Bursa first virtual listing – Samaiden Group
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Bursa’s first virtual listing – Samaiden Group
According chief executive officer Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift, Bursa Malaysia welcomed Samaiden Group Berhad as its newest “member” on the ACE Market via a virtual listing ceremony. This first virtual listing is a new offering by the exchange arising from the reinstatement of the conditional movement control order (CMCO) in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya. In line with the CMCO requirements, the exchange introduced this virtual listing service, enabling flexibility for new issuers during CMCO. Samaiden Group is one of Malaysia’s leading consultants of renewable energy and environmental service provider. Historically, listing ceremonies on the local bourse marked a significant milestone in a company’s life cycle. The event would usually attract many invited guests of the company who come together to celebrate the event with the company’s owners and promoters. Notwithstanding the CMCO, the exchange is happy to maintain this long standing tradition. It will continue to leverage on technology to adapt traditions to the continuously changing environment while always prioritising the health and safety of our stakeholders.
BNM sees spike in property market risks as MCO takes toll
According to Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), the risks in the real estate sector have risen due to both prevailing oversupply and a re-evaluation of business property needs due to the various movement control orders. In its Financial Stability Review for 1H 2020 Report that was prepared prior to the latest CMCO that has been imposed on the entire Klang Valley, the most apparent loser of the movement curbs was the retail space sector with consumers either shying away due to restrictions or perceived risks amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Overall, property transactions fell by over 25 per cent by volume in the first half and by nearly 27 per cent in terms of value. Amid pre-existing oversupply conditions and changes to consumption behaviour since the pandemic, rental rates in the retail commercial property market are likely to remain depressed in the period ahead. The estimated timeline for a recovery could be as long as 12 months, according to industry experts cited in the report. Another loser was the office space sector citing the shift towards telecommuting and home-working arrangements that were forced by the initial MCO and which were kept up by some firms even after restrictions were relaxed. The report suggested that some firms may make such arrangements permanent or at least incorporate more of these into their operations in the immediate term. Such a trend would further depress both office occupancy and rental rates. Both the retail and office space sectors already had significant overhang prior to the MCO first imposed in March. More worryingly from the report was the conclusion that the property market risk could also extend to the residential market. The pandemic may increase risks of a broader decline in house prices due to a deterioration in income and weaker demand conditions. This in turn would increase risks to financial stability given that loans for the purchase of residential properties account for the bulk of banks’ total property-related exposures. For the residential sector, however, it cited previous findings that four in five mortgages were for owner-occupied homes, which reduced the risk of default. It also said mortgages were also typically held by “higher-income” borrowers with monthly incomes of above RM5,000 who were financially more resilient. Repeated cuts to the overnight policy rate should also support demand for residential property.
Total value of loan repayments reached 70% of pre-moratorium levels
According to Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) deputy governor Jessica Chew, data showed that the total value of loan repayments had reached 70% of what it was prior to the blanket loan moratorium period. Many borrowers are starting to repay their loans. The data revealed that two million borrowers had been engaged by banks by the end of September, out of which 514,000 were R&R (rescheduling and restructuring) applications received with a 98% approval rate. For businesses, banks approved 6.3 times applications compared to total outstanding R&R loans at the end of 2019. Just this month, Malaysia transitioned into a targeted moratorium after the blanket automatic loan moratorium period ended on Sept 30, 2020. According to BNM’s latest Financial Stability Review Report for 1H 2020, at the start of the blanket moratorium period, more than 95% of individuals and small and medium enterprise (SME) borrowers took up automatic repayment deferment. Up to Sept 25, 2020, a total of 840,000 individuals and SME borrowers had opted out or already started to resume repayments in line with improved economic conditions. This number is expected to increase further following the end of automatic repayment deferment. With the automatic moratorium in place, aggregate impairment and delinquency ratios remained low at 1% and 0.9% of total outstanding household debt respectively (2019: 1.2% and 1.1%). Household asset quality is expected to see some deterioration in 2H2020 and throughout 2021 with the automatic moratorium ended, but banks are well positioned to absorb higher credit losses. At its peak, close to 90% of household borrowers with about 87% of outstanding household loans in the banking system were under the moratorium as most borrowers elected to defer their loan repayments to secure greater flexibility in managing their cash flows during a highly uncertain period. Many of these borrowers would have been able to continue servicing their debt if chosen to. Based on the enhanced financial margin framework, it estimated that household borrowers who may experience difficulties (such as those with negative financial margins) in servicing their debt as a result of income and unemployment shocks are unlikely to account for more than 15% of total borrowers. Among these borrowers, about 1% of total borrowers with 3% of outstanding household debt are expected to default after accounting for financial buffers held and targeted repayment assistance extended to borrowers in need. It also noted that about 40% of potential defaults arise from housing debt with an average loan-to-value (LTV) ratio of 70%, thus limiting financial exposure of affected borrowers and losses for the banking system. It noted that household loan impairments are projected to double — albeit from historically low levels. Higher household impairments are expected to emerge in 2H21 given the extended repayment assistance programmes that will remain in place through the first quarter of 2021 (1Q21) for individuals who have experienced a loss in income.
This week, on Thursday (15Oct), the Ringgit eased to 4.1480 against the USD from 4.1385 on Monday (12Oct). Meanwhile, the Ringgit was 3.0553to the Sing Dollar on Thursday (15Oct). On Monday (12Oct), the FBM KLCI was down 11.92 points (0.78%) to 1518.43 from previous Friday’s close of 1530.35. As at Friday (16Oct) 10:00am, the FBM KLCI was sideways for the week at 1518.33. US stocks were lower after the close on Thursday as fears of a resurgence in Covid-19 cases and a lack of additional fiscal stimulus led investors to safer havens like the USD. At the close in NYSE, the Dow shed 19.80 points (-0.07%) to 28,494.20 while the NASDAQ declined 54.86 points(- 0.47%) to 11,713.87.
FBM KLCI 3 Years Chart
