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1. The Malaysian stock market could see about nine
more Main Market listings before year-end, based
on ongoing work – preliminary or otherwise – by
some investment banks on the initial public offerings
(IPO). Four – Bumi Armada Bhd, MSM Malaysia
Holdings Bhd, Eversendai Corp Bhd and UOA
Development Bhd – have already put out their draft
prospectuses. The others that are expected to come
to the market are Pavillion real estate investment
trust (REIT), Axis Global Islamic REIT, Qatar-listed
property group Ezdan’s Islamic REIT and possibly
two utility companies, Jimah Energy Ventures Sdn
Bhd and Gas Malaysia Sdn Bhd. When added to the

13 companies that have already been listed on the
Main Market and ACE Market as at May 10, it could
bring total new listings this year to about 22.
(Business Times)
3. Sarawak Energy Bhd (SEB) and Sarawak Hidro Sdn
Bhd have reached an agreement on the main terms
of the power purchase agreement (PPA) for
electricity produced by Bakun hydro dam. SEB chief
executive officer Torstein Dale Sjotveit said the main
terms included the tariff that SEB would have to pay
to Sarawak Hidro, the dam developer. Sjotveit
declined to reveal the agreed tariff but reliable
sources indicate it is likely to be somewhere
“between SEB’s offer for a starting tariff of six sen
per kwh and the request by Sarawak Hidro for seven
sen per kwh”. Sources also said the PPA terms
would go through the Cabinet soon and was likely to
be announced at the end of this month. The sources
added that negotiations were still ongoing “on a few
outstanding issues that require the attention of both
the state and federal governments”. The 2,400MW
Bakun dam is expected to commercially produce its
first 300MW in July. Wet testing of the dam’s first of
eight turbines will be carried out next month. He said
SEB’s Similajau sub-station, which was designed to
handle more than 4,000MW, was completed last
month and ready to receive power from Bakun. SEB
is now constructing a dedicated power sub-station in
Samalaju, which will serve industries in Samalaju
Industrial Park, Bintulu, within the Sarawak Corridor
of Renewable Energy (SCORE). The sub-station is
expected to be operational in June next year. Last
month, SEB sealed separate PPA term sheets with
four major investors Press Metal, OM Materials,
Asia Minerals Ltd and Tokuyama Corp. The four
companies, which plan to invest some RM9.5b,
would require a combined 1,300MW to power their
upcoming plants in Samalaju Industrial Park. SEB
has also signed a memorandum of understanding
(MoU) with Smelter Asia Sdn Bhd, which needs
more than 600MW to power its proposed US$1.6b
(RM4.8b) aluminium smelter in Samalaju. (StarBiz)
4. BIMB Holdings Bhd has confirmed receiving
notification from Khazanah Nasional Bhd and DRBHICOM
Bhd on the sale of their stake in Bank
Muamalat Malaysia Bhd to the company. Its group
managing director/chief executive officer Johan
Abdullah said he will bring up the matter at the
board meeting on May 25, for further discussions.
Johan said if the board agrees to the proposed
acquisition, BIMB Holdings will seek approval from
Bank Negara Malaysia, before proceeding to
negotiate with Khazanah Nasional Bhd and DRBHICOM
Bhd. A news report last month stated that
Khazanah Nasional plans to sell its 30 per cent
stake in Bank Muamalat as part of its mission to
gradually divest all its non-core holdings and assets.
DRB-HICOM, which has a 70% stake in Bank
Muamalat, needs to sell down its holding to 40%, to
meet Bank Negara requirements. (Bernama)
5. Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank), the country’s
biggest lender, posted an 11 per cent growth in third
quarter net profit, driven by stronger loan growth. It
reported a net profit of RM1.14b for the quarter
ended March 31 2011 compared with RM1.03b in
the preceding quarter, as its loan portfolio grew
16.4%. Revenue for the quarter was RM5.13b or
11.5% more than the same period last year. For the
nine months to March 31 2011, it achieved almost
13.5% growth to register RM3.3b in net profit.
Maybank said it is on track and remains positive of
achieving its two key performance indicators for
fiscal 2011 for growth in loans and debt securities of
12% and return on equity of 14%. It anticipates the
banking sector to remain positive with new
infrastructure and Entry Point Projects under the
Economic Transformation Programme. But rising
household debt and inflationary pressure pose a
new challenge to the sector, thereby requiring Bank
Negara Malaysia to introduce tightening measures
to curb consumer loan growth. Maybank said the
acquisition of Kim Eng Holdings Ltd will help
accelerate its vision of becoming a regional financial
services leader in Asean. This is by combining its
commercial banking presence in the region,
investment banking in Malaysia with a regional
outlook and with Kim Eng’s strong market position in
stockbroking. (Business Times)
6. Smartag Solutions Bhd and the Royal Customs
Department have signed a memorandum of
understanding to undertake a security and trade
facilitation system to reduce traffic and waiting time
at customs checkpoints. Smartag said the security
system which used radio frequency identification
would help the department improve its information
system and deter security threats. (Bernama)
7. Property developer IGB Corp Bhd has allocated up
to RM3b for various assets acquisitions overseas
this year, said managing director Robert C.M. Tan.
He said the acquisitions comprising mixed
developments, including hotels in Europe and the
United States, were in line with the company’s
expansion plan. Tan added the acquisitions would
follow the company’s successful move in acquiring
and rebranding two hotels in New York last year.
Meanwhile, for the third phase of the Mid Valley City
development, he said RM500m was allocated for its
construction, which was also the last phase of the
commercial development. The construction was
expected to commence within the next quarter and
would take up to 30 months for completion. IGB is
the developer of the Mid Valley City. On the
possibility of moving Mid Valley City into the real
estate investment trust (REIT), he said the company
had no intention of doing so in the near-term.
(Bernama)
8. YTL Communications Sdn Bhd, a unit of YTL Power
Bhd, is confident that a big chunk of the Apple
iPhone Operating System (iOS) device users in
Malaysia will sign up for its Yes Life packages.
Currently, it estimated that there are some 300,000
iOS device users in the country, using popular
gadgets such as the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.
The company currently has some 200,000
subscribers, of which 60,000 are using Yes Life
voice and data plan. Currently, customers can use
YTL Communications’ services either via “pay per
use” method, where voice call and data are charged
at 9 sen a minute and 3 sen per megabit. Under the
Yes Life packages, customers can opt for the
valuepack RM68, comprising 3.5 gigabit (GB) of
data, 150 minutes of voice and 150 text messages;
or they can opt for the valuepack RM150, which
offers 10GB of data, 250 minutes of voice and 250
text messages. Over the next few months, YTL
Communications will be launching its packages for
Android device users as the company continues its
aggressive customer acquisition campaign. The
company will also be beefing up its retail and
distribution presence. Next month, it will officially
launch its retail network in Johor, followed by
Malacca, Ipoh and the east coast of Peninsular
Malaysia. YTL Communications has about 1,700
base stations throughout West Malaysia, covering
more than 70% of the population. (Business Times)
9. Media Prima Bhd’s net profit for 1Q ended March 31
2011 fell by 23.7% to RM34.9m. A year ago, Media
Prima’s earnings showed RM17.5m goodwill when
the New Straits Times Press (Malaysia) Bhd was
fully absorbed into the group. Excluding the
goodwill, Media Prima’s net profit for the first quarter
of 2010 was RM28m. Stripping off this, its net profit
of RM34.9m for the quarter under review was 24.6%
higher YoY. Media Prima’s turnover for the quarter
increased by 9.4% to RM354.2m, led by advertising
revenue, which recorded a growth of 13.5% as
advertisement expenditure growth maintained its
momentum into 2011. The group’s revenue growth
was driven by its core platforms – television
networks, print media, outdoor media and radio
networks. Media Prima is committed to maintaining
its industry leadership position and earnings through
continued investment in quality and relevant content
and branding for its targeted market. The group will
continue its efforts in realising the value of its
diverse media platforms by embarking on various
integration initiatives involving the assimilation of its
new investments in NSTP and Kurnia into the
enlarged Media Prima Group. (Business Times)
10. JT International Bhd net profit for 1Q ended March
31, 2011 fell 8.58% to RM34.52m from RM37.76m a
year earlier, due mainly to lower sales volume.
Revenue dropped to RM290.73m from RM313.18m.
EPS was 13.30 sen while net assets per share was
RM1.63. JT International declared a first interim
gross dividend of 15 sen per share in respect of the
financial year ending Dec 31, 2011. Following the
large increase in excise taxes in October 2010,
which led to the steep increase in cigarette prices,
several brands belonging to small manufacturers
were sold in the market at a price that blatantly
violated the RM7.00 Minimum Cigarette Price
(MCP). These brands, priced as low as RM3.50,
which is in breach of the Government-mandated
MCP, gained strong momentum in the first quarter
and to this day, still continues. This illegal practice,
which has continued for six months to-date, has
made the prices of these brands attractive to
smokers and accelerated down trading. The
company said these violations had a negative effect
on its sales volume and that last year its volume
contracted 10.3% resulting in its market share
declining to 21.9% from 22.7% in the previous year.
(The Edge Daily)
11. Sarawak Oil Palms Bhd’s earnings jumped 134% to
RM55.54m in 1Q ended March 31, 2011 from
RM23.67m a year ago as it benefited mainly from
higher crude palm oil (CPO) and palm kernel (PK)
prices. Revenue increased by 64.3% to RM238.48m
from RM145.10m. EPS was 12.84 sen versus 5.52
sen. On the outlook, it said the performance of the
group was largely dependent on developments in
the world edible oil market, bio-diesel market, fossil
oil market, movement of ringgit, world economic
situation and their corresponding effect on CPO
prices. (The Edge Daily)
12. Fitters Diversified Bhd’s earnings rose 107% to
RM5.73m from RM2.56m a year ago, boosted by its
new palm oil extraction business. Revenue was
RM102.74m, up 193% from RM35.03m. EPS was
2.65 sen versus 1.29 sen. The better performance
was due to an increase of revenue from both
manufacturing, trading division and construction,
engineering and property division of the group on
top of revenue generated from the new palm oil
extraction business. (The Edge Daily)
13. DiGi.Com Bhd is looking to adjust its dividend policy
in order to compensate for lower net profit as it
seeks to update its network. Chief executive Henrik
Clausen explained that as DiGi continued to
modernise its network, it would involve an increase
in the depreciation of its old equipment, to the tune
of around RM1b over three years. While it would
not affect the company’s cash flow as it is a noncash
item, it would have an impact on net profit.
Management said this is will only be a short-term
situation. In order to maintain shareholder value,
they are looking at adjusting our dividend policy in
terms of the payout ratio. The group is still
discussing about it and will make an announcement
in due course. Currently, DiGi has committed to
paying out 80% of its annual net profit to its
shareholders. (The Edge Daily)