After the setback in Genting Malaysia's venture in Miami, the company has bounced back with a new casino development in the Bahamas worth US$24m (RM74m). It was reported that the company had entered into a JV agreement with RAV Bahamas to open Resort World Bimini Bay, a luxury boutique casino on Bimini Island. The 10,000 sft casino is set to be open in December at the Bimini Bay Resort and Marina, in north Bimini Island. The casino will feature full-scaled table games, slots and sports betting in a venue similar to Genting's casinos in London. (Starbiz)
Axiata is strengthening its leadership team with the appointment of Mohd Khairil Abdullah as the group chief marketing and operations officer, effective July 11. The company said on Monday Khairil would be responsible for group marketing, branding and performance management as well as leading and co-ordinating group synergies and operational improvements. (StarBiz)
Sidek appointed new Petronas chairman
The former chief secretary to the Government, Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan, has been appointed chairman of Petroliam Nasional (Petronas) effective 1 July. The national oil company's board of directors had approved the appointment on 27 June, it said in a statement. Petronas pointed out that this appointment would restore clear demarcation of roles between chairman and president and chief executive officer. This would be a further reflection of the company's commitment to uphold global standards of good governance. The board has also approved the appointment of Juniwait Rahmat Hussin as vice president and venture director of Pengerang Integrated Complex to lead all proposed Petronas developments in Pengerang, Johor. (StarBiz)
Petronas Dagangan (PDB) expects to rake in RM20m from its partnership with payment service provider e-pay this year. Already entering its 11th year of partnership, PDB said e-pay’s electronic payment services have been bringing in good income since year one. Petronas has 977 stations nationwide, and more than 800 stations are being serviced by e-pay terminals. The e-pay services that can be obtained at Petronas stations include mobile reloads, online games top ups, event tickets and bill payments. (BT)
Petronas’ business profile will benefit from the acquisition of Canada's Progress Energy, says Fitch Ratings. It said on Monday the acquisition for C$5.5bil (RM17.12bn) will enable Petronas to benefit from an increase in geographical diversification across natural gas assets in Canada. "Progress Energy is reported to have 1.9tr cu ft equivalent of proved and probable gas reserves. Petronas will seek to monetise these reserves through export of LNG to the higher-priced Asian markets," it said. (Star)
The world-renowned Harrods department store has set its eyes on Malaysia as the site of a Harrods Hotel. An invite sent to the media said Qatar Holding LLC would be signing a memorandum of understanding with Jerantas Sdn Bhd today to explore Malaysia, specifically Bukit Bintang, as the ideal site for the next Harrods Hotel development. According to sources, Qatar Holdings will be working with Tradewinds Corp Bhd (TCB) on the venture. TCB holds the franchise for the Harrods retail stores in Malaysia and had indicated as early as 2008 in its annual report that it could collaborate with Harrods in future residential, commercial and hotel projects, especially in Kuala Lumpur. According to a source, there is also a possibility of Harrods Residences opening together with the Harrods Hotel. “The Harrods Residences will be sold at a higher price than The Banyan Tree Residences,” the source said. In September last year, the then Kuala Lumpur mayor Tan Sri Ahmad Fuad Ismail revealed that a consortium of three developers was proposing to build the Harrods Hotel. Apart from Qatar Holding and TCB, sources identified the third interested party as Datuk Desmond Lim. Qatar Holding and Lim both are the major unitholders of the Pavilion Real Estate Investment Trusts. Ahmad Fuad had at the time identified a piece of land in Jalan Conlay near Restaurant Seri Melayu as a suitable site for the hotel. The restaurant, which is owned by Amcorp Group Bhd, sits on land that is leased from Lembaga Kraftangan Malaysia. Lembaga Kraftangan comes under the Information, Communications and Culture Ministry and acts as the custodian for the Federal Lands Commissioner. It is understood that the government had put out a tender for the sale of the said land. It also understood that Lim owns the lease on the strip of land where the Chulan Square restaurants are located. The signing of the MoU, to be held at the Pavilion Mall, here, will be attended by Qatar Holding vice-chairman Dr Hussain Ali Al-Abdulla and Jerantas corporate representative Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Ismail. (BT)
The Selangor State Development Corp (PKNS) is taking the longer route to set up a real estate investment trust (REIT) to unlock the value of its prime assets. The state-owned entity has to balance its social obligations with profit motives. PKNS tried to inject 3 properties into AmanahRaya REIT in exchange for RM270m cash and 30% equity but the deal collapsed last December after 15 months of deliberations. The proposal met with strong opposition from those who feared the move could jeopardize the bumiputera agenda in which PKNS buildings offer subsidized rents to bumiputera entrepreneurs. In the interim, PKNS has established a private real estate company (PREC) to incubate some of its existing properties in Klang Valley, which have a combined value of RM900m. (Financial Daily)
State governments should impose quotas for affordable housing on property developers, said Minister of Housing and Local Government Datuk Seri Chor Chee Heung. Quoting statistics from a recent Household Income Survey by the Economic planning Unit, Chor said 76% of Malaysians earn below RM5,000 per month. "Based on a credit line at 30% of net income for housing loan and the current base lending rate of 6.6%, the maximum price of houses that this group can afford, below RM5,000 per month, is below RM300,000. As such, affordable housing in Malaysia can be defined as houses priced below RM300,000," he said. "Instead of purely low-cost housing quotas, state governments can apportion a certain percentage for developers and impose a quota on affordable housing, perhaps, not more than RM300,000 per house. This will make property developers happy because they won't have to subsidise so much in their imposition of quotas for low-cost housing," he said (Financial Daily)
AirAsia may consider exiting long-haul, low-cost AirAsia X when the latter undertakes its IPO, which could be as early as fourth quarter this year, according to CEO Aireen Omar. “We won’t increase the stake for sure, if anything we will remain at 20%. If they go for an IPO, we may consider exiting it. We do have a service agreement with AirAsia X, which should be quite sufficient to derive economic benefit from them,” said Aireen. Aireen said AirAsia was aiming for revenue growth of at least 10% for the current financial year. The load factor has been maintained at 80%. The oil price has been coming down, and AirAsia has the oil price hedged below its budget level. Next year, AirAsia is scheduled to receive another four aircraft. (Financial Daily)
Malaysia Airlines CFO Rozman Omar will leave the airline on Aug 1 after less than six months there. Previously AirAsia’s regional head of finance, he joined MAS on Feb 14. It was reported that he was likely to return to the AirAsia group. (Star Biz)
Firefly is targeting foreign tourists for its two new routes, Kota Baru – Singapore and Penang – Koh Samui beginning Aug 10 and 11. The airline expects tourists from the Middle East, Japan, South Korea and India, who largely choose Penang as their preferred holiday destination during the holiday seasons to use the flights. The airline will also restart its Subang – Hat Yai route on Aug 17. (Bernama)
MAS: Plans to use Airbus 380 for Tokyo, Beijing routes
Malaysia Airlines (MAS) plans to fly the superjumbo Airbus A380 to Tokyo's Narita International Airport and Beijing after its maiden A380 flight to London. The airline's second destination for the A380 will be Sydney, Australia, towards the end of November. The airline has ordered 6 A380 aircraft, four of which will be delivered by the end of 2012 and the balance in 2013. (StarBiz)
MMC Corp Bhd plans to pare down borrowings and subsequently reduce interest cost by half, enabling the group to deliver better value to shareholders. The reduction in borrowings will be via a combination of refinancing, proceeds from the unlocking of group assets and other debt/equity capital market transactions, says Group MD Datuk Hasni Harun. MMC’s interest cost is RM180m per annum and total borrowings as at Apr-2012 stood at RM21.8bn. This is at 2.4x net gearing. Hasni said most of the borrowings were contained at the subsidiary level (such as at Malakoff Corp Bhd), where about 80% of the total borrowings involved project financing and structured as ring-fenced. Malakoff’s debts were serviced by cashflow received by concession-based assets, said Hasni.(BT)
IHH Healthcare has set a retail price of RM2.85 for its IPO as the company aims to go public on July 25. The company is also set for a dual-listing with the Singapore Stock Exchange and the retail price of the IPO is S$1.18 (RM2.95). The IPO is for 2.2bn shares, comprising 1.8bn new shares and an offer for sale of up to 434.65m shares. The company already has 22 cornerstone investors who have committed to buy 62% of the offering. (Financial Daily)
Tradewinds and Qatari explore Harrods Hotel venture in Kuala Lumpur
Tradewinds Corp's unit Jerantas SB and Qatar Holding LLC are in discussions to develop a Harrods Hotel in Kuala Lumpur. In a media invite yesterday, both companies will sign a memorandum of understanding to consider setting up a hotel, specifically in Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur. Tradewinds has a 34% stake in Jerantas. Qatar Holding is a global investment house established in 2006 by the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and invests internationally and locally in strategic private and public equity as well as other direct investments. It has been reported that QIA has interests in the Pavilion Kuala Lumpur on Jalan Bukit Bintang. (Malaysian Reserve)
CIMB Group: Completes acquisition of RBS China, HK businesses
CIMB Group Holdings has completed the acquisition of selected cash equities, equity capital markets and M&A corporate finance businesses of The Royal Bank of Scotland in China and Hong Kong. The banking group said on Monday the acquisition was completed on completed last Saturday. CIMB agreed in April to pay £88.4m (RM440m) to Edinburgh-based RBS for most of its Asia-Pacific operations and inject a further £85.5m into the business. The acquisition has helped CIMB extend its international reach after being Malaysia's top underwriter for equity and rights offerings in the past 3 years. (StarBiz)
Mah Sing Group: Upbeat on Penang projects
Mah Sing Group’s projects in Penang is expected to generate about RM325m or 13% of the projected RM2.5bn sales for 2012, compared with RM70m or 3% of the RM2.2bn sales for 2011. Group COO Teh Heng Chong said the key contributors from Penang included the Southbay Plaza and Legenda@Southbay. Mah Sing’s “Realising Dreams Property Showcase” showcased 11 projects that it is currently undertaking nationwide. The Legenda@Southbay has generated about RM40m since January, while the Southbay Plaza has generated RM80m since May. (StarBiz)
Zelan: Sees possible tax penalty in Indonesia
Zelan is looking at paying RM25.1m in back taxes in Indonesia. This comprises potential tax payable and related tax penalties for its wholly-owned subsidiary in Indonesia, Zelan Holdings (M) Sdn Bhd (Zelan Indonesia). Zelan Indonesia filed for a review of the assessment in the Tax Court, which was completed in November 2011. The final verdict was delivered verbally to Zelan Indonesia on June 29. Zelan is planning to file for a judicial review in the Supreme Court of Indonesia on the advice of its tax agent Messrs Ernst & Young. Meanwhile, Zelan said the potential exposure of approximately RM25.1m continues to be reflected as a contingent liability in the company’s financial statements. (Financial Daily)
Automotive: China Automobile Parts seeks Bursa listing
China Automobile Parts Holdings Ltd (CAP) is seeking to list on Bursa Malaysia’s Main Market despite the current soft market sentiment and the general poor performance of China-based companies here. According to its prospectus, CAP’s IPO will involve 150m shares, comprising a public issue of 90m shares to selected investors and the public and an offer to sale of 60m shares to selected investors. (Financial Daily)
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