Kossan proposed a final DPS of 9 sen for its FYE Dec 09 yesterday. It also announced a 1-for-1 bonus issue that could take its paid-up share capital from 159.9m shares to 319.7m shares. The proposals are due for completion by June this year after the company's AGM. (BMSB)
The proposed final DPS is below our forecast of 10 sen. The news on the bonus issue, however, is not a surprise as the company did indicate earlier its intention to reward its shareholders this way. We take a positive view of this as it will boost liquidity and make the stock more affordable in terms of absolute cost.
UMW Holdings is targeting RM1.75bn pre-tax profit by 2015 under a five-year blueprint, after hitting the RM1bn mark in 2008, people close to the group said. The oil and gas (O&G) division has been challenged to generate as much money as the group's core automotive business within the five years, they added. The blueprint was conceptualised as the Penang Declaration during a retreat for UMW's top executives in Penang late last year.
- The group currently generates 60% of revenue from the automotive business, which covers distribution and sales to manufacturing and assembly of Toyota, Perodua and Lexus cars and related parts. The O&G division contributes another 20% of total revenue. The equipment and manufacturing divisions account for 15% and 5% respectively.
- UMW MD and CEO Datuk Dr Abdul Halim Harun acknowledged that it had come out with the Penang Declaration, but did not comment on the profit target. (BT)
Sales of
passenger cars and commercial vehicles in March 2010 increased 25% yearon- year to 56,139 units from 44,896 units. This brought the January to March sales higher by 27,026 units or 22% when compared with the same period of 2009. The Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) attributed the higher sales to continued improvement in market sentiment and consumers' confidence. (Bernama)
Proton will finalise its partner in India for a CKD and assembly operation as soon as possible, said MD Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin. “We cannot do a CBU operation in every core market. It is not economical in the long term,” he added. He did not, however, reveal the identity of the local partner. (Bernama)
The Sarawak state government is in advanced negotiations with a foreign investor to set up a manganese smelter in
Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE), said State Planning Unit director Datuk Ismawi Ismuni. “The investor will make the announcement (when an agreement is reached),” he said. Ismawi, who is also SDI deputy chairman, said the proposed manganese smelter project would be the next major foreign direct investment (FDI) in SCORE, after the proposed aluminium smelters and polysilicon project. (Starbiz)
The government is keeping mum for now on the new offer by
Gamuda’s unit to buy
water assets in Selangor for RM10.75bn. When asked on the matter, Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Peter Chin Fah Kui said, “We will hold a meeting on the Selangor water assets soon.” (BT)
CIMB Thai Bank recorded a net profit of 348m baht for the first quarter ended March 31 compared with a net loss of 257m baht for the previous corresponding period, helped by better balance sheet management. In a statement yesterday, the subsidiary of
CIMB Group Holdings said strategies in rightsizing the deposit book as part of better balance sheet management “continued to bear fruit” as this lowered funding costs and helped improve the bank’s net interest margin. (Starbiz)
Axiata plans to sell US$300m of bonds at a spread of about 170 bps basis above Treasuries, according to a person familiar with the matter. (Bloomberg)
Malaysia Airlines said it may allow turboprop operator
Firefly to use its fleet of B737-400 planes as it receives new aircraft. MAS MD Tengku Datuk Azmil Zahruddin said MAS was evaluating the best way to optimise its B737-400 planes. "As we receive the B737-800s progressively through five years, we have not made any firm decisions," he said. "We have a number of options in front of us: the B737-400s could remain as part of the Malaysia Airlines operating fleet, with the B737-800 aircraft used to expand into new and growth routes, or they could be deployed to Firefly." (BT)
Malaysia Airlines (MAS) said it hopes to clear within a week the passenger backlog built up following a grounding of flights due to the Iceland volcanic ash cloud by mounting as many extra flights as possible. Malaysia Airlines MD Tengku Datuk Azmil Zahruddin said some 16,000 passengers were affected because of the flight restriction.” It’s a very chaotic time in Europe at the moment because there's a huge pent-up demand, so there's going to be a lot of flights coming up but we will try as much as possible to mount additional flights to make sure passengers stranded are able to get back home", he added. (BT).
The Government wants to have more Tier 1 local
automotive component makers that have the quality for export market, said International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed. Currently, only 131 of the 274 vendors are in Tier 1, he said. "It is very important that in the future we continue to encourage auto component manufacturing to go for export market," he told. (Bernama)
The legal fraternity has described Bank Negara Malaysia's proposed reform of the
thirdparty motor insurance scheme as "evil" and against public interest. The Malaysian Bar Council is opposing vehemently the proposed RM2m liability cap and the set-up of a new company (Newco) to manage the scheme. Its president Ragunath Kesavan said a motor insurance scheme must provide adequate protection for everyone and not just 90% of all claims. "This is one of the most drastic and evil schemes," he added. (BT)
MMC Corp’s Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) is well-placed to capitalise on additional demand and new opportunities this year based on its increased port capacity of 8.5m TEUs. Last year, PTP posted a 7% increase in container volume, MMC's CEO Datuk Hj Hasni Harun said. He also said that the port's major customers undertook a restructuring in their services to cut costs which resulted in higher transshipment volume calling at the port. (Bernama)
Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (KWAP) has emerged as a substantial shareholder of
Kossan Rubber Industries. KWAP bought 8.21m or 5.14% of Kossan on April 14. (BT) Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (KWAP) has increased its stake in Media Prima to 56.14m shares or close to 6%, after recently acquiring 4.45m shares. (Starbiz)
LCL Corp has announced that it could face legal implications for defaulting a loan from CIMB Islamic Bank. “
CIMB may initiate legal proceedings against LCL to recover the outstanding sum,” it told Bursa Malaysia. In a note to the local bourse, LCL said it had failed to settle the amounts owing under the Term Financing-i Facility totaling RM43.7m as at 9 Apr to CIMB. (Starbiz)
Property prices in Mont Kiara have appreciated in tandem with demand and not due to speculation, according to
Ireka Development. “There is no oversupply issue in Mont Kiara,” Ireka Development’s CEO Lim Ech Chan said. Property prices in Mont Kiara were reportedly seeing capital appreciation of 5-20% a year despite multitudes of new launches. (Malaysian Reserve)
Sunrise scored two wins in the Best Residential High-Rise Development award for its 28 Mont’ Kiara project at the Asia Pacific Property Award 2010. (Financial Daily)
AmanahRaya Real Estate Investment Trust (ARREIT) is targeting to grow its total assets to RM1.5bn in the next two years from RM748m currently by injecting new properties into its portfolio and improving the value of its existing assets. ARREIT manager AmanahRaya- REIT Managers COO Abas A. Jalil said ARRM was now evaluating the possibility of injecting more properties into its REIT. “We are looking at acquiring office buildings, warehouses and hotels in the Klang Valley, Penang, Johor Baru and Kota Kinabalu. “These buildings have a similar asset class. They have reputable tenants, a long-term lease and generate a stable income stream,” he added. (Starbiz)
Bank Kerjasama Rakyat Malaysia will send top officials over to Brunei next month for further talks on expanding business to the oil rich nation. Its MD Datuk Kamaruzaman Che Mat said this is still preliminary and more details will be released after the meetings next month. "There is nothing much to say now. But the focus will be on the Ar-Rahnu syariahcompliant pawnbroking concept," he added. (BT)
The
instant noodle business in Malaysia is worth almost RM1bn and
Nestle's Maggi brand holds half of that market. But the value of Malaysia's industry is just 1.2% of the global industry estimated at around US$25bn. "We come in as the 13th country that consumes the most number of instant noodles with close to 1.3m packets sold daily to consumers in Malaysia," said Nestle Products Sdn Bhd executive director Izham Mohamed. Although there was a perception that instant noodles were unhealthy, Nestle plans to reduce the salt content and encourage people to add vegetables to raise its nutritional value. (BT)
Microlink Solutions may expand into the Islamic retail banking business in China and Indonesia, prompted by the huge population in both countries, said CEO Peter Yong Kar Seng. "We have initiated discussions with our partner to enter the Chinese market," he said. Meanwhile, the group expects a better financial performance this year with "OneSolution", its new banking application. (BT)
United Malacca plans to boost annual fresh fruit bunch (FFB) production by a tenth over the next few years as its young oil palm trees mature. The group, which produces about 280,000 tonnes of FFB a year, also plans to buy more land and continue with its replanting programme. It bought two plots of land with the combined size of 10,125ha in Kinabatangan, Sabah, for RM240m last year and plans to invest RM100m over the next few years to develop them. "Half of the land (in Kinabatangan) has already been planted with young elite palms between one and five years old, we will be developing the other half of the land over the next few years. "I believe the production will increase when the young palms start to produce," said MD Leong Tat Thim. (BT)
Bursa Malaysia has directed embattled shipping-related company,
Malaysian Merchant Marine (MMM) to “immediately engage” external auditors, Messrs Ernst & Young, to commence an audit for its FYE3/10 financial statements. Bursa’s request for a speedy presentation could be due to several developments affecting MMM's PN17 status. (Financial Daily)
Bank Negara has given its nod to
PacificMas to start talks with the
Great Eastern group on the disposal of the former’s wholly-owned subsidiary The Pacific Insurance Bhd. (Starbiz)
