20121012 1133 Malaysia Corporate Related News.

AirAsia has acquired 121.67m shares or 20% of  Tune Ins Holdings for RM16m. AirAsia said it had exercised its call option agreement with Tune Ins and Tune Money, dated April 20, to acquire the shares. Tune Ins provides insurance products and services including travel insurance. (Star Biz)

AirAsia and Indonesian ally PT Fersindo Nusaperkasa are not buying PT Batavia Air now as all parties have failed to reach an agreement, Dow Jones Newswires quoted the Indonesian domestic airline as saying today. “We will continue to seek strategic partners to develop our business,” Batavia Air chief executive director  Yudiawan Tansari said. The newswire reported that Tansari declined to specify whether they failed to reach an agreement on the value of Batavia Air. (Malaysian Insider)

AirAsia  says it made a mistake flying to Paris and London via long-haul unit AirAsia X, but may reintroduce the cancelled routes.  Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said it may consider remounting the flights in 2016 once its new Airbus aircraft are delivered. Fernandes was speaking after announcing AirAsia Japan's new flights from Narita in Tokyo to Busan in South Korea yesterday. He also said that AirAsia Japan will be moving to its temporary low- cost terminal at the Narita International Airport within two months. (BT)

Members of the Malaysia Airlines Employees Union (Maseu) are seeking a fresh election a day before the announcement of the results of the polls held two weeks ago. A few members of Maseu filed a complaint and served a petition with the Trade Unions Department director-general to seek a fresh election because the polls held on Sept 29 were "misconducted". They alleged there was a mismatch of the number of voting papers that were disbursed to members and the final number of papers in the ballot boxes. (Financial Daily)

Maybank remains interested in building its presence in Thailand although the immediate focus is to expand in the markets where it has a strong presence. Maybank group CFO  Mohamed Rafique Merican, however, said any acquisition of Thai banks would be based on terms and an environment that it was comfortable with and would not be purely for the sake of having a representation. (Star Biz)

The fluctuation in the price of crude palm oil (CPO) is "part and parcel" of the industry, and will not negatively impact Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd (FGV), according to Federal Land Authority (FELDA) chairman Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad. He said FGV would shift its focus to the production of biogas from CPO mill effluent in times of excess stocks of CPO and low prices. (Malaysian Reserve)

Petronas  has said that its planned RM170bn in capex over the next 5 years would be at risk if the petroleum royalty paid to oil producing states rose to 20% from 5% currently. Higher royalties would therefore deter Petronas and PSCs from further investing in these projects. Subsequent reduction in O&G production would eventually threaten the country's energy security over time. The statement by Petronas was issued after Pakatan Rakyat  released its alternative budget. (Financial Daily)

QSR Brands Bhd and subsidiary KFC Holdings (Malaysia) Bhd will call for an EGM next month to deliberate on the privatisation of the two listed entities, said QSR executive director  Sheik Sharufuddin Sheik Mohd. "We're very close (to completing the privatisation exercise). It's a sensitive issue and we target to complete the exercise before the end of the year," he added. (Sun)

The  US Department of Agriculture estimated that farmers will harvest 2.86bn bushels of soybeans this fall, up 9% from its estimate last month. The soybean crop would still be the nation's smallest in five years. The country produced 3.09bn bushels of soybean during the previous harvest. (WSJ, USDA)

MISC's proposed disposal of its 50% equity interest in  Gumusut-Kakap Semi-FPS (GKL) to E&P Venture Solutions, a unit of Petronas Carigali, will not result in any gain or loss to MISC. It said that this was because the stakes were sold at the cost of the company's equity investment in GKL (BT)


OSK: Approved to own 99% interest in OSK Nusadana. Indonesian financial authorities have formally granted the approval for OSK Investment Bank Bhd (OSKIB) to own a 99% interest in PT OSK Nusadana Securities Indonesia. (Source: Bursa Malaysia)

Alam: Wins MYR62m jobs. Alam Maritim Resources Bhd's wholly owned subsidiary has received a contract that worth up to MYR69.2m from a local oil and gas company for the provision of a workboat. The contract was for a primary period of one year with an extension option. (Source: Bursa Malaysia)


Celcom is offering the new nano-Subscriber Identity Module (SIM)  at the lowest switchover prices in Malaysia, for users of the newest generation of smartphones to take advantage of. Celcom said in a statement new Celcom First customers can request a nano-SIM at no additional charge, and customers of more than 12 months can upgrade their current SIM for free. It added customers who have been with Celcom for less than 12 months will be charged RM5 to change to the new SIM, which can used with all Celcom postpaid or prepaid plans as well as mobile data and broadband bundles. The new replacement SIM will be available at 80 Celcom branches and Blue Cube stores nationwide from Oct 6 for postpaid customers and from Oct 15 for prepaid customers. (Bernama)

AIA Group Ltd is set to turn its Malaysian operations into the largest life insurer in the country following its US$1.73bn (RM5.3bn) acquisition of ING Insurance Bhd (ING Malaysia). The deal, which was finalised yesterday, will push AIA Malaysia into the leading position from fourth currently, with a market share of 24.8% from 11.3% previously.AIA Group regional chief executive Ng Keng Hooi expects the deal to be completed by Mar-2013. The acquisition will strengthen AIA's distribution channel and reach with the number of agents growing to 16,600 from 7,400 currently. It will also broaden AIA's existing bancassurance distribution network through the addition of an exclusive long-term bancassurance arrangement with Public Bank Bhd. Ng said AIA will also become the second biggest bancassurance player in the country with its market share jumping to 14% from 1% currently.(BT)

Haisan Resources Bhd agreed to sell its 100%stake in Iglo (Guangzhou) Co Ltd, a temperature-controlled logistics firm, to Asia Logistic Ltd, for RM14.6m. The sale sealed on Oct 10 is to rationalise its capital resources tied to long-term assets to repay its borrowings and improve its financial performance. The proposed disposal is expected to be completed by 1Q13. (BT)

The IPO fervour surrounding maverick businessman  Tan Sri Tony Fernandes continues  - now he is considering to float the  Tune Group. Fernandes said, "There are no immediate plans but this certainly is an interesting thought. It has a fantastic collection of inter-related companies although it is not a conglomerate. Tune Group is all about low-cost businesses. The idea has certainly crossed my mind. Actually, I just sent an email out for the management team to look at the numbers." (Star Biz)

General Electric (GE) announced a collaboration with  EV World to collaborate on technology development and strategic initiatives to support the roll out of electric vehicles in Malaysia and Singapore. The companies said the collaboration would lead to a collaborate research and development centre of excellence for EV technology. (Bernama)