KUALA LUMPUR (Mar 13): Tan Sri Halim Saad, the largest shareholder of Sumatec Resources Bhd, has increased his stake in the oil and gas company after buying an additional 40 million shares at 20.5 sen apiece or for RM8.2 million.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia today, Sumatec (fundamental:2.4;valuation: 0.3) revealed that Halim had acquired the shares via an off market transaction on March 10, bringing the total shares he owns in Sumatec to 807.04 million shares or a 23.17% stake.

Based on a filing yesterday, it would appear that Halim had purchased the shares from Sumatec's non-independent non-executive director Chan Yok Peng who had disposed 40 million shares at 20.5 sen per share on March 10, in what was stated as a disposal via a private arrangement.

As at 3.47pm, Sumatec shares were trading up 1 sen or 4.88% at 21.5 sen, with 46.2 million shares changing hands. Its market capitalisation stood at RM713.95 million.

(Notes: 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.)