Notable filings
During the week of Nov 2 to 6, among the more notable changes in shareholding was that in Padiberas Nasional Bhd (Bernas).

On Nov 2, Tradewinds (M) Bhd emerged as a substantial shareholder with some 148.28 million shares or 31.52% in the rice distributor, buying over the equity from Hong Kong-based Wang Tak Co Ltd. Although based in Hong Kong, Wang Tak is controlled by the Tan family, of IGB Group Bhd fame.

Tradewinds, which paid RM2.08 a share for Wang Tak’s block, is also in the midst of taking over Gandingan Bersepadu Sdn Bhd, which has a 72% stake in Budaya Generasi Sdn Bhd, which in turn has 30.79% equity interest in Bernas.

Meanwhile, at Mudajaya Group Bhd, Brahmal Vasudevan emerged as a substantial shareholder, acquiring 26.4 million shares or 6.28% in the company. His shares are held both directly and via his vehicles Straits Global Ltd and Celadon Green Ltd.

Vasudevan is known to be an associate of tycoon T Ananda Krishnan, and is understood to be on the board of the tycoon’s vehicle Usaha Tegas Sdn Bhd. He  is currently the managing director of US-based ChrysCapital, which manages some US$2.2 billion in funds.

Another publicly traded Malaysian company Vasudevan has surfaced in is property developer Glomac Bhd, where he has a 5.55% stake.

Mudajaya’s stock hit its 52-week high of RM3.94 on Nov 10, and is up 49 sen since early this month. It ended trading at RM3.88 last Tuesday.

It is not clear where Vasudevan acquired his equity from, but Lembaga Tabung Haji has been trimming its stake in Mudajaya.

Over at Brem Holding Bhd, Lim Lee Ling surfaced as a substantial shareholder, with some 15.21% equity interest or about 19.9 million shares. Filings show that Lim controlled an additional 13.1 million shares or 10.02% in the company after a subscription of substantial equity interest in Wawasan Ekuiti Sdn Bhd, which is a substantial shareholder of Brem with the 10.02% stake.

Judging by the shareholding changes, Wawasan Equity is likely to be the vehicle of Norhayati Ali Polah and Musa Abas.

On Nov 5, Doraley Assets Management Ltd sold 32.49 million shares in oil and gas company Saag Consolidated (M) Bhd. The disposal left British Virgin Islands-based Doraley with 64.6 million shares or 5.77% in Saag Consolidated.

Filings with Bursa Malaysia show that Doraley ceased to be a substantial shareholder shortly after this particular disposal. The fund emerged as a substantial shareholder on Oct 20, after a subscription of shares arising from exchangeable bonds.

Since end-June, Saag’s stock has lost about 30% of its value. It closed on Tuesday at 20.5 sen.

Notable movements
Over the past month, plantation counter IOI Corp Bhd’s shares have gained about 30 sen or about 5.7% to close last Tuesday at RM5.56. IOI’s shares have gained more than 40% year to date and largely tracked the benchmark FBM KLCI Index.

Much of the trading has been done by the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), which has a 13.39% stake in IOI. IOI’s stock closed at RM5.56 last Tuesday.

There are concerns that palm oil prices may fall as stockpiles in Malaysia have hit a 10-month high. According to the Malaysian Palm Oil Board, palm oil inventories surged 25%to 1.97 million tonnes in October from a month ago, while output reached a record 1.99 million tonnes.

Budget airline AirAsia Bhd’s shares have slipped about 10 sen or about 7% since end last month. Since hitting its 52-week high of RM1.57 on August 3, the company’s stock has fallen by about 17%.

The EPF, which has 10.98% or 302.84 million shares in AirAsia has been trimming its stake. As at end-September, the provident fund had about 12.12% or 334.1 million shares in the budget carrier.

Late last month, AirAsia signed an agreement to defer the delivery of as many as eight Airbus SAS A-320 aircraft it had ordered due to infrastructure constraints at its current airport.

This article appeared in Capital page of The Edge Malaysia, Issue  Issue 781, Nov 16-22, 2009.