Petronas Gas Berhad (PetGas) has announced that Kimanis Power Sdn Bhd (Kimanis Power), a 60% owned subsidiary of PetGas, has received the approval from the Securities Commission for the proposed issuance of up to RM1.16bn nominal value Islamic securities pursuant to a Sukuk issuance programme. The Sukuk Programme shall have a tenure of 16 years from the date of first issue. The Sukuk has been is rated AA- by the Malaysian Rating Corporation Berhad. (BMSB)
Media Chinese International Ltd (MCIL) is undertaking a capital management programme that will see its shareholders rewarded with a bumper dividend. Industry executives said the leading Chinese media company that publishes four newspapers is looking at paying out more than RM680m, or close to 40 sen per share, to shareholders. The company has seen a strong cash flow from operations in recent years that has allowed it to undertake the capital management programme. (Financial Daily)
Maxis is teaming up with REDtone to fast track their roll out of ultra-high speed 4G networks throughout the country. Maxis said on Friday both companies had inked an infrastructure and spectrum sharing agreement. "This will mean customers will have the opportunity to access the highest 4G broadband speeds in the country -- up to 150 Mbps, with the latest 4G LTE technology through the combined spectrum," it said. Maxis said both companies plan to launch their 4G LTE services early next year in selected areas of the Klang Valley, with other regions to follow closely thereafter. The infrastructure sharing partnership between Maxis and REDtone responds to the government's call for telcos to reduce duplication of network assets, enabling operators to deliver better services. (StarBiz)
Guan Chong Bhd is still going ahead with the proposed secondary listing on the Singapore Exchange, dismissing a wire report that it might scrap the plan. The company said it had undertaken investor roadshows to target not only institutional investors but also potential strategic investors with long-term view. The share sale of up to 62.0m shares would be 18% of Guan Chong's enlarged share capital of 350.7m upon completion of its listing exercise. The shares would also be offered to Singapore public investors. A news wire report said Guan Chong's public offering in Singapore of up to 62m shares would be scrapped if a significant stake was sold to another company prior to the corporate exercise. (Starbiz)
Time dotCom Bhd (TDC) is now involved in two major submarine cable projects with global partners that will help boost its submarine cable transit capacity to Japan, South Korea and the United States and pushes it to become a serious alternative player that is able to compete with incumbent Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM). The Asia-Pacific Gateway (APG) cable originates from Malaysia to Japan and South Korea, thereby reducing Malaysia's dependence on Singapore as a main gateway for internet traffic to North Asia and the United States. The cash outlay for TDC is only US$50m (RM160m) while the total project cost is US$450m (RM1.4bn). The cable system is scheduled to be ready in the third quarter of 2014. Construction will begin in second half of 2012. The APG consortium members includes global players such as China Mobile, China Telecom, China Unicom, Chunghwa Telecom, Facebook, Inc, KT Corporation, LG Uplus Corporation, NTT Communications, StarHub, Viettel Group, and Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group. (StarBiz)
Malaysian palm oil yield can be accelerated if incentives are given to drive research and development activities, said the Malaysia Palm Oil Council (MPOC). MPOC chief executive officer Tan Sri Yusof Basiron said innovation in technology was the driver for progress and sustainability in the palm oil sector. “The Malaysian palm oil industry has not been increasing productivity for the past 30 years. “I am proposing to the Government to consider some ideas and innovation that may solve this problem,” he added. (Starbiz)
Malaysia’s palm oil exports in the first 15 days of July fell 21.3% from the same period in June, independent market surveyor Intertek said.A total 563,603 metric tons of the commodity were tracked, versus 716,322 tons in the same period last month, Intertek said in an e-mailed statement in Kuala Lumpur. (Bloomberg)
Indonesia is seeing a more than US$2.5bn wave of investment to build a palm oil refining industry that will double its capacity and mean it could supply the entire needs of Asia's top food consumers - India and China. A Reuters survey of 30 firms operating in Indonesia - from the world's biggest listed palm oil firm Wilmar to conglomerate Unilever - shows plans to nearly double refining capacity to 43m metric tonnes of palm oil, or 80% of total world output. "There is the threat of over capacity. But palm oil firms with the whole supply chain behind them, we are talking about having plantations to mills and ports, will be the kings." said Thomas Mielke, an analyst at industry publication Oil World.(Reuters)
Local businessman Datuk K.K. Eswaran has acquired a controlling stake in ABN Media Group which owns and operates Malaysia's first digital cable TV (CATV) network. ABN Media said that Allgrow Capital (M) Sdn Bhd, which is owned by Eswaran's family, had bought a controlling equity interest. "The acquisition will mark the entry of Datuk K. K. Eswaran into the local media industry," it said. ABN Media Group's digital CATV services are provided by Asian Broadcasting Network (M) Sdn Bhd that has its broadcast centre in Puchong Gateway and is scheduled to undertake trial runs. (Starbiz)
With its chapter closed on Crabtree & Evelyn's (C&E) global business venture by the end of this month, Kuala Lumpur Kepong (KLK), a plantation giant, is now more driven to undertake new expansion and strategic acquisitions to strengthen its core plantations and downstream oleochemical businesses. Expressing that the disposal of non-core C&E is the right decision, CEO Tan Sri Lee Oi Hian says: “KLK will steadily march along to capture opportunities for plantation development overseas while continuing to ride on our diversification programmes especially in oleochemicals.” (Starbiz)
Group Lotus Plc, the British sportscar maker ultimately owned by DRB-HICOM Bhd through Proton Holdings Bhd, has submitted a fresh plan to put its house in order, bankers familiar with the matter said. The plan was submitted to Lotus' six main creditors, the source said, adding that the revised plan was crucial to stem its losses. DRB-HICOM and Proton officials could not be reached for comments but a source from the financial sector, who has seen the revised plan, said it was a much more realistic plan. (BT)
The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has ceased to be a substantial shareholder in Felda Global Ventures Holdings (FGVH) after trimming its stake in the plantation giant to 4.94%. A filing with Bursa Malaysia also showed that Lembaga Tabung Haji had trimmed its stake to 7.28%. (Starbiz)
Group Lotus Plc will start production on its new EXIGE S model by as early as this week. The car is described as the "ultimate lightweight high performance sportscar" with more than 100 horse power to its output. Ironically, DRB-HICOM is going ahead with the brand new Lotus model at a time when it is also doing major spring cleaning at the British sportscar maker. (BT)
Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua (Perodua) is optimistic about the results for the first half of 2012 financial year ended June 20, expected to be announced on Wednesday. "This year has been another challenging year but it helped us to be more resilient and we remain positive (on the result)," managing director Datuk Aminar Rashid Salleh said. (Bernama, Financial Daily)
In a rare comment, a top government official admitted that although the local environment provides strong fundamentals for the automotive sector, the national car manufacturers have not reaped economies of scale due to pricing and quality issues. "It is vital for manufacturers to improve their export capabilities to penetrate regional and international markets. This is an area where we are not competitive because of our scale as well as price and quality issues," said International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed. He said the government aspires to make Malaysia the regional hub for energy-efficient vehicles (EEVs). (Financial Daily)
Port of Tanjung Pelepas will spend RM1.5bn over the next three years on a modernisation drive that will enable it to accommodate the world’s biggest containerships. The port will invest in new cranes and berths and electrify existing rubber-tyred gantries to meet the berthing specifications of ships as large as Maersk Line ’s 18,000 teu vessels, the first of which is due to be delivered in 2013. The announcement follows the release of record throughput figures for the port, which saw volumes rise to 679,617 teu in June, the highest figure ever for the port. Tanjung Pelepas is one of four ports in Asia selected for the daily Maersk service, which will also call at Ningbo, Shanghai and Yantian. The port forecast that it would hit its goal of 8m teu for the year. In 2011, the port reported 7.5 teu, up 15% from the previous year. Plans for the expansion centre on two additional berths, eight new cranes at a cost of RM249m and 32 RTGs for RM201m. (Lloyd’s List)
Cagamas Bhd is issuing RM500m worth of 1, 3, and 5-year Sukuk Wakalah. The National Mortgage Corporation said that the Sukuk, which will be redeemed at full nominal value on maturity, are unsecured obligations of the company, ranking pari passu among themselves and with all other existing unsecured obligations of the company. (Bernama)
Penang Port (PP) says it is not poorly managed nor in dire need to be privatised, despite having to operate under numerous constraints. PP, which manages Penang Port, the country's oldest port, claimed that it had received no fresh capital injection, grants or any form of government assistance. PP is a wholly-owned unit of the Minister of Finance Inc. "We are not a sinking ship. In fact, we are poised to grow if we can continue with the five-year growth plan that we kicked off last year, which was endorsed by our owners. (BT)
Malaysia's land reclamation industry has grown by 68% since 2006 despite high project cost. Malaysia’s land reclamation industry is booming with a steady flow of construction jobs from the private and public sectors. Land reclamation is a complex engineering activity that requires extensive knowledge and study in hydrology, geotechnical and structural engineering. The technology involved and materials used depend largely on the environmental and geological factors at the site. The cost for land reclamation projects is high due to the large amount of raw materials needed, use of expensive and sophisticated heavy machineries, labour force, time to complete and most importantly, the feasibility studies and engineering designs that are unique to each site. (BT)
Tanjung Offshore's subsidiary, Gas Generators, has received a RM80m purchase order (PO) from Dubai's Havayar Trading for the supply of gas generator packages. The PO involves the engineering, construction, commissioning and delivery of gas generator packages, which are expected to be completed in July 2013. (Malaysian Reserve)
Karex Industries Sdn Bhd, the world's biggest condom maker, is looking to float its shares on Bursa Malaysia and tighten its grip on the global market. With factories in Pontian, Klang and Thailand, Karex Group churns out some three billion pieces of condoms a year. This works out to a 15% share of the world's condom market of 20 bn pieces a year. "We want to further expand our factories, including the one in Thailand. All in, we are producing three billion pieces now. We want to double our capacity to six billion pieces by 2015," said Karex executive director Goh Miah Kiat. We are also in discussion with a couple of merchant bankers on our company's initial public offering (IPO). (BT)
Plywood and other timber processing mills in Sarawak need to rely more on planted forests for their supply of raw materials following declining annual log production from natural forests and agro conversion areas. The state authorities projected log production to fall to about 7.6m cu m this year, down by over 20% from 9.61m cu m last year. Last year's production dipped to below 10m cu m for the first time in more than 20 years. (Star)
SapuraKencana unit acquired 74% stake in Singaporean QP
Sapurakencana Petroleum Bhd’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Geomark SB, has entered into a share-sale agreement with four companies to acquire 74,000 ordinary shares of SGD1 (RM2.52) each in Singaporean Quippo Prakash Pte Ltd (Singaporean QP). In an exchange filing last Friday, the oil and gas firm said SapuraKencana, through Geomark, would acquire the shares from the vendors for the sum of USD22.6m (RM71.8m) which represents 74% of the issued and paid-up capital of Singaporean QP. (Malaysian Reserve) Please see accompanying report.
MAS plans to be profitable by 2014 with further improvements
Malaysian Airline System Bhd (MAS) plans to return to profitability by 2014 by improving its product offering and service levels to attract customers, according to group chief executive officer Ahmad Jauhari Yahya. The financially ailing national flag carrier has cut 9% of its routes and intends to take off 36 planes this year, including phasing out its B747 fleet by Mar 2013, with network strategy focus on new and profitable routes. (Malaysian Reserve)
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