CIMB, MAXIS,MAS,MRCB,MRCB, PROTON,UEMLAND

CIMB Thai Bank Pcl surged by a record in Bangkok on speculation its Malaysian parent will delist its shares. Theshares jumped by the daily limit of 30% to close at 3.90 baht (39 sen), the best performer in the SET Index, which dropped 1%.The stock has more than doubled in three days and closed at its highest level since September 26, 2003. CIMB GroupHoldings Bhd (CIMB MK, Buy, TP: RM15.00), said on Nov 16 it will be the first overseas company to list its shares on the Thaiexchange. CIMB CEO Nazir Razak said it hasn’t been decided whether to end the unit’s separate listing. CIMB Group plans tosell as many as 35m shares to the public, to become the largest financial services group, and among the top three companiesonce it lists on the Thai exchange. “The news about the dual listing of CIMB Group is probably the main reason for the bank’srecent gain,” said CIMB Thai CEO, Subhak Siwaraksa. (Malaysian Reserve)

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Maxis Bhd (MAXIS MK, Fair value: RM6.10) seeks RM5bn debt, potentially via Islamic bonds. CFO Rosana AnnizahRashid said Maxis is in talks with banks over ‘the most effective cost of borrowing’ and appointed CIMB Investment Bank Bhdas one of its advisers. “The intention is RM5bn,” she said. Islamic bonds, or sukuk, are asset-based bonds that pay a profit rateto investors to avoid the Shariah prohibition on interest. (Malaysian Reserve)

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Maxis Bhd (MAXIS MK, Fair value: RM6.10) may pay higher dividend after IPO. “In the past, after the full-year results” themanagement raised final dividends “and I guess one can expect that mode to continue” said CFO Rossana Annizah Rashid.She declined to say how much the increase might be. Maxis Bhd gained 8.4% on its trading debut. Maxis may rely on dividendpayments and expansion in the Internet market to attract investors as mobile services revenue growth slows in Malaysia –where wireless phone subscriptions exceed the population by 4%. Rival Digi.Com Bhd (Digi MK, Hold, TP: RM20) said on Oct28 that it plans to raise dividend payout ratio to 80% from 75% this year. Maxis CEO Sandip Das says, “We’ve been a strongcashflow company. If you look at our strong cash flow and strong Ebitda margins, we have a strong case of a payout of aminimum of 75%.” The company aims to maintain Ebitda above 50%. (Malaysian Reserve)

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Malaysian Airline System Bhd (MAS) (MAS MK, Sell, TP: RM2.00) has aborted its planned acquisition of TransmileGroup Bhd’s engineering and maintenance unit pursuant to a letter of intent (LOI) signed between the parties on Aug19, 2009. Both parties had agreed not to extend the LOI that expired yesterday, but they “will continue to be in dialogue in theevent that opportunity arises for the parties to pursue the proposed transaction in the future”. They did not provide any reasons.(Financial Daily)

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Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB) has priced its share rights issue with an entitlement basis of one-for-two atRM1.12 per share. It said the rights issue would raise gross proceeds of about RM540.7m and RM508.3m under the maximumand minimum scenarios, respectively. MRCB said the issue price was a 13.2% discount to the theoretical ex-rights price ofRM1.29 based on the five-day volume-weighted average market price up to Nov 18, 2009 of RM1.37. (Financial Daily)

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Proton Holdings Bhd will introduce a basic Exora MPV tomorrow, two days before the launch of the new Perodua MPV.The 1.6 litre Exora basic model with manual transmissions is available in three colours at 2 different prices. The solid whitemodel will be sold at an on-the-road price of RM57,548 in Peninsula Malaysia. For the genetic silver and tranquillity blackmodels, both are priced at RM57,998. In comparison, Perodua will sell its first 1.5 litre MPV from RM57,000 to RM65,000. (BT)

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UEM Land Bhd and United Malayan Land Bhd’s (UM Land) 50:50 joint venture, Nusajaya Consolidated Sdn Bhd(NCSB), is acquiring a 2.02 acre or 95,993-sq ft freehold land in Pulai from Bandar Nusajaya Development Sdn Bhd(BNDSB) and UEM Land for RM16.32m cash. UM Land said the Puteri Harbour land measuring 95,993 sq ft would bedeveloped into residential and retail components with an expected development period of four years. It said the grossdevelopment value (GDV) of the entire project was expected to be RM144m while the gross development cost was estimatedat RM112m. (Financial Daily)

MAXIS, YTLCOM, AXIATA

Maxis Bhd (MAXIS MK, Fair Value: RM6.10) has been assigned a weighting of 2.84% in the 30 stock FTSE Bursa
Malaysia KLCI index by FTSE Group, UK-based indices provider. Maxis, which begins trading today (Nov 19) will replace
Malaysian Airline System Bhd (MAS MK, Sell, TP: RM2.00) in the index series. Sector wise, the entry of Maxis into the FTSE
Bursa Malaysia KLCI index will result in the mobile telecommunications sector’s weighting to rise by 2.67% to 9.58% while
banks will see the largest fall, down 0.90% to 35.76% in the industry classification benchmark sector weightings adjustment,
FTSE Group said yesterday. (Malaysian Reserve)
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YTL Communications Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of YTL Power International Bhd (YTLP MK, Buy, TP: RM2.50), has inked a
long-term agreement with Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) (T MK, Buy, TP: RM3.98) on technology collaboration to provide
the first 4G broadband services in the country. The 15-year agreement will allow YTL Communications to ride on TM’s
wholesale ethernet nationwide using the latter’s high-speed broadband (HSBB) infrastructure to provide the first of its kind 4G
ICT services. YTL Communications hopes to start the service by early next year, offering broadband connection with speed of
up to one gigabyte per second (GBps). TM is undertaking the nationwide rollout of the RM11.3bn HSBB project, of which the
government will fork out a total of RM2.4bn in a public-private sector partnership. TM will have up to 800 broadband-enabled
exchanges and 500 new telecentres once the project is competed in 2012. (Financial Daily)
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Axiata Group Bhd (AXIATA MK, Hold, TP: RM2.75) has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with
China’s Huawei Technologies Co Ltd for a strategic partnership, towards exploring cooperation opportunities and in
search of optimal and mutually beneficial solutions in areas of innovation, procurement and financing. Axiata said through the
partnership, it aimed to improve its revenue stream in the longer term via increased utilisation in terms of network traffic
simulation and faster time-to-market, while reducing costs for the group through significant savings in terms of capital and
operating expenditures. The collaboration on financing would enable it to gain a competitive advantage from having access to
facilities at lower cost, innovative financing structures and flexible financing tenure. The MoU will be valid for two years.
(Financial Daily)
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PUNCAK, PETRA,DIALOG,NAZA, MRCB,MAHB,LCL

Puncak Niaga Holdings Bhd (PNH MK, Buy, TP: RM3.66) has decided not to pursue a proposed cooperation on water
management and related infrastructure sectors in Banten province, Indonesia. It said a memorandum of understanding
(MoU) it had signed with the provincial government had lapsed yesterday and it would not pursue the matter as not much
progress had been achieved in recent months on the MoU that was signed on Nov 18, 2008. (Financial Daily)
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Petra Perdana Bhd (PETR MK, Buy, TP: RM3.14) and subsidiary, Petra Energy Bhd, have denied reports that Datuk
Bustari Yusof was likely to emerge as a strategic shareholder in Petra Energy by acquiring a 30% stake in parent firm
Petra Perdana. In separate filings to Bursa Malaysia, both firms deny the report that the two firms could undertake a demerger
exercise due to alleged differences between shareholders. However, Petra Perdana was looking into plans to reduce bank
borrowings and other financial obligations, and to internally generate funds for medium term working capital requirements.
These plans included fund raising exercises like disposal of certain assets and investments. (Malaysian Reserve)
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Dialog Group Bhd has proposed a bonus issue of up to 568.3m shares to be credited as fully paid-up on the basis of 2
bonus shares for every 5 existing shares held on an entitlement date to be determined and announced later. Dialog
said the bonus issue was to increase the share capital to a level to better reflect the operations of the company and its
subsidiaries which were global and expanding and the group’s asset base. (Starbiz)
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Naza Group has entered into a building-for-land deal with the Government which will see it receiving 65 acres of prime
land in Kuala Lumpur for building a RM628m expo centre for Malaysia External Trade Development Corp (Matrade).
The centre and other projects planned on the land would have a combined estimated gross development value of RM15bn over
a 10-year period, said International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed. “We have four international
architects bidding for the master plan and it should be finalised in mid-December,” Naza Group joint group executive chairman
and Naza TTDI Sdn Bhd chairman S.M. Nasarudin S.M. Nasimuddin said. “We plan to build shopping malls, hotels and
offices,” he added. The site would be leased to Naza for 99 years. Naza TTDI, the property arm of the Naza Group, yesterday
signed a privatisation agreement via subsidiary TTDI KL Metropolis Sdn Bhd, with the Government and Syarikat Tanah and
Harta Sdn Bhd (a Minister of Finance Inc company) for the land-for-construction swap. Financing for the construction of the
expo centre would be via a combination of internal funds and bank borrowings and it is expected to begin in the 2Q10 for
completion in 2014. (Starbiz)
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Malaysia Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB) group managing director Shahril Ridza Ridzuan will resign from his current
post effective Nov 30. He will be succeeded by MRCB COO Mohd Razeek Hussain, who will assume the position of CEO
effective Dec 1. MRCB also announced its 3Q results ended Sept 30 yesterday, posting a net profit of R10m against a net loss
of RM26.8m in the corresponding quarter last year. Revenue for the period jumped 43.3% to RM257.1m. Accordingly, net asset
per share increased 72.7 sen as at Sept 30 against 70 sen as at Dec 31 2008. (Starbiz)
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Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) senior management are to meet with the Board of Airline Representatives
(BAR-Malaysia) today to brief on its long-delayed new incentive scheme for airlines. MAHB managing director Tan Sri
Bashir Ahmad confirmed yesterday the airport operator's plans to brief the airlines today but declined to elaborate. This would
mark the second briefing session between MAHB and BAR-Malaysia this year on the new incentives plan for airlines. The new
incentive programme would be an enhancement of the present one and will take into account the prevailing situation in the
airline industry. "The airline industry has recognised MAHB's support by not only providing incentives, but also supporting
business improvement initiatives," a source said yesterday. It is understood that one of the main features would be a tiered
incentive system based on growth ranging from 15 to 20% and would be applicable across the board to all airlines. The
expected incentive programme is long overdue and will replace the current scheme, which expired in May 2007, but has since
been extended. (BT)
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LCL Corporation Bhd has terminated its S$43.1m (RM104.7m) contract at the Marine project in Singapore and has
accepted S$1.86m as the settlement sum from Marina Bay Sands (MBS) Pte Ltd. The parties mutually agreed to the
termination of LCL subsidiary LCL Furniture (S) Pte Ltd (LCLS) as the trade contractor for the interior fit-out packages, with
retrospective effect from Nov 13. LCL said the development was due to “inconceivable differences arising from financial
commitments with MBS”. (Financial Daily)
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AIRASIA,TAGLOBAL,HEKTAR REIT,PERISAI

AirAsia (AIRA MK, Buy, TP: RM1.80) sets record with 900,000 seats sold in 48 hours. The low cost airline set a new
international sales record with 402,222 seats snapped up in 24 hours after the launch of its “one million free seats” campaign
on Nov 11. The airline said it sold another 489,000 seats the second day. Regional commercial head Kathleen Tan said Air
Asia’s website registered over 300m hits in the first 11 hours of the campaign. The success of the campaign was attributed to
their powerful blog and social networking platforms. (The Star)
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TA Global Bhd, en route to a listing on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia, has lined up a series of plans for next year,
including a possible dual listing abroad. Shareholders are looking to list the company either in Singapore or Hong Kong, a
year after its local debut, to build up the brand internationally. TA Global is due to list on Bursa Malaysia on Nov 23. (BT)
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Hektar Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) expects “better” earnings prospects next year once it completes the
refurbishment of its mall in Melaka. The 15-year old Mahkota Parade, is presently undergoing a RM30m renovation exercise
since August this year and would be relaunched by the 2Q of 2010. “We hope that when Mahkota Parade is relaunched, it will
attract more and better shoppers that will help boost rental income,” Hektar Asset Management’s executive and chief financial
officer Zalila Mohd Toon said. A net profit RM9.59m, or 3 sen per share, was reported for the period between July and
September on the back of RM22.57m in revenue. (Malaysian Reserve)
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Perisai Petroleum Teknologi Bhd is in talks with parties in Australia, Indonesia and India to secure the first contract
for its award-winning mobile offshore production and storage unit (Mopsu). Perisai group CFO Yeo Pek Chin said it
looked forward to securing its first contract, which would keep it busy for “a few” years. He was not able to share any earnings
or revenue projection from these contracts. Yeo said the Mopsu, with a lifespan of 25 years, had the capability to operate water
depths of 80 to 120 metres, depending on its variant or type. It costs about US$70m (RM235.9m) to US$80m to fabricate a
Mopsu. To fund the deployment of the first Mopsu, Perisai recently raised funds via a US$10m redeemable convertible bonds
(RCB), which were fully taken up by a private equity fund in Singapore. As it takes 18 months to fabricate a Mopsu, it is safe to
assume that Perisai may only see earnings in the venture to trickle in from next year onwards. Nonetheless, Perisai had
projected a full-year net profit of RM61.1m for the year ending Dec 31, 2009 (FY09) and RM74m for FY10. (Financial Daily)
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A foreign investor has submitted a proposal for the RM10.24bn project to build an aluminium smelter complex in
Sabah and is awaiting positive response from the state government. Sabah Land Development Board (SLDB) chief
executive officer Jhuvarri Majid said the project vendors hoped to start construction of the complex, with an annual capacity of
620,000 tonnes per annum, by June 2010, provided all the approvals are obtained. “The investors have been engaged in
negotiations with SLDB over the last six months and are confident Sabah can become a major player in aluminium production
in South-East Asia,” he said. (Malaysian Reserve)
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Two-year review bodes well for construction, says Master Builders Association Malaysia (MBAM). MBAM president Ng
Kee Leen says the push by the Government under the 10th Malaysia Plan to monitor and review the construction industry’s
performance over two years instead of five years bodes well for the industry. This approach was supported by MBAM as it
would be more “current” for planning and allowed for better monitoring, thus increasing the prospects of the proposed projects
being achieved. With a shorter timeframe, the construction industry would be able to deliver its role more efficiently, cost
effectively and on time. (Starbiz)
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Exxon Mobil Corporation and Coca-Cola are expected to make substantial investments in the local beverage and gas
sectors soon. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said Exxon expressed its intention to venture into high CO2 content
gas extraction while beverage giant Coca-Cola wanted to build a modern plant in Malaysia. He said, “For Exxon this will require
additional investment as it is a new form of technology,” while adding the project would be located in Kiminis Sabah. Coca-Cola
said the new bottling plant will be using advanced technology. The value of these investments will be announced later as the
Government was still working out details of the tax incentives requested by the companies. (The Star)
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MAXIS fair value RM6.10, so low?DIGI,GENTING,E&O,GREENPACKET

DiGi.Com Bhd (DIGI MK, Hold, TP: RM20.00) believes its Internet division will act as a driver of growth in 2010 and2011, back by its expansion plan, said its CEO Johan Dennelind. He said the internet division, comprising data usage with3G and broadband, had to-date contributed at least RM40m to DiGi’s run rate – based on the amount of sales from its services.Dennelind said DiGi would invest RM300m – RM400m annually in capital expenditure for the 2009-2011 period to grow its 3Gnetwork and “ensure enough capacity to support data”. The company targets six to seven million Internet users from bothlarge-screen PCs and laptops using broadband, and small screen hand phones using 3G by year-end. Currently, DiGi’sbroadband subscribers for the large-screen segment alone number to 30,000. (Financial Daily)

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Genting Singapore plc, a unit of Genting Berhad (GENT MK, Hold, TP: RM7.61) which is the final lap of completing theSingapore casino project in Sentosa, registered a smaller loss of S$93.35m (RM227.48m) on the back of a decreasedrevenue of S$140.73m for the 3Q ended Sept 30, 2009. Genting Singapore said yesterday, revenue came in 19% lower thanthe S$174.65m recorded in the corresponding period last year. In tandem with the lower revenue, its losses were also lowercompared to the S$116.83m incurred in the 3Q last year. Genting Singapore said that so far it has, through its wholly ownedsubsidiary Resorts World at Sentosa Pte Ltd (RWSPL), invested S$6.59bn into the Singapore casino project. As at Sept 30,2009, RWSPL has awarded or committed more than S$5bn in project costs and remains on track for the integrated resort’s softopening by January 2010. (Financial Daily)

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Maxis Berhad (MAXIS MK, Fair Value: RM6.10), a unit of Maxis Communications Bhd, has upped the ante on thebroadband face-off among wireless broadband providers by launching the country’s first made-for-mobile movie.Dimensions, a science fiction movie that has been broken up in 11 five-minute episodes, was launched as a free serviceyesterday in a partnership between Maxis and Measat Broadcast network Systems Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Astro All AsiaNetworks plc. Presently, the extent of the partnership is limited to the launch of Dimensions. The movie was written and shotexclusively for the mobile market. This stands to contract to other rich mobile multimedia content, which is often repackaging ofexisting content to fit mobile limitations. Maxis’ CEO Jean-Pascal van Overbeke described the movie as an “investment” toshow Maxis users the full capabilities of their mobile devices through the use of mobile-specific content. The Dimensionsepisodes are available for free at its website. Maxis users and Maxis affiliates from around the globe would also be able toaccess the episodes through their mobile devices with no data or download charges. On the commercial aspects of thisenterprise, van Overbeke said it would depend on customer response to the movie. At this point in time, Dimensions will bemonetised through the availability of accompanying accessories such as wallpapers for download and other associatedmultimedia messaging services (MMS). ”It’s an investment, and we don’t expect to see payback right away.” Van Overbekesaid. “We want to showcase where and what (media streaming) could be like.” (Financial Daily)

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Eastern & Oriental Bhd (E&O) has raised a total of RM236m from its rights issue of irredeemable convertible securedloan stocks (ICSLS), which saw an oversubscription rate of 2.9 times above the minimum level. The ICSLS is expected to belisted on Nov 20, 2009. The ICSLS was issued at 65 sen each, offering a coupon of 8% per annum payable annually and issecured against certain assets of the group. ICSLS holders have the option to convert to E&O shares on a one-for-one basisanytime within the 10-year tenure while E&O has the option to convert after two years of issuance once E&O shares exceedRM1. (Financial Daily)

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Green Packet Bhd aims to reverse losses in its next fiscal year after net loss for the nine months ending 30 September2009 widened to RM81.94m from RM17.91m in the same period last year. Green Packet CEO Puan Chan Cheong said its 4GWiMax operator arm, Packet One Networks (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (P1), is expected to report profits in the second half next yearafter suffering losses that were resulted by heavy investment in deployment of its wireless broadband. Green Packet incurredcapital expenditure of RM337m since 2008, and RM155m will be invested over the next three quarters. Puan said that resultswill start to be seen two years after their investment. After winning the WiMax license in Singapore recently, Green Packet islooking to bid for two more licences in South East Asia next year. (Malaysian Reserve)* * * * *

MEDIA,MAXIS,MAS

Media Prima Bhd (MPR MK, Hold, TP: RM1.69) is expected to revise upwards its offer for The New Straits Times Press(Malaysia) Bhd (NSTP) shares it does not own by improving the swap ratio. “They are upping the offer from its original oneMedia Prima share for every one NSTP share. The improved offer of 1.1 Media Prima shares for every one NSTP share willvalue NSTP at RM2.20 per share compared with RM2 previously. The revised offer could even go up to 1.2 Media Primashares for every one NSTP share. Regardless, the offer will be upped to at least RM2.20 per NSTP share,” said a source.Apart from a direct swap of shares, Media Prima in its proposal to privatise NSTP is also offering one Media Prima warrant forevery 5 NSTP shares held. In a further move to appease minority shareholders, sources said NSTP could also declare aspecial dividend. Media’s Prima’s proposed privatisation of NSTP is not well received by the minorities of the latter as it is lessthan half its book value and at 18.7% discount to its last traded price of RM2.46. (Financial Daily)

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Bursa Malaysia announced yesterday that Maxis Bhd (MAXIS MK, FV: RM6.10) will be eligible for fast entry into theFTSE Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index in accordance with the FTSE Bursa Malaysia Index groundrules. This is because Maxis’ full market capitalisation is expected to exceed 2% of the full capitalisation of the FTSE BursaMalaysia Emas index, it said in a statement. It said that several changes in the FTSE Bursa Malaysia Index series will takeeffect on Nov 20, subject to the listing of Maxis on Nov 19. On the changes, Bursa Malaysia said Maxis will be added to theFTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI with a shares in issue total of 7.5bn and an investability weighting of 30%. Malaysian AirlineSystem Bhd (MAS) (MAS MK, Sell, TP: RM2.00) will be removed from the index, it said. (BT)

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Malaysia Airlines (MAS) (MAS MK, Sell, TP: RM2.00) is investing a total of RM480m in its Passenger Services System(PSS) over the next 10 years. “We believe that over a period of 10 years, this will provide us benefits worth over RM2bn,” saidmanaging director and CEO Tengku Datuk Azmil Zahruddin. “This is both in terms of revenue for customers due to theenhancement that we are providing as well as better efficiency that we expect to procure from the system,” he said. Theprogramme is divided into five streams – reservation, ticketing, departure control, revenue integrity, and fares management.The system had saved MAS more than RM300m last year. (Malaysian Reserve

YTLP, MAXIS,SCOMI, GREENPACKET, MRCB

YTL Communications Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of YTL Power International Bhd (YTLP MK, Buy, TP: RM2.50) yesterday announced a 4G innovation network that will see the company head a consortium of major industry players. YTL Communications signed agreements with technology players Cisco, Clearwire, GCT Semiconductor and Samsung to develop new products and applications for YTL’s 4G WiMAX network, expected to be rolled out some time in the 2H10. The innovation partnership will help develop key products for YTL’s WiMAX network, such as handsets featuring mobile voice-over-IP (VOIP), a technology that is being pioneered by Samsung. Presently, YTL is planning a launch that will cover the entire nation, which
will make it the first company in the world to do so. The cost of investment is expected to be about RM2.5bn. (Financial Daily)

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Maxis Bhd set the price of its IPO shares at RM4.75 each while institutional and cornerstone tranches are at RM5 per share, collectively raising RM11.2bn from listing 2.25bn shares. The market capitalisation at institutional price amounts to RM37.5bn with enterprise value of RM42.5bn. The institutional offering book, excluding the offering to cornerstone and
approved bumiputra investors, was 3.7 times covered (equivalent to RM19.3bn), comprising 500 global investors. The IPO attracted orders over RM26.5bn with strong demand from international and Malaysian investors. Foreign interest came from nstitutional investors familiar with Malaysia, 10 institutional investors new to Malaysia with orders of RM1.3bn, as well as
sovereign wealth funds. The institutional offering will raise RM5.3bn, of which US$800m will be from foreign investors. Bumiputra investors and cornerstone tranches attracted RM5.2bn for 1bn shares. Cornerstone investors include Employees Provident Fund, Fidelity Funds-Malaysia Fund, Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (Diperbadankan) and Permodalan Nasional Bhd. The retail offering of 212.3m shares was oversubscribed by 180% for 381.2m shares worth RM2bn. Upon its listing on Nov 19 Maxis will become a component part of the FTSE Bursa Malaysia Composite Index, and increase capitalisation of the market by 4%. (Star Biz)

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Scomi Engineering Bhd and its Brazilian partner CR Al-meida SA Engenharia De Obras have made it past the prequalification stage of the US$1.35bn (RM4.56bn) Sao Paulo monorail job in Brazil. Other companies pre-qualified for the job include Bombardier of Canada, Siemens of Germany and Hitachi of Japan. The next stage for the pre-qualified companies will be submitting of proposals, which has to be done by Dec 21.The pre-qualified companies are required, among others, to design and build the monorail system, and purchase 54 trains with a minimum passenger capacity of 1,000 persons each. The first 2.4km stretch will connect the future stations of Vila Prudente and Oratorio, with testing due by end-2010. The second stage, to be ready in 2011, involves a 10.4km stretch that will continue on to the Sao Mateus station. The complete line to the Cidade Tiradentes neighbourhood is expected to be ready in 2012. (Financial Daily)

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Green Packet Bhd (GPB) is proposing a 10% private placement of up to 84.8m new shares of 20 sen each towards raising additional funds expeditiously and strengthening its balance sheet position without incurring interest costs as opposed to bank borrowings. Green Packet group managing director CC Puan said the exercise may also broaden its institutional investor base. Green Packet said the issue price would be determined and fixed by the board once approval had been sought from the relevant authorities. It said both its major shareholders, Green Packet Holdings Ltd (GPHL) and OSK Technology Ventures Sdn Bhd, had indicated their intention to participate in the proposed placement. It added that the placement shares were also proposed to be placed out to independent third-party investors to be identified later. (Financial Daily)

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Malaysian Resources Corporation Bhd (MRCB) has made a foray into the Australian property development market, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Bitar Enterprises Sdn Bhd which acquired 70% equity interest in Australian company Yes 88 Pty Ltd. MRCB is forking out some A$6.57m (RM20.64m) for the Australian venture, entering into a shareholders and subscription agreement with 3 individuals and shareholders of Yes 88 – Chong Kai Wai, Tam Cheok Wing
and Chang Chai Kin – who are Malaysians involved in the property development business in Australia. MRCB and the existing shareholders of Yes 88 are planning to jointly develop 2 four-storey buildings to be utilised as residential dwellings and student accommodation on the parcel of land. The estimated gross development value is A$54.8m. MRCB said that this acquisition,
“will provide an inroad for MRCB to expand its property business in Australia”. (Financial Daily)
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