20121019 1001 Malaysia Corporate Related News.

Bursa Malaysia Securities has completed the final phase of its CDS (Central  Depository System) Straight Through Processing initiative for market  participants, allowing them to automate voluminous depository- related  transactions, from their back office straight into CDS. The exchange holding  company said subscribing brokers were now able to reduce manual data entry,  shorten turnaround times and facilitate faster data capturing for market  participants’ back office operations. (Bernama)

Telekom Malaysia Bhd  is seeking approval from the Finance Ministry to  make a RM1.8bn bid for Green Packet Bhd's wireless broadband unit, Packet  One Sdn Bhd (P1). Business Times understands that the company sought the  approval yesterday. Speculation has been rife that Green Packet is looking to  dispose of P1 but the company was noncommital in a statement to the stock  exchange on Wednesday.  But late yesterday, Green Packet came out with another reply. This time, it  told Bursa Malaysia that it is exploring strategic alternatives for P1,  including the possibility of a merger, consolidation, sale of stake and other  options to maximise shareholders' value.  "To date, we have not received any bids to purchase our shareholdings in  P1," Green Packet added.  However, an influential shareholder of Green  Packet told Business Times that selling P1 will be of strategic interest. The  shareholder also confirmed that the company has received several offers  for P1. (BT)

The cost of the  Sungai Buloh-Kajang MY Rapid Transit (SBK MRT) project will not exceed the RM40bn mark, says Mass Rapid Transit Corp Sdn  Bhd (MRT Corp) strategic communications director Amir Mahmood Razak.The  final value of the 51km SBK MRT Line 1 will be determined by the end of this  year, when all the 85 contracts are awarded.  So far, MRT Corp has awarded 47 packages worth around RM20bn.  Between now till the end of the year, it will award 38 new contracts worth a  combined RM2bn. An initial estimate for the SBK MRT project was pegged  at around RM37bn. Speculation has been rife that the project cost would go  up to as high as RM50bn.  "The 85 packages add up to around RM22bn. If you include other costs like  land acquisition and compensation, it will be less than RM40bn and not as  speculated," Amir said.(BT)

Mass Rapid Transit Corp Sdn Bhd (MRT Corp) expects to call tenders for  the Klang Valley MY Rapid Transit (MRT) Line 2 (Circle Line) and Line 3  packages by the end-2013. MRT Corp strategic communications director Amir  Mahmood Razak said firms that previously won contracts for Line 1 from Sungai  Buloh to Kajang can bid for the packages. "If the contractors have been pre-qualified for Line 1, they should have no  problems bidding for Line 2 and 3," Amir said yesterday after announcing  the start of the viaduct work package by Gadang Engineering (M) Sdn Bhd.  The MRT Line 2 and 3 are currently under final planning and evaluation.  Amir said the government will announce the alignment and station  locations in the first half of next year, after which, there would be three  months of public display for feedbacks. "We are not sure how much it  would cost to build Line 2 and 3. We will have an idea once we know where the alignments run, the geographic's of it and the number of stations  required," Amir said."The government is still conducting studies.  If the new lines are announced by early next year, we will be able to award  some of the contracts by end-2013. That would be a fair estimate," Amir  said.The MRT project comprising Line 1, 2 and 3 fall under the Greater  KL/Klang Valley Land Public Transport Master Plan. (BT)

RHB Capital Bhd says there is no ongoing merger talks between its subsidiary,  RHB Bank Bhd, and Malaysia's largest lender, Maybank Bank Bhd. Group  MD Kellee Kam said RHB has not been approached by Maybank on a possible  merger that could potentially create the region's biggest bank. "No, there has not  been any discussion with Maybank," Kam told reporters after the launch of RHB  Evo card here yesterday. "All in all, RHB, as a standalone organisation, has  shown that it is capable of growing and growing very well," he added. (BT)

 CIMB Thai Group posted net profit of RM1.05bn for the third quarter, more  than triple of the RM322m in the previous corresponding quarter. CIMB Thai  Group's consolidated net profit surged boosted by the shared gains from Thai  Asset Management Corporation and gain on sale of investment in a CIMB Thai  Bank's subsidiary. (Financial Daily)

Archer Daniels Midland Co and  Wilmar International Ltd said they  completed regulatory approvals for a partnership in the global fertiliser and  European vegetable oil sectors. To be based in Rolle, Switzerland, the  partnership along with another in global ocean freight will collaborate on  purchasing and distributing fertiliser globally, and in selling and marketing  vegetable oils and fats in Europe. (Reuters)

Lembaga Tabung Haji is close to disposing its Indonesian plantations to  Alexander Thaslim's PT Borneo Pacific in a deal worth US$1.3bn. The  plantations total 83,879ha (73,650ha planted) in Sumatra and are managed by  TH Plantations. The deal will be financed with US$300m equity and the rest in  loans. (Financial Daily)

Malaysian Airlines (MAS) will offer full-service direct connectivity from Kota  Kinabalu to Perth and Osaka and increase frequencies to Hong Kong beginning  December. The company will operate its 160-seater B737-800 aircraft for the  services. (Malaysian Reserve)

TH Plantations may sell 95% stake in Indonesian estates

TH Plantations may be selling its 95% stake in its plantations in the Indonesian province of Riau to Indonesia’s PT Borneo Pacific, who will be forking out as much as USD1.3bn (RM3.95bn) for the estates. Indonesian businessman and president director of Borneo Pacific Alexander Thaslim was bidding for what might be the largest contiguous plantation concession in Indonesia at 83,879 ha, according to Reuters. A total of 73,650 ha had been planted while other assets included six mills, a kernel crushing plant and biomass power plant. PT Borneo would buy TH Plantations’ 95% stake for USD910m (RM2.8bn) and is expected to buy the remaining 5% owned by PT Primasakti Rizki Pertiwi. (StarBiz)

Mah Sing to develop RM1.1bn GDV project in Iskandar Malaysia
Mah Sing will develop The Meridin@Medini in Iskandar with an estimated GDV of RM1.1bn under a 99-year lease purchase agreement with Iskandar Investment. Group MD and CEO Tan Sri Leong Hoy Kum said 10% of the total consideration of RM74.7m, with confirmed gross floor area of 2.14m sq ft, will be paid upon signing of the lease agreement, with the remaining balance to be paid over five years. All will be funded with internally generated funds. The project is expected to take off in 2H2013 and will be completed in five years.(Malaysian Reserve)

DRB-Hicom to sell power unit to Malakoff for RM575m
To pare down its debt, DRB-Hicom has proposed to sell Hicom Power SB to Malakoff Power for RM575m. The disposal of its power unit is expected to realise a net income of about RM446.2m. The proceeds, which will be received in cash via four staggered payments, will be used to repay its RM495m loan taken to finance its Proton acquisition. DRB-Hicom’s borrowings have grown to RM3.0bn after taking on loans for the Proton purchase. (Malaysian Reserve)

Motor vehicle sales up 3.3% in September
Motor vehicle sales in September rose by 3.3% to 45,872 units y-o-y. The passenger car segment recorded sales of 40,232 units (+1.5% y-o-y), and commercial vehicles rose to 5,640 units (+18.0% y-o-y). Sales volume fell 11.5% m-o-m, however, as consumers adopted a wait-and-see attitude pending the Budget 2013 announcement. (Financial Daily)

TH Heavy seeks early exit from PN17
TH Heavy Engineering is seeking an early lifting of its PN17 status after being profitable for three consecutive quarters. It has submitted to Bursa Malaysia its 3QFY12 results, which are subject to a limited review by an external auditor, in its application to be removed from PN17 classification. Bursa listing requirements require two consecutive quarters of profits following the submission of its regularisation plan. (Financial Daily)

Astro opens up one percent after $1.5 billion Malaysia IPO
By Yantoultra Ngui
KUALA LUMPUR | Thu Oct 18, 2012 9:49pm EDT
(Reuters) - Shares of Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd (ASTR.KL), the country's biggest pay-TV firm, opened 1 percent higher in their trading debut on Friday, underperforming other recent big listings in Kuala Lumpur's booming IPO market amid concerns about their expensive valuation.
The stock was trading at 3.03 ringgit as of 0132 GMT, compared with the 3.00 ringgit price set for Malaysia's third-biggest initial public offering this year.
"It reflects the valuation of the stock, it is priced quite expensive. As such it is not moving as much as the previous big IPOs," said an analyst at the research arm of a local bank, who declined to be identified.
Astro, controlled by Malaysia's second-richest man Ananda Krishnan, raised $1.5 billion in its IPO, bolstered by its position as the top player in the pay-TV market and by strong demand from cornerstone investors such as U.S. hedge fund Och-Ziff Capital Management (OZM.N).
The IPO followed Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd's (FGVH.KL) $3.3 billion offering in June and IHH Healthcare Bhd's (IHHH.KL) $2.1 billion flotation in July, and has pushed Malaysia's 2012 IPO tally to about $7.9 billion - or nearly one-quarter of all new listings in Asia-Pacific.
By comparison, Felda, a palm oil firm, closed up 16.5 percent on its debut in June, while hospital operator IHH gained 10.5 percent on its first trading day in July.
Four analysts in a Reuters survey had expected Astro to gain between 6 and 10 percent in their debut on Friday.
"On a price-to-earnings (PE) valuation basis, we do find the issue price of 3.00 ringgit per share rather expensive as it would translate to a PE of 32 times based on FY2013 estimated earnings per share," Kuala Lumpur-based TA Securities said in a note ahead of Friday's share debut.
"However on a longer-term basis we believe the premium is justified due to Astro's dominant position within the industry, expected double-digit bottom line growth, and decent bottom line margin for the next five years at least."
Astro, which also counts state investor Khazanah Nasional Bhd KHAZA.UL as a major shareholder, has a near-monopoly in Malaysia's residential pay-TV market and a subscriber base of 3.1 million. It is returning to public markets after it was taken private in 2010.
At the offer price of 3.00 ringgit per share, Astro would have a market value of 15.6 billion ringgit ($5.1 billion), nearly double the 8.3 billion ringgit it was worth when it was taken private.
Astro's IPO is being handled by CIMB Group Holdings Bhd (CIMB.KL), Malayan Banking Bhd (MBBM.KL) and RHB Capital Bhd (RHBC.KL). Several foreign banks are also advisers, including UBS AG (UBSN.VX), Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN.VX), Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) and JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N).