Value-unlocking still a key theme in the local market despite the pandemic-recovery rally

THE global economic recovery, inflationary pressures and interest rate hikes may well be the most potent drivers of the market at the moment, but investors hunting for opportunity should not ignore the evergreen theme of value unlocking.

Even after the market's strong pandemic-recovery rally over the past year, companies that have recently proposed restructurings to crystallise the value of their underlying assets have delivered significant share price gains.

For example, animal protein company Japfa announced plans last week to list its dairy unit in Hong Kong and to pass on shares in the newly listed entity to its own shareholders as a distribution-in-specie (DIS). Japfa shares jumped over 10 per cent the trading day after announcement.