KUALA LUMPUR (April 13): Asia Media Group Bhd saw its share price increase as much as 0.5 sen or 8.33% this morning to 6.5 sen, on news that its wholly owned subsidiary DPO Plantations Sdn Bhd had entered into a joint venture (JV) with Sarawak-based Batu Emas Resources Sdn Bhd.

Last Friday, Asia Media (fundamental: 1.20; valuation: 0.90) said that it had entered into a memorandum of agreement with Batu Emas to form a JV company that will develop a piece land that measures approximately 4,361ha at Loba Bunut Hulu, Bintangor, Sarawak, into an oil palm plantation.

The JV company will be 60% owned by DPO, 30% by Batu Emas, which trades and deals in agricultural and natural products, while the remainder 10% will be held by Sarawak Land Custody Development Authority (PELITA).

Under the agreement, DPO will pay Batu Emas RM1.25 million through two tranches for the land. The land consists of 2,661ha of native customary rights land (NCR), 1,000ha of adjacent NCR land, and 700ha of adjacent state land.

At 11.54am today, Asia Media, which offers infotainment and targeted advertising through the use of digital electronic displays, had erased its earlier gains and was trading at 6 sen, with 10.03 million shares changing hands and a market capitalisation of RM71.84 million.

(Note: The Edge Research's fundamental score reflects a company’s profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.)