Gamuda ... Dec12

The outlook for Vietnam property remains subdued but its construction order book should ride on the rollout of new mass rapid transit (MRT) lines.

Gamuda has scrapped its plans to venture into a build-operate-transfer (BOT) highway project in Indonesia as negotiations fell through. This is not a big setback as chances for order book top up are better locally, as the group is targeting over RM10bil worth of new jobs in 2013.

Group managing director Datuk Lin Yun Ling's recent (Dec 2012) near-doubling of his stake to 3.25% is a vote of confidence in the group's prospects and should provide some reassurance to investors.

Vietnam property remains subdued, especially in Ho Chi Minh City . Q1'13's RM330mil new property sales came largely from Malaysia . However, the management is hopeful that its build-then-sell approach will revive demand over the longer term.