20100112 0937 Malaysia Corporate News.

Crude palm oil (CPO) prices could fall temporarily on news that the commodity's stock hit a 13-month high before rising again as demand from China kicks in, traders said. The Malaysian Palm Oil Board reported that December palm oil stocks surged 15.7% to a 13- month high of 2.24m tonnes as demand fell faster than production. A senior trader remarked that the December stock of 2.2m tonnes was surprisingly high and he was seeing more commodity funds back in the market. "We're starting to see more speculative play than physical demand. The funds are back in the markets. They'll push prices up and down with more volatility," he said. Third month benchmark palm oil futures traded on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives market fell RM41 to close at RM2,585 per tonne. Still, palm oil traders and futures brokers think prices could rise as high as RM2,900 per tonne by March. (BT)

1Malaysia Development Bhd and State Grid Corp of China (SGCC) will set up a JV company to pursue projects that would generate US$11bn worth of economic value in the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (Score). The aim of the JV is to be a major investor in the Corridor. PM Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the entry of SGCC and its significant investment in Score will pave the way for more substantial investments from China and globally into Malaysia. The amount of investments from both sides was not revealed but it is understood that they will firm up the investments once the JV is established. (BT)

The use of LED lights can help save about 60% on electricity consumption, said Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Peter Chin. However, he clarified that the ministry had not set a target of cutting electricity usage in the country by 60% nor did it have the intention to propose such a move. (The Star)

Bursa Malaysia topped the world’s exchanges in terms of value of sukuk programme listings in 2009, recording a total of US$17.6bn. Bursa Malaysia said since its inaugural sukuk listing in Aug 09, it had listed 12 sukuk by Dec 09 which contributed towards this development. “Despite the slowdown in trading activities and issuances in 2009, Bursa Malaysia had marked a new era of sukuk listings. Our expedient achievement is reflective of Malaysia’s significance in the world of Islamic capital markets,” CEO Datuk Yusli Mohamed Yusoff said. (StarBiz)

The Real Estate Housing Developers Association (Rehda) is appealing to the Penang state government to relook the RM500,000 minimum price ruling for foreigners acquiring residential and commercial properties.

• Penang Rehda chairmand Datuk Jerry Chan said the RM500,000 cap was too high as residential and commercial units outside George Town city limits, especially on the mainland, were priced much lower. 
• He said more than 50% of residential developments in the state fell below the RM500,000 category.
• He said although the ruling was made by the federal government, it was within the purview of the respective state governments to adopt the ruling or even rescind it, as the approvals for foreign ownership of property was now under state governments. (Financial Daily)
  

Public Bank will be seeking shareholders' approval to purchase up to 10% of its issued and paid-up share capital at its AGM on a date to be announced later. Public Bank said a statement to shareholders containing information on the proposed share buy-back authority would be despatched to shareholders together with its annual report in due course. (StarBiz)

EON Bank has opened its 140th branch in Teluk Intan to service the banking needs of its growing retail and corporate customers in the district. The new branch in Bandar Baru, Teluk Intan would be managed by 11 personnel led by manager Lim Chai Peng, the bank said. Occupying over 3,300 sq ft covering two floors of a shoplot, it offers a full range of personal banking services as well as wealth management and corporate banking consultations. EON Bank projects a loan growth rate of 14% and a deposit growth of 20% for 2010. (StarBiz)

Top Glove Corp expects global demand for rubber gloves to grow by about 8-10% this year as the H1N1 flu pandemic triggers a new health awareness, a top executive said. Top Glove also expects demand to rise as countries with huge population bases increase their healthcare spendings to guard against existing and new virus strains. “The H1N1 impact has been more widespread, affecting developed and developing countries, and as a result, we saw a lot of new glove users,” Lim Cheong Guan, Top Glove’s executive director said. “We expect those new users to continue using gloves even after the pandemic ceases,” he said. (Reuters)

Kencana Petroleum plans to set up operations in Trengganu in view of the potential growth of the state's oil & gas industry. As a start, the company will use the service of a RM46m vessel, KPV Kapas, to operate in South China Sea, said CEO Datuk Mokhzani Mahathir. The 5,220HP KPV Kapas is Kencana's first vessel. (Bernama)

Petra Perdana said the suspension of its senior management will remain until the conclusion of its EGM on 4 Feb. The suspension does not affect the rights of each of the shareholders who are the senior management and key personnel concerned at the said EGM. (BMSB)

UEM Land has proposed a rights issue to raise some RM970m, a bulk of which will be used to repay the UEM Group's loan and the rest for property development. (BT)

MISC has entered into an underwriting agreement with RHB Investment Bank to underwrite 50m rights shares to be issued by the former, or about 6.72% of the total rights shares to be issued. Under the corporate exercise, MISC is issuing 743.96m rights shares on a one-for-five basis at RM7 each. (StarBiz)

In yet another twist to the upcoming 3G auctions in India, the department of telecom’s (DoT) draft notice for applications (NIA) for the spectrum sale said that the process will be limited to three private GSM operators. For CDMA operators, the draft (NIA) states that the auctions will be limited to only one player per circle, adding that the sale of airwaves will not be held in six circles — Delhi, Mumbai, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab & Maharashtra. (Economic Times of India)

Axiata Group has appointed Dr Farid Mohamed Sani non-executive director. He is currently SVP in the MD’s office at Khazanah Nasional and has been with Khazanah since 2004. Farid is also a director of Celcom Axiata and Telekom Malaysia. (Starbiz)

YTL Power’s 60%-owned YTL Communications is offering cash prizes totalling US$1m in search of the best original applications and devices for its nationwide 4G mobile Internet network. Winning entries may be developed for mass deployment to customers upon the launch of YTL’s nationwide 4G network in the 2H 2010. (BT)

Major shareholders of MBF Holdings plan to take the company private via a selective capital reduction and repayment exercise. Under the proposal, all shareholders, except for the major shareholders, will receive 65 sen for each MBF share held, a 23-33% premium to its five-day and three-month volume weighted average market price. The major shareholders also plan to cancel MBF's warrants and offer warrant holders 5 sen cash for each warrant held. Once the exercise is completed, MBF will be delisted from Bursa Malaysia. (BT)

KL Plaza will undergo over RM100m facelift and be renamed "fahrenheit 88". Slated for opening on August 8 this year, the owners of the 511,000 sq ft mall are confident of the performance of fahrenheit 88, which will be positioned as a trendy lifestyle shopping complex offering affordable luxury. The mall is owned by Makna Mujur, which is owned by Pavilion International Development Fund Ltd. The principal of this fund is Qatar Investment Authority (QIA). KL Plaza was acquired by Makna Mujur for RM470m and is being developed by Kuala Lumpur Pavilion. (BT)

Saudi Arabia’s PetroSaudi International (PSI) is set to acquire another 52.62% stake in UBG from Majestic Masterpiece Sdn Bhd (MMSB), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi-Kuwait-Malaysia Investment Corp (ADKMIC). This would raise its stake in UBG to 89.9%. The stake would cost RM1.12bn (RM2.50/UBG share), which will also be the price of the GO. The MMSB deal follows last Friday’s announcement that PSI would purchase a 37.21% stake in UBG from units of Cahya Mata Sarawak. (Financial Daily)

Nestle sees good opportunities for growth this year, said MD Peter R. Vogt.

• “We have a number of activities in the pipeline in terms of innovation, renovation and further improvement of products to make sure we have topline growth. At the same time, we have activities and initiatives internally to reduce cost – to be more cost-efficient – and to absorb some of the cost increases that are coming from the outside.” Nestle will absorb the higher sugar cost following the subsidy reduction. 
• On Nestle’s biggest challenge for 2010, Vogt cited the increase in commodity prices, particularly cocoa and milk. “I think we will have no choice but to make certain (price) adjustments. We try to absorb as much cost as possible, but there are limits, especially if we have these dramatic increases.” (Star)
  

Edaran Otomobil Nasional (EON) has been granted a further six-month extension to June 29 to comply with the public shareholding spread requirement. EON said as at Dec 31, the public shareholding spread was 8.83% in the hands of 2,436 public shareholders. "EON is currently exploring various options to address the shortfall in the public shareholding spread to comply with the listing requirements," it said. (StarBiz)

Sutera Harbour Resort has denied that its property in Kota Kinabalu is up for sale. "Sutera Harbour Resort is not up for sale. As president of the resort, I assure all stakeholders that there is no intention to sell the resort," Datuk Edward Ong Han Nam said. (BT)

SILK Holdings' unit Jasa Merin has secured a contract worth RM12.4m from Carigali Hess Operating Company (CHOC). Under the deal, it will provide an anchor handling tug supply vessel to support CHOC's drilling programme. The contract is for a primary term of one year with two extension options of one year each. (Financial Daily)

Ogawa World plans to open up to four new concept stores in the Klang Valley this year, bringing to 154 the number of stores for the retailer. ED Louis Chong said it will spend RM300k-RM500k on each opening, depending on size and location. "We also plan to open more outlets in northern and southern regions of Malaysia to sell Ogawa brand as well as our co-brand, the Cozzia," he added. Cozzia is a leading US-based retailer of home and office furniture incorporating massage systems. (BT)

Tanjung Offshore unit Tanjung Offshore Services has landed a RM25m purchase order from Petronas Carigali to provide glycol dehydration packages for the Kinabalu field. (Malaysian Reserve)

Takaso Resources and Perduren (M) were queried by Bursa Malaysia yesterday for unusual market activities after spikes in their share prices recently. (Malaysian Reserve)