Perodua drafting roadmap for used-car business
Second national car company Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd (Perodua) hopes to establish an organization structure for its used-car business by middle for the year, its chief said. The company is venturing into the used-car business to expand its revenue base and provide a platform for existing and new customers so that they can trade in their Perodua cars or other makes, for its new models. Perodua entered the used-car business in August 2008, but ceased operations more than a year later due to low sales volume. (BT)
Govt still keen on high-speed rail link
The Government is still keen on the high-speed rail project linking Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) said. SPAD chief executive officer Mohd Nur Ismal Mohamed Kamal, however, stressed that it will depend on the outcome of a feasibility study, which started last month and is expected to be completed in 6 to 12 months’ time. (BT)
S P Setia enters Indonesia in regional expansion
S P Setia continues its regional expansion with the opening of a representative office in Jakarta, giving the developer a foothold in the archipelago. Jakarta is the fifth overseas destination the developer has ventured into after Vietnam, Singapore, Australia and China. S P Setia president and CEO Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin said S P Setia hopes to be able to directly source Indonesian arts and crafts, building materials and furniture for its projects in the future. (Financial Daily)
Rafique to join Maybank as new group CFO
Former chief financial officer (CFO) of the country’s utility company Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB), Mohamed Rafique Merican Mohd Wahiduddin Merican will join the country’s largest banking group, Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) as its group chief financial officer (CF) effective 1 Jun. In an exchange filing last Friday, Maybank said he will succeed Datuk Khairussaleh Ramli, 43, who stepped down from his position as the bank’s group CFO following his appointment as the president director of PT Bank Internasional Indonesia Tbk, a subsidiary of Maybank in Indonesia. (Malaysian Reserve)
Ekuinas targest 12% minimum return for its investments in education sector
Ekunas Nasional Bhd is looking at a time horizon of between three and five years for its investments in the education sector with a long-term minimum target internal rate of return of 12% per year, according to a spokesperson from the government-linked private equity fund management firm. Its aspirational target for the investments is at 20%. Ekuinas has recently completed a purchase of a 90% stake in Cosmopoint SB for RM246m and has been reportedly eyeing Masterskill Education Group Bhd and Help International Corp Bhd on its plans to create the country’s largest education group. (Malaysian Reserve)
MBSB extends home financing
Malaysia Building Society (MBSB) will start extending home financing facilities to the second generation of property purchasers for its housing project in Sepang, president and CEO Datuk Ahmad Zaini Othman said. The non-bank lender, which does not come under the purview of Bank Negara, said this special financing facility would allow home buyers to stretch monthly home-loan repayments to the kids (second generation) of these home buyers, most of whom are retirees in their 50’s. (StarBiz)
The listing of Felda Global Ventures Holdings (FGVH) on Bursa Malaysia will proceed despite the Kelantan government's refusal to hand over the land to Felda. Felda chairman Tan Sri Mohd Isa Samad said the situation would not affect the listing of FGVH as the land area involved is small compared to Felda land in other states. "Felda Plantations Sdn Bhd has developed land in states controlled by the opposition. It is up to them whether to join or not (listing of FGVH). "It will not stop the listing as we have done everything and states that are against the listing can't do anything about it," he said. (Bernama)
Sime Darby Property Bhd, which is the property arm of Sime Darby Bhd, plans to build the conglomerate's 11th township development north of its existing Denai Alam township in Selangor. Sime Darby Property head of property development Zulkifli Tahmali said the township is at its planning stage but will measure 404.8ha along the Guthrie Corridor Expressway, which also sites the Bukit Jelutong development. "The new township will be a mix of residential, commercial and industrial (development), but we have not finalised the gross development value yet," Zulkifli told reporters here last Thursday. He was updating reporters on Sime Darby's latest promotional property blitz under the Lifestylse Collection brand to sell its unsold properties located within the group's 10 townships. The company plans to launch eight more properties with a gross sales value of RM1.2bn, involving 1,800 units of residential, commercial and industrial property its by financial year ending June. "We are on track as we have sold RM1.2bn worth of properties since the one-month sales campaign started and we have another RM1.2bn worth to sell until June. (BT)
MRT PDP MMC-Gamuda JV plans to speed up the awarding of a majority of contracts to the start of 3Q12 from its original Oct-12 deadline, sources said. The source said about 80% of projects could be awarded for the civil, station and depot works months ahead of schedule. The PDP had initially guided for 85% of projects to be contracted out by Oct-2012. So far, 27 out of the 86 elevated packages had been awarded, bringing the total contract value to RM10.5bn. (Star)
Axiata Group Bhd has been chosen by Forbes to be part of its 2011 Forbes Fab 50 Asian best publicly-traded companies. Though only 4 years old after its separation fromTelekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) and Datuk Seri Jamaludin Ibrahim was handpicked for the job, Axiata has established a strong foothold in some of the fastest growing markets such as India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Now there’s a new challenge – competition is stepping up in the data space segment as non-traditional competitors join in the race to steal market share via the internet. It also opens new avenues for content/application game and digital services. But that opportunity has come with a cost. Jamaludin admits that the traditional voice revenues are falling faster than the growth in data revenues and the challenge for companies like Axiata is the ability to get a “bigger share of the consumer's wallet”. This transition has caused Axiata to shift focus to offer services beyond connectivity and quickly monetise the surge in data by aggregating content/service and provide digital services to match the lifestyle needs of today's consumers. This will help counter pressure of margin drops in our voice/SMS revenues,'' Jamaludin says in an interview with StarBizWeek. He believes data will grow faster across the markets in which Axiata operates, led by high smartphone adoption, popularity of social media sites and the need of young population to remain connected but it is hard to predict for now if cellular growth with all that is happening will scale back to the double-digit range the industry had been accustomed to. He dismisses voice as increasingly fading and he says “in the short term it is still good, but not for the long term, and that is because there will be more substitution.” Jamaludin has identified 3 holistic strategies to tackle the challenge: 1) ability to ramp data for carriage revenue, 2) pushing for better customer experience from the network perspective and 3) bringing down cost. If these three are addressed, then whatever Axiata is doing will yield better margins, he said. (StarBiz)
Ingress Corp has received a letter of intent (LOI) from Tenaga Nasional for the establishment of a power management unit at the latter's Pantai Remis switching station. Ingress said the aggregate value of the project is RM26.6m. Work is slated to start by mid2012 and is expected to be completed in 609 days. (Malaysian Reserve)
The Selangor state government will submit a request to the Federal Government for a RM1bn allocation to build more retention ponds, MB Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim said. Khalid said the proposal papers were ready but the matter would be discussed with state exco members before being submitted. “The proposal will explain why the allocation is necessary and what would happen if retention ponds and drains are not built." he said. (Star)
Embroiled in controversy, Silver Bird Group Bhd has proposed to remove group managing director Datuk Tan Han Kook and executive director Ching Siew Cheong at its upcoming annual general meeting at the end of this month. The company said it would also appoint Baker Tilly Monteiro Heng as auditors in place of retiring auditors Crowe Horwath. The company said that in the midst of ongoing efforts in formulating a regularisation plan, it would not be able to make the repayments to its respective financial institutions totalling about RM143.6m. (Starbiz)
Tambun Indah Land Bhd is undertaking five development projects in Penang with a combined gross development value (GDV) of around RM571m this year. The projects are the RM131m Pearl Indah, RM180m Pearl Residence 1 in Simpang Ampat, RM39m BM Residence in Bukit Mertajam, RM41m Carissa Villas in Bagan Lallang and RM180m Straits Garden in Jelutong on the island. Group MD Teh Kiak Seng said with the exception of the Straits Garden project in Jelutong that would be launched in the 3Q12, the construction for the other four projects had already started.(Starbiz)
The City International Hospital managed by Ireka Corp Bhd unit, Ireka Development Management Sdn Bhd, is slated to complete by the end-2012. “Along with economic growth, social healthcare is one of the major concerns in Vietnam. “Given the increasing demand for quality overseas medical treatment, the park will be the first integrated healthcare development in Vietnam which will provide a comprehensive healthcare environment from facilities, hi-tech medical equipment to professional medical staff,” said president Lai Voon Hon. The hospital is the first general hospital to be completed within the “Medical City” located in Vietnam's largest medical hub, the International Hi-Tech Healthcare Park. The hospital is developed by Hoa Lam-Shangri-La Healthcare Ltd Liability Company (HLS).Ireka's associate company, Aseana Properties Ltd, holds a majority stake in HLS. (Starbiz)
Scomi Engineering is hopeful that its bid for the monorail project in Chennai will succeed. “The Chennai tender is coming up. We hope to be shortlisted,” president Kanesan Velupillai said. If successful, it would be Scomi’s biggest ever monorail project. Scomi and its consortium partner, Larsen & Toubro, secured the RM1.85bn Mumbai monorail project in November 2008. (Star Biz)
Hai-O Marketing Sdn Bhd, the multi-level marketing unit of Hai-O Enterprise Bhd, plans to move aggressively abroad, notably in Asean countries, in two years, after establishing a firm footing in Malaysia. "We will focus our business in Malaysia for the next few years, most importantly to uplift our branding and create awareness. Once we have established a firm footing here, we will venture into the regional markets and subsequently the global markets," Hai-O Marketing general manager Teoh Nee Siang said. The company will initially tap into Asean countries such as Indonesia and Thailand, before expanding to China. It has so far entered the Indonesian market, albeit in a small way, said Teoh. "Hopefully, the Bamboo Salt distributorship will pave the way for us to capture a bigger share of the market there." (Sun)
SEGi: The ball in Hii’s court
Will SEG International Bhd (SEGi) founder and largest shareholder Datuk Seri Clement Hii cash out or will he not? He has said publicly that he would be staying on no matter what. There was speculation that he would be making an exit following the acquisition of a 27.8% stake in the company by Navis Capital Partners Ltd, a private equity (PE) firm, at the end of last month. Navis has been known to be not only an active investor but also one which prefers control. Hii, also the group managing director of the tertiary education provider, has been in discussion with Navis' founders on ways to work together now that the PE firm has become the second largest shareholder in the company. Hii, according to Bloomberg data, remains the largest shareholder with a 29.8% stake. (Source: The Star)
LBS Bina to finally exit China
Sources said LBS will ink a deal this week to dispose of its 50% stakes in two joint ventures in China, one involving a golf course and the other a proposed 197-acre property development in Zhuhai. LBS could still play the role of contractor in the property project following the divestment, the sources add. (Source: The Edge)
Invensys-led group tipped to win Ampang LRT job
Malaysia is expected to award a RM950 million contract for system works for the Ampang light rail transit (LRT) line extension project to a consortium led by the UK’s Invensys plc. Government sources said the contract is expected to be awarded within the next one month and will help strengthen bilateral trade ties between Kuala Lumpur and London. Invensys is a global engineering and information technology group. Its consortium partners are Balfour Beatty Rail Sdn Bhd, which is 70 per cent owned by the UK’s Balfour Beatty plc – an infrastructure giant with strong finances, and Ingress Corp Bhd. Engineering group Ingress, which posted a pretax profit of RM31.05 million in fiscal year 2011, also owns 30 per cent of Balfour Beatty Rail. (Source: Business Times)
Telekom Malaysia: RM2.5bn capex for this year
Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) has allocated some RM2.5bn capital expenditure this year to improve its network and services nationwide. According to CEO Datuk Seri Zamzamzairani Mohd Isa, the budget will also be used for new businesses. TM, which currently operates Unifi high speed broadband, is now looking at contents and applications. Zamzamzairani said the group is also considering cloud computing and business process outsourcing. Meanwhile, Zamzamraini said TM aims to hit the 400,000 customer base mark for Unifi this year. TM also plans to develop more information, technology and communication technology services for the small and medium entrepreneurs. For a start, he said TM has signed a partnership agreement with Microsoft for the Office 365 software to expand our cloud computing services. (Business Times)
Bumi Armada: Unit forms US-based subsidiary
Bumi Armada’s wholly owned unit Bumi Armada Offshore Holdings Ltd , has formed a wholly-owned subsidiary in the United States to be principally involved in the offshore oil and gas marine services. Bumi Armada said on Friday that the company known as Armada Blue had been formed on Apr 2, 2012 as a limited liability company in accordance with the laws of the State of Texas. (Financial Daily)
I-Bhd: To build condo, duplex houses in i-City
I-Berhad is set to build 348 condominium units and 20 duplex houses in the city of digital lights in Seksyen 7 here. Each residential unit in i-City starts from RM340,000. I-Berhad CEO Datuk Eu Hong Chew said the i-Residence project constituted 20 percent of the 29ha i-City development. Eu said i-City, dubbed the first lighscape tourism destination in Malaysia with state-of-the-art LED technology showcase, would also have a new attraction inspired by Clarke Quay, a riverside development in Singapore. He said it was in line with the state government's project to upgrade the 7-km Sungai Rasau that cuts across i-City. He added that this development was included in the estimated gross development value of RM1bn.(Bernama)
Perdana Petroleum: Ibrahim sues company
Former major shareholder of oil and gas services provider Petra Perdana, Tengku Datuk Ibrahim Petra Tengku Indra Petra is suing Perdana Petroleum, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) as well as 11 other individuals for exemplary damages of RM50m and to have an injunction against the parties for assessing and using an email account belonging to him. The writ of summons also sought general damages for trespass against the plaintiff’s property, costs and other reliefs. Furthermore, the writ is seeking a declaration from the MCMC that it is the multimedia regulator’s duty to accept and investigate the plaintiff’s complaint. Perdana Petroleum (formerly known as Petra Perdana) said in an announcement to the stock exchange that the company was in the process of appointing a solicitor for the necessary course of action. (StarBiz)
asiaEP: Boardroom tussle over – for now
The boardroom tussle at ACE Market-listed asiaEP Resources Bhd is over for now. The twomonth drama came to an end yesterday at an extraordinary general meeting (EGM), with most shareholders voting in favour to retain the existing board of directors, comprising asiaEP's co-founders Dr Tan Boon Nunt and Lee Suet Hong, as well as three other directors, namely Khor Chai Tian, Chu Kheh Wee and Lim Ghim Chai. Results showed that among the shareholders who turned up, at least 75% have voted in favour to retain the existing board of directors, while around 23% to 25% had voted for their removal. “After this long havoc' that lasted for the past two months, finally, most shareholders, seeing that we are the founding members of the company, have chosen to continue to give their support to the existing board of directors,” Dr Tan, who is also asiaEP's executive chairman and MD, told reporters. (StarBiz)
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