Dow posts best two-day gain since July
U.S. stocks capped their best two-day performance since July as better-than-expected retail and home sales painted a brighter picture of the U.S. economy. Also helping stocks, pressure on the euro eased on talk that the European Central Bank was actively buying more bonds of some of the bloc's more financially stressed governments. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished Thursday up 106.63 points, or 0.95%, to 11362.41. The blue-chip index has gained 3.2% in the first two days of December, its largest two-day rise since July 8. (The Wall Street Journal)
PPB to issue 20% FFM Bhd new shares to Wilmar International
PPB Group has proposed to issue RM378m worth of shares in FFM Bhd, its wholly-owned subsidiary, to PGEO Group SB, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Wilmar International Limited. It will issue 55.8m new FFM shares or 20% of FFM's total enlarged issue and paid-up share capital to PGEO. In turn, FFM has signed a MoU with Wilmar for a potential acquisition of 20% equity interest in selected subsidiaries of Wilmar in China via its whollyowned subsidiary, Waikari SB. (Bernama)
IJM, JAKS bag RM268.5m deal
IJM Corp and JAKS Resources’ 60:40 joint venture has secured a RM268.5m contract from the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water for the Pahang-Selangor Raw water transfer project. The project involves the construction of 3m nominal diameter mild steel pipes with a total length about 24km and two access roads of 1.9km and 1.5km long (including 80m long bridge). (BT)
Sarawak government to meet PM to finalize Bakun acquisition
The Sarawak government will meet Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak soon to finalize the sale of the Bakun hydro-electric project, Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud said on Thursday. Taib, who is also state Finance Minister, said the 2,400MW capacity-dam, is expected to generate 300MW of electricity by June next year, and has yet to be acquired by the state government. (Bernama)
Proton, Perodua to meet on alliance by end-Dec
A meeting between Proton and Perodua will be held by the end of the month to finalize whether a strategic alliance between the two national carmakers can happen. Proton MD Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir said the meeting will also involve major shareholders of Proton and Perodua. (BT)
EPF’s RHB stake sale may raise up to RM766m
EPF will raise up to RM765.5m from a planned sale of a block of RHB Capital shares, which will see its shareholding in the bank drop below the 50% mark. A term sheet detailing the placement exercise obtained by Reuters showed that the indicative pricing of the placement had been set at between RM7.50 and RM7.90 per share. (Reuters)
TM to sell 191m Axiata shares
TM has proposed to sell some 191.5m shares of 2.27% it holds in Axiata Group to fund its capital expenditure, working capital, investment as well as debt repayment. The shares would be sold via a book building exercise over the next 2 weeks. (The Malaysian Reserve)
US stocks rise most in 3 months as economy improves
US stocks rallied, sending benchmark indexes toward their biggest gains in three months, amid improving economic data and speculation of a larger European financial rescue. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index surged the most since 1 Sept on a closing basis, adding 2.2% to 1,206.41 at 2:50 p.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 259.2 points, or 2.4%, to 11,265.2 as all 30 stocks rose. The Dow average has rallied in December more than in any other month over the last century, according to data compiled by Bespoke Investment Group. On average, the 30-stock gauge has risen 1.3% in the month during the past 100 years, while gaining 1.5% and 1.7% over the last 50 and 20 years, respectively, the data show. (Bloomberg)
PGas to develop LNG re-gasification facilities in Melaka
Petronas Gas (PGas) has signed a heads of agreement with its parent company Petronas to develop liquefied natural gas (LNG) re-gasification facilities and supply LNG to the latter. In an announcement to Bursa Malaysia yesterday, PGas said the re-gasification facility would be located in the vicinity of Sungai Udang Port in Melaka encompasses two floating storage unit (FSU) to receive and store LNG, an island jetty and re-gasification units and subsea and onshore pipelines to pipe the gas to the Peninsular Gas Utilisation (PGU) pipeline network. (Financial Daily)
Dialog to buy 90% stake in NZ’s Fitzroy Engineering for RM31.7m
Dialog Group is acquiring a 90% stake in Fitzroy Engineering Group (FEGL), one of New Zealand’s largest heavy fabrication and multi-disciplined engineering companies, for RM31.7m (NZD13.5m) cash. The company said yesterday that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Dialog System (Asia) (DSAPL), had entered into a conditional sale and purchase agreement with Peter Clayton White-Robinson to acquire a 90% stake representing 2.38m shares. (Financial Daily)
Parkson unit sells stake in Hong Kong store
Hong Kong-listed Parkson Retail Group, a unit of Parkson Holdings, has disposed of a 55% stake in Yangzhou Parkson Plaza Co Ltd for 78.5m yuan (RM36.9m). Parkson Retail Group was expected to realise a pre-tax gain of about 40m yuan (RM19m) from the disposal, Parkson Holdings said in a statement to Bursa Malaysia yesterday. The rationale for the disposal is due to the location of the Yangzhou Parkson store which is no longer desirable for department store operation and the size of the store, which is too small to remain competitive in the market, it said. (StarBiz)
Perodua still not keen on merger despite study
Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua SB (Perodua) remains unconvinced a merger with rival Proton Holdings Bhd would be in its best interest after a study of a possible merger of both national car companies was completed. Managing director Datuk Aminar Rashid Salleh, who said Perodua had not been briefed on the findings of the study undertaken by Frost & Sullivan, reiterated the stance of the company it's not keen to pursue a merger. “If the proposal is better than any plan that we have, then we can have a look at it,'' he told StarBiz yesterday, adding that the company's shareholders too were not enthusiastic about the proposal as they had not seen the final picture. It was reported on Tuesday that a study undertaken to examine the possibility of a merger between Perodua and Proton had been completed and that the next step was to have the Economic Council review the findings before it was presented to the Prime Minister. (StarBiz)
Cahya Mata unit in RM380m JV to build hotel, apartments
Cahya Mata Sarawak, through 51%-owned subsidiary CMS Land SB, has signed a joint-venture agreement to build, own and manage a four-star hotel and service apartments at the Kuching Isthmus in Sarawak. It told Bursa Malaysia yesterday that it had signed the agreement with Premier Cottage SB (PCSB), Boulevard Jaya Corp SB (BJSB), Hikmat Majusama SB (HMSB) and Isthmus Developments SB (IDSB). The building, comprising 381 hotel rooms and 96 service apartments, will cost about RM380m, including outfitting, furniture, fittings and equipment, but excluding financing costs and contingencies. IDSB, which will undertake the development, will finance it via a combination of share issuance, borrowings from banks or financial institutions, as well as advances from the joint-venture partners, except CMS Land, totaling up to RM50mil. (StarBiz)
KNM forms joint venture in South Africa
KNM Group's wholly-owned subsidiary, KNM International SB, has entered into a shareholders agreement with Aveng (Africa) Ltd set up a joint-venture company in South Africa. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday, KNM Group said the joint-venture (JV) company, to be known as KNM Grinaker-LTA (Pty) Ltd, would undertake the fabrication of steel products. KNM International will own 49.9% of the JV company and Aveng will own the balance stake. (StarBiz
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