Hwa Tai Industries surges 49% in early trade

KUALA LUMPUR: Shares in Hwa Tai Industries Bhd attracted investors' interest in early trade Thursday although the company has not made any major corporate announcements.

The biscuit manufacturer saw its share price surge 48.96%, or 23.5 sen to 71.5sen at 10.13 am. Year-to-date, it has risen over 30%.

The company announced on Oct 31 that its group chief executive director Datuk Soo Chung Yee acquired 3,000 shares in Hwa Tai in the open market at an average of 42.5 sen per share. He has a 2.115% stake in Hwa Tai.

Soo also acquired 60,000 shares from the open market on Oct 26 and another 16,000 shares on Oct 27.

In September, Hwa Tai announced that the company had embarked on a solar project with the installation of solar panels onto the roof of its main factory in Batu Pahat, Johor.

It said the solar project cost RM1.35mil which is financed by internally generated funds and an existing available hire-purchase facility.

In the first six months ended June 30, Hwa Tai posted a net loss of RM4.12mil, or loss per share of 5.51 sen on revenue of RM34.14mil.