Hidden in tech supply chain, a Malaysian stock surges 400%

KUALA LUMPUR: For technology stock investors, it sometimes pays to buy the companies that make the parts.

Take Techfast Holdings Bhd, a small Malaysian supplier of everything from screws and self-clinching fasteners to materials for light-emitting diodes. The little-known firm has surged more than five-fold this year alone, making it one of the best performers in the country’s equity market, as investors took notice of an overseas expansion and a profitable alliance.

Jason Yap Yoon Sing, the managing director and founder, pointed to Techfast’s move to supply its mold-cleaning rubber sheets to Chinese and Taiwanese chipmakers. He also noted the partnership with New York-based fastener-maker Richard Manno & Co to produce precision machined parts for the military and aerospace industries.

“The margins are beautiful,” Yap, 51, said in an interview at the company’s headquarters on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, referring to the Manno tie-up.

Clients in those sectors are willing to pay more for quality machined parts, such as shoulder screws used to secure protective casings for sensitive equipment, he said.

Techfast is one of a handful of small-cap Malaysian companies that form part of the technology supply chain.

While they often fall under analysts’ radars, knowing them can bring strong returns for investors.

Techfast’s more than 400% gain this year compares with an 80% advance for a Malaysian index of technology shares.

That ranks in the top four of the country’s more than 900 listed firms, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Techfast surged as much as 15% in trading yesterday in Kuala Lumpur, compared with a 0.2% increase for the country’s benchmark index.

Yap founded Techfast in 1999 and took it public in 2005.

His current partner and the chairman of the company, Michael Lim Tock Ooi, joined the firm in 2001 after previously serving as its external auditor. The company has factories in Penang state to make epoxy, a material that’s used to make LEDs, and mold-cleaning rubber sheets designed to remove contaminants from machines for making semiconductors.

Techfast’s profit surged 73% year-on-year to RM1.7mil in the six months ended June, helped partly by increased sales of its fasteners, which are used in everything from flatscreen TVs to cars.

The company, which supplies its mold-cleaning rubber sheets to about 70% of Malaysia’s chipmakers, is expanding into markets like Taiwan and China after winning clients including Chinese chip-testing company Tianshui Huatian Technology Co.

“There’s a reason why we control the market here, and Tianshui as a client is a testimony to our capabilities,” Yap said.

The manufacturing process may seem simple, but “it’s difficult to replicate,” he said, adding that there’s plenty of room to expand in those countries: while they require about 180 tonnes of rubber-cleaning sheets per month, Techfast currently only supplies about 12 tonnes.