TM, Axiata: To probe alleged payments. Telekom Malaysia's Board (TM) has approved the formation of a Board Sub-Committee of the Board Audit Committee (BAC) to conduct an independent and comprehensive internal investigation into the alleged payments received by TM employees from Alcatel-Lucent SA. As the period under investigation concerns the previous integrated TM Group, TM is working closely with Axiata Group Berhad (Axiata) to extend all necessary cooperation with the relevant parties and authorities. TM and Axiata have jointly appointed KPMG Corporate Services Sdn Bhd and Shearn Delamore & Co as forensic accountant and legal adviser respectively to assist in the internal investigation. (Source: Bursa Malaysia)
Media: Asia Media IPO oversubscribed by 21.5x. Asia Media Group Bhd, a digital out-of-home Transit TV company, saw the public portion of its initial public offering (IPO) oversubscribed by 21.46 times. At the close of the public offer on Dec 29, 2010, a total of 5,119 applications for 179.6m shares were received for the 8.0m made available to the Malaysian public. Asia Media's IPO involves an issuance of 98m new shares at 23 sen each, and the company is en-route to being listed on the Ace Market of Bursa Malaysia on Jan 11. (Source: The Star)
SME: Additional RM3b allocation for SMEs to be disbursed immediately. Disbursement of the additional RM3b Working Capital Guarantee Scheme (WCGS) allocation under 10th Malaysia Plan (10MP) will commence immediately. The scheme was first introduced in the second stimulus package in March 2009. It was fully utilised by year-end, despite being increased from RM5b to RM7b. In view of the encouraging response to the scheme, the Government provided an additional RM3b under the 10MP, bringing the total disbursement to RM10b. (Source: The Star)
RON97 and kerosene up by 10 sen from today
The price of RON97 petrol has increased by 10 sen to RM2.40 a litre from today while the price of kerosene has also gone up by 10 sen to RM2.50 a litre. The price of RON95 remains at RM1.90 per litre. Petrol Dealers Association of Malaysia president Datuk Hashim Othman said the confirmation came from petrol companies at about 9pm yesterday. “The world price of oil has gone up. The petrol companies have averaged out the prices globally,” he said last night. Hashim added that the petrol companies would update prices at petrol kiosks nationwide remotely via satellite link simultaneously. RON97 last increased by 15 sen to RM2.30 on 1 Dec 2010. (The Star)
GUH unit in water treatment plant deal
GUH Holdings’ wholly-owned GUH International (HK) Pte Ltd (GUHHK) yesterday signed a preliminary agreement with the Development General Company of Jiangsu Gaochun Economic Development Zone in China to build a 100 million litres a day water treatment plant on a build-operate-transfer basis within the zone. The 180 million Renminbi project will be implemented in two phases and GUHHK will carry out feasibility studies on the project within six months, GUH said. The project will be funded through a combination of internally generated funds and borrowings to be arranged after the feasibility studies. (BT)
Bursa proposes new broking rules
Bursa Malaysia proposes to move towards a more self-governing framework for the local stockbroking industry in an effort to make it more vibrant and competitive. The regulator yesterday outlined 11 areas of focus in its 27- page consultation paper posted on its website for comment. Besides proposing to do away with restrictions on participating organisations' (POs) financing to clients, the review also allows for them to lend money to related corporations. This was previously prohibited in accordance with the guidelines on Chinese walls for dealers and future brokers by Securities Commission. The regulator is also moving for POs or stockbrokers to continue carrying out risk management, internal audit and compliance functions by using self-prescribed processes and controls, best suited to their business needs and risks. (BT)
Proton to finalise talks with OEM to set up assembly line in India
Proton Holdings intends to finalise discussions with a global original equipment manufacturer (OEM) within this quarter to set up contract assembly manufacturing operations in India. “We know India is an important market but to be successful, we need to work with a local OEM (in India). We have identified a company and have had many discussions,” said group managing director Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir at the launch of the company's Asia-Pacific Rally Championship team yesterday. He said Proton was hoping to engage in contract assembly manufacturing via a joint venture effort with the OEM. “Another aspect is in terms of sales and marketing. We hope to incorporate our own subsidiary that would work with a local partner to distribute cars in India. All of this will hopefully be finalized by the first quarter of this year.” (StarBiz)
Tomei to sell KL land to Oasis
Jeweller Tomei Consolidated will dispose of six pieces of land in Kuala Lumpur to Oasis Properties Sdn Bhd for a total of RM4.6mil as part of its on-going cost optimisation and business streamlining strategy, The disposal will allow the jeweller to re-organise its resources and focus on its core business, it told Bursa Malaysia. In six separate announcements yesterday, Tomei said several of its wholly-owned units entered into six sale and purchase agreements on Dec 27 to sell its freehold land. (StarBiz)
MAS: Firefly eyes one million passengers at KLIA. Fly Firefly Sdn Bhd, a unit of Malaysia Airlines, which will begin its operations at KL International Airport (KLIA) on Jan 15, aims to fly 1m passengers in and out of the airport this year. Its newly launched airport ticketing counter at the main terminal building of KLIA will help to reach the growth target and offer greater convenience to passengers. Meanwhile, passenger growth at the Skypark Terminal in Subang is expected to surpass 2m this year after growing to 1.5 m last year. (Source: The Star)
TNB: Aussie coal supply woes may affect power tariffs. Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) is likely to be affected by higher coal prices following massive floods in Australia and this may strengthen its case for higher power prices. Coal prices for delivery in March have already risen to USD130 (RM398) per tonne from USD100 at the start of December last year. TNB purchases about 17% of its coal from Australia. Currently, about 40% of Malaysia's generation capacity comes from coal-fired plants. (Source: Business Times)
Construction: Ageing construction workers. The construction industry could face a shortage of local workers by 2017 given that 35.1% of industry personnel will be above 50 in seven years' time. The problem is further compounded by a declining number of people entering the sector as there are vast opportunities in other fields. (Source: The Sun)
E&U: Sarawak Hidro negotiating to sell power from Bakun dam to SEB. Sarawak Hidro Sdn Bhd is in advanced talks with Sarawak Energy Bhd (SEB) to sell power from the Bakun dam to the state utility firm. Negotiations would resume around Jan 20, and agreement on the sale and purchase of Bakun power is expected to be inked in May or July. (Source: The Star)
Plantation: RM4.4b allocation for oil palm replanting. Malaysia's oil palm industry will spend RM4.4b to replant approximately 365,000 hectares from 2011 to 2013. The government will pay RM1b to independent smallholders with 40 ha or less (this accounts for some 600,000ha of land throughout the country) to compensate for the loss of income from replanting. They are entitled to a one-off replanting payment of more than RM6,000 per ha and monthly payments of RM500 per household for two years. Private and government-linked plantation companies are expected to spend RM3.4b in replanting in the next three years. (Source: Business Times)
Market: Net foreign buy rebounds in Dec. Net foreign buying on Malaysian equities picked up in December after a slowdown since October. Net foreign buying increased to RM2.6b in December from RM0.9b in November. (Source: Bursa Malaysia)
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