Shell Malaysia to divest LPG ops to Oman’s National Gas
Shell Malaysia Trading SdnBhd (SMTSB) has signed a sale and purchase agreement with Oman's National Gas Co SAOG (NGC) to divest its liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) business in Peninsular Malaysia to the latter at an undisclosed amount. SMTSB managing director Tuan Haji Azman Ismail said the divestment was part of its strategy to concentrate on other businesses and streamlined its downstream business. Azman said the divestment underwent a thorough tender process for about a year and NGC succeeded based on its competitive bid. He said the sale of its LPG business would not affect other businesses and the handover would be a “seamless transition”. However, he said the deal was still pending regulatory approval as any company looking to retail petroleum products needed to obtain a licence. (StarBiz)
Sabah food, fruits industry to see RM1bn American investment
Sabah is expected to receive an investment of more than RM1bn from US-based company Dole, in the food and fruits industry. Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman said further discussions are being held to determine the best method of collaboration with one of the state government agencies. “They (Dole), a major company in the food and fruits industry, have expressed deep interest in a collaboration." Musa said foreign companies were keen to invest in Sabah as it was known as a peaceful state and suitable for investing. He said under the five years of the Ninth Malaysia Plan, Sabah’s economy had expanded at the rate of 5% annually, with the agricultural sector contributing RM7.24m to the 2010 GDP compared to RM3.8m in 2005. (StarBiz)
Sime, CapitaMalls plan RM500m mall
Sime Darby Property, the country’s largest developer by landbank size, plans to develop a RM500m shopping mall in the Klang Valley, in partnership with CapitaMalls Asia Ltd. The mall, to be located on 242,000 sq-ft freehold land in Taman Melawati here, is expected to be completed in 2016. It will have a net lettable area of around 635,000 sqft and serve a catchment population of about 800,000 people within a 10-minute drive. For CapitaMalls Asia, the project will be its first greenfield developments in Malaysia. The mall is surrounded by the residential areas of Taman Melati, WangsaMaju, Taman Permata and Kemensah Heights. (BT)
Felda eyes Louis Dreyfus
Global commodities trading powerhouse Louis Dreyfus has emerged as the frontrunner candidate in Felda's search for a strategic partner ahead of its USD3.3bn (RM10.13m) public offering. Industry executives said soon-to-be listed Felda Global Ventures Holdings (FGVH) wants the French trading company as its cornerstone investor for its upcoming IPO. Louis Dreyfus is also being touted as a strategic partner to bolster the downstream business of FGVH, which is set to become the world's largest listed palm oil producer when its shares are listed at end-June. (Financial Daily)
Four companies get Sg Buloh-Kajang MRT line contracts
Mass Rapid Transit Corp (MRT Corp) has awarded four additional packages for the construction of the Sungai Buloh-Kajang (SBK) MRT Line, totalling RM3.22bn. The big winners for the new contracts were Syarikat Muhibbah Perniagaan & Pembinaan SB (SMPP) and Sunway Construction SB, which won jobs worth RM1.09bn and RM1.17bn respectively. The packages, awarded after the conclusion of the One Stop Procurement Committee (OSPC) meeting yesterday, are for Viaduct 1, Viaduct 4, Viaduct 7 and Depot 1. MRT Corp is expected to award more tenders over the next month. (Malaysian Reserve)
DRB-Hicom’s takeover offer for Proton Holdings shares closed at 5pm yesterday, with it ending up holding 99.09% of the national carmaker’s 544.1m shares. It had bought a 42.7% stake in Proton from Khazanah Nasional at RM5.50 a share, or RM1.29bn, in January before making an offer for the remaining stakes at the same price. (BT)
As Malaysia faces a growing gap in gas supply-demand, the International Gas Union (IGU) says that Malaysia has to change the subsidised gas approach and move to a market-based mechanism. ICU's 2009-2012 triennium president Datuk Dr Abdul Rahim Hashim said that price adjustments would be necessary to sustain the industry's long-term growth and viability as exploration and production efforts would need to be intensified to meet with demand. Dr Abdul Rahim said that targeted subsidies would be the better approach as the Economic Planning Unit will gradually increase the natural gas prices to the power sector by RM3 per MMBtu for every six months, with the target of reaching market pricing by 2016. (Malaysian Reserve)
The government has issued a stern warning to hauliers that it would not hesitate to take stern action against any party that tries to undermine the smooth operation of any port. A dispute arose recently between container drivers and depot operators on the sudden increase in the depot gate charges (DGCs) and alleged inefficiencies at the port terminal in Port Klang. As a result, container drivers went on strike on 2 May 12. The government is working hard to resolve the dispute and negotiations are continuing. (Malaysian Reserve)
Malaysian Flour Mills (MFM) will spend around RM160m to expand the production capacity of its Vietnamese and Malaysian operations. The company has earmarked US$15m (RM46m) to increase capacity at its two plants in the north and south of Vietnam to 2,500 tonnes of wheat per day from 1,600 tonnes currently. It was also targeting a market share of 30% from the present 25% there after the upgrading was done in two years, executive director Lim Pang Boon said. For Malaysia, executive director Thong Kok Mun said the expansion at its Lumut and Pasir Gudang facilities was ongoing, with RM80m worth of works yet to be completed and another RM30m to RM40m to be spent on its breeder and broiler farms. (Starbiz)
Malaysia's first digital cable TV network provider, Asian Broadcasting Network Malaysia (M), expects to roll out more than 100 channels comprising a variety of content to households in the Klang Valley, Johor and Penang by June. ABN CEO Sreedhar Subramaniam said the cabling work, installation of satellite dishes and testing works were underway. "By the end of this month, our transmission will be on. "We are conservatively looking at more than 1,000 households signing up in June," he said. With a set-up cost of RM2bn over the next 10 years, ABN aims to reach out to all TV households in the country. On content, Sreedhar said ABN is open to collaborating with local content developers. This, he added, is to build a sustainable local content ecosystem in producing world class content for both the local and global markets. "Our goal is to bring out as much variety as possible to the general market, including travel, food, history, culture and not forgetting dramas and telemovies. However, if we try everything by ourselves, it will never work. "We will work closely with the creative people in bringing in this variety. The MCFA 2012 is the first step towards establishing the network," he added. (Bernama)
British insurer Aviva plc has put its Malaysian operations on the block and is close to hiring a bank to help with the sale process, sources familiar with the matter said, in a deal potentially worth about US$200m (RM614.75m). The sale is part of Aviva’s retreat from non-core markets globally and comes at a time when Dutch financial firm ING is exiting its Asian insurance and investment management operations. Aviva’s Asia-Pacific spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment. Sources decline to be identified as the process is confidential. (Reuters)
Southern Steel: To form joint venture with Bekaert of Belgium. Southern Steel Bhd is partnering Belgian steel wire producer NV Bekaert SA to set up a joint-venture company, to which both parties will sell their assets worth USD44.6m (MYR135m). The joint venture would be involved in the manufacturing and sales of specified steel wires in Asean. (Source: Bursa Malaysia)
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