Market summary

The Maltese market closed in the red on Thursday, with the MSE total index ending the session 0.288% lower to 8,215.351 points. The best performer was Mapfre Middlesea plc, it added 4.85% to close at 2.16, followed by Malta Properties Company plc with 3.66% increase to 0.51. The biggest fall was seen from MaltaPost plc, which slid 12.12% to close at 1.16. Followed by a 3.45% drop of HSBC Bank Malta plc with a closing price of 0.84. Bank of Valletta plc was also down, 1.06% to close at 0.93.

European shares were mostly lower on Thursday remained as the single currency gained altitude following the European Central Bank’s policy meeting. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index ended up 0.01% at 410.89, but the FTSE Mibtel was down 0.98% to 22,428.93 and Spain’s Ibex 35 by 1.0% at 8,122.1.

Wall Street stocks closed in a mixed state on Thursday, after major indices hit fresh record highs in the previous session on Inauguration Day. At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.04% at 31,176.01, while the S&P 500 eked out gains of 0.03% to 3,853.07, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.55% firmer at 13,530.92.

AirAsia Group to raise up to USD 113 million via private placement

AirAsia Group plans to undertake a private placement to raise up to 454.5 million ringgit (USD 113 million) to address immediate and near-term cash flow requirements, the Malaysian budget airline group said on Thursday.

The struggling airline, which reported a fifth straight quarterly loss in November as the pandemic took its toll on travel, has been seeking to raise 2.5 billion ringgit from loans and investors.

The proposed exercise announced on Thursday entails issuance of up to 20% of its total existing shares, or 668.4 million shares, to be placed with third party investors to be identified later, AirAsia said in a bourse filing.

It will enhance the group’s financial position with a marginal increase in net assets and an improvement in the group’s gearing, or leverage. The issuance could be implemented in tranches, within six months of regulatory approvals.

AirAsia said the funds will be for fuel hedging settlement, aircraft lease and maintenance payments, technology development costs, product and market expansion costs, marketing expenses and general working capital.

This article was issued by Nadiia Grech, Trader at Calamatta Cuschieri. For more information visit, www.cc.com.mt. The information, view and opinions provided in this article are being provided solely for educational and informational purposes and should not be construed as investment advice, advice concerning particular investments or investment decisions, or tax or legal advice. Calamatta Cuschieri Investment Services Ltd has not verified and consequently neither warrants the accuracy nor the veracity of any information, views or opinions appearing on this website.