03/04/2026

BIZ & FINANCE FRIDAY | APR 3, 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

Bank GIL ratio to tick up but no cause for concern: CGS KUALA LUMPUR: CGS International Securities Malaysia Sdn Bhd has projected that the banking industry’s gross impaired loan (GIL) ratio at end-2026 would grow by 0.1% to 1.4% -1.5% range. However, it is not overly concerned about the uptick in GIL as this is cushioned by banks’hefty management overlay of RM4.33 billion at the end of December 2025, the research firm said in a note yesterday. “We estimate that every 10% increase in banks’ GIL would trim the sector’s net profit by 3%, (but) this could be cushioned by banks’ hefty management overlay, which would be adequate to cover up to a 37.8% increase in banks’ GIL,” it said. It said most banks would have engaged with their borrowers and offered repayment assistance to borrowers impacted by high inflation, resulting from the oil price surge. “Therefore, this would help to limit the rise in GIL in the 2026 forecast,” said CGS International. According to CGS International, the banking industry GIL rose by RM1.35 billion or 4.2% in the second month of 2026 from RM32.3 billion at the end of December 2025 to RM33.6 billion at the end of February 2026. It noted that the growth was primarily from working capital loans up to 34.9% of the total, residential mortgages (25.2%), and personal loans (18.4%). Meanwhile, Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd said it maintained a cautious stance on credit costs, notwithstanding the banking sector’s strong capital position. “While overlays appear adequate for near-term volatility, additional provisioning may still be needed as banks prioritise resilience,” it said. – Bernama

THE ringgit closed easier against the US dollar yesterday after gaining ground on Wednesday, with market sentiment remaining cautious amid President Trump’s unpredictable stance on the US-Iran conflict, leading to constant changes in risk appetite among traders and investors. At 6pm, the local currency weakened to 4.0365/0430 against the greenback from Wednesday’s close of 4.0240/0295. Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the US dollar index (DXY) gained traction, rising 0.47% to 100.122 points. “Brent crude prices went up as Trump’s prime-time address suggested no resolution to the war as he pledged more aggression towards Iran in the next two weeks to three weeks and no plans to facilitate the reopening of the Straits of Hormuz,” he told Bernama. At the close, the ringgit traded higher against a basket of major currencies. It strengthened against the British pound to 5.3278/3364 from 5.3507/3580 on Wednesday’s close, traded better versus the Japanese yen to 2.5295/5337 from 2.5358/5394 previously, and improved vis-a-vis the euro to 4.6517/6592 from 4.6666/6730. The local currency traded mixed against Asean currencies. It was marginally higher versus the Singapore dollar to 3.1364/1417 from 3.1369/1414 at Wednesday’s close and improved against the Philippine peso to 6.66/6.68, as compared with 6.68/6.69 on Wednesday. However, it fell versus the Indonesian rupiah to 237.4/237.9 from 236.9/237.3, weakened to 12.3180/3447 against the Thai baht from 12.2726/2926 at Wednesday’s closing. Ringgit eases against dollar as markets remain cautious

Exchange Rates

FOREIGN CURRENCY

SELLING TT/OD

BUYING TT

BUYING OD

1 US Dollar

4.0925 2.8420 3.1830 2.9400 4.7360 2.3560 3.1830 5.4360 5.1750 3.3850 59.7800 64.9700 52.6200 4.4700 0.0251 2.5930 43.1100 1.5200 6.8800 113.2000 109.9200 25.1600 1.3600 44.7400 13.0900 112.4300 N/A

3.9465 2.7280 3.0820 2.8580 4.5820 2.2690 3.0820 5.2620 4.9540 3.1540 57.2400 59.7700 49.9900 4.1500 0.0222 2.4730 39.6500 1.3600 6.4700 107.4700 104.3500 22.7200 1.1900 40.7200 11.6000 106.5600 N/A

3.9365 2.7120 3.0740 2.8460 4.5620 2.2530 3.0740 5.2420 4.9390

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

106.3600

2.9540

N/A

59.5700 49.7900 3.9500 0.0172 2.4630 39.4500 1.1600 6.2700 107.2700 104.1500 22.5200 0.9900 40.5200 11.2000 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

IJM Corporation Bhd Buy. Target price: RM3.15

MGB Bhd Buy. Target price: RM0.60

Sime Darby Property Bhd Buy. Target price: RM2.33

April 2, 2026: RM1.32

April 2, 2026: RM2.26

April 2, 2026: RM0.42

Source: Bloomberg

Source: Bloomberg

Source: Bloomberg

MGB has garnered a RM200.7 million contract from Lien Dak Builders on a proposed development of centralised labour quarters in Penang Science Park South – located in Seberang Perai Selatan, Penang – for a company named Urban Pinnacle. This job win is MGB’s first for FY26, as well as its first in Penang. We note that MGB has been gradually securing new clients over the past year. Some of them include UDA Holdings’ affordable housing project worth RM118.5 million in Kuala Lumpur (awarded in Oct 2025), and a RM186 million serviced apartment tower for CI Medini in Iskandar Puteri, Johor (awarded in Aug 2025). Based on the latest domestic orderbook which we estimate to be around RM1.2 billion (after taking into account the latest job clinched) – external party jobs make up around 30-37.5%, while 62.5% is from internal jobs from its parent, LBS Bina. Additionally, MGB has around RM444 million (50% effective share of MGB: ~RM222 million) in remaining jobs related to a project in Medina, Saudi Arabia. While we are cognisant of the risks stemming from the Middle East, MGB’s property development business is expected to remain strong, due to higher progress on these ongoing projects: Idaman Cahaya Phase 2, Idaman Sari, Saujana Indah Phases 1 and 2 – in total, these have unbilled sales of RM423 million. LBS Bina, meanwhile, is planning to launch RM2.3 billion worth of new projects in FY26 vs RM1.1 billion in FY25, which may benefit MGB. Furthermore, the group has a pipeline of new property projects (including affordable housing ones) providing commendable earnings visibility – these have a cumulative GDV of >RM1 billion, and are mainly in the Klang Valley. BUY with RM0.60 TP. – RHB Research, April 2

IJM Corp announced that it has secured a RM658 million job from Sime Darby Property for the main building works (core and shell) on a hyperscale data centre (DC) building under Package 2 in Elmina Business Park (EBP). Works are slated to commence in Q2’26, with a targeted completion in Q3’27. This is IJM’s first win in FY27, and its seventh DC package win (its third such win in the Klang Valley). We expect the PBT margin of the job at 5-8%. By garnering this contract, IJM has secured DC jobs totalling RM5 billion (based on effective share). With this job in EBP pertaining to core and shell works for a DC, we do not rule out it also scoring a package related to mechanical and electrical (M&E) works for the same DC – which has yet to be awarded and could be worth RM500-700 million, in our view. This is because IJM secured the M&E portion for the earlier DC (known as Package 1) in EBP – which was awarded in Oct 2025, and was worth RM874 million – after securing the core and shell works worth RM1.3 billion for the same package. Based on our estimates, this latest job brings the value of IJM’s outstanding orderbook to RM8.2 billion. This is on top of its RM6.5 billion overseas orderbook from Singapore and the UK. According to our analysis, DC jobs now make up around 45-50% of its domestic outstanding orderbook. We gathered that IJM, on March 12, reached the final precast installation stage for one of the buildings related to a RM1.4 billion DC in Mukim Pulai, Johor – for which it secured the job order back in Aug 2025. This DC has a completion timeline of 13 months, and

WE remain upbeat on Sime Darby Property’s strategy to grow its investment property portfolio. The contract award to IJM this week should boost investors’ confidence that the construction of both data centre (DC) facilities in Elmina Business Park (EBP) is on track. As such, its leasing income should kick in according to plan, from Q4’26 onwards. In Oct 2025, SDPR granted the letter of award for main building works (core & shell) for construction, completion, testing and commissioning of a hyperscale DC for Pearl Computing at EBP worth RM1.3 billion (Package 1). SDPR also awarded another contract to IJM, with a value of RM658.01 million for Package 2, which is an extension of works to Package 1. In the announcement, SDPR explained that the contract was awarded via a tender process, and nine contractors were invited to participate in the prequalification process, and only four contractors participated in the tender. The price of the submitted bids for Package 2 ranged from RM658.01 million to RM839.89 million, and IJM was selected based on the overall evaluation in terms of commercial, capacity and technical expertise, as well as the performance assessment for Package 1. Construction works for Package 2 should start in 2Q26, and overall works for Package 1 & 2 should be completed by Q3’27. We think the awarding of the contract is timely, especially when the equity market is going through a volatile period due to the conflict in the Middle East. The contract award would also mean that the construction of DC 1 and DC 2 are on track so far,

works are expected to be done by September. BUY with RM3.15 TP. – RHB Research, April 2

and DC 1 is scheduled to be completed in 2H’26. BUY with RM2.33 TP. – RHB Research, April 2