Automotive sector
Maintain overweight: In March 2019, passenger and commercial car sales saw strong growth, leading to a surge in total industry volume (TIV) to 54,800 units or +37.5% month-on-month (m-o-m) and +9.6% year-on-year (y-o-y). We believe the growth was mainly u...

Automotive sector’s growth seen on demand for new SUVs

Gamuda Bhd
(Jan 28, RM2.68)
Under review with an unchanged target price of RM2.80: We recently visited Gamuda Cove Experience Gallery in USJ Taipan, Subang Jaya. With an estimated gross development value (GDV) of RM20 billion and more than 23,000 residential units t...

Gamuda Cove seen key contributor to Gamuda’s property division

WCT Holdings Bhd
(Jan 10, 78.5 sen)
Maintain sell with an unchanged target price (TP) of 68.5 sen: CORE Precious Development Sdn Bhd, a joint venture (JV) on a basis of 20:65:15 between WCT Holding Bhd, CCCG Overseas Real Estate Pte Ltd and China Communications Cons...

Pricing of WCT’s TRX project seen reasonable

AEON Co (M) Bhd
(Dec 26, RM1.51)
Upgrade to hold with an unchanged target price of RM1.72: Management guided that year to date, AEON Co (M) Bhd’s same-store-sales growth (SSSG) for financial year 2018 (FY18) is between 1.5% and 2%. For FY17, AEON produced a negative...

Resilient AEON sales likely to be offset by higher costs

Poh Huat Resources Holdings Bhd
(Dec 13, RM1.55)
Maintain buy with a higher target price (TP) of RM1.79: Stripping out a net exceptional gain amounting to RM8.5 million, Poh Huat Resources Holdings Bhd’s financial year 2018 (FY18) core profit of RM38.7 million came ...

Poh Huat likely to see better earnings with downward pressure on particle board price

Media Prima Bhd
(Nov 22, 40 sen)
Maintain sell with a lower target price (TP) of 29 sen: Media Prima Bhd’s cumulative nine months ended Sept 30, 2018 (9MFY18) core net loss of RM65.9 million (-15.2% year-on-year [y-o-y]) came in below our and consensus estimates, ac...

Media Prima still facing challenges from decline in traditional adex

Hup Seng Industries Bhd
(Nov 14, RM1.08)
Downgrade to sell with a lower target price of RM1.12: Following our recent meeting with management, we find that Hup Seng Industries Bhd’s financial year 2018 (FY18) top-line growth is expected to be stable year-on-year (y-o...

Cost pressures seen to compress Hup Seng margins

Lotte Chemical Titan Holding Bhd
(Nov 1, RM4.29)
Downgrade to sell with a lower target price (TP) of RM4.30: Lotte Chemical Titan Holding Bhd’s nine months of financial year 2018 (9MFY18) core net profit of RM682 million (-5% year-on-year [y-o-y]) was within our exp...

Lotte Chemical expected to face margin squeeze

Plantation sector
Maintain neutral: The Malaysia Palm Oil Board’s September 2018 palm oil stocks increased slightly by 1.4% month-on-month (m-o-m) to 2.54 million tonnes versus market expectations of a decline of between 0.6% and 1.4%. The deviation was mainly due to a low...

El Nino event may lend support to CPO prices in 4Q

Johore Tin Bhd
(Sept 24, 92 sen)
Maintain buy with a higher target price (TP) of RM1.16: Management guided 72% of Johore Tin Bhd’s sales are currently derived from exports. As such, the company is concerned about the current US-China trade war, which would likely af...

Tax change impact unlikely for Johore Tin

LONDON (April 26): One fixture lurking like a troll in Arsenal's Premier League title run-in has probably consumed the thoughts of the club's fans more than any other -- Sunday's short trip to arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

Like all big city derbies, pride and bragging rights are always...

Arsenal face derby test with title up for grabs

(April 26): Foreign states are using UK universities to “steal advantage” by covertly acquiring British intellectual property, the government warned, saying it would explore proposals to protect cutting-edge research and technology.

After an internal review found other countries are tar...

UK warns universities about research threat from foreign states

(April 26): The Tesla Inc. shareholder who won a court order in Delaware killing co-founder Elon Musk’s US$56 billion pay package is premature in asking the judge to bar the billionaire from moving the executive-compensation dispute to Texas, the car company’s lawyers argue.

Tesla inves...

Tesla fires back at investor who doesn’t want pay fight in Texas

(April 26): Former President Donald Trump’s economic advisers are considering ways to actively stop nations from shifting away from using the dollar — an effort to counter budding moves among key emerging markets to reduce exposure to the US currency, according to people familiar with the matter....

Trump advisers discuss penalties for nations that move away from the dollar

NEW YORK/LONDON (April 26): Stocks snapped a three-day winning streak on Thursday as disappointing forecasts from Facebook and Instagram owner Meta hammered the tech sector, and Japan's yen sank through 155 per dollar for the first time since 1990.

Tepid U.S. GDP data pushed Wall Street...

Equities fall amid earnings gloom, as persistent inflation lifts Treasury yields

(April 26): Boeing's credit rating faced pressure for a second time this week as S&P brought the company one step closer to a junk rating on Thursday after a January mid-air blowout of a cabin panel led the planemaker to slow production of its best-selling jet.

The rating agency cha...

S&P slashes Boeing credit outlook as rating hovers above junk status

WASHINGTON (April 26): The Federal Communications Commission said on Thursday it is ordering the U.S. units of China Telecom, China Unicom and China Mobile to discontinue fixed or mobile broadband internet operations in the United States.

The FCC said it was requiring the Chinese carrie...

Agency bars Chinese telecom carriers from offering US broadband services

NEW YORK (April 26): Wall Street stocks closed lower on Thursday as markets were stunned by data showing slower-than-expected U.S. economic growth and persistent inflation, coupled with a sell-off in large cap stocks triggered by disappointing results from Meta Platforms META.O.

Data on...

Wall Street stocks fall as weak GDP growth spreads rate-cut gloom

(April 26): Alphabet announced its first-ever dividend on Thursday and a $70 billion stock buybuck, cheering investors who sent the stock surging nearly 16% after the bell.

The Google parent is returning capital while spending billions of dollars on data centers to catch up with rivals ...

Google parent Alphabet announces first-ever dividend, shares soar

BRIGHTON, England (April 26): Phil Foden struck twice as Manchester City stepped up their bid for a fourth Premier League crown in a row with a ruthless 4-0 victory at Brighton & Hove Albion on Thursday.

A day after Liverpool's title challenge suffered a huge blow with a 2-0 defeat ...

Man City humble Brighton to keep pressure on Arsenal

AirAsia X Bhd (AAX), which will be taking over Capital A Bhd's aviation business, has announced the mechanics of its plan via a bourse filing on Thursday.

AirAsia X to buy Capital A's aviation business for RM6.8b via share and debt deal 

Chin Teck Plantations Bhd’s net profit surged sevenfold for the financial quarter ended Feb 29, 2024 (2QFY2024) thanks to higher palm oil production as well as lower operating and administrative expenses.

Chin Teck’s 2Q net profit up sevenfold

MKH Oil Palm (East Kalimantan) Bhd (MKHOP), the plantation arm of property developer MKH Bhd, reported RM16.02 million net profit on the back of RM86.05 million revenue for the second quarter ended March 31, 2024 (2QFY2024), ahead of its listing on Bursa Malaysia’s Main Market.

MKH Oil Palm posts RM16 mil net profit in 2Q, q-o-q up 44% ahead of Main Market listing

Global semiconductor firm Nasdaq-listed TTM Technologies Inc has invested US$200 million (about RM958 million) for its first manufacturing plant in Malaysia.

Nasdaq-listed TTM Technologies invests RM958 mil for manufacturing plant in Penang

Practice Note 17 (PN17) company Khee San Bhd will increase the allotment underwritten in its proposed rights issue after Ng Meng Kee ceased to be a substantial shareholder and requested to discharge his undertaking.&nbsp;

Khee San revises underwriting of rights issue after substantial shareholder ceases to be, withdraws undertaking

Pantech Group Holdings Bhd is considering to list two wholly-owned subsidiaries — Pantech Stainless &amp; Alloy Industries Sdn Bhd and Pantech Steel Industries Sdn Bhd — on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia via a special purpose vehicle (SPV).

Plans for this are still at the preliminary stage and extensive preparatory work needs to be carried out, Pantech said in a bourse filing on Thursday.

Pantech mulls listing two subsidiaries on Main Market via SPV

ViTrox Corp Bhd saw its net profit nearly halved for the financial quarter ended March 31, 2024 (1QFY2024), primarily due to unfavourable product mix and higher research and development (R&amp;D) expenditures to support the introduction of new products.

ViTrox 1Q’s net profit nearly halved, extending declining profits to five quarters

Construction company Inta Bina Group Bhd has secured a contract worth RM224.8 million to develop a 38-storey business serviced apartment in Subang Jaya.

Inta Bina bags RM224.8m job to build business serviced apartments in Subang Jaya

The newly constituted board of Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB) will convene a meeting soon to review due diligence findings and address the remaining conditions precedent in the share subscription agreements (SSAs), said Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo.

DNB's new board to review due diligence findings, finalise share subscription agreements soon — Gobind

Here is a brief recap of some business news and corporate announcements that made the headlines on Thursday:

AirAsia X, Capital A, ViTrox, PavREIT, Luxchem, Chin Teck, MKHOP, TAS Offshore, Inta Bina, Heineken, Pantech and Infoline Tec 

While March’s headline inflation of 1.8% year-on-year (y-o-y) came in slightly lower than consensus expectations of 2%, economists are maintaining their projection that Malaysia's headline inflation will progressively accelerate towards the end of the year on account of the government's fuel subsidy rationalisation plan, utility tariff hikes, and its recent adjustments of the service tax.

Inflation to pick up soon on fiscal consolidation measures after weaker-than-expected March print — economists

Pavilion Real Estate Investment Trust (PavREIT) reported that its first quarter net property income (NPI) jumped 33.2% year-on-year, thanks largely to contribution from its newly acquired mall, Pavilion Bukit Jalil. The increase was also attributed to higher occupancy rates and higher revenue rent from its other retail malls.

PavREIT’s 1Q NPI jumps 33%, pays 2.48 sen distribution per unit

US economic growth slowed more than expected in the first quarter, but an acceleration in inflation suggested that the Federal Reserve would not cut interest rates before September.

US economic growth slows more than expected in first quarter

KUALA LUMPUR (April 25): The Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) expects more companies to utilise the new corporate rehabilitation framework introduced by the Companies (Amendment) Act 2024, which came into force on April 1.

SSM expects more companies to utilise new corporate rehabilitation framework

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has served a senior police officer arrested on suspicion of protecting an illegal syndicate in the country's capital a notice to declare his assets before April 28.

Senior police officer arrested for alleged corruption given until April 28 to declare assets to MACC

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EVENING 5: Five things you need to know today

TAS Offshore Bhd’s net profit has leapt by nine-fold year-on-year for the financial quarter ended Feb 29, 2024 (3QFY2024) due to more vessels delivered.

TAS Offshore’s 3Q net profit up nine-fold, shares surge to eight-year high

KUALA LUMPUR (April 25): Atlan Holdings Bhd’s net profit fell over 42% to RM5.07 million or two sen per share, from RM8.75 million or 3.45 sen per share in the fourth quarter ended Feb 29, 2024 (4QFY2024), as increased revenue was more than offset by higher operating expenses, depreciation and amortisation, as well as finance costs.

Atlan Holdings’ 4Q earnings came in lower despite higher revenue

PARIS (April 25): French President Emmanuel&nbsp;Macron&nbsp;appealed on Thursday for stronger, more integrated European defences and said the continent must not become a vassal of the United States, as he&nbsp;outlined&nbsp;his vision for a more assertive European Union (EU)&nbsp;on the global stage.

'Europe could die,' Macron warns, as he calls for stronger defences

US economic growth for the first quarter could be revised higher and inflation will ease to more normal levels, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told Reuters on Thursday after a clutch of "peculiar" factors held the economy to its weakest showing in nearly two years.

TA Securities Research

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