16/07/2026

BIZ & FINANCE THURSDAY | JULY 16, 2026

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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

Kuskop drives Bumiputera MSME development KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development (Kuskop), through SME Corp Malaysia, is implementing various high-impact initiatives including the Bumiputera Rapid Acceleration and Value Enhancement (BRAVE) programme, to strengthen the participation of Bumiputera entrepreneurs in high-growth and high-value sectors. Deputy Minister Datuk Mohamad Alamin said the BRAVE programme was launched with a one-off allocation of RM15 million to accelerate the growth of high-potential Bumiputera small and medium enterprises (SMEs) towards listing on Bursa Malaysia. He said that as of June, a total of 27 Bumiputera micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) had participated in the programme, with the government targeting five to 10 companies to be listed by 2030. Mohamad said Kuskop was also implementing the Programme for Enhancement of Strategic Industry and High Growth Enterprise 2.0, the SME Scaling Catalyst Fund, the PKSlestari Programme, and the SME readiness programme for listing on Bursa Malaysia. “As of June this year, 12 Bumiputera SMEs have been approved loans and grants totalling RM4.9 million, involving companies in high-impact industries such as electrical and electronics, biotechnology and medical devices,” he said when replying to a question from Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin (PN Masjid Tanah) in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday. On challenges faced by micro-entrepreneurs amid global economic uncertainty and the influx of imported products, he said the government had introduced SME Corp’s RM202 million Sinar Programme to support affected businesses. – Bernama

THE ringgit ended virtually unchanged against the US dollar yesterday as concerns over China’s weaker economic performance and renewed geopolitical tensions offset softer-than-expected US inflation data. At 6pm, the local currency stood at 4.0760/0805 versus the greenback compared with Tuesday’s close of 4.0760/0800. Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said that despite the lower-than-expected US Consumer Price Index reading released overnight, market attention appeared to have shifted towards China’s slowing economic growth. China’s economy expanded by 4.3% in the second quarter of 2026, down from 5% in the first quarter, prompting cautious trading in the ringgit throughout the day. “Meanwhile, the ceasefire in West Asia appears increasingly fragile following US President Donald Trump’s threat to bombard Iran unless it stops attacking ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz,”he told Bernama. At the close, the ringgit traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies. It weakened versus the British pound to 5.4578/4638 from 5.4533/4586 at Tuesday’s close and declined vis-a-vis the euro to 4.6536/6587 from 4.6470/6516 previously. However, the local note gained vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 2.5103/5132 from 2.5131/5157 on Tuesday. The ringgit also performed mostly weaker against regional currencies. It eased versus the Singapore dollar to 3.1546/1583 from 3.1533/1567 at Tuesday’s close, depreciated against the Indonesian rupiah to 225.5/225.9 from 225.3/225.6 previously, and slipped vis-a vis the Philippine peso to 6.61/6.62 from 6.60/6.61. Ringgit ends flat amid China woes, geopolitical risks

Exchange Rates

FOREIGN CURRENCY

SELLING TT/OD

BUYING TT

BUYING OD

1 US Dollar

4.1400 2.8990 3.2020 2.9380 4.7260 2.4120 3.2020 5.5400 5.1400 3.4230 61.4000 64.8000 53.2400 4.3800 0.0239 2.5690 43.8200 1.5500 6.8000 114.5200 111.1400 26.1900 1.2900 44.1300 12.8900 113.7200 N/A

3.9945 2.7830 3.1020 2.8560 4.5730 2.3230 3.1020 5.3640 4.9210 3.1790 58.8000 59.6200 50.5900 4.0700 0.0211 2.4500 40.3000 1.3800 6.4000 108.7200 105.5100 23.6300 1.1300 40.1900 11.4300 107.8400 N/A

3.9845 2.7670 3.0940 2.8440 4.5530 2.3070 3.0940 5.3440 4.9060

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

107.6400

2.9790

N/A

59.4200 50.3900 3.8700 0.0161 2.4400 40.1000 1.1800 6.2000 108.5200 105.3100 23.4300 0.9300 39.9900 11.0300 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

Basic Materials Overweight

Foodie Media Bhd Buy. Target price: RM0.51

Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd Buy. Target price: RM9.80

July 15, 2026: RM0.31

July 15, 2026: RM8.02

Source: Bloomberg

Source: Maybank Investment Bank

FOODIE Media has the largest combined follower base of 44.2 million for F&B and lifestyle focused digital content in Malaysia. F&B-focused digital media publishing segment makes up 82% of FY24 revenue. F&B was the highest contributor to total digital media adex in Malaysia at 20% in FY23. Ex-one off listing expenses, 9M26 CNP of RM40 million came in at 85% of our and consensus estimates, driven by sequentially stronger Content (+4% QoQ) and Community (+152% QoQ) segments, which we believe could be largely attributed to the inaugural Monie Fest festival on April 11-12. GP margin eased to 52% (vs 57% in Q2), which we believe could also be attributed to large first-time costs of setting up a physical campaign. We keep earnings unchanged pending the briefing on July 16. On top of the first interim DPS of 0.32sen, Foodie also announced a special interim DPS of 0.21 sen. Collectively, this makes up 40% of 9M’26 earnings. 9M’26 revenue of RM40 million already shows growth of +7% vis-à-vis FY25’s full-year revenue of RM37 million. This is supported across all segments, with the Community revenue leading at+119% growth vs FY25. We are positive for continuous topline growth across all core segments as marketing spend by corporates and agencies continues to shift from traditional adex to digital adex even amid subdued consumer sentiments. We believe the digital marketing space provides more measurable outcomes and a wider audience reach vs traditional platforms i.e. newspapers. BUY with RM0.51 TP. – Maybank Investment Bank, July 15

PRESS Metal’s recent sell-off presents an opportunity to accumulate in our view as our thesis remains intact, i.e. aluminium’s structural deficit, further underpinned by PMAH’s favourable hedging position. We estimate that it will take a few months for a gradual recovery at the Hormuz Strait, and there may be port congestions and bottlenecks ahead. Most importantly, we think the damaged regional smelters will take up to a year to gradually start operating again, which will be the main driver for an aluminium structural deficit in the medium term. Recall: Emirates Global Aluminium – the region’s biggest smelter – reportedly suffered damage to 50% of its capacity, shrinking regional smelting capacity by 44% to 3.45 million tonnes. We expect the aluminium market to remain in a structural deficit, widening deficit estimates to 2-3 million tonnes in 2026 and 1 million tonnes in 2027 vs 600k tonnes pre-conflict. As such, assuming a “forever peace” scenario, we still expect aluminium prices to remain above the US$3,000/tonne mark in the near to mid-term. Spot prices are now hovering between US$3,100 and US$3,200, bringing YTD average prices to US$3,333/tonne. Assuming prices remain at this level for 2H’26, we expect 2026 average prices to settle between US$3,100 and US$3,200/tonne, largely in line with our US$3,250/tonne estimate. However, in 2027, in view of a gradual recovery among Middle East smelters, alongside potential new capacity coming online in Indonesia, aluminium prices could see additional downwards pressure, averaging at US$3,000-3,100/tonne. Therefore, we prefer to be conservative and lower our price assumption for 2027 from US$3,150 to US$3,050/tonne. BUY with RM9.80 TP. – RHB Research, July 15

Source: Company data, RHB

ALUMINIUM prices are approaching pre-conflict levels amid ongoing peace talks between the US and Iran, leading to a gradual reopening of the Strait of Hormuz (SoH). This has pushed aluminium prices down by 19% in four weeks, as most of the metals produced in the Gulf countries (8-9% of global supply) pass through the SoH, along with alumina feedstock shipments into the region. Elevated China production, weaker copper prices put further pressure on aluminium prices. China’s aluminium output rose 4% MoM in May, translating to an annualised production of 46 million tonnes – above the 45 million-tonne cap imposed by China. Assuming similar output levels in 2H’26, China could largely narrow the aluminium deficit gap caused by the damaged smelters in the Middle East, supported by the gradual reopening of the SoH. Note that copper and aluminium prices are positively correlated (+0.94x) and as such, weakening copper prices (-4% in four weeks) have further pushed down aluminium prices. This was also driven by a more hawkish US Federal Reserve outlook, which led to the USD/MYR inching up by 4% in four weeks (USD/MYR has a -0.82x correlation with aluminium prices). Newcastle coal prices have gradually eased amid peace deals between the US and Iran. Coal prices are now at US$129/tonne (- 15% in four weeks), trailing the 16% drop in crude oil prices. As the two commodities are closely correlated (+0.81x in YTD-2026), we expect coal prices to gradually approach pre-war levels, though LMC has secured its Q1’27 (June) coal inventory at US$90/tonne (38% above the Q3’26 level.) – RHB Research, July 15