WHILE higher interest rates are a disadvantage to real estate investment trusts (REITs), investors appear to have shrugged off the implication of the recent hike in the overnight policy rate (OPR) on the sector for the time being.
PETALING JAYA: Alliance Bank Malaysia Bhd (ABMB) is expected to see a pick-up in loan growth for its third quarter (Q3) ended Dec 31, 2021, thanks to the reopening of the economy and the anticipated recovery of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
’s subsidiary Celcom Axiata Bhd announced their merger plan to become the country’s largest telecommunications company, both stocks soared significantly.
Investors seem to like the idea of the merger, especially with the changing landscape of the telecommunications industry where players are losing revenue to the over-the-top (OTT) service providers such as instant messaging service WhatsApp and online TV Netflix.
On Thursday, Axiata’s wholly owned unit Celcom and Norway-based Telenor’s 49% unit Digi announced their plan to merge to become the country’s largest telco provider Celcom Digi Bhd (CDB).
Analysts are mainly positive on the proposed merger for the long-term sustainability of the telco industry and expect it to be completed in 2022.