This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on March 18, 2024 - March 24, 2024

Heitech Padu Bhd’s shares have been on a tear since the last week of February, rising 160.33% to its highest-ever intra-day level of RM3.15 on March 12, from the opening price of RM1.21 on Feb 26.

Notably, in late February, The Edge reported that HeiTech Padu had been shortlisted for the National Integrated Immigration System (NIISe) project, which is set to integrate the border management systems under the various agencies of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The biggest one-day jump was recorded on March 8, however, when the share price surged 28.3% from the intra-day low and opening price of RM1.98 to a high of RM2.54. On the same day, Heitech Padu announced the emergence of MyEG Capital Sdn Bhd — a unit of MyEG Services Bhd — as a substantial shareholder with 14.57 million shares, or a 14.396% stake. The shares were acquired on March 7.

The following Monday (March 11), HeiTech Padu’s shares saw a 23.6% jump from the day’s low to a high of RM3.04. The next day, the counter climbed 16.53% to a historical high of RM3.15 from the day’s low of RM2.60.

These coincided with HeiTech Padu’s announcement last Thursday (March 14) that Datuk Farhash Wafa Salvador had acquired a total indirect interest of 15.9%, or 16.1 million shares, making the former political aide to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and PKR’s Perak chief a substantial shareholder.

Farhash’s private vehicle Rosetta Partners Sdn Bhd had bought 6.16 million HeiTech Padu shares on Monday (March 11) and then 9.69 million shares on Tuesday (March 12).

Farhash, trained in business and finance, has been making his mark in the corporate scene lately. He was appointed executive chairman of Excel Force MSC Bhd last May and group executive chairman of Apex Equity Holdings Bhd in December 2022. He is also chairman of 7-Eleven Malaysia Holdings Bhd.

Investors’ excitement over the entry of MyEG in HeiTech Padu may be explained by the fact that the latter has been able to secure e-government contracts over the years.

As speculation is rife, HeiTech Padu does not seem to be a dark horse in the race to secure the massive NIISe contract. It will be interesting to see who the eventual winner is. If HeiTech Padu does get the job, it will prompt many to wonder how MyEG and Farhash managed to bet on the nose on the company.

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