Business & Markets 2012
Written by Surin Murugiah of theedgemalaysia.com
Monday, 10 December 2012 18:55
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 10): The FBM KLCI, which breached the 1,630-point level on Monday, may find it a tad challenging to sustain its gains for a sixth day running on Tuesday in light of new worries arising from the eurozone.
European shares trended lower in early trade on Monday, while key Asian markets closed mixed.
The euro swooped towards a two-week low and shares and Italian bonds fell on Monday, after Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti's decision to resign early triggered fears of a fresh bout of eurozone uncertainty, according to Reuters.
Monti announced over the weekend he would resign once the country's budget for 2013 is approved, raising questions over who will take the reins of the eurozone's third largest economy, still a central focus of the bloc's debt crisis, it said.
Top European shares on the FTSEurofirst 300 opened down 0.3% with a 2.4% slump on Milan's Ftse Mib and a 1% drop on Madrid's IBEX matched by smaller falls in London, Paris and Frankfurt, said Reuters.
Among the stocks that could be in focus on Tuesday on Bursa Malaysia are Pelikan International Corp Bhd; George Kent (Malaysia) Bhd; KUMPULAN JETSON BHD []; and Axiata Group Bhd.
Pelikan expects to see double digit growth over the next two to three years in China via its collaboration with China Stationery Ltd (CSL)
Sales between US$10 million to US$20 million is forecast for this period, benefiting from CSL's 131-strong distribution network in China, said Pelikan CEO Loo Hooi Keat after the signing of a dealership agreement with CSL on Dec 10.
The agreement will allow CSL to sell and distribute Pelikan products on a non-exclusive basis in both China and Hong Kong.
George Kent's net profit for the third quarter ended Oct 31, 2012 rose 27.65% to RM4.57 million from RM3.58 million a year earlier, on the back of higher revenue.
The company said on Monday that its revenue for the quarter jumped 84.23% to RM57.72 million from RM31.33 million in 2011, due mainly to contributions from its water infrastructure and engineering segment.
For the nine months ended Oct 31, George Kent's net profit rose 22.7% to RM15.1 million from RM12.3 million in 2011, on the back of revenue RM154.24 million versus RM 103.61 million a year earlier.
Jetson has secured a RM29.16 million subcontract to build the facade portion of the Ritz-Carlton Residence Tower here.
Jetson told the exchange on Monday that its unit Jetson Lucksoon Sdn Bhd has obtained the letter of award from Vinci CONSTRUCTION [] Grands Projets Sdn Bhd to undertake the job.
"The project is expected to contribute positively to the earnings of Jetson group. The project will not have any effects on the share capital and shareholding structure of Jetson," the company said.
Meanwhile, Axiata may extends its gains on Tuesday after rising as much as 4% on Monday following analysts recommending higher exposure in the mobile telecommunication network operator in anticipation that its ister firm TELEKOM MALAYSIA BHD [] (TM) would have to contend with higher manpower cost and rising competition in the broadband market.
CIMB Investment Bank Bhd analyst Kelvin Goh in a note Monday had said :"Switch to Axiata given the cost headwinds at TM, in addition to rising competition in fixed-line broadband. We think there is upside risk to Axiata's FY12 dividend payout policy of 65%.”