Bank Islam funds Oil Palm cultivation in Kelantan

KOTA BAHARU, Nov 6 (Bernama) -- Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd (BIMB) is funding, to the tune of RM30 million, a Kelantan government-linked company's venture to develop a 3,200ha oil palm plantation at Lubok Bungor in Jeli.Menteri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat said Tuesday he hoped that this will enable Syarikat Ladang Sungai Terah Sdn Berhad (SLST), a subsidiary of the Kelantan State Economic Development Corporation, to expand more vigorously into agriculture."I hope the first phase of the people's plantation concept being undertaken by both parties will generate benefits to more people in Kelantan," he said at the 10-year loan facility signing ceremony here.Managing director Datuk Zukri Samat and loan division head Nor Azam M. Taib signed for BIMB while SLST was represented by director Mohamad Alwi bin Ya and general manager Zazali Japar. Also present was SLST chairman Datuk Omar Mohamad.Zukri said as the pioneer in Islamic banking in the country, BIMB aspires to increase its contribution towards the development of Kelantan in line with the East Coast Economic Region (ECER) masterplan recently launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi."Among the factors behind BIMB's focus on the plantation sector are the escalating price of the commodity in the world markets and the diminishing supply in these markets," he added.

KFH eyes partners for IDR project

JOHOR BAHARU, Nov 6 (Bernama) -- Kuwait Finance House (M) Bhd (KFH) is looking for partners to develop the 249.6-hectare cultural and heritage zone in the Iskandar Development Region (IDR)."We are eyeing partners from Singapore, Japan, Middle East, Australia and China, in addition to the companies in this country to develop the site which was brought for US$300 million (US$1=RM3.35)," managing director, Datuk K. Salman Younis, told reporters after the launch of its awareness campaign here Tuesday.Johor State Economic Planning Unit director, Datuk Hamsan Saringat, launched the campaign.Younis said although the company has yet to work out the value of the partnerships they were expected to be worth billions of ringgit over the next 25 years."We will also work closely with two consortiums from the Middle East to develop the entertainment industry, education, healthcare and financial products in the region," he said.Younis said the development of the zone would be its initial project in the IDR before participating in the subsequent programmes in the region.He said the details on the partnerships would be unveiled in three months.Younis said KFH would work closely with the federal and state governments to ensure the success of IDR which would benefit the economy and people.Earlier, in his speech, Younis said the campaign aimed to introduce the bank to the people."We will hold similar campaign in key market centres throughout Malaysia," he said.He said KFH would set up a branch here, its first outside Kuala Lumpur, by the first quarter next year.

MMC secures RM2billion Saudi Port deal

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 5 (Bernama) -- MMC Corporation Bhd today signed an agreement to acquire rights to jointly develop and operate Tusdeer Container Terminal (TCT), the third container terminal at Jeddah Port, Saudi Arabia, together with partners Saudi Industrial Services Company, Xenel Industries Ltd and Saudi Trade and Export Development Company.The new TCT will comprise three berths with a capacity of 1.5 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) and cost about SAR 2 billion (SAR 1.00=RM0.90), MMC said in a statement here.Construction is expected to begin in early next year and be fully completed by 2010, the company said.MMC group chief executive Feizal Ali said the deal will further expand the company's footprint internationally in the ports business and complement its strategic focus in Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Middle East and North Africa."We will leverage on our experience in developing and managing our two ports in Malaysia and replicate our success in one of the most dynamic regions in the world," he said.The deal will involve MMC acquiring the entire equity interest in City Island Holdings Ltd through its wholly-owned subsidiary MMC International Holdings Ltd.City Island currently owns the rights to jointly develop and a 30-year concession to jointly operate TCT until 2039, together with its Saudi partners.The deal comes exactly one year after MMC was awarded the rights to develop and manage the new US$30 billion Jazan Economic City in Saudi Arabia on Nov 5 last year.Jeddah Port is centrally located along the Red Sea, close to the southern entrance of the Suez Canal, one of the world's most important international waterways, which handles over 30 percent of global container trade.Feizal said MMC is optimistic about the opportunities brought about by Saudi Arabia's vibrant and rapidly growing economy as well as those in the surrounding region.He said the Red Sea region has seen strong throughput growth, with volumes increasing from 1.15 million TEUs in 1995 to 4.48 million TEUs in 2005, an average growth rate of 14.6 percent."Jeddah Port itself has seen strong throughput growth from both its hinterland areas as well as transhipment. This trend points to a need for Jeddah Port to expand to accommodate future growth. According to forecast, we are expected to break even in the third year of operations," he added.

M3nergy to Bid for US$1b of Projects Abroad

M3nergy Bhd, which recently proposed to dispose of its shipping arm to focus on the oil and gas industry, is looking to bid for more than US$1 billion (RM3.34 billion) exploration and production (E&P) projects overseas in the next 12 months. If successful, the projects are expected to contribute at least RM5 billion in turnover to the group in three to five years.
The company aims to leverage on its experience in the Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) and Floating Storage and Offloading unit (FSO) operations to enter into joint venture tenders with other oil and gas operators.Group managing director and chief executive officer Datuk Shahrazi Sha'ari said the company wants to move into more upstream oil and gas production-sharing contracts particularly in India, Indonesia and Thailand as well as look for opportunities in the Middle East. M3nergy embarked on its first E&P project outside Malaysia known as Cluster 7, off the coast of Mumbai, India, in March 2006. This was followed by a contract to develop an oil and gas block in Java, Indonesia, last March. Shahrazi told Business Times he was confident of securing more upstream projects as rising oil prices are driving new exploration and field development activities globally. He said there is a significant shortage of FPSO and FSO operators in the world thus placing M3nergy at a unique advantage to secure new contracts.Shahrazi said M3nergy plans to bid for a new FPSO and FSO project overseas as well as extend its existing FPSO and FSO contracts. The demand for floating production systems such as FPSO and FSO are on the rise as exploration moved to deeper waters and more distant locations. An FPSO is a type of floating tank system designed take all of the oil or gas produced from a nearby platform, process it, and store it until the oil or gas can be offloaded onto waiting tankers, or sent through a pipeline. An FSO is similar, but without the oil or gas-processing facilities. M3nergy, formerly known as Trenergy (M) Bhd, is the owner and operator of a fully integrated FPSO vessel called Perintis. The vessel is chartered to Petronas Carigali for a period of nine years ending in 2008.The company also operates a FSO vessel, the Puteri Cakerawala, which provides storage to gas platforms located off the coast of Kelantan in the Malaysia-Thailand joint development area.

Trade surplus grows 29.9% in Sept to RM11.45 billion

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 5 (Bernama) -- Malaysia's trade surplus surged by 29.9 percent to RM11.45 billion in Sept from RM8.81 billion in August, marking the 119th consecutive month of trade surplus since Nov 1997, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) announced Monday.Total exports in Sept were RM53.69 billion while imports were RM42.24 billion resulting in total trade of RM95.93 billion, MITI said in its preliminary release of Malaysia's External Trade Statistics for Sept 2007.The higher exports were contributed by particularly by exports of Electrical and electronic (E&E) products, transport equipment, crude petroleum as well as optical and scientific equipments.The ministry said compared with Sept 2006, exports in Sept 2007 rose 1.1 percent while imports declined 1.5 percent.When compared with August 2007, exports declined marginally by 0.3 percent while imports in September were lower by 6.2 percent, it said.MITI said strong trade performance was recorded in the third quarter of 2007 with exports grew by nine percent to RM158.06 billion from the second quarter while imports rose 6.1 percent to RM129.83 billion, the highest quarterly growth in 2007.For the first nine months of this year, total trade was RM810.47 billion, an increase of 1.8 percent from the corresponding period of 2006.During the same period, the ministry said, exports grew by one percent to RM441.19 billion while imports expanded by 2.9 percent to RM369.27 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of RM71.92 billion.

Malaysia to increase seafood exports to Middle East

DUBAI, Oct 31 (Bernama)-Malaysian seafood exports to the Middle East topped 11.7 million dirham (RM10.6 million) last year as a result of the government's efforts to develop the fisheries and aquaculture industry.To further expand Malaysia's market share in the industry, the country's Department of Fisheries (DOF) is participating in Sea Food Expo 2007 to tap into Dubai's rapidly expanding fisheries sector, which soared to 735 million dirham (RM668 million) last year.DOF director of planning, development and international division, Mohamad Shaupi Derahman, said the expo was an effective venue to promote the country's products and at the same time expand its market presence."The department recognises the promise that our seafood sector holds to establish our country as a major contributor and a top source of high-quality seafood products in the global arena," he said in a statement issued by the expo's organiser Orange Fairs & Events.Malaysia, he added, was investing in the advancement of its seafood manufacturing processes and augmenting its production in order to fully utilise the potential of the industry.Malaysia's potential-laden food processing sector represents 10 percent of the nation's total manufacturing output and two-thirds of its total food exports worth RM10 billion.Last year, DOF allocated RM160 million for the advancement of the country's fisheries breeding, cultivation and processing by prioritising cage culture, hatchery, deep-sea fishing and ornamental fish culture.As a result, Malaysia has recorded an impressive 3,636.84 metric tonnes of seafood exports with a value of 11.7 million dirham to the Middle East.Malaysia's seafood products are currently available in 80 countries and the Malaysian seafood market generates an annual revenue of more than RM6 billion.Malaysia is also setting its sights on further penetrating the global market for halal food, which has an estimated value of over 2.0 trillion dirham through producing, distributing and promoting the country's seafood products at the three-day Sea Food Expo 2007 which ended Wednesday.Some of the high-quality halal seafood products on display at the show are frozen white shrimps, cooked and peeled sea shrimps, cuttlefish and squids, raw peeled shrimps, frozen tiger prawns, surimi-based products and tuna floss.Meanwhile, Orange Fairs & Events' director Raees Ahmed said the demand for quality seafood products in the Middle East has seen a substantial growth over the years.Due to the strong demand, especially in the United Arab Emirates, large seafood producers are drawn to the regional market with the aim of exploiting the opportunities in supplying the vast amount of seafood required, he said.The expo will provide the 12-member DOF delegation with an effective venue to acquire and build a strong reputation in the market and eventually establishing itself as a halal food hub and a leading seafood producer in the world, according to him.

Scomi secures RM157 Million contract in Turkmenistan

Scomi Group has secured a contract valued at approximately RM157 million in Turkmenistan for the provision of integrated services in drilling fluids and drilling waste management.
The scope of the contract includes the provision of mud chemicals, mud-engineering services, solids control services, skip rentals and thermal plant services awarded by Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd in Turkmenistan