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AFTER looking for a suitable buyer for its composite insurance business over the past four years, MAA Holdings Bhd has finally found one in Zurich Insurance Co Ltd. The previous deal to dispose of its insurance unit, Malaysian Assurance Alliance Bhd (MAAB), to AMMB Holdings Bhd hit a snag and was aborted due to unspecified reasons. On Monday, MAA told Bursa Malaysia that it would be selling its insurance business for RM344mil cash. Under the sale and purchase agreement, the company would sell its entire stake in MAAB, Multioto Services Sdn Bhd, Malaysian Alliance Property Services Sdn Bhd and Maagnet System Sdn Bhd. The cash price of RM344mil translates into 1.36 times book value and is cheap, going by industry standards. Previous deals ranged from close to 1.6 times for Pacific Insurance Bhd to 2.24 times for Jerneh Insurance Bhd while Hong Leong Assurance Bhd was sold for 6.5 times. The rationale for the sale was to meet the requirements of minimum supervisory capital-adequacy ratio (CAR) of 130% under the risk-based capital (RBC) framework.

Scientex Bhd’s earnings rose 21.2% to RM20.38 million in the third quarter ended April 30, 2011,underpinned by its property development and also announced a dividend policy to pay a minimum of 30% of earnings as dividends. It said revenue climbed 21.1% to RM217.31 million from RM179.50 million while earnings per share were 9.48 sen compared with 7.81 sen. For the nine-months period ended April 30, its earnings rose 32.9% to RM56.47 million from RM42.49 million while revenue increased by 19% to RM598.82 million from RM503.13 million.

Daibochi Plastic and Packaging Industry Bhd is eyeing Australia and Association of South-East Asian Nations for expansion to increase revenue in the face of a steep increase in the prices of raw materials, Bernama reported. Managing director, Thomas Lim Soo Kim, said the company expected its revenue to increase by 30% per cent in two years as the packaging market in Australia was 10 times bigger than Malaysia's.

MALAYSIAN AIRLINE SYSTEM BHD [] has exercised an option to purchase 10 additional Next-Generation 737-800s. The new plans are valued at more than US$800 million. The additional planes were part of an option under the original deal signed with Boeing in 2008.

Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd has deferred the proposed suspension of Ho Hup CONSTRUCTION [] Co. Bhd’s shares and also the commencement of delisting procedures. It had received a letter from the regulator the trading suspension and delisting had been deferred pending its decision on its application for more time to regularise its financial condition.

Ho Hup Construction Co Bhd hopes to shed its PN17 status by year-end after the company submits its revised regularisation plan to the regulator in the next two to three weeks. “Once the regularisation plan is in place, we are confident that we will be out of PN17 by year-end the latest, and we will grow this company into a significant property player,” executive director Derek Wong said after the company AGM yesterday. “We have submitted an extension of time from June 19 to July 19. We've not received the approval yet but we're confident that through conversations with them (Bursa) this extension should be granted, and we will submit our regularisation plan before July 19,” said Wong.

The delisting of ECOFUTURE BHD. [] scheduled for June 27, has been deferred after the company submitted an appeal to Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd.  It said it had submitted the appeal against the commencement of the delisting procedures. It had initially faced suspension on June 23 and delisting by June 27.