10/03/2026

BIZ & FINANCE TUESDAY | MAR 10, 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

GTA plans IPO, expansion of aviation maintenance business KUALA LUMPUR: GTA Holdings Bhd plans to list on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia, aiming to raise funds through an initial public offering (IPO) to support the expansion of its aviation maintenance business. In an exchange filing dated March 9, the company said the IPO will involve a public issue of 205 million new ordinary shares alongside an offer for sale of 124 million existing shares to institutional and selected investors. Under the public issue portion, 64.57 million shares will be made available for application by the Malaysian public, with half of this allocation reserved for Bumiputera investors. A further 12.91 million shares will be set aside for eligible directors and employees of GTA and its subsidiary, while the remaining 127.52 million shares will be placed out to institutional and selected investors via private placement. Separately, 124 million existing shares will be offered for sale through a private placement exercise to institutional and selected investors. Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd has been appointed as the sponsor for the listing. GTA provides maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services for helicopter and fixed-wing engines, as well as their parts and components. The group offers proactive maintenance service packages and corrective maintenance services up to certain maintenance levels. In addition to its maintenance activities, GTA sells aviation equipment, including new engines, engine modules and related parts.

Ringgit weighed down by oil price surge, Iran war

Exchange Rates

FOREIGN CURRENCY

SELLING TT/OD

BUYING TT

BUYING OD

THE ringgit eased against the US dollar and other major currencies yesterday as heightened geopolitical risks strengthened the greenback after Brent crude oil prices surged sharply, with the local currency continuing to be affected by the ongoing war in Iran. At 6 pm, the local currency slipped to 3.9590/9655 against the greenback from Friday’s close of 3.9425/9535. Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said Brent crude had shot up to as high as US$118.35 per barrel during the morning session, but later hovered around US$107.91 per barrel after Iran named Mojtaba Khamenei as its new supreme leader. “The ringgit continues to be affected by the war in Iran. The appointment of the new supreme leader suggests that the conflict is likely to be protracted,” he told Bernama. He said fears over global inflation and how central banks would respond had resulted in higher US Treasury yields. “Obviously, risk aversion has driven market sentiment into a weaker trajectory. Hence, the ringgit is expected to remain weak in the near term,” he said. At the close, the ringgit slid vis-à-vis the Japanese yen to 2.4992/5035 from 2.4973/5044 last Friday, eased versus the British pound to 5.2809/2896 from 5.2530/2676 and fell against the euro to 4.5738/5813 from 4.5634/5762 previously. The ringgit appreciated vis-à-vis the Thai baht to 12.3345/3617 from 12.3392/3810 on Friday and gained versus the Philippine peso at 6.65/6.67 from 6.68/6.70. However, the local note trended lower versus the Singapore dollar to 3.0925/0978 from 3.0779/0867 and decreased against the Indonesian rupiah to 233.5/234.0 from 232.9/233.6 previously.

1 US Dollar

4.0430 2.8290 3.1410 2.9640 4.6530 2.3710 3.1410 5.3740 5.1950 3.3550 58.8400 63.8500 52.1200 4.4800 0.0250 2.5650 42.9000 1.5000 6.9300 111.4700 108.5500 24.8700 1.3600 44.8600 13.1000 111.0100 N/A

3.8960 2.7120 3.0410 2.8800 4.5000 2.2830 3.0410 5.2010 4.9730 3.1320 56.3100 58.7200 49.5000 4.1600 0.0220 2.4460 39.4300 1.3400 6.5200 105.8200 103.0500 22.4600 1.1900 40.8200 11.6100 105.2200 N/A

3.8860 2.6960 3.0330 2.8680 4.4800 2.2670 3.0330 5.1810 4.9580

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

105.0200 2.9320 58.5200 49.3000 3.9600 0.0170 2.4360 39.2300 1.1400 6.3200 105.6200 102.8500 22.2600 0.9900 40.6200 11.2100 N/ 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

ICT Zone Asia Bhd Buy. Target price: RM0.27

Plantation sector Overweight

Telecommunications sector Neutral

March 9, 2026: RM0.165

Source: Bloomberg, TA Research

ON March 6, ICT Zone Asia Berhad announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, ICT Zone Sdn Bhd, received a RM17.8mn purchase order from FK Technology Sdn Bhd for the supply, delivery, and installation of electronic display systems and related ICT hardware, including supporting structures, infrastructure works, and required licenses. The project will be funded through bank borrowings and/or internal funds. This represents ICTZONE’s third contract win in the year 2026, reflecting the group’s ability to secure sizeable one-off trading contracts that complement its core recurring TechFin business. While this does not form part of ICTZONE’s recurring TechFin orderbook, it is nonetheless meaningful in scale and demonstrates the group’s continued capability as a trusted ICT hardware supplier. Expected to be recognised in FY27F, this order represents approximately 7.4% of our FY27F total revenue forecast and 22.7% of our FY27F trading segment revenue estimate. Assuming a net margin of 6.0% consistent with our trading segment assumption, this order is estimated to contribute approximately RM1.1mn to FY27F net profit, providing a meaningful uplift to our FY27F net profit forecast. We also note that the group intends to partially fund this order via bank borrowings, which is consistent with its asset-backed TechFin operating model. We continue to favour ICTZONE for its: (i) recurring, contract backed earnings, (ii) unique multi-lifecycle model that enhances margins and capital efficiency and (iii) structural tailwinds from the government’s ongoing digitalisation agenda. We maintain our Buy recommendation with an unchanged target price of RM0.27, based on the same target PER of 11x CY26 EPS. – TA Research, March 9

Source: Bloomberg, TA Research

Source: Company data, RHB Research

RECENT escalations in tensions between US-Israel and Iran have triggered significant volatility across global commodity markets, particularly in energy. Concerns over potential supply disruptions in the Middle East have pushed the Brent crude price above USD100 per barrel, as markets increasingly priced in geopolitical risk around key oil transit routes. The Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical energy chokepoints, handles roughly 20mn barrels per day (bpd) of oil flows, equivalent to about one fifth of global petroleum liquids consumption. Heightened security risks around the strait have also lifted war risk insurance premiums and freight costs, increasing transportation risks across global commodity supply chains. While the immediate beneficiaries of higher oil prices have been energy stocks, we believe the spillover effects on the Malaysian plantation sector are being overlooked. Historically, stronger crude oil prices tend to support palm oil prices through improved biodiesel economics, as higher diesel prices enhance the attractiveness of biodiesel blending. At the same time, rising freight costs could improve palm oil’s relative competitiveness against other vegetable oils, particularly soybean oil shipments from the U.S and South America, which involve longer shipping distances to key Asian consuming markets. Against this backdrop, we upgrade the Malaysian plantation sector to OVERWEIGHT. In our view, the sector stands to benefit from stronger biodiesel demand, improving price competitiveness within the global vegetable oil complex and tightening inventories in key importing markets such as India, which could trigger a restocking cycle in the coming months. – TA Research, March 9

THE sector is trading at 1.5SD below the historical EV/EBITDA mean, which we consider as fair, given the regulatory uncertainties and tight competition. As such, we maintain our NEUTRAL sector weighting, with a relative preference for fixed line players due to their more attractive prospects, underpinned by structural catalysts and capital management. On March 6, Maxis and CelcomDigi (CDB) announced that they have each paid RM327.9m to the Ministry of Finance (MOF) as part of the latter’s put option. The payment includes RM161.2m in remaining MOF loans, shareholder advances and interest, bringing the cumulative investment in Digital Nasional (DNB) to RM678m (from RM350m). While the transfer of MOF shares effectively raises the telcos’ stake in DNB to 33.3%, we gather they will only equity account DNB’s losses pending the fulfilment of conditions precedent with the payment held in trust. We previously estimated a potential dilution of 6-7% on Maxis and CDB’s FY26F core earnings, assuming DNB’s losses are halved in FY26. We think the loss of a key access seeker (TM) is likely to put additional strain on DNB, making attempts to turn it around more difficult. Meanwhile, the multi-operator core network (MOCN) deal inked with U Mobile (UM) should yield good 5G wholesale cost savings for TM and ease the pressure on its direct cost, which spiked up in FY25 from the change in wholesale cost recognition. All telcos under our coverage reported in-line 4Q25 results. The quarter was characterised by steady mobile revenue development (+0.2% YoY), with seasonally stronger roaming and prepaid base management driving sequentially higher industry revenue growth of 1.8%. – RHB Research, March 9