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This article first appeared in Capital, The Edge Malaysia Weekly, on January 4 - January 10, 2016.

BETWEEN Dec 18 and 23, notable shareholding changes in companies listed on Bursa Malaysia included that in 1 Utopia Bhd (fundamental: 1.25; valuation: 0.9), which saw FNS Avenue Sdn Bhd cease to be a substantial shareholder after it disposed of 18.5 million shares or a 18.7% stake on Dec 17.

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FNS is the private vehicle of executive director Leong Seng Wui. It first emerged as 1 Utopia’s substantial shareholder last September when it acquired 8.5 million shares. According to filings with Bursa, the shares were traded on the open market via Kenanga Nominees (Tempatan) at four sen apiece. Post-disposal, Leong holds an indirect interest of 4.19% in the ICT lifestyle retailer.

Over at maintenance management software specialist CWorks Systems Bhd, Law Li has emerged as one of its largest shareholders. Filings show that Law acquired 20 million shares or a 16.53% stake in an off-market deal on Dec 11. The transaction price and identity of the seller have not been revealed.

Law’s emergence as a shareholder is the latest in a spate of shareholding changes at CWorks (fundamental: 2.25; valuation: 0) in 2015. In June, Azmi Zainudin acquired 20 million shares or a 16.53% stake in the company through an off-market transaction to become CWorks’ largest shareholder. At about the same time, non-independent and non-executive director Thrinakarasi@Arrasu a/l Munisamy resigned and disposed of 20 million shares through a private vehicle called Borderless Linkages Sdn Bhd.

At wood products manufacturer Priceworth International Bhd (fundamental: 0.35; valuation: 0.90), managing director and founder Lim Nyuk Foh increased his stake to 12.1% after he bought 11.5 million shares on the open market on Dec 12. The Sabah businessman is also managing director and substantial shareholder of property developer Bertam 

Alliance Bhd and a non-independent and non-executive director and shareholder of Sarawak Consolidated Industries Bhd.

At stationery items manufacturer Chee Wah Corp Bhd, managing director Khor Say Beng has ceased to be a substantial shareholder. He sold 6.25 million shares or a 14.8% stake in the company in an off-market direct deal on Dec 22 at RM1.18 apiece. According to filings with Bursa, the buyer is Ooi Chin Soon, who purchased 6.25 million shares off market on the same day.

Chee Wah’s (fundamental: 0.90; valuation: 1.40) share price has jumped 59.8% since the company announced a stellar set of quarterly results on Nov 25. It posted a net profit of RM2.8 million compared with a net loss of RM0.4 million a year ago.The company is expected to benefit from the weaker ringgit because exports accounted for over 70% of its revenue in FY2015.

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Elsewhere, Singapore’s Cordlife Group Ltd continued to accumulate shares in its Malaysian subsidiary, Stemlife Bhd, a cord blood stem cell bank, at 45 sen apiece. This follows its mandatory general offer to acquire Stemlife’s shares that it does not own.

Filing shows that Cordlife bought 11.7 million Stemlife shares on Dec 22. As at Dec 28, Cordlife had accumulated over 194 million shares, bringing its equity interest to 78.5%. Cordlife needs to reach a shareholding of 90% to invoke statutory provisions that will allow it to acquire any outstanding offer shares, for which valid acceptances have not been received. Notwithstanding, Cordlife is expected to withdraw Stemlife’s listing status on Bursa, as stated in its offer document, now that it has more than 75% of the company.

At flight education and training academy APFT Bhd (fundamental: 0.60; valuation: 0), executive chairman Datuk Faruk Othman has pared down his stake. Filings show that Faruk disposed of 9.7 million shares on the open market on Dec 22 at 27.1 apiece. This reduced his stake to 25.8%. In the first half of financial year 2016, APFT’s revenue fell 72.5% year on year to RM52.6 million and it registered a loss of RM9.1 million.

The Sarawak Economic Development Corporation disposed of 20 million Cahya Mata Sarawak Bhd shares on Dec 21. A filing with Bursa shows that the state agency’s direct stake in the cement producer was down to 60.89 million shares or a 5.66% stake post-disposal.


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. Visit www.theedgemarkets.com for more details on a company’s financial dashboard.

 

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