KUALA LUMPUR (Apr 22): Companies controlled by Johor Corporation Bhd saw their share prices rose today following Johor Corp’s announcement last week that it would allocate RM800 million for capital expenditure (capex) to expand its core businesses.

Shares of Kulim (M) Bhd, KPJ Healthcare Bhd and Damansara Realty Bhd had all risen today following news reports on this.

At 4:20 pm today, Kulim Bhd rose 1 sen or 0.29% to RM3.51 while KPJ Healthcare Bhd rose 3 sen or 0.92% to RM3.28.

Damansara Realty Bhd rose a staggering 13 sen or 7.26% to RM1.92 per share.

President and chief executive Kamaruzzaman Abu Kassim of Johor Corp said core businesses in property, plantation and healthcare will continue to drive the group’s earnings with enormous future potential.

Johor Corp holds a significant stake in all three companies.

In a note by Amresearch Securities earlier today, KPJ Healthcare Bhd was placed on a “hold” call with a target price of RM3.40.

Analyst Tan Ee Zhio of AmResearch, although positive on the company’s recent move in investing in RM17 million in hardware, feels that the valuation of the stock is rich at 32 times price earnings.

“Although KPJ is a beneficiary of a growing private healthcare market and an ageing population, we view that its valuation is rich at 32 times FY14 price earnings. We will turn positive on the stock if its new hospitals turnaround earlier than expected,” said Tan.