There will not be an immediate war in Internet protocol television (IPTV) when Maxis steps in with its IPTV offering as part of its multi-play services at the end of this month, said IDC Asia Pacific Telecom and mobile research analyst John Cheah. "IPTV, though it could spark a price war with both services in the market, won't be available to most cities for some time, so there should be breathing room before the squeeze begins in earnest. Both service providers are now "striking while the iron is still hot and they were striking at the same spot." (StarBiz)
Mah Sing Group has proposed a mixed township development, including beginner homes on a piece of land measuring 225.7 acres (90.3 ha) in Rawang, Selangor, which it acquired for RM92m. Mah Sing will purchase the entire equity interest in Semai Meranti, the owner of the land, for RM57m and repay RM35m for shareholders' advances. The total effective consideration of RM92m works out to RM9.36 psft. THe land will be developed into a township names M Residence @ Rawang consisting of residential and commercial properties with an estimated GDV of RM948m. (Financial Daily)
Aviation tycoon Tan Sri Tony Fernandes appears to be moving his allegiance from one former prime minister to another since coming under attack from influential Malay right-wingers over AirAsia‟s controversial share swap deal with Malaysia Airlines (MAS). Having won the public backing of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad last month, the AirAsia boss has now distanced himself from former Prime Minister, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and the latter‟s circle, included Abdullah‟s son-in-law Khairy Jamaluddin and businessman Datuk Kalimullah Hassan. Fernandes insisted that the share swap deal between AirAsia and MAS involved great risks to both companies, and denied either party was being „bailed out‟. He also sought to portray the controversial decision to buy Queen Park Rangers as a publicity stunt that had benefitted MAS. (Malaysian Insider)
AirAsia is flying to Da Nang, Vietnam, from December 16 and the low-cost airline is confident of achieving a load factor of more than 80%. According to its regional head of commercial, Kathleen Tan, there is demand for flights to Vietnam based on the good load factor for its flights to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Da Nang, she added apart from ancient ruins to be explored and white sandy beaches to be enjoyed, the city also serves as a shorter meeting point for local small and medium enterprises to trade within the country as it is located in central Vietnam. (BT)
Bursa Malaysia Bhd aims to double the daily average trades on its murabaha platform to RM1bn next year as it expands its Islamic finance products in overseas markets, a company official said. The operator‟s Suq Al-Sila‟ tawarruq platform enables Islamic banks to manage their liquidity through the sale and purchase of commodities, which the industry hopes will address the lack of widely accepted sharia liquidity management tools. The lack of liquidity tools is seen as one of the key challenges to the emerging Islamic finance industry, with syariah banks handicapped partly due to the limited range of products they can invest in. Bursa Malaysia will expand its business in Middle Eastern countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Jordan and would consider opportunities in North Africa, said Norfadelizan Abdul Rahman, the exchange‟s Islamic markets‟ acting global head. (Reuters)
The Securities Commission (SC) has done away with a requirement for an annual renewal of licences for those carrying out capital market activities, but now it has to approve the CEOs of licensed intermediaries. Licensed intermediaries in the marketplace include stockbroking firms, fund management companies and investment banks. The new requirements are part of the significant amendments to the Securities Commission Act 1993 (SCA) and Capital Markets and Services Act 2007 (CMSA), which came into force on Oct 3.The amendments to the CMSA also empower the regulator to obtain information and issue directions to market intermediaries to take appropriate measures to monitor, mitigate or manage systemic risk.(BT)
The Malaysian Palm Oil Association (MPOB) will not quit the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) grouping but it is advising its members to stop seeking new RSPO certification for the production of certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO). "We want to see the current RSPO certified palm oil production of 5.1m tonnes be fully taken up by Western buyers," said MPOB vice-chairman Boon Weng Siew. Furthermore, MPOA and the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (GAPKI) members were disappointed with the poor off-take and low premium of CSPO despite having gone through cumbersome and costly certification processes. (Starbiz)
A bill to allow gambling in Miami-Dade County is being drafted in Tallahassee and may be filed this week, setting the stage for powerful gambling interests to vie over whether Florida will open its doors wider to gambling. The Genting Group has hired a group of lobbyists including Carlos Curbelo, who manages a public relations firms and is on the School Board of Miami-Dade County. (South Florida Business Journal)
The government has no plans to privatise Indah Water Konsortium (IWK) for the time being, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Razak said. The prime minister said the government had taken over IWK's equities for RM192m in the year 2000 and spent RM1.2bn to make up the deficit in IWK's operations. "This was because the sewerage tariffs were lower than the actual operations cost," he said. IWK's liabilities up to June this year was RM1.98b while total assets were RM1.2b. (Bernama)
Perodua plans to venture into the used car business as a way to boost sales. Managing Director Datuk Aminar Rashid Salleh said Perodua was currently conducting a feasibility study on the matter and expects it to be completed within the next three-six months. "The used car business is to facilitate those who may want to trade in their cars to buy new ones. We are doing a feasibility study on the business," he said. (BT)
Perodua hopes its plan to export its vehicles to South Africa will become a reality in the next one or two years, Managing Director Datuk Aminar Rashid. Perodua, through Daihatsu, is currently in preliminary discussions with certain parties in South Africa for that purpose, he said. "If it‟s under Perodua, there are a lot to be done such as branding and identification of distributors. If we export under Daihatsu brand, we‟ll just ride through the existing network. Hopefully, it will become a reality in the next one or two years, it‟s within our five-year roadmap,” he said. (BT)
Perodua expects to ink a collaborative agreement with Proton on certain aspects this year or early next year. "There are a few areas that we are trying to collaborate. We are still at the discussion stage. We will announce a memorandum of understanding this year or the next," said managing director Datuk Aminar Rashid Salleh. He said Perodua's stance on the merger with Proton had not changed. "We are against the merger. We have our own plans going forward," he added. (Starbiz)
Sales of Peugeot-brand cars in Malaysia is expected to continue growing with the launch of Peugeot 508 by Nasim later this month. Nasim said sales, thus far, has been overwhelming. "As at end-September, we have sold over 4,000 units which is a new record for the Peugeot brand in Malaysia. This is double our sales in the same period in 2010 and surpasses our all-time record of 3,773 units sold in 2009," said Nasim CEO and Joint Group Executive Chairman of Naza Group SM Nasarudin SM Nasimuddin. (Bernama, BT)
Automotive industry players are hoping that hybrid vehicles, which sales are expected to hit record high this year, be given excise duty exemptions again in Budget 2012. "We hope full exemption of import and excise duties for hybrid and electric vehicles be extended up to five year in order to build market acceptance of this niche segment," Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) president Datuk Aishah Ahmad said. (Starbiz)
Suzuki Malaysia Automobile plans to increase production of the Suzuki Swift model to 700 units monthly compared to the current output of 400 units. "The manufacturing plant is operating on one shift and we will soon increase output by doubling production," said Managing Director Ibrahim Maidin. (Bernama, Malaysian Reserve)
Midciti Resources Sdn Bhd, a 50.5% owned subsidiary of KLCC Property Holdings Bhd has completed the issuance of RM880m in nominal value of Islamic Medium Term Notes (“Sukuk”), pursuant to the Sukuk Programme. The Sukuk Programme is rated AAA IS by Malaysian Rating Corporation Berhad. (BMSB)
UEM Land Bhd’s unit Bandar Nusajaya Development Sdn Bhd (BND), is appealing to the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) on its notice for BND to pay as much as RM73.8m in additional tax and penalty, (BT)
Share of Latexx Partners have been gaining ground this week amid an overall weaker broader market. Banking sources said that there was something more brewing at Latexx, such as a possible takeover. "There are a number of parties who are currently in talks with the owner of Latexx for a possible takeover, but nothing is finalised yet," he said. The source said that the owner of the glove maker was still keen to sell the company despite recent failed merger and acquisition attempts. (Starbiz)
Masterskill Education Group Bhd (MEGB) intends to seek the approval of its shareholders to purchase up to 10% of its issued and paid-up share capital . A circular to shareholders containing the details of the Proposed Share Buy-Back will be despatched to the shareholders of MEGB in due course. (BMSB)
Berjaya Books (Berjaya Books), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Berjaya Corporation (BCorp), has acquired the licence to use Border's trademark in perpetuity within Malaysia following the successful acquisition of the brand. The company also has the unreserved right to operate both brick-and-mortar as well as internet-based retail businesses using that trade name. The Bankruptcy Court of New York approved the acquisition on September 26 this year thereby making Malaysia as being the only country in Southeast Asia where Borders still operates. (BT)
Huat Lai Resources Bhd is proposing to buy three parcles of agriculture land from Yayasan Melaka for RM43m. Huat Lai said it will finance the purchase through internally generated funds and bank borrowings. (BT)
Tricubes Bhd expects contribution from its online services business, namely tamtamCRM and MyEmail project, to only start coming in from 2H12. The company is yet to sign up corporations or government organisations to its portal, but a pilot run for two government agencies is expected this month. Tricubes CEO Khairun Z. Mokhtar declined to reveal the agencies involved but said that the company is in discussions with four agencies. The four are the Royal Malaysia Police, the Road Transport Department, the Employees Provident Fund and the Kuala Lumpur City Hall. According to Khairun, the company will also approach private companies to participate in the MyEmail portal.Since its launch in September, the MyEmail project has so far registered over 3,000 users, with only half of them having gone through the authentication process.Authentication is done through biometric reading of users identification card. (BT)
The RM50m myemail project has 3,000 subscribers so far since going live on September 14th. The subscriber target set by Pemandu is 5.4m by the end of the year. Tricubes CEO, Khairun Zainal Mokhtar, admitted the target is a "stretch" and said the internal forecast has been readjusted to 2m subscribers by 2012. (Malaysiakini)
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