MY Morning Wrap | Sime Darby Plantation and PNB Propose 1,000-acre Green Industrial Park in Perak

Although weighed down by the Nasdaq's fall, the market generally closed positively on Tuesday. Past the closing bell PM EST, the $S&P 500 Index(.SPX.US)$ climbed 0.13%, the $Dow Jones Industrial Average(.DJI.US)$ climbed 0.18%, and the $Nasdaq Composite Index(.IXIC.US)$ fell about 0.10%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq index fell due to earnings reactions and a pullback in Semiconductors.

$SDG(5285.MY)$: Sime Darby Plantation Bhd (SDP) and its largest shareholder Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) have submitted a joint proposal to the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (Miti) for the development of a 1,000-acre Kerian Integrated Green Industrial Park (KIGIP) in SDP's Tali Ayer Estate in Perak. The solar farms for KIGIP will be owned and operated by SDP.

$OCK(0172.MY)$: OCK Group Bhd has signed a 15-year agreement to lease its telecommunications towers in Laos to Best Telecom Co Ltd, which plans to launch its 5G network in the country by the end of the year. OCK was awarded several clusters of sites located within the metropolitan area of Vientiane and a few major cities in Laos.

$PEKAT(0233.MY)$: Pekat Group Bhd has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Apex Power Industry Sdn Bhd to acquire a stake in switchgear supplier EPE Switchgear (M) Sdn Bhd. The final equity interest to be purchased and the purchase consideration will be determined at a later date, subject to due diligence.

$SIAB(0241.MY)$: Siab Holdings Bhd has entered into an underwriting agreement with M&A Securities and NewParadigm Securities Sdn Bhd for the group's upcoming rights issue with warrant exercise. The aim is to raise RM91.98 million to complete Siab Holdings' RM103.98 million equity fundraising exercise, which was announced last year to finance its acquisition of G7 contractor Taghill Projects Sdn Bhd. In December of last year, Siab Holdings raised RM12 million through a special share issue of 100 million shares.

$CTOS(5301.MY)$: CTOS Digital Bhd, following its record-breaking 2023, has reported a 25.6% year-on-year jump in net profit for its first quarter ended March 31, 2024 (1QFY2024), thanks to higher revenue and lower tax expense due to incentives for subsidiary CTOS Data Systems Sdn Bhd (CDS). Net profit rose to RM20.82 million, up from RM16.58 million a year ago. Revenue expanded by 20.1% to RM71.58 million from RM59.59 million, driven by growth in revenue from all customer groups, with higher sales of CDS reports and digital solutions. CTOS has declared a first dividend of 0.64 sen per share, to be paid on July 2, up from 0.43 sen in the corresponding quarter last year.

$AWANTEC(5204.MY)$: AwanBiru Technology Bhd (Awantec) has reported a net profit of RM2.14 million for its third quarter ended March 31, 2024 (3QFY2024), compared to a net loss of RM1.99 million in the same period last year. The company attributed the improvement to its software and services segment securing major contracts. Revenue also saw a significant increase, jumping more than sixfold to RM55.77 million from RM8.51 million. For the first nine months of FY2024, the group achieved a net profit of RM3.33 million, compared to a net loss of RM6.3 million in the same period last year. Revenue more than doubled to RM84.39 million from RM34.6 million.

$MOBILIA(0229.MY)$: Mobilia Holdings Bhd has announced plans to issue up to 218.75 million free one-for-four warrants (Warrants-B). The indicative exercise price of the warrants is 15 sen each, representing a 10% discount to Mobilia's closing price of 16.5 sen on Tuesday. Mobilia is currently valued at RM115.5 million. The group expects to raise approximately RM32.81 million to fund its working capital requirements assuming full exercise of the warrants.

$PWROOT(7237.MY)$: Power Root Bhd's subsidiaries have successfully regained ownership of the "Ah Huat" trademark for its coffee and tea beverages after reaching an amicable out-of-court settlement with Indonesian distributor CV Ego Sun Star Sukses Mandiri (CV Ego). The infringement wrangle started in 2013. The settlement agreement entails that CV Ego recognises and acknowledges Power Root (M) Sdn Bhd’s (PRM) ownership and rights of the "Ah Huat" trademark. In return, Power Root's subsidiaries will provide a consideration of IDR725 million (equivalent to approximately RM213,000) to CV Ego, setting aside a separate verdict of RM23.7 million against Power Root. The legal dispute has been settled, with Power Root paying a total of RM1.27 million to CV Ego in order to reclaim the brand.