This article first appeared in Capital, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on June 17, 2019 - June 23, 2019

Notable filings

BETWEEN May 31 and June 7, a notable change in shareholding occurred at plantation and property counter DutaLand Bhd. Privately held Pacific Element Sdn Bhd ceased to be a substantial shareholder of DutaLand after disposing of 12 million shares.

Pacific Element had been a substantial shareholder since end-April 2013 when it exchanged US$1.32 million (or RM4.02 million then) worth of exchangeable bonds, issued by DutaLand’s wholly-owned unit Mycom Capital (BVI) Ltd, for 52.14 million shares or 6.16% in the publicly traded company.

Last Wednesday DutaLand closed at 44.5 sen, giving it a market capitalisation of RM376.5 million. The counter has shed more than 9% since end-April.

Privately held Classical Glory Sdn Bhd has accumulated 14.22% equity interest in construction and property development outfit Brem Holding Bhd. During the week in review, the private company picked up 149,000 shares.

Classical Glory surfaced as a substantial shareholder in Brem Holding after acquiring an interest in Wawasan Ekuiti Sdn Bhd.  According to Brem Holding’s FY2018 annual report, Wawasan Ekuiti holds a 10.21% stake, or 35.16 million shares, in the publicly traded company.

A CTOS Lite Report indicates that Classical Glory’s largest shareholder is Teng Mee Yoong with a 72% stake, followed by Bond Resources Sdn Bhd with 21% and Wawasan Ekuiti with 7%.

Teng and Bond Resources had surfaced in Bertam Alliance Bhd with a substantial stake a few years ago. Also a shareholder in Bertam Alliance at the time was Brem Holding and its controlling shareholder Tan Sri Khoo Chai Kaa.

Brem Holding’s share price hit a multi-year low of 72.5 sen on June 7. It closed at 73 sen last Wednesday, translating into a market value of RM248.9 million for the company.

At cookware manufacturer Ni Hsin Resources Bhd, managing director Khoo Chee Kong increased his holding to 45.69 million shares, or a 14.41% stake, after buying 15.4 million shares, or 4.51% equity interest.

Khoo first surfaced as a substantial shareholder in Ni Hsin in April 2016 with a 5.22% stake.

Ni Hsin’s stock has shed more than 40% of its value since end-April, hitting a 52-week low of 14 sen on May 30. It has not gained much traction since then and closed last Wednesday at 16.5 sen, which works out to a market capitalisation of RM56.3 million for the company.

During the period in review, Singapore-based Elite Cosmo Group Ltd acquired 3.56 million shares in Ire-Tex Corp Bhd, increasing its holding to 18.86 million shares or 12.62% equity interest.

The packaging company’s stock hit a multi-year low of 9.5 sen on May 31 and closed at 10 sen last Wednesday, giving it a market value of RM14.9 million.
 

Notable movements

Since hitting its 52-week low of RM1.16 on May 14, IOI Properties Group Bhd has gained more than 14%, closing at RM1.34 last Wednesday.

During the week in review, the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) acquired 17.74 million shares in the property company, pushing its holding to 357.05 million shares or 6.48% equity interest.

The EPF has been trading IOI Properties shares quite actively. In mid-May, the fund held 359.69 million shares in the company, but reduced its holding to 336.75 million shares or 6.11% on May 21 before going on a buying spree.

Since mid-May, Telekom Malaysia Bhd’s (TM) shares have gained about 40%, closing at RM3.74 apiece last Wednesday.

The EPF has been trimming its stake in the utility company, selling 11.84 million shares during the period in review and reducing its holding to 646.02 million shares or 17.19% equity interest. In early May, the EPF had 672.36 million shares or 17.89% in TM.

The rally in TM’s share price can be attributed to a sterling set of financials for its first quarter of FY2019. Net profit jumped 96% to RM308.28 million compared with the corresponding period a year ago, despite revenue slipping 2.5% to RM2.78 billion.

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