This article first appeared in Capital, The Edge Malaysia Weekly, on October 5 - October 11, 2015.

A total of 344.6 million shares valued at RM515.1 million, were traded off market in blocks of at least 450,000 in the week of Sept 23 to 29.

At Dufu Technology Corp Bhd, 9.3 million shares or a 5.3% stake changed hands off market last Tuesday. The shares were transacted in two direct deals at 27 sen per share, valuing the block at RM2.52 million.

This translates into a 12.5% discount to Dufu’s (fundamental: 1.40; valuation: 1.10) closing price of 31 sen that day.

At press time, the hard disk drive manufacturer had yet to reveal who the transacting parties were.

An investigation of Dufu by auditors Ferrier Hodgson MH Sdn Bhd was completed in July. The report said Dufu subsidiaries had not issued invoices to a company related to a former director, despite providing RM543,781 worth of services to that company in 2012 and 2013.

According to the report, this was not an oversight but was calculated to benefit the aforementioned director.

Dufu suspended CEO Yong Poh Yow and the chief financial officer over the matter and has since compelled Yong to resign.

Interestingly, Dufu has since roped in Yong, via his private vehicle Aspire Ambience Sdn Bhd, to train the new acting CEO of its subsidiary Dufu Industries Sdn Bhd.

Over at Hwang Capital Malaysia Bhd, 7.1 million shares or a 2.78% stake were traded off market on Sept 23 and 25 in two direct deals.

The shares changed hands at RM1.80 apiece, amounting to RM12.78 million in total for the stake.

Hwang’s (fundamental: NA; valuation: NA) shares were not traded on Sept 23 and closed at RM2.01 on Sept 25, indicating that the stake was traded at a 14.29% discount to the market price.

No announcements have been made to Bursa Malaysia regarding the buyer or seller.

Two weeks ago, Hwang announced its fourth quarter results ended July 31, 2015. Net profit fell to RM49.7 million from RM456.7 million a year ago, while revenue dived to RM64.8 million from RM348.7 million.

On Sept 25, some 54.2 million shares in Eco World Development Group Bhd, equivalent to a 2.29% shareholding, were traded off market in a series of direct deals.

Each transaction took place at RM1.40 per share, a slight discount of 4.1% to the day’s RM1.46 close as the stock slipped from RM1.60 on Sept 18. EcoWorld (fundamental: 0.85; valuation: 0.90) closed at RM1.40 last Tuesday.

At this price, the stake is worth RM75.87 million. At press time,  who the transacting parties were had not been revealed.

Two weeks ago, EcoWorld proposed to buy 2,198.4 acres of leasehold land in Ijok, Kuala Selangor, for RM1.18 billion.

The proposal is still conditional and EcoWorld is reportedly seeking a meeting with the Selangor government to explain how the project will meet state objectives.

Elsewhere, 111.34 million shares or a 2.23% stake in Berjaya Land Bhd moved off market on Sept 23 and 25.

They were traded in three direct deals at 68.5 sen per share, near the market value of 69 sen at the time. This valued the entire stake at RM76.26 million. It is not yet known who the transacting parties were.

Last week, Berjaya Land (fundamental: 0.55; valuation: 1.20) disclosed its first-quarter results for the period ended July 31, 2015. Net profit fell to RM9.9 million compared with RM37.7 million the year before, on the back of higher revenue of RM1.5 billion from RM1.4 billion the year prior.

Note: The Edge Research’s fundamental score reflects a company’s profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations. Visit www.theedgemarkets.com for more details on a company’s financial dashboard.

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