Tan Sri Ananda Krishnan and his bumiputera partners will sell roughly 15% of Bumi Armada in private placements to local land foreign institutional investors in a deal that will raise close to RM2bn and cut Ananda and his partners‟ stake to 55%. The shares would be placed out at a discount of between 3%-6% of the RM4.22 current price. The planned placement represents the latest in a series of asset sales involving Ananda‟s companies. Last month, Anada sold his power generation business to 1MDB for RM8.5bn. Sources also said that 1MDB is in talks to buy Ananda‟s satellite operator Measat Global.(Financial Daily)
Felda Global to offer 2.19bn shares in IPO
Felda Global Ventures Holdings (FGVH) will see up to 2.19bn shares being offered under its IPO scheduled for end-May or early June. The IPO comprises an offer for sale by Felda of up to 1.21bn shares and a public issue of up to 980m shares. FGVH is in the upstream and downstream palm oil business and other agribusinesses encompassing oil palm and rubber plantation products, soybean and canola products, oleochemical and sugar products. 49%-owned associate Felda Holdings, meanwhile, is the largest CPO producer in the world. FGVH also has MSM under its stable. (StarBiz)
Market observers said there will still be strong investor interest in the soon-to-be-listed Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd (FGVH) despite Koperasi Permodalan Felda (KPF) not participating as a major shareholder in the listed entity. The sources added the relatively bullish outlook for commodities market would stand FGVH in a good stead when the politically-linked organisation made its debut on the stock exchange. (StarBiz)
Felda has appointed seven financial institutions to provide loans to settlers who want to purchase shares in Felda Global Ventures Holding (FGVH), up to a maximum of RM100,000. Felda's chairman Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad said officers from the financial institutions would distribute the blue forms (share applications) to all Felda settlers for the purchase of shares. (BT)
KLIA passenger traffic hit by MAS, AirAsia route cuts
KLIA underperformed regional airports in terms of passenger movement in the first quarter of 2012, due to route cuts by Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia. KLIA saw passenger movement grow by 6.9% for the quarter under review compared with Changi‟s 12.8% growth and Jakarta‟s 18.4% jump. Last year, MAS announced route cuts to at least 10 international destinations as part of efforts to rationalise its network and return to profitability, (BT)
Big spin-offs from Pengerang O&G project
The RM5bn Pengerang Independent Deepwater Petroleum Terminal (PIDPT) project, which will be completed about four years from now, is targeted to contribute RM19.8bn in gross national income and create 14,100 jobs by 2020. It will complement Petronas' Refinery and Petrochemicals Integrated Development (Rapid) complex with its crude oil refining capacity. The project will start next year and is scheduled for completion in 2016. The Pengerang terminal will be the second largest of its kind in Asia, with close to 1.3 million cubic m in capacity. (BT)
Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd will introduce a 3% general increase in price effective May 1, 2012. “The adjustment is not a dramatic one and is in line with inflation levels,” said its managing director, Soren Ravn after the AGM. Ravn said the recent introduction of premium labels Asahi and Kronenbourg currently hold 16% to 17% market share in the premium segment while good growth is expected to continue. Carlsberg’s premium brands currently contribute just under 10% to the group’s total revenue of RM1.5 billion for FY11. A 100% profit distribution has also been declared, at a total gross dividend of 72.5sen, he said. (Financial Daily)
DRB-Hicom Bhd's stake in Proton Holdings Bhd reached 98.66% or 541.8m shares based on the valid acceptances of 48.59% or 266.88 million shares as at 5pm on Thursday. DRB-Hicom said since it had acquired not less than 90% of the offer shares, it would compulsory acquire the remaining shares. It said that it would, within two months, proceed to exercise its rights to compulsorily acquire the remaining offer shares. The offer will remain open until 5pm on May 9. Proton's securities will be suspended with effect from 9am on May 4. (Starbiz)
Government-linked private equity fund management company Ekuiti Nasional Bhd (Ekuinas) recorded a total portfolio gain of RM165.7m in 2011 gross annualised internal rate of return (IRR) of 32.3%and a net IRR of 20.6% per year. This exceeded Ekuinas’ long-term minimum net IRR target of 12% and aspirational target of 20%, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop. Announcing Ekuinas’ second-year financial performance yesterday, he noted that Ekuinas has succeeded in increasing Bumiputera equity value by RM806.5m or 1.4x its invested capital of RM565.9m. Nor Mohamed said for 2011, Ekuinas had received an additional allocation of RM600m from the government, bringing the total amount received by the end of last year to RM1.1bn. Ekuinas has committed under its direct and outsourcing programme an additional five investments amounting to RM420.7m ” he noted. These included Cosmo Restaurants Sdn Bhd which is the franchisee of Burger King; Lyndarahim Ventures Sdn Bhd, the owner of San Francisco Coffee; Revenue Valley Sdn Bhd which operates Manhattan Fish Market, Malaysia’s Tony Roma’s and Popeyes; Cosmopoint Group which owns and operates KL Metropolitan University College; and Cosmopoint International College of Technology. (BT)
The proposed merger between OSK Investment Bank and RHB Capital may take up to six months to be finalised once it receives the go-ahead from Bank Negara, OSK CEO U Chen Hock said. RHBCap group MD Kellee Kam was reported to have said that it hopes to conclude its takeover of OSK in the third quarter after the bank's shareholders meeting earlier this month. (BT)
CIMB: Eyes double-digit growth in deposits
CIMB Bank Bhd is confident of registering a double-digit growth in its retail deposit business in Malaysia this year from the RM53bn recorded last year. Head of Retail Financial Services, Peter England said last year, the bank achieved a growth of 24%, up from its initial expectation of 17%. He said the bank is confident of registering the double-digit growth. However, he cannot promise that it will achieve the same figure as last year, as it is hard to grow consistently due to a growing customer base. He also said that there were more competition in the deposit segment from local banks in the first quarter. England said in terms of market share in the retail deposit business, the bank has a 11% stake in the segment and is placed at number four. (Business Times)
PT Bank CIMB Niaga reported a 29% rise in 1Q net profit on higher lending in all its business segments. Net profit came in at 937bn rupiah (RM311.6m) compared with 728bn rupiah (RM342m) in the same period a year ago. The higher net profit resulted from a 30% increase in operating income, to 3.17tr rupiah (RM1bn). Loans in the commercial, corporate and retail segments grew by 23%, 17% and 11%, respectively. As of 31 Mar, total loans grew by 18% to 129.8tr rupiah (RM43.1bn). The bank's asset quality continued to improve, with its gross NPL ratio coming down to 2.69% from 2.86% a year earlier. (BT)
Nestle (Malaysia) Bhd expects 2012 to be a very challenging year, saying many uncertainties could dampen global economic growth and further drive volatility in commodity costs. However, its managing director Peter R. Vogt said the group does not plan to increase the prices of Nestle products but to maintain prices as much as possible. "Nestle was looking at expanding its branding, productivity and cost efficiency to overcome commodity price increases, rather than increase the prices of its products," he said. He also said volatile commodity prices are expected to continue in 2012 and the group will remain vigilant and take all necessary measures to mitigate and soften any impact on the business. "The group will continue to capitalise on product innovation as well as promoting nutritional diets and healthy lifestyles in line with the government's goal of creating a healthy and productive society," Vogt said. Nestle will remain focused on growing both its top and bottom lines in 2012 and continue to leverage its Nestle Continuous Excellence (NCE) savings initiatives. "The group will continue to intensify its marketing investment in line with our objective of being the leading food, nutrition, health and wellness brand, become an industry benchmark for financial performance as well as maintain our stakeholders' trust," he added. (Bernama)
Nestle (Malaysia) Bhd is expecting a big jump in capex for 2013-14 as it expands its Shah Alam manufacturing operations. Its managing director, Peter R. Vogt said the details of the capex were being worked out. But for 2012, he said the capex would be RM180m, where a large part would be to upgrade its plants, which were operating at 80%-90% capacity. Nestle bought a piece of land in Shah Alam last year, which is adjacent to its current factory. (Starbiz)
Mah Sing Group Bhd and its potential Thailand-based joint cooperation partner Central Pattana have decided not pursue a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to study the potential initial investment of developing and managing a shopping mall Icon City through a joint venture and/or partnership. (StarBiz)
Sunway Real Estate Investment Trust’s subsidiary, SunREIT Capital Bhd, has issued RM850m in nominal value of commercial papers (CPs), which has been accorded a short-term rating of P1(s) by RAM Rating Services Bhd. The three-month RM200m CPs will be under a competitive tender, while the one-month RM300m CPs and three-month RM350m will be on private placement. All have a maturity date of July 25. (BT)
AirAsia: Carries 4.82m passengers in 1Q FY2012
AirAsia said it carried 4.82m passengers in 1Q FY2012, up 12% from 4.32m in the previous corresponding period. It recorded a strong load factor of 80% for the period, the same as in Q1 FY11, on the back of a 12% increase in capacity. It said the strong traffic was due to spillover from a strong fourth quarter of the previous financial year especially with the introduction of new routes from Kuala Lumpur (KL) to Danang in Dec 2011. (Bernama)
AirAsia has dismissed allegations that it has opted to stay at the LCCT and that it will not move to the new KLIA2. “At the end of the day, if we are not going to move to KLIA2, we do not have alternative airports”. MAHB chairman Tan Sri Dr Aris Othman said it was up to the airline to decide whether to operate from KLIA2 or not. He added that the new LCCT was not only for AirAsia but also for other low-cost carriers. The KLIA2 is on track to be opened by April next year, with 50% of the development completed to date. (Bernama)
Malaysia Airports (MAHB) is aiming to keep its AAA rating from RAM Rating Services once it completes the full drawdown of its Islamic debt issuance facility latest by the middle of next year, said its CFO Faizal Mansor. “Right now our debt to equity ratio is at 65%. Our bond covenant allows us to go up to 125%. But for us to maintain a AAA rating, it should be below 100%. The complete drawdown of the sukuk facility is expected to increase its debt to equity ratio to about 90%.” (Star Biz)
MAHB: MAS routes cut affects passenger numbers at local airports
Malaysia Airport Holdings (MAHB) said the decision by Malaysia Airlines (MAS) to cut some of its long-haul routes has impacted the number of passenger using local airports. Its CFO Faizal Mansor said without the cut, the number of passengers using local airports, could have reached double-digit growth in the first quarter ended Mar 31, 2012. He said in the quarter, the number of passenger using local airports grew by 6.5% to 16m people from the 15.1m recorded in the same period last year. He said that the higher number of passengers was contributed by an increase in airline operators using local airports as well as the usage of bigger aircraft by them. (Bernama)
JT International Bhd (JTI Malaysia) together with the tobacco industry will continue to work closely with the government to enforce pragmatic and multi-pronged solutions to fight the illegal cigarette trade. JTI Malaysia chairman Datuk Seri Mohd Nadzmi Salleh said the illegal cigarette trade took away the shares from the legal cigarette business last year, which has affected the company's performance. "The environment is very competitive. I think that is one of the biggest contributors why we see a slight decline in our turnover over last year," he said. (Bernama)
Bursa Malaysia has publicly reprimanded Axis Incorporation Bhd and has fined three of its directors a total of RM450,000 for breaches of listing requirements. The stock exchange has also reprimanded Ngui Kee Corp (M) Bhd and three of directors, and imposed a RM100,000 fine on its chief executive officer. (BT)
TA Global Bhd has acquired the Movenpick Karon Beach Resort in Phuket, Thailand for US$90.3m (RM275.4m) from Kingdom Hotel Investments. TA Global said the purchase would be paid with a mix of internally generated funds and borrowings.The company had acquired China's Swisstel Kunshan, also from Kingdom Hotel, for US$60.7m last year. (Financial Daily)
Pakistan, Asia’s third-biggest cooking-oil buyer, may increase imports by as much as 27% this quarter as traders stockpile to meet demand during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, a refiners group said. Purchases may climb to 500,000 metric tons in the April-June period from 394,996 tons a year earlier, said Rasheed Janmohammad, vice chairman of the Pakistan Edible Oil Refiners Association. Rising demand from Pakistan may help palm oil prices in Malaysia extend a 10% gain this year as a drought in South America threatens soybean output. Import demand during Ramadan may also trim stockpiles in Malaysia, the world’s second-biggest producer. (Bloomberg)
DKSH Holdings (Malaysia) Bhd will expand its collaboration with German-based Henkel to allow DKSH to sell, distribute and provide logistics services of the latter's goods in Malaysia. This collaboration expands DKSH's cooperation with HEnkel in Thailand, Hong Kong, and Vietnam. In Malaysia, DKSH will now provide for the support of Henkel's brand range of Schwarzkopf Extra Care, Freshlight, Palette, and got2b. (Starbiz)
Property: Committed investments into Iskandar Malaysia reaches RM87.56bn
The cumulative committed investments into Iskandar Malaysia reached RM87.56bn in various sectors from 2006 until March 2012, with 43% of it having already been realised. The chief executive of the Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA), Ismail Ibrahim said, as of March this year alone, Iskandar Malaysia had recorded total cumulative committed investments of RM2.78bn. He said there was a need to target investors from the Asia Pacific and focus on strengthening the Iskandar Malaysia-Singapore partnership in identified growth sectors that could bring mutual benefits. He added that further infrastructure improvement in connectivity between Johor Baharu and Singapore will also help create a mutually beneficial economic unit. (Bernama)
Axiata: Celcom withdraws appeal against RM590m award
Celcom Axiata Bhd has withdrawn its appeal to the Court of Appeal against a decision involving the award of US$193.49m (RM590m) to DeTeAsia Holdings GmbH in a dispute during its privatisation in 2003. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, Axiata Group said Thursday that Celcom withdrew its appeal with no order as to costs. To recap, Celcom Axiata had appealed to the appellate court over a High Court decision which had earlier set aside its originating summon against DeTeAsia’s bid to enforce the international court decision. In 2005, the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce ordered Celcom to pay US$193.49m in principal sum and interest to DeTeAsia for breach of an agreement between Celcom and DeTeAsia. (StarBiz)
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