MY Morning Wrap | RHB Bank Targets Over RM50 Billion in Sustainable Financial Services by 2026
Good morning mooers! Here are things you need to know about today's market:
●US Stock Indexes Close Slightly Higher, Treasury Yields Climb
●Malaysia Looks to Implement Fuel Pricing Mechanism to Encourage Energy Efficiency
●Hari Raya Aidilfitri Boosts Tourism in Malaysia with Surge in Hotel and Flight Bookings
●Stocks to watch: RHB Bank, Axiata, MBSB
-moomoo News MY
Wall Street Summary
US stock indexes closed slightly higher but trended downward for the fifth session in a row. The $S&P 500 Index (.SPX.US)$ traded up 0.23% at the time of writing, while the $Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI.US)$ climbed about 0.58% and the $Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC.US)$ fell 0.07%. Meanwhile, US Treasury yields climbed for a second day, with the $U.S. 10-Year Treasury Notes Yield (US10Y.BD)$ finishing nearly at 5%. On Thursday, the US 10-year Treasury yield climbed to 4.63, up 0.58%, and the US 2-year Treasury yield climbed to 4.98, up 0.70%.
Breaking News
Malaysia Looks to Implement Fuel Pricing Mechanism to Encourage Energy Efficiency
Malaysia is looking to implement a fuel pricing mechanism to encourage more efficient use of energy and transition to new energy sources in order to achieve a balance in global climate change action. Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Amiruddin Hamzah said that this method aligns with Malaysia's commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and encouraging sustainable practices without causing a burden to the people. Amiruddin led a delegation to attend the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund (IMF) Spring Meetings in Washington, DC, providing a platform for Malaysia to discuss bilateral and multilateral relations with the World Bank, IMF, and other member countries. The delegation will also meet with major credit rating agencies and senior officials from the IMF and World Bank to discuss plans and activities for trilateral cooperation.
Hari Raya Aidilfitri Boosts Tourism in Malaysia with Surge in Hotel and Flight Bookings
The Hari Raya Aidilfitri festival has boosted tourism demand in Malaysia, with strong growth recorded in hotel and flight bookings across various states. Kuala Lumpur saw a significant year-on-year increase of 113%, with Penang and Kota Kinabalu also recording year-on-year increases of 62% and 89%, respectively. Domestic flight bookings to Kuala Lumpur increased by 99%, while domestic flight bookings to Penang increased by a significant 131%, and Kota Kinabalu saw an increase of 81%. International flight bookings also saw growth, with flights from Singapore to Malaysia increasing by 94%, and flight bookings from Indonesia to Malaysia reaching a historical high with a 33-fold increase. The Gross Merchandise Volume of online goods transactions increased, indicating rapid growth in Malaysia's tourism market during the Hari Raya Aidilfitri period.
Stocks to Watch
$RHBBANK (1066.MY)$: RHB Bank has raised its target to provide over RM50 billion in sustainable financial services by 2026, after mobilising RM23.8 billion in such services by the end of the financial year 2023. RM11.3 billion of this amount was allocated to green initiatives, including renewable energy projects and energy efficiency solutions. The bank views sustainable financing as presenting more opportunities than challenges, rather than affecting its overall profit from financing activities.
$AXIATA (6888.MY)$: Axiata Group Bhd and India's Bharti Airtel Ltd have signed a definitive agreement to combine their Sri Lankan operations. Under a share swap deal, Axiata's unit Dialog Axiata will acquire a 100% stake in Airtel Lanka, with issuance equivalent to 10.355% of Dialog shares to Bharti Airtel. The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka has granted its approval for the proposed merger, though the transaction is still pending other relevant approvals.
$MBSB (1171.MY)$: Malaysia Building Society Bhd (MBSB) has recommended a final dividend of 3.5 sen for FY2023, representing a payout of RM287.78 million based on the bank's share base of 8.22 billion shares as of December 2023. The proposed final dividend is MBSB's sole payout for the 12-month period. MBSB's net profit for FY2023 rose 6.9% to RM491.81 million from RM460.19 million a year earlier, as lower operating income was offset by higher net other income.
$AMFIRST (5120.MY)$: AmFirst REIT has reported a 7.82% decline in net property income to RM14.5 million for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2024 (4QFY2024) from RM15.73 million a year earlier, mainly due to higher property expenses. Revenue also slipped by 0.26% year-on-year to RM25.61 million from RM25.67 million, due to lower occupancy at some of its properties. The REIT expects the office market to remain challenging due to oversupply while the retail sector is expected to grow at a moderate level amid soft consumer demand.
$AWANTEC (5204.MY)$: AwanBiru Technology Bhd (Awantec) has announced that trading in its shares will be suspended from April 26 after the group failed to submit its regularisation plan to regulators for approval within the stipulated timeframe that ended on April 13. The group faces the risk of being delisted if no appeal is submitted within five market days from the date of notification of delisting. Awantec was classified as an affected listed issuer in 2021 due to the termination of its wholly-owned unit Prestariang Systems Sdn Bhd's membership in the Microsoft Partner Network.
$MAA (1198.MY)$: MAA Group Bhd, its major shareholder Tunku Datuk Yaacob Khyra, and Turiya Bhd have been dropped as parties in the suit from Empire Holdings Ltd over MAA's purchase of Turiya shares from a Bahrain-based bank. It has been reported that the only parties remaining in the case are Empire as the appellant, and Bahrain-based Ithmaar Development Co Ltd and Ithmaar Bank BSC as respondents. This was per a consent judgement recorded before the Court of Appeal (COA), whereby Empire agreed to drop MAA, Yaakob, and Turiya as parties in the appeal without liberty to file afresh.
$SYSTECH (0050.MY)$: IT services firm Systech Bhd has announced that shareholders have endorsed its acquisition of Wilstech Sdn Bhd for RM20 million in cash and RM55 million in shares at 36 sen apiece. The acquisition also comes with a profit guarantee by the seller of an audited profit after tax of at least RM5 million for a year. Systech has also received approval for a one-for-four bonus warrant issue and to issue up to 144 million new shares. The company has also been given the green light to set up an employees' share scheme of up to 15% of the total number of issued shares.
$PANSAR (8419.MY)$: Pansar Bhd has been awarded a contract worth RM269.1 million to upgrade the capacity of a water treatment plant in Sibu, Sarawak. The construction and infrastructure firm secured the job from Lembaga Air Sibu via an open tender, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Perbena Emas Sdn Bhd. The 30-month contract, starting from May this year, will require Pansar to upgrade the capacity of the Salim Water Treatment Plant from its current 150 million litres per day (MLD) to 300 MLD.
$AURO (5025.MY)$: Timber products manufacturer Auro Holdings Bhd (formerly known as NWP Holdings Bhd) is proposing to venture into the food and beverage (F&B) business, more than a year after it diversified into the sand dredging business. The proposed diversification is aimed at expanding its revenue stream and reducing its reliance on the wood-based and sand-mining industries. Auro Holdings has been in the red for several years but has managed to reduce its net loss to RM5.25 million for the financial year ended Feb 28, 2023 (FY2023) from RM17.38 million in FY2022.
$KIMLUN (5171.MY)$: Kimlun Corporation Bhd has secured a construction contract worth RM150 million for the Aliva Mount Austin residential project from Astaka Development Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Singapore-listed Astaka Holdings Limited. The construction work is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2026. As of Dec 31, 2023, Kimlun has an estimated construction balance order book of approximately RM1.9 billion.
Source: Dow Jones Newswires, Bursa Malaysia, The Malaysian Reserve, The Star, The EDGE
Disclaimer: Moomoo Technologies Inc. is providing this content for information and educational use only.
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