Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) CEO Datuk Seri Che Khalib Mohd Noh will be calling it quits when his contract expires in June this year after heading the national utility for the past seven years. “In any organisation, you need new faces,” he told StarBiz. “I am recommending a new face ... the organisation needs a fresh face. It is like that in any organisation. If a person stays on for too long, people tend to get bored with him.” The board has accepted Che Khalib's request for his contract not to be renewed and has begun finding a replacement. “It is entirely up to the board to decide. It is getting consultants to identify the candidates; the process started last month (when Che Khalib indicated his request not to be renewed). “The priority would probably be internal candidates; naturally, the most suitable person would be the current chief operating officer/executive director Datuk Azman Mohd. But ultimately, it is up to the board whether it is an internal or external candidate,” he said. (Star Biz)
DRB-HICOM Bhd is understood to have hosted two Volkswagen AG Group directors last Thursday. Business Times understands that the two met key stakeholders of DRB-HICOM, including its top management. “They also reviewed all Proton Holdings Bhd‟s models,” said a source. It is understood that the Volkswagen directors were here to evaluate the possibility of having a collaborative technical agreement on technology transfer with Proton. “This is the first step and I think that there will be many more such meetings before a deal could be struck,” said the source. (BT)
Malaysia is prepared to submit comments to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), criticising its recent actions which could lead to a trade war of commodities. EPA analysis shows that biodiesel and renewable diesel produced from palm oil from Malaysia and Indonesia do not meet the minimum 20% lifecycle Greenhouse-gases reduction threshold needed to qualify as renewable fuel under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) programme. (BT)
CIMB Group Holdings Bhd is optimistic new regulations under consideration in Indonesia won't force it to dump its controlling stake in its Indonesian banking subsidiary. The group's chief executive Nazir Razak said CIMB is hoping it will be able to hold on to its 97% stake in Indonesia's fifth-largest bank, CIMB Niaga. (WSJ)
Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) has expressed concern over the apparent lack of transparency and proper procedure in the awarding of the RM7.07bn West Coast Expressway concession project. Its president, Datuk Paul Low said this mega project would involve massive public financing of a soft loan of RM2.24bn and payment of RM980m for land acquisition, and an unprecedented 60-year toll concession. “TI-M views with concern the apparent lack of transparency and proper procedure in the award. Given the public funding and long concession period, there could have been proper governance and transparency in the award through an open, transparent and competitive procurement process and public disclosure of the terms and conditions of the contract,” he said in a statement. (Financial Daily)
AirAsia Bhd flew 29.86m passengers in 2011, up 16.27% from 25.68m the previous year. The carrier carried 7.93m passengers, a 12.3% increase in 4QFY11. Its capacity also rose 13.5% to 37.5m while load factor increased to 80%, up 2%. Reuters reported that Southeast Asian carriers are expected to cash in on the increasing interest from both business and leisure travelers in Myanmar, which in recent months has announced some democratic reforms. Thai AirAsia is looking to add new routes into Mandalay and Bagan, Myanmar‟s inland cultural centres. (Financial Daily)
Wah Seong is confident of securing at least RM1.5bn of its current tenderbook of RM4.9bn, mostly in international oil and gas service projects. Managing director Giancarlo Maccagno said based on its track record, the company has a 20%-30% success rate on tenders. The company‟s current order book stands at RM1.3bn. Maccagno said the company is keen on merger & acquisition (M&A) to grow the company and is always in the process of reviewing possible opportunities. He said Wah Seong is currently in discussion with a potential company for a M&A. (Malaysian Reserve)
Ekovest will soon add Duta-Ulu Kelang Expressway (Duke) into its books under a RM325m share swap deal. Ekovest will issue 126.7m new shares at an issue price of RM2.75 each in return for a 100% stake in Wira Kristal Sdn Bhd. Wira Kristal owns 70% of Nuzen Corp Sdn Bhd, which has a 34-year concession of Duke. The new Ekovest shares will be issued to Wira kristal owners Datuk Lim Kang Hoo and Datuk Haris Onn Tun Hussein. Currently, the Duke is revenuegenerating and cash flow-positive, Ekovest said. (BT)
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd will focus on increasing the number of non-Muslim customers to enhance the market of various Islamic banking products and services. Chairman Tan Sri Dr Mohd Munir Abdul Majid said that presently, the percentage of non-Muslims using Bank Muamalat's services was 20% for the deposits segment and 40% for the financing segment. (Bernama)
Soon-to-be-listed Sentoria Group Bhd is in talks with state-owned investment fund Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) to develop an integrated resort (IR) city in Morib, Selangor. Sentoria is the developer and operator of the Bukit Gambang Resort City (BGRC) in Kuantan, Pahang. The company is slated to be listed on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia on Feb 23. A source familiar with the matter said an agreement between Sentoria and PNB is expected to be sealed soon. "The discussions are in an advanced stage to develop recreational and supporting elements such as theme parks and MICE (meeting, incentive, convention and exhibition) facilities there on a joint venture (JV) basis. The project will involve developing at least 80ha of land owned by PNB," the source told SunBiz. "Under the JV, Sentoria will emulate the integrated property development concept of BGRC and bring it to Morib." It is understood that the proposed project is part of Morib Beach Resort, a 320ha development project of which PNB Deve
lopment Sdn Bhd, a unit of PNB, is the master developer. (Sun)
MASkargo Sdn Bhd, which received its third Airbus A330-200F yesterday, is targeting RM2.4bn in revenue for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2012, driven by increased trade in intra-Asian markets, said its acting CEO Mohd Yunus Idris. For last year, MASkargo is expected to achieve a revenue of over RM2bn. "We are still in the closing period and will be announcing our results for financial year 2011 soon. We are expecting revenue to exceed RM2bn," he said, adding that in 2010, MASkargo posted RM2.4bn in revenue. (Sun)
Datuk Goh Tian Chuan‟s special purpose vehicle Temasek Formation Bhd (TFB) has received the Securities Commission‟s approval to merge Jotech Holdings Bhd, and AIC Corporation Bhd and AutoV Corporation Bhd. The proposed merger of the three companies for a total consideration of about RM696m would be satisfied via the issuance of new Temasek Formation shares. Goh, who is the group executive chairman of Jotech and AIC, described the SC approval as “an important milestone for the three PLCs and will leverage the groups plans to achieve greater heights”. When completed, the merger would create a larger group in terms of market capitalisation, streamline the multi-tiered shareholding structure and unlock potential intrinsic values. “The full value of the business potential of Jotech, AIC and AutoV is expected to be accurately reflected at TFB level,” he said. (Financial Daily)
QSR Brands Bhd has acquired 1.6m units of Al-Aqar Healthcare REIT from the open market for a total purchase consideration of RM1.9m. The purchase was funded by internally-generated funds. Rationale for the purchase was the opportunity for capital appreciation given Al-Aqar‟s future acquisition plans and its stable income stream from tenants. (BMSB)
Malaysia and Singapore are combining efforts and resources in a strategic entertainment and media industry alliance to penetrate the global market. To jumpstart the initiative, Singapore's Media Development Authority (MDA) will be leading 33 entertainment and media companies to Kuala Lumpur from Jan 30 to Feb 1, and they will be hosted and facilitated by Malaysia’s National Film Development Corporation (FINAS). In a statement, Global Creative and Media Agency (GCMA) said FINAS and MDA have been in talks towards concretising a co-production agreement since October last year. (BT)
IJM Corp to raise stake in KEuro
The potentially huge contracts spin-off from the RM7.07bn West Coast Expressway (WCE) project has spearheaded IJM Corp into the spotlight. But not to be forgotten is Kumpulan Europlus (KEuro), which could see more corporate exercises. “For a bigger exposure to the WCE concession, IJM Corp is likely to increase its stake in KEuro, which is now only 22.7%. It may not want to privatise KEuro, but certainly it may want to have a bigger shareholding in the company,” said a market observer. (Financial Daily)
New management team for Proton likely following takeover
Speculation over the future of the top management at Proton Holdings has surfaced with reports indicating that DRB-Hicom is keen to get its own people in the top posts of the national carmaker. News reports quoting sources said DRB-Hicom was keen to reshuffle Proton's management in the next two to three weeks. Current Proton chairman Datuk Seri Mohd Nadzmi Mohd Salleh and managing director Datuk Seri Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir are said to be on top of the list of those to be replaced. (StarBiz)
MAHB plans share placement to raise RM598.4m
Malaysia Airports Holdings (MAHB) plans to raise RM598.40m from a proposed share placement to finance the new low cost carrier terminal at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA2). MAHB said it planned to issue 110m new shares, which was up to 10% of its issued and paid-up share capital, to investors to be identified via a book building exercise. RM590m would be used to part finance the additional capex for KLIA2 while the remaining RM8.4m would be used to defray expenses relating to the proposed private placement. (Financial Daily) Please see accompanying report
SC committee shot down general offer for E&O
SC task force and its senior management had recommended that Sime Darby triggered the mandatory offer obligation for the remaining shares in E&O, but the recommendation was not agreed upon by the takeovers and mergers committee. The task force recommended that a new party acting in concert be formed between Sime Darby’s wholly-owned Sime Darby Nominees SB (SDN) and Datuk Terry Tham. Both collectively held more than 33% of the voting shares in E&O. (Financial Daily)
USD330m BDSN loan boosts Maybank's reach
The Maybank Group has concluded the syndication of a USD330.6m (RM1bn) term facility for Indonesia's PT Bajradaya Sentranusa (BDSN). The 10-year facility is segregated into dual-currency conventional tranches of USD187.5m (RM570m) and IDR400bn (RM126m) as well as USD100m (RM304m) in an Islamic tranche. Proceeds will be used to take over the entire existing project loans for the construction of the 2x90 megawatt Asahan 1 Hydroelectric Power Plant (Asahan 1 Hydroplant) located in North Sumatra, Indonesia, said Maybank in a statement. (BT)
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