Although the market met expectations and rallied to anall-time high closing in March, it may be dogged by some uncertainties andpotentially retrace in April. This, however, has not deterred investors fromscouring the market for Election-related BUYs. Rather than highlighting stocksthat might potentially rally for a short spurt before the election, we unveilour Election BUY calls on stocks that should rally closer to and past thepolls. We believe that the advance in AirAsia, UEM Land, Genting, MMC, RHB Cap,CIMB, Maybank, UMW and Sime Darby shares may have been capped by concerns thatthey may falter if the election outcome is unfavourable for the incumbent. ForApril though, given the uncertainty, we favour situational stocks with specificcatalysts during the month.

Closing higher.The FBM KLCI  rose 10.89 pts to 1596.33on Friday. The Government has set up a task force that targets to reducenon-revenue water from 36% of the total amount of  water produced currently to 25% by 2020while  Bank Negara  said broad money expanded at a higher rate of 15.9% in February due to thehigher credit extended by banks to the private sector and foreign capitalinflows. Elsewhere, Extol MSC Bhd is bidding for RM100m worth of jobs from theGovernment and private sector while UMW Holdings Bhd  has received a  2-year extension ofits jack-up drilling rig Naga 3 worth USD105m (RM322m) from Petronas CarigaliSB. The Malaysian Automotive Asssociation expects total vehicle sales in 1QCY12to be either flat or lower than 158k in 1QCY11. Finally, the US markets closedmixed while crude oil price finished higher on Friday, with oil price edging up USD0.24 to USD103.02/barrel.

Switzerland-based Mercuria Energy Group Ltd is said to bepartnering CIMB Group Holdings to revive the beleaguered Asia Petroleum Hub(APH) bunkering island project off Tanjung Bin in Johor. It is learnt that Mercuriawill  establish a joint venture with awell-connected local firm to invest in the APH project, which has stalled fromthe past year. 'What APH lacks is a firm partner that can drive the operationsand be the off-taker. Mercuria will fit the role,' said a source. (The EdgeMalaysia)

Malaysian Resources Corp (MRCB) is to be compensated bythe  Government following changes to theterms under which it can collect toll on the Eastern Dispersal Link (EDL) inJohor Bahru, said sources. 'The amount is to be worked out, but it willcompensate MRCB for a loss in income due to changes to the terms of the concession,'says a source. The EDL, which leads to the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine(CIQ) complex onwards to the Causeway that connects Johor Bahru to Singapore,is scheduled to be opened to traffic for a trial period of one month from 1April. (The Edge Malaysia)White Knight for Silver Bird?

Financially-distressed Silver Bird Group may see a  white knight emerging in the coming weeksalthough no turnaround plans have been put forward to the board of directors ofthe bread and confectionary maker. In a reply to a query, members of thespecial committee that was formed to take charge of the daily operations of thecompany said they were finalizing the forensics report results and developmentof a restructuring plan. There has been speculation that Lembaga Tabung Hajiand Koperasi Permodalan Felda, or a combination of the two,could emerge as thewhite knight. (StarBiz)

Malaysian Airlines (MAS) could be in danger of losing itsfive-star Airline status from Skytrax, the world's largest airline review site.Skytrax's website showed that MAS' ranking is "under review". Checksshows that its status has been "under review" since October lastyear, dismissing doubts that it could be a periodical review. Industry observersbelieve that this could point to a possible downgrading of its ranking. (BT)

UMW Holdings said the decision on whether to take its 22.3%associate WSP Holdings Ltd private  couldbe known by as early as this month. "Discussions are ongoing. We will havea decision soon," said its president and group chief executive officerDatuk Syed Hisham Syed Wazir recently. To recap, in December last year, privateequity H.D.S. Investments LLC (HDS) had proposed to acquire WSP at USD0.60(RM1.80) per share,with the intention of taking it private. (BT)

The redevelopment of the Dang Wangi light rail transit (LRT)station site is expected to have a gross

development value (GDV) of RM1.04bn, with land ownerSyarikat Prasarana Negara (Prasarana) to get a 21.1% share amounting to someRM220m, said a Crest Builder Holdings spokesman. Prasarana entered into a deal lastweek with a joint venture between Crest Build and Detik Utuh SB (CrestBuilder-Detik Utuh JV), to turn the 1.1ha plot into a mixed commercial developmentcomprising a retail mall, upscale premium serviced residential suites, hotels and offices sitting on top of theDang Wangi LRT station. (Financial Daily)

MMC Corp  said  in a filing to Bursa Malaysia that MalakoffJordan Generation Ltd (known as ACWA Power Jordan Generation Ltd) (MJGL) hasceased to be a subsidiary of Malakoff International Ltd (MIL), following the completionof MIL's disposal of its entire equity interest in MJGL comprising two ordinaryshares of USD1.00 (RM3.06) each. The disposal does not have a material impacton the earnings or net assets of MMC Corp for the financial year ending 31 Dec2012. (Malaysian Reserve)

Malaysia Building Society (MBSB)'s new home financial schemeis targeted at first-home buyers. It is a package that offers 100% margin offinancing to houses with a ceiling price of RM500,000. The MBSB First Home Scheme,officially launched last Friday, also offers an exemption of the normal 10%down payment. Speaking at the launch, chief executive officer Datuk Ahmad ZainiOthman said the new scheme is designed for young adults who want to own theirvery first residential property. (Malaysian Reserve)

Extol MSC is bidding for local public and private sectorprojects contracts worth RM100m. Its president and deputy executive chairmanMohd Badaruddin Masodi said the information and communications technology (ICT)security market's outlook is 'very promising' this year. 'The awareness on theimportance of the cyber security is increasing. We don't need to do muchmarketing about it. Everybody is aware of such security threats nowadays'.(Malaysian Reserve)

Indonesia's parliament has given the government conditionalauthority to raise fuel prices, after President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono'sDemocrat Party dropped its push for an increase in 1 Apr. Lawmakers voted 356to 82 in favor of a proposal by the Democrats to allow an increase if theIndonesia Crude Price, or ICP, exceeds the budget assumption of USD105 a barrelby 15% over a six-month period, Speaker of the House Marzuki Alie said. Twoopposition parties walked out on the proceedings. The deliberations took placeas about 12,000 demonstrators clashed with police in front of the parliamentbuilding 30 March, and a police-estimated 81,000 rallied across the country inthe biggest public protests since the government raised fuel prices in 2008.Soaring food and fuel costs in the world's fourth-most- populous nationcontributed to riots that led to the ousting in 1998 of the dictator Suharto,then Asia's longest-reigning ruler. (Bloomberg)

A stronger reading for a Chinese manufacturing gauge failedto end predictions for policy loosening as analysts described the gain asseasonal and a separate survey showed exporters struggling. A PurchasingManagers' Index rose to a one-year high of 53.1 in March, China's logisticsfederation and the National Bureau of Statistics said. The gauge has a patternof rising each March. Premier Wen Jiabao has pledged to 'fine-tune' economic policiesas needed as weakness in export demand and a cooling housing market restrain aneconomy that probably grew at the slowest pace in almost three years in thefirst quarter. (Bloomberg)

South Korea's exports were less than analysts forecast inMarch, sliding 1.4% y-o-y on weakness in global demand. Imports fell 1.2%,leaving a trade surplus of USD2.3bn, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said. Signsthat Europe's debt crisis is easing may improve the outlook for shipments fromSouth Korea, where the economy grew at the slowest pace in two years in thefourth quarter. The Asian nation's central bank refrained from alteringborrowing costs for a ninth month in March as officials balanced  price pressures from oil costs against risksposed by stresses in the euro region. (Bloomberg)

Italian bonds fell for a third week as the nation missed itstarget at a debt auction and the boost to demand for the securities fromEuropean Central Bank liquidity measures waned. Italy auctioned EUR8bn(USD10.6bn) of bonds and floating-rate securities on 29 March, missing itsEUR8.25bn maximum target for the sale. Spain's bonds rose for the first time infour weeks before it sells debt on 4 April. The ECB has lent more than EUR1trnto European financial institutions through its longer-term refinancingoperations. (Bloomberg)

Americans increased their spending by the most in sevenmonths as an improving labor market boosted confidence, adding to evidence theworld's largest economy is gaining strength. Purchases climbed 0.8% in February,Commerce Department figures showed. The University of Michigan's final index of consumer sentiment rose to 76.2,the highest since February 2011, from 75.3 last month. Employment gains arehelping sustain the consumer spending that accounts for 70% of the economy,lifting sales at companies such as Nike Inc. Another report today showedbusiness activity held near a 10-month high, indicating that the US economy is weatheringrising fuel costs. (Bloomberg)

The World Bank plans to pick its new president on 16 Aprafter interviewing the three candidates for the post the previous week,according to three officials at the lender's board. Nigerian Finance MinisterNgozi Okonjo-Iweala is scheduled to meet the 25-person board 9 Apr, accordingto the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the dates haven'tbeen made public. Former Colombian finance minister Jose Antonio Ocampo is tobe interviewed on 10 Apr, followed by the US candidate, Dartmouth CollegePresident Jim Yong Kim on 11 Apr, the officials said. The new president willsucceed Robert Zoellick, whose term ends 30 June. The US is the bank's largestshareholder, and an American has always held the top job. The bank hadpreviously said it would make a decision by 20 Apr. (Bloomberg)

Source: OSK188