#Stocks to watch*Sarawak counters, Proton, Press Metal, Masteel, KUB

KUALA LUMPUR: Investors' sentiment in the week ahead, starting Monday, April 18 would partly hinge on the outcome of the Sarawak state elections due late Saturday, April 16.

Sarawak-based companies had run up ahead of the dissolution of the state assembly in late March before easing off.Since then, market sentiment had been generallyl cautious on political concerns about the Sarawak polls, which are the most hotly contested in recent years.

Meanwhile, Bernama reported that as at midday on Saturday, a total of 233,134 voters or 21.72% of the electorate in Sarawak have voted in the state polls, according the Election Commission. There were no untoward incidents.

At Bursa, over the past week, the 30-stock FBM KLCI had lost 22.06 points or 1.42% to end at 1,521.94 while RM14.83 billion had been erased from the market capitalisation, which mirrored the declines also in key regional markets. External concerns include the European debt crisis, sustained high oil prices and worries about the Japan's ability to recover from the earthquake which impacted its manufacturing sector.

Among the stocks which would be in focus include CAHYA MATA SARAWAK BHD [] (CMSB), NAIM HOLDINGS BHD [], TA ANN HOLDINGS BHD [], ZECON BHD [], ENCORP BHD [] and'' HOCK SENG LEE BHD [] (HSL).

Stocks with recent corporate developments are PROTON HOLDINGS BHD [], PRESS METAL BHD [], KUB MALAYSIA BHD [] and Malaysia Steel Works (KL) Bhd.

The Edge weekly reports that FUTUTECH BHD [], which was a'' loss-making, former associate company of Eastern & Oriental Bhd, was poised to transform itself into a CONSTRUCTION [] firm. It had been awarded RM332.4 million worth of design, road and construction works by E&O Property Development Sdn Bhd.

Proton's unit Lotus Cars Ltd secured ''270m million (RM1.33 billion) in loans from six financial institutions over a six-year period to turn around the loss-making company.

Proton group managing director Datuk Seri Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir said he expected Lotus to break even by 2014.

Press Metal proposed a rights issue to raise between RM316.7 million and RM323.7 million to finance the Samalaju aluminium smelting project in Sarawak.

The rights issue involved RM323.73 million nominal value of redeemable convertible secured loan stocks (RCSLS) at 100% of its nominal value with up to 147.15 million warrants.

Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman has approved the proposed RM1.23 billion intra-city commuter train service in Iskandar Malaysia which would involve a100km rail network.

The project would be undertaken by Metropolitan Commuter Network Sdn Bhd - a joint venture between KUB Malaysia Bhd and Malaysia Steel Works (KL) Bhd.

SUCCESS TRANSFORMER CORP BHD [] has proposed to distribute 100 treasury shares for every 4,000 shares of 50 sen held for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2011. It also announced a tax exempt interim dividend of 2pct for FY ending 2011.

FAR EAST HOLDINGS BHD [] is recommending a final single tier dividend of 20 sen for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2010.

US STOCKS-Wall Street rises on data but minefields ahead

NEW YORK: Encouraging economic indicators sent U.S. stocks higher on Friday, April 15, but the market's recent struggles are set to continue into next week when more than one-fifth of S&P 500 companies report results.

The S&P 500 fell for a second straight week, and some in the market pointed to strong resistance building around 1,340. The daily chart shows a bearish double top near that level.

In another worrisome sign, investors again favored defensive stocks, which tend to do better in times of waning growth. Utilities and healthcare were the S&P 500's top-performing sectors.

Disappointing results from Google and Infosys weighed on TECHNOLOGY [] shares, while financials were pressured by Bank of America's results.

"Even while some of the earnings data wasn't exactly what the market hoped for, the macro economic data was actually pretty good this morning," said Paul Zemsky, head of asset allocation at ING in New York.

Consumer price inflation remained contained in March while industrial production increased. A separate survey showed improvement in consumer sentiment in April.

Investors have been concerned that higher energy and food costs would slow consumer spending, while at the same time force the Federal Reserve to tighten its very loose monetary policy earlier that anticipated.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 56.68 points, or 0.46 percent, to 12,341.83. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 5.16 points, or 0.39 percent, to 1,319.68. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 4.43 points, or 0.16 percent, to 2,764.65.

For the week, the Dow fell 0.3 percent while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq each lost 0.6 percent.

The first week of earnings has been a mixed bag, with some bellwether companies unable to excite the market despite some cases of stronger-than-expected profits. Investors have been disappointed with companies' revenues or outlooks.

"If this theme of discouraging reports continues, I'll become more bearish on the season," said Randall Warren, chief investment officer of Warren Financial Service in Exton, Pennsylvania. "But right now, it could go either way, and it looks like the market wants to go up."

Bank of America Corp reported a steeper-than-expected decline of 37.5 percent in profit and named a new chief financial officer. The stock fell 2.4 percent to $12.82 and was the Dow's bigger percentage loser.

Google Inc unnerved investors late on Thursday with a large jump in first-quarter spending. The Internet company also reported an adjusted profit slightly under expectations. Its stock sank 8.3 percent to $530.70.

Also hurting technology stocks, Infosys Technologies Ltd, India's No. 2 software services exporter, sparked worries about the sector's growth after it forecast annual sales lower than expected on slower client spending. Its U.S.-traded shares fell 13.4 percent to $63.21.

Information technology was the sole S&P sector to fall. The IT sector's index fell 0.4 percent.

Charles Schwab Corp reported first-quarter earnings that beat expectations by a penny. The broker also said clients had reduced the percentage of their cash assets held in Schwab to pre-crisis levels. The stock rose 2.1 percent to $18.61.

Bond insurer Assured Guaranty Ltd surged 24.2 percent to $17.60 on heavy volume after the company announced an agreement with Bank of America on mortgage repurchase claims. Among other companies in the sector, MBIA Inc climbed 17.4 percent to $10.48, also on heavy volume.

About 7 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Amex and Nasdaq, below last year's estimated daily average of 8.47 billion.

Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a ratio of more than 2 to 1, while on the Nasdaq, more than nine stocks rose for every five that fell.- Reuters

GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks, oil gain on better-than-expected data

NEW YORK: Global stocks and crude oil rose on Friday, April 15 as better-than-expected economic reports and improving U.S. consumer confidence eased concerns about rising fuel costs even as gold hit a record high on inflation fears.

U.S. Treasury debt gained after government data showed underlying U.S. inflation pressures remained subdued and a survey said consumers were more restrained in their long-term inflation outlook.

Core consumer prices, which exclude volatile food and energy costs, edged up a less-than-expected 0.1 percent in March while consumer inflation expectations for the next five to 10 years fell, boding well for fixed-income prices.

But gold prices rose 1 percent to a record as a rally in crude oil and a downgrade of Ireland's sovereign debt powered bullion toward its fifth consecutive weekly gain.

Spot gold hit a record $1,487.90 an ounce but remained far below its all-time inflation-adjusted high of almost $2,500 an ounce in 1980.

Wall Street rallied but the market is set to climb a wall of worry next week when more than one-fifth of S&P 500 companies report results. Disappointing results from Bank of America and Google late Thursday kept gains in check.

"I'm surprised the market is holding up so well, given Google and Bank of America. But everyone is happy with the consumer price number," said Randall Warren, chief investment officer of Warren Financial Service in Exton, Pennsylvania.

"People were afraid that inflation could derail the bull market, and this data puts that story on hold."

Other data showed industrial capacity use jumped in March to its highest level since August 2008 while manufacturing activity in New York state was better than expected, easing worries about slower growth.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> closed up 56.68 points, or 0.46 percent, at 12,341.83. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> gained 5.16 points, or 0.39 percent, at 1,319.68. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> added 4.43 points, or 0.16 percent, at 2,764.65.

European stocks ended slightly higher but posted their first weekly loss in a month on worries over the euro zone debt crisis after Moody's cut Ireland's sovereign credit rating to just above "junk" status. [ID:nLDE73E1L1]

The FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top European shares closed 0.3 percent higher at 1,131.72 points. For the week, it posted a 1.5 percent loss.

Global stocks as measured by MSCI's all-country world index <.MIWD00000PUS> rose 0.1 percent, pulled higher by Wall Street.

The Moody's downgrade kept Europe's debt problems in focus although the euro was underpinned by expectations of more rate rises by the European Central Bank and the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will keep U.S. rates on hold. [ID:nN15420019]

"The interest rate differential argument has clearly supported the euro the last few weeks," said Greg Salvaggio, senior vice president for capital markets at Tempus Consulting in Washington.

Brent crude surged past $123 a barrel and prices in New York settled almost at $110 a barrel. Concerns about the impact of surging fuel on the economic recovery and consumption hit prices earlier in the week, knocking Brent off 32-month highs.

U.S. crude futures rose $1.55 to settle at $109.66 a barrel, marking the third straight day of gains. ICE Brent crude for June, the new front-month contract, settled up $1.45 to $123.45 a barrel in London.

The euro was down 0.4 percent at $1.4432, while the dollar was down 0.5 percent at 83.12 yen .

U.S. Treasuries extended gains.

The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note was up 22/32 in price to yield 3.41 percent.

Analysts and traders are turning increasingly bullish on the near term outlook for U.S. Treasuries, saying slowing growth and benign inflation may help further price gains.

Copper closed almost flat as the dollar pared gains, but investors worried high inflation in China would lead to monetary tightening and erode demand.

"The pace of Chinese growth points to further monetary tightening there, which could weigh on Chinese fuel demand in the future," said Carsten Fritsch, an analyst at Commerzbank. - Reuters

China sovereign wealth fund head sees global slowdown in 2012

BOAO, China: The global economy may slow down or even fall into recession again in 2012, Lou Jiwei, the head of China's $300 billion sovereign wealth fund, said on Saturday, April 16.

"We are relatively optimistic about 2011, but for 2012, it is possible there will be a big drop in economic growth or even recession," Lou, chairman of China Investment Corp , told the Boao Forum for Asia on the southern Chinese island of Hainan.

Lou said major economies may change their current pro-growth policies in the fourth quarter of this year, hurting economic performance.

In addition, oil supplies will likely be interrupted by the unrest in North Africa and the Middle East, he added.

Lou said the economic situation in the United States would remain largely unchanged, while European countries would be dragged down by weak domestic demand.

He also expected emerging markets to raise interest rates and allow their currencies to strengthen, causing a slowdown in economic growth in those countries.

CIC was set up in 2007 to invest a slice of China's massive foreign exchange reserves, which have ballooned to $3.05 trillion, in higher-returning assets.

It earned 12 percent on its global investments in 2009, reversing a loss of 2 percent in 2008. - Reuters

Bank of America 1Q earnings fall 37.5pct

CHARLOTTE, N.C.: Bank of America Corp posted a 37.5 percent decline in first-quarter earnings and named a new chief financial officer.

The largest U.S. bank had on Friday, April 15 reported net income of $2.0 billion, or 17 cents per share, compared with $3.2 billion, or 28 cents per share ,in the same quarter a year ago.

Analysts on average had forecast earnings of 27 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The bank lost $2.39 billion in its residential mortgage unit, compared with a $2.07 billion loss in the same quarter a year earlier. Revenue dropped and expenses increased in the business, which was a key source of difficulty for the bank during the quarter.

The bank said Bruce Thompson, chief risk officer, will add the role of chief financial officer at the end of the second quarter. Chuck Noski, current CFO, will become vice chairman of Bank of America.

The bank's shares were down 1.8 percent in premarket trade Friday. - Reuters

GLOBAL MARKETS WEEKAHEAD-Interest rates back to fixate investors

LONDON: Financial markets have swung back into a new but familiar phase -- worrying about interest rates -- and, not coincidently, the euro zone debt crisis is also bubbling after a brief hiatus, according to a Reuters report on Friday, April 15.

It all points to a couple of weeks ahead that are likely to be volatile -- risk-on, risk-off -- with a particular focus on the U.S. Federal Reserve's meeting on April 26.

The interest rate issue is at its most obvious on the foreign exchange market, where carry trading has returned. Investors are borrowing in low-yielding currencies to invest in higher-yielding ones.

The euro, for example, is at its highest in 15 months against the dollar.

This is being driven by yield differentials now available after the European Central Bank raised interest rates (with more likely to come) while Japan keeps monetary conditions ultra-loose following its devastating earthquake and tsunami.

A sort of middle ground is being held by the Fed, which is not likely to raise rates until next year, but which has to decide on the future of its asset-buying quantative easing (QE) programme, due to end in June.

It is at this point that equity investors come into the picture. QE has produced a flood of liquidity into markets that has essentially driven investors into stocks, in part because it has made a lot of fixed income unattractive.

Equity markets have been remarkably resilient, shrugging off just about everything that is being thrown at them, from rocketing oil prices, wobbly euro zone debt, a big blow to Japan's economy, and a revolt in the Arab world.

Gary Baker, head of European equity strategy for Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, says equity investors are actually "reluctant bulls" who can't fight Fed-driven liquidity.

"They see very little alternative to equities," he said.

It all makes markets highly vulnerable to sudden, surprising change. So any comments from the various factions in the U.S. central bank hierarchy over the next few weeks may be even more market-moving than usual.

Flash PMIs from across the euro zone may also be signposts to the ECB's next move.

''

SPILLOVER

Interest rate speculation is also playing into the euro zone debt crisis, with the tighter ECB policy and strong euro doing few favours for the struggling peripheral economies.

This is most evident in Greece, where the spread between 10-year bonds and German equivalents is now more than 1,000 basis points and talk is rife of restructuring being needed.

Prime Minister George Papandreou said on Friday that Greece would present details of fresh austerity and privatisation plans after Easter. They are an attempt to convince markets it can tidy up its finances and avoid restructuring.

Investors, however, continue to pressure peripheral debt, despite various plans to draw a line under the problem. Papandreou's announcement that details would come later did little to ease concerns.

Differing interest rate prospects, in the meantime, have been a major catalyst behind the recent shift of investment flows into emerging markets.

Fears of tightening in red-hot emerging economies put some investors off at the beginning of the year, but a belief that the rate cycle was peaking opened the door to aggressive new flows.

Again, this makes markets particularly vulnerable to surprises, epitomised by the risk-averse reaction to China's increasing growth and higher consumer price inflation reported in the past week.

India also reported higher than expected inflation.

The coming week brings central bank meetings in a number of major emerging markets, notably Hungary, Brazil, Turkey, Israel and Thailand.

Turkey may be the most interesting as it will feature a newly appointed central bank governor, Erdem Basci, widely seen as the main architect of the country's unorthodox monetary policy, which twins rate cuts with rises in bank reserve ratios in order to tighten policy.

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MORE EARNINGS

The remarkable performance of world equities, meanwhile, will be tested in the coming week by the latest earnings season, this time with Europe joining in with Wall Street.

The U.S. reports will be dominated by banks, including Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Wells Fargo. Europe will hear from the likes of Novartis, LVMH and Peugeot.

Europe may disappoint. Thomson Reuters StarMine data suggests STOXX Europe 600 companies may post first-quarter figures that will be on average 1 percent below expectations.

Sentiment on the equity market nonetheless remains constructive as seen in commodity trader Glencore's planned $12 billion initial public offering next month. - Reuters

Press Metal cash call to raise RM323.73m for aluminium plant

KUALA LUMPUR: PRESS METAL BHD [] has proposed a rights issue to raise between RM316.7 million and RM323.7 million to finance the Samalaju aluminium smelting project in Sarawak.

The company said on Friday, April 15 the rights issue involved the issuance of up to RM323.73 million nominal value of redeemable convertible secured loan stocks (RCSLS) at 100% of its nominal value with up to 147.15 million warrants.

Press Metal said this would be on the basis of one RM2.20 nominal value of RCSLS together with one warrant for every three shares held.

It said the rights issue was to advance funds to its unit Press Metal Bintulu Sdn Bhd to part finance the 120,000'' tonnes capacity aluminium smelting plant and infrastructure building cost to cater for additional 120,000 tonnes capacity in Samalaju.

'Press Metal Bintulu has received the approval from Sarawak State Planning Authority to develop a smelting plant in Samalaju Industrial Park, Bintulu, Sarawak with an initial capacity of 240,000 tonnes per annum and barring any unforeseen circumstances, the smelting plant is expected to be completed by end of 2012,' it said.

On the cash call, Press Metal said the RCSLS shall be issued at 100% of its nominal value. The conversion price of the RCSLS'' is RM2.20 for one new share.

It said the conversion price was 22 sen or 9.09% discount to RM2.42, which was the five-day volume weighted average price up to April 14.

As for the warrants, it would entitle its holder to subscribe for one new share at the exercise price of RM2.20. This was a discount of 22 sen or 9.09% discount to RM2.42, which was the five-day VWAP of the shares up to April 14.

Press Metal said the proposed rights issue would be undertaken on a minimum subscription level basis of RM300 million nominal value of RCSLS.

This was also based on the undertaking given by Alpha Milestone Sdn Bhd, of which Datuk Koon Poh Keong and Koon Poh Ming, who are directors and substantial shareholders of Press Metal, will renounce their respective entitlements to the RCSLS and warrants as at the entitlement date to Alpha Milsestone.

The Koon brothers are the directors and shareholders of Alpha Milestone, each holding 50% equity interest respectively.

Alpha Milestone will subscribe for the RCSLS and warrants renounced by the Koon Brothers.

FBM KLCI loses 35.5 points in a week

KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI ended the week on a weaker note after having lost a whopping 35.55 points over seven six trading days, as investors remained on the sidelines ahead of the Sarawak state elections on Saturday, April 17.

The FBM KLCI closed 3.86 points lower at 1,521.94.

Losers beat gainers by 452 to 285, while 317 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 915.05 million shares valued at RM1.56 billion.

At the regional markets, Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.65% to 9,591.52, Taiwan's Taiex lost 0.96% to 8,718.12, Singapore's Straits Times Index shed 0.18% to 3,153.30, South Korea's Kospi was down 0.03% to 2,140.50 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slipped 0.02% to 24,008.07.

Meanwhile, the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.26% to 3,050.53 after China's gross domestic product increased by 9.7% in the first quarter from a year earlier, down from 9.8% in the final three months of 2010 but ahead of an expected 9.5% pace.

On Bursa Malaysia, DiGi was the top loser and fell 50 sen to RM29; Far East Holdings and Nestle lost 20 sen each to RM7.20 and RM47.80, Tan Chong 19 sen to RM4.51, Toyo Ink 15 sen to RM1.51, Petronas Dagangan 14 sen to RM16.06, Fima Corp and PacificMas 13 sen each to RM6.05 and RM3.70, while Cypark lost 11 sen to RM2.90.

F&N was the top gainer and rose 28 sen to RM16.28; YTL was up 26 sen to RM7.72, Widetech 24 sen to 97 sen, Aeon 23 sen to RM6.20, Hartalega 22 sen to RM5.75, Top Glove 15 sen to RM5.16 and MBSB 14 sen to RM2.58.

Meanwhile, Proton rose 18 sen to RM3.43 after its unit Lotus Cars Ltd secured ''270m million (RM1.33 billion) in loans from six financial institutions over a six-year period in a move to turnaround the loss-making England-based company.

Proton group managing director Datuk Seri Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir had on Friday, April 15 said he expected Lotus to breakeven by 2014.

Lion Corp was the most actively traded counter with 24.1 million shares done. The stock fell one sen to 30 sen.

Other actives included Axiata, Gula Perak, Perisai, KUB, CIMB, Viztel, HWGB and AirAsia.

''

Success Transformer to distribute 100 treasury shares for every 4,000 shares held

KUALA LUMPUR: SUCCESS TRANSFORMER CORP BHD [] has proposed to distribute 100 treasury shares for every 4,000 shares of 50 sen held for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2011.

It also announced on Friday, April 15 a tax exempt interim dividend of 2% for FY ending 2011.

The ex-date for the shares distribution and dividend is May 9.

Far East Holding Bhd proposes 20c dividend per share

KUALA LUMPUR: FAR EAST HOLDINGS BHD [] is recommending a final single tier dividend of 20 sen for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2010.

It said on Friday, April 15 the proposed dividend is subject to the shareholders approval at the forthcoming annual general meeting to be held at a later date.

The entitlement date and payment date would be announced at a later date.

OMH to keep some funds from 2nd listing for Malaysia smelter

KUALA LUMPUR: Australia's OM Holdings (OMH) will use some of the funds generated from a planned secondary listing in Hong Kong to finance a manganese and ferro silicon smelter in Sarawak, a top official said on Friday, April 15.

The miner expects to spend up to $400 million to build the smelter with 600,000 tonnes of annual capacity in its quest to join BHP Billiton and Vale as top producers of the steel components.

Chief Executive Peter Toth said the firm will keep to its plans to list on the Hong Kong stock exchange by mid-2011. He declined to comment on plans by the firm's top shareholder Consolidated Minerals to oppose the listing.

"Some of the funds from the listing will be used but the exact structure of shareholding for this asset is still under discussion," Toth told Reuters in an telephone interview from the firm's Singapore headquarters.

"We could consider investors, project financing, debt or internally generated funds," he added. - Reuters

#Update2* Proton unit Lotus secures RM1.33b financing to turn around

KUALA LUMPUR: PROTON HOLDINGS BHD []'s unit Lotus Cars Ltd has secured ''270m million (RM1.33 billion) in loans from six financial institutions over a six-year period in a move to turnaround the loss-making England-based company.

Proton group managing director Datuk Seri Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir had on Friday, April 15 said he expected Lotus to breakeven by 2014.

He said the loan syndication forms part of the funding required to execute the five-year business plan. With the closing of the syndication exercise, the external portion of the funding is now in place.

Syed Zainal Abidin added the loans will be consolidated into Proton's books. However, he did not provide a breakdown of how much Lotus would seek from each of the respective banks.

Lotus obtained the loans from CIMB Bank Bhd; MALAYAN BANKING BHD []; Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Ltd; Affin Bank Bhd; Export-Import Bank of Malaysia Bhd and EON Bank Bhd.

The signing ceremony was held at the Proton headquarters in Shah Alam. Maybank, CIMB and OCBC were the mandated lead arrangers while the bookrunner was CIMB Bank, the arranger Exim Bank and the managers Affin Bank and EON Bank.

The syndicated loan includes a term loan of up to ''230 million and working capital lines of ''40 million. The repayment of the syndicated loan is on nine quarterly installments commencing from March 31, 2015 and the final maturity date is up to six years from the first drawdown.

'The syndicated loan is part of the fund raising exercise required by Lotus to execute and deliver its five year business turnaround plan, of which a substantial portion is for development of new models,' Proton said.

Earlier, Syed Zainal Abidin said this was a journey of turnaround for Lotus, which had been painful but both Proton and Lotus were determined to ensure that Lotus succeeds.

'When we are determined to stick to the plan, surely we can make it. It has been a painful jouney but we can make it,' he said.

Syed Zainal Abidin said the turnaround plans started last year and they had been working on the right products, right price and right time. He added the new model would be available for sale by late 2012 or early 2013.

Lotus chief executive officer Dany Bahar said the company had been selling between 2,000 and 3,000 units of cars per year, adding it had two models.

'We hope to sell 7,000 cars a year when we have three models,' he said, adding that Lotus was now in the second-year of its five-year business plan.

SC: Don't give your money to unlicensed investment agents

KUALA LUMPUR: The Securities Commission (SC) is cautioning the public not to part with their monies to unlicensed investment agents, even if they are recommended by family members and friends.

It has urged the public to be wary of investment schemes promising unrealistically high returns.

"Where such schemes are purportedly linked to licensed intermediaries, investors are advised to verify the legitimacy of such schemes with the licensed intermediary concerned or with SC," it said in a statement today.

It reminded the public that persons who are not licensed by the SC are not allowed to collect monies from others for investment in a portfolio of securities on their behalf.

"The public is also advised not to invest in the market through the trading accounts of others, including family and friends."

Anyone carrying out such activities without the requisite licenses can be prosecuted under the Capital Markets and Services Act and upon conviction is liable to a fine not exceeding RM10 million or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years or both.

SC also stated that Uzir Abdul Sama (IC No: 720824-01-5543) and UAS Bistari Management Sdn Bhd were not licensed by the SC to carry out any regulated activity, including soliciting monies from the public for investment in securities. - Bernama

Moody's cuts Ireland by two notches, outlook negative

DUBLIN: Moody's on Friday cut Ireland's sovereign rating by two notches and kept its outlook on negative, a day after fellow ratings agency Fitch upgraded its outlook for the country.

Moody's said the downgrade to BAA3 from BAA1 -- which puts its rating two notches below both Fitch and Standard and Poor's -- was due to the expected decline of the government's financial strength, the country's weaker economic growth prospects and uncertainty around solvency tests required by the European Stabilization Mechanism (ESM).

It said the country may need to take further austerity measures to meet its fiscal goals and that its financial position may suffer as a result of rises in European Central Bank interest rates.

"Should the intended fiscal consolidation goals not be met, a further rating downgrade would likely follow. Moreover, a further deterioration in the country's economic outlook would also exert downward pressure on the rating," Moody's said, adding that upward pressure could also develop on the rating. ' Reuters

''

Johor MB approves Mastel-KUB RM1.23b intra-city commuter train service plan

KUALA LUMPUR: The Johor government has approved the proposed RM1.23 billion intra-city commuter train service in Iskandar Malaysia, which would involve 100km rail network.

Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman had on Friday, April 15 given the approval to Metropolitan Commuter Network Sdn Bhd - a joint venture between KUB MALAYSIA BHD [] and Malaysia Steel Works (KL) Bhd (Masteel).

A joint statement by Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA) and Metropolitan Commuter Network said the intra-city train service would involve the building of seven new stations and 16 halts connecting all major suburbs in Iskandar Malaysia.

The commuter service would cover over 100km of rail network and serve all major upcoming Tipping Point developments such as the Johor Premium Outlet, Legoland Malaysia, Educity, Hi-Tech Park-Senai, and Lake Hill Resort City.

The project would involve a shuttle service from JB Sentral to Woodlands, Singapore.

The building of the rail transit infrastructure would be funded by MCN and project financing under the public private partnership (PPP) scheme.

It is forecasted that project would have an annual ridership of over 30 million people, once operational.

Datuk Abdul Ghani, who is also IRDA co-chairman, said the project was in line with the targets set by National Key Result Areas (NKRAs) under the Economic Transformation Plan (ETP) of the Government and the Iskandar Malaysia transportation blueprint.

'Iskandar Malaysia is pleased to welcome yet another significant investment, especially one which would directly benefit the community and businesses.

'The commuter service is indeed a timely investment which will coincide with Iskandar Malaysia's tipping point of 2012 and all major commercial developments are to benefit from the proposed commuter serviced and we expect to unlock the property values along the routes of the rail service,' he said.

IRDA chief executive Ismail Ibrahim said IRDA was committed to ensure a sufficient and efficient feeder bus system was in place to support the proposed intra-city rail service for it to reach its full and optimum capacity to service the commuters.

'While having significant impact in the reduction of traffic in Johor Bahru Commercial Business District (CBD) and Singapore, this initiative will also cut down the emission of green house gases, thus being in tandem with our vision of being environmentally-friendly,' said Ismail.

Ismail added the commuter network being based in Kempas Bharu is expected to facilitate a substantial spin-off effect in the vicinity, generating thousands of employment opportunities in tourism, property development and retail''sectors.

MCN chairman Datuk Abdul Halim Abdul Samad said with this endorsement, MCN was certainly on track towards launching the intra-city commuter train service by 2012, with total deployment of 19 three-car trains by 2013 to serve the rakyat.

'I'm pleased to note that our world-class commuter train service is anticipated to generate Gross National Income of RM1.63 billion over a period of 25 years, and serve as a show case PPP project in the country.'

'The linkages provided via the upcoming commuter service are designed to be seamless for a hassle-free and business-conducive environment,' he said.

Johor Bahru recorded an estimated 19 million visitors in 2010. The tourism industry in Malaysia is targeted to raise total GNI contribution by RM67 billion to reach RM104 billion by 2020.

Hirotako shares up on 1 into 2 share split, 1 for 4 bonus

KUALA LUMPUR: Shares of HIROTAKO HOLDINGS BHD [] advanced in afternoon trade on Friday, April 15 after it proposed a share split and bonus.

The company proposed a share split of every one existing share into two split shares held on an entitlement date to be determined later.

Hirotako also proposed one bonus share for every four existing split shares. This would involve a bonus issue of up to 111.25 million new split shares to be credited as fully paid-up after the proposed share split.

At 2.59pm, the shares were up 11 sen to RM1.99 with 734,100 shares done bucking the weaker broader market.

The FBM KLCI was down 4.08 points to 1,521.72. Turnover was 483.31 million shares valued at RM794.72 million. There were 217 gainers, 423 losers and 298 stocks unchanged.

Asian markets dip on profit taking

KUALA LUMPUR: Asian markets dipped on Friday, April 15 as investors took profit after the recent rally, while stocks on Bursa Malaysia declined on account of investors' reluctance to take positions before the Sarawak state elections on Saturday.

The FBM KLCI fell 4.85 points to 1,520.95 at the mid-day break, dragged by losses including at BAT, DiGi, Petronas Dagangan and Hong Leong Bank.

Losers beat gainers by 403 to 196, while 296 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 397.11 million shares valued at RM629.79 million.

The ringgit strengthened 0.01% to 3.0218 versus the US dollar. Crude palm oil gained RM7 per tonne to RM3,285, crude oil added seven cents per barrel to US$108.18 while gold edged up five cents per troy ounce to US$1,474.23.

China's turbo-charged growth eased just a touch in the first quarter, while its inflation jumped to a 32-month high, putting pressure on the government to do more to rein in prices and keep the economy on an even keel, according to Reuters.

China's gross domestic product increased by 9.7% in the first quarter from a year earlier, down from 9.8% in the final three months of 2010 but ahead of an expected 9.5% pace.

At the regional markets, Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.67% to 9,589.52, the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.53% to 3,026.44, South Korea's Kospi fell 0.41% to 2,132.18, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slipped 0.35% to 23,929.32, Taiwan's Taiex fell 0.29% to 8,777.63 while Singapore's Straits Times Index shed 0.12% to 3,155.06.

On Bursa Malaysia, BAT fell 62 sen to RM47.28, DiGi lost 36 sen to RM29.14, Far East Corp 20 sen to RM7.20, Bintulu Port and Fima Corp fell 18 sen each to RM6.80 and RM6, Petronas Dagangan and Hong Leong Bank 14 sen each to RM16.06 and RM10.26, while Glenealy and Nestle fell 10 sen each to RM4.75 and RM47.90.

Lion Corp was the most actively traded counter with 16.44 million shares done. The stock shed half a sen to 30.5 sen.

Other actives included Axiata, Viztel, Seal, CIMB, Karambunai, DBE Gurney and Perisai.

YTL Corp was the top gainer this morning and was up 21 sen to RM7.67; Allianz rose 13 sen to RM5.33, MBSB 11 sen to RM2.55, Widetech and F&N rose 10 sen each to 83 sen and RM16.10, Hartalega nine sen to RM5.62 and CMSB eight sen to RM2.31.

Meanwhile, Proton added seven sen to RM3.32 after the company said its unit Lotus would breakeven by 2014.

''

China growth sizzles, inflation bubbles, calling for more tightening

BEIJING:China's turbo-charged growth eased just a touch in the first quarter, while its inflation jumped to a 32-month high, putting pressure on the government to do more to rein in prices and keep the economy on an even keel. China's gross domestic product increased by 9.7 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, down from 9.8 percent in the final three months of 2010 but ahead of an expected 9.5 percent pace.

Consumer price inflation sped to 5.4 percent in the year to March, the fastest since July 2008 and topping market forecasts for a 5.2 percent increase.

Taken together, the data published by the National Bureau of Statistics on Friday showed that the world's second-largest economy was still sizzling, little hindered by the central bank's half-year tightening campaign that many investors had feared would undermine growth.

They were also another reminder of the yawning gap that has opened up between China, the world's fastest-growing major economy, and developed nations from United States to Europe that are still struggling to kick-start their economies after the global financial crisis.

'The figures show that (China's) inflation pressure will not taper off in the short term and we expect the consumer inflation to remain high in the second quarter," said Sun Miaoling, an economist with CICC, the largest Chinese investment bank.

"The government will keep battling inflation as its priority in coming months, which could prompt the central bank to further tighten its monetary policies," she added.

The People's Bank of China has increased benchmark interestrates four times since last October and has required the country's big banks to lock up a record high of 20.0 percent of their deposits as reserves.

''

Global markets registered little impact from the Chinese data, in large part because the numbers had been comprehensively leaked in the days prior to the official release.

The main Chinese stock index in Shanghai was down 0.5 percent after morning trading and share prices throughout Asia were also slightly softer, with investors braced for Beijing's next round of tightening. Many analysts believe the central bank could increase required reserves again as soon as this weekend.

''

TIGHTENING NOT DONE

Inflation had long been expected to run higher in March because of a lower base of comparison. The base effect also suggests that inflation is likely to level off in the coming months before jumping again in June and July, though officials are confident that it will wane in the second half of the year.

Accepting this relatively sanguine view, many economists had thought that the central bank was near the end of its tightening cycle. The median forecast of Reuters poll last week was for just one more interest rate increase over the rest of this year.

But with growth still cruising near double digits, the scope for the government to continue tightening may be bigger than previously anticipated.

Signalling a potentially hawkish stance in the coming months, Premier Wen Jiabao said this week that the government would use all tools at its disposal to wrestle inflation under control.

"We will try every means to stabilise prices, the top priority of our economic controls this year and also our most pressing task," Wen said at a cabinet meeting.

Agricultural prices have been the main driver of Chinese inflation and that remained the case, with food costs up 11.7 percent in the year to March. But there were also signs of a broadening of pressures, with non-food inflation up 2.7 percent year on year, the fastest in more than a decade.

"The risk is that high oil prices will keep headline inflation stronger for longer," said Brian Jackson, economist with Royal Bank of Canada in Hong Kong.

"This also suggests that policy rates still need to move higher in the months ahead, with Beijing also likely to favour further currency appreciation to help get inflation lower," he said.

While keeping a tight grip on the yuan, China has steered its exchange rate to a succession of record highs against the dollar in recent days, using a stronger currency to blunt the impact of high import costs.

''

REBALANCING?

The first-quarter data also offered a glimpse of the Chinese rebalancing that is needed to put the global economy on more stable footing.

From the World Bank to Chinese leaders, the consensus has long been that China needs to promote more domestic consumption and cut its reliance on both exports and energy-intensive investment.

That finally appears to be happening. Consumption contributed 5.9 percentage points to China's first-quarter growth rate, while investment added 4.3 percentage points, the statistics agency said. Net exports actually subtracted 0.5 percentage points, weighed down by a $1 billion trade deficit, China's first quarterly deficit in seven years.

It remains to be seen how much of the apparent rebalancing was a product of soaring global oil costs, which both boosted China's import bill and inflated consumption in price terms.

Speaking at a business forum in southern China on Friday, President Hu Jintao said that the country's economic model was still out of kilter.

"Over the next five years China will make a great effort to boost domestic demand, especially consumer demand," he said.

#Updated* Lotus to breakeven by 2014, says Syed Zainal

SHAH ALAM: PROTON HOLDINGS BHD []'s unit Lotus is expected to breakeven by 2014, said Proton group managing director Datuk Seri Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir.

He said Lotus cars plans to raise ''270m via conventional financing from six financial institutions.

The six institutions acting as lenders are CIMB Bank, Maybank, OCBC, Exim Bank, Affin Bank and EON Bank.

However, Syed Zainal did not provide a breakdown of how much Lotus would seek from each of the respective banks.

The loan syndication forms part of the funding required to execute the five year business plan.

With the closing of the syndication exercise, the external portion of the funding is now in place.

The loans will be consolidated into Proton's books, said Syed Zainal.

Meanwhile, Lotus chief executive officer Dany Bahar said the company had been selling between 2,000 and 3,000 units of cars per year, adding it had two models.

'We hope to sell 7,000 cars a year when we have three models,' he said.

At 11.17am, Proton was up nine sen to RM3.34 with 33,000 shares traded.

FBM KLCI extends losses at mid-morning

KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI extended its losses on Friday, April 15 in line with the lackluster mood at key regional markets as disappointing U.S. data and a likely pickup in Chinese inflation gave market players an excuse to take profits after a recent sharp rally.

At mid-morning, the FBM KLCI slipped 0.90 point to 1,524.90, weighed by losses including at BAT, DiGi, Petronas Dagangan and Hong Leong Bank.

Gainers edged losers by 183 to 180, while 220 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 128.02 million shares valued at RM149.71 million.

Asian stock markets are set to snap three consecutive weeks of gains as spiralling commodity prices stoked worries about a broader pickup in inflation within the region even as traders waited for Chinese data later in the day, according to Reuters.

Unofficial reports say inflation will be a shade higher than originally forecast at 5.3-5.4 percent, triggering concerns that more aggressive policy action may be needed to prevent the economy overheating, it said.

At the regional markets, Japan's Nikkei 225 shed 0.43% to 9,612.23 and South Korea's Kospi lost 0.245 to 2,135.84.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index edged up 0.05% to 24,025.86, Taiwan's Taiex rose 0.04% to 8,806.46, the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.02% to 3,043.29 while Singapore's Straits Times Index was flat at 3,158.94.

On Bursa Malaysia, BAT was the top loser and fell 62 sen to RM47.28; DiGi fell 34 sen to RM29.16, Petronas Dagangan 14 sen to RM16.06, MMHE 12 sen to RM6.71, Hong Leong Bank and Glenealy 10 sen each to RM10.30 and RM4.75, Petronas Gas eight sen to RM11.28, Amway and KLK six sen each to RM9 and RM20.84, while Lafarge Malayan Cement fell five sen to RM7.35.

Viztel was the most actively traded counter with 6.9 million shares done. The stock added one sen to 9 sen.

Other actives included Seal, Tebrau, Lion Corp, Key West, DBE Gurney and Talam.

Gainers included YTL Corp, Allianz, Paramount, Texchem, IJM PLANTATION []s, CBIP, CIMB and Eng Kah.

#Flash* Lotus to breakeven by 2014, says Syed Zainal

SHAH ALAM: PROTON HOLDINGS BHD []'s unit Lotus is expected to breakeven by 2014, said Proton group managing director Datuk Seri Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir.

He said Lotus cars plans to raise ''270m via conventional financing from six financial institutions.

The six institutions acting as lenders are CIMB Bank, Maybank, OCBC, Exim Bank, Affin Bank and EON Bank.

However, Syed Zainal did not provide a breakdown of how much Lotus would seek from each of the respective banks.

The loan syndication forms part of the funding required to execute the five year business plan.

With the closing of the syndication exercise, the external portion of the funding is now in place.

At 10.40am, Proton was up eight sen to RM3.33 with 30,000 shares traded.

Allianz extends gains

KUALA LUMPUR: ALLIANZ MALAYSIA BHD [] extended its gains on Friday, April 15 and was up 3.08% or 16 sen to RM5.36 at 10.50am with 162,900 shares traded.

The stock began its sharp ascend a day earlier after CIMB Equities Research said Allianz Malaysia offered the only exposure to a well-managed Malaysian composite insurer that is controlled by an established international insurance group.

The research house said on Thursday, April 14 that Allianz's key attractions were (1) its well-managed general insurance business with above-industry underwriting margin, and (2) the expected exponential expansion of life insurance contributions.

CIMB Research said Allianz was also set to ride on the upward adjustment of motor tariffs starting next year.

'Assuming a 40-50% discount to the P/E implied in our target price for AIA, we arrive at a target P/E range of 8-9.6 times, which implies a value of RM8.20-9.80 for Allianz or upside of 64-97%.

'Despite its strong fundamentals and bright outlook, the stock is trading at only 6x P/E and 1.2x P/BV. Its only drawback is its low liquidity due to lack of newsflow and coverage by analysts,' it said.

RHB Research initiates coverage on DRB-Hicom with outperform rating

KUALA LUMPUR: RHB Research has initiated coverage on DRB-HICOM BHD [] with an outperform recommendation at RM2.30 with a fair value of RM3.15 and said the company had significant dealflow potential that could continue to yield new business contracts going forward.

It said on Friday, April 15 that DRB-Hicom has largely flown under investors' radar since its acquisition by Etika Strategi and induction into the Albukhary Group of companies in 2005.

The ensuing years saw a makeover of the Group's businesses that included the acquisition of Bank Muamalat and Rangkai Positif and the disposal of non-core assets.

'DRB-Hicom is today an expansive industrial conglomerate with a dazzling array of assets grouped under three operating divisions that offer strong growth potential as well as a high degree of earnings resilience.

'We believe DRB-Hicom has significant dealflow potential that could continue to yield new business contracts going forward. ''DRB-Hicom has solid financials with significant balance sheet capacity to fund new businesses,' it said.

RHB Research said its sum-of-parts derived valuation of its various businesses amounted to RM4.20 per share.

'After ascribing a 25% holding company discount, we arrive at our fair value for the stock of RM3.15 per share.

'PER valuations of 7.7 times and 6.6 times FY12 and FY13 respectively are undemanding, considering the implied 3-year FY10-FY13 recurring net profit CAGR of 37.1%,' it said.

''

#Flash* Proton unit Lotus cars to raise £270m from six financial institutions.

SHAH ALAM: PROTON HOLDINGS BHD []'s unit Lotus cars plans to raise ''270m from six financial institutions.

The six institutions acting as lenders are CIMB Bank, Maybank, OCBC, Exim Bank, Affin Bank and EON Bank.

The loan syndication forms part of the funding required to execute the five year business plan.

With the closing of the syndication exercise, the external portion of the funding is now in place.

At 9.30am, Proton was up seven sen to RM3.32 with 12,500 shares traded.

CIMB Research maintains outperform call on MAS

KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB Research has maintained its Outperform rating on MALAYSIAN AIRLINE SYSTEM BHD [] (MAS) with a target price of RM2.30 based on an unchanged core P/E multiple of 7 times due to its continued long-term confidence in MAS's fleet renewal.

The research house said on Friday, April 15 that during the welcoming ceremony for MAS's first A330-300 delivery, the airline revealed measures to cope with higher fuel prices, including raising fuel surcharges to cover some 50% of the cost increase since the start of the year and scaling back its 2011 capacity growth from 10% to only 4%.

The fleet renewal programme was also continuing with the delivery of 12 new-generation planes by year-end, it said.

'Unfortunately, these measures will not come fast enough to prevent a set of weak 1H results due to cost pressures and the impact of Japan's earthquake on demand.

'Potential re-rating catalysts include continuing reforms to boost structural profitability. Our earnings forecasts are unchanged,' it said.

Trading interest to remain thin, says HwangDBS Vickers

KUALA LUMPUR: Trading interest on Bursa Malaysia is expected to be thin on Friday, April 15, as investors are likely to remain wary ahead of the Sarawak state elections to be held tomorrow, said HwangDBS Vickers Research.

After closing at its intra-day low of 1,525.80 yesterday, the benchmark FBM KLCI could struggle to overcome the immediate resistance level of 1,530 for the time being, it said.

'Rather, we reckon the key market barometer will probably continue to drift with a downward bias today.

'Reflecting the cautious sentiment, trading interest is expected to be thin just like yesterday, which saw fewer than 1 billion shares changing hands the whole day,' it said in a note April 15.

The research house said that amid the sluggish market condition, counters that may be in the limelight today include: (a) SP Setia, following its foray into Singapore to redevelop a property project; and (b) SEGi, which has entered into an arrangement with a Korean university to train and place nurses and allied health professionals in US, Canada and Europe.

Maybank IB ups target price for S P Setia to RM7.13

KUALA LUMPUR: Maybank Investment Bank Bhd Research says it is positive on S P Setia Bhd's (SPSB) latest acquisition of Leong Bee Court in Singapore given its strategic location and fair pricing.

The research house maintained its buy recommendation on S P Setia at RM6.50 and raised its target price for the stock to RM7.13 (from RM7.10 previously)

It said that despite minimal impact to earnings and RNAV, this project was important as it would strengthen SPSB's brandname in Singapore and showcase its development capabities and this in turn, will boost demand for SPSB's PROPERTIES [] in Malaysia by Singaporeans.

'We fine-tune our FY11-13 forecasts for the acquisition and raise RNAV by 1 sen.

'Our new TP is RM7.13 (10% premium to RM6.48 RNAV; ex-bonus TP is RM4.75),' it said in a note April 15.

Nikkei inches lower, energy stocks recoup losses

TOKYO: Japan's Nikkei stock average opened lower on Friday and is expected to round off a week of thin choppy trade inside the tight range that has confined it since the start of the month, with resource and energy shares bouncing back after oil prices gained the day before.

Resource-related companies such as Inpex Corp, Japan's largest oil and gas developer, rose in line with gains in commodity and oil prices as a weaker dollar offset worries that surging prices would erode demand.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei average opened down 0.1 percent at 9,646.22 on Friday, while the broader Topix shed 0.1 percent to 845.52. ' Reuters

''

US STOCKS-Dow, S&P inch up as growth questioned, Google off late

NEW YORK: Stocks that outperform in a weak economy helped the Dow and S&P 500 eke out gains on Thursday, April 14'' as concerns about faltering growth and inflation prompted investors to seek out less volatile names.

The Dow industrials' top percentage gainers were Coca-Cola Co, up 1.5 percent, Kraft Foods Inc, up 1.7 percent and Merck & Co, up 1.2 percent.

Energy shares also rallied as U.S. crude oil futures gained more than 1 percent to trade above $108 a barrel.

The S&P 500 fell almost 1 percent early but found support near 1,300, a level that attracted buying interest in early March. Failing to hold that level could trigger a test of the benchmark's 2011 low near 1,257.

Stocks have sagged lately as economists have lowered forecasts for U.S. growth. A Reuters poll of economists showed 2011 gross domestic product forecasts fell to 2.9 percent from 3.1 percent.

"GDP forecasts are continuing to fall, so (bets on defensives) are a safety trade," said Peter Boockvar, equity strategist at Miller Tabak & Co in New York.

Adding to the bearish sentiment, Google Inc shares fell 5 percent to below $550 in extended trading after the company's first-quarter profit fell short of Wall Street's target as operating expenses surged.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 14.16 points, or 0.12 percent, to end at 12,285.15. The Standard & Poor's 500 gained 0.11 of a point, or 0.01 percent, to 1,314.52. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.30 points, or 0.05 percent, to 2,760.22.

GOLDMAN FALLS, EL PASO GAINS

A Senate investigation of Goldman Sachs hurt the Wall Street giant and some of its peers, while an unexpected rise in jobless claims added to bearish sentiment that kept gains in check.

Goldman shares fell 2.7 percent to $155.79 and were a drag on the S&P financial sector index, which was down 0.9 percent.

Further weighing on financials, major housing lenders agreed late on Wednesday to costly fixes of their foreclosure practices as part of a settlement with U.S. bank regulators that jumped ahead of a states' probe.

The KBW Banks Index dropped 1.1 percent.

Adding to the boost from the energy sector as oil prices rose, natural gas producer and pipeline company El Paso Corp said it will develop a shale oil field without a partner. El Paso shares jumped 5.5 percent to $18.26 to lead gains in the S&P energy sector index, which rose 0.6 percent.

"Oil closed above $108 so all the energy stocks rallied this afternoon," Boockvar said.

Weighing on the tech sector, Fairchild Semiconductor International Inc shares dropped 4.5 percent to $18.31 as it disappointed investors after it said last month's earthquake that threw Japan's electronics supply chain into disarray has yet to generate new business for the company.

Supervalu Inc forecast fiscal-year earnings above Wall Street's expectations after its quarterly profit fell less than feared. The supermarket operator's shares shot up 16.9 percent to $10.61.

TWO STRONG DEBUTS

Although the overall stock market's activity was tepid in Thursday's regular session, the U.S. market for initial public offerings showed signs of strength.

Shares of Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc, a large South American franchisee of fast-food chain McDonald's Corp, jumped 24.7 percent to $21.20 in their stock market debut as investors clamored for exposure to the famous brand in a region with booming consumer spending.

McDonald's, a Dow component, rose 0.2 percent to $77.07.

The stock of Zipcar Inc soared 55.6 percent to $28 on Nasdaq in its first day of trading as investors bought into the leader of the small, but growing, U.S. car-sharing industry.

Ford Motor Co fell 1.1 percent to $14.81 after the company agreed to expand a recall of the best-selling F-150 pickup trucks. U.S. safety regulators said the recall was due to a possible short circuit that could cause airbags to deploy unexpectedly.

On the economic front, a government report showed a surprising jump in U.S. jobless claims, raising some questions among investors about the health of the labor market recovery. Economists said the number could be a one-time occurrence.

The core U.S. Producer Price Index rose faster than expected in March as fuel prices rose strongly, adding to concerns about inflation.

About 6.91 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Amex and Nasdaq, below last year's estimated daily average of 8.47 billion.

Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by 1,600 to 1,358, while on the Nasdaq, 1,455 stocks rose and 1,121 fell.- Reuters

Cost surge under new Google CEO unnerves Street

SAN FRANCISCO : Google Inc's stunning 54 percent spending surge spooked investors on Thursday, April 14, who were already worried its new CEO may take his eye off the bottom line to chase revenue growth, driving its shares more than 5 percent lower.

Investors zeroed in on the stunning surge in expenses to $2.84 billion, which dwarfed a 29 percent jump in net revenue and reflected a record hiring spree, company-wide salary raises, and splurging on everything from marketing to TECHNOLOGY [].

Analysts now expect co-founder and new Chief Executive Larry Page to keep spending on new products to spearhead an aggressive push into areas such as social networking and mobile businesses. Google executives said on Thursday the dramatically stepped-up spending was needed to galvanize growth.

Page, 38, a media-averse technology wiz who took over as CEO this month from decade-long veteran Eric Schmidt, came on a conference call with analysts for just a few minutes, disappointing some eager to hear his plans to jump-start growth and innovation.

Page expressed his optimism in his company's future, then departed, leaving a trail of questions in his wake that analysts directed at the other executives.

"You got expenses growing faster than revenue and some people were caught by surprise by the willingness of the company to spend," said BGC Partners analyst Colin Gillis.

"But Larry Page has signaled pretty clearly that he is going to be driving up expenses. If the expenses are targeted and result in future revenue streams, then good for Larry. If not, that results in an undisciplined spending approach."

Page is expected to bolster innovation and cut bureaucracy as Google battles social networking leader Facebook and Apple Inc.

Google plans to hire more than 6,000 people this year, after taking a record 2,000 on board in the quarter and raising salaries by about 10 percent across the board on Jan. 1.

"The discipline of the company has not changed; we're just really bullish on our prospects," CFO Patrick Pichette told analysts. "I can tell you every element of the company (expenses from real estate to food) is scrubbed and scrutinized."

WHAT'RE YOUR INTENTIONS?

The company posted net income of $2.3 billion in the first quarter, or $7.04 a share, up from $1.96 billion, or $6.06 a share, in the year-ago period.

Excluding certain items, Google said it earned $8.08 a share, below the average analyst expectation of $8.10 a share.

Google's net revenue rose to $6.54 billion in the first quarter, above the $6.32 billion expected by analysts.

The average cost-per-click to advertisers for its search ads in the first quarter grew about 8 percent year-over-year and decreased 1 percent from the fourth quarter.

Shares of Google, which underperformed the market in 2010, are down roughly 9 percent since the company announced in January that Page would replace Schmidt. This week, Page moved swiftly to streamline decision-making at Google's upper ranks by reshuffling reporting lines, but investors are anxious about how the management change could affect the company.

Page, with his succinct speech on Thursday, remains very much uppermost on investors' minds. Google's stock fell 5.3 percent to $547.87 in after-hours trade.

Google is ramping up efforts to supplement its core search advertising business with revenue from display and mobile ads. And the company is increasingly focused on social networking and the local ad market, where rivals Facebook and online coupon service Groupon rule the roost.

Page's attitude toward spending on such strategic areas, as well as on less crucial initiatives such as self-driving cars, and the potential impact on Google's profit margins are high on investors' list of concerns.

"I don't think his focus is going to be on managing to margins. I think his focus is going to be on managing to topline growth and new business areas," said Oppenheimer & Co analyst Jason Helfstein.

"The key here is margins are weaker and as a result there's still a question about the company's long-term spending intentions." - Reuters

#Stocks to watch:* SP Setia, YTL Corp, Proton, SEGi

KUALA LUMPUR: Stocks on Bursa Malaysia may consolidate on Friday, April 15 following the mixed overnight performance on Wall Street while on the local front, the pullback on Thursday and political concerns over Sunday's polls in Sarawak could see investors staying on the sidelines.

On Wall Street, stocks that outperform in a weak economy helped the Dow and S&P 500 eke out gains on Thursday as concerns about faltering growth and inflation prompted investors to seek out less volatile names.

The Dow industrials' top percentage gainers were Coca-Cola Co, up 1.5 percent, Kraft Foods Inc, up 1.7 percent and Merck & Co, up 1.2 percent. Energy shares also rallied as U.S. crude oil futures gained more than 1 percent to trade above $108 a barrel.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 14.16 points, or 0.12 percent, to end at 12,285.15. The Standard & Poor's 500 gained 0.11 of a point, or 0.01 percent, to 1,314.52. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.30 points, or 0.05 percent, to 2,760.22.

At Bursa, stocks to watch out for are SP SETIA BHD [], YTL Corp, PROTON HOLDINGS BHD [] and SEG INTERNATIONAL BHD [].

The Edge FinancialDaily reports that SP Setia Bhd is making its maiden venture into Singapore. The developer has proposed the purchase of 27 strata units in Leong Bee Court for S$65 million (RM159 million) with the plan to redevelop the property, currently comprising flats, into residential apartments.

Having missed the opportunity to pick up assets at basement prices during the global financial crisis, YTL Corp Bhd's Tan Sri Francis Yeoh Sock Ping believes a second chance at a shopping spree could be knocking on YTL's door.

Proton Holdings Bhd's unit Lotus Cars Ltd will sign an agreement on syndicated financing with CIMB Bank, Maybank, OCBC, EON Bank, Exim Bank and Affin on Friday.

SEG International Bhd is teaming up with Chung Cheong University in South Korea to train and place nurses and allied health professionals in the US, Canada and Europe.

SEGi said the academic collaboration was expected to contribute an increase in earnings of approximately 4% to the group for FY ending Dec 31, 2011.

IJM Land Bhd's additional 229.88 million new shares will be granted listing and quotation with effect from 9am on Monday, April 18. The new shares arose from the conversion of RM400 million nominal value of 10 year 3% coupon redeemable convertible unsecured loan stocks (RCULS)by IJM Corp Bhd.

NAIM HOLDINGS BHD [] disposed of two million shares in DAYANG ENTERPRISE HOLDINGS BHD [] on April 13, reducing its stake to 34.17% or 187.94 million shares.

MARC lowers Dawama's RM140m debt notes, sees risk of default

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Rating Corp Bhd (MARC) has lowered both Dawama Sdn Bhd's (Dawama) two tranches of debt notes, totaling RM140 million, while the ratings have been removed.

MARC said on Thursday, April 14 it had lowered the RM120.0 million senior and RM20.0 million junior sukuk musyarakah medium term notes (MTN) programme to C IS from B IS. The ratings were removed from MARCWatch Negative where they had been placed on Feb 18, 2011.

'The lowered rating reflects the high likelihood of payment default on April 27, 2011 given the absence of positive developments pertaining to its liquidity position and negotiations with sukukholders since MARC's last rating action on Feb 18, 2011,' it said.

The rating agency had earlier cautioned about Dawama's increased vulnerability to non-payment in light of its inability to meet scheduled sinking fund payments for its forthcoming RM20.0 million Senior Sukuk redemption due on April 27, 2011.

Dawama's outstanding obligations under the rated programme are limited to RM100.0 million of Senior notes and RM5.0 million of Junior notes.

The 'C' ratings will be lowered to 'D' or default on redemption date if Dawama fails to make its principle repayment on the Senior Sukuk.

SEGi sees 4% increase in earnings in JV with Korean university

KUALA LUMPUR: SEG INTERNATIONAL BHD [] is teaming up with with Chung Cheong University in South Korea to train and place nurses and allied health professionals in the US, Canada and Europe.

SEGi said on Thursday, April 14 the academic collaboration was expected to contribute an increase in earnings of approximately''4% to the group for FY ending Dec 31, 2011.

It said the collaboration was also expected to contribute positively to the earnings and net assets of the group for the future years.

FBM KLCI erases gains from Wednesday

KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI fell on Thursday, April 14, just after a day it had rebounded following losing nearly 36 points over three trading days as local funds cleared their positions after the strong recovery on Wednesday.

The FBM KLCI fell 9.79 points to 1,525.80 at the close, in effect wiping out its entire gains from a day earlier.

Losers thumped gainers by 651 to 174, while 251 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 965.84 million shares valued at RM1.53 billion.

MIDF Research head Zulkifli Hamzah said foreign investors were net buyers today, the first time this week.

'Therefore the decline in the market was attributable to an 'overselling' by local funds, which are quick to clear the position after the strong rebound yesterday.

'The trading pattern in the market shows that local investors are averse to having an unduly large exposure ahead of the Sarawak election,' he said.

Zulkifli said as at the close today, the KLCI was down 1.3% for the month, but that the index had closed in the positive gain territory in April in the last 6 consecutive years.

'On that score, there is a good probability that the market may rebound in the second half of the month because fundamentally, nothing has changed in recent weeks,' he said.

At the regional markets, Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.13% to 9,653.92, Taiwan's Taiex edged up 0.26% to 8,802.73, South Korea's Kospi gained 0.90% to 2,141.06 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.50% to 24,014.00, Singapore's Straits Times Index lost 0.41% to 3,158.92 and the Shanghai Composite Index shed 0.25% to 3,042.64.

Among the major losers on Bursa Malaysia, Hong Leong Bank fell 18 sen to RM10.40, CIMB down eight sen to RM8.20, DiGi lost 16 sen to RM29.50, MISC 15 sen to RM7.61, Gamuda 13 sen to RM3.73, while Litrak, Petronas Chemicals, Tenaga and Proton fell 11 sen each to RM3.65, RM7.25, RM6.06 and RM3.25 respectively.

MAA was the most actively traded counter with 19 million shares done. The stock fell seven sen to RM1.37.

Other actives included Axiata, Lion Corp, E&O, AirAsia, Melewar, CIMB and HWGB.

Allianz rose 21 sen to RM5.20 following an upbeat report by CIMB Equities Research that said the company offers the only exposure to a well-managed Malaysian composite insurer that is controlled by an established international insurance group.

KPJ closed four sen higher at RM4.15 after MIDF Research upgraded the stock to a Trading Buy with a higher target price of RM4.60 from RM3.51 previously based on EPS12.

Continuous expansion locally with one or two new hospitals''each year as well as potential venture into countries such as Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar will support KPJ's future growth and enhance its brand name regionally, MIDF Research said.

Other gainers included Aeon, United PLANTATION []s, Ibraco, UMS and APM Automotive.

SP Setia plans residential apartments in Singapore, GDV S$130m

KUALA LUMPUR: SP SETIA BHD [] plans to undertake a multi-storey residential apartment building at Woodsville Close in Singapore with an estimated gross development value of S$130 million.

The company said on Thursday, April 14 its subsidiary SP Setia International (S) Pte Ltd had signed a sale and purchase agreement with 27 strata units' subsidiary proprietors at Leong Bee Court.

The acquisition would include the strata units and common property on a 0.68 acre site for S$65 million or RM159 million.

'The land is square shaped with a flat terrain which makes re-development potential very attractive. The purchaser proposes to undertake a re-development of the said land into a multi-storey residential apartment building.

'Based on the preliminary feasibility study and subject to the approvals of the relevant authorities, the proposed project is expected to have an estimated GDV of approximately S$130 million or approximately RM318 million,' it said.

Maxis the first service provider to surpass 5k 3G sites nationwide

KUALA LUMPUR: Maxis Bhd has become the first service provider in the country to surpass 5,000 sites across both West and East Malaysia, delivering high speed wireless broadband and mobile data capabilities to 21 million Malaysians covering over 80% of the Malaysian population.

In a statement Thursday, April 14, Maxis said this was made possible through the expansion plan that it embarked last year, with a capital expenditure of over RM1.4 billion.

Maxis chief executive Sandip Das said that over the last two years the company had worked hard at revamping its system, modernising its network, creating new transmission and building its IP networks to prepare ourselves for the surge in demand for data and broadband.

'This ticks another leadership box for Maxis. The strength and quality of our coverage will help bring to life the rich content, applications, downloads and relevant services that Maxis can offer, across a wider footprint than any other service provider in Malaysia.

'This leadership position in wireless broadband complements Maxis' leadership in fibre footprint and strategically positions us as an integrated player,' he said.

Sandip said it provided Maxis with the capability to offer seamless''experience regardless of the delivery''and access network to customers.

Maxis recently launched its Maxis Home Services on 31 March 2011, the first multiple-play service in the country.

For customers residing in a fibre-connected area, as Maxis customers, they will be able to benefit from Maxis Home Services which offer High Speed Internet packages that bundle a number of existing services, said Sandip.

Additionally, customers will also have the opportunity to experience a range of enriched categories of content, including interactive applications that can be enjoyed on their laptops, tablets and smartphones, he said.

He said Maxis would offer the full suite of the services by the third quarter of 2011.

Meanwhile, Maxis executive vice president for network and TECHNOLOGY [] Mark Dioguardi said that by providing the widest and fastest broadband network coverage in the country, our customers can take the Internet with them essentially wherever they go.

With its enhanced broadband footprint, Maxis was enabling them to enjoy wider coverage as the company covered more tertiary and secondary towns, he said.

'With this new accomplishment, Maxis is 'blanketing' Malaysia with increasingly seamless Wireless Broadband coverage.

'Customers connecting to the Internet on Maxis' Wireless Broadband network can now experience a sense of security - trusting that reliable connectivity and wide coverage will be available to them as they move around Malaysia,' he said.

In addition to all major urban cites, the recent expansion has occurred in towns such as Batu Pahat, Labis, Bahau, Gemencheh, Kuala Pilah, Palong, Sik, Hutan Melintang, Padang Besar, Labuan, Beaufort, Kuala Penyu, Keningau, Tambunan, Kota Marudu, Ptas, Kudat, Lahad Datu, Papar, Sandakan, Bera, Semantan, Jengai, Semporna, Sipitang, Tawau, Tuaran, Bau- Lundu, Betong, Kanowit-Julau, Limbang-Lawas, Marudi, Meradong-Dalat, Mukah, Niah, Padawan, Saratok, Sarikei, Serian, Sri Aman, Tatau, Asajaya-Simunjan.

Dioguardi said Maxis had also recently completed trials of Next Generation LTE technology which promises quadruple data speed and network capacity.

'The Maxis High Speed IP network is in place to now support even more advanced services and we expect to be able to deploy the LTE networks within the next few months.'

'Maxis was the first to get off the blocks to trial LTE successfully. The lab testing commenced in June 2010 and Maxis has since started the live field testing at four sites in the Klang Valley, namely at Bandar Utama, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Damansara Utama and Damansara Jaya,' he said.

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Respite for Transmile as creditors agree to debt revamp schemes

KUALA LUMPUR: TRANSMILE GROUP BHD [] received a respite on Thursday, April 14 after the scheme creditors agreed to its debt-restructuring schemes.

The beleaguered air cargo company said the scheme creditors had agreed to the proposed restructuring of the debts and a plan to seek new investors to pump in fresh funds to settle the long overdue repayments.

Transmile said the proposed Transmile Group and Transmile Air Services Sdn Bhd (TAS) scheme were approved by 'more than 50% in number of the respective scheme creditors representing more than 75% in value of the respective scheme creditors present and voting in person or by proxy at the respective meeting'.

In March, Transmile said while the proposed restructuring exercise was to address its debt obligations, it was not 'a proposed regularisation plan to regularise the group's financial condition for Transmile's continued listing on the Main Market of Bursa'.

To recap, Transmile's shares have been suspended from trading since last Thursday as it failed to submit a regularisation plan to the stock exchange.

The company said it had appealed to Bursa against the exchange's decision to delist its shares and it was seeking more time to work out a regularisation plan.

Under the latest proposed debt restructuring scheme, all the debts in its core unit TAS are to be transferred to a special purpose vehicle (SPV), which would be wholly owned by Transmile.

In addition, the proceeds of RM210.4 million from the disposal of MD-11F aircraft in January would also be injected into the SPV.

The divestment consideration would be retained in the SPV until the final outcome of a legal case concerning the medium-term notes (MTN) holders have the priority in repayment against the other financial lenders.

Transmile said upon completion of the debt restructuring, it would invite 'new potential investors to be identified'. The proceeds from new investors would be ultimately applied towards the settlements of the debts, it added.

The primary objective of the proposed restructuring scheme is to "ring-fence" the debts of TAS and to preserve the value of TAS as a going concern moving forward for the purpose of inviting new potential investor(s) seeing that TAS is the main operating subsidiary of Transmile.

Transmile's board had then said it was 'highly unlikely' that Transmile and TAS will be able to obtain any further extension of the restraining order when it expires on April 19 after the several extensions already granted by the High Court.

IJM Land's new 229m shares to list on Monday

KUALA LUMPUR: IJM Land Bhd's additional 229.88 million new shares will be granted listing and quotation with effect from 9am on Monday, April 18.

The new shares arose from the conversion of RM400 million nominal value of 10 year 3% coupon redeemable convertible unsecured loan stocks (RCULS)'' by IJM Corp Bhd.

Indonesia's BII considering rights issue, no timeframe

JAKARTA: Bank Internasional Indonesia (BII) , an Indonesian lender, is considering a rights issue, its CEO said on Thursday, April 14 without giving a timeframe or other details.

Malaysia's largest lender, MALAYAN BANKING BHD [] (Maybank) , owns a 97 percent stake in BII but is in talks with Indonesian regulators to cut it to 80 percent. - Reuters

MAA, Melewar, Mycron slip on mild profit taking

KUALA LUMPUR: Shares of MAA HOLDINGS BHD [], Melewar Industrial Group and Mycron slipped on Thursday, April 14, in line with the cautious broader market after a strong run-up last week.

At 3.09pm, MAAH was down four sen to RM1.40 with 11.49 million shares done, Melewar eased two sen to RM1.03 and Mycron 1.5 sen to 73 sen.

The FBM KLCI fell 4.83 points to 1,530.76. Turnover was 524.69 million shares done valued at RM680.02 million. There were 150 gainers, 584 losers and 249 stocks unchanged.

MAAH shares had rallied for more than two weeks on reports of the sale of its insurance unit to Zurich Insurance. While reports put the price tag at RM1.2 billion, analysts said the amount would be lower.

The latest development was on Monday, April 11 where MAAH said it had submitted an application to Bank Negara Malaysia for the approval of the Minister of Finance to enter into an agreement with Zurich Insurance Company Ltd.

The agreement was to dispose of its entire stake in Malaysian Assurance Alliance Bhd (MAAB) and the subsidiaries Multioto Services Sdn Bhd; MAAGNET Systems Sdn Bhd; Malaysian Alliance Property Services Sdn Bhd and MAAGNET 'SSMS Sdn Bhd.

Lion Corp at 3-wk low in heavy trade

KUALA LUMPUR: Shares of Lion Corp fell to 31 sen in late trade on Thursday, April 14, the lowest in three weeks in line with the weaker market.

At 3.57pm, it was down two sen to 31 sen with 13.64 million shares done. This was the lowest since March 23.

On April 7, it announced that it was seeking the approval from the lenders to defer the repayment of its bonds and the coupon on loan stocks from April 30 to July 31.

It had issued notices of meetings dated April 6, to the holders of the bond, US dollar debts and redeemable convertible secured loan stocks (RCSLS) which it had issued.

The deferment involved the redemption of the outstanding nominal value of the Lion Corp B(a) bonds, class B (b) bonds amounting to RM54.35 million; repayment of the outstanding nominal value of the B debts amounting to US$100,000.

It also sought the deferment on the payment of the coupon on the class B(a) RCSLS, class B(b) RCSLS and Class B(c) RCSLS amounting to RM26.97 million.

Lion Corp said the meeting of the lenders was scheduled to be held on April 26, 2011.

It posted net losses of RM154.96 million in the financial year ended Dec 31, 2010. For the fourth quarter, its net loss was RM154.96 million. Its net asset per share was 13 sen.

Formis slides as its 92.95m free warrants go ex

KUALA LUMPUR: Shares of FORMIS RESOURCES BHD [] (FRB) fell on Thursday, April 14 in active trade as its 92.95 million free warrants went ex.

At 2.41pm, the shares were down 20 sen to 84 sen with 1.55 million units done.

The FBM KLCI fell 4.82 points to 1,530.77. Turnover was 439.94 million shares done valued at RM561.58 million. Losers beat gainers 546 to 162 while 239 counters were unchanged.

A Bursa announcement said Formis shares were traded and quoted ex on Thursday.'' A total of 92.95 million free warrants were issued on the basis of one free warrant for every two share held. The last fat of lodgement is April 18.

MIER maintains 5.2% GDP growth forecast for 2011

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER) is maintaining its projection of a moderate 5.2% growth on the country's gross domestic product (GDP) from last year's 7.2%, and expects the growth to improve to 5.5% next year.

MIER executive director Dr Zakariah Abdul Rashid said this year's GDP would be weighed down by structural impediments in net exports despite strong domestic demand due to supportive government policy measures.

"Underperformance in net exports will drag down economic growth in 2011," he said at the institute's economic briefing here today.

He said the growth rate would start to gain momentum in the second half of this year and onwards, bolstered by the implementation of the Economic Transformation Programme projects, pushing the GDP growth further to 5.5% in 2012.

For domestic consumption, he said, the Consumer Price Index (CPI), an indicator of price variation on domestic products and services, was forecast at 3.2% this year after hitting 2.9% in February due to the increase of global oil and food prices.

With GDP growth within its potential level of 5.0-6.0%, coupled with manageable CPI of 3.2%, Bank Negara Malaysia was expected to lift the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) by 50 basis point to 3.25% from 2.75% currently to curb inflation, he said.

He added that as the economy gathered momentum in 2012, CPI was predicted to edge higher to 3.3%, prompting a further hike in OPR by 25 basis point to 3.5%. ' Bernama

FBM KLCI down at noon, banks weigh, Sarawak stocks slip

KUALA LUMPUR:'' Banks were among the major losers in the morning session on Thursday, April 14 while Sarawak-based stocks eased ahead of the weekend state elections.

Investors' sentiment were cautious in line with the lacklustre regional markets after a brief rally the previous day. The consolidation was also expected after a recent run-up to near three-year highs.

Singapore's impressive growth data underscored investor confidence in the region, according to Reuters.

At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI was down 0.32% or 4.95 points to 1,530.64, weighed by losses including banks and key blue chips.'' Losers beat gainers by 536 to 153, while 239 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 412.52 million shares valued at RM520.43 million.

The ringgit strengthened 0.01% to 3.0238 versus the US dollar; crude palm oil for the third month delivery rose RM1 per tonne to RM3,328 while oil slipped five cents per barrel to US$107.06. Gold gained US$1.45 per troy ounce to US$1,458.75.

Nikkei 225 -0.33% 9,609.54 Hang Seng Index -0.41% 24,036.57 Kospi -0.42% 2,112.97 Singapore's Straits Times Index -0.22% 3,164.97 Shanghai Composite +0.09% 3,053.29 Taiwan's Taiex +0.15% 8,792.94 ''

On Bursa Malaysia, among the major decliners, Hong Leong Bank fell 18 sen to RM10.40, HLFG six sen to RM9.33, Maybank three sen to RM8.77 while CIMB and RHB Capital lost two sen each to RM8.26 and RM8.58.

BAT and Genting fell 12 sen each to RM47.88 and RM10.68, MISC and IJM Corp down 10 sen each to RM7.66 and RM6.25, Shell 16 sen to RM10.92, KLK 14 sen to RM20.86, Tenaga six sen to RM6.11 and Gamuda four sen to RM3.82.

Among the Sarawak companies, CMSB and Naim fell five sen each to RM2.22 and RM3, Jaya Tiasa down two sen to RM6.30 and HSL fell one sen to RM1.67.

E&O continued to be actively traded on getting the Penang Government's in-principle approval for its master plan to undertake a mixed integrated project on a proposed reclaimed site on the island. The stock was unchanged at RM1.26 with 12.62 million shares traded.

Other actives included Melewar, MAA, Lion Corp, Axiata, Perisai and HWGB.

Allianz jumped 33 sen to RM5.32 following an upbeat report by CIMB Equities Research that said the company offers the only exposure to a well-managed Malaysian composite insurer that is controlled by an established international insurance group.

Other gainers included Dutch Lady, Vitrox, PacificMas, Lay Horng, United PLANTATION []s, Amway and KPJ.`

YTL Corp seeking M&As, focus on infra biz

KUALA LUMPUR: YTL CORPORATION BHD [] is seeking for mergers and acquisitions, with the main focus on infrastructure-based businesses.

It said on Thursday, April 14 that the companies in the group had restructured their balance sheets and the subsidiaries were now strong enough to pay consistent and substantial dividends.

YTL Corp is expecting RM1 billion in dividends from its subsidiaries for the FY ending June 30, 2011.

Glencore seeks up to $12.1 bln in bumper London, HK IPO

HONG KONG: Glencore International plc plans to raise up to $12.1 billion in a London and Hong Kong IPO, according to a term sheet seen by Reuters on Thursday, April 14, cashing in on a resources boom and giving the trading giant the fire power to grow through acquisitions.

The much anticipated initial public offering, set to value the company at up to $60 billion, will mark the end of four decades of closely guarded privacy for the world's biggest commodities trading company.

The deal will turn many of its executives into instant millionaires, although Glencore has blocked senior management from selling shares for up to five years.

Baar, Switzerland-based Glencore is seeking to capitalize on record-high prices for several commodities and surging demand for metals and other natural resources from fast-growing economies in China and India.

Glencore's IPO has generated a buzz akin to the 1999 float of Goldman Sachs Inc . But some have questioned the fanfare.

"I am not getting excited at all. This is another IPO, it's an equity product and it has got a revenue stream based on buying commodities and buying equities," said Adelaide-based Greg Smith, managing director of Global Commodities Ltd, a commodities trader.

"People are optimistic because they are looking at the commodities and not actually the entity which is Glencore. If they are thinking that they are investing in commodities they are not, they are investing in an equity. They might be getting all pumped up because of the boom in commodity markets, the super cycle," he added.

Glencore, controlled by some 500 partners, reported a 40 percent rise in 2010 net profit to $3.8 billion, while revenue climbed 36 percent to $145 billion. But slim margins at Glencore's mines and smelters have been a concern for some.

The narrow ratios contrast with better overall margins at its nearest listed rival, Noble Group. - Reuters

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STRONG DEMAND

Despite the cautiousness, some investors are keen to participate in the offer.

"Glencore is a commodities trader and less vulnerable to commodity prices," said Helen Lau, an analyst at UOB Kay Hian. "The sheer size of trading volume in commodities will continue to rise globally. Investors probably will be very interested in the IPO, given the commodities prices are so high now."

Sources previously told Reuters that Glencore's proposed IPO had received a positive response from potential investors when the firm's management travelled the world to gauge demand for the deal.

Glencore is set to release an intention-to-float document in London later on Thursday, which will be its primary stock exchange listing.

"It is very savvy for them to list in both London and Hong Kong. The appetite for commodity-related shares in Asia is well-known and remains robust," said Kirby Daley, a Hong Kong-based senior strategist of Newedge's prime brokerage unit, which provides services to hedge funds.

The base deal size is set between $9 billion to $11 billion, according to the term sheet. The London part of the offer should raise up to $8.8 billion, while the Hong Kong leg of the deal could raise up to $2.2 billion. After the IPO, the free float is expected to be between 15-20 percent.

If a 10 percent greenshoe over-allotment is exercised, the total IPO proceeds rise to $12.1 billion.

A Glencore spokesman declined to comment.

Glencore plans to use $5 billion of the IPO proceeds for capital expenditure over the next three years, while another $2.2 billion will be used to increase its stake in Russian mining company Kazzinc. Glencore already owns 50.7 percent of Kazzinc, along with a 34.5 percent stake in miner Xstrata .

The company plans to announce the price range on May 4 and conditional trading of shares is set for May 19, the term sheet showed.

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SPRAWLING GIANT

Glencore will get listed in the benchmark FTSE 100 by the end of the first trading day via a so-called "fast entry rule," according to the term sheet. It should also gain access to some MSCI stock indexes, creating demand from some index-tracking institutional investors and fund managers.

Founded in 1974 by Marc Rich, a trading sensation who fell foul of U.S. authorities, Glencore has grown into the world's largest commodities trader, with subsidiaries employing tens of thousands, and an oil division with more ships than Britain's Royal Navy. [ID:nLDE73A209]

Glencore began as a pure trader of metals, minerals and oil under Rich. It bought its first industrial assets in the late 1980s and has since turned into a diversified conglomerate with assets ranging from Zambian copper mines to farmland across South America.

The company's secretive past and willingness to do business in some of the world's most opaque and unstable regions has raised concerns among some investors and analysts.

Glencore is also expected to name a new non-executive chairman on Thursday -- a requirement for the listing. Three candidates were on the shortlist days before the document was published, including former French Foreign Legionnaire Simon Murray. [ID:nL3E7FB1FN]

Murray, a long-time Hong Kong resident and resources investor, told Reuters this week he was excited by the prospect.

"Natural resources are always quite exciting; they tend to turn up in the strangest places. So you get a good view of the world," Murray said. "This is an exciting company, this is absolutely the right sector today, commodities."

The new chairman will sit on an eight-strong board alongside Chief Executive Ivan Glasenberg, an intense, charming South African who joined the firm as a coal trader in 1984. Glasenberg is thought to own as much as 15 percent of the company but has never confirmed his stake.

Glencore is expected to sign up "cornerstone" shareholders to its IPO, but these may be made public only when it publishes its prospectus next month. Glencore officials have met in the past weeks with sovereign wealth funds in Asia and the Middle East, and high net worth investors to garner support for the offering.

Citigroup , Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley are the joint global coordinators for the offer, the document said.

Moody's lowers outlook for China property to negative from stable

KUALA LUMPUR: Moody's Investors Service'' has revised downwards its outlook for the China property sector to negative from stable.

It said on Thursday, April 14 the change reflected its expectations for the fundamental credit conditions of the sector over the next 12 to 18 months.

"China's property developers face a tough operating environment, driven by tightening regulatory measures, rising interest rates, reduced bank lending, and increasing supply,' said Peter Choy, a senior vice president at Moody's office in Hong Kong.

'We believe this will inevitably lead to slowing sales, and pressure on profit margins and on balance sheet liquidity for some," he added.

Choy, who is the lead author of the report, also pointed out that greater local enforcement of central directives to control residential property prices and purchase will put downward pressure on both prices and volumes of transactions as an increasing number of cities across China more effectively implement national regulations.

"We anticipate that proceeds from contracted sales of residential PROPERTIES [] will decline by an average of 25%-30% in China's first-tier and most of the second-tier cities, where local governments have implemented measures to stabilize property prices and prohibit the private ownership of more than two properties per family," he said.

Choy said the impact on individual developers will vary, depending on the quality of products, location and number of new projects to be launched in 2011. However, he expected those in third- and fourth-tier cities will be less exposed to the tightening measures.

He also anticipated that "during the next 6 -12 months, Chinese property developers will face challenges in securing onshore debt financing, as the government enforces its strategy of slowing monetary growth to reduce the risk of accelerating inflation and to manage domestic banks' exposure to the property sector."

Tighter domestic credit this year has led to a spate of offshore fundraising by property developers with offshore listings.

A second author of the report, Kaven Tsang, an assistant vice president at Moody's, says that "the Chinese property developers accumulated large cash holdings from strong sales in 2010. However, we expect their liquidity to weaken this year, due to slowing receipts of presale proceeds and a sizeable cash outflow to cover unsettled bills for acquired lands, larger developments, and maturing trust financing and bank loans."

"In 2011, a greater supply of new properties -- both from developers and from the planned introduction of 10 million low-income housing units by the government -- will hinder further price increases and lead to a mild correction in cities that experienced the sharpest price rises in the past 12 to 18 months," Tsang added.

"Higher input costs to build homes will also weigh on margins, as will the need to produce better-quality products to compete for buyers in a reduced demand market."

The report cites that the liquidity of 10 developers -- Hopson, Powerlong, Greentown, Glorious, Shanghai Zendai, SRE Group, Shimao, Central China, Zhong An and Coastal Greenland -- will be more vulnerable if their overall sales fall by 25% from the previous year.