Monday, January 3, 2011

20110103 1531 Malaysia Corporate Related News.

RHB, Pos Malaysia: To launch new banking service. RHB Banking Group, in a collaborative effort with Pos Malaysia Bhd, is launching the Pos Malaysia-RHB Shared Banking Services to enable banking services for its customers at selected Pos Malaysia outlets nationwide. The first phase would involve 21 selected Pos Malaysia outlets in the Klang Valley and Negri Sembilan. (Source: The Star)

Construction: RM144m allocated for infrastructure facilities in Kelantan. The Rural and Regional Development Ministry has allocated RM144m to provide infrastructure facilities in Kelantan during 2011. The projects include the provision of water and electricity supply, construction of roads, and building of houses for the poor. (Source: The Star)

Construction: RM1.46b island project revived. The RM1.46b Pulau Melaka twin reclaimed island project has been revived after a decade of financial and legal woes. The project, that involves the construction of some 400 commercial shop lots comprising a total of 1,534 units, would resume by September 2011. Most of the development work on the island has been completed with 521 units finished. (Source: The Star)

Mining: Advance SCT restarts Malaysian aluminium smelting plant. Advance SCT Ltd, one of Singapore's largest traders of aluminium, copper and stainless steel scraps, has restarted its aluminium smelting plant in Malaysia last month. The smelter would produce 200 to 400 tonnes of aluminium ingots monthly. It has also secured an exclusive contract to supply at least 1,000 tonnes a month of first grade copper scraps to China-based Qingyuan Shengli Copper Material Co Ltd. (Source: The Star)

Insurance: AXA Affin, BH Insurance to merge. AXA Affin General Insurance Bhd will merge with BH Insurance (M) Bhd and operate as single entity starting Jan 1. The combined turnover of the two entities puts them among the top five insurers in the country. (Source: The Star)   

IJM Land-MRCB merger called off
Property firms IJM Land Bhd and Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB), which announced their plan last month to merge and potentially become the second largest property player, have aborted the plan. MRCB and IJM Land announced to Bursa Malaysia last Friday that the merger was aborted as both companies were not able to reach an agreement on the definitive terms and conditions of the proposed merger, following a series of discussions. They also announced that trading in the shares of both companies was suspended and would only resume on Monday. MRCB and IJM Land officials declined to comment when contacted by StarBiz. It is believed that the much anticipated merger between the two firms, announced on Nov 23, was called off due to issues over management and shareholding structure of the new entity post-merger. (StarBiz)

LTH, Columbia Asia to build new hospital in PJ
Lembaga Tabung Haji (LTH) and healthcare group Columbia Asia SB are currently in the final stages of discussions for the construction of a new 100-bed hospital in Section 17, Petaling Jaya, with an estimated development cost of around RM70m. The project will be carried out under a build-and-lease arrangement and scheduled to begin construction in the first-half of 2011. Under the arrangement, it is understood that Columbia Asia will be the turnkey contractor and operator of the community-based hospital. Both land and building are owned by LTH, which will lease them to Columbia Asia. (Malaysian Reserve)

Oil palm dealers concerned about MPOB’s new rule
The Malaysia Oil Palm Dealers Association (MOPDA) has expressed concern over the move by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) to bar dealers from buying and selling oil palm fresh fruit bunches (FFB). MOPDA president Datuk Abdul Fattah Abdullah said the new ruling was not beneficial to stakeholders, particularly dealers and the industry as a whole. The buying and selling of FFB among dealers was the norm and if small dealers were not allowed to trade among themselves, this would result in loss of employment, income and the eventual folding of the enterprises, he said. The MPOB ruling, said to take effect from today, was to give the opportunity for estates, smallholders and dealers to sell directly to millers, prevent small dealers from being monopolised by big dealers, and enhance the quality of oil palm fruits so that the oil extraction rate would exceed 25%. (StarBiz)

No comments: