KUALA LUMPUR (March 20): Parkson Holdings Bhd (Parkson) has issued a statement to calm investors after the company’s shares came under selling pressure over the last few days.

Its counter plunged 19.4% or 48 sen from RM2.47 on March 13, 2015 (last Friday) to close at RM1.99 today, down 6 sen or 2.93% from yesterday’s close.

The counter is now at its lowest in five years. The current price gives it a market capitalisation of RM2.016 billion, which means it saw RM486.27 million in market value wiped out in just seven days.

“The company is not aware of any circumstance within the Parkson group that could have led to this selling pressure on its shares,” it said.

Parkson (fundamental: 1.8, valuation 2.4) was also Bursa Malaysia’s 10th most actively-traded stock today, after some 42.2 million shares having changed hands.

“Parkson wishes to reiterate the group’s fundamentals remain intact with its strategy to pursue with branding and shopping malls development to support and complement its retail business,” it stressed.

“Parkson remains confident in its business fundamentals and prospects, and the overall retail industry,” it added.

The retailer also reminded investors that it had just signed an agreement with Parkson China’s subsidiary yesterday to bring a few renowned brands in the food and beverage sector into China. It also said it is looking to acquire exclusive distributorship of some international fashion brands in Malaysia as signs of its health.

It added it has also started its online shopping facility in Malaysia and China and ventured into shopping malls development in recent years.

It is opening a shopping mall in Qingdao, China, by the end of this year.

It also gave the assurance its consumer financing business, which commenced in November 2014, “is progressing well”.

(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.)