KUALA LUMPUR: Kenanga Investment Research has upgraded S P Setia Bhd (S P) to BUY, from Trading BUY, with higher fair value of RM4.90.

It said on Friday, Jan 22 its fair value implied FY10E price-to-earnings ratio (PER) of 24 times, which are peak valuations experienced over FY07; but FY11-12 estimated valuations become compelling at 19 times to 17 times PERs.

KUALA LUMPUR: Atrium Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) fell short of its pre-tax profit and gross revenue projections for the year ended Dec 31, 2009 by 15% and 5.6% respectively.

KUALA LUMPUR: Quill Capital Management Sdn Bhd (QCM), the manager of Quill Capital Trust (QCT), announced a total revaluation surplus of RM692,000 for the nine properties held under the trust, following a revaluation exercise recently.

KUALA TERENGGANU: An alert assistant land administrator has foiled an attempt by a syndicate to change the ownership of a piece of land in a village near here with the use of a forged MyKad, and led police to the arrest of three men.

KUALA LUMPUR: Starhill Real Estate Investment Trust (Starhill REIT) registered lower net profit for its second quarter ended Dec 31, 2009 (2QFY2010) of RM18.3 million, from RM20.1 million the previous year.

MIRI: Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is confident that the construction cost for schools and related infrastructure in Sarawak and Sabah can be reduced beginning next year with the activation of the National Key Result Area (NKRA) programme.

PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court today (Jan 21) departed from its earlier decision and re-opened the recourse route for property owners embroiled in disputes related to fraudulent land transfers.

KUALA LUMPUR: Main board listed Axis REIT Managers Bhd. expects to secure 100% occupancy for its Quattro West (previously known as Nestle House) office building in Persiaran Barat, Petaling Jaya by April 2010.

Mah Sing Group Bhd
(Jan 20, RM1.90)
Maintain buy at RM1.90, target price raised to RM2.50: The company has just officially launched its Garden Residence, Cyberjaya (gross development value: RM690 million) and Perdana Residences 2, Selayang (GDV: RM209 million).

WASHINGTON: US home starts unexpectedly fell last month as unusually cold weather hampered construction, but a jump in building permits to a 14-month high indicated the housing market recovery was intact.