05/05/2025

BIZ & FINANCE MONDAY | MAY 5, 2025

15

Rakuten Trade revises fee structure for retail investors

the week, Gamuda shares surged 10%, MyEG was unchanged and Inari gained 3%. However, turnover for Malaysian stock warrants came in 18% lower w-o-w, at RM66 million. To view the full list of structured warrants available on Bursa Malaysia, visit malaysiawarrants.com.my. Provided for Malaysian residents’ information only. This commentary has not been reviewed by the Securities Commission Malaysia. It is not an offer or recommendation to trade and is not research material. Past performance is not indicative of future performance. You should make your own assessment and seek professional advice. The warrants will not be offered to any US persons. Sunway REIT proposes to dispose of university campus for RM613m PETALING JAYA: Sunway REIT Management Sdn Bhd, the manager of Sunway Real Estate Investment Trust (Sunway REIT), announced that RHB Trustees Bhd, the trustee of Sunway REIT, has entered into a conditional sale and purchase agreement with Sunway College (KL) Sdn Bhd, to dispose of the Sunway University and College campus for a consideration of RM613 million. Acquired by Sunway REIT on April 15, 2019 for RM556 million, the REIT has spent additional capital expenditure of RM8 million over the years to refurbish and enhance the asset. Accordingly, the campus has since appreciated in value with the latest valuation of the property as of December 2024 being RM586 million, translating to fair value gains of RM20 million for Sunway REIT over the years. The disposal price of RM613 million represents a premium of 4.6% over its latest valuation and Sunway REIT will record additional gains on disposal of RM21 million (including estimated incidental costs on disposal) in its current financial year upon the completion of the transaction, which is expected to be in the second half of 2025. The proposed disposal forms part of Sunway REIT’s strategic asset recycling initiative aimed at optimising portfolio yield and unlocking capital for future growth. This move is expected to be positive for unitholders by enhancing financial flexibility and enabling Sunway REIT to explore new investment oppor tunities with higher yields. Additionally, it will help ease Sunway REIT’s gearing position to about 37.8%, allowing Sunway REIT to explore further portfolio acquisitions. Sunway REIT Management Sdn Bhd CEO Clement Chen said, “The proposed disposal aligns with our proactive portfolio management strategy to unlock the underlying value of our assets and recycle capital into investments with higher yield or growth potential. Coupled with the current uncertainties in the global economy, we believe the proposed disposal is a timely and prudent step to firstly, strengthen our balance sheet and secondly, to give Sunway REIT substantial financial flexibility in pursuing acquisition opportunities should they arise in such volatile times.” Proceeds from the disposal have been earmarked for potential acquisitions, asset enhancements, and debt repay ment, reinforcing Sunway REIT’s commit ment to maintaining a resilient and diversified portfolio.

PETALING JAYA: Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd, Malaysia’s first fully digital broker, launched a newly revised brokerage fee structure, setting a new benchmark for affordability and accessi bility for retail traders. With the new structure, clients can enjoy the lowest brokerage fees for trades valued up to RM9,999.99 when trading in ringgit and up to US$990 (RM4,230) for US market trades when trading in US dollar. “We believe every Malaysian should be able to participate in the stock market without worrying about high fees,” said Rakuten Trade CEO Kazumasa Mise ( pic ). “As a digital broker, our role is to remove friction for investors, especially in today’s volatile market environment, it’s crucial that traders and new investors alike can manage their portfolios without being burdened by brokerage fees. This new brokerage revision reflects our continued focus on putting our customers first and making trading stocks more accessible.” As global markets continue to grapple with persistent volatility and shifting investor sentiment, Malaysian retail investors are seeking smarter, more cost-efficient ways to manage their portfolios. With the local stock market showing mixed signals amid external uncertainties – from the United States’ global implementation of o Digital broker aims to make equity trading more affordable to Malaysians, especially during current volatile climate KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian rubber market is expected to rebound slightly this week supported by a positive outlook amid potential Chinese stimulus measures, the Malaysian Rubber Glove Manufacturers Association (Margma) said. The Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries projected this positive outlook, estimating that natural rubber (NR) con sumption will rise by 1.5% in 2025 to about 15.6 million tonnes. “Continued limited NR supply in major rubber-producing countries will also have an

reciprocal tariffs to existing geopolitical ten sions – retail participation has remained cautious. However, Rakuten Trade equity sales head, Vincent Lau opines that the local stock benchmark index is not expected to see new lows, unless the tariff war between the United States and China escalates further. “There is not much negative news for Malaysia now, so the FBM KLCI should remain stable or trade sideways. The index is unlikely to see another sharp drop unless new catalysts emerge,” Lau said. He added that selected initial public offering (IPO) stocks that have dipped below their listing prices could present some opportunities. “As we know, the IPO market is currently quite depressed, with many recent listings trading below their IPO prices. It may be worth looking into some of these names that are now undervalued.”

The new brokerage rates, together with the recently launched amal gamated trades for the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, are expected to significantly lower trading costs for Rakuten Trade clients and solidify the company as the ideal choice for a wide variety of investors, from day traders to new investors.

Rakuten Trade’s dedication to uplifting retail investors extends beyond lower fees, by providing services ranging from educational resources and licensed analysts’ trading calls from their equity sales team and research team to daily reports for market opportunities and webinars for exclusive insights into local companies. Rubber prices tipped to stage mild rebound

many uncertainties and volatility in the rubber market. “We are entering an increasingly dynamic and extremely complex global economic environment. It is pertinent for businesses across the world to continue adapting as best they can to manage the continuous challenges posed by (US President Donald) Trump’s policies,” he added. On a week-to-week basis, the Malaysian Rubber Board’s reference price for SMR 20 fell 14.5 sen to 738 sen per kg while latex in bulk fell 16.5 sen to 609 sen per kg.

effective impact on prices,” a Margma spokes person told Bernama. However, she noted that nothing has materialised from the United States-China trade talks and this will continue to weigh on the market and the global economy. “Prices will continue to track the per formance of regional rubber futures markets, as well as the ringgit’s strength against the US dollar and benchmark crude oil prices,” she added. Meanwhile, industry expert Denis Low said the Trump administration has brought about

HSI-CWEP top traded as Hong Kong market gains for third week

Top stock warrants by value traded: Warrant Value Issuer Exercise

futures advanced by 0.8%. The majority of the gains came on Friday, amid investor optimism surrounding potential trade talks between China and the US, as well as an overnight rally on Wall Street fuelled by strong earnings reports from some tech giants. The HSI managed to close above the 22,500 level on Friday, just 1.5% shy of the level it was at before April 7, the day the index plunged more than 13% and recorded its biggest single day loss since 1997. With the gain in the previous week, investors were seen actively trading HSI warrants, namely HSI CWEP, which clocked in the highest value traded for the week at RM53 million, while HSI-PWFM recorded the biggest value traded among HSI puts,

WARRANTS WATCH

Expiry date

TURNOVER in the local warrants market last week came in at RM389.2 million, a 31% week-on-week (w-o-w) decline, in view of the shortened trading period in conjunction with the Labour Day Holiday on May 1. Further, turnover in trading over Hang Seng Index (HSI) warrants fell w-o-w, coming in more than 33% lower at RM303.7 million. None theless, HSI warrants trading com prised 78% of the week’s turnover. Global markets continued their relief rally last week with indices notching gains. The HSI gained 2.4%, up for a third consecutive week, while HSI May

name

(RM’ mil)

level

HSI-CWEP HSI-CWC4 HSI-CWEI HSI-PWFM HSI-PWFQ

53.0 44.7 37.9 36.6 21.3

Macquarie Kenanga Kenanga Macquarie Macquarie

27,000 25,000 27,000 19,000 18,000

30 Jun 2025 29 May 2025 30 Jun 2025 30 Jun 2025 30 Jun 2025

tech names, coupled with a jobs report released on Friday which came in better than expected, soothing investors’ fears of a potential recession. As for Malaysia stock warrants, investors actively traded issues over Gamuda Bhd, MY EG Services B (MyEG), and Inari Amertron Bhd. For

at RM36.6 million. Other HSI warrants which saw active trading throughout the week include HSI-CWC4, HSI CWEI, and HSI-PWFQ. Wall Street also notched a gain for the week, with the S&P 500 Index (SP500) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) increasing 3% each on the back of strong earnings releases from major