In respect of default in payments of credit facilities, LCL Corp's subsidiary, LCL Furniture S/B on 31 Dec received a notice of withdrawal & cancellation of credit facilities from Messrs Skrine & Co on behalf of The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). The outstanding amount to RBS is RM40.1m, in the form of guaranteed bond and overdraft facilities. LCL is presently considering and formulating the regularisation plan to regularise its financial condition. LCL has 11 months to submit its regularisation plan to the relevant authorities for approval and any updates or further details will be announced in due course. In a separate development, LCL Corp's Chairman, Datuk Low Chin Meng has denied market talk that he might have bought back LCL Corp shares yesterday. In yesterday's trading, LCL Corp's share price was up 8 sen to close at RM0.23. Volume traded was a heavy 36m shares.(BMSB & BT) The default payment announcement is not a surprise. LCL had announced a few weeks back that it had already defaulted payment of credit facilities amounting to more than RM70m to two local financial institutions.
Alliance Bank Malaysia is believed to have placed several of its top managers on forced leave pending completion on an informal internal investigation, says people familiar with the matter. It is understood that officials, who also include several branch level managers, were forced to go on leave just before Christmas, pending completion of the investigation. Sources further say that at least one senior official had offered to resign over the matter. Alliance Bank's assistant VP of group corpororate affairs Agnes Ong Poh Choo declined to comment on the matter. She also declined comment on queries that the bank's group CEO Datuk Bridget Lai had tendered her resignation. (BT) The above comes as a surprise to us as Alliance is known for its quality management, superior risk management practices and tight control on operations. This news, if true, would affect its reputation and is likely to dent sentiment on the stock in the near term. Furthermore, if it is true that members of the senior management are involved, it could delay the expected earnings recovery in FY3/11. Should Datuk Bridget Lai resign from the group, it would significantly weaken the management team as she is the key person who initiated the group's revamp that led to its strong financial performance in the past two years, of the group that led to the strong financial performance in the past two years.
Telekom is mulling to give a RM20m project to McKinsey & Co to ensure its RM11bn HSBB is on time to meet the 50% broadband penetration target this year. The telecoms utility's board is due to meet tomorrow to decide on the consultancy's terms as it races to meet its deadline set recently by the Information, Communication and Culture Minister. It is understood the current broadband penetration rate is now at 32%."The board will meet tomorrow whether to award McKinsey the contract to make sure we meet this year's target. It is a bit silly as we have the real targets to achieve," a company source told The Malaysian Insider. It is learnt that associates from McKinsey's US headquarters have promised expertise from Telefonica to help TM meet the targets, which now also include mobile broadband. The source added that TM would have been better off to hire experts directly from Telefonica instead of going through McKinsey. "It will be cheaper to hire talent directly than just engage McKinsey," he said. (The Malaysian Insider)
Sri Lanka is inviting Maxis Communications Berhad and Telekom Malaysia to invest in their US$150m maiden satellite project, said Priyantha Kariyapperuma, director general of Sri Lanka's Telecom Regulatory Commission. "They have expressed interest and said they will invest if the project is commercially viable," he said. Plans are in the pipeline to launch the nation's first geostationary satellite after it signed a deal with United Kingdom based Surrey Satellite Technologies Limited last December. (Bernama)
The government will study the existing rate for broadband services so that its usage can be widened and would not pose a burden to users, said Information Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim. He said the ministry would compare the rate with the existing rates in several countries such as Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. He said although the discussion on the payment rate was not welcomed by the service providers, the ministry was committed to reducing the charges so that more people could use the service.” We hope the charges for Internet and broadband services in Malaysia can be brought down so that they will be more affordable... as such, all service providers must discharge their social responsibility to achieve the government's aspiration," he said. (Bernama)
Malaysia has the least risky telecom regulatory environment in the Asia-Pacific as it is well developed and with few major changes taking place in recent years, highlighting certainty in the regulatory roadmap, a report by Fitch Ratings revealed. "For Malaysia, policy-related risks remain low, which reflects little support for new competition in core segments." "... it remains unlikely that core and potentially high-growth segments such as fixed line boradband will be opened up to competition in the medium term. “A high level of state ownership has worked to the advantage of Telekom Malaysia, in view of interventionists’ powers retained by the Government on licensing and broad policy issues. The regulator has notably taken a moderate stance on opening up the incumbent network to broadband competition." (StarBiz)
The Capital Group Companies has taken a stake in Green Packet. Sources said Capital took up 30m GP shares or close to a 5% stake at RM1.15/share. "Capital Research wanted a substantial and much larger stake. But there were not enough shares to go around," said a source close to the deal. "The existing majority shareholders also took up shares to maintain the percentage ownership." GP is now undertaking a 10% private placement. (StarBiz)
The Indian government is planning to auction 3G spectrum by mid-Feb, about a month later than had been scheduled, a senior government official said. "Jan 25 will be the last date for applications. Auctions would start around Feb 10-12," the official, who did not want to be named said. (Economic Times of India)
Malaysian CPO futures rose 0.6% yesterday, propelled by crude oil's advance to US$81 a barrel and expectations of strong food demand in the first quarter of this year. Palm oil prices extended gains on the first trading day of 2010 after posting their largest annual climb in more than a decade last year and traders say festival demand from China will boost the market further. The benchmark March contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed RM17 higher at RM2,680 after rising as high as RM2,698. (BT)
India plans to roll out RM171bn worth of road projects over the next two years and expects Malaysia to be one of its prominent partners, its Road Transport and Highways Minister Kamal Nath said. Thirty-five Malaysian companies already have a presence in the republic's road building industry. By June 2010, the Indian government hopes to award contracts worth RM68bn in addition to the RM41bn awarded between November last year and now. India was on a fast track to complete 7,000km of roads annually, with a target of 20km daily. IJM is one of the prominent Malaysian companies in the Indian infrastructure scene. (BT)
The more than RM5m ex-gratia payout to 134 squatters affected by the Ipoh-Padang Besar Electrified Double-Track Project in Penang will help expedite the project. Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat said development of the 329km project was expected to be at 47.2% as at November last year but currently was at 34.4%. He said that meant there was a 12.9% delay. “By giving out RM42,000 ex-gratia payment to each squatter, we are hopeful of expediting progress by a further 5%,” he said. (Star)
Realising the problem of carbon dioxide emissions, a lot of industries are starting to go green in efforts to reduce negative effects on the environment. Mohd Mustafa Al Bakri Abdullah from Universiti Malaysia Perlis' (Unimap) Material Engineering Learning Centre said Unimap has come up with an innovative building material product called GeoCRETE. "It is made out of waste materials like fly ash, therefore does not have an industry of itself and does not contribute to carbon dioxide emissions," he said. He said GeoCRETE was fabricated by mixing the composition of kaolin or fly ash and alkali activator with aggregate. The geopolymer will act as mortar to binding aggregate together in the mixture. • "This GeoCRETE can be used as normal concrete for multi purposes in construction. It also can be transformed into waterproof product and it is applicable for the range of parameter and material used," he said. • The product has potential application as replacement to existing cement and act as a cementitious binder in the construction industry. It can also be applied in industrial flooring, piping or coating. (BT)
Malaysia’s major port operators are optimistic of registering volume growth this year as volume has been picking up since the third quarter of last year, reflecting green shoots of economic recovery. • Northport (M) Bhd MD and CEO Datuk Basheer Hassan Abdul Kader said it expected to register volume growth this year as intra-Asian cargo had been picking up since the third quarter last year. Container volume at Northport had decreased by 15% and 12.2% in 1Q and 2Q yoy. In 3Q, the volume had shown improvement with only a 3% fall while 4Q09 registered growth of 9.5%. “About 70% of our business is from handling intra- Asian cargo which has shown positive signals lately.” • Westports Malaysia executive chairman Tan Sri G. Gnanalingam expected its terminal to handle 5m TEUs this year from 4.5m TEUs last year. PTP, which handled about 5.6m TEUs in 2008, also expected to register volume growth in 2009. • Suria Capital group MD Datuk Dr Mohd Fowzi Mohd Razi said the wharf volume was expected to increase by 9% and containers by 8%. (Star)
CIMB Thai PCL has appointed Chakramon Phasukvanich as its new chairman effective 1 Jan 2010. He takes over from Datuk Robert Cheim Dau Meng, who has been acting chairman. At present, Chakramon is a member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Thailand, Judicial Council of Thailand and Economic Advisory Team of the Prime Minister’s Office. (BT)
Maybank hopes to expand its network in Cambodia given the improving economic conditions and optimism on its growth prospects. The bank recently opened its seventh branch in Phnom Penh. “We are planning to open one more branch by end FY6/10,” head of international Abdul Farid Alias said. (Financial Daily)
Media Prima has 89.6% of NSTP at the close of the acceptance period yesterday. This is a shade below the 90% level that could have given it a less cumbersome route to privatise NSTP. In theory, without the 90% stake, Media Prima could be faced with potential opposition from minority shareholders as the delisting would require shareholders approval. (Financial Daily)
Kurnia Asia’s plan to tap into Cambodia’s insurance industry has come to a halt after it discontinued a proposed JV with Canadia Investment Holdings to undertake general and life insurance businesses in the Indochina country. (Financial Daily)
The recent hike in sugar price will likely have a negligible impact on the earnings of F&B firms but some industry players feel it is still too early to dismiss completely such concerns. F&N said the 20 sen hike is "not so bad" and the company will improve operational efficiency and promotional activities to boost sales and counter extra costs. Meanwhile, Nestle is still assessing the impact of the price increase on its operations. (Star)
Gadang Holdings has submitted a RM300m bid to construct a 4km long runway for the RM2bn low-cost carrier terminal (LCCT) project in Sepang, Selangor. say MD Tan Sri Kok Onn. The firm expects to know within the next two weeks if it is successful in the tender. Kok also said Gadang has submitted a bid to Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) to construct the terminal building at the new LCCT for about RM1bn. "We lost out to WCT for the first package but that did not deter us from bidding for the remaining packages. WCT Bhd clinched the first package, worth around RM363m, from MAHB in Dec for works that include site preparation, earthworks and main drainage. Other companies which have submitted bids for the project are IJM Corp, Ireka Corp, Fajarbaru Builder Group, Bina Puri Holdings, Sunway Holdings Bhd and Mudajaya Group. PJI Holdings, meanwhile is keen to provide mechanical and electrical engineering services for RM500m. (BT)
The Naza Group has signed a MoU with General Motors (GM) Thailand to distribute Chevrolet cars and parts in Malaysia. Chevrolet cars were previously imported and distributed in Malaysia by DRB-HICOM. (BT)
The Naza Group will start selling the Koenigsegg supercars as soon as next month, sources said. The company is said to have signed a deal with the Swedish-based highperformance carmaker a few weeks ago. This is Koenigsegg's first tie-up with a Malaysian company to distribute the brand in the Asia-Pacific region. (BT)
Toyo Ink Group says the Vietnamese government has given it permission to build a 2,000MW coal-fired thermo-electric plant at Duyen Hai 3, Tra Vinh Province, Vietnam. (BT)
Pilecon Engineering's shares will be delisted from Bursa Malaysia Securities on 14 Jan, after failing to meet the Dec-09 deadline for submission of the company's regularisation plan to the authorities.Bursa Malaysia said it is not mandatory for the securities of a company which has been de-listed to be withdrawn from Bursa Depository. Upon the delisting of Pilecon, the company will continue to exist but as an unlisted entity. (BT)
KTMB expects to open tender for the purchase of 36 electric multiple unit (EMU) trains worth RM2bn in the next three to six months. President, Dr Aminuddin Adnan, said KTMB was looking at prospective suppliers from international companies in Europe, China and Japan. (Star)
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