Kencana unit gets EPCC contract from Petronas Gas worth RM35m

KUALA LUMPUR (April 30): KENCANA PETROLEUM BHD []’s wholly owned subsidiary, Kencana HL Sdn. Bhd. ("Kencana HL") in consortium with Shinryo (M) Sdn Bhd has secured an engineering, procurement, CONSTRUCTION [] and commissioning (“EPCC”) from PETRONAS GAS BHD [].

Kencana said on Monday that the contract was for the EPCC of two cogeneration plants, having combined capacity of 50MW of electrical power and steam capacity of 120 ton per hour.

The company said the portion of the contract value for Kencana HL was estimated at RM35 million.

“The Contract is expected to be fully completed by first quarter of calendar year 2014,” it said.

Kencana said the contract was expected to contribute positively to its earnings for the duration of the contract.



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KLCI falls 25.72 points in April

KUALA LUMPUR (April 30): The FBM KLCI closed higher on Monday but fell some 25.72 points in April, as investor sentiment took a beating given rising external and domestic uncertainties.

The FBM KLCI rose 2.81 points to close at 1,570.61 on Monday.

Gainers trailed losers by 297 to 388, while 318 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 945.42 million shares valued at RM1.38 billion.

Asian shares were mixed on Monday as weaker-than-expected U.S. growth data left open the possibility for more monetary stimulus from the Federal Reserve, but trading was subdued with Japanese and Chinese markets closed, according to Reuters.

At the regional markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1.7% to 21,094.21, South Korea added 0.34% to 1,981.99, Taiwan’s Taiex was up 0.28% to 7,601.72 while Singapore’s Straits Times Index shed 0.26% to 2,973.91.

ON Bursa Malaysia, BAT was the top gainer and rose 74 sen to RM55.54, Aeon Credit added 64 sen to RM10.70, Shell rose 36 sen to RM10.28, Petronas Dagangan 30 sen to RM19.36, Nestle and Panasonic gained 20 sen each to RM55.30 and RM22.70, OSK 15 sen to RM1.71, Tradewinds and Knusford added 14 sen each to RM9.78 and RM1.94, while Toyo Ink gained 12 sen to RM1.53.

Ariantec was the most actively traded counter with 399.1 million shares done. The stock fell one sen to 24.5 sen.

Other actives included Utopia, Metronic, CSL, Astral Supreme, Focus, DRB-Hicom, Bumi Armada and BIMB warrants.

Decliners on Monday included SAM Engineering, Dutch Lady, Petronas Gas, MMHE, Kluang, Dayang Enterprise, Subur Tiasa. UAC and Bumi Armada.



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Prudential Assurance surpasses RM1 billion mark for second year running

KUALA LUMPUR (April 30): Prudential Assurance Malaysia Berhad (PAMB) surpassed the RM1 billion mark for the second year in a row after closing RM1.107 billion in total new business Annual Premium Equivalent (APE) sales which comprised both life insurance and Takaful contributions for the financial year 2011, posting an 8% increase from its performance of RM1.021 billion in 2010.

In a statement Monday, its chief executive officer Charlie Oropeza, attributed the continued success to the high productivity of PAMB’s agency force, an expanding Bancassurance business, strong business mix, continuous product innovation, and service and operational excellence.

He said that 91% of the business was contributed by its agency force, while Bancassurance accounted for 9%.

Oropeza said that PAMB had over 14,000 agents nationwide with Bumiputra agents making up 39% of its total agency force.

Last year, the insurer recruited more than 4,500 new agents, its highest recruitment number in the last 5 years, he said.

Oropeza said PAMB was the fourth largest life insurance business for Prudential in Asia, accounting for 13% of total new business APE sales in Asia for 2011.



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RAM Ratings reaffirms ratings of Al-‘Aqar Capital’s RM300 million sukuk

KUALA LUMPUR (April 30): RAM Ratings has reaffirmed the respective AAA, AA2, AAA(bg) and P1 ratings of Al-‘Aqar Capital Sdn Bhd’s (Al-‘Aqar Capital) Class A Islamic Medium-Term Notes (IMTN), Class B IMTN, Class C IMTN and Islamic Commercial Papers (ICP) under its RM300 million Sukuk Ijarah Programme;

In a statement Monday, RAM Ratings said all the long-term ratings had a stable outlook.

Al-‘Aqar Capital is a special-purpose vehicle incorporated solely for the acquisition of 11 hospitals (the Hospitals) leased to Al-‘Aqar Healthcare Real Estate Investment Trust and operated by KPJ HEALTHCARE BHD [] (KPJ Group or the Group).

RASM Ratings said the reaffirmation of the respective AAA, AA2 and P1 ratings of the Class A IMTN, Class B IMTN and ICP was premised on the debt service coverage as well as loan-to-value ratios that commensurate with the respective ratings, the transaction’s features and the sturdy cashflow generated by the hospital operators.

“Meanwhile, the reaffirmation of the Class C IMTN reflects the enhancement from a bank guarantee provided by Public Bank Berhad, whose AAA/stable/P1 financial institution ratings were reaffirmed by RAM Ratings on June 15, 2011,” it said.

The rating agency said that rental income derived from the Hospitals increased 3.7% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM48.8 million in FYE 31 December 2011 (FY Dec 2011), i.e. above its stressed lease levels for the respective ratings.

“We note that rental revision takes place every 3 years, and is a function of the yields of 10-year Malaysian government securities and the market values of the Hospitals.

“Nevertheless, we derive comfort from the minimum lease payments under the lease terms which, collectively, are sufficient to cover the semi-annual profit payments to the Sukuk holders,” it said.



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KNM proposes fund raising exercise involving rights issuance of RM200 million

KUALA LUMPUR (April 30): KNM GROUP BHD [] (KNM) has proposed to undertake a fund raising exercise involving a Rights Issuance of RM200 million.

In a filing to Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd on Monday, KNM said the definitive terms for the Rights Issue would be determined by the Board of the Company subject to the advice of the Company’s Corporate Advisors to be appointed in due course.

“The Company will be seeking its shareholders' approval for the Proposed Rights Issue at a general meeting to be convened at an appropriate date once the definitive terms of the Proposed Rights Issue has been approved by the Board and the relevant authorities,” it said.

KNM said further announcement(s) on the corporate proposal in respect of the proposed rights issue would be made in due course.



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REDTone Mobile appoints new CEO

KUALA LUMPUR (April 30): Mobile virtual network operator REDtone Mobile Sdn Bhd has appointed a new chief executive officer, Farid Yunus.

In a statement Monday, REDTone said Farid is part of Celcom Axiata Bhd's senior management team, and was seconded to the company to help in the MVNO's next phase of growth.

“Prior to his secondment to REDtone Mobile, Farid was Celcom Axiata’s Chief Strategy and Business Transformation Officer, responsible for TECHNOLOGY [] and market strategies and business planning,” it said.

REDTone said Farid was an industry analyst with the Yankee Group in London, focusing on mobile markets and carriers in Europe, Middle East and Africa before he joined Celcom Axiata.

He has 14 years of experience in the mobile industry, and holds a Masters degree from the University of Leeds, and a Bachelor of Science in Telecommunications from Ohio University, it said.



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LBS Bina proposes first & final gross dividend of 2.5 sen

KUALA LUMPUR (April 30): LBS BINA GROUP BHD [] has proposed a gross first and final dividend of 2.5 sen per ordinary share of RM1.00 for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2011

In a filing to Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd on Monday, the company said the dividend was subject to the shareholders’ approval at its the forthcoming Twelfth Annual General Meeting.



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KLCI up at mid-day break, moves above 1,570-level

KUALA LUMPUR (April 30): The FBM KLCI brushed off the concerns arising from last weekend’s Bersih 3.0 rally that turned ugly and inched higher on Monday, in line with the gains at most regional markets, lifted by select blue chips in early trade.

The FBM KLCI was up 4.01 points to 1,571.81 at the mid-day break.

Gainers trailed losers by 229 to 285, while 299 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 398.95 million shares valued at RM422 million.

Asian shares rose on Monday as weaker-than-expected U.S. growth data left open the possibility for more monetary stimulus from the Federal Reserve, but trading was subdued with Japanese and Chinese markets closed, according to Reuters.

At the regional markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1.12% to 20,974.40, south Korea’s added 0.14% to 1,978.20, while Singapore’s Straits Times Index fell 0.20% to 2,975.62 and Taiwan’s Taiex shed 0.09% to 7,473.49.

MIDF Research in its weekly fund flow analysis said Malaysian stocks continued to attract foreign money last week.

It said foreign investors bought on net basis, Malaysian-listed shares amounted to RM356.1 million compared with RM408.8 million the week before. Foreign investors have now been net buyers of Malaysian stocks for 11 consecutive weeks now.

“We cross over to May this week.

“The adage “Sell in May and go away” is certainly not uncorroborated — the KLCI had recorded negative return for the month in six out of the last 10 years, averaging -3.2%. We therefore begin the month with a historical obstacle to surmount,” it said on Monday.

On Bursa Malaysia, Petronas Dagangan was the top gainer and added 24 sen to RM19.30, Aeon Credit and Nestle gained 20 sen each to RM10.26 and RM55.30, Tasek and Takaful was up 15 sen each to RM8.70 and RM4, Tradewinds PLANTATION []s up 14 sen to RM5.84, Toyo Ink and Carlsberg added 12 sen each to RM1.53 and RM11.60.

Meanwhile, RHB Capital and OSK Holdings rose on gaining the ministry of finance nod for a merger. RHB Capital rose 11 sen to RM7.36 whiel OSK was up 13 sen to RM1.69.

Ariantec was the most actively traded counter with 201.62 million shares done. The stock fell half a sen to 25 sen.

Other actives included Utopia, DRB-Hicom, CSL, Focus, Daya Materials, Bumi Armada and YTL Corp.

Decliners at mid-day included Dutch Lady, Jaya Tiasa, PacificMas, UAC, Amway, Bumi Armada and MMHE.



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