NST Online Business Times : latest

Posted: 18 Oct 2012 06:58 PM PDT

Shares of Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd, the country's biggest pay-TV firm, opened 1 percent higher in their trading debut on Friday, underperforming other recent big listings in Kuala Lumpur's booming IPO market amid concerns about their expensive valuation.

The stock was trading at RM3.03 as of 9.32am, compared with the RM3.00 price set for Malaysia's third-biggest initial public offering this year.

"It reflects the valuation of the stock, it is priced quite expensive. As such it is not moving as much as the previous big IPOs," said an analyst at the research arm of a local bank, who declined to be identified.

Astro, controlled by Malaysia's second-richest man Ananda Krishnan, raised US$1.5 billion in its IPO, bolstered by its position as the top player in the pay-TV market and by strong demand from cornerstone investors such as U.S. hedge fund Och-Ziff Capital Management.

The IPO followed Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd's US$3.3 billion offering in June and IHH Healthcare Bhd's US$2.1 billion flotation in July, and has pushed Malaysia's 2012 IPO tally to about US$7.9 billion - or nearly one-quarter of all new listings in Asia-Pacific.

By comparison, Felda, a palm oil firm, closed up 16.5 percent on its debut in June, while hospital operator IHH gained 10.5 percent on its first trading day in July.

Four analysts in a Reuters survey had expected Astro to gain between 6 and 10 percent in their debut on Friday.

"On a price-to-earnings (PE) valuation basis, we do find the issue price of RM3.00 per share rather expensive as it would translate to a PE of 32 times based on FY2013 estimated earnings per share," Kuala Lumpur-based TA Securities said in a note ahead of Friday's share debut.

"However on a longer-term basis we believe the premium is justified due to Astro's dominant position within the industry, expected double-digit bottom line growth, and decent bottom line margin for the next five years at least."

Astro, which also counts state investor Khazanah Nasional Bhd as a major shareholder, has a near-monopoly in Malaysia's residential pay-TV market and a subscriber base of 3.1 million.

It is returning to public markets after it was taken private in 2010.

At the offer price of RM3.00 per share, Astro would have a market value of RM15.6 billion (US$5.1 billion), nearly double the RM8.3 billion it was worth when it was taken private.

Astro's IPO is being handled by CIMB Group Holdings Bhd , Malayan Banking Bhd and RHB Capital Bhd. Several foreign banks are also advisers, including UBS AG, Credit Suisse Group AG, Goldman Sachs Group Inc and JPMorgan Chase & Co. -- Reuters

KL shares continue strong momentum

Posted: 18 Oct 2012 07:00 PM PDT

Share prices on Bursa Malaysia continued its strong momentum in early trading Friday as investors remain on buying mode in selected heavyweights, dealers said.

After five minutes of trading, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 1.6 points to 1,667.02 compared to yesterday's 1,665.42 close.

HwangDBS Vickers Research said the Malaysian bourse could finish the week on a strong note today.

"The benchmark FBM KLCI will likely revisit its record high of 1,668.32 as it is looking to test immediate resistance threshold of 1,670 ahead," it said in a research note.

As of yesterday, participation in the local bourse comprised 50.20 per cent local institutions, 30.8 per cent foreign and 19.72 per cent local retail.

The Finance Index improved 16.29 points to 14,876.05, the Plantation Index gained 1.33 points to 8,187.29 and the Industrial Index rose 2.32 points to 2,872.41.

The FBM Emas Index added 8.94 points to 11,323.7, the FBM Mid 70 Index gained 10.48 points to 12,220.34, the FBM Ace Index was 16.28 points higher at 4,326.1 and the FBMT100 rose 10.49 points to 11,163.33.

Gainers led losers 75 to 57, with 2,113 counters unchanged.

Volume stood at 181.949 million shares worth RM159.178 million.

Astro, to be relisted on the Main Board today, made its debut at RM3.02, two sen premium from its RM3 offer price, with 21.16 million shares traded.

Apart from Astro, which led the actives, other active counters are -- Compugt, which was unchanged at 9.5 sen while KNM-OR earned one sen to 16.5 sen.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank and Axiata were both unchanged at RM9.11 and RM6.60, respectively, while CIMB added three sen to RM7.68 but Sime Darby eased two sen to RM9.78.-- BERNAMA

Kredit: www.nst.com.my

Khamis, 18 Oktober 2012

NST Online Business Times : latest

NST Online Business Times : latest

0 ulasan:

Catat Ulasan