Malaysia Firms To Balance Overseas, Local Investments
While it is increasingly important for Malaysian companies to venture beyond the country’s geographical boundary and to tap new trade and investment opportunities, the importance of domestic firms investing locally before expanding overseas had been stressed by Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (Mida). Malaysian companies should leverage on their strengths and weaknesses when contemplating investment overseas and avoid over dependence on their business ties with traditional partners. With rising productions costs, tight labour supply, depleting natural resources and increasing competition, it is important for Malaysian companies to be able to innovate and stay competitive globally.

Khazanah Wins Parkway Battle
Government investment arm Khazanah Nasional has won the battle over Singapore’s healthcare services provider Parkway Holdings as it seeks to buy all remaining shares in the company for a total of S$3.5b (RM8.19b). Khazanah-owned Integrated Healthcare Holdings told the Singapore Exchange (SGX) yesterday that it was revising its partial offer to a voluntary conditional general (VGO) cash offer for all remaining Parkway shares at S$3.95 (RM9.24) per share, which is 4.5% more than their initial partial offer price of S$3.78 (RM8.85). Meanwhile, Fortis Global Healthcare will sell its 24.9% stake in Parkway for a tidy profit of S$116.7m, resulting in a win-win situation as the deal was clinched at a good price. Shareholders who remain invested in Parkway can continue to participate in Parkway’s growth and a a successful VGO will help create Asia’s premier regional healthcare platform.

RHB Investment Buys 30.6m Sunway REIT Shares
RHB Investment Bank, the appointed price stabiliser for Sunway Real Estate Investment Trust (Sunway REIT), has been buying the shares over the past 14 days to help stabilise price of Sunway REIT shares. It bought some 30.6m shares of Sunway REIT in stages over the past two weeks from prices ranging from 87.5 sen and 89.5 sen. Regardless of the buying by the investment banker, Sunway REIT shares haven’t moved much, but it has managed to stop their price from sliding. An analyst said the selling pressure on Sunway REIT will continue until its yields recollect to the sectorial average, and one way for the yields to go up is for the price of the stock to go down. RHB may have used its powers as the market stabiliser to buy Sunway REIT shares because there is no point having a capital loss on top of weaker yields.