30/12/2025

BIZ & FINANCE TUESDAY | DEC 30, 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

Holiday-thinned trade to keep Bursa range-bound this week KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia is expected to trade largely sideways this week, as holiday conditions continue to dampen market activity, said an economist. IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan noted that with most major macroeconomic and corporate catalysts already priced in, the year-end rally is likely to lose momentum, while trading volumes should remain subdued. He said the market will be closed on Thursday for the New Year holiday, and Friday’s session is likely to be broadly flat. “Even so, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) is on track to close the year above the 1,643 level, delivering a positive outcome for 2025. “This would represent the first instance in the post-pandemic period of two consecutive years of market gains, reinforcing the view that Malaysia’s equity market has moved onto a firmer structural footing.” To recap, Bursa Malaysia ended the week slightly lower amid profit-taking, snapping a five-day winning streak. The benchmark index touched a nearly 16-month high, closing at 1,678.31 on Wednesday. On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the FBM KLCI rose 11.20 points to 1,677.10 from last week’s 1,665.90. On the index board, the FBM Emas Index gained 55.06 points to 12,288.14, the FBMT 100 Index increased 59.92 points to 12,090.67, the FBM Emas Shariah Index climbed 79.91 points to 12,105.61, and the FBM ACE Index put on 44.91 points to 4,859.79. The FBM 70 Index slipped 10.62 points to 16,802.57. – Bernama

Ringgit ends slightly lower vs dollar on Fed outlook caution THE ringgit ended marginally lower against the American dollar and other major currencies yesterday as traders and investors remained cautious ahead of the US Federal Reserve interest rate outlook for next year. At 6pm, the local currency eased to 4.0580/0625 against the greenback from 4.0470/0535 at Friday’s close. Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said market activity is likely to be subdued toward the year-end due to a lack of fresh catalysts, given the holiday-shortened week. “Additionally, the ongoing fiscal consolidation exercise, expected to continue into 2026, could influence assessments by credit rating agencies,” he told Bernama. Therefore, Mohd Afzanizam noted that the RM4.00 level remains a key psychological and technical resistance for the ringgit next year. “For now, market participants remain guarded over the ringgit’s near-term direction,“ he said. The ringgit was traded lower against a basket of major currencies at today’s closing. It depreciated against the Japanese yen to 2.5956/5987 from 2.5866/5909 at last Friday’s close, declined versus the British pound at 5.4742/4803 from 5.4570/4657, and fell vis-a-vis the euro to 4.7787/7840 from 4.7629/7706 last week. The local currency slid against the Singapore dollar to 3.1572/1610 from 3.1497/1550 on Friday, inched down against the Indonesian rupiah to 241.7/242.1 from 241.6/242.2 and was marginally lower vis-a-vis the Philippines’ peso to 6.90/6.91 from 6.89/6.90; however, it gained versus the Thai baht to 12.8985/9190 from 13.0212/0484 previously.

Exchange Rates

FOREIGN CURRENCY

SELLING TT/OD

BUYING TT

BUYING OD

1 US Dollar

4.1230 2.7780 3.2060 3.0070 4.8500 2.4080 3.2060 5.5610 5.2500 3.4250 59.0800 66.5700 53.4700 4.6800 0.0257 2.6560 42.2000 1.5300 7.1100 113.6600 110.7600 25.5600 1.4000 46.3400 13.8100 113.2500 N/A

3.9720 2.6610 3.1010 2.9200 4.6870 2.3150 3.1010 5.3750 5.0190 3.1960 56.5000 61.1700 50.7300 4.3400 0.0227 2.5310 38.7500 1.3600 6.6800 107.9000 105.1500 23.0700 1.2200 42.1400 12.2200 107.2400 N/A

3.9620 2.6450 3.0930 2.9080 4.6670 2.2990 3.0930 5.3550 5.0040

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

107.0400 2.9960 60.9700 50.5300 4.1400 0.0177 2.5210 38.5500 1.1600 6.4800 107.7000 104.9500 22.8700 1.0200 41.9400 11.8200 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

Petronas Gas Bhd Buy. Target price: RM20.58

Perak thematic Silver State’s path to growth

UUE Holdings Bhd Buy. Target price: RM0.71

Dec 29, 2025: RM0.54

Dec 29, 2025: RM18.36

Source: Bloomberg, TA Research

Source: CEIC, RHB Economics & Market Strategy

Source: Bloomberg, RHB Research

PETGAS announced the approval of revised tariffs for gas transportation and regasification services under Regulatory Period 3 (RP3), which will run from 1 January 2026 until 31 December 2028. In summary, RP3 base tariffs were broadly higher compared to RP2 (2023-2025) entailing a +12.5% increase for the Peninsular Gas Utilisation pipeline (PGU) and a +2.5% increase for RGT Sg. Udang (RGTSU), partly offset by marginally lower C-Tariff (-0.4%) and RGT Pengerang (RGTP) tariff (-0.7%). Similarly, allowed tariffs for FY26 were broadly higher against FY25 allowed tariffs with a +14.8% increase for PGU and a +2.4% increase for RGTSU, marginally offset by a -1.1% and -1.5% decline for C-Tariff and RGTP respectively. However, the announcement fell short of detailing the key tariff components, in particular, the allowed rate of return and projected regulated asset base (RAB), which generally determines PETGAS’ regulated earnings for the period. While the broadly higher tariffs look positive on the surface, we await further details. In hindsight, however, we reckon RAB is likely to continue expanding under RP3 from sustained regulated capex (and potentially higher capex for PGU to maintain integrity of assets following the pipeline fire incident in April 2025), which should underpin PETGAS’ regulated earnings growth under RP3. In FY23 and FY24, the regulated businesses contributed to 52% of group gross profit. PETGAS is positioned well as one of the key upstream proxies to the energy transition from coal to gas as well as data centre-driven demand for power, being the largest gas supply infrastructure owner and operator in the country. Maintain Buy at unchanged TP of RM20.58. – TA Research, Dec 29

ONCE recognised primarily for its heritage and history, Perak is now emerging as one of Malaysia’s most promising economic frontiers. With its diverse economy, strategic location, robust infrastructure, and future-ready industrial zones, Perak is well-positioned to attract high-impact investments and foster sustainable, inclusive growth under the Perak Sejahtera 2030 vision. Perak is embarking on an industrial expansion. The manufacturing sector contributed 19.4% to Perak’s GDP in 2024. IJM Corp, through its subsidiary Industrial Concrete Products (ICP Piles), has three factories in Lumut, located near the LuMIC 1 cluster zone. It has two jetties (Jetty 1 and 2) near its factories with the ability to load 90 metre pre-joined high-performance pre-tensioned spun high-strength concrete (PHC) piles to the barge. The 1,350-acre Sunway City Ipoh township in Tambun has recorded total development value of c.RM2bn to date, with c.RM4bn worth of GDV to be developed over the next 10-15 years. The township’s Sunway Ipoh Mall is strategically located along the North-South Expressway, with convenient access to the mall. Travellers on the expressway can stop over at the mall for an F&B experience or a movie while charging their EVs. Meanwhile, Malaysian Resources Corp (MRCB) has signed a JV development agreement with Ipoh Sentral (ISSB) for the development of Ipoh Sentral (estimated GDV: RM6.3bn) over a phased period of 20 years. Such property development projects augur well for the future workforce that will enter the new industrial areas in Perak, such as the Silver Valley Technology Park. OVERWEIGHT on infrastructure-related counters. – RHB Research, Dec 29

UUE Holdings operates in one of the least visible yet indispensable layer of Malaysia’s power ecosystem - medium-voltage (11kV and 33kV) underground utilities. We believe UUE is well positioned to ride on Tenaga Nasional and SP PowerAssets’ capex upcycles, cementing its place as a horizontal directional drilling (HDD) underground utilities play. Approximately 66% of UUE’s outstanding orderbook (RM522m) is tied to Tenaga Nasional-related projects, directly anchoring earnings visibility to Malaysia’s power grid capex cycle. Under Regulatory Period 4 (RP4), TNB’s allowed capex has doubled to RM42.8bn, driven by rising electricity demand. We believe that contract availability remains deep with demand that is stable, recurring, and highly visible, estimating UUE’s economical relevant proportion of RP4 contract flows to reach RM10.6bn, or RM3.5bn worth of contract per annum in 2025-2027 for upkeep of the distribution network. Furthermore, the 2+1 structure for TNB contracts materially enhances revenue visibility and repeatability. SP PowerAsset’s capex reached a new high of S$1.16bn in FY25 (Mar). Early-stage tender activity and front-end planning works have picked up, which typically precede HDD contract awards by several quarters. As project activity normalises and UUE’s track record deepens, it has begun to secure meaningfully larger packages, evidenced by its recent SGD20.9m contract win. This signal both larger project scopes and stronger integration into main contractors’ planning stages. Currently, all 10 of UUE’s on-the-ground teams are being deployed. We project a 3-year (FY25F-28F) earnings CAGR of 30.6% for UUE, largely driven by progressive billings of its all-time high outstanding orderbook. Initiate coverage with BUY and RM0.71 TP. – RHB Research, Dec 29