MyEG trading surges on potential halal-certified vaccine

By PRIYA VASU / pic credit: myeg.com.my

MYEG Services Bhd recorded a surge in trading volumes yesterday after profit-seeking investors took advantage of the company’s announcement on a deal to distribute a halal-certified Covid-19 vaccine.

A check on Bloomberg showed some 114.9 million shares changing hands which lifted MyEG’s share price up by nearly 5% or nine sen to RM1.90 at yesterday’s close, valuing the company at RM6.94 billion. Year-to-date, the company’s share price has increased by over 66% or 76 sen.

The company had earlier announced via an exchange filing that it had entered into a cooperation with China’s Anhui Zhifei Longcom Biopharmaceutical Co Ltd to obtain a Malaysian halal certification for the biopharma company’s Covid-19 vaccine and to distribute the vaccine in Malaysia exclusively over a three-year period.

MyEG stated that the two companies agreed to cooperate in conducting Phase 3 clinical trials of Zhifei’s vaccine in Malaysia and in achieving compliance with halal status requirements to secure halal certification from the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim).

“Jakim’s halal accreditation will ensure increased acceptance of the vaccine among the global Muslim population.

“The commencement of Phase 3 trial will make Zhifei’s vaccine one of the first to undergo this final-stage trial in Malaysia under the purview of the Ministry of Health,” MyEG noted.

Zhifei is a subsidiary of Chong- qing Zhifei Biological Products Co Ltd, which is listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, and has been engaged in the biological products industry since 2002, mainly in the production of vaccines for human use.

Zhifei is presently one of five Chinese companies conducting Phase 3 clinical trials of their Covid-19 vaccines in various parts of the world.

Upon the successful completion of the Phase 3 trials, MyEG will be the sole distributor of the vaccine in Malaysia.

The vaccine distribution deal is in addition to MyEG’s appointment last month as the developer and operator of the MySafe Travel digital health pass system to facilitate inbound travellers’ compliance with mandatory Covid-19 testing and quarantine requirements.

MyEG also operates a one-stop portal for the Covid-19 screening of workers in the country, which includes a data-sharing collaboration with Peninsular Malaysia’s Department of Labour.

Last Friday, MyEG announced that it secured a three-year extension for the e-government services it provides.

The group said the Ministry of Transport had granted the extension from May 23, 2020, to May 22, 2023, which is expected to contribute positively to earnings and net assets per share of the company for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2020.

For the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2020, MyEG posted a net profit of RM70.74 million and revenue of RM136.09 million. For the cumulative nine-month period, its net profit stood at RM192.64 million on turnover of RM382.17 million.