Friday, December 17, 2010

FBMKLCI 1497.52 DJ+41.78 CRUDE OIL 88.79 RM 3.11

AirAsia Bhd, which has formed a 40:60 joint venture (JV) with three Philippine partners, is investing US$8mil for its 40% stake in AirAsia Philippines. We will be funding it internally via equity, group CEO Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes said after a signing ceremony between AirAsia and Antonio O. Cojuangco Jr, Dr Michael L. Romeo and Marianne B. Honours yesterday. He expects AirAsia Philippines to be profitable straight away and contribute to group revenue immediately as a lot of ground works had been done. The set-up cost is very low. There are already flights from Kuala Lumpur to the Philippines. Everything is there already, Fernandes said. AirAsia will hold 40% equity in AirAsia Inc, the JV company set up for AirAsia Philippines. The new airline is expected to begin operations in August 2011 with an initial working capital of US$25m. To a question, Fernandes said it was in the midst of getting approval from authorities for its airline operations in the Philippines.

Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) has inked three agreements worth RM991.8mil for the Hulu Terengganu hydroelectric project involving the construction of two dams and the installation of two hydro turbines and generators in an underground power station with a total installed capacity of 250MW.

Four companies, namely construction firm Putrajaya Perdana, water infrastructure specialist Loh & Loh Corp, property developer General Corp and planter Kurnia Setia, will be delisted on 21 Dec. The companies made the announcements to Bursa Malaysia yesterday. Putrajaya Perdana and Loh & Loh were being taken private by Javace SB and Sheikh Tarek Essam Ahmad Obaid for a cash offer price of RM4.85 per share respectively. General Corp was being taken private by Consistent Record SB, which was acquiring all the company's assets and liabilities for RM505.01m while Kreatif Selaras SB was taking private Kurnia Setia.

MAA Holdings Bhd and AmG Insurance Bhd (a 51%-owned subsidiary of AMMB Holdings Bhd) have mutually agreed to discontinue discussions on the proposed disposal of Malaysian Assurance Alliance Bhd’s (a subsidiary of MAA) general insurance business for RM180mil.

Mulpha International Bhd will use the RM327mil proceeds from the sale of its Hilton Melbourne Airport Hotel to repay its debt levels unless new investment opportunities arise.

Proton Holdings is to replace its existing Persona model with a new version in 2012, said its group managing director Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir. However, he did not disclose which of the five Pahlawan concept cars shown at the recent KL International Motor Show would be replacing the Persona model. "Take a guess," Syed Zainal said, when asked by reporters to reveal more on the Persona replacement model. Industry talk has it that the Tuah concept, or code-named Espire, would be bound for production. It is learnt that the Tuah concept car shown to the public was not the final design approved as Proton is coming up with an improved version. Earlier, Syed Zainal witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between AutoV Corporation Bhd with US-based ArvinMeritor Inc and Germany's Continental AG.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

FBMKLCI 1509.1 DJ-19.07 CRUDE OIL 88.25 RM 3.13

PN17 company LCL Corp Bhd could be delisted by Dec 27 for failing to submit its regularisation plan to the Securities Commission or Bursa Malaysia.

MRCB and IJM Land Bhd have extended the validity of their memorandum of understanding to merge and create the country’s second-largest property company to Dec 29 from Dec 14 previously.

Menang's unit wins RM1.5b contract to build 5 UiTM campuses nationwide for more than RM1.5 billion over 23 years. IMSB will build the Seremban campus, designed to cater for 5,000 students, over three years. Upon completion, the campus will be leased to the government/UiTM for 20 years. The company will maintain the facilities and infrastructure of the campus during the 20-year lease period. 

RHB Capital’s wholly owned subsidiary, RHB Bank, has entered into a MoU with Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp (SMBC), in line with its objective of becoming a major player in the banking industry. “RHB sees this MoU as one of the many proactive steps it is taking in enhancing its local and global strategic economic network,” it said in a statement yesterday. “The alliance will assist RHB, together with its respective subsidiaries and related companies, in strengthening its position in the Japanese business segment and also in establishing a stronger foothold in the international arena as part of the RHB banking group’s strategy for business expansion with ever deepening economic ties between Japan and Malaysia.”

DRB-HICOM Bhd has signed a MoU with the Kamaz Group, the largest automobile corporation of the Russian Federation, to look into the possibility of manufacturing and assembling selected Kamaz heavy duty trucks for the Malaysian and Asean markets. “This MoU will pave the way for the feasibility and a detailed costing study as well as the models of Kamaz truck suitable for this region,” said DRB-HICOM group managing director Datuk Seri Khamil Jamil in a statement yesterday.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

FBMKLCI 1510.58 DJ+47.98 CRUDE OIL 88.77 RM 3.101

Kencana Petroleum Bhd, with current order book of RM2 billion, plans to bid for contracts valued at four times more next year, said its group CEO Datuk Mokhzani Mahathir

KNM Group Bhd has on Dec 13 entered into a joint venture agreement with Petrosab Logistik Sdn Bhd to form a 51:49 joint-venture company known as KNM Petrosab Sdn Bhd (KNMP) to target oil and gas projects in Sabah.

Maybank yesterday announced that 88.6% of the total amount of shares that would have been issued under its dividend reinvestment plan will be issued to shareholders.

Proton Holdings Bhd's capital expenditure (capex) for Group Lotus plc's business turnaround plan of about £480 million (RM2.37 billion) over a five-year period was higher than expected, CIMB Investment Bank said in a research report.

YTL Power International Bhd is investing in oil shale projects in Jordan with the acquisition of a 30% stake in Eesti Energia’s Jordanian oil shale projects.

DRB-HICOM eyes firm deal with Russian truck maker. DRB-HICOM has inked a MOU on the possibility of manufacturing Kamaz trucks in Malaysia for the local market as well as in Asean

Digi.Com Bhd has entered into a 10-year wavelength purchase agreement and a maintenance and support deal collectively worth RM139mil with Time dotCom Bhd as a follow-up to the bandwidth service agreement signed between the two companies in April 2008.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

FBMKLCI 1509.79 DJ+18.24 CRUDE OIL 89.06 RM 3.10

KYM Holdings has been awarded a contract valued at RM585,911 by Vale International SA for the provision of consultancy services for the acquisition of land and development order approval. KYM said in an announcement to Bursa Malaysia yesterday that Vale had instructed it to acquire the land for the construction of a 2.5km-long jetty and for the construction of temporary site office facilities for their proposed iron ore distribution centre and pellet plant in Teluk Rubiah, Perak.

Johor Corp (JCorp) will not be selling any of its assets to repay bondholders’ RM3.6bil when the papers are due on July 31, 2012. JCorp’s newly-appointed chief executive officer Kamaruzzaman Abu Kassim said the plan was to refinance the debt.

The board of Olympia Industries Bhd has clarified that the company has expressed interest to acquire all the equity shares in Pan Malaysian Pools Sdn Bhd from Tanjong plc, a company which has been taken private by T. Ananda Krishnan.

Proton will spend £480m on Group Lotus plc to turnaround the company and the financing will be secured via internally generated and externally secured funding during the turnaround period. Proton also confirmed its unit Group Lotus plc is teaming up with Renault F1 Team Ltd for the title sponsorship of the Renault F1 Team which will take part in the Formula One World Racing Championship season beginning 2011 onwards.

Kencana Petroleum posted net profit of RM52.35 million in the first quarter ended Oct 31, 2010, up 70% from RM30.82 million a year ago and was upbeat for the current financial year on rising demand for its engineering and fabrication of oil and gas production facilities. Revenue rose 20% to RM336.96 million from RM281 million a year ago while pretax profit increased by 63% to RM68.10 million from RM41.80 million. Earnings per share were 3.16 sen compared with 3.41 sen.

The Naza brothers Sheikh Mohd Nasarudin SM Nasimuddin and Sheikh Mohd Faliq SM Nasimuddin have resigned as directors of Kumpulan Jetson. The group told Bursa Malaysia yesterday that the resignations of Nasarudin, 27, and Faliq, 25, came into effect the same day. The brothers were deemed interested by virtue of their interest in Superior Pavillion, which owns 13.12 million Jetson shares. Jetson also announced yesterday that the brothers had disposed of 4.37 million Jetson shares, or 7.22% stake, for RM1.05 each on 8 Dec. They were believed to initially have big plans for the company but lost interest after disagreements with other shareholders, stemming from unsettled financial issues within Jetson.

KFC Holdings (M) Bhd, which holds the franchise to operate KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants in Malaysia, Singapore and two cities in India from Yum! Brands Inc, has acquired Kernel Foods Pte Ltd, a Mumbai-based restaurant operator for RM83,565.

Monday, December 13, 2010

FBMKLCI 1507.28 DJ+40.26 CRUDE OIL 87.99 RM 3.109

Landmarks Bhd is expected to start its Bintan development called Treasure Bay Bintan (TBB) by the first quarter of 2011, sources familiar with the matter told The Edge Financial Daily. 

Ramunia Holdings Bhd’s wholly owned unit, Ramunia Fabricators SB, has been slapped with a RM15.9m suit by Ulti Resources SB for unlawful possession of land, according to a filing to the exchange last Friday. The plaintiff is seeking the amount and claims that Ramunia Fabricator had unlawfully entered and took possession of the lands in Kota Tinggi, Johor, in July 2008.
Benalec Holdings Bhd, the country’s second largest marine construction firm by market share, is set to list on the Main Market in the first quarter of next year. Having just received in the first week of December approval for the listing on the local bourse, the company expects to raise some RM100m from the IPO, said the group managing director Vincent Leaw Seng Hai. According to the MD, the proceeds raised are intended for the use of working capital.