A Malaysian stock surges 400% - one of best performers

Yap Yoon Sing, managing director of Techfast Holdings Bhd. poses for a photograph in front of lathe machines on the production floor at the company's manufacturing facility in Shah Alam, Malaysia, on Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2017. Bloomberg

KUALA LUMPUR: For technology stock investors, it sometimes pays to buy the companies that make the parts.

Take Techfast Holdings Bhd, a small Malaysian supplier of everything from screws and self-clinching fasteners to materials for light-emitting diodes. The little-known firm has surged more than five-fold this year alone, making it one of the best performers in the country’s equity market, as investors took notice of an overseas expansion and a profitable alliance.