US Stocks Rally on Manufacturing, Prospects for Irish Bailout
U.S. stocks rallied, sending major equity benchmarks to their biggest gains in two weeks, as speculation grew that Ireland will accept a bailout to rescue indebted banks and reports on manufacturing and jobless claims bolstered optimism about the economy. Caterpillar Inc. advanced 2.4% as the world’s largest maker of construction equipment said global retail sales of machines soared 48%. General Motors Co. rose 3.6% on its return to public trading following a USD20bn initial public offering. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 1.5 percent to 1,196.69 at 4 p.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 173.35 points, or 1.6 percent, to 11,181.23. (Bloomberg)
KNM lands RM676m job in Uzbekistan
KNM Group has secured a USD216m (RM676m) gas condensate project in Uzbekistan from Russian oil and gas major Lukoil Uzbekistan Operating Co. In a filing to Bursa Malaysia yesterday, KNM said the two year project was secured via its wholly owned subsidiary KNM Process System SB, involved the supply of technical documentation, equipment and services for the development of gas condensate fields. According to Lukoil’s website, the firm is the second largest private oil company in the world in term of hydrocarbon reserves. The firm with 1% global oil reserves accounts for 2.4% of global oil output it said. (Financial Daily)
RM427m offer for Leong Hup, Emivest
The Lau Brothers have made bids worth a combined RM427m to buy all of the business of Leong Hup Holding and Emivest, in what appears to be a privatization exercise of the poultry companies. The four brothers, led by Tan Sri Lau Tuang Nguang, are making the bids through Emerging Glory SB (EGSB), in which they hold an equal stake. It is not immediately clear why they are doing this, nor did they say what they plan to do with the business after completing the deal. The brothers are already major shareholders of the two companies. However, the two offers are inter-conditional, which means that the two offers will not happen if one is not accepted. "The board (of Leong Hup and Emivest) will appoint the relevant advisers in due course and deliberate on the terms of the offer(s)," Leong Hup and Emivest said in separate statements. (BT)
Hong Leong Industries ups ante, restructures operations
Hong Leong Industries, a tile producer controlled by tycoon Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan, is buying a concrete pile maker and investing in a cement manufacturer as part of its restructuring plan. Under a slew of proposals, Hong Leong Industries will acquire Hume Industries (M) SB for RM235.2m, to be financed by share issuance, and take up preference shares in Hume Cement SB worth up to RM175m, according to a filing to Bursa Malaysia yesterday. Once the acquisitions are completed, Hong Leong will undertake a one-for-two right issue, which could raise a maximum of RM231.6m, to repay bank loans followed by a de-merger of Malaysian Pacific Industries by returning 60.23% of its stake to shareholders to exit the semiconductor business. (Malaysian Reserve)
Penang lifts stop-work order on double track project
The Penang government has lifted its stop-work order on the RM13bn Ipoh-Padang Besar Electrified Double Track Project that runs through Seberang Prai. Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the order was lifted after the contractor, MMC-Gamuda Joint Venture Sdn Bhd, yesterday gave a guarantee letter promising flood prevention measures and mitigation for flood victims. “We received a letter from MMC-Gamuda and I feel this fulfils the conditions the state needed. The Seberang Prai Municipal Council (MPSP) has withdrawn the stopwork order,” Lim said after officiating a Penang Develop-ment Corporation Deepavali open house. A copy of the guarantee letter, which was distributed to the press, stated that MMC-Gamuda would, at its own cost, demolish or clear any obstructing construction materials to allow clear water flow and bear any compensation costs for flood victims, if future floods were proven to be a result of the double-tracking project.(Star)
AirAsia X takes off for Paris on 14 February
AirAsia X, the long-haul budget affiliate of AirAsia, will start flying to Paris from next Valentine's Day, more than a year after getting the rights to do so. The carrier will start four times weekly direct flights from 14 February 2011, between Paris-Orly International Airport and Kuala Lumpur International Airport's low cost carrier terminal. Yesterday, the airline announced that it would launch the route with an all-in-fare from RM499 one way. It is available for booking online from 22-24 Nov 2010. This will be the carrier's second European destination after London. The new route will be serviced by the Airbus A340 aircraft with 327 passenger capacity including 18 premium seats. (BT)
MRCB, IJM Land shares rise after merger talk
Shares of Malaysian Resources Corp (MRCB) and IJM Land perked up amid a weak broader market yesterday after a popular finance blog speculated on a possible merger. The rise comes as retail investors have become more active in the market recently. Last month, they accounted for almost half of the volume traded. IJM securities, namely the mother share and the warrants, were among the top 10 most-actively traded securities yesterday. Meanwhile, MRCB, the master developer for the KL Sentral development in Brickfields, ended the day 9 sen higher at RM2.10 with more than 11m shares traded. The Malaysia-Finance Blogspot, under a post headlined "Does a MRCB-IJM Land merger make sense?” noted that "the word had switched from an IJM Land privatization to a merger with MRCB. Something along the lines of a UEM Land-Sunrise deal it seems". Early this month, UEM Land Holdings launched a RM1.4bn conditional takeover offer for Sunrise. (BT)
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