15/10/2025

BIZ & FINANCE WEDNESDAY | OCT 15, 2025

20

MARKETS/FROM THE BROKERS

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

Malaysia, Azerbaijan boost halal ties via HDC-Kobia pact PETALING JAYA: In a significant move to deepen bilateral cooperation in the halal economy, Halal Development Corporation Bhd (HDC) and the Small and Medium Business Development Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan (Kobia) have signed a MoU to promote collaboration in halal industry development, trade facilitation, and small and medium enterprise (SME) growth between the two nations. HDC was represented by its CEO Hairol Ariffein Sahari and Kobia by its chairman Orkhan Mamadov. The MoU, signed in Baku recently, marks a new phase of partnership between Malaysia and Azerbaijan, focusing on knowledge exchange, capacity building, and halal ecosystem enhancement. Both parties will leverage their expertise and networks to support the expansion of halal products, services, and investments across borders. Under the agreement, HDC and Kobia will jointly implement initiatives to strengthen halal industry participation through capacity building and training for halal SMEs in both countries; co-organisation of events such as conferences, roadshows, and seminars to share best practices; information exchange to enhance halal industry knowledge and compliance and market facilitation, enabling Malaysian halal companies to explore opportunities in Azerbaijan and vice versa. Hairol said the collaboration with Kobia represents another milestone in Malaysia’s efforts to internationalise its halal ecosystem. “Through this partnership, HDC continues to expand Malaysia’s halal footprint globally. By combining Malaysia’s experience in developing a structured halal ecosystem with Azerbaijan’s growing SME and trade landscape, we are paving the way for new opportunities that benefit both economies.”

Ringgit eases against dollar on hedging, US-Sino trade tensions THE ringgit slipped further against the US dollar at the close yesterday as investors turned to the greenback to hedge against market volatility amid escalating trade tensions between the US and China. At 6pm, the local note eased to 4.2305/2355 against the US dollar from Monday’s close of 4.2265/2295. Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the DXY index climbed 0.08% to 99.347 points. “Investors remained wary of the state of trade (between the US and China) and the ongoing US government shutdown. It is increasingly difficult to assess the macroeconomic condition in the US in the absence of key data points. It appears that until the government shutdown is resolved, the US dollar will continue to be in a favourable condition,” he added. Trump has said the US will impose a 100% tariff on imports from China, along with restrictions on US tech exports, starting Nov 1 or sooner, depending on China’s response to trade issues. The ringgit mostly strengthened against a basket of major currencies. It rose against the euro to 4.8879/8937 from 4.9006/9041 at Monday’s close, strengthened against the British pound to 5.6118/6184 from 5.6369/6409, but edged lower versus the Japanese yen to 2.7808/7843 from 2.7775/7796. Against Asean currencies, the ringgit also closed mostly higher. It appreciated versus the Thai baht to 12.8975/9182 from 12.9878/13.0030, ticked up against the Singapore dollar to 3.2512/2553 from 3.2562/2587, and improved against the Indonesian rupiah to 254.8/255.2 from 255.0/255.3 previously.

Exchange Rates

FOREIGN CURRENCY

SELLING TT/OD

BUYING TT

BUYING OD

1 US Dollar

4.3000 2.8130 3.3060 3.0560 4.9660 2.4640 3.3060 5.7290 5.3690 3.5980 60.5700 68.1800 55.7500 4.9200 0.0268 2.8220 43.6400 1.5500 7.4800 119.0200 115.6800 25.7100 1.4600 46.5200 13.7600 118.1900 N/A

4.1540 2.6980 3.2020 2.9710 4.8050 2.3740 3.2020 5.5470 5.1390 3.3500 58.0100 62.7300 52.9700 4.6200 0.0243 2.7200 40.1400 1.4400 7.0400 112.9900 109.8200 23.2200 1.3400 42.3600 12.2000 112.0700 N/A

4.1440 2.6820 3.1940 2.9590 4.7850 2.3580 3.1940 5.5270 5.1240

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

111.8700 3.1500 62.5300 52.7700 4.4200 0.0193 2.7100 39.9400 1.2400 6.8400 112.7900 109.6200 23.0200 1.1400 42.1600 11.8000 N/A N/A

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

Gaming Neutral

Semiconductor Neutral

Velesto Energy Bhd Buy. Target price: RM0.29

Oct 14, 2025: RM0.255

Source: Maybank Investment Bank

Source: PublicInvest Research

Source: TA Research

AS at end-Q2’25, Velesto’s tenderbook increased by +54% QoQ to RM4.3 billion (from RM2.8 billion in Q1’25) – which suggests that significant, sizeable LT contracts could be at tender stages. 87% of the tenderbook value are potential LT jobs, including for N2 & N6 in MY. We expect both jobs to begin sometime in Q2’26 and could provide stable, recurring earnings visibility over the longer term. We have pencilled these job wins into our forecasts. We raise our DPS estimates to 3 sen p.a. for FY25-27 (from 2.1 sen, 1.9 sen and 2 sen) – representing a yield of 12%. Even after factoring in an annual DPS distribution of 3 sen (RM246 million), our forecasts indicate that Velesto’s net cash pile would still grow to RM107 million, RM149 million and RM196 million in FY25-27 from RM70 million in FY24. Coupled with the completion of the capital reduction exercise on Aug 14, we believe that Velesto could comfortably pay out >100% of profits over the next 3 years. We took the opportunity to re-assess Velesto’s ESG score based on its latest FY24 Annual and Corporate Governance report and have assigned a score of 57 (out of 100), which makes the company above average, an improvement from its last score of 51. A significant improvement was seen in its qualitative parameters was slightly offset by a decline in the group’s quantitative scoring – impacted by a lower “E” score, mainly due to an increase in: i) total emissions; ii) total waste generated. Buy with RM0.29 TP. – Maybank Investment Bank, Oct 14

GENTING Bhd (GENT) has announced a RM6.74 billion proposed privatisation of Genting Malaysia (GENM). The conditional voluntary takeover offer will extend to all the remaining 2,870 million ordinary shares in GENM not already owned by GENT, representing 50.64% equity interest at a cash offer of RM2.35 per GENM share. The offer implies a FY25F PBR of 1.12x and a PER of 25.5x. If the deal is fully funded with debt, GENT’s net gearing is projected to increase from 0.43x to 0.50x. Despite posting a strong topline growth, GENM’s profitability has not recovered back to the pre-pandemic levels due to a combination of factors – rising operating cost, forex losses, corporate governance issue etc. At a 9.8% premium to the last closing price, we believe the offer is likely to become unconditional as GENT is already holding 49.4% of GENM. Currently, GENT holds 49.36% of GENM and we believe the offer is likely to become unconditional with GENT securing >50% of total issued GENM shares (excluding treasury shares). The proposed privatisation would cost RM6.74 billion with GENT plans to utilise external debt financing of RM6.3 billion and the remainder via internally generated funds. GENT intended to gain statutory control of GENM. On June 30, GENM announced that its wholly owned subsidiary Genting New York LLC, the owner and operator of Resorts World New York City, has submitted a bid to the New York State Gaming Commission for a commercial casino license. The bid involves a proposed development of an integrated resort in Queens with an estimated project cost of US$5.5 billion (RM23 billion). – PublicInvest Research, Oct 14

IN August 2025, the global semiconductor sector maintained its positive momentum, recording another month of strong sales growth. According to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SEMI), global semiconductor sales reached US$64.9 billion (+4.4% MoM, +21.7% YoY), marking the 22nd consecutive month of YoY growth. The increase was driven by strong sales of memory and logic chips, supported by sustained demand for AI and high-performance computing applications. The YoY improvement was mainly driven by all regions except Japan (-6.9% YoY). The Asia Pacific/All Other led the growth (+43.1% YoY), followed by Americas (+25.5% YoY), China (+12.4% YoY), and Europe (+4.4% YoY). By geography, August 2025’s sales increase of 4.4% MoM was mainly driven by growth across all regions, led by Asia Pacific/All Other (+6.9%), the Americas (+4.3%), China (+3.3%), Japan (+2%), and Europe (+1%). SEMI forecasts that global spending on 300mm fab equipment will exceed US$100 billion for the first time in 2025, rising 7% to reach US$107 billion. Investments are projected to grow further by 9% to US$116 billion in 2026, 4% to US$120 billion in 2027, and 15% to US$138 billion in 2028. This strong wave of investment highlights the ongoing regionalisation of fabs and the accelerating demand for AI chips powering data centres and edge devices. It also signals the increasing drive toward semiconductor self-sufficiency through localised industrial ecosystems and restructured supply chains across major regions. – TA Research, Oct 14