Malaysia Morning Wrap | Tropicana Sells Johor Land for Data Centre Development

Just past 4 pm ET the $S&P 500 Index (.SPX.US)$ traded +71 basis points and hit a record intraday trading high. The $Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI.US)$ climbed 1.03%, and the $Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC.US)$ climbed 60 basis points.

$SAPRES (4596.MY)$ is reportedly extending the leave of absence for its managing director, Datuk Shahriman Shamsuddin, for an additional month. Shahriman, who, along with his brother Tan Sri Shahril Shamsudin, holds an indirect 51.47% stake in Sapura Resources, has been on garden leave since September 11th. By Thursday, his leave will have lasted for one month.

Souqa Fintech Sdn Bhd is contemplating legal action against $HTPADU (5028.MY)$ after the latter terminated a subscription deal for new shares in Souqa. HeiTech Padu's subsidiary, Synergy Grid Sdn Bhd, recently canceled plans to acquire a 30% stake in Souqa Fintech, valued at RM16.17 million, which operates the payment gateway PayHalal. The acquisition proposal was announced by HeiTech’s board on Bursa Malaysia just 10 days prior, on September 27th.

$GCB (5102.MY)$ is looking to acquire a 25% stake in Transcao Côte d'Ivoire (Transcao CI), a cocoa manufacturing company based in Ivory Coast. Guan Chong's subsidiary, GB Cocoa Singapore Pte Ltd, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Transcao CI's shareholders, Conseil Du Café (CCC) and its subsidiary Transcao Negoce, granting exclusive negotiation rights for a three-month period. If successful, this deal would allow Asia’s largest cocoa-derived food ingredients manufacturer to expand its presence in Ivory Coast, the world's leading cocoa bean producer, which accounts for 40% of the global cocoa bean supply with an annual production of two million tonnes.

$BJFOOD (5196.MY)$ has entered into a master franchise agreement, granting it exclusive rights to operate Paris Baguette stores in Brunei and Thailand. The company intends to launch an unspecified number of outlets across these markets by the third quarter of 2025. Paris Baguette, a brand known for its French-inspired bakery products, is the flagship of South Korean food conglomerate SPC Group.

$PETRONM (3042.MY)$ has announced an eight-week maintenance shutdown at its Port Dickson refinery in Negeri Sembilan for furnace repairs. Despite the temporary halt in operations, Petron has assured uninterrupted supply of its petroleum products to Petron-branded petrol stations, liquefied petroleum gas customers, and commercial accounts, ensuring no market shortages.

$TROP (5401.MY)$ has signed an agreement to sell 38.527 acres of freehold land in Johor to Computility Technology (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, a data centre company, for RM239.99 million. This marks the second land sale by Tropicana for data centre development in the region this year. Tropicana Firstwide Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the group, has entered into the sales and purchase agreement for the asset disposal. Computility Technology specializes in providing infrastructure for hosting, data processing services, and related activities.

$SKYWLD (5315.MY)$ has entered into a joint development agreement with Perbadanan PR1MA Malaysia (PR1MA) to construct PR1MA homes in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur. The project, SkyAwani Prima, will deliver 491 units of apartments, each with a built-up area of 900 sq ft. Located on a 1.97-acre leasehold plot, the development is valued at RM191.49 million.

$KITACON (5310.MY)$ has been awarded a RM64.05 million contract for the main construction of a double-storey housing project in Shah Alam, Selangor. Kitacon Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kumpulan Kitacon, received the project from S P Setia Eco-Projects Management Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of property developer $SPSETIA (8664.MY)$. The contract covers the development of Phase 3 of Arundina, comprising 130 units of double-storey semi-detached houses and a $TENAGA (5347.MY)$ substation in Setia Alam.

Home furniture specialist $ECOMATE (0239.MY)$ has announced plans to acquire a single-storey factory in Muar, Johor, along with machinery and components, from $SWSCAP (7186.MY)$ for a total of RM8.85 million. The acquisition is part of Ecomate's strategy to establish a new factory and warehouse, securing permanent premises to support its business growth. The factory, situated on an 8,217 square metre leasehold industrial plot, is valued at RM7 million, with an additional RM1.85 million for the machinery and components.

Property developer $LBS (5789.MY)$ has granted renewable energy company $SLVEST (0215.MY)$ a contract to construct a 43-MWp solar farm in Senawang, Negeri Sembilan. The contract is valued at RM104 million. The solar farm is owned by Suria Hijauan Sdn Bhd, a consortium that includes Setara Armada Sdn Bhd with a 51% stake, MWG Solar Energy Sdn Bhd (29%), and Ocean Solar Energy Sdn Bhd (20%). Setara Armada is a wholly-owned subsidiary of LBS Bina. — LBS Bina Group awards RM104 million solar farm construction contract to Solarvest Holdings.

$ATLAN (7048.MY)$ has reported a 5.27% increase in net profit for the second quarter ended August 31, 2024 (2QFY2025), attributed to increased revenue from all business segments. The net profit for 2QFY2025 reached RM3.98 million or 1.57 sen per share, up from RM3.78 million or 1.49 sen per share in 2QFY2024. Revenue for the quarter increased by 12.26% to RM118.93 million, compared with RM105.94 million in the same period of the previous year. Atlan Holdings also declared a second interim dividend of 3.75 sen per share.