Kencana Petroleum has been awarded a US$14m contract by Larsen & Toubro to construct jackets for offshore platforms to be located in India. This one-off contract is expected to be completed by 1QCY11. (BMSB)
Sales of passenger cars and commercial vehicles in April increased 16.8% yoy to 48,706 units from 41,686 units, says the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA). It attributed the higher sales to the rush to take delivery of the vehicles before the hike in interest rate. However, sale of cars and commercial vehicles in April was 7,433 units, down 13.2% compared with March as production could not meet the April delivery deadline. For May sales forecast, sales volume is expected to be maintained at April level but higher than May last year. (Bernama)
The dip in April is not entirely a surprise as we had earlier mentioned in our note that future sales are unlikely to match March's bumper level consistently. Annualised year-to-date total industry volume now stands at 588,363 units, which is broadly in line with our projection of 586,500 units for 2010.
MISC has proposed to buy a 50% stake in global tank terminal firm VTTI BV for US$735m (RM2.36bn) in a move that will give the home-grown shipping giant immediate access to strategically located assets at the “crossroads of major products and energy shipping lanes of the world,” the company said. “The acquisition of 50% interest in VTTI is a key element in developing the company's global tank terminal business, in line with MISC's strategy to expand its service offerings across the value chain,” president and CEO Amir Hamzah Azizan said. (Starbiz)
Events may have taken a new twist in the long-running drama over the proposed acquisition of
EON Capital by Hong Leong Bank (HLB). According to executives familiar with the matter, EON Capital's independent adviser Credit Suisse - which was supposed to give an opinion on HLB's offer yesterday - has agreed that HLB's offer undervalues EON Capital's shares.
- This complicates things considerably, as Credit Suisse's opinion tallies with that of EON Capital's previous board - the same board removed by the bank's major shareholders led by businessman Rin Kei Mei.
- EON Capital shares were suspended yesterday pending a 'material announcement' regarding the HLB offer. In a statement later to the stock exchange, EON Capital said the suspension was sought for the board to hear Credit Suisse's opinion.
- It was also sought to allow the board to sort out how the proceeds from HLB's offer would be distributed to shareholders after approval at a general meeting. The statement concluded by saying the board meeting was deferred to a later date 'pending further clarification' from Credit Suisse. Accordingly, the board 'has deferred its decision on the proposed distribution'. The statement did not say anything about Credit Suisse's recommendation.
- Executive sources said that in the absence of any other offer (HLB's is the only one), Mr Rin and his allies could go ahead and push the deal through at the general meeting, Credit Suisse's opinion notwithstanding. (BT)
Proton Holdings is among nine local companies which will showcase Malaysia’s automotive products to the Japanese market and other international buyers at the upcoming Automotive Engineering Exposition 2010 in Yokohama, Japan. Meanwhile, Proton Exora, Malaysia’s first home-grown MPV, would be taking centre stage at the event. (Financial Daily)
Alliance Bank Malaysia has identified Singaporean Sng Seow Wah as its new group chief executive officer (CEO), sources said, adding that this could be a precursor to a move by Singapore's DBS Group Bhd to buy into the Malaysian bank. However both Sng's appointment and DBS' potential entry have yet to receive the green light from Bank Negara. Sng is a seasoned banker with more than 24 years experience in corporate and commercial banking and is presently the head of human resources, special projects and corporate communications at Fullerton Financial Holdings. (Starbiz)
Malaysian Palm Oil Council CEO Tan Sri Dr Yusof Basiron said Malaysia and Indonesia are seriously studying the submission of a complaint to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) against European Union's (EU) treatment of
palm oil based biofuel under its Renewable Energy Directive (RED), which some view as a form of trade protectionism. (Financial daily)
The RM9bn
inter-state water deal to supply water from Pahang to Selangor by 2014 is stuck because Selangor has yet to give approval for the remaining 15 lots of land needed for the construction of the
Langat 2 water treatment plant. Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Peter Chin said, “Around 14% of the tunnel boring is completed. Construction of the treatment plant has to be completed in tandem with the tunnel so that water supply can be delivered by 2014.” (The Star)
Breaking its silence on reports that Chinese telecom equipment makers are being banned in
India on security reasons, Beijing urged New Delhi to remove restrictions and said such curbs amount to discrimination. The Chinese telecom firms Huawei and ZTE are under lens as their facilities are reportedly under direct surveillance of China. These firms have been facing troubles in getting the security clearance from the security agencies as objections about their vulnerability to Chinese hackers are still alive. At a recent meeting with ZTE officials, the home ministry had sought clarifications and additional information before giving green signal to the use of their equipment in the country. New Delhi last Dec had amended the unified access service licence and stipulated that security clearance should be obtained before placing purchase orders for telecom equipments or software in view of national security concerns. (Economic Times of India)
Maxis Bhd plans to invest more than RM100m in Terengganu to expand its network coverage in the state. Although it is the leading mobile operator in Malaysia, it has yet to dominate the market in the East Coast states, particularly in Terengganu. The situation will change soon, said COO Jean-Pascal Van Overbeke."We are committed to enriching our customers' lives with a robust network in the East Coast and we intend to enhance our broadband coverage which had grown by 300% last year. The improved coverage will not only be in major towns but in rural areas as well. And we also intend to expand 3G coverage throughout industrial areas and highways," said Van Overbeke. (BT)
Malaysia Airports Holdings (MAHB) is assessing offers for its retail unit, Eraman Malaysia, from DFZ Capital and other parties, its CFO Faizal Mansor says. The airport operator, he said, had also received offers for its other businesses. “We will make those assessments and some times, things are not just a matter of price,” he added. Meanwhile, he added that MAHB would stick to its deadline of end-2011 to complete the low-cost carrier terminal although
AirAsia had claimed that it would only be completed by Mar- 2012. (Financial Daily)
Exports of Malaysian
palm oil products for May 1-15 jumped 23.1% to 591,887 tonnes, from 480,966 tonnes shipped between April 1-15, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said. Another cargo surveyor Societe Generale de Surveillance said that exports of Malaysian palm oil products for May 1-15 jumped 23.6% to 620,517 tonnes, in line with the market’s expectations. “Exports are quite encouraging this month and hopefully it will last when demand for the fasting month (Ramadan) starts soon, and prevent stocks from building up to above 2m,” said the second trader. (BT)
Salcon secured a RM84.2m contract from PAAB to design and build a water treatment plant at Sg. Labu, Selangor. The project is part of KLIA' alternative water supply scheme. (Financial Daily)
Sunway Holdings have secured two contracts worth RM153.7m collectively. The first contract, worth RM88m, was awarded by
Sunway City for earthworks, piling and substructure works for the construction of an office tower and basement car park in Bandar Sunway. The second is a subcontract worth AED74.5m (RM65.7m) for the supply, delivery and installation of stones and tilting works for the proposed Arzanah Development in Abu Dhabi. (Financial Daily)
Bina Puri has won a RM306.9m contract from Rekajaya Projek Sdn Bhd to build a campus building for Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Kampong Pinang in Samarahan, Sarawak. Work will take 30 months. With the award, Bina Puri now has total orders worth RM1.9bn (BT)
Having sold the entire equity interest in its Malaysian operation, warehousing logistics provider
Integrated Logistics will now focus on expanding its business operations in China and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), says CEO Tee Tuan Sem. ILB expects to operate two new warehouses in Henan province in China and in Dubai in the UAE by 1Q11. On Mar12 , ILB sold to AWH Equity Holdings S/B its 100% equity interest in whollyowned subsidiary Integrated Logistics Solutions for RM170m. The sale is targeted for completion by end-Jun.
- Tee said the decision to sell its Malaysian operation was because of the lower occupancy rates at its warehouses and thinning margins in the domestic logistics industry. China is a big market and one of the few countries that have been able to sustain growth during the current global economic downturn. We expect China to continue to grow and we will be able to capitalise on this for another couple of years. We will not be expanding to other countries, other than in China and the Middle East, but will do so if the situation warrants." On its Dubai operation, Tee said the group is spending RM250m to set up the state-of-the-art warehouse. (BT)
Nestle SA, the world’s biggest food company, will resume buying palm oil from PT Sinar Mas Agro Resources and Technology if the independent audits show Greenpeace’s allegations of deforestation are baseless. “If Sinar Mas, or anybody else, does a proper job on quality and traceability...of course we will buy from them. “Once the audit is completed, we’ll decide then,” said Nestlé executive VP of operations Jose Lopez. (BT)
Xingquan International Sports Holding’s executive chairman and CEO Wu Qingquan said the emergence of four large international investors from the US and Europe as its shareholders proved that Xingquan’s fundamentals are gaining recognition. On future prospects, the company cited a market research by Converging Knowledge Pte Ltd that the CAGR estimation for China’s sportswear ranges from 11-16% while China’s outdoor sportswear market has a 27-42% growth rate from 2008-2012. (Financial Daily)
Olympia Industries’ unit Lotteries Corp (LCSB) has signed an initial deal with Taiwan Lottery Co Ltd to cooperate on the sales of
four-digits game in Taiwan. Under the MoU, both parties will sign a deal within six months. LCSB will provide marketing, operating and consulting advice and it will get a share of the profits. (BT)
M3nergy MD Datuk Shahrazi Sha'ari and his wife have launched a conditional takeover of the company in a deal worth up to RM246m cash or RM1.85/share, a 11.45% premium over the shares' 5-day volume weighted closing price. If successful, Shahrazi, who is using special purpose vehicle Adamus Avenue, intends to delist the company. (Malaysian Reserve)
AEON is expected to cease managing the first phase of 1 Utama Shopping Complex when the contract expires at end-Aug. The owner, See Hoy Chan Holdings (SHC) and AEON have agreed that SHC will take over the mall's operation but AEON will also get a larger retail space compared to what it has now. AEON opened its outlet in 1 Utama 15 years ago and has been managing the entire mall since. 1 Utama's old wing has some 2m sq ft of gross space and 680,000 sq ft rentable area. (BT)
Chip Lam Seng Enterprise, the major stakeholder in
Integrated Rubber Corp (IRCB) has sold close to 12% of its shares in the company in the open market. As a result of the sale, Chip Lam Seng's stake in IRCB has been cut to only 28.31% last Friday from 40.37% on January 13 2010. (BT)
TDM Bhd plans to boost fresh fruit bunch production by a fifth to 20.5 tonnes this year. "We intend to cut the cost per tonne, apart from the expansion plan in Kalimantan with 25,000 of the 40,000 hectares offered to us already acquired," MD Badrul Hisham Mahari said. TDM has planted 700 hectares of the Kalimantan land. Another 3,000 hectares will be planted with oil palm trees this year. However, TDM may not buy all of the 40,000 hectares due to problems regarding land usage. (BT)
