20091215 1013 Malaysia Corporate News.

LCL Corp Chairman Dato' Low Chin Meng sold his remaining 16m shares in LCL Corp last Friday at RM0.23. He does not own any more shares in the company; The 16m shares were pledged to CIMB Islamic Bank as part of the security in respect of a facility granted to LCL Corp. CIMB had invoked its rights under the memorandum of deposit to dispose the security last Friday. The net proceeds from the disposal of shares was utilised to partially settle the outstanding overdue amount of the facility granted to the Group. (BMSB) 
Dato' Low remains the Group's Chairman and would likely continue to be involved in the  restructuring of the Group's operations and balance sheet.

The Selangor state government did not request for Pengurusan Asset Air Bhd (PAAB) to step in to lead the talks in the state's water consolidation exercise, as allegedly claimed by PAAB CEO Ahmad Faizal Abdul Rahman. Members of parliament of Selangor Water Panel, also refuted claims that it was the Selangor government that had caused the water talks to break down.

• The water panel also slammed the federal government for offering Syabas a way out of its cash flow problems. "The fact that the federal government had been secretly negotiating a RM320m loan facility to Syabas serves only to prove the federal government's bad faith in the water talks..." Selangor Water Panel member Tony Phua said. (Financial Daily) 

State Grid Corp of China (SGCC) plans to invest some US$6-8bn to set up one of the world's largest aluminium smelter plants (estimated to involve US$3bn) and three hydroelectric dams in Sarawak through cooperation with 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB). The "package deal" for the joint cooperation agreement was privately signed between the two parties while a formal signing ceremony was scheduled for early next year, a source said.

• 1MDB, will co-invest in the project via cash or "assets" or both. "The Chinese partner has the technical expertise and considerable capital. As for 1MDB, it can help facilitate the investment from the standpoint of the state and federal governments and power through all the bureaucracy," the source said. (Starbiz) 

Khazanah's recent sale of a block of shares in Tenaga Nasional (TNB) to institutional investors, including the EPF was to prevent a depression in the utility's share price, said a spokesman for the government's investment firm. "We wanted to hive off blocks of TNB shares to institutional investors who, in turn, would gradually sell these shares into the marketplace," said Khazanah spokesman Mohd Asuki Abas. 

• "Any other way (of Khazanah selling down TNB shares) would have been an unnecessary risk to the share price of TNB," Asuki said. Khazanah last week sold 86.75m shares in TNB representing 2% of the paid-up capital, at RM8.10 each, with 50m shares sold to EPF and the balance sold to more than 30 institutional funds. (Starbiz)

Permodalan Nasional Bhd is seeking ways to "maximise" returns on its newly merged property unit, including a possible initial share sale. "We will have to look at what's the best for us," CEO Tan Sri Hamad Kama Piah Che Othman said. "It's a matter of opportunity," he said. "It depends on the market conditions and the value that we create." PNB "hopes" for the Malaysian stock market to do better next year as the Government pushed through efforts to revive the economy, he said. (Bloomberg, Star)

Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) is looking at the possibility of developing a 100-storey building near Stadium Merdeka and Stadium Negara here if the project is viable, said President Tan Sri Hamad Kama Piah Che Othman. He said the board of directors of PNB will study all possibilities before making any decision. 

• Sources said construction work on the building was expected to commence in 1Q10 and said the proposal on the building had been also submitted to the Ministry of Finance and that it was being studied in detail. PNB is planning to develop the 72-hectare area surrounding the country's oldest stadiums into a mixed-development project. (Bernama) 

Come Jan 1, holders of approved permit (AP) must go through a new system designed to end under-declaration of imported used cars. Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhiyiddin Yassin said the government would introduce a gazetted pricing mechanism for imported used vehicles. It is learnt that the pricing mechanism will be based on the market value of the car based on the official regulated pricing in the country of origin. The system will curb abuse and prevent Malaysia from becoming an automotive dumping ground. (NST) 
This news is positive and could increase the prices of parellel imported cars or reduce the entry of such cars into the country, in our opinion. It enables domestic manufacturers and assemblers which have made substantial investments to compete on a more level playing field.

Perisai Petroleum has acquired two jackup drilling rigs for US$10m from Cliffs Drilling Co and The Offshore Drilling Co. The company said the acquisition will provide a platform to convert the rigs into mobile offshore production and storage units and to generate robust earnings by hiring them to oil & gas field owners. (Star)

Oilcorp's subsidiary Straight A’s Portfolio Sdn Bhd was not able to redeem its outstanding Murabahah Underwritten Notes Issuance Facility Note totalling RM24m on 10 Dec redemption date. The company will address the default by formulating a restructuring plan to regularise its financial condition and appoint a principal adviser. It will continue to remain operational and make all efforts to complete its current contracts. (Star)

Indonesia will be the major overseas market focus for RHB Banking Group, once the proposed acquisition of PT Mestika Dharma is finalised by 1Q10. "RHB has a huge regional expansion programme. We have branches in Singapore, Thailand, Brunei and an office in Vietnam currently, but most probably based on our plans, Indonesia will be our biggest market after Malaysia," group MD Datuk Tajuddin Atan said. (Malaysian Reserve)

Kenanga Investment Bank (KIB), a subsidiary of K&N Kenaga Holdings, will acquire CMS Trust Management Bhd for RM23m to complement its existing business. The acquisition, to be completed in the 2Q10, is expected to strengthen the company as one of Malaysia’s leading independent financial groups. CMS Trust Management is a subsidiary of Cahaya Mata Sarawak (CMS), with an asset base of RM2bn. (StarBiz)

Maybank has denied claims that it is making a bid for a stake in Thailand’s Siam City Bank. The bank said its regional growth strategy remained focused on organic growth in its key markets and in creating synergies to extract best value from regional acquisitions. (StarBiz)

Milux Corp has been awarded a US$75.3m (RM257m) contract to supply regulator sets and gas stoves to Indonesia from Feb-Nov 2010. The contract was secured through a tendering process from the republic’s Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises. It will contribute positively to its earnings for the current fiscal year ending Aug FY10. (BT)

The government does not decide the rate charged by Astro for its direct-to-home (DTH) satellite pay TV services rendered to its subscribers. Deputy Minister of Information Communications and Culture Datuk Joseph Salang Gandum said that the paid services provided by Astro was not basic communications service but rather a choice made by subscribers to have a choice of more channels. 

• "Currently, the minimum amount charged by Astro for a basic package comprising 26 channels, is still competitive at RM37.95. It is a common practice by most of the service providers throughout the world to offer packages based on the demand and requirements of clients," said Joseph Salang. (Malaysian Reserve)

Carlsberg yesterday announced that its MD Soren Holm Jensen, who oversees operations in Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan, will be returning to Copenhagen, Denmark to take up a senior managerial role in the group's headquarters at the end of Feb 2010. Jensen would be replaced by Carlsberg Hong Kong and Macau's currrent MD Soren Ravn with effect from Mar 1, 2010. (Financial Daily)

Salcon's Chinese JV was awarded a 30-year concession to supply treated water in China’s Yizheng City. The JV, Jiangsu Salcon Water & Environmental Development Co Ltd, will take over an existing 8km pipeline and extend it by 21km. It has been guaranteed a minimum water volume of 25,000 cubic meters/day. (BT)

Home linen manufacturer Yoong Onn Corp's initial public offering (IPO) has been oversubscribed by 12.6x. The company is scheduled to be listed on the Bursa Malaysia main market on Dec 23. The company said it received 4,832 applications for 81.54m shares worth RM71.8m for the 6m shares available for public subscription. The company’s IPO entails a public issue of 25.1m shares and an offer for sale of 25.2m shares at an issue price of RM0.88. The IPO will raise proceeds of RM22.1m. (Starbiz)