Written by Joy Lee
Wednesday, 06 January 2010 06:47
KUALA LUMPUR: Regional markets are expected to see some profit taking on Wednesday, Jan 5 after two-straight days following the mixed close on Wall Street.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq rose on Tuesday, Jan 5 as better-than-expected factory orders and a surge in vehicle sales at Ford Motor Co provided more evidence of an economic recovery.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 11.94 points, or 0.11 percent, to end at 10,572.02. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 3.53 points, or 0.31 percent, to finish at 1,136.52. The Nasdaq Composite Index crept up just 0.29 of a point, or 0.01 percent, to close at 2,308.71.
However, corporate Malaysia is expected to see some interesting developments with disgruntled shareholders of Ho Hup CONSTRUCTION [] Co Bhd and PETRA PERDANA BHD [] making moves to remove the board of directors of both companies.
At Ho Hup, ousted managing director Datuk Low Tuck Choy is trying to regain control of the construction outfit founded by his late father, while in Petra Perdana, a group of key executives holding about 10% stake intends to call for an EGM to throw out certain directors.
Stocks to watch include GENTING BHD [], ALLIANCE FINANCIAL GROUP BHD [] (AFG), TOYO INK GROUP BHD [], TANJUNG OFFSHORE BHD [], Tower Real Estate Investment Trust and Golden Land Bhd (formerly Tanah Emas Bhd).
Genting will attract trading interest after it announced Singapore’s first integrated resorts -- Resorts World Sentosa - will start its phased opening from Jan 20, 2010, beginning with its four hotels opening on the same day.
In AFG, Alliance Bank confirmed its group CEO Bridget Lai had not resigned and that it was carrying out investigations as part of its due diligence on corporate governance and board oversight.
Shares of Alliance Financial Group Bhd (AFG), which owns Alliance Bank Malaysia Bhd, fell to the lowest level since November 2009 in intra-day trading on Tuesday, after a news report said the bank had launched an investigation that could lead to departures of senior executives, including Lai.
Toyo Ink is considering a rights issue to raise some equity for its proposed coal-fired power plant in Vietnam which is estimated to cost US$2.5 billion.
Tanjung Offshore secured a RM70 million contract from Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd to provide wellhead maintenance services for its operations in Sabah, Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia. The contract is for a tenure of three years plus two years optional, effective September 2009.
Tower REIT will post a RM5.8 million surplus from the revaluation of its three prime land commercial PROPERTIES [] here. Subsequently, its net asset value per unit of RM1.5994 will increase to RM1.6196 upon incorporation of the revaluation surplus of RM5.8 million.
Golden Land’s proposed acquisition of 100% stake in Fabulous PLANTATION []s Sdn Bhd (FPSB) for RM46.12 million has been prevented by a group of individuals led by the company’s single largest shareholder. The company received a court order to stop it from proceeding with the acquisition.
Prinsiptek will rake in RM13.5 million from the sale of the builder’s leasehold tracts in Gombak, Selangor