| Business & Markets 2012 |
| Written by Chong Jin Hun of theedgemalaysia.com |
| Wednesday, 11 April 2012 12:12 |
Asian shares fell for a third straight day on Wednesday as investors continued to cut back their risk exposure given uncertainty over global growth prospects and resurfacing worries about debt restructuring in struggling euro zone economies, according to Reuters. European shares hit a 10-week low on the first trading day after the four-day Easter holiday on Tuesday, and Wall Street's benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 Index followed through with a 1.71% slide, its worst day in four months. The sell-off was triggered by last Friday's data, which showed a sharp slowdown in US jobs creation last month, along with Tuesday's data, which suggested softening Chinese demand even when Beijing returned to an export-led trade surplus in March, said Reuters. The mood at the local market may also be impacted by the less that encouraging outlook for Malaysia by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in its Asian Development Outlook 2012: Confronting Rising Inequality in Asia report. The ADB said that given Malaysia’s close integration with the world economy — exports and imports of goods and services are equivalent to over 100% of gross domestic product (GDP) — weakness in the global outlook clouds the country’s prospects in 2012. “Growth is seen moderating to about 4.0% in 2012, then quickening to 5.0% in 2013 as the external environment improves,” ADB said in the report released on Wednesday. Among the stocks that could be in focus on Thursday are S P Setia Bhd, XIAN LENG HOLDINGS BHD [], SMPC Corp Bhd, MALAYSIA BUILDING SOCIETY BHD [] (MBS), and YINSON HOLDINGS BHD []. The Securities Commission has approved a proposed RM505 million bond scheme by Setia Ecohill Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of property developer S P Setia Bhd. The board of Xian Leng Holdings Bhd will improve the company’s corporate governance, following a special audit which revealed financial irregularities in the commercial breeder of ornamental fish. In a statement to the exchange on Tuesday, Xian Leng said its directors will consider and implement preemptive and corrective measures including the appointments of key personnel to oversee its business. These include a legal advisor and monitoring accountant, apart from an officer in charge of the daily operations of the firm. SMPC Corp shares rose as much as 7% on Tuesday morning as investors chased the stock before it goes ex-rights on Thursday (April 12). The final day of lodgement is on April 16. The steel manufacturer climbed 17 sen to reach an intraday high of RM2.53, before trading lower at RM2.50 at 11.56am. Financial services entity MBS — which is paying a final dividend of 7% less 25% tax for financial year ending Dec 31, 2011 — will go ex-dividend on Thursday as well. Kenanga Investment Bank Bhd has initiated coverage on logistics firm Yinson Holdings Bhd, with an "outperform" call and fair value of RM2.29. |
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