Sabah & Sarawak
Suria Capital rises on stronger property devt segment
Suria Capital Bhd reported core earnings of RM16 million for the first quarter of financial year 2016 (1QFY16), meeting 29 per cent of AllianceDBS Research Sdn Bhd’s full year earnings estimate. The stronger profit was mainly driven by higher contributions from its property development business.
KTC completes 100 per cent equity acquisition of Popular Trading
Kim Teck Cheong Consolidated Bhd has fulfilled on Monday all the conditions of the sales share agreement (SSA) that was signed for the acquisition of Popular Trading (Borneo) Corporation Sdn Bhd. Now with the acquisition fully completed at a purchase price of RM5.6 million, Popular Trading is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Group.
SapuraKencana makes significant gas discovery offshore Sarawak
SapuraKencana Petroleum Bhd (SapuraKencana) has made another significant gas discovery offshore Malaysia. The company in a filing to Bursa Malaysia said its wholly-owned subsidiary, SapuraKencana Energy Sarawak Inc has made a significant gas discovery from its three-well 2015 drilling campaign within the Block SK408 production sharing contract area.
B10 mandate a small but good move for the sector
Analysts at PublicInvestment Bank Bhd laud Malaysia’s move to raise the biodiesel mandate for transport sector from B7 to B10 effective June 2, in addition to introducing the B7 biodiesel programme for the industrial sector. Both B10 and B7 programme will collectively use up 709,000 of crude palm oil (CPO) domestically, it said, while diesel demand will reduce by 820 litres and carbon dioxide by 2.16 million per year.
Affin Bank continues to expand with new Kuching branch
Affin Bank Bhd on Friday opened its sixth branch in Tabuan Jaya in line with its transformation and expansion plan, bringing its network to 108 branches nationwide. Located at Tabuan Tranquility in Jalan Canna, this branch offers a full range of conventional and Islamic Banking products and services including deposit accounts and remittance services to cater to the need of residents in the surrounding area.
Petronas, JX Nippon Oil & Energy sign agreement for equity interest in Petronas ING 9 sdn Bhd
Petronas and JX Nippon Oil & Energy (JX NOE) are pleased to announce that the two parties have signed an agreement for the sale and purchase of equity in Petronas LNG 9 Sdn Bhd (PL9SB), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Petronas. Under the agreement, JX NOE will purchase a 10 per cent stake in PL9SB, which owns the ninth LNG liquefaction train within the Petronas LNG Complex in Bintulu, Sarawak, Malaysia. The train, with a production capacity of 3.6 million tonnes per annum, is expected to commence commercial operations in Q1 of 2017.
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National
Malaysia stays among top 20 most competitive economies
Malaysia maintained its top 20 position among 61 global economies in the World Competitiveness Yearbook (WCY) 2016 published by the World Competitiveness Centre of the Institute for Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland. However, the country fell five spots to 19th from 14th last year, due to the fall in commodity prices, a strong dollar and the deterioration of balance sheet in both the private and public sectors.
High-quality talent fundamental to business services sector success
As the business services sector is knowledge-intensive, access to high-quality talent is fundamental to its success, Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute (ASLI) director Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam said. He said a vibrant and robust business services sector would be beneficial as it is a high value-added concern.
Departing CEO says Malaysia Airlines on the mend, coy on next move
The chief executive of Malaysia Airlines, turnaround specialist Christoph Mueller, said he was confident the carrier was on the road to recovery, but was coy about his own next move ahead of his departure in September. Mueller, who revived Aer Lingus when CEO of the Irish carrier between 2009 and 2015, said he wanted to stay in the industry but hinted he may have had enough of restructuring.
Asean foresees a Pan-Asean crowd funding, digital solution for financing
Asean is mulling the idea of a Pan-Asean crowd funding and digital platform for micro and, small and medium enterprise (SME)’s financing needs, with the aim of more inclusive growth, says Securities Commission Chairman Ranjit Ajit Singh.
April 2016 trade surplus up 31.9 pct to RM9.06 bln
Malaysia’s trade surplus increased by 31.9 per cent to RM9.06 billion in April this year from RM6.87 billion in the previous year, making it the 222nd consecutive month of trade surplus since November 1997. The International Trade and Industry Ministry (Miti) said Malaysia’s exports grew by 1.6 per cent in April this year to RM61.35 billion supported by expansion in exports to Asean, the US and Taiwan.