Bounty Crop, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Boustead Plantations, which in turn is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Boustead, and Supriadi Zainal proposed to dispose 95% of PT Dendymarker Indahlestari (PTDI) to PT Agro Investama Gemilang for US$38m. In addition, Bounty Crop also has the right to sell its remaining 5% stake in PTDI at an exercise price of US$2m. (BMSB)
Gamuda Bhd has started discussion with a consortium of banks for a multi-billion ringgit facility to finance the slew of mega projects that it would possibly be undertaking soon, banking sources said. The source said that Gamuda was preparing its funding requirements so that it could start projects which it had put in a bid for including the Klang Valley mass rapid transit (KVMRT) and the RM7bn Electrified Double Track Railway Project (EDTP) from Gemas to Johor Baru. Currently, Gamuda-MMC are still in the running for the RM4bn tunnelling portion of the KVMRT project. They are the only local party bidding for the tunnelling portion and stand a good chance of securing the contract. The closing tender for the tunnelling portion is Jan 31, and the announcement of the winner is likely to be made in April. (Starbiz)
Penang is set to welcome investments totalling RM35m this year from food and beverage operators into phase one of the Gurney Paragon development on Gurney Drive. The project's developer, Hunza Properties Bhd (HPB), has already seen the entry of nine tenants into Phase 1B of its multi-billion ringgit waterfront development with capital investments in excess of RM10m. "We are working hard to continue bringing in established names which have yet to set up a presence in Penang to open their businesses in Gurney Paragon," HPB executive chairman Datuk Khor Teng Tong said. Phase 1B of the project comprises some 100,000 sq ft of lettable space, and its developers are touting the entire Gurney Paragon project as the only one in the country for now which integrates a restored heritage building amidst modern residential, retail and commercial spaces. (BT)
Petronas Dagangan plans to open more than 67 new petrol stations nationwide this year. CEO Amir Hamzah Azizan said the company will allocate between RM350m-450m p.a. for capex, which includes the opening of new stations. "This year will be a big one for us. We will probably build the largest service station in our history", Amir added. Including the new stations, Petronas Dagangan will have more than 1,000 stations this year. (BT)
Petronas and Royal Dutch Shell Plc will jointly invest USD12b over 30 years to recover oil off Malaysia's Sarawak and Sabah coast. The production-sharing partners aim to extract 750m barrels of oil from the two projects. (BT)
Petra Energy will hold an EGM on 9 Feb to remove director Kamarul Baharin Albakri. (BMSB)
Malaysia’s cocoa grindings in 2011 are estimated at 299,271 tonnes, a drop of one per cent from 302,366 tonnes in 2010. According to Malaysian Cocoa Board and Cocoa Manufacturers Group, the grindings continued to slow down in the 4Q11. (BT)
Hovid Bhd has been uplifted from being a Practice Note 17 company, the company said in a statement to the stock exchange. The uplift will take effect today, (BT)
Kimlun has been awarded a RM82.1m construction contract for two blocks of services apartments and ancillary buildings in Johor Bahru. (Malaysian Reserve)
Dayang has been awarded an RM85m contract for extension of the time charter for one of its workboats by Brunei Shell Petroleum Company. The contract extension will be from March 1, 2012 until Oct 31, 2016. (Malaysian Reserve)
EITA Resources Bhd has received approval from the Securities Commission for its listing exercise.The elevator manufacturer and distributor of electrical and electronics components and equipment is aiming to list on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia in 1H12. EITA’s elevator systems are marketed under the EITA-Schneider brand. EITA-Schneider elevators have been installed in Malaysia, Singapore, Laos, Vietnam, Philippines, Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia.(Starbiz)
DRB-Hicom buys Proton at RM5.50
Khazanah is divesting its 42.72% stake in Proton Holdings to DRB-Hicom via a conditional sale at RM5.50 per share or RM1.29bn cash. Once the deal is completed, DRB-Hicom will be obliged to undertake a mandatory general offer for the remaining Proton shares at the same price, resulting in DRB-Hicom having to fork out an additional RM1.73bn for the remaining 57.28%. This is the second asset that DRB-Hicom is taking over from Khazanah in under a year after buying a 32.2% controlling stake in Pos Malaysia last April. The RM5.50 per share offer is lower than the price Khazanah paid for its Proton stake of roughly RM8 per share. (Financial Daily) Please see accompanying report.
IOI highest bidder for Singapore job
IOI Corp was the highest bidder for a plot of land to build high-rise public housing in Singapore near the Clementi MRT station. The RM988.4m (SGD408m) bid was the highest for the condominium project in Jalan Lempeng, followed by a RM874.5m (SGD361m) bid from three companies. Industry sources pointed out that IOI will eventually secure the project as the Singapore government gives priority to the highest bidder. IOI says it may take some time for it to receive an official confirmation from the Singaporean government. (StarBiz) Please see accompanying report.
Kulim rejects MCCM’s offer for QSR
Kulim has rejected the unsolicited offer from the Malay Chamber of Commerce Malaysia (MCCM) to buy its 58.68% stake in QSR Brands at RM6.90 per share. The company took note that its holding corporation Johor Corp (JCorp) would not support any proposal to dispose of the QSR shares. JCorp chairman Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman said that Massive Equity’s purchase of QSR and KFC is part of the JCorp’s overall rationalization programme for its various divisions to focus on their core businesses. (Financial Daily)
Bumi Armada clinches RM155m project
Bumi Armada has sealed a RM155m contract with Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) for the provision of one anchor-handling towing support (AHTS) vessel. The AHTS vessel will be supporting research activities as well as hydrocarbon and mining activities developed by Petrobras in the Brazilian continental shelf. The contract is for a period of four years with an extension option of another four and is expected to be effective by 1QCY12. (Financial Daily)
Eagleexpress to spend USD400m on aircraft
Eagleexpress Air Charter SB, a new air charter airline funded by investors from Malaysia and South Korea, will invest around USD400m (RM1.26bn) over the next three years to buy 20 second-hand aircraft. It will buy the aircraft, which have been in use for an average 15 years, from Penerbangan Malaysia (PMB) and the world aircraft market. Eagleexpress CEO Captain Azlan Zainal Abidin said the company has secured funding of up to USD300m from a South Korean investor. The first batch of nine will be delivered over the next 12 months. (BT)
Axing of routes a pure business decision
The decision by AirAsia X to suspend four of its loss-making international routes is purely a business decision and must be viewed positively by Malaysians, says co-founder and CEO of AirAsia, Tan Sri Tony Fernandes. He said allegations that the move by AirAsia’s sister company to drop the KL-Mumbai, New Delhi, Paris and London routes, was a move to accommodate and establish a business strategy with MAS, was totally untrue and “irritating”. (Malaysian Reserve)
Pakistan awards Bina Puri mega highway project
The Pakistan government has awarded a multi-million ringgit highway expansion project to Bina Puri Holdings. A high-ranking official of Pakistan’s National Highway Authority confirmed on Saturday that Bina Puri had been selected for the project, worth nearly RM850m. (Malaysian Reserve)
Axiata maintains capex at RM4.2bn
Axiata Group expects to allocate almost RM4.2bn this year for capex purposes, its president and CEO Datuk Seri Jamaludin Ibrahim said. He that the group is looking at the possibility of acquiring non-mobile operating companies in the Southeast Asian region. However, he declined to disclose further info on the matter such as any specific target companies or in which countries the companies are located. (BT)
Felda settlers should disregard the Opposition for trying to stir dissent by arguing that the listing of Felda Global Ventures Holdings (FGVH) will be to their detriment, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. “Have no fear because it (the listing) will bring a windfall for the people of Felda,” he said. Najib assured the settlers that they would get higher earnings while enjoying the current perks and benefits such as bonus, Hari Raya cash tokens and loans for house renovation. “As I said when tabling Budget 2012, Felda settlers will enjoy a windfall. I will announce the quantum to be received by each individual following the listing at an appropriate time and it may be more than RM500,” he added. (Starbiz)
Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said the move by AirAsia X to suspend for of its loss-making international routes is a purely business decision and must be viewed positively. He said claims that the move was to accommodate and establish a business strategy with Malaysia Airlines (MAS) were untrue and “irritating”. “Azran Osman Rani (AirAsia X’s CEO) discovered that the best profitability is to have between four to eight hour (routes), with one type of engine and aircraft, which is the Airbus 330. This has nothing to do with MAS or AirAsia.” He also that it was good that MAS and AirAsia could collaborate in certain areas, but wrong to say this would destroy competition. “We cannot grow if we increase our fares. In fact it is against my philosophy.” (Malaysian Insider)
The Malay Chamber of Commerce Malaysia (MCCM) will call for a press conference on Thursday to announce an official bid, complete with financing details, of the proposed acquisition of Kulim (M) Bhd’s 54% stake in QSR Brands Bhd, president Syed Ali Alattas toldStarBizWeek. He said that the MCCM team had recently met up with some potential interested franchisors of the KFC brand and the bid was likely to involve some well-connected wealthy backers. “We have met them. These parties (are) not only bumiputras but also non-bumiputras. As I have said earlier, this counter bid will involve Malaysians; bumiputras and non-bumiputras alike. “After further thoughts on this, we (MCCM) have agreed that this should not be a bumiputra-only franchise as it will not be healthy this way,” he said. Syed Ali said he would unveil more details at the planned briefing in Kuala Lumpur.
Meanwhile, Syed Ali said he was confident that fund managers such as Lembaga Tabung Haji (LTH), Felda Holdings Bhd, Amanah Saham MARA and Permodalan Nasional Bhd would receive letters from the MCCM regarding this matter soon. “We have sent official letters to these parties and we hope it would reach them soon. “Given the festive season, it may take sometime, I believe, for these letters to arrive at their destinations because the post offices have many letters and greeting cards to deliver,” he said. (Starbiz)
Tan Chong Motor expects its first car plant in Danang, Vietnam to be completed by March this year. The plant would produce up to 1,200 units of B-segment cars monthly. Some of the output will be exported to China. (Bernama)
Petronas has signed a transition agreement with the government of South Sudan for the continued operations in the upstream blocks in the country. The agreement grants Petronas the rights to conduct petroleum operations. These are their existing contract areas secured via the previous exploration and production sharing agreement. The agreement also paves the way for an enhanced, mutually-beneficial relationship between Petronas and its partners with South Sudan’s government. (Bernama)
According to Malaysian REIT Managers Association chairman Stewart Labrooy, the M-REIT sector will face slower growth and competition for tenants as an oversupply situation emerges in the office market leading to lower rental yields. In Kuala Lumpur, property prices are expected to remain flat for 2012 with some weaknesses in the high-end residential and office markets. In the office sector, the seven million sq ft of new office space scheduled for completion this year would result in softening in rental and occupancy. “Most M-REITs have strong tenant covenants and long leases to counter cyclical financial events. They also practise very conservative valuations so we don't see any downward pressure on them in 2012 and beyond. In addition, the average gearing of most M-REITs are in the range of 20% to 40%, precluding any event of a default on their loan covenants,” he said.
Labrooy said a silver lining from the uncertainty and volatility of the global markets was that investors and fund managers had started shifting to dividend stocks with strong asset backing and renewed their interest in M-REITs as defensive stocks in uncertain times. “I believe that we will continue to see a strong subscription in the M-REIT sector this year bearing in mind that the sector performed fairly well to outperform the KLCI in 2011,” he added. (Starbiz)
Can-One will take control of a 32.9% stake in Kian Joo Can Factory by this week, according to sources. BT was told that Can-One has secured financing from Kuwait Finance House to proceed with the acquisition. Can-One wants to go through the deal not only because of the huge paper gain that it is sitting on but also because of its ability to equity account the Kian Joo stakes. Can-One’s own profit is poised to soar. (BT)
Johor Corp will spend up to RM40m to upgrade all its hotel assets to cater to the expected increase in tourist arrivals, which is driven by the opening of several attractions in Iskandar Malaysia. JCorp Hotels & Resorts Sdn Bhd deputy CEO, Muhamad Mazlan Ali, said the hotels' upgrading work would start with the Puteri Pacific Johor Baru. "The hotel, which opened in 1990, needs some refurbishments. To stay afloat, we have to upgrade our properties," Muhamad Mazlan told Business Times. He said once the refurbishment exercise was completed in about a year or two, the company would review its pricing strategy upwards. Currently, the average room rate in the Johor market is about RM180 a night. JCorp Hotels, the hospitality arm of Johor Corp, owns and manages five properties in Johor. (BT)
Mitrajaya Holdings has won two bids totaling RM33.4m from Putrajaya Holdings for the proposed construction and completion of two-storey terrace houses and two-story and three-storey shop office units in Putrajaya. The contracts are to be completed within a period of 22 months. (Malaysian Reserve)
Prestariang wants to more than triple its market worth to RM500m by 2015 as part of its efforts to reward shareholders, consolidate its position as one of the country's top information, communications and technology (ICT) companies, as well as to help make the local stock market more attractive. The Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) status company's core business is to train and certify lifelong learners to become professionals. As at September last year, the company had an orderbook of RM280m. The firm also offers software licence distribution and management. (BT)
AEON: To open five to eight more malls by 2015. AEON Asean vice-president and chief executive officer Nagahisa Oyama said these new shopping malls are at the planning stage, therefore the company does not have specific locations for the complexes yet. A shopping mall would usually cost some RM200m, depending on location and arrangement with the developer. (Source: The Star weekly)
F&N: Feels impact of Thai floods, Coke loss. Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd (F&N) expects contribution from its dairies division to be lower in its first quarter ended Dec 31, 2011, due to the recent floods in Thailand. CEO Datuk Ng Jui Sia said its dairies plant in Ayutthaya is currently under repair and will resume operations in April. (Source: The Sun)
HDD: Price seen rising. The price of hard disk drives (HDD) is expected to rise further this year due to tighter supply in HDDs. Eng Teknologi CEO Datuk YK Teh said the group's Thailand operations would only be able to kick off at the end of the first quarter and to resume full capacity production in Thailand by year-end. The current wholesale price of an external one terabyte 2.5-inch HDD is now hovering at RM345, compared with RM258 before the impact of the floods in Thailand. (Source: The Star)
No comments:
Post a Comment