CIMB, HONGLEONG, EON, PETRA,HOHUP

CIMB Group Holdings Bhd (CIMB MK, Buy, TP: RM15.00) says minority shareholders are key to whether it will delist
CIMB Thai Bank pcl after a dual listing in Thailand next year. Group CEO Datuk Seri Nazir Razak said it will consult the
small shareholders of its 93.2% owned CIMB Thai before a decision is made. The group bought into CIMB Thai, a Thai listed
local bank, last year. According to Nazir, Thailand doesn’t have a 10% squeeze-out rule, so the decision to delist will be in
consultation with the minority. A sample of opinion will be taken and action will be based on the feedback, he said. Investors in
Malaysia and Thailand reacted positively to the dual listing plan last month. The listing is expected to boost CIMB’s regional
profile, especially in Thailand, Nazir said. (BT)
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EPF may back a deal to merge the country’s sixth and seventh largest banking groups if it offered an attractive price.
EPF holds 10.7% of EON Capital Bhd, which is being eyed for a takeover by Hong Leong Bank Bhd (HLBK MK, Hold, TP:
RM8.71). Hong Leong already has the consent of Bank Negara to talk to Rin Kei Mei and the Tiong family about buying their
shares. Rin and the Tiong family own about 32% of EON Capital. Khazanah Nasional Bhd holds a tenth of EON Capital and is
said to support the deal. According to the latest annual report, as at Aug 28, EPF also holds about 10.86% in Hong Leong.
Since obtaining permission from Bank Negara to hold talks with EON Capital, Hong Leong will have to wait for the EON Capital
board to decide if it wants to talk and subsequently present any proposal from Hong Leong to shareholders. Primus Pacific
Partners Ltd is one of Eon Capital’s largest shareholders and is said to have control of the board, according to industry
sources. EPF and Khazanah do not have representatives on the board. (BT)
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Petra Perdana Bhd (PETR MK, Sell, TP: RM0.73) has received an interim ex-parte order by the High Court of Malaya
fixing an inter-parte hearing on Jan 11, 2010 on the application of Shamsul Saad to stop the sale of the remaining
29.59% stake in its associate, Petra Energy Bhd. Petra Perdana said the order had named the company, Tengku Datuk
Ibrahim Petra Tengku Indra Petra, his wife Datin Che Nariza Hashim, two other board directors Wong Fook Heng and Tiong
Young Kong and TA Securities Holdings Bhd as defendants. The order is to restrain Petra Perdana, Tengku Ibrahim, Nariza,
Wong, Tiong and any agents appointed by Petra Perdana as placement agent, from divesting the remaining shares in Petra
Energy until an extraordinary general meeting or the final disposal of the suit is held, whichever is earlier. Petra Perdana is now
awaiting further details of the suit and is seeking legal advice pending further announcements. (StarBiz)
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Kuwait Finance House (KFH) has pulled out of a RM237m deal to buy recently-completed The Icon, Jalan Tun Razak
(East Wing) from Mah Sing Group Bhd. The failed deal was announced by Mah Sing last Thursday, which means that the
RM42.67m, being an 18% upfront cost KFH paid earlier, has been forfeited. Mah Sing also said that it has found a new buyer
for the property in the form of T.S. Law Realty Sdn Bhd. Mah Sing, in its filing to Bursa Malaysia, said the deal was terminated
after Prompt Symphony Sdn Bhd, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) set up by KFH and an Australian firm, failed to pay the
balance of the agreed price. Mah Sing, through wholly-owned Star Residence Sdn Bhd, had signed the sale and purchase
agrement with Prompt Symphony in late November 2007. Prompt Symphony is an 80:20 SPV set up by KFH unit and Autron
Corp Ltd. It originally planned to buy The Icon, which measures 278,182 sq ft and will have 301 car park bays. Mah Sing said
that T.S Law Realty will pay RM226m for The Icon Jalan Tun Razak's 20-storey East Wing. (BT)
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Ho Hup Construction Bhd’s second-largest shareholder Low Chee & Sons Sdn Bhd (LCS) is opposing the board’s
proposed sale of two tracts of land. LCS, which holds a 24.7% equity stake, put up a notice to Ho Hup’s shareholders in 2
major newspaper urging shareholders not to support the proposed sale contending that the disposal price is “significantly
undervalued.” The first tract, measuring 5.5 acres located in Balakong, Selangor is proposed to be sold to Kentlee (M) Sdn Bhd
for RM7.2m cash, which is about RM30 psf. The second parcel of land held by 70%-owned subsidiary Bukit Jalil Development
Sdn Bhd, measuring 2.6 acres will be sold for RM5.67m or RM50 psf to Etnik Masyhur Sdn Bhd. Datuk Low Tuck Choy, one of
the owners of LCS, is of the opinion that the board fails to obtain the best prices for the land. The advertisement urged
shareholders to decide on what is “best for the proposals” at the coming EGM. Nonetheless, Ho Hup’s managing director Lim
Ching Choy disagreed with Low’s accusations. “The first plot of land in Balakong has no access from the main road. It is
actually lucky already that the adjacent landowner, who already has access to his own land, wants to buy it,” he said. (Financial
Daily)
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