The Sarawak Housing Development Commission, in collaboration with Amcorp Group, will invest about RM1bn for the total development of the new Sibu Jaya township. “The development will be carried out under a revised masterplan and will be the biggest and most uniquely planned housing area in the state,” said the State Housing Minister Datuk Amar Abang Abdul Rahman Johari. About 106ha out of 567ha earmarked for development under the masterplan has already been developed with a GDV value of RM470m (Financial Daily)
EPMB to expand further in Indonesia
EP Manufacturing Bhd (EPMB) is bent on diversification to reduce its dependence on its bread-and-butter automotive oarts manufacturing business. The company is looking into real estate development, road construction, and more water concessions in Indonesia to safeguard its revenue stream. Its executive chairman, Hamidon Abdullah, said the company’s initial water treatment concession in Kota Serang in Indonesia is scheduled for operation this month. (Financial Daily)
Axiata may see India unit’s revenue cut over licence issue
Axiata Group’s 19.7% owned by Idea Cellular claimed that the order by India’s Supreme Court for the Indian government to revoke 122 telecommunication licences, issued under a scandal tainted 2008 sale, may reduce up to 4% of its revenue. These licences were said to have been issued in 2008 under the influence of bribery and violation of rules and led to the government losing as much as USD36bn (RM108.36bn) in revenue. (Malaysian Reserve)
Naim Indah’s major shareholder plans to dispose of shares
Naim Indah Corp Bhd says one of its major shareholder, holding 22.8% stake, is having discussion with various parties with the intention to dispose of its shares in the company, “However, no details of the proposed disposal has been finalized, including the price,” the company said in reply to Bursa Malaysia’s query on an unusual market activity of its shares. (Malaysian Reserve)
TMS set for KTM job
Internet-based applications and solutions provider The Media Shoppe Bhd (TMS) and Hopetech SB are expected to be jointly awarded a RM21m contract to design, supply and commission passenger information and closed-circuit television systems for KTM Bhd. The job will take up to 14 months to implement and will be awarded by the Transport Ministry, according to sources. An announcement that will incorporate more details on the contract is expected to be made today. Hopetech, is a systems integrator and solutions provider for automated revenue collection, road telematics and secure electronic payment systems in the transportation and electronic purse sectors. (StarBiz)
Green Ocean banks on new technology for profit
Green Ocean Corp Bhd is poised to post a record profit of between RM15m and RM20m in the financial year ending 31 Mar 2013. The loss-making company is expected to register its first profit in four years for the financial year ending 31 Mar 2012. “We should make a profit in the range of RM2.5m,” said group managing director Lee Byoung Jin in an interview with Business Times. Lee, a South Korean national, and parties aligned to him control about 28% of the company. Lee is banking on the company’s exclusive technology to push the company back to the road of profitability. The technology, developed by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB), and known as Novelin, allows Green Ocean to produce cooking oil which has cold stability at zero Celcius, which means it can be used during the cold winter period. (BT)
Plan for RM13bn Danga Bay waterfront project
Businessman Datuk Lim Kang Hoo, who recently made a privatisation bid for developer Tebrau Teguh Bhd, is planning a more than RM13bn project in Danga Bay, Johor Bahru. The soon-to-be-launched project is billed as the most exclusive and unique waterfront development in Iskandar Malaysia’s southern economic corridor over the next five years. It will spread over 120 ha at the estuaries of three rivers at the Danga Bay. The Danga Bay waterfront development is an important component in one of the flagship developments in Iskandar Malaysia. (BT)
The push to bring three mega-casinos to South Florida fizzled in the Florida Legislature last Friday, defeated for the time being by mounting opposition across the state and the uncertainty of election-year politics. The bill faced its first test before a committee in the state House but lacked the votes to progress. Rather than lose the vote, Rep Erik Fresen, the Miami Republican who sponsored the House Bill, pulled the measure and postponed the vote. There is little chance that it will come up for another vote this year. Jessica Hoppe, the senior vice- president for government affairs and general counsel of Genting's Resorts World Miami, said that the company remained "committed to the vision of world-class destination resorts in the South Florida community". (New York Times, Business Times)
Volkswagen (VW) is in talks with DRB-Hicom to take over some manufacturing capacity at Proton’s modern but underused plant in Tanjung Malim, Perak, and make Malaysia its regional production hub. In return, it would help the local car manufacturer, which recently bought a controlling stake in Proton, make the brand more globally competitive through its engineering network and experience in emerging fast-growing markets such as China and Brazil, according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). (Malaysian Insider)
Tan Sri Zarinah Anwar will step down as Securities Commission (SC) chief next month amid pressure over the market regulator’s role in Sime Darby’s acquisition of a 30% stake in property group E&O last August, The Straits Times reported. According to the Singapore daily, Zarinah, the first woman to head the capital markets watchdog, will leave at the end of her contract, ending six years at the helm of the commission. Government officials and financial executives close to the situation told the newspaper that “ Prime Minister and Finance Minister Najib Razak will decide on her replacement in the coming weeks.” “The E&O deal has put Tan Sri Zarinah in a tight spot. The reason is that her husband, who is E&O chairman, had raised his personal stock holdings in the company just days before Sime Darby’s announcement,” it reported. Candidates to replace Zarinah include deputy central bank governor Datuk Muhammad Ibrahim and the SC’s managing director Datuk Ranjit Ajit Singh.
It also said that Datuk Johan Raslan, executive chairman of PricewaterhouseCoopers, has repeatedly turned down the offer to head the watchdog agency. (Malaysin Insider, Straits Times)
CIMB Malaysia and China International Capital Corp. are the last two companies looking at buying the Asia-Pacific assets of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) Group, the Australian Financial Review reports, without saying where it got the information. RBS told the paper that it was in talks with two potential Asian buyers for the assets but declined to disclose their identity, according to the report in the local business daily. (Fox Business)
RHB Bank Bhd expects its retail banking business to grow at a faster pace than the industry this year after making aggressive moves to expand its customer channels. The bank's retail assets are estimated to have grown by about 19% last year, beating the industry's 12% growth; while deposits may have expanded by about 15% compared with the industry's eight to 10% growth, said Vince Au Yoong, acting director for retail banking. Its net non-performing loan (NPL) ratio has been trending down over the last 12 to 18 months as it improved its collective infrastructure and invested in more risk tools, he said. Overall net NPL currently stands at between 2% and 3%. (BT)
Tenaga Nasional (TNB) is keen to develop a 1,400 MW coal-based power plant in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh worth US$2.5bn (RM7.53bn) on a JV basis to meet demand for power in the country. According to a source close to the deal, the Bangladeshi government has already engaged TNB and had proceeded with a letter of intent indicating its interest in establishing a JV for the purpose. "Currently, both sides are deliberating to reach an understanding on the equity sharing and electricity production cost for the import-based coal-fired mega power plant," said the source. (Bernama, Malaysian Reserve)
On the listing of Felda Global Ventures Holding (FGVH), PM Datuk SeriNajib said the company would continue to be a Malay-based entity as the majority of its shares would be held by Koperasi Permodalan Felda (KPF). He said the listing would make Felda more competitive in the international market. The listing, on the Main Board of Bursa Malaysia, is aimed at consolidating Felda and widening business opportunities with international partners through the commercialisation of its downstream products. He added that the final structure of the proposed listing of FGVH would be ready before Feb 13. "We will brief Felda managers and settler representatives on the final structure during a meeting on Feb 13. It will also include the number of shares and windfall that each of the 112,635 KPF members are expected to get." (NST)
The Government may consider removing its sugar subsidy due to a rise in diabetic cases in the country and channel this into more pressing areas, said Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. However, he said various factors must be considered before such a decision was taken, including the global market price for sugar. “The Government could stop its subsidy for sugar but not now. In the long run, perhaps. “We will study this and see if the funds can be channelled into other areas where subsidies are needed,” he added. (Starbiz)
The sugar subsidy for this year to 2014 has increased because the higher world prices compared with the price signed under the long-term contract (LTC) from 2009 to 2011. Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, said sugar price has increased by US$0.26 per lb compared with US$0.175 per lb in 2009-2011. "As a result, the subsidy borne by the government from 2009-2011 is still based on US$0.175 per lb under the LTC," he added. He said for the next three years, the subsidy would increase based on the new LTC price of US$0.26 which the government signed in January. (Bernama)
Malaysia has issued this year's tax-free crude palm oil export quotas of 3m tonnes after weeks of delay, sources said on Sunday. Sources with direct knowledge of government plans said some palm oil firms have received their quotas last week. The total quotas account for 15.5% of projected output this year in Malaysia. The 2012 tax-free export quota for crude palm oil is less than the 3.6m tonnes shipped out without any tariffs to Malaysian-owned refiners in Europe and Asia. A government source said the refiners have not been forgotten as the government is looking at providing incentives to refiners to encourage them to go further downstream and produce higher value products compared to Indonesia. "The incentives will be done via special funding from the government. There will be an announcement at the end of this month," added the source. (Reuters)
Malaysia Airports (MAHB) will be awarding concessions for 225 outlets at KLIA2 by July this year. Of the total, 118 lots will be allocated for retail, 81 lots for food and beverage and 26 lots for services. MAHB commercial services senior general manager Faizah Khairuddin said some 500 businesses have expressed interest to operate at KLIA2. MAHB is also working on a mall sited in front of the terminal which will offer non-duty-free goods. Faizah added that MAHB is targeting to hit RM3bn in revenue by 2014, two-thirds of which will be come from non-aeronautical sources, such as rental of space, car parks and transit hotels. MAHB also hopes to achieve RM185.5m in property development revenue by 2014. (Malaysian Insider)
AirAsia has obtained an Air Operators Certificate (AOC) from the Japanese Civil Aviation Bureau for its JV entity with All Nippon Airways Co Ltd to establish a low cost airline in Japan. The AOC shall enable AirAsia Japan to operate aircraft in its fleet for commercial flights to international and domestic destinations. The JV is expected to commence operations in August 2012. (Malaysian Reserve)
The total project cost for the five epicentres, named The Venice, The Gateway, The Rivera, The Bund and The Fisherman Wharf, are estimated at RM13.4bn.The 120ha project is part of the 800ha earmarked for the Danga Bay waterfront development.The development will be handled by Iskandar Waterfront Holdings Sdn Bhd (IWH).(BT)
Malaysian Rating Corp Bhd (MARC) has placed Kinsteel Bhd's RM100m Murabahah Commercial Papers/Medium Term Notes Programme and RM100m Murabahah Medium Term Notes Programme rated MARC-2ID /AID and AID on the negative. MARC said the challenging operating environment for the domestic steel sector has continued to impact Kinsteel group's financial performance.The rating reflects Kinsteel group's weakening finances that are likely to worsen by part-debt repayment via full subscription of the RM280m redeemable convertible unsecured loan stock (RCULS), to be issued by 37.3%-owned Perwaja Holdings Bhd (PHB). To date, Kinsteel has paid RM70m for the subscription with the balance to be paid early next month. (BT)
The opening of the Johor Premium Outlets (JPO) late last year has created much interest among many Malaysian shoppers who are still new to the shopping concept. Southern region representative of the Malaysian Association for Shopping and High Rise Complex Management Jenny Chan said since it was a new shopping format, it would take time for shoppers to adapt and adopt. “JPO is targeting at a specific group of shoppers hunting for reasonably priced quality and branded items,'' Chan said in an interview with StarBiz. She said the opening of JPO saw many brands making their debut in the Johor Baru retail sector and offered to Johoreans a wider range of brands. Chan said JPO's presence would not affect other shopping mall business as its product range was totally different from normal shopping malls. She added that shopping mall tenant mix was based on the target audience needs, especially within 5km radius or up to 10km radius. (Starbiz)
Century Logistics Holdings Bhd's floating storage units (FSUs) operation in Johor that was partly interrupted for two months late last year is currently back in business. Deputy MD Dr Mohamed Amin Kassim said its FSU operations in Pasir Gudang was interrupted from the middle of Sep to middle Nov where the number of its FSUs operating in Johor was down to the three from eight. Last Sep, the Marine Department issued a directive to prevent any FSUs from operating off Pasir Gudang, mainly to improve access to the RM5bn Pengerang petroleum terminal. “Thus, in order to continue our operations, we had discussed with the Marine Department and Port of Tanjung Pelepas to reposition our FSUs. All the eight FSUs are now back in operations, having repositioned off Port of Tanjung Pelepas areas,” he said. (Starbiz)
ACE market-listed Digistar Corp Bhd will make an application to the Securities Commission for its migration to the Main Market before its results are released at the end of this month, sources said. (Starbiz)
VW seen as potential OEM partner for Proton
DRB-HICOM Bhd, the country’s largest automotive company by sales, is understood to be pursuing a deal to rope in Volkswagen AG (VW), Europe’s largest carmaker, as one of Proton Holdings Bhd’s original equipment manufacturing (OEM) partners. (Source: Business Times)
Dr M: Proton reserves fall from RM4b to RM600m
Proton Holdings Bhd’s cash reserves fell from a high of RM4 billion to a staggering low of RM600 million to help cut company losses, said its adviser Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. He said that Tengku Tan Sri Mahaleel Tengku Ariff had accumulated some RM4 billion when he was the chief executive officer (CEO) of the company. Of the amount, RM1.8 billion was spent on Proton’s Tanjung Malim plant. (Source: Business Times)
Wah Seong in West Africa oil palm venture
Wah Seong Corp Bhd, an oil and gas services company, is diversifying its business to plant oil palms in West Africa. In its filing to Bursa Malaysia, Wah Seong said its unit WS Agrco Industries Pte Ltd was buying a 51 per cent stake in oil palm company Atama Resources Incorporated for US$25 million (RM75 million) from Silvermark Resources Inc and Giant Dragon Group Bhd Ltd. (Source: Business Times)
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