Business & Markets 2013
Written by Shalini Kumar and Ho Wah Foon of theedgemalaysia.com
Wednesday, 06 March 2013 20:10
KUALA LUMPUR (Mar 6): Based on announcements to Bursa Malaysia and news flow today, companies that may attract investor interest on Thursday (March 6) include TM, PLANTATION [] firms, AirAsia, Gamuda and KUMPULAN HARTANAH SELANGOR BHD [] (KHSB).
TELEKOM MALAYSIA BHD [] (TM) disclosed late today Wednesday that its wholly-owned unit, TM Facilities Sdn Bhd (TMF), has been served with a writ and statement of claim by two companies for alleged wrongful termination of a lease agreement.
The plaintiffs, Menara Intan Langkawi Sdn Bhd and HBA Development Bhd, are seeking three types of damages totalling RM335.6 million from TM’s subsidiary, apart from interest and costs.
TM said the plaintiffs’ claim is premised upon an alleged wrongful termination of an “Agreement to Lease” dated 14 August 2003 between Menara Intan Langkawi Sdn Bhd and TMF.
The lease agreement was in relation to the proposed Menara Intan Langkawi project to be undertaken by Menara Intan Langkawi Sdn Bhd at the Mukim of Kuah, Langkawi, Kedah.
Plantation stocks could continue to attract the attention of investors after world famous leading analysts at a palm oil conference today gave a rather unexciting outlook on crude palm oil (CPO) prices for this year.
Chairman of LMC International Ltd, Dr James Fry, forecast CPO prices rising to RM2,625 per tonne by mid-year, saying stocks should be down to 1.8 million or 1.9 million tonnes by June or July.
Dorab Mistry, another widely-followed palm oil analyst, said CPO prices should remain in RM2,300– RM2,500 range until end-April, warning that trading may be more volatile due to a looming general election in Malaysia.
Mistry added that improving soybean output from South America, estimated to grow more than 20% this year, may push down palm oil prices to RM2,200 after mid-April.
AIRASIA BHD [] has had its price objective pegged at RM1.85 by Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML), which is a 37.5% discount to its last traded price of RM2.96.
The research house said: “Malindo’s launch in the coming weeks and fears of how severe the resulting price erosion will be, as well as uncertainty over the upcoming Malaysian elections, will keep the stock under pressure.”
It added that although AirAsia is ramping up its capacity aggressively, it is “doubtful” that these additional seats can be filled at the same unit revenues.
The research house also commented that AirAsia’s management “looks increasingly thinly spread”, with Japan and the Philippines are still loss-making and its proposed venture in India is likely to be time-consuming.
Kumpulan Darul Ehsan Bhd’s (KDEB) purchase of KUMPULAN PERANGSANG SELANGOR [] Bhd’s (KPSB) 56.57% stake in Kumpulan Hartanah Selangor Bhd (KHSB) for 76 sen per share could be increased by 10%.
In an announcement to Bursa, KPSB said the increase could be made at its request to reflect the prevailing market value of the land banks and investment opportunities of KHSB by an independent valuer.
KPSB owns 254.6 million shares in KHSB, which amounts to a 56.57% stake. KHSB’s shares closed 5 sen higher at 66 sen today. About 33.34 million shares were traded.
GAMUDA BHD [] said today it is willing to “pursue an agreement with KDEB” to sell its 40% stake in SPASH to the Selangor government’s company.
On Feb 20, Gamuda received an offer from KDEB in respect of KDEB’s proposed purchase of 100% equity in SPLASH Holdings Bhd, the holding company of Syarikat Pengeluar Air Sungai Selangor (SPLASH), at a value of RM1,834.6 million.
Gamuda, which has a 40% equity interest in SPLASH Holdings, will stand to receive RM734 million in cash, if the agreement is sealed.
Gamuda said it has written to KDEB today to seek further clarification on the indicative terms and conditions set out in KDEB’s Feb 20 letter and for all parties involved to reach mutually agreed terms and conditions.
“Subject to all matters being satisfactorily concluded and agreed upon, Gamuda has informed KDEB that it is willing to pursue an agreement with KDEB,” Gamuda said.
In a separate announcement, Gamuda said its director Datuk Ng Kee Leen had today sold two million Gamuda shares in the open market at RM3.98 per share, following a sale of similar amount on March 4 at RM3.94.