CIMB Daybreak - 20 April 2015
EITA (5208), TIMECOM (5031), TALIWRK (8524), OSKPROP (6661), ASTRO (6399), MHB (5186), UMWOG (5243), AIRASIA (5099),
EITA Resources aims to hit RM1b revenue by 2020
April 20, 2015 10:52:00 am
Lift and bus duct manufacturer EITA Resources is looking at inorganic ways to grow its business to reach its ambitious RM1bn revenue target by 2020, with mergers and acquisitions and joint venturers (JVs) on the table, said group managing director Fu Wing Hoong. One recent example of its bid for inorganic growth is the JV between its wholly-owned unit EITA-Schneider Sdn Bhd and Chinese firm Shanghai Step Electric Corp, which it hopes will boost its manufacturing division. Fu said that the company is also eyeing other projects in the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Line 2 from Sungai Buloh to Serdang and Putrajaya. The tender for that is expected to begin by year end, he added. (Financial Daily) Source: CIMB Daybreak - 20 April 2015...
Flexiroam heads to ASX
April 20, 2015 10:51:00 am
Flexiroam Ltd, a Malaysia-based technology firm that provides workable solutions for those roaming on their mobile phones when travelling, has been approved to list on the Australian stock exchange (ASX). Jeff Ong, Flexiroam's CEO and major shareholder, said that the company is the fastest growing international roaming provider in the Asia-Pacific with over 300,000 subscribers today. The company is raising up to A$12m (RM34m) through the issue of 60m shares. The company hit a revenue of A$3m and a profit of A$0.3m for 9M14. (StarBiz)Source: CIMB Daybreak - 20 April 2015...
PNB Doubles Subscription Of Its Units To 200 Billion In Six Years
April 20, 2015 10:50:00 am
Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) has doubled the subscription of its units to 200bn in the past six years since 2009, its president and group CEO, Tan Sri Hamad Kama Piah Che Othman said. He said upon its inception in 1981, PNB had set the target of selling 100bn units which was only achieved in 2009, while it managed to double the amount less than six years later. "This reflects rise in awareness and understanding among the public on unit trusts," he told. (Bernama) Source: CIMB Daybreak - 20 April 2015...
Bank Negara And Bank Of China Renew Bilateral Currency Swap Deal
April 20, 2015 10:49:00 am
Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and the People’s Bank of China signed an agreement to renew the currency swap arrangement for another three-years, with the size maintained at RM90bn (RMB180bn). The renewed bilateral currency swap arrangement reinforces the ongoing commitment by both central banks in promoting the use of local currencies for payment settlement, BNM said. The original arrangement was established in 2009 and first renewed in 2012. (BT, Bernama) Source: CIMB Daybreak - 20 April 2015...
1MDB's energy unit gets welcome tariff hike
April 20, 2015 10:48:00 am
1MDB's Edra Global Energy Bhd appears to have gained some traction with its proposed 50MW solar power plant project getting a tariff increase of up to 20%. According to an industry source, the Energy Commission and the Energy, Water and Green Technology Ministry recently approved an increase in tariff to a maximum of 50 sen per kWh from approximately 41 sen per kWh before. "The previous tariff was deemed simply too low for the project to be feasible. The new tariff was negotiated on the basis that Edra caps its internal rate of return for the project to a maximum of 9%," the source said. Edra's 50 sen per kWh will still be cheaper than the lowest tariff of 61.2 sen per kWh that Sustainable Energy Development Authority has given out. (Financial Daily) Source: CIMB Daybreak - 20 April 2015...
Cost-sharing likely for HSR
April 20, 2015 10:47:00 am
The HSR project linking Kuala Lumpur and Singapore could possibly be divided between the two governments based on geographical location of the project’s infrastructure, which is reportedly more worth than RM38bn. SPAD CEO Mohd Nur Kamal said private sector participation is expected to be done via international tender bidding process that could possibly include local participation clause. He said the public-private partnership (PPP) scheme could rely more on government financial support. “For the PPP scheme, we are looking at a long-term concession. So far, this project has garnered a lot of local and international interest,” he said. So far, international players from advanced economies such as Japan, South Korea, China and some European countries have openly expressed their interest to participate in the HSR project. He said SPAD is also talking to a few financial instituitions in terms of extending a credit line to finance the project. Japan’s government has shown keen interest to support its private company – the East Japan Railway Co (JR East) – for this project. Meanwhile, China’s high-speed rail design, development and construction companies comprising China Railway Construction Corp Ltd (CRCC), The Third Railway Survey And Design Institute Group Corp (TSDI) and CSR Qingdao Sifang Co Ltd are also interested in the project. Nevertheless, Mohd Nur cautions that the overall plan on how this project could be developed is still at drawing board stage where everything will be definitive in the upcoming Malaysia-Singapore bilateral agreement, expected to be inked in 3Q15. Approval of the HSR prompted the setting up of MyHSR Corp Sdn Bhd, the entity that will undertake the construction of the system. “MyHSR Corp in some ways will have similar functions as MRT Corp in developing the MRT system with an added procurement portfolio.” he said. (StarBiz) Source: CIMB Daybreak - 20 April 2015...
TdC rewards CEO
April 20, 2015 10:46:00 am
The CEO of Time dotCom Bhd (TdC) Afzal Abdul Rahim has been slowly raising his stake in the company. But the size of his purchases thus far has been small. However, last week TdC granted him a share option to subscribe to up to 17.22m new TdC shares or 3% stake at an undisclosed price. The idea behind this share grant is to reward him. That is for taking TdC out of the rut, giving it a new lease of life and expanding its operations beyond the fixed-line business. Besides fixed line, today TdC is also into the data centre business and has equity stakes in a few global submarine cable networks in partnership with players like Google to sell global bandwidth. (Starbiz) Source: CIMB Daybreak - 20 April 2015...
Taliworks’ subsidiary gets lower penalty in China arbitration ruling
April 20, 2015 10:45:00 am
Taliworks Corp won a kind of victory in the three-year dispute related to its waste water treatment project in Ningxia Province, China, as its subsidiary was hit with a lower penalty amount. The China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission’s (CIETAC) Shanghai sub-commission had ordered its subsidiary, Ningxia Eco Wastewater Treatment Co Ltd, to pay 4.4m yuan RM2.3m in penalty to Hua Sheng Construction Group Co Ltd. Taliworks’ subsidiary is required to pay 50% of the arbitration cost or RM45k as well to Hua Sheng. (StarBiz) Source: CIMB Daybreak - 20 April 2015...
Malakoff Corp has attracted 12 cornerstone investors to its IPO
April 20, 2015 10:45:00 am
Malakoff Corp has attracted 12 cornerstone investors to its initial public offering scheduled for 15 May this year and sees itself tapping into regional markets, thus extending its current overseas portfolio that is concentrated in the Middle East and North Africa regions. Malakoff's chairman Tan Sri Syed Anwar Jamalullail said the company intends to spend the bulk of the IPO proceeds to fully redeem a RM1.8bn sukuk. (Malaysian Reserve, Sun) Source: CIMB Daybreak - 20 April 2015...
OSK Property expects to maintain growth
April 20, 2015 10:44:00 am
OSK Property Holdings expects to maintain growth this year, bolstered by new project launches worth around RM1bn in gross development value (GDV). MD, Tan Sri Ong Leong Huat, said the company would launch several projects in Sungai Petani, Shah Alam and Cyberjaya. “Of the RM1bn GDV, between RM200m and RM300m will come from our project in Bandar Puteri Jaya, Sungai Petani, comprising high-end bungalows and semi-detached houses,” he said He said the company still has unbilled sales of RM800m that would enable it to secure more or at least the same revenue as last year. (BT) Source: CIMB Daybreak - 20 April 2015...
Astro takes on Spotify and Deezer with its Raku app
April 20, 2015 10:42:00 am
Astro Malaysia Holdings has launched Raku, Malaysia's first personalised radio and music streaming service, which is available on personal computers (PCs), tablets and smartphones with the aim of reaching 500k users in six months. Astro Malaysia COO Henry Tan said Raku is a totally new product, he cannot give projection of the service's contribution to the company's earnings yet. He said Raku enables users to pick and choose the best of local and international music and radio contents with options to combine with podcasts. (Financial Daily) Source: CIMB Daybreak - 20 April 2015...
MMHE looks abroad
April 20, 2015 10:41:00 am
MMHE is clearly facing challenging times, considering its depleting order book and a need to increase the utilisation of its massive fabrication yard in Johor. But the fabricator is confident of building up its order book soon. Newly appointed CEO Abu Fitri Abd Jalil believes that the worst is over for the sector. He said the way forward is to widen the company's profitability by bidding for more international projects. It is bidding for about RM4.5bn worth of overseas projects. The current order book stands at RM1.9bn. (Star) Source: CIMB Daybreak - 20 April 2015...
UMW O&G still coping well
April 20, 2015 10:40:00 am
UMW Oil & Gas president Rohaizad Darus said the company is in the midst of tendering out contracts again for Naga 7 after its venture with Frontier Oil Corp fell through. The company announced two weeks ago that it is taking Frontier to the Singapore International Arbitration Centre to claim damages including compensation for all losses arising from Frontier Oil’s breach of contract. Rohaizad says the company is in various phases of tendering activities for a number of contracts in Asia Pacific and Middle East. “We believe there is a good opportunity for (Naga 7) to secure a job this year,” he said. (Star) Source: CIMB Daybreak - 20 April 2015...
Frost & Sullivan Celebrates Malaysia's Best-In-Class Firms at the 2015 Excellence Awards
April 20, 2015 10:39:00 am
Sime Darby Property had won the 2015 Frost & Sullivan Malaysia Building Construction New Product Innovation Award, presented at the 2015 Malaysia Excellence Awards ceremony at the Mandarin Oriental, Kuala Lumpur recently. The award was based on a research conducted by Frost & Sullivan on the Malaysia Building Construction market. The research recognised Sime Darby Property’s ability to continuously progress by introducing new innovative products to the market. One of the key development highlights that contributed to our win was Sime Darby Property’s innovative development; The Véo, located in KL East. The condominium comes in a contemporary modern design, which is currently being constructed through an inventive construction method fitting to this day and age of innovative technology. The condo will also include green features to offer wellness to its residents. (Malaysian Reserve) Source: CIMB Daybreak - 20 April 2015...
Proton and Lotus Group entered into an equity JV contract with Goldstar.
April 20, 2015 10:39:00 am
DRB-Hicom's wholly owned subsidiaries Proton Holdings and Lotus Group Ltd have entered into an equity joint-venture (JV) contract with Goldstar Heavy Industrial Co Ltd (Goldstar) to form a JV company in China. In an exchange filing last Friday, DRB said the JV will be named Goldstar Lotus Automobile Co Ltd and will produce and sell Lotus-branded passenger cars, engines, parts and components as well as accessories in China. The proposed JV will allow the DRB-Hicom group to further enhance the sale of its Lotus-branded vehicle in China by venturing into the production of Lotus passenger cars, related engines, parts and components and accessories. The group will continue to capitalise on the growth in China's premium vehicle market. (Malaysian Reserve) Source: CIMB Daybreak - 20 April 2015...
Malaysia Airlines to discontinue flights to Frankfurt
April 20, 2015 10:38:00 am
Malaysia Airlines is withdrawing from Frankfurt in the course of a network rationalisation exercise and as part of the national carrier’s recovery plan. "We regret to announce that Malaysia Airlines is suspending flight operations in Frankfurt. The last flight out will be on May 29," Malaysia Airlines Frankfurt director, David Rajkumar Subramaniam, said in a statement. (Malaysian Insider) Source: CIMB Daybreak - 20 April 2015...
KWAP and EPF were seen taking profit on Gamuda.
April 20, 2015 10:38:00 am
KWAP and EPF were seen taking profit on infrastructure-property based Gamuda. KWAP sold 1m shares on April 8 and 1.8m units the next day. It disposed of 1m shares on April 10. The recent transactions saw its total shareholding reduced to 7.9%. The EPF disposed of 1.6m shares on April 14 but it also bought 500,000 shares on that day. The recent transactions saw its shareholding reduced to 9.4%. (StarBiz) Source: CIMB Daybreak - 20 April 2015...
TIME lists Tony Fernandes among world's 100 most influential people
April 20, 2015 10:38:00 am
TIME Magazine named AirAsia’s Group CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes to the 2015 TIME 100, the magazine’s annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. “It’s a tremendous honour to be included in TIME’s top 100 list – I was shocked when I first received the news but I am very proud and humbled,” he said. (BT)Source: CIMB Daybreak - 20 April 2015...
EITA (5208), TIMECOM (5031), TALIWRK (8524), OSKPROP (6661), ASTRO (6399), MHB (5186), UMWOG (5243), AIRASIA (5099),
April 20, 2015 10:52:00 am
Lift and bus duct manufacturer EITA Resources is looking at inorganic ways to grow its business to reach its ambitious RM1bn revenue target by 2020, with mergers and acquisitions and joint venturers (JVs) on the table, said group managing director Fu Wing Hoong. One recent example of its bid for inorganic growth is the JV between its wholly-owned unit EITA-Schneider Sdn Bhd and Chinese firm Shanghai Step Electric Corp, which it hopes will boost its manufacturing division. Fu said that the company is also eyeing other projects in the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Line 2 from Sungai Buloh to Serdang and Putrajaya. The tender for that is expected to begin by year end, he added. (Financial Daily) Source: CIMB Daybreak - 20 April 2015...
April 20, 2015 10:51:00 am
Flexiroam Ltd, a Malaysia-based technology firm that provides workable solutions for those roaming on their mobile phones when travelling, has been approved to list on the Australian stock exchange (ASX). Jeff Ong, Flexiroam's CEO and major shareholder, said that the company is the fastest growing international roaming provider in the Asia-Pacific with over 300,000 subscribers today. The company is raising up to A$12m (RM34m) through the issue of 60m shares. The company hit a revenue of A$3m and a profit of A$0.3m for 9M14. (StarBiz)Source: CIMB Daybreak - 20 April 2015...
April 20, 2015 10:50:00 am
Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) has doubled the subscription of its units to 200bn in the past six years since 2009, its president and group CEO, Tan Sri Hamad Kama Piah Che Othman said. He said upon its inception in 1981, PNB had set the target of selling 100bn units which was only achieved in 2009, while it managed to double the amount less than six years later. "This reflects rise in awareness and understanding among the public on unit trusts," he told. (Bernama) Source: CIMB Daybreak - 20 April 2015...
April 20, 2015 10:49:00 am
Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and the People’s Bank of China signed an agreement to renew the currency swap arrangement for another three-years, with the size maintained at RM90bn (RMB180bn). The renewed bilateral currency swap arrangement reinforces the ongoing commitment by both central banks in promoting the use of local currencies for payment settlement, BNM said. The original arrangement was established in 2009 and first renewed in 2012. (BT, Bernama) Source: CIMB Daybreak - 20 April 2015...
April 20, 2015 10:48:00 am
1MDB's Edra Global Energy Bhd appears to have gained some traction with its proposed 50MW solar power plant project getting a tariff increase of up to 20%. According to an industry source, the Energy Commission and the Energy, Water and Green Technology Ministry recently approved an increase in tariff to a maximum of 50 sen per kWh from approximately 41 sen per kWh before. "The previous tariff was deemed simply too low for the project to be feasible. The new tariff was negotiated on the basis that Edra caps its internal rate of return for the project to a maximum of 9%," the source said. Edra's 50 sen per kWh will still be cheaper than the lowest tariff of 61.2 sen per kWh that Sustainable Energy Development Authority has given out. (Financial Daily) Source: CIMB Daybreak - 20 April 2015...
April 20, 2015 10:47:00 am
The HSR project linking Kuala Lumpur and Singapore could possibly be divided between the two governments based on geographical location of the project’s infrastructure, which is reportedly more worth than RM38bn. SPAD CEO Mohd Nur Kamal said private sector participation is expected to be done via international tender bidding process that could possibly include local participation clause. He said the public-private partnership (PPP) scheme could rely more on government financial support. “For the PPP scheme, we are looking at a long-term concession. So far, this project has garnered a lot of local and international interest,” he said. So far, international players from advanced economies such as Japan, South Korea, China and some European countries have openly expressed their interest to participate in the HSR project. He said SPAD is also talking to a few financial instituitions in terms of extending a credit line to finance the project. Japan’s government has shown keen interest to support its private company – the East Japan Railway Co (JR East) – for this project. Meanwhile, China’s high-speed rail design, development and construction companies comprising China Railway Construction Corp Ltd (CRCC), The Third Railway Survey And Design Institute Group Corp (TSDI) and CSR Qingdao Sifang Co Ltd are also interested in the project. Nevertheless, Mohd Nur cautions that the overall plan on how this project could be developed is still at drawing board stage where everything will be definitive in the upcoming Malaysia-Singapore bilateral agreement, expected to be inked in 3Q15. Approval of the HSR prompted the setting up of MyHSR Corp Sdn Bhd, the entity that will undertake the construction of the system. “MyHSR Corp in some ways will have similar functions as MRT Corp in developing the MRT system with an added procurement portfolio.” he said. (StarBiz) Source: CIMB Daybreak - 20 April 2015...
April 20, 2015 10:46:00 am
The CEO of Time dotCom Bhd (TdC) Afzal Abdul Rahim has been slowly raising his stake in the company. But the size of his purchases thus far has been small. However, last week TdC granted him a share option to subscribe to up to 17.22m new TdC shares or 3% stake at an undisclosed price. The idea behind this share grant is to reward him. That is for taking TdC out of the rut, giving it a new lease of life and expanding its operations beyond the fixed-line business. Besides fixed line, today TdC is also into the data centre business and has equity stakes in a few global submarine cable networks in partnership with players like Google to sell global bandwidth. (Starbiz) Source: CIMB Daybreak - 20 April 2015...
April 20, 2015 10:45:00 am
Taliworks Corp won a kind of victory in the three-year dispute related to its waste water treatment project in Ningxia Province, China, as its subsidiary was hit with a lower penalty amount. The China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission’s (CIETAC) Shanghai sub-commission had ordered its subsidiary, Ningxia Eco Wastewater Treatment Co Ltd, to pay 4.4m yuan RM2.3m in penalty to Hua Sheng Construction Group Co Ltd. Taliworks’ subsidiary is required to pay 50% of the arbitration cost or RM45k as well to Hua Sheng. (StarBiz) Source: CIMB Daybreak - 20 April 2015...
April 20, 2015 10:45:00 am
Malakoff Corp has attracted 12 cornerstone investors to its initial public offering scheduled for 15 May this year and sees itself tapping into regional markets, thus extending its current overseas portfolio that is concentrated in the Middle East and North Africa regions. Malakoff's chairman Tan Sri Syed Anwar Jamalullail said the company intends to spend the bulk of the IPO proceeds to fully redeem a RM1.8bn sukuk. (Malaysian Reserve, Sun) Source: CIMB Daybreak - 20 April 2015...
April 20, 2015 10:44:00 am
OSK Property Holdings expects to maintain growth this year, bolstered by new project launches worth around RM1bn in gross development value (GDV). MD, Tan Sri Ong Leong Huat, said the company would launch several projects in Sungai Petani, Shah Alam and Cyberjaya. “Of the RM1bn GDV, between RM200m and RM300m will come from our project in Bandar Puteri Jaya, Sungai Petani, comprising high-end bungalows and semi-detached houses,” he said He said the company still has unbilled sales of RM800m that would enable it to secure more or at least the same revenue as last year. (BT) Source: CIMB Daybreak - 20 April 2015...
April 20, 2015 10:42:00 am
Astro Malaysia Holdings has launched Raku, Malaysia's first personalised radio and music streaming service, which is available on personal computers (PCs), tablets and smartphones with the aim of reaching 500k users in six months. Astro Malaysia COO Henry Tan said Raku is a totally new product, he cannot give projection of the service's contribution to the company's earnings yet. He said Raku enables users to pick and choose the best of local and international music and radio contents with options to combine with podcasts. (Financial Daily) Source: CIMB Daybreak - 20 April 2015...
April 20, 2015 10:41:00 am
MMHE is clearly facing challenging times, considering its depleting order book and a need to increase the utilisation of its massive fabrication yard in Johor. But the fabricator is confident of building up its order book soon. Newly appointed CEO Abu Fitri Abd Jalil believes that the worst is over for the sector. He said the way forward is to widen the company's profitability by bidding for more international projects. It is bidding for about RM4.5bn worth of overseas projects. The current order book stands at RM1.9bn. (Star) Source: CIMB Daybreak - 20 April 2015...
April 20, 2015 10:40:00 am
UMW Oil & Gas president Rohaizad Darus said the company is in the midst of tendering out contracts again for Naga 7 after its venture with Frontier Oil Corp fell through. The company announced two weeks ago that it is taking Frontier to the Singapore International Arbitration Centre to claim damages including compensation for all losses arising from Frontier Oil’s breach of contract. Rohaizad says the company is in various phases of tendering activities for a number of contracts in Asia Pacific and Middle East. “We believe there is a good opportunity for (Naga 7) to secure a job this year,” he said. (Star) Source: CIMB Daybreak - 20 April 2015...
April 20, 2015 10:39:00 am
Sime Darby Property had won the 2015 Frost & Sullivan Malaysia Building Construction New Product Innovation Award, presented at the 2015 Malaysia Excellence Awards ceremony at the Mandarin Oriental, Kuala Lumpur recently. The award was based on a research conducted by Frost & Sullivan on the Malaysia Building Construction market. The research recognised Sime Darby Property’s ability to continuously progress by introducing new innovative products to the market. One of the key development highlights that contributed to our win was Sime Darby Property’s innovative development; The Véo, located in KL East. The condominium comes in a contemporary modern design, which is currently being constructed through an inventive construction method fitting to this day and age of innovative technology. The condo will also include green features to offer wellness to its residents. (Malaysian Reserve) Source: CIMB Daybreak - 20 April 2015...
April 20, 2015 10:39:00 am
DRB-Hicom's wholly owned subsidiaries Proton Holdings and Lotus Group Ltd have entered into an equity joint-venture (JV) contract with Goldstar Heavy Industrial Co Ltd (Goldstar) to form a JV company in China. In an exchange filing last Friday, DRB said the JV will be named Goldstar Lotus Automobile Co Ltd and will produce and sell Lotus-branded passenger cars, engines, parts and components as well as accessories in China. The proposed JV will allow the DRB-Hicom group to further enhance the sale of its Lotus-branded vehicle in China by venturing into the production of Lotus passenger cars, related engines, parts and components and accessories. The group will continue to capitalise on the growth in China's premium vehicle market. (Malaysian Reserve) Source: CIMB Daybreak - 20 April 2015...
April 20, 2015 10:38:00 am
Malaysia Airlines is withdrawing from Frankfurt in the course of a network rationalisation exercise and as part of the national carrier’s recovery plan. "We regret to announce that Malaysia Airlines is suspending flight operations in Frankfurt. The last flight out will be on May 29," Malaysia Airlines Frankfurt director, David Rajkumar Subramaniam, said in a statement. (Malaysian Insider) Source: CIMB Daybreak - 20 April 2015...
April 20, 2015 10:38:00 am
KWAP and EPF were seen taking profit on infrastructure-property based Gamuda. KWAP sold 1m shares on April 8 and 1.8m units the next day. It disposed of 1m shares on April 10. The recent transactions saw its total shareholding reduced to 7.9%. The EPF disposed of 1.6m shares on April 14 but it also bought 500,000 shares on that day. The recent transactions saw its shareholding reduced to 9.4%. (StarBiz) Source: CIMB Daybreak - 20 April 2015...
April 20, 2015 10:38:00 am
TIME Magazine named AirAsia’s Group CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes to the 2015 TIME 100, the magazine’s annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. “It’s a tremendous honour to be included in TIME’s top 100 list – I was shocked when I first received the news but I am very proud and humbled,” he said. (BT)Source: CIMB Daybreak - 20 April 2015...
