KUALA LUMPUR (March 15): Shares of technology services provider Heitech Padu Bhd surged as much as 13.58% in the morning trading session on Friday, following news that former PKR Perak chief Datuk Farhash Wafa Salvador has emerged as a new substantial shareholder with an indirect interest of 15.9%.

The counter opened 12 sen or 5% higher at RM2.55, against its closing price of RM2.43 on Thursday, before jumping 33 sen or 13.58% to an intraday high of RM2.76. The counter was the top gainer by value on Bursa Malaysia.

At 11am, shares of Heitech retraced some gains to trade at RM2.70, still up 27 sen or 11.11%, valuing the group at RM272.29 million. The stock trading volume stood at 3.82 million, more than doubled its 90-day average of 1.61 million shares.

The counter has been on the rise year-to-date, appreciating by 206.82%. No institutional analysts cover the stock.

In a disclosure made to the local stock exchange on Thursday, Heitech Padu announced the emergence of Farhash as a new substantial shareholder. Farhash, who previously served as a political aide to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, holds an indirect interest of 15.9%, equivalent to 16.1 million shares acquired earlier this week.

Notably, MyEG Services Bhd revealed earlier in the week its acquisition of a 14.4% stake in HeiTech on March 7 for RM31.25 million as part of a strategic investment. This e-government solutions provider further augmented its shareholdings by acquiring an additional 1.51 million shares, bringing its total stake to 15.9%.

HeiTech has recently announced the procurement of a contract extension valued at RM13.11 million for the provision of maintenance services to the Malaysian Immigration System (MyIMMs). This extension coincides with the government's ongoing selection process for the development of the National Integrated Immigration System (NIISe) to replace MyIMMs, which Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail reportedly deemed outdated and insufficient for future immigration needs.

The Edge recently reported that HeiTech is among three companies shortlisted by the government for the NIISe project, which is estimated to be valued at over RM1 billion. 

https://www.theedgemarkets.com/node/704706