NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

• Heineken Malaysia's 4Q profit slips 5% amid weaker sales, proposes 88 sen final dividend

• UEM Sunrise lifts payout ratio, posts higher 4Q profit on land sales

• Uchi Tech 4Q net profit up 9% on higher demand, stronger US dollar

• BLD Plantation's 3Q profit rises by over seven times on lower costs

• Managepay receives approval to operate online money lending business

MACRO BITS

• World economy has growing shot at soft landing, G20 draft says

• Malaysia to seal free trade deal with UAE by June, Tengku Zafrul says

• Bank Negara insists ringgit remains undervalued given Malaysia's fundamentals and prospects

• Cost of Living Council to discuss proposal to exempt water, power bills from SST hike

• Anwar decries ‘China-phobia’ among US, Western allies

• China continues to gain traction among overseas tourists; number of South Korean visitors soars 908.0% in Jan – report

• Japan's inflation beats forecasts, end of negative rates in sight

• Cambodia-Malaysia bilateral trade shows promising upward trend — Hun Manet

• Fed’s Bowman reiterates that it’s too soon to cut interest rates

• Yellen says global economy remains resilient, lauds US as growth driver

• Yellen cites monetary tightening as risk in global outlook

• US annual home prices rising despite fourth-quarter slowdown, FHFA says

• ECB's Lagarde sees more disinflation but seeks proof of return to 2.0%

• BoE's Ramsden says inflation pressures are still too high

• British grocery price inflation slows to 5.3%, Kantar says

IDEAS OF THE DAY

• Results Note: ABMB, BIMB, BPPLAS, GHLSYS, HSPLANT, MAHSING, MBSB, MISC, NESTLE, OCK, PADINI, PETGAS, PWROOT, RHBBANK, TENAGA, UOADEV, ULICORP, UNISEM, VELESTO, WASCO

• Company Update: D&O, INARI, KAREX, OPPSTAR, PETDAG

Source: Kenanga Research - 28 Feb 2024