<div>This article first appeared in <em>The Edge Financial Daily</em>, on March 8, 2017.<br />
<br />
&nbsp;</div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p><strong>Hong Leong Bank Bhd (-ve)</strong></p></div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p>SHARES in Hong Leong Bank Bhd (fundamental: 2.2/3, valuation: 2.4/3) triggered our momentum algorithm yesterday for the first time since we started tracking.</p></div><div class=inPageAd id=div-gpt-ad-inpage></div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p>The counter closed 14 sen or 1.04% higher at RM13.58 yesterday, with some 6.88 million shares traded. Its 200-day average traded volume is 634,702 shares.</p></div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p>Hong Leong Bank’s net profit grew 60% to RM549.94 million in the second quarter ended Dec 31, 2016, from RM344.08 million a year ago, on higher net income, lower operating expenses, lower charge on allowance for impairment losses on loans, advances and financing. Revenue grew 10% to RM1.18 billion from RM1.07 billion.</p></div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p>For the accumulated six months ended Dec 31, 2016, net profit climbed 29% to RM1.09 billion from RM847.04 million, as revenue rose 8% to RM2.27 billion from RM2.1 billion.</p></div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p>The stock currently trades at a trailing 12-month price-earnings ratio of 13.21 times and 1.3 times its book value. It has a trailing 12-month dividend yield of 3.01%.</p></div>


This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on March 8, 2017.

 

Hong Leong Bank Bhd (-ve)

SHARES in Hong Leong Bank Bhd (fundamental: 2.2/3, valuation: 2.4/3) triggered our momentum algorithm yesterday for the firs...

Stock With Momentum: Hong Leong Bank

Shares of MNRB Holdings Bhd (KL:MNRB) surged on Thursday and may be on course for their best day in more than four months following the reinsurer’s latest quarterly results.

MNRB shares on course for best day in over four months after results

Southwest Airlines Co added six new board directors in a pact with Elliott Investment Management, as the carrier seeks to address the activist’s push for changes and salvage the job of its chief executive officer.

Southwest strikes deal with Elliott, adds six new board members

MKS Instruments Inc, a global technology solutions provider, is investing US$100 billion (RM434.80 billion) to build a super centre factory in Penang to support wafer fabrication equipment production, both regionally and globally.

MKS Instruments investing US$100b in super centre factory in Penang, says executive VP

Turkey launched fresh air strikes on Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants in northern Syria and Iraq overnight, killing 59 militants, in response to a gun attack that killed five people in Ankara, the Defence Ministry said on Thursday.

Two assailants — a man and a woman — carried out Wednesday's assault with automatic rifles and explosives on the headquarters of Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAS) in Ankara. Twenty-two people were also wounded.

Turkey steps up strikes on PKK in Iraq, Syria after Ankara attack

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that the Middle East was on the brink of a full-scale war as tensions rose sharply between Israel and Iran.

"The fighting that began a year ago in Gaza has now spread to Lebanon," Putin, sitting beside Chinese President Xi Jinping, told a meeting of the BRICS+ group in the city of Kazan on the Volga.

Putin says Middle East is on the brink of full-scale war

United Parcel Service surpassed Wall Street estimates for quarterly profit and raised its full-year adjusted operating margin forecast on Thursday, after it hived off its volatile truckload brokerage business, Coyote Logistics.

UPS beats quarterly profit estimates, raises operating margin forecast

Construction outfit SC Estate Builder Bhd (KL:SCBUILD) said the termination of a contract worth RM4.3 million to build affordable houses with solar power on the roofs by Merchant Esteem Sdn Bhd (MESB) was due to a decision by MESB's new management, which has acknowledged that ongoing uncertainties in the commercial property market and low demand would impact the construction and sales of shophouses.

SC Estate Builder aborts RM4.3m job with Merchant Esteem due to 'management change'

German insurer Allianz SE expects Malaysia’s economic growth to slow to 4.2% in 2025, from a projected 4.8% growth in 2024, amid a decline in consumer spending.

The projection is largely based on Bank Negara Malaysia's monetary policy, which is expected to remain tight in 2025 with the overnight policy rate anticipated to be kept at the 3% level, said Allianz chief economist Ludovic Subran.

Allianz expects Malaysia's GDP growth to slow to 4.2% in 2025 amid lower consumer spending

Alternative fund manager KKR & Co reported a 58% jump in adjusted net income for the third quarter of 2024, driven by record fee-related income, as well as earnings from its insurance business.

KKR's quarterly profit soars on record-high fee income 

Rice export rates dipped across major Asian hubs this week after India abolished export duty on the staple and raised fears of over-supplying the market, pushing rates in the top exporter and in Vietnam to their lowest levels in more than a year.

Rice export rates drop across major hubs after India slashes export duty 

<p>Malaysia has been recognised as one of 13 nations officially added to BRICS as a partner country, a bloc that collectively accounts for one-fifth of global trade.</p>

<p>According to an update from @BRICSInfo on X, the bloc officially added 13 new nations to the alliance as partner countries, though not yet as full members.</p>


Malaysia, 12 other countries officially added as BRICS partner countries

<p>Healthcare services firm Metro Healthcare Bhd (KL:MHCARE) on Thursday unveiled the prospectus for its initial public offering (IPO) to raise RM39.16 million as part of its listing transfer from the LEAP Market to the ACE Market.</p>


Metro Healthcare unveils prospectus for RM39.16 mil IPO, priced at 25 sen per share

<p>Imprisoned former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has apologised and expressed regret that the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal happened under his watch.&nbsp;</p>


Najib offers unreserved apology, regrets that 1MDB scandal happened under his watch

<p>LOCATED just minutes away from Queensbay Mall is the site of the RM10 billion Penang World City (PWC), first unveiled in November 2011. To be built on both existing and reclaimed land, PWC was to be jointly developed by Ivory Properties Group Bhd (KL:IVORY) and Tropicana Corp Bhd (KL:TROP) — then...

Cover Story: Penang World City and the MBI effect

<p>A total of 97,866, or 49%, out of 197,348 active loan borrowers have been blacklisted by Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) for loan defaults.</p>


Nearly 50% of Mara loan borrowers blacklisted for defaults

<p>MBI Group, founded by Tedy Teow Wooi Huat 15 years ago, was initially presented as a legitimate “members-only” investment programme and loyalty scheme promising investors exceptionally high returns. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a money game, allegedly involving fraud, scams and operating as...

Cover Story: 400 Chinese investors demand RM170 mil in class action against MBI

<p>While former chief minister Lim Guan Eng is on trial related to graft over the Penang undersea tunnel, the focus of his trial on Thursday centred on former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.</p>


Penang undersea trial suddenly shifts focus to Najib

<p>Shares of MNRB Holdings Bhd (KL:MNRB) surged on Thursday and may be on course for their best day in more than four months following the reinsurer’s latest quarterly results.</p>


<p>S P Setia Bhd (KL:SPSETIA) is unveiling new double-storey semi-detached homes named Anggun Villa III in Bandar Kinrara, Puchong this Saturday (Oct 26). The development has an estimated gross development value of RM105.17 million.</p>


S P Setia to unveil double-storey semi-detached homes in Puchong this weekend

<p>Singapore temporarily blocked the demolition of the house of its first prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew, as it weighs whether to preserve the property that has sparked a yearslong feud among his children.</p>


Singapore blocks demolition of ex-premier Lee Kuan Yew’s home

<p>Negotiations over the redevelopment of major transport hub Kuala Lumpur Sentral are expected to be completed this year, paving the way for the project's launch in 2025, said Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook.</p>


KL Sentral redevelopment to kick off next year, says Loke

<p>THE acronym MBI if spelt backwards is IBM, the US-based computer main frame technology company with a global reach.</p>

<p>Tedy Teow Wooi Huat, the prime figure behind the disgraced MBI, wanted a global reach similar to IBM. In his talks to members, he would always drive home the point why the...

Cover Story: Picking up the pieces from MBI’s collapse

<p>Capital A Bhd’s (KL:CAPITALA) share capital reduction plan would strengthen its financial position and aid the company’s broader restructuring efforts, said an industry consultant and a sell-side analyst.</p>


Capital A on last leg of journey to exit PN17 with capital reduction plan, analysts say

<p>Malaysia’s inflation decelerated in September and was a tad slower than expected, as prices of key food items and utilities remained steady while transport costs eased, official data on Thursday showed.</p>


Malaysia's September inflation moderates amid steady food group, transport index eases

<p>Imprisoned former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said that he wanted the central bank and AmBank to monitor the flow of monies into his personal accounts, to ensure that everything was above board.</p>


Najib says wanted BNM and AmBank to monitor his accounts, to avoid anything 'untoward'

<p>Cuckoo International (MAL) Bhd, the local unit of South Korean appliance maker, has filed for an initial public offering (IPO) on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia to raise funds for expansion.</p>

<p>The proposed IPO involves an offer for sale of existing shares and a public issue of new shares at a price to be determined later, according to the draft prospectus.</p>


Cuckoo Malaysia files for Main Market IPO to raise funds for expansion

<p>The government will continue to promote the use of local currency in international settlements and periodically enhance mechanisms with strategic partner countries.</p>

<p>The Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (Miti) said the government remains open to expanding the use of regional local currencies with major Asean countries, including Vietnam and the Philippines, as well as BRICS members such as Russia and India.</p>


Govt to prioritise ringgit use in international settlements — Miti

<p>Boeing factory workers voted to reject a contract offer and continue a more than five-week strike on Wednesday, in a blow to new chief executive officer Kelly Ortberg's plan to shore up the finances of the struggling planemaker.</p>


Boeing strike barrels on as workers reject wage deal

<p>BUDGET 2025 has sparked mixed reactions within the country’s semiconductor sector, with some industry leaders hailing the initiatives as a significant step forward, while others say they lack the depth and focus needed to truly elevate Malaysia to the status of a global semiconductor hub.</p>

...

Cover Story: 'Best budget ever’ or a major let-down for the semiconductor industry?

<p>The federal government's decision to continue subsidising RON95 petrol for most Malaysians next year aligns with its goal of promoting public transportation,&nbsp;according to Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook.</p>
