MQ Market Updates - 26 December 2023

MQ Trader

Publish date: Tue, 26 Dec 2023, 05:20 PM

icapital.biz Bhd will hold an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on Dec 29 to seek shareholder approval for the proposed establishment of a dividend reinvestment plan (DRP). All shareholders were encouraged to vote in favour of the DRP as icapital.biz said the DRP will narrow the gap between its share price and net asset value (NAV) while allowing shareholders to increase their stake in the company. (NST)

HE Group Bhd has inked an underwriting agreement with Alliance Islamic Bank Bhd (AIS) in conjunction with its upcoming initial public offering (IPO) on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia. HE Group, via its subsidiary, Hexatech Engineering Sdn Bhd, is an electrical engineering service provider, principally focused on power distribution systems for end-user premises such as industrial plants, as well as industrial and commercial substations. (TheStar)

Leading optical industry player Focus Point Holdings Bhd is eyeing to increase the contribution of its food and beverage (F&B) segment to group revenue over the next two years. Focus Point, through its wholly-owned unit Multiple Reward Sdn Bhd, ventured into the F&B sector in 2012 via Komugi, a premium Japanese bakery. President and chief executive officer Datuk Liaw Choon Liang said the home-grown company is seeking to grow the F&B segment’s revenue contribution relative to its optical segment. (TheEdge)

Malayan Flour Mills Bhd and its joint venture company, Dindings Poultry Development Centre Sdn Bhd, are in consultation with their external legal counsel to challenge the Malaysia Competition Commission's (MyCC) decision to impose a penalty of RM70.02 million for a price-fixing infringement. In a Bursa Malaysia filing today, the companies said that the MyCC’s finding of infringement was without merit. (TheStar)

Bina Puri Holdings Bhd, whose share price more than doubled this year, fell as much as 15.79% to a low of eight sen in morning trade on Tuesday (Dec 26), following its proposal to raise up to RM75.62 million through a private placement after undertaking a consolidation of every five shares into one share. Shares of the loss-making civil and building construction firm opened at nine sen, half a sen lower from its closing price last Friday. (TheEdge)

Affin Hwang Investment Bank Bhd expects Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd to post a 16.5 per cent earnings growth. This will be driven by enhanced realised aluminium prices, encompassing a 30 per cent volume hedge exceeding US$2,500 per tonne, along with reduced carbon anode prices. (NST)

The widening of targeted subsidies through the removal of rebates for high electricity consumers will indirectly led to a reduction in the Imbalance Cost Pass Through (ICPT) receivables for Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) in the first half of 2024 (1H2024), according to TA Securities Holdings Bhd. “Note that in early November 2023, TNB received RM2.35 billion ICPT cost recovery for the July to September 2023 period. The government’s commitment to uphold the ICPT mechanism has aided in reducing the group’s ICPT receivables. (TheEdge)

While PPB Group Bhd’s financial earnings may not be materially affected by the RM43 million penalty imposed by the Malaysia Competition Commission (MyCC) for the group's involvement in price fixing, its reputation may suffer a short-term setback, according to Kenanga Research. In a note on Tuesday, the research house maintained its ‘outperform’ rating on PPB, as it said the group’s long-term business strategy and prospects were intact, and its valuation was reasonable with earnings expected to recover from the financial year 2024 (FY2024) onwards. (TheEdge)

RHB Retail Research said Ewein Bhd is set for an uptrend reversal as it bounced off the 21-day simple moving average line, breaching the RM1.23 immediate resistance last Friday, with improved trading volume. In a trading stocks note on Monday, the research house said that riding on the fresh “higher high” bullish pattern, the stock is likely to trend upwards towards the RM1.40 level, followed by the immediate resistance at RM1.58, which is the 52-week high. (TheEdge)

Source: New Straits Times, The Edge Markets The Star 26 December 2023