FBMKLCI 1556.19 DJ-178.84 CRUDE OIL 95.80 RM 2.9970

Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) has bought more than 200,000 tonnes of fuel oil, for delivery between April and August, in addition to buying electricity from Singapore utility PowerSeraya, industry sources said yesterday. The fuel oil volumes were the largest TNB has purchased in at least five years, traders said, and were linked to natural gas supply disruptions that resulted from the maintenance shutdown of gas production platforms owned by state oil company Petronas. The first 15,000 tonnes is for Aug 1–3 delivery to the Sultan Iskandar Power Station in Pasir Gudang. Two more lots of 20,000 and 30,000 tonnes are for delivery to Kapar in Selangor in August

Integrated steel contractor Eversendai Corp Bhd plans to double its order book this year to RM3bil, on expectations of new projects in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Saudi Arabia and India.  Group managing director Datuk A.K. Nathan said the group was already in serious negotiations for some of the jobs related to infrastucture, power plants and high rise buildings. “We are pursuing quite a fair amount of jobs this year and I think we should not have any problem to secure about RM1bil to RM1.5bil worth of new jobs based on our good track record all this while,” he told reporters yesterday at a media briefing after the official launch of the group's initial public offering (IPO) prospectus.

Alam Maritim Resources Bhd is bidding for RM400mil to RM500mil worth of contracts in offshore installation and construction (OIC) as well as offshore support vessel (OSV) services sector, said managing director and chief executive officer Azmi Ahmad. However, Azmi said the success rate was quite difficult to predict under the prevailing market environment although the company's historical success rate was at 10% to 22%.

Gamuda Bhd and MMC Corp Bhd have entered into a joint venture (JV) for the pre-qualifying and tendering works in relation to the underground work package for the Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit project. In separate announcements to Bursa Malaysia yesterday, both companies said they would each have a 50% stake in the JV. “The breakdown of the total capital, investment outlay and the eventual issued and paid-up capital of the JV will be according to the proportion of interest of each party and could only be determined when the JV is successfully awarded the underground work package of the project,” they said.

Both companies said they planned to finance their respective portions of investments via their own funds and/or borrowings.

HPI Resources Bhd has received a takeover offer from Japan's Oji Paper Co Ltd to acquire all of the former's 58.528 million shares for RM257.52mil or RM4.40 per share. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday, the corrugated packaging manufacturer said it had received the notice of the conditional take-over offer from RHB Investment Bank on behalf of Oji Paper's wholly-owned subsidiary, Oji Paper Asia Sdn Bhd. “The board has deliberated on the offer and does not intend to seek an alternate person to make a take-over for the offer shares,” the company said. The offer price of RM4.40 represents a premium of 47 sen or 12% over its last traded price of RM3.93.

Trading of shares in ACE Market-listed Ecofuture Bhd will be suspended from June 23 as it failed to appoint a replacement sponsor by designated June 10 deadline. The Guidance Note 3 company could also potentially be delisted on June 27 unless an appeal is submitted to Bursa Malaysia by June 22. Ecofuture was unable to appoint a replacement sponsor within three months after its then sponsor ECM Libra Investment Bank Bhd tendered its resignation on March 10.

Equine Capital, which had fallen from the radar screen in recent years, is trying to make a company through its property venture. It is launching a mixed commercial and residential freehold development project -- da:mén -- or “Great Door) in USJ, Subang Jaya which is near the Summit shopping mall and hotel. It promises to offer a distinctively unique retail and dining experience with lifestyle pleasures for the urbanites. The company has also returned to the black in the financial year ended March 31, 2011. In the fourth quarter ended March 31, it reported net profit of RM2.25 million compared with net loss of RM25.57 million a year ago. For the 12-months, its net profit was RM6.37 million compared with net loss of RM36.43 million a year ago. However, its cashflow was enhanced following proceeds from disposal of investment property totaling for RM28 million. Its cash and cash equivalents at end of the financial year was only RM6.4 million

Unisem expects the current financial year ending Dec 31, 2011 to be lacklustre due to tough economic environment in major markets. Group managing director John Chia said Unisem’s financial results in FY 2011 was unlikely to be better than the previous year's numbers due to a tougher economic environment in the US, Europe, Japan and China, apart from the weakening of the US dollar. "Our capital expenditure this year will be less than FY10 capex of some RM380 million" Chia said at Unisem's shareholders meeting.

FBMKLCI 1545.88 DJ +1.06 CRUDE OIL 96.87 RM 2.9980

Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) will be making a proposal to acquire RHB Capital Bhd before the end of this month, according to Maybank chairman Tan Sri Megat Zaharuddin Megat Mohd Nor. He said Maybank would proceed with the acquisition only if it was earnings accretive. Megat Zaharuddin said a merger with RHB Capital Bhd would provide scale to Maybank. “For example, it would expand our reach in Thailand and Singapore. Scale is important, especially when you are trying to compete in a region which is becoming a lot more challenging. We have global players from other parts of the world which are focusing on this part of the world, and you need scale in order to compete,” he said after Maybank EGM yesterday.

Malaysian property developer SP Setia Bhd plans to increase its landbank in Australia, predominantly in popular cities such as Melbourne, Sydney and even Gold Coast, as it seeks to capture the growing opportunities from the population boom of these cities. Having made its first Australian investment last year, the developer is in the midst of scouting for more investment opportunities in Melbourne. “For the first few years, we are looking for investment opportunities and to take on projects that will provide quick turnaround and are easy sell. Subsequently, we will look at greenfield projects and (at building) townships,” Setia (Melbourne) Development Co Pty Ltd chief executive officer Choong Kai Wai told Malaysian reporters here last Friday.

Alam Maritim Resources Bhd (AMRB) has been awarded a contract valued at RM52mil from Samsung Engineering Malaysia Sdn Bhd. The contract, awarded to its wholly-owned subsidiary, Alam Maritim (M) Sdn Bhd, was for the purchase order from Samsung to supply engineering work, supply of materials, fabrication, load-out and commissioning of two units of single point mooring buoy for Sabah Oil and Gas Terminal project.

Silver Bird Group Bhd has proposed a private placement exercise of new ordinary shares of up to 10% of its issued and paid-up share capital. The actual proceeds to be raised from this would be dependent on the issue price and actual number of placements shares to be issued. The company, in its filing to Bursa Malaysia yesterday, said the said proceeds from the proposed private placement should be utilised for repayment of bank borrowings as well as to defray the expenses in respect of the proposed private placement.

The group's total outstanding borrowings stood at RM130mil as of June 6.

MMC Corp Bhd’s subsidiary Malakoff Corporation Bhd is set to build a 1,000MW coal-fired plant next to the current Tanjung Bin power plant. The company said it had accepted a conditional offer made by the government to develop the plant and the expected commercial operation date was March 1, 2016. Malakoff is MMC Corp’s 51%-owned subsidiary, whose unit Tanjung Bin Power Sdn Bhd owns the Tanjung Bin power plant. MMC Corp said among the conditions in the offer by the government via the Energy Commission were the finalisation of the terms of the agreements relating to the project; and the approval of the detailed environmental impact assessment from the Department of Environment Malaysia.

Sime Darby's healthcare division is investing RM280 million in two hospital projects in the Klang Valley as part of the government’s health tourism plan under the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP). The conglomerate said it would invest in a 220-bed Sime Darby Medical Centre Ara Damansara in Subang which will be operational by the third quarter of 2011. The 300-bed Sime Darby Medical Centre ParkCity will be operational by the second half of 2012.

KNM’s total book order rose to RM5.5 billion as at May this year, of which RM1.4 billion in orders were secured in 2010. Bulk of the orders was secured in the second half of last year, totaling RM3.10 billion. The remaining RM1 billion of orders were secured in the first half of 2010 and earlier. As at January this year it had tendered for RM16 billion of orders and based on a 20% success rate, that would translate into RM3.2 billion.

MWE has attracted attention after it disclosed that it bought RM98.12 million of quoted securities from Sept 2, 2010 to June 10 this year. It said the total cost represented 24.74% of MWE group's net assets as at Dec 31, 2010. As at June 10, the total cost of its acquisitions was RM121.08 million while the book value was RM203.84 million. This was an increase of RM82.76 million but MWE did not provide details of those quoted securities.

FBMKLCI 1560.40 DJ-41.59 CRUDE OIL100.73 RM 2.9955

Malakoff Corp Bhd, owned by MMC Corp Bhd, is expected to be awarded a contract to build a 1,000MW coal-fired power plant soon, said sources. According to sources, the plant will have a 15-year concession to sell the power at a rate of 25 sen per kwh to Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB).

Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas), via its wholly-owned subsidiary Petronas International Corp Ltd (PICL), has signed an agreement with Canada-based Progress Energy Resources Corp to acquire 50% of the latter's interest in shale gas assets worth C$1.07bil (RM3.32bil). In a statement yesterday, Petronas said the agreement was signed to develop the Altares, Lily and Kahta shale gas assets in north-eastern British Columbia. “The assets included in the transaction cover approximately 150,000 gross working-interest acres of land with an estimated contingent gas resource of more than 15 trillion cu ft. The assets will be operated by Progress,” said Petronas.

MTD Construction Sdn Bhd (MTDC) has won its RM38.59mil suit against AXA Affin Assurance Bhd  involving a claim on a contractors’ All Risks Policy against the latter. In a note to Bursa Malaysia yesterday, MTD ACPI Engineering Bhd said the case was ruled in favour of MTDC on May 27, with the judge holding AXA Affin liable for the damages to be assessed before the Court Registrar.

The hike in electricity tariff and gas prices will impact the steel, cement and glove manufacturing sectors, according to research firms. HwangDBS Vickers Research said the full-year earnings projections of steel makers Southern Steel Bhd, Kinsteel Bhd and might be lower by between 17% and 25% while forecast earnings for glove manufacturers Top Glove Corp Bhd and Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd could drop by between 5% and 7%. CIMB Research said electricity accounted for 8% of total costs for steel maker Ann Joo Resources Bhd as well as 18% of those for cement producers Lafarge Malayan Cement Bhd and Tasek Corp Bhd.

Petra Energy Bhd’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Petra Resources Sdn Bhd (PRSB) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Labuan Shipyard & Engineering Sdn Bhd (LSE) for the proposed utilisation of the latter’s shipyard facilities at Victoria Harbour, Labuan Island. Petra Energy told Bursa Malaysia yesterday that the MoU was for the purpose of PRSB’s fabrication activities.

Mobile virtual network operator XOX Bhd’s initial public offering (IPO) has been oversubscribed by 13.2 times. Its IPO atracted 6,652 applications for 106.5 million shares with a total value of RM85.2mil, for the public tranche of 7.5 million shares, the company, which slated for ACE market listing on June 10, said in a statement yesterday.

Genting Bhd could also be in focus given its overseas expansion plans in Miami, with expectations that the group would try to secure a gaming licence there.

FBMKLCI 1558.29 DJ+128.21 CRUDE OIL102.85 RM 2.9735

the biggest takeover battle in Malaysia's corporate history, banking heavyweights Malayan Banking Bhd and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd have declared their interest to wrest control of RHB Capital Bhd, which could cost over RM20bil. This development confirmed heated speculation in recent weeks that the country's largest and second largest banks, Maybank and CIMB respectively, were vying to take over RHB Cap, which is the fifth largest banking group. Sources said due to the rife market talk and “leaks”, Maybank and CIMB were directed by the central bank to disclose their interest to bid for RHB Cap to curb further speculation. Alongside this major takeover bid, is the sale of Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank's (ADCB) 25% stake in RHB Cap.

Investor sentiment towards Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB)'s stock immediately turned positive, following Monday's announcement of a long-awaited power tariff hike, as evident in the rise of the company's share price yesterday. The counter gained 59 sen, or 9%, to close at RM7.11 yesterday. It also topped the list of most actively traded stock on Bursa Malaysia, with 89 million shares changing hands. TA Research in its report explained that the impact on TNB's FY11 earnings would slightly be negative as the higher tariff would only have two months' impact on revenue, that is, for July and August, since June bill would still be reflecting usage in May, in which the previous tariff still applied. The higher gas price, on the other hand, will have three months' impact, that is between June and August. In addition, the revised tariff was still based on coal price of US$85 per tonne, and Tenaga still had to absorb the differential to actual market rate of around US$120 per tonne.

Hydropower from the 2,400-megawatt Bakun Dam project is likely to be sold, on an escalating basis, at 6.25 sen per kilowatt (KwH) to Sarawak Energy Bhd, the state utility arm. Sources told StarBiz this represented the cheapest tariff in Asian history but would be escalating at 1.5% per annum for 30 years. “The tariff is expected to be sufficient to pay off all Federal Government debts in 15 years,'' said a source, adding that in total, the valuation came close to RM8bil. The power purchase agreement (PPA) signing between the Federal and Sarawak state governments is expected to take place today.

Maxis Bhd saw its first quarter net profit decline slightly by some 2% to RM539mil compared with RM552mil made a year ago due to higher borrowing costs. For the three-months ended March 31, Maxis made a revenue of RM2.13bil, or less by 1%, compared with RM2.15bil made a year ago. Revenue declined due to lower voice, interconnect and hubbing revenue. the company said the drop in interconnect revenue was due to reduction in mobile and fixed termination rates since July last year. Meanwhile, the decline in hubbing revenue was in line with the planned scale down in its hubbing business. Maxis declared a first interim single-tier tax exempt dividend of 8 sen per share in respect of the financial year ending Dec 31, 2011, to be paid on June 30, 2011.

Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) recorded a 20% jump in net profit to RM88mil for the first quarter ended March 31, led by strong demand for air travel. This was despite uncertainties in the aviation sector due to political tensions in the Middle East and earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Revenue rose 22%, or RM118mil, to RM610mil from RM498mil a year ago. However, the airport operator's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) was marginally lower at RM189mil from RM190mil a year earlier.

Axiata Group Bhd reported a 40.5% year-on-year drop in net profit to RM548.4mil for the first quarter ended March 31. The lower net profit was attributed mainly to a 97.7% year-on-year dip in the group’s other operating income to RM7.5mil in the quarter under review. This was because there was a one-off gain from the disposal of shares in Indonesian unit PT XL Axiata Tbk of RM307.5mil recorded in the same period last year.

MMC CORPORATION BHD []’s net profit for the first quarter ended March 31, 2011 rose 29.5% to RM43.04 million from RM33.23 million a year earlier, due mainly to higher contributions from most of its divisions. Revenue for the quarter increased to RM2.23 billion from RM2.06 billion in 2010. Earnings per share was 1.41 sen while net assets per share was RM2.19.

Ajinomoto (Malaysia) Bhd net profit for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2011 rose to RM5.39 million from RM1.48 million a year earlier, due mainly to lower sales and marketing expenses. Ajinomoto proposed dividend of 20 sen per share in respect of the FY ended Mrch 31, 2011 comprising a first and final gross dividend of nine sen; a nine sen tax-exempt dividend as well as special gross dividend of two sen per share. For the financial year ended March 31, Ajinomoto’s net profit rose to RM25.73 million from RM23.94 million, on the back of revenue RM316.17 million.

FBMKLCI 1536.27 DJ-68.79 CRUDE OIL 97.78 RM 2.9720

US blue-chip stocks fell on Tuesday, extending Monday's losses after data showed the housing sector remained deeply depressed in April and Hewlett-Packard painted a dim picture for personal computer sales.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average of 30 blue-chip stocks closed down 68.79 points (0.55 per cent) at 12,479.58.

EON CAPITAL BHD [] has declared a special tax exempt dividend of RM5.16 per share. The dividend will go ex on June 9 while the entitlement date is June 13.

United PLANTATION []s Bhd posted net profit of RM86.09 million in the first quarter ended March 31, 2011, up 76% from RM48.90 million a year ago and it expects the current financial year results to be better, boosted by more replanting. It declared a final dividend of 20% per share or 15 sen net per share and a special dividend of 35% per share or 26.25 sen net per share. The dividends will go ex on June 30.

Investors can expect more upside from United Plantations after its comments that palm oil production in Malaysia and Indonesia was expected to recover in 2011 based on the recovery in the biological yield cycle after a pronounced setback in 2010.

Ideal Jacobs (Malaysia) Corp, a manufacturer of industrial labels and name-plates, surged on its listing debut on the Kuala Lumpur stock exchange. The stock almost tripled to 70 sen at 9:02 a.m. local time in Kuala Lumpur trading. The company sold shares at 27 sen each in its initial public offering, according to its prospectus.

MMC CORPORATION BHD [] plans to list its subsidiaries -- Gas Malaysia Sdn Bhd and Malakoff Bhd -- and also its unit Johor Port. MMC group managing director Datuk Hasni Harun said the first company to be likely listed would be its 51% owned Gas Malaysia. Hasni said Malakoff is worth about RM7 billion currently while Gas Malaysia and Johor Port are worth RM5 billion and RM1.5 billion respectively.

IOI CORPORATION BHD [] reported net profit of RM656.71 million in the third quarter ended March 31, 2011, up 19.6% from the RM549.02 million a year ago, boosted by the better overall performance of the group, especially plantations. Its 3QFY11 pre-tax profit of RM780.86 million was 10% higher than the RM709.27 million a year ago. Revenue rose 37.7% to RM4.34 billion from RM3.15 billion while earnings per share were 10.25 sen versus 8.6 sen. For the nine-months ended March 31, 2011 (9MFY11), it said net profit was RM1.74 billion compared with RM1.52 billion a year ago. Revenue was higher at RM11.83 billion versus RM9.48 billion.

Digistar Corp Bhd’s earnings surged to RM4.57 million in its second quarter ended March 31, 2011 from only RM457,000 a year ago underpinned by better profit margins from its system integration and broadcast engineering projects. Its revenue jumped 91.5% to RM23.57 million from RM12.31 million a year ago while earnings per share were 2.31 sen compared with 0.26 sen.

FABER GROUP BHD []’s subsidiary and the joint venture partner have been unable to secure any of the business in the building maintenance services and clinical waste management in Brunei. Its 70% owned Faber Medi-Serve Sdn Bhd and its joint venture agreement (JVA) with Brufors Technical Services had acknowledged the JVA had lapsed as they had failed to sure any business.

ESSO MALAYSIA BHD []’s earnings surged 154% to RM154.82 million in the first quarter ended March 31, 2011 from RM60.94 million a year ago, boosted by inventory holding gains. Revenue rose 30% to RM2.6 billion from RM2 billion reflecting higher average product prices and increased retail volume. Earnings per share were 57.30 sen compared with 22.60 sen.

AMMB Holdings Bhd, Malaysia’s fifth-biggest lender, said fourth-quarter profit rose to RM316.3 million from RM241.7 million a year earlier

FBMKLCI 1499.28 DJ+8.78 CRUDE OIL 102.74 RM 3.08

Asian markets retreated yesterday following gains in crude oil price as unrest in the Arab world triggered fresh protests in Iran. Nymex crude oil, which settled at US$99.63 a barrel on Tuesday, rose above US$100 per barrel early yesterday following reports of clashes between Iranian security forces and supporters of opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, who were arrested last week together with their wives.

Kencana and Dialog but AirAsia and MAS could see downside pressure due to the crude oil price and following the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) move to downgrade its airline industry outlook for 2011 to US$8.6 billion from the US$9.1 billion projected in December 2010.

Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) posted a RM10.1bil jump in net profit for its third quarter to RM23.7bil owing largely to proceeds from the listing of two subsidiaries on Bursa Malaysia but indicated high annual dividends to the Government will need to be cut in the future.

MMC Corp Bhd and Gamuda Bhd have entered into a shareholders agreement to regulate their rights and liabilities as shareholders of a company that will act as the project delivery partner for the Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) project.

Evermaster Group Bhd’s removal from the official list of Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd will be deferred until further notice by Bursa Malaysia.

Transmile Group Bhd has submitted an application to Bursa Malaysia to appeal against the latter's decision to delist the company, and to seek an extension of time to submit its regularisation plan. Meanwhile, the trading of Transmile shares will be suspended effective from March 2011 but the removal of the securities from the official list of Bursa Securities on March 7 will be deferred, pending the decision on the appeal.

Property developer SP Setia Bhd has bought 108.5ha of prime freehold land in Cyberjaya’s flagship zone for RM420.4mil from Setia Haruman Sdn Bhd.

Palm-to-property conglomerate Sime Darby Bhd said yesterday it has not entered into any agreement to invest in Cameroon oil palm plantations. The company was responding to a media report which said it was considering a US$2.5bil plantation expansion deal in the African nation.

Proton Holdings Bhd's endeavour to incorporate select technologies and manufacturing expertise from Nissan Motor Co could lead to potential cost savings in capital expenditure (capex) and research and development (R&D) for the national carmaker. OSK Research said the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed on Tuesday between Proton and Nissan to conduct feasibility studies to use the latter's platform and power train for upcoming Proton models would augur well for the national car company. “We believe that using Nissan's versatile platform and power train for Proton's upcoming global compact car will lighten the national carmaker's capex burden, given that such an endeavour can be costly (at least US$150mil to US$200mil),” OSK said in a report yesterday.

Axiata could be in focus after Celcom posted net profit after tax and minority interests of RM1.9 billion for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2010, which was an increase of 23% on-year. Its revenue rose 8.3% to RM6.85 billion. Celcom had allocated RM1 billion as capital expenditure to enhance network coverage capacity and quality of which 60% is for data and 40% for voice.

FBMKLCI 1562.94 DJ+34.43 CRUDE OIL 91.13 RM 3.05

Low Chuan Holdings Sdn Bhd (LCH), an indirect substantial shareholder of Asia Pacific Land Bhd (AP Land), has offered to acquire the entire business of the latter for 45 sen per share or RM305.22mil. The price represents a 9.8% premium over AP Land's last traded price of 41 sen on Monday. Trading in the company's shares were suspended yesterday and will resume today. The proposed acquisition would be settled via cash totalling RM201.5mil while the remaining RM103.7mil would be an amount owed to AP Land.

The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal by Telekom Malaysia Bhd and its unit TM Net Sdn Bhd over a  suit filed by Network Guidance Sdn Bhd in 2009 which was later amended to RM400 million. TM said the Court of Appeal dismissed with costs TM and TM Net Sdn Bhd’s appeal against the High Court’s decision dated Aug 9, 2010 to dismiss their application to strike-out Network Guidance's writ and amended statement of claim.

The first phase of Dialog Group’s RM5bn independent deepwater petroleum terminal in Johor, slated to be among the world's largest, will be completed by 2014, an official said. Dialog is leading a consortium, comprising the Johor state government and Dutch firm Vopak, in developing the terminal in Pengerang, south-east of Johor. Dialog's executive chairman Ngau Boon Keat said work on the project is expected to start this April. "We'll do it in three phases over seven years. The first, which we're targeting to complete by the end of 2013 or early 2014, will have 1.3 million cubic metres of storage capacity," he told reporters in Putrajaya yesterday.

LPI CAPITAL BHD posted net profit of RM36.94 million in the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2010, up 5.6% from the RM34.97 million a year ago, boosted by higher gross premium underwritten. Revenue rose 6.6% to RM190.74 million from RM178.88 million while net assets per share were RM5.26 versus RM6.54.

It also declared a second single tier interim dividend of 45 sen per share which will go ex on Jan 24 and entitlement date is Jan 26.

Sunway Holdings Bhd, via indirect subsidiary Sunway Developments Pte Ltd (SDPL), has been awarded a tender to jointly develop a parcel of land at Yuan Ching Road, Singapore, for a 103-year lease term at S$131.6mil (RM314.91mil). Hoi Hup, SDPL and SC Wong Holdings intend to incorporate a joint venture on a 60:30:10 basis to undertake the development of the land,” Sunway Holdings told Bursa Malaysia yesterday. The tender was awarded by the Housing and Development Board of Singapore, it said.

The tenders for the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) works will be called in April and awarded in May, according to the Land Public Transport Commission. The tenders will be called by Syarikat Prasarana Negara SB but the decision to award lies with the government with input provided parties like LPTC and the main contractor Gamuda-MMC Corp. “The final pathway for the three MRT lines are now being determined in the value management study, so the RM36.6bn project value figure could change as result. “The second and third routes will be announced in March when the urban rail development master plan is released,” said LPTC chief executive officer Mohd Nur Ismal Kamal.

Hap Seng Consolidated’s shares have come under selling pressure  as investors sold their shares after it announced a corporate exercise to raise RM1.5 billion. However, investors would now have to assess the fair value of the shares after the recent selldown.

SEG International Bhd is teaming up with Oakfine Development Sdn Bhd to expand the former’s business in Perak. Its unit SEGi University College (M) Sdn Bhd had entered into a heads of agreement with Oakfine for the proposed expansion. Oakfine plans to develop 60 acres of land in Hulu Kinta while SEGi group plans to expand its core business of providing educational and training services in Perak.

FBMKLCI 1572.21 DJ-22.55 CRUDE OIL 89.47 RM 3.04

Hap Seng plans to raise up to RM1.46 billion from a corporate exercise which includes RM808.21 million from a private placement and another RM654.54 million from a rights issue. The move would also build its war chest to undertake acquisitions. It had proposed to place out up to 124.53 million new shares at an issue price of RM6.49 per placement share which would raise RM808.21 million. It would also undertake a renounceable rights issue of up to 448.31 million new shares together with up to 448.31 million new free detachable warrants to raise RM654.54 million.

The locations of the 35 stations of the first mass rapid transit (MRT) line from Sg Buloh to Kajang are expected to be finalised between April and May, says Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) CEO, Mohd Nur Ismal Kamal. The line, with about 9.5km underground, will run through Sg Buloh, Kota Damansara, Kuala Lumpur, Cheras to Kajang. However, it was previously reported the alignment of the MRT may differ from what it was first proposed by MMC-Gamuda JV SB, the project delivery partner, as some highly busy hubs like Klang, Petaling Jaya and Shah Alam were not included in the initial MRT alignment.  

Guan Chong plans to raise up to RM120 million from the expected exercise price of RM2 for the 60 million free warrants. It had fixed the exercise price for the warrants at RM2, which was 9.29% or 17 sen over the theoretical ex-price after the proposed bonus issue of RM1.83 per share, based on the five-day volume weighted average price of RM2.44. Of the RM120 million, the proceeds would be used  for the day-to-day working capital requirements of the group.

KFC Holdings (Malaysia) Bhd (KFCH) plans to invest RM25 million to open 25 new outlets nationwide this year. Managing director Jamaludin Md Ali said out of the 15 of the KFC fast food restaurants will be drive-through outlets to provide more convenience to customers, he said. Currently, there were 520 KFC outlets including 40 drive-through outlets.

Johor Corp is considering selling various assets including some landbank, properties and plantation assets to partly repay its current RM3.6bn debt which is due for repayment in July next year. The state investment arm first plans to bring down the debt level of RM3.6bn to a “sustainable level” of between RM1bn and RM1.5bn following a debt restructuring exercise, its newly appointed president and chief executive Kamaruzzaman Abu Kassim said. That would mean that it needs to raise at least RM2.1bn by 2012. “About 70% (source of funding) for the RM2.1bn needed has already been identified and this includes selling some of our assets,” he said at a meeting with the media last Friday

FBMKCLI: 1488.54 DJ+150.91 CRUDE OIL 83.97 RM 3.103

Stocks ended Wednesday on a positive note after a batch of economic reports offered hope that the U.S. economy was improving. Incomes rose last month and consumer spending climbed for a fifth month. That raised hopes that shoppers will hit the malls in droves the day after Thanksgiving, the start of the holiday shopping season.

Masteel, the country's third largest steel bar maker by market share, may see revenue hitting the RM1 billion mark this year on the back of robust demand for steel billets and bars as well as firm selling prices, said its managing director cum CEO Datuk Sri Tai Hean Leng.

MISC Bhd posted a jump in net profit to RM369.4mil for the second quarter ended Sept 30, 2010 against RM82mil a year ago due to improved performance in the restructured liner business and increased profitability in the heavy engineering business.

MMC Corp Bhd’s net profit for the third quarter ended Sept 30 surged 32% to RM117.8mil from RM88.7mil a year ago due to better performance from some divisions.

Axiata Group Bhd posted a 27% increase in net profit to RM639.13mil for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2010 from RM503.66mil a year ago, driven by positive net profit contribution from Dialog Axiata Plc and Robi Axiata Ltd.

Sunway Holdings and SunCity will be merged under a proposed exercise undertaken by Sunway Sdn Bhd, which is controlled by Tan Sri Jeffrey Cheah Fook Ling. This would involve  RM4.5 billion in cash and share swap. The exercise entails Newco offering RM2.60 per Sunway share, RM1.50 per Sunway warrant and RM5.10 per SunCity share and RM1.29 per SunCity warrant.  

Naim Holdings’ earnings jumped 72% to RM36.94 million in the quarter ended Sept 30, 2010 from RM21.39 million a year ago mainly due to higher sales of PROPERTIES and substantial completion of certain CONSTRUCTION projects.

KNM Group Bhd saw its third quarter bottomline improve by 75% to RM56.09 million from RM31.92 million a year ago. Pre-tax profit was RM41.03 million while there was also tax incentive of RM19.54 million.

Bina Puri Holdings is teaming up with a Chinese association to develop a two acre site in Jalan Pasar, which guarantees investment return of RM40.6 million in 14 years.

Bina Puri will be investing RM16.0 million which is the estimated construction cost.

PLUS Expressways Bhd’s net profit for the third quarter ended Sept 30 rose 12% to RM349.7mil from RM311.6mil a year ago. The increase was primarily due to higher toll revenue mitigated by higher finance costs as well as amortisation and depreciation charges.