KUALA LUMPUR (April 6): Based on corporate announcements and news flow today, companies that may be in focus on Friday (April 7) could include the following: N2N Connect, Pestech, Majuperak, Hong Leong Industries, Hiap Teck, Boustead and Maybank.
E-commerce securities trading solutions provider N2N Connect Bhd is expanding its regional presence to Hong Kong, where it has completed the acquisition of Hong Kong-based financial data and trading solutions provider AFE Solutions Ltd for US$18.6 million or RM82.4 million.
N2N said the acquisition combines core technologies from leaders in the field of capital and finance market.
"When we incorporated the company in year 2000, we aspired to become Asia's largest one-stop service provider in the investment financial industry. AFE acquisition is [a] strategic [step] to help fulfil that mission," said N2N managing director Andrew Tiang.
Pestech International Bhd says its Cambodian unit has inked a US$100.21 million construction agreement today in relation to the development of a hydro power plant in Cambodia.
Under the contract inked between Pestech (Cambodia) Ltd (PCL) and Alex Corp Co Ltd, Pestech said PCL will undertake the design, engineering, manufacturing, installation, testing and commissioning of approximately 220km of a 230kV double-circuit transmission line from Stung Tatay Hydro Power Plant to Phnom Penh.
It added that PCL will also supply, install and connect two 230kV line bays at Stung Tatay hydro power plant switchyard.
The project is expected to commence within three months from the date of the agreement and is expected to be completed within 36 months from the agreement date.
Majuperak Holdings Bhd is disposing of two plots of leasehold land measuring 664.78 acres in Kinta, Perak for RM17.72 million cash, the company announced today.
The plots are being sold by Majuperak’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Syarikat Majuperak Bhd, via open tender to Wawasan Amanjaya Sdn Bhd, which will be used for an integrated farming project, Majuperak said.
According to Majuperak, the net book value of the asset is listed as RM81,817 as at Dec 31, 2016.
Hong Leong Industries Bhd's subsidiary HLY Marine Sdn Bhd has been appointed the exclusive re-seller and distributor of Yamaha Marine outboard motor products in peninsular Malaysia.
The agreement which was signed between HLY Marine and Yamaha Motor Co Ltd (YMC) at YMC’s headquarters in Iwata, Japan, will see HLY Marine putting in place its 3S offerings which cover sales, service and spare parts of Yamaha Marine outboard motor products.
These outboard motor products comprise the whole range of lightweight, heavyweight and portable efficient power outboard motors, said HLY Marine in a statement.
HLY Marine said its headquarters will be based in Sungai Buloh, Selangor, and would house a central service centre outfitted by YMC.
Hiap Teck Venture Bhd today clarified that it decided not to extend the deadline to complete its planned share swap deal with An Steel International Co Ltd because negotiations to come to definitive agreements took too long.
Negotiations had taken more than nine months, it said, and the continued production suspension at its unit, Eastern Steel Sdn Bhd, was not in the best interest of the company, it said in a stock exchange filing today.
Boustead Holdings Bhd is banking on an anticipated pick-up in local economy, higher government spending and more foreign direct investments for better earnings this year.
Boustead deputy chairman and managing director Tan Sri Lodin Wok Kamaruddin, who is expecting a much better year for Malaysia, said Boustead, as a diversified group, will benefit from the improved economic situation and sentiments.
Lodin said Boustead plans to open 15 to 20 more BHPetrol stations this year and add convenient stores to its existing petrol stations to bring in more income.
Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) says it is well prepared for the impact of additional provisions that will arise from the adoption of the Malaysia Financial Reporting Standard (MFRS) 9 come Jan 1 next year.
Group president and CEO Datuk Abdul Farid Alias said that while additional provisions have become a certainty next year, Maybank's capital position is sufficient to withstand the collision to profitability.
"The one-off provisions [are] going to result in higher provisions. That is a certainty, but the provisions can be charged off against our capital, that's why our capital is getting higher over the years, we are preparing for that," he told reporters after the group's annual general meeting today.
MFRS 9 requirements for local banks, for which reporting will commence on Jan 1 next year, are based largely on a forward-looking expected credit loss (ECL) impairment model and a substantially reformed approach to hedge accounting.
ECL is expected to increase the provision amount required, which will potentially impact banks' profitability.
JHM Consolidation Bhd received an unusual market activity (UMA) query from Bursa Malaysia today, after its share price surged 24 sen or 5.77% this morning.
Over the past year, JHM's share price has soared almost 10 times from 47 sen.
The new tourism tax bill that was just passed could impact and drag the hotel business especially with the rising cost of living and higher inflation in 2017, according to KLCCP Stapled Group.
"We are not overly optimistic with the market, especially with the incoming additional taxes. Let's not forget that we had the minimum wage imposed. All of these will affect the hotel segment," said KLCC Property Holdings Bhd chief executive officer Datuk Hashim Wahir.
Speaking to the media today, Hashim shared that with tourism tax, there is a need to seek more value and contribution from the government, which is collecting the tax, as hotel guests will expect more value for the amount they are paying.
When asked on the types of contribution from the government, Hashim shared that the government would need to provide the right support and facilities for tourists who come to Malaysia,