20100928 1127 Malaysia Corporate News.

Another possible by-election in Malaysia
Galas assemblyman Che Hashim Sulaiman died at the Al-Islam Medical Centre in Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur, today after a long battle with colon cancer. He was 45. This signals the possibility of another byelection. (NST)

Syabas may get tariff hike
A water tariff hike of between 15% and 20% may be in the offing for Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor SB (Syabas), sources said. The increment would be a lifesaver for the water treatment players, Syarikat Pengeluar Selangor Holdings (Splash) and Konsortium Abbas SB, which are both on the verge of defaulting on their debt commitments. It is understood that the federal government has agreed in principle to the tariff hike for Syabas, but has yet to get the green light from the Selangor state government which is run by the opposition Pakatan Rakyat. Syabas has the mandate to supply treated water to Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and the federal capital of Putrajaya and under its concession agreement was supposed to get a 37% tariff hike last year. (Financial Daily)

Muhyiddin: Govt yet to decide on PLUS sale
The Government has not made any decision on the sale of PLUS Expressways, says the Deputy Prime Minister. A blog said last week that the Government had given the green light for the Employees Provident Fund to buy PLUS. An earlier report had said that Khazanah might sell its stake in the toll road operator. In the past, privately-held Asas Serba SB had voiced its interest in the highway. It had proposed to pay RM50bn for 25 toll highways and said that its plan would end toll rate increases and help the Government save RM114bn in compensation payments until 2038. (BT)

Taliworks' subsidiary in RM66.8m water project in China
Taliworks Corporation, via its 70% indirectly subsidiary Eco3 Technology and Engineering Pte Ltd, on Monday announced the signing of a 30-year concession agreement to construct and operate the Meihua industrial waste water treatment and recycled water plant in Ningxia Province, China. The project is estimated to cost 145m reminbi (RM66.8m) and construction will proceed with phase one with a treatment capacity of 30m litres per day (MLD), it said in a statement. The Meihua project is an extension of Taliworks' quest for similar industrial waste water projects within the fast-developing Ningxia Province, the group said. (Bernama)

Sarawak seeks debt guarantee
The offer price of RM6.2bn for the 2,400 MW Bakun dam mostly comprises debt that is guaranteed by the Federal Government, with a remaining RM450m that is likely to be paid via installments, according to sources. While there is no mention of debt repayment, it is assumed that the state government will service the loans which it proposes to be still guaranteed by the Federal Government. It is learnt that the average interest rate is less than 6% for 12 years ending 2023. (StarBiz)

EONCap shareholders give HLBB offer the nod
EONCap’s shareholders had approved all the proposed resolutions, including the proposed divestment of the group’s banking operations for RM5.06bn cash, or RM7.30 per share to HLBB. However, another stumbling block is ahead for HLBB – the pending lawsuit filed by substantial shareholder, Primus Pacific Partners, against the existing board of directors. (FinancialDaily))

SunCity steps up presence in Penang, plans RM800m property project
Sunway City (Suncity) is boosting its presence in Penang and plans to undertake a residential property project in the southwest district of Penang island with an estimated gross development value of RM800m. Suncity said yesterday that its unit, Sunway City (Penang) SB, had entered into a sale and purchase agreement with Sungai Ara Holdings SB to acquire 32.78ha of freehold land for RM38.76m for residential property development. (Financial Daily)

Kimlun awarded RM64.8m for the construction of 25-storey service apartments
Kimlun announced yesterday that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Kimlun SB, yesterday received the letter of award for the contract sum of RM64.8m from Bukit Indah (Johor) SB, a wholly owned subsidiary of SP Setia, for the construction of Main Building Works for 2 blocks of 25-storey service apartments and ancillary buildings at Bukit Indah, Bandar Nusajaya, Mukim Pulai, daerah Johor Bahru, Johor. The scope of works comprises building construction works for the service apartments and ancillary buildings, which will be due to be completed by September 2012. (BursaMalaysia)  

Aerospace: Mida completes talks with Pratt & Whitney.   The Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) has concluded negotiations with Pratt & Whitney for the American aircraft engine maker to set up shop here, its director-general Datuk Jalilah Baba says. "Pratt & Whitney is seriously looking at having a base in Malaysia." Locally, it has a USD680m (RM2.1b) deal with national carrier Malaysia Airlines  to provide 34 engines for 17 of the airline's new Airbus aircraft. "They will come here. We are also talking to several other aerospace-related companies," Jalilah said. (Source: Business Times)

Khazanah: Ties up with Camco.  Khazanah will acquire 9.28m ordinary of Camco shares at 20 pence (98 sen) each, and in turn, form a joint venture with Camco to expand carbon-trading operations in Asia. Shares in the London, UK-based manager of emission-reduction projects jumped 41% to 20.5 pence (RM1) as of 8.36am local time, the highest price since December 29 last year. The purchase will give Khazanah a 5.3% stake in the company. The joint venture will be capitalised with as much as USD46m (RM142m) to invest in the emissions-to-energy market in Southeast Asia. (Source: Business Times)

MAS: Sees 40% rise in capacity for India flights.  Malaysia Airlines (MAS) is looking at 40% capacity increase next year for flights from Indian cities, based on growing demand from business and leisure travellers. MAS plans to leverage on the delivery of new planes and increased frequencies of flights to support the projected growth, MAS' regional manager for South Asia operations Azahar Hamid said. (Source: Business Times)

Plantation: New clone unveiled.  A new oil palm clone dubbed the Wakuba oil palm ramet was launched with a promise of doubling the current oil yield. Named after TSH Resources Bhd unit TSH Biotech Sdn Bhd's 5-year old tissue-culture laboratory in Wakuba Gading, Tawau, Sabah, the new clone promises an oil yield of up to 10 tonnes per ha compared to average current yield of about 4.5 tonnes per ha in the country. TSH Resources chairman Datuk Kelvin Tan said the company had invested RM25m in the laboratory, which is expected to produce 1.5m ramets by 2015 compared with 500,000 this year. (Source: The Star)

Plenitude: To buy Penang land.  Plenitude Bhd's wholly owned unit, Plenitude Estates Sdn Bhd, has agreed to buy 21.3ha of freehold land in Balik Pulau, Penang, from United Formula Sdn Bhd and Affluent Base Sdn Bhd for RM40.1m. The land is earmarked for mixed development that includes double-storey and super-link houses as well as 2-3 storey shops with an estimated gross development value of RM230m. (Source: Business Times)

REDtone: To submit 4G business plan soon.  REDtone International Bhd plans to submit a detailed business plan to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission soon on how it plans to use new bandwidth that allows even faster services than what's available now. (Source: Business Times)