After a three month lull, net foreign buying on Bursa Malaysia jumped up 17-fold in the week ending October 4 from the week before, indicating interest in ASEAN and that Bursa Malaysia is able to once again outperform the region in a volatile market environment.
Lim Chee Sing, Director of RHB Research Institute, opined, “Malaysia is experiencing a revitalisation in investment, which coupled with resilient consumer spending, suggests that real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth will likely pick up to around 5.4% in 2014, from the 4.7% estimated for 2013, once external demand for the country’s exports begin to pick up. This augurs well for corporate earnings, with our projection showing normalised net Earnings per share (EPS) for the FBM KLCI benchmark picking up to 6.6% in 2014 from the 5.0% growth estimated for 20132.
“Given expectations of a volatile market backdrop in fourth quarter (4Q), investors should capitalise on market opportunities to rebalance their portfolios. While more value could be found in the mid to smaller-cap stocks, investors should not ignore the bigger-cap stocks with sound fundamentals and accumulate these on weakness. By sector, our key OVERWEIGHTs are oil & gas and construction although we also like some property and banking stocks on weakness”, continued Mr. Lim.
According to Dato’ Tajuddin Atan, Chief Executive Officer of Bursa Malaysia, “Indeed this is an exciting time for Bursa Malaysia. Bucking the trend in ASEAN and the return of foreign interest on Bursa Malaysia are strong indications for our marketplace that offers unique investment opportunities. A number of Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) are also lined-up in 4Q 2013, which should draw further investor interest, beginning with the listing of Bursa Malaysia’s largest IPO listing for 2013, Westport Holdings.
“On the back of these fundamentals and exciting developments that are creating a more vibrant market on Bursa Malaysia, we are delighted to be embarking on our global capital market roadshow showcasing the diverse and unique investment opportunities and regional leadership on Bursa Malaysia. We will be bringing Invest Malaysia to Hong Kong this month, followed by New York, Boston and San Francisco in early November,” continued Dato’ Tajuddin.
This year’s Invest Malaysia Hong Kong 2013 (IMHK 2013) will be Bursa Malaysia’s fourth consecutive capital market roadshow to Hong Kong in partnership with RHB Investment Bank (RHBIB) (previously OSK Investment Bank prior to the acquisition).
Mike Chan, Chief Executive Officer / Managing Director of RHB Investment Bank, said, “RHB Investment Bank is proud to partner Bursa Malaysia for the fourth year in this effort to showcase Malaysian companies to Hong Kong fund managers.
“The growth of multinational companies on Bursa Malaysia has earned the Exchange the distinction of being ASEAN’s multinational marketplace as it is home to a broad range of indigenous Malaysian companies that are tapping into the growth of ASEAN and Asia. These regional and global leaders represent a broad range of sectors namely, oil & gas, aviation, property & construction, financial services and palm oil. When investors buy into Malaysian companies, they are not just buying into the growth of Malaysia but also benefiting from its regional, and in some cases, global reach. At IMHK 2013, we will showcase a number of top performing Malaysian public listed companies, both large and mid-cap to Hong Kong fund managers”, said Mr. Chan.
Companies participating in Invest Malaysia Hong Kong, which will be held on October 17, 2013 at the Island Shangri-La, represent a range of interesting sectors including financial services, property development, construction, power, green energy and healthcare.
