FBMKLCI 1579.84 DJ-54.49 CRUDE OIL 96.30 RM 2.9730

Daya Materials Bhd has secured a RM120 million contract from B Braun Medical Industries Sdn Bhd to build a new six-storey building in Bayan Lepas, Penang. Daya’s unit Daya CMT Sdn Bhd was awarded the contract on June 22 and it involved building a one-storey utility plant rooms, a building for multi-level parking and a two storey multi-purpose building.

Hua Yang’s net profit for the first quarter ended June 30, 2011 surged 133% to RM11.48 million from RM4.91 million a year earlier, due mainly to higher sales achieved. Revenue for the quarter rose 66% to RM61.75 million from RM37.22 million. Earnings per share were 10.63 sen while net assets per share were RM2.15. Hua Yang also proposed a bonus issue of 36 million shares on a one-for-three basis. The company expects the corporate exercise to be completed in the second half of 2011.

Tradewinds Plantation, which had proposed to acquire Mardec Bhd, plans to build an integrated rubber-city in Kota Putra in Kedah, possibly a year from now. Bernama reports its CEO Chan Seng Fatt as saying the integrated rubber city, which is set to provide a free trade rubber area would attract foreign investors to the country.

Dialog Group Bhd’s unit has proposed to acquire a 51% stake in India’s Anewa Engineering Private Ltd for RM7.88 million which would further provides access to new customers in various parts of the world namely in the Middle East and India. It said on Thursday, July 14 Anewa is an outsourcing company that provides engineering design to customers, mainly multinational companies in India, Middle East and Southeast Asia in the oil, gas and petrochemical industry.

Atlan Bhd posted net profit of RM92.35 million in the first quarter ended May 31, 2011 from RM24.21 million a year ago, boosted by sale of several pieces of land. Its revenue was marginally higher at RM177.29 million from RM175.96 million a year ago while earnings per share were 36.60 sen compared with 10.05 sen. The earnings were boosted the sale of six pieces of land measuring 43.95 acres in Penang by its unit Blossom Time Sdn Bhd for  RM104.42 million and a piece of land measuring 17.08 acres in Penang also for RM40.58 million

AirAsia is likely to have a joint venture with Japan's largest carrier - All Nippon Airways (ANA) - to set up a low cost airline likely to be called AirAsia Japan. An announcement on the collaboration is expected to be made next week and it would involve the setting up of a low cost carrier (LCC) and a hub in Japan by AirAsia. The LCC will serve the domestic market and eventually regional markets, sources say.

FBMKLCI 1556.42 DJ-279.65 CRUDE OIL100.13 RM2.9770

The potential merger of either Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) or CIMB Group Holdings Bhd with RHB Capital Bhd would bring the new enlarged entity not too far behind some of the largest banks in the region. The top regional banks in Asean include three Singapore banks DBS Group Holdings Ltd, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp Ltd (OCBC) and United Overseas Bank Ltd (UOB) with market capitalisation of US$27.7bil, US$25.7bil and US$24.5bil respectively. While in terms of asset size, the Singapore banks remain at the top, a Maybank-RHB Cap merger could overtake DBS Group in terms of combined market capitalisation with US$28.8bil. The potential merger of CIMB-RHB, on the other hand, would see a combined market capitalisation of US$27.3bil, just marginally below DBS but would overtake both OCBC and UOB. In terms of asset size, DBS, OCBC and UOB stand at US$238bil, US$198.4bil and US$178.8bil respectively.

Following the dismissal of Primus (M) Sdn Bhd's petition against the sale of EON Capital Bhd (EON Cap) to Hong Leong Bank Bhd (HLB), Primus now has to pay RM1.9mil in court costs. High Court Judicial Commissioner Varghese George Varughese ordered Primus to pay the sum to the 13 respondents in its suit EON Cap and nine of its board members, and three entities controlled by two of those board members.

Sarawak Energy Bhd (SEB), which will have the rights to the Bakun dam's power at a rate of 6.25 sen per kwh, has a firm utilisation rate of 50% from its four customers. The electricity from the Bakun dam which is priced at 6.25 sen/kwh with an annual hike of 1.5% under a power purchase agreement (PPA) between Sarawak Hidro Sdn Bhd and Syarikat Sesco Bhd confirmed a StarBiz report yesterday. StarBiz quoted sources saying the rate represented the cheapest tariff in Asian history but would be escalating at 1.5% per annum for 30 years.

SapuraCrest Petroleum Bhd (SapCrest) has signed an agreement with Real Mild Sdn Bhd and Labuan Shipyard and Engineering Sdn Bhd (LSE) for the subscription of 25 million new shares in LSE. The shares, according to SapCrest in a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday represented a 50% stake of the enlarged share capital of LSE.

Oil and gas services provider Dialog Group Bhd has entered into a joint-venture agreement with Vopak Terminal Pengerang BV, a unit of the Royal Vopak group, for the development of an independent deepwater petroleum terminal at Pengerang, Johor worth RM5bil. The company told Bursa Malaysia yesterday that both parties had set up a joint-venture company - Pengerang Terminals Sdn Bhd - in which Dialog would hold a 51% stake and Royal Vopak the remainder.

Water concessionaire Puncak Niaga Holdings Bhd is expected to register a loss this financial year following the adoption of a new accounting treatment that requires certain charges to be capitalised as intangible assets and amortised. Managing director Datuk Hashim Mahfar said in a statement yesterday that the IC Interpretation 12-Service Concession Arrangements, which were retrospective, had also resulted in a drop in shareholders' funds from RM1.5bil to RM35.6mil. However, Puncak Niaga has obtained a conditional waiver from being categorised a PN17 company until the announcement of its second-quarter results for the period ending June 30, 2012. (Under Bursa Malaysia rules, that would have been the case if a company's shareholders' funds fell below RM40mil).

Benalec expects to realise a net gain of RM34.93 million from the completion of separate agreements its units have entered for the disposal of land and joint venture for a mixed property development. Benalec on June 1 said its subsidiaries Sentosacove Development Sdn Bhd and Orientalcove Realty Sdn Bhd had entered into a sale and purchase agreement and joint venture agreement with Vista Selesa Development Sdn Bhd, respectively.

CBIP is selling its entire equity interests in Sachiew PLANTATION []s Sdn Bhd and Empressa (M) Sdn Bhd for a total of RM268.06 million. Sachiew is principally involved in the cultivation of oil palm and production of crude palm oil and palm kernel, while Empressa engages in the cultivation of oil palm and the operation of a palm oil mill. CBIP said the gross proceeds of RM268.06 million from the disposal would be utilised for its working capital including for financing receivables, inventories, and repayment of bank borrowings.

Bina Puri’s 80%-indirect owned subsidiary PT Megapower Makmur has received two contracts from PT PLN (PERSERO) to operate power plants in Indonesia.

FBMKLCI 1536.03 DJ-130.33 CRUDE OIL 99.04 RM 2.9460

Oil and gas (O&G) stocks rose yesterday on the local bourse as several O&G service providers are expected to benefit from a multi-billion ringgit downstream project to be announced on Friday by the Government, and the gains in these stocks were also in line with the rise seen on the broader market.

Trading in ACE Market-listed Ecofuture Bhd’s shares will be suspended from May 10 until further notice due to the company’s failure to submit its audited accounts for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2010.

Soon-to-be listed property developer UOA Development Bhd signed a retail underwriting agreement with its underwriters, ahead of its initial public offering (IPO) on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia next month.

UOA has received approval from the Securities Commission for the proposed listing of its entire enlarged issued and paid-up share capital of up to 1.2 billion 5 sen shares. The IPO consists of an institutional offering of up to of 337 million shares to Malaysian and foreign institutional and selected investors (including bumiputra investors approved by the International Trade and Industry Ministry) and a retail offering of 70 million shares to the Malaysian public, eligible directors and employees of UOA Development, its subsidiaries and persons who have contributed to the success of UOA and its subsidiaries.

Malaysia Building Society Bhd (MBSB) posted net profit of RM68.28 million in the first quarter ended March 31, 2011 compared with RM43.19 million a year ago. Revenue was RM311.63 million compared with RM169.12 million. For the three months ended March 31, 2011, MBSB group achieved a pre-tax profit of RM91.0 million, up 111% from RM43.2 million a year ago.

Petronas Gas Bhd posted a 11.09% increase in revenue to RM891.19mil on the back of a 32.41% increase in net profit to RM266.66mil for the fourth quarter to March 31, 2011. Earnings per share increased to 13.48 sen from 10.18 sen. The better results were due to higher gas transportation revenue and utilities sales, Petronas Gas said in a statement.

Wah Seong Corp Bhd (WSC) has proposed to demerge the oil and gas businesses currently held under its wholly-owned Wasco Energy Ltd (WEL). In a filing to Bursa Malaysia, Wah Seong said that the proposed demerger was to enable WEL and its subsidiaries to operate as a separate and fast-growing public-listed entity. It added that a proposed listing of WEL on the Main Market of Bursa Securities would be sought in conjunction with the proposed demerger. “The proposed demerger will provide a platform for the respective entities to pursue a different and more tailored business strategy for each division. This in return will allow the respective entities to accelerate its growth through explicit management directions and accountability for each individual entity,” Wah Seong explained in its statement.

Petra Perdana Bhd has secured a total of RM73mil worth of new charter contracts for three mid-size anchor-handling tug supply (AHTS) vessels. The company said in a statement that in the first contract, a 12,000 brake horse power (bhp) AHTS was on a six-month charter from May 1 for deployment in Labuan.

MISC posted net loss of RM307.88 million in the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2011 after it made impairment provisions totaling RM456.65 million. The poor financial performance was a sharp contrast from the net profit of RM196.43 million a year ago when the provisions for impairments were sharply lower at RM49.58 million. MISC said its revenue was lower at RM2.924 billion compared with RM3.31 billion a year ago. Loss per share was 6.9 sen compared with earnings per share of 5.10 sen.

Dialog Group’s net profit for the third quarter ended March 31, 2011 rose 20.4% to RM38.34 million from RM31.84 million a year earlier, due mainly to higher contribution from its engineering and CONSTRUCTION [], and plant maintenance activities in Malaysia and Singapore. Revenue rose to RM301.16 million from RM282.77 million. Earnings per share were 1.95 sen while net asset per share was 28.46 sen. Dialog declared a interim single-tier cash dividend  of 1.3 sen per share in respect of the financial year ending June 30, 2011.

Wah Seong’s net profit for the first quarter ended March 31, 2011 surged to RM43.37 million from RM17.02 million a year ago, due to increasing activities recorded in all divisions of the group, especially in the pipeline services division. Its revenue for the quarter increased  by 19.8% to 490.89 million from RM409.62 million. Earnings per share were 5.83 sen while net asset per share was RM1.31.

FBMKLCI 1523.37 DJ+75.68 CRUDE OIL104.52 RM2.9570

Investors can look forward to two large initial public offerings (IPOs) coming on board the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia in the second half of this year. One is UOA Development Bhd, which is expected to be listed in June, with a potential market capitalisation of RM3bil. The other is Axis Global Islamic Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), a unit of Axis REIT Management Sdn Bhd. It is set to be the world's largest Islamic REIT, also valued at some RM3bil once it is listed.

Dialog Group Bhd said it was still bidding with potential Australian partner Roc Oil Co Ltd for contracts pertaining to Petroliam Nasional Bhd's (Petronas) marginal oilfield developments. The company told Bursa Malaysia yesterday that Roc Oil was its business partner and was presently tendering for upstream oil and gas prospects in Malaysia with the possibility of a joint venture between the two companies if the tender was successful. “To date, Dialog and Roc Oil are still in the bidding process and have not entered into a joint-venture agreement and neither parties have received any letter of intent for marginal oilfield projects from Petronas,” it said.

Maybank is raising its deposit and base lending rates effective Wednesday. Its deposit rates will be revised upwards by up to 30 basis points, while its base lending rate (BLR) will be increased by 30 basis points from 6.30% per annum to 6.60% per annum.

RHB Bank Bhd is also raising the BLR from 6.30% per annum to 6.60% per annum, effective Wednesday.

Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) will announce on Friday plans to invest around RM50bil in an integrated downstream oil and gas complex in Pengerang, Johor, reliable sources said.

Shell Refining posted net profit of RM135.54 million in the first quarter ended March 31, 2011, up 131% from RM58.61 million a year ago. Revenue increased by 29% to RM3.20 billion from RM2.48 billion while earnings per share were 45.18c versus 19.54 sen a year ago. Shell Refining reported after tax stockholding gains of RM153 million for 1Q11.

Hartalega’s net profit for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2011 rose 12.9% to RM52.39 million from RM46.41 million a year ago, driven by continuous expansion in production capacity, increase in demand, effective cost control and improvement in production processes. Revenue for the quarter was up 17.8% to RM192.52 million from RM163.39 million. Earnings per share were 14.41 sen while net assets per share was RM1.36.

HONG LEONG BANK BHD [] has proposed to increase the size of the renounceable rights issue by RM1 billion from RM1.6 billion to RM2.6 billion to further strengthen its capital base and for working capital purposes. HONG LEONG FINANCIAL GROUP BHD [] is providing a RM2.3 billion loan Hong Leong Bank to assist it with its risk weighted capital adequacy ratio (RWCAR).

FBMKLCI 1519.41 DJ+45.94 CRUDE OIL101.37 RM 2.9570

The ringgit, Asia's best performing currency since last year, is expected to strengthen further on the weakness of the US and its economy. RAM Holdings Bhd group chief economist Dr Yeah Kim Leng said the Government was on the right track in raising the overnight policy rate (OPR), which would increase the likelihood of the ringgit strengthening further. He said the ringgit would strengthen to RM2.90 to the US dollar by year-end because the growth prospects in the United States' economy were still dim. “The dollar will continue to decline as it is still mired in its housing and financial bubble,” Yeah told a media briefing following the rating agency's AGM yesterday.

Airport operator Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) would likely see passenger volume grow at a slower pace between 7% and 8% this year, after posting a 12.7% growth last year driven by growth in international and domestic passengers. Although MAHB recorded a 12% passenger volumes growth in the first quarter of this year, its passenger movement could soften in the coming quarters as full service carriers feel the effects of higher oil prices, said analysts. “However, MAHB's passenger growth is projected to remain relatively resilient as the airport should also capture the shift in passenger traffic from full service to low cost flights. We nudged down our passenger growth projection to 7% this year (from 8%) after taking into account the potentially adverse impact of higher fares - in view of high oil prices on travel demand,” HwangDBS Vickers Research said in a report mid last month.

three questions about TCUBES being hotly debated about:

Why did Commerce Technology Ventures (CTV), a long time investor in Tricubes, sell 14.5 million shares (which amounted to most of its shareholding in Tricubes) from April 24 to 27, days after details of its involvement in the 1Malaysia email project were revealed?

Was the Performance Management & Delivery Unit (Pemandu) right to spend all that money in two full page advertorials that appeared last week, to defend the 1Malaysia email project, considering that the project is a private sector initiative by Tricubes?

Are Tricubes shares a good buy now, considering that its share price has retreated somewhat over the last few days?

http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/5/10/business/8649761&sec=business

Ajiya Bhd will invest RM15mil this year to expand operations at its four metal roll forming and safety glass processing plants in Malaysia. Managing director Chan Wah Kiang said the move would further strengthen its position as the leading player in the metal roll and safety glass processing activities in the region. The plants are located in Senai, Johor; Shah Alam, Selangor; Bukit Minyak in Penang and Sungai Petani in Kedah. Demand would come from several upcoming redevelopment projects in Kuala Lumpur, the Riverside City project in the Klang Valley, the Greater Kuala Lumpur and Iskandar Malaysia, he said.

Berjaya Capital Bhd (BCapital) yesterday entered into a share purchase agreement with Sompo Japan Asia Holdings Pte Ltd (SJAH) for the proposed disposal of its 40% stake in Berjaya Sompo Insurance Bhd (B-Sompo) for RM496mil cash. Berjaya Corp said the consideration of RM496mil or about RM10.51 per B-Sompo sale share represented a price-to-book ratio of about 3.3 times based on the latest audited net asset per B-Sompo share as at April 30, 2010 of RM3.18, a premium of RM7.34 above the audited net tangible asset per B-Sompo share as at April 30, 2010 of RM3.17. It is also a price-earnings multiple of 16.49 times based on the latest audited net earnings per B-Sompo share for the financial year ended April 30, 2010 of 63.7 sen. The proposed disposal is expected to be completed this year.

Dialog Group and its Australian partner Roc Oil are said to be on the verge of bagging the marginal oilfield projects from Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) for Balai and Bentara fields, located off the coast of Sarawak.

Bertam Alliance’s unit has inked a joint development agreement for a mixed development project of residential and commercial shoplots in Johor with a gross development value (GDV) estimated at no less than RM400 million.

KrisAssets posted net profit of RM35.44 million in the first quarter ended March 31, 2011, which was a 31.2% increase from the RM27.01 million a year ago, mainly due to higher total rental income and lower finance and utility costs in the current quarter. Revenue increased by 7.7% to RM63.46 million from RM58.89 million. Earnings per share were 8.17 sen compared with 8.02 sen.

V.S. Industry Bhd (VSI) unit V.S. Plus Sdn Bhd has been appointed by US-based Keurig Incorporated (Keurig) as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) partner to produce Keurig’s Single-Cup coffee brewers. V.S. Plus would begin manufacturing Keurig branded single-cup brewers as well as some system-related accessories at a new plant that was acquired in October 2010 for RM12.3 million. Keurig is a unit of NASDAQ-listed Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc., a company involved in specialty coffee and coffeemakers in the US.

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 1506.30 DJ+61.52 CRUDE OIL 88.15 RM 3.022

Petronas Dagangan Bhd net profit rose 26% to RM236.2mil in the third quarter ended Dec 31, 2010 from RM187.2mil in the same period last year on lower operating expenditures.

 

AirAsia may get new A320s only after 2016
PETALING JAYA: Low-cost carrier AirAsia Bhd will likely only take delivery of new, more fuel-efficient Airbus 320 planes after 2016, according to analysts, commenting on news reports from Paris that it was in talks with aircraft manufacturer Airbus SAS to buy upgraded A320 planes.

 

IOI Corp Bhd’s net profit rose 12.8% to RM520.2mil in the second quarter ended Dec 31, 2010 compared with RM461.2mil in the previous corresponding period mainly on higher contribution from its plantation and property divisions. Revenue was RM3.97 billion compared to RM3.06 billion in 2009, while earnings per share was 8.15 sen. Net assets per share was RM1.73. IOI Corp declared an interim single tier tax-exempt dividend of 80% or 8.0 sen per ordinary share of 10 sen each in respect of the financial year ending June 30, 2011. In the 2Q ended Dec 31, 2010, total fair value losses on derivative contracts recognised were about RM73 million. For the six months ended Dec 31, IOI Corp net profit rose to RM1.02 billion from RM939.59 million, on the back of revenue RM7.49 billion. IOI Corp’s plantation segment reported a 14% increase in operating profit to RM363.7 million for 2QFY2011 as compared to RM319.9 million a year ago.

Dialog’s earnings rose 25.7% to RM35.99 million in the second quarter ended Dec 31, 2010 from RM28.63 million a year ago, due mainly to higher contribution from its engineering and CONSTRUCTION [] and plant maintenance activities in Malaysia and Singapore. Revenue slipped 2.5% to RM268.53 million from RM275.57 million in 2009. Earnings per share were 1.84 sen while net assets per share were 26.3 sen.

For the six months, earnings rose 24.3% to RM69.09 million from RM55.56 million. Revenue declined 8.9% to RM532.33 million from RM584.42 million.

Amway’s net profit rose 12.5% to RM18.32 million in the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2010 from RM16.28 million a year ago, year mainly due to the increase in sales revenue. Revenue rose to RM184.1 million from RM171.89 million mainly due to an increase in the distributors’ productivity after implementing the sales and marketing programme, effort index adjustment and the distributor price increase implemented in first half of the year. Earnings per share were 11.14 sen while net asset per share was RM1.28. It declared a fourth interim single tier dividend of 9.0 sen net per share. For the financial year ended Dec 31, 2010, it posted net profit RM78.32 million on the back of revenue RM719.41 million.

Green Packet Bhd posted net loss of RM77.68 million in the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2010, which was lower compared with the RM100.71 million a year ago. Revenue rose 58% to RM116.25 million from RM73.54 million, loss per share was 11.8 sen compared with 15.3 sen. However, the loss from continuing operations were RM100.11 million compared with RM103.82 million a year ago. For FY10, it managed to reduce its net loss to RM134.97 million from RM182.64 million in FY09, while revenue increased 80.8% to RM393.97 million from RM217.81 million. Loss from continuing operations increased to RM209.67 million from RM187.41 million in FY09. Green Packet’s total group accumulated losses increased to RM274.67 million as at Dec 31, 2010 from RM196.53 million as at Sept 30, 2010.

Airports operator Malaysia Airports Holding Bhd’s net profit fell 29% to RM100.04 million for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2010 from RM140.97 million a year ago. MAHB said the decline was mainly due to the adoption of FRS 139 resulting in the higher share of losses in an associate company. However, the concession payable by the associate company was recognised at fair value and subsequently at amortised cost. Gains and losses arising from the changes in the fair value were recognised in the income statement.

Its 4Q revenue rose to RM494.37 million from RM476.84 million a year ago, while earnings per share were 9.15 sen. Net assets per share was RM2.99.

ZELAN BHD  recorded negative revenue from its continuing operations in Indonesia totaling RM39.2 million in the third quarter ended Dec 31, 2010 and warned of more losses in the current fourth quarter.

Explaining the negative revenue, Zelan said this was due to a reversal made on the revenue recognised earlier as a result of additional foreseeable losses for the Indonesian project. It said net losses for the 3Q were RM41.29 million compared with RM60.38 million. Loss per share was 7.33 sen versus 10.72 sen.

“The group recorded a loss after tax from continuing operations of RM40.5 million as compared to RM64.4 million losses in the preceding year’s quarter,” it said.

Tambun Indah had proposed to acquire three companies for RM11.6 million, which would increase the group’s GDV by RM245 million to RM1.4 billion to last till 2016. “The group expects contributions of RM38.7 million in pre-tax profits over development period from FY2011 to FY2014,” it said.

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 1485.42 DJ +249.76 CRUDE OIL 86.57 RM 3.13

Time dotCom Bhd (TdC) has extended its high-speed fibre connection to another 30,000 premises in a bid to expand its existing broadband subscription base of around 10,000 in the corporate and retail segment.

KNM Group Bhd’s wholly-owned subsidiary, KNM International Sdn Bhd, has entered into a shareholders agreement with Aveng (Africa) Ltd set up a joint-venture company in South Africa.49.9%:50.1% basis.

Perodua remains unconvinced a merger with rival Proton Holdings Bhd would be in its best interest after a study of a possible merger of both national car companies was completed. Managing director Datuk Aminar Rashid Salleh, who said Perodua had not been briefed on the findings of the study undertaken by Frost & Sullivan, reiterated the stance of the company it's not keen to pursue a merger.

Petronas Gas has signed a heads of agreement with its parent company Petronas to develop liquefied natural gas (LNG) re-gasification facilities and supply LNG to the latter. In an announcement to Bursa Malaysia yesterday, PGas said the re-gasification facility would be located in the vicinity of Sungai Udang Port in Melaka encompasses two floating storage unit (FSU) to receive and store LNG, an island jetty and re-gasification units and subsea and onshore pipelines to pipe the gas to the Peninsular Gas Utilisation (PGU) pipeline network.


Cahya Mata Sarawak, through 51%-owned subsidiary CMS Land SB, has signed a joint-venture agreement to build, own and manage a four-star hotel and service apartments at the Kuching Isthmus in Sarawak. The building, comprising 381 hotel rooms and 96 service apartments, will cost about RM380m, including outfitting, furniture, fittings and equipment, but excluding financing costs and contingencies.

 

Dialog Group is acquiring a 90% stake in Fitzroy Engineering Group (FEGL), one of New Zealand’s largest heavy fabrication and multi-disciplined engineering companies, for RM31.7m (NZD13.5m) cash. The company said yesterday that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Dialog System (Asia) (DSAPL), had entered into a conditional sale and purchase agreement with Peter Clayton White-Robinson to acquire a 90% stake representing 2.38m shares.