This article first appeared in Capital, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on April 17, 2017 - April 23, 2017

Notable filings

NOTABLE changes in shareholding between April 3 and 7 included that at Bio Osmo Bhd. The company is involved in processing, manufacturing and selling reverse osmosis drinking water as an original equipment manufacturer. It also has its own house brand of products.

Filings with Bursa Malaysia show that Datuk Raymond Chong Thin Choy divested 50 million shares, or a 6.9% stake, in an off-market trade on April 4. The selling price of seven sen per share was at a 17.6% discount to the closing price of 8.5 sen that day.

The buyer was Datuk Seri Ismail Farouk Abdullah, who now owns 66 million shares, or a 9.13% stake. Ismail Farouk owns Impiana Sdn Bhd, a hotel and resort operator that is part of the KAB Group, which is involved in property development.

Earlier on March 30, Chong had disposed of 8.8 million shares, or a 1.2% stake, at 8 sen apiece. The counter had been hovering at ­between 5.5 sen and 10 sen last month.

Following the disposal, Chong is no longer a substantial shareholder of Bio Osmo, but still retains 25.2 million shares, or a 3.5% direct stake, in the loss-making bottled water manufacturer, which has been in the red over the past three years.

To recap, Chong first emerged as a substantial shareholder of Bio Osmo on Oct 24 last year after buying 95 million shares, or a 13.14% stake, in a private placement at five sen each, or a total of RM4.7 million. He was the managing director of industrial paper bags manufacturer KYM Holdings Bhd until his resignation in May 2013.

It is worth noting that Bio Osmo was picked by Asia Analytica as a stock with momentum on March 13 and 14.

Meanwhile, Etern Group (HK) Co Ltd has surfaced as a substantial shareholder of Integrated Logistics Bhd (ILB), which provides warehousing, transport and distribution services.

A quick check on Bursa Malaysia’s website shows that Etern Group purchased 17 million shares, or an 8.96% direct stake, via a private placement on April 4.

The Hong Kong firm subscribed for ILB’s private placement shares at 79.7 sen apiece, representing a discount of 6.2% to the closing price of 85 sen on that day.

Over at Samchem Holdings Bhd, group CEO Datuk Ng Lian Poh disposed of 3.51 million shares, or a 2.58% stake, in an off-market trade on March 31. He retains 5.64 million shares, or a 4.15% stake, in the industrial chemical distributor.

A filing on April 4 shows that the transaction was done at RM2.20 apiece,  a discount of 4% to the closing price of RM2.29 on that day.

Notable movements

GHL Systems Bhd, a payment services provider, has seen its share price gain 68% year to date. It closed at RM1.51 last Wednesday, giving it a market capitalisation of RM987.8 million. The stock hit RM1.87 on April 5.

Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (Diperbadankan) has ceased to be a substantial shareholder of GHL Systems after divesting 8.8 million shares, or a 1.3% stake, on the open market on April 5. Neither the transaction price nor the buyer was disclosed.

Early this month, GHL Systems announced a partnership with Alipay to offer Malaysian in-store merchants and online merchants an alternative payment method. Alipay is China’s leading third-party online payment solution and is owned by the Alibaba Group.

SKH Consortium Bhd also saw its share price more than double to 15 sen YTD last Wednesday, giving it a market capitalisation of RM83.2 million. The counter peaked at 18 sen on April 7.

Stock market investor Fong ­Siling, better known as Cold Eye, has emerged as a substantial shareholder of the company, after acquiring 30 million shares, or a 5.41% direct stake, on the open market on April 3.

SKH Consortium, formerly known as The Media Shoppe Bhd, is an information technology company that is also involved in property development.

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