By Kuala Lumpur Newsroom
Nikkei Markets
KUALA LUMPUR (Jul 11) -- Here's a round-up of latest news from Malaysia so far on Tuesday:
*Lars-Ake Norling Replaces Malaysia's Digi.Com Chairman Morten Karlsen Sørby
Malaysian telecommunications network service provider Digi.Com said Tuesday it has named Lars-Ake Norling as its new chairman, succeeding Morten Karlsen Sørby who has helmed the post since August 2015.
*ASIA MARKETS: Nikkei Asia300 Index Gains As Chinese Banks Rally
Asian stocks outside of Japan rose Tuesday, primarily on the back of a rally in Chinese lenders after a liquidity injection by the People's Bank of China.
*Singapore's United Global Signs Initial Pact To Form JV With Japan's M-TechX
Singapore's United Global, a lubricant manufacturer, said Tuesday it has entered into a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Japan-based M-TechX Incorporated to explore the possibility of setting up a joint venture business.
*2nd UPDATE: Lotte Chemical Shares End Below IPO Price On Lacklustre Trading Debut
Lotte Chemical Titan Holding, the Malaysian unit of petrochemical giant Lotte Chemical Corp, fell on its trading debut on Tuesday amid weak investor appetite after the company cut size of the country's largest initial public offering in five years.
*ASIA MARKETS: Global Logistic Leads Singapore Stocks Lower, Banks Drag Malaysia Down
Singapore shares fell Tuesday, led by declines in Global Logistic Properties and Singapore Telecommunications. Malaysia stocks edged lower, led by banking stocks.
*ASIA MARKETS: ICBC, AIA Drive Hong Kong Stocks To Best Gain Since March As Yellen Awaited
Hong Kong shares notched their best session in nearly four months on Tuesday as expectations for a brighter earnings outlook underpinned a rally in financial companies.
*Hong Kong's VPower Group Sees 1H Net Profit Jumping 150%
Hong Kong-based VPower Group International Holdings on Tuesday said it expects to report a 150% increase in net profit for the first half of 2017.
*Singapore's Sembcorp Industries Acquires 2 Rooftop Solar Facilities For S$3.3 Mln
Sembcorp Industries, a Singapore-based energy, water, marine and urban development group, said Tuesday its subsidiary has acquired Solar C&I Holdings, which owns two grid-tied rooftop solar assets, for S$3.3 million ($2.38 million) from REC Solar.
*Malaysia's Halex Holdings Names Ang Eng Sun As Chief Financial Officer
Malaysian agrochemicals manufacturer Halex Holdings said Tuesday Ang Eng Sun will take over as the company's Chief Financial Officer with immediate effect.
*Malaysia's MESB Plans To Raise Up To MYR9.19 Mln Via Private Placement Of Shares
Malaysia's MESB, a leatherware products retailer, said it plans to raise up to 9.19 million ringgit ($2.14 million) via a proposed private placement of shares.
*Malaysia's Bertam Alliance Appoints Tan Phaik Kuon As Finance Chief With Immediate Effect
Malaysia's Bertam Alliance, a property development group, said it has named Tan Phaik Kuon as Chief Financial Officer with immediate effect.
*China Suntien Green Energy Sees 1H Net Profit Surging Over 60% On Year
Hong Kong-listed China Suntien Green Energy Corp. on Tuesday said it expects net profit for the first half of 2017 to increase more than 60% on year.
*Singapore's CWG Buys 70% Stake In Xuancheng Xinkaiyuan Real Estate Development For CNY107.73 Mln
*Malaysia's Sealink International Gets Charter Contract For Safety Standby Vessel
Malaysia's shipping services firm Sealink International said Tuesday it has secured a contract to provide a safety standby vessel to an independent oil and gas company for three years.
*Malaysia ML Global's Unit Gets MYR68.14 Mln Sub-Contract From Samling Ekovest JV
Malaysia's construction outfit ML Global said Tuesday its indirect 70%-owned unit has won a piling work sub-contract worth 68.14 million ringgit ($15.86 million) from Samling Ekovest JV.
*Malaysia T7 Global's Deal With Honeywell To Boost Revenue - Chairman
Malaysia's T7 Global, formerly known as Tanjung Offshore, expects new Honeywell deal to boost revenue from its unit - Gas Generators (M), its executive chairman said Tuesday.
*MARKET BUZZ: Hong Kong's HSI Posts Best Session In 4 Months; Financials Rally
Hang Seng Index jumps 1.5% to 25,877.64, biggest single-day percentage gain since mid-March, led by mainland lenders after Morgan Stanley reiterates "Attractive" view on sector. China Construction Bank rallies over 4%, pacing rally in Chinese banks after MS says it sees new era for improved asset yield and gradual rate rise cycle likely to lead to 2-to-3 year net interest margin expansion cycle. HSBC Holdings advances 0.8% and AIA Group rallies 2.4% ahead of Yellen's two-day testimony to Congress starting on Wednesday, which may see Fed chair reiterate central bank's hawkish tilt. "The obvious beneficiaries to a rising interest rate cycle in developed markets are global banks and insurers," CEB International Investment head of research Banny Lam says. For the broader market, Lam says "the index is still bumping around the 25,500 to 26,000 levels, which I think will hold for this month." Geely Automobile jumps 7% to record highs after saying its half-yearly profit will likely more than double. Mainland markets underperform; Shanghai Composite slips 0.3% and Shenzhen benchmark falls 0.7%.
*MARKET BUZZ: Malaysia's Petronas Chemicals Up On Weak Lotte Chemical Debut
Petronas Chemicals Group jumps 1.6% to MYR7.00 as its largest competitor Lotte Chemical Titan Holding fails to attract buyer's interest on first day of trading. Lotte Chemical shares now down 2.3% at MYR6.35, below IPO price of MYR6.50. "Funds may have returned to Petronas Chemicals from Lotte Chemical, amid higher margin and strong feedstock supply from parent Petronas," says analyst at local brokerage. "We believe there's still buying opportunity for Petronas Chemicals and expect strong 2017 earnings growth," he adds.
*MARKET BUZZ: China Bank Stocks Rally In Hong Kong; MS Sees Multiyear Margin Expansion
Shares of mainland banks jump in Hong Kong, recovering from last week's selloff as stocks went ex-dividend, after Chinese central bank injects liquidity for first time in over two-weeks. PBoC adds 40 billion yuan ($5.9 billion) through 7-day and 14-day reverse repo operations on Tuesday, Reuters reported citing traders. China Construction Bank rose 4.2%, on-course for its best session in 5-months. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China adds 3.5%. Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China and Bank of Communications gain at least 2.3% each. "We see a new era for improved asset yield trend as industrial profitability growth is expected to stay at healthy levels despite moderation in GDP growth. These trends could support bank asset yield increases and a multiyear rebound in profit growth at quality banks," Morgan Stanley says in note, reiterating its Attractive view on banking sector. House sees "multiyear NIM (Net Interest Margin) expansion cycle for banks with strong funding franchises"; China Construction Bank ranks top in its order of preference for mainland banks. "In the upcoming 2Q17 results releases in late August, if banks report sequential NIM expansion, it could lead to better-than-expected earnings trend and further re-rating of share prices."
*Singapore's Temasek Reports 13% Returns In Latest FY As Equity Markets Soar
Temasek Holdings, the investment company owned by the Singapore government, Tuesday reported total shareholder returns of 13% for the financial year ended March 2017, helped by a strong performance in equity markets.
*ASIA MARKETS: Hong Kong Shares Jump Most In Three Weeks On Geely, China Financials
Hong Kong shares posted their steepest gain in three weeks Tuesday, with Geely Automobile Holdings spurred by a strong earnings projection while Chinese banks and insurance companies climbed after the central bank injected cash into the nation's money markets.
*Competition For Deposits Likely To Intensify Among Malaysia's Smaller Islamic Banks-Moody's
The proposed merger between Malaysia Building Society Bhd and Asian Finance Bhd is likely to intensify competition for deposits among smaller Islamic banks, Moody's Investors Service said today.
*MARKET BUZZ: CIMB Cuts Malaysian Banks To Neutral On New Reporting Standards
CIMB Investment Bank downgrades Malaysian banks to Neutral from Overweight on negative impact of the adoption of MFRS 9 - new reporting standards in 2018, slower profit growth and less attractive valuations. MFRS 9 will change provisioning methodologies from incurred loss to expected loss, leading to higher credit costs for banks, says house in investor note. "If we factor in the negative impact of 1.3%-8.3% from the adoption of MFRS 9, net profit growth would be reduced to 0.4%-6.4% in 2018, based on our calculations," house adds. Bursa Malaysia Finance index now down 0.4% at 16,690.62.
*Hong Kong's China Jinmao Holdings Sees 1H Net Profit Surging 100% On Year
Hong Kong-based real estate developer China Jinmao Holdings Group on Tuesday said it expects net profit for the first half of 2017 to double on year.
*INTERVIEW: Careplus To Spend 30 Million Ringgit A Year For 4 Years To Expand Capacity-CEO
Malaysian glove maker Careplus Group plans to spend 30 million ringgit ($6.98 million) annually for the next four years to nearly triple its production capacity to meet growing demand, its chief executive said.
*MARKET BUZZ: Sunac China Up After Dalian Wanda Deal
Sunac China Holdings rallies 8.8% to HK$16.12 after it resumes trading following trading halt on Monday. Mainland developer yesterday announced 63.2 billion yuan ($9.3 billion) proposal to purchase 91% of 13 tourism projects and 76 hotels in China from conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group.
*MARKET BUZZ: Hong Kong's HSI At 1-Week High; Insurers, Geely Automobile Lead
Hang Seng Index advances 1% to 25,746.58, paced by rally in insurers on positive growth outlook. Ping An Insurance Group rallies 1.7% to two-year high, China Life Insurance up 2.1%. "For institutional investors, big mainland insurers remain a strong bet as penetration ratio of insurance in China is quite low.
*MARKET BUZZ: Malaysia KLCI Lower Amid Profit Booking; Tepid Trading Tipped
Malaysia's benchmark KLCI down 0.1% at 1755.84 on continued profit-taking. Asian shares mostly higher, tracking overnight gains in U.S. tech stocks. CIMB Group Holdings drags index with a 2% fall at MYR6.40.
*MARKET BUZZ: Hong Leong Cuts Malaysia's Brahim's To Hold; Lowers TP
Hong Leong Investment Bank downgrades Brahim's Holdings to Hold from Trading Buy, cuts target price to MYR0.56 due to lack of immediate earnings growth catalyst. Shares now flat at MYR0.58.
*MARKET BUZZ: Malaysia's KLCI Likely Flat On Lack Of Triggers; 1750-1770 Tipped
Malaysia's KLCI Likely to open little changed as investors await for new triggers; index ended down 0.2% at 1757.13 yesterday. Dow Jones barely changed at 21408.52 overnight, despite continued rebound in technology stocks.
- By Kuala Lumpur Newsroom; kleditorial@nikkeinewsrise.com; +60320267363
- Edited By Shiladitya Ghosh
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- Copyright (c) 2017 Nikkei NewsRise Asia Pte Ltd
