PETRA, AFG,KENCANA ,UEMLAND & LOCAL NEWS

The High Court here yesterday extended to March 3 an injunction preventing Petra Perdana Bhd (PETR MK, Sell, TP:RM1.21) from divesting its remaining shares in associate company Petra Energy Bhd (PEB) pending an EGM set for Feb 4. Judicial Commissioner Mah Weng Kwai allowed the extension after meeting the lawyers in chambers. CEO Tengku Ibrahim Petra Tengku Indra Petra and the 4 others are ordered to hang on to the shares pending the disposal of the suit or the EGM, whichever comes first. According to a lawyer involved in the matter, there could be up to 2 EGMs if the first meeting next month failed to secure the removal of the 4 directors. If it came to that, Shamsul may give 21 days notice to requisition a
second EGM to let shareholders determine whether to divest the shares, said the lawyer. Depending on the outcome of the proposed EGMs, the court may then proceed to examine Petra Perdana’s disposal of 3 vessels and 2 tranches of shares which
represent a 5.38% and 25.03% stake in PEB, the lawyer added. (Financial Daily)
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Datuk Bridget Lai is still the group CEO of Alliance Financial Group Bhd (AFG) and no acting CEO has been appointed while she is on annual leave, the banking group said yesterday. The group’s board of directors did not deny that Lai or “some
senior management personnel” could be under an internal probe in matters relating to “governance issues”. AFG directors said the investigation was “purely a disciplinary investigation” looking into branch refurbishment contracts and was not related to dealing in shares, nor the sale and leaseback of a commercial building. The AFG board also confirmed Lai was on “voluntary annual leave” and she had not been forced to take leave. She is expected to be on leave for another 2 to 3 weeks. AFG’s board has also called for a media briefing today. No details have been given but the briefing is believed to be on the same matter. Investors have been spooked by the apparent lack of transparency over the latest developments in the banking group that had hogged the media limelight recently. (Financial Daily)
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Kencana Petroleum Bhd plans to set up operations in Terengganu due to the potential growth of the state’s oil and gas industry. To start, the company will use the service of an RM46m vessel to operate in nearby South China Sea, said group CEO Datuk Mokhzani Mahathir. He also added that Kencana will try to invest in Terengganu and in border areas with Thailand in the industry. Simultaneously the company is also looking to set foot in the oil and gas industry in Kemaman. Mokhzani also said the group would be looking to acquire several vessels for future works in the oil and gas industry in the South China Sea, but would also look into the ship and boat building industry in Terengganu before making the order. (Starbiz)
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KL Plaza, one of Kuala Lumpur’s oldest shopping centres on Jalan Bukit Bintang, will undergo an RM100m facelift and be renamed “fahrenheit 88”. Slated for opening on August 8 this year, the owners of the 511,000 sq ft mall are confident of the performance of fahrenheit 88 which will be positioned as a trendy lifestyle shopping complex offering affordable luxury. KL Plaza was acquired by Makna Mujur Sdn Bhd for RM470m and is being developed by Kuala Lumpur Pavillion Sdn Bhd. Its
strategic location on Jalan Bukit Bintang as well as new access from Jalan Imbi is expected to lure an annual visitorship of between 24m and 36m to fahrenheit 88. (BT)
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Saudi Arabia’s PetroSaudi International (PSI) will be about 1m shares short of triggering a compulsory sale by UBG Bhd shareholders should all it its acquisition proposals go through and raise its stake to 89.9%. The stake will cost a total of RM1.12bn at RM2.50 per UBG share, which will also be the price in a general offer (GO). PSI announced yesterday that it was set to acquire another 52.62% stake in UBG from Majestic Masterpiece Sdn Bhd (MMSB), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi-Kuwait-Malaysia Investment Corp (ADKMIC). This would raise its stake in UBG to 89.9%. MMSB confirmed the proposal and added that its acceptance of the offer was now subject to shareholder approval. PSI agreed to cooperate last September with 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), it is not clear from the Bursa Malaysia announcements whether the UBG share purchase by PetroSaudi involves IMDB as the acquisition of UBG fits the stated goals of JV. (Financial Daily)
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Silk Holdings Bhd’s unit Jasa Merin secured a RM12.4m contract from Carigali Hess Operating Company Sdn Bhd. In a filing to Bursa Malaysia, Silk said it would provide Anchor Handling Tug Supply Vessel (AHTSV) to support Carigali’s drilling programme in the Malaysia-Thailand Joint Development Area. The contract is for a primary term of one year with two extension options of one year each, adding that the contract was expected to commence in February. The contract is expected to contribute positively to earnings and assets of Silk for the financial year ending July 31, 2010 and 2011 respectively. (Starbiz

UEM Land Holdings Bhd proposed a renounceable rights issue of new shares to entitled shareholders to raise gross proceeds of about RM970m towards repaying a term loan, for acquisition consideration and working capital. In a statement, UEM Land said the entitlement basis and the issue price had not been fixed yet to provide flexibility to its board in respect of pricing and the number of shares to be issued. It aims to complete the exercise by April 30, 2010. CIMB Investment Bank Bhd has been appointed as the principal adviser to the proposed rights issue. UEM Land said the issue price was expected to be fixed at a discount of not less than 30% to the theoretical ex-rights price immediately before the price-fixing date, but shall not be lower than the par value of 50 sen. Major shareholder UEM Group Bhd had provided an irrevocable
written undertaking to subscribe in full or procure the subscription in full of its entitlement. Of the proceeds, RM633m will be used to repay a term loan owing by Bandar Nusajaya Development Sdn Bhd to UEM Group, RM266.2m for property
development expenditure, payment of trade payables and general working capital, and RM65.1m as payment for the firstinstalment for the acquisition of land parcels in Cyberjaya from Setia Haruman Sdn Bhd. (Financial Daily)
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The State Grid Corp of China (SGCC) plans to invest in Sarawak’s economic corridor which may generate US$11bn(RM36.7bn) worth of economic activities. To kick-start the proposed investment, SGCC has signed an agreement with 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) that would eventually lead to the joint venture company to undertake the projects within Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (Score). The planned investment would see an increase in the current planned projects in Score up to US$24bn. The agreement would also see both parties working together to engage the relevant
authorities in both countries on legal compliance and securing approvals. (Malaysian Reserve)
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The country’s industrial production in November unexpectedly fell 6% from the previous month and 1.3% from a year earlier, due to a dip in the mining sector. In November the mining index fell 7.4% y-o-y following softening in crude oil prices
while the manufacturing and electricity sectors posted an increase of 0.9% and 5.9% respectively. The Statistics Department said the country’s IPI for January-November fell 9% against the same period in 2008. Malaysia’s IPI grew 0.9% y-o-y in
October, the first annual increase since September 2008. From January to November 2009, the sales value of the manufacturing sector was down 21.2% to RM426.9bn. The number of employees fell 3.6% or 35,055 to 942,013 persons.
(Financial Daily)
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