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 BUY with an unchanged target price (TP) of RM17.00 News/Comments According to Edge Weekly, TNB has proposed to acquire 70% stake in the 1,440MW combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plant project (Track 4A) that was previously awarded to SIPP Energy (SIPP). The acquisition is meant to provide a strong balance sheet for SIPP Energy to finance the project as well as expertise in managing the project, as existing SIPP Energy lacks strong balance sheet (currently negative equity position). Track 4A was initially targeted to start operation by mid- 2018, when Energy Commission (EC) proceeded with direct award to a consortium of SIPP, YTL Power International (YTLP) and TNB back in mid-2014, on fast track basis (as opposed to open tender). Subsequently YTLP and TNB pulled out respectively and now left only SIPP. The news also disclosed the levelised tariff of 37sen/kWh for Track 4A (based on reference rate of RM3.80/US$) and indicated potential effective...