Mah Sing explores Thai JV for Icon City mall
Mah Sing is exploring a potential partnership with Thailand’s Central Pattanna Pcl to develop a shopping mall within the former’s Icon City project. Mah Sing said its wholly owned subsidiary, Sierra Peninsular Development SB, yesterday inked a MOU with Central Pattanna to explore a potential JV to develop and manage the shopping mall. (Financial Daily)
Leader’s board accepts buyout offer from H’ng family
The board of Leader Universal has accepted the offer from substantial shareholder HNG Capital SB to acquire the group’s entire business and undertakings including assets and liabilities for RM480.1m. In a filing on Bursa, Leader’s board excluding the interested directors, had decided to accept HNG Capital’s offer subject to the execution of a definitive conditional sale and purchase agreement. (Financial Daily)
Hong Leong Bank offers VSS to workers
Hong Leong Bank has offered its employees a voluntary separation scheme (VSS) as part of its consolidation exercise towards growing its newly enlarged entity, following the recent acquisition of EON Bank group. The scheme is open to all permanent employees of Hong Leong Bank and MIMB Investment Bank, and is offer strictly on a voluntary basis. “The scheme aims to consolidate Hong Leong Bank’s position as a whole financial banking group as the banking industry landscape as evolved and the level of competition is becoming more challenging and intense,” said Hong Leong Bank’s MD Yvonne Chia. (Malaysian Reserve)
Fajarbaru targets RM630m GDV
Fajarbaru Builder Group is targeting a GDV value of RM630m from eight ongoing construction projects. These include the 3 new stations under the LRT Kelana Line and 2 new stations under the Ampang Line, amounting to RM87m and RM63m respectively. The group also recently acquired a contract to construct a medical suite for Gleneagles Hospital in Jalan Ampang for a cost of RM166m, as well as 2 Eastern Corrifor Economic Region (ECER) projects in Kelantan and Pahang. (Malaysian Reserve)
Envair unveils crude oil deal with China firm
Loss-making ACE Market-listed Envair Holding Bhd, in the news for its surprising announcements of ambitious plans, said it plans to sell two million barrels of light crude oil per month to a Chinese company, a deal which works out to a whopping USD184m (RM576m). In a reply to a Bursa Malaysia query, Envair said the figure was subject to variations due to fluctuations in the price of light crude oil per month. The query was part of a string of queries from the exchange on Envair's announcements since 13 Oct that it had wanted to venture into oil and gas business. (StarBiz)
Glenealy will spend RM69m to plant more oil palm in Sarawak, Kalimantan
Glenealy Plantations expects growth in hectarage and output of fresh fruit bunches (FFB) with continued new planting activities in its plantations. Managing director Yaw Chee Ming said the group had allocated RM69m in capital expenditure to carry on with its new planting activities in both Sarawak and Kalimantan, Indonesia. “Our target is to plant 3,000 to 5,000ha a year; it all depends on negotiations with the natives staying on the land. “We may be allocating a piece of land but there are still some natives staying on it. We will plant more if the negotiations are speeded up,” he said. (StarBiz)
Tan Sri Ravindran Menon's Subang Skypark is believed to have received an offer from the government to undertake a RM1.5bn project to build a railway line, people familiar with the matter said. The railway line is to help connect the Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd (KTMB) station in Subang Jaya, Selangor, to the Skypark Terminal at the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport. The company has been lobbying the government to build the railway line for more than five years, sources said. It is understood that the railway project was recently approved under the Economic Transformation Programme to improve public transportation. "This is a Private Financing Initiative where the project will be funded by Subang Skypark. The project involving 23km may cost between RM1 bn and RM1.5 bn," the source said. (BT)
Megasteel Sdn Bhd is believed to be lobbying for a 15% levy on steel imports across the board from non-Asean countries. Industry sources are not happy with the new proposal, which will tax imports of all steel products even those not produced by Megasteel. An industry source said that the levy is not in Malaysia’s interests as many industries use steel; it is used in the automotive industry, in manufacturing and construction and everyone will lose out if this proposal materialises. He pointed out that Megasteel continued to make losses despite the lack of competition. “Megasteel has not been profitable even though there has been a 25% levy on hot rolled coils (HRC), the company’s primary product. Also, Megasteel is essentially the sole HRC producer in Malaysia. This could be indicative of its uncompetitive cost structure.” “No body wants Megasteel to suffer. We want Malaysia to have its own steel makers. We just want the industry to be fair. A 15% levy on all steel imports will cripple the industry. A solution will need to be discussed across the value chain that can benefit everyone". Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like Megasteel is ready to talk”, an industry player added. (Financial Daily)
CIMB Group Holdings is poised to overtake Malayan Banking as the lead arranger for Islamic bonds after helping manage Malaysia's second-biggest offering in 2011. The lender co-arranged power producer Tenaga Nasional Bhd's sale of RM4.85 bn of syariah-compliant debt in conjunction with Bank Islam Malaysia. That offering took the bank's total to US$4.5bn (RM14bn), compared with Maybank's US$3.8 bn (RM11.9bn), according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Sales of Islamic bonds doubled last month as yields at a seven-week low and the resolution to Europe's debt crisis encouraged borrowers. (BT)
Proton has proposed to buy an additional 15% equity stake in Miyazu for RM4.9m, which will increase its shareholding to 66% from 51% previously. The acquisition is expected to contribute positively to the group’s earnings in the long-term. (Malaysian Reserve)
AirAsia Japan will add long-distance flights in 2013 as it seeks to lure holidaymakers and budget travellers with cheap flights. The airline might offer services to Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore after introducing wide-body A330 planes, CEO Kazuyuki Iwakata said. The company will begin short-haul routes from Tokyo’s Narita airport in August with single-aisle A320s. The new airline intends to lure passengers with fares as much as two-thirds cheaper than traditional carriers. AirAsia Japan planned to fly to airports already served by affiliates as it expanded on long-haul routes, so that it could cut costs through cooperation in areas such as procurement. The carrier plans to have a fleet of 30 or more plans in five years. (Bloomberg)
DRB-Hicom has proposed to establish an Islamic medium-term notes (sukuk) programme of up to RM1.8bn in nominal value with tenure of 15 years. Proceeds from the sukuk would be used to finance working capital requirements and the company’s current and future projects and investments. It will also be used to refinance borrowings and defray expenses incurred from the issuance. (Star Biz)
The US$1.4bn five-year contract that SapuraCrest won from Petrobras signals the arrival of the former as an international player while enabling it to bid for more contracts from Petrobras in the future. The contract was secured by SapuraCrest on its own after a highly competitive and technically rigorous open tender process. With the contract, SapuraCrest's earnings visibility increases substantially up to FY1/19. Its current outstanding orderbook surges by more than 50% to about RM12bn, which is the largest in the industry. (Star)
India asked Indonesia to reduce export duty on crude palm oil while agreeing to export five lakh tonnes of non-basmati rice. To protect its refining industry, Indonesia had recently raised the export duty on crude palm oil to 16.5 per cent from 15 per cent and also lowered duty on refined oil to 8 per cent from 15 per cent ."Sudden hike in export duty of crude palm oil by Indonesia will badly affect the Indian industry. So, we have sought a reduction," Food Minister K V Thomas told reporters after a meeting with an Indonesian delegation here. (Bloomberg)
Chinese buyers have canceled or delayed some natural rubber shipments after prices slumped and demand weakened, according to traders at Okachi & Co. and Tower Commodities Co. Prices tumbled 20% in the past three months on concern the Europe debt crisis may derail the global recovery. Tightened China liquidity and weak conditions might cause prices to drop further, leading to more cancellations, said Lizhi Tang, president of the Okachi & Co.’s greater China region. The amount “isn’t large” now, he said without elaborating. (Bloomberg)
City landowners here have finally warmed to MRT Corporation’s solution to end a property dispute, a move the firm says will help the government avoid acquisition of prime properties and cut the Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) project cost by billions of ringgit. MRT Corp CEO Datuk Azhar Abdul Hamid declared the Jalan Sultan and Jalan Inai row resolved yesterday, after a majority signed a memorandum pledging to work out the terms of a mutual agreement. “The support garnered among the Jalan Sultan and Jalan Inai landowners exemplifies progress in the implementation of the country’s largest public infrastructure project,” MRT Corp said in a statement issued last night. (Malaysian Insider)
U Mobile's network suffered a major service disruption just before noon on Monday for seven hours. Its CEO Dr Kaizad Heerjee assured that plans are in place to avoid future recurrences. "We acknowledge that U Mobile has let down our customers as they expect better service from us. We have to redouble our efforts to rebuild their confidence in U Mobile." To compensate its over 1m users, U Mobile will offer free SMS for a 24-hour period on 10 Nov, 10 Dec and 10 Jan. In addition, data users will get 500MB monthly free for 3 months starting 10 Nov. There have also been areas of cooperation between StarHub and U Mobile, he said, adding that "we have brought a lot of innovation to the market place and we are also the only cellco that offers three roaming service to Singapore. The same goes for StarHub users when they come here." (StarBiz)
Felda, with two estates in Indonesia, is considering an offer to open estates in Cambodia. Its Chairman Tan Sri Mohamed Isa Abdul Samad said Felda management was currently negotiating with the Cambodian authorities following an offer to open up 160,000 hectares (400,000 acres) in that country. He said the Federal Land Development Authority has been provided with the necessary documents, relevant details and study findings of Malaysian organisations for consideration. "I believe we will study the offer as it is a good opportunity," he added. (Bernama)
Faber Group was handed a lifeline last Thursday when it received an interim extension of its long-running concession on the day before expiration. However, the short-term extension of only six months, or until a new deal is signed whichever is first, could suggest undercurrents in the industry when it comes to the awarding of such concessions. Faber is one of the country’s three hospital support services (HSS) providers, the others being Pantai Medivest and Radicare. (Financial Daily)
Zelan has been awarded a development contract by the Public Private Partnership Unit involving the Phase 3 development of the International Islamic University Malaysia’s centre in Pahang. No amount of contract has been stated by Zelan. (Malaysian Reserve)
Malaysia has been ranked below the average grade in the Bribery Perception Index in a survey by Transparency International of 28 countries. Malaysia scored 7.6, below the average of 7.8 out of a possible 10. In contrast Indonesia debuted at 7.1 this year for the first time in the survey. Singapore scored 8th highest at 8.3 with Netherlands and Switzerland at the top spot at 8.8. Russia and China scored the lowest at 6.1 and 6.5 respectively. The survey sampled 3,000 businesses in Malaysia including 148 companies involved in international trade. (Malaysiakini)
International Automotive Components Group (IAC), the car-parts maker owned by billionaire Wilbur Ross, says it is expanding in Asia through joint ventures with a Malaysian supplier in its home country and in Thailand. IAC will own 60% of a venture in Thailand with APM Automotive Holdings, while in Malaysia, IAC will hold a 40% stake, Ross' company said. IAC and APM said they will design, engineer and manufacture instrument and door panels, floor consoles, flooring and acoustics, package trays and rocker panels for global carmakers and domestic companies in the region. (BT)
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