Malaysia imposes ‘no-layoff’ condition for port takeover?
The Federal government is understood to have imposed a condition, with regards to Penang Port SB’s takeover – that any party planning to take over the port operator must not lay off any of its workforce for a minimum period of five years. “The condition is non-negotiable. Any parties which intend to take over the port, must comply with the condition, even before they present their financial plan,” said a source. BT was told that at least two parties are interested in taking over Penang Port. “One is a party led by a China-owned entity, while the other is MMC Corp Bhd. But, to date, no decision has been made as the due diligence process is still being carried out,” said the source. Penang Port is 100% owned by the Minister of Finance Inc. (BT)
Wijaya in talks to start logging in Papua
Wijaya Baru Global clarified yesterday that it is negotiating with interested parties to start timber extraction and thereafter plant oil palm in Papua Province, Indonesia. Tan Sri Ling Chiong Ho’s Sarawak Oil Palms is also reportedly proposing a JV to help plant the felled jungle with oil palm trees, a venture that could eventually cost some RM306m. (Financial Daily)
IGB plans to raise RM700m from retail property trust
IGB Corp, the third largest property developer by market value, plans to raise about RM700m by selling shares in a retail property trust, said two people familiar with the matter. IGB’s trust would initially hold two Kuala Lumpur shopping malls – the Garden’s Mall and Mid Valley Megamall – which IGB would acquire from its subsidiary KrisAssets Holdings. (StarBiz)
Ingens confirms bagging RM125m job
Ingenuity Solutions (Ingens) has obtained a RM125m contract to be the sole distributor of WiMAX modems for broadband player Packet One Networks (M) SB (P1). The company said it would supply P1 4G WiMAX modems to 858 P1 authorized resellers throughout Malaysia. Prior to this agreement, P1 undertook the distribution of its 4G modems internally. (StarBiz)
CIMB Group’s CEO Datuk Seri Nazir Razak said he won’t ask shareholders for money to pay for the acquisition of Royal Bank of Scotland’s business in Asia. “We have calculated that even after the dividend payout for last year, we still have sufficient funds to pay for the acquisitions,” Nazir said. Nazir said he hoped to conclude talks to acquire a stake in Philippines’ Bank of Commerce soon. (The Sun)
The issue price of the new Maybank shares to be issued pursuant to the fourth dividend reinvestment plan applicable to the final cash dividend, has been fixed at RM8 per new Maybank share. The new Maybank shares would be listed on the main market on June 5. (Star Biz)
Local companies should look at the long term by investing in their brands rather than just doing price discounting and promotions, said Nestle Products Sdn Bhd communications director Khoo Kar Khoon. “You should not treat your product as a commodity. “If you continue to just do price discounting, it will hurt your margins and won't benefit either your brand or the product category,” he told StarBiz. With the global economic situation, Nestle is cautious in spending; but Khoo said as a market leader, it would continue to invest in its brands and strengthen its brand equity. “For food products, in a challenging period, we still need to continue our marketing efforts to remind the consumers of the values they can get from our products,” he said. “If you are a market leader and do not do any communications, it will affect the category. Nestle has consistently been among the top advertisers in the country in terms of spending. (Starbiz)
APM Automotive has received the green light from the Indonesian government to set up a subsidiary to manufacture and sell auto parts in the republic. APM said the group will build a manufacturing facility in Suryacipta Industrial City, Kerawang for a total capital and investment outlay of US$10.9m. Operations are targeted to begin in 2Q13. (Financial Daily)
Two companies, Iris Corp and Dibena/Datasonic Corp are said to be the front-runners for the job to replace the identification pages (ID) on the Malaysian passport from paper to polycarbonate. The contract value for just the two ID pages is expected to be about RM330m over a five-year period. The tender is called to change the ID pages as there is a need to add more layers of security to make it difficult for the Malaysian passport to be forged. Some of the other companies that submitted bids included Al Karismi Technologies, Muhlbauer AG, CD Solutions, Kersuma Nyata, Integrity Business Solution and OVD Systems. (Star Biz)
Hua Yang Bhd has acquired the remaining 40% stake it did not own in Sunny Mode Sdn Bhd (SMSB), a property development company, for a cash consideration of RM3m from Nestin Sdn Bhd. SMSB owns 11.5ha of vacant leasehold land near Seremban, Negeri Sembilan. The 99-year lease expires on June 5, 2017. The company is in the process of developing a mixed commercial and industrial project with a gross development value of RM48m to be completed by 2016. (Financial Daily)
Xian Leng Holdings Bhd's office was raided by the police's Commercial Crime Investigation Department after a report was lodged last Friday alleging financial irregularities at the ornamental fish breeder. "We went to check for documents as a report was lodged. We have just started the investigation,", said Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department director Datuk Syed Ismail Syed Azizan. He clarified that no arrests were made yesterday. (Financial Daily)
Raja Azmi Adam Nadarajan, the executive director and chief operating officer (COO) of Prestariang has resigned effective yesterday, citing personal reason in the company's filing to the local stock exchange. According to Prestariang, Raja Azmi will be replaced by its senior manager of corporate governance Siti Afiza Ahmad as the acting COO with immediate effect. (Malaysian Reserve)
CIMB: Hopes to complete stake acquisition
CIMB Group Holdings hopes to complete negotiations soon on its proposed acquisition of a stake in the Bank of Commerce belonging to San Miguel Corp, a diversified Philippines conglomerate. "The Philippines is a large market and this makes a good case for us to take the opportunity to enter the market," Group Chief Executive Datuk Seri Nazir Tun Razak said Tuesday after the group's annual general meeting. In line with the group's overseas expansion, Nazir said, the second largest financial services provider was eyeing the South Korea market and expanding into the Asean region which includes Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. He added that CIMB is going to apply for a new licence in South Korea. (Business Times)
SAM Engineering and Equipment: Temasek to expand investment?
Media reports indicated that Temasek Holdings is likely to extend its investment footprint in Malaysia through the design and manufacture of medical devices. Business Times has learnt that the move is likely to be via Dornier MedTech, which is owned by Temasek's subsidiary Accuron Technologies Ltd. Accuron's investment presence in Malaysia is currently via SAM Engineering and Equipment (M) Bhd (SAM Malaysia) and Aviatron Malaysia Sdn Bhd. Industry sources said that the parent firm is likely to leverage on SAM's engineering design and contract manufacturing capabilities in Malaysia. Sources said that this is logical in the light of recent boardroom changes at Accuron, where SAM's president and CEO Jeffrey Goh has now assumed the position of Accuron's new president and CEO. Goh, when contacted and asked on Accuron's potential expanded presence in Malaysia, said it was too premature to comment. (Business Times)
Leader Universal: Appointed Shandong Licun to operate power plant
Leader Universal Holdings’ wholly-owned subsidiary, Cambodian Energy Ltd, has entered into an operation and maintenance agreement with Shandong Licun Power Plant Technology Co Ltd. Under the agreement, Shandong Licun shall provide services for the operation and maintenance of Cambodian Energy's 100MW coal-fired power plant in Sihanoukville, Cambodia. According to Leader Universal Holdings, the contract is for four years. (Business Times)
Triumphal Associates: Sees 9.7% stake crossed at 60 sen each
Triumphal Associates's 8.47m shares were transacted in an off-market deal at 60 sen per share on Tuesday. According to stock market data, the shares represented a 9.7% stake based on its paid-up of 87.17m shares. However, the transacted price of 60 sen was 30 sen or 33.3% below Monday's closing price of 90 sen. At 4.05pm, Triumphal shares were untraded due to the wide range between the buying bids of 84.5 sen and selling bids of 96 sen. (StarBiz)
Property: Cyberview expects RM3bn investments
Cyberview Sdn Bhd, the landowner and developer of Cyberjaya, expects to attract some RM3bn worth of investment into the global MSC Malaysia Cybercity hub this year. Cyberview MD Hafidz Hashim said it had attracted some RM3.2bn investments from various sectors last year. He said there is a strong interest from multinational companies (MNCs) and local firms to set up their operations as well as global service centres in Cyberjaya. He added that there are have over 620 companies, local and foreign, operating in Cyberjaya. On overall development of Cyberjaya, Hafidz said as of end of last year, physical development of the land available to develop has reached 40%, excluding those which are under construction and planning. He added that if those (under construction and planning) which are expected to be realised within the next two or three years are included, the figure will be hitting 70%. (Business Times)
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