Public Bank Bhd
(Feb 7, RM19.08)

STOCKS on Bursa Malaysia got off to a choppy start in 2014. After gaining 10.5% in 2013, the FBM KLCI traded lower through the better part of January, ending the month down 3.4%. The benchmark index recovered some lost ground in early February to rack up cumulative 58 points for the year-to-date.

KUALA LUMPUR: Plantation firm Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd (KLK) will leverage on UEM Sunrise Bhd’s experience to make its maiden foray into property development in Iskandar Malaysia, Johor, a move that it hopes will boost contribution from its property segment to 15% of the group’s net profit in five years.

KUALA LUMPUR: Tan Sri Lee Kim Yew has wasted no time kicking off Country Heights Holdings Bhd’s (CHHB) expansion abroad after being made the group’s adviser. Already, the company has outlined plans to expand into China and Australia.

DESPITE the incursion in the eastern coast of Sabah earlier last year by an armed Filipino group, the state continues to experience an impressive double-digit increase in tourist arrivals.

In fact, Kota Kinabalu International Airport is the second busiest airport in Malaysia after Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

BANK NEGARA Malaysia’s policies to curb property speculation have been successful but they have also made it more difficult for genuine homebuyers to buy houses, says Raine & Horne International Zaki + Partners director Michael Geh.

KUALA LUMPUR: Consortium Zenith BUCG Sdn Bhd has been granted some nine acres of land (3.64ha) on Seri Tanjung Pinang 1 (STP1), worth RM305 million, by the Penang government to finance the cost of the initial feasibility studies and detailed design (FSDD) works in the RM6.3 billion Penang undersea tunnel project.

BAHAMAS: Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) is designing a 175,000 sq ft condominium called The Honeycomb in the Bahamas.