News by Justin Lim

IOI Properties said the property development segment recorded revenue and operating profit of RM544.6 million and RM314.9 million, up 53% and 193% respectively compared with 4QFY19.

The group said it maintains a positive outlook on the retail industry in China. With the effective control of the pandemic and the implementation of various measures to stimulate consumer spending, China's retail market has recovered gradually with consumer consumption picking up steadily.

In a bourse filing, WCE said its finance costs jumped to RM41.02 million compared with RM3.05 million in 1QFY20.

Analysts said Genting Bhd and its subsidiaries are not immediately affected by Genting Hong Kong's decision to suspend payments to creditors.

On prospects, the company said the Covid-19 pandemic has inevitably caused disruption in global business activities and has added further pressure to the property market. 

Commenting on the challenges faced by the manufacturing sector, the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) president Datuk Soh Thian Lai said respondents were pessimistic about the outlook given the contraction in global growth as well as the perception that the Covid-19 pandemic has not been successfully contained with rising cases worldwide reported daily.

Aspen’s Malaysian unit Aspen Vision All Sdn Bhd (AVA), together with CMY Capital and Iskandar Basha Abdul Kadir, will develop the new business which will be undertaken by Aspen Glove Sdn Bhd (AGSB), said the real estate developer.

Nevertheless, the year will still be a challenging one for Malaysian REITs, though those with flagship malls with strong market positioning will be able to weather the challenges better than their second-tier peers, said Head of equity research at RHB Asset Management Malaysia, Petrina Chong.

Though 68.9% of businesses see a gloomy outlook for the second half of the year, the drop in pessimism to 24.5% for 2021 reflects hope among the business community for next year.

This, the REIT said in a filing yesterday, was due to a lower revenue amid the Covid-19 pandemic, which was however partly cushioned by lower property operating expenses of RM25.49 million versus RM58.40 million previously.