KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 7): Based on corporate announcements and news flow today, companies that may be in focus tomorrow (Friday, Jan 8) could include the following: Telekom, Instacom, PetGas, Maybank, Ideal Sun City, Esthetics and Gamuda.

Telekom Malaysia Bhd and NEC Corp said they had completed the installation of a submarine cable system at Melaka to improve global telecommunication connectivity.

In a joint statement today, Telekom Malaysia and NEC said the submarine cable system at Melaka formed a portion of the 20,000km Southeast Asia-Middle East-Western Europe 5 (SEA-ME-WE 5) scheme.

Upon completion in 2016, the 20,000km cable system will be linked via a fibre optic path between Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Europe.

Instacom Group Bhd, which will soon change its name to Vivocom Intl Holdings Bhd, announced today that its recent private placement exercise had raised RM33.75 million from strategic investors.

It had previously announced that the exercise would involve up to 10% of its issued and paid-up capital or 323.42 million new shares, at an issue price of 25 sen each, and that the bulk of the proceeds would be for future viable investments and general working capital.

The placement proceeds would further contribute to its cash balance of RM37.99 million as at Sept 30, 2015, according to the company's announcement today.

Petronas Gas Bhd (PetGas) secured a US$500 million (RM2.21 billion) loan from Mizuho Bank Ltd to finance the oil and gas entity's capital expenditure.

In a statement to Bursa Malaysia today, PetGas said it signed the facility agreement with Mizuho Bank Ltd, Mizuho Bank Ltd Labuan Branch and Mizuho Bank (M) Bhd.

"The facility shall have a tenure of five years from the first drawdown and is expected to be used to finance PGB (PetGas) and/or its subsidiaries' general corporate funding purposes, including, but not limited to, capital expenditure.

"None of the directors and/or major shareholders of PGB or persons connected to such directors and/or major shareholders of PGB have any interest, direct or indirect, in the above said matter," PetGas said.

Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) and Visa have today launched Maybank Visa Payband, the first contactless wearable in the country.

The wearable allows users to conduct contactless payments in a matter of seconds, leveraging on Visa's payWave contactless technology, at more than 1,000 locations across the country.

Dubbed "Maybank Visa Payband", Visa country manager for Malaysia Ng Kong Boon said the adoption of a contactless payment wearable will be well-received by Malaysians and will be used to displace cash.

Maybank Group Head of Cards and Wealth B Ravintharan said the pilot of this new payment innovation will help propel Maybank into the forefront of non-cash and electronic payments.

Penang-based Ideal Sun City Holdings Bhd plans to buy 15 leasehold units at the Anzen Business Park in Taman Maluri, Kuala Lumpur, for RM6.15 million to generate more stable returns and earn recurring rental income.

In a bourse filing, Ideal Sun City said its wholly-owned unit Ideal Property Concept Sdn Bhd entered into 15 sale and purchase agreements with vendor Tan Hua Meng for the light industry properties with a 99-year leasehold that expires on Nov 27, 2079.

"All 15 properties are rented out with an average gross rental yield of approximately 5.9% per annum based on the market value.

"The acquisition would allow the group to expand its property base not only in terms of the number of properties but also in other locations, which would reduce the concentration risk of the properties owned by the group," it said.

Esthetics International Group Bhd (EIG)'s wholly-owned subsidiary EIG Dermal Wellness (M) Sdn Bhd has signed a distribution agreement with France's LPG Systems.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia today, EIG said the agreement grants EIG the exclusive rights to sell and distribute LPG skin care equipment through the professional beauty and wellness market in Malaysia for a period of one year.

"The agreement will enable EIG to further leverage and expand its distribution of professional skin care and beauty equipment through all appropriate distribution channels, including professional salons," read the announcement.

The final cost of the Penang Transport Master Plan (TMP) could balloon to more than the estimated RM27 billion once all the plans — including those for the elevated rail system alignment — and the relevant detailed studies, are completed and federal approvals are obtained.

Gamuda Bhd-led SRS Consortium project delivery partner's manager Szeto Wai Loong told reporters the cost would have to match the revenue that could be generated from the 3,000-acre land that would be reclaimed off Bayan Lepas.

"The estimate was made by Penang TMP study consultant Halcrow Consultants Sdn Bhd in 2011 or 2012, but there are additional things that have been proposed since then particularly on the mainland such as the bus rapid transit.

"While the state government has endorsed the new items, our next step is to estimate the total cost. However, we would know better when the tenders are called for the projects such as the light rail transit (LRT)," he said.

(Note: The Edge Research's fundamental score reflects a company's profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.)