KrisAssets goes shopping
KrisAssets Holdings, the owner and operator of Mid Valley Megamall, is believed to be buying four-year old The Gardens Mall in a deal estimated to be close to RM1bn. This move will provide KrisAssets, which essentially operates like a real estate investment trust, a new avenue for recurring income. At the same time, Mid Valley Megamall developer IGB Corp will be able to unlock the value of its assets. "IGB is a developer that carries development risk. KrisAssets is a pure play asset yielding entity," an industry observer familiar with the company said. Both companies had requested for the suspension of their shares from 2.30pm last Friday and on Monday 14 Feb, pending the announcement of a proposed material transaction. (BT)
TM in cable venture with Indonesian telcos
Telekom Malaysia (TM) has entered into a construction and maintenance agreement with PT XL Axiata Tbk and PT Mora Telematika of Indonesia to jointly build a high bandwidth optical fibre submarine cable system. The cable will link Malaysia and Indonesia, and is named the "Batam-Dumai-Melaka" cable system (BDM). TM Global vice-president Rozaimy Abdul Rahman said for TM the investment on their end is RM12m for the cable from Dumai to Malacca while the cable cost from Batam to Malacca is borne by their Indonesian partners. "The total cost of the project is less than RM24m and we started building the cables since January last year. We expect the cables to be completed by the fourth quarter of this year," said Rozaimy at the signing ceremony in Kuala Lumpur last Friday. (BT)
AirAsia delays deliveries of 10 more aircraft
AirAsia has delayed another 10 aircraft delivery, this time it says to allow it the option of taking on newgeneration A320 aircraft once they are available. Instead of 24, it will now take delivery of 14 aircraft in 2012. The deferred 10 will only be taken in 2015, increasing the number of deliveries in that year to 19 from 9 originally. In 2010, AirAsia co-founder and chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes had said it would look to slow down deliveries, in a move to keep its level of borrowings manageable. He said receiving between 10 and 12 aircraft a year would be ideal. The deferral will help maintain the company's net gearing position to below two. AirAsia said the 14 aircraft it will receive in 2012 will be adequate to support the growth of its joint ventures in the Philippines as well as Vietnam while continuing to support existing affiliate airlines. (BT)
NGSB withdraws claims against TM
Network Guidance SB (NGSB) has withdrawn claims for damages amounting to RM400m and loss of profit of RM500m against Telekom Malaysia and TM Net SB over an alleged breach of contract. TM told Bursa Malaysia last Friday that NGSB withdrew its claims for aggravated damages of RM200m and exemplary damages of RM200mil and also abandoned the claim for loss of profit of RM500m. In the re-amended claim, NGSB sought a declaration that both parties had entered into an agreement for a joint-venture project but TM breached the agreement. As a result of the breach of agreement, NGSB suffered loss and damages. NGSB was now claiming special damages totaling RM23.95m. (StarBiz)
'Syed Mokhtar-led group eyes Pos stake'
A group led by Malaysian billionaire Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary is the favorite to buy a 32.2% stake in Pos Malaysia Bhd, the Edge reported, without saying where it got the information. The other groups bidding for the stake owned by state-run investment company Khazanah Nasional include Sapura Group, the Malaysian weekly newspaper said. The deadline for bids is 14 Feb, it said (BT)
CCM, AKN settle case amicably
Chemical Company of Malaysia (CCM) and AKN Technology have agreed to settle their litigation case amicably and a notice of discontinuance has been filed in the Kuala Lumpur High Court. According to a filing with Bursa Malaysia, the notice was filed in respect of the discontinuance of the litigation case commenced by AKN against CCM and the discontinuance of the CCM's counter-claim against AKN. CCM said the case would not have any material effect on the company's earnings and net assets for the financial year ending 31 Dec 2011, or any effect to the share capital or substantial shareholders' shareholding. (StarBiz)
Proton mulls inviting third party to use plants
National carmaker Proton Holdings is thinking about inviting a third party to use its manufacturing plants which are 50% underutilized. “Currently, we don’t have any parties that are talking to us to utilise our plants. “But in our long-term planning, for better utilization of plant capacity, of course we would like to do a third party assembly,” chairman Datuk Mohd Nadzmi Salleh said last Friday. (BT)
India: Rate hikes, graft scandals may hit India's growth
India is set for scorching growth this year but concern is mounting about its longer term outlook, with the central bank seen hiking interest rates further and corruption scandals worrying investors. The stock market has already dropped some 17% this year, hit by fears that economic growth will cool due to higher interest rates and souring foreign investor sentiment amid a spate of high-profile corruption scandals. In January, foreign institutional investors turned net sellers for the first time in eight months, dumping some USD1.4bn in Indian stocks, according to industry data. (BT)
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