Lion Corp gets Bursa nod to list 950m new shares

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 5): LION CORPORATION BHD [] has received Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd's approval to list up to 950 million new shares to settle the overdue amount owed by its 79% subsidiary Megasteel Sdn Bhd.

The company said on Thursday Bursa Securities had also approved the proposed share consolidation.

However, the approvals were subject to conditions, wherein Lion Corp must fully comply with the relevant provisions under the Main Market Listing Requirements of Bursa Securities.

To recap, the 950 million new shares was to settle the RM950 million due by Megasteel to the unsecured trade creditors with an overdue amount of RM500,000 and above as at April 30, 2011.

This settlement would involve the issuance of one new share at par value of RM1 Lion Corp share and deferred cash payment of 20 sen for every RM1 of the overdue amount.

Lion Corp had said the proposed capital reCONSTRUCTION [] involved the proposed reduction of the par value of the existing LionCorp shares of RM1 each to 20 sen each by cancelling 80 sen.

This would be followed by the proposed consolidation of every five Lion Corp shares of 20 sen each into one share of RM1 each after the capital reduction was completed.

Can-One says unaware of unusual market activity

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 5): CAN-ONE BHD [], whose share price surged on Thursday, told Bursa Malaysia Securities it was unaware of the reasons for the unusual market activity (UMA).

Can-One surged 31 sen to close at RM1.37 with 6.95 million shares done.

In its reply to Bursa Securities' query, it said there was no corporate development relating to the group's business and affairs that had not been previously''announced that may account for the UMA.

'We are not aware of any rumour or report concerning the business and affairs of Can-One group that may account for the UMA,' it said.

DBS says probing unauthorised withdrawals in Malaysia

SINGAPORE (Jan 5): DBS Group Holdings said on Thursday it is investigating complaints from customers of unauthorised withdrawal of funds in Malaysia, through the use of the bank's debit and automated teller machine (ATM) cards.

The bank said it immediately de-activated the compromised cards and is taking steps to compensate these customers in full.

It did not disclose the number of customers affected or the amount of funds withdrawn.

'We are treating the matter with utmost priority and would like to assure customers that they will be fully compensated, for any unauthorised withdrawals, within 24 hours,' Jeremy Soo, head of consumer banking group Singapore, DBS Bank, said in a statement.

'Investigations are currently underway and we are presently validating all ATM/Debit card transactions made in Malaysia over the past few days,' he said. - Reuters

Khaznah, Temasek in talks with bank to finance Singapore projects

PUTRAJAYA (Jan 5): Khazanah Nasional Bhd (Khazanah) and Temasek Holdings (Pte) Ltd (Temasek) are currently in the midst of discussions with
banks to provide financing for M+S Pte Ltd development projects in Singapore.

M+S, a company owned 60:40 by Khazanah and Temasek respectively, is set to develop land parcels in Marina South and Ophir-Rochor with an estimated gross development value of RM27 billion (S$11 billion).

The developments in these areas are expected to be completed over the next six years, with CONSTRUCTION [] expected to commence in 2013, according to a joint statement released by Khazanah and Temasek after the bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and his Singapore counterpart Lee Hsien Loong here on Thursday.

It added that M+S has appointed architects and consultants for the Marina South and Ophir-Rochor developments and submitted the designs for provisional planning approvals in the last quarter of last year.

Meanwhile, Pulau Indah Ventures Sdn Bhd (Pulau Indah), a 50:50 joint venture between Khazanah and Temasek, will develop the 'Urban Wellness' project on a 2.02 ha site in Medini North.

It will also develop the 85.5 ha 'Resort Wellness' project in Medini Central.

The gross development value of the projects, which include the development of a wellness centre, serviced residences, a corporate training centre,
commercial, retail and residential and wellness-related offerings, is estimated at approximately RM3.0 billion.

For the Urban Wellness project, Pulau Indah has appointed CapitalLand as project manager via the exchange of the Project Management Agreement.

The project is expected to commence in 2013 and completed over the next four years.

For the Resort Wellness project, Pulau Indah and an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Eastern and Oriental Berhad (E&O), had exchanged the Shareholders' Agreement in relation to Nuri Merdu Sdn Bhd, the 50:50 joint venture vehicle for the Resort Wellness project.

E&O will also carry out the project management and marketing for the Resort Wellness site.

The architect, master planner and key consultants havwe been selected for the project, with the initial phase expected to commence in 2013 and the whole project to be completed in five years.

Earlier, Najib and Lee were briefed on the concept for both the Urban Wellness and Resort Wellness developments. - Bernama

KLCI snaps losing streak, closes 0.68% higher

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 5): The FBM KLCI snapped its losing streak on the third trading day of 2012 and closed in the positive territory for the first time in the New Year, lifted by gains at banking and select blue chip stocks.

The FBM KLCI gained 10.21 points to close at 1,514.43.

Gainers beat losers by 467 to 325, while 324 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 1.67 billion shares valued at RM1.46 billion.

However, whether the index would be able to sustain its gains on Friday remains uncertain as most Asian markets closed in the negative territory while European indices fell in early trade on Thursday.

At the regional markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index added 0.46% to 18,813.41, Taiwan's Taiex gained 0.68% to 7,130.86 and Singapore's Straits Times Index edged up 0.07% to 2,713.02.

Meanwhile, the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.97% to 2,148.45, Japan's Nikkei lost 0.83% to 8,488.71 while South Korea's Kospi shed 0.13% to 1,863.74.

Concern about the appetite for euro zone sovereign debt pushed European stocks lower and hit the single currency on Thursday, with the first French bond auction of 2012 set to test how much progress policymakers have made in easing tensions, according to Reuters.

The price France has to pay to sell 7 to 8 billion euros of longer-term bonds will measure how much relief markets have taken from the EU leaders' December plan for resolving the crisis and the near half-trillion euros pumped into the region's banks by the European Central Bank, it said.

On Bursa Malaysia, KLK jumped RM1.76 to RM25.26, Dutch Lady gained RM1 to RM24, Can-One 31 sen to RM1.37, Nestle 30 sen to RM56.30, Timwell 28 sen to RM1.08, BHIC and Boxpak 26 sen to RM4.11 and RM2.52, Carlsberg and MISC 23 sen each to RM8.71 and RM5.96, while BLD PLANTATION []s was up 22 sen to RM7.60.

Among banking stocks, CIMB rose six sen to RM7.16, RHB Capital five sen to RM7.33, Affin seven sen to RM3.09, HLFG four sen to RM11.56, while Maybank and Public Bank gained two sen each to RM8.29 and RM13.16.

Decliners were led by RIC that lost 35 sen to RM1.45, BAT 14 sen to RM49.66, IGB 10 sen to RM2.48, Genting Plantations and IJM Corp eight sen each to RM8.60 and RM5.46, Malayan Flour Mills and WCT seven sen each to RM7.16 and RM2.18, while Mahajaya and AFG fell six sen each to 62 sen and RM3.89.

The actives included XDL, JCY, Proton, Versatile and Astral Supreme.

SapuraCrest unit inks contracts worth RM712.78 million

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 5): SAPURACREST PETROLEUM BHD [] has secured two contracts worth combined US$227 million (RM712.78 million) to build two units pipelay cum heavylift offshore CONSTRUCTION [] vessels.

It said on Thursday that its unit TL Offshore Sdn Bhd had finalised the contracts with Cosco (Nantong) Shipyard Co. Ltd.

SapuraCrest said both parties had agreed that the contract be effective from Sept 10, 2011.

It said one of the Vessels was scheduled to be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2013, whilst the other vessel to be delivered in the first quarter of 2014.

Maxbiz: RM510m LOI based on RM5,100 per connection to 100,000 homes, office

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 5): MAXBIZ CORPORATION BHD [] says the contract value of the letter of intent (LOI) of RM510 million from Fibre-N Sdn Bhd was based on the infrastructure works of RM5,100 per connection.

Maxbiz said on Thursday the LOI was for the fibre-to-the-home and fibre-to-the-office (FTTX) infrastructure works for 100,000 connections to high- rise residential and office buildings in Klang Valley, Penang and Johor Bahru.

'By way of comparison, TELEKOM MALAYSIA BHD []'s cost for the High Speed Broad Band (HSBB) project of a similar nature was stated as RM11.3 billion for 1.3 million connections, spanning over 10 years,' it said.

In its reply to a query from Bursa Malaysia Securities'' that Fibre-N had undertaken to deploy one million homes specifically in multi-tenanted buildings (high rise condominium and office buildings) over three to five years.

Fibre-N is a fibre optic cabling turnkey contractor for both in-building cabling works and roadside cable laying works. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Open Fibre Sdn Bhd and the directors are Ranjeet Singh Sidhu and Hasniza Hashim.

Maxbiz said the overall cost of the project based on Fibre-N's current rate of RM5,100 per connection was RM510 million.

However, this included both out-plant works and in-plant works and also related scope of works such as project management, site survey works, testing & commissioning.

Kian Joo MD See Teow Chian retires

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 5): KIAN JOO CAN FACTORY BHD []'s managing director Datuk See Teow Chuan has retired with effect from Thursday.

The company said that See, 71, ceased to be the managing director after his contract of service expired on Thursday.

However, he would remain on the board of directors as a non-independent and non-executive director.

See has a 45-year track record in the can and also carton manufacturing business. He also sits on the boards of several private limited companies.

He has a direct stake of 14.523 million Kian Joo shares.

Menang Corp sees 4.49% stake crossed at 22c each

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 5): Property-based Menang Corporation Bhd saw 12 million shares crossed in several off-market deals on Thursday afternoon.

Stock market data showed the shares, representing a 4.49% stake, were crossed at an average price of 22 sen.

At 3.39pm, Menang was up one sen to 23 sen.

On Dec 27, Menang group deputy chairman Datin Mariam Eusoff increased her shareholding in the company with the recent acquisition of 20 million shares, or a 7.48% stake.

She bought the shares from the open market at 20 sen each on Dec 27. The recent acquisition saw her shareholding increase to 26.18% or 69.949 million shares.

MAS extends gains on fresh newsflow, turnaround hopes

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 5): Shares of Malaysian Airline System (MAS) rose in active trade on Thursday on fresh corporate newsflow and expectations of a turnaround in its fortunes following a top management revamp.

At 4.09pm, MAS was up 17 sen to RM1.58 with 17.82 million shares done. Its call warrants MAS-CD added 4.5 sen to 16 sen while MAS-CE gained five sen to 18.5 sen.

The FBM KLCI rose 7.75 points to 1,511.97. Turnover was 1.39 billion shares valued at RM1.10 billion. There were 384 gainers, 358 loser and 326 counters unchanged.

The latest newsflow was the the Securities Commission's approval for the proposed warrants exchange exercise between MAS and AIRASIA BHD []. However, the approval is subject to the company complying with the relevant requirements pertaining to the implementation of the proposal as stipulated under the SC's equity guidelines.

Meanwhile, a news report said MAS' short-haul premium airline is set to be launched by the first half of this year. This airline would be using six B737-800 aircraft, previously used by Firefly.

Last Friday, MAS unveiled a management structure with new business units, group chief executive officer Ahmad Jauhari taking on the role as CEO of long-haul, the departure of several top officials and the entry of two aviation experts.