20110823 1054 Malaysia Corporate Related News.

Mudajaya Group has a signed a subcontract agreement  worth RM720m with CMC  Machipex Sdn Bhd to design and construct the balance of plant component of Manjung No.  4 power plant project. The project works started on June 6 this year and is expected to be  completed by Nov 2013, Mudajaya said yesterday. (BT)

Petronas Dagangan (PetDag), the best-performing stock in Malaysia’s benchmark index  this year, plans to extend its reach in Southeast Asia after making its first overseas venture  into Indonesia.

• The retail arm of  Petronas is “always looking for acquisitions” and is particularly interested in the oil & gas product markets in the Philippines and Thailand, said CEO  Amir Hamzah Azizan. The company also wouldn’t rule out the option of acquiring sister  company PT Petronas Niaga Indonesia, which runs 19 petrol stations in Indonesia.  “Indonesia is a big market,” said Amir. “We have just scratched the surface of it. I am  hopeful that we can get a bit more growth on the volume”.   
• The company’s newly introduced dividend policy of paying about  55% of its profits as  bonus to shareholders on a quarterly basis is “sustainable” in view of its growth prospect.  “Because the returns are sustainable and fairly predictable, that’s no reason why I would  need to wait until the end of the year to declare dividends,” he said. The company had  cash of more than RM900m at the end-Jun. (Bloomberg)  

Kuala Lumpur Kepong plans to sell as much as RM300m of bonds through a program.  CIMB Investment Bank Bhd. and Maybank Investment Bank Bhd. will be principal advisers  for the sale, KL Kepong said. The issue was assigned an AA1 long-term rating by RAM  Ratings Services Bhd., it said. (Bloomberg)

Malaysia’s  palm oil  exports rose 14% in the first 20 days of August compared with the  previous month, estimated Societe Generale de Surveillance, an independent cargo  surveyor. A total of 1,171,327 metric tons of palm oil were tracked Aug. 1-20, SGS said.  Malaysia exported 1,028,352 tons of palm oil during the same period in July, according to  the surveyor. (Bloomberg)  

Indonesia kept the tax rate for crude palm oil exports for September at 15% and kept the  duty for cocoa bean at 10%, Deddy Saleh, director general for foreign trade at the Trade  Ministry, said. The base price for calculating the levy exporters must pay on crude palm oil  was cut to $1,013 a ton from $1,017 a ton. For cocoa beans the base  price was cut to  $2,673 a ton from $2,791, Saleh added. (Bloomberg)  

Malaysia Airlines (MAS) is considering delaying its membership with global airline group  Oneworld and deliveries of the super airliner Airbus A380 as its new management focuses  on cutting losses, which spiked in 2Q11.

• The exco are looking at their options of delaying the alliance with Oneworld because it  will cost money to provide interlining services and also upgrade the lounges to their  standards. It is understood that a cause of concern is MAS’ sponsor to join oneworld,  Qantas, which recently announced it wants to set up two new airlines in Asia.  
• The A380 deliveries have been delayed since 2008 but the exco is concerned if it can  make money for MAS. (Malaysian Insider)    

Maxis  aims to work closely with the Multimedia Development  Corp to establish joint  programmes to promote adoption of cloud computing services for independent software  vendors. Maxis senior VP of business services, Fitri  Abdullah said the collaboration will  accelerate the adoption of cloud technology by software vendors and businesses. (BT)    

CIMB has been handpicked to join the fray of global investment banks mandated for the  English Premier League champions  Manchester United’s listing exercise across the  Causeway.

• The Glazer family has hired CIMB, BOC International,  DBS and pan-Asian investment  bank CLSA as joint lead managers. (Malaysian Reserve)    

RHB Bank Singapore  has won a three-year tender from  Changi Airport Group to  operate half of the currency exchange counters in the airport. (Bernama)

Total vehicle sales fell for the third consecutive month in July, slipping 6% to 50,252 units  from 53,483 units recorded in the same month last year, but jumped by 20% or 8,462 units  compared with the previous month. (Star Biz)

Prasarana  will continue to manage all issues relating to MRT  until the establishment of  MRT Co. "Works on the MRT project need continue...it is only rational that we carry on with  all the works and programmes that were decided before we officially hand it over to the  new MRT Co." Grp MD Shahril Mokhtar said. MRT Co. is now a new partner to work with  Prasarana on the MRT. (Financial Daily)    

AEON invested up to RM55m to renovate its Jusco Bandar Utama store, which took over a  year to complete. (Bernama)  

ExxonMobil’s sale of its 65% stake in Esso Malaysia to San Miguel is conditional upon  approvals from the Ministry of International Trade  and Industry, the Ministry of Domestic  Trade, Cooperate and Consumerism and Securities Commission. (Star Biz)  

Bina Puri has launched a reverse take-over on ACE Market-listed Oriented Media Group  via the injection of asset from an Indonesian power generation company. (Star Biz)  

IJM Plantations will be investing RM1bn in oil palm plantations in Indonesia over the next  three years. It has identified three sites in east Kalimantan and one in Sumatra. (Star Biz)  

Prestariang Bhd has been appointed by the Higher Education Ministry to undertake the  “1Citizen Certification” training and certification programme in all public and selected  private higher learning institutions.

• Total cost of the programme is RM28m for 80,000 students, or at RM350 per student  over a duration of two years from the date of acceptance of the letter of award from the  ministry at RM14mper annum. (BT)     

Manchester United (MU) will sign a sponsorship deal with Mamee Double Decker next  month. The tie-up is with Mister Potato which will allow the use of MU’s Red Devil logo and  images of star players. (Bloomberg).  

Tune Hotels is adding its 10 th  property to its portfolio in Malaysia with the opening of its  latest hotel in Kulim, Kedah next month. (Malaysian Reserve)

July vehicle sales down again
Total vehicle sales fell for the third consecutive month in July, slipping 6% to 50,252 units from 53,483 units recorded in July last year but jumped by 20% compared to last month. Sales volume for the seven-month period declined to 347,455 units from 354,598 units over the same period last year. Sales of passenger vehicles in July slipped to 44,835 units from 48,144 in July last year while sales of commercial vehicles were up to 5,417 units from 5,339 units. Total vehicle production dropped to 49,270 units from 53,629 units in July last year. (StarBiz)

Aeon: Upbeat on 'new' Jusco at 1Utama. Aeon Co (M) Bhd expects the newly renovated and relocated Jusco store in 1Utama Shopping Centre to ring in more sales than previously. The Japan-based retailer is optimistic that it will make RM300m within a year from yesterday. It had made over RM200m in a year previously. (Source: Business Times)