KUALA LUMPUR(Jan 19): Rice vermicelli manufacturer EKA Noodles Bhd shot up 10 sen, or as much as 83.3% this morning to a high of 22 sen on news that it will be venturing into the production of liquid fructose. Similiarly, its warrant was also up 0.5 sen or 16.67% to 3.5 sen this morning.

Yesterday EKA told the local bourse that it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Anhui HuiJia Biological Science and Technology Co Ltd (HuiJia), a company based in Anhui Province, China, for the transfer of technology for the production of liquid fructose.

The MoU also includes the extraction of rice protein powder from its by-product, subject to commercial feasibility and financial viability studies to be conducted.

Pursuant to the MoU, HuiJia shall provide the technology transfer and support in producing liquid fructose in accordance to the needs of EKA's business, and EKA shall provide the relevant market information to HuiJia to facilitate the technology transfer, amongst others.

The MoU is a culmination of EKA's long search for new, strategic business opportunities as well as the need to look for new and relevant product range which the company can leverage on its existing competencies, particularly on its experience and capabilities in sourcing and processing of broken rice.

Fructose is a nutritive sweetener made from, amongst others, broken rice by undergoing enzymatic processing, producing a sweetened compound containing higher levels of fructose. This is commonly used as sweeteners in various food items and drinks.

At 10.21 a.m EKA’s share price retreated to 15 sen, 25% higher than its close yesterday with 25.17 million shares traded and was the third most active counter on Bursa Malaysia this morning. Its warrants were the second most active at 3.5 sen, with 28.02 million warrants done.

(Note: The Edge Research's fundamental score reflects a company's profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.)