22/04/2026

BIZ & FINANCE WEDNESDAY | APR 22, 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

Cape EMS enters advanced EV interconnect engineering SENAI: Cape EMS Bhd has established GrandCape (M) Sdn Bhd through a joint venture with New Grand Tech (HK) Ltd. GrandCape serves as a dedicated manufacturing and engineering platform for Flexible Flat Cable (FFC), advanced electronic, AI data centre (AIDC), and Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) interconnect solutions. The group is expanding its capabilities within the global energy transition. GrandCape will deliver high-reliability interconnect systems for battery modules and large-scale BESS deployments, alongside critical FFC connectivity for electric vehicle (EV) and smart mobility ecosystems. This aligns Cape EMS with the macroeconomic reality where massive AI energy demand requires highly scalable, advanced energy storage solutions. GrandCape is already operational, with four FFC machines running active production lines at its Senai facility in Johor. This capital-efficient expansion into higher-margin engineering minimizes ramp-up risks, accelerates time-to-market, and offers near-term revenue potential without requiring heavy greenfield infrastructure investments. Managing director and group CEO Christina Tee Kim Chin commented on the strategic evolution: “This initiative represents a strategic evolution of our business – moving beyond traditional manufacturing into high-value interconnect and system integration solutions supporting both AI infrastructure and energy systems. Our positioning within the AI data centre GPU supply chain, combined with our expansion into BESS interconnect solutions, allows us to participate in two of the most significant global growth drivers – AI and energy transition.”

THE ringgit strengthened against the US dollar and other major currencies at yesterday’s close, despite a firmer US Dollar Index, as investors closely monitored developments and anticipated the outcome of ongoing negotiations between the US and Iran. At 6pm, the local note firmed to 3.9490/9530 against the greenback, from 3.9515/9555 on Monday. Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said currency markets were mixed in Asia as traders and investors awaited the eventual outcome of the negotiations. So far, he said, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent crude prices fell by 1.06% and 0.84% to US$88.66 per barrel and US$94.68 per barrel. “It appears there is optimism in the market that some resolution could be achieved. Nonetheless, the prevailing situation is highly fluid and hence, the risk is rather high for now,” he told Bernama. At the close, the ringgit traded higher against major currencies. It strengthened against the British pound to 5.3323/3377 from 5.3412/3466 at Monday’s close, rose vis-à-vis the euro to 4.6436/6483 from 4.6489/6536 and appreciated versus the Japanese yen to 2.4802/4829 from 2.4863/4890. The local currency traded mixed against regional peers. It advanced against the Singapore dollar to 3.1043/1077 from 3.1077/1111 and inched up against the Thai baht at 12.2983/3162 from 12.3127/3313. However, the ringgit eased against the Indonesian rupiah to 230.3/230.7 from 230.1/230.5 and slipped against the Philippine peso at 6.59/6.60 compared with 6.58/6.60 previously. Ringgit strengthens against dollar, other major currencies

Exchange Rates

FOREIGN CURRENCY

SELLING TT/OD

BUYING TT

BUYING OD

1 US Dollar

4.0170 2.8880 3.1540 2.9340 4.7240 2.3750 3.1540 5.4230 5.1770 3.3380 59.1300 64.8000 51.6800 4.3900 0.0244 2.5410 44.1100 1.5000 6.7900 111.1100 107.9200 25.3800 1.3300 45.2500 13.0700 110.2900 N/A

3.8710 2.7710 3.0540 2.8520 4.5700 2.2870 3.0540 5.2490 4.9550

3.8610 2.7550 3.0460 2.8400 4.5500 2.2710 3.0460 5.2290 4.9400

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

104.5600 3.0950 56.6200 59.6200 49.0900

104.3600 2.8950 59.4200 48.8900 3.8800 0.0166 2.4130 40.3600 1.1300 6.1900 105.2800 102.2500 22.7000 0.9600 41.0000 11.1800 N/A N/A

4.0800 0.0216 2.4230

N/A

40.5600 1.3300 6.3900 105.4800 102.4500 22.9000 1.1600 41.2000 11.5800

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

Economy Export growth slows in March

Telecommunications Neutral

CIMB Group Holdings Bhd Buy. Target price: RM9.00

April 21, 2026: RM7.80

Source: Bloomberg

Source: Bloomberg, DOSM, TA Securities

Source: Company data, RHB

MIDDLE East conflict – minimal direct exposure and the impact to Q1’26 growth as well as asset quality were not material. That said, at this juncture, visibility from second and third order impacts are very low given the myriad of scenarios that could unfold. The group has been actively engaging clients and reviewing loan pipelines. By geography, CIMB is cautious on Thailand given the country’s high energy intensity but highlighted that the strategic plan to pivot its Thai operations is intact and it no longer has exposure to the commercial segment, ie the segment that is most at risk. For Indonesia, the conflict adds to a challenging macroeconomic backdrop. However, the group fixed its commercial banking business under the previous F23+ plan and growth has been selective. For Malaysia, the segments at risk are SME and mass market but the corporate and ex-mass market space should be stable. Given it is still early days and the low visibility as to indirect impacts, no overlay top-ups relating to the conflict were made in Q1’26. Going forward, should the need for overlays arise, CIMB sees room to reallocate the US tariff overlays it made in Q1’25 and Q2’25 to help cushion the overall P&L impact. CIMB adopts an observation period for the overlays it sets aside (12 months for tariffs). After that, the observation period may be extended should the identified risks continue to persist. Conversely, if the risks have sufficiently subsided and the overlays are no longer deemed necessary, they can be reallocated to address new or emerging risks, or written back accordingly. BUY with RM9.00 TP. – RHB Research, April 21

MALAYSIA’S total trade expanded by 9.3% YoY to RM272.95 billion in March 2026, supported by continued growth in both exports and imports, although export momentum moderated. The softer pace in exports, coupled with firmer import growth, resulted in a more measured overall expansion during the month. On a month-on-month basis, total trade rose by 11.3%, largely reflecting seasonal factors, as February had fewer working days. Exports: Overseas shipments grew at a more moderate pace of 8.3% YoY to RM148.75 billion in March 2026, easing from the 10.7% YoY expansion recorded previously. The US (March 26: 18.3% YoY; RM26.8 billion) and Singapore (March 26: -10.3% YoY; RM19 billion) remained the key export destinations, collectively accounting for 30.8% of Malaysia’s total exports during the month. Meanwhile, exports to China, which constituted 11.6% of total exports, increased by 7% YoY to RM17.25 billion. By sector, manufactured goods (88% of total exports) expanded by 9.6% YoY, marking the fourth consecutive month of growth. However, this was partly offset by declines in both the agriculture (5.1% of total exports) and mining (5.8% of total exports) sectors, which contracted by 7.8% and 0.4% YoY, respectively. On a month-on month basis, exports rose by 17.7% during the month. Imports: Malaysia’s imports continued to expand, rising by 10.4% YoY (17.5% MoM) to RM124.2 billion in March 2026. By source, China (March 26: 27.8% YoY) and Singapore (March 26: 28.8% YoY) remained the key countries of origin, collectively accounting for 38.6% of total imports during the month. – TA Research, April 21

MNOS’ 2026 guidance suggests that industry revenue growth will remain tepid (low-single-digit growth) with EBIT tracking topline development. Competition remains tight with continued pressure on data yields. That said, certain re-pricing initiatives within the fibre broadband (FBB) and mobile segments in Q4’25/YTD merit attention and could be early signs of price hardening. FBB and wholesale segments should remain the key growth driver for fixed-line players with stronger domestic fibre backhaul revenue (specifically TM) and submarine cable sales (indefeasible right of use (IRU)). We see under-leveraged balance sheets of TM and Time dotCom (TDC) presenting upside risk to dividends. TDC targets 1 1.5x net debt/EBITDA over the next 2-3 years (FY25: net cash) with a revised DPR policy of 50-75% (on normalised earnings) vs ‘‘up to 50%” previously. TM’s record-high DPR of 69% in FY25 signals a potential review of its decade-old DPR policy (40-60% of headline PATAMI), which we think may be announced during its Q1’25 results in May. We learnt from TM’s management that it intends to fund longer-term capex from additional borrowings (FY25 net debt/EBITDA: 0.4x), freeing internally generated cash for dividends moving forward. While the three MNOs have each paid RM327.8 million to the Finance Ministry as part of the put option exercise, the equity accounting of Digital Nasional’s (DNB) losses is pending the fulfilment of certain CPs by 1H’26. Our forecast for Maxis and CelcomDigi (CDB) have yet to factor in DNB (we previously estimated a 7-9% impact on FY26 core earnings). – RHB Research, April 21