Tun Musa Hitam is stepping down as chairman of Sime Darby after he announced he will not be seeking re-election. A Sime Darby spokesperson confirmed that Tan Sri Samsuddin Osman will be interim chairman. Musa was previously urged by critics to resign after Sime Darby’s energy and utilities division posted massive cost overruns in 2010 and dragged down its bottom line. The former deputy prime minister told reporters in May 2010 that he would be willing to step down if the board was found to be accountable for the losses pending the outcome of an investigation. Musa ended up staying on. Later that November, six board members decided not to seek re-election and one resigned. The GLC later went through a shake-up and restructured the group into six flagship divisions each with their own board of directors. (Malaysian Insider)
Sime Darby Auto Connexion Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Sime Darby Motors and the country's sole dealer for American carmaker Ford Motor Co, is targeting 30% growth next year, driven by sales of its latest models. Sime Darby Auto Connexion managing director Lee Eu San said there has been encouraging demand for its new Ford Focus and Ford Fiesta. "Since the all-new Ford Focus was launched two months ago, some 200 units have been sold nationwide. (BT)
Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd (FGV) is confident that the current low price trend of crude palm oil (CPO) may very soon see a reversal. CPO prices can reach RM2,800 per tonne within the first quarter of 2013, said head of FGV, Datuk Sabri Ahmad. The outlook of various market sources at between RM2,500 and RM2,800 per tonne is a good margin, he said. “The prices should not be too high or too low as this is not good for the plantation players,” he said. The high stock level has led vegetable oil traders to forecast the prices to dip to below RM2,250 a tonne before rising to RM2,700 by year-end. (BT)
Palm oil price must decline 8% in the next few weeks to attract buyers and clear record inventories, according to Dorab Mistry, director at Godrej International Ltd. "In the last fortnight, palm oil has completely priced itself out of any meaningful energy demand," said Mistry. "I believe a period of two months of low prices is required to stimulate extra demand and clear away stocks," he added. (Malaysian Reserve)
Laxey Partners Ltd co-founder Andrew Pegge has no intention of replacing Capital Dynamics Asset Management Sdn Bhd, the fund manager for iCapital.biz Bhd, if he succeeds in obtaining a board seat on Malaysia's only closed-end fund.“We seek to be constructive, not disruptive,” he told journalists on Thursday in a conference call from London where his hedge fund is based. Pegge also said he would not sell his 6.9% stake in iCapital.biz should things not go his way at its AGM scheduled for this Saturday, where he and two others have been nominated for board representation by a shareholder named Evelyn Ho Lai Ming. “We are the largest shareholder in iCapital.biz and want to work with the other shareholders,” said Pegge, who would not be attending the shareholder's meet for “personal reasons”. He will be represented by Laxey co-founder Colin Kingsnorth. Pegge, often described as a “shareholder activist”, has been embroiled in bitter shareholder disputes in the past, while Laxey has a track record of targeting listed funds that trade below their net asset values (NAV). He said two of Laxey's funds, the Terra Catalyst Fund and Value Catalyst Fund, were in the process of being wound down and the cash returned to shareholders. (Starbiz)
The Finance Ministry paid a 50 basis-point premium for a 20-year sukuk over non-Islamic sovereign debt, the biggest spread this year for government-guaranteed syariah-compliant notes. Turus Pesawat, a company set up to sell the securities that will fund aircraft purchases on behalf of Malaysia Airlines (MAS), sold RM3.4bn of debt in total. The RM1.65bn portion of 2032 notes yielded 4.36%. The company also sold RM500m each of 10- and 12-year syariah debt at yields of 3.74% and 3.93%. It issued RM750m of 15-year notes at 4.12%. MAS sold RM1bn of Islamic bonds with no fixed maturity in June via a private placement at a yield of 6.9%. It also issued RM500m in September at the same rate. (Bloomberg)
Encorp Bhd wholly-owned subsidiary Encorp Construct Sdn Bhd received a letter of acceptance from Paramount Promenade Sdn Bhd for the construction and completion of substructure works consisting of pile-cap and six storeys of car park under phase two of a commercial development in Kuala Lumpur for RM63.9m. It said the contract is for 25 months and is expected to be completed by Dec-2014.(BT)
Berjaya Corp Bhd has proposed an acquisition of 40m shares in Atlan Holdings Bhd (AHB), representing a 15.8% stake for a purchase consideration of RM170m or RM4.25/AHB share. (BT)
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has shortlisted three of eight bidders for the digital terrestrial television broadcast (DTTB) infrastructure contract. They are i-Media Broadcasting Solutions, Puncak Semangat and REDtone Network. DTTB will enable free to air broadcasters to migrate from the current analogue system to a digital broadcasting format and allow more broadcasters to come on-stream to provide more channels. The winner will be announced in July 2013 and the first roll-out of DTTB services is expected in early 2014 with nationwide coverage by end 2015. (Bernama)
Engtex Group wholly-owned subsidiary, Ivory Progression Sdn Bhd, has bought 7,455-sq-m freehold land for RM19.3m in Aman Puri, Kepong, from Potensi Cekap Sdn Bhd. Engtex said Ivory Progression intended to build a 23-storey office with basement parking on the land. (StarBiz)
Retail investors in Singapore and Thailand will soon be able to take part in Malaysia's largest infrastructure project, as the country's stock exchange prepares to issue the first tranche of a RM1.5bn retail Islamic bond or sukuk. DanaInfra Nasional Bhd is scheduled to issue the tranche, a RM300m sukuk, by the end of the month. It will be the first retail bond to rely on the Asean Trading Link, which connects the stock exchanges in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. Funds raised by DanaInfra will go towards financing Malaysia's MRT project. The project is estimated to cost RM37bn. (BT)
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