Multi-Purpose target price lifted to RM4.20 (3859)

HwangDBS Vickers Research raised Multi-Purpose Holdings Bhd’s (MPHB)
target price to 4.20 ringgit per share from 3.85 ringgit previously,
citing attractive valuations after the demerger of the company’s gaming
and non-gaming businesses.

“Excluding
non-gaming businesses, MPHB’s numbers forecast operator (NFO) business
is only trading at 8.9 times 2013 forward price-to-earnings ratio (PER)
versus Berjaya Sports Toto Bhd ’s 13.5 times,” the research house said
in a note on Friday.

HwangDBS said transferring Berjaya
Sports Toto’s gaming operations to a business trust to be listed in
Singapore may see investors switching to the only listed direct NFO
player left in Malaysia - MPHB - which may even command a scarcity
premium.

MPHB recently announced plans to transfer its
non-gaming business that spans from insurance to property development
into an entity to be offered for sale to MPHB’s shareholders, leaving
the company as a pure gaming company.



By 1033 am (0233 GMT), the counter shed 0.29 percent to 3.46 ringgit
per share, underperforming the broader index’s 0.06 percent rise. --
Reuters