•* APFT Bhd* will be delisted from Bursa Malaysia on Jan 13, after the bourse dismissed the company’s appeal for an extension of time to submit its regularisation plan for approval. Bursa Malaysia said today that upon APFT’s delisting, the Practice Note 17 company will continue to exist, but as an unlisted entity.
•* SKP Resources Bhd* said five employees of its wholly-owned subsidiary, Syarikat Sin Kwang Plastic Industries Bhd, have tested positive for Covid-19. The group said it will continue to adhere to the standard operating procedures as directed by the MoH, in order to ensure the necessary safeguards are in place to prevent the spread of Covid-19 and to ensure its employees are provided with a safe and healthy working environment.
•The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has ceased to be a substantial shareholder of Top Glove Corp Bhd, after disposing of 40 million shares or a 0.5% direct interest in the group on Jan 5. After this sale, the EPF is left with 392.85 million shares or a 4.9% stake in the world’s largest glove maker, according to a filing with Bursa Malaysia today. Separately, Top Glove defended its board after BlackRock Inc issued a scathing statement earlier this week, attacking the firm's handling of a coronavirus outbreak and saying it had voted against the re-election of six independent directors to Top Glove's board. Nevertheless, the six directors were re-elected at the company's annual general meeting on Wednesday, gaining between 86.5% and 72.3% of shareholder votes. In a statement, Top Glove said the directors have served an average of six years and that the board meets regularly to discuss the pandemic and other governance matters.
•* VS Industry Bhd*, an electronics manufacturing service provider, has set aside RM200 million in capital expenditure (capex) for the financial year 2021 (FY21) to expand and enhance its capacity and capabilities. Managing director Datuk SY Gan said despite 2020 being an arduous year for the company in the face of unprecedented market challenges stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic and ongoing macroeconomic issues, it managed to secure two new customers from the United States.
•A subsidiary of Bintai Kinden Corp Bhd has been appointed by South Korea’s SLAB Asia Co Ltd, as the exclusive distributor for the Greenie Medi Cold Chain Box designed for the storage and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines in Malaysia. The subsidiary, Bintai Healthcare Sdn Bhd, has also been appointed an authorised distributor for the product in Southeast Asian countries. The Greenie Medi Cold Chain Box was designed for the exclusive use in transporting and storing medical products at very low temperatures, as it keeps the inbox temperature at -70℃ for up to 120 hours.
•* Sentoria Group Bhd* is selling two parcels of land measuring 747,069 sq m collectively in Kedah for RM27.9 million, to repay bank borrowings. In a bourse filing, the group announced that it's 75%-owned Sentoria Utara Sdn Bhd had inked a sale and purchase agreement (SPA) with Redvalley
Development Sdn Bhd for the sale of the freehold parcels in Amanjaya, Kuala Muda. Sentoria will be using RM26.7 million of the sale proceeds to repay bank borrowings, which it noted will save it RM1.6 million worth of interest per year, based on the average interest rate of its borrowings of about 6% per annum. The balance RM1.2 million will be used for working capital.
Quick update on construction🚜🚜🚜 by RHB Research
Stays OVERWEIGHT
Top Pick: Kerjaya Prospek, Gabungan AQRS
♦️We refer to the recent news on the ECRL project. It was reported that both Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd (MRLSB) and main contractor China Communications Construction Co Ltd (CCCC) have reached an agreement for CCCC to appoint local subcontractors and suppliers for at least 40% of the civil works of the ECRL project excluding tunneling works. The value of works was estimated to be up to MYR10bn for the implementation of the project from 2017 to 2026.
♦️We are neutral on the news as we have already expected a work value between MYR9bn-MYR11bn. It was also guided by MRL before that the portion for local contractors is around 40% for the civil works. Nonetheless, we still believe that the new development comes as a positive news for local contractors who remains keen to participate in the project. A total of MYR331.2m worth of advance works was awarded last year to listed contractors namely Gadang, AQRS, Hohup and Advancecon. Among these contractors, ECRL packages still make up a portion of their tenderbook which we believe comprise works for the Section B.
♦️Stay OW with AQRS (BUY, TP: MYR1.04) and Kerjaya Prospek (BUY, TP: MYR1.31) as Top Picks.
