Notable filings
Filings on April 9 showed Bioenergy Holdings Sdn Bhd disposing of 10.5 million shares in Asia Bioenergy Technologies Bhd (Asiabio) between April 3 and 7, effectively reducing its stake in the company to 53.6 million shares or 21.4% equity interest. Asiabio said last week that its investment company, Grand Inizio Bhd, had submitted an application to be listed on the Mesdaq Market.

An April 10 filing revealed that Lau Kim Chew had ceased to be a substantial shareholder of Cocoaland Holdings Bhd following the sale of his shares in Leverage Success Sdn Bhd, which owns 79.7 million shares, or a 66.3% stake, in the company. According to the filing, Lau now holds less than 15% of Leverage Success.

According to an April 8 filing, Singapore-based Arisaig Asean Fund Ltd disposed of 15.6 million shares in Hektar Real Estate Investment Trust, ceasing to be a substantial shareholder of the property trust. Arisaig had at one point owned 18 million shares, or 5.64% equity interest, in the REIT.

A filing on April 10 by KNM Group Bhd showed the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) increasing its stake in the company by acquiring 23.2 million shares on the open market between April 2 and 6, bringing the provident fund’s stake to 370.5 million shares or 9.4% of issued shares. KNM rose 27.9% from its April 8 closing price of 43 sen to last Wednesday’s close of 55 sen.

In its voluntary takeover exercise of IOI Properties Bhd, parent company IOI Corp Bhd received the acceptance of 124.3 million shares, bringing its direct and indirect shareholding to 91.33%, according to a filing on April 7. The Edge Financial Daily reported last week that IOI Corp will persist in the buying of the remaining shares held by institutional investors. IOI Properties has been suspended since April 7 to facilitate the delisting.

Nov’ Eight Holding Sdn Bhd continued to pare down its shareholding in SAAG Consolidated Bhd by disposing of another 18.7 million shares on March 30 and 31 as well as between April 3 and 8. It had previously sold 13.3 million shares on the open market and in a married deal between March 24 and 27. With the latest transaction, Nov’ Eight now holds 15.2% of SAAG.

According to an April 7 filing, 35.6 million shares, or 16.3% of the issued share capital, of Supportive International Holdings Bhd changed hands between Arena Nilam Sdn Bhd and Supptech Holdings Sdn Bhd. With the sale, Arena Nilam ceased to be a substantial shareholder of Supportive International while Supptech’s stake in the company rose to 66.5%.

Notable movements
Candy manufacturer Cocoaland Holdings saw its share price rise from 55 sen early this year to 79 sen last Wednesday — an increase of 43.6%. The stock may have risen on the back of changes in the shareholding structure of Leverage Success, Cocoaland’s largest shareholder.

The company registered an earnings decline of 2.1% for FY2008, on the back of 6.1% in revenue growth. In the note to its accounts, the company explained that its performance had been affected by higher advertising expenses and promotional activities during the year.

Berjaya Corp Bhd’s share price has seen a lot of activity of late, rising from a low of 46 sen on March 10 to 85 sen last Wednesday. Its largest shareholder Tan Sri Vincent Tan's deemed interest in the company was 28.75% as at Aug 29, 2008, according to its latest annual report.

Goldman Sachs International (GSI) acquired 12.6 million shares in Berjaya Corp between March 26 and April 2, bringing its stake to 10.76% or 339.9 million shares. GSI had owned 9.72% equity interest in Berjaya Corp as at Aug 29, 2008, according to the company’s annual report.

This article appeared in The Edge Malaysia, Issue 751, April 20-26, 2009