This article first appeared in Capital, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on April 7, 2025 - April 13, 2025
Notable filings
During the week of March 24 to 28, notable shareholding changes at Bursa Malaysia-listed companies included those at property developer Ecofirst Consolidated Bhd (KL:ECOFIRS), which saw Morgan Stanley & Co International plc cease to be a substantial shareholder. According to filings with Bursa, the global financial services firm disposed of 57.01 million shares or 4.8% equity interest on March 21.
Morgan Stanley emerged as a substantial shareholder of Ecofirst on Jan 22 after acquiring 59.83 million shares or a 5.06% stake. It went on to acquire small blocks of shares until end-February, when it had amassed 69.28 million shares or 5.86% shareholding in Ecofirst.
It is not clear who Morgan Stanley was holding the block of shares for. At press time, it was not known who had acquired Morgan Stanley’s block of shares in Ecofirst.
Ecofirst shares have been trading at between 36 sen and 39 sen since the beginning of the year. The share price closed at 38 sen last Wednesday, giving the company a market capitalisation of RM446.4 million.
Filings with Bursa during the week in review also showed that Morgan Stanley ceased to be a substantial shareholder of XL Holdings Bhd (KL:XL), formerly known as Xian Leng Holdings Bhd. Fish farming, edible bird nests and pineapple farming, among others, are the company’s mainstay.
Morgan Stanley ceased to be a substantial shareholder of XL after selling 4.4 million shares on March 19, reducing its stake to below the 5% threshold required for public disclosure. It emerged as a substantial shareholder of XL on Nov 8 last year after acquiring 21.95 million shares or 5.04% shareholding.
Until March 11 this year, Morgan Stanley was nibbling at XL’s stock and held 26.46 million shares or 5.99% of XL before the selldown. XL’s share price closed at 52 sen last Wednesday, giving the company a market value of RM230.1 million.
At Turiya Bhd (KL:TURIYA), Tan Sri Dr Mohan M K Swami ceased to be a substantial shareholder of the electroplating and property investment outfit after his private vehicle Khidmat Kejora Sdn Bhd sold 66.08 million shares or 28.89% equity interest to Singaporean outfit Bin Zayed (S) Pte Ltd, which is linked to the Bin Zayed International Group of companies. Bin Zayed was founded by Sheikh Khaled Zayed Saquer Zayed Alnahyan, a member of the UAE royal family. Businessman Datuk Seri Shamir Kumar Nandy is executive director at Bin Zayed (S).
Mohan had been involved in Turiya since 1994, when it was known as Sitt Tatt Bhd, but briefly exited the company when it was taken over by MAA Group Bhd (KL:MAA) in June 2021. He made a comeback in August last year, taking control of the company after a legal dispute with MAA Group.
Turiya’s share price closed at 30 sen last Wednesday, giving the company a market capitalisation of RM68.6 million.
Over at KIP Real Estate Investment Trust (KL:KIPREIT), Hextar Rubber Sdn Bhd ceased to be a substantial shareholder during the week in review after selling 32.17 million units in the REIT.
Hextar Rubber had emerged as a substantial shareholder in KIP REIT in September 2021 after acquiring 50 million units or a 9.89% stake in the REIT, which is involved in retail, industrial and commercial properties.
In October 2022, Hextar Rubber held 120.86 million shares or a 20.87% stake in KIP REIT. In July 2024, it began selling its units in the REIT.
KIP REIT hit a record low of 86 sen per unit in intraday trading on March 12. The units closed at 87 sen apiece last Wednesday, giving the REIT a market value of RM694.8 million.
Notable movements
YTL Power International Bhd’s (KL:YTLPOWR) share price had shed about 25%, or RM1.14, since early January to close at RM3.37 last Wednesday. This gave the company a market capitalisation of RM27.7 billion.
The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) re-emerged as a substantial shareholder of the utility player in mid-January, with 414.27 million shares or a 5.04% stake. In March, the provident fund started mopping up YTL Power’s shares on the open market. During the week in review, it bought 15.61 million shares, increasing its shareholding in the company to 510 million shares or 6.2% equity interest.
EPF was also accumulating shares in YTL Power’s parent company YTL Corp Bhd (KL:YTL), which holds a 54.86% stake in the utility firm. During the week in review, the provident fund acquired 17.45 million shares in YTL Corp, nudging its shareholding to 639.39 million shares or 5.79% equity interest.
EPF was also trading the shares of Malaysian conglomerate Sunway Bhd (KL:SUNWAY) during the week in review, accumulating 6.17 million shares to take its shareholding to 520.97 million shares or 8.43% equity interest. In early February, EPF held 498.88 million shares or an 8.08% stake in the company.
Sunway’s share price had gained 9.7% since mid-January to close at RM4.50 last Wednesday, valuing the group at RM27.8 billion.
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