KUALA LUMPUR: After global markets nose-dived in the previous quarter, most companies' stocks have been left in the doldrums, trading at multi-year, if not record, lows. Malaysia is no exception.

The low share prices, coupled with a ringgit that's plumbing depths that were only last seen during the Asian financial crisis 17 years ago, are making stocks on Bursa Malaysia good bargain buys for multinational corporations looking to widen their footprint to this side of the world through mergers and acquisitions (M&A) - particularly for non-protected sectors where local shareholding is not a must.

Some cash-rich controlling shareholders may also want to grab the opportunity to take their companies private since prices have fallen so low, with companies increasingly trading below their book value, according to The Edge Malaysia in its latest cover story (Oct 5-Oct 11), 'Ripe for privatisation, M&A?'

Privatisation opportunities, it wrote, arise when the market does not value a company fairly over a period of time. Hence, taking it private will enable the controlling shareholder to unlock its value - either by asset-stripping, if it has multiple businesses, or by asset disposals.

Indeed, privatisation and M&A are often expected to pick up when prices slump. But are valuations cheap enough, given that there may be lack of earnings growth visibility for the near term, with so much overhanging uncertainties? 

And has the market bottomed out enough to go picking up some buys? 

There's also that all important issue of funding. Is there enough of that to go around, given the more tighter lending conditions now as banks too slip into a more cautious mode? And what sectors and which companies are likely targets?

This week's cover story, by writers Jose Barrock and Yen Ne Foo, explores all that and more. Pick up a copy of The Edge Malaysia today-- available at newsstands and on subscription -- to find out more.

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