KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 8 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia closed almost flat on Tuesday as buying interest rotated away from index heavyweights towards smaller-cap construction stocks, with sentiment affected by geopolitical uncertainty, said an analyst. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 0.39 of a point to 1,714.40 from Monday’s close of 1,714.79. The benchmark index opened 1.65 points lower at 1,713.14 and moved between 1,710.44 and 1,714.50 throughout the trading session. The broader market was almost evenly balanced, with decliners leading gainers 548 to 546, while 598 counters were unchanged, 1,107 were untraded and 25 were suspended. Turnover expanded to 4.13 billion units valued at RM3.14 billion from 3.60 billion units valued at RM2.45 billion on Monday.
Retain neutral call with target price (TP) of RM7.15 Sime Darby (Sime) has entered into an implementation agreement with Japan Residential Asset Manager, the manager of Saizen REIT to acquire at least 25% of the enlarged Saizen REIT through a reverse takeover (RTO) after the expiry of framework agreement last week. There are some slight changes with regards to the shareholding and agreed prices compared to the previous agreement. The estimated market capitalization of Saizen REIT also revised up from RM900m to RM1.1bn. At this juncture, we maintain our Neutral call and TP (RM 7.15) pending the completion of recent proposed private placement and more guidance from management on the outlook of its plantation and industrial arms. Salient details of the RTO. Under the new agreement, Sime indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries, Hasting Deering (Aus) Limited and Austchrome will dispose 20 industrial properties located in Queensland and the Northern Terri...