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KUALA LUMPUR: Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas), Malaysia’s state-owned oil and gas company, is looking to expand output...
16/06/2025

KUALA LUMPUR: Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas), Malaysia’s state-owned oil and gas company, is looking to expand output from more affordable assets abroad in an effort to cut production costs and rein in declining profits.
“Petronas, as the company is known, is seeking to produce oil at a break-even level of US$50 (RM212.34) per barrel, from US$60 to US$70 (RM254.76 to RM297.25) in the past five years,” said Jukris Wahab, the CEO of Petronas’ upstream business, which includes exploring, developing and extracting oil and gas.

The firm will focus more on countries where it already has a presence, including Canada, Suriname, Brazil, Turkmenistan and several Southeast Asian nations.

“Still, Petronas doesn’t rule out going into a new country if it provides ‘headroom for us to grow’,” he said.

“We want to reshape the entire portfolio,” Jukris said in an interview on June 13 on the 79th floor of the steel-clad Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur.

“We are preparing ourselves, moving into a more volatile environment in the future,” he said.

Petronas is shifting its strategy as a drop in crude prices from a recent peak in 2022 slashed profits and forced the company to lower dividends.

The state-owned company said earlier this month that it will cut about 10% of its workforce to reduce costs.

While crude prices recovered some of the lost ground on Friday after Israel’s air strikes on Iran fueled concerns of a wider conflict in the Middle East, the supply-demand outlook for oil points to more pressure longer term.

“Any capital deployment for our international asset has got to provide healthy return,” Jukris said.

“We are dealing with a lot more risk in some of the geographies that we are present,” he added.

Petronas’ woes pose a challenge for Malaysia’s government, which relies on the company for billions of dollars in income.

The national oil company has pledged RM32 billion (US$7.5 billion) in dividends this year, down from RM50 billion in 2022.

The firm said in September that over the 50 years since its inception in 1974, it had injected RM1.4 trillion into the nation’s economy through dividends, taxes and cash payments.

“The company plans to increase the net present value of its international upstream contributions to about 60% within the next five to 10 years, from about 40% to 50% now,” said Jukris, who started his career at the firm in 1990.

“Petronas produces the equivalent of about 2 million barrels of oil per day in Malaysia and around 700,000 barrels abroad,” Jukris said.

“To maintain this level of production in the face of declining output from older assets the company needs to bring in new fields,” he said.

Even as Petronas looks for new assets abroad, Jukris is optimistic that Malaysia’s reserves will last for “years to come”, because investors keep making new discoveries.

He said there is still untapped potential in the country, including off the coast of Peninsular Malaysia where international oil companies have shown interest to explore.

“For the last 10, 15 years, we’ve been saying that our reserves will last only 15 years.

“So today, we will also last another 15, 20 years,” Jukris said.

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit slipped against the US dollar on the final trading day of the week, reversing earlier gains as...
14/06/2025

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit slipped against the US dollar on the final trading day of the week, reversing earlier gains as rising geopolitical concerns drove safe-haven demand for the greenback.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Afzanizam Abdul Rashid noted that the ringgit was initially stronger against the greenback at RM4.217 early in the morning session, but it gradually depreciated to RM4.246 in the afternoon.

“Israel’s strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities resulted in a sharp rise in Brent crude prices to a high of US$78.22 (RM332.08) per barrel before prices retreated towards US$73.56 (RM312.29) per barrel,” he said.

“Meanwhile, the US Dollar Index (DXY) gained 0.31% to 98.228 points.

“Hence, geopolitics has taken centre stage today, and it has benefitted the US dollar at the moment,” he told Bernama.

At 6pm, the local currency weakened to 4.2435/4.2480 from yesterday’s close of 4.2155/4.2245.

At the close, the ringgit traded lower against a basket of major currencies.

It fell versus the Japanese yen to 2.9448/2.9482 from 2.9329/2.9394 at yesterday’s close, weakened against the British pound to 5.7482/5.7543 from 5.7213/5.7335 previously, and decreased vis-à-vis the euro to 4.8906/4.8958 from 4.8765/4.8869.

The ringgit traded mostly lower versus its Asean counterparts, except for the Philippine peso, against which it remained flat at 7.55/7.56 compared with 7.55/7.57 yesterday.

It eased against the Singapore dollar to 3.3077/3.3118 from 3.2934/3.3006 at yesterday’s close, dropped versus the Thai baht to 13.0807/13.1018 from 12.9828/13.0173 previously, and retreated vis-a-vis the Indonesian rupiah to 260.2/260.6 from 259.5/260.2.

25/05/2025

PETALING JAYA: Eminent US economist Jeffrey Sachs said Asean should choose its neighbour – China – if it is forced by the US to pick a side in its great power competition with the Asian giant.
“The US should not try to make Asean choose. That would not only be unfair, but if Asean is forced to choose, you would choose your neighbour, China, obviously.

“This is because Asean cannot do without its economic relations with China. That’s not even imaginable,” said Sachs, a professor at Columbia University and UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network president.

He added that Asean should have good relations with all parts of the world rather than be in alliance with other countries or groupings.

“The idea is that Asean is a very open region, and trades with the US, Europe, China, and others. So, the US should not try to force Asean into making such choices,” he said during a dialogue on “Asean amidst shifting global order” organised by Sunway University and the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation.

Sachs made his comments in response to a question on whether strategic neutrality is still a viable option for Asean.

For Malaysia, and Asean, China remains their largest trading partner. In 2024, Malaysia-China trade hit a record US$212 billion (RM917.4 billion), marking the 16th consecutive year China was Malaysia’s No 1 trading partner.

Since 2013, Asean-China trade has grown on average 7.5% a year, reaching US$982.3 billion (RM4.25 trillion) in 2024.

A recent Bloomberg report said the administration of US president Donald Trump is preparing to pressure countries seeking reductions or exemptions on US reciprocal tariffs to curb trade with China.

US treasury secretary Scott Bessent also said countries negotiating trade deals with the US should “approach China as a group” together with Washington.

In response, China has warned countries against striking an economic deal with the US at its expense, ratcheting up the temperature in a spiralling trade war between the world’s two biggest economies.

Sachs said if the US tries to put on secondary sanctions and impede Asean’s economic relations with China, it would “have to be resisted”.

“That’s because neighbours need to trade, have common infrastructures and transport (links), manage riversheds, and so forth.”

He said the 10-nation regional grouping should work closely with China in areas such as physical infrastructure and connectivity.

“This is a neighbourhood. The Belt and Road Initiative is a very important and positive initiative. It implements fast rail, renewable energy, and digital systems that are for everybody’s mutual benefit,” he said.

Sachs added that Asean’s goal should be openness to all. “Be calm and don’t get into a conflict. We don’t want to be in the middle of your conflict, and there is no reason for conflict at all,” he said.

In this regard, he suggested that foreign military bases in the Asian region be eliminated. The US has military bases in the Philippines, Japan and South Korea, all within striking range of its adversary China.

“Over time, I believe the US should leave (its bases in the region). We can’t afford it anyway.

“President Trump says Japan and South Korea should pay for our services. I think Japan and Korea should say ‘thank you very much but we don’t need to pay’. If you want to leave, that’s also fine,” he said.

05/05/2025

KUALA LUMPUR: Foreign investors continued their streak of net inflows on Bursa Malaysia, extending their buying trend to two consecutive weeks.
They recorded a net inflow of RM853.8 million, marking the first back-to-back weeks of net foreign inflows since Sept 24.

According to MIDF Amanah Investment Bank Bhd’s fund flow report for the week ended May 2, foreign investors were net buyers on every trading day, ranging between RM50.7 million and RM340.8 million.

It said Friday saw the highest net foreign inflow, followed by Thursday, which recorded net inflows of RM340.8 million and RM325.2 million, respectively.

“The three sectors that recorded the highest net foreign inflows were financial services (RM567.4 million), healthcare (RM124.8 million) and industrial products and services (RM107.9 million).

“The only two sectors that recorded net foreign outflows were energy (RM31.9 million) and plantation (RM6 million),” it said.

Meanwhile, MIDF stated that the local institutions extended their net selling streak to two consecutive weeks, with outflows amounting to RM692.6 million, marking the second consecutive week of net selling by local institutions since Aug 24.

It said the local retail investors extended their net selling trend to three weeks, with an outflow of RM161.2 million, almost 2.5 times more than the previous week’s outflow.

“The average daily trading volume saw a broad-based increase last week, with local institutions and local retailers recording an increase of 8.7% and 5.7%, respectively, while foreign investors saw an increase of 26%,” it said.

Meanwhile, in Asia, MIDF reported that the foreign investors extended their streak of net buying activity to two weeks, recording a substantial net inflow of US$3.32 billion (RM13.95 billion), led by strong buying sentiment in India and Taiwan once again.

10/04/2025

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit ended firmer against the dollar today, snapping a three-day losing streak following US president Donald Trump’s 90-day pause in reciprocal tariffs for all countries except China.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the pause lifted market sentiment and paved the way for countries to negotiate with the US government and, perhaps, achieve a more favourable outcome.

“That has contributed to the rebound in risky assets in equities and currency markets,” he told Bernama.

It was reported that during the 90-day pause, tariffs will revert to a baseline rate of 10% even as negotiations with the US progress.

Downplaying the risk of further escalation, Trump sharply raised tariffs on Chinese goods from 104% to 125%.

At 6pm, the ringgit strengthened to 4.4670/4.4730 against the US dollar, marking a 0.58% gain from yesterday’s close of 4.4935/4990.

Meanwhile, the ringgit traded higher against major currencies today.

It appreciated against the Japanese yen to 3.0594/3.0639 from 3.0921/3.0964, increased against the euro to 4.9401/4.9467 from 4.9640/4.9700 and rose against the British pound to 5.7566/5.7644 from 5.7629/5.7700 yesterday.

The local note traded mixed against Asean currencies.

It inched up against the Indonesian rupiah at 265.5/265.9 from 266.3/266.7 and gained against the Philippine peso at 7.79/7.81 from 7.83/7.85.

However, it slid versus the Thai baht to 13.0618/13.0866 from 12.9915/13.0153 and was weaker against the Singapore dollar at 3.3361/3.3411 from 3.3349/3.3395 previously.

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia ended lower, with the benchmark index declining 0.5%, weighed down by selected heavyweights...
03/04/2025

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia ended lower, with the benchmark index declining 0.5%, weighed down by selected heavyweights led by Press Metal, IHH Healthcare, and Tenaga Nasional.

Press Metal shed 16 sen to RM4.87, IHH Healthcare dipped 14 sen to RM6.75, and TNB slipped 18 sen to RM13.58.

These stocks resulted in a 6.12-point decline in the benchmark index.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the 24% US reciprocal tariff on Malaysia added pressure to its export-driven economy, particularly for the electronics and manufacturing sectors.

“The FBM KLCI remains well supported, but investor sentiment has become cautious due to foreign outflows.

“In comparison, other Asia-Pacific countries, such as Cambodia and Vietnam, which face even higher tariffs, are experiencing larger relative shocks,” he added.

Thong noted that bargain-hunting would likely emerge soon after today’s sell-off, as countries with lower tariffs and strong economic fundamentals, such as Malaysia, are better positioned to weather the storm.

“As such, we anticipate the benchmark index to trend within the range of 1,510-1,530 towards the weekend,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Technology Index eased 0.80 of-a-point to 48.52.

According to news reports, Malaysia Semiconductor Industry Association president Wong Siew Hai has cautioned that Malaysia’s semiconductor companies are not out of the woods, despite being exempted from the latest broad-ranging tariffs imposed by the US.

At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slid 7.61 points to 1,518.91 versus yesterday’s close of 1,526.52.

The benchmark index opened 9.22 points lower at 1,517.30 and fluctuated between 1,512.32 and 1,524.41 throughout the day.

In the broader market, losers thumped gainers 548 to 357, while 448 counters were unchanged, 994 untraded and eight suspended.

Turnover rose to 2.51 billion units valued at RM1.81 billion against yesterday’s 2.37 billion units valued at RM2.03 billion.

On the local bourse, heavyweights Public Bank added one sen to RM4.40, MISC jumped 17 sen to RM7.31, RHB Bank was flat at RM6.90, Maybank dropped 6 sen to RM10.26, TNB shed 18 sen to RM13.58, CIMB eased 1 sen to RM7.13, and Petronas Gas trimmed 10 sen to RM16.78.

Among the actives, Top Glove advanced 4 sen to 84.5 sen, Supermax increased 6 sen to 77.5 sen, T7 edged up 0.5 sen to 32.5 sen, Sapura Energy inched down 0.5 sen to 4.5 sen, and VS Industry eased 2.5 sen to 82 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index dropped 52.76 points to 11,337.56, the FBMT 100 Index fell 50.63 points to 11,108.53, the FBM Emas Shariah Index shaved 66.52 points to 11,068.45, the FBM 70 Index declined 53.76 points to 16,152.65, and the FBM ACE Index slid 57.75 points to 4,708.31.

Sector-wise, the financial services index sank 73.39 points to 18,498.91, the industrial products and services index eased 2.10 points to 149.79, the energy index dipped 9.91 points to 735.14, and the plantation index shed 2.58 points to 7,405.53.

The Main Market volume increased to 1.40 billion units worth RM1.61 billion versus 1.22 billion units worth RM1.83 billion yesterday.

Warrants turnover dwindled to 836.86 million units worth RM94.28 million from 921.35 million units worth RM131.84 million yesterday.

The ACE Market volume improved to 275.91 million units worth RM105.92 million from 225.77 million units worth RM74.92 million previously.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 181.59 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (253.64 million), construction (72.37 million), technology (161.48 million), S**C (nil), financial services (86.74 million), property (94.08 million), plantation (11.68 million), REITs (8.07 million), closed/fund (11,500), energy (201.62 million), healthcare (215.78 million), telecommunications and media (33.39 million), transportation and logistics (33.53 million), utilities (46.52 million), and business trusts (41,400).

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened lower in early trade, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street, analysts said.At 9.1...
28/03/2025

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened lower in early trade, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street, analysts said.

At 9.10am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 6.11 points to 1,529.62 from Thursday’s close of 1,535.73. The benchmark index had opened 4.16 points lower at 1,531.57.

Decliners outpaced gainers 206 to 132, while 204 counters were unchanged, 1,930 untraded, and 133 suspended.

Turnover stood at 151.68 million shares worth RM106.25 million.

ActivTrade trader Anderson Alves said Asian equities were likely to trade sideways on Friday as investors awaited clarity on upcoming US tariffs ahead of April 2, 2025.

“That’s when significant levies are set to take effect across multiple countries, with additional measures expected,” he said.

US President Donald Trump recently announced a 25% tariff on all foreign-manufactured automobiles starting that date, prompting caution ahead of what some investors are calling ‘Liberation Day’ – when further details on potential White House actions are anticipated.

However, Alves said Trump had since signalled that reciprocal tariffs might be “more lenient” than previously suggested, easing some investor concerns and supporting a cautiously positive market sentiment.

Among heavyweights, Maybank added 4.0 sen to RM10.40, while CIMB Group fell 4.0 sen to RM7.09 and Tenaga Nasional declined 10.0 sen to RM13.46.

Public Bank and IHH Healthcare eased 1.0 sen each to RM4.48 and RM6.90, respectively.

Among actives, Main Market debutant HI Mobility advanced 5.0 sen to RM1.27, InNature added 1.5 sen to 21 sen, while Minox International and Sapura Energy inched up half a sen each to 25 sen and 5 sen.

NEXG was flat at 25.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index dropped 39.41 points to 11,456.78, the FBMT 100 Index fell 42.14 points to 11,215.41, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index slipped 55.12 points to 11,193.03.

The FBM 70 Index lost 51.40 points to 16,421.43, while the FBM ACE Index declined 16.50 points to 4,740.89.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index eased 6.18 points to 18,665.56, the Industrial Products and Services Index trimmed 0.53 of-a-point to 154.45, and the Energy Index dipped 0.44 of-a-point to 758.99.

The Plantation Index, however, edged up 1.13 points to 7,442.44.

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia extended losses at Wednesday’s opening, tracking overnight declines on Wall Street and regi...
12/03/2025

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia extended losses at Wednesday’s opening, tracking overnight declines on Wall Street and regional markets as global economic uncertainties dampened investor sentiment.

Wall Street saw further sell-offs, with the S&P 500 falling 42.49 points, or 0.76%, to 5,572.07, while the Dow lost 478.23 points, or 1.14%, to 41,433.48.

At 9.10am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) dropped 20.53 points, or 1.35%, to 1,499.62 from Tuesday’s close of 1,520.15.

The benchmark index opened 15.44 points lower at 1,504.71.

On the broader market, decliners outnumbered advancers 241 to 124, with 240 counters unchanged, 1,784 untraded, and seven suspended.

Turnover stood at 191.19 million shares worth RM117.81 million.

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said Wall Street’s upside remains limited despite the reversal of an additional 25% tariff on steel and aluminium imports from Canada, as retaliatory measures by trading partners could weigh on economic activity.

“All eyes are on US inflation data due tonight. A negative 5% deviation from the 2.9% forecast would likely pressure sentiment,” it said in a note.

The brokerage expects investors to focus on fundamentally strong sectors, such as banking and real estate investment trusts (REITs), citing stable loan growth and healthy dividend payouts.

Meanwhile, the local bourse is expected to remain volatile amid ongoing trade tensions between the US and its trading partners.

“We have also noticed buying interest in significantly oversold stocks following recent selling pressure.

“Coupled with a rebound in selected US technology stocks, there could be opportunities in the local technology sector, at least for the rest of the week,” it added.

Among heavyweights, Maybank fell 10 sen to RM10.14, Public Bank declined eight sen to RM4.33, while CIMB gained three sen to RM7.29. CelcomDigi and MISC were flat at RM3.56 and RM6.95, respectively.

In active stocks, Sapura Energy and Nationgate rose one sen each to 4.5 sen and RM1.16, while Mestron edged up half-a-sen to 27 sen. NEXG slipped half-a-sen to 26.5 sen, while Elridge and KNM were unchanged at 47.5 sen and 4.5 sen, respectively.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index shed 118.87 points to 11,149.02, the FBMT 100 Index lost 122.22 points to 10,936.65, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index fell 54.89 points to 10,819.12. The FBM 70 Index declined 66.34 points to 15,779.05, while the FBM ACE Index eased 9.60 points to 4,430.53.

By sector, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 0.52 of a point to 150.38, the Energy Index lost 7.65 points to 687.46, the Financial Services Index dropped 375.18 points to 18,394.10, and the Plantation Index slipped 42.65 points to 7,298.58.

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit strengthened against the US dollar in early trade after reaching a nearly three-week high last...
24/02/2025

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit strengthened against the US dollar in early trade after reaching a nearly three-week high last Friday, buoyed by softer-than-expected US economic data released last week.

At 8am, the ringgit strengthened to 4.4140/4225 from 4.4165/4200 at Friday’s close.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the local currency is expected to maintain its positive trend today after the US dollar-ringgit broke through its previous support level of RM4.43 last week.

He also said that Malaysia’s core inflation rate released last week saw an uptick to 1.8% during January from 1.6%, led by higher food inflation and a gradual increase in the transport sub-index.

“We believe it’s inflation expectation as the country awaits policy adjustment in fuel subsidies in the middle of this year.

“As such, the Bank Negara Malaysia is likely to keep the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) steady at 3% throughout the year to strike the right balance between keeping the inflation risk at bay and supporting the growth, especially investment,” he told Bernama.

He added that with concerns over the inflation risk in the background, the ringgit could hover around RM4.40 to RM4.41 against the greenback.

Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded mostly higher against major currencies.

The ringgit gained against the British pound to 5.5828/5936 from 5.5851/5895 and inched up against the euro to 4.6232/6321 from 4.6236/6273 from last week’s close, but it slipped against the Japanese yen to 2.9547/9606 from 2.9346/9371 previously.

The ringgit weakened against most Asean currencies.

It depreciated against the Singapore dollar to 3.3039/3108 from 3.3021/3049 and fell against the Thai baht to 13.1447/1818 from 13.1354/1528.

The local note was marginally higher against the Indonesian rupiah at 270.5/271.2 from 270.7/271.0 and flat against the Philippine peso at 7.62/7.63 from last Friday’s closing of 7.62/7.63.

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit is expected to trade cautiously against the US dollar next week ahead of the release of the Fe...
15/02/2025

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit is expected to trade cautiously against the US dollar next week ahead of the release of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes on February 20.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said traders and market participants would assess the US Federal Reserve’s (Fed) stance on easing monetary policy this year.

“We opined that the Fed is not in a hurry to reduce the Fed Fund Rate (FFR) in the near future.

“This is because the prevailing FFR is still restrictive, and the Fed would like to see the inflation trajectory steer towards its two per cent target, especially after US inflation data came in higher than expected.”

US headline inflation and the core consumer price index rose 3.0 per cent and 3.3 per cent, respectively, in January.

Mohd Afzanizam said the local note could test the immediate support level of RM4.43 next week.

For the week just ended, the ringgit fluctuated between gains and losses on concerns over policy uncertainties under US President Donald Trump.

However, it rebounded from oversold levels and ended the week higher, supported by Malaysia’s strong 2024 gross domestic product performance.

On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the ringgit appreciated to 4.4310/4385 from 4.4375/4420 the previous week.

Meanwhile, the local currency was mostly lower against major currencies.

It weakened against the British pound to 5.5769/5863 from 5.5278/5334 and slipped against the euro to 4.6437/6515 from 4.6101/6148. However, it strengthened against the Japanese yen to 2.9048/9099 from 2.9217/9249.

The ringgit also fell against most ASEAN currencies.

It declined against the Indonesian rupiah to 272.6/273.2 from 272.4/272.9 and weakened against the Singapore dollar to 3.3055/3113 from 3.2866/2901. It also edged down against the Philippine peso to 7.66/7.68 from 7.65/7.66.

However, the local note rose against the Thai baht to 13.1761/2059 from 13.1853/2041.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian construction firm Gamuda Bhd, whose stock price more than doubled last year, said its unit won a...
14/01/2025

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian construction firm Gamuda Bhd, whose stock price more than doubled last year, said its unit won an RM8.3 billion (US$1.8 billion) design and build contract for a railway project in Penang state.

The contract for the Penang LRT Mutiara Line project that Gamuda’s 60%-owned subsidiary, SRS Consortium Sdn Bhd, secured includes the design, construction and completion of an elevated viaduct, stations and a depot, Gamuda said in a filing yesterday.

Gamuda’s share price reached a record high last week after gaining 107% in 2024, as Malaysia boasts a robust project pipeline amid a data centre boom.

Most analysts are calling the stock a buy.

Gamuda set an order book target of RM40 billion to RM45 billion by end-2025, after being on track to exceed RM30 billion last year.

Following the contract win, Kenanga Investment Bank Bhd analyst Teh Kian Yeong raised Gamuda’s target price and said that SRS is likely to bid for another two ongoing tenders related to the same project.

The LRT Mutiara Line project is expected to cost RM13 billion.

Gamuda’s shares rose as much as 5.9% at the open today, before paring most of its gains.

The company was added to the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI gauge in December.

The firm is already set to be a key beneficiary of Malaysia’s ambitions to become a major data centre powerhouse.

The firm purchased about 389 acres of land in Bandar Springill, within the so-called Malaysia Vision Valley, for its high technology digital infrastructure development.

Gamuda has also been making forays into Taiwan and Australia.

The firm said yesterday that risk factors for the Penang railway project include navigating a tight labour market and managing complex interfaces with other package contractors involved in the project.

The project is scheduled for completion within six years from the notice to proceed.

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia rebounded to open higher on Friday, despite a weaker overnight US market.At 9.05am, the FTS...
03/01/2025

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia rebounded to open higher on Friday, despite a weaker overnight US market.

At 9.05am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) stood at 1,635.09, down 2.22 points from Thursday’s close of 1,632.87.

The index had initially opened 2.07 points higher at 1,634.94.

Advancers outpaced decliners on the broader market 164 to 131, with 264 counters unchanged, 1,796 untraded, and 11 suspended.

Turnover stood at 119.32 million units, valued at RM69.23 million.

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd favours the oil and gas sector amid the surge in Brent crude oil prices while maintaining a positive outlook on export-oriented sectors like glove and technology.

“The breakout in gold prices could present trading opportunities in gold-related counters. Moving forward, we expect data centre investments to begin materialising in earnings within the construction, building materials, and utilities sectors,” it said in a note today.

Among heavyweights, CIMB advanced 5 sen to RM8.18, TNB increased 4 sen to RM14.80, IHH Healthcare gained 2 sen to RM7.32, Hong Leong Bank bagged 16 sen to RM20.58, CelcomDigi was flat at RM3.65, Maybank shed 2 sen to RM10.16 and Public Bank declined 1 sen to RM4.53.

In active stocks, Datasonic garnered 1.5 sen to 43.5 sen, Vetece Holdings firmed 2.5 sen to 55 sen, Carlo Rino added 1 sen to 21.5 sen, Yew Lee Pacific and Winstar Capital were flat at 51 sen and 71 sen, respectively while SNS Network eased 1 sen to 69 sen and Jiankun inched down 0.5 sen to 4.5 sen.

On the broader index, the FBM emas index appreciated 21.60 points to 12,558.18, the FBM emas shariah index went up 19.39 points to 12,569.17, and the FBMT 100 index was 16.31 points higher at 12,230.13.

The FBM 70 index scored 24.19 points to 18,854.12 while the FBM ACE index rose 5.77 points to 5,437.87.

By sector, the energy index gained 11.77 points to 842.19, the financial services index bounced 20.04 points to 19,080.49, the industrial products and services index edged up 0.06 of-a-point to 174.19, and the plantation index declined 1.93 points to 7,621.50.

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