This article first appeared in Capital, The Edge Malaysia Weekly, on January 11 - 17, 2016.

Notable filings

From Dec 28 to 31, 2015, notable filings with Bursa Malaysia included that in JCY International Bhd, which saw its non-independent executive director Datuk Tan Shih Leng taking profit on his holdings.

According to a Dec 29 filing, Tan sold 300,000 shares or a 0.014% stake at RM262,500 or 87.5 sen apiece on Dec 29. Prior to that, he sold 450,000 shares at 87.7 sen to 88.5 sen apiece or RM395,706.80 in total on Dec 23 and Dec 28.

Including the 500,000 shares he bought on Nov 3 at RM305,000 or 61 sen apiece under his executive share option scheme (Esos) and sold on Nov 4 at RM405,000 or 81 sen apiece, he sold a total of 1.25 million shares or a 0.061% stake between Nov 4 and Dec 29.

Earlier filings showed another director, Peter Lim Ching Tee, selling his entire holdings of 500,000 shares at RM434,000 or 86.8 sen apiece on Dec 17. These are likely the 500,000 Esos shares he bought on Nov 9 at RM305,000 or 61 sen apiece.

The hard disk drive manufacturer’s share price has been on an upward trend since last August, climbing 47% between Aug 17, 2015, and Jan 5, 2016. JCY recently hinted that it was looking for merger and acquisition opportunities overseas but declined to provide details.

Over at Pesona Metro Holdings Bhd, filings show director Wei Hock Kiong, through Kombinasi Emas Sdn Bhd, purchasing 14.54 million of the company’s shares or 2.22% equity interest at RM6.41 million on Dec 23. This raised his indirect stake to 55.36%. The purchase price works out to an average of 44.08 sen per share. Closing at 39.5 sen on Jan 6, Pesona Metro’s share price has more than halved from its 52-week high of 98.9 sen on March 2, 2015.

The construction services company recorded a net profit of RM2.48 million in the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2015, down 18.6% year on year on higher costs and depreciation charges, even as revenue climbed 8.6% y-o-y to RM71.83 million.

Another notable filing involved Rex Industry Bhd, which saw Daiman Taipan Sdn Bhd acquire 5.43 million shares or an 8.8% stake, raising its holdings in the canned food producer to 20.64%. Daiman Taipan first surfaced as a substantial shareholder on Feb 25, 2015, after acquiring 12.93% equity interest off market.

Notable movements

7-Eleven Malaysia Holdings Bhd’s share price surged 13.57% to RM1.59 between Dec 28, 2015, and Jan 4, 2016. The jump coincided with the emergence of Isotrema Sdn Bhd and Creador II LLC as substantial shareholders in the convenience store chain, according to separate filings dated Dec 30.

The fund — which is linked to Creador, the private equity firm founded by Brahmal Vasudevan — has 78.29 million shares or a 6.56% indirect stake through Deutsche Bank (M) Bhd as at Dec 23. Its indirect holdings rose to 6.97% as at Dec 30.

Isotrema purchased 78.29 million shares or a 6.55% direct stake on Dec 23. It is now the third largest shareholder of 7-Eleven, after Tan Sri Vincent Tan’s Berjaya Retail Bhd, which holds the lion’s share at 52.78%, and institutional shareholder JPMorgan Chase Bank with 8.46%.

The share price of BHS Industries Bhd, which saw the emergence of a new substantial shareholder, is up 51.5% from its recent low of 34 sen on Oct 29, 2015. The counter closed at 51.5 sen on Jan 6, 2016.

Fillings show that BHS managing director Datuk Lim Thiam Huat sold 20 million shares off market to Amechanus Ventures Sdn Bhd on Dec 23. That gave Amechanus a 7.65% stake in BHS and reduced Lim’s equity interest to 20.16%.

According to stock market data, 20 million BHS shares changed hands in two direct deals at 42 sen apiece, a discount to the 48.5 sen apiece the counter fetched on the open market at the time.

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