Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd (FGV) is in talks to buy an initial 30,000 ha of land in Myanmar to grow sugarcane, for a start. The Myanmar expansion marks FGV's maiden venture abroad. FGV president and group chief executive officer Datuk Sabri Ahmad said for starters, the entity plans to grow sugarcane and plant oil palm as it buys more land in Myanmar. "We are in talks with a local partner and we plan to set up a joint venture. Talks are ongoing and we are conducting feasibility and technical studies," he said. FGV and its associated companies are already trading palm olein, condensed milk, instant noodles and margarine with the country, via its cooking oil maker and distributor Delima Oil Products. (BT)
The recently terminated CEO of Group Lotus, Dany Taner Bahar, is suing DRB-Hicom and Lotus for GBP6.7m (RM33.1m) on the grounds of wrongful dismissal. DRB-Hicom said that the exact cost arising from the claim had yet to be determined, but the group did not expect it to have a major impact on its operations and financials. The group also said it had acted properly at all times, having dismissed Bahar after conducting an investigation into his stewardship at Lotus. (Financial Daily)
Malaysia's auto industry has given qualified support for cheaper cars by gradually reducing excise duties. The Malaysian Automotive Association(MAA) support comes after the federal opposition said it wanted to lessen car prices. "If prices are reduced on a gradual basis and not cause a disruption, then it is good," said MAA president Datuk Aishah Ahmad. (BT)
The Employees Provident Fund's wholly-owned Kwasa Land Sdn Bhd yesterday announced that it has finalised the purchase price of RM2.28bn for the Rubber Research Institute (RRI) land from the government. The 2,330acre site in Sungai Buloh, Selangor, acquired at average RM22.50/psf, will be developed into a township called Kwasa Damansara with an expected population of 150,000. The land will be divided into parcels, developed in phases, and sold to developers according to plot ratios, development components and in conformance with the urban design guidelines by Kwasa Land. "We will soon be calling for the pre-qualification of developers to participate in the creation and building of an iconic township that will be the toast of the town in the coming years," Kwasa Land chairman Tan Sri Samsudin Osman said. Among the key features in the design and layout plan is a development hub comprising modern residential, commercial, recreational and educational facilities.It will also incorporate an integrated transportation system that links the township via MRT (mass rapid transit) to the rest of Klang Valley. A 7.5km green park of 64ha will also be among the highlights of the development. (BT)
Packet One Networks (P1) appointed a unit of Ingenuity Solutions as the distributor for its newly launched P1 fiber broadband for businesses. According to P1's CEO Michael Lai, “...This area has immense growth opportunity because the high-speed broadband (HSBB) coverage for businesses in Malaysia is between 300,000 and 350,000, while only about 46,000 are fiber broadband users. This vast difference between coverage and users represents a huge untapped market segment and a golden business opportunity. P1 expects to sell 50,000 subscriptions over a period of two years.” (P1)
Celcom eyes 1m total data subscribers by year-end, driven by its unique package offerings, namely, wifi, mobile Internet, mobile broadband as well as its high-speed broadband (HSBB), which is due for launching next month. CEO Datuk Seri Shazalli Ramly said its current data subscribers is close to the target, but declined to elaborate. "Our offerings will be made available for fixed, nomadic and mobile usage. This will give us more competitive advantage compared with our competitors," he told. (Bernama)
IHH Healthcare Bhd (IHH) aims to achieve about 30% of market share in Malaysia. Its Managing Director Dr Lim Cheok Peng said the company hopes to increase its market share in Malaysia from the current 15% to between 25-30%. He said the group also hopes to achieve about 75%t market share in Singapore from the current 68%. "There is no specific time frame to achieve our target but our expansion plan will certainly help us in achieving it," he told. He said the company is looking forward to 3-4 new hospitals opening for business next year. "In Malaysia, we are looking at the completion of a new hospital in Manjung, Perak and expansion of the Pantai Hospital in Bangsar next year," he said. He added that the expansion of Gleneagles Hospital in Penang, which will have 250 beds, is expected to complete by year-end while construction of 2 new hospitals, 1 each in Kota Kinabalu and Medini, Johor, is expected to start early next year. "The hospital in Kota Kinabalu is expected to be ready by 2014 while the one in Medini will be ready by 2015," he said, adding that the former will have 250 beds while the latter will have 300 to 350 beds. (Bernama)
Parkson Holdings Bhd plans to sell some of its assets to its subsidiary for RM205.8m. The deal involve East Crest International Ltd, a wholly-owned unit of Parkson Holdings, selling Victor Crest Ltd to Grand Parkson Retail Group Ltd. Grand Parkson is a wholly-owned unit of Hong Kong listed Parkson Retail Group Ltd, which in turn is a 51.5%-owned unit of Parkson Holdings. The disposal includes a 95.9% stake in Qingdao Parkson and a 100% stake in Shenyang Parkson. (BT)
Retail sales, which include items ranging from groceries to clothing, grew by 6.9% in the first quarter of fiscal 2012 as several government initiatives introduced last year spilled over into the new year. This compares to the 5.1% retail sales growth in the first quarter of 2011. While sales remained robust owing to attractive offers and discounts, retailers, however, continue to feel the pinch from lower profit margin as a result of absorbing the rising cost of goods. The segments that fared well in the second quarter were department store-cum-supermarkets, which grew by 9%, and fashion and fashion accessories, which grew by 9.8% Sales growth for the specialty stores sub-sector, which includes sportswear and fitness equipment retailers, was up 9.4%. Full-year projection has been maintained at 6%, which will translate to RM88.2bn, up from RM83.2bn in 2011. The data compiled by the Retail Group Malaysia on behalf of the Malaysia Retailers Association does not take into account purchases of big ticket items such as houses and cars. "The performance of the retail industry in Malaysia will remain healthy for the rest of the year despite a poor outlook on major Western economies," RGM said on its report. (BT)
Oldtown Bhd's new RM61m manufacturing plant in Ipoh, Perak is expected to be completed by year-end, slightly behind its original third-quarter 2012 target date, and will start commercial production of instant white coffee mix and instant milk tea mix by early next year, its group managing director Lee Siew Heng said. "In the long run, we plan to relocate our food processing operations, instant coffee mix and instant milk tea mix manufacturing plants, and roasted coffee powder facilities scattered in various locations of Ipoh to one single location at Tasek Industrial Estate. The new factory will enable us to operate more efficiently by centralising all the manufacturing facilities under one roof," Lee said. With the additional production capacity, Lee said the company also plans to penetrate various markets in Asia in line with its international market development plans. (Sun)
Bonia Corp Bhd, whose founder Chiang Sang Sem is in talks with certain groups to strengthen his family holdings in the leatherwear firm, is likely buying from friendly parties, given the lower-than-expected price he has indicated he may pay for additional shares. Bonia had said late last Friday that Chiang is in discussion with several parties to acquire "certain stakes" in the company at an indicative price of between RM1.80-RM2.00/share. The indicative price range was much lower than Bonia's closing share price of RM2.59 on Friday, resulting in the stock succumbing to selling pressure yesterday. (BT)
IGB Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) is offering 670m new units under its initial offer price (IPO) at an indicative retail price of RM1.25 a unit. According to its prospectus which was released on Bursa Malaysia, at the indicative price of RM1.25, it would be raising RM837.50m. Of the 670m shares, it said that 469m units would be offered to Malaysian and foreign institutional investors and selected investors. Another 201m units would be offered to the public, eligible directors and employees of the group. It would also be subject to the clawback and reallocation provision in connection with the listing and quotation for 3.4bn new units on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia Securities. (Starbiz)
Ingenuity Solutions is expected to be taken private by Ninetology Marketing according to sources. The details of the takeover was still sparse apart from an invitation by Ninetology to announce the takeover to the press on Thursday. (Star Biz)
Eversendai: Targets CIS nations with Azerbaijan as entry point. Eversendai plans to expand its operations to the Commonwealth of Independent States in anticipation of the regions expected growth, singling out Azerbaijan as an entry point. We are currently negotiating a project in Azerbaijan, (which is) in the advanced stage, and were hoping well get an order soon, Eversendai Executive Chairman Datuk AK Nathan. The project is a high-rise building. (Source: Malaysian Reserve)
Masteel proposes placement for working capital
Masteel has proposed a private placement of up to 31.59m shares or 10% of its issued and paid-up capital to raise money for working capital purposes. The steel bars and billet maker has yet to decide the price of the placement shares and the buyers. (Malaysian Reserve)
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