FBMKLCI 1535.30 DJ+72.35 CRUDE OIL 112.43 RM 2.9340

Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) has jumped 159 spots to rank as the 550th biggest company in the world, according to this year’s list of Forbes Global 2000. Of the 20 Malaysian companies on the list, TNB was placed third with sales of US$9.6bil (RM28.4bil), assets of US$23.6bil (RM70bil) and market value of US$11.1bil (RM32.9bil).

The suit by Primus Pacific Partners Ltd's Malaysian unit against certain shareholders and directors of EON Capital Bhd (EON Cap) over the proposed sale of the latter to Hong Leong Bank Bhd (HLB) has been dismissed with costs. In his 100-page decision which took about one-and-a-half hours to deliver, Judicial Commissioner Varghese George Varughese held that petitioner Primus (M) Sdn Bhd had failed to prove the so-called complaints that formed the foundation of the petition against nine board members of EON Cap and three entities controlled by Rin Kei Mei and Tan Sri Tiong Hiew King, who are the shareholders in the banking group.

Sabah-based plywood, veneer and laminated veneer lumber (LVL) manufacturer Focus Lumber Bhd, which made its debut on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia yesterday, was the most actively traded stock and closed with a 97% premium at RM1.18.

Transmile Group Bhd told Bursa Malaysia yesterday that it had to change the way its accounts were prepared for the quarter ended Dec 31 last year due to a material deviation of more than 10% of its financial results. It said that its unaudited financial results released on Feb 22 was prepared on a going-concern basis as it had been optimistic that the lenders would support its debt-restructuring scheme. However, after a dialogue, “the lenders were still uncompromising on their demands for full repayment and disagreed to waive their rights to the corporate guarantee given by Trasmile to the lenders.”

SEGi net profit for the first quarter ended March 31, 2011 surged 90.5% to RM18.12 million from RM9.51 million a year ago due to the increase in student enrolments at its institutions. Revenue for the quarter rose to RM68.47 million from RM52.29 million in 2010. Earnings per share were 7.35 sen, while net asset per share was 77.2 sen.

Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) is revising its passenger traffic volume target to 72 million for 2014, from 60 million earlier under its five-year plan. Managing director Tan Sri Bashir Ahmad Abdul Majid said passenger growth at KLIA has been very promising and it should be able to hit its initial 60 million passengers target by 2011. “The growth so far as been good as indicated by the traffic in the first three months of the year. We are definitely on track,” he said. Under the five-year plan, MAHB is also targeting to achieve an earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation and returns on equity of RM1 billion and 10% respectively under its five-year plan that expires in 2014.

 

FBMKLCI 1530.67 DJ+14.16 CRUDE OIL109.19  RM 2.9955

SP Setia Bhd is making its maiden venture into Singapore. The developer has proposed the purchase of 27 strata units in Leong Bee Court for S$65 million (RM159 million) with the plan to redevelop the property, currently comprising flats, into residential apartments.

 

Proton Holdings Bhd’s unit Lotus Cars Ltd will sign an agreement on syndicated financing with CIMB Bank, Maybank, OCBC, EON Bank, Exim Bank and Affin Bank on Friday.

SEG International Bhd is teaming up with Chung Cheong University in South Korea to train and place nurses and allied health professionals in the US, Canada and Europe. SEGi said the academic collaboration was expected to contribute an increase in earnings of approximately 4% to the group for FY ending Dec 31, 2011.

IJM Land Bhd’s additional 229.88 million new shares will be granted listing and quotation with effect from 9am on Monday, April 18. The new shares arose from the conversion of RM400 million nominal value of 10 year 3% coupon redeemable convertible unsecured loan stocks (RCULS)by IJM Corp Bhd.

NAIM HOLDINGS BHD disposed of two million shares in DAYANG ENTERPRISE HOLDINGS BHD on April 13, reducing its stake to 34.17% or 187.94 million shares.

YTL Corp is on an acquisition trail which could see it buying back its own subsidiaries, if no other attractive opportunities emerge. Managing director Tan Sri Francis Yeoh said its current balance sheet position and promise of higher dividends from its subsidiaries has put it in a position to be able to look at mergers and acquisitions efficiently. He expects subsidiaries such as YTL Power International and YTL Cement to announce some RM1bn dividends to its parent for the financial year ending 30 June, 2011. YTL Land & Development is expected to start paying dividends next year after wiping out its losses.

National carrier Malaysia Airlines (MAS) is expected to fork out some USD2.4bn (RM7.3bn) over the next four years for the purchase of 15 new A330-300 airplanes, in line with its fleet renewal exercise as well as its effort to trim down operational cost. With a list price of USD16m per aircraft, managing director and chief executive officer Tengku Datuk Seri Azmil Zahruddin said the new and improved A330-300 is expected to reduce fuel consumption and lower its operational costs by 15% through efficient management of fuel consumption and maintenance programmes, incorporating Airbus’ latest technology and design.

 

Water bondholders are not accepting any haircut in the potential Government buyback of the financially-troubled bonds, according to sources. Against the point that bondholders had, in the first place, undertaken a risky investment that had not performed, the counter argument is that bondholders had played their part in the privatisation and socio-economic development of the country. Hence, the subtle message might be that they expected the Federal Government to honour the payments in full, especially if they were to continue to support further privatisation projects, analysts said. If Pengurusan Aset Air (PAAB), the Government's water asset management company with large coffers, stepped in to buy over the bonds, there might not be a need for a haircut, they added. A haircut occurs if the face value of the bonds decreases. So far, the outstanding water bonds that are rated, excluding the ones issued by PAAB, amount to RM6.7bn out of the total issued of RM9.02bn.

 

FBMKLCI 1513.84 DJ+84.54 CRUDE OIL 105.47 RM 2.9980

SEGi said it has set a dividend policy to distribute a minimum of 50% of the group net profits to its shareholders, with effect from the financial year ending Dec 31, 2011. SEGi said the board believes that the dividend payout of a minimum of 50% of its net profits is within the group’s financial capability considering its future earnings growth.

Both Axiata Group Bhd and Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) have barred Alcatel-Lucent from participating in tenders, contracts or joint ventures for a year following the call from Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). “Alcatel-Lucent welcomes the MACC recommendation and is committed to earning back our customers' trust,” it said in a statement in response to the 12-month suspension.  Axiata said the suspension runs for 12 months from Feb 18 while TM's suspension was effective Jan 5.

Gamuda’s  net profit for the second quarter ended Jan 31, 2011 rose 19.6% to RM94.03 million from RM78.63 million a year earlier, mainly due to higher contributions from all its divisions. Revenue rose marginally to RM607.19 million from RM603.24 million. Earnings per share were 4.59 sen, while net asset per share was RM1.74.For the six months ended Jan 31, Gamuda’s net profit rose to RM182.56 million from RM152.66 million in 2010.

Ramunia's net profit for the first quarter ended Jan 31, 2011 fell to RM1.1 million from RM3.42 million a year earlier due mainly to the tail end of the remaining projects billings and lower operating income. Revenue slumped to RM1.36 million from RM15.85 million in 2010. Earnings per share were 0.17 sen while net assets per share was 25.1 sen. Reviewing its results and commenting on its prospects, Ramunia said it was finalising its PN 17 regularisation plan.

Digistar, it said with the secured order book of RM102 million, it is in the midst of tendering and bidding of additional of RM130 million worth of contract and project of broadcasting jobs in Malaysia. “The company is in the view that, once secure with additional contracts, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the expectation in rise of additional revenue in FY2011 shall increase around 30% to 40%, if compared to recorded revenue of RM73 million in FY10,” it said in reply to a query from Bursa Securities.

Eastern & Oriental Bhd’s (E&O) wholly-owned subsidiaries E&O Property Development Bhd and Samudra Pelangi Sdn Bhd has proposed to dispose of their entire securities interest in Fututech Bhd for RM8.78mil cash.

OSK Property Bhd bought 16 acres of prime freehold commercial land in Cyberjaya’s flagship zone from Setia Haruman Sdn Bhd for some RM86.5mil.

Sarawak plywood mills’ plans to raise their production to meet an anticipated high demand from Japan for the reconstruction of Sendai, a Pacific coastal town destroyed by a magnitude-9 earthquake and tsunami, will be hampered by a shortfall in the supply of raw material.

FBMKLCI 1492.44 DJ-242.12 CRUDE OIL 98.56 RM 3.02

Top Glove Corp Bhd’s net profit fell 63.9% to RM25.4mil for the second quarter ended Feb 28 against RM70.5mil a year ago due to persistently high latex prices and the continued weakening of the US dollar. The glove maker said the time lag in passing on the higher costs to its customers had also affected the group’s profit margins. “The decline in performance compared with last year was also due to the exceptionally high sales volume experienced last year during the H1N1 virus outbreak,” Top Glove said in the notes accompanying its financial results.

Pharmaniaga Bhd’s wholly owned subsidiary Pharmaniaga Logistics Sdn Bhd has entered into a concession agreement with the Government for the right and authority to purchase, store, supply and distribute approved products to public sector customers.

SEGi has been appointed by the government to lead the development of integrated early child care education (ECCE) in Malaysia under the education National Key Economic Area (NKEA). With the appointment, SEGi will lead the initiative in training and developing high quality early childhood and childcare practitioners.

FBMKLCI 1515.74 DJ-79.85 CRUDE OIL 104.99 RM 2.99

New stock listing

No.  Stock  Code    Stock Name     Reference Price      Lower Limit     Upper Limit

1.    5196                BJFOOD            0.51                         0.21                 2.55

Local airlines, along with other carriers worldwide, will see higher fuel costs eat into their first-quarter profits, as political unrest in Libya continues to push oil prices to new highs not seen in over two years.

Crude for April delivery was quoted at US$106.45 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange yesterday, with the jet fuel price hitting close to US$130 per barrel.

DRB-HICOM Bhd’s wholly-owned subsidiary DRB-Hicom Defence Technologies Sdn Bhd (Deftech) has received a contract worth RM7.55bil from the Malaysian Government to supply armoured-wheeled vehicles (AWV). DRB-HICOM told Bursa Malaysia yesterday that Deftech had accepted a letter of award from the Government to design, develop, manufacture, commission, supply and deliver 257 units of 12 variants of the 8x8 AWVs . The contract is for a period of seven years beginning 2011.

Trading in the shares of Berjaya Retail Bhd was suspended yesterday pending a material announcement.

The company yesterday requested for a suspension of trading of its securities for three market days, from 9am on Monday until 5pm tomorrow.

Multi Sports Holdings Ltd plans to sponsor a Taiwan depository receipt programme (TDR) that would represent up to 67.50 million new shares of 5 US cents each or 15% of its current paid-up share capital.

The company told Bursa Malaysia yesterday that it would issue up to 67.50 million new shares at an issue price to be determined later, which would be the underlying shares for the programme.

Malaysian Merchant Marine Bhd (MMM) is facing a possible de-listing after failing to submit its regularisation plan to the Securities Commission or Bursa Malaysia Securities for approval within the stipulated timeframe.

Sunway Holdings Bhd’s unit Sunway Construction Sdn Bhd (SunCon) has secured a contract worth RM74.1mil from Bio-XCell Sdn Bhd to undertake the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning of a central utilities facility at Biotechnological Park Bio-XCell in Nusajaya, Johor.

The Edge FinancialDaily reports that while investors may have turned sceptical towards loss-making WiMAX player Packet One Networks Sdn Bhd (P1) (which is under Green Packet Bhd), its new strategic partner SK Telecom (SKT) believes there is much value in P1's wireless business as a launchpad for SKT's aspiration to expand regionally in Southeast Asia.

SEGI International Bhd (SEGi) group managing director Datuk Clement Hii Chii Kok has emerged as the second largest shareholder of the company after he acquired 30.3 million shares on Monday, raising his stake to 20.61%.

FBMKLCI 1571.56 DJ-23.54 CRUDE OIL90.92 RM 3.03

Suria Capital Holdings Bhd's wholly owned subsidiary SCHB Engineering Services Sdn Bhd and its consortium partners have been awarded a RM1bil engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC) contract for a power plant project in Sabah. The contract from Kimanis Power Sdn Bhd involves the construction of a 300MW combined-cycle gas turbine gas-fired power plant project in Kimanis, Sabah, Suria Capital told Bursa Malaysia yesterday. The construction period is three years. SCHB's consortium partners include CTCI Corp, CTCI Overseas Corp Ltd, CTCI Malaysia Sdn Bhd and Steamline (M) Sdn Bhd.

Johor Corp Bhd (JCorp) says it will focus on enhancing its core businesses and resolving its debt of RM3.6bil this year. “Our primary focus now is to enhance our core businesses. JCorp's majority owned public-listed companies are spearheading the palm oils, foods and restaurant, and healthcare divisions while JCorp directly manages property development and hospitality divisions.” “The immediate task now is to resolve the debt of RM3.6bil that comes due mid-next year and we have identified the means of achieving this,” it said in a statement yesterday. JCorp said it would be assisted by Maybank and CIMB Bank.

The Selangor government had in December promised to allow the federal government to build the Langat 2 water treatment plant, which is part of the Pahang-Selangor Interstate Water Transfer Project. Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Peter Chin Fah Kui said his ministry, however, was still waiting for the approval in writing from the state government, which was expected to be received this month. “Although we are seven months late, the state government's latest decision means that we can proceed. And we are going ahead with the tender this month or by February. The approval means the last hurdle has been removed,” he said after meeting with the ministry's officers and staff, here yesterday.

 

Sime Darby, through Sime Darby Property, will be launching 15 projects across 10 townships in the first half of this year. Its head of marketing development, Henri Young said, the townships include Putra Heights and USJ Heights in Subang Jaya, Denai Alam (Shah Alam) and Bandar Bukit Raja (Klang). "There is still strong demand for landed and residential properties in Malaysia," he said yesterday. He said the company's previous projects in Denai Alam, Bandar Bukit Raja and the USJ Heights townships were sold out within two months.

Hubline’s core business is the provision of container and dry-bulk shipping services as well as vessel chartering. RAM Ratings said the revision in outlook is premised on our concerns that the group’s financial performance may remain depressed by weak freight rates (for both its container and dry-bulk shipping segments) and poor dry-bulk cargo volumes. “Large incoming supply of newbuilds will further pressure freight rates which have yet to stage a meaningful recovery. At the same time, uncertainties in economic recoveries of advanced economies may further dampen market outlook,” said the ratings agency.

SEG INTERNATIONAL BHD declared a special dividend of 14 sen per share which will go ex on Jan 27 while its entitlement date is Jan 31.

The Perak state government is considering setting up its own low-cost carrier terminal (LCCT) in the northern part of the state. "We have had a few discussions with AirAsia on the matter and we have proposed several locations in Perak, and they have stated their preference for one particular location," Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Zambry Abd Kadir said yesterday. The site is expected to be in the vicinity of Parit Buntar and Taiping, which is in the area of the Northern Corridor Economic Region. Zambry explained that the state government was waiting for the right time to bring it up to the federal government to decide on the suitability and viability of the project.

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.