Wahid confident of Malaysian stock market performance
KUALA LUMPUR: Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) chairman Tan Sri Abdul Wahid Omar is confident the local bourse will continue to perform this year after a stellar 2017.
“2017 has been a good year for Malaysia overall. The effect has been felt in the stock market,” he said on the sidelines of Invest Malaysia 2018 after taking part in a panel discussion on “Policies, Capital Markets and the Role of Corporate Malaysia for a Sustainable Future”.
He added that PNB-controlled companies have seen their market capitalisation grow as a result of the rise in equity prices over 2017. Wahid expects the momentum to continue into this year, given that the numbers for the month of January have been good. Bursa Malaysia’s benchmark FBM KLCI rose 9.86% last year and closed at 1,796.81 points on Dec 29, the last trading day of the year. Since the beginning of the year, the FBM KLCI has risen 2.29% to 1,838.04 points.
PNB, Malaysia’s largest investment manager, has stakes in Malayan Banking Bhd, the country’s largest bank by assets, and SP Setia Bhd, a property developer. PNB, together with the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), last week announced that both had entered into a head of terms with Battersea Phase 2 Holding Company, a unit of Battersea Project Holding Co Ltd, to explore the terms of a potential sale of the second phase of the Battersea Power Station project valued at £1.61bil.
SP Setia owns a 40% stake in Battersea Project Holding Co Ltd, with the remainder stake being held by Sime Darby Property Bhd and the EPF.