Businessman Datuk K.K. Eswaran will emerge as the major shareholder in Asian Broadcasting Network Sdn Bhd (ABN), holding between 60%-70% equity stake in the new digital cable television company that is set to launch its services soon. Those in the know say that an announcement on the purchase of shares in ABN by Eswaran is likely to be made over the next few days. Eswaran has been linked to ABN when the company announced plans to roll out digital cable TV services. The link is the two common directors that Nilamas Sdn Bhd and Pinehill has. They are former top civil servants Tan Sri Mohamad Noor Abdul Rahim and Datuk Nik Mohd Amin Nik Abu Bakar.The digital cable TV venture was first parked in Nilamas Sdn Bhd, which got the five-year licences to offer the services. For the digital cable TV offering, the set-up cost is expected to be more than RM2bn over a five-year period and the company is looking to fund the venture via a 40:60 equity-debt combination. It has Motorola Mobility of the United States as its main technical partner and Fibrecom as its backhaul provider. The company has signed several agreements with content providers. ABN has set up a broadcasting centre in Puchong and it aims to offer affordable pay-TV services with some 100 channels at launch, and over 200 channels within two years of operations. It is also wiring up parts of the country with coaxial fibre as part of its last-mile fibre connectivity to enable users to subscribe to its digital TV services. (Starbiz)
MMC Corp Bhd is considering the privatisation of its 62.82%-owned subsidiary Aliran Ihsan Resources Bhd. Both MMC and Aliran had notified Bursa Malaysia of this intention. Aliran's market capitalisation is at RM463m based on its last closing price. Its other significant shareholders are Lembaga Tabung Haji, Effective Strategy Sdn Bhd and Public Dividend Select Fund based on its reported holdings on its annual report. (Starbiz)
Flat steel producers will meet with the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (Miti) this week to discuss some policy changes that could possible shape a new landscape for the sector. The recommendations of the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) will be discussed at the meeting. BCG had presented its recommendations to the Economic Council, chaired by the prime minister, on 19 Jun 2012. (Financial Daily)
Hua Yang Bhd is looking forward to another year of impressive sales and earnings growth, says group CFO May Chan. It plans to launch projects with a combined gross development value (GDV) of RM815m for its current financial year ending Mar-2013. Chan says this will more than double the RM400m GDV of properties launched by Hua Yang in its previous financial year. The bulk of Hua Yang's sales in FY2013 will be from its Klang Valley developments, namely Phase 4 of One South in Seri Kembangan (GDV of RM200m), new leasehold service apartments in Shah Alam (GDV of RM175m) and Desa Pandan (GDV of RM160m). Presently, the group has an undeveloped land bank of 766 acres which has an estimated GDV of RM2.4bn across the Klang Valley, Johor, Perak and Negri Sembilan. Concerning dividend payouts, Chan says the group usually pays out 25% of net profit as dividends. For FY2012, the group has proposed a gross first and final 15sen DPS, which translates to a net dividend payout ratio of 30% of net earnings. “This is the highest ever dividend payout”, says May. (Starbiz)
“The A380 is our latest flagship aircraft offering new levels of comfort, luxury and convenience for long-haul travel,” said MAS group CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya. Although not a magic wand that will instantly turn the ailing airline into profitability, the A380s will go some way in improving the airlines operating profits in the longer run. The A380 aircraft are more efficient as they fly more passengers at lower costs. Ahmad Jauhari had revealed that MAS had a target of returning to profitability by 2014 through plans such as drastic cost per ASK reduction by 20% and to increase RASK by 10%. On it talks with Ministry of Finance to sell and lease back its six new A380s and two new A330s from a SPV, Ahmad Jauhari said he expected the deal to be finalised within two months. (Star Biz)
Canada’s Bombardier is in talks with AirAsia about a more densely packed 160-seat version of its Cseries jet, in a surprise bid to loosen the stranglehold held by Airbus. “We’ve got Bombardier’s chief executive Pierre Beaudoin brought us a very interesting product for a 160-seat Bombardier and we’re looking at that,” Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said. Fernandes said talks were also continuing with Airbus over the purchase of at least 50 more A320 jets with another 50 options, a potential order of US$4bn. (Financial Daily)
Malaysia Airlines (MAS), currently the only carrier providing daily direct full service evening frequencies between Kuala Lumpur and Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, will introduce new daytime frequencies effective Sept 1. MAS had identified the vast growth potential in the Indian routes. (Malaysian Reserve)
Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd (FGV) is in talks with the relevant parties and is optimistic of entering the African market early 2013. Group president Datuk Sabri Ahmad said Africa would be challenging but the business expansion would be crucial for FGV's eight-year plan - to grow eight times by 2020. He said FGV was already providing plantation management advise to plantation in Sierra Leone. One of the strategies FGV has in mind is to enter the African nations by building oil mills first. Sabri said as land in Asean was getting scarce, Africa would be important to the group. (StarBiz)
Aside from expansion of its core business in oil palm plantation, Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd's fully-owned subsidiaries are also looking beyond the Malaysian shores. Felda-Johore Bulkers Sdn Bhd (FJB) chief executive officer Azman Ahmad said the bulking unit was considering expansion into other Asean countries and Africa. However, such plans are only viable if FJB has its own cargo vessels and facilities for shipping oils. FJB is the world's largest vegetable oil terminal with 495 storage tanks and a 863,000 tonne storage capacity at any one time. Currently, it handles 40% of Malaysia's total palm oil exports. Felda Global Ventures group president Datuk Sabri Ahmad said the group was "now in the first phase, looking at Asean to become the regional champion." Felda's Delima Oil Products Sdn Bhd now exports 10% of its cooking oil products and Sabri said the group hoped to raise the export bulk to 30% within the next three years. (StarBiz)
Maxis has introduced an exciting new Home Wireless Internet plans offering more value for money package in line with the growing needs of heavy wireless data users. In a statement, Maxis said the improved plans offer customers double the quota with a total of up to 48GB at no additional monthly fees. Head of Maxis Home Ebru Dorman said: "We are giving our customers enhanced plans, delivering peace of mind while downloading during off-peak hours. The Maxis Home Wireless Internet plans include the 4GB plan at RM59 per month, 20GB at RM99 per month and 48GB plan at RM169 per month. From July 1, existing Home Wireless Internet customers will be automatically upgraded to enjoy the additional quota starting from their next bill cycle, without any extra charges. (Bernama)
Tissue paper manufacturer NTPM Holdings Bhd is investing about RM30m in 2012 and 2013 to grow its business in the country, with plans to expand it's presence in the southern region, and in Sabah and Sarawak. NTPM's MD Lee See Jin said the expansion exercise includes setting up a production line at its plant in Nibong Tebal this year, and establishing warehouses in Sabah and Sarawak next year. The company already acquired a fiveacre site in Sabah and another site in Johor, where warehouses will be built. “About RM15m is for the new tissue paper production line, to be set up this year, to increase our production capacity by another 30 tonnes per day. This will raise the total tissue paper production capacity per day to 285 tonnes.“The line should be ready for operations in early 2013,” he says. (Starbiz)
With many new IPTV players expressing interest in entering the TV broadcasting industry, sports content is often touted as “killer content” to increase viewership and subscription. However, a recent study by global research firm Nielsen suggests that sports many not be that big a game changer after all. If statistics are to be believed, more Malaysians watched movies rather than sports via TV in April this year, in stark contrast to the often-held belief that sports is a key factor to achieve a large subscription base. “Based on target audience aged four and above, an average of 9,000 viewers have seen sports genre programmes on all released channels per minute per programme for the month of April, Nielsen said. This represents less than 0.1% of the total population of over 20m viewers in the country. Astro’s subscribers, aged four and above, an average 7,000 viewers watched sports content per minute per programme for the month of April. Last year, about 6,000 viewers watched sports content. In the same survey, 45,000 viewers watched movies in April. Drama series attracted 44,000 viewers during the same month. (Malaysian Reserve)
Gabungan AQRS focuses on PPP projects
Gabungan AQRS Bhd, a construction outfit that is en route to a Main Market listing end-July, has set its focus on government-initiated public-private sector partnership (PPP) under the 10th Malaysia Plan. Its CEO Alvin Ng said Gabungan would not only look at the available PPP projects but also try and initiate its own PPP projects. (FinancialDaily)
Bombardier swoops on AirAsia at Silverstone summit
Canada’s Bombardier is in talks with AirAsia about a more densely packed 160-seat version of its C-Series jet, in a surprise bid to loosen the stranglehold on Asia’s largest low-cost carrier held by European giant Airbus. AirAsia founder and Formula One boss Tan Sri Tony Fernandes discussed the proposal with Bombardier chief executive Pierre Beaudoin during preparations for yesterday’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone, the two company leaders told Reuters on the eve of the Farnborough Airshow. (FinancialDaily)
Allianz hopes to sustain double-digit earnings
Allianz Malaysia Bhd hopes to sustain its double-digit earnings for this year amid uncertainty in global economic growth. Chief executive officer, Jens Reisch, said that the company is growing in the lower double-digit at the moment and aims to outperform the market and its peers, supported by the low penetration of life insurance. (Malaysian Reserve)
Perodua sees up to 25% sales growth in Sarawak
Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua SB (Perodua) is targeting 18%-25% growth in sales of its vehicles in the next few years in Sarawak, helped by improved purchasing power and infrastructure. Managing director Datuk Aminar Rashid Salleh said the company sold 7,263 vehicles in Sarawak in the first six months of this year, comprising 3,280 Viva, 2,487 Myvi and 1,496 Alza units, up 3-4% over the same period last year. (BT)
More spark for power sector soon
Malaysia’s power sector, which has been grappling with inconsistent gas supply in the first half of the year, is expected to see brighter days now that issues are steadily being resolved. Energy Commission chief executive officer Datuk Ahmad Fauzi Hasan said the country’s electricity demand is expected to sizzle, with annual growth ranging between 3-4% until 2020. (BT)
China company wins RM230m deal
OSK Property Holdings Bhd has awarded a RM230m contract to Beijing Urban Construction Group (BUGG) to redevelop The Atria, which is worth RM1bn. The developer is reconstructing The Atria in Damansara Jaya, Selangor, building two 16-level SOFO (Small Office Flexible Office) suites and a four-storey retail podium. OSK Property bought The Atria a popular neighbourhood shopping centre, in 2007 for RM75m. The building was established in the 1980s. (BT)
MAS: MASkargo commences freighter flight to Colombo
MASkargo Sdn Bhd, the freight unit of Malaysia Airlines, has launched its first A330-200 freighter flight to Colombo, Sri Lanka. In a statement last Friday, MASkargo said that the new freighter was scheduled to fly into Bandaranaike International Airport from here every Friday and back in the following day. Its senior vice-president, Mr Jamaludin Ismail, said that MASkargo foresees a huge potential for it to grow in this market with Sri Lanka's impressive GDP of 7.9% in 1Q 2012. (Bernama)
UEM Group: Extends MD/CEO contract
The board of directors of conglomerate UEM Group has extended the employment contract of the company's group MD/CEO Datuk Izzaddin Idris for another three years effective July 7. Izzaddin, an accountant by training, sits on the board of UEM Land Holdings and Plus Malaysia as well as ACWA Power International, a Saudi-based independent water and power producer. (StarBiz)
ECM Libra: Lim Kian Onn ups stake
ECM Libra Financial Group Bhd's co-founder and major shareholder Lim Kian Onn has raised his stake in the financial services company with the acquisition of 5.2m shares from the market in recent days, filings to the stock exchange showed. He now has a 9.81% direct stake and 0.54% indirect stake in the company. (StarBiz)
WCT: Extends timeframe for acquisition of Timor Barat
WCT and the parties involved had extended the timeframe to Aug 15 to fulfill the conditions precedent to its acquisition of Timor Barat Properties Sdn Bhd. In filings with Bursa Malaysia, RHB Investment Bank, on behalf of the company, said the parties had mutually agreed through a letter dated June 26 to extend the timeframe from July 13. (StarBiz)
Tiong Nam Logistics: Mega logistics REIT on the cards
The major shareholder of Tiong Nam Logistics, a leading transport and logistics company, is exploring a real estate investment trust (REIT) that could involve the warehouses and properties that the company has leased out for logistics purposes, according to source. Should the proposal come to fruition, the result would be the largest logistics REIT with a potential valuation of over RM1.0bn. The financial executive says the bulk of the assets to be injected into the proposed REIT, which is slated for a listing next year, is to come from Ong Yoong Nyock and his wife Yong Kwee Lin’s (the major shareholder of Tiong Nam Logistics with a 15.24% stake) privately held businesses. Maybank Investment Bank is said to have won the mandate to handle the listing of the REIT. (The Edge Weekly)
Bursa Malaysia: Plugs loophole in property deals
After Ho Hup Construction and Malton resolved out of court a lengthy dispute involving a lucrative 60-acre piece of land, it has come to light that the authorities have plugged a loophole so that listed companies have greater control over assets held at the subsidiary level. The move is seen as a way of ensuring that the Ho Hup-Malton fiasco does not happen again. To this end, Bursa Malaysia amended the Listing Requirements to beef up corporate governance involving listed companies that assign away their development rights – “all or substantially all its rights, benefits or control in an assets”. (The Edge Weekly)
Fajarbaru: Enters new phase of growth
Fajarbaru Builder Group is moving into property development after having been in the construction business for more than 38 years. The group’s MD and CEO, Datuk Low Keng Kok, says that it is a natural progression for any construction company to go into property development. In the last three year, Fajarbaru has spent RM77m on purchasing a total of 12.6 acres in Sentul, Puchong and Melaka. The group plans to launch properties with a gross development value of at least RM850m on the land. Low says he will launch property projects in Sentul and Puchong by next year. (The Edge Weekly)
Petra Energy: In talks on RSC job
Petra Enegry is in talks with Canada-ased Coastal Energy Co on the prospect of participating in the risk service contract (RSC) that Petronas has awarded to the latter for marginal fields developments locally. When contacted, top officials of Petra Energy confirmed the talks but declined to furnish details, acknowledging that nothing has been firmed up yet. (Financial Daily)
Aliran Ihsan Resources: May be privatized by MMC Corporation
MMC Corporation is considering the privatisation of its 62.8%-owned subsidiary Aliran Ihsan Resources. Both MMC and Aliran had notified Bursa Malaysia of this intention Friday and, in view of this, both had also requested a suspension in the trading of their shares on Monday for the whole trading day. Aliran's market capitalisation is at RM463.3m based on its last closing price. Its other significant shareholders are Lembaga Tabung Haji, Effective Strategy Sdn Bhd and Public Dividend Select Fund based on its reported holdings on its annual report. (StarBiz)
Ideal Jacobs: Could see the entry of new shareholder?
Ideal Jacobs could see the entry of new shareholders after its major owner and directors actively pared down stakes in the company earlier last month. In filings with Bursa Malaysia between May 31 and June 4, its major shareholder, US-based Ideal Jacobs Corp (IJC), and directors Meng Bin and Hing Kin Tat disposed of a total of 21.6m shares or 18.0% stake in the company. The disposals by Meng and Hing were deemed interest, via shares transacted by their spouses. IJC disposed of 12.2m shares in the local unit, paring down its stake to 30.4% from 40.6% while group CEO Meng reduced his deemed interest to 22.9% from 27.0%. Meanwhile, Hing sold his entire deemed interest of 4.5m shares, equivalent to a 3.7% stake in Ideal Jacobs. (Financial Daily)
Oil & Gas: Coastal Energy signs contract with Petronas
Coastal Energy Co has entered into a small field risk service contract (RSC) with Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) for the development and production of petroleum from the Kapal, Banang and Meranti cluster of small fields offshore Peninsular Malaysia. Coastal (with 100% equity interest under the small field RSC) would be the operator of the cluster fields. In accordance with the RSC, the company is also finalising an arrangement to allow a Malaysian company to participate in the contract for 30.0% to 40.0% equity interest. According to Coastal's website, the company would provide the upfront development capital, undertake the development drilling and production of the fields. Petronas will remain the owner of the project. (StarBiz)
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