Malaysia TOP Financial Blogger

SapuraCrest JV gets RM600mil job

noreply@blogger.com (CSLin) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 15:15:00 +0000

KUALA LUMPUR: Sapuracrest Petroleum Bhd’s joint venture company, SapuraAcergy Sdn Bhd has secured a US$170mil (RM600mil) contract from Apache Energy Ltd for the transportation and installation of offshore facilities in Australia.
SapuraAcergy is a joint venture company equally owned by SapuraCrest and Acergy S.A.
In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, SapuraCrest said the contract, which was part of the Devil Creek development project involves transporting and installing about 91 km of 16-inch rigid pipeline including a shallow water beach approach, subsea tie-ins and stabilisation works together with a wellhead platform of 1,700 metric tonne four leg jacket and a 450 metric tonne topside processing module.
The works are expected to be performed in water depths of about 60 metres.
SapuraCrest said the engineering and project preparations would commence immediately.
“Offshore installation is scheduled to commence in late 2010 using the Sapura 3000, SapuraAcergy state of the art dynamic positioning heavy lift and pipelay vessel and project specific third party support vessels,” it said.
The works are expected to be completed by early 2011.
SapuraCrest said the contract would have no effect on its issued and paid-up capital of the company.
However, it was expected to contribute positively to the group’s earnings and net tangible assets for the financial year ending Jan 31, 2010 and the financial periods thereafter in the duration of the contract.

AS1M allocation to ethnic groups extended to Dec 31

noreply@blogger.com (CSLin) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 14:48:00 +0000

What happen?? So far only RM2.5b of the RM10b subscribed after much hyped about the fund at the beginning. LOL

KUALA LUMPUR: Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) has extended the Amanah Saham 1Malaysia (AS1M) subscription allocation to ethnic groups to Dec 31, 2009.

PNB president and group chief executive Tan Sri Hamad Kama Piah Che Othman said the decision to extend the allocation ratio was to provide extra time for people from all ethnic groups to invest in the fund.

The investors of AS1M came from various economic backgrounds including medium and low-income earners, he said in a statement on Oct 1.

“I hope everyone would take this opportunity to participate in this AS1M fund by opening a new investment or making an additional investment,” he added.

AS1M, a fixed price fund with a size of 10 billion units, was launched on July 31, 2009 by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

It is open to all Malaysians with an allocation of 50% for bumiputeras, 30% for Chinese, 15% for Indians and 5% for other ethnic groups.

As of Sept 27, more than 2.5 billion units had been subscribed by 165,661 investors.

Hamad Kama Piah also said Amanah Saham Nasional Bhd (ASNB) would be conducting investment seminars, focusing on AS1M in selected locations nationwide beginning this month. — Bernama

Stocks to watch: MPHB, BCorp, AMDB, Dialog

noreply@blogger.com (CSLin) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 15:45:00 +0000

Written by Joseph Chin
Thursday, 24 September 2009 07:52

KUALA LUMPUR: The cautious close on Wall Street overnight, despite the Federal Reserve's upgrading of its assessment of the US economy, is expected to see key Asian markets putting up a lacklustre performance on Thursday, Sept 24.

The Fed said it would slow its purchases of mortgage debt to extend that program's life until the end of March, in a move toward withdrawing the central bank's extraordinary support for the economy and markets during the contraction. It also held its benchmark overnight lending rates at close to zero percent.

The Dow Jones industrial average shed 0.83%, to 9,748.55. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index declined 1.01% to 1,060.87. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.69% to 2,131.42.

At Bursa Malaysia, stocks to watch include MULTI-PURPOSE HOLDINGS BHD [] (MPHB), BERJAYA CORPORATION BHD [] (BCorp), AMDB BHD [] and DIALOG GROUP BHD [].

MPHB's unit Magnum Corporation yesterday launched its jackpot game called 4D Jackpot in a bid to regain market share from its legitimate rivals as well as black market players.

BCorp and a Brunei-based contractor have jointly submitted a joint bid to the Brunei Economic Development Board to undertake a waste management project in that country.

AMDB's unit Walleng Enterprises Sdn Bhd is targeting property in London for investments after subscribing for 60% of British Virgin Islands-incorporated Westlink Global Investments Ltd.

Walleng had on Sept 23 subscribed for 60 shares of 1 sterling pound each in Westlink, or 60% at par cash. After the subscription, Walleng had committed to provide shareholders advances of up to 13.5 million pound sterling (RM80 million) to Westlink.

In Dialog Group, the company has started operations of phase one of Langsat Terminal (One) Sdn Bhd, which is a joint venture between the company, MISC BHD [] and Puma Energy Asia Pacific BV.

HAP SENG CONSOLIDATED BHD [] is selling its wholly owned subsidiary Hap Seng Consolidated Financial Lease & Rental (China) Co Ltd for US$30.29 million (RM105.11 million) cash, booking in a gain of RM36 million, in a related party transaction.

NSTP rise on privatisation talks

noreply@blogger.com (CSLin) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 15:45:00 +0000

Written by Joseph Chin
Thursday, 17 September 2009 11:20

KUALA LUMPUR: The major shareholders of both The New Straits Times Press (Malaysia) Bhd (NSTP) and MEDIA PRIMA BHD [] have agreed to the privatisation of the former, sources said.

The Employees Provident Fund Board (EPF), which is a common shareholder in both companies, is said to have given its go-ahead for the privatisation of NSTP. EPF is the single largest shareholder of Media Prima with a 25.55% stake and also owns 10.53% of NSTP, the publisher of the New Straits Times, Berita Harian and Harian Metro.

The privatisation is also said to have the blessings of Umno, which is also a major shareholder of Media Prima and whose interests are held through Gabungan Kesturi Sdn Bhd with a 14.41% stake and Altima Inc with 10.29%.

Umno is said to be in favour of NSTP’s privatisation as the share price had been trading very much below its net asset value of RM4.51 as at June 30 this year.

It is also learnt that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was positive about the corporate exercise when he was briefed about it recently. The next step would be to bring it up to Umno’s political bureau for its approval.

NSTP closed five sen higher at RM1.90 and Media Prima gained one sen to RM1.58 yesterday.

The privatisation does not involve any cash outlay from Media Prima. Shareholders of NSTP would instead get loan stocks and warrants of Media Prima. The issuance of such instruments is to ensure there is no immediate dilution of shareholdings in Media Prima.

Analysts had said it would make sense for Media Prima to privatise NSTP as it could fully consolidate NSTP’s expected strong earnings growth for next year (of almost six-fold) on the back of advertising expenditure recovery, lower newsprint and full-year impact of Harian Metro’s cover price hike.

AmResearch had recently alluded that the privatisation of NSTP — should it happen — would be through a share swap.

Its analyst Izz Al-Din Maslan said NSTP’s shares had not traded at its book value and as such, its shareholders could not expect Media Prima to make an offer at NSTP’s book value.

He said the privatisation would transform Media Pima into a media conglomerate with full control of operations in free-to-air TV, radio, outdoor media and newspapers.

Izz added that there was a lot of upside for NSTP shareholders as they would have exposure to Media Prima’s growing business whereas the print media continued to face stiff competition from online news portals.

“It (the privatisation) would also avoid earnings leakages as we estimate NSTP’s earnings to rebound in its financial year ending Dec 31, 2010, driven by Harian Metro,” he said.

NSTP reported a net profit of RM10.58 million on the back of RM146.67 million in revenue for its second quarter ended June 30. Its net asset per share was RM4.51.

Media Prima posted a net profit of RM8.45 million and revenue of RM178 million for its second quarter ended June 30. Net asset per share stood at 62.14 sen.

NSTP jumps on research house's upgrade

noreply@blogger.com (CSLin) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 15:43:00 +0000

Written by Joseph Chin
Thursday, 24 September 2009 15:58

KUALA LUMPUR: Shares of The New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd jumped in the afternoon trade on Sept 24 after Macquarie Research upgraded the stock to outperform and a target price of RM2.50.

At 3.48pm, the share price was up 17 sen to RM2.15. There were 3.05 million shares done. Media Prima rose five sen to RM1.54.

The stocks bucked the overall cautious market where the FBM KLCI fell 1.22 points to 1,217.85. Turnover was 571.37 million shares valued at RM767.12 million.

Macquarie Equities Research said it initiated coverage on NSTP with an Outperform recommendation and a target price of RM2.50, based on a 12 times price-to-earnings (PER) for 2010E.

NSTP's three newspapers in its fold account for 35% of total circulation and 22% of total newspaper advertising spending (adex).

"We expect NSTP to benefit from the shift in readership from English to Malay newspapers as advertisers increasingly take advantage of this trend. In particular, we believe NSTP's key newspaper, Harian Metro, is poised to benefit from this shift as the country's most widely circulated newspaper (33% of Malay newspaper circulation).

"The key catalyst for NSTP lies in monetising this success. Malay newspapers currently make up only 21% of newspaper adex, despite having a 49% share of circulation," it said.

Macquarie Research said it expects improving advertising revenue in 2010E to boost NSTP's operating margins in 2010E, given the high proportion of fixed costs. Every 1% increase in its advertising revenue would expand its margins by 3% in 2010E.

It also said NSTP's major shareholder Media Prima, had at a recent analyst briefing, announced that it is weighing up various options to maximise value from its 43% stake.

The possibilities include (1) acquiring the remaining 57% via a share swap, (2) a dividend-in-specie to Media Prima shareholders and (3) an outright sale.

"Given the political sensitivities, we believe the third option is the least likely. Thus, we are not attaching an M&A premium to NSTP," it said.

Maxis IPO draft unveiled

noreply@blogger.com (CSLin) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 09:55:00 +0000

Maxis has unveiled its draft IPO prospectus, confirming its plan to relist after months of speculation. We expect the group be relisted by end-4Q09, with a go-to-market valuation of RM37bn-RM40bn, pricing the stock at a fair 15-16x FY10 earnings and 8-9x EV/EBITDA. This compares with Digi’s 16.2x and Axiata’s 14.5x FY10 earnings and 6-8x EV/EBITDA respectively. Maxis’ key investment merits are its:

(i) target dividend yield of over 5% on the back of the domestic operation’s strong and steady cashflow,
(ii)dominant share of the domestic mobile market, and
(iii) superior margins.

Given its significantly higher profile, market capitalisation and trading liquidity, we believe investors are likely to switch from Digi (NEUTRAL, TP- RM22.00), being the other pure domestic telco play and to a certain extent, TM (NEUTRAL, TP-RM2.80). As Maxis will be relisted without its overseas operations, it is not a direct threat to AXIATA (BUY, TPRM3.68), which provides a more compelling longer-term proposition via its regional footprint in 10 countries. We maintain our NEUTRAL sector weighting as valuations are not attractive coupled with the intense competition in the mobile space.

MaxiS IPO must BUY

noreply@blogger.com (CSLin) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 09:54:00 +0000

Written by Joseph Chin
Wednesday, 23 September 2009 14:13

KUALA LUMPUR: Maxis Bhd's share price under its initial public offer (IPO) may trade around RM5 and RM6.20 assuming a price-to-earnings (PE) multiple range of between 16 times and 20 times based on ECM Libra Research's FY10 earnings per share (EPS) estimate.

"However, we believe Maxis will likely trade at around RM5.60 based on a PE multiple of 18 times, taking into account its mobile market leadership thus deserving premium valuation over DiGi (16 times), but a discount to TM’s fixed-line and broadband monopoly (20 times," it said in a research note issued on Sept 23.

ECM Libra Research said at a prospective RM5.60 per share, Maxis would generate minimum dividend yields of 4.2% in FY10. It added such yields were lower than its estimates for DiGi and TM, but perhaps investors might overlook this to have a stake in a blue-chip company that may fetch a market capitalisation of RM42 billion.

A draft prospectus lodged with the Securities Commission on Sept 17 outlined that Maxis Communications Bhd (MCB) would re-list only its Malaysian operations under an IPO involving 2.25 billion shares (30% of its paid-up share capital), of which 2.075 billion shares will be offered to institutional investors and the remaining 174.795 million shares to the public.

ECM Libra Research said the final IPO price however had not been fixed with news reports, quoting sources indicating the IPO was estimated to raise US$2 billion to US$2.5 billion (RM7 billion to RM9 billion) which implied an IPO price of RM3.11 to RM4. Other reports said the IPO shares may fetch as high as RM5 to RM6 each.

On Sept 17, a draft prospectus lodged with the Securities Commission which outlined that Maxis Communications Bhd's (MCB) decision to relist only Maxis Bhd, which comprised of its Malaysian operations.

The IPO involved 2.25 billion shares (30% of its paid-up share capital), of which 2.075 billion shares will be offered to institutional investors and the remaining 174.795 million shares to the public.

"What is clear however is that no new shares will be issued, implying Maxis will not receive a single sen from the IPO exercise. Instead, the proceeds will go to the shareholders looking to trim their stakes through the IPO exercise. This is perhaps not too surprising as the Indian and Indonesian operations which need the funds most are kept private for now, suggesting separate listing exercises in the future.

"However, MCB did manage to squeeze RM5 billion from Maxis via a prelisting restructuring exercise, which we believe will be used to fund the heavy capex of its foreign subsidiaries," ECM Libra Research said.

Najib ‘not easy’ to displace as PM, says Guan Eng

noreply@blogger.com (CSLin) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 00:41:00 +0000

KUALA LUMPUR: Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has conceded that Datuk Seri Najib Razak will be more difficult to displace as prime minister as he has proven to be a more effective political leader than his predecessor, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

In an interview with the Financial Times of London published yesterday, Lim, who is already setting his sights on the next general election, said: “There is a chance (of the opposition winning a parliamentary majority), but it is not going to be easy. It is probably harder under Najib than under Abdullah. I think Najib can get things done better than Abdullah.”

The report, written by its Singapore correspondent Kevin Brown, said the comments of Lim, who is also DAP secretary-general, were in contrast with the aggressive rhetoric of Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who had suggested that the Barisan Nasional-led federal government could be forced out before the next election by defections from its parliamentary ranks.

The Pakatan Rakyat coalition has 83 seats in the 222-seat Dewan Rakyat and needs to win 29 more parliamentary seats to take power.

The report said that Najib, since taking over as prime minister in April, had been reaching out to woo voters by being more encompassing in his policies for all ethnic groups, speaking out against corruption, freeing political prisoners and focusing campaigning resources on winnable seats.

To drive home the point, the report said Najib recently announced an inquiry into the Port Klang Free Zone, a port development project alleged plagued by cost overruns.

Recently, CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets, an independent brokerage and investment group headquartered in Hong Kong, said Najib had covered good ground since taking office with a number of positive and impressive policies and actions.

These include liberalising the New Economic Policy, ensuring greater transparency, speeding up the award of government infrastructure projects and improving ties with Singapore to draw more foreign direct investments into Iskandar Malaysia, a development region in Johor twice the size of Singapore.

Labelling Najib’s positive economic and social reforms as “Najibnomics”, given his economics background, it said they were aimed at stimulating the local economy, attracting foreign investments and foreign talent, reducing bureaucracy, tackling crime and corruption, effecting greater accountability and promoting national unity (through the 1Malaysia concept).

With his background on industrial economics from the University of Nottingham, CLSA said, Najib had been quick to effect various fiscal, government and structural reforms. — Bernama

Stocks to watch:* Halex, Proton, MPHB, AirAsia

noreply@blogger.com (CSLin) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 00:38:00 +0000

KUALA LUMPUR: More positive signs of recovery, though at a slow pace, in the US economy could provide an impetus for investors to pick up equities in the regional markets including Bursa Malaysia on Wednesday, Sept 16.

Overnight on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 56.61 points, or 0.59 percent, to close at 9,683.41. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 3.29 points, or 0.31 percent, to 1,052.63. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 10.86 points, or 0.52 percent, to 2,102.64.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke declared the worst U.S. recession since the Great Depression was probably over, but the recovery would be slow and it would take time to create new jobs.

At Bursa Malaysia, agrochemicals specialist Halex Holdings Bhd will make its debut on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia.

Other stocks to watch are PROTON HOLDINGS BHD [], Multi Purpose Holdings Bhd (MPHB, AIRASIA BHD [], MUDAJAYA GROUP BHD [], POS MALAYSIA BHD [] and PETRA ENERGY BHD [].

HwangDBS Vickers Research values the stock at 91 sen based on 7.5 times price-earnings multiple on Halex's calender year 2010 earnings, while OSK Equity Research said its issue price of 78 sen per share was reasonable based on a FY09 PE of 8.3 times, which is lower than that of its peers.

The company is principally involved in the manufacturing, formulation, repackaging, distribution and agency of agrochemicals; propagation of ornamental plants; propagation and sales of foliage cuttings, potted and festive plants; and manufacturing and distribution of healthcare disposable products.

Halex is the sole distributor in Malaysia for several agrochemical products developed by MNCs such as Chemtura Corp, AMVAC Chemical Corp and Sumitomo Chemical.

Proton Holdings Bhd's counter continues to deserve careful scrutiny on market talk the government was looking to pare down its holdings in the national carmaker.

Market buzz has it that Khazanah Nasional Bhd, which owns 43% of Proton, would be willing to let go of a stake in the share should it find a right buyer. The stock closed yesterday among the top 10 gainers, picking up 20 sen to close at RM3.91 per share.

The company's stock has surged since the first week of this month on the back of better-than-expected earnings results following healthy sales of its Exora marque.

Analysts are mostly bullish on the stock with eight out of 13 research houses recommending a buy on the stock. The price of Proton's share has already exceeded Bloomberg consensus target fair price of RM3.77 per share.

MPHB has proposed to buy a 41.63% stake in U Mobile Sdn Bhd -- which had been pledged with AmBank Bhd -- for RM280 million under a put option.

MPHB had entered into a put option agreement with AmBank to purchase the option shares, comprising of 157.95 million shares of RM1 each, at any time during a 13-month period.

The audited net assets of U Mobile as at Dec 31, 2008 was about RM1.44 per share. MPHB said the put option price would be financed by its own funds and/or borrowings.

AirAsia completed its bookbuilding exercise which involved the offer for sale of 380 million new shares, representing 16% of the paid-up as at Sept 10.

The issue price was fixed at RM1.33 per placement share, which was a discount of 6.71% to the five-day volume weighted average market price of AirAsia shares up to and including Sept 14 of RM1.4257 per AirAsia share.

Bernanke says recession is "very likely" over

noreply@blogger.com (CSLin) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 00:37:00 +0000

WASHINGTON: Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Tuesday, Sept 15 that the worst U.S. recession since the Great Depression was probably over, but the recovery would be slow and it would take time to create new jobs, according to Reuters.

"Even though from a technical perspective the recession is very likely over at this point, it's still going to feel like a very weak economy for some time," Bernanke said at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank.

In declaring the recession over, Bernanke sounded a slightly more upbeat tone than in late August when he had said simply that prospects for a return to growth were good.

However, he cautioned that growth next year would probably be sluggish and that unemployment would only fall slowly.

"The general view of most forecasters is that that pace of growth in 2010 will be moderate, less than you might expect given the depth of the recession because of ongoing headwinds," Bernanke said, citing tight credit conditions and other economic restraints.

He spoke on the one-year anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers investment bank, an event that sparked a global financial panic, and a week before Fed officials meet to review their policy options.

The Fed -- the U.S. central bank -- slashed benchmark interest rates to near zero in December and has been buying mortgage-related securities and longer-term U.S. Treasury debt to give the economy a lift.

Bernanke, in a nod to recent relatively upbeat economic signals, said it was possible the recovery could be stronger than expected, but cautioned that it could also be weaker.

"There are risks on both sides of that forecast," he said. "But if we do in fact see moderate growth, but not growth much more than the underlying potential growth rate, then unfortunately, unemployment will be slow to come down."

Bernanke's comments implicitly acknowledged the possibility of a stronger-than-expected "V-shaped" U.S. recovery. The latest Blue Chip survey of economists predicts that growth will expand by a brisk 3 percent annual rate in the third quarter.

Economists generally estimate U.S. trend potential growth to be around 2.5 percent. Growth above that level would be needed to bring down the unemployment rate, which hit a 26-year high of 9.7 percent last month.

After its last meeting on Aug 11-12, the Fed said the "substantial" slack in the economy would likely keep inflation subdued for some time, adding that exceptionally low interest rates would likely be needed for "an extended period."

Fed policymakers meet next Tuesday and Wednesday and are expected to opt to keep stimulating the economy via ultra-low interest rates and massive asset purchases.

With the benchmark interbank lending rate virtually at zero, the Fed has focused on driving down other borrowing costs by buying mortgage-related debt and U.S. government bonds. - Reuters

OMG MALAYSIA in F1... waste money again

noreply@blogger.com (CSLin) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 12:01:00 +0000

PUTRAJAYA: The 1Malaysia F1 Team, a joint venture between the Government and private sector, will participate in the F1 race beginning next year, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced on Tuesday.

The Prime Minister said the project involved the combined expertise of Proton and Lotus with the support of the Sepang International Circuit (SIC), Motorsports Association of Malaysia, Naza Motor and AirAsia.

Najib, who is also the Finance Minister I, told reporters when making the announcement at the Finance Ministry that leading corporate figures such as Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes, Datuk Kamarudin Meranun and S.M. Nasarudin S.M. Nasimuddin were also involved in the initiative.

“This is the Malaysian team. The car was designed at the SIC, manufactured at the SIC, tested at the SIC and the car is Malaysian-made. Even the pit-stop team consists of Malaysians,” he said.

He said the 1Malaysia Team would identify a suitable Malaysian driver, adding that the project could lift the country’s image in the international arena.

Najib said the FIA had received Malaysia’s application to participate in the World F1 Championship next year.

Asked on the budget and the total investment by the Government, Najib said: “The Malaysian government’s investment is through Proton.”

Najib said the project was not a waste because it would provide a strong marketing element to the country when it competed in the F1 championship.

“If we want to export the Proton, we must ensure that the brand is strong. There is a strong element of marketing.

“It is not merely a sporting activity because there is an element of marketing for Proton and Malaysia while at the same time, the AirAsia and Naza brand names can be popularised,” he said.

According to a press release issued by a local public relations company for the 1Malaysia F1 Team, the national team will be based at SIC.

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia and Universiti Petronas as well as Composite Technology Research Malaysia (CTRM), a leading local composite manufacturing expert, have already been engaged to participate in the project.

The statement said the national F1 team would integrate the Malaysian technical and pit crew totalling 200 people to be managed by one of Formula One’s most respected technical director, Mike Gascoyne.

He had already recruited a core team of international experts with a proven record in the various engineering, design and manufacturing disciplines needed to ensure that the 1Malaysia F1 team was of international standard, readiness and capable of competing with the world’s greatest drivers.

Currently, six local and international drivers have been shortlisted for evaluation and the team is expected to announce its two drivers by end of next month.

The statement quoted Najib as saying that the country’s participation in Formula One with the national team had far reaching objectives, mainly the advancement of the country’s automotive industry development from the technological aspect including initiatives in green technology.

“By establishing our racing centre within the country, we hope to also attract more foreign investments and the best technical minds which, in turn, will spur the growth of our automotive industry where we hope to see more R&D into lighter, safer and more cost-effective cars,” he said.

“We further anticipate higher commitment by organisations and attendance by individuals during the F1 Petronas Malaysian GP which will be coupled with increased tourism related returns,” Najib said.

He claimed that by creating a national F1 team, the country was taking “its motor sports to its pinnacle, thus ensuring its place in this internationally embraced sports that had scaled the heights of entertainment.”

The 1Malaysia F1 Team takes its name from the “1Malaysia People First, Performance Now” policy mooted by Najib in June this year as the unifying foundation for all Malaysians to come together in celebrating cooperation among its multiethnic, multicultural and multireligious society for the betterment of the nation.

Petronas, the national oil giant, has also made advancement in this arena via its sponsorship of the BMW-Sauber Team for the last four years. -- Bernama

AnnJoo still a trading buy

noreply@blogger.com (CSLin) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 07:41:00 +0000

CIMB Research yesterday maintained its trading buy call on ANN JOO RESOURCES BHD [] but slashed its FY09 earnings forecast for the steelmaker by 45% after assuming higher costs while maintaining sales volume and selling price projections.

“Our FY09 earnings upgrade in our 2Q results note was overly aggressive as we did not factor in higher input costs, especially scrap prices which could have a huge impact on the company’s margins… This lowers our estimate of the full-year net profit margin from 6.8% to only 4.8%,” CIMB said in a note yesterday.

Nonetheless, it still expects Ann Joo to turn in RM102.3 million net profit in 2H09, which suggest a full-year figure of RM65.7 million, given the RM36.6 million loss in 1H09.

“Outlook (for Ann Joo) remains good for 2H. We continue to expect demand for Ann Joo’s products to improve in 2H given the recent positive news flow on government pump-priming and CONSTRUCTION [] activities as well as a pick-up in export orders. It is particularly heartening that the company was the only big upstream player to return to the black in 2Q,” CIMB said.

“We maintain our trading buy recommendation given the prospects of government pump-priming, especially in Southeast Asia. Moreover, the completion of a blast furnace in 1H2010 will allow Ann Joo to produce a higher grade of steel and, at the same time, lower its production costs and enhance margins,” CIMB said.

Its target price is unchanged at RM3.09, still pegged to a 20% discount to the brokerage house’s target market earnings multiple of 15 times. Ann Joo remained CIMB’s top pick in the building materials sector.

Based on the favourable news flow in the domestic market, the company expects local demand to improve towards the end of this year. Local steel bar prices are already showing signs of an uptick. Average selling price has climbed from RM1,800 per tonne earlier this year to about RM2,100.

Apart from domestic demand, steel exports were also on the rise, said CIMB Research.

“Typically, the company derives about 20%-30% of its manufacturing revenue from the export market. However, export demand has been on the rise lately and orders are starting to pick up with Vietnam, Indonesia and Sri Lanka the key destinations,” said the research house.

Ann Joo closed four sen higher at RM2.29 yesterday.

1,200-point mark breached by FBM KLCI

noreply@blogger.com (CSLin) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 06:14:00 +0000

PETALING JAYA: The local stock market’s benchmark index breached the psychologically important 1,200-point level yesterday driven largely by the global liquidity run.
At the close, the FTSE Bursa Malaysa KL Composite Index (FBM KLCI) was up 11.68 points, or 0.98%, to 1,202.07, its highest close since June last year.
“Confidence has returned somewhat,” said Areca Capital Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Danny Wong.
Investor sentiment in the region has been bolstered this week by a number of factors including the weekend decision by G20 finance ministers to keep economic stimulus efforts in place as well as a slower decline in US job losses. Stocks in emerging markets yesterday reached levels last seen before the collapse of US investment bank Lehman Brothers.

Nevertheless, analysts remain cautious on the local stock market.
“While it seems to be a bull run, the fundamentals that drive a bull market appear absent,” said Pong Teng Siew, head of research at Jupiter Securities.
The index is currently where it was at the beginning of 2007, the year of the bull run, but the current backdrop for the fundamentals that would support current valuations remains very “touchy”, according to Pong.
“In 2007, we had a great commodity market, fantastic exports and robust earnings – where are all of that now?” he asked.
Liquidity, however, may be sufficient to keep the market on an uptrend for a while but it would be difficult to peg the market’s fair value because of this, he said.
“The G20 countries said they would continue to flood the system with liquidity so the economy doesn’t tank, that’s what investors wanted to hear.

Gold price touches highest mark in 18 months

noreply@blogger.com (CSLin) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 06:12:00 +0000

NEW YORK: Gold pushed above the US$1,000 mark Tuesday for the first time since February as hopes for an improving economy fed a broader rally in commodities.

It had risen as high as $1,009.70, the first time it topped $1,000 since early this year and the highest level since mid-March last year.

Gold closed under $950 on Aug. 27.

December silver jumped 22.5 cents to $16.510 an ounce and hit a 13-month high of $16.860.

A weaker dollar also drove prices higher, analysts said.

The gains also came after the Group of 20 leading economies pledged at a weekend meeting in London to maintain higher levels of government spending and low interest rates to help the world's economies recover from recession.

Concerns that a recovery could spark inflationary pressures helped lift prices for gold, which investors often use as a hedge against inflation.

Gold for December delivery rose $3.10 to settle $999.80 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Copper, nickel and zinc also gained.

Benchmark crude rose more than $3 a barrel.

Tom Winmill, portfolio manager of the Midas Fund in New York, contends that the gain in gold is, in part, a show of confidence by investors and not just a guard against the dollar.

He said rising prices for commodities like platinum and oil signal that investors are placing bets on an improvement in the economy.

"Prices are rising for commodities and that's going to carry gold," he said. Winmill said, however, that a weaker dollar eventually could be the biggest force pushing gold higher.

"Ultimately, weakness in the dollar is going to be the thing that is going to underpin a big, big move in gold," he said.

The gains in gold prices follow a rally last week that came as the dollar weakened and as analysts said investors were looking for areas of safety.

Singapore ranked easiest country in which to do business

noreply@blogger.com (CSLin) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 05:51:00 +0000

SINGAPORE: Tiny Rwanda made the biggest strides in becoming business-friendly, an annual ranking by the World Bank said Wednesday, while Singapore retained its crown as the easiest country in which to do business for a fourth year.

Rwanda, the first Sub-Sahara African nation to be named the top reformer since the World Bank began its Doing Business report in 2003, jumped 76 spots to 67 by cutting bureaucratic delays to start a business and sell property, making employment laws more flexible and simplifying tax payment.

Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia and Belarus were also singled out by the bank for making positive changes.

The report ranks 183 countries based on ten indicators that measure the time and cost of government requirements in starting, operating and closing a business, trading across borders and paying taxes.

The rankings don't reflect macroeconomic policy, infrastructure, workforce skills or crime rates.

After Singapore, New Zealand ranked second, followed by Hong Kong and the United States.

The top 10 countries were unchanged from the previous report except United Kingdom at five switched places with Denmark at six.

Ireland, Canada, Australia and Norway rounded out the top 10.

The rankings of most large economies were little changed from a year earlier with Japan at 15, Germany at 25, China at 89, and Russia at 120.

Low- and lower-middle-income economies accounted for two-thirds of reforms measured by the report from June 2008 and May 2009.

Colombia was the highest-ranked Latin American country at 37 while Venezuela, at 177, was the lowest and the only country in the bottom 16 not in Africa, the bank said. - AP

YTL Power gets S$1b financing

noreply@blogger.com (CSLin) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 05:42:00 +0000

SINGAPORE: Calyon and Natixis are among seven banks that agreed to lend S$1 billion (RM2.45 billion) to YTL POWER INTERNATIONAL BHD [] for its acquisition of PowerSeraya Ltd.
Maybank Investment Bank, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd, National Australia Bank Ltd and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp also contributed to the three-year loan, which was arranged by DBS Group Holdings Ltd.
YTL is “pleased with the syndication,” managing director Tan Sri Francis Yeoh said in an emailed response to queries from Bloomberg. — Bloomberg

McDonald's loses trademark fight against McCurry

noreply@blogger.com (CSLin) — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 11:07:00 +0000

The trademark fight between Mcdonalds and McCurry bagged the headline news in Yahoo!! Malaysia BOLEH.. McCurry BOLEH

PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia (AP) -- U.S. fast food giant McDonald's lost an eight-year trademark battle to prevent local restaurant McCurry from using the 'Mc' prefix in a precedent-setting judgment by Malaysia's highest court.

The Federal Court ruled Tuesday that McDonald's cannot appeal against another court's verdict that had allowed McCurry to use 'Mc' in its name. The owner says McCurry, which serves Indian food, is an abbreviation for Malaysian Chicken Curry.

The ruling by a three-member panel of the Federal Court ends all legal avenues for McDonald's to protect its name from what it said was a trademark infringement.

"On the basis of unanimous decision, our view is that" McDonald's plea to carry the case forward has no merit, said chief judge Arifin Zakaria. "It is unfortunate that we have to dismiss the application with costs," he said.

McDonald's will have to pay 10,000 ringgit ($2,900) to McCurry, a popular eatery in Jalan Ipoh on the edge of Kuala Lumpur's downtown. McDonald's lawyers refused to comment, except to say the company will abide by the judgment.

McCurry lawyer Sri Devi Nair said the ruling means McDonald's does not have a monopoly on the prefix 'Mc,' and that other restaurants could also use it as long as they distinguish their food from McDonald's.

"This is a precedent for everyone to follow," he said.

A three-member Appeal Court panel had ruled in favor of McCurry Restaurant in April this year when it overturned a 2006 high court ruling that had upheld McDonald's contention.

Arifin said McDonald's lawyers were unable to point out faults in the Appeal Court judgment, which had said there was no evidence to show that McCurry was passing off McDonald's business as its own. The Appeals Court also said McDonald's cannot claim an exclusive right to the 'Mc' prefix in the country.

McDonald's asked the Federal Court for permission to appeal against that decision but was denied Tuesday.

"We are very much relieved. We hope to expand. This is what we wanted to do from the beginning and we were stalled for eight years," said A.M.S.P. Suppiah, the owner of McCurry.

"I am so happy ... we have nothing in similarity with them at all. That's how we have felt all this while," said his wife, Kanageswary Suppiah.

The Appeal Court said McCurry's signboard has white and gray letters against a red background with a picture of a smiling chicken giving a double thumbs-up, in contrast to McDonald's red and yellow "M" logo. McCurry also serves only Indian food, not competing with McDonald's Western menu, the court said.

McDonald's began operations in Malaysia in 1982 and has 137 outlets in the Southeast Asian country.

On the net:

http://www.mccurryrecipe.com

2012 Trailer

noreply@blogger.com (CSLin) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 06:02:00 +0000

An interesting movie that i really want to watch. It is 2012 really end of the world? What will happen in 2012 is according to scientist, our Mother Earth will be in line with all the planet in the Milky Way Galaxy. Earth will experience more gravity and 'titled' from North South Pole. Earthquake, Flood, Tsunami ,Tornado and disasters is predicted to happen that will lead to the end..WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Top 10 Ideas To End Your Year With A Flourish!

noreply@blogger.com (CSLin) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 05:07:00 +0000

1.Review your financial goals and personal goals

2. New Year Resolution: Prepare your financial and personal goals for 2010. Remember, be SMART - Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timely

3. Review performance of your investment portfolio, realign your portfolio and investment strategies for 2010

4.Best time to visit your Tax Advisor or scrap through your local tax guide to complete your year-end tax planning. It will certainly make next year's tax submission a lot easier! This applies to both business and personal.

5. Plan how to celebrate Christmas and New Year's Eve: time to pamper yourself!

6. Plan for your perfect Christmas gifts for your loved ones....time to pamper them too so that they will likely to treat you better next year!

7. If you are a boss or working for people, take your team or fellow staff members for a good night out!

8. Give away to charity....monetary or effort you decide. It must be done whole heartedly and in good spirit! Make sure donation is part of your annual budget.

9. If you are expecting to travel for your vacation, give it a thorough wash for an extra gloss and inspect your car or preferably, send your car for a thorough check-up. You wouldn't want to put your car at risk and thereafter spoiling your vacation!

10. Write down your top 5 to 10 biggest achievement for the year. Feel good about yourself!

Different Types of Unit Trust scheme

noreply@blogger.com (CSLin) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 18:55:00 +0000

Schemes according to Maturity Period:
A mutual fund scheme can be classified into open-ended scheme or close-ended scheme depending on its maturity period.

Open-ended Fund/ Scheme
An open-ended fund or scheme is one that is available for subscription and repurchase on a continuous basis. These schemes do not have a fixed maturity period. Investors can conveniently buy and sell units at Net Asset Value (NAV) related prices which are declared on a daily basis. The key feature of open-end schemes is liquidity.

Close-ended Fund/ Scheme
A close-ended fund or scheme has a stipulated maturity period e.g. 5-7 years. The fund is open for subscription only during a specified period at the time of launch of the scheme. Investors can invest in the scheme at the time of the initial public issue and thereafter they can buy or sell the units of the scheme on the stock exchanges where the units are listed. In order to provide an exit route to the investors, some close-ended funds give an option of selling back the units to the mutual fund through periodic repurchase at NAV related prices.

Schemes according to Investment Objective:
A scheme can also be classified as growth scheme, income scheme, or balanced scheme considering its investment objective. Such schemes may be open-ended or close-ended schemes as described earlier. Such schemes may be classified mainly as follows:

   Growth / Equity Oriented Scheme
The aim of growth funds is to provide capital appreciation over the medium to long- term. Such schemes normally invest a major part of their corpus in equities. Such funds have comparatively high risks. These schemes provide different options to the investors like dividend option, capital appreciation, etc. and the investors may choose an option depending on their preferences. The investors must indicate the option in the application form. The mutual funds also allow the investors to change the options at a later date. Growth schemes are good for investors having a long-term outlook seeking appreciation over a period of time.

   Income / Debt Oriented Scheme
The aim of income funds is to provide regular and steady income to investors. Such schemes generally invest in fixed income securities such as bonds, corporate debentures, Government securities and money market instruments. Such funds are less risky compared to equity schemes. These funds are not affected because of fluctuations in equity markets. However, opportunities of capital appreciation are also limited in such funds. The NAVs of such funds are affected because of change in interest rates in the country. If the interest rates fall, NAVs of such funds are likely to increase in the short run and vice versa. However, long term investors may not bother about these fluctuations.

   Balanced Fund
The aim of balanced funds is to provide both growth and regular income as such schemes invest both in equities and fixed income securities in the proportion indicated in their offer documents. These are appropriate for investors looking for moderate growth. They generally invest 40-60% in equity and debt instruments. These funds are also affected because of fluctuations in share prices in the stock markets. However, NAVs of such funds are likely to be less volatile compared to pure equity funds.

   Money Market or Liquid Fund
These funds are also income funds and their aim is to provide easy liquidity, preservation of capital and moderate income. These schemes invest exclusively in safer short-term instruments such as treasury bills, certificates of deposit, commercial paper and inter-bank call money, government securities, etc. Returns on these schemes fluctuate much less compared to other funds. These funds are appropriate for corporate and individual investors as a means to park their surplus funds for short periods.

   Gilt Fund
These funds invest exclusively in government securities. Government securities have no default risk. NAVs of these schemes also fluctuate due to change in interest rates and other economic factors as is the case with income or debt oriented schemes.

   Index Funds
Index Funds replicate the portfolio of a particular index such as the BSE Sensitive index, S&P NSE 50 index (Nifty), etc These schemes invest in the securities in the same weight-age comprising of an index. NAVs of such schemes would rise or fall in accordance with the rise or fall in the index, though not exactly by the same percentage due to some factors known as "tracking error" in technical terms. Necessary disclosures in this regard are made in the offer document of the mutual fund scheme.
There are also exchange traded index funds launched by the mutual funds which are traded on the stock exchanges.

Higher NAV better ?

noreply@blogger.com (CSLin) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 18:49:00 +0000

We cannot view a mutual fund unit like a share. There is no 'saturation point' as far as the growth of the Net Asset Value of a fund is concerned. An individual stock may get over valued if its price shoots up, but that is not the case with a unit trust.

Now, let's look at the NAV.

Basically, it is irrelevant how high or low the NAV of a fund is.Let's say you want to invest RM 5,000. Irrespective of which fund you invest in, this amount stays constant. Now let's say that your choice is restricted between two funds with identical portfolios. Since they both have identical portfolios, their value will increase in the same proportion. You may buy the units of one fund at a higher price than the other. But, the percentage increase would be the same. Hence, your investment of RM 5,000 will increase by the same percentage, irrespective of the fund you invest in. So the number of units you get as well as a high or low NAV are irrelevant. Thus, it is the stocks in a portfolio that determine the returns from a fund, the value of the NAV being immaterial.

You should be making your selection of mutual funds based on past performance, risk and other such factors.

The only instance where a higher NAV will get you fewer units that may affect you is where a dividend has to be received.

Dividend is given per unit. So the fewer the units you get, the lesser the dividend.

Amanah Saham Products: Comparison of Income Distribution

noreply@blogger.com (CSLin) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 17:54:00 +0000

Amanah Saham Nasional

Amanah SahamNasional 2

Amanah Saham Nasional 3

Amanah Saham Bumiputera

AmanahSaham Malaysia

Amanah Saham Wawasan 2020

Amanah Saham Didik

Source taken from WWW.ASNB.COM.MY. Is seems like ASN3 is the best performing product since establishment of the fund so far with the currently highest NAV and also net distribution perunit.

HOW TO MEASURE THE PERFORMANCE OF UNIT TRUST FUND

noreply@blogger.com (CSLin) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 16:43:00 +0000

In measuring a Fund's performance, an investor should understand the basic definitions of Fund returns.

Total Returns

The change in a Fund’s Net Asset Value (NAV) over time, assuming that income distribution are reinvested and that there are no purchases or redemptions made during the period.

Average Annual Total Return

The Total Return for the period divided by the number of years under review.

Distribution Yield (for fixed-price Funds)

The income distribution divided by the Fund’s price, which is fixed at RM1.00 per unit.

Performance Benchmark

Although the past performance of a fund is not indicative of its future performance, it is useful to compare the fund’s performance to its benchmark and other funds with similar investment objectives. The use of an appropriate benchmark that fits a Fund’s investment objectives or asset classes can be extremely useful. This is because different asset classes perform differently following changing market conditions.

For instance, an equity fund which primarily invests in Malaysian equities would be appropriately benchmarked against the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) or any Bursa Malaysia indices, while a balanced fund would be appropriately benchmarked against a composition of asset classes, for example, 50:50 between KLCI and 3-month Kuala Lumpur Interbank Offered Rate. When selecting a Fund, an investor should be looking for a fund which have consistently outperformed its benchmark or competitors.

RM100mil in Amanah Saham units to ease hardcore poverty

noreply@blogger.com (CSLin) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 16:40:00 +0000

By SIRA HABIBU

KUALA LUMPUR: Amanah Saham shares worth RM100mil will be given to the hardcore poor in urban areas to help them make ends meet, said Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

The Prime Minister said the Government was compiling a list of those eligible for the shares.

“Poverty is not restricted to rural areas only. The poor in urban areas also need assistance,” Najib said before breaking fast with the people at the Al-Bukhary Mosque here yesterday.

The event sponsored by the Al-Bukhary Foundation attracted about 4,000 people from all walks of life.

Najib also called on government agencies, the private sector and philanthropists to help the poor in urban as well as rural areas.

He also said there was a need to redefine hardcore poverty in urban areas.

“Those earning RM2,000 may live comfortably in rural areas, but not in urban areas.”

Najib also acknowledged that poverty was one of the main issues affecting Muslims.

The Government had also started a public housing project called Projek Perumahan Rakyat for the urban poor, he said.

The first phase of the units would be sold on Oct 10 in the Federal Territory.

“This is something that people have been waiting for. Efforts to address poverty in urban as well as rural areas will be ongoing.”

Amanah Saham 1Malaysia subscriptions extended

noreply@blogger.com (CSLin) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 16:31:00 +0000

PERMODALAN Nasional Bhd (PNB) yesterday extended the subscription allocation of Amanah Saham 1Malaysia to the different ethnic groups to September 30.

The fund manager however said the maximum investment limit for the new units will be abolished after the 30-day offer period from September 4.

The fund, with a size of 10 billion units, is open to all Malaysians with a temporary allocation of 50 per cent to Bumiputeras, 30 per cent to the Chinese, 15 per cent to Indians and the remaining 5 per cent to other ethnic groups.

As at August 25, more than 2 billion units had been subscribed by 148,830 investors.

Amanah Saham 1Malaysia was launched on July 31.