
Nonetheless, with Bursa Malaysia only reopening on Wednesday, investors would be watching closely the developments unfolding, mainly in Europe on Tuesday.
At Bursa Malaysia, among the stocks to watch include RAMUNIA HOLDINGS BHD [], SCOMI ENGINEERING BHD [], MULTI-PURPOSE HOLDINGS BHD [] (MPHB) and SILVER BIRD GROUP BHD []
Ramunia was given a new lease of life following Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd’s approval for its proposed regularisation plan which includes a rights issue. The regulator had agreed to the cancellation of 25 sen of the par value of the existing shares of 50 sen each.
Last Friday, the company announced Bursa Securities also agreed to the proposed renounceable rights issue of up to 391.44 million shares of 25 sen each at an indicative price of 40 sen per share on the basis of two for five shares held after the change in par value.
Ramunia said Bursa Securities agreed to the business rejuvenation plan which involved business strategies to build up the group’s order book in relation to major offshore fabrication works as well as other oil and gas related business activities.
Scomi Engineering Bhd’s consortium partners have officially sealed the contract with Brazil’s Amazonas state for the RM2.56 billion monorail system.
The Manaus monorail system will include 20 km of monorail line from Largo da Matriz to Jorge Teixeira, nine stations and 10 train sets of six cars each.
The total award is valued at Brazilian Real 1.46 billion (RM2.56 billion) of which Scomi Engineering’s share is Real 339.9 million (RM597.2 million). The project is expected to be completed in 40 months from the date of the signing of the contract.
The Edge weekly reported in its Jan 23 issue that MPHB is in talks to sell a hotel in Kuala Lumpur for about RM50 million as part of its asset rationalization scheme. MPHB’s unit owns hotels in Penang and in Kuala Lumpur.
Analysts’ expectations are that it could transform into a higher-yielding company. UOB Kay Hian Malaysia Research said MPHB could re-rate in the second half of 2012 as investors start to price in significant divestment and monetisation of its non-gaming assets.
It said MPHB was trading at a steep discount to consensus RNAV of RM3.40 and at a prospective price-to-earnings multiple of 9.9 times on consensus’ forecast.
The Edge also reported that Silver Bird targets to be a global player in the food business as it hopes to leverage on its major shareholder Koperasi Permodalan Felda Malaysia Bhd. Plans are afoot to include other basic food products in various countries, according to Silver Bird group managing director Datuk Jackson Tan.
Positive news from a “win-win” situation for S P Setia Bhd president and chief executive officer Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin and Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) should provide some interest in the property developer.
Under the revised offer announced last Friday, PNB, Liew and S P Setia would also ink a management agreement where Liew would remain as group president and CEO for three years following the close of the revised offer.
S P Setia said PNB agreed, in the three years following the close of the takeover offer, Liew would be given a put option giving him the right to sell his 8% stake to PNB progressively in tranches at the same price of RM3.95 for each S P Setia share, should he desire to do so.
However, trading upside would be capped by the five sen increase in the share and warrants offer prices to RM3.96 and 96 sen under the revised offer.
UMW HOLDINGS BHD [] could see some trading interest after Perodua, in which it holds a substantial stake, allocated RM200.5 million for capital expenditure this year, which includes building its new flagship 3S centres.
Perodua would invest RM30 million to RM40 million for the centre at Section 19, Petaling Jaya, as a model of its future sales and service centre nationwide.
