SapuraCrest: Orders two new ships costing USD227m. SapuraCrest Petroleum Bhd unit TL Offshore Sdn Bhd has issued two letters of award to Cosco Nantong Shipyard Co Ltd to build two ships costing a total USD227m (RM714.4m). The acquisition will enable TL Offshore to capitalise on the positive outlook for the installation of pipelines and facilities segment of the oil and gas industry. (Source: The Star)
MAA: Open to acquisitions. MAA Holdings Bhd is considering buying companies to boost profits to the level before it sold its core insurance business. The group expects to achieve scale in business rapidly by buying good companies cheap and selling them expensive. (Source: Business Times)
Malaysia Airports (MAHB) is privatising the construction and financing of the integrated complex at KLIA2 under a 25-year concession period to Segi Astana Sdn Bhd – joint venture between WCT and MAHB. The construction cost is RM530.3m to be funded through external borrowings and shareholders equity. WCT will hold 70% or RM74.24m of Segi Astana’s paid-up capital and MAHB 30% or RM31.818m.
• The complex comprises of a transportation hub for the Express Rail Link, buses, taxis, car rental services and private transport. It would have a commercial complex consisting of a shopping mall with net lettable area of approximately 350,000 sq ft; and car parks with 6,000 parking bays.
• The concession shall be for a period of up to 25 years and may be extended for a further period of 10 years at the option of the concession company. Upon the expiry of the concession period, Segi Astana shall transfer the integrated complex including the building, fittings and relevant documents at no cost to MAHB
• Segi Astana would pay MAHB a lease rental of RM31.818 million which will be net off against the subscription price payable by MAHB in respect of their 30% equity holding in Segi Astana. MAHB may also be entitled to royalty payments. (Financial Daily)
From next year, Bursa Malaysia will have teeth to go after listed companies that make questionable choices in appointing board members and top managers. The latest amendments to the exchange's listing requirements include an obligation imposed on listed companies to ensure that each of the directors, CEOs and CFOs has "the character, experience, integrity, competence and time" to carry out his role. If the companies cannot provide convincing evidence that they have complied with this rule in appointing and retaining these directors, CEOs or CFOs, the exchange can direct the companies to make the necessary changes. (Starbiz)
SapuraCrest has issued two letters of award to Cosco Nantong Shipyard for the construction of two pipelay cum heavylift offshore construction vessels at a combined contract price of US$227m. The vessels will be completed and delivered within 26-28 months from 23 Aug 11. Funded by internally generated fund and bank borrowings, the vessels will enable SapuraCrest to capitalise on the positive outlook in the installation of pipelines and facilities segment. (BMSB)
Sime Darby said the acquisition of a 30% stake in Malaysian property developer Eastern and Oriental Bhd. may boost earnings. “Taking on this 30% stake, at the stroke of a pen, we have property market presence in three key areas -- Klang Valley, Penang and Johor,” Sime Group CEO Mohd Bakke Salleh said in an interview.
• “We’re looking at this company as a brand that we can latch onto and also benefit from particularly in terms of high-end, niche development, hospitality business and more importantly, the entrepreneurial way of things.” Sime Darby may be forced by the Securities Commission to make a mandatory general offer, or full takeover, for Eastern and Oriental as the company, together with the three shareholders who sold the 30% stake, have about 41% interest, the Edge Financial Daily reported, citing market talk.
• “This story actually caught on and it spread like wildfire and people believed in it,” Mohd Bakke said. “Currently, it doesn’t even cross our mind, because we decided just to take a stake below the mandatory trigger level.” Any general offer wouldn’t have implications on dividend payment ability or hurt earnings as the company’s gearing at 0.3 is “very low,” Bakke said. Sime was open to the possibility of making a general offer in the future, he added. (Bloomberg)
Pakistan, the world’s third-largest buyer of palm oil, may boost purchases from Indonesia next year after it agreed to slash a tax on imports under a free-trade treaty, reducing dependence on Malaysia. Purchases from Indonesia, the biggest producer, may increase to as much as 30% of Pakistan’s annual imports of about 1.9 million metric tons from an estimated 5% this year, Abdul Rasheed Janmohammad, vice chairman of the Pakistan Edible Oil Refiners Association, said. Under the treaty, the South Asian nation will reduce by 15% the duty it levies on palm oil, Commerce Secretary Zafar Mahmood said. (Bloomberg)
Palm oil price in Malaysia may average RM3,100 a ton in 2012, Derom Bangun, deputy chairman of the Indonesian palm oil board, said. Indonesia’s 2012 palm oil production may rise to 25.9m tons from 24.1m tons this year, Bangun said. Indonesian biodiesel producers will likely use 700,000 tons of palm oil next year, he also said. The use of palm oil for biodiesel will support palm oil prices next year as this will reduce exports, he added. (Bloomberg)
Kuala Lumpur mayor Tan Sri Ahmad Fuad Ismail said that Tradewinds Corp Bhd (TCB) has been granted a development order for the 20-year-old Hotel Istana, located at the corner of Jalan Raja Chulan and Jalan Sultan Ismail. Ahmad Fuad said the order was granted this year to make way for another project. The 30-year-old Hotel Istana sits on a freehold land measuring 11,803 sq m. The 25-storey hotel has a room inventory of 516 rooms.
• TCB had last year been granted an order that would allow it to bring down the 39-yearold Crowne Plaza Mutiara Hotel and the 32-year-old Kompleks Antarabangsa.The demolishment of these two assets located along Jalan Sultan Ismail is to make way for a "multi-billion-ringgit" mixed commercial development. The project, dubbed the "Tradewinds Centre", is said to involve a total gross area of 3.17m sqm. (BT)
Bank Islam is still open to the idea of growing through M&A despite two unsuccessful attempts earlier. It was speculated some time back that Bank Islam was eyeing a merger with Maybank Islamic Bank but the talks fizzled out. Lately, Bank Islam was in the news with a potential tie-up with Bank Muamalat but that did not take off due to lack of synergies between the two banks. (Star Biz)
MISC Bhd : To proceed with capex plan
MISC Bhd, the world’s largest owner and operator of liquefied natural gas (LNG), will proceed with its committed capital expenditure of between RM4.0bil and RM5.0bil in mainly new vessels for the next two to three years despite the signs of a prolonged economic downturn. MISC’s president and chief executive officer Datuk Nasarudin Md Idris said that although they will take deliveries of committed programmes, capital expenditure plans on new programmes, like clean petroleum production freight, have been deferred. According to its annual report, MISC has 14 newbuilds on order for the next two years for its petroleum shipping division. MISC recently saw both Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s rating agencies downgrade its debt paper ratings on concerns about continued operating losses in its petroleum, chemical and liner businesses and large capital expenditure plans. According to MISC chairman Datuk George Manharlal Ratilal, the company has over RM3.0bil of cash. It also has a few unutilised credit lines to draw down from. MISC expects its petroleum, chemical and liner shipping divisions to continue to suffer losses this year, but is hopeful that its other divisions, mainly LNG shipping, tank terminal and offshore business, will help cushion the effects of it. – Business Time
SP Setia is highly confident of meeting its sales target of RM3bn after raking in RM2.3bn in the first 10 months of its current financial year to October (Bloomberg)
Former Bursa Malaysia CEO Datuk Yusli Mohamed Yusoff has been appointed the chairman of Mudajaya Group. Yusli will replace Asgari Mohd Fuad Stephens as chairman, though Asgari will remain as a board member of the company. Elsewhere, in a string of other board changes,
• Mudajaya's managing director Ng Ying Loong tendered his resignation effective 30 Sep, citing family commitments as the main reason. Ng's role will be assumed by Anto Joseph, who has been with the group for the last 18 years and has co-helmed the group as joint MD since April. However, Ng will continue playing a key role in the group as advisor to the board. (BT)
MAA Holdings is considering buying companies to boost profits to the level before it sold its core insurance business, its top executive says. MAA executive chairman Tunku Datuk Ya'acob Tunku Abdullah said without any acquisition, it would take up to 10 years for its existing businesses in unit trusts and takaful to reach pre-MAA Assurance levels.
• MAA has overseas businesses via PT MAA Life Assurance and PT MAA General Assurance in Indonesia. It also has a general insurance operations in the Philippines, MAA General Assurance Philippines, Inc. (BT)
Results from the latest Illegal Cigarettes Study for the period March – May 2011 revealed that the level of illegal cigarettes in Malaysia has hit 37.3%, up from an annualised average of 36.3% in 2010. It is estimated that this illegal trade is costing the Government RM2bn loss in tobacco excise revenue annually. (BT)
Eversendai has secured RM371m worth of projects in India, Qatar and Oman through its various subsidiaries. The contracts are expected to contribute positively to the earnings of the group for FY12 ending Dec 31. (Financial Daily)
Naza Group’s joint group executive chairman SM Nasarudin SM Nasimuddin said in the next four years, the company targets to produce 170,000 vehicles under its Kia and Peugeot range. "We have been in the automotive manufacturing industry since 2007 and produced about 150,000 units of vehicles in various segments. We are positive that the company will perform better in the future. To help achieve our production target, we will introduce 16 new models throughout the four-year period," he said. (BT)
Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia, the distributor of Mitsubishi Motors vehicles, expects its market share to at least double by 2015, thanks to the tie-up between Mitsubishi Motors Corp and Proton Holdings. "It is a very positive collaboration. In the near future, Mitsubishi model line up will be much wider with competitive prices. Our responsibility is to sell these cars, and to offer good services to the customer, with the total customer satisfaction.
• Our current market share is around 2%, and for the non-national brand, we are having a 5% market share. We believe our market share can more than double, or maybe triple, after this collaboration," said CEO Tetsuya Oda. (BT)
Ireka Corp Bhd, which is expanding its property development portfolio, aims to launch three projects next year with a combined gross development value of RM700m. The three projects, wholly-owned by Ireka, are located in Nilai (Negri Sembilan) and Bangi (Selangor). "We are optimistic of the prospects in the property sector. We see strong growth opportunities in industrial parks and the mid-market residential and commercial segments," said its group executive director, Lai Voon Hon. (BT)
EON Capital Bhd : Special dividend for EON Cap investors
EON Capital Bhd (EON Cap) shareholders on the register as at Sept 15 will receive a tax-exempt final special dividend of about 2.45 sen per share in addition to a capital repayment of RM2.60. The capital repayment will be on Sept 23 while the special dividend will be paid later. In addition to the first special dividend of RM5.16 paid in June, the total payout to EON Cap shareholders will amount to about RM7.78 per share. EON Cap had in May this year completed the disposal of its entire assets and liabilities including EON Bank Group to Hong Leong Bank Bhd. Trading in EON Cap shares on Bursa Malaysia had been suspended since Sept 9. Pending Bursa’s confirmation, EON Cap shall be delisted on Sept 26, the next market day after the completion of the capital repayment. – StarBiz
Tobacco Sector : Manufacturers hope for moderate tax increase approach
Tobacco manufacturers have appealed to the government for a moderate tax increase approach in the upcoming Budget 2012. In a statement, the Confederation of Malaysian Tobacco Manufacturers (CMTM) said that smaller and gradual tax increases will allow consumers to adjust to price changes, and are therefore less likely to fuel demand for illegal cigarettes. Last year, the government had imposed an increase in excise duty of three sen per cigarette stick. Citing the latest “Illegal Cigarettes Study for the period March – May 2011”, the CMTM said the level of illegal cigarettes in Malaysia had hit 37.3%, up from an annualised average of 36.3% in 2010. According to the study, illegal trade is costing the government RM2.0bil in loss in tobacco excise revenue annually. The CMTM was established by the three major cigarette manufacturers in Malaysia, namely, British American Tobacco Malaysia Bhd, JT International Bhd and Phillip Morris Malaysia. – Bernama
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