20110817 1240 Malaysia Corporate Related News.

Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB) has won a RM1.33bn contract from Syarikat  Prasarana Negara Bhd for the Ampang light rail transit (LRT) project. MRCB said its  subsidiary, MRCB Engineering Sdn Bhd (MESB), won the job for the construction and  completion of facilities works, including fabrication and delivery of segmental box girders  and the construction period is 30 months from the date of possession of site.

• Additionally, MRCB also said that MESB won a sub-contract worth RM67.2m from  Sunway Construction Sdn Bhd.The sub-contract is for the fabrication and delivery of  segmental box girders for the Kelana Jaya LRT extension project. (BT)  

A contractor group that includes  Dialog (32%),  Petronas Carigali  (20%) and Australiabased Roc Oil (48%) has signed a 15-year small field risk service contract with Petronas to develop and produce petroleum  from the Balai cluster fields located offshore Bintulu,  Sarawak. The development and production will be carried out in two phases:

• The pre-development phase is scheduled to start in 2HCY11 and is expected to take up  to 18 months. Pre-development activities include
  1.) geological and geophysical works, 2.) drilling and testing of appraisal wells, and 3.) procurement of related facilities and  equipment. The estimated cost is US$200m-250m.  
• Upon the successful completion of the pre-development phase and agreement on the  economic viability of the fields, the contractor group will submit a field development plan  for all or some of the fields and progress to the development phase. Commercial  production is expected to start 24 months from the commencement of the development  programme.  
• Development activities include
  1) drilling of wells, 2) installation of platforms, topsides  and pipelines, and 3) tie-in of new facilities to existing Petronas Carigali’s infrastructure.  The estimated cost is US$650m-700m. (BMSB)        

Malaysia Airports  (MAHB) has confirmed an increase in the international passenger  service charge (PSC) and aircraft landing and parking charges at airports. The  international PSC is increased from RM51 to RM65 for all airports, excluding the low-cost  carrier terminal in Sepang and Kota Kinabalu, which will be charged RM32 from the  previous rate of RM25 from Sept 15, 2011 onwards.

• The 30% increase in landing and 64% increase in parking charges will be implemented  in stages. Aircraft landing will be increased in 3 stages by 9% per year starting Jan2012  to Jan 2014.  
• Aircraft parking charges will also be increased in  three stages by 18% on the same  dates. (Financial Daily)

Morgan Stanley is expected to finalise the proposed valuation of the 10% stake in AirAsia  X to be purchased by Khazanah by September.

• Khazanah will be issued new shares in AirAsia X and is expected to come in as a preIPO investor of AirAsia X, ahead of the airline’s plans to list next year.
• Last year, Air Asia X achieved a revenue of RM1.3bn with a net profit of RM80m from  carrying 1.92m passengers. (Star Biz)  

Malaysia Airlines (MAS) will review its entire fleet requirement, including the interiors for  the A380 superjumbo and A330-300 aircraft, in line  with the strategic shift to focus on  being a full-service premium carrier.

• Yesterday, Australia’s Qantas said it would set up  a premium airline in Singapore or  Malaysia to take advantage of growth in the region. Noteworthy is that Qantas is also the  sponsor for MAS’ entry into oneworld alliance.
• MAS would also review its requirement for freighter planes given the weakening global  economic outlook. (Star Biz)  

Genting  topped the list with a big payout of RM111.48m to its board, up 21% from  RM92.11m previously. The company also has the highest remuneration band of  RM106.65m to RM106.70m for a single director, says  the Malaysian Business.  IOI  Corporation came in second with a total payout amounting to RM56.29m, 71% more from  a year ago. (Bernama, BT)

Kulim (M) Bhd said it will pay RM3.00/share for the 23.5m shares it does not own in  Sindora Bhd. Sindora's last traded price prior to its suspension was RM2.65/share. Kulim  owns some 75% stake in Sindora, and if the offer is accepted,

• Kulim is unlikely to maintain the company's listing status. Sindora's assets that are  synergistic to Kulim are its 6,165ha of plantation estate in Kluang, Johor, of which  5,279ha are planted. Sindora has a palm oil mill in the estate.  
• While the offer from Kulim was widely expected, the  Johor-based company pulled a  surprise by also announcing that it intends to buy six parcels of oil palm plantation land  measuring 13,687ha and two palm oil mills in Johor, near its existing plantations, for RM700m.Kulim will buy the plantation assets from Johor Corp (JCorp), the state  government linked corporation. JCorp, owns 53% stake of Kulim. (BT)  

MMC Corp Bhd plans to list Gas Malaysia Sdn Bhd on the Main Board of Bursa Malaysia  by 4Q11.The planned listing of Gas Malaysia is part of a wider plan by MMC to spin off  three of its units worth a total of RM13bn via the listing route over the next 30 months.

• The other companies slated to be listed are Malakoff Bhd and Johor Port Bhd. For Gas  Malaysia, the country's sole supplier of natural gas to the non-power sector, this is the  first time MMC had announced a detailed listing plan.MMC said it will raise up to  RM167m upon listing on the Main Market.   
• The listing represents about 26% of Gas Malaysia's  entire share capital valued at  RM642m. It will also dilute the company's stake in Gas Malaysia to 30.9% from 41.8%.  Gas Malaysia holds 76% in MMC-Shapadu Holdings Sdn Bhd, which 55% stake in Gas  Malaysia. Tokyo Gas-Mitsui & Co (Holdings) Sdn Bhd and Petronas Gas Bhd own 25%  and 20% of Gas Malaysia, respectively.(BT)  

Berjaya Land Development Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Berjaya Land Berhad entered into a conditional sale and purchase agreement with Penang Turf Club to acquire  57.3 acres land for a cash consideration of RM459m. BLand plans to build a low density  exclusive guarded and gated-up housing development  comprising bungalows, semidetached houses, condominiums and low medium cost housing. The estimated gross  development value is about RM1.52bn. The acquisition is expected to be completed within  4 years from the SPA. (BMSB)

Multi-Purpose Holdings  (MPHB) said it is in talks with various parties to dispose of its  non-core assets, including Menara Multi-Purpose, as part of its asset rationalisation  exercise. "At this juncture, the company has not entered into any definitive agreement for  the sale of Menara Multi-Purpose," it said. (Financial Daily)  

Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Bhd (MHB) has won two contracts  totalling RM952m from MISC for topsides fabrication, marine repair and conversion of two  energy vessels.

• The first is an engineering, procurement, construction & commissioning (EPCC) contract  for the repair, life extension and conversion of MT Ozono, an Aframax tanker, into a  Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) facility. Upon completion, the facility  would be known as FPSO Cendor and be deployed offshore Terengganu. The FPSO  would be operated by Petrofac Malaysia.  
• The second contract is for the repair, life extension and conversion of MISC Bhd’s SS  Tenaga Satu, a liquefied natural gas vessel, into a floating storage unit (FSU) facility, to  be known as FSU Lekas. Upon completion, FSU Lekas would be moored at Malaysia’s  very first regasification terminal at Sungai Udang, Malacca.This was the first conversion  into a FSU by a local company and also among the first few in the world, said the  company. (Starbiz)  

Naza Group of Companies believes that the proposed abolishment of  open Approved  Permit (AP) by 2015 will further enhance the local car franchise business through more  deliveries of premium foreign cars into Malaysia. Its chief operating officer, Datuk SM  Zulkifli SM Amin, said it would open the market, thus allowing more cars to be brought into  the country without restrictions.  

• Nevertheless, he said that bringing in more cars would not ensure higher sales as the  high tax currently imposed by the government would  be a burden to potential buyers.  (Bernama, BT)  

Bina Puri Holdings Bhd won a RM470.3m construction contract from Syarikat Kapasi  Sdn Bhd to help buiild a tourist recreational and commercial development centre in Kota  Kinabalu, Sabah. (BT)

Sunway Holdings Bhd won a RM569m job to build facilities for the extension of Kelana  Jaya light rail transit (LRT) line. The project will start next month , and is expected to be  completed in 29 months’ time. (BT)  

Fong Shu Cheong, a Chinese national in Hong Kong, has emerged as a substantial  shareholder of Cybertowers Bhd, which provides vehicle tracking systems. Fong bought  12.1m shares, or 12.1%of the company last Friday. (BT)

JCorp begins debt restructuring
Johor Corp (JCorp) has embarked on a restructuring exercise to streamline its businesses and assets into distinct business units, starting with the sale of plantation land to subsidiary Kulim for RM700m, and the latter’s proposal to take Sindora private. Yesterday, JCorp announced its proposal to dispose of its oil palm plantation assets to Kulim for RM700m cash. Kulim in turn announced its proposal yesterday to privatise Sindora by acquiring 25% stake for RM70.5m or RM3 per share. (Financial Daily)