20121130 1032 Malaysia Corporate Related News.

SP Setia says it has entered into a RM845m privatisation agreement with the federal government to develop an integrated health and research institute in Setia Alam, Selangor. In the agreement with the Ministry of Finance's Syarikat Tanah dan Harta Sdn Bhd, SP Setia's 50%-subsidiary Sentosa Jitra Sdn Bhd (SJSB) will develop 16.6ha of land in Setia Alam for the institute, in return for a 20.9ha piece of land located along Jalan Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur. SJSB will design, build and test the integrated centre through to its commissioning for the Ministry of Health within 48 months of the start of construction. The RM845m project consists of a fully-integrated health and reserach institute in Setia Alam and 24 apartments with a polyclinic and dental clinic in Bangsar. In addition, SJSB is to pay the government RM217.11m, being the minimum guaranteed profit for the mixed development that SJSB proposed to undertake on the piece of land in Bangsar. (Malaysian Reserve)

IJM Corp Bhd may sell down its 9% stake in Scomi Group if the latter isn't able to vote through the issuance of convertible debt papers to the former, according to sources. Recall that as part of the deal involving IJM acquiring 9% in Scomi Group in September, the two parties agreed that Scomi Group will issue an additional RM110m worth of redeemable convertible secured bonds to IJM, which can be converted into another 15% equity in Scomi. However, the issuance of debt paper is being opposed by other major shareholders of Scomi Group who collectively own about 13%. (StarBiz)

CIMB Group  is not bidding for General Electric's (GE) stake in Bank of Ayudhya (BAY), sources said, putting an end to market speculation that it was zeroing in on the Thai bank. "We did not put in a bid," a source from CIMB, who declined to be named. Last month, top lender Maybank too said it would not be making a bid for BAY. (BT)

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, is among the first round bidders for General Electric's $1.5bn (RM4.5bn) stake in Thailand's fifth-largest lender, Bank of Ayudhya, sources told. Suitors of GE's Thai bank stake are seeking a foothold in one of Asia's fastest growing economies. They are expected to seek full control of the bank, which is also Thailand's No. 1 retail bank with a $5.9bn (RM17.7bn) market value. One source familiar with the process but not directly involved said CIMB Group had also lodged a bid. MUFG and CIMB declined to comment. (Reuters)

Proton aims to sell 250 of its newly launched Satria Neo R3 model, an extension of Satria Neo CPS model, a month, Executive Chairman Datuk Seri Mohd Khamil Jamil said. With a lower price compared to the previous Satria Neo version, the new model is expected to receive overwhelming response from customers, he said. "There is a great following for the R3 (model). I think the positioning of the car at RM64,000 is absolutely fabulous. "This model is something that we want to bring to the Malaysian public, what has been used in the rally for the use of our customers," he told reporters after launching the Satria Neo R3. (Bernama)

Malaysia Airlines is targeting a 10% rise in RASK or a two sen increase from now until 2014 that would translate in a profit margin of RM1bn, said its group CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya. It also plans to reduce its CASK by three sen to bring it to 20 sen. Jauhari also felt the potential of cargo, engineering and MAS Holidays units had not been fully exploited. Those in the know claim that these units could potentially earn MAS about RM1bn in revenue over the next few years. (Star Biz)

Malaysia Airports (MAHB) may bid to run facilities in China and Indonesia because of rising travel demand in the Asian nations, said MD Bashir Ahmad. The airport operator is also in talks to build a theme park and golf course on land near airfields in Malaysia. The company is on track to meet its goal of increasing EBITDA to RM1bn in 2014. Separately, the company said it is studying its legal position after a venture with GMR Group was stripped of the right to run an airport in the Maldives. The island nation's new government faulted how the contract was awarded in 2010 by then Prime Minister  Mohamed Nasheed, who was ousted in February. (Bloomberg)

DRB-Hicom expects to unveil details of Proton's turnaround plan very soon. "It's going to be announced very soon. I know it is much awaited by the public. We are currently looking into it and will be coming up with our plans. "Our financial year ends on March 31 and so, you can definitely expect us to reveal the turnaround plan before our financial year ends," said group MD Datuk Seri Mohd Khamil Jamil. Meanwhile, in a statement to the stock market, Mohd Khamil said the group is implementing several initiatives to streamline and align its businesses, operations and investments, which include business and operational rationalisation in the retail and after-sale-services of Proton vehicles in Edaran Otomobil Nasional Bhd and Proton Edar Sdn Bhd. (BT)

Tan Sri Leo Moggie’s  tenure as the non-executive chairman of  Tenaga Nasional has been extended for two years. His new contract starts effective from March 12 2013 until March 11 2015, Tenaga Nasional said in a statement to the stock exchange yesterday. (BT)

Tan Sri Tony Fernandes and  Datuk Kamarudin Meranun have each bought 1.69m shares in AirAsia on Nov 29. After the  purchase, their indirect stakes in AirAsia rose to 25.38% each. This follows their earlier purchases on Nov 27, where Fernandes and Kamarudin had each bought 2.36m shares. (Malaysian Reserve)

Masterskill Education Group recorded a revenue of RM118.5m and a net loss of RM15.42m for the nine months ended September 30 2012.In the same period last year, Masterskill had posted RM200.66m in revenue, alongside a net profit of RM45.52m. The lower revenue was attributed to lower student enrolment in the reporting  period due to competition in the market.  The reduction in PTPTN loan amount as well as the higher entry requirement for nursing programme has resulted in lower student enrolment, Masterskill said. (BT)