Invest Positively

BIOLIDICS shares sank 22 per cent on Monday after the Catalist-listed firm announced on Sunday that it had mutually agreed with Aytu BioScience to terminate a distribution agreement for its Covid-19 antibody test kits in the US, amid increased competition for such kits. Shares of Biolidics, which ended Friday at 41 Singapore cents, plunged to 29.5 cents as at 8.58am on Monday. The stock recovered to 35 cents as at 9.26am, before closing at 32 cents, down nine cents. Earlier in April, Biolidics signed a one-year agreement with Aytu for the distribution of its test kits in the US after completing its US FDA listing. With the distribution deal scrapped, Biolidics will need to refund Aytu in full for all deposits paid with respect to undelivered orders of its test kits. The Catalist-listed company also intends to apply to voluntarily withdraw its application to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) pursuant to the FDA's serology test po...

APPLE'S move to drop semiconductor giant Intel Corporation's chips for future Macs is unlikely to put a dent on AEM Holdings' business.   The firm may in fact see some upside given that Intel "will be able to dedicate more focus on its data-centric business" once it discontinues supplying chips to Apple, DBS analyst Ling Lee Keng told The Business Times.   "Its data-centric business has been growing, and is expected to grow at a faster rate than its PC-centric business, which will positively impact AEM as it is involved in the testing of its logic chips," she said.   Although not disclosed by AEM, most reports suggest that the firm's key customer is Intel, which contributes over 90 per cent of its revenue.   Intel had recorded a revenue of US$72 billion for FY2019, up 1.7 per cent from a year ago led by growth in its data centre business.   Ms Ling also pointed out that Mac chips sold to Apple accounts for only around 4.7 per cent of its re...

IN CONTINUED consolidation within the stockbroking industry, Phillip Securities is buying RHB Investment Bank Berhad's (RHBIB) Singapore stockbroking business in RHB Securities Singapore (RHBSS) for an undisclosed sum. The consideration will be calculated "based on the net tangible assets of RHB Securities Singapore", RHB Bank said in a filing to the Bursa Malaysia stock exchange. RHBIB is a wholly-owned unit of RHB Banking Group in Malaysia, while RHBSS is wholly owned by RHBIB. Both sides have signed a conditional share purchase agreement. In its rationale, RHB Bank said: "The increasingly competitive broking environment has made it no longer viable for RHB Securities Singapore to continue its stockbroking business." Financial statements obtained by The Business Times showed that RHBSS was bleeding losses after tax of S$8.05 million for its FY19 ended Dec 31, 2019, albeit an improvement from losses of S$16.06 million in FY18 and S$13.95 million in FY17...

MAGNUS Energy Group disclosed that two of its directors stepped down just half a year after winning a boardroom tussle because they disagreed with the chief executive officer (CEO) on certain payments, office rental, staff costs, and the shutdown of a plant. Anthony Kuek resigned as non-executive chairman and independent non-executive director on June 24. This was due to “irreconcilable differences” with executive director and CEO Charles Madhavan over, among other things, the entry of certain interested person transactions (IPTs) during the quarter ended March 31, as well as sustainability concerns relating to the company’s finances, Magnus said on Wednesday. Likewise, Ong Chin Yew quit on June 14 as a non-independent non-executive director, due to “differences of opinion” with Mr Madhavan. In a bourse filing late on Thursday, the Catalist-listed firm said that Mr Kuek disagreed over three payments: a service agreement between Blue Water Engineering Pte Ltd (BWEPL) and Magnus; a one-t...