FAQS ON SWINE FLU

1. What is Swine Flu (Swine Influenza)?
Swine flu is a respiratory disease affecting pigs that is caused by type A influenza virus. Swine influenza viruses may circulate among swine throughout the year, but most outbreaks occur during the late fall and winter months similar to influenza outbreaks in humans. It causes high levels of illness but low death rates in pigs.

2. Does Swine Flu affect humans?
Swine flu viruses that cause disease in pigs very rarely affect humans. However, sporadic human infections with swine flu have occurred. Most commonly, these cases occur in persons with direct exposure to pigs but there have also been documented cases of human-to-human spread of swine flu.

3. How does Swine Flu spread to humans?
Swine flu spreads to humans mainly through contact with infected pigs, which shed the virus in their saliva, nasal secretions and faeces. Limited human-to-human transmission can also occur in the same way as seasonal flu occurs in people.

4. Can people catch Swine Flu from eating pork?
There is currently no evidence to suggest that swine flu can be transmitted to humans from eating pork or pork products that have been thoroughly cooked.

5. What are the symptoms of Swine Flu in humans?
The symptoms of swine flu in people are expected to be similar to the symptoms of regular human seasonal influenza. An early symptom is high fever, and this is followed by cough, sore throat, runny nose, and sometimes breathlessness a few days later.

6. How can human infections with swine flu be diagnosed?
To diagnose swine flu, a respiratory specimen would generally need to be collected within the first 4 to 5 days of illness (when an infected person is most likely to be shedding the virus). However, some persons, especially children may shed the virus for 10 days or longer.

7. What medications are available to treat swine flu infection in humans?
There are four different antiviral drugs that are licensed for use in Singapore for the treatment of influenza: amantadine, rimantadine, oseltamivir and zanamivir. While most swine flu viruses have been susceptible to all four drugs, the most recent swine flu viruses isolated from humans are resistant to amantadine and rimantadine. At this time, the US CDC recommends the use of oseltamivir (Tamiflu®) or zanamivir (Relenza®) for the treatment and/or prevention of infection with swine flu viruses.

8. Are there any cases of Swine Flu in Singapore?
To date, there have been no human cases of swine flu detected in Singapore.

9. Is there any cause for alarm in Singapore?
No human swine flu cases have been reported in Singapore. MOH is monitoring the situation closely and will update the public should the situation change.

10. What is MOH doing to ensure that the disease is not transmitted here?
MOH maintains a comprehensive and well established disease surveillance system for the early detection of human cases of novel influenzas such as swine flu. In addition, MOH has sent a medical alert to all medical practitioners and staff in hospitals, national centres, private medical clinics and polyclinics to update them on the outbreak of swine flu in the USA and Mexico and to advise them to be vigilant for any suspect cases. When the situation warrants, MOH will step up public health measures e.g. quarantine of contacts, issue public health advisories, and work with other government agencies to screen visitors at our border checkpoints. Further, MOH has an influenza pandemic preparedness plan in response to a pandemic situation.

11. Is it safe to visit countries with cases of Swine Flu and will I be quarantined when I return? What travel precautions should I take?
There are currently no travel restrictions or quarantine advised by the World Health
Organisation for swine flu. If you intend to travel to areas which have cases of swine flu (currently – Southern California and Texas in the United States; and Mexico), you should take note of the following measures to minimize your risk of acquiring swine flu:
- Avoid contact with persons with symptoms of influenza
- Avoid crowded areas and maintain good ventilation.
- Observe good personal and environmental hygiene. Wash hands thoroughly with soap and water frequently and when they are contaminated by respiratory secretions e.g. after sneezing.
- Maintain good body resistance through a balanced diet, regular exercise, having adequate rest, reducing stress and not smoking.

12. What should I do if I suspect I have swine flu after returning to Singapore?
You should consult your doctor as soon as possible and inform your doctor if you have symptoms of swine flu and had recently travelled to areas which have cases of swine flu (currently – Southern California and Texas in the United States; and
Mexico).

13. What should I do if I fall ill overseas?
You should consult a local doctor as soon as possible and refrain from traveling until you are certified fit by the doctor.

14. Does influenza vaccination help in preventing Swine Flu?
Vaccines are available to be given to pigs to prevent swine influenza. There is no vaccine to protect humans from swine flu. The seasonal influenza vaccine is unlikely to protect against H1N1 swine flu viruses.

15. Is it safe to come into contact with live pigs in nature reserves and the wildlife reserves?
So far, there are no known cases of swine flu in Singapore. However, proper hygiene practices, such as washing of hands after contact with animals including pigs, should be maintained.

BPort ... Apr 09

It is aiming to reduce its dependency on liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo to 60% of its total operating revenue in the next five years.

Currently, LNG revenue contributes 78% of the company’s total operating revenue. Bintulu Port would only further develop LNG facilities if such a need arose. To realise this, the group will enhance existing facilities as well as develop new facilities such as refurbishment of the multipurpose terminal and development of 19.1ha for operation buildings and yard.

The company planned to expand its container terminal (which includes stacking yard, additional berths and container freight station), develop an additional berth for the edible oil terminal, oil and gas terminal and break bulk facilities (which comprise 500m berths, warehouse and storage yard). The estimated cost of these project is about RM600 million.

The company operates via two wholly owned subsidiaries Bintulu Port Sdn Bhd (BPSB) and Biport Bulkers Sdn Bhd (BBSB).

For BPSB, LNG remains the major contributor with 56.05% of the cargo throughput, followed by containerised cargo 10.64%, crude oil 9.98% and palm oil products 4.80%. Petroleum products, logs, plywood, sawn timber, urea and liquefied petroleum gas contribute the balance.

BBSB, which specialises in providing storage and bulking services, recorded a 292% rise in the handling of palm oil products to 1.53 million tonnes in 2008 from 388,976 tonnes in 2007.

The company attributed the strong performance to the utilisation of its facilities by two major customers with effect from April 2008.

Financial Results …

For FY08, its net profit rose 11% to RM150.61 million from RM135.64 million in the previous year while revenue increased 7.57% to RM448.77 million from RM417.17 million. Earnings per share climbed to 37.65 sen from 33.91 sen.

Sime Darby/Ramunia ... Apr 09

Sources say several government linked companies have emerged as interested parties to take up reins at fabricator Ramunia Holdings.

Heading the pack is Sime Darbym which is said to be keen on wrapping up a deal with Ramunia. If all goes as planned, an announcement on the matter may made within the next two weeks.

UMW, one of the interested parties, is however is believed to have scrapped out of the talks and is now said to be looking on subcontract O&G fabrication jobs to Ramunia.

It is uncertain whether Sime Darby’s plan entails coming into Ramunia as a passive shareholder, or if it would involve a change in management of the O&G player.

A source familiar with the deal, says Sime Darby may not necessarily be acquiring shares from Ramunia’s major shareholders LTH or Ramunia Energy & Marine Corp Sdn Bhd. It could involve a share swap with no cash outlay.

LTH, which is Ramunia’s largest shareholder, owns a 29.68% stake in the O&G player while its second largest shareholder, Ramunia Energy holds a 25.68% stake.

This is not the first time that Sime Darby has expressed an interest in coming Ramunia as a shareholder.

Sime Darby’s plan to link up with Ramunia is probably to prepare for additional capacity in capital expenditure by state controlled oil major Petronas. As a result, more yard space is likely to be needed, which in turn would benefit the oil major’s production sharing contractors, one of which is Ramunia.

Ramunia has some flaws, the company trails othr players in terms of management quality and order book strength, which has resulted in three consecutive quarters of bleeding.

It suffered RM279 million in net losses for FY2008 ended Oct 31, 2008 and incurred another RM5.5 million in net losses in 1QFY2009. As of 1QFY2009, the O&G player’s NTA were only 26 sen per share.

With the emergence of a white knight, Ramunia could be given new lease of life, industry observers say.

Without fresh capital injection, Ramunia could become a PN17 candidate – if its losses are not stemmed. Although losses have narrowed in last quarter (1Q2009), substantial cost overruns on its existing order book could throw spanner in the works, erasing shareholders’ funds of Rm148 million.

Given its declining order book, which stands at a mere RM250 million, its frails balance sheet, with an increase in net debt of 20% to RM321 million as well as negative interest cover and operating cash flow.

Binaik Equity Bhd ... Apr 09

Binaik Equity Bhd, a property development and investments company, has received a letter from its major shareholder, Yeo Brothers Sdn Bhd, requesting it to undertake a selective capital repayment exercise.
Its board of directors would deliberate on the matter and decide on the next course of action.

The latest data showed that as of Jan 23 2009, Yeo Brothers owned an 11.16% stake comprising 10.93 million shares of Binaik.

As at Dec 31, 2008, the company had RM3.64 million in cash and balances as well as fixed deposits. It also had total borrowings of RM44.85 million.

Financial Results … For the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2008, its net loss widened to RM1.74 million from a loss of RM275,000 a year earlier, due to an impairment in certain assets, although revenue grew to RM21.17 million from RM16.94 million. For FY08, it posted a net profit of RM41,000 versus RM1.31 million in FY07, while revenue rose to RM80.08 million from RM72.2 million.

AIRASIA

CEO SAYS PASSENGER VOLUME UP 21% FOR 1QE MAR 2009

AIRASIA is optimistic that its passenger growth will be intact for 2009 despite the global recession which has significantly impacted the aviation industry.

AIRASIA CEO - TONY FERNANDES said Apr 9, 2009 that the low-cost carrier was confident that it would still capture passenger growth via its expanding route network and competitive fares.

PASSENGER GROWTH UP 21% FOR 1QE MAR 2009 " .... We are very focused and we have a fantastic first quarter (as) our passenger numbers are up 21%. Our fares have remained competitive ...." TONY FERNANDEZ told reporters after launch of the online savings account, CIMB BANK AIRASIA SAVERS ACCOUNT.

The 1QE Mar 31, 2009 results are due for release by end May 2009. The price of AIRASIA was hovering at around 90 sen up to Apr 2, 2009 when it closed at 98.5 sen. The price surged on Apr 6, 2009 to 1.08 for an intra-day high with high volumes and closed at RM1.06 suggesting insider trading or price manipulation.

FERNANDES said both AIRASIA and long-haul budget airline AIRASIA X had seen good growth, in line with their capacity. " .... Our passenger numbers are growing, and destinations and route network continue to grow ...." he said.

Commenting on AIRASIA's and TUNE MONEY's latest tie-up with CIMB BANK, FERNANDES said the product would give added value to the 60m people who had flown with AIRASIA, through the payment-and-savings convenience the product offered.

" .... This product can go outside of Malaysia. Both AIRASIA and CIMB have the vision of (an) Asean (brand). What we develop here can be brought into those places ...." he said.

ASW2020 (non-bumi) is already sold out!

Understand from one of my friend, at 11:45am, the ASW2020 (49% allocated to non-bumiputeras) is already sold out!

TOP GLOVE ... Apr 09

TOP GLOVE CORPORATION recorded higher Net Profit and Revenue for 2QE Feb 2009 due to lower commodity prices and a favourable forex despite a challenging economy.

For 2QE Feb 28, 2009, Net Profit increased 22% to RM36m from RM29.5m a year earlier due to an 8% increase in Revenue to RM346.5m. Basic earnings per share improved to 12.22 sen from 9.96 sen previously.

1HE FEB 2009 RESULTS
For 1HE Feb 2009, Net Profit rose 19% to RM70.2m while Revenue was 11.5% higher at RM732.6m.

The Company explained that " .... the decline in oil price, latex price and favourable exchange rate also further improved the Group's profitability ....".

NET CASH AT RM183M
The Group continued to strengthen its Balance Sheet and Working Capital position with Net Cash position of RM183.1m as at Feb 28, 2009. Debtors and Inventory Turnover Days had also improved.

NEW PRODUCTION LINES
TOP GLOVE was targeting to commission its Factory 19, located in Klang, by Jun 2009. The factory has 16 new and advanced glove production lines.

The Company's two latex plants in Thailand have also completed installing the additional eight latex centrifuge machines in order to supply additional latex concentrate to the increasing demand from the Group's glove manufacturing factories.

把你的心從竿上撐過去

一位撐竿跳選手，一直苦於無法超越一個高度。

他失望地對教練說： 「我實在是跳不過去。」

教練問：「你心裡在想什麼？」

他說：「我一衝到起跳線時，看到那個高度，就覺得我跳不過去。」

教練告訴他：
「你一定可以跳過去的。把你的心從竿上撐過去，你的身子就一定會跟著過去。」

他撐起竿又跳了一次，果然一躍而過。


【智慧沙】

一個人最難克服的是心理障礙。要想讓身子過去，就要先把心從竿上撐過去。

險峰急流與你何干

這是一處地勢險惡的峽谷。

湍急的水流奔騰而下，幾根光禿禿的鐵索橫亙在懸崖峭壁間，這就是過河的橋。

有三個人來到橋頭。

一個盲人，一個聾子，一個耳聰目明的健全人。

三個人一個接一個地抓住鐵索，凌空行進。

結果是：盲人、聾子過了橋，那個耳聰目明的人跌了下去，喪了命。

難道耳聰目明的人不如盲人、聾人嗎？
他的弱點恰恰源於耳聰目明。

盲人說：
我眼睛看不見，不知山高橋險，心平氣和地攀索；
聾人說：
我的耳朵聽不見，不聞腳下咆哮怒吼，恐懼相對減少了很多。

【智慧沙】

對於健全的人來說，心智的修煉恐怕要比本領的修煉更重要。

你過你的橋，險峰和急流又與你何干？只管注意你的腳，讓自己踏得穩固就夠了。

HWANG-DBS ... Apr 09

Declining stock brokering activities led HWANG-DBS MALAYSIA to suffer a Net Loss of RM1.1m for 2QE Jan 2009 compared with a profit of RM15.9m in the corresponding period last year.

LOWER FEE INCOME
Apart from a decline in stockbroking income, HWANG-DBS also suffered lower profit due to lower fee income and loss incurred in derivatives. But it was partially offset by a Writeback of Allowance for Loan Loss, higher Net Interest Income from money-lending activities and reduction in staff costs for the quarter under review, it said in an EXCHANGE filing. Revenue for 2QE Jan 2009 was down 37% to RM57.1m from RM91.1m previously.

1HE JAN 2009 RESULTS
For 1HE Jan 2009, Net Profit was sharply lower at RM1.8m, a 94.5% plunge compared to RM34.4m in 2008 due to a 20% decline in Revenue to RM140.3m against RM175.6m in the preceding financial year.

While the Group achieved a higher interest income from its investment banking and money-lending activities during the current financial period, Operating Revenue has been impacted by the reduction in stock broking brokerage income as a result of thin trading volume as well as the losses in derivative trading, it added.

EXPECTATION OF A SLOWER BOURSE
HWANG-DBS said going forward, trading activities in the local bourse are expected to remain sluggish and with no immediate signs of the Malaysian equity market picking up in the near term. The outlook of the Group's stockbroking division would remain challenging.

KIM LOONG ... Apr 09

KIM LOONG RESOURCES posted a Net Profit of RM8.6m for 4QE Jan 2009 - down 63% from RM23.2m a year earlier, in line with a 47% drop in Revenue to RM80.1m from RM150.3m previously.

DIVIDEND DECLARED
The Company proposed a Final Dividend of three sen per share, bringing total dividends for financial year 2009 (FY09) to 36 sen per share.

FULL FYE JAN 2009 RESULTS
For full FYE Jan 2009, Revenue grew 8% to RM507.0m from RM469.8m in FY08, while Net Profit rose 12% to RM65.2m from RM58.5m previously.

The growth in full-year revenue was due to higher crude palm oil (CPO) price and higher production of fresh fruit bunches (FFB) compared with the previous corresponding period, the Company said.

Profit from plantation operation rose 14% or RM10.7m to RM86.3m as a result of the better CPO prices and about 10% increase in FFB production by 24,000 tonnes y-o-y. ".... As for the milling operation, the profit dropped by 19% or RM4.5m to RM19.2m, mainly due to Inventory Write-down as a result of the steep decline in palm oil product prices in the second half of the financial year ...." it said.

HIGHER PRODUCTION EXPECTED IN 2009/10
On prospects for FY10, KIM LOONG expects further increase in the production from both the plantation and milling operations compared with FY09.

ASM & ASW2020 units - Online Top Up : update

Referring to ASM & ASW2020 topic:-

Please take note, currently only Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB) unit trust funds is available for online top up.

Maybank2u charge RM1 for every transaction!

That's mean they prefer you go to bank to queue up to purchase ??!!!!

Related link:-
Open an ASM (Amanah Saham Malaysia) account
ASM & ASW2020 units - Online Top Up available

Atrium REIT

BHLB Trustee Sdn Bhd its former tenant – CEVA Logistics Snd Bhd - of its REIT, which occupied Atrium REIT’s Atrium Shah Alam 2 to court.

Atrium REIT announced that a writ summons filed at the Shah Alam High Court on April 2 2009 has been served on CEVA’s solicitors on April 14, 2009.

BHLB Trustee is seeking to avit CEVA from Atrium Shah Alam 2 and claim an unspecified amount of damages.

It is not immediately certain if CEVA has fully vacated Atrium Shah Alam 2, one of the four properties in Atrium REIT. According to announcement, CEVA had vacated 153702 sq ft of the net lettable area since Jan 31, 2009 will vacate the rest by March 31, 2009 two days before the writ summons was filed.

The good news is that the trustee is talking active action to rectify the situation at Atrium Shah Alam 2. On March 2009, the REIT managers said negotiations with a shortlisted prospective tenant to take up the whole premises are in the advanced stages and the new tenancy is expected to commence at the end of 2Q2009.

Since Aug 2008, Atrium REIT Managers had mentioned in its interim report that CEVA was occupying the Shah Alam 2 premises on a monthly contractual basis. This only became clear following the announcement on March 5, 2009 that 86.9% of Atrium Shah Alam 2 had been leased out on a monthly to CEVA for over 1 ½ years. Interestingly, the tenancy agreement expired between July 14 2006 and July 31, 2007.

By March 5, 2009, it was already one month since CEVA had vacated 59% of the space it was occupying. On March 17, 2009 Atrium Managers said that it had initiated many rounds of negotiations with CEVA since the expiry of the tenancies, with hopes of renewing the expired tenancies on a long term basis, but to no avail. Hence it had no choice but to evict VECA.

The expiry dates were disclosed in Atrium REIT Managers’ initial public offering prospectus dated Feb 28, 2007. But is it the expiry of such tenancy agreements a material information that needs to be highlighted to unitholders.

This is given that it is via the signing of long term agreements that the risk of single tenanted properties of a REIT is mitigated.

The expiry of the three of four tenancy agreements at Atrium Shah Alam 2 was only indicated in its 2007 annual report. Still what the Atrium REIT managers said was that the tenancies for 224704 sq ft will be expiring on March 31, 2008 and went on to add that there is confirmation in writing to extend the tenancies to between Dec 31, 2008 and Dec 31, 2009.

Atrium REIT Managers in its March 17 2009 announcement, did not say when it began actively sourcing for a new prospective tenant in anticipation that CEVA may move out.

CEVA has relocated to its new headquarters in Bkt Jelutong, Shah Alam. Atrium REIT Managers’ substantial shareholder, Glory Biltz Industries Sdn Bhd, was reportedly to be the entity which would be building CEVA’s RM60 million new warehouse that was ready in 2009.

Atrium REIT Managers had, in its prospectus, warned investors of the potential conflict on interest pertaining to future acquisitions and competition for tenants between itself and Glory Blitz, which is principally a property investment holding company.

This is where the role of REIT’s trustee comes in. Trustees being custodians of the assets in a trust, are required by law to actively monitor the administration of a REIT by the management company to ensure that the interest of unitholders is upheld at all times.

Financial Results …

Real estate investment trust Atrium REIT attributed its higher-than-expected after-tax income for its financial year ended Dec 31, 2008, primarily to the revaluation of its property holdings.

Atrium announced an unaudited after-tax income of RM17.11 million for FY08, which is 69.4% higher than its forecast of RM10.1 million. The positive deviation of RM7.008 million representing 69.4% between the projections and unaudited results were contributed mainly by revaluation surplus gained from the revaluation of the investment properties of RM6.8 million and net savings in operating expenses.

Savings in operational expenses accounted for the remainder of the deviation.

ASM & ASW2020 units - Online Top Up available

Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB), the country’s biggest fund manager with RM76 billion worth of funds under its management, will offer 3.33 billion new units of Amanah Saham Malaysia (ASM) and two billion units of Amanah Saham Wawasan 2020 (ASW 2020).

ASM available top up from today onward (21/April), and ASW2020 available from next week onward (27/April).

On 20/Apr, Maybank and PNB Launch Malaysia’s First Online Facility for ASB investments:-

Make additional ASB investment through M2U in just 6 EASY STEPS. M2U's latest online service lets you perform ASB transactions as frequently as you want, at any amount you wish. All you need is a valid ASB membership number and you will be able to invest in additional ASB units for yourself and/or other third party accounts.

How to make additional ASB investment through M2U?
Just follow these steps:

1. Login to Maybank2u.com. Then select the "Investment" tab.
2. Select "ASNB Unit Trust" from the menu.
3. Please read and understand the Declaration. Check on the box to acknowledge the terms and conditions. Click "Next".
4. Request for TAC number. Select your "From Account" for payment and select ASB from the "Product Name" list. Key in Membership Number and Amount. Click "Continue".
5. Key in TAC number and click "Confirm" to complete your transaction.
6. When the Payment Status page appears, click "Print Receipt" and keep it for your future reference.

The following unit trust funds are available:-
Amanah Saham Nasional (ASN)
Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB)
Amanah Saham Wawasan 2020 (ASW 2020)
Amanah Saham Nasional 2 (ASN2)
Amanah Saham Malaysia (ASM)
Amanah Saham Didik (ASD)
Amanah Saham Nasional 3 Imbang (ASN 3)
Amanah Saham Gemilang (Amanah Saham Pendidikan, Amanah Saham Kesihatan, Amanah Saham Persaraan)

Investments that have been successfully received will be processed on the same day and investors can update their ASB account book the following working day (based on Federal Territory working days).

Online top up available from 0000 - 1700 Monday to Friday.

With this facilities available, this make a lot of people life easier..... no need to queue and wait in the bank!

Related post:-
Open an ASM (Amanah Saham Malaysia) account

Scientex ... Apr 09

It expects its coming quarter earnings to stabilise with an improvement in margins. While the prices of resins in particular remained volatile, an improvement in prices was on the cards, adding that the group expansion plan was still ongoing.

Its manufacturing division also includes the production of automotive parts.

On the company’s plans going forward, due to the stagnant domestic automotive industry, Scientex had scaled down its automotive parts division and was focusing more on the manufacturing of industrial plastic products and property development.

Since the consolidation of the group in 2008, manufacturing and property development have been the mainstay of the company, contributing about 85% and 15% of its revenue respectively.

Scientex’s shor-term outlook remained bleak, tempered by the slowdown in its exports. Scientex currently exports about 70% of its products to over 60 countries, mainly to Japan, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and other Asia-Pacific countries.

Its main product in the manufacturing division is industrial stretch film, besides flexible intermediate bulk containers (FIBC) bulk bags, strapping bands and corrugated cartons.

On its property division, Scientex was still looking at expanding its landbank to position itself for the eventual upturn in property market. It has also started the second phase of its project in Kulai, Johor on April 1. The Kulai township project comprising about 200 units of landed residential properties with selling prices of between RM100,000 and RM120,000 is 33% completed and has another five to eight years of development left. Scientex’s flagship property project is Taman Scientex in Pasir Gudang, a township development on a 445.5ha land with an estimated sales or gross development value of RM1.2 billion.

Financial Results …

For its second quarter ended Jan 31, 2009, the company group’s net profit fell 40.5% to RM5.5 million from RM9.3 million a year earlier, while revenue was down 35.6% to RM107.8 million from RM167.5 million.

The group’s lean balance sheet, supported by net tangible asset (NTA) per share of RM1.62 and low net gearing of 0.1 times as at end-January 2009 would help it weather the current economic situation.

EPIC ... Apr 09

It plans to boost its fabrication business and will expand the development of available land at Pulau Kuching to carry out larger-scale fabrication works.

Plans are underway to develop some 24.2ha at Pulau Kuching, near its Kemaman Supply Base (KSB) and Kemaman Port, where EPIC’s fabrication arm, EPIC Mushtari Engineering Sdn Bhd, would be able to take on bigger jobs.

Currently, its fabrication yards at Telok Kalong and KSB can only handle minor fabrication works.

In FY08, EPIC posted a net profit of RM44.9 million compared with RM47.6 million previously while revenue jumped 40% to RM245.37 million. The company targets to maintain earnings this year, despite tough business conditions.

禮物歸誰

一個佛陀在旅途中，碰到一個不喜歡他的人。

連續好幾天，好長一段路，那個人都用盡各種方法來侮辱他。

最後，佛陀轉身問那個人：
「若有人送你一份禮物，但你拒絕接受，那麼這份禮物最後會屬於誰呢？」

那個人回答：「屬於原本送禮的那個人。」

佛陀笑著說：「沒錯。若我不接受你的謾罵，那你就是在罵自己囉？」

那個人摸摸鼻子走了。

【智慧沙】

只要心靈健康，別人怎麼樣都不會影響我們。

相反，如果我們一味地在乎別人的說法或做法，就會失去自主權，受人支配。

Happen Duty-free shop in Bangkok International Airport, true?

My Dept secretary informed on this. Her cousin was detained in Bangkok for stealing a box of cigarettes in a duty-free shop in Bangkok International Airport

He had paid for chocolates and a carton of cigarettes. The cashier put a packet of smokes into his bag and he thought it was a free pack. He was arrested for shop-lifting and the Thai Police extortion price was RM30,000 for his release. He spent two nights in jail and paid RM50 for an air-cond cell, 200-300 baht for each visitor, and RM11,000 for his final release. The Police shared the money in front of his eyes. On top of that, he was charged in court and fined RM2,000 by the magistrate and handcuffed and escorted to his plane. His passport was stamped "Thief". While there, his relatives requested help from the Malaysian Embassy and was told that they are helpless, as M'sians are victimised similarly daily and letters and phone-calls to the Thai Authorities are ignored.

He shared a cell with a Singaporean the 1st night who paid RM60,000 for his release. The 2nd night was an Indian national who paid USD70,000.

Mind you this is not in a shag downtown Bangkok but in a duty free shop in Bangkok's Int'l Airport.

BE WARNED.

RAMUNIA HOLDINGS RECORDS NET LOSS FOR 1QE

RAMUNIA HOLDINGS recorded a Net Loss of RM5.56m for 1QE Jan 31, 2009 against a Net Profit of RM5.70m a year earlier on the back of a 18.4% decline in Revenue to RM89.9m from RM110.2m previously.

RAMUNIA in an EXCHANGE filing on Mar 31, 2009 said that the lower Turnover was due to a lower Order Book. A look at the Company's P&L showed its Finance Cost for the quarter nearly doubling y-o-y to RM6.9m from RM3.6m.

In comparison with the previous year's corresponding quarter, all of RAMUNIA's divisions, including oil and gas and crane manufacturing, reported losses. The oil and gas division had recorded a profit of RM8.4m a year earlier.

FOCUS ON OFFSHORE FABRICATION WORKS
Going forward, RAMUNIA said that it would continue to concentrate on the fabrication of offshore oil and gas related structures and other related works.

RAMUNIA hit a rough patch at the end of 2008 when MISC aborted a RM3.2 bil reverse takeover of the Company, citing unsatisfactory due diligence findings.

The Company added that it will endeavour to " .... resiliently focus on further strengthening the execution of the existing secured Order Books from oil majors such as WOODSIDE AUSTRALIA, SARAWAK SHELL and PETRONAS CARIGALI sb and undertake the appropriate operational measures in the best interest of the shareholders of RAMUNIA ....".

Leweko Resources Bhd ... Apr 09

A largest timber concessionaires in Malaysia, excited the plantation business by disposing of its three wholly owned subsidiary involved in oil palm cultivation for RM35.65 million cash, leaving the company with only its timber business.

It is selling its four 60 year sublease oil palm plantations in Perak.

The reason is because its executive director points to the rise and fall in CPO prices. He viewed that CPO price will remain high, going forward, they tend to overlook the fact that the corresponding cost (especially fertilizers and transport) has also increased substantially since 2006 and this eats into the profit margin.

The proceeds from the disposal will be utilized as working capital for its timber operations and for investment opportunities that may arise from time to time.

The company is looking at investment opportunities related to its timber business.

It is in a net debt position with total borrowings of Rm18 million as at Dec 31, 2008.

It will have a net cash of about Rm15 million upon the completion of the proposed disposal, with all things being equal.

Almost 90% of its revenue and assets are derived from and employed in its timber operations.

The company still has significant forest concessions and a secure supply of timber logs. Harvesting has been deferred for the time being due to the poor selling prices but there will be substantial points when timber prices recover.

GAMUDA 2009 RESULTS DISAPPOINTING

GAMUDA's Revenue rose 23% y-o-y in 1HE Jan 2009 but Net Profit contracted 42% y-o-y. OSK RESEARCH in a paper reported in THEEDGEDAILY.COM on Mar 30, 2009 said that " .... In light of the disappointing results, we further cut our FY09 to FY10 earnings (estimates) by 3.3% to 7.5%, while FY11 remain unchanged ....".

MAYBANK INVESTMENT BANK also reduced GAMUDA's FY09 Net Profit Forecast by 20%. The construction firm's 1H09 Net Profit of RM104m accounted for 44% of the research house's full-year estimates.

" .... Property development also disappointed, with slower progress billings (which declined 3% q-o-q and 12% y-o-y) and lower Pre-Tax Margin of 17.4% (which decreased 7.7% y-o-y) amid a soft market since FY08 and changes in product mix ...." it said.

Nevertheless, MAYBANK INVESTMENT said consolation against disappointing results was the steady earnings support from water and expressways concessions, which contributed 60% to GAMUDA's PBT.

FOREIGN OWNERSHIP DECLINES
GAMUDA's foreign shareholding had declined 2% month-on-month to 43% at end-Feb 2009.

MAYBANK INVESTMENT said that although GAMUDA's upside might be capped by lacklustre results and downgrades of consensus' high earnings forecasts, its share price downside was limited by a strong asset base to support earnings.

" .... The downside is limited by its water and expressway businesses, which would continue to provide resilient earnings ...." said the research house.

Metro Kajang ... Apr 09

It ventured into plantation sector in 2007. With asset prices generally lower now, they are looking at expanding their plantation landbank in Kalimantan, Indonesia.

It also has operations in livestock, has so far invested Rm220 million in buying and developing plantations in Kalimantan. The funds were mainly internally generated, with bank borrowings of US$26 million.

It is expecting contributions from its plantation division to start rolling in from 2012 and feels that it will become a major earnings contributor to the group in the future.

As at Dec 31, 2008, its cash and cash equivalent stand at RM93 million, while long term borrowings amount to RM92 million.

Meda Inc ... Apr 09

It is venturing into the abattoir and meat distribution business via the acquisition of a 51% stake in Hadhari Cattle Industry Sdn Bhd for RM18 million cash consideration.

It had entered into a share sale agreement with the vendor Abdul Rashid Tang Abdullah to acquire 2.55 million shares of Hadhari Cattle. Upon completion, Hadhari Cattle will become a subsidiary of Meda.

Hadhari Cattle is involved in abattoir operations, distribution of meat and meat products and plans to venture into the development of feedlot vendor programme. It is leasing and operating the abattoir in Kampung Paya Pahlawan, Jitra, Kedah.

Amidst the economic slowdown in the property sector, Meda is seeking to diversify its business in order to derive a stable source of income. In the opinion of the board, Hadhari’s business represents such an income source.

The vendor had given a pretax profit guarantee of RM14 million, of which RM2 million was in 2009 and RM4 million in 2010. For 2011, the profit guarantee is RM8 million.

ILB ... Apr 09

It will focus on the construction of its Dubai warehouse while diversifying into oil and gas, chemical storage and cold room to mitigate the impact of the global economic crisis.

Its business in China is down by 20% to 25%. Its business in Malaysia is also down by 30% to 35%. Its volume is down tremendously.

Its objective now is to sustain the company.

Integrated Logistics is involved in providing warehousing and logistics services.

The construction of the warehouse in Dubai began in the fourth quarter of 2008 and was slated for completion by mid-2010. The facility would start operation in the first quarter of 2011 and cater mainly to consumer products.

In 2008, it sold about RM120mil worth of assets in China and Malaysia in line with its growth strategy. The company’s cash position was good and that it was not under financial stress.

Integrated Logistics recorded a pre-tax profit of RM31.9mil for the financial year ended Dec 31 compared with RM14.9mil in 2007.

The China operations contribute 80% to the company’s bottomline while Malaysia contributes 20%.

Perisai ... Apr 09

It hopes to either build or acquire more strategic marine assets to assist in the offshore installation of small fields and deepwater developments.

The company planned to co-own the assets via partnerships and joint ventures, as financing was somewhat limited in the current economic slowdown.

They are also aggressively sourcing for additional contracts. Nevertheless, Nagendran admitted that the Mesdaq-listed oil and gas (O&G) technology solutions provider’s asset acquisition plan may hit a snag as its finances were constrained by the need to service its US$72mil term loan for the purchase of the derrick lay barge in four years.

Perisai currently has an order book of about RM456mil from charter contracts of its derrick lay barge, Enterprise 3, and portable saturation diving system (used to perform underwater inspection services during pipeline construction) as well as from the O&G corrosion business.

For the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, the group recorded a net profit of RM7.4mil versus a net loss of RM749,000 in the previous corresponding period, while revenue more than tripled to RM29.4mil mainly due to the maiden contribution from Enterprise 3.

Do you give your 100% ???

A boy and a girl were playing together. The boy had a collection of marbles. The girl had some sweets with her. The boy told the girl that he will give her all his marbles in exchange for her sweets. The girl agreed.

The boy kept the biggest and the most beautiful marble aside and gave the rest to the girl. The girl gave him all her sweets as she had promised.

That night, the girl slept peacefully. But the boy couldn't sleep as he kept wondering if the girl had hidden some sweets from him the way he had hidden his best marble.

Moral of the story:
If you don't give your hundred percent in a relationship, you'll always keep doubting if the other person has given his/her hundred percent like love, friendship, employer-employee relationship etc.

Give your hundred percent to everything you do and sleep peacefully "

"It's nice to be an important person, but it's more important to be a nice person"

Proton ... Apr 09

It announced a potentially lucrative deal to assemble pure electric vehicles for export in a tie-up with Detroit Electric Ltd.

There are also speculations that Proton will benefit from the perceived close link to the country’s new administration. Its chairman Datuk Nadzmi Mohd Salleh was reported to be one of the six persons that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak called upon for input on the economy when he was made Finance Minister a couple of months back.

However sceptical remain about Proton’s near-term prospects. From a fundamental point of view, nothing has changed about Proton.

Car sales at Proton have contracted for five consecutive months as at end of February 2009.

While its prospects remain in question, the company’s balance sheet looks healthy with cash per share estimated at RM1.60.

Khazanah Nasional Bhd has a 42% stake in Proton. The Employees Provident Fund have been steadily buying shares in Proton from the open market, raising its stake to 15% as at March 18 2009.

IOI Corp/IOIProp Apr 09

Is there a silver lining for the minority shareholders of IOI Properties Bhd (IOI Prop) holding a combined 8.67% stake that the privatisation and the de-listing of the company are imminent?

IOI Corp Bhd announced that at the close of its voluntary takeover offer on March 31 2009, it now held about 742,328,471 50 sen shares, representing 91.33% of the issued and paid-up share capital in IOI Prop.
Minority shareholders could: sell their IOI Prop shares in the market before 5pm on April 6 2009, write to IOI Corp and offer their shares, or remain in the unlisted entity of IOI Prop. Minority shareholders who wished to remain in the unlisted entity of IOI Prop would have their investment locked in the unlisted IOI Prop with limited exit strategy.

On a positive note, minority shareholders would be entitled to dividend payments declared by IOI Prop to IOI Corp in the future, but this was at the board’s discretion. Moreover, substantial property transactions by directors or substantial shareholders of IOI Corp would require minority shareholders’ approval at a general meeting. In this case, IOI Corp would have to abstain from voting. Thus, minority shareholders would still determine the outcome of the meeting.

Minority shareholders who held on to their shares and were willing to ride along with IOI Corp could benefit from IOI Prop’s performance in the long run. Hence, IOI Prop minority shareholders are still a force in the long run, despite IOI Prop being unlisted.

Related post:-
IOI Corp / IOI PROP ... Mar 09
IOI CORP ... Oct 08

Airasia ... Apr 09

It plans to borrow RM3 billion (US$822 million) next year to help pay for 24 new planes. The money is on top of the estimated RM2.1 billion already lined up for 14 planes this year (2009).

AirAsia plans to expand its fleet as the region’s economic growth fuels travel demand. Air travel in the Asia-Pacific region, excluding within China, may grow 6.2% a year on average until 2027.

AirAsia is also negotiating with Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd., which operates the country’s airports, for lower charges including landing fees at a planned new low-cost terminal at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

AirAsia X is looking at a capital-raising exercise via an initial public offering (IPO) or a private placement to raise funds for future aircraft purchases.

The airline wants to add the Airbus A350 XWB wide-body aircraft to its fleet but any firm order will only be made after the manufacturer is able to firm up delivery dates.
Due to its equity and intangibles value has increased, this opens up avenues for equity funding and, in the long term, an IPO or even a private placement is possible.

It will be when the equity markets turn around and this could be in 2010. Its equity value gives them more capital-raising capabilities.

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Airasia
Airasia Nov 08
Airasia Oct 08
Airasia Oct 08
Airasia Jun 08

Who (Politicians) Are Closely Link To Najib

1. Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar, the managing director of Khanazah Nasional Bhd;

2. Tan Sri Md Nor Yusof. An ex-banker, he was the former managing director of Malaysia Airlines and past chairman of the Securities Commission. He is currently director and chairman of Khazanah’s executive committee;

3. Datuk Mohd Nadzmi Mohd Salleh, chairman and MD of express bus operator, Konsortium Transnational Bhd. The former Proton boss was called upon by the Government in 1996 to revive the ailing public transport company; Datuk Shahril Shamsuddin of Sapura Group, which has interests in communications, information technology, and oil and gas;

4. Datuk Mohamed Azman Yahya, director of Khazanah, and founder and group chief executive of outsourcing firm Symphony House Bhd. He is also the ex-CEO of Pengurusan Danaharta Bhd; and

5. Dr Gan Wee Beng, the executive director of CIMB Group.

6. Datuk Seri Jamaludin Jarjis (Rompin MP and Pekan-born), Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal (National Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister), and

7. Datuk Seri Ahmad Hamidi and Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz (both Ministers in the Prime Minister’s Department). These are the chaps in his inner circle as they go back a long way.

8. Two professional managers who have performed well in the institutions on Najib’s watch may also be poised for bigger things. They are Felda Holdings Bhd CEO Datuk Bakke Salleh and Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera chief Tan Sri Lodin Wok Kamarudin. They have performed very well and are admirable managers. There may be bigger things in store for them.

Leweko ... Apr 09

Leweko Resources Bhd is selling its oil palm plantation business in Perak for RM35.65 million, a move that will see the company left with only the timber business.

Leweko will sell its entire 100% interest each in Kota Pinang Sdn Bhd for RM16.84 million, Sesenduk Air Sdn Bhd for RM11.64 million and Petralman Sdn Bhd for RM7.17 million. The buyers are Kilang Kelapa Sawit Lekir Sdn Bhd (KKSL), Citarasa Unggul Sdn Bhd and Nutri Valley Sdn Bhd. KKSL is acquiring a 70% stake, Citarasa Unggul a 15% stake, and Nutri Valley a 15% stake, each in the three plantations firms.

The proposed disposal will enable Leweko to rationalise its business activities and focus its resources on its core timber operations. In addition, it will provide the necessary financial resources for Leweko to meet challenges posted by the current difficult market conditions resulting from the current global economic downturn, as well as to take advantage of investment opportunities which may arise from time to time.

Leweko's original cost of investment in Kota Pinang was RM16.41 million on Nov 1 2008, 2003, and those in Sesenduk Air and Petralman were RM12.6 million and RM5.17 million, respectively, on the same date. The proposed disposals are expected to result in a gain of about RM12.4 million, thus increasing Leweko's shareholders funds to RM203.47 million from RM191.07 million as at July 3, 2008. Its net asset per share will also rise to 84 sen from 79 sen.

Group Of Companies Which Are Closely Link To Datuk Seri Najib Razak

1. Najib’s milieu is Rohana Mahmood... Rohana sits on the boards of Paramount Corp Bhd, TH Group Bhd and Dijaya Corp Bhd.

2. Johan Holdings Bhd chairman and chief executive Tan Sri Tan Kay Hock is among the people said to be close to Najib. They have known each other for a long time and are also golfing buddies. He is also a chairman of GKent.

3. Najib’s father and Malaysia ’s second Prime Minister, Tun Abdul Razak, and Tun Hussein Onn, uncle and third Prime Minister, were good friends of Tan Sri Robert Kuok, their friendship going back to their school days ... Maybulk and his related group of companies

4. Datuk Mohamed Azman Yahya, director of Khazanah ... Bolton, Pharma, MAS, PLUS & SCOMI

5. Sapura’s Shahril and his family are also said to be close friends of Najib ... SapCrest, SAPIND, SAPRES.

6. Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Albukhary's group of companies ... MMCCorp, AMtek, IRCB, MSC, BERNAS, KRAMAT, TWSCorp, TWSPlnt, Zeland

7. Datuk Johari Razak, the second eldest, read law, like his father. He is a senior partner at Shearn Delamore & Co, a large law firm in Kuala Lumpur . Johari is also a non-executive director in several publicly listed companies including, being chairman of Ancom Bhd, deputy chairman of related Nylex (M) Bhd, and directorships in Hong Leong Industries Bhd, Daiman Development Bhd and TWRREIT. He is also a director of Deutsche Bank (M) Bhd.

8. The middle brother, Datuk Mohamed Nizam Razak studied politics, philosophy and economics at Oxford University in the UK and was a stockbroker, being CEO of PB Securities Sdn Bhd in the 1990s. At present (Dec 2008), he is also a non-executive director in several publicly listed companies including Hiap Teck Venture Bhd, Mamee Double-Decker (M) Bhd, Delloyd Ventures Bhd, Yeo Hiap Seng (M) Bhd and Waseong, Like Johari, Nizam is also a director of Deutsche Bank.

9. The fourth brother Datuk Mohamed Nazim Razak, who also studied in a British university, is an architect. His wedding in 2005 when he married to Norjuma Habib Mohamed, former host of TV3’s Nona show, was widely covered in the media. He is a director of HLCap & HLBank.

10. The youngest brother is the most well-known. Datuk Nazir Razak had studied at Cambridge University where he obtained a master of philosophy. A career banker, he joined CIMB Investment Bank almost 20 years ago, rising through its executive ranks to become its CEO in 1999. Following the merger of CIMB and Bumiputra-Commerce Bank to become Bumiputra-Commerce Holdings Bhd (BCHB)

Comics..22

Comics..21

FINANCIAL CRISIS TO AFFECT IPOs FOR 2009

The deepening financial crisis that has rattled the global equity markets has resulted in the absence of initial public offerings (IPOs) on BURSA MALAYSIA SECURITIES in the first two months of 2009. In 2008, there were six offerings for the first two months and a total of 23 for whole of 2008.

Since 2000, the lowest number of IPOs was in 2001 with 20 and the highest in 2005 with 79.

PENDING IPOs
According to the SC, a total of 31 IPO applications were approved in 2008, of which 10 were listed. The remaining 21 are, as the SC said, timing their listings to take into account the current uncertain market environment after receiving time extension from the regulator.

CHINESE INTEREST
In a report carried on THEEDGEDAILY.COM on Mar 10, 2009, investment banking sources say there are at least four companies from China that have strongly expressed interest to list in Malaysia, indicating that there is still some attraction in the local equity market.

" .... They would be submitting their applications to the SC pretty soon ...." according to the report declining to provide details of the nature of these companies? businesses.

BURSA SAYS SOFT TREND IS GLOBAL
BURSA's CEO - YUSLI MOHAMED YUSOF - when asked on THE EXCHANGE's view, he said that the lack of listings now was not peculiar to the local market but all markets impacted by the global financial meltdown.

" .... However, we noted the continued interest from prospective companies judging from the 31 new IPO applications for 2008, of which 21 have not yet listed, are possibly timing their listings according to stable market conditions .... I expect most of these companies wanting to list are waiting for clearer signals of global economic stability, specifically from the effects of the stimulus packages rolled out in the US ...." he said.

YUSLI also said that the decrease in listings had minimal impact on BURSA's overall financial performance as revenue from initial listing fees in 2008 contributed only 0.6% of the Company's Total Revenue.

" .... While we have seen a significant drop in profits derived from the equities market in 2008, it still remains the sector which generates the most revenue for the company. The drop is largely attributed to the decrease in trading revenue for the equities market ...." he said.

YUSLI said there were other incomes that were stable in nature, specifically information services, broker services and participants' fees.

GROWTH TO BE CENTRED ON DERIVATIVES
YUSLI also said that BURSA's derivatives market would continue to be its driver for growth for the next three to four years due to sustained interest in this area, adding that this market had been fairly stable following the global downturn .....

" .... In fact, volume of the crude palm oil futures (FCPO) contract has remained steady despite the market uncertainties and this indicates a sustainable growth for the coming years .... Last year showed a marginal improvement in the growth of the FCPO contracts in which a total of three million contracts were traded in 2008 compared to 2.8 million in 2007. Very recently in Feb 2009, there were about 261,615 contracts traded in comparison to 200,211 contracts in Feb 2008 ...." he said.

Magna Prima Bhd/Ho Hup ... Mar 09

Magna Prima Bhd (MPB), a medium-sized property developer, has landed the much-sought-after prime land in the Golden Triangle where the Lai Meng primary school and kindergarten are located, for RM148 million cash.

The deal will see MPB carving out a piece of land in Bukit Jalil, which the company had proposed to acquire from Ho Hup Construction Company Bhd two weeks ago, for the school and kindergarten to relocate.

The land is just a stone’s throw from some of the city’s prime landmarks such as the Petronas Twin Towers, Suria KLCC, Ritz-Carlton Residences Kuala Lumpur, Menara TA, Menara Public Bank, Wisma Selangor Dredging, Zouk, Avenue K and Menara AmBank. Also in the vicinity are a number of international hotels such as the Renaissance, Concorde, Shangri-La, Corus, Crown Regency, Equatorial, Nikko and Mandarin Oriental.

The purchase price was at a discount of 23.6% or RM45.85 million from the market value of RM194 million that was determined by independent valuers.

In return, TSB would transfer a piece of freehold land in Bukit Jalil measuring 239,818 sq ft to the association for the purpose of relocating the Lai Meng primary school and Lai Meng kindergarten.

MPB proposed to acquire the land from Bukit Jalil Development, a 70% subsidiary of Ho Hup Construction, for RM19.41 million. However, the land is charged to the bank, meaning it has some borrowings tied to it and Ho Hup had done some work on it amounting to RM11.82 million.

MPB and Ho Hup have a common director and the transaction went through an independent adviser and has been approved by shareholders.

Another wholly owned subsidiary of MPB, Magna City Development Bhd, reached an agreement with Muafakat Baru Sdn Bhd whereby the former is granted a three-month extension until June 19 to acquire two parcels of land measuring a total of 10.23 acres for RM57.93 million cash from the latter.

Datuk Lye Ek Seang has a 3.69% stake in Magna Prima. Extreme System has 27.95% stake in Ho Hup. Datuk Lye’s wife Datin Viannie is a substantial shareholder in Extreme System.

Going Forward …

At a purchase price of rm148 million, the Jln Ampang land is valued at Rm1300 psf. A land valuer said the land where Wisma Angkasa Raya sits on was sold to Sunrise Bhd at a record price of about 2600 psf.

On the new prime site in Jln Ampang, Magna Prima plans to undertake a mixed development project, with total gross development project, with total gross floor area about 1.2 million sq ft and an estimated gross development value of Rm1.3 billion. The project is expected to commence in 2012 and scheduled for completion in 2015.

By the time it starts developing the land, Malaysia’s economy should have recovered and this would help boost its bottom line.

The company currently has only one ongoing project in KLCC vicinity, which is a luxury condominium project named Avare.

However, it should be noted that the proposed acquisition is still subject to various regulatory approvals, including consent from the education authorities for the relocation of Lai Meng school land kindergarten.

Getting this approval seems to be the least of the problems as it is well known that schools located in the city have been encouraged to be relocated.

While Mega Prima stands to benefit from the land deal, Ho Hup, on the other hand, is beset with financial problems and is awaiting a revamp. Just March 2009 alone, the company was served two winding petitions by its creditors.

Ho Hup is due to submit its regulatory plan by March 13, 2009, the company seek an extension of six months to Sept 30, 2009 for it to submit its revamp plan to the authorities.

Ho Hup has been in the red since Fy2006. For Fy2008, its net loss widened to Rm56.65 million from Rm46 million in FY2007. Its Fy2006 net loss stood at RM35.1 million.

Looking at the company (Ho Hup) is faring so far, it needs to quickly to come up with the revamp plan to save Ho Hup. As of now, not many really know what plans Ho Hup’s management has in mind to revive the ailing company.

Related post click here:-

Vastalux ... Mar 09

It is confident of winning 30% of contracts worth nearly RM400mil it has bid for in the local oil and gas sector.

The company has bid for jobs in areas such as hook-up and commissioning, maintenance, fabrication and on-shore construction from companies that include Petronas Carigali and ExxonMobil.

Vastalux will also bid for a US$50mil contract in Saudi Arabia.

Vastalux has also identified some oil and gas-related contracts in the Middle East, Vietnam and Indonesia. They will bid for a hook-up and commissioning and maintenance services contract for oil and gas facilities worth US$50mil in Jeddah in July 2009 The company was pre-qualified for the job.

Vastalux has also identified some oil and gas contracts in Vietnam but has yet to put up a bid. They have secured a licence to undertake oil and gas services contracts in Ho Chi Minh City and they want to extend their expertise to Vietnam.

Vastalux has secured close to RM1bil worth of jobs since 2007, completing 47% of them. The remainder is expected to last until 2010.

On its performance this year (2009), the company expects to maintain or slightly better last financial year’s revenue growth.

Vastalux has received approval to proceed with the construction work for its fourth yard in Teluk Kalong, Terengganu.

They have invested RM3mil to buy the equipment and will spend another RM3.5mil for the first phase.

The company’s existing three yards are in Kemaman, Labuan and Bintulu.

Financial Results … It registered a net profit of RM18.8mil in the financial year ended Dec 31, 2008, a 76% increase from 2007. Its revenue rose 30% to RM186mil. The company has also allocated RM10mil for the acquisition of marine vessels.

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