Business & Markets 2014
Written by Ho Wah Foon of theedgemalaysia.com
Friday, 21 March 2014 19:44
KUALA LUMPUR (March 21): Based on news flow and corporate announcements today, the companies that may be in focus on Monday (March 24) could include the following:
Plantations stocks, which have already made substantial gains, may hog the limelight after leading analyst Dorab Mistry said palm oil prices could rise faster than expected and hit 3,000 ringgit per tonne in April, if the El Nino weather returns to curb yields from trees that have already been stressed by dry weather.
Benchmark Malaysian palm futures soared to an 18-month high of 2,916 ringgit ($880) earlier in March as dryness plagued plantations in Indonesia and Malaysia.
Prices should get a further boost as now there is a bigger likelihood of the crop-damaging El Nino developing from June-July onwards, Mistry was quoted by Reuters as saying today (Friday).
"This is therefore a powerful bullish factor which is likely to kick in about 3 months from now," Mistry, who heads the vegetable oil trading arm at India's Godrej Industries, said in Beijing.
MISC Bhd is selling a wholly-owned logistics unit to Utusan Printcorp Sdn Bhd for RM250 million cash. The proposed sale of MISC’s Integrated Logistics Sdn Bhd will enable MISC to unlock value in a non-core asset.
The shipping company announced to Bursa Malaysia today that it had entered into a sale and purchase agreement with Utusan Printcorp's unit Golden Age Logistics Sdn Bhd.
“The proposed disposal is in line with the initiative to divest MISC’s non-core integrated logistics business, unlock the value of MISC’s investment in MILS (MISC Integrated) and to strengthen the financial position of MISC to focus on its core business in the energy and petroleum-related shipping,” MISC said.
Encorp Bhd had tripled its net profit for the year ended Dec 31, 2013, to RM95.6 million from RM29.7 million in the previous year.
The group had proposed a single-tier final dividend of 3 sen per ordinary share for the year.
The significantly higher net profit was attributed to higher sales, progress of works achieved and also from the revaluation of assets.
Encorp's property sector had also contributed to the better performance, due to new sales, progress of works and a cost rationalization exercise undertaken in 2013.
The group had also increased its construction orderbook by RM900 million in 2013, which will sustain the company for the next three to four years.
Going forward, the company expects to maintain its growth trend in FY14, amid the cooling measures introduced by the government.
Tanjung Offshore Bhd announced today that it has entered into a sale and purchase agreement with Cross Space Securities Limited in UK to acquire its unit, Wavenet Investments Limited, for 6.7 million pounds (RM37.18 million)
Wavenet Investment Limited is a holding company that owns Sparkling Light Investments Limited, which is involved in the acquisition, development and realization of real estate.
The acquisition will see Tanjung gaining control of an eight-storey property situated in the central district of Birmingham, the third largest city in the UK.
Tanjung said it will benefit from potential recurring rental income and capital appreciation of the property in the near future.
“The acquisition of the property can also be a hedge against the volatility of the ringgit and enables Tanjung to participate in potential capital appreciation of the robust property market amidst a recovering economy in the UK,” it said in the statement.
Seacera Group Bhd has purchased land in Melaka for RM32.75 million to pursue an eco-tourism development.
The land purchased will see the construction of an eco-tourism resort with private hospitals, said the property developer that manufactures tiles.
Seacera said the construction of the resort development includes water chalets, service apartments and convention centre, to be built on the land measuring approximately 37.63 acres.
Glomac Bhd announced that it had today entered into an agreement to buy a property company for RM22.768 million. Glomac said the company it has purchased is property development company Precious Quest Sdn Bhd (PQSB).
PQSB has the rights to develop a piece of leasehold land in Kulaijaya, Johore, measuring 70.51
Hectares, registered in the name of KPRJ (Kumpulan Prasarana Rakyat Johor Sdn Bhd).
“The proposed acquisition is part of Glomac’s diversification strategy of property development into other states in Malaysia.”
“The proposed acquisition is expected to contribute positively to the future earnings of Glomac.”
XOX Berhad, a local mobile operator, has signed an agreement with e-horizon, a Swedish developer of mobile soft devices, to market globally the Voopee mobile soft device.
Voopee was jointly developed by XOX Berhad and e-horizon. It is an innovative mobile service application that allows smartphone users to have a second mobile number, minus the need for an additional phone or SIM card.
It was unveiled in January 2014 and has quickly garnered a growing user base.
The Voopee service is currently available in Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Japan, Indonesia, UK, Australia, Thailand, China, Taiwan and Malaysia.
Mr. Pekka Peltola, Chairman of e-horizon also present at the signing ceremony said: “With the formation of the joint venture Company based in Sweden, we will take on the role of marketing Voopee to the American and European markets.”
“Our exploratory meetings with mobile operators in these regions have been very positive, with much interest in offering Voopee as a revenue-generating service to their user base,” he added.
Ingenuity Consolidated Bhd and China-listed telecommnication firm ZTE Corp will assess the feasibility of setting up 3,000 flagship stores in Malaysia to sell smartphones, tablets and modems.
This will require an investment of up to RM70 million, according Ingenuity's statement to Bursa Malaysia.
Ingenuity and ZTE have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) as a prelude to a potential definitive agreement.
"The parties are to develop 3,000 touch points (kiosks or flagship store) gradually at the cost of RM1,000.00 to RM100,000 per touch point depending on the size of each touch point.
"In the event that the MOU leads to a definitive agreement, both parties will jointly invest up to RM70 million for setting up the 3,000 touch points for which the actual agreed proportion of the RM70,000,000.00 shall be mutually agreed upon later," Ingenuity said.
The MOU, to stay in force for 12 months, will also open doors for similar business models in other Southeast Asian countries.