Hwang-DBS Vickers upbeat on Bursa M'sia

THERE are two compelling reasons for investors to accumulate stock exchange operator Bursa Malaysia Bhd, an investment bank contends: its strong dividend payout of up to 6 per cent, and structural changes ahead including fee revision and cost savings which are expected to lift future earnings.

In a low interest environment and fairly toppish markets, Hwang-DBS Vickers maintains that Bursa is a high conviction pick for the bank.

Bursa's declaration in July of a special 20 sen dividend - on top of an interim of 16 sen - has lifted its FY13 forecast yield to 6 per cent. The dividends declared in the first half already exceed the total 27 sen paid for the full year ended December 2012.