20110720 1201 Malaysia Corporate Related News.

KLCI chart reading :

pullback correction little downside biased.

KUALA LUMPUR (Dow Jones)--Natural gas supplier Gas Malaysia is planning to raise up to MYR800 million ($267 million) through an initial public offering in the country, two people familiar with the matter said Wednesday. The company is targeting a listing by the end of the year, one of the persons said, asking not be identified as he isn''t authorized to speak to the media. While the people didn''t give an indicative price range, they said the company will have a market capitalization of up to MYR3.0 billion once it''s listed. Gas Malaysia has mandated Maybank Investment Bank to manage its planned IPO.

Star takes up 51% stake in Li TV for RM35m
Star Publications is eyeing to be the next prime media group in the country with its maiden venture into the television broadcast space by taking up a 51% stake in Li TV Holdings Ltd for RM35m. Star’s partner would be Juita Viden International Ltd, a member of the Juita Viden Media Entertainment Group, which is the largest independent television programme distributor in the country. (Malaysian Reserve)

Mitrajaya accepts RM13.5m freshwater lab contract in Pahang
Mitrajaya Holdings has announced the acceptance of a contract for the construction of the Freshwater Laboratory Complex (Package 1) in Pahang for RM13.5m which was awarded by the East Coast Economic Region Development Council. (Malaysian Reserve)

CIMB’s Thai unit sees 25% net profit drop
CIMB Thai Bank plc, reported a 24.9% drop in net profit to THB536.4m (RM54m) for the second-quarter ended 30 June 2011 from THB714m previously. The bank, a 93.15%-owned subsidiary of CIMB Bank, attributed to the drop to the special revenue gained in 2010 from the disposal of the Sathorn building and CIMB-Principal Asset Management. (Malaysian Reserve)

CIMB Thai Bank posts RM54m net profit in 1H
CIMB Thai Bank Public Company Ltd posted net profit of 536.4m baht  (RM54m) in the first half ended June 30, 2011. It said on Tuesday, July 19  total operating incomes was 3.2b baht, underpinned by net interest income  and fee and service income. (The Edge)

Banking giants hit as Jakarta ponders ownership rule  change
Malaysian banking giants CIMB Group Holdings Bhd and Malayan Banking  Bhd (Maybank) saw a whopping RM2.5b wiped out of their market  capitalization since reports surfaced that the Indonesian central bank was  looking at limiting single party ownership of banks there. Both CIMB and  Maybank have significant exposure in  those markets, with the former’s  subsidiaries contributing a significant amount of profits to the group. (The  Star)

Sapura Resources in land JV with KLCC
Sapura Resources has entered into a joint-venture agreement with KLCC Holdings SB for the development of land measuring 7,605 sq m adjacent to the KLCC Convention Centre. Under the agreement, Sapura Resources would purchase 51% stake in the joint-venture vehicle, Impian Bebas SB, for RM110.68m cash from KLCC Holdings which would continue to hold the remaining 49%. (StarBiz)

Melewar sells Australian unit
Melewar Industrial Group (MIGB) has disposed of its entire interest in Gindalbie Metals Ltd, which is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX), in an effort to pare down its borrowings. In an announcement to Bursa Malaysia, the company said it had sold 7.2m shares in Gindalbie, representing 77% of the total issued and paid-up capital of the latter, between Nov 2010 and July 2011 for a total consideration of RM26.48m. (Financial Daily)

Prestariang shares oversubscribed 7.1 times
Prestariang Bhd, an ICT service provider enroute for listing on the Main  Market of Bursa Malaysia, today announced that its issue of 30m shares to  the public under its Initial Public Offer (IPO) at 90 sen per share had been  oversubscribed 7.1 times. In a statement today, Prestariang said it received  a total of 13,355 applications with a value of RM218,832,030 for 243.15m  shares, which represented an oversubscription of 7.1 times for the shares  offered for sale to the public. (Business Times)

Unico-Desa to list HP unit, too early to tell if it’s a good deal  for Unico members or UDP shareholders
After a long wait, the minority shareholders of Unico Holdings Bhd, an  unlisted cooperative, may realize some  of their investment in Unico-Desa  Plantations Bhd (UDP). UDP has proposed to distribute shares in the  group’s hire purchase (HP) arm ELK-Desa Resources Sdn Bhd pursuant to  the listing of the unit. But it is too early to determine if it is indeed a good  deal for Unico’s members or the shareholders of UDP. (Bloomberg)

Ajiya posts higher Q2 pre-tax profit
Ajiya Bhd achieved a higher pre-tax profit of RM11m for its second quarter  ended May 31, 2011 compared with RM9.806m in the same quarter last  year. Revenue rose to RM100.94m  from RM87.39m in the previous  corresponding quarter. In a filing to Bursa Malaysia today, the industrial  products manufacturing based group said the improved revenue was mainly  due to better market sentiment.  (Business Times)

Inari’s new plant will nearly double capacity
Electronic manufacturing services (EMS) outfit Inari Bhd expects its new  manufacturing plant in Bayan Lepas, Penang, to expand production  capacity by 46% upon completion next March, and to contribute up to 30%  of company revenue in FY13 ending June 30. (The Edge)

Bursa bulish on profit growth
Bursa Malaysia Bhd, the country's stock exchange operator, wants to aggressively grow its net profit by at least  20 per cent a year over the next three years. Last year, the group's net profit was down 36 per cent from  RM177.6 million it recorded in 2009, due to a one-off capital gain.Its chief executive officer, Datuk Tajuddin  Atan, said apart from profitability, the company's medium-term target includes boosting trading in the securities  and derivatives markets. (Source: Business Times)

Licence for Islamic mega bank in Q3
Malaysia will issue a licence for an Islamic mega bank in the third quarter of this year to help mobilise funds for  businesses around the world, the country's central bank governor said. The country will also start a crossborder clearance platform for syariah-compliant bonds, or sukuk, around the same time, Bank Negara Malaysia  Governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz said in an interview here yesterday. The initiatives are part of a plan to  help fill gaps in the US$1 trillion (RM3.01 trillion) global Islamic finance industry. (Source: Business Times)

ETI’s subsidiary inks pact with Sirim
ETI Tech Corp Bhd said its unit ETI Tech (M) Sdn Bhd has inked an agreement with technology and safety approval standards for medium industry applications like solar, electric vehicles and other applications in the domestic as well as international markets. (btimes.com.my)

Bursa may extend derivatives trading hours by next year
Bursa Malaysia is looking at the possibility of expanding the trading hours for its derivative market,  due to cross-border timing, and may implement these changes by next year at the earliest. Its CEO Datuk Tajudin Atan said if the bourse sees higher trading volume from Chicago or other parts of the US, it may “consider and evaluate” making the change in 2012 or 2013. It will not extend trading hours for equities trading, he told reporters. (Malaysian Reserve)

Salcon abandons water supply plan in West Java
Salcon has decided not to go ahead with its proposed water supply scheme in West Java, Indonesia. It said its unit Salcon Engineering Bhd decided not to proceed following the detailed studies for the scheme for Kecamatan Cikarang Barat and Citibung in Kabupaten Bekasi. Salcon had signed an memorandum of understanding with Persusahaan Daerah Air Minum Kabupaten Bekasi to study the proposed scheme and to submit a concession bid when a tender was called. (Financial Daily)

Kencana on rating watch
RAM Ratings has placed Kencana Petroleum’s bonds on rating watch on the basis that Kencana's proposed merger with SapuraCrest Petroleum could potentially weaken its operation debt-coverage ratios. RAM has placed AA3 ratings of Kencana's proposed RM350m sukuk mudharabah (2011/2016) and proposed RM700m sukuk mudharabah (2011/2026) programmes on rating watch, with a developing outlook. (StarBiz)

VS Industry sells off oil palm assets to focus on electronics
VS Industry has disposed its 53%-owned Indonesia subsidiary PT GY Plantation Indonesia (PTGY) to PT Karya Manunggal Sawitindo (PTKMS) for RM23.44m on July 13, 2011. The company said PTGY has also agreed to dispose its interest in a piece of land measuring 6,450 ha — held through PT Ladang Sawit Mas — to PT Bumitama Gunajaya Agro (PTGBA) for RM6.89m. (Malaysian Reverse)


Maybank: Islamic signs MoU with Bank Syariah Mandiri. Maybank Islamic has signed a MoU with Bank Syariah Mandiri (BSM), Indonesia, to establish cross-border collaboration in all Islamic treasury and trade finance matters. The collaboration would enhance cross-border liquidity flows and increase and diversify the application of Islamic financial solutions. (Source: The Edge Financial Daily)

Iskandar: Another British varsity. Britain's University of Reading Business School is setting up a branch campus in EduCity in Iskandar Malaysia, Johor, for between RM150m and RM200m. To be known as University of Reading Iskandar, construction is due to start next year. (Source: Business Times)

Property: Sagajuta eyes year-end listing. Sagajuta (Sabah) Sdn Bhd hopes to complete its backdoor listing by year-end, to turn the company into a bigger real estate firm. Sagajuta is behind the RM1.2b 1Borneo project in Kota Kinabalu. Sagajuta is planning to buy more land in Sabah, Klang Valley, Penang and Johor to enable it to undertake development projects worth more than RM3b at any one time. (Source: Business Times)