CPO rises above RM4,000

PETALING JAYA: Local commodity prices advanced yesterday, with the benchmark crude palm oil (CPO) futures rising above the RM4,000-a-tonne level for the first time, while tin jumped for a fifth consecutive record session on a buoyant overseas market.
Analysts said the commodities market was benefiting from unprecedented interest from investment funds seeking better returns and shying away from the lacklustre bonds and equities.
Crude oil in New York hit a new high of US$103 per barrel before pulling back yesterday. Gold also climbed to an all-time high of US$978 an ounce yesterday as investors sought to shield their money against inflation.
While prices of precious metals like gold and silver rallied, metals such as copper and tin also strengthened despite worries consumption would falter if the world economy slowed drastically.
On the home front, the CPO futures contract for May delivery rose RM155 to RM4,005 a tonne.
The contract hit a peak of RM4,013 yesterday as it tracked the record performance of rival soybean in Chicago's futures market overnight.
The palm oil price in Malaysia – the global benchmark – has doubled over the past one year as the bullish outlook for the commodity fuelled heavy interest from speculative funds.
At an industry conference in Kuala Lumpur earlier this week, experts forecast CPO could reach as high as RM4,500 per tonne in the coming months as the production of competing vegetable oils may fall this year.
China and India, the two biggest consumers of world vegetable oils, are projected to increase their palm oil purchases to make up for anticipated shortfalls in their own production of soybean and rapeseed.
Both soybean and rapeseed can be crushed to make cooking oil or biodiesel.
Palm oil is a cheaper substitute for soyoil and rapeseed oil.
Meanwhile, the weaker US dollar against major currencies has benefited investors holding non-US dollar denominated plays such as the ringgit-based CPO futures contract.
The ringgit was traded to a high of 3.1848 against the greenback yesterday – its best level in a decade. It stood at 3.362 to the dollar three months ago.
Despite the gains by CPO and the local currency, stock prices on Bursa Malaysia continued to weaken for a second day in a row.
The KL Composite Index fell 10.87 points to 1,357.4, the lowest since Jan 22 this year.-www.thestar.com.my

Oil surges past US$103

SINGAPORE: Oil touched a new high above US$103 today after Ecuador shut a key export pipeline and a fire hit a major European natural gas plant, while the US dollar’s fall to a series of lows kept fresh funds flowing in.Prices later shed initial gains, with US crude down 4 cents to US$102.55 a barrel by 0344 GMT, after hitting US$103.05 in early morning trade, smashing the inflation-adjusted high of US$102.53 reached in 1980, a year after the Iranian revolution.London Brent crude dropped 6 cents to US$100.84 a barrel.The spike came ahead of OPEC’s meeting in Vienna next week, where most members now say they are unlikely to raise production due to hefty global crude and fuel stocks ahead of the second quarter.“Hedge funds are taking advantage of the very weak dollar, but the fundamentals are very poor,” said Makoto Takeda of Tokyo’s Bansei Securities.The Trans-Ecuadorean pipeline, which pumps most of the oil extracted by Petroecuador in the Amazon jungle to ports on the Pacific Ocean, was shut after a landslide punctured it.State oil firm Petroecuador initially said it would declare force majeure on shipments from the pipeline, but shortly thereafter reversed the decision, saying it would bypass the damage or use a private pipeline.Oil surged late yesterday after a fire at the Bacton Gas Shell terminal in Norfolk, England, shut more than 45 million cubic metres per day of gas supplies, about 13 per cent of the UK national grid’s forecast demand.Shell said the fire had been extinguished and the plant had been shut down safely.Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said yesterday the United States would avoid a 1970s-style period of “stagflation”, but acknowledged global price pressures could complicate central bank efforts to lift the economy.The dollar dropped to a record low versus the euro after Bernanke’s testimony did nothing to dispel expectations that interest rates are headed lower.Prices of dollar-denominated commodities tend to rise when the currency weakens.US Energy Secretary Sam Bodman repeated calls for the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to raise production flows as consumers grapple with rising oil costs, the mortgage crisis and the credit crunch.But Venezuelan Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said there was no need for OPEC to increase production. The head of Libya’s OPEC delegation Shokri Ghanem said earlier that the cartel most likely will leave output steady.US crude oil stocks rose for the seventh straight week last week, US government data showed on Wednesday, while gasoline stocks are at 14-year highs. - Reuters

Ramunia wins US$685m pipeline job

TWO subsidiaries of Malaysian oil and gas services firm Ramunia Holdings Bhd have won a US$685 million contract to build a submarine pipeline off India’s west coast, Ramunia said yesterday.India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd awarded the contract, Ramunia added.-www.btimes.com.my

MAS Posts Record Net Profit Of RM851 Million

PETALING JAYA, Feb 25 (Bernama) -Malaysia Airline System Bhd (MAS)posted its highest profit in its 60-year history and confirmed its turnaround with a record net profit of RM851 million for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2007, a swing of RM987 million compared to the RM136 million in losses a year ago.The financial performance surpassed its previous record net profit of RM461 million in 2004.Its revenue increased 13 percent to RM15.3 billion from RM13.5 billion due to strong passenger demand and sustained yield improvements.Operating profit improved to RM798 million from a RM296 million loss previously on the back of a robust 71.5 percent passenger load factor and yield which rose 12 percent to 27 sen per revenue passenger kilometre (RPK).Managing director and chief executive officer Datuk Seri Idris Jala today described the growth as testament to Malaysia Airlines' life-changing transformation from a close to bankrupt airline in 2005 to one that achieved record profits in 2007 via its Business Turnaround Plan (BTP) while maintaining its reputation for excellent services."We have exceeded all of our financial targets and surpassed our 2007 stretch target of RM300 million by 184 percent and our 2008 target of RM500 million by 70 percent," he told a media briefing on the airline's financial year result here.Jala said the financial year net profit of RM851 million was driven by operational improvement amounting to RM2.6 billion over the RM1.7 billion base case loss in 2005.The one-off gain from sale of aircraft and properties is offset by the one-off provision for aircraft maintenance and overhaul, he said.Jala also said that in view of the record performance, which marks the successful achievement of the turnaround, the board of directors will recommend at its annual general meeting in June a final dividend of 2.5 sen per share, the airlines' first dividend payout since financial year 2004/2005.The proposed dividend of RM41 million is the highest in 10 years, and will be paid on a date to be determined and is subject to shareholders' approval.In the fourth quarter, MAS' net profit doubled to RM242 million from RM122 million in the corresponding quarter in the previous year.Revenue rose eight percent to RM4.1 billion from RM3.8 billion while operating profit more than doubled to RM245 million from RM116 million.Passenger load factor also remained strong, at 70.8 percent while yield rose 13 percent to 29 sen per RPK, the company's highest ever.Jala said MAS has approved bonuses to all its staff which will be announced in March.He also said that MAS believes that it could achieve more than RM1 billion profit this year, taking into consideration that jet fuel price could remain constant at US$91 per barrel."Barring unforeseen circumstances, we aspire to achieve our stretch profit target of RM1 billion in 2008 and double or even triple that by 2012," he said.The national airline currently has a healthy cash position of RM5.3 billion which Jala said will be used to grow the company.Asked whether MAS is looking at mergers and acquisitions, he said: "I believe that MAS is in the comfortable position to grow organically and when the opportunities arrive, we will look at them very seriously."On the purchase of A380 aircraft whose delivery has been delayed, MAS chief financial officer Tengku Azmil Zahruddin said discussions are still ongoing with Airbus."We are still talking but we have not finalised anything yet," he said, adding that MAS will consider any options that will benefit the company.

Malaysia May Have To Adopt Higher Interest Rate Regime, Says Economist

PETALING JAYA, Feb 23 (Bernama) -Malaysia may have to adopt a higher interest rate regime by the end of the second quarter of this year as inflationary pressures become more prominent in the economy, according to an economist.Senior strategist of global markets, Asia, of Fortis Bank Singapore branch, Joseph Tan, said while an aggressive hike in interest rates may not be necessary to slow inflation, the Malaysian economy may need to take the first step in raising interest rate by 25 basis points."As surging oil prices prevail in the global horizon and inflationary pressures gather steam, Malaysia will have to assess the extent of the impact of the 25-basis point hike on inflationary pressures," he told Bernama on the sidelines of the 2008 International Financial Planning Advisors Conference here.According to Tan, the Asian region is now grappling with inflationary pressures in the economy.While Malaysia's inflation may not be at an alarming rate currently since it was coming more from the supply side, Tan said lingering high crude oil prices will trickle down to the prices of food and other essential items eventually, especially if fuel subsidies are lowered."There is also a tendency for the currency to strengthen further against the US dollar as other currencies in the Asian region rallied against the US dollar and struggled to keep interest rates steady," he said.During the week, the yuan broke a new record high, rising 16 percent since the end of its pegging to the dollar in 2005, as China's central bank pledged to make the currency more flexible to curb inflation.The Singapore dollar also rose to a 10-year high this week while other currencies in Asia also gained significantly following the weakening of the US dollar on expectations of more interest rate cuts as poor economic data points to a slowdown for the US economy.Tan said the key themes for Asia this year will be the sub-prime mortgage effects in the United States, the easing stance of the US Federal Reserve and inflationary pressures.According to him, Asia can withstand a slowdown in the US economy."Asia is the fastest growing region today. There will be no recession in this region. Its high currency reserves and regional financial cooperation such as the Chiang Mai initiative will keep the economy growing," he said.Tan said Asia has investment grade credits and is an attractive bond market, particularly countries like Vietnam, Indonesia and India.However, there are risks to the economy, he said, adding that markets in Asia and globally have become more volatile."Risks of crisis will likely to be more systematic rather than country- or region-specific," he said.

IJM Awarded RM600 Million Road Project In South India

NEW DELHI, Feb 23 (Bernama) -A consortium between Malaysia's IJM Corp and India's Infrastructure Development Finance Ltd (IDFC) bagged a road project worth about RM600 million (6.75 billion rupees)in south India.India's Road Transport and Highways Ministry's Secretary Brahma Dutt told reporters that the order was part of the five mega road-widening projects amounting to RM8.7 billion (US$2.7 billion) that was cleared by the Indian government.IDFC and IJM had formed a joint venture in the ratio of 50:50 to construct the 82.50-kilometre stretch between Chilkaluripet-Vijaywada in Andhra Pradesh, on India's National Highway (NH) 5.IJM country director for India, Ng Chin Meng, said it was the first design, built, finance and operate (DBFO) project awarded."The concession period is for 15 years. It will take 30 months to expand from the existing two lanes to six lanes," he told Bernama.The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) also awarded Larsen & Toubro a project to widen highway in south India for nearly RM400 million (4.19 billion rupees), said Dutt.This project covers the 43-kilometre Chennai-Tada stretch on NH5.The NHAI on Friday awarded the five main projects to expand to six-lanes of the Golden Quadrilateral and the North-South corridor.The entire road expansion project in both these corridors will cover about 882 kilometres.IJM forayed into the Indian market in 1997 to exploit the growth opportunities in the Indian infrastructure sector, particularly in the construction and power sectors, and successfully completed several major highway projects.

Westports to raise RM800m via sukuk

WESTPORTS Malaysia Sdn Bhd, the operator of Westports in Port Klang, will appoint OSK Holdings Bhd to arrange, structure and lead-manage its RM800 million sukuk issue in a ceremony today.The company will use money raised from the sale of the Islamic bond to finance the port's expansion.Westports Malaysia is spending some RM800 million over three years starting 2007 to boost the number of berths and increase container-handling facilities at the port.In a September 2007 interview, Westports executive chairman Tan Sri G. Gnanalingam had said that the first-year expansion calls for RM460 million in spending, which includes a 600m expansion of its current 2,600m berth length, scheduled to be completed by June this year.Additionally, it has bought four new Super Post-Panamax quay cranes at RM77.4 million, bringing the total number to 28.Westports will also expand its container yard operations, buy 48 prime movers, 51 trailers and 33 rubber-tyred gantry cranes.Gnanalingam had said that the investment will be funded by internal accruals, deferred payments to contractors for five years and bank borrowings.He added that the port's expansion is to cater for its growing container throughput, where it aims to handle five million TEUs (20-foot equivalent units) this year. -www.btimes.com.my

Gulf Petroleum to invest RM15.8 Bln in Manjung

IPOH, Feb 17 (Bernama) -- Gulf Petroleum Limited will invest RM15.8 billion to build an oil and petrochemical refinery complex on a 400-hectare site in Manjung, Perak, and turn it into a hub for the Asia Pacific region.Its president, Abdulaziz Hamad Al-Delaimi, said the project would be divided into three phases and involve investments from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Oman dan Kuwait."Phase One of the project is expected to start in six months with investments totalling RM6.4 billion. It involves the construction of an oil refinery plant with a processing capacity of 150,000 barrels per day," he said after the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Gulf Petroleum (M) Sdn Bhd and the Perak government here today.Present was Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Tajol Rosli Ghazali.Abdulaziz said Phase Two involved a RM6.4 billion petrochemical project while another RM3 billion for the construction of an oil storage plant under Phase Three.He said the complex would source its crude oil supplies from Gulf countries and re-export 60 percent of the products.Gulf Petroleum is an integrated oil and gas company with interests in West Asia, North Africa and Europe. Among its major shareholders is the Qatar royal family.-- BERNAMA

Robert Kuok tops list of richest Malaysians

SUGAR King Tan Sri Robert Kuok Hock Nien remains the richest Malaysian, ahead by a wide margin from closest rival T. Ananda Krishnan, according to Malaysian Business magazine’s list of 40 Richest Malaysians.The magazine in its February 16 issue puts Kuok’s wealth at RM58.11 billion, which accounts for nearly 36 per cent of the total wealth of the 40 richest.The Hong Kong-based tycoon added a whopping RM25.7 billion to his vast fortune last year, due to the higher equity prices of his stable of listed stocks. It said Ananda Krishnans fortune, however, registered a marginal drop to RM19.63 billion. IOI Corporation Bhd's Tan Sri Lee Shin Cheng, said the magazine, has for the first time etched himself in the top three position of Malaysia's richest by doubling his fortune to RM14.94 billion. Others in the top-10 ranking are Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan of Hong Leong Group (RM11.098 billion), Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Albukhary of the Albukhary Foundation (RM8.550 billion), Tan Sri Teh Hong Piow of Public Bank (RM8.060 billion), Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay of Genting (RM3.168 billion) and Tan Sri Tiong Hiew King of the Rimbunan Hijau Group (RM3.87 billion). The magazine said two tycoons found their way to the Top-10 - Tan Sri Vincent Tan of Berjaya Group (RM3.409 billion) and Tan Sri Azman Hashim of Amcorp Group (RM2.87 billion). “They dislodged YTL Corp patriarch Tan Sri Yeoh Tiong Lay who slips to 13th position (RM1.747 billion),” it said.Among the notable new entrants to the list is Singapore-based Ong Beng Seng who, at RM1.74 billion, ranks number 14. The others are Datuk Tony Tiah Thee Kian of TA Enterprise Bhd, Datuk Seri Lau Cho Kun of Gek Poh Holdings, Datuk Lin Yun Ling of Gamuda Bhd, Datuk Seri Liew Kee Sin of SP Setia Bhd and Kwan Ngen Chung of Kwantas Corporation Bhd. "Their wealth was assessed based on the value of their stakes in listed companies as at January 18, 2008,” the magazine said. — Bernama

Commodity exports hit record RM90b

MALAYSIA raked in RM90 billion from commodity exports in 2007, a fresh record for the sixth consecutive year."The main contributors to this big jump are palm oil, cocoa and pepper. Palm oil surged by 42 per cent, cocoa by 25 per cent and escalating pepper prices fuelled exports by 30 per cent," Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui told Business Times in a telephone interview from Miri yesterday."Initially we forecast that we could surpass RM80 billion. Now, the numbers show we've raked in RM89.60 billion. 2007 has been a fantastic year.The value of Malaysia's commodity exports has risen by 13 per cent every year for the past five years, thanks to strong demand and better prices.Exporters are also not worried about a slowdown in the US economy as they have diversified their markets.Chin explained that America's healthcare sector will continue to buy our rubber gloves because they are a necessity."The biggest buyers of our palm oil are China, Europe and Pakistan. As for rubber, it is China, Japan and Europe. When it comes to timber, it is Japan, China and India. So, you see, the bulk of our green commodities go to China, not the US," he added.Recently, economists noted the increasing contribution of commodities to Malaysia's economy while manufacturing, which makes electrical and electronic (E&E) products, posted less encouraging numbers."Although exports of E&E still contribute a big chunk to the economy, plantation-based exports are expanding rapidly. Another point is this sector imports very little raw materials to make finished products for exports," he said."When you compare oil and gas exports, green commodities are renewable. We are constantly replanting old and unproductive trees with better-yielding ones as we go along," Chin said. -www.btimes.com.my

IJM wins RM632m Pakistan contract

IJM Corp, via joint-venture company IM Technologies Pvt Ltd, has clinched a RM632 million contract to design and construct a 47-storey information technology complex in Karachi, Pakistan, which will be the tallest building in the country upon completion.Expected to be completed within 30 months, the building will comprise a three-storey basement carpark, a six-storey retail and commercial area, 41-storey office space, a 240-room hotel and a call centre that can accommodate 10,000 seats. Chief executive officer Datuk Krishnan Tan said the award of the contract indicates the Karachi local government's confidence in the expertise and capabilities of IJM as well as its partners."We are honoured to be given this project and hope there will be more cooperation as such in the future," he said after witnessing the project contract signing ceremony between IM Technologies and Karachi Development Co Ltd in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.IM Technologies, a 60-40 joint-venture company between IJM and Malpak Ltd, was represented by its director Datuk Goh Chye Koon, while Karachi Development was represented by Karachi mayor Syed Mustafa Kamal. Meanwhile, on Karachi's RM350 million elevated highway project, Tan said IJM will need to re-evaluate the project, including re-pricing, following the local government's decision to make some changes to the expressway design."We are not able to give a timeline on how long it will take to re-evaluate the project. It all depends. We will need to look at the entire project as well as the proposed changes," he said.Commenting on the present political climate in Pakistan, he said IJM remains interested to look for opportunities in the country, despite the higher risk factor."The risk is there. However, we are also looking at its interesting economic numbers. It has huge potential. "Currently, contribution from Pakistan is still insignificant to the group. However, this is a new territory for us and once we secure more projects, it is possible that it could be a significant revenue contributor to us," he added. -www.btimes.com.my

Malaysia sees 2008 budget deficit at 3.1pc of GDP

MALAYSIA is confident of meeting its target of shrinking its budget deficit to 3.1 per cent of GDP in 2008, the country's Second Finance Minister said in an interview on state television today.Malaysia is trying to reduce its deficit while subsidising fuel and food prices to keep them affordable. The deficit was officially forecast at 3.2 per cent last year, compared with 3.3 per cent of GDP in 2006."We need to be disciplined," Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop told RTM1, adding that government subsidies for education, fuel, and health care amounted to RM81 billion.He added: "Even with this RM81 billion subsidy, we were still able to reduce the deficit from 5.5 per cent in 2000 to 3.2 per cent in 2007 and we are confident we can reduce the deficit even further to 3.1 per cent this year," he added.Malaysia wants to restructure subsidies so that only the poor benefit from them, but the government has given no details yet.Nor Mohamed has earlier said Malaysia expected to fork out RM35 billion in fuel subsidies this year if crude oil continued to hover near US$100 a barrel.Malaysia is a net oil exporter and its oil revenue has soared with the rising price of crude, but it spends US$4.5 billion a year on fuel subsidies - about a tenth of total government revenue in 2007 - to keep pump prices among the lowest in Asia.The minister also said that Bursa Malaysia can advance and breach the 1,700 points level by the end of this year based on continued foreign investor support and confidence in the market.The stock market would always continue to mirror conditions in the market such as political stability, the country’s macro economic conditions plus its financial standing, which has been the case in Malaysia, he told reporters after the “Selamat Pagi Malaysia” talk show over RTM1.The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index, which touched a high of 1,516.22 points on January 11, is trading at an average of 1,400 points.This means that the KLCI can climb by 21 per cent. - Reuters, Bernama

LCL bags RM295m Dubai LRT deal

LCL Corp Bhd, an interior fit-out company, has won a RM295 million contract to carry out works for what will be the world's longest automated light rail transit system.It will carry out fit-out works for the Red Line Stations under the Dubai Metro System, it said in a statement."This project is a promising prospect for the group and will greatly enhance our position as a leading interior fit-out player in the Middle East region and globally," group managing director Low Chin Meng said in a statement.Work will start immediately and is due to be done by the second quarter of 2009. It will do fit-out works for 14 stations across various landmarks in Dubai city.LCL's United Arab Emirates (UAE) based company, LCL Interiors Contracting LLC received the letter of intent from Japan-Turkey Metro Joint Venture."The Dubai Metro Stations will have the same high-quality design and standards as other construction projects in Dubai. "We are pleased that our established track record in completing interior solutions for some prestigious projects has made the group stand out among other industry players to secure this project," Low said. -www.btimes.com.my

UEM World to streamline ops

PETALING JAYA: UEM World Bhd is expected to announce in the next few days a major corporate exercise that could possibly involve the streamlining of the group's business structure to turn it into a pure property play, sources said.
The sources said the four listed companies in the UEM World stable – UEM Builders Bhd, Opus Group Bhd, Pharmaniaga Bhd and Cement Industries of Malaysia Bhd (Cima) – were expected to be transferred to UEM Group Bhd. UEM Group controls UEM World.
How the transfer would be structured is not known as those involved in the crafting of the deal are still looking at various options. One option is for all the shares held by UEM World in the four companies to be distributed to shareholders as dividends. The other option is for UEM Group to buy UEM World’s stakes in those companies.
UEM World has a 51.7% stake in listed construction firm UEM Builders, 62.4% in Opus, an asset management consultant, 72.5% in Pharmaniaga and 51.2% in Cima.
It is also unclear if UEM Environment Sdn Bhd, another firm in the stable, would be part of the exercise.
UEM World yesterday requested the suspension of trading in its shares and that of UEM Builders, Opus, Pharmaniaga and Cima until 5pm tomorrow.
It did not give any details, apart from saying the request was related to a material corporate exercise involving a major change in business direction.
Shares in UEM World were up 12 sen, or 3%, to RM4.12 before their suspension; Opus inched up 2½ sen to 6 sen; UEM Builders was marginally higher by two sen at RM1.26; and Cima rose 35 sen, or 6.7%, to RM5.60. Pharmaniaga gained the most, advancing 68 sen, or 22%, to RM3.78.
A source said after the transfer, UEM World would be left with UEM Land Sdn Bhd, developer of the Nusajaya township in Johor's Iskandar Development Region (IDR).
UEM World currently derives the bulk of its revenue from its property unit, UEM Land.
Having these subsidiaries under its ambit dilutes its focus as a pure property play. Furthermore, the group's valuation may not necessarily reflect its property assets, given that it is subject to a holding company discount.
Freeing up UEM World's structure would made the company more visible as a property play and give investors direct exposure to the fast growing IDR, the source said.
The details have not been finalised yet but it is understood that those working on the deal are looking at how it would benefit shareholders and affect the UEM Group. UEM World officials contacted by StarBiz were unable to provide any details.
The source also did not rule out the possibility of a backdoor listing for UEM Land.-www.thestar.com.my

Malaysian PM calls general election

MALAYSIAN Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi called today for early general elections, at a date to be fixed by electoral authorities.“The king has given his consent to dissolve parliament, effective today the 13th of February, to allow the elections to be held,” he told a press conference that ended months of speculation.Abdullah said he had advised the king to dissolve federal parliament about a year before its five-year term was due to end. He gave no reason, but analysts have said the ruling coalition wants a fresh mandate before the economy slows and inflation picks up steam.He also advised all the state governments, except Sarawak, to dissolve their state assemblies to enable the state elections to be held simultaneously.The ruling coalition hopes to retain a two-thirds majority of the 222 seats up for grabs at the polls, Abdullah added.The Election Commission will meet soon to fix the election date, though political analysts expect it to be held during the first ten days of March.Elections were not due to be held until May 16, 2009. - Agencies

Naim studying foreign JV offers

KUCHING: Naim Cendera Holdings Bhd is evaluating several joint venture offers for property developments or construction projects overseas.
Deputy managing director Dr Sharifuddin Wahab said one proposal was from the government of a northern African nation for a RM300mil walk-up apartment project.
“We are in discussion on this apartment project and expect a decision towards the third-quarter this year,” he told StarBiz yesterday.
Also being evaluated are proposals from Middle East investors for joint-venture projects in the construction of new townships and other types of properties.
The joint-venture proposals also extend to Naim’s project management expertise.
Sharifuddin said the firm was studying the offers as it was keen to spread its wings abroad.
Naim’s core businesses are in property development and construction. The bumiputra-owned company has carved a name in developing new townships and commercial centres in Miri, Samarahan and Kuching. It has built some 12,000 houses and shophouses.
Sharifuddin said Naim was aggressively looking to expand its land-bank of over 1,200ha, particularly in Sibu, Sarikei and Bintulu, which are within the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (Score).
Score, launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Monday, stretches 320km along the coast of Tanjung Manis (Sarikei Division) to Similajau (Bintulu Division) in central Sarawak.
The Sarawak government expects some 1.5 million new jobs to be created by high-impact industries and other sectors when Score is fully developed by 2030.
“With the influx of manpower into the regional corridor, there is a crucial need for more housing,'' Sharifuddin said.
He did not rule out Naim acquiring land outside Sarawak for future residential or commercial development.
Sharifuddin said the RM500mil raised from the sale of Islamic bonds in December gave Naim the financial resources to purchase land.
He said the proceeds would also be used as working capital for several major infrastructure projects that Naim had secured.
The projects include the RM1.3bil Kuching/Matang flood mitigation project, RM300mil Bengoh hydro dam project near Kuching, and the RM188mil upgrading of the Sibu-Julau road.
“The environmental impact assessment study of the flood mitigation project is under way. We will start work this year. The project will take five years to complete,” Sharifuddin said.
He said Naim was now building an access road (with two bridges) to the Bengoh dam site, and the construction of the dam proper would start next year.-www.thestar.com.my

Ranhill clinches RM1.2b hospital contract

RANHILL Bhd, Malaysia's largest engineering group, has been awarded a RM1.2 billion contract to build a 600-bed women and children hospital in Kuala Lumpur, sources say.
The contract is to build two 13-storey tower blocks with a six-floor podium, with a total floor area of 190,000 sq metres, a source said.
"It also includes extending another 100 beds in the future, when demand meets supply," he added.
Business Times understands the federal government contract was given recently and Ranhill has commenced works at the site. The hospital is an extension of the existing Pediatric Institute at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital.
It will be the leading referral centre in the country upon completion by 2011.
The source said Ranhill, via its wholly-owned unit Ranhill Engineering and Constructors Sdn Bhd, aims to finish building the two towers ahead of schedule.
In doing that, the contract has been divided into two packages to speed up the works.
"The first package, worth around RM17 million, is for site- clearing and logistics. The second portion involves the main structural work, which is expected to start by June," the sourcen said.
"Ranhill is finalising the project structure and cost. The details will be ready in two weeks," the source added.
The source also said that the contract award is expected to mitigate Ranhill's plan in achieving RM2 billion in revenue by 2010.
For the 12-month period to June 2007, Ranhill posted a profit of RM117 million and revenue of RM1.47 billion.
Ranhill, which has over RM1 billion worth of contracts for the Desaru Highway, sports complexes across the country and water jobs through unit SAJ Holdings Sdn Bhd, is eyeing more jobs here.
Overseas, it plans to secure new infrastructure and sewerage treatment works in Libya and water, waste water and power plant projects in India-www.btimes.com.my

Petra Energy in strategic alliance with advanced well technologies

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 12 (Bernama) Petra Energy Bhd, an integrated oil and gas brown field service provider, today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Advanced Well Technologies Pty Ltd (AWT) to form a joint venture to provide complete field development solutions for oil and gas majors in Malaysia and selected region in South East Asia and Asia-Pacific.AWT is an independent well engineering group based in Perth.The new joint venture company will seek to provide comprehensive field development planning and implementation of solutions by integrating all necessary project management, engineering and equipment services to existing and potential state-owned and private cliental.In a statement here today, Petra Energy said the new company will have an initial paid-up capital, not exceeding RM100,000 with Petra Energy holding 51 percent equity and AWT the remaining 49 percent.It will combine AWT's well construction and field development expertise with Petra Energy's extensive maintenance, procurement, fabrication, installation and production facility commissioning capabilities.Petra Energy's executive chairman Tengku Datuk Ibrahim Petra said the expansion into oil well activities to include field development and refurbishment services under Petra Energy's business scope was part of its expansion in sub-surface activities.For AWT, the new company represents a significant milestone in its move to enhance its position in Asia and support the Malaysian oil and gas engineering services sector.

Malaysia 2nd Most Price Competitive Country In Global Tourism

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 9 (Bernama) -- Malaysia has emerged as the second most price competitive country in the world in the travel and tourism (T&T) industry out of a total of 124 countries surveyed, says the Geneva-based World Economic Forum (WEF).The WEF, often noted for its annual top-level meeting and discussions on current affairs and trends in Davos, Switzerland, also gave top marks to Malaysia's participation at travel and tourism fairs and ranked the country at sixth position, which reflected the government's strong commitment to promote the industry.The WEF's recently-released Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2007 (TTCR) also applauded the government's high priority to T&T as well as Malaysia's good road, railroad, airport and port infrastructure, and its domestic travel network.It hailed Malaysia's good ground transport infrastructure and excellent price competitiveness in very low ticket taxes and airport charges, low comparative fuel prices and a favourable tax regime.Malaysia was also perceived as quite safe for tourists (24th overall) and in terms of the reliability of police services, the country was ranked 19th, on par with the United Kingdom but ahead of other developed countries like Spain (22nd), New Zealand (23rd), Portugal (25th), Ireland (29th), Belgium (32nd) and Italy (40th).On another note, Malaysia was ranked relatively high by the WEF in terms of the quality of its educational system which can meet the needs of a competitive economy. It was placed 10th out of the more than 100 countries surveyed and was behind countries or economies like Finland, Singapore, Iceland, Switzerland, Denmark, Ireland, Hong Kong, Belgium and Taiwan.Malaysia was ranked 22nd in terms of local availability of special research and training services in a sector dominated by the top five countries of Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and the United States.In terms of the extent of investment in employee training and development, Malaysia was ranked 17th.With regard to the government's efforts to reduce health risks from pandemic or widespread diseases, Malaysia was ranked eighth.As for the stringency of environmental regulations, Malaysia ranked 25th and was 23rd in terms of clarity and stability of environmental regulations.The survey covering Malaysia was compiled with the assistance of the Institute of Strategic and International Studies, Malaysia (ISIS) and the National Productivity Corporation.Prof Klaus Schwab, Executive Chairman of the WEF, said in the TTCR 2007 that T&T is currently one of the world's largest economic activities and it is also the leading industry in many developing countries.T&T is also the fastest growing economic sector in terms of job creation worldwide and is estimated to have generated 10.3 per cent of the world's Gross Domestic Product and provided 234 million jobs or 8.2 per cent of total world employment, he said.Schwab said most new jobs in developing economies were created in the T&T industry as the latter helped to diversify economic activity and create wealth and jobs in rural areas.The TTCR 2007 also credited Malaysia for its effectiveness in marketing and branding campaigns to attract tourists, ranking it sixth after the United Arab Emirates, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong and Barbados.The report listed Indonesia as for the most price competitive country in terms of the T&T industry while the third most price competitive country after Malaysia was Bahrain and Thailand was fourth.Malaysia was ranked 31st in terms of overall competitiveness in the TTCR 2007 T&T Competitive Index behind three other Asian countries or economies -- Singapore (8th), Japan (26th) and Taiwan (29th).Switzerland, Austria and Germany were the top three countries in terms of overall competitiveness based on the high marks given to their level of safety for tourists, health and hygiene, quality of human resource, transport and travel infrastructure, and rich natural and cultural attractions.Meanwhile, the WEF will hold its Forum on East Asia in Kuala Lumpur on June 15 and 16 where 300 leaders from more than 20 countries will convene to debate the challenges and priorities that will ultimately shape the region's future agenda.

FTEC to spend RM40m on new concept stores

KUALA LUMPUR: Local IT company FTEC Resources Bhd will spend about RM40mil on two more concept stores this year.
According to managing director Tang Boon Koon, the company had already identified the locations for the two stores but not the commercial area.
“Plans have been laid out to establish TecAsia stores in the northern and central regions,” he told StarBiz.
On Feb 1, the company marked its entry into the IT retail market in Peninsular Malaysia with the opening of its flagship IT concept store, TecAsia, at Low Yat Plaza in Kuala Lumpur. The 27,000-sq-ft store is set to introduce consumers to the integrated “4C” concept of computers, communications, consumer electronics and content.
Tang said the company had allocated some RM20mil for the store, which included the set-up, renovation and inventory.
“One of the key features of the store is that customers can walk into TecAsia and be exposed to all the big brands. Customers do not have to walk into different stores to make price comparisons,” he said.
Tang said the store would carry a full range of products from vendors such as Hewlett-Packard, Sony and Apple besides the FTEC brand.
“In this sense, we are trying to offer a complete ICT digital lifestyle to the consumers,” he added.
Tang said the store would also carry Dell products. He said this demonstrated Dell's confidence in the company, adding that in the past, Dell only sold its products online.
Tang said TecAsia's emphasis would be to enhance the experience value for its consumers.
“The store will encompass a lifestyle corner, kids corner, virtual digital office and game zone, where customers can touch and feel, and experience the products, before they make up their minds on a purchase,” he said.
It will also have a training centre to provide educational programmes for customers.
“There will be weekly workshops on different products and devices at the store, so that the public can learn about the products,'' he said.
As one of the largest IT concept stores in Malaysia, Tang said, TecAsia was targeting to achieve monthly sales of RM10mil.
He said he was confident of achieving the target given the availability of a complete range of principal products at its stores and the projected growth of ICT spending in the country.
“The first TecAsia store, which opened in Kota Kinabalu in March 2006, turned profitable just nine months into operations,'' Tang said.
According to Tang, ICT spending was expected to increase by 10% to RM44.8bil in 2008 from RM40bil last year.
“ICT spending is still increasing and the demand is still there,” he said, adding that the trend justified the company's investment in TecAsia.
“We are optimistic of society’s growing appetite for ICT products, given the increasing capabilities and functions of IT gadgets,” he said. -www.theedgedaily.com

M3nergy wins RM954mil job

PETALING JAYA: M3nergy Bhd was awarded on Jan 31 a RM954mil contract for the provision of leased floating storage and offloading facility (FSO) by Carigali-PTTEPI Operating Co Sdn Bhd (CPOC). M3nergy said in a statement yesterday the contract was for the joint development area block B-17 field project 260km off the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia in the Gulf of Thailand.
Petronas Carigali (JDA) Sdn Bhd and PTTEP International Ltd of Thailand each hold 50% interest in CPOC.
M3nergy said the contract period was for 16 years, with an option to extend up to 20 years and CPOC had the option to purchase the FSO within the first 10 years of the contract. -www.thestar.com.my

Tabung Haji announces 5% dividend

PUTRAJAYA: Lembaga Tabung Haji has announced a 5% dividend and an additional 2% special dividend for last year.
Stating that 5% was the highest dividend payout by Tabung Haji since its inception 44 years ago, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Dr Abdullah Md Zin said 4.2 million active depositors would have the money paid into their accounts by Sunday.
The total dividend payout is RM1.05bil, he said, adding that Tabung Haji's net profit for last year was RM1.066bil after deducting tithe payments.
Speaking to reporters here on Tuesday, Abdullah said Tabung Haji's dividends had been on an increasing trend, adding that in 2001 the dividend payout was 3.25% and had risen annually with last year's dividend standing at 4.75%.
"The special 2% dividend is an additional payment and it is a one-off payment due to the improved economy and the confidence in the country's share market," he said, adding that it was also to celebrate Malaysia's 50th anniversary of independence.
Abdullah said last year the KL Composite Index rose by 32% while the Gross Domestic Product increased to 6.7% in the third quarter of 2007.
Tabung Haji Group managing director and chief executive officer Datuk Ismee Ismail said it had been the practice to channel profits to the depositors through dividend payments.
He said the organisation hoped to maintain the record 5% dividend for this year too, adding that the 2% additional dividend was a special one due to the last year's bullish stock market.
He added that depositors have been increasing and have also invested high sums with RM1.3bil being deposited last year, which showed investors' confidence in Tabung Haji.-www.thestar.com.my

Poised for acquisition growth

YTLP is one of the few companies that has demonstrated a steady yield and commendable growth for regulated assets. Its acquisitions over the last few years including Wessex Water, Jawa Power and Electranet, \have resulted in commendable FY05-07 net profit CAGR of 28%. Point: YTL Power is also well poised for further value accretive acquisitions of regulated assets given its gross cash of RM6b. There is also scope for YTL Power to leverage on Wessex Water's expertise to gain entry into Malaysia's water concessions business. Relevance: We favour YTLP for its defensive earnings and stable dividend stream. We initiate coverage on YTLP with a Buy recommendation and SOP-derived target price of RM3.00/share. YTLP offers growth potential from new acquisitions and attractive net yield 8.5%, thanks to a combination of cash and share distribution. Global utility player. YTL Power (YTLP) enjoys good earnings visibility from its regulated asset with a 100% stake in Wessex Water Limited, a water and sewerage operator in the United Kingdom and an indirect 33.5% investment in ElectraNet Pty Ltd, the company which owns and operates the power transmission grid for the state of South Australia. YTLP also holds a 35% stake in PT Jawa Power which owns a 1,220MW coal-fired power plant in East Java, Indonesia. 65% of YTLP's FY07 revenue came from outside Malaysia. Water and sewerage operation from Wessex accounts for 74% of FY07 EBIT, followed by power generation of 19.8% and investment holding of 5.8%. Poised for growth with new acquisition. There is a tremendous opportunity for YTLP to acquire regulated assets in the region given its gross cash of RM6b. We envisage reduced competition especially from private equity firms, particularly when the subprime crisis is raising required rate of returns. Apart from its expansion in Indonesia, other potential new assets under consideration are new water concessions in Malaysia and Genco's asset in Singapore. YTLP has proposed a RM2.2b bond in Nov 07 to refinance existing debts and to fund potential new acquisition. Potential unlocking of asset value in Wessex? There is scope for YTLP to unlock value from Wessex Water as a new benchmark on valuation was set in October 2007, valuing Southern Water at EV/RAB of 1.4x. While we understand that YTLP is not planning to sell down its stake in Wessex in the near term, we cannot discount the possibility of the company doing so, if a lucrative offer is presented at a later stage. Attractive net yield of 8.5%. YTLP declared net dividend of 11.2 sen and 1-for-25 share distribution in 2007. The combined FY07 net dividend yield based on share price of RM2.50 amounts to 21.2 sen or net yield of 8.5%. Given the improving cashflow from its water and power assets, we expect YTLP to maintain net dividend per share of 11.2 sen for FY08-09, with potential share distribution from its share buyback programme. -www.ytlcommunity.com

Malay Chamber of Commerce willing to take less than 30% of double-tracking project

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malay Chamber of Commerce Malaysia (MCCM) says it is willing to reduce its portion of the RM12.5 billion Ipoh-Padang Besar rail double-tracking works to as low as 10% subject to certain conditions.
“If Gamuda-MMC insist on selecting their own contractors, we are willing to accept as low as 10% of the distribution, as long as we are given the whole package,” MCCM president Syed Ali Alattas said at a press conference yesterday.
He said the chamber still wanted to ensure that at least 30% of the total value of the Electrified Double-Tracking Project (EDTP) would go to Bumiputera contractors, even if some of them were not its members.
Syed Ali explained that the Chamber’s acceptance of a lower allocation was conditional on the award of a full spectrum of construction works for a complete package, for example the 80km Ipoh-Taiping stretch or the 50km Taiping-Butterworth track.
“We don’t want to just supply labour and we are not interested in subcontract. This way, accountability on both sides is clearly drawn,” he said.
The Gamuda-MMC consortium had earlier objected to the chamber’s part in the selection of Bumiputera contractors on concerns about accountability for work done.
Last week, Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop had asked MCCM and the Gamuda-MMC joint venture (JV) to sort out their differences.
Gamuda-MMC are the main contractors for the revived railway project that was scrapped earlier in 2004. Works for the 329km track would comprise the construction of 100 bridges, 30 station buildings, 180km of culverts and drainage works, and 300km of track works and utilities.
In a separate development, MCCM said that they had submitted a preliminary proposal to the Ministry of Finance yesterday for the construction of the 280km Seremban-Johor Bahru stretch of southern portion of the EDTP. -www.theedgedaily.com

AirAsia hopes govt nod for new routes to S'pore in March

SINGAPORE: Low-cost carrier AirAsia Bhd hopes to get the Malaysian Government's approval to open up air routes from Penang, Kuching, Kota Kinabalu and Langkawi to Singapore in March.
Group chief executive officer Datuk Tony Fernandes said he did not know when AirAsia could start the new flight routes to Singapore “but we have asked for it already, and we hope we can get that soon”.
He was speaking to reporters after AirAsia’s inaugural flight to the island republic with 180 guests on Feb 1. Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) airport management director Foo Sek Min said AirAsia was its 82nd scheduled airline and it has expected passenger volume on the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore route to increase with the two AirAsia flights. “We have some 2.5 million passengers travelling between the two cities per annum and this figure is likely to grow as it would be stimulated by AirAsia,” Foo said.
Asked if a possible US slowdown could have adverse effects on the aviation industry, Fernandes replied: “Travel is here and they are not going away. If you look at history, low-cost carriers have benefited from a recession because people who were not prepared (not to travel) will trade down.” "The key for us to manage in a slowdown is low fares," he added. On whether AirAsia would move to Changi's budget termninal, Fernandes said he was concerned with the the terminal's ability to cater to its passengers capacity.
“Although the CAAS said they would expand it, in terms of financial incentives it is not really worth moving now,” he said. Asked whether the Kuala Lumpur International Airport’s low-cost carrier terminal would be able to cater to increase in passengers, Fernandes said:
“LCCT has a capacity for 10 million and we are bursting. MAHB (Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd) is now rushing to expand it to 15 million, and then a terminal for 30 million passengers.” “If they are building a terminal of this scale, they have to look at the potential of this (budget airlines) market. Airports have to be ahead of the game, and they are too slow at the moment," he said. “I think this is the challenge for us, for the airports to keep up with us,” Fernandes said. -www.theedgedaily.com