KUALA LUMPUR: Shares of Gamuda Bhd hit a two-month high yesterday after it was reported that the KL-Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR) project would be revived soon.
Gamuda's shares hit a high of RM3.60 after opening at RM3.27 yesterday.
The 3.60 was also the stock's closing price, which was 10.1 per cent, or 33 sen, higher than the previous day.
Quoting sources from various industries, a financial portal reported that "talks with Singapore are likely to commence soon" over the mega/multi-billion ringgit HSR project but a "political source" also stated "nothing is concrete as yet".
The report also quoted an engineering consultant as saying that he "heard about" the revival of the HSR project last week.
"There has been talk, strong rumours, but we are not aware of the details. The consultants, I hear, have concluded their reports," said the consultant.
On the other hand, Gamuda's consortium partner Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB), hit a two-month high at 55 sen.
MRCB opened at 50 sen before surging 17.9 per cent, or 8.5 sen, to close at 56 sen yesterday.
Another rail-related company, YTL Corp Bhd, closed 0.68 per cent, or 0.5 sen, lower at 73 sen.
The proposed 350 kilometre-long HSR line, originally estimated to cost US$17 billion, aims to reduce travel time between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur to around 90 minutes, from the current 11 hours on existing train services.
It is among several mega projects approved by the previous Malaysian government that had come under review, as the Pakatan Harapan administration re-looked the country's finances after being saddled with a debt of US$200 billion.
Last September, Singapore and Malaysia formally agreed to postpone the construction of the HSR until end-May 2020, with Malaysia having to pay Singapore S$15 million for costs incurred in suspending the project.
A few months later, the Malaysian company managing the project said it had appointed technical and commercial consultants to review proposed design changes and identify options to cut cost.
Sumber: New Straits Times