<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p>KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 20): Shares in the world’s fourth-largest cocoa grinder Guan Chong Bhd rose 3.11% this morning after the firm said it is acquiring Schokinag Holdings GMBH (SHG), a European chocolate maker for €29.93 million (RM137.84 million) as part of the group’s global expansion strategy.</p></div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p>At 9.10am, Guan Chong rose 9 sen to RM2.98, valuing it at RM3.01 billion.</p></div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p>The acquisition, to be funded through internal funds, is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2020.</p></div><div class=inPageAd id=div-gpt-ad-inpage></div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p>RHB Investment Bank Bhd Research maintained its “Buy” rating on Guan Chong at RM2.89 with a higher target price of RM3.45 (from RM3.25) and said Guan Chong is proposing to acquire Germany-based industrial chocolate producer Schokinag Holding for €29.9 million (RM137.8m).</p></div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p>In a note today, the research house said the news is deemed positive, as it would give the group access to the biggest chocolate market – the European Union.</p></div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p>“The vertical expansion also would provide synergistic opportunity and mitigate Ivory Coast expansion risks.</p></div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p>“We now peg the stock to 16x (from 15x) target P/E following the recent classification as shariah-compliant securities and the strategic acquisition,” it said.</p></div>


KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 20): Shares in the world’s fourth-largest cocoa grinder Guan Chong Bhd rose 3.11% this morning after the firm said it is acquiring Schokinag Holdings GMBH (SHG), a European chocolate maker for €29.93 million (RM137.84 million) as part of the group’s global expansion strategy.

Guan Chong up 3.11% on expanding global footprint with European acquisition

Chinese vehicle manufacturer Chery's Jaecoo marked the debut of its J7 PHEV and J8 PHEV from its new energy family at the 2024 Beijing International Automotive Exhibition.

Jaecoo marks debut of J7 PHEV, J8 PHEV at 2024 Beijing auto show

Singapore home prices grew at a slower pace last quarter and rents fell, as the city-state’s property boom began to lose steam.

Singapore home price growth slows, rents decline as market cools

Coffee prices are expected to extend their meteoric surge with the hoarding of beans and poor weather set to exacerbate a supply crunch in Vietnam, the world’s biggest producer of the robusta variety.

Pricey coffee is here to stay as hoarding, heat hit Vietnam supply

Analysts are positive that Capital A Bhd's proposed restructuring plan to streamline its aviation segments will help it exit the Practice Note 17 (PN17) status and enhance its competitive stance against established full-service carriers.

Analysts positive on Capital A's restructuring plan to get it out of PN17

Maxis Bhd could work with another consortium partner to lower the cost of deploying the second 5G network, even after the recapitalisation of Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB), said RHB Research in a note on Friday.

Maxis could lead second 5G network rollout with new consortium partner, says RHB Research

KUALA LUMPUR (April 25): Malaysia requires an annual allocation of at least RM10 billion for the next three years, which is crucial to boost water infrastructure amid below-cost tariffs and high wastage, the National Water Services Commission (SPAN) said on Thursday.

Malaysia needs RM10 bil each year till 2026 to upgrade water infrastructure — SPAN

The yen was parked by a 34-year low on the dollar and decade lows on other crosses ahead of a Bank of Japan (BOJ) meeting where interest rates are expected to stay low, while the dollar dipped elsewhere on softer-than-expected US growth data.

Yen at its weakest in decades as BOJ meets

Kiribati's parliament has voted to remove Australian-born High Court Judge David Lambourne, who said on Friday the move was politically motivated and an attack on the independence of the Pacific Island nation's judiciary.

Kiribati parliament votes to remove Australian-born high court judge

Large-scale land and forest fires regularly impact 30 million to 50 million hectares of land in Southeast Asia. These fires can generate smoke clouds covering hundreds of millions of hectares for months at a time, resulting in transboundary smoke haze that has severely impacted parts of all 10 As...

Climate And Environmental Governance: Stopping fires and transboundary haze in Southeast Asia

The battle for consumer attention in China's electric car market is being fought over touches of "tech luxury" that car buyers in other markets have never seen.

China’s upstart electric brands, and even its state-owned, legacy automakers, are racing to pack technology and features once considered premium into electric vehicles (EVs) as cheap as US$20,000 (RM95,525) — less than half the cost of an average new car in the US, now more than US$48,000.

Battle for 'tech luxury' in China as EVs get smarter — and cheaper

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


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

<p>Wall Street stocks closed lower on Thursday as markets were stunned by data showing slower-than-expected US economic growth and persistent inflation, coupled with a sell-off in large cap stocks triggered by disappointing results from Meta Platforms.</p>


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

<p>Mercury Securities Sdn Bhd has valued ACE Market-bound Sin-Kung Logistics Bhd at 14 sen based on a 14 times financial year 2025 (FY2025) earnings per share forecast of one sen.</p>


Mercury Securities values ACE Market-bound Sin-Kung Logistics at 14 sen

<p>The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) has updated its Investor Alert List.</p>


SC adds four entities to Investor Alert List, two being potential clones

<p>Harvey Weinstein's 2020 conviction for sexual assault and rape was overturned by New York's highest court, reopening the landmark case that fuelled the #MeToo movement and highlighting the challenges of holding powerful men accountable.</p>


Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction overturned by top New York court

<p>Shares of ViTrox Corp Bhd are headed for its worst day in 18 months as first-quarter (1Q) results disappointed investors while analysts turned increasingly cautious on the semiconductor company’s near-term prospects.</p>


Vitrox shares on pace for worst day in 18 months as 1Q disappoints

<p>RHB Retail Research said YTL Corp Bhd is eyeing to extend the upside movement after it staged a bullish breakout.</p>


YTL Corp eyeing to extend upside movement, says RHB Retail Research 

<p>Hulu Selangor Bersatu action division head has been named as Perikatan Nasional's (PN) candidate for the Kuala Kubu Baharu (KKB) state by-election on May 11.</p>


PN names Hulu Selangor Bersatu acting division head as candidate for KKB by-election

<p>RHB Retail Research said VS Industry Bhd is poised to continue the bullish trajectory after it broke past the key resistance on high volume.</p>


VS Industry poised to continue bullish trajectory, says RHB Retail Research 

<p>Maxis Bhd could work with another consortium partner to lower the cost of deploying the second 5G network, even after the recapitalisation of Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB), said RHB Research in a note on Friday.</p>


<p>The Tesla Inc shareholder who won a court order in Delaware killing co-founder Elon Musk’s US$56 billion (RM267.54 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.</p>


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

<p>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.</p>


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

<p>European and American investors showed converse interest in sustainable funds during the first quarter, research firm Morningstar said on Thursday, with a record US$8.8 billion (RM42.03 billion) in net withdrawals from the products in the US.</p>


Record US$8.8 bil pulled from US sustainable funds in 1Q

<p>Analysts are positive that Capital A Bhd's proposed restructuring plan to streamline its aviation segments will help it exit the Practice Note 17 (PN17) status and enhance its competitive stance against established full-service carriers.</p>


<p>The battle for consumer attention in China's electric car market is being fought over touches of "tech luxury" that car buyers in other markets have never seen.</p>

<p>China’s upstart electric brands, and even its state-owned, legacy automakers, are racing to pack technology and features once considered premium into electric vehicles (EVs) as cheap as US$20,000 (RM95,525) — less than half the cost of an average new car in the US, now more than US$48,000.</p>


<p>Alphabet announced its first-ever dividend on Thursday and a US$70 billion (RM334.43 billion) stock buyback, cheering investors who sent the stock surging nearly 16% after the bell.</p>


Google parent Alphabet announces first-ever dividend, shares soar

<p>Asian shares rose cautiously on Friday as markets sobered up to the idea that US rate cuts were most likely some time away, while the yen and Japanese government bonds struggled ahead of a closely watched policy decision by the Bank of Japan (BOJ).</p>


Asia stocks, yen tentative with eyes on BOJ decision

<p>China is preparing a United Nations General Assembly resolution that it says is intended to help close gaps between rich and developing countries in the advance of artificial intelligence (AI), an initiative that follows an extensive and ambitious campaign by the US, its biggest AI competitor.</p>


China prepares UN resolution to tap AI for good

<p>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.</p>


UK warns universities about research threat from foreign states

<p>The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said on Thursday it is ordering the US units of China Telecom, China Unicom and China Mobile to discontinue fixed or mobile broadband internet operations in the US.</p>
