如何避免掉入投资诈骗的陷阱？

分享给你的家人,亲戚,朋友,同事和邻居吧！让他们避免掉入投资诈骗的陷阱！

大家都想投资致富，但是每一年都有数十千人受骗，损失的金额高达数亿元。

每个人自己或家人，亲戚，朋友，同事，邻居都有曾经接触过投资诈骗的经历！

那要如何避免受骗？以下是专家告诉你如何避免掉入投资诈骗的陷阱的方法。

       
了解投资诈骗的几种特色：

1)披着华丽的外衣，承诺高收益低风险。
2)受害者在短时间内，无法冷静思考下被说服。
3)没有法律上的保障(介绍人或代理人当然说有)。
4)由前政府高官/皇室成员/政治人物担任要职。
5)投入的资金数额庞大，比其他类型的诈骗高。
6)介绍人或代理人从你身上赚取高额的佣金。
7)管理层和代理人刻意的炫耀他们财富和收入。 

受骗者有几个特点：

1) 对投资的知识不足，把投资看的过于简单。
2) 对投资有幻想,希望通过投资改善生活。
3) 外行人，对投资项目没有相关的经验,想快速致富。
4) 对有关投资项目的市场和基本的法律都没有足够的知识。
5) 有关的公司背景和投资资讯等都是由介绍人或代理人提供。
6) 容易信任他人，容易被说服，自己没有好好做功课和调查。
7) 有自己的储蓄或能通过借贷，提供投资的高额资金。

诈骗的手段:

1) 保证投资计划是合法。
2) 讲投资者要听的话：可在短期内获取利润，高回报率。 
3) 提供投资者正式的法律文件/合约，让投资者相信有法律的保障。
4) 向投资者提供保证，如取消投资，可在短期内拿回资金。
5) 让投资者证明，投资有第三方的保障。
6) 诚恳友善的态度，但一翻脸就无情。 
7) 以各种数据来证明投资计划的利润。
8) 眼见为证，让投资者看的见，摸的到。


在进行任何投资前先问自己这些问题：

1) 你对投资项目相关的知识和法律有多了解？有何保障？
2) 你对相关公司的股东，董事，管理，财务，资产，债务有多了解？
3) 你对投资项目的成本，毛利，净利，市场，兢争，产能有多了解？
4) 同样的产品在市场的价格是多少？有多少个供应商？你做了比较吗？
5) 你所有相关的资讯是从那里得到的？你自己做了多少功课和调查？
6) 如何确保的你得到的资讯是正确和真实的？你的投资要如何脱手和套利？
7) 你有亲自向国家银行，证监委员会，直销公会，消费者协会等等查证吗？


你知道吗？

1) 所有投资计划须拥有证监委员会Securities Commission发出的准证。
2) 为了提防对方所提供的准证是伪造的，你最好亲自去证监委员会查证。
3) 证监委员会 Securities Commission 的网站: www.sc.com.my
4) 你可以到公司委员会 www.ssm.com.my 调查相关公司每年的财务报告。
5) 你可在直销公会的网站 www.dsam.org.my 查到合法直销公司的名单。
6) 消费者协会 www.nccc.org.my

曾经在市场上出现过的各种投资诈骗：

1) 农业养殖: 棕油,榴莲,养燕,海草,养鱼,沉香木,养田鸡,火龙果等等。
2) 传统产业: 入股,合资,代理权,连锁店,餐饮业,保健特许经营等等。
3) 设备器材: 自动售水机,自动贩卖机,游戏电脑器材租贷等等。
4) 科技网络: 虚拟货币,网络游戏,通讯服务,网页广告等等。
5) 金融股票: 外汇,期货,集资,众筹,创筹,原始股,海外/天使基金等等。
6) 非法传销: 香精,人参,灵芝,干细胞,胎盘素,生物科技产品等等。
7) 贵重金属: 黄金,白银,金币,採矿计划等等。
8) 各种计划：利息计划,金钱游戏,医疗计划,旅游城,海外土地储备等等。

分享给你的家人,亲戚,朋友,同事和邻居吧！让他们避免掉入投资诈骗的陷阱！

Market Briefing

Malaysia Led by 27 gains in KLCI components, KLCI soared 12 pts to 1597.9 as market sentiment was boosted by surging oil prices and FCPO, coupled with the government’s pledge to further ramp up in daily vaccination rates next month. Market breadth was bullish as 710 gainers beat 362 losers with a total of 7.4bn shares transacted valued at RM4.1bn. 

Foreign institutions returned as net buyers (+RM139m; 5D: +RM372m) whilst retailers (-RM18m; 5D: +RM298m) joined local institutions (-RM121m; 5D: -RM670m) as the major net sellers.

Outlook After plunging to 1552 (YTD low), KLCI has staged a commendable rebound to end at 1597.6 yesterday as the tussle between slowing economy and elevated Covid-19 infections against further acceleration in vaccination rollouts, abundant liquidity and prevailing low interest rates (BNM may cut OPR by another 25bps on 8 July should the lockdown prolong beyond a month) continue to play out in the market. Key resistances are pegged at 1600-1606-1623 levels whilst supports are situated near 1582-1577-1552 territory. 

Global Asian stocks ended moderately higher as sentiment was boosted by a strong April US ISM manufacturing data and an upbeat Australia GDP report, ahead of the widely focused US jobs data this Friday that could engender further talk of Fed’s policy normalization. 

The Dow jumped as much as 130 pts to 34706 in early trades, led by energy shares as oil rallied to more than two-year high on OPEC+ supply discipline and promising demand prospects. However, the index ended only +25 pts at 34600 as investors assessed the Fed's Beige Book, which highlighted the ongoing labour supply shortage and faster pace of inflation are set to continue in the months ahead.  

Serba Dinamik

 Key takeaways from Serba Dinamik conference call:

♦️ Serba received the official review request in early May this year and this is the main reason for  the change of financial year end to June. The prolonged COVID-19 pandemic has somewhat limit the ordinary audit process despite >90% of the subsidiaries/material subsidiaries are audited by KPMG.

♦️ No fraudulent related reports have been raised thus far. The review are not particularly on certain transactions or subsidiaries but more on overall operations which include domestic and overseas operations. Some of these issues have been addressed by management and the independent reviews will “give comfort” to the auditors.

♦️ No RPT is related and the additional reviews are not backdated to prior year numbers. The additional review also not extended to Dato’ Karim’s related companies i.e. KPower and SCIB.

♦️ Serba Dinamik has identified a new independent firm to address this issue and the review is guided to be completed by August concurrently with the conclusion of 18MFY21 financial statements (until October 2021 for submission).

♦️ Management reiterates that no disruption to its business operations at this juncture. They have also engaged with financiers and have not received any pullback of banking facilities and credit lines.

♦️ Our view - the explanations given by management may not be able to provide sufficient clarity and comfort to address investors doubt. Expect share price to react negatively and it will remain a major overhang until the company is able to prove the veracity and accuracy of these matters.

Rubber Products Update

 1. COVID-19 daily new cases in Malaysia breached 2,000. New cases hit 2148 today which is 14% higher than yesterday's 1889. More importantly, it breaks the psychological level of 2000 cases. Sarawak reported the highest infections at 512.

2. This may explain the strong price performance today for gloves companies This may have increased the interest in gloves sector today. As of time of writing, six gloves stocks under our coverage have gained between 6% to 13%.

3. Our BUY calls are fundamentally driven with Kossan (TP: MYR5.45) as preferred pick Sentiment aside, our TP are already assuming long term gloves ASP of USD40 as compared to current ASP of between USD80-100. Our preferred pick is Kossan. In the near term, it should benefit from the nitrile glove shortage. 80% of its sales volume is derived from nitrile gloves, and the rest from latex gloves. Its expansion plan is intact, with Plant 19 fully commissioned in Aug 2020 – bringing total capacity to 32bn ppa. Looking ahead into FY21, the company plans to increase capacity by 1.5bn ppa by constructing Plant 20. This is slated for full commissioning by 1H21.

4. Other BUY calls are Top Glove (TP: MYR6.80), Supermax (TP: MYR8.75), Comfort Gloves (TP: MYR:2.60) and Rubberex (TP: MYR1.60).

RHB Research

Pump and Dump

 

Construction

Mah Sing

 ♦️ The development of the glove production lines are on track. Management said the first performance testing was already done on 17/3, and production should start by mid-April.   

♦️ Mah Sing has already locked in shipment up to June @ $115/1k pieces. First batch of shipment is to the US, Canada and Middle East, followed by Europe, Japan, China and South America. 

♦️ Management has already hired 60 non-factory staff (for the glove office), and is in the process of interviewing/hiring another 40 staff. The company will need 350 workers for the total 12 production lines, and thus far, it has locked in 100 workers through 4 agencies. Glove packing will be outsourced to packing professional firm in order to reduce the amount of fixed costs. 

♦️ Mah Sing has also locked in the supply of raw mat NBR @ US$2.7-3k per tonne, sufficient for the current order up to June. It has also locked in the supply until year end, but has not locked in the prices, as NBR prices are expected to come down based on feedback from NBR suppliers. Management indicated that the cost per box (1k pieces) is estimated at US$40.

♦️ Management is still confident to achieve its RM1.6bn sales target. To recall, Jan-Feb sales were already at RM250m. About RM2.4bn worth of projects will be launched this year.

♦️ Maintain Buy, TP: RM0.97

Top Glove

Top Glove (RM5.18, noon closing) by HG Tan

2Q core PAThAMI of RM2.865.1bn (+20.7% QoQ, +25x YoY ) brought 1HFY21 core PATAMI to RM5.220.9bn (22x YoY). 

Analysts will say it is is in line as their full yr forecasts are around RM10 to 10.5bn (see Edge Daily today, pg 9). 

Personally, believe results are aboved given the lead time taken to deliver earnings. Estimate full yr net profit to be closer to RM12bn in FY21

Declared DPS of 25.2 sen (1Q21: 16.5sen), ex on 23 March. 1HFY21: 41.7 sen., 1HFY20: None. 

GHW maintains Buy call with TP of RM8.06

There will be a Zoom meeting in afternoon. Analyst will issue report later

For Top Glove, given the dented sentiments with volatile share prices and investors attention on economuc recovery stocks, believe analysts' esply the brokers analysts (including our analyst) will hesitate in revising up earnings and TPs.

Personally believe analysts will remain behind the curve on earnings forecasts of Top Glove 🤣

Top Glove Result

1. Earnings matched expectations. 1HFY21 earnings of MYR5.23bn makes up 51% of consensus and 49% of our full year estimates. 1HFY21 earnings surged 23x YoY due to better ASPs and higher volume of gloves sold.

2. 2QFY21 earnings improved 21% QoQ. Higher ASP supported the increase in better earnings.

3. Announced 25.2 sen dividend. Top Glove paid 70% of its profit in 2QFY21 as promised. Recall that the Company has pledged to increase its payout ratio to 70% from 50% for FY21 beginning 2QFY21 onwards.

4. Prospects. Top Glove stated that "Global glove demand is estimated to grow from a pre-pandemic level of about 10% per annum to about 15% per annum post-pandemic, following increase in usage coupled with heightened hygiene awareness. To ensure it remains well-positioned to meet the continued strong glove demand, the Group will continue to pursue organic expansion, inorganic expansion and strategic investments.

RHB Research

Comments on Top Glove results by HG Tan :

As per my watsapp yestetday, personally construed TG's, 1HFY21 results to be aboved expectations as management guided that 2H is better than 1H.

With locked in sales and normalisation in production (2Q disrupted by closure of factories), expect earnings to trend higher in 3Q.

Personally estimate full yr FY21 earnings to come closer to RM12bn versus consensus/GHW's projection of RM10 to 10.5bn.

Expect FY22 earnings to ease but probably not as sharp as 50% reduction as anticipated by GHW/consensus given the lead time in delivering earnings

Believe our analyst Gan Huan Wen is reluctant to revise up FY21 earnings as it may translate into higher TP.. As it is, he has previously revised down TP following the sharp fall in mkt price of TG...

Judging from the reply of Tan Sri Lim when asked whether the group will continue to pay 70% of net profit as dividend in FY22, the reply alluding to positive rather than negative.. As such, can expect another high dividend year in FY22.

Believe the commendable dividends will cushion share prices. 

Meanwhile, funds raise via dual primary listing of TG in HK will further strengthen its war chest enriched by the strong cashflows. This will enhance its competitive edge in pursuing M&A when opportunities arise.

Corporate News

 •* AMMB Holdings Bhd’s* net profit for the third quarter ended Dec 31, 2020 (3QFY21) fell 30.96% to RM263.83 million from RM382.15 million a year ago, due to higher allowance for impairment on loans, advances and financing. The banking group’s quarterly revenue also slipped 11.81% to RM2.09 billion, from RM2.37 billion a year ago, its filing to Bursa Malaysia showed. AMMB did not declare any dividend for the latest quarter.

•* HeiTech Padu Bhd* has won a RM33.92 million contract to provide maintenance services for the Malaysian Immigration System (myIMMs). The technology services provider said it signed the three-year contract with the Immigration Department on March 1. The contract period started on Feb 18.

•* Pharmaniaga Bhd* has appointed Datuk Seri Mohamed Shazalli Ramly as the non-independent non-executive chairman of Pharmaniaga Bhd effective March 1, 2021. Meanwhile, Boustead's executive director of group business development Izaddeen Daud has also joined the board of Pharmaniaga as a non-independent and non-executive director.

•* Top Glove Corp Bhd’s* executive chairman Tan Sri Dr Lim Wee Chai has purchased more shares of the group, as the counter fell to an eight-month low. Lim has raised his direct shareholding in the group to 26.419% or 2.11 billion shares, after he acquired 4.04 million shares at RM4.9287 each, Top Glove’s filing with Bursa Malaysia today showed.  Lim also has an indirect stake of 8.651% or 692.19 million shares in Top Glove, the group said.

•* Advancecon Holdings Bhd* said its 30%-owned Advancecon Sarawak Sdn Bhd had bagged its single-largest contract worth RM153.5 million to undertake earthworks in the Samalaju Industrial Park, Bintulu, Sarawak. The contract was awarded by Wenan Steel (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd to Advancecon Sarawak. Wenan is building an iron and steel production complex there. Advancecon said the contract is in addition to the group’s ongoing works in Sarawak, namely two packages for Pan Borneo Highway Sarawak and two roadwork contracts from the Upper Rajang Development Agency (URDA).

•* Sime Darby Plantation Bhd* has established an Expert Stakeholder Human Rights Assessment Commission, and appointed Impactt Ltd as a third-party assessor to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the group’s labour practices across its Malaysian operations. For the stakeholder panel, the group said its members include Shift (the leading centre of expertise on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights), migrant worker rights activist and human rights researcher Andy Hall, and a representative of the National Union of Plantation Workers (NUPW).

•* Uzma Bhd* is acquiring stakes in two renewable energy (RE) companies for RM5.39 million, in a bid to enter the RE sector with a primary focus on solar energy. Uzma said it has entered into a conditional share sale agreement with Mohd Syahrul Nizar Abdul Ghani to acquire a 49% stake in Suria Infiniti Sdn Bhd and a 100% stake in Mahendran Surya Innovations Sdn Bhd. The oil and gas services group has mulled entering the RE space since late 2019, eyeing projects under Large Scale Solar 4 (LSS4) that were opened for bidding late last year, as well as opportunities amid the high portion of NEM quota that was not utilised.

Company Update

Top Glove Corporation Berhad (7113)

Target Price: RM7.80 (Buy)

Top Glove announced that the dual primary listing exercise on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited involved the issuance of up to 1.495bn new shares, representing up to 18.65% of the group’s issued shares. As such, this exercise could raise up to RM7.7bn, at an issue price to be determined at a later date. The proposals are expected to be completed by 2Q21. We estimate EPS dilution of circa-15% in FY21 post completion of dual-listing exercise. Maintain earnings forecast pending completion of this exercise. Maintain Buy.          

Via CLSA

* Malaysia - Top Glove - Trifecta listing 

Top Glove proposed to issue up to 1,495m new shares (18.7% of share base) for its upcoming listing on the Hong Kong Exchange (HKEX), which could raise up to HK$14.95bn, or RM7.77bn, for the group. The proposal targets completion by 2Q21. The issuance is surprisingly large to us, which we see as unnecessarily dilutive as most of the proposed initiatives could have been funded internally. We incorporate the impact of the dilution into our forecast, resulting in a cut in our target price from RM7.20 to RM5.50 and a downgrade of our rating from BUY to Underperform. 

* Malaysia - Malaysia Banks - Bank 4Q20 wrap 

Malaysia’s four banks, CIMB, RHB, HLBK and Alliance, reported results last Friday. HLBK was the best, while CIMB’s earnings missed on non-loan impairments. All four banks upped their provision guidance (versus last quarter), despite indicating underlying portfolios had not seen significant growth in loans requiring help. On balance, banks envisage scope for NIM expansion this year given funding mix improvement. Our top pick is Maybank (previously RHB) on higher dividend conviction. AMMB, which just agreed to a fine by the Ministry of Finance AMMB - O-PF (Making final AMM-ends) reports its quarterly results Monday. 

* Malaysia - Malaysia Utilities - Looking attractive 

Demand for electricity and gas continued to recover in 4Q20 after disruptions caused by Covid-19 in 1H20. On top of this, the government continued to honour the Regulated Asset Base (RAB) regime for Tenaga and Gas Malaysia, which naturally protects earnings from volatility and hence ensures more sustainable dividends. We continue to have BUY ratings on both given undemanding valuations & attractive dividend yields. We rate Petronas Gas O-PF, also supported by its dividend yield. 

* Malaysia - IHH - Coming out stronger from Covid-19 

IHH’s 4Q20 Ebitda of RM1,042m (+25% QoQ/+16% YoY) rebound strongly as more cost containment efforts trickled through during the quarter. This led to FY20 core PATAMI of RM715m (-22% YoY), exceeding our/consensus forecasts at 157%/248%. IHH’s share price has declined 8% YTD and it remains a more unassuming play for border reopening, in our view. Should the group sustain its 4Q20 momentum coupled with continued cost efficiency, the stock is trading at an undemanding 13x 22CL EV/Ebitda, below -1 std. of its mean. Thus, we upgrade our recommendation from Outperform to BUY on a higher target price of RM6.60 (previously RM6.30). 

* Malaysia - Maxis - Uncertainty prevails 

Maxis’ 2020 earnings (-8% YoY) were within expectations. Although guidance continued to be withheld, we take our cue from Digi, in that it sees 2021 mobile service revenue declining in the low-to-mid-single digits. On a lower post-paid Apru, we lower our earnings estimates 6%-7%. As its 4Q20 dividend of 5 sen includes a 1 sen special dividend, we believe its quarterly dividend is likely to remain at 4 sen for the near future, for an implied dividend yield of 3.4%. We retain our SELL rating at a lower target price of RM4.55 (previously RM4.70). 

* Malaysia - Malaysia Airports - Clearer recovery runway 

Malaysia Airports’ (MAHB) core loss (excluding impairment and accelerated depreciation) of RM589m was below our RM500m loss estimate. Even so, front-loading costs & depreciation in FY20 should allow a clearer P&L recovery runway, and cashflow concern has been further allayed with rescheduling obligations/debt. Cost savings exceeded its target and on the assumption that these could sustain somewhat after a recovery, and benefiting such a stronger margin, underpins the lift in our target price from RM5.60 to RM6.90 and rating from Underperform to Outperform. 

* Malaysia - AMMB - Making final AMM-ends 

AMMB (AMM MK) revealed a negative surprise Friday with it agreeing to a fine of RM2.83bn to the Ministry of Finance following a review by relevant authorities of past dealings by 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) and related entities. While more explanation may be forthcoming (likely in conjunction with its 3QFY21 results to be announced Monday), the finalised penalty necessitates us to adjust our book value estimate. This results in a 13% lower target price of RM3.50 (previously RM4.00). Our valuation multiple of 0.6x and O-PF rating remain unchanged. The silver lining from this is that there could be a greater focus on the business and fewer distractions should it consider M&As in the future. 

* Malaysia - Pentamaster - Back to the old ways 

An uptick in the book-to-bill ratio to 1.2x reinforces expectations of a return to 21CL earnings growth (+27% YoY). We expect next generation sensors to drive demand for electro-optical equipment. Adoption of silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductors continues to rise and now forms 20% of automotive revenues. Its expansion into manufacturing of medical devices is on track and will play a meaningful role in 2022. Retain O-PF at an unchanged target price of RM7.40. 

* Malaysia - Sime Darby Property - Stronger targets ahead 

Sime Darby Property’s 2021 sales target of RM2.4bn (+20% YoY) will be supported by planned launches of RM2.5bn (+67% YoY) and unsold GDV of RM2.2bn (completed inventory comprises RM738m). Nonetheless, we take this opportunity to tweak our earnings to reflect the delay in completion of Battersea Power Station (BPS) phase 3A (£879m gross development value) that has been pushed back to 4Q21/1Q22 (initially expected for 3Q21) alongside lower margin assumptions. We reiterate BUY and an unchanged target price of RM0.69.

Top Glove - Embracing for longer term growth

(by HGTan) 

On first glance of proposal, the issue surfaced is EPS and in turn divided per share will be diluted given issuance of new shares for the HK IPO. 

Believe this perception may lead to investors further trimming down holding given the jittery mood on glove sector outlook as a whole. 

My take is this move is timely given supernormal profits years in FY21 and FY22

The 15 to 18% of new shares due to new IPO will chip off existing EPS and dividends per share but investors may not hv inclination yet on how high are the earnings to be reported in FY21/22.

With such super normal profits kicking in and in turn super high dividend per share over next two FYs, one can only celebrate for the dividends (akan datang !!) 

With this move of dual listing and new inflows of funds, the group is well equip to scale new highs. 

Share below on the rationale for the Proposed Dual Primary Listing

(summarised by TG management) :

1.  HKEX platform allows Top Glove to broaden investor reach/base and allows direct participation from new private and institutional investors in Hong Kong and North Asia. This serves to strengthen liquidity of Top Glove's share trading and to enhance stakeholders' long term value.

 2.   To provide additional financing flexibility and a new platform for future fund raising to finance potential M & A exercises for accretive earnings. This will enhance the visibility of Top Glove's profile among international funds/investors, banks, customers, suppliers, research analysts and media, resulting in stronger brand awareness for Top Glove.

3. The stronger profits moving forward will improve EPS. The proceeds to be raised from the HK IPO will be used for expansion activities to further increase the production capacity and strategic business expansion for better sustainable profits. As the company is going through an exceptional high profit period, the EPS dilution effect is mitigated.

4.  The exceptional high profit with the special dividend of 70% from Q2 to Q4 FY2021 will provide shareholders with higher dividend compare with previous years, and mitigate the EPS dilution effect.

5. The funds raised and the current cash holding will be a strong reserve to fund Top Glove's ongoing growth and strategic expansion after the period of abnormal profits. With this, the group is hopeful that the existing shareholders can continue to enjoy a sustainable good dividend moving forward where the existing shareholders currently enjoys.

6. HKEX as a regulator in addition to Bursa and SGX would upgrade Top Glove's corporate governance standards in Top Glove's journey towards Fortune Global 500.

Separately, TG will release 2QFY21 results on 9 March afternoon. Believe it will be a commendable set of numbers.

Both our anakyst Gan Huan Wen and mkt consensus estimate net profit around RM10.5bn in FY21 with a 50% drop off in FY22. 

Believe TG wld be able to exceed these expectations and deliver earnings surprises again!!

In the way, the new HK IPO addresses concerns of earnings sustainability beyond FY22 as the group builds up its war chest and ready to cherry pick earnings accretive ventures. This will at least mitigate earnings down cycle risks beyond FY23.

As per my previous watsapp, believe value emerging at current level of RM5

Corporate News

PCHEM (Neutral↔;TP↑MYR8.35@10x FY21 EV/EBITDA). FY20 results beat expectations on better than expected margins. FY20 DPS at 12sen (vs FY19’s 18sen). 

♦️4Q20 core profit +4x QoQ on stronger EBITDA (led by higher ASPs and widened margins) amdist higher sales volume and plant utilisation at 94%, from 90% in 3Q20). 

♦️ FY20 core earnings -31% YoY on ASPs and margin weakness with 4% lower sales volume.

♦️ PIC is further delayed to 2H21 due to COVID-19 disruption Management guided 80% plan utilisation to achieve P&L breakeven under current spread. We expect PIC to incur minimal losses as only EBITDA positive to be achieved in 2H21. 

♦️ 1Q21 could be stronger as major product ASPs continue to extend. Increase FY21F-22E by 2-5% but we have factored in relatively weaker price trend in 2H21 in view of industry capacity additions.

♦️ Upgrade to BUY with higher TP of MYR8.35 pegging to 10x FY21 EV/EBITDA, riding on strong earnings rebound this year.

•* Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM)* returned to the black in the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2020 (4QFY20) registering a net profit of RM259.44 million from a net loss of RM51.09 million recorded a year earlier due to lower operating costs and net other gains, the telco said. The improvement in its bottom line was despite the fact that TM saw its revenue fall slightly by 1.1% to RM3 billion from RM3.03 billion a year earlier, underpinned by lower revenue in its voice, data and non telecommunication services. Its earnings per share (EPS) jumped to 6.87 sen in the quarter from 1.37 sen a year earlier. TM also declared a final interim single-tier cash dividend of 7.5 sen, to be paid on March 31. For the full year, TM has proposed 14.3 sen for FY20 versus 10 sen in FY19. For its full-year earnings in FY20, the telco reported a decline in revenue of 5.2% to RM10.84 billion against RM11.43 billion registered last year due to lower revenues from all lines of products. TM's full-year profit surged 61% year-on-year to RM1.02 billion in FY20, contributed partly by lower tax charges as well as contribution from the group's share of improved performance of subsidiaries with non-controlling interests. TM also will be investing between 14% and 18% of its annual revenue for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2021 (FY21) for capital expenditure (capex) purposes, said its chief executive officer Imri Mokhtar.

•* VSTECS Bhd’s* net profit for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2020 (4QFY20) grew almost 20% to RM12.87 million — the highest quarterly net profit on record, compared with RM10.74 million last year driven by the new normal of working and learning from home. Earnings per share rose to 7.2 sen from six sen. Quarterly earnings also jumped 21.7% to RM659.63 million from RM542.1 million in 4QFY19. The company declared a second interim dividend of 4.5 sen per share in respect of the financial year ended Dec 31, 2020 (FY20), payable on May 21. For the full year of FY20, it posted a record high net profit of RM36.78 million, 24.3% higher, from RM29.59 million last year. Annual revenue hit an all-time high of RM2.02 billion, up 11.9% from RM1.8 billion.

•* Vitrox Corp Bhd’s* net profit for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2020 (4QFY20) jumped 79.4% to RM31.92 million from RM17.79 million a year earlier on the back of higher revenue. Earnings per share rose 6.77 sen from 3.78 sen previously. Quarterly revenue climbed 68.03% to RM159.8 million from RM95.1 million a year ago mainly driven by the tremendous increase in demand from Machine Vision System (MVS) and Automated Board Inspection (ABI). For the full year ended Dec 31, 2020 (FY20), net profit increased 32.6% to RM105.62 million from RM79.65 million. Revenue climbed 38.51% to RM470.38 million from RM339.59 million due to higher volume demands from MVS and ABI.

•* D&O Green Technologies Bhd’s* net profit surged 119% to RM30.32 million for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2020, from RM13.85 million in the previous year’s corresponding quarter, benefiting from increased demand and recovery in the automotive industry. The automotive LED maker’s revenue for the quarter grew 39% to RM209.57 million from RM150.47 million a year earlier. For the full year, D&O said its net profit rose 42% to RM49.65 million from RM34.87 million in the preceding year, while revenue climbed 14% to RM575.78 million from RM504.31 million.

•* Rubberex Corp Bhd* posted a fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2020 net profit of RM59.44 million — 15 times the RM3.88 million it made in the corresponding quarter a year ago — which is its highest quarterly net profit on record. The jump in the rubber glove makers' earnings was due to higher average glove selling prices amid higher demand. Revenue for the quarter surged 203.8% to RM152.83 million from RM50.31 million previously. The group's annual net profit also swelled to its highest of RM131.18 million for FY20, 11.6 times the RM11.35 million it posted in FY19, as annual revenue about doubled to RM416.39 million from RM218.64 million.

•* Allianz Malaysia Bhd’s* net profit for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2020 (FY20) rose to RM520.32 million compared with RM492.48 million in FY19. Revenue also increased to RM5.95 billion from RM5.53 billion previously, due mainly to higher gross earned premiums and investment income by RM384.8 million and RM26.5 million respectively. As for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2020, net profit was higher at RM144.03 million compared with RM133.08 million, while revenue increased to RM1.53 billion from RM1.41 billion in the same quarter in 2019.

•* Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd* posted a net profit of RM142.6 million for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2020 on higher aluminium prices, up 6% from RM134.47 million recorded a year ago. Quarterly revenue, however, slipped 3.69% to RM2.12 billion from RM2.2 billion due to the lower extrusion products sales, according to a bourse filing today. Its earnings per share rose slightly to 3.53 sen from 3.33 sen in 4QFY19. The group declared a fourth interim single-tier dividend of 1.25 sen per share to be paid on March 31, 2020. This brings total dividends for FY20 to 4.25 sen translating to a pay-out ratio of 37.5%. For the full year ended Dec 31, 2020 (FY20), net profit declined to RM457.2 million from RM474 million a year earlier. Revenue fell 14.4% to RM7.54 billion from RM8.8 billion due to softer aluminium prices in the first half of 2020 during the height of the pandemic.

•* Inari Amertron Bhd* posted its best-ever quarterly net profit of RM90.1 million in the second quarter ended Dec 31, 2020 (2QFY21), about 2.4 times the RM37.49 million it made last year, driven by stronger sales volume generated by its radio frequency (RF) business. Quarterly revenue grew by 42% to RM376.83 million from RM265.44 million previously. Earnings per share rose to 2.74 sen from 1.18 sen. The group declared a second interim dividend of 2.5 sen per share in respect of the financial year ending June 30, 2021 (FY21), payable on April 8. For the first six months of FY21, Inari Amertron's net profit jumped 88% to RM160.17 million from RM85.22 million last year, while revenue climbed 24.5% to RM724.45 million from RM582.04 million.

•* AEON Co (M) Bhd’s* net profit for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2020, fell to RM41.42 million from RM109.229 million registered last year. Revenue also declined 10.7% to RM4.05 billion from RM4.54 billion previously, due to lower revenue from the retailing segment and property management services by RM387.6 million and RM100 million respectively, it said. AEON said revenue from its retail segment was affected by lower non-essential category sales, namely hard-line and soft-line products as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and Movement Control Order (MCO), as well as other related restrictions since March 18, 2020, whereby general merchandise and specialty stores were not allowed to operate for almost two months during the period under review.

•* Genting Plantations Bhd’s* net profit grew by 28.1% to RM79.04 million in the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2020 from RM61.69 million a year earlier, due to stronger palm products prices. Earnings per share rose to 8.81 sen from 6.88 sen. Quarterly revenue rose 14.9% to RM739.25 million from RM643.59 million, the group said. The group has declared a final dividend of four sen per share payable on a date to be fixed later as well as a special dividend of 11 sen per share to be paid on March 30. For the full year, Genting Plantations said its net profit grew 79% to RM254.36 million from RM142.07 million in 2019, while revenue was up 10.2% to RM2.5 billion from RM2.27 billion.

•* Parkson Holdings Bhd* has narrowed its net loss to RM28.27 million or 2.65 sen per share in the second quarter ended Dec 31, 2020 from RM81.08 million or 7.6 sen per share last year, mainly thanks to better operating profits from its China operations. Quarterly revenue was down 11.1% to RM877.77 million from RM987.41 million. For the cumulative six months ended Dec 31, its net loss also shrank to RM50 million, from RM125.7 million last year, while revenue slipped 9.9% to RM1.69 billion from RM1.87 billion.

•* DRB-Hicom Bhd* has reported a surge in net profit to RM985.99 million for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2020 (4QFY20), from RM47.5 million in the preceding quarter, fuelled by higher contributions from its automotive and properties segments. The diversified group posted a record-high quarterly revenue of RM4.85 billion, versus RM3.56 billion in the preceding quarter underpinned by completion of the disposals of property assets and investments by the group and higher sales of vehicles and components by Proton. For the financial year ended Dec 31, 2020 (FY20), DRB-Hicom registered pre-tax profit of RM540.1 million on the back of revenue of RM13.16 billion, thanks to moderate business recovery in the second half of 2020 and the completion of an asset disposal exercise.

•* Hap Seng Plantations Holdings Bhd* saw its net profit in the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2020  increase by 47% quarter-on-quarter to RM36.95 million from RM25.08 million. The planter said a combination of higher commodity prices and sales volume led to the increase. Earnings per share rose to 4.62 sen from 3.14 sen previously. The planter declared a second interim dividend of 5.5 sen per share, payable on March 24. In contrast, it declared a two sen dividend in 4QFY19. This brings total dividends declared for FY20 to seven sen per share from 2.5 sen in FY19. Hap Seng Plantations' revenue was up 19% at RM153.27 million from RM128.9 million in 3QFY20. On a year-on-year (y-o-y) basis, the group saw its net profit rise 19% from RM31.17 million, while its revenue was up 23% from RM124.86 million. Earnings per share rose from 3.9 sen in 4QFY19. Its latest quarterly net profit brings its FY20 net profit to RM90.3 million, up 187% from RM31.45 million in FY19. Full-year revenue was 12% higher y-o-y at RM467.6 million compared with RM418.6 million.

•* Globetronics Technology Bhd’s* net profit for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2020 rose 15.97% to RM16.86 million from RM14.54 million a year ago on higher revenue. Its quarterly revenue was also up, growing 7.11% to RM63.15 million from RM58.96 million a year ago. The group has declared a second interim single tier ordinary dividend of 1 sen per share and a single tier special dividend of 1.5 sen per share, totalling RM16.7 million in respect of the financial year ended 31 December 2020, that was paid on 3 December 2020. The group said the higher revenue and net profit achieved in the current year were mainly due to higher volume loadings and better economy of scale achieved from certain of the group's customers. For the full year ended December 31, 2020, the group’s net profit increased by 13.62% to RM50.8 million from RM44.71 million a year earlier, as its yearly revenue rose 5.18% to RM227.52 million from RM216.32 million a year earlier.

•* Dayang Enterprise Holdings Bhd’s* net profit for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2020 slumped 83.17% to RM13.17 million from RM78.23 million a year ago, dragged by slower work orders due to the pandemic. Revenue fell 44.49% to RM158.23 million from RM285.02 million mainly attributable to lower vessel utilisation at 44%, as compared with 76% in the previous corresponding quarter. For the full year ended Dec 31, 2020, the group’s net profit plunged 75.07% to RM57.59 million from RM230.95 million in the previous year, as revenue slipped 30.08% to RM731.44 million from RM1.05 billion.

•* Datasonic Group Bhd* saw its net profit for the third quarter ended Dec 31, 2020 slump to RM627,000 from RM20.18 million in the corresponding quarter last financial year following lower demand for its passport, consumables and personalisation services. Quarterly revenue also shrank by 61% y-o-y to RM29.45 million from RM74.97 million a year prior. For the cumulative nine months ended Dec 31, 2020, its net profit declined by 73% y-o-y to RM12.93 million, from RM48.05 million in the corresponding nine months of the previous financial year. Meanwhile, 9MFY21 revenue declined by 43% y-o-y to RM112.59 million from RM196.83 million a year prior. The group also announced that it has appointed Wan Zalizan Wan Jusoh as its new managing director replacing Datuk Razali Mohd Yusof, who has been redesignated as a non-independent and non-executive director. Meanwhile, Safian Mohd Yunus has been appointed as Razali's alternate director, while Handrianov Putra Abu Hanifah has resigned from his post as executive director to pursue other interests.

•* UOA Development Bhd's* net profit for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2020 slumped 68.95% to RM34.96 million from RM112.61 million a year ago, due to lower recognition from ongoing projects and a fair value loss from the revaluation of its investment properties. Its quarterly revenue also fell 14.5% to RM194.11 million from RM227.02 million a year ago.  The group has recommended a first and final single-tier dividend of 14 sen and a proposed special dividend of one sen for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2020, utilising proceeds from the disposal of UOA Corporate Tower. For the full FY20, the group's net profit slipped 2.05% to RM391.29 million from RM399.47 million a year earlier, as its revenue declined by 23.53% to RM844.6 million from RM1.1 billion.

•Steel products and equipment maker Prestar Resources Bhd’ net profit for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2020 jumped to RM15.76 million, five times the RM3.12 million it made in the corresponding quarter a year earlier, driven by strong demand and higher selling prices of its products. Quarterly revenue grew 22.6% to RM137.05 million from RM111.77 million. Earnings per share jumped to 8.12 sen from 1.59 sen previously. The group has proposed a final dividend of 1 sen per share, amounting to RM1.94 million, subject to shareholders' approval. The strong 4QFY20 lifted the group's annual profit for FY20 to RM22.17 million, four times the RM5.53 million it recorded in FY19. This came despite annual revenue slipping 9.73% to RM409.98 million from RM454.17 million, following sales slowdown in April and May due to MCO restrictions, and the reimposition of the conditional MCO towards the end of 2020.

•* Tek Seng Holdings Bhd* returned to the black with a net profit of RM8.16 million for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2020 , from a net loss of RM12.94 million a year ago, underpinned by higher profit in its polyvinyl chloride (PVC) segment. The group's quarterly revenue rose 14.27% to RM48.52 million from RM42.46 million. It proposed a final dividend of 0.5 sen for FY20. For FY20, the group made a net profit of RM27.41 million compared to a net loss of RM16.25 million a year earlier, as revenue grew 10.71% to RM191.09 million from RM172.6 million

•Property development and realty outfit Majuperak Holdings Bhd aims to raise up to RM20 million via a proposed private placement. The group said the funds are to support its operating expenditure, repay bank borrowings and fund upcoming projects. Majuperak said it plans to issue up to 56.66 million in new shares, representing not more than 20% of its total number of issued shares. It said of the total proceeds expected to be raised, RM7 million has been earmarked for a facility management project involving the provision of clinical support service for four Ministry of Health clinics in Terengganu in addition to the 10 clinics already serviced by the group. Meanwhile, RM11.46 million will be allocated for administrative and operating expenditure to sustain its operations for the year ahead. Additionally, RM2 million will be utilised for the settlement of existing overdraft facilities.

•* AirAsia Group Bhd* said the budget airline has recognised a loss of US$74.11 million (RM299.34 million) in the second half of 2020, as a result of 33%-owned associate AirAsia Japan Co Ltd’s (AAJ) bankruptcy proceedings due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The group said AAJ has commenced its bankruptcy proceedings as ordered by the court today. The company also incurred US$5.18 million in the fourth quarter of 2020 and first quarter of 2021 for expenses related to the aircraft de-registration to move three aircraft from Japan to Malaysia.

•* Destini Bhd* has entered into an agreement with Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd (KTMB) to establish a joint-venture (JV) company, ET Sdn Bhd (ETSB) to expand its capabilities in maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services in the rail sector. Destini said both parties have inked a subscription, JV, and shareholders agreement that will see Destini acquiring a 70% stake in ETSB, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of KTMB, through its 100%-owned subsidiary, Destini Rail Sdn Bhd. The remaining 30% shareholding will be held by KTMB, through its wholly-owned subsidiary KTMB Technics Sdn Bhd.

•* LKL International Bhd* has announced that its subsidiary LKLAdvance Metaltech Sdn Bhd has secured exclusive distributorship rights for Singapore-based iWOWTechnology Pte Ltd’s trace token nationwide and targets Selangor to be the first State in Malaysia to adopt the device. LKL said the group will market, sell and distribute trace tokens to assist Selangor's efforts in containing the spread of the Covid-19 virus, particularly in hotspots such as workplaces, factories and construction sites. The exclusive distributorship agreement has been signed for an initial duration of two years and renewable thereafter upon future consensus between both LKL and iWOW Technology.

Pumps and Dumps and Chumps

 By Paul Krugman

In a more reasonable world, hardly anyone would care about the ups and downs of a smallish retailer’s stock price. Even near the top of its Reddit-fueled roller coaster, GameStop accounted for only about 0.06 percent of the total value of U.S. stocks. Furthermore, the stock market itself is mainly a sideshow to the real economy.

But we don’t live in a reasonable world, we live in a world where the GameStop story briefly commanded global attention. And the craziness did offer some important lessons — not so much about economics and markets as about psychology and politics.

For it turns out that despite four years of Donald Trump, our society remains remarkably gullible. And it is not just members of the public who believe what they see on social media; far too many influential people still keep falling for fake populism.

The story so far: GameStop is a chain of stores selling video games and other electronic goods. With the rise of online gaming the company’s underlying business has been in gradual decline. Recently some hedge funds, which believed that this decline wasn’t fully reflected in its stock price, began selling the stock short — that is, borrowing stocks and selling them, expecting to buy the stocks back at lower prices.

Enter Reddit, an online discussion site. WallStreetBets, a “subreddit” (discussion board) that caters to small, risk-taking investors, has become a force in the market: Stocks promoted on the board, so-called meme stocks, sometimes soar. And that’s what happened to GameStop.

In fact, GameStop surged so much that the short-sellers were forced to fold their cards. The rising stock price meant that they were losing money, and to limit their losses they had to unwind their positions — which meant buying the stock back, which sent its price even higher.

That was last week. This week GameStop’s stock price has come mostly, although not entirely, back down to earth. And now, instead of reading about little guys who suddenly became rich, we’re reading about small investors who bought near the top and lost their life savings.

So what was all that about? Social media acted as an accelerant, but the basic story of what happened is a very old one. This was basically a pump and dump, with a side order of predatory trading.

A pump and dump takes place when an investor or group of investors buy a stock cheaply, then drive its price up by spreading rumors and/or misinformation, letting them unload their shares on naïve chumps — “bag holders” — at a profit. In principle that’s an illegal practice, but it’s unlikely that anyone will end up being charged in the GameStop affair, since it will probably be impossible to prove intent.

Still, the stock did in fact get pumped — we don’t know who exactly pushed GameStop, but many WallStreetBets posts are reportedly coming from bots, not actual human beings — and somebody made a lot of money selling it to bag holders.

Predatory trading is wheeling and dealing that exploits the limited financial resources of other traders, forcing them to unwind their positions and reinforce price moves. We normally think of hedge funds as the predators in such situations; the most famous example may be George Soros’s play against the British pound in 1992. But last week some of the hedge funds were the prey.

All in all, it’s a nasty story with no obvious good guys. Who’s going to shed tears for short-sellers? But it’s also, in financial terms, small potatoes. What’s distressing about the GameStop saga isn’t the fact that some people lost money; it is, as I said, the continuing gullibility these events exposed.

Let’s be clear: What just happened was not a populist uprising. Our economy has left many families behind, but what working Americans need is an end to wage stagnation, not the opportunity to gamble on stocks. Indeed, when the dust settles we’ll probably find out that small investors as a group lost money in the trading frenzy, while Wall Street gained.

But the narrative of little guys taking on The System surely sucked in some unwary victims. And things turned really ugly once GameStop stock began its inevitable descent.

When the trading platform Robinhood temporarily stopped accepting orders for some volatile stocks because it didn’t have enough cash to support the trades, far too many public figures immediately claimed conspiracy. It’s no surprise that Senator Josh Hawley, arguably America’s leading fake populist and a fist-pumping promoter of the election lies that led to the sacking of the Capitol, joined in. But some progressives echoed the complaint.

They should have known better. There was always an obvious QAnonish tinge to the meme stock phenomenon, and it has gotten ever stronger as those stocks sink; yes, there are people on Reddit and other social media assigning all the blame to Jewish bankers.

So let me make a plea to everyone who cares about the inequalities of our society: It’s fine to support populism, but make sure that the populism is real. We need serious policies to make American lives better, not conspiracy theorizing and phony culture wars against “elites.”

Corporate News

 •* Duopharma Biotech Bhd* has signed a deal with the Malaysian government to supply 6.4 million doses of the Russian-developed "Sputnik V" Covid-19 vaccine. The group said it will procure and supply to the Ministry of Health (MoH) the vaccine developed by the Gamaleya National Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology. Duopharma said its subsidiary, Duopharma (M) Sdn Bhd (DMSB), has signed a term sheet agreement with MoH and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) to secure the 6.4 million doses of Sputnik V. RDIF is the appointed marketing agent for Gamaleya for all international markets, with established partnerships in India, China, and South Korea to manufacture the vaccine. Duopharma said supply of the Sputnik V vaccine could be from any of RDIF's partners, subject to approval by MoH's National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA).

•Meanwhile, Pharmaniaga Bhd signed an agreement with Putrajaya to supply 12 million doses of a China-developed Covid-19 vaccine. Its wholly-owned subsidiary Pharmaniaga LifeScience Sdn Bhd (PLS) entered into a term sheet agreement with the government of Malaysia, represented by MoH, for the purchase and distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine. The vaccine will be developed by Sinovac Life Sciences Co Ltd (Sinovac LS), a subsidiary of Sinovac Biotech Ltd. Pharmaniaga said the duly-executed agreement is to enable PLS to supply 12 million doses of finished Covid-19 CoronaVac, SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine (Vero Cell), Inactivated (developed by Sinovac LS), and filled and finished by PLS to be delivered to hospitals, clinics and any other facilities nationwide, as instructed by the MoH.

•* Atrium REIT* said its fourth-quarter net property income (NPI) rose 20.64% to RM9.30 million, from RM7.71 million in the preceding quarter, thanks to rental income contribution from its Atrium Bayan Lepas (ABLI) property in Penang. The industrial property REIT said gross revenue for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2020 (4QFY20) increased 16.13% to RM8.85 million, from RM7.62 million in 3QFY20. On a year-on-year basis, the NPI increased 20.98% from RM7.47 million in 4QFY19, while revenue rose 16.28% from RM7.61 million. Atrium REIT declared a distribution per unit of three sen, payable on Feb 26, bringing the cumulative distribution for FY20 to nine sen, from 6.63 sen in FY19.

•* PNE PCB Bhd* is proposing a private placement to raise RM21.13 million in order to reduce its borrowings and upgrade its existing printed circuit board production. The printed circuit board manufacturer said it would be issuing up to 71.16 million new shares (20% of its total share capital) to third-party investors at an indicative price of 29.7 sen apiece. The company will allocate RM10.8 million of the proceeds to pay off borrowings, which will amount to estimated annual interest savings of RM382,000. Meanwhile, RM5 million will be used to fund the upgrading of its printed circuit board production line.

•* Gabungan AQRS Bhd* has bagged two contracts for the provision of piling and infrastructure work, worth a combined RM83.58 million. The group said its unit Gabungan Strategik Sdn Bhd was awarded an RM45.7 million job in a commercial building project by Teringin Sentral Sdn Bhd, to be executed over 30 months. The group also said Gabungan Strategik has also accepted an RM37.88 million contract from Solitaire Suites Sdn Bhd, involving an office building project which will commence on May 1 and is expected to be completed by Oct 31, 2023.

•* Poh Huat Resources Holdings Bhd's* main operating subsidiary in Malaysia has discovered 543 positive Covid-19 cases among its employees. The furniture company’s subsidiary Poh Huat Furniture Industries (M) Sdn Bhd (PHFI) went through a voluntary Covid-19 screening of all of its employees (foreign and local) at all its factories located in the Bukit Pasir Industrial Area in Muar, Johor. The screening exercise covered 1,400 employees at all of PHFI’s plant premises and corporate offices in Bukit Pasir, Muar, and 543 employees tested positive for Covid-19.

•* Hwa Tai Industries Bhd* has been slapped with an unusual market activity (UMA) query by the stock exchange, after its share price surged as much as 33.3% or 15.5 sen to a three-year high of 62 sen today. The biscuit maker, which is valued at RM44.15 million currently, has been on a steep climb since last Monday (Jan 18), from 36 sen. In its query to Hwa Tai, Bursa Malaysia demanded an explanation of the reasons that could have possibly driven up its share price. The biscuit manufacturer responded to the regulator, saying it was not aware of any corporate development, rumour or any other possible explanation for the higher trading activity.

•* Chin Teck Plantations Bhd* said its net profit doubled to RM15.77 million for the first quarter ended Nov 30, 2020 (1QFY21), from RM7.81 million a year earlier. In a bourse filing, the group said the higher bottom-line earnings were on the back of higher revenue, thanks to higher prices for fresh fruit bunches (FFB), crude palm oil (CPO) and palm kernel (PK). It added that the FFB production and purchases also increased, resulting in higher CPO and PK production. Chin Teck said revenue was up 36.61% at RM45.41 million, from RM33.24 million in 1QFY20.

•* Dagang NeXchange Bhd (DNeX)* has clarified that other than a consortium agreement signed by its unit yesterday, it has not received a letter of award, nor has it entered into an agreement with the Indonesian government for a cable laying, maintenance and repair job there. DNeX was responding to an article published in The Edge Malaysia dated Jan 25, entitled "DNeX close to bagging cable laying, maintenance and repair job in Indonesia”.

•* Advancecon Holdings Bhd* has bagged a RM60.6 million subcontract for the proposed construction and completion of subgrade works of Package 3, Section 4 for the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project. Advancecon said its wholly-owned subsidiary Advancecon Infra Sdn Bhd has accepted the letter of acceptance from China Communications Construction (ECRL) Sdn Bhd for the appointment of AISB as the subcontractor. The contract period spans March 1, 2021 to April 15, 2023.

•* Tasco Bhd* has proposed a share split of every share to four shares, the total logistics solution provider said in a bourse filing yesterday. Tasco currently has an issued share capital of RM100.8 million, comprising 200 million shares. The theoretical share price after the split would be 95.75 sen per share, based on, for illustrative purposes, the last transacted market price of RM3.83 per share on Jan 19. Tasco said the proposed share split is to reward its existing shareholders, improve liquidity of the company's shares and broaden its shareholder base.

•* Dagang NeXchange Bhd (DNeX)* has inked a consortium agreement with PT Infrastruktur Telekomunikasi Indonesia to maintain submarine cables there. DNeX signed the agreement via a consortium comprising its unit PT DNeX Telco Indonesia (PT DTI) and PT Samudera Mbiantu Sesami (PT SMS). The group said the agreement is for the deployment, management, maintenance and repair, as well as other value-added works, for the sea cable communication system maintenance support within and outside of Indonesia. Under the deal, the consortium is established for a period of three years and may be extended over the next three years.

Astino Bhd: Revving up local operations
Trading Catalyst
• 10 manufacturing plants located across Peninsular Malaysia, supported by approximately 700 employees.
• Notable completed roofing projects include Pantai Hospital (Penang), SMJK Jit Sin (Penang), Toyo Tires plant, Fedex (Batu Kawan), Econsave (Taiping) and Inari (Batu Kawan).
• Demand in the local market to remain firm over the foreseeable future as building projects resume operations, while higher steel prices may contribute to improvement in margins. 
• Technically, a trendline breakout above the RM0.91 level may drive price higher towards the next resistances at RM0.97-RM1.00 with long term target at RM1.04.
Technical View
(i) ASTINO (S: RM0.85, R: RM0.97-1, LT TP: RM1.04, CL: RM0.82)
S: Support, R: Resistance, LT TP: Long term target price, CL: Cut loss

Technical Analyzer

JAKS (4723)

Outlook: Pending breakout MYR0.71

Levels: MYR0.74, MYR0.80

Exit: Below MYR0.665

(time frame: 2-4 weeks)

FoundPac (5277)

Outlook: Breakout MYR0.985

Levels: MYR1.07, MYR1.14

Exit: Below MYR0.985

(time frame: 2-4 weeks)

Globetronics (7022)

Outlook: Pending breakout MYR3.20

Levels: MYR3.50, MYR3.70

Exit: Below MYR3.05

(time frame: 2-4 weeks)

Techbond (5289)

Outlook: Pending breakout MYR1.38

Levels: MYR1.45, MYR1.60

Exit: Below MYR1.30

(time frame: 2-4 weeks)

Corporate News

•* Hartalega Holdings Bhd* announced its net profit for the third quarter ended Dec 31, 2020 (3QFY21) leapt to a record high of RM1 billion, up nearly 84% against RM544.96 million in the preceding quarter, 2QFY21. Its revenue grew by 58.2% to RM2.13 billion quarter-on-quarter against RM1.35 billion in 2QFY21. The brisk glove sales boosted Hartalega's cash pile to RM2.14 billion. Quarterly earnings per share (EPS) ballooned to 29.31 sen, from 15.95 sen in the preceding quarter. This brings the cumulative EPS to 51.68 sen, from 9.49 sen. Hartalega declared a second interim dividend of 9.65 sen, bringing the cumulative dividend payout for the nine months ended Dec 31, 2020 (9MFY21) to 15.6 sen, versus the 5.5 sen registered in 9MFY20.

•* IGB Real Estate Investment Trust's (REIT)* net property income for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2020 slipped 3.12% to RM93.09 million, from RM96.09 million a year ago, mainly due to a higher allowance for impairment of trade receivables. Quarterly revenue rose 5.65% to RM147.51 million from RM139.61 million a year ago, the REIT said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia. The manager has approved a distribution of 95% of the trust's quarterly distributable income, amounting to RM74.3 million or 2.08 sen per unit, to be paid on Feb 26. For the full year, IGB REIT's net property income fell 20.59% to RM316.68 million, from RM398.79 million in the previous year. Revenue for the 12 months dropped 15.74% to RM465.24 million, from RM552.13 million previously.

•* Bioalpha Holdings Bhd* announced that it has entered into a two-year procurement and distribution agreement with Shanghai Bukun Trading Co Ltd for the procurement and distribution of vaccines in Malaysia, which include the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Sinovac Biotech Co Ltd, subject to approval by the relevant authorities, including the Ministry of Health (MoH) and the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA). Bioalpha managing director William Hon said the company is currently liaising with MoH and NPRA and preparing to submit the clinical data for all three clinical trials to secure approvals to distribute the vaccines here.

•* Key ASIC Bhd's* wholly owned subsidiary Key ASIC Semiconductor Ltd has entered into a contract worth US$5.25 million (approximately RM21.22 million) with Canvas Technology Pte Ltd. The project entails the technology and design of internet protocol development and licensing.

•* KNM Group Bhd's* Italian unit has clinched RM30.22 million in contracts for a plant in the United States. The process equipment manufacturer's unit FBM Hudon Italiana SpA, which manufactures process equipment such as condensers, spheres and process tanks, inked two agreements with Dutch oil and gas firm Stamicarbon BV to supply a high-pressure carbanate condenser and a high-pressure stripper. The contracts are expected to contribute to KNM's earnings for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2021 (FY21) and FY22.

•* Sunsuria Bhd* is disposing of two parcels of agricultural land in Kuala Lumpur to Kerjaya Prospek Property Bhd for a total of RM30.14 million. Sunsuria said its 70%-owned subsidiary Sunsuria Genlin Development Sdn Bhd has entered into a sale and purchase agreement with Kerjaya Prospek Property's wholly owned subsidiary Kerjaya Property Sdn Bhd to dispose of the two vacant freehold agricultural lands located in Setapak measuring a total of 9,092 square metres. "The disposal of properties will enable Sunsuria Group to unlock capital resources from being tied up as long-term assets and realise the value of the properties at a fair market value whilst enhancing Sunsuria Group's liquidity and strengthening its financial position," it said.

•* Bintai Kinden Corp Bhd* is teaming up with Australian-based company, International Equities Corp Ltd, to jointly undertake two mixed property development and management projects with healthcare facilities and wellness services in Melaka and Penang. Bintai Kinden will take lead in the project to be developed on two parcels of freehold land spanning 2.16 hectares in Melaka and Penang with an estimated gross development value of RM470 million. International Equities, on the other hand, will provide technical consultation, planning, design, development, and other services to assist Bintai Kinden in developing and promoting the project.

•High-precision plastic components maker Ge-Shen Corp Bhd announced that 10 employees of its 70%-owned subsidiary Demand Options Sdn Bhd have tested positive for Covid-19. The infected 10 employees work at Demand Options' primary operations in Desa Cemerlang, Johor Bahru. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia today, Ge-Shen said mass testing has been conducted after the first case of Covid-19 was identified at Demand Options.

•* Prestariang SKIN Sdn Bhd*, a unit of AwanBiru Technology Bhd (Awantec), is entitled to damages of between RM733 million and RM922 million after the Pakatan Harapan government unilaterally terminated a concession agreement for the provision of a comprehensive immigration system over 15 years with the company, said its lawyer. At the start of Prestariang SKIN's hearing against the government, its counsel Datuk Lim Chee Wee in his opening statement said the company had completed 22.37% of the project since 2017, based on an assessment by an independent expert.

•Koon Hoi Chun via AKK Capital Sdn Bhd is buying a 60.41% stake in carpet maker Paragon Union Bhd from major shareholders in an off-market deal which led to a planned unconditional mandatory takeover offer from the buyer to acquire the remaining shares in Paragon Union at 55 sen each. Paragon Union said it then received the notice of the unconditional mandatory takeover offer from Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd on behalf of AKK. AKK's offer of 55 sen a share values Paragon Union at about RM36.4 million based on the company's latest reported number of issued shares at 66.18 million.

•* Censof Holdings Bhd* has proposed a private placement to raise up to RM25.09 million, partly to fund the acquisition of an additional stake in a subsidiary. The group said it is placing out up to 100.35 million new shares or 20% of its shareholding to third-party investors. The indicative issue price of the placement shares is 25 sen apiece, it said. Censof said it will be using RM14.06 million of the proceeds of the placement to acquire an additional 30.87% interest in its 58.20%-owned subsidiary Asian Business Software Solutions Pte Ltd. Asian Business Software is involved in the development and supply of financial management and accounting softwares for small and medium enterprises.

•* Dagang NeXchange Bhd (DNeX)* has inked a consortium agreement with PT Infrastruktur Telekomunikasi Indonesia to maintain submarine cables there. DNeX signed the agreement via a consortium comprising its unit PT DNeX Telco Indonesia (PT DTI) and PT Samudera Mbiantu Sesami (PT SMS). The group said the agreement is for the deployment, management, maintenance and repair, as well as other value-added works, for the sea cable communication system maintenance support within and outside of Indonesia. Under the deal, the consortium is established for a period of three years and may be extended over the next three years.

HEVEA (RM0.65 – BUY- HLIB RESEARCH TP RM0.83) – Potential downtrend line breakout 

Continue to shine. Hevea risk-reward profile is more attractive now after tumbling 22% from its 52-week high of RM0.835 to RM0.65 last Friday, supported by undemanding valuations of 12.3x (ex NCPS of 18.5sen or ~28% to share prices) FY21E P/E (vs 5Y mean of 15.1x) and 0.88x P/B (20% below 5Y mean of 1.1x), coupled with a strong 19% EPS CAGR from FY19-22 

We expect Hevea to post a seasonally better 4Q20 results particularly in the RTA division, benefitting from pent-up demand, stocking up activities and work-from-home arrangements as a result of disruption of supply chain and trade diversions

However, growing pressures from stronger RM, higher freight costs and raw material prices remain a challenge to the group

R1-R2: 0.69-0.72
LT objective: 0.80
S1-S2: 0.61-0.60
Cut: 0.58 

Thong Guan Industries Bhd: On expansion drive

Trading Catalyst

• 17 manufacturing operations located in Malaysia, China and Thailand with products exported to 70 countries worldwide.

• Earmarked a sizeable expansion plan with planned CAPEX of RM150.0m for 2021 & 2022 with RM30-40m will be allocated to set up a manufacturing plant in Myanmar that provides lower cost of production and better margins.

• Healthy balance sheet with net cash position of RM118.3m, translating to net cash per share of RM0.31 (c. 12.4% of share price) in 3QFY20.

• Technically, a consolidation breakout above RM2.54 may drive share price higher towards the next resistances at RM2.70-RM2.88 with long term target at RM3.26.

(i) TGUAN (S: RM2.41, R: RM2.70-2.88, LT TP: RM3.26, CL: RM2.40)

S: Support, R: Resistance, LT TP: Long term target price, CL: Cut loss

•* Tenaga Nasional Bhd's (TNB)* foreign shareholding fell to 12.87% as at Dec 31, 2020 from 13.81% as at end-November 2020, according to the Malaysian Government-controlled utility's latest updates on overseas investors' ownership of the company's shares. The December and November 2020 updates, which were published on TNB's website on Monday (Jan 18), showed that its latest foreign shareholding figures had fallen from 17.62% as at end-February 2020.

•* Supermax Corp Bhd* spent RM53.92 million to buy back its own shares today, its first share buyback exercise this year. In a bourse filing, the glove manufacturer said it bought back 8.15 million shares at between RM6.24 and RM6.70 apiece. It now holds 102.98 million cumulative net outstanding treasury shares, which is equivalent to 3.79% of its total share capital of 2.72 billion shares.

•* CIMB Group Holdings Bhd* has appointed Paul Wong Chee Kin as president and CEO of CIMB Thai effective Feb 1, 2021, succeeding acting president and CEO Sutee Losoponkul after the departure of the previous CEO, Adisorn Sermchaiwong. The group said Losoponkul will remain with CIMB Thai and assume the role of advisor to the president and CEO, until Dec 31, 2021. Wong is currently CIMB’s group chief operations officer, overseeing activities across functions in payments, digitalisation, strategy, customer delivery and process improvements.

•* Dagang NeXchange Bhd (DNeX)* is acquiring an additional 60% of the issued share capital in Ping Petroleum Ltd for US$78 million (RM314.3 million), as the group looks to further strengthen its presence in the upstream oil and gas (O&G) segment. DNeX said it entered into a conditional share sale and purchase agreement with the other shareholders of Ping to acquire the stake, which upon completion will increase its holdings in the latter to 90%. It said the transaction price for the 60% stake represents a discount of around 40% of the market valuation of Ping’s proved and probable (2P) reserve. The purchase will be satisfied by a combination of US$40.95 million in cash, and the issuance of new ordinary shares in DNeX and new redeemable preference shares in its wholly-owned unit DNeX Energy Sdn Bhd, for the remaining US$37.05 million.

•* SC Estate Builder Bhd* has proposed to undertake a private placement of up to 20% of the total number of issued shares to third-party investors at an issue price to be determined later. The construction group said that based on the indicative issue price of 5.5 sen per placement share, the proposed private placement is expected to raise gross proceeds of RM10.54 million.

•* FGV Holdings Bhd’s* non-interested directors have recommended that minority shareholders reject the proposed takeover offer for the plantation group’s shares at RM1.30 each by the Federal Land Development Authority’s (Felda), saying the offer is not fair and not reasonable after taking into account FGV’s fair value and initial public offering (IPO) share price of RM4.55 each. Independent adviser RHB Investment Bank Bhd said the FGV non-interested directors contended that the offer price is not fair because it is below the fair value of RM1.42 to RM1.60 per FGV share as determined by independent adviser RHB. RHB, however, said while Felda’s proposed takeover offer for FGV's shares at RM1.30 each is not fair, it is reasonable in the absence of an alternative proposal and Felda's intention not to maintain FGV's listing status. Hence, RHB recommended minority shareholders to accept the offer.

•* Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd* said today its proposed private placement involving 336.83 million new shares was oversubscribed by 1.85 times. In conjunction with the completion of the private placement’s book-building exercise, the oil and gas service provider said the issue price of the private placement shares was fixed at RM1.51 per share, and that it is expected to raise gross proceeds of RM508.61 million from the exercise.

•* HB Global Ltd* has proposed to raise RM12.17 million via a private placement to repay creditors, and for use in future investments and working capital. The loss-making China-based frozen food maker said it would be issuing 93.6 million placement shares or 20% of its total share capital, at an indicative issue price of 13 sen to third-party investors.

•* PLS Plantations Bhd* has proposed to place out 19 million new shares in the durian planter to CIMB Group Holdings Bhd's ex-chairman Datuk Seri Nazir Razak at 95 sen each under a private placement of up to 10% of the total number of issued shares in the company to improve its public shareholding spread and raise money to finance the expansion of its existing business. PLS said the placement, which includes share placements to other independent third-party investors, will also enable the company to raise funds to partially repay the group’s bank borrowings, which stood at about RM121.48 million as at Dec 31, 2020.

Corporate News

 •* AirAsia Group Bhd* is proposing to issue up to 668.39 million new shares or 20% of its current share capital for private placement to raise RM454.51 million. The proposed sum is based on an indicative price of 68 sen per share. AirAsia Group closed at 73 sen, valuing the airline at RM2.44 billion. The low-cost carrier said the private placement is not sufficient to meet its long-term cash flow. The move is an interim measure to address its immediate cash flow operations while it explores other options to improve its long-term financial performance.

•A tech fund promoted by Green Packet Bhd is funding the majority shareholders of Nuglobal Ventures Sdn Bhd which is keen on taking over Khazanah Nasional Bhd's semiconductor fabricating company SilTerra Malaysia Sdn Bhd. Green Packet said Nuglobal Ventures has submitted a bid for SilTerra. However, it highlighted that the bid is subject to strict confidentiality with Khazanah and no detail of the bid can be publicly disclosed now. Green Packet stressed that Nuglobal Ventures is neither its associate company nor its subsidiary, and is owned by majority local bumiputera shareholders and minority Chinese shareholders.

•* Dagang NeXchange Bhd (DNeX)* today clarified that it has not entered into any definitive agreement to acquire Khazanah Nasional Bhd's semiconductor fabricating company SilTerra Malaysia Sdn Bhd. It said the company nevertheless is constantly evaluating various proposals to grow its business organically or through acquisitions including that of SilTerra.

•* Genting Malaysia Bhd's (GenM)* Resorts World Genting, Resorts World Away, Resorts World Kijal and Resorts World Langkawi will be temporarily closed following the implementation of the Movement Control Order in six more states. The gaming giant also announced that its Resorts World Birmingham, alongside all land-based casinos in the UK, will be temporarily closed until further notice, in compliance with the British government's directives to curb the spread of Covid-19. Its online business GentingBet.com is still operational.

•* UOA Real Estate Investment Trust's (REIT)* net rental income for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2020 fell 10.81% to RM12.98 million, from RM14.61 million a year earlier. The fall was due to rental rebates given to eligible tenants, the commercial REIT said in a bourse filing. UOA REIT declared a distribution per unit of 4.6 sen, compared with 2.3 sen a year ago. There was an 8.42% decline in the REIT's quarterly revenue to RM18.11 million from RM19.78 million.

•* Pantech Group Holdings Bhd*, which supplies pipes and valves to the oil and gas (O&G) industry, said third-quarter net profit fell 14.8% to RM8.75 million from RM10.27 million a year earlier as revenue dropped partly due to a decrease in sales of the company's products to O&G customers at a time when the industry contended with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Pantech said revenue slipped to RM133.04 million in the third quarter ended Nov 30, 2020, from RM165.51 million a year earlier.

•* CIMB Group Holdings Bhd's* 94.8%-owned subsidiary CIMB Thai Bank PCL saw its net profit for the financial year 2020 (FY20) ended Dec 31, 2020 decline 36% from a year earlier to 1.29 billion baht (RM173.96 million). The fall in earnings was attributed to a 60% increase in provisions to 2.68 billion baht as at the end of FY20 from 2.3 billion baht at the end of FY19. The bank also registered an expected credit loss of 4.47 billion baht in FY20.

Pertama Digital Bhd is urging banks to lift limits on FPX transactions as it predicts that digital bail collections will rise further this year after the Covid-19 pandemic forced courts to move their operations to digital platforms. Its executive director Sabri Abdul Rahman said this would enable the full adoption of its digital bail payment solution eJamin.

•Independent adviser BDO Capital Consultants Sdn Bhd has advised Versatile Creative Bhd's minority shareholders to accept its largest shareholder NSK Trading Sdn Bhd's takeover offer as the deal is "fair and reasonable". BDO said the offer price of 70 sen is fair because it represents a premium of 44 sen or 169.2% to the estimated fair value per Versatile Creative share of 26 sen. The offer price also represents a discount of 7.28% per share to the closing price at the latest practicable date (LPD) of 75.5 sen and 2.45% to the five-day volume-weighted average market price up to the LPD. It said the offer is reasonable as Versatile Creative shares are relatively illiquid and in the absence of a competing offer, the offer provides an opportunity to the holders to realise their investment in Versatile Creative.

•* Top Glove Corp Bhd* said its annual rubber glove production capacity has reached 91 billion pieces as at January 2021 as demand for gloves continues to be strong despite the availability of vaccines to curb the Covid-19 pandemic. The world's largest rubber glove manufacturer in terms of production capacity expects to have an annual output capacity of 110 billion gloves by December 2021 as the company adds new capacity of 19 billion pieces of gloves for the year. Top Glove said its current annual production capacity of 91 billion pieces gloves has been achieved via collective output across the group's 36 glove factories out of the company's total of 47 factories.

Technical Analyzer

Tomypak (7285)
Outlook: Pending breakout MYR0.775
Levels: MYR0.805, MYR0.825
Exit: Below MYR0.75
(time frame: 2-4 weeks)

Media Prima (4502)
Outlook: Pending breakout MYR0.285
Levels: MYR0.30, MYR0.315
Exit: Below MYR0.275
(time frame: 2-4 weeks)

MTAG (0213)
Outlook: Breakout MYR0.76
Levels: MYR0.805, MYR0.84
Exit: Below MYR0.76
(time frame: 2-4 weeks)

JAG (0024)
Outlook: Pending breakout MYR0.235
Levels: MYR0.25, MYR0.265
Exit: Below MYR0.225
(time frame: 2-4 weeks)

Corporate News

 •* KNM Group Bhd* plans to raise up to RM54.93 million via a private placement to pay off its bank borrowings and to fund some ongoing projects. The process equipment manufacturer aims to issue up to 10% of its share capital or 296.92 million shares, which will be placed out to third-party investors to be identified. It said RM20 million of the proceeds raised will be used to repay bank borrowings, while RM33.63 million will be used to procure raw materials, pay subcontractors and other related expenses for its ongoing contracts in Indonesia, Malaysia and Guyana.

•* Kanger International Bhd* has diversified into the construction business by signing six deals totalling RM495.9 million today. It involves the group undertaking the remaining works at six construction sites in Kuala Lumpur and Pahang, the group said. The jobs were awarded by the main contractors of the projects and will provide a steady stream of revenue for the group during the tenure of the deals. The scope of works includes management of subcontractors appointed by the main contractors and the handling of financial matters which include fulfilling payments to the sub-contractors promptly.

•* SKP Resources Bhd* is temporarily closing its Johor Bahru operations from Jan 16 till Jan 29, to facilitate Covid-19 screening of its employees, after five of them tested positive last week. This temporary closure is expected to result in a capacity loss of 3% of its annual output, SKP said.

•* Batu Kawan Bhd* has updated that it now controls 92.14% of Chemical Company of Malaysia Bhd (CCM), after receiving more acceptances for its RM3.10 takeover offer. With its shareholding rising above 90%, Batu Kawan said it will not be maintaining CCM’s listing on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia. The group said the offer will remain open for acceptance until Feb 2.

•* Daya Materials Bhd*, a Practice Note 17 (PN17) company, said its subsidiary has secured an RM23.86 million construction sub-contract in Banting, Selangor. The sub-contract awarded to its 51%-owned subsidiary Daya CMT Sdn Bhd involves the construction of a recycle pulp and packaging paper plant in Mahkota Industrial Park. It was awarded by Sing Foong Niap Engineering Sdn Bhd and is targeted to be completed by June 30.

•* Samaiden Group Bhd* has secured a RM25.8 million contract from Gimzan Plywood Sdn Bhd to develop a biomass-based power plant in Terengganu. The contract will commence on Feb 2, and the job is targeted to be completed within 23 months.

•* MESB Bhd* plans to venture into the waste recycling business, as it sees its loss-making trading and retailing of apparel and leather products business to continue to face challenges amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The group said the waste recycling business has a favourable outlook to enhance its prospects and financial performance, as well as reduce its sole dependency on the existing business.

•* Seacera Group Bhd* is selling a 72,770 sq metre land in Taiping, Perak to AT Systematization Bhd’s glove unit for RM10.5 million. The land being sold to AT Glove Engineering Sdn Bhd was valued at RM11.7 million by an independent valuer in June 2015. The deal is deemed to be a related party transaction because Asiabio Capital Sdn Bhd is a major shareholder of Seacera and AT Systematization.

•* Notion VTec Bhd* announced today that some of its workers have been tested positive for Covid-19 and that the company has detected 87 positive and suspect cases thus far within its premises. The hard-disk drive manufacturer said as a precautionary and preventive measure, the company has conducted Covid-19 tests on workers who have had close contact with infected workers.

•* Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB)* said it will implement the government-approved enhanced terms for the electricity connection charge and connected load charge, effective today. A connection charge is the upfront payment made by consumers who require new electricity supply infrastructure or an upgrade of existing infrastructure to cater for additional power supply. Meanwhile, the connected load charge is a mitigating tool to discourage consumers from over-declaring their electricity load requirement, TNB said.

•* Genting Malaysia Bhd's (GenM)* wholly-owned subsidiary Genting UK plc permanently closed its Genting Casino Southport, in the north-west of England, with 38 staff members facing redundancy. According to gaming news portal G3 Newswire, GenM said the closure was "simply unavoidable" due to the lack of business as a result of Covid-closures. The gaming group has already closed casinos in Margate, Torquay and Bristol and has reduced its workforce in London, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Blackpool and Birmingham.

•Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) has acquired 5.14 million FGV Holdings Bhd shares for a total of RM6.64 million yesterday, following an earlier purchase of 22 million shares, as part of its efforts to take the group private. The smaller tranche of shares was also bought at RM1.29 apiece, one sen below its cash offer of RM1.30 for FGV shares. To date, the agency has acquired 27.1 million of FGV’s shares from the open market, representing a 0.74% equity stake.

Technical Analyzer

Kronologi Asia (0176)
Outlook: Pending breakout MYR0.75
Levels: MYR0.775, MYR0.795
Exit: MYR0.73
(time frame: 2-4 weeks)

Dayang Enterprise (5141)
Outlook: Pending breakout MYR1.24
Levels: MYR1.29, MYR1.33
Exit: MYR1.20
(time frame: 2-4 weeks)

Cypark Resources (5184)
Outlook: Pending breakout MYR1.29
Levels: MYR1.32, MYR1.43
Exit: MYR1.25
(time frame: 2-4 weeks)

N2N Connect (0108)
Outlook: Breakout MYR0.735
Levels: MYR0.775, MYR0.80
Exit: MYR0.725
(time frame: 2-4 weeks)

Corporate News

 •Eco World Development Group Bhd (EcoWorld) said the property developer’s board has decided not to pursue the proposed merger with rival UEM Sunrise Bhd following careful evaluation of the merger alongside EcoWorld’s own business plans and the current challenging environment with the re-implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO). EcoWorld said that since the last announcement on Dec 30, 2020 regarding the proposed merger, the parties involved had been engaged in discussions with a view towards establishing the key parameters of the merger after taking note of UEM Group Bhd’s proposed heads of terms as set out in its letter dated Oct 2, 2020.

•Malaysian Rating Corp Bhd (MARC) has assigned preliminary ratings of MARC-1IS and A+IS to George Kent (Malaysia) Bhd’s proposed RM100 million Islamic Commercial Papers (ICP) Programme and RM500 million Islamic Medium-Term Notes (IMTN) Programme. The ratings outlook is stable, the rating agency said in a statement today. It said the assigned ratings reflect George Kent’s conservative capital structure, strong liquidity position and a relatively stable water meter manufacturing business that is well supported by a long-standing relationship network, an extended geographical footprint and brand recognition.

•* Chin Hin Group Property Bhd* has proposed to acquire a 1,943 sq metre piece of vacant land in Kuala Lumpur for RM20.91 million to develop office lots. The group said BK Alliance Sdn Bhd, its indirect 51%-owned unit, is buying the land from Suez Domain Sdn Bhd. The 94-year lease on the land expires in 2112.

•* WCT Holdings Bhd* said a judicial committee has upheld the Dubai Court of Appeal's decision that recognises a final award of RM1.2 billion in favour of the company in its dispute with Meydan Group LLC over the Nad Al Sheba Dubai Racecourse project. The committee dismissed Meydan's challenge of the court's decision and its application to annul the final award. WCT said it will continue to pursue its legal rights in respect of the final award, which was issued by the Arbitral Tribunal in 2015 when it initiated arbitration proceedings against Meydan in 2009 over the cancellation of the RM4.6 billion race course project in Dubai.

•* Greatech Technology Bhd* is buying 5.9 acres of leasehold land in Penang for RM13.37 million from the Penang Development Corp. The company announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary Greatech Integration (M) Sdn Bhd (GIM) had entered into the sales and purchase agreement with the State’s development agency for the acquisition of the land, which is located in Batu Kawan Industrial Park. The purchase will be funded through internally-generated funds. Greatech intends to move GIM’s manufacturing operations in Lunas, Kedah, to the newly acquired land.

•The Inland Revenue Board has renewed a contract worth RM35.3 million for HeiTech Padu Bhd for supply, delivery and renewal of CA Gen software, Access Gen (TSO) and Composer Report for the mainframe system. HeiTech Padu said the contract is for a period of three years commencing Feb 1, 2021, to Jan 31, 2024. However, the contribution will only start in the next financial year ending Dec 31, 2022 (FY22).

•* Aeon Credit Service (M) Bhd* has been granted a renewal for its money-lending licence under the Moneylenders Act 1951 and Moneylenders (Control and Licensing) Regulations 2003 by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government. The licence is valid for another two years effective Jan 15, 2021 till Jan 14, 2023 and is subject to renewal with the Ministry, the company said in a filing today, adding that it had received the letter from the Ministry dated Nov 23, 2020. Aeon Credit was first granted the money-lending licence in January 2019 from the Ministry for a period of two years.

•* Dayang Enterprise Holdings Bhd* has won a contract extension from Sarawak Shell Bhd. The group said its wholly-owned subsidiary DESB Marine Services received the contract extension for the provision of an accommodation workboat, Dayang Opal. This is under the umbrella contract for offshore support vessel services for Petronas’ Petroleum Arrangement Contractors’ drilling and project activities, Dayang Enterprise said. The group added that the value of the contract is based on work orders issued by Sarawak Shell throughout the extended one-year contract period from March 20.

•* Landmarks Bhd* has confirmed that a major fire incident took place at The Andaman, its hotel resort in Langkawi. All guests and staff have been evacuated safely, the group said in a filing today. The property is owned by its subsidiary Andaman Resort Sdn Bhd.

•* Petronas Dagangan Bhd (PetDag) and Maxis Bhd* have inked a strategic partnership to jointly offer converged solutions focusing on safety, security and sustainability for businesses. The firms said the partnership will focus on leveraging big data and advanced analytics to co-create hyper personalization for an enhanced retail experience.

•* Genting Malaysia Bhd’s* Resorts World Genting (RWG) has issued a notice that it anticipates a decline in number of visitors following the implementation of the MCO, Conditional MCO (CMCO) and Recovery MCO (RMCO). It said it will be operating at a lower capacity and that some of its offerings may not be available from Jan 13, 2021.

•* AE Multi Holdings Bhd* has bagged another project to set up the production facility for PNE PCB Bhd, a new entrant to the rubber glove industry. The company announced that its unit AE Multi Industries Sdn Bhd has received a letter of award from PNE Glove Sdn Bhd — a unit of PNE PCB Bhd — to design, build and deliver on a turnkey basis a glove-manufacturing factory of up to 59,000 square feet within eight months. The factory will have the capacity to house up to 10 glove-dipping lines for the sole purpose of manufacturing medical grade nitrile gloves.

•* Wintoni Group Bhd* has been granted a further extension of time to appoint a replacement sponsor and submit its regularisation plan. The Practice Note 17 (PN17) said Bursa Malaysia Securities has now granted the company up till June 30 to submit its regularisation plan to the relevant authorities, subject to the appointment of a sponsor by March 1.