• Securities Commission of Malaysia (SC) recently announced its latest list of shariah stocks in its May publication. As per the announcement, Supermax Corporation (Supermax) has been reclassified as a ‘non-shariah’ counter.

• We have sought the management response including its initiative to restore its shariah status. On that score, the management clarified that the change in status was attributed to its higher proportion of cash held in conventional accounts and instruments and hence, SC's decision to change Supermax's shariah status.

• In view of that, we maintain our coverage on Supermax but with a ‘non-rated’ recommendation.

Higher Percentage in Conventional Cash

In regards to the reclassification of Supermax into a non-Shariah counter, management has provided clarification and attributing this to its portion of cash that was placed in conventional account which exceeded the threshold set by SC’s Shariah Advisory Council (SAC). The said ratio stood at 35.5%, surpassing SAC’s maximum threshold of 33%. The management viewed this as reasonable however given a portion of its cash is held in overseas subsidiaries' accounts, including the US where they do have a manufacturing plant.

Non-Immediate Shariah Reclassification

We also had sought material info from the management regarding their initiative and mitigating factor that could restore their shariah status. The management has no immediate plan to address this though we are not surprised if this is being addressed soon given that it involves only a small percentage that exceeded SC’s SAC maximum threshold.

Change Recommendation to Non-Rated

We maintain our coverage on the stock but with a non-rated recommendation.

Source: BIMB Securities Research - 2 Jun 2023