Bina Puri: Poised for more JVs with UEM group. Sources said Bina Puri was now close to signing a JV agreement with Iskandar Investment Bhd (IIB) to develop some 7 acres (RM500m) mixed development in Medini, one of the 5 flagship zones of Iskandar Malaysia. Bina Puri and IIB would form a SPV with them holding 80% and 20% respectively. (Source: The Edge Financial Daily)
Bland: To launch projects worth RM500m this year. Berjaya Land Bhd (BLand) will launch new projects worth more than RM500m this year to take advantage of pent-up demand for housing in the Klang Valley. The group has about 10 ongoing developments worth some RM1b and it will launch more projects next year (Source: Business Times)
Genting Malaysia: Genting NY still in running for racino deal. Genting Malaysia Bhd subsidiary Genting New York LLC is still in the running for the bid to develop and operate a video lottery facility at New York City?s Aqueduct Racetrack. Last Friday, New York Supreme Court Judge Barry Kramer ruled that the New York State Division of Lottery can continue to evaluate the final remaining contender, Genting New York, for at least one more week. (Source: The Star)
Plantation: Mardec plans South-East Asia expansion. Rubber processor Mardec Bhd plans to expand its overseas investments via new rubber processing plants and acquisition of rubber plantations in South-East Asia, said CEO Khalid Bahsoon. Mardec had allocated a capital expenditure of about RM150mil for its investments in Malaysia and overseas in the next 5 years. (Source: The Star)
Ports: Transport Minister urged to resolve congestion at NBCT. The Penang government has called on Transport Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha to resolve container cargo congestion at the North Butterworth Container Terminal (NBCT). Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng urged Kong to intervene and appoint expert advisers to the Penang Port Commission (PPC) and Penang Port Sdn Bhd (PPSB) to look into the problem. (Source: The Star)
Government sets up RM20bn fund for high impact projects
The Government has set up a special fund with an allocation of RM20bn to implement more than 50 high impact projects on government-owned land under the 10MP. Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Dr Awang Adek Hussein said the fund was to facilitate the participation of private companies in investing into the projects concerned which involves 1000-ha of government land. The areas already identified include Sungai Buloh in Selangor and Sungai Besi, which would be developed as a new economic growth centre and the most modern city after Kuala Lumpur. The projects to be developed include office complexes, administration centres, light rail transit and monorail. (Malaysian Reserve)
MISC to sell 25% of MMHE under proposed IPO
MISC will sell 408m shares, or a 25.5% stake, of its unit Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Bhd (MMHE) under a proposed IPO. The IPO will involve the sale of 146m shares to institutional investors and another 262m shares of MMHE to the public, including MISC shareholders, according to a filing by MISC to Bursa Malaysia on 23 July. The proposed IPO is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2010. MMHE provides heavy engineering and marine services mainly to the oil and gas sector, including marine conversion and repair service from its yard in Pasir Gudang, Johor as well as in Turkmenistan. (Malaysian Reserve)
Sarawak Energy is looking at RM6bn but Govt tags it at RM8bn
Negotiations for the purchase of the 2,400MW Bakun Dam project have come to a dispute over what its cost should entail. While the Federal Government is said to be eyeing an indicative price of RM8bn, Sarawak Energy Bhd (SEB) is looking at just RM6bn. “Nothing is in writing yet,’’ said an industry source. “The parties are just looking at an indicative price to build the models for negotiations under both the purchase and leasing scenarios.’’ Sarawak Hidro Sdn Bhd, the owner of Bakun Dam, has estimated the final cost of the project at RM7bil. In fact, the model studies may use the indicative price of RM8bn if capital and many other costs are included; it can be just RM5bil if certain costs are excluded. (StarBiz)
Offer for NSTP shares till 6 Aug
Media Prima Bhd clarified in a statement to Bursa Malaysia that its takeover offer to acquire shares in The New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd is still open for acceptances until 5pm on 6 Aug. It denied reports saying the offer was completed on 22 July. (StarBiz)
Funding boost for highways
A quarter of the RM20bn Facilitation Fund will be used to help build up to seven new highways during the 10th Malaysia Plan. The fund, announced under the 10MP in June, was meant to attract at least RM200 billion worth of private sector investments over 2011-2015. "RM5bn we're putting aside for land acquisition. Acquiring land is also part of the facilitation," said Datuk Dr Ali Hamsa, director general of the Public-Private Partnership Unit (3PU). Some of these highways are extensions to existing highways like the North-South Expressway (NSE) while some will be completely new ones. One will connect Paroi to Senawang in Negri Sembilan and onwards to KL International Airport, which will be more than 50km. Another major new highway is called the central spine, a new highway spanning the length of Peninsular Malaysia. But unlike the NSE or the East Coast Highway, it will run in the centre of the Peninsula from Kota Baru in Kelantan, down to Simpang Pelangai in Negri Sembilan. (BT)
Approach of La Nina to see CPO prices rise
Malaysian crude palm oil (CPO) prices are set to rise in the near to medium term as heavy rains are expected to lower production, prevent workers from harvesting and cause the stockpile to dip. The last time La Nina hit Indonesia and Malaysia, the world's top two palm oil producers, was in 2007, wreaking floods that disrupted harvesting and transport of the commodity. It saw CPO prices surge to RM4,300 a tonne in March 2008. CPO prices are currently hovering around the RM2,400 and RM2,500 a tonne level. Felda Global Ventures Holdings Sdn Bhd president and chief executive officer Datuk Sabri Ahmad said that a strong La Nina will have a significant impact on this year's production, which is expected to be flat again. "During the second half of this year, CPO prices should be higher at RM2,600 and RM2,700 a tonne," Sabri told Business Times in a telephone interview. Academy of Sciences fellow Dr Ahmad Ibrahim said that oil palm trees generally love water. However, too much water can damage the fruit and affect production level. (BT)
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