Genting
Malaysia Bhd,
via indirect unit Resorts World Ltd, has proposed to sell its entire 17.81%
stake in Genting Hong Kong Ltd for at least RM1.69bn cash or 33 US cents
(RM1.18) per share. Genting Malaysia told Bursa Malaysia on Monday that the
shares were considered “non-core investments” and were treated as
“available-for-sale financial assets” in the group’s financial statements.
• “Further,
the Genting Malaysia group does not have any board seat on Genting Hong Kong in
respect of its equity interest in Genting Hong Kong,” the tourism resort
operator said. The original cost of investment of Genting Malaysia in the
disposal shares was US$604.1ml (RM2.15bn), representing an average purchase
price of 42 US cents each (RM1.50). The investment was made between 1998 and
2006. (StarBiz)
Malayan
Banking Bhd
(Maybank) has tied up with Honda Malaysia Sdn Bhd to be an automotive financier
in the country as well as a provider for comprehensive financial services
solution. Maybank said on Monday that financial services solution covers car
manufacturing, distribution, retailing and after sale services for its
suppliers, dealers and customers in Malaysia.
• It
added that as a financial solution provider, it would provide access to floor
stocking financing, hire purchase, credit card merchants, cash management,
Distributor-Supplier Financing packages and MaxiPlan.
“Maybank will also provide clients of
Honda Malaysia with access to personal and business insurance coverage as well
as online banking services,” Maybank said. (StarBiz)
AirAsia
X
acting CEO Benyamin Ismail said the airline is in negotiations with Airbus for
high gross weight (HGW) A330 aircraft with the aim to take delivery of two in
2016. The carrier intends to use the aircraft to commence London services
either nonstop or via an intermediate destination such as Istanbul or Milan,
depending on the economics of the aircraft. (The Australian)
AirAsia X acting CEO Benyamin Ismail
said the airline aims to market connecting services in Australia, offering
transfers to destinations in ASEAN, North Asia and the Middle East. Mr Ismail
said consumers demand a single fare for connecting services at a price at least
20% to 30% lower than competitors.
• The
carrier hopes to cooperate with Tourism Australia, Tourism Malaysia, Australian
travel agents and other bodies to promote travel between Australia and
Malaysia. The airline aims to permanently increase Melbourne, Perth and Sydney
frequency to twice daily and may resume Adelaide service. (The Australian)
BIMB
Holdings Bhd
(BIMB) has appointed Malkit Singh Maan as a new group Chief Financial Officer
(CFO) effective Monday onwards. BIMB said that Malkit was the CFO of Bank Islam
Malaysia in the last seven years before joining BIMB. Meanwhile, the current
CFO, Mohamad Azlan Mohamad Alam would be re-designated as the chief operating
officer of BIMB.
• Furthermore,
former partner of KPMG Malaysia and executive director of
KPMG Malaysia’s Management Consulting,
Mohd Muazzam has also been appointed as the new CEO for Bank Islam effective
Monday. (StarBiz)
Malaysian
Resources Corp Bhd
(MRCB) has RM1.2bn worth of projects lined up for the financial year ending Dec
31, 2015. Chief financial officer Ann Wan Tee said on Monday the company will
be launching four to five projects this year with about RM1.2bn in gross
development value (GDV). "The immediate one which will probably be done by
June is The Grid at Kia Peng. For that, the GDV is about RM400m," he said
after MRCB's shareholders meetings. (StarBiz)
Conglomerate Sunway Bhd is boosting its land bank close to its flagship
development Sunway township by buying 17 acres worth RM286m. The parcel, which
is situated next to Western Digital in the Sungei Way Free Trade Zone, works
out to about RM386psf. With the acquisition, the company plans to roll out a
mixed project that entails service apartments and retail shops, with a total
gross development value of RM1.8bn.
• Sunway
said the purchase from a private company, Kelana Resort Sdn Bhd, was in line
with its target to buy land ready for immediate launch. It expects the first
launch of the project to be in the financial year ending Dec 31, 2016, with a
development period of five years. (StarBiz)
Selangor water concessionaire Puncak Niaga Holdings Bhd may seek a
higher offer price for its water concession business from the Selangor
government even as the company considers a fifth extension for the takeover
deal to be concluded. Puncak Niaga had on Nov 11, 2014 signed a conditional
sale and purchase agreement (SPA) to sell its water assets in Selangor, Kuala
Lumpur and Putrajaya to Pengurusan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd for RM1.555bn. The
fourth extension for the deal expired yesterday. “To date, we understand that Air
Selangor is still not able to fulfill the conditions precedent in the SPA,” the
company said in a press statement yesterday. (StarBiz)
Malaysian
palm oil stocks
in April rose to a five-month high as accelerating crude palm oil output in the
world's No.2 producer offset weaker exports, data from industry regulator
showed. Higher inventories could weigh on benchmark palm prices , which have
shed nearly 5% this year, although market players say factors such as firm
comparative soy and oil markets may lend support to the tropical oil. Data from
the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) showed April inventories rose 17.6% from a
month ago to 2.19m tonnes, beating market estimates and the highest since
November. (Reuters)
Malaysian palm oil futures rose on
Monday after export data showed a surge in demand in the first 10 days of the
month and as the ringgit weakened, but gains were capped by anticipation of
bigger stocks in the world's No.2 producer. Cargo surveyor Intertek Testing
Services reported that exports of Malaysian palm oil products for May 1-10 rose
41.3% from the same period in April to 458,677 tonnes as shipments to India and
Europe doubled, with buyers snapping up duty-free cargoes of crude palm oil.
• But
despite the sudden jump in demand, with a weaker Malaysian currency making the
ringgit-denominated palm feedstock cheaper for overseas buyers, the likelihood
of a rise in inventories kept a lid on gains. (Malaysian Insider)
Lembaga
Tabung Haji's
sale of a piece of land it purchased for RM188.5m from 1Malaysia Development
Bhd (1MDB) merely a month after buying it, might end up with a loss due to
newly-imposed tax charges. PKR lawmaker Rafizi Ramli said the Real Property
Gains Tax (RPGT)'s revised rates, introduced in Budget 2014, means that Tabung
Haji will need to pay taxes of up to 30% for the sale, not including a stamp
duty fee, that would constitute between 3% to 5 % of the transaction.
(Malaysian Insider)
Brahim’s
Holdings Bhd
has entered into a new catering contract with Malaysia Airlines Bhd (MAB) that
comes with a shorter term and lower in price by up to 25%. The new catering
agreement (NCA) is for a period of five years with an option for additional
five years renewal, subject to Brahim’s 70% subsidiary, Brahim’s Airlines
Catering Sdn Bhd (BAC) meeting several conditions with regards to its service
levels. (StarBiz)
Selangor
Dredging Bhd
(SDB) said it is open to selling Hotel Maya Kuala Lumpur but did not give any price
indication. It was clarifying an article published in a business weekly on
Saturday that said SDB was putting up the hotel on the market at an estimated
RM230m. SDB said it had appointed Zerin Properties to be the exclusive agent to
accommodate all the enquiries and queries from the interested parties on Hotel
Maya. The company said it had been getting “strong interest” in the boutique
hotel, which is located on Jalan
Ampang, over the past six months.
However, SDB has so far neither received any offer nor entered into any sale
and purchase agreement (SPA) with any party. (StarBiz)
Ailing steel maker Perwaja Holdings Bhd expects to restart
its Kemaman plant operations within the next 18 months after securing its white
knight China's TianJin Zhiyuan Investment Group Co Ltd, with an investment
commitment of RM300m. With that, Zhiyuan will emerge as a majority shareholder
of Perwaja while seeing the dilution of Kinsteel Bhd's shareholding in Perwaja.
Kinsteel owns a 31.25% stake in Perwaja currently.
• Zhiyuan
will lead the Perwaja management team under the new business plan. The
conglomerate has diversified businesses in minerals, chemicals, alloys, new
materials, construction materials, real estate, logistics and international
trading. According to Zhiyuan's chairman and president Zhang Zhong, Perwaja's
rejuvenation plan will span over the next five years, but he declined to
disclose how much more will be pumped into Perwaja after 18 months. (The Sun)
Icon
Offshore Bhd
is seeking shareholders’ approval to buy back up to 10% of its issued and
paid-up capital. The offshore marine service provider told Bursa Malaysia on
Monday that this would be among the seven resolutions to be tabled at its
inaugural AGM in Kuala Lumpur on May 27. “The proposed share buy-back would
provide Icon with an option to purchase its own shares at a future date when
Icon’s board deems it appropriate after taking into account inter alia market
conditions and financial resources of Icon,” it said.
• A
circular to the shareholders containing the details of the proposed share
buy-back will be despatched on May 12. (StarBiz)
Trading in Malaysia Steel Works (KL) Bhd (Masteel) shares will be suspended
today following the company’s failure to submit its annual audited accounts for
the financial year ended Dec 31, 2014 (FY14). According to sources, the
company’s failure to submit its annual audited accounts was probably due to
disagreements with its auditors with regards to treatment of certain items in
Masteel’s balance sheet. “This includes,
among others, provisions for debtors and treatment of liabilities,” said the
source. (StarBiz)
Scanwolf
Corp Bhd
has been served an injunction barring it from holding an EGM to remove certain
directors and appoint others. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, the plastic
extrusion manufacturer said the plaintiff Yeoh Kean Beng and the three
shareholders who called for the meeting - Abdul Hamid Abdul Shukor, Cedric Wong
King Ti and Yii Long Ging - agreed to some terms without admission as to
liability by the latter.
• If
the meeting is held on May 13 or any other date, Scanwolf and the three
directors are also to be restrained from implementing or causing to be
implemented the resolutions. (StarBiz)
Source: CIMB Daybreak - 12 May 2015
