KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 12): Promising developments on the vaccine front have stirred investor interest in companies that venture into vaccine distribution, in hopes they will be in for bumper profits.
However, it is not clear at this juncture just how much or when these companies can cash in, given just the evaluation process alone for a vaccine to be approved for distribution and use in Malaysia will take five phases. The first phase alone which is the checking of the vaccine dossiers or research documents typically takes between 90 and 120 days, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH).
When contacted, property developer Yong Tai Bhd chief executive officer Datuk Wira Boo Kuang Loon said the company expects to bring its Chinese partner s vaccine into Malaysia by the third quarter of this year, at the earliest, on obtaining approval from the MoH s National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA). Any vaccines or medicines to be imported into Malaysia for use here will require NPRA
IF 2020 is the year of rubber glove manufacturers and technology-related counters, penny stocks deserve at least a notable mention.
The penny stock fever on the local bourse has not been seen for at least 20 years since the dotcom bubble burst.
The eye-popping share price rally lured long-absent retail investors to the stock market and that, in turn, lifted the daily trading volume to a record high of 27.8 billion shares on Aug 11.
At the height of the penny stock fever in August, share prices hitting limit up were not a rare sight. On Aug 7, 12 stocks hit limit up, including HLT Global Bhd, LKL International Bhd and ES Ceramics Technology Bhd. These three were below 20 at the start of 2020.
BETWEEN Nov 30 and Dec 4, notable filings at Bursa Malaysia listed companies included that at
Bonia Corp Bhd, which saw Milingtonia Ltd ceasing to be a substantial shareholder after disposing of 16.18 million shares.
During the same week, Freeway Team Sdn Bhd, which is linked to Bonia’s founder and group executive chairman Chiang Sang Sem, acquired 400,000 shares. Post-acquisition, Chiang’s indirect stake in Bonia increased to 54.22%.
Bonia recently announced a 35.6% growth in net profit to RM5.36 million for the first quarter ended Sept 30, 2020, compared with the previous corresponding period. This was despite lower revenue of RM78.02 million against RM94.11 million a year ago.