The Star Online: Business

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AirAsia, MAHB working hard to ensure KLIA2 a success

AirAsia Bhd is set to work hand-in-hand with Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) to discuss and resolve outstanding issues between them with regard to the new low-cost carrier terminal, KLIA2, in Sepang.

Thai billionaire's $7.2bil bid for F&N muddies Heineken deal

SINGAPORE: Thai billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi launched a $7.2 billion offer to buy out other shareholders of Fraser and Neave Ltd (F&N), potentially derailing Heineken NV's bid to take full control of F&N's prized beer business.

Formis secures RM17.5m contract for e-court services

Formis Resources Bhd's unit had secured a RM17.49mil maintenance services contract for the e-court support services in Peninsular Malaysia.

S P Setia Q3 earnings up 10% to RM100.4m, 9-month sales RM2.85b

S P Setia Bhd's earnings rose 10% to RM100.4mil in the third quarter ended July 31, 2012 from RM91.24mil a year ago, boosted by higher margin due to the continuous value-creation for its property projects.

CIMB, Tenaga power KLCI rebound

Fund buying of CIMB and Tenaga helped power the FBM KLCI's rebound on Thursday, with the index up nearly 1% and snapping three-straight days of losses while AirAsia ended off its day's low.

I-Bhd sees tie-up with Thailand's Central Pattana for mall in i-City

BANGKOK: I-Bhd, the master developer of i-City, plans to seal a definitive joint development agreement with Thailand's retail developer, Central Pattana Public Company Ltd (CPN), within two months to develop a mall within its flagship i-City Cybercentre in Shah Alam.

United Plantations, Oleon in RM96.3m oleo-derivatives plant

United Plantations Bhd and Belgium's Oleon Sdn Bhd will invest RM96.33mil to build a 25,000 tonnes per year oleo-derivatives production plant in the Selangor Halal Hub.

CLIQ Energy targets markets beyond Asian within 2 years

CLIQ Energy Bhd, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) targets to penetrate regions outside Asia within two years of being listed on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia.

Dialog, Johor, Vopak to invest RM4bil in Pengerang LNG terminal (Update)

The consortium comprising of Dialog Group Bhd, the Johor Government and Royal Vopak will invest RM4.08bil to develop the Pengerang LNG terminal project.

Fitch affirms Petronas ratings at A but outlook negative

Fitch Ratings affirmed Petroliam Nasional Bhd's long-term foreign- and local-currency issuer default ratings (IDRs) at 'A' and its short-term foreign-currency IDR at 'F1'.

Dollar slides, stocks subdued as Fed QE3 looms

LONDON: The dollar fell to its lowest level since early May and stock and bond markets kept to tight ranges on Thursday while financial markets waited to see whether the U.S. Federal Reserve announces a new round of money printing later in the day.

IDC: Smartphones’ share of mobile phone markets to hit 35%

Smartphones are expected to increase their market share in Malaysia's mobile phone shipments in 2012, expanding to 35% from 30% last year, and expected to increase further as prices continue to decline.

Privatisation of Glenealy approved

Samling Global Ltd has received nearly all the shareholders' approval to go ahead with the privatisation of Glenealy Plantations (M) Bhd.

VEGOILS-Rising stocks to drag on palm oil futures

Malaysian palm oil futures dropped on Thursday on expectations of output rising this month that could lead to a stock build-up, although losses were limited by expectations of strong Asian demand and tight supply of competing soyoil.

TH Plantations’ RM1.5b Sukuk plan gets SC nod

TH Plantations Bhd plans a Sukuk Murabahah programme of up to RM1.5bil in nominal value with a 15-year tenure.

Market stages technical rebound, CIMB, Tenaga lead

The Malaysian market staged a technical rebound on Thursday, aided by some fund buying for recently oversold stocks including CIMB and Tenaga but AirAsia fell to a 12-month low.

AirAsia slips, CIMB Research says buy on share price weakness

Share price of AirAsia Bhd fell as much as 16 sen to RM2.86 on Thursday on concerns about the impact of Lion Air's entry into Malaysia but CIMB Equities Research recommended investors to accumulate AirAsia on share price weakness.

Fitch assigns BBB+ to Maybank's proposed debt notes

Fitch Ratings assigned an expected rating of 'BBB+(EXP)' to Malayan Banking Bhd's proposed US dollar-denominated subordinated notes.

KLCI rebounds, CIMB, FGV lead

Blue chips rebounded in late morning on Thursday, boosted by some fund buying of CIMB and Felda Global Ventures (FGV).

KLCI lower in early trade, AirAsia in focus

The FBM KLCI was in the red in early trade on Thursday, in line with key regional markets, with AirAsia in focus.

Kenanga Research downgrades Property sector to Neutral

Kenanga Investment Research is downgrading property developers to Neutral from Overweight on potential worse-than-expected Budget 2013 risks and the closing general elections timeline.

CIMB Research maintains Outperform on Dialog

CIMB Equities Research is maintaining its Outperform call on Dialog Group with a target price of RM2.91.

HDBSVR sees Malaysian equities moving sideways

Hwang DBS Vickers Research (HDBSVR) sees Malaysian equities moving sideways for the time being as the underlying sentiment is still weak.

BAE, EADS talks may spur more mergers

LONDON/WASHINGTON: In the biggest shakeup in Europe's aerospace and defense sector in more than a decade, Britain's BAE Systems and Airbus-owner EADS said they are in advanced talks to create an industry giant that would overtake rival Boeing in sales and contend with shrinking defense spending in Europe and the U.S.

CIMB Research maintains end-2012 target for KLCI at 1,650

CIMB Equities Research said in September, the FBM KLCI fell 30 points to 40 points or about 2%, since its peak in mid-August, raising concerns in investors used to Bursa's stability, but it believes the market weakness is unlikely to drag on for too long.

Apple's iPhone 5 bigger, faster but lacks "wow"

SAN FRANCISCO: Apple Inc's new iPhone goes on sale on Friday with a bigger screen and 4G wireless technology, as the company seeks to safeguard its edge over rivals like Samsung Electronics Co Ltd <005930.KS> and Google Inc .

Wall Street ends flat as Fed wait nears an end

NEW YORK: Wall Street ended little changed on Wednesday, erasing early gains, as investors turned cautious before a Federal Reserve decision on another round of monetary stimulus to boost the economy.

Three out of four bidders abort plans to buy Jaring

PETALING JAYA: Interest in the first Internet service provider - Jaring Communications Sdn Bhd seems to have waned as three out of the four companies that have submitted proposals to buy the Internet company from the Government have ditched the plans.

Bonia on overseas expansion drive

PETALING JAYA: While the major shareholders are maintaining that they do not intend to privatise Bonia Corp Bhd, the leatherware, shoes and apparel company will focus on an aggressive overseas expansion drive.

Glenealy shares shoot up 45 sen on special dividend announcement

PETALING JAYA: Glenealy Plantations (Malaya) Bhd’s special dividend of 52.75 sen per share has whetted the investors’ appetite.

Education blueprint is one plan that cannot afford to fail

THE new education blueprint is out and it seeks to address a lot of weaknesses in the “infrastructure” within the education system.

AirAsia share price dips

PETALING JAYA: AirAsia Bhd’s share price predictably took a beating yesterday, shedding 17 sen to close at RM3.02 following the formation of a new low-cost carrier (LCC) Malindo Airways which will start operation by next May.

Hibiscus’ partner bullish about Aussie oil field venture

KUALA LUMPUR: 3D Oil Ltd, the equal joint-venture (JV) partner of Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd to develop oil fields in Australia, is confident that their first project, the West Seahorse oilfield, will start producing oil and generating income by 2014.

PAAB: It’s untrue Selangor Govt against Langat 2

KUALA LUMPUR: The public perception that the Selangor Government disagrees with the construction of the Langat 2 water treatment plant project “is untrue”, said Pengurusan Aset Air Bhd’s (PAAB) chief executive officer and director Datuk Ahmad Faizal Rahman.

Gumusut deepwater field starts to pump oil

SINGAPORE: Malaysia has started pumping oil from the Gumusut deepwater oilfield offshore Sabah, with an initial output of 10,000 barrels per day (bpd), sources familiar with the matter said.

News

Govt revenue to hit RM200bil this year

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Government revenue is expected to hit RM200bil this year, with a boost from improved efforts to collect taxes and duties.

Resorts World Sentosa penalised for breaching casino law

PETALING JAYA: Genting Malaysia Bhd’s indirect subsidiary Resorts World Sentosa Pte Ltd (RWS) has been fined $S600,000 (RM1.5mil) by the Singapore Casino Regulatory Authority (CRA) for partially reimbursing the annual entry levy paid by local patrons.

Ananda redeems RM1.06b sukuk

PETALING JAYA: Tycoon T. Ananda Krishnan-controlled Binariang GSM Sdn Bhd has partially redeemed RM1.06bil of its senior sukuk and prepaid US$6.87mil of its US dollar-denominated term loan, said a local ratings agency.

Shapadu not affected by highway liquidation

PETALING JAYA: The Shapadu group is not affected by the liquidation of Lebuhraya Shapadu Sdn Bhd as the highway toll concessionaire is a special-purpose vehicle (SPV), according to a Shapadu Corp Sdn Bhd spokesperson.

New marketing platform for SMEs

KUALA LUMPUR: Young entrepreneurs as well as new small and medium enterprises (SMEs) will soon have another avenue to market their products in Singapore when the Malaysia External Trade and Development Corp (Matrade) completes a process to pick 50 of them to kickstart a programme spearheaded by the Young Entrepreneur Organisation Malaysia (GMB Malaysia).

BRDB shares transacted in off-market deals

KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 23 million Bandar Raya Developments Bhd (BRDB) shares were transacted in several off-market deals on Wednesday.

Budget 2013

Car vendors and dealers call for tax incentives

PETALING JAYA: With the automotive industry’s cry for the energy-efficient vehicles (EEV) tax exemption period to be extended pacified, industry players are now shifting their hope on other incentives in Budget 2013 to encourage a more competitive business environment.

Auto

Volvo sees higher truck sales

GEORGE TOWN: Volvo Malaysia Sdn Bhd expects its truck sales for 2012 to increase substantially this year.

Property

Affordable Cyberjaya homes in the pipeline

CYBERJAYA: Affordable housing could yet make its way to Cyberjaya but this would be dictated by the needs of the market, said its master developer.

Telecommunication

Samsung expands Galaxy S3 range with new colours

KUALA LUMPUR: Samsung Malaysia Electronics extends the Samsung Galaxy S3 range with a new collection of colours for the human-centric smartphone.

Aviation

French firm taps Strand’s expertise

KUALA LUMPUR: French engineering firm AKKA Technologies plans to leverage on the expertise of local engineering company Strand Aerospace Malaysia by drawing from the latter’s pool of engineers.

Focus

Catering to Cyberjaya’s commercial sector

Cyberjaya was conceptualised and designed some 15 years ago as the nucleus of Malaysia’s Multimedia Super Corridor. As the information technology (IT) city of the country, its goal was to attract a host of world-class multimedia and IT companies to set up businesses there.

Commodities

Sarawak plywood prices seen rising

KUCHING: Sarawak’s export plywood prices are likely to rise by 5% to 10% in the next three months or so as demand from Japan continues to pick up.

Stock Analysis

Petronas eyes 1,000th outlet

ELEVATED oil prices and subsequently higher product costs are not putting the brakes on Petronas Dagangan Bhd’s expansion plans. The company is set to open its milestone 1,000th petrol station this month as it accelerates efforts to become Malaysia’s No.1 petroleum retailer in two to four years.

Stocks

Support Line

IGB Corp shares pulled back to an eight-month low of RM2.41 on Aug 24 before turning range-bound on consolidation.

Foreign News

Economists lower Singapore 2012, 2013 outlook

SINGAPORE: Singapore’s trade-dependent economy is likely to expand at a slower pace this year while inflation will probably be higher than what economists were expecting three months ago, according to a central bank survey released yesterday.

New Myanmar investment law soon

NAYPYITAW: A new foreign investment law should be promulgated in Myanmar soon, a senior minister said yesterday, after lawmakers compromised on certain proposals that were opposed by President Thein Sein who is keen to attract foreign companies.

Mining magnate awaits decision on family lawsuit

SYDNEY: Lawyers for Asia’s richest woman and three of her children held preliminary arguments yesterday over who should control a US$4bil trust, a bitter family feud that has captivated Australia.

India’s July output flat

MUMBAI: India’s industrial production barely grew in July, with the anaemic pace of expansion suggesting broader economic activity remains weak and offering little relief to embattled Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s as state elections loom.

Tycoons Li and Lee seek deeper business ties

HONG KONG: Hutchison Whampoa owner Li Ka-shing and Samsung Electronics Co chairman Lee Kun-hee, two of the richest men in Asia and among the biggest names in telecoms, met for the first time to discuss ways to deepen ties, especially in handset and network operations.

Japan July machinery orders top forecasts

TOKYO: Japan’s core machinery orders beat expectations and rose for a second month in July in a sign that rebuilding in the quake-ravaged northeast underpins capital spending, but Europe’s debt crisis and slowing Chinese and US economies cloud the outlook.

BoJ seen holding fire unless Fed moves

TOKYO: The Bank of Japan (BoJ) is likely to hold off on easing monetary policy next week unless the US Federal Reserve embarks on a fresh round of bond buying and unleashes yen rises sharp enough to derail prospects of recovery in the fragile Japanese economy.

S&P: Chinese banks will be tested

HONG KONG: Chinese banks will have their resilience tested in the next three to five years as operating conditions turn harsher, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P) says in two articles recently released as part of a special report, titled “China Credit Spotlight.”