KUALA LUMPUR: Based on corporate announcements and news flow last Friday, the companies that may be in focus today could include CIMB Group Holdings Bhd, Fututech Bhd, VS Industry Bhd, Barakah Offshore Petroleum Bhd, and TMC Life Sciences Bhd.

CIMB Group announced its Target 2018 (T18) plan, which will see the reorganisation of its business divisions, together with changes in the senior management team, to drive its growth over the next three years. The T18 initiatives are focused on streamlining and strengthening the regional banking group.

Under the T18 plan, CIMB (fundamental: 1.35; valuation: 2.1) will see the creation of a new regional commercial and SME banking division, an integrated wholesale banking division combining investment banking, treasury markets and corporate banking, and a regional consumer banking division.

Tengku Datuk Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, CIMB’s acting group chief executive officer (CEO), will be heading the integrated wholesale banking division as CEO, assisted by Datuk Lee Kok Kwan as adviser to the CEO. There will also be some changes in the management of several divisions.

With the implementation of the T18 initiatives, CIMB aims to achieve a return on equity of more than 15%, CET1 (common equity tier 1) of more than 11%, a cost-to-income ratio of less than 50%, and for consumer banking to contribute approximately 60% of its income.

Construction outfit Fututech Bhd (fundamental: 2.55; valuation: 1.2) has proposed an assets injection exercise by its major shareholders, that could expand its job order book to over RM2.3 billion.

The company announced it had entered into a heads of agreement (HoA) to acquire Kerjaya Prospek (M) Sdn Bhd and Permatang Bakti Sdn Bhd, from its major shareholders Datuk Tee Eng Ho, Datin Toh Siew Chuon and Tee Eng Seng, for RM380 million.

The proposed injection, once concluded, is said to be presenting Fututech group with an enlarged construction order book of more than RM2.3 billion.

Fututech executive chairman Eng Ho, who controls about a 72.18% stake, has also provided an aggregate net profit guarantee of RM150 million for both Kerjaya Prospek and Permatang Bakti, for the financial years ending Dec 31, 2015 (FY15), FY16 and FY17.

The proposed acquisition would be satisfied by the issuance of 280 million new shares at an issue price of RM1.16 per share, and cash payment of RM55.2 million to the vendors.

VS Industry’s Hong Kong-listed subsidiary, VS International Group Ltd, is acquiring a 20% stake in a Hong Kong-based entity Cadre Project Development Co Ltd for 44 million yuan (RM25 million).

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, VS International (fundamental: 1.1; valuation: 1.8) said Cadre will be the holding company of Inner Mongolia Gujing Zhaolai Photovoltaic Co Ltd, which is involved in the development of a 20MW solar power plant at LiangCheng county, within China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The value of the project is estimated at 220 million yuan.

VS International has the option to acquire the remaining 80% of Cadre, subject to the fulfilment of certain conditions under the acquisition agreement.

Barakah Offshore Petroleum’s (fundamental: 2; valuation: 1.5) wholly-owned subsidiary PBJV Group Sdn Bhd has received a letter of award from Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd, for the provision of engineering, procurement, fabrication, installation, commissioning, and maintenance works of the pipe inspection gauges trap system.

The total value of the contract was not disclosed, as it would depend on the actual work orders by Petronas Carigali during the contract period.

The contract duration is from Jan 23, 2015 to Jan 22, 2018, with an extension option of one year, from Jan 23, 2018 to Jan 22, 2019.

TMC Life Sciences (fundamental: 2.5; valuation: 0.7), in which Singapore billionaire Peter Lim is a major shareholder, announced plans for a RM400 million deal that will transform the company into a major healthcare player in Malaysia.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, TMC said it is acquiring the Thomson Iskandar medical hub project for RM400 million from Lim and Tunku Ismail Idris Ibni Sultan Ibrahim, via the issuance of 533.33 million new shares at 75 sen each, together with 266.67 million free warrants.

Thomson Iskandar is located on 1.6ha of freehold land in Johor Baru. The medical hub will contain a hospital named “Iskandariah Hospital”. Co-located with the hospital is an outpatient medical centre that will contain 400 clinic suites.

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on February 9, 2015.