Khazanah Nasional has reaped the benefits of improved financial and economic conditions. The Government’s investment arm saw the net worth of its portfolio rise by 63.5%, or RM21bn, to RM54.1bn as at Dec 31, 2009 from RM33.1bn a year ago. The realisable asset value (RAV) of its investments also improved to RM92.2bn as at Dec 31, 2009 from RM68.9bn in 2008. The rise was broadly in line with the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KL Composite Index’s total return of 49.3% over the same period.
- “It was a good year for us,” MD Tan Sri Azman Mokthar said. “However, we are still fairly cautious this year (on asset value appreciation). We see that it is still a broadly fragile (economic) recovery but conditions are certainly better than a year ago. “Building on the recovery base in 2009 and barring a market relapse, we expect a gradual transition from a crisis management mode last year back into a normalised ongoing transformation mode in 2010,” he added.
- Azman said Khazanah would this year focus on three broad areas – strengthening of its portfolio, catalysing on domestic economic growth and continuing to build for the future which included ongoing execution of the various programmes in capacity building. (Starbiz)
Khazanah is still awaiting the government's decision on toll restructuring, which will likely lead to better facilities and higher quality highways in the future. Its MD, Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar, said PLUS Expressway has been running a pretty tight sheet in terms of better financial and reporting performance. Last week, PM Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the government was in the final stages of restructuring the toll rates for the expressways. (Bernama)
Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan has made a voluntary takeover offer for
Hume Industries (Malaysia), with the aim of taking the manufacturer of concrete products private. Hong Leong Co (Malaysia) Bhd's (HLCM) wholly-owned unit, Spectrum Arrangement, is offering RM4.30 cash per share in Hume. Quek is HLCM's director and substantial shareholder. Spectrum directly holds 64.94% stake in Hume. Spectrum said the offer is not conditional upon any minimal level of acceptance of the offer shares as it already owns more than 50 per cent of the voting shares in Hume. Spectrum also plans to delist Hume from Bursa Malaysia if it receives acceptance in aggregate of more than 75% of Hume shares. Hume shares were placed on a trading halt yesterday, pending the release of the announcement. Its shares rose 15 sen to RM4.15 before the suspension. (BT)
The board of
EON Capital (EONCap) has in principle agreed to takeover talks with bigger rival
Hong Leong Bank and to search for alternative bids after a meeting yesterday, sources said. But the board has yet to decide when it will write in to get Bank Negara Malaysia's approval to start discussions with Hong Leong. Business Times learnt that the seven directors of EONCap met for the first time yesterday since Hong Leong obtained last week the regulator's nod to start the takeover talks. Under local banking laws, both parties are required to secure the regulator's consent before any merger or takeover talks can start. (BT)
Alliance Bank Malaysia group CEO Datuk Bridget Lai is not expected to return to the bank, sources said. “I think I will answer you simply. I do not think it likely that Lai will return,” a source said. Speculation is rife that Lai, who is currently being investigated in the bank’s internal probe on issues which started with renovation in the property department, would not want to continue on as the bank’s CEO after the investigations are over. (Starbiz)
Syabas has called on the government to bring a fast resolution to the water sector restructuring issue in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya. This will ensure that the longabandoned project of replacing old pipes can be carried out soon. Executive chairman Tan Sri Rozali Ismail, said the issue has affected about 7m consumers as many of the services were delayed, especially those involving the replacement of pipes. (BT)
Aircel Cellular, promoted by
Maxis Communications, on Thursday said it was targeting 100m users by 2012, over three-fold increase from the current base of 31m. However, Aircel's strategy for subscriber addition will be data driven and not tariff driven. “Per-second billing is unsustainable. It constrains EBIDTA margins. We will see these tariffs for another year-and-a-half after which consolidation will set in,” Aircel COO Gurdeep Singh said. (Economic Times of India)
Foreign participation in the upcoming India
3G auctions, if any, will be restricted to the GSM space only, the communications ministry has decided. This implies, new entrants from abroad cannot bid for 3G airwaves for CDMA and launch services here. Analysts say this marks yet another attempt by the department of telecom (DoT) to twist policy to ensure that foreign players are kept out of the upcoming auctions. In the case of CDMA operators, both second generation (2G) and 3G services are offered using the same airwaves or spectrum — therefore, allowing international players to participate in the upcoming auctions could have possibly allowed new entrants to launch full-fledged CDMA services using their 3G airwaves they secure in the auction. (Economic Times of India)
New
vehicle sales in Malaysia should rebound 4.5% to a record 555,000 units this year, Frost & Sullivan says. The high 2010 sales would be due to improved economic outlook and rising consumer sentiment, head of automotive and transportation for Asia Pacific, Kavan Mukhtyar said. It would also be driven by replacement car buyers amid low interest rates, he added. (BT)
It is critical for
Proton to get a strategic partner in order for it to grow further especially in terms of volume. Frost & Sullivan partner and head of the automotive and transportation practice for Asia Pacific, Kavan Mukhtyar said Proton's biggest challenge was its volume which was currently much concentrated in Malaysia. "I think currently the stumbling block is the commercial terms of the agreement," he said. (Bernama)
The government's move to raise the minimum
property purchase price for foreigners may hurt its campaign to promote Malaysia as a second home. The Economic Planning Unit released a statement, saying that the ruling, first announced in June 2009, is effective January 1 2010. In June, the PM Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the minimum threshold for acquisition of residential units by foreign interest at RM250,000 and above, would be increased to RM500,000 and above come January 1 2010. It was part of a wider deregulation of FIC guidelines. . "It won't be so much of a problem for Kuala Lumpur, where properties easily cost half a million ringgit, but states like Terengganu and Ipoh ... where can you find properties in that range?" International Real Estate Federation (FIABCI) Malaysia president Datuk Richard Fong said. (BT)
Petra Perdana yesterday assured shareholders that business continues as normal despite the temporary suspension of 11 key executives.
- "We are now looking at the best possible plans and steps we can take to solidify and ensure Petra Perdana survives the challenging next 12 months," said executive chairman and CEO Tengku Datuk Ibrahim Petra in a statement.
- "My aim is to present the rationale behind each decision made previously for the company to our shareholders, and the results we want to achieve with the restructuring. My hope is the shareholders share my vision and provide me the support to do that," he added.
- He is proposing a total restructuring of the company's operations in financial management, business development and marketing. However, he did not provide any details of the plan. (BT)
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) is making efforts to include
palm oil smallholders in the scheme to avoid marginalising the poorer sector of the industry. Malaysian Palm Oil Association (MPOA) chief executive, Datuk Mamat Salleh, said the association would use the modified RSPO's principles and criteria. “It will be done under the Group Certification Scheme based on successful certification models for smallholders for other commodities such as for coffee and cocoa," he added. (Bernama)
GREENPACKET, the international arm of Green Packet Bhd, aims to become the top WiMAX modem vendor and connectivity solutions provider by the end of this year as it expands its shipment volume globally. Greenpacket is looking to increase its shipment volume of WiMAX modems by threefold to fourfold this year, from 253,000 modems handled last year. "In two years of being within the WiMAX space, we have become the world's number three vendor with a 14% share in the global market in 2009. We hope to grow that share to 30% this year," Greenpacket senior GM Kelvin Lee said. (BT)
MK Land Holdings plans to raise some RM150m from a rights issue of equity-linked instruments.
Hong Leong Investment Bank told Bursa Malaysia that the proceeds will be used to partly repay bank borrowings and for working capital. A detailed announcement is expected to be made once the terms of the rights issue have been finalised. (BT)
Cocoaland Holdings has proposed to place out up to 12m new shares, representing up to 10% of its issued and paid-up share capital. In a filing to Bursa Malaysia yesterday, Cocoland said the proposed private placement would provide the group with additional working capital expeditiously. “The enlarged capital base shall also strengthen the company’s balance sheet,” it said. (Starbiz)
A group of shareholders in
Ho Hup Construction Co, led by former MD, is calling for the removal of the troubled firm’s entire board of directors -– minus one person – at the upcoming EGM on Feb 4. The sole Ho Hup’s existing director to be spared in the planned purge is Low Teik Kien, the younger brother of ousted boss Datuk Low Tuck Choy. The two brothers, together with another sibling, are owners of Low Chee & Sons Sdn Bhd (LCS), the second biggest shareholder in Ho Hup with 22.66% stake.
- LCS had recently proposed to Ho Hup shareholders an alternative “regularisation” plan to revive the ailing firm. Ho Hup’s current board had submitted a regularisation plan in October last year, which had yet to be approved by the authorities.
- It is believed that while Teik Kien has an interest in LCS, he is supportive of Ho Hup’s management revamp plans.” The split within LCS is quite clear as Teik Kien continues to sit on the current board and supporting current board members and management in implementing and executing the group’s business plan,” an observer noted.
- Meanwhile, in a separate issue, it was revealed that Ho Hup’s current management had filed a police report against Tuck Choy in August 2009 for alleged wrong-doings during his tenure as the company’s managing director. (Starbiz)
