Business this week (29 June to 3 July)
July 3
- Speculative-grade corporate defaults in the US reached 119, spanning from the end of 2008 to June 2009.
- Malaysian American Electronics Industry forecasts members to record RM54.6 billion sales this year by, down 27.5% from a year ago in line with projected sales contractions of more than 20%.
- US fund Harris Associates LP bought more Media Prima Bhd shares. It acquired 5.02 million shares on June 26 and 30, raising total stake to 101.44 million shares or 11.88%.
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- July 2
- Private equity specialist CIMB Standard launched a US$500 million (RM1.75 billion) Islamic Infrastructure Fund (IIF), jointly sponsored by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) to provide capital to syariah-compliant infrastructure investments in the 20 member countries of ADB and IDB, which include Malaysia.
- The Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (MIDA) is targeting RM30 billion in investments this year, including RM4.2 billion in foreign direct investments (FDI) so far.
- From Jan 1 next year, Malaysia will abolish import duties on 2,123 products including palm oil, base metal (iron and steel) and vehicles for Asean countries, in line with the Asean Free Trade Area (Afta) to further open up the country's market.
July 1
- Selangor is still in talks with two out of four water concessionaires – Syarikat Pengeluar Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Splash) and Syarikat Bekalan Air Sdn Bhd (Syabas) – in its efforts to consolidate the state’s water assets.
- Khazanah Nasional Bhd's overall portfolio per for 1H ended June 30, 2009 saw its total realisable asset value of portfolio rising to RM85 billion, up RM15.5 billion from RM69.5 billion as at Dec 31, 2008.
- Tenaga Nasional Bhd has deferred its RM400 million power plant in Perai, Penang, to match supply with the projected demand slowdown, which fell by 3.7% so far this year.
- Proton Holdings Bhd’s multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) Exora sales hit 5,000 units and has 14,000 orders since its mid-April launch. Monthly production for the MPV about 3,300 currently.
July 2
- Private equity specialist CIMB Standard launched a US$500 million (RM1.75 billion) Islamic Infrastructure Fund (IIF), jointly sponsored by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) to provide capital to syariah-compliant infrastructure investments in the 20 member countries of ADB and IDB, which include Malaysia.
- The Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (MIDA) is targeting RM30 billion in investments this year, including RM4.2 billion in foreign direct investments (FDI) so far.
- From Jan 1 next year, Malaysia will abolish import duties on 2,123 products including palm oil, base metal (iron and steel) and vehicles for Asean countries, in line with the Asean Free Trade Area (Afta) to further open up the country's market.
June 30
- The government scrapped the 30% bumiputera equity ownership requirement for public-listed companies (PLCs) but maintained a “macro target” of 30% for the community, with immediate effect.
- The KL Composite Index ended the second quarter (2Q) of the year up 23.23%, the highest quarterly gain since 1999 when it surged 61.31%.
- Potential investors buying up to 20% of AirAsia Bhd under the low-cost carrier’s proposed share placement exercise will not be those who have already invested in its sister airline AirAsia X.
June 29
- Bank Pembangunan Malaysia Bhd recorded net profit of RM1.07 billion for its financial year ended Dec 31, 2008, attributed to better performance and exceptional income from the divestment of SME Bank, which saw net interest income rising by RM236.0 million from RM441.4 million in 2007 to RM677.3 million in 2008.
- Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) has commenced physical work on the National High-speed Broadband network (HSBB) in 22 TM exchange areas, which will provide the areas access in the initial rollout of HSBB service.