20091130 1407 Malaysia Corporate News.

Hampered by poor offtake and excalating cost of subsidy, the Government’s highly promoted B5 mandate – the blending of 5% biodiesel with 95% diesel – now stands at the crossroads. Seen initially as one of the national strategic measures for better palm oil stock management with full implementation by January 2010, the B5 mandate is now being closely scrutinised by the Government for a possible reduction to B3 mandate soon.

• This latest decision however does not “blend” well with local palm oil biodiesel producers which have long suffered in silence over the snail phase progress of the B5 mandate. Despite making huge investments in their biodiesel plants here, many felt that their plight were overlooked. (Starbiz) 

Last Thursday, the economic regulator of water and sewerage companies in England and Wales, Ofwat, published final determinations of water and sewerage charges for 2010-15. YTL Power’s Wessex Water has been granted a 1.2% average annual price increase limit, higher than the 0.5% weighted average for all the water and sewerage companies. (Ofwat’s Press Release)

CEO of YTL Power’s YTL Communications, Wing K Lee, is confident that a nationwide WiMAX connectivity is a very real possibility. He also said that the introduction of mobile 4G WiMAX was more than the upgrading of existing technology; it was an entire paradigm shift.

• YTL Communications expects to require 1,920 base stations to cover the whole of Peninsula Malaysia.
• Rolling out in 3Q 2010, YTL is promising a nationwide WiMAX network with greater speeds than existing 3G networks. (Financial Daily)

There is no denying that competition has gone up several notches of late in the broadband space. Industry players are scrambling for net adds. While Green Packet’s P1 added 36,000 subscribers in 3Q, Telekom Malaysia (TM) saw a further reduction of its broadband net addition subscribers to 28,000. TM, however, is not sitting idle. In an earlier interview, group CEO Datuk Zam Isa said the company would continue to put in a lot of effort to improve its Streamyx service on all fronts. (Starbiz)

Axiata Bangladesh, and Warid Telecom have signed an infrastructure sharing agreement which allows both the operators to share tower spaces for setting up microwave and GSM antennas. It also allows sharing land for setting up BTS rooms, electrical power and generator power sharing. (Telecompaper) 

Emery Oleochemicals Group, 50% owned by Sime Darby, is geared for competition and profit growth after a year of internal restructuring and rebranding. Emery CEO and board member Dr Kongkrapan Intarajang said the group has been busy with internal restructuring and reorganising its operations in the US, Canada, Germany and Malaysia since PTT Chemical's entry. "Previously, the group operated regionally. Now, it has been reorganised to operate across regions and interact seamlessly as a global company headquartered here in Malaysia. "We have trimmed it into three main regions comprising Asia, Europe and the US," Kongkrapan added. (BT)  

Sime Darby will build a new RM100m hospital at its residential development in Ara Damansara, Selangor, bringing the group's total number of hospitals in the country to four. The new hospital is expected to be completed by 2012. An industry source said the new hospital is part of Sime Darby's vision in becoming a formidable healthcare player in the country and the region. "The new hospital in Ara Damansara will be known as the Sime Darby Medical Centre Ara Damansara. Sime Darby is intensifying efforts to bolster its healthcare business division, where the segment is very competitive but recession-proof, enabling the group to earn an income even during economic hard times," the source added. (BT) 

A new 300MW gas-fired power plant, owned by a 60:40 JV company between Petronas Gas and Yayasan Sabah’s business arm NRG Consortium, is set to give Sabah’s critical energy sector a boost by 2013. CM Datuk Musa Aman said the plant would resolve much of the power shortage problems on the west coast of the state although there was still a need for another plant on the east coast. (Starbiz)

MMC Corp’s unit, Malakoff Corp, is exploring the possibility of acquiring a substantial stake in 1,400MW Jimah power plant and the company undertaking its operations and maintenance works, say sources. “It is carrying out due diligence on Jimah O&M Sdn Bhd and Jimah Teknik Sdn Bhd and will decide if these are feasible investments,” says a source. “The due diligence is expected to be concluded next month,” adds the source. The coal-fired Jimah power plant is 80%-owned by Jimah Energy Ventures Sdn Bhd while Tenaga holds 20%. (The Edge Weekly)

Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) and the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers' (FMM) Johor branch have agreed to leave the final decision to consolidate PTP and the Johor Port to the Cabinet. PTP deputy CEO Azlan Shahrim said the consensus was reached after a two-hour meeting between the two parties. Azlan said the consolidation was proposed by MMC Corp as Johor Port was congested and operating at full capacity with no room for expansion. (BT) 

The Penang government has allowed two local companies to build 1km monorail test tracks in Seberang Perai Selatan, Deputy CM II P. Ramasamy said. "Our aim is to showcase the monorail technology. The state government is not bound by any agreement involving project cost," he said. "We hope that the monorail tracks and coaches will be ready in one year. The two companies will be asked to dismantle the tracks and vacate the land if we feel that it is unsuitable," he added. (Bernama) 

Malaysia Airlines’ (MAS) success in securing finances worth US$126m under the Japanese Operating Lease (JOL) for seven ATR72-500s aircraft was named “Aircraft Leasing Deal of the Year – Asia” by Jane Transport Finance. The success in securing the financing was especially significant in light of a very quiet Japanese equity market. JOL is a unique aircraft financing structure whereby the financier takes the form of a special purpose vehicle, which acquires title of the aircraft, and leases the same to MAS on operating lease terms. (BT)

Proton is set to launch its maiden MPV Exora in the Thai market at the Thailand International Motor Expo this week. Based on initial feedback from the media and industry experts, a good response was expected from Thai buyers. (Bernama)

TA Global is teaming up with Townline Gardens Inc, a Canadian home builder, on a 65:35 JV basis, to develop a C$130m (RM422.5m) mixed-development project over seven years. The residential and commercial units will be built on a 8.9ha land in the City of Richmond, British Columbia, in a project known as "The Gardens". (BT)