This article first appeared in Capital, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on August 10, 2026 - August 16, 2026

Target Price: RM11.90 OUTPERFORM

PUBLIC INVEST RESEARCH (Aug 4): Malayan Banking Bhd (KL:MAYBANK) has entered into an implementation agreement (IA) with Ageas Insurance International NV to acquire the remaining 30.95% stake in Maybank Ageas Holdings Bhd (MAHB) for RM4.83 billion. MAHB is the holding company of Etiqa’s insurance and takaful operations in Malaysia and Singapore. The transaction is expected to be completed by 3QCY26 and will be funded through a combination of internal funds and external financing.

Etiqa has reported strong growth momentum with gross written premium (GWP) showing a three-year CAGR of 9.2%, mainly driven by life and family takaful products. Based on Etiqa’s FY25 Patami of RM1 billion and ROE of 12.3%, the proposed acquisition is earnings and ROE-accretive to Maybank. Upon completion, it is estimated to provide an additional 2% contribution to Maybank’s Patami while lifting the group’s ROE by 37 basis points (bps). The full ownership of Etiqa will provide ample cross-selling opportunities stemming from Maybank’s 14 million customer base, with only 24% currently holding Etiqa’s insurance products.

The total consideration of RM4.83 billion will reduce Maybank’s bank level CET1 ratio by 197bps (from 13.93% to 11.96%). However, this will be partially offset by a pre-completion dividend of RM550 million and a subscription of RM2.1 billion Tier-2 debt. Collectively, the net capital consumption will be at RM2.2 billion, while the bank level CET1 falls to 13.04%.

Meanwhile, Maybank is also planning to undertake a RM1.1 billion dividend reinvestment plan (DRP) in FY26F to preserve capital position while maintaining its dividend payout ratio. Although a DRP could potentially dilute EPS in the near term, we think that the synergies from the acquisition and cross-selling opportunities would offset the impact in the longer run. We gather that the full ownership of MAHB should enable Maybank to increase MAHB’s dividend payout from 30%-33% to 50%-60%, funding growth and dividend on the group level.

Target Price: RM38.70 BUY

UOB KAY HIAN (Aug 3): Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd (KL:F&N) reported a 3QFY26 core net profit of RM93.6 million, bringing 9MFY26 core profit to RM299.2 million. This is within our expectations but below consensus estimates, accounting for 70% and 64% of our and consensus full-year earnings forecasts respectively.

Sales in Malaysia for 3QFY26 saw an encouraging growth of 8.4% y-o-y. Apart from expanded dairy milk sales, stronger channel execution resulted in growth across the beverage categories and export sales (Cambodia) as well.

In Thailand, revenue contraction persisted, declining by 18.4% y-o-y, due to disruptions to exports to Cambodia. Positively, domestic sales improved. Despite the lower revenue from Cambodia and start-up costs associated with the set-up of new dairy plant operations in Cambodia, margins held relatively steady — 0.1ppt y-o-y to 20.1% as operational earnings declined by a similar quantum to softer revenue.

Valuations are at a rock bottom and earnings are expected to gradually improve and in turn catalyse interest in F&N. For a large-cap consumer staple, F&N continues to trade at bargain valuations. Our target price is based on discounted cash flow implying 25.3 times FY27F PER, which is slightly above its seven-year mean of 24.6 times.

Target Price: RM1.09 HOLD

MAYBANK INVESTMENT BANK RESEARCH (Aug 5): Excluding its RM2.7 million unrealised foreign exchange loss, RM2.3 million fair value gain on short-term investments and RM10,000 one-off losses, Hartalega Holdings Bhd’s (KL:HARTA) 1QFY27 core net profit was RM70.5 million, in line, at 47%, with our/consensus FY27E forecasts. We expect margins to normalise due to declining average selling prices (ASPs) post-May 2026. As expected, 1QFY27 earnings were exceptionally strong, driven by higher ASPs, consumption of lower-cost pre-war nitrile latex inventory and inventory gains from end-March to May 2026. 1QFY27 ASP increased by 27% q-o-q to US$26 per thousand pieces while sales volume declined by 7% q-o-q. Utilisation rate was 84% in 1QFY27 based on running capacity of 28 billion pieces.

We believe 1QFY27 marked the earnings peak, with 2QFY27 margins likely to come under pressure due to a temporary cost mismatch as Hartalega procured nitrile latex at elevated prices before ASPs corrected. While Hartalega plans to raise ASPs by US$1 to US$2 per thousand pieces to offset higher raw material and energy costs, management acknowledged the challenge amid intense competition from Vietnam and Indonesia-based producers, where China glove makers have expanded capacity. Cost optimisation remains the key focus, with Plant 9 fully operational and Plant 3 upgrades on track for completion by December 2026, supporting further cost reductions.

Target Price: RM8.26 HOLD

TA SECURITIES (Aug 4): Sunway Construction Group Bhd (KL:SUNCON), via its wholly-owned subsidiary Sunway Construction Sdn Bhd, bagged a RM1.02 billion contract to undertake the mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) works for a data centre in Johor from a US multinational technology company.

Factoring in this latest win, SUNCON’s FY26 YTD new job wins have risen to RM5.8 billion, lifting its total unbilled order book to RM10.4 billion. This solid order book backlog translates into a commendable 1.9 times its FY25 revenue, providing a clear near-term earnings visibility. We remain constructive on SUNCON’s near-term data centre order book replenishment prospects, with further contract opportunities expected in 2HCY26, including the Shell 2 M&E package and the remaining phases of the JHB1X0 data centre campus in Sedenak.

We increased our FY26 new job replenishment assumption to RM7 billion. Consequently, we increase our FY26F/FY27F/FY28F earnings forecasts by 1.8%/3.4%/2.3% respectively. Following the earnings forecast revisions, we raise our tarpget price to RM8.26, based on an unchanged target PER of 23 times its CY27 EPS and a 3% environmental, social and governance premium in line with our 4-star ESG rating.

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