Tuesday, April 17, 2012

20120417 1019 Malaysia Corporate Related News.

Bumi Armada unit gets USD200m pipeline contract from Russia’s Lukoil
Bumi Armada's indirect unit Bumi Armada Caspian LLC has secured a USD200mil contract from Russia's OAO Lukoil for a pipeline project in the Caspian Sea. It said on Monday the contract involved the engineering, procurement, installation and pre-commissioning of subsea in-field and inter-field pipelines for the Filanovsky field in the Russian sector of the Caspian Sea. Bumi Armada said the completion period of the contract was estimated at 32 months and to be substantially completed by end-2014. (StarBiz)

IGB proposes REIT, comprising The Gardens Mall, Mid Valley
IGB Corp Bhd has proposed to set up and list a real estate investment trust (REIT) on the Main Market, comprising of two malls in Kuala Lumpur. It said on Monday the initial properties would comprise of The Gardens Mall – which is eight-storey retail mall – and Mid Valley Megamall, which is a five-storey retail mall with one mezzanine floor. These properties are currently owned by IGB's subsidiary, KrisAssets. “In conjunction with the proposed REIT establishment and listing, IGB has today acquired a newly established subsidiary, IGB REIT Management SB, to act as the proposed management company for IGB REIT,” it said. (StarBiz)

TSM Global accepts takeover offer from West River Capital
TSM Global has agreed to the proposed takeover offer for its shares at RM1.25 a shares from West River Capital SB (WRC) and the joint offerors, which hold a 28.1% stake. TSM Global said on Monday it was not seeking an alternative offer following the voluntary general offer (VGO). The acceptance deadline expired at 5pm on Monday after it was extended from 6 April. To recap, WRC and the joint offerers – Tzel Capital SB, KYM SB, Cheong Chan Holdings SB, Sierra Indah SB, Datuk Lim Kheng Yew, Lim Tze Thean and Melissa Lim Su Lin – had made a takeover offer for TSM on 28 Feb. (StarBiz)

Khazanah plans USD1.5bn healthcare IPO
Malaysia’s state investor Khazanah Nasional is expected to list its healthcare assets here and in Singapore in the second half of the year, a deal that could fetch USD1.5bn (RM4.6bn), said two sources with direct knowledge of the deal. The dual listing could be the fourth-biggest initial public offering (IPO) in the city state’s history and Malaysia’s second-largest this year after the planned listing of plantation group Felda Global Venture Holdings. A source said the listing was set for June or July, with pre-marketing to start next month. Another source said Khazanah was still making acquisitions “to bulk up the IPO”. (BT)

MMC-Gamuda to subcontract 4km of tunnelling works
MMC-Gamuda Joint Venture SB is looking to subcontract 4km of the My Rapid Transit (MRT) tunneling works to foreign parties, said sources. A source told The Edge Financial Daily that the consortium would subcontract a 4km stretch of the total 9.5km MRT tunneling works to foreign firms and would also lease the machines to them. The source said the subcontract would allow MMC-Gamuda to focus on the more challenging karstic limestone formation which dominates the ground between Pavilion and the south portal at Maluri, Cheras. (Financial Daily)

SC starts probe into Xian Leng
The Securities Commission (SC) Malaysia has started investigations into alleged financial irregularities at publicly listed ornamental fish breeder Xian Leng Holdings. As reported earlier, troubles at Xian Leng surfaced when a forensic audit by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Advisory Services founds that the company could not account for RM85.7m set aside to build ponds. PwC was engaged in October by Xian Leng to investigate alleged irregularities in capital expenditure incurred by its wholly-owned subsidiary Xian Leng Trading SB and Xian LengAcquatic (Kluang) SB, over a seven-year period from 1 Feb 2011 to 31 Jan 2008. (Financial Daily)

CIMB Group will sign a deal soon to buy 60% of Philippine conglomerate San Miguel Corp's unlisted banking arm, chairman of Bank of Commerce Jose Pardo said yesterday. It would be the first foray by the Malaysian bank in the Philippines; further boosting its regional footprint after it bought some equities and investment banking units from Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc elsewhere in Asia earlier this month. "I was told it would happen shortly," Pardo said when asked about the signing between CIMB and San Miguel, after the sale was reported by local media. He added that the deal needed the approval of the central bank. "I presume if they (CIMB) take 60%, they will have about eight board seats," Pardo said. Medium-sized lender Bank of Commerce has 15 board members. He said San Miguel Properties Inc and San Miguel Retirement Fund, which together hold about 76% of Bank of Commerce, were in negotiations with CIMB about the deal. The deal will be presented to Bank of Commerce shareholders at a meeting on April 24. CIMB's buy-in may be worth about US$200m to US$250m (RM614m to RM767.5m) and could be finalised in the next few days, said a report by the Philippine Daily Inquirer. (Reuters)

Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad hinted that Proton Holdings managing director Datuk Seri Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir might not want to continue leading the national carmaker under the ownership of DRB-HICOM. Mahathir, who is also Proton adviser, said in Syed Zainal's case, there was no question of sacking but merely a question of an agreement between the latter and DRB-HICOM as to how best to deal with the problem of redundancy. (Bernama, BT)

Despite being a leader in palm-based biodiesel or palm methyl ester (PME) back in 2005, Malaysia is now losing out to latecomers like Indonesia, Thailand and Colombia, which in turn are competitive players. Malaysia's biodiesel exports were dismal at 50,000 tonnes last year (86,000 tonnes for 2010), which is a far cry compared with Indonesia's exports at 1.37m tonnes. Out of 48m tonnes global CPO production last year, four major palm biodiesel countries produced about 45m tonnes, whereby 8% of their production were converted to PME. (Starbiz)

Sime Darby Bhd plans to spend RM2bn in the next 10 years to upgrade its workers' housing at its oil palm estates to that of mini-townships. By enhancing living standards of its employees at the estates, the group hopes to attract and retain more local talent at its estates. Currently, Sime Darby employs 37,000 workers at its plantations in Malaysia, of whom only 40% are locals. (BT)

Maxis Bhd, which has invested RM250m to upgrade its high speed data network and improve coverage across Sarawak and Sabah, is confident of doubling its sales volume in Sarawak this year, its chief executive officer Sandip Das said Monday. He said Maxis had also increased population coverage in 24 towns in Sarawak, including 80% for its 2G mobile network and 50% for its more advanced 3G network at present. With Hotlink's stake as the country's number one prepaid service and about 14m customers nationwide, he said, Maxis currently had a 40% share of the marker in Sarawak as the no.3 top best seller. (Bernama)

Khazanah Nasional Bhd is expected to list its healthcare assets in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore in the second half, a deal that could fetch US$1.5bn (RM4.64bn), two sources with direct knowledge of the deal told Reuters. The dual listing could be the fourth-biggest initial public offering in the city state's history and Malaysia's second-largest this year after the planned listing of Malaysian plantation group Felda Global Venture Holdings. The IPO will be one of the first after elections in Malaysia that are widely expected to be held in June. Analysts and investment bankers have said Malaysia's IPO pipeline has slowed ahead of the poll because of concerns of market volatility. A second source said the listing was set for June or July, with pre-marketing to start in May. Khazanah's healthcare assets are currently parked under Integrated Healthcare Holdings (IHH), in which Japan's Mitsui & Co Ltd owns 30% stake. (StarBiz)

IGB Corp Bhd proposes to establish and list a real estate investment trust (IGB REIT) on the Main Market of Bursa Securities. The initial investment portfolio of IGB REIT shall comprise a 8-storey retail mall known as The Gardens Mall and a 5-storey retail mall with 1 mezzanine floor known as Mid Valley Megamall (Subject Properties), which are currently owned by the wholly-owned subsidiaries of KrisAssets Holdings Bhd, which in turn is a subsidiary of IGB. KrisAssets, via its subsidiaries, proposes to dispose the Subject Properties to IGB REIT. In conjunction with the Proposed REIT Establishment and Listing, IGB has today acquired a newly established subsidiary, IGB REIT Management Sdn Bhd, to act as the proposed management company for IGB REIT. CIMB, Credit Suisse (Singapore) Limited and HLIB have been appointed as the Joint Global Co-ordinators and Joint Bookrunners for the proposed initial public offering and listing of IGB REIT on the Main Market of Bursa Securities. CIMB and HLIB have also been appointed as the Joint Principal Advisers for the Proposed REIT Establishment and Listing and the Proposed Disposal. CIMB and HLIB, have on behalf of IGB REIT Management, submitted an application to the Securities Commission (SC) for its approval of the valuation of the Subject Properties in conjunction with the Proposed REIT Establishment and Listing (Valuation Application). CIMB and HLIB, have also on behalf of KrisAssets submitted an application to Bursa Securities for its approval on the valuation of the Subject Properties in conjunction with the Proposed Disposal. A separate application for the Proposed REIT Establishment and Listing will be submitted to the SC within 1 month from the Valuation Application, as required under the SC’s Guidelines on Real Estate Investment Trusts and the Capital Markets and Services Act, 2007. The definitive agreements on the Proposed REIT Establishment and Listing and the Proposed Disposal will be executed following the receipt of the relevant approvals from the SC and a detailed announcement on the Proposed REIT Establishment and Listing and the Proposed Disposal will be made accordingly. (BMSB)

The race is heating up among property players gunning for a piece of the long-awaited redevelopment of the 1,215 ha RRI land. While some property players have presented their ideas and registered their interest with the EPF, the land owner and master developer, developers have yet to hear any more details or any formal time line being set. Some quarters reckoned that the project might be delayed due to land conversion, other legal issues, and finalisation of the masterplan. Out of the 1,215 ha, 217 would be retained by the Malaysian Rubber Board and 72 ha for the MRT depot. (Star)

The construction of interim port facilities for the proposed Samalaju deepsea port to serve Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) industries may be delayed following the application by a company for an interim court injunction to stop the project. Bintulu Port Holdings, which is tasked to implement the new port project, was served an originating summons by Integrated Marine Works Sdn Bhd (IMW). (Starbiz)

The Securities Commission (SC) Malaysia has started investigations into alleged financial irregularities at the publicly listed ornamental fish breeder Xian Leng Holdings Bhd. It was reported earlier that a forensic audit found that the company could not account for RM85.7m set aside to build ponds. Xian Leng informed Bursa Malaysia early this month that its board of directors had filed a police report on the alleged financial irregularities. (Financial Daily)

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