Investors starting afresh in 3Q

LONDON: Investors have entered the third quarter anticipating a somewhat calmer investment climate than the previous three months as focus shifts back to the underlying strength of the global economy and corporate earnings, Reuters reports on Friday, July 1.

World stocks, measured by MSCI, have barely moved in the three months to end-June in volatile trading that saw the index hit a three-year high only to fall nearly 8 percent subsequently.

Concerns about the impact on the banking sector from a potential default on Greek sovereign debt and an economic slowdown in the United States and China have encouraged investors to cut back on risks.

These worries have not gone away but the worst of the investor fears did not materialize. Greece has averted an immediate default by securing emergency funds and accelerating factory activity in the U.S. Midwest raised expectations for a pick-up in economic growth later this year.

"As financial market sentiment was overly pessimistic at the end of the second quarter and our tactical market sentiment indicators sent several buy signals, we expect to see a recovery at the beginning of the third quarter," said Philip Bartschi, chairman of the investment committee at Bank Sarasin.

Bartschi advised investors however to keep a defensive portfolio as earnings estimates may need to be downgraded.

For the second quarter, S&P 500 companies are expected to post earnings growth of 13.7 percent, down from an estimate for a 19.8 percent gain made last year, according to Reuters data. Earnings growth is expected to accelerate to levels above 17 percent in the third and fourth quarter before easing in 2012.

Q3 RISK TAKING

Flows point to a gradual return to risky assets. Reuters global asset allocation polls showed investors raised equity holdings in June for the first time since January and boosted their exposure to euro zone stocks and bonds.

Lipper survey showed U.S. money market mutual funds suffered net redemptions in four of the last five weeks, with $20.8 billion flowing out of this asset class in the week to June 29.

"The backdrop is gradually improving. We find that most investors are cautious, if not outright negative, and light on risk. We have started to add pro-cyclical positions for the first time in two months," Goldman Sachs said in a note to clients.

Over the coming week, the European Central Bank is expected to deliver another interest rate hike. U.S. monthly jobs data would be key in determining whether the data soft patch is coming to an end.

The favorable backdrop for risk taking would add pressure on government bonds, especially in the United States where the Federal Reserve ended its $600 billion bond buying program.

Ten-year U.S. Treasury yields rose to a 1-1/2 month high of 3.18 on Thursday, with investors jittery about the Aug 2 deadline for Congress to raise debt ceiling to avoid a default on the $14.3 trillion debt.

S&P said on Thursday it would downgrade the United States from AAA to D if it missed its debt payment on Aug 4, two days after the Aug 2 date the Treasury Department has given as the deadline for raising the debt ceiling.

A Senate Democratic aid told Reuters on Thursday Senate Democrats have discussed with President Barack Obama a scaled-back budget deal that would avert a default but force Congress to tackle the politically toxic issue again before the 2012 elections.

The White House believes a deal needs to be in place by July 22 to give Congress enough time to pass it, according to Democratic officials.

"The risk is that the market may focus more on the debt ceiling debate, where a progress has stalled a little, if other risks begin to recede," Goldman said in a note to clients. - Reuters

Rally could spell pullback for stocks

NEW YORK: A pullback could be on the table in the week starting Tuesday, July 5 for stocks after their best weekly performance in two years, especially if a raft of data headlined by the June jobs report doesn't bolster the argument of a strengthening economy.

Stocks rose for five straight days as the fog of the Greek debt crisis appeared to once again be lifted while better-than-anticipated economic numbers such as Friday's manufacturing data gave weight to the belief the U.S. economy was starting to recover from a soft patch.

"What we are looking at is a market that is going to focus on the economic numbers," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon Partners in New York.

"We had real good gains toward the end of the quarter so it wouldn't surprise me to see a little bit of profit taking before we get those numbers out during the course of the week."

Data expected for next week includes factory orders for May, the ISM services index and several indicators on the labor market, including Friday's report.

"It is a little bit early to declare victory over the mid-cycle slowdown we've had," said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer of Solaris Asset Management in Bedford Hills, New York.

"On Friday, you have payrolls, unemployment rate -- the big Kahuna -- and there might be some trepidation going into it, especially with the market having already rebounded sharply here over several days."

Even with the economic data on the docket for next week, volume is expected to remain light due to the market holiday on July 4th, which could exacerbate swings in the market.

Aside from the additional spike in volume brought about by the final reconstitution of Russell Investments by its indexes on June 24, average weekly volume has been among the lowest of the year for several weeks.

BULLS AND THE BUDGET DEFICIT

The light volume may prove to be an advantage for the bulls, however, especially after the S&P 500 successfully bounced off the 200-day moving average, a key technical support level, and jumped back over the 50-day moving average, which represented a resistance point.

"The mindset is an opportunistic 'risk on' trade and it is giving a lift to the market in spite of the fact that most people are scratching their heads. But that is what happens, particularly when there is very light volume, momentum dictates trend, and that is what we find ourselves in," said Peter Kenny, managing director at Knight Capital in Jersey City, New Jersey.

For the week, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 5.4 percent, the S&P 500 gained 5.6 percent and the Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 6.2 percent -- marking their biggest weekly percentage gains since July 2009.

With Greece and the European debt crisis once again pushed to the back burner in the minds of investors, the focus has shifted to the rapidly approaching deadline for Congress to reach an agreement on the debt limit, presenting another headwind for stocks.

The U.S. Treasury on Friday kept up the pressure on Congress to strike a deal to raise the debt ceiling and prevent a default, repeating that it would run out of legal room to borrow on August 2.

"The big thing on the horizon is now back to the U.S. deficit issues," said Rick Meckler, president of LibertyView Capital Management in New York.

"The Greek (debt) situation was an appetizer for that, and I think you're going to see a lot of back and forth as people wonder how much brinkmanship is actually going to be played with the budget deficit."

Another overhang could be evident in the preannouncement of corporate profits before earnings season begins with Alcoa Inc's earnings on July 11. The global slowdown in the second quarter may result in some disappointing outlooks.

"We have had a soft patch in the economy here due to higher commodity prices, a little bit of weakness in the manufacturing side, because of Japan, Europe, China and various things. All that can really impact Q2 earnings and we may see some negative preannouncements, and that might really have a broader impact on the overall market," Ghriskey said. - Reuters

#Stocks to watch:* Tanjung Offshore, Wah Seong, Asia Media, Petronas Gas

KUALA LUMPUR: After four out of five'' days of gains on Bursa Malaysia last week, with the FBM KLCI pushing to fresh historic highs, investors could expect some mild profit taking.

The FBM KLCI closed at a fresh high of 1,582.94 last Friday, July 1 and for the week, it was up 18.28 points or 1.16% from 1,564.66 on June 24. However, the broader FBM 100 outperformed the KLCI, rising 1.2% from 10,513.45 to 10,639.70.

The KLCI would need to build a firmer base and see more buying of blue chips before moving higher.

One of concerns among investors is the current political scenario as the Opposition parties seem bent on having the Berish 2.0 rally on Saturday, July 9 despite warnings from the authorities not to proceed while businessmen warn of the negative economic fallout.

Stocks to watch on Monday include TANJUNG OFFSHORE BHD [], WAH SEONG CORPORATION BHD [], Asia Media Bhd, PETRONAS GAS BHD [] and NOTION VTEC BHD [].

Tanjung Offshore was awarded RM50 million contract by Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd to provide three offshore support vessels for periods ranging between one and three years.

The contract would see it providing the ships for the primary period from June and July 2011 respectively with options to extend between one and two years.

Wah Seong secured a US$45 million (RM136.78 million) contract from Australia Pacific LNG Pty Limited to provide pipeline coatings for the Australia Pacific LNG project in Australia.

The contract secured by its pipe coating business unit on June 29 involved coating of over 700 km of pipes.

The Edge weekly reports that Asia Media is seeking a boost from its broadcasting licence.

The company's huge margins and licence to provide free-to-air broadcasting services are an attractive proposition for bigger media players eyeing a piece of the electronic media market.

Petronas Gas inked a shareholders' agreement with NRG Consortium (Sabah) Sdn Bhd (NRG) to provide operation and maintenance services to a 300-Megawatt gas power plant and its related facilities and infrastructure in Kimanis, Kota Kinabalu. The service would be provided through a joint venture company.

Notion Vtec announced that the controlling shareholders of Notion Vtec had abandoned negotiations to dispose of their business/equity interest after talks with the interested party fell through, just two weeks after it said negotiations were still on-going.

Analysts said pricing could be an issue due the difficulties which the hard-disk drive manufacturers are facing. Perhaps, Notion VTec could brace for a mild recovery and await better offers.

Oil falls on weak China data, economic worry

new york: Oil fell on Friday, July 1 on signs of slower growth in China and weaker U.S. consumer sentiment, offsetting a supportive report showing an improving manufacturing sector in the United States.

An intraday bounce by the dollar against the euro and the strength of the dollar index .DXY, measuring the greenback against a basket of currencies, also helped pressure dollar-denominated oil.

"Crude futures fell today on the soft factory data from China and the stronger dollar," said Gene McGillian, analyst at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut.

The U.S. Department of Energy announced the list of offers it had received for 30 million barrels of crude it will release from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

The sale attracted more interested buyers than barrels offered and investors continued to try to gauge the effect on the market from the new supply of crude and products that will enter the market as part of the International Energy Agency's coordinated release announced on June 23.

Both Brent and U.S. crude posted weekly gains despite Friday's price slips, with volatility aided by slim volumes ahead of Monday's U.S. Independence Day holiday. Volumes for both U.S. and Brent crude were well below 30-day averages.

Brent futures for August fell 71 cents to settle at $111.77 a barrel, after falling as low as $109.50 intraday. But front-month Brent rebounded to post a weekly gain of 6.33 percent.

U.S. crude fell 48 cents to settle at $94.94 a barrel, having recovered from an earlier $93.45 low. For the week, front-month crude gained 4.15 percent.

China's factory sector grew at its slowest pace in 28 months in June as new orders expanded less quickly as weaker global demand and tight monetary policy at home pinched production.

U.S. consumer sentiment worsened in June, a Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan survey showed. Falling gasoline prices stabilized consumers' view of current conditions, but longer-term expectations remained subdued.

The dollar got a boost and crude prices pared some losses intraday after data from the Institute for Supply Management showed the U.S. manufacturing sector expanded in June more than expected, sparking some optimism that the sputtering economy may be regaining some traction.

Any signs of a slowdown in China add to investor nervousness because of recent indications of slowed U.S. economic growth and Europe's struggles with its debt crisis.

Although the Greek parliament voted for an austerity package this week, there is skepticism about the government's ability to deliver on promised cuts.

Some analysts expect investor caution until next week's June nonfarm payrolls report arrives on July 8.

Oil was not the only commodity feeling pressure. The 19 commodity Reuters-Jefferies CRB index .CRB fell nearly half a percent, extending its weak trend from June and the second quarter.

"I'm hearing from hedge funds that there is a potential for a big unwind in commodities. At the very least they will start having to trade more on supply and demand fundamentals and less on outside factors," said Richard Ilczyszyn, senior market strategist, Lind-Waldock in Chicago.

"Longs (in oil) are wary that pushing prices too high will trigger another reserves release."

Money managers sharply cut their net-long U.S. crude futures and options positions in the week to last Tuesday, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said in a report released after oil prices settled on Friday. - Reuters

Petronas Gas in JV to operate, maintain Kimanis power plant

KUALA LUMPUR: PETRONAS GAS BHD [] has inked a shareholders' agreement with NRG Consortium (Sabah) Sdn Bhd (NRG) to provide operation and maintenance services to a 300-Megawatt gas power plant and its related facilities and infrastructure in Kimanis, Kota Kinabalu.

It said on Friday, July 1 that the service would be provided through a joint venture company.

NRG is a wholly owned subsidiary of Innoprise Corporation Sdn. Bhd. (ICSB), which in turn is a unit of Yayasan Sabah.

Under the agreement, Petronas Gas will hold 60% in the JV while NRG will hold the remaining 40%.

Ex-Asst BNM governor quits boardroom post at KBB

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) assistant governor Datuk Mohamad Daud Dol Moin, who was charged with graft on Friday, July 1, has resigned as chairman of KBB RESOURCES BHD [].

He was appointed KBB chairman on June 22 this year.

Earlier on Friday, he was charged in the Sessions Court at the Jalan Duta Court Complex here for accepting gratification of RM50,000 from a businessman on Dec 12, 2004 and again on Feb 16, 2005.

According to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission's (MACC) twitters, the contract was to print RM5 polymer bank note by Note Printing Australia Ltd for BNM worth RM95 million.

Mohamad Daud, 58, pleaded not guilty and claimed trial to both charges. Sessions Court Judge Rosbiahanin Arifin then set bail of RM100,000 with one'' surety.

Judge Rosbiahanin ordered Mohamad Daud's case to be mentioned on Aug 2.

According to the MACC twitters, businessman Abdul Kayum Syed Ahmad, 62, faced two charges for corruptly giving gratifications to Mohamad Daud.

Kayum was alleged to have corruptly given gratifications amounting to RM50,000 to Mohamad Daud who was then BNM assistant governor as an inducement to assist Note Printing Australia Ltd to secure currency printing.

Abdul Kayum pleaded not guilty and claimed trial.

According to KBB, Mohamad Daud joined BNM in 1975 and served BNM for more than 32 years. He was appointed assistant governor, supervision portfolio in 1997.

He then served as the managing director of Danamodal Nasional Bhd for a year and returned to BNM in September 1999 to resume his position as an assistant governor of BNM, a post he held until his official retirement on May 1, 2009.

In a separate statement, BNM said it does not condone any misconduct by its employees. It added the central bank upholds the highest standards of integrity and professionalism in carrying out its roles and functions.

'The central bank has been providing full cooperation to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and other relevant agencies in their investigations,' said BNM.

According to MACC's twitters, it had conducted a parallel investigation with Australia Federal Police which had on Friday also charged six persons in Australia.

This is first time the Australia Federal Police had charged using foreign bribery legislation introduced in 1999.

Meanwhile, Agence Frace Presse reported that two banknote firms linked to Australia's central bank and six of their former employees were charged Friday with bribing Asian officials to secure contracts to print their currencies.

OldTown IPO oversubscribed 10.8 times, plans deeper inroads into China

KUALA LUMPUR: Main Market-bound caf'' chain operator and instant beverage mix manufacturer OldTown Bhd is targeting to make deeper inroads into China by the fourth quarter this year.

Its group managing director Lee Siew Heng in a statement Friday, July 1 said that the company, which exports its products to more than 10 countries, targets to make deeper inroads into China by the fourth quarter this year.

'We see great potential in the Chinese market due to the sheer size of the population and will leverage on our initial inroads to expand the revenue contribution,' he said.

He said the company currently exports its beverage mixes to Singapore, Hong Kong, the United States, Canada, Taiwan, Indonesia, Brunei, Thailand, Philippines, China, United Kingdom, Australia, and, since in the first quarter of 2011, New Zealand

Its export market contributed over 10% to its revenue in financial year ended Dec 31, 2010, and the group anticipates to record double-digit growth in its export revenue contribution by the end of 2011, he said.

Lee also said OldTown's initial public offering (IPO) had been oversubscribed by 10.8 times, after it received 9,366 applications for 117.64 million shares with a total value of RM147.1 million, for the public tranche of 10 million new shares under its IPO.

OldTown is scheduled to list on the Main Market on July 13.

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Notion VTec sale talks fall through

KUALA LUMPUR: The controlling shareholders of Notion Vtec had abandoned negotiations to dispose of their business/equity interest after talks with the interested party fell through, just two weeks after it said negotiations were still on-going.

Notion VTec said on Friday, July 1 that it was informed by the controlling shareholders that 'they have terminated negotiations with the interested party due to disagreement over certain terms and conditions'.

'Notwithstanding the above, the company continues to receive indications of interest from various parties from time to time,' it said in a statement to Bursa Malaysia.

To recap, Notion VTec said in April that its controlling shareholders had been approached by a party indicating the intention to acquire the entire business/ equity interest.The company's core business is hard disk drive manufacturing, metal processing and designing.

The announcement was in response to an article in The Edge Financial Daily on April 11, 2011 with heading "Private Equity Eyes Notion Again?"

In a follow-up statement, Notion VTec said on June 20 that the board of directors were informed by the controlling shareholders that the negotiations were still on-going.

The main shareholders are Choo Wing Hong controlling 13.26%, his brother Choo Wing Onn with a 9.81% stake, and the Choo's brother-in-law Thoo Chow Fah with 10.37% equity.

Other substantial shareholders are Japan's Nikon Corp with a 9.07% stake in NotionVtec and pilgrim fund, Lembaga Tabung Haji, with a 6.18% shareholding.

Nikon Corp came into Notion Vtec as a strategic shareholder in January this year, purchasing a 10% block in the company via a private placement at RM2.44 per share or RM33.78 million.

FBM KLCI begins 2H2011 at fresh historic high

KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI kicked off the second half of 2011 and closed at a fresh all-time high on Friday, July 1 as blue chips pushed the index above the 1,580-point level.

At 5pm, the 30-stock index rose 0.25% or 3.87 points to 1,582.94, lifted by gains including at Petronas-linked counters and index-linked PLANTATION [] stocks.

But the broader market remained tepid, with losers outpacing gainers by 388 to 352, while 317 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 801.95 million shares valued at RM1.40 billion.

Regional markets pared down some of the gains after China's factory sector grew at its slowest pace in 28 months in June as new orders expanded less quickly, with weaker global demand and tight monetary policy at home pinching production.

At the regional markets, Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.53% top 9,868.07, Taiwan's Taiex gained 1.01% to 8,739.82, South Korea's Kospi was up 1.19% to 2,125.74 and Singapore's Straits Times Index added 0.60% to 3,139.01.

The Shanghai Composite Index, however, shed 0.10% to 2,759.36.

RHB Research in its 2H market outlook and strategy report on July 1said as there was sustained earnings growth to create new shareholders' value for investors, there was still room for the market to move higher in the 2H of the year.

'Consequently, we are maintaining our end-2011 FBM KLCI target at 1,700, which is based on 15 times 2012 EPS and is supported by our bottom-up valuation methodology.

'We are of the view that external headwinds that dragged down global equities will likely dissipate and transform into potential catalysts for the market to come back,' it said.

The research house said market conditions would likely improve from the 2H as global headwinds dissipate and investors look forward to a brighter economic prospect in 2012.

'Consequently, any market pullback would present an opportunity for investors to accumulate fundamentally-robust stocks on weakness.

'Sector-wise, our key overweights are banking, oil & gas, timber and gaming,' it said.

On Bursa Malaysia, PPB was the top gainer and rose 46 sen to RM17.68; UMW added 26 sen to RM7.48, MSM 25 sen to RM4.98, DiGi 18 sen to RM29.22, MISC 14 sen to RM7.49, Hong Leong Bank 12 sen to RM13.50, MMHE seven sen to RM8.490, KLK six sen to RM22.22 and Sime Darby five sen to RM9.28.

Petronas Chemicals rose seven sen to RM7.16, Petronas Dagangan six sen to RM16.16, Petronas Gas four sen to RM13.26, Gamuda 10 sen to RM3.95, Metrod and United Plantations up 20 sen each to RM3.80 and RM20, Sapura Resources 17 sen to RM1.17 and Cepco added 15 sen to RM2.20.

Newly-listed Eversendai, which was the most actively traded counter today, pared down its gains and closed twp sen higher at RM1.72 with 59.47 million shares done.

Other actives included MSM, Time, KBB, TMS, Focus, Axiata, Gamuda and Genting Malaysia.

Decliners included Genting, JobStreet, Yinson, BLD Plantations, Hartalega and See Hup.

Tanjung Offshore lands RM50m Petronas contract

KUALA LUMPUR: TANJUNG OFFSHORE BHD [] has secured a RM50 million contract from Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd to provide three offshore support vessels for periods ranging between one and three years..

The company said on Friday, July 1 its unit Tanjung Offshore Services Sdn Bhd was awarded the contract to provide the ships for the primary period from June and July 2011 respectively with options to extend between one and two years.

Tanjung Offshore expected the long term contracts to contribute positively to the earnings and net assets for the financial years ending Dec 31, 2011 and beyond.

Mahajaya buys 4.02ha land for RM12.12m to expand landbank

KUALA LUMPUR: MAHAJAYA BHD [] is acquiring a 4.02ha freehold land for RM12.12 million in line with the business plan to acquire additional land in its on-going development projects.

It said on Friday, July 1 that its unit Medan Damai Sdn Bhd had entered into a sale and purchase agreement with Penalbrick Systems Builders (M) Sdn Bhd to acquire the land.

Mahajaya said the land formed part of an on-going mixture of commercial and residential development project known as Bandar Damai Perdana in Cheras.

It said the acquisition would be financed via internally generated funds.

Mahajaya said the land was currently categorised as agricultural and that as the company had yet to submit applications to utilise the land for residential development, it was too preliminary to ascertain the total development cost and expected profit.

On the prospects for the acquisition, Mahajaya said the residential property sub-sector in the Klang Valley continued to receive robust demand last year, and that property remained strong with increasing demand.

'The proposed acquisition is synergistic to the Mahajaya's business and operation and at the same time will enable the group to capture the business opportunity and to expand its development in an area of development potential,' it said.

Biosis fixes placement share at huge premium

KUALA LUMPUR: BIOSIS GROUP BHD [] has fixed the issue price of the second tranche of its placement shares at 50 sen per share.

The company said on Friday, July 1 the issue price was about 16.4 sen or 48.8% above the five-day weighted average market price from June 24 to 30 of about 33.6 sen per share.

Earlier announcements said that eight million placement shares represented 8% of the issued and paid-up would be placed.

Of the RM4 million raised from the exercise, it said RM2.9 million would be used for working capital, RM1 million to repay borrowings and the remaining RM100,000 as estimated expenses for the corporate exercise.

Wah Seong gets US$45m job in Australia

KUALA LUMPUR: WAH SEONG CORPORATION BHD [] has secured a contract worth USD45 million (RM136.78 million) from Australia Pacific LNG Pty Limited to provide pipeline coatings for the Australia Pacific LNG project in Australia.

It said on Friday, July 1 that the contract secured by its pipe coating business unit on June 29 involved coating of over 700 km of pipes.

Wah Seong said contract was to commence in the fourth quarter of 2011 and be completed in 2012.

'The contract is expected to contribute positively to the earnings of Wah Seong Corp group over the contract period,' it said.

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RHB-CIMB merger value destructive, says OSK Research

KUALA LUMPUR: Shares of RHB CAPITAL BHD [] and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd were mostly unaffected by a news report that RHB Cap was planning to take ovr the country's second largest banking group.

At 3.08pm, RHB Cap was down three sen to RM9.13 with 264,000 shares done while CIMB rose two sen to RM8.95 with 3.31 million units.

The FBM KLCI fell 0.78 of a point to 1,578.29. Turnover was 497.93 million shares valued at RM730.39 million. There were 285 gainers, 347 losers and 321 stocks unchanged.

OSK Research described such a merger of CIMB-RHB would in itself be value destructive given the various lines of revenue duplication.

'And with RHB Capital being significantly smaller than CIMB, acquiring the latter will result in greater value destruction for RHB Capital post merger,' it said.

OSK Research said the Employee Provident Fund (EPF) could well afford to back an all cash deal, which is likely to be the preferred option if Khazanah Nasional is indeed interested in an all-out exit.

It estimated the post RHB-CIMB merged entity would face a potential earnings per share dilution of 12.5%. More importantly, the ROE of RHB Capital will deteriorate from 15% to 8%.

'Assuming a fair acquisition all cash offer pricing of RM9.60/CIMB share (3.02 times 1QFY11 PBV), we estimate that RHB Capital would have to raise close to RM58 billion in new equity via a rights issue priced at a 25% discount to the current market price in order to maintain the enlarged group's core equity ratio at a reasonable 8.2%.

'This is essentially equivalent to raising its new share base by nearly 5.0 times to counter the RM47.7 billion in goodwill potentially arising from the acquisition,' it said.

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Yinson falls to low of RM1.72 after fixes placement price

KUALA LUMPUR: Shares of YINSON HOLDINGS BHD [] fell to a low of RM1.72 on Friday, July 1 as investors' interest waned after it fixed the price for the placement shares at RM1.65.

At 3.38pm, it was down 12 sen to RM1.77, off the earlier low of RM1.72.

The FBM KLCI fell 1.18 points to 1,577.89. There were 560.98 million shares done valued at RM847.72 million. There were 283 gainers, 370 losers and 331 stocks unchanged.

On Thursday, the company announced that it would place out 10% of the paid-up share capital or 6.885 million new shares at RM1.65. This was a discount of about 9.34% over the five-day volume weighted average market price of the shares up to June 29 of RM1.82.

The share price had risen recently after Yinson and its partner Petrovietnam Technical Services Corporation secured a US$331.15 million (RM1.01 billion) to provide a floating storage and off-loading (FSO).

The total contract value of RM1.01 billion was for 20 years, of which RM626.81 million was for the firm period of 10 years and the remaining RM383.20 million was for options to extend for another 10 years in four different periods.

Yinson will have a 49% stake in JV and PTSC 51%. Yison's cash injection in the JV is expected to be RM55.125 million.

To finance it, part of it would be from a renounceable two-call rights issue of up to 131.85 million rights shares on the basis of three rights shares for every two existing shares held.

Yinson posted net profit of RM7.14 million for the quarter ended April 30 versus RM4.67 million a year ago. Revenue was higher at RM196.80 million compared with RM184.31 million.

However, Yinson has only cash and bank balances of RM4.74 million as at April 30, 2011 while receivables are RM260.23 million. Short-term borrowings, categorised under current liabilities, are RM138.88 million.

Lynas Corp shares dn 12% on extra safety ruling

KUALA LUMPUR: Shares of Lynas Corporation Ltd fell 12% to A$1.75 at the close on trade on the Australian Stock Exchange on Friday, July 1 after the government imposed more safety measures on the rare earth plant in Gebeng, Pahang.

The broader Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index lost 0.4% to 4,591.20 at the 4:10 p.m. close of trading in Sydney. The index had risen'' 1.8% in the past five days, snapping four straight weeks of losses., a news report said.

On Thursday, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)'' concluded that the Lynas rare earth plant is safe but the Lynas had to undertake improvements in various technical areas before it can proceed to the next stage of operations.

The IAEA said it did not find any instance of "any non-compliance with international radiation safety standards" in the project.

However, an IAEA review team identified 10 issues for which it considered''improvements were necessary before the next licensing phase of the Lynas project.

CIMB Economics Research sees BNM raising OPR to 3.25% in 3Q

KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB Economics Research is maintaining its expectations that Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) will raise interest rate by 25 basis points to 3.25% in the third quarter.

It said on Friday, July 1 that however, the timing would be a close call between July and September.

'Compared to the previous rate hike in May, we think the confluences of external headwinds have tilted the balance of risk towards the downside for the growth outlook,' it said.

At the monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting on July 7, it said BNM would have to make a careful assessment whether the slowing growth is transitory or of a more fundamental nature.

The crucial issue would be whether the current soft patch will be short-lived or prolonged before making a move on interest rates.

'The recent string of incoming data suggests domestic economy has hit a soft patch, hindered by Japan's supply chain disruptions, a loss in growth momentum for the US and China as well as resurgence worries about the Europe debt woes,' it said.

In its comments of May's loan growth, it said BNM data showed it rose to 13.8% on-year from 13.5% in April, boosted by sustained demand from both household (13.0%) and business (14.8%) sectors.

As for money supply, it grew by 11.1% in May from 10.1% in April. The factors were higher trade inflows and credit expansion.

CIMB Research said all loan indicators showed improvement, with loan applications and approvals rising by 27.0% and 26.9% respectively in May (19.5% and 24.0% respectively in April).

Loan applications for the purchase of residential property rose 4.4% on-month or 30.3% on-year in May. Credit card loan applications contracted by 5.5% in May (+1.6% in Apr), reflecting the impact of credit card restrictions which took effect in March.

Loan disbursements turned around to grow by 11.9% (- 1.1% in April), thanks to higher disbursement to the business sector.

'With still-strong loan indicators, we upped our loan growth estimate to 11.0%-12.0% this year from 10.0%-11.0% previously,' it said.

CIMB Research said the banking system remained flushed with liquidity, underpinned by the sustained trade surplus and private capital inflows, which were predominantly short-term flows in recent months.

It pointed out that BNM had used a wide range of monetary instruments to sterilise the capital inflows to avoid excessive monetary conditions.

'The amount of excess liquidity mopped up by BNM amounted to RM281.8 billion as at mid-June 2011. The statutory reserve requirement (SRR) ratio was raised by 200 basis points in April-May to 3.0% currently, to mop up excess liquidity and restraint credit creation.

'We expect another 100bp rise in the SRR to 4.0% in July,' it said.

SapuraCrest gains on 1Q performance

KUALA LUMPUR: SAPURACREST PETROLEUM BHD [] shares advanced on Friday, July 1 after its net profit for the first quarter ended April 30, 2011 rose 42.7% to RM72.34 million from RM50.69 million a year earlier, due to higher contribution largely from drilling division.

At 3.10pm, SapuraCrest was up eight sen to RM4.28 with 794,900 shares traded.

Maybank IB Research in a note July 1 said the company's 1QFY12 results were ahead of our expectation, on higher IPF margins.

'As such, we have raised our FY12-14 earnings forecasts by 7-9%, incorporating for a 1-ppt rise in IPF margin.

'This lifted our target price to RM4.80 (based on unchanged 20x 2012 EPS), offering a 14% upside. Maintain Buy,' it said.

SapuraCrest said on Thursday, June 30 that its revenue for the quarter, however, declined to RM550.82 million from RM670.36 million in 2010 due to lower activities in the operation and maintenance division.

Earnings per share was 5.67 sen while net assets per share was 91 sen.

SapuraCrest said barring unforeseen circumstances, it expects to achieve satisfactory results for the financial year ending Jan 31, 2012.

FBM KLCI edges lower on profit taking

KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM bucked the trend at regional markets and slipped into negative territory at the mid-day break on Friday, July 1 as mild profit taking chipped away its gains in the morning session.

Asian markets mostly maintained their momentum following the firmer overnight close at Wall Street as well as on the Greek parliament approved detailed austerity and privatisation bills on Thursday in a crucial vote to secure emergency funds and avert imminent bankruptcy.

Analysts however cautioned that some mild profit taking could emerge ahead of the extended weekend in US due to the Independence Day holiday on July 4.

On Bursa Malaysia, the FBM KLCI shed 0.30 point to 1,578.77 at 12.30pm.

Gainers trailed losers by 273 to 306, while 308 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 419.48 million shares valued at RM588.18 million.

The ringgit strengthened 0.29% to 3.0110 versus the US dollar; crude palm oil futures for the third month delivery fell RM14 per tonne to RM3,056, crude oil shed 69 cents to US$94.73 while gold added US$1.40 an ounce to US$1,501.75.

At the regional markets, Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.62% to 9,877.05, the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.38% to 2,772.68, Taiwan's Taiex added 0.96% to 8,735.52, South Korea's Kospi was up 1.18% to 2,125.55 and Singapore's Straits Times Index edged up 0.51% to 3,136.43.

Among the decliners this morning, Yinson and Genting fell 10 sen to RM1.79 and RM11.12, Hong Leong Bank down eight sen to RM13.30, Malayan Flour Mills and See Hup lost seven sen each to RM8.18 and 88 sen, SCIB and Batu Kawan down six sen each to 35 sen and RM17.06, while Tenaga fell three sen to RM6.74.

Gainers were led by MSM that rose 22 sen to RM4.95; Sapura Resources and United PLANTATION []s rose 18 sen each to RM1.18 and RM19.98, DiGi 16 sen to RM29.20, AirAsia 11 sen to RM3.63, Metrod, Tradewinds and BIMB added 10 sen each to RM3.70, RM10.52 and RM2.03 respectively, while SOP rose nine sen to RM3.85.

Meanwhile, RHB Capital and CIMB were in focus in early trade after the Singapore Straits Times, citing sources said the RHB Capital was planning a takeover.

However, RHB Capital shares declined one sen to RM9.15 while CIMB added one to RM8.94 after Bloomberg reported CIMB head of group marketing and communications Effendy Shahul Hamid as saying that it was not in talks to merge with RHB Capital.

Newly-listed Eversendai was the most actively traded counter this morning with 49.33 million shares done. The stock rose four sen to RM1.74.

Other actives included Time, TMS, KBB, Focus, MSM, Ingenuity Solutions, Ideal Jacob, DBE Gurney and Axiata.

KBB Resources dn after chairman charged with graft

KUALA LUMPUR: Shares of KBB RESOURCES BHD [] slipped in heavy trade in the morning session on Friday, July 1 in line with the cautious market and also after its chairman Datuk Mohamad Daud Dol Moin was charged with graft.

At midday, KBB shares fell two sen to 44 sen with 11.47 million shares done.

The FBM KLCI shed 0.3 of a point to 1,578.77. Turnover was 419.48 million shares valued at RM588.18 million. There were 273 gainers, 306 losers and 308 stocks unchanged.

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) arrested Mohamad Daud, a former assistant governor of Bank Negara Malaysia, over alleged corruption.

He was arrested on Thursday, June 30 and was charged in the Sessions Court at the Jalan Duta Court Complex here on Friday.

The MACC said in its twitters that Mohamad Daud, 58, was charged with accepting gratification of RM50,000 from a businessman on Dec 12, 2004 and again on Feb 16, 2005.

Its twitters said the contract was to print RM5 polymer bank note by Note Printing Australia Ltd for BNM worth RM95 million.

He pleaded not guilty and claimed trial on both counts of charges.

On Thursday, KBB's board of directors said it was in the final stage of signing the debt restructuring agreement.

It said the Corporate Debt Restructuring Committee (CDRC) had via its letter dated May 10, informed that the CDRC had received approval exceeding 75% of each class of creditors for the proposed debt revamp.

Fitch Ratings ups Malaysian Re rating

KUALA LUMPUR: Fitch Ratings has upgraded Malaysian Reinsurance Bhd's (Malaysian Re) Insurer Financial Strength rating (IFS) to 'A' from 'A-'. It said the outlook is stable.

It said on Friday, July 1 the upgrade was to reflect Malaysian Re's --'' Malaysia's largest reinsurer -- stronger financial performance for the FY ended March 2011 and also it continuous efforts to de-risk its balance sheet.

'It also factors in its unchallenged market leadership positioning in Malaysia as well as its continued sound capital position relative to its business profile,' it said.

Fitch said the stable outlook reflected the rating agency's expectation that Malaysian Re will maintain its robust financial fundamentals.

'This is driven by prudent and experienced management which places heavy emphasis on bottom-line profitability as opposed to just top-line growth,' it said.

Malaysian Re's market dominance was likely to remain unchallenged, said Fitch, pointing out to its solid franchise and support from local cedants.

Fitch said the reinsurer's stronger financial performance for FY11 is reflective of prudent management and underwriting.

'Based on preliminary unaudited figures, net income for FY11 was estimated to have totalled MYR140.9m compared with MYR88.6m for the prior year. To support its overall risk profile, Malaysian Re maintains sound risk-based capitalisation,' it added.

Sapura Resources advances at mid-morning

KUALA LUMPUR: SAPURA RESOURCES BHD [] shares rose on Friday, July 1 after the company said would be lodging an objection over the compulsory acquisition of its land in Subang Jaya to house the Universiti Kuala Lumpur Malaysian Institute of Aviation TECHNOLOGY [] (UNIKL MIAT) campus.

At 11am, Sapura Resources added 20 sen to RM1.20 with 3.63 million shares done.

It said on Thursday, June 30 that it had been served with the form 'Borang H'' (Pemberitahu Pemberian dan Tawaran Pampasan)' where an''offer of compensation''for a sum''of''RM62.96 million had been''made by the office of the Director General of the Federal Land and Mines Department, Selangor.

It said the land measuring 86,570.55 sq meters was held under PT 40446 H.S.(D) 259959'' Pekan Sungai Buluh, district of Petaling.

'The company will be lodging its objection''and is also taking legal advice on''its other options.

'Further announcement will be made in due course,' said Sapura Resources.

Petronas Chemicals up on Sipitang plant plan

KUALA LUMPUR: Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd shares advanced on Friday, July 1 after the company said it would proceed with its US$1.5 billion Sabah ammonia urea project which will have urea capacity of 1.2 million tonnes per annum.

At 9.30am, Petronas Chemicals added six sen to RM7.15 with 458,000 shares traded.

It said on Thursday, June 30 the plant would be built on 166 acres in the Sipitang industrial park in Sabah.

The RM1.5 billion development cost would be financed from internal cash reserves and external borrowings.

FBM KLCI starts 3Q on a high note

KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI started the first trading day of the third quarter of 2011 on a high note, in line with the overall positive investor sentiment at key regional markets.

Asian markets rose after the Greek parliament approved detailed austerity and privatisation bills on Thursday in a crucial vote to secure emergency funds and avert imminent bankruptcy, according to Reuters.

In the US, Midwest business activity showed surprising strength this month, lifted by a jump in new orders, the Institute for Supply Management-Chicago said. That helped calm concerns about the economy that have weighed on markets for two months, it said.

The FBM KLCI rose 2.154 points to 1,581.21 at 10am, lifted by gains including at DiGi, Petronas Dagangan, KLK and AMMB.

Gainers led losers by 185 to 134, while 236 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 174.17 million shares valued at RM191.23 million.

At the regional markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped 1.53% to 22,398.10, Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.48% to 9,862.85, South Korea's Kospi added 0.99% to 2,121.48, Taiwan's Taiex gained 0.73% to 8,716.10, Singapore's Straits Times was up 0.34% to 3,131.09 while the Shanghai Composite Index edged up 0.02% to 2,762.66.

Maybank Investment Bank Bhd head of retail research Lee Cheng Hooi in a note to clients July 1 said that due to the firmer tone at the US markets yesterday, there could be some buying activities in the local bourse today.

He said the market could rise marginally, with some later day profit taking activities.

'There is a good possibility that it will test its all-time high and resistance of 1,579.

'If the index surges and sustains above 1,579, then we see upside to 1,581 and 1,601 in the short-to-medium term,' he said.

Meanwhile, BIMB Securities Research in a note July 1 said prospects in the US did not look too optimistic following rating giants S&P, Moody's and Fitch all warning of possible downgrade on the US if no agreement on the debt ceiling was in place soon.

'On the local front, buying on blue chips continued pushing the FBMKLCI to end at an all time high.

'Though we believe upside to continue with the psychological 1,600 as the next target, one can expect some profit taking to emerge after recent uptrend,' it said.

Among the gainers at mid-morning, DiGi added 24 sen to RM29.28, SapuraCrest 20 sen to RM1.20, MSM 11 sen to RM4.84, Petronas Dagangan and KLK10 sen each to RM16.20 and RM22.26, while Batu Kawan, Top Glove and AMMB added eight sen each to RM17.20, RM5.28 and RM6.59 respectively.

Newly-listed Eversendai was the most actively traded counter with 40.57 million shares traded. The stock was up four sen to RM1.74.

Other actives included TMS, Time, Focus, Ideal Jacobs, Ingenuity Solutions and JAKS.

Decliners included Malayan Flour Mills, Wah Seong, BToto, Notion, Media Prima and BAT.

CIMB Research has Sell on Hirotako

KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB Equities Research has a technical sell call on Hirotako Holdings at RM1.98, at which it is trading at a price-to-book value of 1.7 times.

It said on Friday, July 1 Hirotako violated its medium term support channel recently. The correction also dragged prices below its 30-day and 50-day SMAs.

CIMB Research if prices fail to bounce back above this support-turned-resistance trend line soon, there is a good chance that the stock may have peaked at RM2.09.

'The bearish divergence on its MACD indicators suggests that follow through momentum is waning. RSI has also hooked downward. The next support levels are RM1.82 and RM1.72.

'Sell into strength looks like a good option here, especially near the RM1.98-RM2.02 resistances. Only a swing above RM2.10 would cancel out our bearish stance on the stock,' it said.

#Flash* Eversendai sees Buy bids at RM1.80

KUALA LUMPUR: Eversendai Corporation Bhd is seeing strong interest in pre-market opening at 8.32am on Friday, July 1.

The company saw Buy bids at RM1.80, which is 10 sen above the final institutional price of RM1.70.

The company which will be listed on the Main Board of Bursa Malaysia.

Eversendai's final retail price is RM1.62. OSK Research has accorded a fair value of RM2.21.

FBM KLCI breaches 1,580-level in early trade

KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI breached the 1,580-level in early trade on Friday, July 1 to kick-start the third quarter of 2011 on a positive note.

At 9.05am, the index rose 2.44 points to 1,581.51. Gainers led losers by 93 to 37, while 112 counters traded unchanged.

Among the early gainers were SapuraCrest, KLK, IJM Corp, Petronas Chemicals, MSM'' and Top Glove.

Newly-listed Eversendai was up 11 sen to RM1.81 with 20.52 million shares traded.

SapuraCrest rises in early trade

KUALA LUMPUR: SAPURACREST PETROLEUM BHD [] shares jumped in early trade on Friday, July 1 after its net profit for the first quarter ended April 30, 2011 rose 42.7% to RM72.34 million from RM50.69 million a year ago, due to higher contribution largely from drilling division.

At 9.12am, SapuraCrest jumped 22 sen to RM1.22 with 1.49 million shares done.

Its revenue for the quarter declined to RM550.82 million from RM670.36 million in 2010 due to lower activities in the operation and maintenance division.

Maybank Investment Bank Bhd maintained its Buy rating on SapuraCrest and said the company's1QFY12 results were ahead of its expectation, on higher IPF margins.

'As such, we have raised our FY12-14 earnings forecasts by 7-9%, incorporating for a 1-ppt rise in IPF margin.

'This lifted our target price to RM4.80 (based on unchanged 20x 2012 EPS), offering a 14% upside. Maintain Buy,' it said in a note July 1.

Eversendai up on Main Market debut

KUALA LUMPUR: Main Market-debutant Eversendai Corporation Bhd was actively traded and rose on Friday, July 1, in line with the generally positive sentiment at the local bourse.

At 9.20am, Eversendai gained seven sen to RM1.77 with 30.98 million shares done.

Eversendai's final institutional price was fixed at RM1.70 and final retail price at RM1.62. OSK Research has accorded a fair value of RM2.21.

The company's subsidiary recently secured a RM139 million job from Qatar Petroleum.

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RHB Capital may be trying to gain control of CIMB-paper

SINGAPORE: Malaysian lender RHB Capital, which was a takeover target of its bigger rivals until last week, is now aiming to take over the country's second largest bank CIMB Group , Singapore's Straits Times reported on Friday, July 1.

Citing government and banking sources, the newspaper said the deal was still a work in progress.

It said if the deal was successful, the joint entity would have a market value of around 86 billion ringgit ($28.5 billion), slightly bigger than the about $27 billion of Singapore's DBS Group , Southeast Asia's largest lender.

CIMB and RHB were not immediately available for comment.

According to Thomson Reuters data, Malaysian state fund Khazanah holds 28.6 percent of CIMB while the state provident fund EPF holds 11.6 percent.

The merger plan could revive hope for the consolidation of the banking sector in Malaysia where a previous round of mergers in 1998 reduced the number of lenders to 10 from 54.

CIMB, which is more than three times bigger than RHB in terms of market capitalisation, and the country's biggest lender Maybank , decided last week to scrap their separate plans to acquire RHB in a deal valued around $7 billion.

Maybank and CIMB pulled out after Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank set a high valuation bar when it sold its 25 percent stake in RHB to Aabar Investment at 10.80 ringgit a share.

The price paid by Aabar values RHB at around 23.7 billion ringgit ($7.8 billion), nearly 18 percent above the market value of $6.6 billion at the time when CIMB and Maybank pulled out. Other shareholders would have expected at least that much under a deal. - Reuters

Nikkei rises on receding worries about Greece, U.S. econ

TOKYO: The Nikkei benchmark rose on Friday, helped by gains in U.S. stocks on positive economic data and on relief that Greece will avert an imminent default.

The benchmark Nikkei gained 0.9 percent to 9,899.20. The broader Topix rose 0.9 percent to 856.46. ' Reuters

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CIMB Research maintains Outperform on SapuraCrest

KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB Equities Research remains upbeat on SAPURACREST PETROLEUM BHD [] after it posted its highest-ever 1Q net profit of RM72 million in 1QFY1/12.

It said on Friday, July 1, the earnings which were at 24% of its full-year forecast and 25% of consensus estimates, iwas broadly in line with expectations.

The installation of pipelines and facilities (IPF) and drilling divisions were the star performers. A slight surprise was the return to losses for the marine services division.

'We maintain our forecasts and target price of RM5.12 as we continue to value SapuraCrest at a 40% premium over our 14.5x target market P/E given its marginal field venture and superior growth.

'It remains an OUTPERFORM and our top oil & gas pick in view of the potential catalysts of 1) more marginal field work, and 2) fleet expansion,' it said.

CIMB Research keeps technical Buy on Wah Seong

KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB Equities Research retains its Buy call on Wah Seong Corporation at RM2.45, at which it is trading at a FY12P/E of 12.9 times and price-to-book value of 1.9 times.

It said on Friday, July 1 that the share price, after pushing past the triangle resistance, rallied to a high of RM2.45 before selling pressure set in. Current, prices are consolidating in a sideways channel.

'As long as prices hold on steady above the RM2.33 level, we think the bulls have the upper hand here. Therefore, our strategy here is to buy on weakness. Alternatively, one can buy after prices swing past the RM2.45 high,' it said.

CIMB Research said for risk takers, they may take some positions here ahead of the breakout. The following resistance levels are RM2.59 and RM2.71.

It added the MACD is still in consolidation mode but RSI has hooked upward. The 30-day SMA may also offer some support to prices.

CIMB Research keeps technical Buy on Tambun Indah at 76c

KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB Equities Research has a technical Buy call on Tambun Indah Land at 76 sen at which it is trading at a price-to-book value of 1.2 times.

It said on Friday, July 1 the stock is still gyrating in a triangle pattern and it is ripe for a stronger rebound.

'Looking at the chart, it seems that prices could soon charge towards its previous high of 78 sen. The following resistance levels are 82.5 sen and 86.5 sen,' it said.

CIMB Research said the technical landscape remains compelling. MACD histogram bars are hovering in the positive territory while RSI has also hooked upward.

'Aggressive traders may start to nibble now while others should wait for a push above 78 sen before taking any position. Be quick to cut loss if the 72.5 sen level is breached. A fall below the triangle support (now at 71 sen) would cancel out the bullish trend,' it said.

ASIA-Shares to advance on U.S. data, Greece

WELLINGTON: Asian stocks are set for a solid start to the new quarter on Friday as positive economic data and a temporary solution to Greece's debt crisis left investors buoyant.

The main Wall Street indices closed as much as 1.3 percent higher, capping the best four day run since September.

Midwest U.S. business activity showed surprising strength during June, lifted by new orders, helping calm concerns about the economy that have weighed on markets for two months.

All 10 S&P business sectors rose, led by industrials, up 1.7 percent, and information TECHNOLOGY [], up 1.4 percent.

Gains were also boosted as fund managers looked to add winning stocks to their portfolios ahead of the quarter and month end.

Asian stocks listed on Wall Street rose 1.34 percent while world stocks, as measured by the MSCI world equity index, were up 1.3 percent to their highest level in a month, and the Thomson Reuters global stock index was 1 percent higher.

British shares rose 1.5 percent while European ''shares added 1.1 percent as Greek lawmakers approved additional austerity and privatisation measures to ensure it would get its next round of bailout funds.

The euro climbed further against the U.S. dollar, helped by expectations of a rate rise by the European Central Bank when it meets next week.

Japanese markets are set to rally, with Nikkei futures traded in Chicago 80 points above the last closing level in Osaka.

Australian stocks will benefit from higher metal prices as well as the overall mood, with share price index futures up 0.4 percent to a 12 point premium to the close of the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index. ' Reuters

US STOCKS-Wall Street rallies 4th day, gains in July seen

NEW YORK: U.S. stocks ended a volatile quarter on Thursday with their biggest four-day rally since September as positive economic data and a temporary resolution of Greece's debt crisis indicated further gains in July.

Midwest business activity showed surprising strength this month, lifted by a jump in new orders, the Institute for Supply Management-Chicago said. That helped calm concerns about the economy that have weighed on markets for two months.

Overseas, Greece's parliament approved measures to implement budget cuts and assets sales, making Greece eligible for financial aid to avoid a debt default.

Major indexes rose, including the benchmark S&P 500, which climbed above its 50-day moving average at 1,317, suggesting an accelerated move higher was possible. The index is up 4.1 percent so far this week, its best four-day rally since September 2010.

"The resolution in Greece allows us to throw away one more question mark, and as we do that we become more confident," said Peter Andersen, portfolio manager at Congress Asset Management in Boston.

"Managers are also using the occasion to trim their cash positions at the midway point through the year, meaning we'll start July 1 with optimism."

For the second quarter, the Dow rose 0.8 percent while the S&P 500 cut sharp losses to end down 0.4 percent and the Nasdaq slipped 0.3 percent. In June, the S&P fell 1.8 percent, the Dow lost 1.3 percent and the Nasdaq shed 2.2 percent.

Concerns that a Greek default could spark another global credit freeze had been a major headwind for stocks since May, sending the S&P down more than 5 percent at one point, though most of those losses were recouped this week.

All 10 S&P business sectors rose on Thursday, led by industrials, up 1.7 percent, and information TECHNOLOGY [], up 1.4 percent. Heavy-equipment maker Joy Global Inc rose 5.7 percent to $95.24 for the biggest percentage gain on the S&P while software company NetApp added 5.6 percent to $52.78.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 152.92 points, or 1.25 percent, at 12,414.34. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 13.23 points, or 1.01 percent, at 1,320.64. The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 33.03 points, or 1.21 percent, at 2,773.52.

Part of the rally came from end-of-quarter window dressing by fund managers, who typically sell losers and buy winners to make their portfolios look better.

So far this year, the Dow is up 7.3 percent, the S&P has gained 5 percent and Nasdaq rose 4.5 percent.

The Federal Reserve ended its $600 billion bond-buying program, known as QE2, on Thursday and has not offered any hints of more monetary easing. Markets were volatile in May and June, partly on concerns about QE2's end.

"Traders are a little afraid about QE2 ending with no real idea about what's coming next," said Doreen Mogavero, president of Mogavero Lee & Company in New York. "People will feel much better about the market, and volume will pick up when we see what comes next."

Volume was light, with about 6.88 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, below the year's daily average of 7.56 billion.

Shares of Ford Motor Co gained 2.8 percent to $13.79 after an analyst projected the U.S. automaker increased market share in June.

EBay Inc rose 4.6 percent to $32.27 after both Citigroup and Bank of America-Merrill Lynch upgraded the stock, citing a Federal Reserve ruling that third-party networks like eBay's PayPal will not be regulated like payment networks.

About 11 stocks rose for every four that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, while on the Nasdaq, more than two stocks rose for every one that fell. ' Reuters

Petronas Chemicals to go ahead with US$1.5b Sabah urea project

KUALA LUMPUR: Petronas Chemicals Bhd will go ahead with its US$1.5 billion Sabah ammonia urea project which will have urea capacity of 1.2 million tonnes per annum.

It said on Thursday, June 30 the plant would be built on 166 acres in the Sipitang industrial park in Sabah. The RM1.5 billion development cost would be financed from internal cash reserves and external borrowings.

Petronas Chemicals said a special purpose vehicle would undertake the project and work is expected to start in the second quarter of 2012 and commissioning in 2015.

It said the new plant supported its strategy to expand its production capacity and would provide it opportunities to further capitalise on its strengths and marketing position in Asia Pacific.

Magna Prima plans A$210m Melbourne project

KUALA LUMPUR: MAGNA PRIMA BHD [] is acquiring a piece of property in Melbourne's central business district for A$26 million and plans a project with an indicative gross development value of A$210 million.

Magna Prima said on Thursday, June 30 it would build a 25-storey residential development with 320 apartments on the 2,700 sq metres site. It added 62% of the apartments has already been sold.

'The indicative gross development value is A$210 million and the indicative gross development cost is A$148 million. CONSTRUCTION [] is expected to commence during the 4th quarter of 2011, and expected to be completed in 2013,' it said.

Magna Prima said the development was in line with the company's plan of putting a strong footing for growth and the maiden project in Australia will be its first step in placing Magna on the global map.

Scicom gets nod to set up private institute of higher learning

KUALA LUMPUR: SCICOM (MSC) BHD [] has been given the nod by the government to set up a private institution of higher learning.

It said on Thursday, June 30 that its subsidiary, Scicom International College Sdn Bhd had been given the approval by the Ministry of Education via a letter dated June 23.

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Bumi Armada tendering for 6 jobs worth US$300m to US$500m each

KUALA LUMPUR: Main Board bound Bumi Armada Bhd is tendering for six floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) jobs worth between US$300 million and US$500 million each.

Its chief executive officer Hassan Basma said on Thursday, June 30 the company had an orderbook of RM5.8 billion as at June 1, with optional extension periods valued at RM2.5 billion.

He said this excluded revenues from its LOA with Apache for the Armada Prima FPSO and its second letter of award with ONGC for the D-1 Field FPSO.

Hassan was speaking to reporters at the launch of the prospectus. The company plans to raise between RM1.9 billion and RM2 billion from its initial public offering exercise.

Hassan said of the IPO proceeds, about RM592 million would be for capital expenditure.

"We intend to add one FPSO per year to our portfolio," he said, adding the company aims to become the fourth largest in the world by 2013 from eight placing currently.

Bumi Armada's IPO involves up to 878.54mil with up to 234.28mil offered to institutional investors by way of book building.

The comeback of the company, which is controlled by tycoon T. Ananda Krishnan, is also expected to be the year's biggest IPO on Bursa Malaysia. It was delisted in 2003.

After listing, Hassan said Ananda's vehicle Usaha Tegas via Objektif Bersatu Sdn Bhd will own some 43% in the company from 54% now as a result of dilution of shares.

Bumi Armada is offering for sale of 644.26 million new shares under its listing exercise and which could see it raising RM2.029 billion.

The entire listing exercise would involve an offer for sale of 878.538 million shares of 20 sen each.

This would involve an offer for sale of up to 234.27 million existing shares of which there is an institutional offering of up to 234.277 million shares to approved Bumiputera investors at the institutional price to be determined by way of bookbuilding.

There will be a public issue of 644.261 million new shares, of which 564.40 million shares would be allocated to Malaysian and foreign institutional and selected investors, including approved Bumiputera investors at the institutional price.

The remaining 79.861 million shares (out of the 644.261 million new shares) will be offered to the public, the directors of Bumi Armada, and eligible employees at the retail price of RM3.15 per share.

It would be payable in full upon application and subject to a refund of the difference in the event that the final retail price is less than the retail price.

Of the RM2.029 billion which it would raise, about RM775 million would be used to repay bank borrowings within six months while RM592 million would be for capital expenditure.

It added that RM562 million would be for working capital and the remaining RM100 million for estimated listing expenses.

Hibiscus Petroleum to raise RM150m to RM300m

KUALA LUMPUR: Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd plans to raise between RM150 million and RM300 million from its proposed listing on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd.

The special purpose acquisition company, which launched its prospectus on Thursday, June 30, said that so far it had raised more than RM150 million from selected investors under the private placement exercise.

The initial public offering involves the public issue of new shares which are placed out to selected investors and for applications by the Malaysian public.

This is on the basis of one free detachable warrant (Warrant-A) for every one share subscribed at an issue price of 75 sen per share.

Each Warrant-A can be exercised into one new share at 50 sen per Warrant-A, which is at a discount to the IPO issue price of 75 sen per share.

The listing exercise comprises of an issue of between 190 million and up to 390 million new shares together with between 190 million and up to 390 million Warrants-A by way of private placement to selected investors.

There will also be an issue of 10.0 million new ordinary shares together with 10 million Warrants-A, to be allocated via balloting, to the public.

Hibiscus Petroleum managing director Dr Kenneth Pereira said the private placement had attracted numerous investors, a number of whom are involved in the oil and gas industry.

Hibiscus Petroleum intends to use funds raised from the IPO exercise to acquire businesses or assets that will establish it as an independent oil and gas E&P player in the near to medium term.

It will initially target low to moderate risk E&P opportunities that have high upside potential in the South Asia, Middle-east, East Asia and Oceania regions.

Investors cautious as 2H starts, but lift stocks -poll

LONDON: Investors have become a little more upbeat heading into the second half of the year, lifting stock allocations from 2011 lows but remaining cautious with plenty of safe-haven cash and bonds, Reuters reported on Thursday, June 30.

They also lifted their exposure to euro zone stocks and bonds in the month, despite the ongoing debt crisis.

Reuters asset allocation polls released on Thursday showed leading investors across the world recovering from May's retrenchment, brought on by fears over a stagant U.S. economy, potential over-heating in China, and the euro zone debt crisis.

On average, 58 fund firms in the United States, Europe excluding the UK, Japan and Britain held 51.5 percent of a balanced portfolio in equities, up from 50.7 percent in May.

Bond holdings were at 35.1 percent, down slightly from 35.5 percent a month earlier. Cash was at 4.9 percent, down from 5.2 percent.

The overall picture suggested that investors have overcome some of their worst fears but are far from bullish.

June's equities allocation, for example, is far closer to what it was last year before the Federal Reserve launched its second asset-buying quantitative easing programme (QE2) than it was in the immediate months that followed.

QE2, which ends on Thursday, provided a major sentiment boost for investors.

"The investment environment continues to be highly uncertain," said Yoshinori Nagano, senior strategist at Daiwa Asset Management in Tokyo.

Investors are being battered by the Greek sovereign debt crisis, in which a defaut could spread into a wide range of other assets through banking losses and contagion into other euro zone countries.

Despite this, the euro zone saw more interest from investors in June, with holdings of both euro zone stocks and bonds rising.

This appeared to be based on a belief that policymakers would do what was necessary to keep the crisis contained.

"Ultimately, (Greece) cannot be allowed to fail because this could cause a contagion effect across peripheral Europe," said Neil Michael, executive director of investment strategies at London & Capital.

''

REGIONALLY

U.S. fund managers added to equities for the first time in two months and decreased bond exposure.

Fifteen U.S.-based fund management firms held an average of 63.9 percent of assets in equities, up from 61.6 percent a month earlier and 63.3 percent in April.

Bond holdings decreased to 28.5 percent in June from 30 percent in May and 29 percent in April. Cash exposure remained at 3 percent in June.

European investors raised equities and cut cash for the first time this year while they held their bond holdings largely steady.

The survey of 17 Europe-based asset management firms outside Britain showed a typical balanced portfolio holding 47.6 percent of equities in June compared with 45.5 percent in the previous month.

It held 39.0 percent in bonds compared with 39.5 percent in May. Cash holdings fell for the first time since December to 7.1 percent from 8.8 percent .

Japanese fund managers' global bond weighting was near a record high while their stock weighting sunk towards a 12-year low.

The poll of 13 institutions found the average weighting for global bonds was 49.5 percent, close to the 49.6 percent logged in March and May, which was the highest since the survey began in February 1995.

Their average weighting for global equities edged down to 42.6 percent in June after a three-month high of 43.0 percent in May. Cash positions rose to 4.8 percent this month from the three-month low of 4.5 percent in May.

British fund managers trimmed equity holdings and lifted bonds.

The 13 UK-based management companies polled held 52 percent of their portfolios in stocks, down from 52.0 in May. Bond holdings rose to 23.3 percent from 22.9 percent.

Cash weightings rose slightly to 4.5 percent from 4.4 percent.

RAM Ratings withdraws rating on SPLASH's RM1.4b debt notes

KUALA LUMPUR: RAM Rating Services Bhd has withdrawn the rating of Syarikat Pengeluar Air Sungai Selangor Sdn Bhd's (SPLASH) RM1.407 billion debt notes.

The ratings agency said on Thursday, June 30 it would no longer maintain a rating surveillance on the Al-Bai Bithaman Ajil debt securities issuance facility (BaIDS).

'This follows the company's request for the withdrawal of its debt rating,' said RAM Ratings, which said that prior to the rating withdrawal, the BaIDS had carried a BBB3 rating, which had been on negative Rating Watch.

It said the negative Rating Watch reflected SPLASH's strained liquidity profile arising from poor collections from its sole counterparty, Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd, amid the protracted restructuring of Selangor's water industry.

'RAM Ratings highlights that if the debt facility had remained under surveillance, the rating would have been subjected to further downward pressure,' it said.

The rating agency also said the management of both Destinasi Teguh Sdn Bhd and Sungai Harmoni Sdn Bhd had requested that the ratings of their proposed bond issues be kept private.

Due to the request, RAM Ratings will no longer provide rating updates on the proposed bond issues of Destinasi Teguh and Sungai Harmoni.

Catcha Media to raise RM17.25m from IPO

KUALA LUMPUR: Catcha Media Bhd plans to raise RM17.25 million under its listing exercise, where it will issue 23 million new shares at an issue price of 75 sen each.

Catcha Media, which is a media owner and operator of a magazine publishing business and an online media business, is seeking a listing on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd.

Of the 23 million new shares, it is offering three million shares to the public while the bulk or 20 million shares will be placed out.

As part of the listing exercise, the shareholders are offering for sale 11 million shares to identified investors.

Catcha Media would use RM13.15 million of the RM17.25 million in proceeds from the listing exercise for working capital while RM2 million would be for research and development and the remaining RM2.1 million for listing expenses.

According to the prospectus, it publishes 14 magazine titles while the online media business sells internet advertising space to Malaysian brand owners and advertising agencies.

For its financial year ended Dec 31, 2010, Catcha Media's revenue was RM35.42 million and net profit RM8.10 million. The online media business accounted for 81.75% of Catcha Media's earnings.

'Moving forward, Catcha Media seeks to expand by way of acquiring more representation and sales rights for local and international online PROPERTIES [], while leveraging its magazine publishing business to grow its online media business,' it said.

To recap, in early 2009, Catcha Media's online media business entered a strategic alliance with Microsoft.

Under the collaboration, Catcha Media exclusively sells, promotes and monetises Microsoft's entire suite of online products in Malaysia.

Catcha Media also has exclusive sales rights for leading Malaysian website, Lowyat.net. In total, media properties controlled by Catcha Media reaches 9.78 million Malaysians.

Frost & Sullivan reported online advertising expenditure in Malaysia is expected to grow

at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 56.63% per year for the next five years. Frost & Sullivan also estimates that Catcha Media captured a 26.62% share of Malaysia's online advertising market in 2010.

FBM KLCI ends 1H2011 at fresh historic high

KUALA LUMPUR: ''The FBM KLCI ended the first half of 2011 at a fresh historic high as key blue chips lifted the index in late trading on Thursday, June 30, in line with the gains at key regional markets.

The 30-stock index rose 0.26% or 4.06 points to 1,579.07, taking its year-to-date gains to 3.96% and making it the third best performer among regional markets behind Indonesia and New Zealand.

Gainers led losers by 399 to 325, while 329 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 947.61 million shares.

Asian markets mostly rose as Greece's parliament was set to approve a final austerity bill needed to secure 12 billion euros (US$17 billion) of international aid later in the day after Wednesday's success in passing the first hurdle, according Reuters.

Athens's latest efforts helped remove some near-term uncertainty in the market, offering some respite to a quarter when global equities and commodities suffered losses, it said.

At the regional markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 1.53% to 22,398.10, Singapore's Straits Times Index added 1.32% to 3,120.44, the Shanghai Composite Index was up 1.23% to 2,762.08, Taiwan's Taiex added 0.92% to 8,652.59, South Korea's Kopsi gained 0.30% to 2,100.69 while Japan's Nikkei 225 edged up 0.19% to 9,816.09.

BIMB Securities Research in its 2H2011 outlook report said that with the US and Euro-zone both having their fair share of problems, Asia was becoming the most plausible destination for many global investors.

Be it a flight to safety or flight to quality, global managers would certainly contemplate Asia as a viable avenue to park their funds, it said.

However, BIMB Research said its over-ridding concern was that valuations may not be as compelling anymore, adding that while upside should remain intact this could be curtailed by earnings growth concern.

'Since earnings visibility is of utmost importance, we remain hopeful on sectors like banking, CONSTRUCTION [] and oil & gas benefitting from ongoing capital expenditure.

'As for stock selection, we envisaged big caps to lead the way. We have a new FBMKLCI target at 1,680 by end-2011 premised on market PE of 17 times,' it said.

On Bursa Malaysia, PETRONAS DAGANGAN BHD [] added 12 sen to RM16.10, PETRONAS GAS BHD [] up four sen to RM13.22 and Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd up three sen to RM7.09.

Among banks, HONG LEONG BANK BHD [] added 28 sen to RM13.38, HONG LEONG FINANCIAL GROUP BHD [] eight sen to RM13.18, PUBLIC BANK BHD [] six sen to RM13.30 and RHB CAPITAL BHD [] five sen to RM9.16.

Other gainers included BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO (M) [] Bhd, United PLANTATION []s Bhd, MALAYAN FLOUR MILLS BHD [], DIGI.COM BHD [], BOUSTEAD HOLDINGS BHD [] and BERJAYA SPORTS TOTO BHD [].

COMPUGATES HOLDINGS BHD [] was the most actively traded counter 54.62 million shares done. The stock was unchanged at 6.5 sen. Other actives included CIMB Group Holdings Bhd, Axiata Group Bhd, Petronas Chemicals and KURNIA ASIA BHD [].

Decliners included MALPAC HOLDINGS BHD [], NWP HOLDINGS BHD [], TRADEWINDS (M) BHD [], CONCRETE ENGINEERING PRODUCTS [] Bhd, IRE-TEX CORPORATION BHD [] and NESTLE (M) BHD [].

Sapura Resources to lodge objection over land acquisition

KUALA LUMPUR: SAPURA RESOURCES BHD [] will be lodging an objection over the compulsory acquisition of its land in Subang Jaya to house the Universiti Kuala Lumpur Malaysian Institute of Aviation TECHNOLOGY [] (UNIKL MIAT) campus.

It said on Thursday, June 30 that it had been served with the form 'Borang H'' (Pemberitahu Pemberian dan Tawaran Pampasan)' where an''offer of compensation''for a sum''of''RM62.96 million had been''made by the office of the Director General of the Federal Land and Mines Department, Selangor.

It said the land measuring 86,570.55 sq meters was held under PT 40446 H.S.(D) 259959'' Pekan Sungai Buluh, district of Petaling.

'The company will be lodging its objection''and is also taking legal advice on''its other options.

'Further announcement will be made in due course,' said Sapura Resources.

''

Bursa Securities raps Satang, fines 6 directors RM180,000

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd has publicly reprimanded SATANG HOLDINGS BHD [] for breaching the Main Market Listing Requirements and it also rapped and fined its directors RM180,000.

The regulator said on Thursday, June 30 Satang had breached the rules when it had, during a board of directors meeting on Nov 1, 2010, dissolved its audit committee entirely with immediate effect.

Bursa Securities said Satang then clarified the dissolution was because of the resignation of its audit committee member with the Malaysian Institute of Accountants qualification. However, it said the dissolution was undertaken despite Satang having up to three months from the resignation to fill the vacancy.

It said the directors had approved the dissolution and had breached the listing requirements for 'permitting knowingly or where they had reasonable means of obtaining such knowledge, Satang to commit the above breach'.

The six directors, who were fined RM30,000 each, were its chairman and executive director Major (R) Jamaludin Hasan (appointed July 3, 2009); the then managing director Malim Mohamed (who resigned on Jan 1, 2011) and the then executive director Tajudin Talib (who resigned on Jan 5, 2011).

The others were its director Lotfi Miskam (appointed Aug 17, 2010), director Azhar Azizan @ Harun (appointed Aug 28, 2010) and independent director Dr Mohamad Salmi Mohd Sohod (appointed Sept 20, 2010).

Bursa Securities stated that it was that 'the requirement for a listed company to maintain an audit committee at all times is one of the fundamental obligations of companies listed on the Official List of Bursa Securities'.

It pointed out that an audit committee plays a crucial role in the corporate governance of a listed company and protecting the interest of shareholders via the assessment of the risks and control environment of a listed company, overseeing the financial reporting, evaluating the internal and external audit process and reviewing conflict of interest situations and related party transactions.

'As such, whilst Satang had reconstituted its audit committee on Nov 3, 2010 (that is two market days later) in accordance with the directive of Bursa Securities, Bursa Securities views the breach seriously in view of its significance towards market integrity,' it said.

Public Mutual declares distribution for 13 funds

KUALA LUMPUR: Public Mutual Bhd has declared distributions for 13 of its funds whose financial years ended June 30, 2011.

''

Public Far-East Consumer Themes Fund 4.00 sen per unit PB Growth Fund 8.50 sen per unit PB China ASEAN Equity Fund 6.00 sen per unit PB Asia Equity Fund 3.50 sen per unit PB Singapore Advantage-30 Equity Fund 0.65 sen per unit PB Islamic Asia Equity Fund 0.75 sen per unit PB Balanced Fund 7.50 sen per unit PB Islamic Bond Fund 5.75 sen per unit PB Fixed Income Fund 5.25 sen per unit PB Infrastructure Bond Fund 3.25 sen per unit Public Islamic Money Market Fund 2.50 sen per unit PB Cash Management Fund 2.50 sen per unit PB Islamic Cash Management Fund 2.25 sen per unit ''

Public Mutual chief executive officer'' Yeoh Kim Hong said on Thursday, June 30 the funds had performed well and'' delivered respectable returns in its categories for the period ended June 10.

For instance, the Public Far-East Consumer Themes Fund generated a one-year return of 16.03% for the period ended'' June 10.

The PB Growth Fund, PB China Asean Equity Fund, PB Asia Equity Fund and PB Singapore Advantage-30 Equity Fund generated one-year returns of 23.14%, 12.99%, 12.91% and 10.17% respectively for the period ended June 10.

Over the same period, PB Islamic Asia Equity Fund generated a one-year return of 12.98%.'' The PB Balanced Fund generated a one-year return of 16.76% for the same period.

Public Mutual said the PB Islamic Bond Fund, PB Fixed Income Fund and PB Infrastructure Bond Fund'' generated one-year returns of 11.80%, 6.95% and 5.93% respectively.

Its money market funds, Public Islamic Money Market Fund, PB Cash Management Fund and PB Islamic Cash Management Fund generated one-year returns of 2.57%, 2.51% and 2.43% respectively for the same period.

Public Mutual said the money market funds were for investors with low tolerance to risk and wanted to park their money on a short-term basis while awaiting to invest in or switch back to equity, balanced or bond funds.

#Update* Bumi Armada order book at RM5.8b

KUALA LUMPUR: Bumi Armada Bhd, which is raising RM2.029 billion from its listing exercise, has an order book of RM5.8 billion as at June 1.

Its chief executive officer Hassan Assad Basmas said on Thursday, June 30 that the company had optional extension periods for the contracts valued at RM2.5 billion.

He was speaking to reporters at the launch of the prospectus.

According to the prospectus, for the year ended Dec 31, 2010 it recorded net profit of RM351 million and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of RM714 million.

For the three months ended March 31, 2011, net profit was RM82 million and EBITDA at RM185 million.

Its revenue for FY10 was RM1.241 billion while revenue for the 1Q ended March 31, 2011 was RM376 million.

It added that about 84.8% of its revenue for FY10 and 67.7% for 1Q ended March 31, 2011 was 67.7% were derived from outside Malaysia.

The company said its borrowing as at March 31, 2011 totalled RM3.479 billion and its gearing ratio was about 2.75 times, which was higher than the average gearing ratio of the industry players of 1.03 times.

It expected its gearing ratio to be reduced to 0.85 times post-IPO.

#Update* Bumi Armada to raise RM2.029b, retail offer RM3.15 a share

KUALA LUMPUR: Bumi Armada Bhd is offering for sale of 644.26 million new shares under its listing exercise and which could see it raising RM2.029 billion.

According to its prospectus issued on Thursday, June 30, of the RM2.029 billion which it would raise, about RM775 million would be used to repay bank borrowings within six months while RM592 million would be for capital expenditure.

It added that RM562 million would be for working capital and the remaining RM100 million for estimated listing expenses.

The entire listing exercise would involve an offer for sale of 878.538 million shares of 20 sen each.

This would involve an offer for sale of up to 234.27 million existing shares of which there is an institutional offering of up to 234.277 million shares to approved Bumiputera investors at the institutional price to be determined by way of bookbuilding.

There will be a public issue of 644.261 million new shares, of which 564.40 million shares would be allocated to Malaysian and foreign institutional and selected investors, including approved Bumiputera investors at the institutional price.

The remaining 79.861 million shares (out of the 644.261 million new shares) will be offered to the public, the directors of Bumi Armada, and eligible employees at the retail price of RM3.15 per share.

It would be payable in full upon application and subject to a refund of the difference in the event that the final retail price is less than the retail price.

''

Yinson fixes private placement at RM1.65

KUALA LUMPUR: YINSON HOLDINGS BHD [] has fixed the price of the proposed placement shares at RM1.65.

The company said on Thursday, June 30 the placement price was a discount of about 9.34% over the five-day volume weighted average market price of the shares up to June 29 of RM1.82.

Under the corporate exercise, the number of shares to be placed out is 10% of the paid-up share capital or 6.885 million new shares.

At midday, Yinson share price was up one sen to RM1.89.

Ecofuture appoints M & A Securities as sponsor

KUALA LUMPUR: ECOFUTURE BHD. []has appointed M & A Securities Sdn Bhd as the sponsor to the company after ECM Libra Bhd tendered its resignation on March 10.

'M & A Securities and the company are in the midst of formulating a regularisation plan for the company. An announcement on the details of the regularisation plan will be made in due course,' said the ACE Market listed company.

Trading in the shares was suspended after the company had earlier failed to find a replacement sponsor within three months, which was on or before June 10.

However, the delisting was deferred as it had submitted an appeal on June 21, which was within the timeframe. It was scheduled to be deferred on June 27 pending the decision of Bursa Malaysia''Securities Bhd.

''

Vastalux in search of white knight

KUALA LUMPUR: Loss-making VASTALUX ENERGY BHD [] is in search of a 'white knight' to inject funds into the Practice Note 17 company.

Its chairman Rosthman Ibrahim said on Thursday, June 30 the company had been talking to several parties and it would make an announcement in a month.

In the first quarter ended March 31, 2011, it posted net loss of RM148,000 while revenue was only RM74,000.

Vasatalux had said it prospects for the current financial year hinges on the regularisation plan pursuant to its status as an affected listed user under the PN 17 of the Listing Requirement.

Mah Sing achieves RM1.15b sales to date

KUALA LUMPUR: MAH SING GROUP BHD [] has recorded RM1.15 billion in property sales to date.

The company said on Thursday, June 30 that the RM1.15 billion sales'' totalled 60% of the RM2 billion target which it had set for 2011.

Asian markets rise on Greece austerity measures

KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI pared down its losses at the mid-day break on Thursday, June 30 as most key regional markets jumped after Greece moved a step closer to avoiding a default by adopting harsh austerity measures.

Asian stocks also gained as market players covered short positions that had been built up heading into the Greek parliamentary votes, with those in Hong Kong jumping to highs last seen during the financial crisis in 2008, according to Reuters.

The FBM KLCI narrowed its losses to just 0.69 point to 1,574.32 at 12.30pm. The index had earlier fallen to its intra-morning low of 1,570.69.

Losers led gainers by 326 to 280, while 284 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 472.45 million shares valued at RM635.97 million.

The ringgit strengthened 0.48% to 3.0208 versus the US dollar. Crude palm oil futures for the third month delivery gained RM11 per tonne to RM3,120, oil added 19 cents per barrel to US$94.96 and gold rose 45 cents an ounce to US$1,512.75.

At the regional markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped 1.7% to 22,436.78, the Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.28% to 2,763.53, Singapore's Straits Times Index added 1.05% to 3,111.98, Taiwan's Taiex was up 0.42% to 8,609.37, South Korea's Kospi advanced 0.37% to 2,102.25 and Japan's Nikkei 225 edged up 0.35% to 9,831.25.

On Bursa Malaysia, among the decliners were Shell, HLFG, RHB Capital and Genting that fell 10 sen each to RM10.40, RM13, RM9.01 and RM11.08 respectively, NWP that fell 24 sen to 14 sen, Cepco 20 sen to RM1.96, Super 13 sen to 84 sen, MESB 11 sen to 37 sen, Warisan down nine sen to RM2.50, while Tradewinds lost eight sen to RM10.50.

Compugates was the most actively traded counter with 53.91 million shares done. The stock was unchanged at 6.5 sen. Other actives included KBB, TMS, Sinotop, Silver Bird, LBS Bina, Kurnia Asia and PLUS.

Among the gainers, United PLANTATION []s added 34 sen to RM19.78, BAT 30 sen to RM46.50, Ta Ann 21 sen to RM5.65, Hong Leong Bank 20 sen to RM13.30, Aeon 13 sen to RM7.24, Lysaght and NSOP 10 sen each to RM1.85 and RM5.40 while United Malacca added nine sen to RM7.06.

SGX to introduce all-day trading from Aug 1

KUALA LUMPUR: Singapore Exchange's (SGX) securities market will trade continuously all day from August 1 this year, according to a statement on the exchange's website on June 30.

With the change, trading will be non-stop between 9am and 5pm Singapore time, and would enable investors trading pan-Asian securities to respond to regional market movements and news flow, SGX said.

SGX chief executive officer Magnus Bocker said continuous all-day trading would offer all investors more opportunities to trade and manage their risks.

'By embracing trading hours which are aligned with those of other key markets, Singapore will make further progress as an international financial hub,' he said.

In Asia, Korea Exchange, India's National Stock Exchange and Australian Securities Exchange already trade non-stop all day.

Other international exchanges such as New York Stock Exchange, NASDAQ and London Stock Exchange also operate continuous trading sessions.

More recently, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing has increased its trading hours while Tokyo Stock Exchange plans to do so in the near future.

Both have cited the need to strengthen competitiveness and enhance convenience for investors.

The SGX said that once trading was continuous all day, SGX Member firms will offer retail investors various ways to execute orders.

These include online trading services, the use of central dealing desks where orders can be channelled for order execution when Trading Representatives or brokers are away, the appointment of a back-up Trading Representative, and the use of mobile TECHNOLOGY [] by Trading Representatives to execute orders when they are off-premises, it said.

RAM Ratings upgrades Midas Plantation's Class B Sukuk Ijarah

KUALA LUMPUR: RAM Ratings has upgraded the rating of Midas PLANTATION [] Sdn Bhd's (Midas) Class B Sukuk Ijarah, from AA2 to AA1, with a stable outlook.

In a statement Thursday, June 30, RAM Ratings said the upgrade reflects the improved collateral value backing the Class B Sukuk Ijarah, following the full redemption of Midas' remaining RM10 million Class C Sukuk Ijarah and another RM10 million partial redemption of the Class B Sukuk Ijarah on 27 June 2011.

Consequently, the loan-to-value ratio for the Class B Sukuk Ijarah has eased from 47% to 39%, with a stronger corresponding debt service coverage ratio of 2.63 times (from the previous 2.30 times), it said.

On 22 June 2011, RAM Ratings reaffirmed the AAA rating of Midas' Class A Sukuk Ijarah and also the P1(s)/AAA(s) ratings of its Sukuk Ijarah Commercial Paper/Medium-Term Notes Programme.

Both the long-term ratings have a stable outlook.

''

Profit taking pushes FBM KLCI into the red

KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI slipped into the red at mid-morning on the final trading day of the second quarter of 2011 as mild profit taking chipped away its gains from a day earlier when it closed at a fresh historic high.

Regional markets advanced, albeit cautiously, as investors breathed a sigh of relief after Greece moved a step closer to avoiding a default by adopting harsh austerity measures, with many market players hunkering down after a rough first half of the year, according to Reuters.

The FBM KLCI shed 2.77 points to 1,572.24 at 10am, weighed by losses at select blue chips.

Gainers edged losers by 189 to 186, while 213 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 177.38 million shares valued at RM164.49 million.

At the regional markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.63% to 22,201.17, the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.43% to 2,740.22, Taiwan's Taiex gained 0.34% to 8,602.45, Singapore's Straits Times Index advanced 0.36% to 3,090.92 and South Korea's Kospi edged up 0.02% to 2,094.76.

Profit-taking, however, saw Japan's Nikkei 225 shed 0.01% to 9,796.14.

Maybank Investment Bank Bhd head of retail research Lee Cheng Hooi in a note to clients June 30 said that due to the firmer tone at the US markets yesterday, there could be some initial buying activities in the local bourse today.

He said the market could rise marginally, with some profit taking activities in the afternoon.

'There is a good possibility that it will test its all-time high and resistance of 1,576, though the rise could attract some firm stale bull selling.

'However, if the index surges and sustains above 1,576, then we upside to 1,579 and 1,601 in the medium-term,' he said.

On Bursa Malaysia, the decliners were led by Cepco and NWP that fell 25 sen each to RM1.19 and 13 sen, Genting down 14 sen to RM11.04, GAB and Dutch Lady eight sen each to RM10.10 and RM18.50, Lafarge Malayan Cement seven sen to RM7.38, HLFG and Sime Darby six sen each to RM13.04 and RM9.21, while Perduren fell 4.5 sen to 71 sen.

Among the gainers, BAT and United PLANTATION []s added 46 sen each to RM46.66 and RM19.90, Ta Ann rose 21 sen to RM5.65, IJM Plantations 12 sen to RM2.87, Jaya Tiasa and Parkson 10 sen each to RM7 and RM6.10, while CHHB and United Malacca added eight sen each to RM1.18 and RM7.05.

Compugates was the most actively traded counter with 19.66 million shares done. The stock was unchanged at 6.5 sen.

Other actives included KBB, Sinotop, Zelan, Ranhill, Bertam, Olympia and KNM.

''