21/07/2025

BIZ & FINANCE MONDAY | JULY 21, 2025

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Malaysia’s Hygr targets regional expansion in 2026

MGS, GII yields to remain steady in near term: Kenanga IB PETALING JAYA: Yields on Malaysian Government Securities (MGS) and Government Invest ment Issues (GII) traded mixed last week, fluctuating between -5.6 and +1.5 basis points. The 10-year MGS edged up 0.2 basis point to 3.435%, while the 10-year GII rose 0.4 basis point to 3.487%. Kenanga Investment Bank Bhd (Kenanga IB) attributed the modest uptick in long-end yields to weaker-than-expected industrial production and distributive trade data, which weighed on investor sentiment. Rising trade tensions between the United States and the European Union (EU) also exerted upward pressure on yields. However, optimism surrounding Malaysia’s trade prospects – boosted by access to the UK through the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Part nership and stronger ties with New Zealand – helped cap further gains. Kenanga IB expects yields to remain steady in the near term, supported by resilient domestic indicators, including the advance second-quarter gross domestic product growth estimate of 4.5%. Still, global trade uncertainties, particularly ahead of the Aug 1 deadline, may dampen foreign appetite for Malaysian bonds. It also noted that the ringgit remained stable at 4.24–4.25 against the US dollar last week, showing resilience despite the US Dollar Index staying above 98.0. Markets are turning their attention to Fed chair Jerome Powell’s upcoming speech, where a hawkish tone could reinforce US dollar strength. Nevertheless, the ringgit remains supported by sound domestic fun damentals, improving foreign direct investment flows and infrastructure catalysts. Kenanga IB expects USD/MYR to trade within 4.23–4.25 in the near term. A constructive resolution to US-EU trade tensions could help restore confidence and provide modest support to risk-sensitive currencies, such as the ringgit, it said. bullish investors, the call warrant was sold out in just two trading days. Other notable call warrants included NEXG-C71 and NEXG-C68 which traded RM4.5 million and RM3.2 million, respectively. 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.

o Personal care brand makes early inroads into Singapore and Brunei with Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines next on its radar

Chew (left) and Lim acknowledge that market dynamics are shifting and sustaining growth will require continued innovation.

Ű BY HAYATUN RAZAK sunbiz@thesundaily.com

introduced a deodorant perfume spray, which offers a different application format compared to the balm type previously,” she said. Lim noted that offline sales are growing steadily, although it is still too early to judge the long-term trend. “If we expand our SKU range, sales and retail presence will hopefully increase as well,” she said. Hygr is currently available in more than 400 Watsons outlets and expects to reach 800 stores nationwide by the end of the year. “Offline allows customers to try the scent and texture in person, which is important for personal care products,” Lim said, adding that offline channels also provide direct customer feedback that enables quicker formula adjust ments. “We’re more agile than big brands. If 20–30% of buyers say something’s off, we can tweak the next batch,” she said. However, the co-founders acknow ledged that market dynamics are shifting, and sustaining growth will require continued innovation. “Online sales have dipped. Com pared to last year, we’re seeing a 20– 30% decline,“ Chew said, citing rising platform fees and commissions. “Eventually, platforms like Shopee and TikTok may take up to 30% per sale, similar to offline consignment terms.” To strike a balance, Hygr is working towards a 50:50 split between online and offline sales. “That’s why we’re expanding offline channels,” Chew said. The recent implementation of the expanded Sales and Service Tax (SST) is also impacting the company’s cost structure. “Most of our raw materials are imported from Europe and Australia. That 8% SST becomes a direct cost to rally in Wall Street, which is fuelled by stronger-than-expected US consumer data and corporate earnings optimism ( South China Morning Post , July 18). HSI put warrants dominated the market last week, with three HSI puts appearing on the most active HSI list as bearish investors continued to pile up on short positions. Interestingly, all three put warrants have the same exercise level at 22,000. However, HSI-PWJF has a longer expiry of Sept 29 compared to HSI PWHH and HSI-PWHU which will expire on Aug 28. Longer-dated warrants tend to experience a slower rate of time decay compared to shorter-dated warrants, which is more suitable for medium-term investors to hold. Meanwhile, call warrants HSI

SHAH ALAM: Hygr, a cult-favourite Malaysian personal care brand under Tradr Sdn Bhd, is eyeing expansion into Southeast Asia in 2026, driven by its seven-figure monthly revenue and growing retail presence. Co-founder Chew Hoi Meng said the company has already made initial inroads into Singapore and Brunei, with its next targets being Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines. “Singapore shows strong potential, but we haven’t had the time to focus there yet,” he told SunBiz . Chew said the company is in discussions with distributors in Indo nesia. “Indonesia is a big market, but there’s a lot of compliance involved,” he said, adding that establishing Hygr in Indonesia would be a major undertaking. “We may need to spend half of each month on the ground, two weeks in Indonesia and two weeks in Malaysia. That’s probably the only way we can build a presence there.” Chew explained that expanding overseas involves building new teams, localising content and adapting to each country’s digital algorithms and consumer behaviour. “It’s like starting from zero. You have to build everything from scratch,” he said, expressing cautious optimism about the company’s regional ambi tions. Co-founder Ivor Lim said Hygr’s focus for the remainder of 2025 will remain on Malaysia. With monthly revenue already in the seven-figure range, the company is targeting 100% year-on-year growth. “From the third and fourth quarters, we’ll be launching more products. Just last month, we

us,” said Chew. While the company has not increased prices, he estimated the SST could add 2–4% to final product prices. To cushion the impact, the company is taking cost-management measures, including practising first-in, first-out inventory management, maintaining a one-to-two-month stock buffer and minimising storage costs. “We try to optimise wherever we can to keep prices stable,” Chew said. Hygr is also investing in auto mation to reduce labour costs. Chew said, “If a task used to require

five people, we can now use machines to do it with two. The upfront cost is higher, but over one to two years, it becomes worthwhile.” The company is also incorporating some local ingredients, such as MCT oil and Langkawi-sourced water, for its sunscreen products. However, the co-foundeers noted that high costs and a lack of research and development support for Malaysian suppliers continue to be a challenge. “Sourcing locally is something we want to do, but without government support for SMEs and ingredient producers, it’s difficult,” said Lim.

Newly listed NEXG-C72 sold out in two days

Top HSI warrants by value traded Warrant Value Issuer Exercise

WARRANTS WATCH

Expiry date

name

(RM’ mil)

price

THE local warrants market saw total turnover of RM966.5 million for the five-day period ended July 18, up by 6.1% week-on-week (w-o-w). The Hang Seng Index (HSI) remained as the top underlying with over RM696 million traded, which is 72% of the total warrants turnover. The HSI started the week on a strong note, gaining more than 450 points on the first two trading days. However, the index erased some of the gains on Wednesday and Thursday before closing 1.3% higher on Friday at 24,825.6, the highest level since February 2022. The HSI was up 2.8% w-o-w, mirroring the

HSI-PWHH HSI-CWGI HSI-PWHU HSI-CWGS HSI-PWJF

149.0 136.7

Kenanga Kenanga

22,000 28,000 22,000 28,000 22,000

28 Aug 2025 28 Aug 2025 28 Aug 2025 28 Aug 2025 29 Sep 2025

91.9

Macquarie Macquarie Macquarie

85.1

37.3

week. Security-based ICT solutions provider NexG stole the limelight once again with a 10% weekly gain, closing higher for the fourth consecutive week. The newly listed NEXG-C72 was the most popular NexG call warrant which saw RM6 million turnover. Due to the strong demand among

CWGI and HSI-CWGS secured second and fourth spots, respectively, with turnover of RM136.7 million and RM85.1 million each as their bid prices rose 20% and 21.1% w-o-w. For stock warrants, NexG, Gamuda, YTL Corporation, YTL Power and Nationgate Holdings were among the top local underlyings last