KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) has emerged as one of the active counters on Bursa Malaysia with 781,600 shares changing hands in early trade on Wednesday, thanks to the announcement on the reopening of the country's international borders from April 1.
As at 11 am, MAHB's share perked 19 sen or 3.14 per cent to RM6.25, after opening eight sen firmer at RM6.14 today.
MAHB chairman Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir said the border reopening will be the turning point in country’s economic recovery and improve Malaysia Airports’ performance as a result of the increase in international passenger traffic movements.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that Malaysia will enter the Transition to Endemic Phase, as well as the reopening of the country's borders from April 1, 2022.
Following the announcement, MAHB, one of the world's largest airport operator groups, has issued a statement on the expectation of improved performance following the increase in international passenger traffic movements.
Meanwhile, Capital A Bhd , the top three most actively traded stock, has somehow slipped 1.5 sen to 65 sen at 11 am, with 31.33 million shares changing hands. It opened 1.5 sen firmer at 68 sen today.
AirAsia Malaysia, the aviation arm of Capital A, also believes the announcement will provide a welcome boost to support additional capacity in many of its core international markets in line with strong pent-up demand.
Nevertheless, CGS-CIMB Securities Sdn Bhd said Capital A’s airline may come under pressure from high fuel costs and price competition from incumbents and new entrants despite the reopening of Malaysia’s borders.
"Our top pick is MAHB, which may see higher volume of international travellers, coupled with the planned start-up of new airline called MYAirline in August and a new operating agreement in second half on 2022,” it said in a note today.
It added that airlines are expected to launch more flights to take advantage of any new travel demand emerging as a result of Malaysia relaxing inbound travel restrictions. - Bernama