11/02/2026

BIZ & FINANCE WEDNESDAY | FEB 11, 2026

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

S’gor to build Malaysia’s largest floating solar farm in Bestari Jaya BESTARI JAYA: Selangor is strengthening its position as a national leader in renewable energy with the construction of the Large Scale Solar (LSS 5) floating solar farm in Bestari Jaya, one of the largest in Southeast Asia, with a generation capacity of 300 megawatts (MWac). Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari said the over RM1 billion floating photovoltaic project, the largest in Malaysia, was awarded to Bestari Solar Sdn Bhd (BSSB), a consortium led by Edra Power Holdings Sdn Bhd, Worldwide Holdings Bhd and Rotaka Engineering Services (M) Sdn Bhd after winning a competitive bidding process. He said the project, covering about 430ha, will be developed on land owned by state government subsidiaries including Kumpulan Hartanah Selangor Bhd, the Selangor Agricultural Development Corporation, as well as part of state-owned land. “These lands will be leased to Worldwide Holdings Bhd and the companies involved for solar energy operations for 21 years,” he told reporters after the groundbreaking ceremony of the Bestari LSS 5 project yesterday. Amirudin said the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) was signed in March 2025, with completion expected in July 2027, ensuring a stable supply of renewable energy to the national grid over the 21-year period. He added that more than 80% of the project will use floating solar technology, with the remainder developed on land, allowing existing water bodies to be utilised without large-scale land use. The water bodies involved are raw water storage ponds linked to projects such as the Hybrid Off River Augmentation Storage system, which are only used during dry seasons. – Bernama Economy Steady IPI growth seals a strong 2025

THE ringgit revisited the 3.92 level to end higher against the US dollar yesterday, as investors took positions ahead of the release of Malaysia’s GDP data on Friday. At 6pm, the local currency strengthened to 3.9220/9260 against the greenback, from Monday’s close of 3.9325/9375. Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said China’s authorities have advised their financial institutions to limit their exposure to US Treasury bonds. This has led to further appreciation of the Chinese yuan against the greenback, helping to lift the ringgit as well. He noted that the ringgit maintained its appreciation bias against the greenback, climbing to RM3.9215 during the morning session. “The ringgit appears to be tracking a similar trend with the yuan, given the close relationship between the ringgit and the yuan at a more than 90% coefficient of correlation. For now, the ringgit looks well supported, and the incoming (Malaysian) GDP data this Friday could provide further justification for its appreciation against the US dollar,” he told Bernama. At the close, the ringgit traded lower against a basket of major currencies. It fell versus the Japanese yen to 2.5264/5292 from 2.5104/5137 at Monday’s close, depreciated vis-à-vis the British pound to 5.3610/3664 from 5.3482/3550, and eased against the euro to 4.6731/6778 from 4.6647/6707 previously. The local note was mostly higher against its Asean peers, but fell against vis-à-vis the Singapore dollar to 3.0994/1028 from 3.0979/10.21. However, the ringgit inched up against the Indonesian rupiah to 233.3/233.6 from 234.0/234.4. Ringgit climbs to 3.92 against dollar ahead of growth data

Exchange Rates

FOREIGN CURRENCY

SELLING TT/OD

BUYING TT

BUYING OD

1 US Dollar

4.0020 2.8410 3.1530 2.9400 4.7540 2.4220 3.1530 5.4640 5.2350 3.3390 58.0100 65.2400 51.5800 4.4900 0.0248 2.5750 42.7400 1.4900 6.9200 110.2800 107.4700 25.9900 1.3600 46.0900 13.3800 109.9000 N/A

3.8520 2.7230 3.0500 2.8550 4.5950 2.3300 3.0500 5.2830 5.0050

3.8420 2.7070 3.0420 2.8430 4.5750 2.3140 3.0420 5.2630 4.9900

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

104.0600 3.0930 55.4900 59.9500 48.9500

103.8600 2.8930 59.7500 48.7500 3.9700 0.0169 2.4440 39.0200 1.1200 6.3100 104.4900 101.8300 23.2500 0.9800 41.7100 11.4400 N/A N/A

4.1700 0.0219 2.4540

N/A

39.2200 1.3200 6.5100 104.6900 102.0300 23.4500 1.1800 41.9100 11.8400

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

Axiata Group Bhd Buy. Target price: RM2.95

Sime Darby Bhd Buy. Target price: RM2.40

Feb 10, 2026: RM2.38

Feb 10, 2026: RM2.20

Source: DOSM, TA Research

Source: Bloomberg

Source: Bloomberg

AXIATA reviewed progress on its 5x5 Strategy at the 2026 AAID, reaffirming portfolio transformation and growth as the core priorities for 2026-2028. Management has sharpened its headline financial targets, guiding for DPS growth of Ż 10% YoY from FY26 and net debt/EBITDA target of <2x. Importantly, the targets are business-as-usual-driven (excluding monetisation), supported by: i) Deeper integration synergies across Malaysia, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka; ii) an improving macro backdrop in Bangladesh; iii) upside from 5G monetisation; and iv) price repair in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. Specifically, the Indonesian market has witnessed two consecutive quarters of 5% QoQ ARPU uplift. Within its frontier portfolio, Dialog and Smart are generating ROIC>WACC, with Robi next to cross the threshold. Axiata is hopeful of completing the divestment of edotCo in FY26, but caution on-going market investability concerns in Indonesia could hamper the sale of 73.5%-owned Link Net, where it impaired RM400 million in 9M’25. Over the medium term, the group has identified cyber-security and artificial intelligence as M&A targets to drive technology growth. Its digital businesses are on track for value-unlocking, with Boost expected to turn EBITDA-positive by end 2026. Axiata is on track to achieve the net debt/EBITDA target of 2.5x by end FY26 with the on-going reduction in group and holdco debt (Q3’25: RM16 billion and RM7.2 billion), and USD debt reduction/refinancing across frontier markets with Robi now USD debt-free. BUY with RM2.95 TP. – RHB Research, Feb 10

MALAYSIA’S Industrial Production Index (IPI) strengthened in December, rising by 4.8% YoY to 142.6 points, surpassing market expectations of 4.5% YoY and improving from 4.3% YoY in the previous month. The stronger outturn signals a recovery in industrial momentum, underpinned mainly by a pickup in manufacturing output amid still uneven external demand. Overall, IPI remained firmly in expansionary territory, suggesting continued support from resilient domestic demand alongside recovery in export-oriented segments. The better-than-expected performance was largely driven by a rise in the manufacturing and electricity indices, although this was partly offset by a contraction in the mining sector. On a month-on-month (MoM) basis, the IPI edged up by 0.2%, increasing marginally from 142.3 points in November. The manufacturing sector, which accounts for 65.9% of the IPI, expanded by a robust 6.7% YoY in December, alongside a 0.2% MoM increase. Growth was broad-based across export oriented industries, signalling a recovery in external demand and aligning with the earlier strong trade performance, where total exports surged by double digits, up 10.4% YoY to RM152.95 billion. Employment in the manufacturing sector stood at 2.426 million workers in December, expanding by 1.1% YoY (Nov 2025: 0.8% YoY). Job gains were mainly driven by the Food, Beverages & Tobacco (1.9% YoY), Electrical & Electronics (1.7% YoY), and Non-metallic Mineral Products, Basic Metal & Fabricated Metal Products (1.2% YoY) sub-sectors. On a month-on-month (MoM) basis, employment edged up by 0.2%. – TA Research, Feb 10

SIME will post its 1H’26 results on Feb 26, with results expected to come in around RM350-385 million (+4% to +15% QoQ, +13% to +24% YoY). We think the stronger QoQ/YoY performance should be supported by higher volumes from Perodua and Toyota and better margins from July 2025 ASPs adjustment for its industrial segment. Its motor segment should also see improvement coming from forward-buying activities ahead of the expiry of CBU EVs tax rebates. Based on Malaysia Automotive Association’s (MAA) TIV numbers, Perodua recorded an all-time high Q4’25 numbers of 104,810 units (+18% QoQ, +7% YoY), bringing 2025 sales volume to 359,904 units (+1% YoY), ie higher than our initial assumption of 350k units. Meanwhile, both Toyota and BYD have also posted steady 2025 sales volume of 102k units (flattish YoY) and 15k units (+77% YoY) – exceeding our initial estimates. While we foresee a weaker TIV volume of -2% YoY in CY26, we expect Perodua volume to remain resilient, on the back of a supportive macroeconomic backdrop, attractive pricing and the introduction of new models (B-segment Perodua Traz, while there has also been talk on the potential development for new Myvi models). As such, we lift our volume assumption accordingly in line with our 2026 TIV assumption. Sanguine outlook for the industrial segment. While the previous quarter saw margin compression due to delayed new equipment deliveries and likely lower after-sales contribution, the segment should improve in Q2’26 as higher July 2025 ASPs adjustment for Caterpillar fully kicks in, further supported by sustained demand from improving mining activities. BUY with RM2.40 TP. – RHB Research, Feb 10