KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 9): Based on corporate announcements and news flow today, companies that may be in focus on Thursday (Oct 10) may include the following: Sime Darby Plantation Bhd, AirAsia Bhd, Asia Poly Holdings Bhd, Advancecon Holdings Bhd, ABM Fujiya Bhd, Destini Bhd and CAM Resources Bhd.
Moody's Investors Service has affirmed the Baa1 issuer ratings of Sime Darby Plantation Bhd, but revised the outlook to Negative from Stable, owing to its weak credit metrics. It has also cautioned of a potential downgrade should debt levels not be addressed, and highlighted the planter’s increasing exposure to environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks.
Moody's vice-president and analyst Maisam Hasnain said the decision to change the outlook to negative reflects Moody’s expectations that Sime Darby Plantation’s credit metrics will remain weak over the next six to 12 months, despite the group’s planned RM1 billion debt reduction via asset sale proceeds this year. And given Sime Darby Plantation's elevated leverage, any delays in executing its asset monetization plans or the use of proceeds for purposes other than debt reduction would likely result in a negative rating action.
The Philippine unit of AirAsia Bhd is postponing its initial public offering (IPO) to next year or 2021 as it focuses on corporate reorganisation and seeking funds from existing shareholders, its chairman Joseph Omar Castillo said.
The low-cost airline has been looking to go public and raise around US$200 million since 2015, but has shelved its plan several times because of weak markets and volatile oil prices.
"According to our estimated timeline, we are looking at the third quarter next year to first quarter of 2021," Castillo told reporters, adding another major consideration would be a good performance of the stock market.
Asia Poly Holdings Bhd's indirect 51%-owned Asia Poly Bio Gas Sdn Bhd has received the Sustainable Energy Development Authority's (SEDA) feed-in approval to supply electricity in Malaysia under a 21-year contract.
Asia Poly Bio Gas' renewable energy installation in Jeli, Kelantan, has an installed electricity generation capacity of 0.5 megawatt (MW).
The 21-year contract's effective period starts from the scheduled feed-in tariff commencement date on Sept 30, 2022 while the distribution licensee for the project is Tenaga Nasional Bhd, according to Asia Poly Holdings.
Advancecon Holdings Bhd has bagged an RM49.38 million subcontract job for road infrastructure projects in Sarawak under the Upper Rajang Development Agency (URDA).
The job is under the URDA package 2, which consists of phase 1 - section 2, mainly for road infrastructure projects in Pelagus/Baleh, proposed new road from Baleh Bridge/Rh Belaja, Ng Benin/Sk Ng. Pelagus to Pelagus Resort. The 29-month job starts on Oct 19 and will be completed by March 18, 2022.
Homegrown automotive battery manufacturer ABM Fujiya Bhd is partnering China’s Jujiang Power Technology Co Ltd (Jeje) to explore and evaluate the possibility of setting up a new battery manufacturing plant in Malaysia worth RM500 million. ABM’s unit, Amalgamated Batteries Manufacturing (Sarawak) Sdn Bhd, has inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Jeje for the purpose.
Destini Bhd’s unit has bagged an umbrella contract from Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd to provide integrated well services for intervention, workover and abandonment for petroleum arrangement contractors (PACs). It said the contract — awarded to its wholly-owned Destini Oil Services Sdn Bhd (DOS) on Sept 20 — had commenced on the same date and would expire on Sept 19, 2024, unless extended or terminated.
Aluminium and stainless steel kitchenware marker CAM Resources Bhd said it is not proceeding with its planned seven megaWatt (mW) per hour renewable electrical energy power plant in Taiping, Perak.
It said that after due consideration and further reassessment on the project's feasibility, it decided not to go ahead with the project and will surrender the approved feed-in tariff (FiT) quota for the project to the Sustainable Energy Development Authority (SEDA). The cancellation was mainly to do with costs and lack of expertise.