SP Setia Q4 earnings slightly higher at RM131.3m

KUALA LUMPUR: SP Setia Bhd’s earnings rose nearly 1.3% to RM131.31mil in the fourth quarter ended Oct 31, 2014 from RM129.64mil a year ago underpinned by the strong sales for its international projects.

“The group achieved RM922mil sales in Q4 of FY2014, bringing total sales for the group for the full financial year to RM4.62bil and total unbilled sales to RM11.10bil,” it said on Tuesday.

The property developer reported revenue rose 27.7% to RM1.233bil from RM965.68mil a year ago. Its earnings per share was 5.19 sen compared with 5.27 sen.

It rewarded shareholders with a dividend of 5.7 sen a share.

SP Setia said the international projects contributed RM1.80bil (39%) towards the group’s total sales for the current financial year. 

Sales contribution from the group’s international projects continue to be strong and further underscores the management’s deep conviction to venture into international projects in established global cities like London and Melbourne. 

On the Malaysian projects, it said despite the period of softness following the implementation of the property cooling measures implemented by Bank Negara Malaysia at the beginning of the financial year, the group posted a satisfactory result of RM2.82bil sales. 

SP Setia said there was strong support for its launches during the financial year focusing on land banks with ready infrastructure and amenities like Setia Alam and Setia Eco Park. 

“Projects such as Setia EcoHill and Setia Eco Glades will benefit from new infrastructure projects including the Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit (KVMRT) project,” it said.

For the financial year ended Oct 31, 2014, its earnings were RM405.67mil, which was 3% lower when compared with RM418.35mil in the previous financial year. However, its revenue rose 16.8% to RM3.810bil from RM3.261bil a year ago.

SP Setia’s acting president and CEO Datuk Voon Tin Yow said its sales performed well due to the strong and loyal customers who continue to believe in our brand. 

“On the international front, S P Setia continues to obtain high brand acceptance among the locals in London, Melbourne and Singapore. 

“As for Malaysia, we are confident that once the market stabilises, aggressive demands for properties will return as Malaysia is a young nation with a growing population,” he said.

KLCI closes lower, but pares down loses

KUALA LUMPUR (April 24): The FBM KLCI closed lower on Tuesday, but pared down it losses to move above the 1,580-point mark in line with the slight recovery at most key regional and European markets.

European share markets and the single currency staged modest recoveries on Tuesday, after steep losses caused by the worsening performance of the euro zone economy and a sharp rise in concern over the political will to fix its fiscal problems, according to Reuters.

The FBM KLCI fell 1.52 points to close at RM1,582.28. The index had earlier fallen to its intra-day low of 1,579.04.

Market breadth remained weak with 409 losers, 273 gainers and 348 counters trading unchanged. Volume was 1.42 billion shares valued at RM1.55 billion.

At the regional markets, Hong Kong’s hang Seng Index gained 0.26% to 20,677.16, Taiwan’s Taiex added 0.24% to 7,498.84, the Shanghai Composite Index edged up 0.01% to 2,388.83 and Singapore’s Straits Times Index

Meanwhile, South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.47% to 1,963.42 and Japan’s Nikkei 225 shed 0.78% to 9,468.04.

Among the decliners on Bursa Malaysia, Petronas dagangan fell 26 sen to RM19.28, Jaya Tiasa down 22 sen to RM9.54, Carlsberg 20 sen to RM11.30, SAM Engineering 17 sen to RM3.38, APM Automotive down 14 sen to RM4.50, Tradewinds 13 sen to RM9.52, S P Setia 11 sen to RM3.73, while Subur Tiasa and Ta Ann lost 10 sen each to RM2.85 and RM6.50.

Ariantec was the most actively trade counter with 142.38 million shares done. The stock gained one sen to 25 sen.

Other actives included Ingenuity Solutions, Metronic, Focus, CSL, Ramunia, TMS, JCY and Astral Supreme.

Gainers included Aeon Credit, Top Glove, CSL, Panasonic, MMC Corp, Three-A Resources, Quality Concrete, UMW and JCY.



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KLCI pares down losses at mid-day break, edges above 1,580-level

KUALA LUMPUR (April 24): The FBM KLCI pared down some of its earlier losses at the mid-day break on Tuesday and moved above the crucial 1,580-point level.

Meanwhile, Asian shares inched up on Tuesday but gains were limited as political uncertainty and disappointing data in Europe raised fears the euro zone could struggle to push through austerity measures and may stay in recession until late in the year, according to Reuters.

A weaker-than-expected reading of consumer inflation in Australia, a day after a weaker producer prices report, set the scene for an local rate cut next week and bolstered local shares up 0.4 percent from a flat early trade, it said.

The FBM KLCI was down 3.11 points to 1,580.69, weighed by losses at select blue chips including Petronas Dagangan, Genting and CIMB. The index had earlier fallen to its intra-morning low of 1,579.04.

Loser ebeat gainers by 379 to 191, while 314 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 727.97 million shares valued at RM608.87 million.

The ringgit weakened 0.009% to 3.0695 versus the greenback, crude palm oil futures for the third month delivery fell RM20 per tonne to RM3,455, crude oil shed 14 cents pare barrel to US$102.97 and gold lost US$2.15 an ounce to US$1,636.68.

At the regional markets, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.90% to 9,456.13, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was down 0.32% to 20,559.10, the Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.4% to 2,355.17, Taiwan’s Taiex fell 0.23% to 7,464.14, South Korea’s Kospi was down 0.74% to 1,958.04 and Singapore’s Straits Times Index lost 0.34% to 2,972.53.

On Bursa Malaysia, SAM Engineering was the top loser and fell 29 sen to RM3.26, Petronas Dagangan down 24 sen to RM19.30, Jaya Tiasa 14 sen to RM9.62, S P Setia shed 13 sen to RM3.71, Hong Leong Bank 12 sen to RM12.30, while Dutch Lady, Carlsberg, AirAsia, Genting and CIMB fell eight sen each to RM35, RM11.42, RM3.40, RM10.54 and RM7.42 respectively.

Ingenuity Solutions was the most actively trade counter with 732 million shares done. The stock was unchanged at 9.5 sen.

Other actives included Ariantec, TMS, Focus, JCY, Ramunia, Metronic, Sanichi and CSL.

Meanwhile, the gainers in the morning session included Aeon Credit, United PLANTATION []s, Aeon, UMW, Quality Concrete, SapuraCrest, Fiamma, PacifiMas and KrisAssets.



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RHB Research maintains Market Perform on S P Setia, ups fir value to RM4

KUALA LUMPUR (April 24): RHB Research has raised its fair value for S P Setia Bhd to RM 4 and said the company’s recent venture into China made good sense.

In a note Tuesday, the research house said (i) The G-to-G tie-up underpinned SP Setia’s venture in the Qinzhou Industrial Park (QIP) development should enhance the credibility and chances of success of the project; (ii) Tier-4 city as an entry point can avoid the high regulatory requirements in housing sales; (iii) Timely entry to the Chinese market in the temporary sector downcycle; and (iv) The QIP project can potentially be worth more than RM20 billion.

If the 1st phase is proven successful, long-term value to SP Setia will be tremendous, it said.

“The risk profile of the company is expected to change given the size of the QIP project (13,591 acres). We are biased on the positive side due to the above factors. Initial funding and future working capital will be funded via debt and equity, which will be within SP Setia’s capacity given its current net gearing of 8%.

“Fair value is raised to RM4.00 as we impute only the DCF value from the Binhai project. Given minimal potential upside, we maintain our Market Perform call on the stock,” it said.



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KLCI stays below 1,600-level at mid-day break, global woes weigh

KUALA LUMPUR (April 20); The FBM KLCI stayed in negative territory at the mid-day break on Friday in line with generally weaker performance at regional markets.

The FBM KLCI was down a marginal 1.14 points to 1,595.48 at 12.30pm, weighed by losses including at Genting and RHB Capital and CIMB.

Gainers trailed losers by 242 to 313, while 322 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 950.42 million shares valued at RM600.85 million.

The ringgit weakened 0.12% to 3.0693 versus the greenback, crude palm oil futures for the third month delivery fell RM16 per tonne to RM3,461, crude oil gaind 34 cents per barrel to US$102.61 while gold added US$1 an ounce to US$1,643.93.

Asian shares fell and commodity-linked currencies such as the Australian dollar slipped on Friday after disappointing U.S. economic data stirred doubts about the strength of the recovery, according to Reuters.

Renewed worries on the euro zone debt crisis also kept riskier assets under pressure, as a better-than-feared Spanish bond auction failed to allay concerns that Spain may follow Greece, Ireland and Portugal in needing an international bailout, it said.

At the regional markets, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.35% to 9,555.17, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was down 0.24% to 0.24% to 20,944.10, the Shanghai Composite Index shed 0.60% to 2,392.92, Taiwan’s Taiex fell 1.12% to 7,537.58, South Korea’s Kospi lost 1.25% to 1,974.93 and Singapore’s Straits Times Index was down 0.20% to 3,002.14.

On Bursa Malaysia, Manulife was the top loser in the morning session and fell 14 sen to RM3.22, Batu Kawan and genting fell 10 sen each to RM18.80 and RM10.82, RHB Capital fell nine sen to RM7.43, Mentiga 7.5 sen to 68.5 sen, while SAM Engineering, Pintaras, S P Setia, Guan Chong and CIMB fell seven each to RM3.58, RM2.96, RM3.81, RM2.85 and RM7.56 respectively.

Ariantec was the most actively traded counter with 325.08 million shares traded. The stosk rose six sen to 23.5 sen.

Other actives included Metronic, Focus, CSL, SuperComNet, Astral Supreme, AWC and Utopia.

Gainers included BAT, Aeon Credit, KLK, Panasonic, Country View, Jaya Tiasa, Dutch Lady, Far East, Ta Ann and CBIP.



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S P Setia falls 1.5%, goes ex-dividend on Monday

KUALA LUMPUR (April 16) : S P Setia Bhd shares declined as much as 1.5% before the stock goes ex-dividend on Monday. The lodgement date is on April 18.

Shares of the property developer fell six sen to an intraday low of RM3.95 as at 12.25pm.

S P Setia is paying a final dividend of nine sen a share less 25% income tax for financial year ended October 31, 2011.



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Stocks to Watch S P Setia, Xian Leng, SMPC, MBSB, Yinson

KUALA LUMPUR (April 11): The FBMKLCI could experience some minor pullback amidst cautious trading on Thursday, in line with its regional peers’ performance on Wednesday.

Asian shares fell for a third straight day on Wednesday as investors continued to cut back their risk exposure given uncertainty over global growth prospects and resurfacing worries about debt restructuring in struggling euro zone economies, according to Reuters.

European shares hit a 10-week low on the first trading day after the four-day Easter holiday on Tuesday, and Wall Street's benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 Index followed through with a 1.71% slide, its worst day in four months.

The sell-off was triggered by last Friday's data, which showed a sharp slowdown in US jobs creation last month, along with Tuesday's data, which suggested softening Chinese demand even when Beijing returned to an export-led trade surplus in March, said Reuters.

The mood at the local market may also be impacted by the less that encouraging outlook for Malaysia by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in its Asian Development Outlook 2012: Confronting Rising Inequality in Asia report.

The ADB said that given Malaysia’s close integration with the world economy — exports and imports of goods and services are equivalent to over 100% of gross domestic product (GDP) — weakness in the global outlook clouds the country’s prospects in 2012.

“Growth is seen moderating to about 4.0% in 2012, then quickening to 5.0% in 2013 as the external environment improves,” ADB said in the report released on Wednesday.

Among the stocks that could be in focus on Thursday are S P Setia Bhd, XIAN LENG HOLDINGS BHD [], SMPC Corp Bhd, MALAYSIA BUILDING SOCIETY BHD [] (MBS), and YINSON HOLDINGS BHD [].

The Securities Commission has approved a proposed RM505 million bond scheme by Setia Ecohill Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of property developer S P Setia Bhd.

The board of Xian Leng Holdings Bhd will improve the company’s corporate governance, following a special audit which revealed financial irregularities in the commercial breeder of ornamental fish. In a statement to the exchange on Tuesday, Xian Leng said its directors will consider and implement preemptive and corrective measures including the appointments of key personnel to oversee its business. These include a legal advisor and monitoring accountant, apart from an officer in charge of the daily operations of the firm.

SMPC Corp shares rose as much as 7% on Tuesday morning as investors chased the stock before it goes ex-rights on Thursday (April 12). The final day of lodgement is on April 16. The steel manufacturer climbed 17 sen to reach an intraday high of RM2.53, before trading lower at RM2.50 at 11.56am.

Financial services entity MBS — which is paying a final dividend of 7% less 25% tax for financial year ending Dec 31, 2011 — will go ex-dividend on Thursday as well.

Kenanga Investment Bank Bhd has initiated coverage on logistics firm Yinson Holdings Bhd, with an "outperform" call and fair value of RM2.29.



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SC approves RM505 million bond by S P Setia

KUALA LUMPUR (April 10) : The Securities Commission has approved a proposed RM505 million bond scheme by Setia Ecohill Sdn Bhd, wholly-owned subsidiary of property developer S P Setia Bhd.

In a statement to the exchange on Tuesday, S P Setia said the scheme involves commercial papers and medium-term notes.

The firm initially announced the seven-year fund raising programme in March this year. According to the developer, the scheme will be guaranteed by the parent company, and is secured by its land in Semenyih, Selangor.

Proceeds from the exercise will finance the acquisition and development of the tract, S P Setia said.



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MIDF Research ups target price for S P Setia to RM4.21

KUALA LUMPUR (April 3): MIDF Research has raised it target price for S P Setia Bhd to RM4.21 from RM3.95 previously and maintained its Neutral call on the stock and said the company was benefitting from a closer tie between the China and Malaysian governments.

S P Setia and Rimbunan Hijau Group had via Qinzhou Development Consortium S/B entered into a joint venture agreement with Qinzhou Jingu Investment Co, Ltd (Qinzhou Jingu) to develop, construct and operate the China-Malaysia Qinzhou Industrial Park (QIP) on a parcel of land measuring approximately 55 sq km (13,590.5 acres).

MIDF Research in a note April 3 said the outlook for China’s property market remains uncertain as the property price has escalated to unsustainable level due to excessive speculative activities.

“Nonetheless, we are positive on the involvement of SP Setia as QIP is a government to government project.

“Moreover, the China government had implemented several measures to counter the property speculation issue. The JV project will diversify SP Setia’s land bank which is predominantly located in Malaysia,” it said.



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Stocks to Watch CIMB, Muhibbah, S P Setia Bhd

KUALA LUMPUR (Apr 2): The FBM KLCI could extend its gains on Tuesday after finishing 0.5% or 7.45 points higher at an all-time high of 1,603.78 on Monday, riding on the improved sentiment at global markets after surprisingly firm China manufacturing data on Monday.

MIDF Research had on Monday raised its end-2012 target for the FBM KLCI to 1,600 points from the earlier 1,530 points.

The tendency to "buy on weakness" among the local institutions will help our equity market to outperform its regional peers during a cyclical downturn, the research house said in a note on Monday.

World stocks rose on Monday, underpinned by surprisingly firm China manufacturing data on Monday, though further evidence that the world's second biggest economy is slowing, along with eurozone debt jitters, kept demand for riskier assets in check, according to Reuters.

Wall Street was set to start the second quarter flat as the focus turned to equivalent US figures later in the day, with investors keen to see if recent momentum in the world's largest economy could be maintained, it said.

Meanwhile, European shares had eked out modest gains at the start of the second quarter after data last Sunday showed China's official Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), which covers large factories, jumped to an 11-month high of 53.1 in March, beating forecasts, Reuters said.

Among the stocks that could be in focus on Bursa Malaysia are CIMB Investment Bank (CIMB), MUHIBBAH ENGINEERING (M) BHD [] and S P Setia Bhd.

CIMB is acquiring most of the Asia Pacific cash equities and associate investment banking of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) for the sum of RM849.4 million, group CEO Datuk Seri Nazir Razak said on Monday.

The assets are valued at the effective price-to-book ratio is about 0.98 times.

Nazir said that the deal transforms CIMB into an Asian Pacific investment bank, and that the exercise will also see the merged businesses absorbing 350-400 RBS staff to join CIMB.

Muhibbah announced that its 50:50 joint venture (JV) with Australia's Monadelphous Group Ltd has won an additional contract for the CONSTRUCTION [] and commissioning of a shiploader associated with the Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal Pty Ltd ("WICET"), worth A$60 million (RM192 million).

Muhibbah had on Dec 23 last year said the JV won a A$330 million contract for the construction of an approach jetty and ship berth in Queensland, Australia.

The facilities will be constructed for a project by WICET, which is privately-owned and funded by a group of Queensland coal exporter.

S P Setia has roped in Rimbunan Hijau Group as a joint venture (JV) partner to develop and operate an industrial park in China's Guangxi province.

In a statement to the Bursa Malaysia on Monday, S P Setia said both companies have formed JV entity Qinzhou Development (M) Consortium Sdn Bhd. The JV entity has, in turn, signed a JV framework agreement with Qinzhou Jingu Investment Co Ltd to develop the China-Malaysia Qinzhou Industrial Park on an approximately 13,590.5 acres (5,436 ha) site.



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S P Setia-Rimbunan Hijau team to develop industrial properties in China

KUALA LUMPUR (Apr 2): S P Setia Bhd has roped in Rimbunan Hijau Group as a joint venture (JV) partner to develop and operate an industrial park in China’s Guangxi province.

In a statement to the Bursa Malaysia on Monday, S P Setia said both companies have formed JV entity Qinzhou Development (M) Consortium Sdn Bhd. The JV entity has, in turn, signed a JV framework agreement with Qinzhou Jingu Investment Co Ltd to develop the China-Malaysia Qinzhou Industrial Park on an approximately 13,590.5 acres (5,436 ha) site.

The site is located next to the Guangxi Qinzhou Bonded Area and the Qinzhou Port Economic and Technological Development Zone in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, according to S P Setia.

According to S P Setia, the venture is in line with its overseas expansion, which already includes projects in Australia, Vietnam and Singapore.



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CIMB Research maintains trading buy on S P Setia at RM3.89

KUALA LUMPUR (March 23): CIMB Equities Research is maintaining is trading buy on S P Setia at RM3.89 with a target price of RM4.30.

It said on Friday that as the first quarter ending Jan 31,is seasonally the weakest quarter, the results were broadly in line even though net profit made up 19% of its full-year forecast and 20% of consensus numbers.

“S P Setia is on track to meet its RM4bn new sales target as annualised 1Q new sales made up 93% of the target. We have tweaked our EPS forecasts for housekeeping purposes.

“We maintain our Trading Buy call and valuation basis of parity with RNAV. The recent completion of the offer exercise by major shareholder PNB and SP Setia’s CEO should remove any share overhang,” it said.



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Stocks to watch: Ingenuity, Glomac, Jaya Tiasa, S P Setia. Malaysia AE Models, Lipo

KUALA LUMPUR (March 23) : The resilience of Malaysian stocks will be keenly watched on Friday as investors weigh the impact of weaker global macro updates against the effects of pre-election sentiment in the country.

Analysts believe April will be crucial in anticipation of announcements on potential winners of big-ticket domestic public projects ahead of Malaysia’s coming genera l election.

The anticipation could have spurred the FBM KLCI to close higher on Thursday despite a still-weak global sentiment emanating from the US, Europe and China.

The FBM KLCI which sank into the red earlier, had rebounded to close at 1,583.24, up 0.71 point on Thursday.

Stocks to watch on Friday include INGENUITY SOLUTIONS BHD [], GLOMAC BHD [], JAYA TIASA HOLDINGS BHD [], S P Setia Bhd, Malaysia AE Models Holdings Bhd (Maemode) and LIPO CORPORATION BHD [].

Bursa Malaysia has queried computer software developer Ingenuity on the unusual trading patterns of the stock on Thursday.

Glomac reported a 33% rise in net profit to RM21.89 million in the third quarter ended Jan 31, 2012 from a year earlier despite revenue falling 18% to RM145.29 million. The property developer said lower cost of sales had mitigated the impact of lower revenue and higher operating expenses during the quarter.

Jaya Tiasa said its net profit rose 14% to RM45.52 million in the quarter ended Jan 31, 2012 from a year earlier as revenue fell marginally to RM237.56 million from RM237.64 million a year earlier. Lower tax expenses had offset lower revenue and higher operating costs during the quarter, according to the timber and oil palm PLANTATION [] entity

S P Setia reported a 19% rise in net profit to RM74 million in the first quarter to Jan 31, 2012 from a year earlier as revenue fell 5% to RM491.58 million. The property developer said it had sold RM933 million worth of PROPERTIES [] during the quarter, up 27% from a year earlier.

Maemode has secured a RM61.93 million baggage handling system job at the new low cost carrier terminal. The contract was awarded by UEMC-Bina Puri J.V.

KOBAY TECHNOLOGY [] BHD [] is acquiring full control of its 53.16% subsidiary Lipo via a selective capital reduction and repayment exercise.

Kobay requested Lipo to reduce the paid-up by cancelling one share for every RM1 paid by Lipo to shareholders as capital repayment.

“All entitled shareholders will receive a cash payment amounting to RM1.25 per Lipo share pursuant to the proposed SCR,” it said.



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S P Setia 1Q earnings up 19.3% to RM74m, on track for RM4b sales for FY12

KUALA LUMPUR (March 22): S P Setia Bhd’s earnings rose 19.3% to RM74 million in the first quarter ended Jan 31, 2012 compared with RM62.04 million a year ago due to higher selling prices for its products while it said it was on target to achieve its FY2012 sales target of RM4 billion.

It said on Thursday its revenue, however, declined 5.2% to RM491.58 million from RM518.88 million. Earnings per share were 4.01 sen compared with 4.07 sen.

“Ongoing projects which contributed to the profit and revenue achieved include Setia Alam and Setia Eco-Park at Shah Alam, Setia Walk at Pusat Bandar Puchong, Setia Sky Residences at Jalan Tun Razak, Bukit Indah, Setia Indah, Setia Tropika and Setia Eco Gardens in Johor Bahru and Setia Pearl Island, Setia Vista and Setia Greens in Penang,” it said.

However, S P Setia said the group’s current quarter profit before tax of RM100.7 million was RM8.3 million lower than the preceding quarter ended Oct 31, 2011.

“This is partly attributable to slower progress of works during the festive season. The profit before tax for current quarter is however 15% higher than previous year corresponding quarter of RM87.4 million,” it said.

On its sales, S P Setia said they totalled RM933 million which was the group’s highest ever sales in a single quarter and was 27% higher on-year.

“As at Feb 29, 2012, the group’s sales for the first four months of the financial year totalled RM1.23 billion – another new record and a 29% increase from the corresponding period last year.

“The group is therefore well on target to achieve and deliver its FY2012 sales target of RM4 billion,” it said.



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HDBSVR maintains Hold on SP Setia, TP RM4.50

KUALA LUMPUR (March 20): Hwang DBS Vickers Research is maintaining its Hold and Target Price of RM4.50 for S P Setia Bhd, based on 10% discount to RNAV of RM4.97.

It said on Tuesday S P Setia had announced that its public spread fell to below the required 25% minimum level as at Monday’s closing date for acceptance of the mandatory general offer, with Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) and parties acting in concert (including Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin) holding 79% of shares and 88% of warrants.

HDBSVR said with PNB intending to maintain the listing status of S P Setia, an application will be made to Bursa Malaysia for a lower public spread or for an extension of time to rectify the issue within three months.

“We believe PNB will likely make a placement to improve S P Setia’s liquidity (4% stake works out to 75 million shares worth RM296 million a RM3.95 a share),” it said.

The research house said it still likes S P Setia for its strong track record (improved clarity on management continuity with Liew remaining fully in control for the next three years) and strong growth potential.

HDBSVR said S P Setia is on track to achieve its RM4 billion FY12 sales target (+21% on-year), with RM932 million chalked so far for the first three months and a brimming launch pipeline.

It added S P Setia is still looking for more landbank (including government land redevelopment and overseas projects) - leveraging on its strong balance sheet (net cash) and backing from PNB.



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S P Setia unit to raise RM505m debt notes

KUALA LUMPUR (March 5): S P Setia Bhd has proposed to raise RM505 million to part finance the purchase of a piece of land in Rinching, Semenyih, Selangor.

The property company said on Monday its unit Setia EcoHill Sdn Bhd had proposed to issue commercial papers and/or medium term notes of up to RM505.0 million in nominal value.

“The notes will be issued in two tranches of MTN up to RM305 million and CP and/or MTN up to RM200 million. Tranche 1 (RM305 million) will be fully subscribed by Alliance Bank Malaysia Bhd. The primary subscriber for Tranche 2 (RM200 million) has yet to be determined,”it said.



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PNB, Liew hold 51.24% of S P Setia, offer now unconditional

KUALA LUMPUR (March 2): Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) and S P Setia president and CEO Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin’s conditional takeover of the property company has become unconditional as they collectively hold 51.52% of the shares.

S P Setia said on Friday the joint offerors and parties acting in concert collectively hold 976.72 million shares or 51.24% as at March 2.

“The offer will remain open for acceptances until 5pm on Monday, March 19, unless otherwise extended by the joint offerors,” it said.

PNB and Liew had made a cash offer price of RM3.95 per share and 96 sen per warrant.



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S P Setia ex-CFO disposes of 2.7m shares under takeover offer

KUALA LUMPUR (March 2): S P Setia Bhd’s former chief financial officer Yap Kok Weng disposed of 2.70 million shares on Feb 28 following the conditional mandatory takeover offer.

A filing to Bursa Malaysia showed he had accepted the conditional mandatory take-over offer by Permodalan Nasional Bhd and S P Setia president and chief executive officer Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin.

Yap was the CFO until July 2009 but remained with the group as the executive vice president in charge of strategic planning pursuant to an internal reorganisation of responsibilities within the group.



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SP Setia confident of hitting sales target

SP Setia Bhd is still confident of achieving its sales target of RM4 billion in its financial year ending Oct 31, 2012 despite Bank Negara Malaysia's new guidelines for loan borrowers.

President and chief executive officer Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin who welcomed the ruling, said the move would ensure only genuine buyers who had no financial problems own a property.

"The whole idea of the central bank is to dampen property bubble or credit bubble which is going on.

"Though the ruling will definitely affect the property sector, but we in SP Setia is confident that we can still achieve RM4 billion sales, driven by both local and foreign property sales," he told a media conference after the company's annual general meeting in Shah Alam, Selangor today.

Under Bank Negara's new guidelines that took effect from Jan 1, a prospective loan borrower will be assessed based on net income basis (instead of gross income) after deducting statutory deductions for tax and EPF and all other debt obligations (eg. car loan, other housing loan, credit cards).

Liew said SP Setia had already locked in sales of RM933 million for the first quarter of its current financial year ended Jan 31, 2012.

This represented a 27 per cent increase over the sales achieved in the corresponding period of previous year of RM737 million.

Liew said sustained demand for properties in the group's existing projects in the Klang Valley, Johor Baru and Penang would continue to underpin the group's sales performance in the 2012 financial year.

"We have many exciting new projects to help us capture new markets and further diversify our product mix.

"Our strong balance sheet also gives us ample room to continue to aggressively pursue opportunities to acquire good landbank thereby locking in future growth," he said.

Meanwhile, Liew said the SP Setia group also was keen on the London and Vietnam markets and was looking at opportunities there.

"We are looking at acquiring land in downtown Hanoi and Ho Chi Min for our property projects which will be more customer-based.

"SP Setia is also looking at acquiring land for property projects in London city as we want to make London an important market for SP Setia," he said.

Elsewhere, he said the group was targeting at least 30 to 50 per cent sales of its projects in Singapore would be from Malaysian buyers despite the 10 per cent increase in stamp duty for foreign buyers in the republic.

In Singapore, he said, the group would launch its maiden project namely a high-rise condominium development called Woodsville. -- BERNAMA



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Stocks to watch: Shell, MMC, Sarawak Cable, Wing Tai

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 18): Stocks on Bursa Malaysia could advance on Monday, Feb 20 following positive developments in Greece and China’s move to shore up the slowing economy.

Reuters reported late Saturday that Greece's cabinet tackled on Saturday how to implement austerity demanded by the EU and IMF as a 130-billion-euro (US $171-billion) rescue seemed within reach, while the euro zone considered modifying a deal with private creditors to help Athens reduce its huge debts.

In another development, China's central bank cut the amount of cash that commercial lenders must hold as reserves on Saturday for the second time in nearly three months, the latest step to shore up the slowing economy.

The People's Bank of China (PBOC) delivered a 50-basis-point cut in banks' reserve requirement ratio (RRR), effective from next Friday, Feb. 24, after repeatedly defying market expectations for such a move.

At Bursa Malaysia, stocks to watch include Shell Refining Company (Federation of Malaysia) Bhd, MMC CORPORATION BHD [], Sarawak Cable Bhd and Wing Tai Malaysia Bhd.

Shell Refining posted net losses of RM99.49 million in the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2011 compared to the net profit of RM114.66 million a year ago.

Shell attributed the losses due to weak refining margins which had also impacted the FY11 results, where it reported net losses of RM125.74 million.

MMC said on Friday the listing of its 41.8% owned Gas Malaysia Bhd on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia Securities was delayed to the second quarter of 2012.

MMC said Gas Malaysia was “still in the midst of complying with the conditions imposed by the Securities Commission”.

Sarawak Cable has scrapped the MoU with Sinohydro Corporation (M) Sdn Bhd and KEC International Ltd to develop transmission lines in Sarawak.

This latest development could possibly see Sarawak Cable going alone to undertake the project.

On Aug 17, 2011, the three parties had signed the MoU to prepare and submit proposals for the project.

Meanwhile, Wing Tai Malaysia Bhd saw its major shareholder increasing its stake to 61.07% or 191.218 million shares with the recent acquisition of 2.20 million shares on Feb 17.

The Edge Malaysia reports that Century Logistics ahs put the FSU setback behind it. The service provider is confident of matching its 2010 record performance this year despite a minor setback with its floating storage units in 2H2011.

S P Setia Bhd reported that the Securities Commission has declined a ruling application sought by the joint offerors of S P Setia – Permodalan Nasional Bhd and S P Setia president and CEO Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin.

The joint offerors had decided not to appeal. However, the decision would not impact the joint offer.



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