by M. JAY SHEILA / pic MUHD AMIN NAHARUL

SUNSURIA Bhd shares rose up to 15 sen or 30% to 65.5 sen in early trading today.

The property developer was among the top gainers as at 11am today, with more than 22.6 million shares traded. It hit an intra-day high of 67 sen.

The stock price shooting up comes on the heels of it signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with China-based IAT Automobile to set up an operation base in Malaysia for electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing.

In an exchange filing yesterday, Sunsuria said the MOU will allow the company an opportunity to collaborate with IAT to tap into the research and development in the area of EV and EV-related products and to provide automotive education (college), talent cultivation for Malaysia and South East Asia to enhance operational efficiency.

The MOU was part of the series of foreign direct investments with a total commitment of RM170 billion in investments from China, which was secured in conjunction with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s visit to China, it said.

In an exchange filing on Feb 27, Sunsuria posted net profit of RM1.06 million for the first quarter ended Dec 31, 2022 (1Q23), on the back of RM78.9 million on turnover.

Its revenue declined 25.4% year-on-year (YoY) to RM78.9 million as compared to RM105.7 million recorded in the corresponding quarter in the previous year (1Q22),  primarily due to deferment of projects’ launches in Sunsuria City township as consumer sentiment remained weak with buyers adopting wait-and-see approach even though the country had transitioned into endemic phase.

Formerly known as Malaysia Aica Bhd, Sunsuria is principally engaged in properties development, with the manufacturing of engineered wooden doors and other related products being the complementary business.

Sunsuria’s major shareholders are Ter Capital Sdn Bhd with a 20.46% stake, followed by Ter Equity Sdn Bhd at 20.38% stake and Ter Leong Yap at 18.85%.