Felda Global to join Bursa top 20 club
Felda Global Ventures Holdings, which is due to float its shares on Bursa Malaysia’s Main Market on 10 May, will rank among the local bourse’s top 20 companies upon listing. Felda Global will have an initial market cap of RM21bn when it makes its Bursa debut, well above its current value of RM3bn, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Ahmad Maslan said. Based on yesterday’s closing, Bursa Malaysia’s top 20 list was led by Malayan Banking with Sime Darby in second spot, with market caps of RM64.9bn and RM57.7 bn respectively. With a RM21bn market cap, Felda Global may come in at number 16 of the blue chip list. (BT)
Felda Global Venture Holdings will launch its initial public offering on Bursa Malaysia on May 10, Bernama cited a senior government official as saying today. A deputy minister in the prime minister's department, Datuk Ahmad Maslan, was reported by Bernama as specifying the date for the IPO, which is expected to be the largest stock debut this year in Malaysia. A source with direct knowledge of the deal told Reuters the IPO would raise as much as US$2bn (RM6.05bn) and would take place in early May. Felda Global, the business arm of the nation's federal land authority (FELDA), is an agri-business company focused on palm oil, rubber and sugar cane processing and cultivation. (Reuters)
Felda Global Ventures Holdings, which is due to float its shares on Bursa Malaysia‘s Main Market on May 10, will rank among the local bourse‘s top 20 companies upon listing. Felda Global will have an initial market capitalisation of RM21bn when it makes its Bursa debut, well above its current value of RM3bn, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister‘s Department Datuk Ahmad Maslan said. It will also be the biggest initial public offering (IPO) so far this year. Ahmad said that preparations for the listing are 90%, with balloting, prospectus release and other related matters to be announced later. He said Koperasi Permodalan Felda (KPF) will hold its extraordinary general meeting on Feb 22 to decide whether it will approve the listing.(BT)
Petronas makes 2 gas discoveries offshore Sarawak
Petronas had discovered two gas fields offshore Sarawak with a total gas-in-place of 3.45trn standard cubic feet. The two discoveries were in the Kasawari and NC8SW fields in Block SK316. The Kasawari-1 well was drilled in Nov 2011 and found gas in the carbonate reservoirs. The well, drilled to a total depth of 3196 metres, penetrated about 1000 metres of gas column. (Financial Daily)
HSL wins RM82m Sarawak road job
Hock Seng Lee (HSL) has secured a RM82.2m contract for the construction of a road in Sarawak. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, HSL said it had signed a sub-contract agreement with PN Construction SB for the job. It said that the scope of works included earthworks, drainage and culverts, road and bridges while the works on the project were due to be completed in the first quarter of 2014. (StarBiz)
PLS shareholder selling 76.5mil shares
PLS Plantations’s major shareholder Kumpulan Prasarana Rakyat Johor SB (KPRJ) has agreed to sell 76.5m shares at RM1.21 each to Iskandar Waterfront Holdings SB (IWH). PLS said it had received a notification from KPRJ informing that the latter had entered into a share sale agreement with IWH, whereby the latter would acquire 76.5m shares of 20 sen each in PLS for RM1.21, being a 5 sen premium on the five-day weighted average share price. (StarBiz)
MNRB: PNB selling stake?
Industry observers say companies in the Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) stable such as MNRB Holdings (MNRB) may be up for sale. This is following a recent announcement by the Government that PNB and Khazanah Nasional would each divest five companies as part of a strategy to increase bumiputra participation in the corporate sector. PNB has direct stakes in 36 listed companies on Bursa Malaysia, the core assets (in which the asset manager and associated funds have a controlling or majority stakes) would be Malayan Banking, SP Setia, Chemical Co of Malaysia and Amanah Harta Tanah PNB. This would leave a second-tier of listed companies where PNB has substantial stakes which includes majority-owned MNRB. Given the spate of merger and acquisition (M&As) exercises among insurance firms in the past year, the loss-making MNRB could be a target for divestment since whoever gets the PNB stake would be in control of the company. (Starbiz)
Axiata: Idea’s mobile license revoked
Axiata Group, the second biggest institutional shareholder in India-based Idea Cellular Ltd, is disappointed with the Indian Supreme Court's decision to revoke Idea's licence to operate mobile telephony services in the south Asian country. Idea, along with 7 other mobile phone operators, had been affected by India's Supreme Court's decision at the beginning of this month to revoke their licences after it was discovered that these licences were issued under a scandal-tainted bid back in 2008. Axiata, however, said it was a committed investor in Idea and had a long-term view on India which represented an important and strategic stake for Axiata. Axiata also said that the impact on its net profit due to this incident would be negligible as Idea's contribution amounted to less than 5% of Axiata's profit after taxes and minority interests (PATAMI). Axiata, which earlier reserved its comments on this issue, said it would leave the decision to Idea's management on how to deal with the auction process,
expected to be called by the Indian authorities soon. (Starbiz)
AirAsia: Australia probe found inexperience
AirAsia X pilot Australian air safety investigators have found that the two AirAsia X crews who flew dangerously low into Australia’s Gold Coast were probably not adequately equipped to make the descent. Australia’s Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said the flights from Kuala Lumpur on May 4 and May 29 2010 descended into the northeastern Australian airport below minimum safe altitude. As a result, the aircraft descended to an altitude where there was no longer separation assurance from terrain and aircraft operating outside controlled airspace. (Business Times)
MAS: Unions meeting PM today
Representatives from all the unions and associations of Malaysia Airlines (MAS) are due to meet with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak today in its second attempt to undo the share swap between Khazanah Nasional and AirAsia owners. Malaysian Airline System Employees’ Union (Maseu) president Alias Aziz said all the unions and associations will be represented at the meeting. We will be having a press conference after that at 2.30pm. Although it is uncertain what such a meeting will achieve, it is understood that already demoralised MAS staff saw red with the recent appointments of AirAsia’s key personnel to top posts in the national carrier. Each union and association will be sending two representatives. (Business Times)
Proton: Denies plan to ditch Lotus
Top executives of both Proton and Lotus on Monday dismissed speculation that the ownership of the latter was about to change hands. They acknowledged that the rumours were beginning to hit morale, especially at the national carmaker, as well as affect its sales and relationship with suppliers. Proton managing director Datuk Seri Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir said Proton’s current plan is to continue the business plan based on what they did before, unless the new shareholder says otherwise. Lotus chief executive Dany Bahar also denied a separate report that he was seeking funding for a management buy-out of the carmaker. (Starbiz)
Aviation: IATA says Asians expected to travel more
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) says in terms of propensity to travel, Asia has tremendous potential for future growth. Its director-general and CEO, Tony Tyler said the average person in the US travels by air 1.8 times per year, while in Germany the equivalent is one trip annually. He said for China the average is 0.2 air trips per person per year and for India it is just 0.1. He also said that within the next decade, China is expected to reach the $15,000 per capita income level at which point annual air travel becomes possible which will results in extra 1bn annual travelers. The IATA's passenger forecast has projected that by 2015, Asia-Pacific will represent 37% of traffic, while traffic associated with Europe and North America will fall to 29%. Total passengers worldwide are expected to rise to 3.55bn during the same period, with routes associated with China to see a significant rise in the passenger traffic as well. (Bernama)
Oil & Gas: Petronas finds gas offshore Sarawak
Petronas has made two gas discoveries in the Kasawari and NC8SW fields in Block SK316 offshore Sarawak via exploration wells Kasawari-1 and NC8SW-1. The Kasawari-1 well was drilled in Nov 2011 and found gas in the carbonate reservoirs. The well, drilled to a total depth of 3,196 metres, penetrated about 1,000 metres of gas column -- the longest drilled section of gas column in Malaysia. Preliminary assessments carried out in early Feb 2012 indicate that gas-in-place for the Kasawari field is over 5trn standard cubic feet (TSCF) with estimated recoverable hydrocarbon resource of just over 3trn TSCF, making it one of the largest non-associated gas fields in Malaysia. The recoverable resource for the NC8SW field is estimated at more than 450bn standard cubic feet of gas. For 2012, PETRONAS and its production sharing contractors are planning to drill 30 exploration wells to further enhance the prospect of Malaysia’s basin.(Business Times)
Companies in the Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) stable such as MNRB Holdings, Bonia Corp and Asia File Corp may be up for sale. This is following an announcement by the Government that PNB and Khazanah Nasional would each divest five companies as part of a strategy to increase bumiputra participation in the corporate sector. The loss-making MNRB could be a target for divestment since whoever gets the PNB stake would be in control of the company. (Star Biz)
Rohatyn Group, a US-based emerging markets asset manager founded by formerJPMorgan & Co bankers, said yesterday that it has agreed to acquire 60% of CapAsia, the private equity arm of Malaysia's CIMB Group Holdings Bhd. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. Singapore-based mid-market fund CapAsia has raised more than US$500m in capital commitments across three funds, including an Islamic fund, and has more than US$400m in assets under management. CIMB's sale of a stake in CapAsia comes as banks are turning off commitments to new private equity funds and jettisoning existing assets, anticipating regulation that makes holding private equity assets more costly. "The CapAsia transaction builds on Rohatyn's strategy to grow our private investing business in Asia in infrastructure and real estate," CEO Nicolas Rohatyn said, adding that the venture offers an investment platform "in this attractive and fast-growing region.
"CapAsia funds invest in infrastructure projects in emerging Asia non-BRIC countries. (BT)
Wilmar International has managed to strike out a close to RM1bn defamation suit that had been initiated by Malaysian-based palm oil trading firm Pacific Inter-Link Sdn Bhd (PIL). Wilmar said that the High Court had ordered PIL's writ of summons and statement of claim to be struck out, with costs to be paid by PIL to all the defendants, including Wilmar. (Starbiz)
AirAsia announced the appointment of Andrew Littledale as the budget carrier‘s new group CFO. Littledale will assume leadership responsibilities across the group‘s accounting and financial functions. He succeeds Rozman Omar who has left for Malaysia Airline System as the national carrier‘s new group CFO. (Bernama)
The Brunsfield Group is the latest property developer to have inked a deal with Iskandar Waterfront Holdings Bhd (IWH) to develop a parcel of land close to the waterfront area in Johor Baru, industry sources said. The source added that the development to be undertaken by Brunsfield and IWH would have a GDV of around RM3bn. (Star)
Green Packet Bhd, the service provider of WiMAX broadband, will transform itself into a mobile company to offer more than just broadband solutions and expects to return to the black. Anyone with a smartphone or multi devices will be able to access P1's broadband, fixed voice, value-added services, and applications and mobile services by mid-2013. (StarBiz)
Interest in Time Engineering Bhd shares soared yesterday as the debt-free ICT firm is said to have attracted three bidders to take up a controlling share in it. The Edge weekly reported that Khazanah Nasional Bhd has three bidders for its 45.03% stake in Time and the government investment arm is in them midst of evaluating the proposals from the bidders. The weekly gathered that the bidders were likely to be ICT consultancy firm Zamcorp Bhd, IT solutions company MM Tech Corp, and an entity linked to Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Albukhary. (Financial Daily)
Tune Money is reinventing itself as a ‗supermarket banker‘, and is leveraging its association with AirAsia to reach the top of the league. According to CEO Peter Miller, supermarket banking is not an entirely new concept in UK and US, but is considered a revolutionary idea in this region. Names like Tesco or Sainsbury‘s have managed to establish themselves as leaders in the consumer banking scene there. Miller lays out his ambitious plans to lead Tune Money to become a leading consumer banking institution, starting with its recently relaunched prepared-cum-loyalty programme card, the Big Card, a collaboration with AirAsia. With the Big Card, after accumulating points, cardholders can opt to redeem all their points for flight tickets. (Financial Daily)
Malaysia Building Society (MBSB) has come out in the open to deny speculations and news reports that the company was going to be privatized in the near term. On Saturday, a local business daily reported that the company‘s major shareholder Employees Provident Fund (EPF) was considering privatizing MBSB to allow the former to do much more with its residual properties. (Malaysian Reserve)
Petronas discovers gas offshore Sarawak
Petronas has made two gas discoveries in the Kasawari and NC8SW fields in Block SK316 offshore Sarawak via exploration wells Kasawari-1 and NC8SW-1. Preliminary assessments carried out in early February 2012 indicate that gas-in-place for the Kasawari field is over five trillion standard cubic feet (TSCF) with estimated recoverable hydrocarbon resource of just over three TSCF, making it one of the largest nonassociated gas fields in Malaysia. (Bernama)
Hektar REIT net income up 121%
According to Hektar Asset Management Sdn Bhd, that its Hektar Real Estate Investment Trust (Hektar REIT) net income increased by 121% to RM86.7m, or 27.08 sen per unit, last year. The gain was attributed to the revaluation of its investment properties. (Business Times)
Heilesen moves to bring GPRO back into the black
The new shareholder of GPRO Technologies Bhd is toying with several ideas to grow the company, including injecting new IT businesses to return it to profitability. GPRO, which develops IT solutions for textile and apparel manufacturers, has been in the red since 2005. (Business Times)
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