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  1508.88 DJ-228.48 CRUDE OIL 102.82 RM 3.00

Uncertainty in the economic recovery and higher fuel hedging entry cost are some of the reasons why Malaysia Airlines (MAS) drastically reduced its fuel hedging levels this year to 25% from 60% last year. “The hedging range in the airline industry has been lower since 2008 due to the uncertainty in economic recovery, fuel price volatility and the higher fuel hedging entry cost,” MAS chief financial officer Mohd Azha Abdul Jalil told StarBiz in an email response.

Ahmad Zaki Resources Bhd has received a letter of award from the Public Works Department to complete the remaining works of the second phase of the East Coast Expressway.

KNM Group Bhd has set an internal target of potential earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of RM363 million for FY11 against expected total revenue of RM2.4 billion. It said the potential EBITDA for FY12 was RM564 million on the back of an expected revenue of RM3.4 billion.

HONG LEONG BANK BHD [] has received approval for its proposed issue of up to US$300 million senior unsecured bonds from the Securities Commission. “The proceeds from the issuance of the senior bonds will be used for working capital and general banking purposes,” it said.

GEFUNG HOLDINGS BHD [] is making its foray into Indonesia and is planning to undertake a mixed development property project in east of Jakarta. Gefung said on Thursday, March 10 it had signed an MoU with PT Greenworld Development to undertake the project totaling 50.74 acres east of Jakarta.

FBMKLCI 1511.11 DJ- 107.01 CRUDE OIL 98.90 RM 3.02

It may not be the time for bargain hunting yet as there is more downside to the local stock market due to negative external factors. Investors appeared to be staying at the sidelines yesterday with only 1.7 billion shares being traded compared to the average daily volume of more than 2 billion at the start of the year. The local benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI had yesterday shed more than 10 points in intra-day trading before finishing at 1,511.11, 2.52 points or 0.17% lower, dragged down mostly by plantation stocks affected by lower crude palm oil prices.

PLUS Expressway Bhd, the country's biggest toll road operator, obtained its shareholders' approval yesterday for the RM23 billion takeover bid by its major shareholders UEM Group Bhd and the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), despite over 100 minority shareholders claiming the EGM was "illegal" and walking out halfway.

Telecommunications service provider Axiata Group Bhd posted a net loss of RM367mil for the fourth quarter (Q4) ended Dec 31, 2010, due to impairment loss on its investment in an India-based associate. This compared with a net profit of RM558mil for the corresponding period last year.

Multi-Purpose Holdings Bhd (MPHB), which has businesses from gaming to stockbroking, recorded improved results in the continuing operations of the company despite the lower net profit for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2010.

Plantation firm TSH Resources Bhd’s net profit for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2010, surged 115.98% to RM44.22mil compared with the previous corresponding quarter mainly due to higher contributions from Indonesian operations.

Star Publications (M) Bhd’s net profit for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2010 (FY10) rose 27.80% to RM184.94mil on revenue that gained 9.01% to RM1.06bil.

Hong Leong Bank Bhd’s (HLB) net profit for the second quarter ended Dec 31, 2010 rose to RM291.43mil from RM224.75mil a year ago while revenue increased to RM603.96mil from RM519.40mil previously.

Transmile Group Bhd faces suspension and delisting from March 3 and March 7 respectively for failing to submit a regularisation plan to the Securities Commission or Bursa Malaysia for approval by Feb 22.

PETRA ENERGY BHD [] is likely to post losses for the fourth quarter of 2010 even with crude oil prices around US$100 again.

Genting Bhd’s net profit surged 89.6% to RM465.43 million in the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2010 from RM245.4 million a year ago. Revenue rose 76% to RM4.086 billion from RM2.320 billion. Earnings per share were 12.57 sen compared with 6.64 sen while it proposed a final dividend of 4.5 sen. It said the higher revenue was mainly from the leisure and hospitality division with the commencement of operations of Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore, during the first quarter of 2010. As for FY10, its earnings rose 110.9% to RM2.202 billion from RM1.044 billion while revenue surged 71% to RM15.194 billion from RM8.893

billion. Group revenue rose by 71% to record a new high of RM15.19 billion in FY2010 (FY2009: RM8.89 billion), while group profit before tax rose by 74% to post a new high of RM4.39 billion in FY2010 (FY2009: RM2.53 billion).

IJM Corp’s earnings rose 58% to RM132.19m in the third quarter ended Dec 31, 2010 from RM83.64 million a year ago, boosted by its property and PLANTATION []s sector. Revenue dipped 3.7% to RM901.34 million from RM936.31 million. Earnings per share were 9.78 sen compared with 6.32 sen. IJM said the lower revenue was mainly due to mainly to the CONSTRUCTION [] and property divisions.

Kossan’s net profit for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2010 rose 21.4% to RM29.45 million from RM24.25 million a year ago, driven by the expansion in the company’s gloves division with better product mix and margin. Revenue rose 11% to RM252.97 million from RM227.75 million. Earnings per share were 9.18 sen while net assets per share was RM1.40. For the financial year ended Dec 31, 2010, Kossan’s net profit recorded an increase of 76.1% to RM118.59 million from RM67.33 million a year ago. Revenue rose 24.6% to RM1.05 billion from RM842.14 million.

Tan Chong’s net profit for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2010 rose 21.8% to RM52.07 million from RM42.73 million a year earlier, boosted by across the board price discounting to clear 2010 inventories ahead of new model introductions in 2011. Revenue for the quarter rose 16% to RM835.36 million from RM720.19 million a year ago. Earnings per share were 7.98 sen, while net assets per share was RM2.57.