13/05/2026

BIZ & FINANCE WEDNESDAY | MAY 13, 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

Minister: Budi95 a key tool in managing fuel demand KUALA LUMPUR: The Budi Madani Ron95 (Budi95) initiative is seen as a useful demand management tool that helps Malaysia understand national usage patterns, said Deputy Finance Minister Liew Chin Tong. He noted that under the initiative, introduced in September last year, each person was initially allocated 300 litres per month, before it was reduced to 200 litres per month. “I think the nation’s number one concern is how to ensure that we have a consistent supply for as long as possible, even if the war (in West Asia) drags on,” he said. He added that clear communication and securing broad public support to reduce consumption as much as possible while ensuring long-term supply could help address the fiscal issue to some extent. Liew said this during a fireside chat titled ‘Malaysia’s Response to Global Energy Crisis: Build Back Better’, moderated by The Edge’s assistant editor Emir Zainul. Ensuring continuous access to fuel supply, even at reduced levels, is important, as political and social stability will enable Malaysia to manage the crisis more confidently, he said. He emphasised that Malaysia is entering the crisis from a position of relative strength, noting that while many countries have seen downward revisions in growth projections after February, Malaysia’s outlook remains resilient. He added that Malaysia must adopt a build-back-better approach by first defining the desired post-crisis end state and then working backwards to determine the steps required to achieve it. – Bernama

THE ringgit closed higher against most major currencies yesterday, but eased versus the greenback amid expectations that firmer US inflation could reinforce the US Federal Reserve’s restrictive monetary policy stance, thereby supporting demand for the US dollar. At 6pm, the ringgit eased against the US dollar to 3.9320/9360 from 3.9220/9260 at Monday’s close. Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the upcoming US CPI data would be closely watched by the market, with consensus estimates in headline inflation at 3.7% in April from 3.3% in the previous month. “If that is the case, the US Federal Reserve is likely to maintain its restrictive policy stance, which would support the US dollar,” he told Bernama. He said the Fed may keep interest rates steady while the likelihood of an interest rate cut this year would remain low. At the close, the ringgit traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies. It appreciated against the Japanese yen to 2.4952/4979 from 2.4955/4983 and strengthened versus the British pound to 5.3231/3286 from 5.3331/3383, but eased against the euro to 4.6189/6236 from 4.6150/6197 at Monday’s close. The local currency traded mixed against regional peers. It gained against the Indonesian rupiah to 224.3/224.6 from 225.2/225.5, and advanced against the Philippine peso to 6.39/6.41 from 6.41/6.42 previously. However, it eased against the Singapore dollar to 3.0888/0922 from 3.0887/0921 and slid versus the Thai baht to 12.1276/1455 from 12.0900/1083. Ringgit higher against most majors, weaker vs US dollar

Exchange Rates

FOREIGN CURRENCY

SELLING TT/OD

BUYING TT

BUYING OD

1 US Dollar

3.9960 2.8990 3.1390 2.9110 4.6960 2.3840 3.1390 5.4250 5.1520 3.3060 59.0100 64.4300 51.4200 4.2700 0.0239 2.5540 44.5200 1.4900 6.6300 110.5100 107.3200 25.0900 1.3000 44.5100 12.8800 109.7200 N/A

3.8500 2.7820 3.0410 2.8290 4.5430 2.2960 3.0410 5.2510 4.9310

3.8400 2.7660 3.0330 2.8170 4.5230 2.2800 3.0330 5.2310 4.9160

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

104.0000 3.0800 56.5100 59.2800 48.8400

103.8000 2.8800 59.0800 48.6400 3.7700 0.0161 2.4260 40.7500 1.1300 6.0500 104.7100 101.6800 22.4500 0.9300 40.3200 11.0200 N/A N/A

3.9700 0.0211 2.4360

N/A

40.9500 1.3300 6.2500 104.9100 101.8800 22.6500 1.1300 40.5200 11.4200

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

Plantation Neutral

Economy Q1’26 GDP may exceed expectations

HE Group Bhd Outperform. Target price: RM0.54

May 12, 2026: RM0.395

Source: PublicInvest Research

Source: Bloomberg

Source: Bloomberg, DOSM, MPOB, TA Research

THE Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) has largely completed the release of its quarterly macroeconomic indicators, with only construction data still pending, providing an early indication of the economy’s performance in Q1’26. The Volume Index of Services expanded by 5.8% YoY to 168 points in the first quarter of 2026 (Q4’25: 6.5 % YoY). On a quarterly basis, the index of services exhibited a marginal growth of 0.2% QoQ (Q4’25: 1.9% QoQ). The sub-segments showed resilient growth during the period. Other Services led with 9.3% YoY, followed by Information & Communication and Transportation & Storage (8.1% YoY), Wholesale & Retail Trade, F&B & Accommodation (5.7% YoY), Finance, Real Estate & Professional Services (3% YoY). Other Services covers arts, entertainment & recreation, personal services, private education, and private healthcare. We would like to highlight that the Index of Services exceeded expectations, suggesting that the services sector could record stronger growth than DOSM’s Q1’26 advance estimate of 5.4% YoY, potentially reaching around 5.7% YoY based on its historically strong correlation with overall services GDP. Moreover, based on current CPO output trends, the agriculture sector could also outperform DOSM’s advance estimate of 2.4% YoY in Q1’26, provided that other sub-sectors such as rubber do not experience significant contraction. Separately, the Distributive Trade Index, a proxy for personal consumption expenditure on the demand side, recorded a moderate increase, rising 4.9% YoY in Q1’26 (Q4’25: 5.8% YoY). This growth was mainly driven by Wholesale trade, which posted a 6.1% YoY increase, followed by Retail trade and Motor vehicles, which grew by 4.8% and 1% YoY, respectively. – TA Research, May 12

FOR Q1’26, we expect to see a similar earnings trend for Malaysia- and Indonesia-centric planters – with Q1’26 profit likely to moderate both QoQ and YoY. QoQ earnings would be dragged by weaker seasonal output despite relatively stable CPO prices, while YoY earnings should moderate due to lower CPO and PK prices as well as lower output in Indonesia. Downstream margins are likely to come under pressure for Indonesian players, while Malaysian players may experience an improvement. Excluding biodiesel margins, we expect Indonesian planters with downstream exposure to record weaker QoQ performance due to a narrower upstream-to downstream tax differential of US$74/tonne (-12% QoQ). On a YoY basis, margins are also expected to soften as the tax differential contracted by 26.2% YoY. Conversely, Malaysian downstream players could benefit from stronger QoQ and YoY margins amid easing Indonesian competition. We highlight, however, that the unexpected sharp spike in CPO prices in March could upset this balance somewhat. Overall, we expect the remaining companies that will report results this month to record largely in-line earnings for Q1’26, based on our estimated FFB production levels. Of the six companies that have reported, four came in below expectations – SDG, Wilmar International, Nusantara Sawit Sejahtera, and LSIP, while one came in above – Astra Agro Lestari, and one was in line - SOP. For the remaining companies yet to report – Kuala Lumpur Kepong, JPG, IOI, Ta Ann, FR, Golden Agri Resources, and Bumitama Agri are expected to broadly meet expectations, while TSH Resources may disappoint based on FFB output trends. – RHB Research, May 12

HE Group’s wholly owned subsidiary Hexatech Engineering SB, had accepted a Letter of Award (LoA) for the construction of a 132kV/33kV new substation project in Selangor, valued at RM86 million. The project commences immediately upon acceptance and is slated for completion by Oct 31, 2027. The group provides Complete Turnkey Solutions with a strong core in Electrical & Mechanical Engineering to Industry, Building Services, Energy, Automation and Semiconductors companies aiming to grow in Southeast Asia. Following this award, the group’s outstanding orderbook stood at approximately RM150 million as at May 11, 2026, providing improved earnings visibility and supporting revenue recognition over the coming quarters. Relative to our FY26 replenishment target of RM200 million, the group would need to secure an additional RM50 million in new contracts to achieve its full-year target, which we believe remains attainable given its recent contract win momentum. Meanwhile, the group continues to maintain a sizeable tender pipeline of approximately RM914 million, offering a healthy pool of potential contract flows and supporting longer-term orderbook replenishment prospects. We remain positive on HE Group’s outlook, supported by growing exposure to data centre-related projects and a progressively higher-margin orderbook mix, which offsets softer semiconductor contribution. The group is also exploring diversification into the battery energy storage systems segment and geographical expansion into Indonesia and Thailand to capture regional DC opportunities. Given that power cables and wires remain key raw material inputs, the group continues to actively manage copper price exposure to safeguard margin resilience. Outperform with RM0.54 TP. – PublicInvest Research, May 12