Perwaja clinches deal
Perwaja Holdings Bhd’s almost one-year wait to secure an iron ore mining concessionaire has finally ended with the official award of a 243ha concession in Bukit Besi by the Terengganu government, said a source close to the group. He said the concession would enable Perwaja’s unit Perwaja Steel SB to mine iron ore under a mining lease which would be subject for renewal every 10 years, up to 42 years. (StarBiz)
Petronas sees challenging year
Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) said the outlook for the rest of its financial year 2012 (FY12) will be challenging amid geopolitical problems in Sudan where it has presence, coupled with the unfavourable economic situation in the eurozone and the United States. Petronas’ net profit for the second quarter ended 30 June dived 29.9% y-o-y to RM15.2bn from RM21.7bn, while second quarter revenue fell at a slower pace of 3% to RM70.7bm from RM72.9bn. (StarBizWeekly)
Petronas Dagangan is working to expand its business network by opening more modern and sophisticated fuel stations nationwide. The expansion is in tandem with its plans to upgrade its fuel stations as "one-stop centres" for the convenience of vehicle drivers and public. Petronas Dagangan is now focused on expanding its network to 1,000 fuel stations country-wide by end-September. (Bernama)
P&O gets offer from S. African firm
Pacific & Orient Insurance Bo Bhd (P&O) has been approached by Sanlam Ltd to acquire 49% equity interest in the company. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, P&O said Sanlam was one of the largest financial services groups in South Africa and was listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. It said approval had been obtained from Bank Negara to begin preliminary negotiations for the proposed divestment. (StarBizWeekly)
Takaful Malaysia eyes property investments in UK
Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Bhd, a provider of general and family takaful, is on the threshold of investing in properties in the UK due to its better structured property leases and higher returns compared to similar investments locally. The company is now a step closer towards setting up a wholly-owned subsidiary in Labuan International Offshore Financial Centre that will act as a special-purpose vehicle (SPV) to handle its overseas property investment. (Malaysian Reserve)
AmG, Kurnia extend merger completion deadline
AMG Insurance Bhd (AmG) and Kurnia Asia Bhd have extended the cut-off date to 12 Sept to fulfill the conditions for the proposed acquisition of the entire stake in Kurnia Insurans (M) Bhd. In an exchange filing last Friday, the 51%-owned subsidiary of AMMB Holdings Bhd said except for the extended cut-off date, all other terms of the sales and purchase agreement, and the supplemental letter dated 18 July, shall remain the same. (Malaysian Reserve)
DRB-Hicom subsidiary inks JV with German firm
DRB-Hicom Bhd’s wholly-owned subsidiary Hicom Polymers Industry SB last Friday inked a joint-venture (JV) agreement with Germany’s HBPO GmbH to design, develop and supply front-end modules for vehicle original equipment manufacturers in the country. As part of its expansion plans, DRB-Hicom said the JV marks another significant milestone towards realising its aspiration to become an automotive industry leader in the region, as both parties intend to have this cooperation extended to other Asean countries to enlarge their footing in the region. (Malaysian Reserve)
TSH’s uphill battle for Pontian United
TSH Resources Bhd may need to sweeten its offer for the takeover of Pontian United Plantations Bhd (PUPB), having only received 8.2% acceptance so far and extended the offer deadline three times until last Friday. As at last Friday, only 8.2% stake in PUPB or 710,567 shares were taken up for the RM90 per share offer from TSH and the Lee family. The RM90 is to be settled in cash and TSH shares. (Financial Daily)
IHH’s knowledge transfer a boom to medical tourism
Malaysia’s prominence as a medical tourism hub will be given a boost through the transfer of knowledge and expertise within IHH Healthcare Bhd, the Malaysian-owned world’s second largest private hospital operator. IHH, Asia’s biggest healthcare services provider recently recorded strong performance in the second quarter ended 30 June with a net profit of RM403.5m. (BT)
AirAsia close to major deal with Airbus
AirAsia is putting finishing touches to a deal to buy up to 100 Airbus jets, ending a flirtation with Canada’s Bombardier and putting Asia’s largest budget carrier on course for regional expansion, sources familiar with the matter said last Friday. The deal for A320-family jets, potentially worth about USD9bn (RM27.9bn), is designed to fuel the growth of what is fast becoming a cluster of related airlines under Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, who placed a record order for 200 Airbuses last year. (BT)
The High Court has dismissed with costs an application by CIMB Holdings Bhd. and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to set aside a winding-up petition brought by ZAQ Construction Sdn. Bhd. against Asia Petroleum Hub Sdn. Bhd. (APH). According to the news report, the court announced that it would hear ZAQ Construction’s application to wind up APH and appoint a liquidator this week, a move that will further complicate matters in the bank’s bid to salvage the APH project. If ZAQ is successful in its petition, it will add to the already complicated ownership issues related to APH. (Edge Weekly)
The Employee Provident Fund expects more than a 10% returns from its 20% stake in Britain's Battersea Power Station redevelopment and considers its involvement in the project as further diversification of its funds into the British property sector. It did not, however, state the time frame as to when it would rake in the returns. "The most important feature is our partners SP Setia Bhd and Sime Darby Bhd. I would not have gone into it unless the two of them are in it, "said EPF chief executive officer Tan Sri Azlan Zainol. "There will be demand for it as every week, British properties are being promoted and marketed in Malaysia and other parts of Asia, particularly in Hong Kong and Singapore," he added. (StarBiz)
The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) is looking at investment opportunities in properties in the UK and Australia worth GBP400m-500m (RM2-2.5bn) in the next two years. CEO Tan Sri Azlan Zainol said the fund has to date invested GBP1bn in seven buildings in the UK. He added that 23% of EPF funds have been approved for investment overseas, of which 12% is invested already. (Bernama)
The secondary residence property market could face a slowdown in transactions within the next 6 to 12 months due to oversupply of properties caused by speculative buyers. Malaysian Institute Estate Agents (MIEA) deputy president Siva Shanker said "secondary properties in secondary locations," namely apartments within the RM150,000 and RM300,000 price range, could be difficult to sell as an oversupply situation has resulted. "A lot of people in the past would have bough these properties for speculation." said Siva. Siva pointed out that because transactions start slowing down, there is misconception that property prices will crash. (StarBiz)
The 34m shares reserved for public subscription of IGB REIT IPO has been oversubscribed 21.75 times, and the offer price has been fixed at RM1.25 per unit. The IGB REIT joint bookrunners said following the completion of the bookbuilding for the institutional tranche of 469m offer units, which was also oversubscribed, the institutional and retail price has been fixed at RM1.25 per unit. (Malaysian Reserve)
Malaysia Airports (MAHB) has taken possession of Runway 3, one of the major components for KLIA2. The Runway 3 contract worth RM291.2m was awarded to Gadang Holdings in 2010. The job includes building taxiways, site preparation, earthworks and main drainage. Gadang completed the job last month and handed it over to MAHB on August 28. With the completion of Runway 3, Gadang CEO Tan Sri Kok Onn said the company is now eyeing earthwork packages for projects under the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP).Kok said working on the KLIA2 project has been one of the biggest achievements for Gadang. "There were a lot of challenges because of the soil condition. We were supervised by our consultant and had full support from MAHB. MAHB has acknowledged that we did a good job and they are happy with the result," Kok said. (BT)
Volkswagen (VW) Group Malaysia is on track to achieve its long-term target of capturing 10% of the passenger car market. Currently, VW holds over 2% of the annual local passenger car market. The company experienced growth in car sales in Malaysia since the transformation of the business module since 2006. (Bernama)
UDA Holdings Bhd has denied rumours that Kompleks Niaga Utama (KNU) at Bangsar will be sold and demolished. In a statement, it said it is in the midst of redeveloping the complex, due to take place next year. The company said the complex's tenants have been informed of this plan about nine months ago and their contracts have been renewed on a monthly basis. "We are now in the process of obtaining the Development Order full approval from Kuala Lumpur City Hall," it said. (BT)
Mydin Mohamed Holdings Bhd will be investing RM65m in the wholesale hypermarket to be opened at the Gopeng Rural Transformation Centre (RTC) at the end of November. Managing director Datuk Ameer Ali Mydin said the Mydin Mall would operate under a different concept than the other Mydin outlets as the management would give priority to products produced by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in and around Gopeng. (Malaysian Reserve)
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