Economy

US: Job growth reaccelerates more than expected in Oct. After reporting a slowdown in the pace of job growth over the two previous months, the Labor Department released a report showing US employment increased by more than expected in the month of Oct. The report said non-farm payroll employment surged up by 531,000 jobs in Oct after climbing by an upwardly revised 312,000 jobs in Sept. Economists had expected employment to jump by 425,000 jobs compared to the addition of 194,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month. The Oct jobs report pointed to a reacceleration in job creation supported by improving health conditions and gradually rebounding labor supply. Employment in the leisure and hospitality sector helped lead the stronger than expected job growth, increasing by 164,000 jobs. (RTT)

EU: Germany industrial production falls unexpectedly in Sept. Germany industrial production declined unexpectedly in Sept on supply bottlenecks, figures from Destatis. Industrial production dropped 1.1% on a monthly basis, but slower than the revised 3.5% decline seen in Aug. Economists had forecast a monthly growth of 1%. On a yearly basis, retail sales fell 1%, in contrast to the 2.2% increase in Aug. The economy ministry said the supply bottlenecks for raw materials and intermediate products have persisted for a long time and that is reflected on a broader front. Business surveys suggest that shortages of components, particularly in the auto sector, will keep manufacturing very weak during the 4Q, and the outlook for early 2022 is not looking much better. (RTT)

EU: France payroll employment rises for third time in 3Q. French payroll employment increased for the third successive quarter, data published by the statistical office Insee. Private payroll employment increased 0.5% or 96,100 in the Sept quarter. Employment had advanced 1.4% in the 2Q and 0.8% in the 1Q. At the end of Sept, private payroll employment exceeded its pre-crisis level by 0.9% or by +185,600 jobs. Temporary employment increased again by 1.4% after 2.4% in the2Q. (RTT)

EU: Italy retail sales steady in Sept. Italy's retail sales remained unchanged in Sept, data from the statistical office Istat showed. The retail sales value increased 0.8% MoM in Sept, same as seen in Aug. On a yearly basis, retail sales value rose a 5.3% in Sept, after a 2.2% growth in the previous month. Food sales gained 2.5% monthly in Sept and non-food product sales grew 7.3%. In volume terms, retail sales rose 0.6% on month in Sept, after a 0.7% gain in Aug. The annual growth rose to 3.9% from 1.2% a month ago. (RTT)

UK: House prices rise most in 4 months . UK house prices grew at the fastest pace in four months in Oct, taking the average property price up to an all-time high. House prices increased 0.9% on a monthly basis in Oct, slower than the 1.7% rise in Sept. In three months to Oct, house prices advanced 8.1% from the same period last year, the highest since June. Prices had increased 7.4% in three months to Sept. Over the last 18 months, the race for space with buyers seeking larger properties pushed up property prices. Combined with temporary measures such as the cut to Stamp Duty, this has helped push the average property price up to an all-time high of GBP270,027. (RTT)

China: Oct exports beat forecasts, offer buffer to slowing domestic economy. China’s export growth slowed in Oct but beat forecasts, helped by booming global demand ahead of winter holiday seasons, an easing power crunch and an improvement in supply chains that had been badly disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. However, imports missed analysts’ expectations, likely pointing to the overall weakness in domestic demand. Outbound shipments jumped 27.1% in Oct from a year earlier, slower than Sept’s 28.1% gain. (Reuters)

China: October forex reserves at USD3.218trn. China’s foreign exchange reserves, the world’s largest, reached USD3.218trn at the end of Oct, data from the PBOC. That was higher than the USD3.197trn forecast in a Reuters poll of analysts and up from USD3.201trn at the end of Sept. The value of China’s gold reserves were USD110.83bn by the end of Oct, up from USD109.18bn a month ago, as gold prices rose. (Reuters)

Indonesia: Economy expands at slower pace in 3Q. Indonesia's economic growth eased in the 3Qas strict restrictions to contain the spread of the COVID-19 dampened household consumption. GDP expanded 3.51% on a yearly basis, after rising 7.07% in the second quarter. This was also weaker than the expected growth of 3.76%. Nonetheless, the economy expanded for the second consecutive quarter. On a sequential basis, the economy grew 1.55%, which was also slower than the economists' forecast of 1.8%. (RTT)

Markets

Sunway: Gets MoH approval for Greenwood's foreign equity ownership of healthcare unit. Sunway has obtained the Ministry of Health's (MoH) approval for Singapore's Greenwood Capital Pte Ltd to own not more than 27.5% of Sunway Healthcare Holdings SB. The foreign equity ownership approval was granted in conjunction with the Asean Framework Agreement on Services (AFAS). (BTimes)

Haily: Bags RM23.7m construction project in Kluang, Johor. Haily Group has bagged a RM23.7m contract from Factor Synergy SB for the construction of a residential project in Kluang, Johor. The award involves the execution and completion of 66 units of double-storey terraced housing measuring 22 ft x 75ft, a security guardhouse, a double-chamber TNB sub-station, an entrance gateway to the project. (BTimes)

Kobay: To raise to RM153.14m via private placement. Kobay Technology is undertaking a private placement of up to 10% of its issued shares to raise up to RM153.14m, at an illustrative issue price of RM5.00 per share. The gross proceeds are expected to be utilised to set up new aluminium products manufacturing plant (RM60m), partial repayment of bank borrowings (RM50m) and working capital for the manufacturing division. (BTimes)

Pharmaniaga: To offer Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine booster shot soon. Pharmaniaga has offered the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine to the Ministry of Health (MOH) to cater to those who prefer to take this brand of vaccine as their booster shot. The company is in the final stages of discussion to register the vaccine as a booster shot with the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) and expects it to be approved very soon. (The Edge)

YKGI: Inks MoU to undertake housing project using IBS technology. YKGI Holdings' 80.36%-owned subsidiary has signed a MoU with Hornbill Networks Consortium SB (HNCSB) to jointly undertake a business venture to build Samariang Avenue Sri Pertiwi affordable housing in Kuching, Sarawak, using industrialised building system (IBS) technology. (Bernama)

F&N: To gradually raise product prices due to high commodity costs. Fraser & Neave Holdings (F&N) will raise the prices of its products in stages due to high commodity costs. F&N remains cautious given the challenging market conditions and ongoing global uncertainties due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It foresees that the environment will remain challenging moving forward. (The Edge)

Vertice: Downsizes private placement as convertible securities not readily exercised. Vertice has trimmed the size of its private placement as the convertible securities may not be readily exercised. The placement will now comprise 53.2m shares, from 72m previously. The latest placement shares represent approximately 20% of the total number of 265.98m issued shares. (The Edge)

Sin Heng Chan: Proposes private placement to raise RM29.8m for plantation expansion. Sin Heng Chan (Malaya) has proposed a private placement to raise up to RM29.87m, of which a major portion will go towards the expansion of its oil palm plantation segment. The placement will involve the issuance of up to 20% of its total issued shares to third party investors to be identified. (The Edge)

Market Update

US markets ended last week on a high as the October jobs report came in better than expected, bolstering optimism about the economic recovery. 531,000 jobs were created versus the 450,000 expected. A major development from Pfizer regarding its easy-to administer COVID-19 pill added on to the hope for an even smoother economic reopening. On the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 gained 0.6% and 0.4%, the latter rising for the 7th consecutive day. The Nasdaq Composite was 0.2% higher. European markets also edged higher, reacting positively to developments west of the Atlantic. Disappointing data releases failed to dampen the mood – September retail sales for the Eurozone posted a surprise 0.3% month-on-month decline while German industrial production also fell unexpectedly in September. Germany’s DAX inched 0.2% higher regardless, as France’s CAC 40 and UK’s FTSE 100 rose 0.8% and 0.3%. Asian markets were mostly lower earlier in the day, with Hong Kong leading the losers amongst the major bourses. China’s property developers were in the spotlight again. The Hang Seng Index and Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.4% and 1.0% while the Nikkei 225 fell 0.6%.

Tenaga Nasional and Malakoff Corporation said that a subsidiary of theirs has received notices of assessment from the Inland Revenue Board amounting to RM595.9m for various years of assessment. Greatech Technology, Pentamaster Corporation and UWC announced they are collectively taking up 14 hectares of land valued at RM520m in the Batu Kawan Industrial Park.

Source: PublicInvest Research - 8 Nov 2021