02/02/2026

BIZ & FINANCE MONDAY | FEB 2, 2026

15

Berjaya Research positive on Tasco’s long-term outlook

FMM welcomes Kuskop’s MSME

financing initiatives, urges wider access KUALA LUMPUR: The Federation of Malaysian Manufacturing (FMM), formerly known as the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers, welcomes the BR Prosper-i and SME Bank Success financing initiatives under the Ministry of Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development (Kuskop), which has a total allocation of RM100 million, aimed at strengthening access to financing for MSMEs, particularly within the Chinese business community. FMM, however, hopes that this facility can be extended to businesses across all communities, in line with the broader objective of supporting MSME development and inclusivity. These initiatives by Kuskop are timely and positive, especially given the current volatility in global trade, where access to financing and cash flow remain critical challenges for MSMEs. “FMM hopes that more such programmes can be rolled out in the future and institutionalised through consistent annual allocations under the national budget, to ensure sustained and far reaching support for MSME development. “Equally important is the government’s continued emphasis on inclusive MSME policies, ensuring that no viable business is left behind,“ FMM president Jacob Lee Chor Kok said in a statement. He said FMM also emphasises the importance of a simplified application process, coupled with swift processing times and transparent approval procedures, to ensure financial assistance reaches targeted MSMEs efficiently. “The inclusion of guarantee coverage by SJPP or CGC under the financing programme is particularly welcomed, as it addresses one of the key barriers faced by MSMEs, i.e. limited collateral or shorter credit histories. “By sharing financing risks, the guarantee mechanism enhances confidence among financial institutions, supports broader lending to viable businesses, and enables more MSMEs to access funding that might otherwise be out of reach,“ Lee said. With about 76% of FMM’s members comprising MSMEs, Lee said, the federation, represents a significant segment of Malaysia’s manufacturing and entrepreneurial base. He said FMM strongly supports financing initiatives that enable manufacturers to scale up, move up the value chain and remain globally competitive, in line with FMM’s long-standing vision of moving Malaysian industry from cost-based competition to capability-based competition. “Such initiatives, when complemented by broader national industrial strategies, will contribute meaningfully to strengthening the sustainability and resilience of Malaysia’s MSME ecosystem.”

protection by subsidising any shortfall between tender rates and actual freight costs, allowing the group to remain competitive in tenders while mitigating downside risks during periods of rate volatility,” Berjaya Research analyst Chloe Mak said in a report. Meanwhile, Tasco’s domestic business solutions (DBS) segment is expected to see a gradual improvement, supported by rising contributions from the warehousing business as utilisation at the newly built Shah Alam Logistics Centre (SALC) and Westport Logistics Centre continues to ramp up. The group’s capacity expansion plans remain on track, including the 400,000 sq ft extension at SALC and the redevelopment of the Northport, Port Klang facility into a 300,000 sq ft modern warehouse, both targeted for completion by mid-2026, with approximately 50% of the new space already secured. Berjaya Research also noted that Tasco’s cold supply chain division was impacted by the loss of a major food and beverage customer due to unmet temperature-control requirements for additional product lines, though the management is actively bidding for new contracts to replace the lost volume. Separately, haulage operations under the contract logistics division are expected to improve following new customer wins from the glove manufacturing sector, the firm said. To note, Tasco’s IBS solutions handle air freight forwarding, ocean freight forwarding, and supply chains. The group’s DBS segment handles contract logistics, cold supply chain and trucking.

PETALING JAYA: Berjaya Research Sdn Bhd remains positive on Tasco Bhd’s long-term prospects, underpinned by the group’s diversified business model, higher-margin contributions from new warehouse facilities and the utilisation of integrated logistics solutions tax incentives. The research firm said this is despite Tasco’s operating environment to stay cautious amid uneven global trade conditions and lingering geopolitical tensions. Berjaya Research said Tasco’s international business solutions (IBS) segment’s conditions are expected to remain challenging amid subdued global freight rates, as continued vessel supply expansion and increased competition cap rate upside. “While this may constrain near-term revenue growth, the group’s focus on driving shipment volumes, together with disciplined cost management, should help support segment profitability. “More importantly, the strategic forward pricing framework introduced by its parent company provides additional earnings o Strong points include diversified clientele base, healthy balance sheet and expansion into supply chain solutions

According to a Bursa Malaysia filing, Tasco’s revenue for the third quarter ended Dec 31, 2025 (FY26) decreased 7.15% to RM226.05 million from RM243.45 million in the same quarter last year, primarily due to a 16.4% contraction in the IBS segment as lower global freight rates and increased capacity in the market weighed on both the air and ocean freight forwarding divisions. Berjaya Research said this was partly mitigated by a stronger performance from the supply chain solutions division, driven by the origin management and trading business. Net profit decreased 29% to RM10.11 million from RM14.24 million recorded in Q3 FY25. For the nine-month period (9M) of FY26, Tasco’s revenue decrease 13.79% to RM680.2 million from RM789.07 million posted in 9M of FY25. Net profit for the period was marginally down by 1.57% to RM28.92 million from RM29.38 million posted in the 9M of FY25. Berjaya Research noted that Tasco delivered resilient earnings in 9M FY26 despite softer revenue contribution from the IBS segment amid a downtrend in global freight rates, supported by effective cost management that lifted profitability. “We maintain our Buy recommendation on Tasco with an unchanged target price of RM0.62, based on an unchanged target price to-earnings ratio of 10.0x pegged to our FY27 earnings per share. “We continue to favour Tasco for its diversified clientele base, healthy balance sheet with a net cash position and expansion into business segments like cold supply chain and supply chain solutions. “Key downside risks include weaker-than expected business volumes, volatile freight rates, and escalating geopolitical tensions,” the research firm noted.

Berjaya Research noted that Tasco delivered resilient earnings in 9M FY26.

Issues over Malaysian stocks, HK gold bullion in the limelight

Top stock warrants by value traded: Warrant Value Issuer Exercise

previous week to close higher for a seventh consecutive day as of Thursday before losing 2.1% on Friday, ending the week 2.4% higher w-o-w. Call HSI-CWM7 gained 73.3% w-o-w while put HSI-PWN4 lost 50.9% w-o-w on the back of the HSI futures moving higher w-o-w. 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.

before losing some of its gains to end the week at RM2.10, 14.1% higher w o-w. Call warrant AAX-C32 was one of the top traded warrants for the week with a turnover of close to RM12 million. Other local warrant underlyings that saw interest last week include Gamuda, Public Bank and 99 Speed Mart, among others. Meanwhile, warrants over the SPDR Gold Trust listed on the Hong Kong Exchange (GLDHK) was also on investors’radar. The GLDHK is designed to reflect the price per-formance of gold bullion and offers investors a way to participate in the gold bullion market. The GLDHK continued its phenomenal rise into last Thursday to close at a record high of HK$3,981, in line with global gold prices reaching record highs recently as investors look to the safe haven asset.

WARRANTS WATCH

Expiry date

TOTAL turnover on the Malaysian warrants marker rose 13.6% week-on week (w-o-w) to RM603.2 million last week on the back of a surge in interest in issues over Malaysian shares. Their turnover rose 36.7% w o-w to RM344.2 million, contributing to 57.1% of the overall turnover. Meanwhile, warrants over the Hang Seng Index (HSI) contributed RM212.6 million last week, about 35.2% of turnover, though two HSI warrants continued to lead the top traded chart. Among the Malaysian stock underlyings of interest last week was AirAsia X (AAX), which kicked off the week with a 19% surge on Monday, and continued to rise the next two days to close at a high of RM2.27,

name

(RM’ mil)

level

HSI-CWM7 HSI-PWN4 GLDHK-C7 AAX-C32 HSI-CWML

54.4 42.0 15.3 11.9 11.0

Macquarie Macquarie Maybank Maybank Kenanga

28,000 26,000

26 Feb 2026 26 Feb 2026 30 Jun 2026 31 Jul 2026 26 Feb 2026

HKD1,888 RM1.88

30,000

the GLDHK, saw its bid price fall to RM0.020 on Thursday, before tripling to RM0.060 on Friday pursuant to the decline in GLDHK. Both these warrants demonstrate the leveraged effect that structured warrants can provide to bullish or bearish investors. Meanwhile, call HSI-CWM7 and put HSI-PWN4 continued to top the charts with over RM97 million traded. The HSI continued its rise from the

However, the GLDHK then fell 6.7% on Friday to end the week at HK$3,713, 4.6% higher w-o-w. Call warrants such as GLDHK-C7 and GLDHK-C9 drew investors’ attention with over 36 million units traded in total. GLDHK-C9 ended the week at a bid price of RM0.785, 31.9% higher w o-w, which is close to 7 times of the gain in GLDHK itself. Put warrant GLDHK-H4, which moves in the opposite direction to