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Magnum Corp plans RM1b MTN programme

Multi-Purpose Holdings Bhd's (MPHB) indirect subsidiary Magnum Corporation Sdn Bhd has proposed to undertake a medium-term notes programme of up to RM1bil.

Palm oil ends off new 10-month low on swelling stocks

Malaysian crude palm oil futures hit a fresh 10-month low on Tuesday as improving output and slower exports in the Southeast Asian country stirred concerns over swelling stocks.

RGB proposes RM77m debt notes to refinance borrowings

RGB International Bhd plans to undertake an unrated commercial papers/medium term notes programme of up to RM77mil in nominal value to refinance the outstanding RM76mil.

KLCI charts fresh record high, Asian markets advance

The FBM KLCI closed at a fresh record high when it closed above the 1,650 level on Tuesday, underpinned by consumer dividend stocks and plantations including PPB Group and IOI Corp.

Malaysia Airlines posts net losses of RM349.2m in Q2

Malaysia Airlines (MAS) continued to be in the red for the sixth quarter, with net losses of RM349.25mil in the second quarter ended June 30, 2012, though the losses had narrowed compared with RM526.68mil a year ago.

Media Prima Q2 earnings up 27.7% to RM56.78m

Media Prima Bhd's earnings rose 27.7% to RM56.78mil in the second quarter ended June 30, 2011 from RM44.44mil a year ago.

Sarawak Plantations Q2 earnings dn 28.3% to RM16.17m

Sarawak Plantations Bhd's earnings fell 28.3% to RM16.17mil in the second quarter ended June 30, 2012 from RM22.58mil a year ago as it was impacted by lower prices.

AIM-listed Camco in US$4m biogas project in Pahang

Camco International Ltd, which is listed on the Alternative Investment Market in London, will invest US$4mil (RM12.59mil) in a biogas clean energy project.

Germany still grows in second quarter, France flatlines

BERLIN/PARIS: Germany posted modest economic growth in the second quarter of the year and France stagnated, official data showed on Tuesday, suggesting the euro zone as a whole contracted over the three months.

Packet One to add 50,000 business subscribers with new plans

Packet One Networks (M) Sdn Bhd (P1) targets to add 50,000 business subscribers with its latest product, P1 ForBiz Fiber plans, which is targeted at small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Blue chips barely higher, CPO hits 10-month low

Blue chips were marginally higher at midday on Tuesday, underpinned by gains in DiGi and YTL Corp, but the broader market saw some profit taking on Petronas-linked stocks and Tenaga

AMMB Q1 earnings up 4.5% to RM448.57m

AMMB Holdings Bhd's earnings rose 4.5% to RM448.57mil in its first quarter ended June 30, 2012 from RM429.01mil a year ago mainly due to higher net-interest income and lower allowance for impairment on loans.

KKB secures RM48m contract from Sarawak govt

KKB Engineering Bhd has secured a RM48mil contract from the Sarawak government for a transmission pipeline to Sama Jaya Free industrial zone in Kuching.

MRT Corp awards RM563m contracts to TRC, AZRB, Apex Comm

Mass Rapid Transit Corporation Sdn Bhd (MRT Corp) has awarded three station packages for the MRT Sungai Buloh-Kajang project value of RM563mil.

WCT's RM450m land acquisition gets shareholders' nod

Shareholders of WCT Bhd have approved the company's 450mil acquisition of land in the Overseas Union Garden (OUG) area in Kuala Lumpur.

MARC confirms CIMB Islamic Bank's RM2b Sukuk

Malaysian Rating Corporation (MARC) has confirmed its AA+IS/Stable rating on CIMB Islamic Bank Bhd's RM2.0bil tier-two Junior sukuk programme in connection with the bank's issuance of its third tranche sukuk under the programme.

Hartalega's 10 production lines at new plant ready June 2013

Hartalega Holdings Bhd's first production line at its sixth plant will start operations in September this year.

S P Setia shares advance on share placement plan

Shares of S P Bhd rose to a high of RM3.53 on Tuesday on its plans to place out new shares amounting to 15% of its paid-up share capital which would be used to fund its projects.

Market lacklustre, KLCI reverses early decline

Market sentiment was lacklustre on Tuesday after the record close the previous day as investors awaited fresh leads from funds and also the corporate results.

Astro offers IPO shares to Bumiputera investors at RM3.60 each

Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd, a pay-TV firm controlled by tycoon Ananda Krishnan, has offered its IPO to Bumiputra investors at RM3.60 a share, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Tuesday.

CIMB Research cuts MSM’s earnings forecast

CIMB Equities Research cut its FY12-14 earnings forecasts for MSM Holdings by 3%-7% to account for the lower domestic sales volume. Its target price was reduced from RM5.05 to RM4.92.

Toshiba likely to sell 16% stake in Westinghouse

TOKYO: Japan's Toshiba Corp <6502.T> is likely to sell a 16 percent stake out of its 67 percent holding in its U.S. nuclear power unit Westinghouse to businesses including a U.S. nuclear-related firm to put it in a better position to win orders from developing countries, the Yomiuri newspaper said on Tuesday.

Asian shares steady before US, euro zone data

TOKYO: Asian shares steadied on Tuesday with investors staying sidelined ahead of more figures from Europe and the United States later in the day, after recent data showed the euro zone's debt woes were eroding business activity globally.

GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks slip on world growth worries; euro gains

NEW YORK: World stock markets eased on Monday after weak Japanese economic data added to the latest reports showing a slowing global economy, while the euro rose as investors exited bearish bets against the common currency.

HDBSVR sees light upward bias for KLCI

Hwang DBS Vickers Research expects the FBM KLCI to see a slight upward bias on Tuesday after it rose to a high of 1,650.42 on Monday – a new record – before pulling back to close at 1,646.32.

Kenanga Research maintains Outperform on Alam Maritim

Kenanga Investment Bank Research is maintaining an Outperform on Alam Maritim Resources with a target price of RM1.14.

iPhone maker expert shines light on Samsung sales in U.S.

SAN JOSE: Apple Inc is claiming that more than a quarter of Samsung Electronics' $30.4 billion in U.S. smartphone and tablet sales result from copying of the iPhone and iPad or infringe on other patents, a damages expert for the U.S. company said on Monday.

M'sian stock market seen as safe haven and attracts foreign funds

KUALA LUMPUR: Foreign funds are attracted to the relative stability and safe haven status of the Malaysian stock market because of the perception that it is relatively sheltered from the global economic turmoi l, according to fund managers surveyed by Star Biz.

Is it possible to live without palm oil?

THE attacks on palm oil have taken many forms over the years. The latest anti-palm oil challenge is from an industrious French Ph.D student in geochemistry Andrien Gontier who decided to try living “palm-oil-free” for a year.

It is futile to expect your company to plan your career

IN a previous role as HR leader, I had to deal with Heather (not her real name). Heather had faithfully served the organisation for more than 20 years but was rarely visible. As part of a restructuring, Heather’s role had become redundant.

Malakoff starts work on RM6.5bil Tanjung Bin power plant

KUALA LUMPUR: Malakoff Corp Bhd has started the construction of its RM6.5bil Tanjung Bin power plant in Johor.

MAS positive on Indian market

NEW DELHI: Malaysia Airlines (MAS) is expecting a 15% growth in passenger load from India this year as compared with 2011, according to its senior vice-president (global sales and distribution), Duncan Bureau.

Germany's Seeburger opens hub in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR: Leveraging on the Government’s initiative in data security compliance, business integration and managed file transfer (MFT) solutions provider Seeburger targets to secure contracts from two large corporations by year-end.

Coastal Contracts sells four vessels for RM141mil

PETALING JAYA: Coastal Contracts Bhd, through its wholly-owned subsidiaries Coastal Offshore (Labuan) Pte Ltd and Thaumas Marine Ltd, has secured contracts for the sale of four vessels for an aggregate value of approximately RM141mil.

Clarification

In the chart to accompany the Transformation Blues column yesterday, the figure for the 2010 daily average under the Crime Index – Incidents should be 486, instead of 86.

Q1 German businesses improve in Malaysia, Singapore

PETALING JAYA: German businesses in Malaysia and Singapore saw an overall improvement in the first quarter this year, faring better than Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, according to the Asean Business Climate Survey 2012.

Stocks

Genting sells power business to 1MDB for RM2.3bil

KUALA LUMPUR: Genting Bhd is selling its power generation business to 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) for cash consideration of RM2.3bil as the group seeks to expand and develop its power generation portfolio abroad.

Genting shares take a beating

PETALING JAYA: Genting Bhd’s share price closed nine sen lower to RM8.88 after analysts turned cautious on casino-and-resort operator Genting Singapore plc’s outlook following lower-than-expected second-quarter and first-half ended June 30 earnings.

E&O shares dip on SC decision

PETALING JAYA: Shares of niche property development company Eastern & Oriental Bhd (E&O) gave up last week’s gains and plunged after the Securities Commission (SC) clarified that Sime Darby Bhd was not required to make a general offer (GO) for the remaining shares in E&O that it did not already own.

UM Land share holders advised to accept takeover offer

PETALING JAYA: Independent adviser Affin Investment Bank Bhd has advised minority shareholders of United Malayan Land Bhd (UM Land) to accept the takeover offer of RM2.50 per share by Seleksi Juang Sdn Bhd (SJSB) and parties acting in concert (PAC), who hold a combined 77.52%.

P&O jumps on speculation of takeover by S. African firm

PETALING JAYA: Shares in Pacific & Orient Bhd (P&O) jumped on speculation that a South African financial services company plans to acquire a substantial stake in the former’s insurance business.

Support Line

K.M. Lee writes on Green Ocean, Parkson Holdings and SYF Resources

Unisem faces a gloomy FY12

UNISEM’S second-quarter 2012 briefing threw up a few negative surprises as management toned down its guidance and is less positive on industry prospects, while order visibility has deteriorated and the second half of this year may not be as strong as we expected.

Earnings

MSM Q2 net profit lower at RM52.8mil

PETALING JAYA: MSM Malaysia Holdings Bhd’s second-quarter net profit dropped 31.1% to RM52.81mil from RM76.65mil in the corresponding period last year due to lower sales despite a higher price of sugar.

Dialog Q4 earnings up 10.6%

PETALING JAYA: Dialog Group Bhd net profit for its fourth quarter of financial year 2012 rose 10.6% to RM49.6mil from RM44.9mil due to the better performance of its engineering and construction activities following the commence of some major projects.

UAC earnings up on better margin

KUALA LUMPUR: UAC Bhd’s net profit rose 16% to RM4mil for the second quarter ended June 30 from RM3.45mil a year ago on improved operating margin and higher sales volume of fibre cement building products.

KLCC Property posts net profit of RM91.6mil

KUALA LUMPUR: KLCC Property Holdings Bhd posted a net profit of RM91.6mil, or 9.81 sen per share for the second quarter ended June 30. Its revenue stood at RM288.6mil during the quarter.

Aviation

Boost for Cathay Pacific cargo sector

GEORGE TOWN: Cathay Pacific’s new B747-8 will enhance the competitive edge of its commercial cargo segment, which has been affected by the global economic crisis.

Banking

SME Bank sukuk issuance oversubscribed 5.9 times

KUALA LUMPUR: SME Bank Bhd’s RM500mil sukuk in two tranches of RM250mil each, from its RM3bil government-guaranteed Islamic medium-term notes (IMTN) has been oversubscribed by 5.9 times.

StanChart looks to settle

NEW YORK: British bank Standard Chartered (StanChart) is hoping to reach a settlement within days over charges it hid transactions tied to Iran and is set to resume talks with US regulators, sources familiar with the situation said.

Italy raises eight billion euros, rates slightly higher

ROME: Italy has raised eight billion euros (US$9.8bil) at a one-year bond sale, paying slightly higher rates than at the previous similar auction as eurozone debt tensions persist, though analysts judged the results to be encouraging.

Alaska could be the next Libor litigation frontier

Wilmington, Delaware: The Libor scandal, which began in London with bankers accused of manipulating a key global interest rate, has reached the Alaskan wilderness.

Aviation

Firefly to replace current fleet within eight years

GEORGE TOWN: FlyFirefly Sdn Bhd will buy a new range of aircraft to replace its existing range as part of its business expansion plan over the next five to eight years.

Commodities

Newcrest will invest A$5bil to raise gold output

SYDNEY: Australia’s Newcrest Mining Ltd, the world’s No. 3 gold miner, said it expects to spend about A$5bil (US$5.28bil) over the next five years to lift output by one million ounces.

Economy

Japan Q2 growth slows, ups chance of new stimulus

TOKYO: Japan’s economy expanded just 0.3% in April–June, half the pace expected, fuelling concerns growth will continue to flag as a rebound in consumer spending starts to lose momentum and Europe’s debt crisis weighs on global demand.

Foreign News

Ex-Barclays trader Merchant, under Libor scrutiny, exits UBS

Jay V. Merchant, who has come under federal scrutiny in the Libor manipulation scandal related to his tenure at Barclays Plc, left his position as head of swap trading at UBS on Monday, a UBS spokeswoman confirmed.

Three ex-Chase bank workers admit US$4.8mil tax fraud

NEW YORK: Three former employees at JPMorgan Chase & Co branches in New York pleaded guilty on Monday to using the identities of Puerto Rican customers to file fraudulent tax returns, U.S. authorities said.

California college district sues JP Morgan over financing deal

SAN FRANCISCO: A California community college district is suing JP Morgan Chase over the bank's efforts to enforce an exotic financing contract agreed in 2006 when interest rates were much higher than now.

Kenanga Research maintains Outperform on P&O

Kenanga Investment Bank Research is maintaining an Outperform rating on Pacific & Orient Bhd (P&O) with a higher target price of RM1.60 (from RM1.30 previously).

Peregrine CEO indicted for lying to regulators

SAN FRANCISCO/CHICAGO: Peregrine Financial Group founder and chief executive Russell Wasendorf Sr was indicted on charges of lying to regulators, a little over a month after he botched a suicide attempt and confessed to bilking customers of his brokerage for years.

Euro zone output expected to shrink in second-quarter

BRUSSELS: Euro zone output is seen declining in the second quarter when the European Union releases data on Tuesday, as the debt crisis hurts confidence, making businesses reluctant to invest and consumers worried about spending.

RIM says BB10 will soon be ready to license

Research In Motion Ltd will soon be ready to license its new BlackBerry 10 operating system to other manufacturers, according to a report on Monday.

US Fed: Support saved 21 money funds from "breaking the buck"

BOSTON: Sponsor support likely kept at least 21 money market funds from "breaking the buck" during the financial crisis, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston found in a study issued on Monday, adding fuel to a debate over the need for additional regulations.

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