AmG Insurance to buy Kurnia Insurans for RM1.55 billion

KUALA LUMPUR (April 12): AMMB HOLDINGS BHD []'s 51%-subsidiary AmG Insurance Bhd (AmG) is acquiring the entire interest in Kurnia Insurans (Malaysia) Bhd (Kurnia) for RM1.55 billion.

In a statement on Thursday, AMMB said AmG had entered into a conditional sale and purchase agreement with KURNIA ASIA BHD [] (KAB), which wholly-owns Kurnia.

AMMB and AmG chairman Tan Sri Azman Hashim said the acquisition will position the group to deliver on AmG's strategic objective of being among the top three domestic general insurers.

"The combined businesses of AmG and Kurnia will emerge as the largest domestic general insurer and the market leader in motor insurance," he said.

AMMB said the purchase price of RM1.55 billion was arrived after taking into consideration a valuation by AmG of Kurnia's business, the net profits and net assets of Kurnia, and potential synergies.

"The cash purchase price for the proposed acquisition will be funded by AmG entirely with capital funds to be injected proportionally by its shareholders (51% by AMMB and 49% by Insurance Australia Group Ltd (IAG) [AMMB's strategic partner in AmG]," it said.

AMMB said that on a combined basis, AmG-Kurnia will emerged as the No 1 general insurer (about 13% market share) and motor insurer (about 22% market share) in Malaysia by gross written premium.

AMMB group managing director Ashok Ramamurthy said there are substantive cost synergies and supply chain operational efficiencies from the enlarged scale, which would benefit its customers and business partners.

"Additionally, the three million policyholders of Kurnia is a ready pool of customers for cross-selling opportunities of AmBank Group's other financial products and services, such as banking and fund management, through our extensive distribution footprint," he said.

AMMB said that post acquisition, both the AmAssurance and Kurnia brands would continue to be used, and most of the integration process is expected to occur over a period of two years after the acquisition, within which the value accretion from the proposed acquisition would be realised.



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Kurnia Asia shares down on insurance unit disposal

KUALA LUMPUR (April 5) : KURNIA ASIA BHD [] (KAB) shares fell on Thursday morning following updates that the government has approved AMMB HOLDINGS BHD []’s plan to acquire KAB’s general insurance arm.

KAB shares, one of the most actively traded with some eight million shares done, fell 4.7% or three sen to 60.5 sen at 10.37am.

In separate statements to the exchange on Wednesday, AMMB and KAB said the minister of finance has approved the planned acquisition of KAB’s 100%-owned subsidiary Kurnia Insurans (M) Bhd by AmG Insurance Bhd, which is 51% owned by AMMB.

Both AMMB and KAB said details on the transaction will be disclosed when both AmG and KAB sign a definitive agreement.



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AmG-Kurnia merger gets the nod

KUALA LUMPUR (April 4): The government has approved AMMB HOLDINGS BHD []'s plan to acquire the general insurance arm of KURNIA ASIA BHD [] (KAB).

In separate statements to the exchange on Wednesday, both companies said the minister of finance has approved the planned acquisition of KAB's 100%-owned subsidiary Kurnia Insurans (M) Bhd by AmG Insurance Bhd, which is 51% owned by AMMB.

Both AMMB and KAB said details on the transaction will be disclosed when both AmG and KAB sign a definitive agreement.



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KLCI snaps winning streak, drops below 1,600-level

KUALA LUMPUR (April 4): The FBM KLCI snapped its winning streak on Wednesday and fell below the 1,600-point level, in line with the retreat at most global markets after on generally weaker sentiment at key regional markets following the overnight dip at Wall Street.

The FBM KLCI fell 7.36 points to close at 1,599.27, weighed by losses and banking and select blue chips.

"Stocks and the euro fell on Wednesday after the US Federal Reserve dimmed hopes for fresh asset-buying, further underlining its divergence with an embattled Europe that remains in crisis-fighting mode," according to Reuters.

Overnight minutes from the Fed's March meet showed less support for more quantitative easing (QE), or bond-buying, in the face of improved economic data, which buoyed the dollar and hit stocks in both the United States and Asia, it said.

With Europe still battling its debt crisis and struggling with economic growth, the focus later will be on the European Central Bank's latest rate-setting meeting, with rates expected to remain on hold at 1%, said Reuters.

At the regional markets, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 2.29% to 9,819.99, South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.60% to 2,018.61, and Taiwan’s Taiex lost 1.3% to 7,760.85, while Singapore’s Straits Times Index

The Hong Kong and Shanghai markets were closed for a public holiday.

On Bursa Malaysia, among the banking stocks, CIMB and RHB Capital lost nine sen each to RM7.72 and RM7.74, Hong Leong Bank and HLFG lost eight sen each to RM12.38 and RM12.48, AMMB down six sen to RM6.32, while Public Bank shed two sen to RM13.78.

Among the other decliners, BAT fell 64 sen to RM55.58, Dutch lady down 44 sen to RM35.50, Carlsberg fell 20 sen to RM10.60, F&N 18 sen to RM19, Sarawak Oil Palms 13 sen to RM6.81, while BLD PLANTATION []s, Cepco, Shell, Tenaga and PPB fell 10 sen each to RM9.15, RM1.55, RM10.18, RM6.47 and RM16.60 respectively.

GAB was the top gainer and rose 16 sen to RM13.20, Milux gained 15 sen to RM1.40, GBH 13 sen to RM1.25, Kamdar 12.5 sen to 49.5 sen, Malpac and JCY 10 sen each to RM1.59 and RM1.29, Tradewinds Plantations nine sen to RM4.94, Kurasia 6.5 sen to 63.5 sen and Tradewinds up six sen to RM9.60.

The actives included Ingenuity Solutions, Metronic, Cerotech, ManagePay, Naim Indah Corp, Ariantec, JCY and SuperComNet.



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Kurnia Asia posts pre-tax profit of RM61m

Kurnia Asia Bhd (KAB) registered a pre-tax profit of RM61.12 million for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2011, from RM29.63 million previously. Revenue rose to RM1.161 billion from RM 1.096 billion.

KAB's main subsidiary, Kurnia Insurans (Malaysia) Bhd (KIMB), contributed RM87.0 million to the Group's results for financial year 2011.

KIMB's overall gross premium grew by 3.8 per cent year-on-year as motor and non-motor portfolio expanded by 0.6 per cent and 18.7 per cent respectively. Its portfolio mix improved to 80:20 as KIMB strengthened its non-motor portfolio in the market.

Net asset value of the group as at Dec 31, 2011 improved to RM402.10 million, the increase being mainly due to the surplus on revolution of property amounting to RM 30.746 million as well as RM 48.554 million net profits recorded during the period.

To achieve such rapid growth, the group has embarked on the Information Technology platform to enhance operational efficiency and make it easier for business partners to conduct business with the companies.

KAB executive chairman Tan Sri Datuk Paduka Kua Sian Kooi said: "We are pleased that our commitment to grow the non-motor business has been fruitful and indirectly contributed positively to the improvement in our underwriting performance.

"Kurnia Asia is now on a stronger platform to deliver improved performance in the coming year given the positive growth of the Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysian economies." -- Bernama



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CIMB Research has technical sell on Kurnia Asia at 59.5 sen

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 8): CIMB Equities Research has a technical sell on Kurnia Asia at 59.5 sen at which it is trading at a price-to-book value of 2.7 times.

It said on Wednesday that Kurnia Asia is hanging by a thread. If the 30-day SMA fails to hold, it anticipates selling pressure to intensify.

“The next downleg is going to send prices towards 57.5 sen and 55 sen. The 50-day SMA is also a magnet for prices. “Technical landscape is deteriorating. MACD signal line has staged a negative crossover while RSI is also dwindling,” it said.

CIMB Research said traders should wait for prices to break below its 30-day SMA (now at 59 sen) before going short. Only a rise above 63 sen would prompt it to review its call.



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Kurnia Asia applies to sell insurance unit to AmG

KUALA LUMPUR: Kurnia Asia Bhd (KAB) yesterday announced that it had submitted an application to Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) for the approval of Minister of Finance to enter an agreement to possibly dispose of its wholly-owned subsidiary, Kurnia Insurans (M) Bhd (KIMB), to AmG Insurance Bhd.

AmG is the general insurance arm of AmAssurance Bhd and is 49%-owned by Insurance Australia Group (IAG), the largest general insurer in Australia and New Zealand.

On July 21, KAB announced that BNM had no objection for it to commence preliminary negotiations with relevant parties which had expressed interest to acquire a stake in KIMB.

The latest news of the proposed sale of KIMB comes a year after AmG Insurance discontinued acquisition discussions for MAA Insurance’s general insurance business.

In a local news report last week, it was speculated that KAB would most likely sell KIMB at around 2.5 to three times the book value of the company. The report said based on KIMB’s book value of RM720 million as of March 31, the deal would be around RM1.8 billion to RM2.2 billion.

There has been a string of M&As involving local insurers since 2009. In April 2009, BNM had liberalised the insurance sector and announced that to further strengthen the resilience and competitiveness of the insurance and takaful industry, insurance companies and takaful operators are given greater flexibility to tie up with foreign partners.

Accordingly, the foreign equity participation in insurance companies and takaful operators will be increased to a limit of up to 70%. Interestingly, it added that a higher foreign equity limit beyond 70% for insurance companies would be considered on a case-by-case basis for players which can facilitate consolidation and rationalisation of the insurance industry.

It was also noted that existing foreign insurers which participate in the process will be accorded flexibility in meeting the divestment requirement.

Last year, Jerneh Insurance Bhd was sold to US insurer ACE Ltd at 2.24 times book value, making it the highest general insurer deal after the financial crisis hit in 2008.

Berjaya Corp Bhd’s disposal of a 40% stake in Berjaya Sompo Insurance Bhd to its Japanese stakeholder this year had set a new benchmark pricing for general insurers at 3.3 times book value.

PacificMas Bhd also sold its insurance business in March to a foreign insurer, Fairfax, at 1.57 times book value. MAA Holdings Bhd announced in June a proposed disposal of its insurance business to Zurich Insurance Co Ltd at 1.35 times.

For its 3QFY12 ended Sept 30, KAB posted a net profit of RM7.27 million on revenue of RM295.06 million. This was an improvement against a net loss of RM3.75 million in the corresponding quarter last year. KAB attributed the improvement in earnings to stronger underwriting performance.


This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, December 20, 2011.

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RHB Research maintains market perform on Kurnia Asia, FV 51c

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 20): RHB Research Institute is maintaining its market peform on Kurnia Asia with a fair value of 51 sen, based on an unchanged FY12 target PER of 10 times.

The research house said on Tuesday that Kurnia Asia had submitted an application to Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) to review a proposal to enter into an agreement with AmG Insurance for the possible disposal of its 100% equity interest in Kurnia Insurance Malaysia (KIMB).

“We believe the valuation of KIMB would range around 2.0 times to 2.5 times price-to-book value based on the recent mergers and acquisitions in the general insurance sector.

“Assuming a full cash transaction, this implies that KIMB could be sold at RM1.4 billion to RM1.7 billion based on FY2010 book value,” it said.

RHB Research said until BNM approves the deal, it is maintaining its fair value for Kurnia at 51 sen, based on an unchanged FY12 target PER of 10 times and is reiterating our Market Perform call on the stock.



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Stocks to watch: IGB, Sunway, Kurnia Asia, Mitrajaya, Favelle Favco

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 20): Stocks could see cautious trade on Tuesday, amid worries from the eurozone crisis and uncertainty in the Korean peninsula following the death of North Korean strongman Kim Jong-il.

The latest development was North Korea’s test firing of a short-range missile on its eastern coast on Monday, the day its leader Kim Jong-il's death was announced, South Korean media reported.

Reuters reported an unnamed South Korean official was quoted by Yonhap news agency as saying he did not believe the launch was linked to the announcement of Kim's death.

Meanwhile, China had voiced confidence in the new leader of its impoverished ally North Korea after his father died, promising to support Pyongyang as it enters into an uncertain transition, according to Reuters.

On the home front, stocks to watch include IGB CORPORATION BHD [], Sunway Bhd, KURNIA ASIA BHD [], MITRAJAYA HOLDINGS BHD [] and FAVELLE FAVCO BHD [].

IGB has made a RM277.50 million offer to acquire the remaining 50% stake in Great Union PROPERTIES [] Sdn Bhd (GUP), which owns the Renaissance Kuala Lumpur Hotel, from Stapleton Developments Ltd and Chong Kim Weng.

IGB, which currently owns 50% of GUP, would pay RM101.348 million and also settle the shareholder’s advance of RM176.15 million in GUP, for cash consideration of RM277.50 million.

Sunway Bhd has acquired the leases of two parcels of land for RM745.3 million with a gross development value (GDV) of RM12 billion in Medini Iskandar via a joint venture (JV) with Khazanah Nasional Bhd. The company said the two parcels of land adjacent to each other totaled 691 acres, adding that the leases acquired were for a period of 99 years.

Sunway said the newly acquired land known as Zone F Medini would boost its landbank by 30% from the previous 2,145 acres, while the proposed development will increase the company’s current GDV to RM 32 billion.

Kurnia Asia plans to sell its insurance unit, Kurnia Insurans (Malaysia) Bhd to AmG Insurance Bhd. It had submitted an application to Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) for the Minister of Finance’s approval under the Insurance Act 1996.

Mitrajaya has secured a RM21.89 million project in the herbal and bioTECHNOLOGY [] products clusters in Pasir Raja, Terengganu. Its unit Pembinaan Mitrajaya Sdn Bhd was awarded the project by the East Coast Economic Region Development Council (ECERDC) to build the farm establishment, buildings and infrastructure works at the clusters.

Favelle Favco’s units have secured five separate purchase orders worth a combined RM72.3 million to supply four offshore cranes and one tower crane.

Favelle Favco Cranes (M) Sdn Bhd had received four contracts to supply offshore cranes each to SMOE Pte Ltd, Technics Offshore Engineering Pte Ltd, China Communications Import & Export Corporation and China Merchant Heavy Industry (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd respectively.

YTL CORPORATION BHD [] has extended a voluntary share exchange offer to the holders of YTL CEMENT BHD [] shares and its loan stocks to maximise the value of their investments.

The offer was RM4.50 for each YTL Cement share, or 3.17 shares of 10 sen each in YTL Corp for every one ordinary share of 50 sen each held in YTL Cement.

For the irredeemable convertible unsecured loan stocks (ICULS) holders, the offer was RM2.21 for every RM1 in ICULS held, or 1.56 YTL Corp shares for each ICULS.



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Kurnia Asia proposes to sell Kurnia Insurans to AmG Insurance

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 19): KURNIA ASIA BHD [] plans to sell its insurance unit, Kurnia Insurans (Malaysia) Bhd to AmG Insurance Bhd.

It said on Monday it had submitted an application to Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) for the Minister of Finance’s approval under the Insurance Act 1996.

Kurnia Asia said the approval was to review the proposal to sign an agreement with AmG Insurance -- the insurance division of the AmBank group -- to dispose of the stake.




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Stocks to watch: IGB, Sunway, Kurnia Asia, Mitrajaya, Favelle Favco

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 20): Stocks could see cautious trade on Tuesday, amid worries from the eurozone crisis and uncertainty in the Korean peninsula following the death of North Korean strongman Kim Jong-il.

The latest development was North Korea’s test firing of a short-range missile on its eastern coast on Monday, the day its leader Kim Jong-il's death was announced, South Korean media reported.

Reuters reported an unnamed South Korean official was quoted by Yonhap news agency as saying he did not believe the launch was linked to the announcement of Kim's death.

Meanwhile, China had voiced confidence in the new leader of its impoverished ally North Korea after his father died, promising to support Pyongyang as it enters into an uncertain transition, according to Reuters.

On the home front, stocks to watch include IGB CORPORATION BHD [], Sunway Bhd, KURNIA ASIA BHD [], MITRAJAYA HOLDINGS BHD [] and FAVELLE FAVCO BHD [].

IGB has made a RM277.50 million offer to acquire the remaining 50% stake in Great Union PROPERTIES [] Sdn Bhd (GUP), which owns the Renaissance Kuala Lumpur Hotel, from Stapleton Developments Ltd and Chong Kim Weng.

IGB, which currently owns 50% of GUP, would pay RM101.348 million and also settle the shareholder’s advance of RM176.15 million in GUP, for cash consideration of RM277.50 million.

Sunway Bhd has acquired the leases of two parcels of land for RM745.3 million with a gross development value (GDV) of RM12 billion in Medini Iskandar via a joint venture (JV) with Khazanah Nasional Bhd. The company said the two parcels of land adjacent to each other totaled 691 acres, adding that the leases acquired were for a period of 99 years.

Sunway said the newly acquired land known as Zone F Medini would boost its landbank by 30% from the previous 2,145 acres, while the proposed development will increase the company’s current GDV to RM 32 billion.

Kurnia Asia plans to sell its insurance unit, Kurnia Insurans (Malaysia) Bhd to AmG Insurance Bhd. It had submitted an application to Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) for the Minister of Finance’s approval under the Insurance Act 1996.

Mitrajaya has secured a RM21.89 million project in the herbal and bioTECHNOLOGY [] products clusters in Pasir Raja, Terengganu. Its unit Pembinaan Mitrajaya Sdn Bhd was awarded the project by the East Coast Economic Region Development Council (ECERDC) to build the farm establishment, buildings and infrastructure works at the clusters.

Favelle Favco’s units have secured five separate purchase orders worth a combined RM72.3 million to supply four offshore cranes and one tower crane.

Favelle Favco Cranes (M) Sdn Bhd had received four contracts to supply offshore cranes each to SMOE Pte Ltd, Technics Offshore Engineering Pte Ltd, China Communications Import & Export Corporation and China Merchant Heavy Industry (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd respectively.

YTL CORPORATION BHD [] has extended a voluntary share exchange offer to the holders of YTL CEMENT BHD [] shares and its loan stocks to maximise the value of their investments.

The offer was RM4.50 for each YTL Cement share, or 3.17 shares of 10 sen each in YTL Corp for every one ordinary share of 50 sen each held in YTL Cement.

For the irredeemable convertible unsecured loan stocks (ICULS) holders, the offer was RM2.21 for every RM1 in ICULS held, or 1.56 YTL Corp shares for each ICULS.



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Kurnia Asia proposes to sell Kurnia Insurans to AmG Insurance

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 19): KURNIA ASIA BHD [] plans to sell its insurance unit, Kurnia Insurans (Malaysia) Bhd to AmG Insurance Bhd.

It said on Monday it had submitted an application to Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) for the Minister of Finance’s approval under the Insurance Act 1996.

Kurnia Asia said the approval was to review the proposal to sign an agreement with AmG Insurance -- the insurance division of the AmBank group -- to dispose of the stake.



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KL shares open marginally higher

Share prices on Bursa Malaysia opened slightly higher today.

At 9.15am, the FBM KLCI edged up 1.17 points to 1,467.39 after opening at 1,466.78.

Dealers said investors remained cautious due to mixed performance on Wall Street last Friday as Fitch Ratings lowered France’s credit outlook.

Fitch Ratings also put Spain, Italy, Belgium, Slovenia, Ireland and Cyprus on a “Rating Watch Negative” review, which is expected to be completed by end-January, dealers said.

HwangDBS Vickers Research said the Malaysian bourse might trade with a downward bias today towards its immediate support level of 1,445.

The Finance Index dropped 18.83 points to 13,139.76, the Plantation Index surged 1.32 points to 7,865.43 and the Industrial Index perked up 5.87 points to 2,655.39.

The FBM Emas Index was up 11.67 points to 10,066.16, the FBM Mid 70 Index jumped 31.39 points to 11,091.97 and the FBM ACE Index declined 0.06 of a point to 4,133.19.

Gainers led losers by 105 to 72 while 117 counters were unchanged.

Turnover stood at 112.34 million shares worth RM40.909 million.

Among the active counters, Wijaya Baru Global-Wa added half a sen to 45.5 sen, Astral Supreme rose 1.5 sen to 22.5 and Kurnia Asia was flat at 60.5 sen.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank fell one sen to RM8.20, CIMB was unchanged at RM7.00 but Sime Darby rose two sen to RM8.98. -- Bernama



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Kurnia still in talks on possible disposal of KIMB

KUALA LUMPUR: Kurnia Asia Bhd has clarified a newspaper report that it is still in talks to dispose of its wholly-owned subsidiary Kurnia Insurans (M) Bhd (KIMB).

“The company is still in negotiations for the possible disposal and hence is unable to comment on the price, the name of the relevant parties or the likelihood of the possible disposal,” it said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday.

It was reported yesterday that the insurer would likely announce its decision to sell an equity stake in KIMB to Insurance Australia Group (IAG) this week at a price estimated to be 2.5 times to three times of KIMB’s book value.

“We believe one of the key issues regarding the disposal is the stake that is to be sold.

Given that IAG is a foreign company, Kurnia might only be able to dispose of up to 70% of KIMB due to Bank Negara Malaysia’s foreign ownership rules. We value 100% of KIMB at RM1.4 billion to RM1.5 billion,” RHB Research said in a note yesterday.

Kurnia closed 2.5 sen or 4.81% higher at 54.5 sen yesterday with a total of 23.1 million shares changing hands.

Following a report in The Edge, Kurnia had in July announced that it received expressions of interest from certain parties to explore the possibility of acquiring an interest in KIMB.


This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, December 15, 2011.



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Kurnia gains on stake sale report

Kurnia Asia Bhd rose the most in more than four months in Kuala Lumpur trading after the Star newspaper reported that it may sell a stake in its Malaysian unit to Insurance Australia Group Ltd this week.

The stock gained 6.7 percent to 55.5 sen at 9:06 a.m. local time, set for its biggest increase since July 28. -- Bloomberg



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Kurnia Asia stock set to rally: Analyst

Kurnia Asia Bhd, a Malaysian insurer, rose to a one-month high in Kuala Lumpur trading as Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd said its stock price is poised to rally.

Prices should test between 59 sen and 67 sen due to speculation that it has found a buyer for its Kurnia Insurans (M) Bhd. unit, Hong Leong analyst Low Yee Huap wrote in a report today.

The stock climbed 1 percent to 50 sen at 9:25 a.m., set for its highest close since Nov. 4. -- Bloomberg



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Kurnia Asia nets RM36.7m 9-month profit

Kurnia Asia Bhd has posted a 1.9 per cent year-on-year gross written premium increase to RM814.6 million for the nine months ended Sept 30, 2011.

It was attributed to a 18 per cent year-on-year growth in the group's non-motor business segment, the company said in a statement today.

It said the group recorded a net profit of RM36.7 million for the nine-month period, up 57.6 per cent, mainly attributable to the improved underwriting performance.

It said Kurnia Insurans (Malaysia) Bhd's non-motor business contribution to total gross premium income jumped to 20.4 per cent from 17.4 per cent a year ago as non-motor business segment alone expanded by 18.7 per cent year-on-year to reach RM161.2 million for the period under review.

Its underwriting profit for the first nine months amounted to RM10.9 million against an underwriting loss of RM22.6 million in the previous year. -- Bernama



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CIMB Research has technical buy on Kurnia Asia

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 1): CIMB Equities Research has a technical buy on Kurnia Asia at 50.5 sen at which it is trading at a price-to-book value of 1.9 times.

It said on Tuesday that Kurnia Asia is gyrating in a triangle pattern but it thinks it is ripe for a stronger rebound. If prices can stay above its 30-day and 50-day SMAs, there is a good chance that prices may edge towards 53.5 sen and 56 sen.

“Technical landscape remains compelling. MACD signal line is still rising while RSI has also hooked upward.

“Traders with higher risk appetite may start to nibble now ahead of the breakout run. However, always put a stop at 48 sen to 46 sen,” CIMB Research said.

Market Commentary

The FBM KLCI index gained 10.07 points or 0.68% on Monday. The Finance Index increased 0.55% to 13494.2 points, the Properties Index dropped 0.10% to 965.87 points and the Plantation Index rose 0.94% to 7565.3 points. The market traded within a range of 17.57 points between an intra-day high of 1493.28 and a low of 1475.71 during the session.

Actively traded stocks include JCY, MAA, ZELAN, JCY-CD, OLYMPIA, IRCB, BORNOIL, MBFHLDG-WA, TMS and KURASIA. Trading volume decreased to 1331.98 mil shares worth RM1581.95 mil as compared to Friday’s 1877.90 mil shares worth RM2295.28 mil.

Leading Movers were CIMB (+11 sen to RM7.57), IOICORP (+11 sen to RM5.25), TENAGA (+12 sen to RM5.98), GENTING (+16 sen to RM10.76) and PBBANK (+10 sen to RM12.72). Lagging Movers were YTL (-2 sen to RM1.49), GAMUDA (-3 sen to RM3.40), HLBANK (-3 sen to RM10.60), TM (-1 sen to RM4.24) and PETDAG (-2 sen to RM16.30). Market breadth was positive with 426 gainers as compared to 318 losers.-- JF Apex Securities Bhd

Kurnia still in M&A talks

KUALA LUMPUR: Kurnia Asia Bhd (KAB) is still in talks with interested parties regarding a possible merger and acquisition (M&A) following news in the last few months that the company was looking at selling its insurance arm.

“There are negotiations going on. We are quite an attractive company now,” said Kurnia Insurans (M) Bhd (KIMB) chairman Datuk Dr Sharifuddin Wahab.

“Those who are interested, we are equally interested in them. Whether they are local or foreign, we are alright (for negotiations) as long as we are getting an attractive deal at the end,” he said.

Following a report in The Edge, KAB had on July 21 announced that it received expressions of interest from certain parties to explore the possibility of acquiring an equity interest in KIMB. It added that Bank Negara Malaysia said it had no objection in principle for KAB to commence preliminary negotiations with the interested parties.

Sharifuddin was speaking at a press conference after the official launch of KIMB’s second mobile application, Kurnia One Touch, yesterday.

KIMB started developing the application in June after a soft launch in August. A total of RM70,000 was invested in the application.

“KIMB has about 800,000 motor comprehensive policyholders and with the new mobile application, we plan to widen our new private car comprehensive policy customer base by 20% to 30%,” said its CEO Wong Kim Tech. He added that the increase in the customer base is expected within 12 months.

The application enables KIMB motor policyholders to send information on the location of the car accident through a GPS function to the Kurnia Auto Assist team who will get in touch with the user within minutes and will then send help.

Users are also able to report a claim by photographing and sending pictures of the damaged vehicle, accident scene, and third-party’s details to KIMB branches and workshops via emergency numbers. The application is the first to be launched by an insurance company in Malaysia.

Maxis, KIMB’s partner in the promotion, is offering KIMB policyholders a special bundled package that includes smartphones, tablets and data plans.

The application, which can be used on the iPhone, Android and Blackberry phones, is now available for free download from KIMB’s website.

For the six months ended June, KAB posted a net profit of RM29.46 million on RM573.98 million in revenue. In contrast to the corresponding period a year ago, net profits strengthened almost 9% while revenue gained 8.46%.

KAB said the better showing was a result of improved underwriting and investment performances.