Maybank Research Highlights - 10 May 2013

kltrader

Publish date: Fri, 10 May 2013, 12:05 PM

Technicals

Rotating Into Mid-Caps & Lower Liners

The FBMKLCI declined 7.93 points to close at 1,766.07 yesterday. Its resistance level of 1,766 and 1,826 will cap market gains, whilst obvious support areas are located at 1,718 and 1,764.

The Trading Idea is a SHORT-TERM BUY on SBCCORP with upside target prices of MYR1.45 & MYR1.70, followed by a stop-loss of MYR1.08.

Other Local News

AMMB: Manulife, Metlife among suitors for AMMB insurance unit. Manulife Financial Corp and Metlife Inc are among companies that have made bids for a controlling stake in the life insurance unit of AMMB Holdings Bhd, the third insurance deal in the country over the past year. Zurich Insurance Group, Hong Kong tycoon Richard Li's Pacific Century Group, ACE Ltd and two Japanese insurers have also submitted first-round bids to buy up to 70% in unlisted AmLife Insurance Bhd worth USD350m (MYR1.04b). (Source: The Star)

CIMB: Resumes Thailand Stock Exchange dual-listing plan. CIMB Group Holdings Bhd has officially resumed its plans for a dual listing on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), after postponing it numerous times due to an unresolved double taxation issue. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, CIMB Group said it had decided to resume its planned dual listing, following recent regulatory developments in Thailand. (Source: The Star)

DiGi: To invest in network modernization. DiGi.Com Bhd, which is looking to invest MYR750m as capital expenditure this year, has reiterated that it was still looking into the possibility of setting up a business trust. DiGi is currently exploring the trust as a potential vehicle for its capital management initiatives. On capex, 80% of this year's allocation would be mainly for its network modernisation for the long-term evolution (LTE) or 4G and 3G networks. (Source: The Star)

Iskandar Investment: IRDA confident of getting MYR21b new investments by year-end. Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA) is confident of attracting MYR21b in new investments by the end of the year. Chief executive officer Datuk Ismail Ibrahim said this was based on the continuous strong interest shown towards the country's first economic growth corridor. Iskandar had received MYR5b in new investments as of the 1Q13, bringing the total cumulative committed to MYR111.3b from 2006. (Source: The Star)

Construction: Private sector continues to drive construction activity. The private sector continued to dominate construction activity in the country with an increase of share to 69.8% in 1Q13. This compares to the 68.4% share in the 4Q12. The total value of construction work done in the first quarter 2013 recorded a decrease of 5.4% QoQ to MYR21b. However, the percentage change YoY showed a significant growth of 18.4%. In 1Q13, the highest percentage share was contributed by the civil engineering sub-sector with 38.0%, followed by non-residential buildings (32.0%), residential buildings (25.8%) and special trade (4.2%).(Source: Business Times)

Outside Malaysia

U.S: Jobless claims fall to pre-recession levels. Applications for unemployment insurance payments decreased by 4,000 to 323,000 in the week ended May 4, the fewest since January 2008, Labor Department figures showed. The four-week average declined to 336,750, the lowest since November 2007, the month before the start of the worst economic slump since the Great Depression. (Source: Bloomberg)

U.K: BOE refrains from expanding stimulus as recovery assessed. Armed with new quarterly forecasts, the nine-member Monetary Policy Committee kept the target for asset purchases at GBP 375b (USD 584b), as forecast by all but one of 44 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. The decision followed BOE Governor Mervyn King's penultimate meeting before he is replaced by Bank of Canada chief Mark Carney on July 1. (Source: Bloomberg)

U.K: Industrial production rose more than forecast in March as cold weather boosted demand for electricity and gas. Output increased 0.7% MoM from February, when it gained 0.9% MoM, the Office for National Statistics said. Electricity and gas surged 2.4% MoM, the most since October. (Source: Bloomberg)

China: Passenger-vehicle sales rose 13% in April on rising demand for new models in the world's biggest vehicle market. Wholesale deliveries of cars, multipurpose and sport- utility vehicles climbed to 1.44 million units in April,
according to the state-backed China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. (Source: Bloomberg)

China: Consumer inflation stayed subdued in April while the decline in factory-gate price declines deepened, adding to evidence of softer demand and giving the government room to raise utility fees. The consumer price index rose 2.4% YoY in April, the National Bureau of Statistics said. The producer price index fell 2.6% YoY, after March's 1.9% YoY drop. (Source: Bloomberg)

Australia-N.Z: Jobs growth surged, sending the currencies soaring and undermining central bank efforts to relieve pressure on manufacturers and exporters. The number of people employed in Australia rose by 50,100 in April from a month earlier, more than four times economists' estimates, and the jobless rate unexpectedly fell to 5.5%, government data showed. New Zealand employers added a record 38,000 jobs last quarter and its unemployment plunged to a three-year low of 6.2%. (Source: Bloomberg)