There seems to a heavy interest in Malaysian ADR stocks among US investors. Due to this high demand, I am devoting this post to major listed Malaysia ADR stocks. This Malaysia ADR list will help investors analyze the various options available to invest in Malaysia.
There are a total of 10 Malaysian stocks trading in the US that are “Sponsored”.All are listed in the OTC exchange. None of them are listed in the NYSE, Nasdaq or Amex exchanges. So these stocks may be subject to liquidity risk.
The following are the Malaysian ADR stocks listed in the OTC exchange and have price per share of above $5 and are traded daily:
- Genting – GEBHY.pk
- Malayan Banking – MLYBY.pk
- Resorts World – RSWSY.pk
- Tenaga Nasional – TNABY.pk
- Kuala Lumpur Kepong – KLKSY.pk
Other stocks that are available but are very illiquid and very low priced are:
- Top Glove – TGLVY.pk
- SilverStone – SVTOY.pk
- MBF Holdings – MBFBY.pk
- Lion Industries – LICUY.pk
- Amsteel Corp – AMSBY.pk
Stock Pick – Descriptions:
1&2) Genting & Resorts World: Genting & Resorts World are related to one another. Genting Highlands is a hill station near Kuala Lumpur. Genting means “Top of the Clouds” in Chinese. Being a hot tropical country people prefer to escape to the hills where the temperature is cool. Genting is holding company with interests in a lot of industries whereas Resorts World concentrates on hotels and the hospitality sector. Resorts World operates many hotels including the “First World Hotel” in Genting. This hotel is actually two towers comprising of over 6000 rooms (picture below).
The hotels are fully booked most of the time especially during the holidays and weekends. It has a theme park, water park and casinos. The casinos are a big draw with many tourists from nearby countries where they are illegal.On a recent visit to the hotel, I observed the whole place is crowded like crazy with thousands of people waiting on the lounge to check in. Quite a sight to see.
Considering the facts above Genting and Resorts World are very good picks to invest in. For more details on these companies checkout: http://www.genting.com.my/en/accommodation/index.asp
3)Kuala Lumpur Kepong:
Like so many other Malaysian companies, this one also operates in many industries and is listed in the Main Board of Bursa Malaysia. It has been in operation since 1906.
One of the main business of this company is in the plantation business – specifically Palm Oil plantations. In a typical plantation thousands of Palm trees are grown and then the palm seeds are crushed to make Palm oil. In many developing countries Palm oil is used in cooking instead of vegetable oil. Malaysia is the #1 exporter of Palm oil and this brings a few billion dollars in foreign exchange to the country. So this is another good Malaysian stock that you can invest in.
The company has a property development division which is successful as well.
More information can be found at their “Investor Relations” site here:
http://www.klk.com.my/ir_lp.htm
4)Tenaga Nasional:
It is the largest electric utility in Malaysia serving over seven million customers. The majority owner of this utility is the Malysian Government. Foreigners own 25% of the shares – the maximum limit possible by law.
Because of government control on power prices, after 12 years the company increased prices last year resulting in doubling of profit.
Please visit their IR site to learn more:
http://www.tnb.com.my/tnb/inv_highlights.jsp
5) Malayan Banking Berhad aka. May Bank:
May Bank is the largest bank in Malaysia.The bank operates in Malaysia as well as many Asian countries like China, Singapore,Cambodia,Vietnam, Hong Kong, Phillipines etc. It is the second largest listed in the Malaysian Stock Exchange – Bursa Malaysia. In 2006, the company had assets of US $64 Billion.
May Bank IR site:
http://www.maybank2u.com.my/corporate/financial_info.shtml
The best option to invest in Malaysia is thru the iShares Malaysia ETF: EWM
This fund has grown nicely over the years and has now an assets size of over $1.0B. The fund has a yield of 3.14% and an expense ration 0.51%.
Financials and Consumer Stocks constitue over 62% of EWM.
The fund has a total of 59 stocks and the four stocks described above (GEBHY.pk, RSWSY.pk, TNABY.pk and MLYBY.pk )
are in the top 10 stocks.
Detailed information on iShares Malaysia ETF can be found at:
http://www.ishares.com/product_info/fund/overview/EWM.htm
Related Links:
The Star Newspaper – http://biz.thestar.com.my
Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE) Stock Review Blog – http://klsestockreview.blogspot.com/
Cheers !!!!
