29/09/2025

BIZ & FINANCE MONDAY | SEPT 29, 2025

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SUNBIZ presents extracts of a selection of commentaries and research reports received from stockbrokers on counters that could be of interest to investors.

DISCLAIMER: The information is extracted from stockbrokers’ commentaries and research reports and do not represent the views or opinions of Sun Media Corporation Sdn Bhd. It is not a solicitation, recommendation or an offer to buy or sell the equities featured. Sun Media Corporation shall not be liable or responsible for any consequences resulting from usage of the information.

[ Compiled by SunBiz Team

Inta Bina secures Eco World contract for Selangor township SUBANG JAYA: Inta Bina Group Bhd’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Inta Bina Sdn Bhd, has received a Letter of Award (LoA) from Eco Majestic Development Sdn Bhd for the construction of residential homes in Selangor. The contract, valued at RM40.6 million, is on a fixed price basis and is scheduled to commence on Oct 8, 2025, with an overall completion period of 20 months. This latest win boosts Inta’s unbilled order book to approximately RM1.9 billion, representing a 27% increase from the end of last year, and ensuring steady growth visibility through 2026 to 2027. In a statement, Inta Bina managing director Paul Lim said the company is honoured to be entrusted by Eco Majestic Development once again, reflecting their confidence in Inta Bina’s track record and delivery capabilities. “This project not only strengthens our order book but also underscores Inta’s position as a trusted partner in developing high-quality residential communities in Selangor. “With this award, we remain committed to delivering sustainable and timely housing solutions that align with market demand, while enhancing long-term value for our shareholders.“ This award also underscores Inta Bina’s strong foothold in the Klang Valley residential construction segment, particularly in large-scale township developments. Klang Valley remains a key growth corridor for property development, driven by urbanisation and demand for quality gated and guarded communities. Inta Bina continues to adopt best practices in quality management, workplace safety, and sustainability.

Ringgit likely to trade within RM4.21-4.23 vs US dollar THE ringgit is expected to trade within a narrow range of RM4.21 to RM4.23 against the US dollar this week, supported by demand for the local note and key US economic data releases. Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said market attention will focus on US labour data, including the job openings and labour turnover survey, the ADP employment change, and non-farm payroll figures. “So far, weekly initial jobless claims indicate that the US labour market remains resilient, with applications for unemployment benefits staying relatively low,” he told Bernama. Looking ahead, he said the tabling of Budget 2026 on Oct 10 will be closely watched. “We expect the government to maintain its expansionary stance while ensuring fiscal deficits continue to decline. Such measures should support the ringgit in the medium to longer term.” On a weekly basis, the ringgit ended slightly weaker against the greenback, closing at 4.2200/2250 versus 4.2040/2115 previously. However, it strengthened against a basket of major currencies. It appreciated against the Japanese yen to 2.8171/8206 from 2.8419/8471, rose versus the euro to 4.9281/9340 from 4.9447/9536, and gained against the British pound to 5.6345/6412 from 5.6775/6876. The ringgit also advanced against regional peers, rising against the Singapore dollar to 3.2630/2671 from 3.2744/2805, strengthening against the Philippine peso to 7.25/7.27 from 7.36/7.38, gaining versus the Indonesian rupiah to 252.1/252.5 from 253.2/253.8, and improving against the Thai baht to 13.0587/1069 from 13.1973/2271. Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd Hold. Target price: RM0.145

Exchange Rates

FOREIGN CURRENCY

SELLING TT/OD

BUYING TT

BUYING OD

1 US Dollar

4.2975 2.8170 3.3150 3.0750 5.0090 2.4800 3.3150 5.7280 5.3950 3.5810 60.5200 68.7800 55.7000 4.9100 0.0265 2.8730 43.8600 1.5400 7.4700 118.9700 115.6000 25.4700 1.4600 46.7500 13.9000 118.1400 N/A

4.1515 2.7040 3.2110 2.9900 4.8470 2.3880 3.2110 5.5450 5.1670

4.1415 2.6880 3.2030 2.9780 4.8270 2.3720 3.2030 5.5250 5.1520

1 Australian Dollar 1 Brunei Dollar 1 Canadian Dollar 1 New Zealand Dollar 1 Singapore Dollar 1 Sterling Pound 1 Swiss Franc 100 UAE Dirham 100 Bangladesh Taka 100 Chinese Renminbi 100 Danish Krone 100 Hongkong Dollar 100 Indian Rupee 100 Indonesian Rupiah 100 Japanese Yen 100 New Taiwan Dollar 100 Norwegian Krone 100 Pakistan Rupee 100 Philippine Peso 1 Euro

112.0000 3.3600 57.9500 63.2900 52.9100

111.8000 3.1600 63.0900 52.7100 4.4100 0.0190 2.7590 40.1400 1.2400 6.8300 112.7400 109.5500 22.8000 1.1400 42.3800 11.9300 N/A N/A

4.6100 0.0240 2.7690

N/A

40.3400 1.4400 7.0300 112.9400 109.7500 23.0000 1.3400 42.5800 12.3300

100 Qatar Riyal 100 Saudi Riyal

100 South Africa Rand 100 Sri Lanka Rupee 100 Swedish Krona

100 Thai Baht

Source: Malayan Banking Bhd/Bernama

Sunway Construction Bhd Hold. Target price: RM5.50

MN Holdings Bhd Buy. Target price: RM2.20

Sept 26, 2025: RM5.99

Sept 26, 2025: RM1.87

Sept 26, 2025: RM0.13

Source: Bloomberg, TA Research

Source: Bloomberg, Phillip Capital Research

Source: Bloomberg, Phillip Capital Research

WE recently organised a site visit to Singapore’s largest integrated construction and prefabrication hub (ICPH), developed under a 51:49 JV between Hong Leong and SunCon. The hub, which sits on 3.8 hectares of land, is equipped with an annual production capacity of 100,000m3, of which SunCon’s effective share is 48,000m3. This translates into the ability to supply precast components for up to 1,300 HDB flats. In addition, SunCon maintains two other precast plants in Johor, providing an additional combined annual capacity of 126,000m³. Collectively, the three plants can accommodate precast supply requirements of 12-14% of total Singapore HDB projects. The ICPH plant in Singapore allocates 80% of its capacity to HDB flats and government-related building projects (ie; nursing homes and schools), with the balance serving private sector demand. The plant utilisation stood at 30-40% in 1H25, constrained mainly by resource bottlenecks among HDB’s main contractors, which delayed project delivery. HDB had raised its annual build-to-order flat launches to 17-23k units in 2021-25 to address the post-pandemic pent-up demand, well above the pre-2021 level of 15-17k. The surge in activity has contributed to capacity constraints for Singapore’s main contractors. The anticipated pick-up in HDB project deliveries should allow quicker recognition of SunCon’s RM867m precast order book in 2026-27E. That said, the contribution from the precast segment will remain relatively modest, accounting for 5% of our revenue forecast, due to the group’s sizable revenue base, underpinned by its core construction segment, which is backed by a robust pipeline of data centre projects. Maintain HOLD rating with an unchanged TP at RM5.50. – Phillip Capital Research, Sept 26

WE visited MN’s data centre infrastructure sites at Kempas Tech Park (KTP). Customer A capacity build up is progressing swiftly, with 3 data centre (DC) blocks completed and the fourth target for completion in 1HCY26. We gather that these 4 blocks have secured 2 reputable tech giants as off-takers (1 US-based and the other from China). Separately, MN is undertaking a substation expansion project (RM39.6m) for Customer A, slated for completion by Dec25, designed to accommodate up to 5 DC blocks with an aggregate capacity of 350 500MW. We noted early infrastructure works for 3 additional DC blocks at the site, indicating potential requirement for a new 275kV substation (estimated RM130-150m value) in the near future to support Customer A’s next phase of expansion, slated to in CY26. Aside from ongoing works at KTP, Customer A is pursuing expansion at its Nusajaya Tech Park (NTP) site while exploring land banking opportunities in the central region to support an expansion pipeline of up to 1GW. This could potentially translate into potential contract opportunities of RM750m for MN and meaningfully extend its order book visibility and support the group’s earnings trajectory from FY27E onwards. MN’s outstanding order book of RM1.1bn is expected to sustain 1HFY26 earnings momentum, supported by the completion of 2 substation expansion projects for Customer A (RM92m), substation EPCC project for Customer E (RM180m), and progress ramp up across multiple TNB projects. MN’s replenishment outlook remains healthy, backed by a RM777m tender book comprising DC (44%), solar (24%), and TNB (14%) jobs. With new tender submissions in the pipeline for DC and TNB projects, we expect tender book to increase back to historical RM1-1.2bn level by end-FY26E. Maintain BUY with RM2.20 TP. – Phillip Capital Research, Sept 26

ASTRO’S 1HFY26 core net profit of RM6mn came in below both ours and consensus expectations at 8.7% and 11.8% of full-year forecasts, respectively. Core net profit excludes RM13mn unrealised forex gain due to mark-to-market revaluation of transponder lease liabilities. The earnings miss on our end was largely attributed to softer-than-expected contributions from newly launched TV packages. 2QFY26’s revenue declined 13.2% YoY to RM683mn from RM787mn, mainly due to weaker Pay-TV subscription revenue (- 10.7% YoY) and adex (-12.9% YoY) amid macroeconomic headwinds and poorer business and consumer sentiment. However, core net profit maintained at RM3mn, offset by lower content cost (-11.6% YoY) and lower tax expense. 2QFY26’s revenue decreased by 2.8% QoQ to RM683mn from RM703mn, primarily attributed to a decrease in adex (-11.6% QoQ), lower Pay-TV subscription revenue (-2.5% QoQ) and lower ARPU (- 1.7% QoQ). Consequently, core net profit decreased from RM13mn to RM3mn. Astro’s pay-TV revamp under Astro One has not delivered the intended uplift in subscriptions. Instead, the strategy has triggered cannibalisation, with customers migrating to cheaper tiers, resulting in subscriber attrition and ARPU dilution. Consequently, revenue has declined. While management expects ARPU to stabilise, we note the lack of improvement in subscriber base and turn more cautious on the outlook until clearer signs of recovery emerge. We are likewise cautious, as macroeconomic headwinds and subdued consumer sentiment may constrain growth prospects and impede the pace of Astro’s transformation initiatives. HOLD with TP revised to RM0.145. – TA Research, Sept 26