20121023 1009 Malaysia Corporate Related News.

Astro bucks IPO trend
Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd saw its share price fall as much as 9% in intraday trading on its second day on Bursa Malaysia, bucking the trend of successful mega-listings seen on the bourse this year. The pay TV operator fell to a low of RM2.73 yesterday before ending the day at RM2.77, compared with its offer price of RM3. About 120m shares changed hands yesterday. (Financial Daily)

Canada says to continue talks with Petronas
Canada could still approve the CND5.17bn (RM16bn) acquisition of Progress Energy Resources Corp by state oil company Petronas Nasional Bhd (Petronas), the country’s finance minister said on Sunday, despite blocking the bid late last week. While observers predict a chaotic market reaction following the federal government’s statement last Friday, the deal did not provide the “net benefit” required from foreign buyers under the Investment Canada Act. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said on Canadian television negotiations would continue. (Financial Daily)

JTI and Philip Morris maintain cigarette prices
Tobaco players JT International (JTI) and Philip Morris (PMI) have yet to raise the prices of their cigarettes, following British American Tobacco (BAT) hike in the prices of its cigarettes starting yesterday. When asked about the government’s move to raise ex-factory pricing of cigarettes, a JTI spokesman said that they are not in the position to comment on the matter and pricing decisions remain the prerogative of individual companies. (Financial Daily)

China Stationery to acquire 9.8% in Pelikan
China Stationery (CSL) has proposed to acquire 50m shares in Pelikan International Corp, representing a 9.8% equity interest, from Mahir Agresif and Persada Bina for RM50m. CSL, in a filing to Bursa Malaysia yesterday, said the proposed acquisition will be satisfied by the new issuance of up to 47.2m new shares at RM1.06 per share and an additional three million new shares as payment for the professional fees. (Financial Daily)

FPSO demand to pick up
Although the demand for floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) has been weak year to date, the sector is expected to flex its muscle going forward, and it will happen most likely next year, according to industry players and analysts. A Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings (MMHE) spokesperson said that the demand for FPSOs was good but due to various reasons, the awards were not forthcoming this year. (StarBiz)

KLIA2 gets AirAsia nod
AirAsia group chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes has given the green light for AirAsia, Asia’s largest low-fare, no-frills airline, to move to the KLIA2 low-cost carrier terminal upon its completion next year. The KLIA2, which is being built at a cost of almost RM4bn, is designed to cater for 30m passengers a year and with the provision to expand it to 45m passenger. Scheduled to open in April next year, the low-cost terminal has a retail space of 32,000 sq m and can accommodate 225 retail outlets. (BT)

MRT Corp awards RM1.2bn jobs to Mitsubishi, Apex
Mass Rapid Transit Corp (MRT Corp) has awarded Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Apex Communication-LG CNS Consortium the trackworks and telecommunications packages respectively, valued at RM855m (trackworks) and RM319.9m (telecommunications). Both packages will be for a duration of 82 months each. (Malaysian Reserve)

Axis-REIT 9 months net profit up 22%
AXIS Real Estate Investment Trust (Axis-REIT) reported a 21.7% increase in net profit to RM59.7m for the first nine months of its financial year ending 31 Dec 2012, compared to RM49.1m it registered in the same period a year ago. Revenue for the period ended 30 Sep 2012, also showed a gain, of 15.4% or RM13m, to RM97.9m from RM84.9m recorded in the previous corresponding period. (Malaysian Reserve)