Business Times : latesthttp://www.btimes.com.my enWednesday, January 30, 2013, 12.37 PMAffin cuts MPI's target price http://www.btimes.com.my/articles/20130130104028/Article/ http://www.btimes.com.my/articles/20130130104028/Article/Wed, 30 Jan 2013 10:40:28 +0800Affin Investment Bank cut its target price on semiconductor-to-electronics manufacturer Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd (MPI) on weaker-than-expected earnings stemming from uncertain economic conditions in Europe.
MPI's core net loss of RM3.3 million in the first half of its 2013 financial year was due to a dismal performance in the second quarter ended December, the research house said in a note on Wednesday.
"In the near term, we believe that the sector will continue to be weighed down by the frail external economic conditions particularly in the euro region," Affin said.
The research house cut its earnings estimates for the 2013 financial year by 47 per cent and for 2014 by 13 per cent. However, Affin said although visible volatility in MPI's quarterly earnings do not show consistent signs of a strong recovery, the firm's strategic efforts in beefing up its smartphone and tablet markets will help enhance its earnings profile.
Affin kept its "add" call on the stock. As of 0159 GMT, MPI shares were up 0.39 per cent against the Malaysian benchmark stock index which was almost flat. -- Reuters
RAM assigns final AA3 rating to HLAhttp://www.btimes.com.my/articles/20130130104311/Article/ http://www.btimes.com.my/articles/20130130104311/Article/Wed, 30 Jan 2013 10:43:11 +0800Malaysia's RAM Ratings has assigned a final long-term rating of AA3 to Hong Leong Assurance Berhad's ("HLA" or "the Company") proposed Subordinated Notes Programme of up to 500 million ringgit.
Concurrently, the Company's respective long- and short-term claims-paying ability (CPA) ratings of AA2 and P1 have been reaffirmed. Both long-term ratings have a stable outlook.
The ratings reflect HLA's established franchise in the life-insurance segment, the high persistency rate of its products, the Company's strong liquidity profile and its ability to leverage on the distribution network of Hong Leong Bank Berhad (rated AA1/stable/P1 by RAM).
HLA is the insurance arm of the larger Hong Leong Financial Group Berhad, and derives strong financial flexibility from the latter. Similar to its industry peers, however, HLA's investment returns may face further pressure given the challenging investing environment.
HLA has an established franchise in the life-insurance industry, with a 40-year track record. The Company mainly focuses on regular premium products, which have been posting rapid growth in recent years, with a compounded annual growth rate of 24 per cent (industry: 10 per cent) over the past 4 years.
While HLA's share of the life segment (in terms of fund size) only comes up to 5 per cent, it has been gaining traction in attaining new businesses for regular premium products - it ranked behind the top 2 life insurers (namely Great Eastern Life Assurance (Malaysia) Berhad and Prudential Assurance Malaysia Berhad) in 1H 2012. Nonetheless, the Company's ambition of expediting growth may entail a greater need to replenish its capital given that it aims to keep its risk-based capital-adequacy ratio (CAR) above 200 per cent.
Notably, HLA has been maintaining a high persistency ratio (number of policies renewed during the year over number of in force policies) of over 90 per cent. It also has a strong liquidity profile, with sufficient liquid assets to cover its insurance liabilities as at end-June 2012. At the same time, the Company's risk-based CAR came up to a healthy 181 per cent, i.e. above the minimum regulatory requirement of 130 per cent.
With the issuance of its proposed Subordinated Notes Programme, HLA's financial leverage ratio may increase to 47 per cent (based on its shareholders' funds as at end-June 2012) while its risk-based CAR may be boosted to about 212 per cent. Nonetheless, its tier-1 risk-based CAR will remain at 165 per cent given that the increased capital is to be funded by debt. -- Reuters
KL shares open higherhttp://www.btimes.com.my/articles/20130130103001/Article/ http://www.btimes.com.my/articles/20130130103001/Article/Wed, 30 Jan 2013 10:30:01 +0800Buying interest for key heavyweights helped push share prices higher on Bursa Malaysia on Wednesday, despite the mixed overnight performance on Wall Street, dealers said.
After 16 minutes of trading, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) gained 2.76 points to 1,640.1, after opening 1.85 points higher at 1,639.19.
Heavyweights, Maybank rose four sen to RM8.95, CIMB improved two sen to RM7.26 while Sime Darby, Axiata, Petronas Chemicals and Maxis gained one sen each to RM9.38, RM6.36, RM6.04 and RM6.37, respectively.
HwangDBS Vickers Research said the key FBM KLCI could be striving to inch its way up today with the benchmark index attempting to pull away a bit more from the immediate support line of 1,635 points ahead.
On the external front, the research house said investors on Wall Street were awaiting the outcome of the US Federal Open Market Committee meeting, expected to be known later tonight.
"Most likely, the policymakers would leave the federal funds rate at near zero level and reaffirm their accommodative monetary stance for an extended period," it said in a note.
HwangDBS said stocks that were expected to come under the spotlight today include Public Bank as the bank was scheduled to announce its fourth quarter financial results either today or tomorrow.
Separately, China Automobile will be making its debut listing this morning while SIG Gases' share may also attract added interest following its proposed acquisition of two Singapore-based companies for RM151 million.
On Bursa, the Finance Index surged 50.68 points to 14,921.55, the
Plantation Index inched up 0.46 of a point to 8,048.59 while the Industrial Index shed 1.45 points to 2,771.63
The FBM Emas Index earned 17.73 points to 11,157.99, the FBMT100 rose 18.07 points to 11,009.92, the FBM Mid 70 Index gained 17.84 points to 12,172.53 and the FBM Ace Index chalked up 19.58 points to 4,130.8.
Gainers led losers 106 to 61 with 128 counters unchanged, 1,366 untraded and 41 others were suspended. Volume stood at 110.443 million shares worth RM73.403 million.
Among actives, China Automobile surged 26 sen to 94 sen while Oriented Media, Patimas and Luster Industries added half-a-sen each to 12 sen, 12 sen and 11 sen, respectively. -- Bernama
ThaiBev hits record as F&N eyedhttp://www.btimes.com.my/articles/20130130104521/Article/ http://www.btimes.com.my/articles/20130130104521/Article/Wed, 30 Jan 2013 10:45:21 +0800Shares of Thai Beverage PCL jumped to a record high as the company's chairman, Thai billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, is inching closer to taking over Singapore property and drinks group Fraser and Neave Ltd.
Thai Beverage shares rose as much as 7.1 per cent to SGD$0.53, with more than 57 million shares traded, 2.3 times the average full-day volume over the past 30 days.
Charoen is set to gain control of FandN after amassing a 46.4 per cent stake through TCC Assets Ltd and Thai Beverage since July last year.
His offer for FandN shares that he does not already own, which values the Singapore conglomerate at SGD$13.75 billion (US$11.2 billion), will turn unconditional if the Thais secure a stake of more than 50 per cent.
Analysts say Charoen is likely to tap FandN's network in Singapore and Malaysia to distribute Chang Beer, brewed by Thai Beverage, as well as spirits, energy drinks and instant coffee. In Thailand, where he already has an edge, Charoen may in turn market FandN's brands. -- Reuters
India may raise palm duties againhttp://www.btimes.com.my/articles/20130130105055/Article/ http://www.btimes.com.my/articles/20130130105055/Article/Wed, 30 Jan 2013 10:50:55 +0800India may raise import duties on edible oils such as palm oil and soyoil again this year, with the government looking to protect domestic oilseed farmers as inflation slows, leading industry analyst Dorab Mistry said.
India, the world's No.1 edible oil buyer, this month hiked import duties on crude imports to 2.5 per cent from zero and lifted a six year freeze on the taxable value of cargoes to curb cheap imports from top palm suppliers Indonesia and Malaysia.
While India left refined edible oil import duties unchanged, the policy move on crude showed it was still wary on inflation that slowed last month to its lowest in three years, said Mistry, who closely tracks the country's oilseed sector.
"I expect the next step to be announced in the budget at the end of February," Mistry, head of trading with India's leading speciality chemicals group, Godrej Industries, told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday.
"The industry has requested import duty at 10 per cent on unrefined oils and 17.5 per cent on refined oils and I believe we shall get that level by end of March 2013 at the latest," he said.
New Delhi raising import taxes counters Malaysia's move to lower its crude export duty to reduce record palm oil stocks and helps to raise India's falling domestic oilseed price.
As a rule of thumb, India's soybean and rapeseed farmers need a minimum price of 35,000-38,000 rupees (650-710) a tonne to continue planting these crops, Mistry said. Current prices for soybeans are hovering at 32,400 rupees a tonne, according to industry data.
This spurs farmers to switch to other more lucrative crops such as corn, pulses and vegetables, setting the stage for India's government to raise import duties on crude oils to 20 per cent and refined oils to 27.5 per cent by August, Mistry added.
"Remember from August we shall have a torrent of sunflower oil available for export from Russia and Ukraine, and this oil will go to a discount to soya oil and will pressure prices all over the vegetable oil complex."
VERY HIGH PALM OIL STOCKS
India imports about half the 16 million to 17 million tonnes of edible oils it consumes every year, mostly palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia.
Mistry said that any further policy move by India would impact these two Southeast Asian countries where palm oil prices were very high at RM2,400-RM2,500 (US$790-US$820) even though Malaysian stocks hit a record 2.6 million tonnes in December.
Mistry said these prices may not prompt much expansion in demand for the edible oil as palm oil output grows and competing soyoil supply jumps from May onwards. "I do not expect Malaysian stocks to decline below 2 million tonnes in the foreseeable future," he said.
Malaysia's January palm oil stocks will be almost unchanged from December, with declines expected in February to April. By May, stocks will build again, Mistry said.
Indonesia, which does not publish stocks figures, has current inventories of about 5 million tonnes. "Of these about 1 tonne is systemic stocks which are permanently required in view of the extended and poor logistics in Indonesia," Mistry said.
"Indonesian stocks will decline to 4 million tonnes at best and from May we shall begin to add to them again." -- Reuters
Dow hits a fresh five-year highhttp://www.btimes.com.my/articles/20130130074754/Article/ http://www.btimes.com.my/articles/20130130074754/Article/Wed, 30 Jan 2013 07:47:54 +0800NEW YORK: US stocks rose Tuesday, with the Dow hitting a fresh five-year high, as investors weighed company earnings and a mixed batch of economic data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 72.49 points (0.52 per cent) to 13,954.42, just 1.5 per cent below its all-time closing high on October 9, 2007.
The SandP 500, a broad measure of the markets, advanced 7.66 points (0.51 per cent) to 1,507.84, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index was flat, down a mere 0.64 point (0.02 per cent) at 3,153.66.
"It just seems to be a bold move higher, with nothing else going on," said Steven Rosen of Societe Generale. "It is not a big move though."
"Given some seemingly negative economic news," Joe Bell of Schaeffer's Investment Research noted, "the market showed great resilience."
Investors shrugged off a weaker-than-expected consumer confidence reading to focus on positive corporate profit tallies. Home prices continued to show a recovery in the housing market.
The action came as the Federal Reserve opened a two-day meeting amid expectations the Fed will keep ultra-loose monetary policy unchanged.
Pfizer, the world's biggest pharmaceutical company, led the Dow gainers, jumping 3.2 per cent after reporting fourth-quarter earnings that topped expectations.
Hewlett-Packard was the blue-chip laggard, sliding 3.2 per cent.
Ford slumped 4.6 per cent after posting stronger-than-expected earnings but mixed forecasts for 2013.
The Nasdaq was "hamstrung by Yahoo Inc's softer-than-expected guidance and VMware Inc's disappointing revenue outlook," Charles Schwab and Co. said in a market note.
Yahoo! lost 3.0 per cent and VMWare, a virtualisation software and cloud computing company, plunged 21.5 per cent.
On the Nasdaq, Apple added 1.9 per cent after debuting a new iPad with more storage capacity.
Research in Motion tumbled 3.2 per cent a day ahead of its launch of the BlackBerry 10 smartphone. -- AFP
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