2nd Feb-Companies in the news Puncak Niaga, Bina Darulaman, Sime Darby, Kossan, XOX, Sasbadi, Tek Seng, HLFG, Tropicana, Hai-O, Acoustech and Maybulk

by **Cals** Sat 30 Jan 2016, 02:29

Companies in the news

[size=28]Puncak Niaga, Bina Darulaman, Sime Darby, Kossan, XOX, Sasbadi, Tek Seng, HLFG, Tropicana, Hai-O, Acoustech and Maybulk[/size]

By Chen Shaua Fui / theedgemarkets.com | January 29, 2016 : 11:32 PM MYT

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 29): Based on corporate announcements and announcements today, companies that may be in focus next Tuesday (Feb 2) could include the following: Puncak Niaga, Bina Darulaman, [size=16]Sime Darby ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Valuation: 1.40, Fundamental: 0.80), Kossan, XOX, Sasbadi, Tek Seng, HLFG, Tropicana, Hai-O, Acoustech and Maybulk.

Puncak Niaga Holdings Bhd's wholly owned subsidiary Puncak Niaga Construction Sdn Bhd has secured the tender for the maintenance of a water treatment plant in Beaufort, Sabah.

The tender, called by Jabatan Bekalan Air of the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water, was for the operation and maintenance of the water treatment facilities, which has a total design capacity of 76 million litres per day for bulk water supply to Labuan.

The contract is for three years, effective Feb 1, 2016, to Jan 31, 2019, though the value of the contract is not disclosed.

Property developer Bina Darulaman Bhd ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Valuation: 2.00, Fundamental: 0.65) has lined up new property launches with total sales value of RM435 million this year, said its group managing director Datuk Izham Yusoff.

These new launches will be within its existing township developments of Bandar Darulaman in Jitra, Darulaman Perdana in Sungai Petani and Darulaman Utama in Kuala Ketil, which are all located in Kedah.

Izham said the planned launches consist of 1,350 residential units, comprising mostly affordable homes. Of the total, 30% will be priced below RM300,000.

In terms of gross development value (GDV), the group will be launching RM59 million, RM25 million and RM50 million of affordable homes in Bandar Darulaman, Darulaman Perdana and Darulaman Utama respectively.

The three developments have a combined GDV of RM485 million. He is confident of selling the group's properties, as there is demand for affordable homes in Kedah.

Sime Darby Bhd is disposing of its 50% equity interest in Weifang Sime Darby Liquid Terminal Co Ltd (WSDLT), operator of the Weifang Liquid Terminal at Weifang Port, China, to Hong Kong's Dragon Crown Group Holdings Ltd for RMB60.85 million (RM39.15 million), cash.

This will trim Sime Darby's holdings in WSDLT to 49.99% from 99.99% once the proposed transaction is completed, which should be in the first half of 2016.

The proceeds from the transaction will be used for working capital requirements of Sime Darby Group's energy and utilities operations in China (E&U China) or to fund future expansion of E&U China's other operations, if required.

Sime Darby said the main objective of the proposed transaction is to accelerate the growth of WSDLT's bulk liquid business by leveraging on the strength of the Dragon Crown Group.

Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Valuation: 1.10, Fundamental: 2.10) has entered into a joint venture (JV) agreement withAseptapak Ltd and Aseptapak UK Ltd to acquire from Medicare Products Ltd the "Aseptapak Innovation", the latest technology involving automated packing.

The acquisition of the technology, which reduces contamination during dispensing, will be done through Aseptapak and Aseptapak UK. This includes the relevant trademarks, patents and intellectual property (IP) rights.

A JV company (JVCo) known as Aseptapak (M) Sdn Bhd will be set up, in which Kossan will hold a 50% stake, while the balance 50% will be held proportionately by Aseptapak and Aseptapak UK.

In the 20-year JV agreement, Kossan will pay an initial sum of US$400,000 to the JVCo once the Aseptapak Innovation's IP is transferred to the unit, while royalty for gloves packed and sold using the IP will also be paid.

XOX Bhd's wholly owned subsidiary XOX Media Sdn Bhd has inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Pantech Inc to explore the possibility of embedding XOX's mobile app Voopee as a default application into Pantech mobile phones.

Under the MoU, Pantech, a mobile phone manufacturer in South Korea, will undertake research and development to make Voopee its primary app for upcoming and future distribution of its mobile devices in Malaysia.

XOX Media, a mobile operator in postpaid, prepaid and hybrid services, will distribute Pantech mobile phones embedded with Voopee in Malaysia, the filing stated.

Voopee is an app that provides users with an actual mobile number on their existing smartphone, without the need of an additional SIM card. It allows users to call and text non-Voopee phone numbers and works like any other normal mobile service.

Sasbadi Holdings Bhd ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Valuation: N/A, Fundamental: N/A) has rescinded its RM2.6 million acquisition of PMI Education Sdn Bhd, due to the non-fulfilment of several conditions precedent by the vendors. The publisher said it would be able to get a refund of RM1 million deposit within seven days.

Sasbadi said that the proposed acquisition was terminated via a notice dated Jan 29 to the vendors, as required in the share sale agreement dated June 29, 2015.

Tek Seng Holdings Bhd ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Valuation: 0.80, Fundamental: 0.60) is proposing a private placement of up to 36 million shares to raise up to RM37.08 million — based on an indicative issue price of RM1.03 apiece — mainly for capital expenditure (capex).

The Penang-based polyvinyl chloride product manufacturer said these new shares, which represent about 10% of its total issued and paid-up share capital, will be issued to independent third party investors to be identified later.

According to the group, some RM21.08 million will be for capex, which is to partially fund the ongoing construction of a new manufacturing plant (RM9.06 million) and the acquisition of two solar cell turnkey line machineries (RM12.02 million).

The group expects the private placement to be completed by the first quarter of 2016.

Hong Leong Financial Group ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Valuation: 2.55, Fundamental: 2.20) Bhd (HLFG) has appointed Hong Leong Bank Bhd (Valuation: 1.45, Fundamental: 2.00) (HLB) group managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) Tan Kong Khoon as its president and CEO effective Feb 5.

Tan succeeds Raymond Choong, who has assumed the position of president and CEO of Guocoland Ltd ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Valuation: 3.00, Fundamental: 2.00), Singapore, a company within the Hong Leong group.

Tropicana Corp Bhd ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Valuation: 3.00, Fundamental: 1.50) group MD Kok Kong Chin, 51, has resigned to pursue other opportunities.

Kok was appointed to Tropicana's board as group MD on March 14, 2014. His resignation is effective today.

Hai-O Enterprise Bhd ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Valuation: 1.80, Fundamental: 3.00) announced a slew of new board appointments today, led by the passing of baton from MD Tan Kai Hee, who is also one of its founding members, to his son, Tan Keng Kang, which will take effect on Feb 1.

On the same date, the group's bourse filings showed that Kai Hee, 78, will be redesignated as the group's chairman, while Keng Kang, 39, currently the group's chief operating officer (COO), assumes the MD post.

Kai Hee will be taking over from the group's current chairman, 85-year-old Tan Sri Osman C Cassim, who will be retiring on Feb 1, when the group's chief financial officer Hew Von Kin gets reappointed as the group's executive director.

Acoustech Bhd ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Valuation: 1.10, Fundamental: 2.50)'s largest shareholder Formosa Prosonic Manufacturing Sdn Bhd (FPM) had disposed of its entire equity of 46.44 million shares, representing 27.79% interest in the company, at 75 sen apiece or RM34.83 million.

The audio speaker system manufacturer said the disposal was dealt outside the close period. However, the buyer's information is not available.

Following the disposal, Shih Chao Yuan, who is deemed to have an indirect interest in Acoustech via FPM, also resigned from his non-executive director position. Shih, who is a member of the Audit Committee, also resigned from the committee.

Malaysian Bulk Carriers Bhd ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Valuation: 1.20, Fundamental: 0.40) (Maybulk), which is controlled by tycoon Robert Kuok, has issued a profit warning ahead of the release of its financial results for the fourth quarter (4QFY15) and full year ended Dec 31, 2015 (FY15), saying that it expects to record a "substantial loss" due to unfavourable market conditions.

Shareholders and investors are advised to exercise caution when dealing in the shares of the company.

The group said the dry bulk market continues to be weak and it is uncertain when the market will recover.

The current depressed state of crude oil prices has also adversely impacted the global offshore marine industry in which its associate company PACC Offshore Services ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Valuation: N/A, Fundamental: N/A) Holdings Ltd (POSH).

The group carried out a preliminary assessment of its investment in POSH and is of the view that the fair value of the investment in POSH is likely to be lower than the carrying value, and an impairment loss provision has to be made, it said.

The amount of the impairment is yet to be determined, but Maybulk expects this to have a significant adverse impact on its 4QFY15 and FY15 financial results.

(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.)

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