KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 9): Based on corporate announcements and news flow today, stocks in focus on Tuesday (Aug 13) may include Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd, GSB Group Bhd, TDM Bhd, Leong Hup International Bhd, PRG Holdings Bhd, Lotte Chemical Titan Holdings Bhd, TH Plantations Bhd, Maxwell International Holdings and XOX Bhd.

Southeast Asia’s largest aluminium smelter Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd has proposed an Islamic medium term notes (IMTN) programme of up to RM5 billion to raise funds for its Shariah-compliant general corporate purposes.

The proceeds from the sukuk issuance shall be utilised for the group’s general corporate purposes including capital expenditure, working capital requirements, investments and refinancing of existing financing/borrowings.

GSB Group Bhd’s controlling shareholder, the Tee family, is selling RM714 million worth of real estate assets to the company for RM714.53 million.

Upon completion of the asset divestment to GSB, the Tee family’s shareholding will be enlarged to 67.33%% from 40.82%, plus it will receive RM100 million cash.

The asset injection by the Tee family, which is deemed to be a related party transaction, will be settled by a combination of cash, redeemable convertible preference shares and share subscription deals.

TDM Bhd has entered into agreements with two companies pertaining to the development of biogas plants with power generation facilities in two palm oil mills in Terengganu.

The two mills are the Kemaman Palm Oil Mill (KPOM) and Sg Tong Palm Oil Mill (STPOM), said TDM, which is 61.49% owned by the Terengganu State Government.

Leong Hup International Bhd has issued a profit guidance warning of a “significantly lower profits after taxation for the second quarter ended June 30, 2019 (2Q2019) compared with 2Q2018”.

The profit warning comes just three months after the poultry group was relisted on Bursa Malaysia Main Market.

PRG Holdings Bhd's 54.19%-owned subsidiary Furniweb Holdings Ltd has reported a net loss of RM4.01 million for the six months ended June 30, 2019 (1HFY19) versus a net profit of RM612,000 in the same period last year.

The loss was mainly due to a one-off professional fee of RM1.5 million in relation to an acquisition, and total marketing and distribution cost and pre-operating and administrative expenses totalling RM3.7 million incurred by Furniweb’s retail division, according to the Hong Kong-listed firm’s interim results statement reported to Bursa Malaysia by PRG.

Furniweb said its revenue for the six months was up 13.48% to RM50.5 million from RM44.5 million last year.

The company anticipates prospects for its manufacturing division to remain challenging in the near future as customers remain cautious on purchases amid weaker demand as a result of the ongoing US-China trade spat, as well as Brexit.

Lotte Chemical Titan Holdings Bhd (LCT) is planning to trim its equity stake in PT Lotte Chemical Indonesia (LCI) by selling a 49% stake in the subsidiary to its parent Lotte Chemical Corp (LCC) for US$65.4 million (RM273.49 million) cash.

Bursa-listed LCT will still hold a 51% stake in the Indonesian unit after the share sale.

The rationales for the proposed divestment are the challenging petrochemical business environment and financial performance, which are causing continuous margin compression of LCT’s profits as well as a decrease in cash flows from operations.

TH Plantations Bhd, in which Lembaga Tabung Haji holds a 73.84% stake, has suspended its chief financial officer Mohamed Azman Shah Ishak from today until further notice.

The suspension is related to findings arising from the recent forensic audit.

Mohamed Azman Shah has been served with a show-cause letter, and is required to provide a written reply within 14 days.

Maxwell International Holdings, which marks its eighth year of listing, will be de-listed in two weeks' time on Aug 22.

The China-based sport shoes maker has failed to comply with its obligation to regularise its financial health within the stipulated time frame.

XOX Bhd is teaming up with Thai state-owned telecommunications firm TOT PCL to explore the mobile virtual network operator market in Thailand, connecting in technicality and testing the mobile telecommunication systems, as well as other commercial operations.