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KUALA LUMPUR: TMK Chemical Bhd is doubling down on its core business with strategic acquisition plans and the construction of a new plant to meet growing market demand.

Non-independent executive director and deputy chairman Leong Chao Seong revealed that the company is in the early stages of evaluating acquisition targets closely aligned with its existing operations.

“We are not looking to diversify but rather to integrate further within our industry,” he said at a press conference following TMK’s listing on Bursa Malaysia’s Main Market today.

While specifics of the acquisition targets remain under wraps, it has been confirmed that the company’s focus is on bolstering its existing strengths rather than entering new markets.

In addition to the potential acquisition, Leong said, the company is progressing with the construction of a plant slated for completion by 2026.

“Once operational, the new plant will double the current production capacity to 352,254 tonnes of chlor-alkali derivatives, which has already reached the rate disclosed in the prospectus. The plant expansion reflects our commitment to meeting growing market demand and maintaining our competitive edge.”

Leong said the company remains bullish on its growth prospects, citing Malaysia’s robust economic recovery and increased foreign direct investment (FDI) as key drivers. “We see a strong manufacturing rebound over the next two years, supported by new factory developments and industrial activity,” he added.

While remaining optimistic, Leong said, the company acknowledges challenges, particularly in scaling operations beyond its existing markets in Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam. “Expansion into Indonesia is on the radar, though it will proceed cautiously.”

Leong highlighted Malaysia’s strategic advantage amid global shifts such as the China-Plus-One strategy, noting strong demand for industrial land. “We are seeing real demand with industrial land prices climbing significantly. This reflects investor confidence in Malaysia as a manufacturing hub,” he said.

TMK Chemical shares made a commendable debut on Bursa Malaysia, opening at RM1.97, a 12.6% premium over the initial public offering (IPO) price of RM1.75. The opening price valued the chemical trading and storage company at RM2 billion. The shares closed at RM1.92 on volume of 47.49 million units.

The IPO attracted significant interest, with the public portion oversubscribed by over 14 times. Institutional investors also fully subscribed to the offering, underscoring confidence in the company’s growth potential. The IPO raised RM385 million in fresh capital.

KUALA LUMPUR: The official reserve assets amounted to US$117.59 billion (RM522.06 billion), while other foreign currency assets amounted to US$5.7 million (RM25.3 million) as of end-October 2024, said Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM).

The central bank said for the next 12 months, the predetermined short-term outflows of foreign currency loans, securities and deposits, which include among others, scheduled repayment of external borrowings by the government and the maturity of foreign currency Bank Negara Interbank Bills, amount to US$13.3 billion (RM59.04 billion)

“The net short forward positions amounted to US$27.89 billion (RM123.83 billion) as of end-October 2024, reflecting the management of ringgit liquidity in the money market,” it said in a statement on the detailed disclosure of international reserves as of end-October 2024, today.

In line with the practice adopted since April 2006, BNM said the data excludes projected foreign currency inflows arising from interest income and the drawdown of project loans.

Projected foreign currency inflows amount to US$2.51 billion (RM11.1 billion) in the next 12 months.

The only contingent short-term net drain on foreign currency assets is government guarantees of foreign currency debt due within one year, amounting to US$399.8 million (RM1.78 billion).

“There are no foreign currency loans with embedded options, no undrawn, unconditional credit lines provided by or to other central banks, international organisations, banks and other financial institutions.

“BNM also does not engage in foreign currency options vis-à-vis ringgit,” said the central bank.

In accordance with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) format, the detailed breakdown of international reserves provides forward-looking information on the size, composition and usability of reserves and other foreign currency assets, and the expected and potential future inflows and outflows of foreign exchange of the government and BNM over the next 12-month period.

“Overall, the detailed breakdown of international reserves under the IMF SDDS format indicates that as of end-October 2024, Malaysia’s international reserves remain usable,” it added

KUALA LUMPUR: The construction sector sustains its momentum with positive growth of 22.9 per cent, reaching RM41.1 billion in the third quarter of 2024 (3Q 2024) compared to a 20.2 per cent increase, amounting to RM38.9 billion in the 2Q 2024.
The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the growth momentum was primarily driven by a 42.6 per cent expansion in the special trade activities subsector, which continues to demonstrate accelerated growth.
"Additionally, the residential buildings and non-residential buildings sub-sectors gained momentum by expanding 27.8 per cent and 27.7 per cent, respectively.
"Meanwhile, the civil engineering sub-sector also expanded at a more moderate pace, still contributed positively with a 12.0 per cent growth rate,” he said in a statement on the latest quarterly construction statistics today.
Mohd Uzir said that of the RM41.1 billion in work done value recorded in 3Q 2024, RM15.2 billion, or 36.9 per cent, was attributed to the civil engineering subsector, primarily in the construction of roads and railways (RM6.8 billion) and utility projects (RM6.2 billion).
"Meanwhile, the value of work done for non-residential buildings and residential buildings was RM11.8 billion (28.6 per cent) and RM9.4 billion (22.8 per cent), respectively.
"The special trade activities made up to RM4.8 billion (11.6 per cent), largely in sites preparation (RM1.3 billion), electrical installation (RM1.2 billion), and plumbing, heat and air-conditioning installation (RM1.0 billion) activities,” he added.
Elaborating the performance of the construction sector by state in 3Q 2024, Mohd Uzir said that nearly 61.4 per cent of the work done value was concentrated in Selangor, Johor, Wilayah Persekutuan (Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan) and Sarawak.
He said the value of construction work done value in Selangor amounted to RM9.3 billion, or 22.7 per cent, Johor (RM6.9 billion, or 16.9 per cent), Wilayah Persekutuan (RM4.6 billion, or 11.3 per cent), and Sarawak (RM4.3 billion, or 10.5 per cent).
"Summarising the performance of construction work done for the first three quarters of 2024, the sector registered a total value of RM116.8 billion, reflecting a 19.1 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2023 (1Q-3Q 2023: 9.0 per cent).
"The positive growth was largely driven by a strong contribution from civil engineering activities, which expanded by 20.3 per cent,” he added.

LONDON: Oil prices rose more than 2% on Friday after reports that Iran was preparing a retaliatory strike on Israel from Iraq in the coming days, though benchmarks were still set for a weekly decline.

Brent crude futures were up $1.72, or 2.4%, at $74.53 a barrel by 1024 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.76, or 2.5%, to $71.02.

U.S. news website Axios reported on Thursday that Israeli intelligence suggests that Iran is preparing to attack Israel from Iraq within days, citing two unidentified Israeli sources.

"Any additional responses from Iran might remain restrained, similar to Israel's limited strike last weekend, hence primarily intended as a demonstration of strength rather than an invitation to open warfare," said SEB Research analyst Ole Hvalbye.

The two countries have engaged in a series of tit-for-tat strikes within the broader Middle East warfare set off by fighting in Gaza. Previous Iranian air attacks on Israel on Oct. 1 and in April were mostly repelled, with only minor damage.

Brent is on track to finish the week down almost 2%, having tumbled 6% on Monday after Israel's Oct. 26 strike against Iran bypassed oil and nuclear facilities.

Oil prices were also supported by expectations that OPEC+ could delay December's planned increase to oil production by a month or more on concern over soft oil demand and rising supply. A decision could be made as early as next week.

U.S. presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have differing views on policy towards oil producers Iran and Russia.

In China, meanwhile, manufacturing activity swung back to growth in October, a private-sector survey showed on Friday, echoing an official survey on Thursday, suggesting stimulus measures are kicking in.

But "the composition of growth will still be more inward-looking than the typical pre-COVID expansion in China", Goldman Sachs analysts said in a note

KUALA LUMPUR: Capital A Bhd has positive equity and is optimistic about exiting its Practice Note 17 (PN17) status by the end of December this year, according to its chief executive officer, Tan Sri Tony Fernandes.

He said the group hopes to secure shareholders’ approval at AirAsia X’s (AAX) extraordinary general meeting (EGM) tomorrow.

"Once AAX and the aviation group are combined, we have every shot of becoming number one from being positioned as number two in the world at the moment.

"I cannot predict the shareholders, but I can say that the share price has reacted very well since we put out the proposal. That would tend to indicate the market wants this to happen,” he said during a media briefing on Capital A’s post-EGM and growth plans here today.

As at 11.19am, Capital A’s share price remained unchanged at 92.5 sen with 9.54 million shares traded.

GOLD prices nudged higher on Thursday, while traders await a key U.S. inflation data due later in the day to gauge the Federal Reserve's future monetary policy stance.

Spot gold rose 0.2% to $2,614.00 per ounce by 0246 GMT, after easing for the previous six sessions. Prices scaled a record high last month.

U.S. gold futures gained 0.2% at $2,631.40.

The U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) for September is due at 1230 GMT and Producer Price Index (PPI) data on Friday.

"If core CPI comes hotter, U.S. Treasury yields will go higher and that is bad for gold. I think there is room for prices to come down, but don't necessarily see a downtrend in the big picture," said Ilya Spivak, head of global macro, Tastylive.

Markets see an 80% chance of a 25-basis-point Fed rate cut in November.

A "substantial majority" of Fed officials at the September meeting supported beginning an era of easier monetary policy with an outsized half-point rate cut, but agreed that further easing will be data-driven, according to its minutes.

If there is a big geopolitical shock triggered by the situation in the Middle East and with the Fed in an easing cycle, there is still a chance for the bullion to scale another record this year, Spivak said.

The zero-yielding bullion is preferred in a low-interest rate environment as well as amid periods of economic and geopolitical turmoil.

San Francisco Fed Bank President Mary Daly said one or two more rate cuts this year are likely if the economy evolves as she expects. Dallas Fed Bank President Lorie Logan called for gradual cuts and said that the U.S. central bank should not rush.

Meanwhile, Israel's plans to strike Iran added to concerns of rising tensions in the Middle East.

Spot silver rose 0.3% to $30.60, platinum added 1.4% to $958.60 and palladium firmed 1.3% to $1,052.61.

SINGAPORE: Asian stocks rose on Tuesday to their highest in more than two and half years, boosted by a slew of Chinese stimulus measures while expectations for more U.S. rate cuts kept risk sentiment aloft and the dollar under pressure.

In an eagerly awaited press conference, China's top financial regulators unveiled a slate of measures, saying it would cut bank reserves by 50 basis points while reducing mortgage rates to try to spur sluggish economic growth.

The moves sent Chinese stocks higher, with the blue-chip CSI300 Index opening 1% higher, while the broader Shanghai Composite index was also up 1% at the open.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped over 2% in early trading, with the mainland properties index surging 5%.

That pushed MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan 0.41% higher to 588.43, levels last seen in April 2022.

"While there was some anticipation that stimulus measures would be announced after they mentioned there was going to be a press briefing, the package of measures so far, I would say, is probably larger than what market was expecting," said Khoon Goh, head of Asia research at ANZ.

"Taken as a whole, this could help support the economy. Whether or not it is sufficient to address some of the underlying issues, particularly around the lack of confidence in the economy, I think still remains to be seen."

Meanwhile, investor focus will also be on the Reserve Bank of Australia's policy decision later in the day when it is widely expected to stand pat on rates although the Federal Reserve's 50 basis point cut last week has raised some expectations Australia could follow the Fed.

"The RBA is likely to stick to its hawkish stance for now, aiming to keep inflation expectations anchored," said Charu Chanana, head of currency strategy at Saxo.

"A potential pivot may come only at the Nov. 5 meeting depending on further labour market data and the Q3 CPI report."

Japan's Nikkei was the biggest mover in early trading, soaring 1.4% to a near three-week high ahead of an eagerly awaited speech by Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda.

Overnight, U.S. stocks closed modestly higher as traders continued to digest the Fed's big move, with policymakers explaining the need for the 50 bp cut.

Markets are currently evenly split on whether the U.S. central bank will go for another 50 bp cut or a 25 bp cut in November, CME Fedwatch tool showed. They are pricing in 76 bps of easing this year.

Brown Brothers Harriman Senior Markets Strategist Elias Haddad said the market is overestimating the Fed's capacity to ease. "However, it will likely take strong U.S. jobs data to trigger a material upward reassessment in Fed funds rate expectations."

The next non-farm payrolls report is due Oct. 4 and until then, Haddad said a more dovish Fed and a strong U.S. economy will support market sentiment and further undermine the dollar against growth-sensitive currencies.

The dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency against six rivals, was at 100.95, not far from the one-year low of 100.21 touched last week. The yen was little changed at 143.65 per dollar.

The euro was steady at $1.11055 in early Asia, having dropped about 0.5% on Monday as business activity reports for the euro zone economy disappointed, raising expectations for more interest rate cuts by the European Central Bank this year.

The Australian dollar was 0.15% lower at $0.6828 but hovering close to the nine-month high it touched on Monday.

In commodities, oil prices were slightly higher in early trading, with Brent crude futures up 0.26% at $74.09 a barrel, while U.S. crude futures climbed 0.3% to $70.6. Oil prices slid on Monday on demand worries as well as weak economic data from Europe.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia and China have laid a solid foundation for the enhanced collaboration in new key and innovative sectors that will drive the nations’ economies forward, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Anwar, who is also the Finance Minister said that both countries have enjoyed longstanding bilateral relations underpinned by robust trade and investment relations.

He pointed out that the visit of Chinese Premier Li Qiang in June this year has reaffirmed the enduring friendship and mutual respect between Malaysia and China.

"The visit witnessed the signing of the Second Cycle of the Five-Year Programme for Economic and Trade Cooperation and the Memorandum of Understanding on Strengthening Investment Cooperation in Digital Economy and Green Development, between both countries," he said in his keynote address at the 17th World Chinese Entrepreneurs Convention (17th WCEC) at the KL Convention Centre today.

Anwar said that last year, China remained Malaysia’s largest trading partner for the 15th consecutive year, with total trade reaching US$98.80 billion.

On the investment front, China is the fifth largest foreign investor in Malaysia for 2023, contributing US$14.5 billion.

Meanwhile, Anwar said that the government has always recognised the contribution of the Malaysian Chinese community in the country’s socioeconomic developments, in the economic, cultural, educational and industrial sectors.

He said Chinese entrepreneurs have collaborated closely with others and have laid the foundations for forging deeper and stronger business and economic links across national borders.

Globally, they could also assume a bigger role in safeguarding regional economic cooperation, ensuring the security of crucial supply chains and promote our global socioeconomic development agenda. - Bernama

NEW YORK: Oil prices held at a 14-month low on Thursday as worries about demand in the US and China and a likely rise in supplies out of Libya offset a big withdrawal from US inventories and a delay to output increases by Opec+ producers.
Brent futures were down 1 cent to settle at US$72.69 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 5 cents, or 0.1%, to settle at US$69.15.
That was the lowest close for Brent since June 2023 for a second day in a row and the lowest close for WTI since December 2023 for a third day in a row.
The US Energy Information Administration said energy firms pulled 6.9 million barrels of crude out of storage during the week ended Aug. 30.
That was much bigger than the draw of 1 million barrels analysts forecast in a Reuters poll, but was in line with the draw of 7.4 million barrels reported by the American Petroleum Institute industry group on Wednesday.
Further support came from discussions between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies led by Russia, known collectively as Opec+, about delaying output increases due to start in October.
Opec+ agreed to delay a planned oil output increase for October and November, and said it could further pause or reverse the hikes if needed.
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NATIONAL AGRI CENSUS ZOOMS IN ON TERENGGANU
Analysts at US investment banking firm Jefferies said the Opec+ decision has the effect of tightening fourth-quarter balances by about 100,000-200,000 barrels per day (bpd) and should be sufficient to prevent material builds even if demand from China does not improve.
Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho, however, said the market was not impressed with the OPEC+ news.
"The gasoline market would be capable of cratering crude oil even if the Opec+ chaos was not leaning on (the) price. If you don’t need the gasoline, you don’t need the crude oil to make gasoline," Yawger said.
After energy firms added a surprise 0.8 million barrels of gasoline to US stockpiles last week, US gasoline futures fell to their lowest close since March 2021.
In Libya, some tankers were being allowed to load crude from the Opec member's storage even though output remained curtailed amid a political standoff over the central bank and oil revenue.
The latest US economic data offered some relief about the health of the economy to a market looking for clues about the path of the Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.
The Fed hiked rates aggressively in 2022 and 2023 to tame a surge in inflation, but is widely expected to reduce borrowing costs at its Sept. 17-18 policy meeting. Lower rates can boost economic growth and demand for oil.
US services sector activity was steady in August, but employment gains slowed, remaining consistent with an easing labor market.
Meanwhile, US private job growth hit a 3-1/2-year low in August and data for the prior month was revised lower, potentially hinting at a sharp labour market slowdown.
By contrast, the number of Americans filing new applications for jobless benefits declined last week as layoffs remained low.
"In our view, the 'Beige Book' suggests that the economy is already growing at a below-trend pace and that recession risks are rising," analysts at UBS said in a note, referring to the release on Wednesday of a Fed report that acts as a temperature check on the health of the economy about every six weeks. — Reuters

PELABURAN MUDAH BUAT ORANG MUDA

Untuk orang muda yang baru mula bekerja, adalah penting untuk memulakan dengan jumlah yang kecil, menambah ilmu tentang pelaburan, dan bersabar.

Melabur secara konsisten dan jangka panjang adalah kunci untuk membina kekayaan.

Nak tahu peluang pelaburan saham di Bursa Malaysia TANPA TUNAI melalui Skim Pelaburan Ahli KWSP dan diuruskan oleh Portfolio Manager bertauliah dan berpengalaman klik link di KOMEN. Jom saya bantu.

KUALA LUMPUR: Scanwolf Corporation Bhd’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Scanwolf Flooring Industries Sdn Bhd, has recently secured multiple flooring supply contracts totalling RM16.1mil.

In a statement, Scanwolf announced that, with the addition of the latest contracts, its manufacturing order book stood at RM18.1mil as of July 31, 2024, offering visibility into the company's earnings for the next one to two financial years.

It said the contracts were awarded by several prominent construction and real estate companies to provide high-quality flooring products for various real estate projects in the Klang Valley area.

“Looking ahead, Scanwolf will continue to focus on the research, development, and provision of innovative flooring products to meet evolving market needs and promote the sustainable development of the construction industry.

“For the remainder of 2024, the company expects to secure tender opportunities worth RM14.3mil from the public sector, as well as ongoing orders from the B2B (business-to-business), B2C (business-to-consumer), reseller and export markets,” Scanwolf said.