15/07/2026

BIZ & FINANCE WEDNESDAY | JULY 15, 2026

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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

Tanco, Qingdao Port sign MoU on smart port in PD KUALA LUMPUR: Tanco Holdings Bhd’s unit Midports Holdings Sdn Bhd (MHSB) has inked a MoU with SPG Qingdao Port Group Co Ltd (SQPG) for the development of a“Smart AI Container Port” in Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan, and on potential fundraising activities related to the project. The MoU allows both parties to explore potential areas of cooperation on a non-exclusive basis, including SQPG’s participation in the proposed port project and related fundraising efforts, it said. “The MoU is to facilitate and support the company’s efforts to establish strategic relationships with reputable, capable, experienced and globally leading parties for participation in the project, as well as in the fundraising efforts. The MoU shall remain in effect for six months commencing from the date of the MoU, until and unless it is determined by the parties entering into a formal agreement, or terminated earlier according to the terms of the MoU, or extended further by mutual written agreement of the parties,” it said in a Bursa Malaysia filing yesterday. Meanwhile, in a separate filing, Tanco’s indirect unit Tanco Supplies Sdn Bhd said it has inked a memorandum of agreement (MoA) with Halaman Mantap Sdn Bhd to supply up to four million tons of armour rocks for the reclamation works of the same project by MHSB. It said the MOA requires both parties to finalise the specifications, quantity, pricing, timeline, payment terms and other key details for the supply of armour rocks within four months from the signing date, or a longer period if required. “The payment period for the armour rocks supply shall be over a period of and/or shall not exceed four years from the date of the contracts,” it added. – Bernama

THE ringgit ended lower against the US dollar yesterday as investors stayed cautious ahead of the release of the US inflation data for June amid continued geopolitical tensions in West Asia. At 6pm, the local currency depreciated to 4.0760/0800 against the greenback from Monday’s close of 4.0680/0730. Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the US is scheduled to release its June Consumer Price Index (CPI) data later. He noted that based on consensus estimates, US headline inflation for June is expected to moderate to 3.8% year-on-year from 4.2% in the previous month. “Similarly, the consensus forecast points to a 2.8% increase in the core CPI, following a 2.9% rise previously. Although the June CPI is expected to moderate, uncertainties surrounding shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz could keep crude oil prices elevated, potentially leading to renewed acceleration in inflation,” he told Bernama. At the close, the ringgit traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies. It weakened against the Japanese yen to 2.5131/5157 from 2.5110/5142 on Monday and declined versus the British pound to 5.4533/4586 from 5.4475/4542. However, the local note strengthened vis-a-vis the euro to 4.6470/6516 from 4.6501/6558 previously. The ringgit traded mixed against regional currencies. It eased versus the Singapore dollar to 3.1533/1567 from 3.1489/1530 and depreciated against the Indonesian rupiah to 225.3/225.6 from 224.6/225.0. The local note strengthened against the Thai baht to 12.1556/1722 from 12.1953/2151 and was almost flat vis-a-vis the Philippine peso at 6.60/6.61 compared with 6.60/6.62 previously. Ringgit slips against dollar amid cautious sentiment

Exchange Rates

FOREIGN CURRENCY

SELLING TT/OD

BUYING TT

BUYING OD

1 US Dollar

4.1540 2.8820 3.2020 2.9270 4.7220 2.3980 3.2020 5.5360 5.1180 3.4350 61.5200 64.7500 53.4200 4.4300 0.0239 2.5730 43.5000 1.5500 6.8200 114.8900 111.5500 26.0400 1.3000 43.9500 12.9100 114.1200 N/A

4.0080 2.7650 3.1020 2.8450 4.5680 2.3090 3.1020 5.3600 4.9000

3.9980 2.7490 3.0940 2.8330 4.5480 2.2930 3.0940 5.3400 4.8850

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

108.2000 3.1900 58.9100 59.5700 50.7500

108.0000 2.9900 59.3700 50.5500 3.9100 0.0162 2.4440 39.7600 1.1900 6.2300 108.8700 105.7000 23.3200 0.9300 39.8200 11.0500 N/A N/A

4.1100 0.0212 2.4540

N/A

39.9600 1.3900 6.4300 109.0700 105.9000 23.5200 1.1300 40.0200 11.4500

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

Velesto Energy Bhd Buy. Target price: RM0.34

Critical Holdings Bhd Buy. Target price: RM2.32

Semiconductor Neutral

July 14, 2026: RM0.27

July 14, 2026: RM1.63

Source: TA Research, SIA

Source: Maybank Investment Bank

CHB’s recent major contract win of RM772 million from an existing US-based multinational corporation expansion phase in Kulim Hi-Tech Park reflects CHB’s transformation from a specialist mechanical subcontractor into a full-fledged engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning (EPCC) contractor. We believe the successful execution of this project will further strengthen CHB’s execution track record, enhance its credentials for securing larger-value projects, and support the long-term resilience and sustainability of its order book. CHB’s outstanding orderbook increased to a record high of RM1.1 billion providing strong earnings visibility over FY27-28. Nevertheless, CHB remains keen to further grow its orderbook, with capacity to undertake 2-3 additional mechanical fit-out subcontract (average project value RM30-50 million) and also EPCC projects but expected to be undertaken under JV partnership with a local partner. CHB’s current tender book stood at RM1 billion with 90% focused in the semiconductor industry involving 10-20 tenders, this includes an EPCC tender with an estimated contract value >RM100 million. We believe CHB’s successful transition into an EPCC contractor comes at an opportune time, coinciding with the ramp-up in semiconductor MNC capex upcycle to support capacity expansion through both brownfield and greenfield projects. Based on our industry channel checks, these MNCs are actively seeking additional landbank in the Northern region, underpinning a healthy pipeline of opportunities for qualified contractors such as CHB. BUY with RM2.32 TP. – Maybank Investment Bank, July 14

THE global semiconductor industry remains in a supercycle, underpinned by sustained demand from key growth areas, particularly AI-related investments and data centre infrastructure expansion. According to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), global semiconductor sales reached US$120.6 billion in May 2026, representing growth of 9.2% MoM and 104.1% YoY. This marked the 31st consecutive month of year-on-year sales growth. Meanwhile, the global semiconductor sales for 5M’26 increased 77.4% YoY to US$502.1 billion. The continued expansion of data centre infrastructure, particularly to support generative AI workloads, has driven robust demand for high-performance logic chips and high-bandwidth memory, which together account for more than half of global semiconductor sales. The strong YoY growth was broad-based across all regions, led by the Americas (+132.2%), followed by Asia Pacific/All Other (+118.9%), China (+88.8%), Europe (+60.7%), and Japan (+23.8%). Looking ahead, we expect the strong momentum in the semiconductor market to be sustained, with AI-related demand remaining the key growth driver. The World Semiconductor Trade Statistics forecasts global semiconductor sales to increase by approximately 90% to US$1.5 trillion in 2026, before surpassing US$1.9 trillion in 2027, supported by continued investments in AI infrastructure, cloud computing, and accelerated computing platforms. On a geographical basis, the 9.2% MoM increase in global semiconductor sales in May 2026 was broad-based across all regions, reflecting resilient AI-driven demand and ongoing investments in cloud and data centre infrastructure. – TA Research, July 14

Source: Maybank Investment Bank

VELESTO announced that the potential sale of its N3 rig has been terminated. Based on the announcement back on Dec 16, 2025, we understand that Velesto gets to keep the deposit (10% of proposed transaction value of US$63 million). On this latest development, we understand that Velesto plans to use the unsold N3 rig to bid for MY/SEA jobs to try to utilise the rig for the time being. For now, we assume no job wins for N3 until we get an updated rig schedule from the company. N3’s last job was in Vietnam – a job for Thang Long JOC in Q4’24. In prior reports, our initial FY26 DPS of 9 sen forecast hinges on: i) paying out its operational FCF (FCF/share: 3 sen) as dividends (following its precedence in FY25); ii) optimising its balance sheet, allowing an additional 3 sen DPS; and iii) the success of its N3 rig. Given that the rig sale was unsuccessful, we reduce our FY26 DPS forecast to 6 sen (from 9 sen) – still implying a high yield of 21% (from 31%). Longer term, we believe Velesto is likely to continue paying a DPS of 3 sen in FY27-28, yielding >10% annually, which we deem to be attractive vs oil & gas peers and stocks in our research universe. Rystad Energy is forecasting the SEA regional offshore capex to consistently grow from about US$20 billion in 2025 to about US$35 billion in 2030 – driven by the energy security theme. Velesto is also expecting a tighter JU rig market condition in SEA in 2027 and is possibly at the cusp of a charter rate upcycle, as soon as in 2027. BUY with RM0.34 TP. – Maybank Investment Bank, July 14