Bumi Armada, AirAsia replace Gamuda, MISC in KLCI
Bumi Armada and AirAsia will replace Gamuda and MISC in the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI after the FTSE Group’s semi-annual review yesterday. PLUS Expressway will be removed from the index after its delisting, to be replaced by UEM Land Holdings on 13 Dec, the FTSE Group said in its press release. (Malaysian Reserve)
General Motors to revive partnership talks with Proton
General Motors has begun talks with Proton Holdings to form a manufacturing venture in the South-East Asian country, according to two people familiar with the matter. The discussions will revive negotiations that were scrapped in 2007, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are confidential. The talks are preliminary and may not lead to an agreement, they said. (Malaysian Reserve)
Axiata: Celcom gets Aussie partner
Broadcast Australia will ink a deal on Monday to be Celcom Axiata Bhd's technical partner ahead of a bid for the much awaited RM2bn digital terrestrial television broadcasting (DTTB) project. This comes as a surprise to many in the industry as Telekom Malaysia (TM) was known to have been in talks with Broadcast Australia for a long time for a similar tie-up. The agreement between Celcom and Broadcast Australia, which operates an infrastructure network for broadcasters and telecommunications providers in Australia, is exclusive. (StarBiz) Please see accompanying report
DRB-HICOM, SAAB seal strategic partnership in defence, aerospace
DRB-HICOM and SAAB AB yesterday signed an industrial cooperation teaming agreement to forge collaboration in a bid to supply Airborne Early Warning and Control System for the Royal Malaysian Air Force. The former said through this programme, the integration of Saab’s Eyerie Radar and the incorporation of the “Eye in the Sky” will provide a significant data link to the Royal Malaysian Navy and Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency. (Malaysian Reserve)
Kencana unit lands RM1bn fabrication contract from Bechtel
Kencana Petroleum’s unit, Kencana HL SB, has secured a RM1bn contract from Bechtel International Inc for the fabrication and assembly of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) processing facility in Australia. Kencana said on Thursday that the contract scope included fabrication, assembly, testing and loading of process equipment modules for Wheatstone Project LNG Plant Facility located at Ashburton North, Western Australia. (Financial Daily)
Hektar REIT to purchase Kedah malls for Rm181m
Hektar Real Estate Investment Trust is buying two malls in Sungai Petani and Kulim, Kedah, for RM181m. The Central Square in Sungai Petani and Landmark Central in Kulim are leading malls in their respective areas. Both malls are strategically located in prime spots, have a good tenant mix and ample room for growth and expansion, it added. Central Square currently has a high occupancy rate of 96%, while Landmark Central in Kulim, being a relatively newcomer, has 77%, it claimed. (BT)
Bumi Armada's subsidiary, Armada TGT Ltd, has signed 7-year loan agreements worth US$341.1m (RM1.08bn) with seven banks to finance the deployment of its FPSO vessel Armada TGT 1 in Vietnam. The banks are Sumitomo Mitsui as the coordinating bank, mandated lead arranger, facility agent, security agent and account bank. The other mandated lead arrangers are CIMB, ING Bank N.V, Maybank, OCBC, RHB and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi. Armada TGT 1, now operating in Block 16-1 of the Te Giac Trang field for the Hoang Long Joint Operating Company, achieved first oil on 22 Aug. (Star)
CIMB Group Holdings Bhd is not looking to buy Thailand's Phatra Securities, sources said, culling rumours of its purported interest. One of the sources said the banking group had indeed eyed Phatra, one of Thailand's top three brokers, some time ago but then decided to go with the smaller Sicco Securities. "It was too expensive," the source added. CIMB in Sep announced plans to buy 70% of Sicco for about 767.9m baht in a bid to have a stronger share of the Thai securities market. (BT)
Sime Darby's 2012 earnings and beyond is not expected to be adversely impacted by the economic uncertainties in the West because of palm oil's position as a main food item. Sime Darby derives up to 70% of its income from plantations. Sime Darby chairman Tun Musa Hitam said the economic woes in the United States and Europe were not expected to be much of a problem to the conglomerate as long as crude palm oil prices continued to be firm, supported by demand from developing economies. "You cannot go wrong when you are producing food. Furthermore, the emerging economies of China and India and the Southeast Asian region will cushion the economic slowdown in the West," Musa added. (BT)
DRB-Hicom has denied any knowledge of a bid for Proton Holdings and of plans to sell a stake in Proton to Volkswagen AG. Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported that Volkswagen had no plan at the moment to expand operations in Malaysia beyond a partnership with DRB-Hicom. (Starbiz)
Tan Sri Tony Fernandes has denied he will resign as AirAsia boss soon, pointing out that he had only told reporters the airline must prepare for new leadership. “Not resigning from AirAsia. All I said is next 10 years we must prepare for new leadership and my time is coming up soon. First a CEO for Malaysia and I focus on group functions as group CEO. Good leadership is to prepare for succession. Not going anytime soon though,” he said. (Malaysian Insider)
Gamuda said the closing of the tender for the Klang Valley mass rapid transit (MRT) underground works may be extended from early January 2012. Its managing director Datuk Lin Yun Ling said to his knowledge the only local entity bidding for the underground contract is MMC-Gamuda while the rest are foreigners. "It will take another three to four months for technical evaluation, and MRT Co will do it (announce the winning bid," he said. He also has "no clue" what are the profit margins for the MRT project, which is expected to be completed over two phases. (Financial Daily)
Talk Focus, the newest mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) in the country, is targeting at least 100,000 subscribers by end-June 2012. It will provide the mobile phone services like voice calls, text messaging and other value-added services via DiGi.Com's network. Customers of its mobile services under the brand Tron will be able to use their phones to shop for items and obtain discounts at selected retail outlets. This is on top of the typical things most users do: making phone calls, sending text messages and surfing the Internet. "Our services will be a first of its kind... it's going to be revolutionary. We have a telecommunication business as well as retail business. We work with merchants somewhat similar to Groupon, but it is a different experience altogether," CEO Steven Loke said (BT)
Bonia Corp Bhd will be spending between 5-10% of its revenue for its expansion in Indonesia and Vietnam next year, MD Albert Chiang said. Three months ago, Bonia opened its first boutique in Jakarta, and to date, it has 35 Bonia counters at some malls' department stores there. "So far, the response from the consumers there is very encouraging, and we want to focus on this market substantially next year," he said after its AGM yesterday. Apart from Indonesia, the company is also rebuilding its retail base in Vietnam after the fallout with its previous partner. "Our biggest markets would continue to be Malaysia and Singapore, and with the current condition in Europe, we will continue with our focus in the Asian countries," he said. Its presence in Saudi Arabia has also taken off well, said group finance director Chong Chin Look, adding that it recently appointed a new distributor under a five-year contract. He said the company hopes to penetrate the United Arab Emirates market and other Middle
Eastern countries such as Kuwait and Qatar in the near future. (BT)
Benalec Holdings has entered into a MoU with Singapore-listed Rotary Engineering to study the feasibility of reclaiming 250 acres of land in Tanjung Piai, Johor for a storage terminal with an initial one million cu m capacity. A joint-venture company would be set up should the study results in a positive outcome. (Star Biz)
Boustead Holdings subsidiary Boustead Naval Shipyard has been awarded a RM62m contract by the Government for the supply and delivery of spare parts, maintenance, integrated logistic support and training for the 17 th patrol vessel squadron of The Royal Malaysian Navy. The contract was from June 7, 2011 to June 6, 2014. (Star Biz)
Melewar Industrial Group (MIG) signed a MOU with Kazmy Steel Company of Kazakhstan in which MIG is to be the turnkey design-and-build contractor for mycrosmelt steel plant in Almaty. The proposed investment in the plant is estimated at RM178m via a JV by MIE and Kazmy. Of the RM178m, 30% will come directly from shareholders and 70% via bank borrowings from Kazakh financial institutions. (Financial Daily)
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