14/10/2026

BIZ & FINANCE WEDNESDAY | OCT 14, 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

Tax relief to spur consumer spending, says Rakuten Trade KUALA LUMPUR: Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd sees the consumer sector as the main beneficiary of Budget 2027, in view of the individual income tax relief that could strengthen spending power among middle-income Malaysians. Head of research Kenny Yee said that beyond the extended cash handouts and wider tax reliefs, the recalibration of personal income tax could unleash potent spending power among middle-income households. “Having waited more than 10 years for these adjustments, we believe they also provide an overdue ‘feel-good’ factor for the market,“ he said in a statement yesterday. The government estimates that the combined tax measures could provide five million taxpayers with up to RM1,600 in additional disposable income. The budget increases the individual income tax relief limit from RM9,000 to RM12,000, alongside a one-percentage-point reduction in resident individual income tax rates for chargeable income bands of RM70,001-RM100,000 and RM100,001-RM150,000. The minimum wage will also rise from RM1,700 to RM2,000 starting June 2027, with an exemption for micro, small and medium enterprises with annual sales of below RM50 million. Beyond consumer spending, the digital equity broker said it views 2027 as a “year of delivery” for the construction sector. “While no new mega infrastructure projects were announced, the RM83 billion development expenditure allocation could support ongoing project activity,” it said. On the property sector, Rakuten Trade said incentives announced during the budget could support mass-market demand and benefit developers with relevant exposure. – Bernama

THE ringgit closed slightly lower against the US dollar yesterday as investors remained cautious ahead of the US inflation data due tomorrow, an analyst said. At 6pm, the ringgit eased to 4.0835/0880 against the greenback from Monday’s close of 4.0820/0865. TA Securities chief economist Shazma Juliana Abu Bakar said the data could influence expectations for the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy direction and, consequently, near-term movements in the ringgit. However, she said the ringgit is expected to remain relatively resilient throughout this week, supported by positive investor sentiment following Budget 2027 and the government’s continued commitment to fiscal consolidation. “Yet, escalating geopolitical tensions in West Asia and elevated Brent crude oil prices could heighten external uncertainties and sustain demand for the US dollar as a safe-haven currency,” she told Bernama. At the close, the ringgit traded lower against a basket of major currencies. The local note was lower against the Japanese yen to 2.5833/5864 from 2.5739/5769 at Monday’s close, inched down against the British pound to 5.4057/4177 from 5.4017/4077 and eased against the euro to 4.5654/5704 from 4.5637/5687. Against its Asean peers, the local note decreased against the Indonesian rupiah to 228.1/228.4 from 227.9/228.2, but remained unchanged against the Philippine peso at 6.50/6.51. It edged down against the Singapore dollar to 3.1902/1940 from 3.1873/1911 at Monday’s close and slid against the Thai baht to 12.1663/1844from 12.1391/1568. Ringgit ends slightly lower ahead of US inflation data

Exchange Rates

FOREIGN CURRENCY

SELLING TT/OD

BUYING TT

BUYING OD

1 US Dollar

4.1580 2.9000 3.2400 2.9040 4.6330 2.3240 3.2400 5.4850 5.0050 3.4480 62.3800 63.5400 53.4100 4.4200 0.0242 2.6410 44.4900 1.5600 6.7100 115.0200 111.6400 25.9700 1.3200 42.6100 12.8800 114.2300 N/A

4.0120 2.7820 3.1380 2.8220 4.4830 2.2380 3.1380 5.3100 4.7910

4.0020 2.7660 3.1300 2.8100 4.4630 2.2220 3.1300 5.2900 4.7760

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

108.2900 3.1930 59.7400 58.4600 50.7400

108.0900 2.9930 58.2600 50.5400 3.9100 0.0164 2.5090 40.6600 1.1900 6.1100 108.9900 105.7800 23.2500 0.9500 38.6100 11.0200 N/A N/A

4.1100 0.0214 2.5190

N/A

40.8600 1.3900 6.3100 109.1900 105.9800 23.4500 1.1500 38.8100 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

MN Holdings Bhd Buy. Target price: RM4.76

IJM Corp Bhd Buy. Target price: RM3.50

Kinergy Advancement Bhd Buy. Target price: RM0.60

Oct 13, 2026: RM3.90

Oct 13, 2026: RM2.82

Oct 13, 2026: RM0.39

Source: Maybank Inestment Bank

Source: Bloomberg

Source: Bloomberg

IJM Corp secured a RM1.2 billion contract from AT&S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik (Malaysia) for the manufacturing facilities construction project in Kulim Hi-Tech Park, Kedah. The turnaround time for this project is as quick as a data centre (DC) project ie with a 14-month completion period – works are scheduled to commence in Q4’26. The project covers the design and build of a 4-storey production, 3-storey central utility building, and 1-storey waste water treatment – Industrialised Building System (IBS) precast components will be incorporated into the project. We estimate the contract to have a PBT margin ranging between 5% and 8%. IJM is no stranger to the Northern region as back in August, the group secured a RM455 million job for an automated storage and retrieval system warehouse for a multinational technology company’s semiconductor facility in Kulim, Kedah, and a RM454.5 million medical device manufacturing facility for Intuitive Surgical Malaysia at Bandar Cassia Technology Park, Batu Kawan, Penang. Other major win ups in the north include the ASE Electronics Malaysia chip assembly and testing facility (RM341 million) in FY23 and Infineon Technologies’ ancillary building in Kulim (RM190 million) in FY24. IJM now has a balance orderbook of RM10.6 billion, of which around 55-60% is from Malaysia (as per our estimates). From Malaysia’s outstanding orderbook, we project around 60-70% to come from industrial-related projects (including DCs). For YTD FY27, IJM has secured RM3 billion worth of new jobs vs the group’s internal FY27 job win target of RM6-8 billion (while our estimate is RM7 billion). BUY with RM3.50 TP. – RHB Research, Oct 13

MNH has accepted a letter of award worth RM293.9 million from Customer A for the construction of two 275kV CLS for a DC development located in the Central Region. The project has an 11 month execution period and is expected to be completed by Aug 2027. Assuming 12% PAT margin for Customer A DC projects, we estimate this project to contribute RM35.3 million PAT across FY27-28. Inclusive of this latest job win, MNH’s FY27 YTD new job wins amount to RM582.3 million, representing 49% of our FY27 full-year replenishment assumption of RM1.2 billion. The award lifts MNH’s outstanding orderbook to RM2 billion (equivalent to 2.3x FY26 revenue cover). We expect replenishment momentum to remain supported by its RM4.7 billion tenderbook, well balanced across TNB (57%), DC (25%), solar (9%), water sewerage (4%), others (5%). We gathered that among its tenderbook, MNH still has RM200 million on-going tenders with Customer A, primarily for underground transmission works for its on-going DC developments. We maintain our earnings forecast, as this contract win aligns with our RM1.2 billion replenishment assumption for FY27. However, ahead of its Q1’27 results release in Nov 2026, we roll forward our valuation horizon to FY28. MNH remains our top pick in the MEP sector, underpinned by its strong market share in power infrastructure projects for DC and TNB. MNH is a Malaysia-based infrastructure contractor specialising in substation engineering and underground utilities, serving both public and private clients including DC and solar developers. The company’s core business focuses on power infrastructure works, including high-voltage substation Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Commissioning and 275kV underground cabling. BUY with RM4.76 TP. – Maybank Inestment Bank, Oct 13

KINERGY Advancement has secured a RM47.5 million contract to undertake core and shell electrical infrastructure works for a data centre (DC). The sub-contract was awarded by Gamuda, which is building a DC campus in Bandar Springhill, Port Dickson. Under the agreement, KASB will undertake the engineering, supply, installation, testing and commissioning of core and shell infrastructure for the DC. This job scope encompasses high tension and low voltage distribution infrastructure, substations, switchgears as well as power distribution works. This is the first standalone DC electrical job for the group, as it had completed a cable installation job for EdgeConneX’s DC project via a JV in 2024. KASB will commence works for the DC job by year-end, and is expected to complete by Q1’28. Assuming a 3% margin, we estimate that the project will contribute RM1.4 million net profit over FY26F-28, with the bulk of recognition in FY27. Hence, we expect the job to make up 2% and 1% of our FY27-28 earnings, respectively. With the latest win, we estimate that the group has an outstanding orderbook of RM1.1 billion, which should sustain revenue for 2.5 years. As the award is within our RM60 million new orderbook replenishment target for the engineering division, we make no changes to our numbers. We also do not discount it securing more DC-related jobs in the future. As an aside, we expect the group to receive the letter of notification for its 1.5GW Perlis power plant by year, and to sign the power purchase agreement in Q1’27. KASB had already appointed a main contractor to begin ground works at site as it expects to take delivery of the first turbine in 1H’27. BUY with RM0.60 TP. – RHB Research, Oct 13