Stocks to watch: Glove makers, GBH, Bernas, construction (ext: Edge)

As the government continues to step up measures to contain the A H1N1 flu virus and this could see rising interest in healthcare companies and glove makers again including Top Glove, Kossan, Hartalega, Latexx and Supermax.

Global demand is about 140 billion pieces and is growing by about 8% a year. The outbreak of the H1N1 virus could push up percentage growth by 10%.

GBH could also see some trading interest as the control of the ceramics sanitary ware manufacturer hits a stalemate. The board of GBH had advised minority shareholders to reject the RM1.25 per share offer from major shareholder Tan Sri Robert Tan Hua Choon.

GBH board had said the underlying value of the shares should reflect closer to the adjusted net asset of RM2.92 per share. But the question is will Tan raise his offer bid? The stalemate remains as the board had also failed to find an alternative offer for the company.

Bernas share price rose last Friday on market expectations that it could be taken private as the government seeks to resolve the issue that Wang Tak had emerged as the largest shareholder in the company. However, investors should not be alarmed as Wang Tak, registered in Hong Kong, is said to be a friendly party.

The Edge weekly reported that Wang Tak's parent, Hong Kong-listed Lee Hing Development Ltd, is linked to the IGB Corp Bhd via common major shareholders.

Construction counters could see trading interest. The Edge weekly reported that contracts for the new main low-cost carrier terminal (LCCT) building and runways worth RM1 billion are expected to be awarded in either September or October.

The Edge reported the pre-qualification for the bid closed last Tuesday for the biggest component of the RM2 billion projects, which is scheduled to be completed by the third quarter of 2011.

In SAAG, Stafford Investments Ltd of Seychelles held 12.4% or 108.39 million shares after subscribing for the shares following the conversion of exchangeable bonds.

As for Berjaya Corporation, UBS AG London raised its stake to 12.94% or 436.82 million shares after the acquisition of 15 million shares. The shares arose from the conversion of irredeemable convertible unsecured loan stocks (ICULS) on July 27.