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AirAsia India eyes May take-off

NEW DELHI: AirAsia India says it is unperturbed by various attempts to stop it from taking to the skies and now aims to start operations in May 2014, having missed a few earlier targets since September last year.

"We may get the air operator permit (AOP) in about three weeks. Thereafter, we may commence operations in two months from Chennai," Chief Executive Officer Mittu Chandilya told the The Hindu daily in an interview in Chennai on Wednesday.

Among others, the Federation of Indian Airlines has opposed the entry of AirAsia India, stating that this may force other airlines to run into further losses.

On Wednesday, the Delhi High Court sought a response from the central government and AirAsia India on a plea by the FIA, which is opposing the go-ahead for the airline to begin its flight operations in the country.

The Chennai-based airline's fares could be 25-30% less than others, he reiterated.

"Other airlines will have to drop fares, and this will benefit passengers. They could even match my reduced fares but whether they can manage costs in the long term has to be seen. But we can do it," Chandilya had said to the English daily.

While the business scene in the Indian aviation industry has been gloomy with all the airlines, put together, recording a loss of US$500mil in September 2013, Air Asia's decision to venture in at this point in time, and with offers of free seats, can be quite a challenge, said the report.

"The industry has been dynamic, and the best time to venture into something is when things are very bad. I firmly believe when you hit rock bottom, the only way is up," Chandilya said.

As for the free seats, he said they could comprise 10% to 50% of total seats for certain flights and destinations.

AirAsia India is a joint venture with Tata Group and Telestra Tradeplace Pvt Ltd. It got approval for a US$30mil deal from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board last April, and a no-objection certificate from the civil aviation ministry last September

Oil near two-week high

LONDON: Brent crude oil traded near a two-week high around US$108 a barrel on Monday as tension between Russia and the West offset a rise in oil supply from OPEC's second-largest producer Iraq.

US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held talks on Sunday about ways to defuse the crisis over Ukraine, with Kerry telling Moscow progress depended on a Russian troop pullback from Ukraine's borders.

The West is considering more sanctions on Russian industries including its oil and gas sector after the annexation of Crimea, and Russian military manoeuvres close to Ukraine's borders are keeping investors on edge.

Investors worry that sanctions could lead to a disruption of Russian energy supplies, on which Europe relies heavily.

May Brent was at US$107.80 a barrel by 0800 GMT, down 17 cents from Friday's settlement, the highest since March 14.

US crude for May was down 10 cents at US$101.57 a barrel after settling at the highest since March 7.

"Russian supply risks are keeping the market on edge," said Carsten Fritsch, senior commodities analyst at Commerzbank.

"It would be impossible to replace Russian oil and gas in the short term, and it would be economic suicide for Europe to jeopardise those supplies. That's why the risks of any disruption are probably very low."

Front-month Brent is set to post its first quarterly decline in three quarters, down about 2.5 per cent as rising supply from Iraq and increased exports from Iran have kept the market well supplied, offsetting disruptions in Africa.

Iraq has started production at the giant West Qurna-2 field, moving closer to its output target of 4 million barrels per day (bpd) this year.

Front-month US crude oil futures are set for more than a three per cent gain in the first quarter as new pipeline capacity drained oil from bloated inventories at the contract's delivery point in Cushing, Oklahoma, to the Gulf coast.

US crude oil exports hit a 15-year high in January, helping ease a glut caused by booming shale oil output although exports are limited by law.

Meanwhile, flows from Libya's Wafa oilfield to the western port of Mellitah are still blocked, state-run National Oil Corp (NOC) said.

Nigerian crude exports are set to fall to their lowest since 2009 due to a production outage for the Forcados grade. 

Tin price closes lower on technical correction

KUALA LUMPUR: A technical correction saw tin price on the Kuala Lumpur Tin Market (KLTM) closing at US$100 lower to US$22,900 a tonne despite the higher tin price on the London Metal Exchange (LME), a dealer said.

Tin price on the LME rose by US$95 to close at US$22,900 a tonne.

"There were increased offerings at the opening level. However, some sellers withdrew when the price went down, which limited the day's losses," he said.

On the local front, bids totalled 28 tonnes against 88 tonnes offered.

Turnover rose to 33 tonnes from 20 tonnes on Friday, with buyers mainly Japanese, followed by Europeans and local buyers.

The premium between the KLTM and the LME narrowed to US$405 a tonne from US$600 a tonne on Friday.-- 

KL shares lower at midafternoon

KUALA LUMPUR: Shares on Bursa Malaysia were lower at midafternoon today, weighed down by persistent selling in selected plantation counters, dealers said.

At 3 pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) index fell 2.25 points to 1,848.48.

The losers-to-gainers ratio was 351-to-338, with 316 counters unchanged, 619 untraded and 30 others were suspended. 

KL shares bearish at midday

KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices on Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session in negative territory on sustained selling pressure, mostly seen in the plantation sector, dealers said.

At 12:30 pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) index fell 2.32 points to 1,848.41, after hovering between 1,846.5 and 1,852.29.

Kuala Lumpur Kepong and United Plantations emerged as the top two losers as at midday break, falling 56 sen and 20 sen each to RM24.36 and RM24.70, respectively.

Meanwhile, a dealer said most of the regional bourses performance were positive, taking the cue from higher Wall Street on Friday and a recovery in metal price

JobStreet gets new job hunting innovation

KUALA LUMPUR: JobStreet.com, an online recruitment company, has introduced an innovation for job hunting which allows candidates to see what their chances are in getting selected by an employer compared to other applicants.

JobStreet said it would like to see candidates making better informed decisions when applying for jobs so that they would have the best chance of getting interviewed.

"We want to make the whole job application process as transparent as possible for the candidates.

"Knowing how they rank in terms of education, salary and years of experience compared to other applicants allow candidates to decide whether the odds are in their favour or not," it said in a statement. 

RHB upgrades MRCB to 'buy'

KUALA LUMPUR: RHB has upgraded Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB) to 'buy' from 'neutral', given its restructuring drive, prime landbank and for being a strong contender for 'Project MX-1' of Kwasa Damansara.
RHB noted that MRCB will raise a total of RM759 million cash proceeds from three key disposals, cutting its net debt and gearing to MYR2.1 billion and 1.3 times respectively.

"Previously, net debt and gearing stood at RM2.9 billion and 1.7 times respectively. More importantly, the speed and decisiveness of MRCB's new management in effecting these transactions gives us the comfort that it has a strong sense of urgency to lift the company out of its doldrums."

RHB said MRCB is a strong contender for 'Project MX-1' of Kwasa Damansara.

"Given that two MRT stations will form an integral part to the first parcel known as 'Project MX-1' to be rolled out from Kwasa Damansara, we believe MRCB's track record in KL Sentral, a world-class transit-oriented development (TRO), will put it ahead of its competitors."

RHB said the investing fraternity is warming up to MRCB's new management, on the back of the relentless efforts by key members to accommodate meetings with analysts and fund managers to exchange ideas.

"We have raised MRCB's financial year 2014 core net profit forecasts by 10 per cent, largely to factor in interest savings arising from disposal proceeds.

"We also raise its fair value by 38 per cent to RM1.82 after ascribing mid-cycle valuations to MRCB's property assets from low-cycle valuations previously.

"This is in line with the recent upgrade in our weighting for the property sector to 'overweight' from 'neutral'."

PublicInvest reaffirms Cypark 'outperform' call

KUALA LUMPUR: PublicInvest Research likes the value proposition that Cypark Resources Bhd promises, and reaffirm its 'outperform' call with an unchanged target price of RM3.20.

"Cypark's first quarter financial year (FY) 2014 results missed expectations, with revenue of RM51.5 million and net profit of RM7.7 million only making up
20 per cent and 16 per cent of our full-year estimates respectively.

"Despite this, we remain unfazed and see healthier renewable energy contributions throughout the year driving income growth and narrowing the difference. We
are lowering our estimates for FY2014 and FY2015 by about 25 per cent. However, we are adjusting for timing differences in the export of green electricity,
but in no part due to delays by the group," said Cypark in its research note.

PublicInvest noted that though renewable energy and landscaping contributions were healthy, a 3.6 per cent reduction in its environmental engineering revenue
resulted in the tepid overall growth.

"Future revenue growth will be driven by the plant-up of more renewable energy capacity and construction works on its biomass-related project.

"Growth was more robust as the group's export capacity of green electricity increased further from 19.0MW to 27.3MW currently, in addition to a lower
effective tax rate from incentives granted to its renewable energy projects despite higher interest costs."

The research house sees similarly healthy growth in the coming financial year, driven by the commissioning of more renewable energy capacity.

"With 29.3 megawatt (MW) of capacity planted up and only 27.3MW of solar power exported as at first quarter 2014, forward earnings will see an uptick,
augmented further by more capacity plant-ups this year and next as it achieves its collective 40MW quota.

"1Malaysia Development Berhad's recent foray into the solar-generation space via the 50MW solar farm in Kedah, considering its vast other power-related asset
holdings, amplifies the case and attractiveness of the renewable energy space, in particular solar. While Cypark has reportedly been approached to partner it
in this project given its know-how, we see the group already thriving on its own regardless.

PublicInvest sees the government's recent move to hike the surcharge on electricity bills from 1 per cent to 1.6 per cent effective Jan 1 augurs well, and
also highlights its commitment to the industry's growth.

KL shares turn mixed mid-morning

Shares on Bursa Malaysia turned mixed at mid-morning as selling momentum emerged in selected plantation counters, dealers said.

At 11.02am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) index declined 3.25 points to 1,847.48, after opening 0.94 point higher at 1,851.67.

Kuala Lumpur Kepong emerged as the top loser, falling 60 sen to RM24.32 while United Plantation eased 10 sen to RM24.80.

In terms of market breadth, the gainer-to-loser ratio was 295-to-265, while 307 counters were unchanged, 757 untraded and 30 suspended.

A total of 669.55 million shares valued at RM438.14 million were traded.

On the scoreboard, the Industrial Index lost 5.88 points to 3,198.75, the Plantation Index dipped 74.63 points to 8,963.5 but the Finance Index added 1.58

points to 16,610.22.

The FBM Emas Index decreased 13.85 points to 12,774.07, the FBMT100 Index erased 16.16 points to 12,434.1, but the FBM Ace rose 6.58 points to 6,705.22

and the FBM 70 added 4.19 points to 13,916.42.

Among actives, Insas advanced nine sen to RM1.30, Privasia Technology earned half a sen to 11 sen, Engenuity Consolidated was flat at 10 sen but Sumatec

Resources eased half a sen to 28.5 sen.

As for heavyweights, Maybank was flat at RM9.66, TNB declined four sen to RM11.94 while CIMB and Sime Darby eased one sen each to RM7.16 and RM9.25,

respectively.

Bumi Armada gets LOI for RM9.5b Angola deal

KUALA LUMPUR: Offshore oil services firm Bumi Armada Bhd has received a letter of intent from eni Angola S.p.A for a RM9.5 billion contract for the chartering, operation and maintenance of a floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO).

In a statement today, Bumi Armada said the FPSO contract is for deployment at Block 15/06, East Hub located offshore Angola and will be awarded to a

consortium of Bumi Armada Offshore Holdings Ltd (BAOHL) and Angoil Bumi JV Limitada.

eni Angola is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Italian multinational oil and gas company eni S.p.A, while BAOHL is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bumi Armada and

Angoil Bumi JV is the Angolan joint venture company between BAOHL, Angoil Exploracao Petrolifera S.A. and Cosmarg Limitada.

"The letter of intent has authorised Bumi Armada to start engineering and procurement work on the FPSO immediately," it said.

Its chief executive officer and executive director Hassan Basma said the contract is their second large FPSO award in six months and underscores their

successful migration into the large-project FPSO sector.

"This is the second time eni has turned to Bumi Armada for an FPSO in West Africa and we will continue to collaborate with our tried and tested value chain, as we have done in the past, to successfully deliver this project for our repeat customer," he said.

Hassan said this project is the company's first very large crude carrier (VLCC)-tanker conversion and it would take Bumi Armada's FPSO fleet to eight, clearly moving them into the top tier of global FPSO players

Uzma shares rise on Petronas RSC deal award

KUALA LUMPUR: Uzma Bhd's share price on Bursa Malaysia rose in early trading today after the company was awarded the fifth risk service contract (RSC) by Petronas during the Offshore Technology Conference Asia 2014 last week.

As at 10.24am, the company's share price rose five sen to RM6.50 with 65,800 shares transacted.

Hong Leong Investment Bank said the contract award was in line with its expectation, given Uzma's experience and knowledge in full field review and

reservoir studies.

"To recap, Uzma has recently proposed a renounceable rights issue of up to 132 million rights shares, which are expected to raise up to RM90 million.

"We believe the fund raised will be used for potential special project(s) such as marginal fields, enhanced oil recovery and others," it said in a research note today.

The research firm has maintained its 'hold' call on Uzma with an unchanged target price of RM6.16.

Brent holds above US$107

SINGAPORE: Brent crude traded near a two-week high at above US$107 a barrel on Monday as simmering tensions between Russia and the West offset a rise in oil supply from OPEC's second-largest producer Iraq.

US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held talks on Sunday about ways to defuse the crisis over Ukraine, with Kerry telling Moscow that progress depended on a Russian troop pullback from Ukraine's borders.

Brent crude for May was at US$107.87 a barrel by 0358 GMT, down 20 cents from Friday's settlement, the highest since March 14. US crude for May delivery edged down 24 cents to US$101.43 a barrel after settling at the highest since March 7.

"Rising oil supply doesn't seem to be having a negative impact as people are prepared to buy on dips, mainly because of the Crimea crisis," Ben Le Brun, a markets analyst at OptionsXpress in Sydney said. "There is still an element of a risk premium."

The West was considering more sanctions on Russia's vital industries including its oil and gas sector after the annexation of Crimea, while military manoeuvres kept investors on edge. Rising crude production from the United States and Iraq capped price gains.

Front-month Brent is set to post its first quarterly decline in three quarters, down about 2.5 per cent as rising supply from Iraq and increased exports from Iran have kept the market well supplied, offsetting disruptions in Africa.

"It looks like US$108 for Brent is a psychological resistance," said Yusuke Seta, a commodity sales manager at Newedge Japan, adding that 50, 100 and 200-day moving averages were at US$108.10-US$108.70 providing strong resistance.

Iraq has started production at the giant West Qurna-2 field, moving closer to its output target of 4 million barrels per day (bpd) this year.

Oil condensate flows from Libya's Wafa field to the western Mellitah port are still blocked, state-run National Oil Corp (NOC) said. Nigerian crude exports are set to fall to their lowest since 2009 due to a production outage for the Forcados grade.

Brent traditionally trades at a premium to WTI, and OptionsXpress' Le Brun said the Crimea crisis should have widened the premium.

Instead, front-month West Texas Intermediate prices are set for a three per cent gain in the first quarter as new pipeline capacity drained oil from bloated inventories at the contract's delivery point in Cushing, Oklahoma to the gulf coast.

Newedge's Seta said the oil supply diversion may not last long as inventories along the gulf coast are too high in a low demand season. This could widen the Brent-WTI spread up to US$9 a barrel, he said.

US crude oil exports that hit a 15-year high in January also helped eased a supply glut caused by booming shale oil output although exports remained severely limited by law.

Ringgit set for biggest quarterly gain

Malaysia's ringgit headed for its biggest quarterly gain in more than a year on speculation the nation's relatively higher yields will draw foreign capital.

The currency was poised for a second monthly advance after the latest official data showed international investors raised holdings of local government debt by RM823 million (US$252 million) in January. Malaysia's 10-year sovereign notes pay 4.10 per cent, compared with 2.73 per cent on similar-maturity US Treasuries and 1.55 per cent on German bunds, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The Federal Reserve indicated this month it will probably increase interest rates by the middle of 2015.

"We're starting to see the market reassessing asset allocations," said Khoon Goh, a currency strategist at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd in Singapore. "Rates will stay low in the US for some time still. What we're starting to see is some shift out of developed-market equities and those monies getting reallocated in emerging markets."
The ringgit climbed 0.3 per cent this quarter and this month to 3.2670 per dollar as of 11.14am in Kuala Lumpur, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It gained 0.2 per cent today and reached 3.2586, the strongest level since March 7.
One-month implied volatility, a measure of expected moves in the exchange rate used to price options, rose two basis points, or 0.02 percentage point, today to 6.59 per cent. It fell 32 basis points in March and 99 basis points since December 31.
Fed Chair Janet Yellen said March 19 the central bank's stimulus program could end this fall and benchmark interest rates may rise six months later. Twelve of 17 economists in a Bloomberg survey predict Malaysia will increase its policy rate by at least 25 basis points this year. The Southeast Asian nation's central bank has kept the benchmark borrowing cost at three per cent since May 2011.
Malaysia's inflation rate rose to a 32-month high of 3.5 per cent in February. Bank Negara Malaysia will probably tighten policy in September at the earliest, ahead of US interest-rate increases and an upcoming domestic consumption tax, Oversea- Chinese Banking Corp.'s Singapore-based economist Wellian Wiranto wrote in a research note today.
One-year interest rate swaps climbed three basis points in March to 3.48 per cent in a fifth monthly increase, the longest rising streak since April 2010. That's the highest level since 2011. The fixed payment to receive floating rates advanced nine basis points this quarter and was little changed today.
The yield on Malaysia's 3.26 per cent sovereign bonds due March 2018 declined five basis points this year to 3.66 per cent, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The rate added six basis points in March and two basis points today

OCBC Malaysia appoints new chairman

KUALA LUMPUR: OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Bhd has appointed Datuk Ooi Sang Kuang as the new chairman of OCBC Bank Bhd and its Islamic banking subsidiary, Al-Amin Bank Bhd.

In a statement today, the bank said Ooi, special advisor to Bank Negara from 2010 until his retirement in 2011, was also deputy Governor and a member of

the board of directors of the central bank from 2002 to 2010.

"He was appointed to the board of OCBC Bank in 2012 and became deputy chairman later in the same year," it said, adding Ooi is also chairman of national mortgage corporation Cagamas Bhd and its subsidiaries.

KL shares extend last week's gains

Share prices on Bursa Malaysia opened higher at the opening bell Monday, extending last week's gains on continued buying interest, dealers said.

At 9.05am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) index remained the same as at the opening 1,851.67 points, up by 0.94 of a point.

HwangDBS Vickers Research said that for this week, the key FBM KLCI may pause for a breather first after jumping 33.3 points or 1.8 per cent in seven straight days.

"Still, possible window-dressing activities on the last trading day of the first quarter is set to hold up our local bourse performance, with the benchmark FBM KLCI likely to stay above the immediate support level of 1,840.

"Sentiments could also get a lift by positive external vibes. On the back of better economic optimism, major US equity indices were up between 0.1 and 0.5 per cent last Friday," the research house said in a note.

Gainers outpaced losers 141 to 49, while 156 counters were unchanged, 1,278 untraded and 30 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 95.24 million shares worth RM43.37 million.

On the scoreboard, the Industrial Index earned 0.57 of a point to 3,205.2, the Finance Index rose 17.71 points to 16,626.35 and the Plantation Index added 21.75 points to 9,059.88.

The FBM Emas Index advanced 10.11 points to 12,798.03, the FBMT100 Index increased 8.83 points to 12,459.09, the FBM Ace rose 26.28 points to 6,724.92 and the FBM 70 gained 19.73 points to 13,931.96.

Among actives, Insas went up seven sen to RM1.28, Privasia Technology earned half-a-sen to 11 sen, while Malaysia Airlines and Ingenuity Consolidated were flat at 20.5 sen and 10 sen, respectively.

As for heavyweights, Maybank, TNB and Axiata were flat at RM9.66, RM11.98 and RM6.66, respectively, while CIMB added two sen to RM7.19.-

KLCI futures traded higher in early session

The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) futures contracts on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives were traded higher on mixed equity market performance, dealers said.

At 9.25am, March 2014 and June 2014 rose half-a-point each to 1,849.5 and 1,846, respectively, while April 2014 and September 2014 were flat at 1,852 and 1,843, respectively.

Turnover amounted to 589 lots while open interest totalled 38,802 contracts.

The benchmark FBM KLCI was 2.36 points lower at 1,848.37 after 25 minutes of trading.

Ringgit opens higher against US dollar

At 9.07am, the local unit was traded at 3.2600/2630 against the greenback from Friday's close at 3.2710/2740.

A dealer said the recent strengthening of the Asian currencies proved that investors are reversing developed market positions and returning to the emerging

market space.

The local note depreciated against the Singapore dollar to 2.5918/5961 from 2.5911/5945 on Friday but rose against the yen to 3.1672/1707 from 3.2015/2048

last week.

The domestic currency also improved to 5.4243/4306 from 5.4351/4420 versus the British pound on Friday but weakened to 4.4858/4905 from 4.4849/4900 against

Gold futures open mixed on lack of demand

KUALA LUMPUR: Gold futures contracts opened mixed Monday on lack of demand for the precious metal.

At 9.30am, March 2014 was down one tick or half-a-sen to RM136 a gramme, while April 2014 gained two ticks or one sen to RM136.40 a gramme.

Turnover amounted to 41 lots while open interest totalled 750 contracts.

Physical gold was 35 sen lower at RM131.63 a gramme.

Malaysian tycoon's Aussie telco shares rally

MELBOURNE: Shares in the telecommunications company, TPG, owned by a Malaysian tycoon, David Teoh, have rallied on the back of a healthy jump in profits and improved earnings outlook.

The company reported a 15 per cent increase in net profit after tax to A$90.1 million for the six months to end-January.

The telco boosted its interim dividend to 4.5 cents a share payable in May.

TPG now expects full-year earnings to rise to as much as A$330 million, up from an earlier forecast of up to A$300 million, including contributions from AAPT, which TPG bought in February.

Earnings are expected to reach up to A$355 million.

Broadband subscriber growth was steady compared with the same period last year, with TPG adding another 36,000 subscribers.

The company had 707,000 broadband subscribers and 370,000 mobile customers at end-January.

TPG shares soared to an all-time high of A$6.35 on the news and were nearly nine per cent higher at A$6.26. -

Lotus Cars (M) to sell 1,200 units Exige

PETALING JAYA: Lotus Cars Malaysia aims to sell 1,200 units of its latest premium performance model, the Exige S Roadster, annually globally.

Group Lotus Plc Chief Operating Officer Aslam Farikullah said the key markets are Japan and European countries.

Other Lotus models available in Malaysia are the Exige S, Elise S, Elise MT, Exige MT, Evora MT, Evora AT and IPS. Lotus is a unit of Proton Holdings Bhd.

"The introduction of the new Exige to the Lotus product range has provided a new opportunity for the company to expand and strengthen its production resources, generate new jobs and opportunities for skilled individuals," Aslam said.

He was speaking to reporters at the launch of the Exige S Roadster in the Malaysian market here today, witnessed by Proton Advisor, Tun Mahathir Mohamad.

"Last year marked a real turning point for the company with a 31 per cent production increase.

"Lotus engineering is working with more major original equipment manufacturers than it did last year and now has 120 engineering projects in its books," he said.

He said the introduction of the latest model to the Malaysian market is important as the company looks to remain relevant and competitive.

"As Malaysia is a very competitive market, it is pivotal for us to introduce more exciting products in the future, with an improvement on the overall product quality, cost and delivery which is now a standard operating procedure at Lotus and Proton," Aslam added.

On the Exige S Roadster's performance, he said it can achieve 0-100 km/h from a stationary position in 3.9 seconds.

The retail price for the Exige S Roadster is from RM452,030 which excludes insurance, road tax, registration fee, inspection fee, number plate, other registration and miscellaneous delivery charges. -

PublicInvest 'neutral' on Telekom Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR: PublicInvest Research maintains Neutral call on Telekom Malaysia (TM) with a target price of RM5.70 which is under review, subject to further details on its acquisition of Packet One Networks (P1).

"TM's share price has run up in past weeks in anticipation of the P1 acquisition, and whether the share price run-up is justifiable or not depends on the
pricing and structuring of the potential acquisition.

"TM's share price has appreciated 11.3 per cent in the past one month in response to market talks of it acquiring a stake in P1 to grow its wireless
business. Pending further details announcement, we maintain our Neutral call on TM," PublicInvest said in its research note today.

TM and Green Packet have requested for suspension for the trading of both companies shares pending the announcement on a material transaction.

It was reported that TM is believed to have acquired a stake in P1, a subsidiary of Green Packet. Green Packet owns a 55 per cent-stake in P1 which is one of
the pioneers in Malaysia to launch WiMAX services (wireless broadband). P1's other significant shareholder is South Korea's SK Telecom.

P1 owns 30MHz in 2300MHz band which is currently used for WiMAX network and 20MHz in 2600MHz band which can be used for 4G-LTE services. In addition, P1 is believed to have more than 1,900 base stations and has a customer base of more than 500,000.

In September last year, TM's CEO was quoted in an interview that the company will be exploring to expand its wireless broadband services in underserved
areas, in particular rural areas. TM will be aiming for 100,000 users on its LTE network within 2014 and more than one million LTE subscribers by 2017.

Kenanga keeps 'underperform' call on Kimlun

KUALA LUMPUR: Kenanga Research is maintaining its 'underperform' rating on Kimlun Corp Bhd shares with an unchanged target price of RM1.55 per share.

According to Kenanga, Kimlun said that its wholly-owned unit, SPC Industries was awarded a RM51.3 million contract from Shanghai Tunnel
Engineering Co Ltd for the supply and delivery of precast concrete segments (TLS) to Contract T206, Thomson Line of the Singapore MRT (SMRT) system.

The contract supply of the TLS is expected to spread over a period of about 36 months.

The research house is neutral on the contract win as it makes up part of the Kenanga's financial year 2014 manufacturing orderbook replenishment estimate of RM200 million.

Kenanga added that the Kimlun's management said that the upcoming Thomson Line and the Eastern Region Line comprise a total length of 51km, and the total TLS requirement for this line is estimated at RM338.06 million.

"Similar projects could be awarded to Kimlun in the later part of the year, based on its experience and good track record for the ongoing Downtown
Line," Kenanga said in a research note.

Going forward the new contract win has further increased Kimlun's total outstanding orderbook closer to RM2.3 billion, providing earnings visibility for the next two years.

Kenanga noted that earnings in the property division should rise in financial year 2014, thanks to its strong unbilled sales of RM125 million from its Cyberjaya property development job called The Hyve.

The research firm has kept its core earnings forecast on Kimlun for financial year 2014 at RM51.6 million as the value of the job is well within its orderbook replenishment estimates.

AirAsia India aims for end-May launch

NEW DELHI: AirAsia India is now aiming for an end-May take-off and with a clear vision of changing the country's aviation landscape.

The airline recently took delivery of its first jet, an Airbus A320.

In an interview with the Times of India, Chief Executive Officer Mittu Chandilya said he was not at all frustrated by the many delays, amid an initial target to start operations last year.

"No. Frankly, a lot of people didn't expect us to come this far. I generally feel the government wants us here, except for the competition," he told the English daily when asked if he was frustrated by the delays.

"Again, which competitor wants another and I see their point of view. I also see the ferocity with which they have come at us. It shows that we mean what we say. When they are displaying that kind of ferocity, we will not disappoint them.

"In fact, the delay in getting certain approvals has helped AirAsia India learn from its competitors," he added.

Asked about the low fares recently announced by SpiceJet, Indigo and Jet Airways, he said everything that is happening now is not really "low-fare".

"It is very gimmicky. Spot fares are done to spur demand. To be fair to our competitors, they have done it at the right time for themselves. They needed cash.

"The challenge for any airline is to see how to keep the fares consistently low. That is truly the low-cost/low-fare airline. That is what we are aiming to do," Mittu added.

He reiterated that AirAsia India's fares would be at least 30 per cent cheaper, depending on the routes.

He also said the airline will operate to every big city, other than Mumbai and New Delhi.

"It is tough as Mumbai and Delhi are attractive, but the cost is not competitive and competition a lot more.

"Plus, everybody is going there. Why would I want to go to an already crowded market, which is going to slow down my aircraft turnaround time. We will saturate the 12 to 16 southern airports first," he said.

Mittu said AirAsia India will run an extremely streamlined operation with no room for error.

"With a low plane base, a single mistake can wipe out your entire month's profitability. The focus is on time and utilisation. It is a dog-eat-dog game.

We have always turned out to be the biggest dog out there," he added

O&G sector still lacks quality manpower

KUALA LUMPUR: ‎Malaysia's oil and gas industry (O&G) still lacks quality manpower to meet its growing needs, says Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP) Vice Chancellor, Datuk Abdul Rahim Hashim.

‎"Last year, Petronas recruited about 1,600 new graduates and from the industry perspective generally, I expect a higher number to meet the needs.

" The number of UTP graduates on average, including other disciplines, is about 1,300 annually. O&G graduates number about 1,000. Even here, there are some who venture into other industries," he told Bernama on the sidelines of the Offshore Technology Conference Asia 2014 (OTC Asia 2014) here today.

Abdul Rahman was a panelist in the fourth panel session of the conference on Industry Technology Initiatives.

From the quality aspect, he said UTP did not have a problem in producing graduates, to meet the O&G industry's demands.

"On average, more than 90 per cent of the UTP graduates secured jobs within six months of graduating and between 60 to 70 per cent, in the O&G industry.

"This is due to the seven-month industry programme undertaken by UT‎P, where after three years of their study, the students are required to gain exposure by working in it," he added

CIMB launches new credit card

KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB Bank, the commercial banking arm of CIMB Group, recently launched a new credit card to provide its CIMB Preferred members a host of elite privileges that would enhance their lifestyle and banking experience with the bank.

CIMB Preferred Visa Infinite, launched in conjunction with the 82nd Financial Advisory Series, would act as a gateway to the bank's personalised financial advisory and planning services.

"Members would also be equipped with the right information to manage their wealth wisely," it said in a statement.

CIMB Group, listed on Bursa Malaysia via CIMB Group Holdings Bhd, has a market capitalisation of about RM58.9 billion as at Dec 31, 2013.

It operates through three main entities namely CIMB Bank, CIMB Investment Bank and CIMB Islamic. 

RM8.07b in tax collected Jan-Mar: Customs

JASIN: The Royal Customs Department has collected RM8.07 billion todate or 90 per cent of the RM9.1 billion target set for January to March, a senior customs official said today.

Customs Deputy Director-General (Enforcement and Compliance) Datuk Matrang Suhaili said the department aimed to collect RM36 billion this year.

The cigarette tax is the second largest contributor after the vehicle tax though cigarette smuggling has caused the nation to lose about RM1.9 billion every year, he said.

The department collected RM33.13 billion last year, up 2.49 per cent from RM32.2 billion in 2012, he said.

"This year's target is achievable through enforcement strategies designed to deter smuggling of goods, especially smuggling of cigarettes and liquor," he told reporters after the launch of a campaign to eradicate illegal cigarette sales and a community service programe with Felda Tun Ghaffar settlers in Bukit Senggeh, here. 

MH370 victims claim to be expedited: MTA

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Takaful Association (MTA) will ensure that its member companies assist and expediate claim processes as some of those on board MH370 were Takaful certificate holders.

In a statement today, Chairman Zainudin Ishak said the association extended its heartfelt condolences to the family members of passengers on board MH370.

"This must be a heartbreaking time for the families and friends of the crew and passengers.

"We hope they will find the strength and support to face the difficult days ahead," he said.

The affected familiy members may contact MTA at 03-20318160 or email mtasectariat@malaysiantakaful.com.my for coverage and claims process details. -

Employers with >50 employees to use e-Caruman

KUALA LUMPUR: Effective April 1, employers with more than 50 employees are required to submit their monthly remittance details via its electronic channel, e-Caruman, the Employees Provident Fund said today.

The e-Caruman is an online facility available via i-Akaun at myEPF website, www.kwsp.gov.my.

Deputy Chief Executive Officer (Operations) Datuk Ibrahim Taib said the e-Caruman offers employers the benefit of submitting their EPF remittances details in a secure and time-saving manner, besides reducing operating costs and enhancing operational efficiency in the long term.

"The move will also ensure employers to submit the contribution details accurately and with ease compared with the present method of filling up forms manually.

"As a result, it saves employers valuable time from having to make several trips to our office just to do corrections.

"More importantly, online submission via e-Caruman will ensure prompt crediting of contributions into members' EPF accounts," he added. 

MIDA talking to investors from US, Europe

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) is taking advantage of the ongoing Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) Asia 2014, to talk to potential investors in the local oil and gas (O&G) industry.

Chief Executive Officer Datuk Azman Mahmud said there were potential investors from the United States and Europe.

"Some are new investors and some existing players with a different business scope. They are looking into investments in the O&G sector," he told a press conference after moderating a session on "Malaysia as a Regional Oil and Gas Hub" at (OTC) Asia 2014.

More than 200 participants attended the session, which Azman said was a good platform for investors to gain first-hand information and insights on the challenges and opportunities in Malaysia as a regional O&G hub.

"The Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (RAPID) project coming up in Pengerang, Johor, is creating strong waves in the industry and international players are taking Malaysia seriously," he said.

Undertaken by the national oil corporation, Petronas, the US$20 billion RAPID complex is expected to reach its final investment decision at end-March or early April.

Meanwhile, panelist Honeywell Process Solutions Global O&G Business Vice-President Paul Bonner said Malaysia should look at solar and water as alternative energy sources to remain competitive in the long-term.

"These sources could be turned into energy for local consumption while freeing up Malaysia's O&G resources for export," Bonner said.

The four-day OTC Asia, ending tomorrow, is being attended by more than 10,000 delegates and trade visitors from over 60 countries

EOR projects to contribute 150,000 bpd: Petronas

KUALA LUMPUR: Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) expects the implementation of improved oil recovery (IOR) and enhanced oil recovery (EOR) projects to contribute 150,000 barrels per day (bpd) to the domestic production by 2020.

Vice President, Petroleum Management Exploration and Production Business, Adif Zulkifli, said the IOR and EOR technologies had improved oil recovery to between 40 and 50 per cent from 35 per cent on average in fields using traditional methods.

"The increase in recovery will give us another two billion barrels of oil," he told reporters on the sidelines of the Offshore Technology Conference Asia 2014 here today.

To date, he said, there were 20 billion barrels of oil in place in Malaysian reservoir.

Adif said apart from improving oil recovery factor, IOR and EOR projects also helped arrest the declining production of maturing oilfields.

"The projects have reduced the declining oil production to between two and three per cent from eight and 10 per cent without the technology," he said.

Currently, oil production in Malaysia stood at 500,000 bpd, down from 650,000 bpd during its peak in the 90s.

On EOR projects, Adif said, the company currently has identified 14 fields to be implemented with EOR technology.

Of these, three projects had been approved, including Tapis field, offshore East peninsular which was scheduled to produce its first oil early next year, he said.

"Two more projects are Baronia oilfield (now in a tendering process) and Betty oilfield (just received approval). Both are located offshore Sarawak," said Adif.

Both oilfields were expected to start producing oil using EOR technology by 2017 and 2018, respectively, he said

AmInvest bags 3 'Best of the Best' awards

KUALA LUMPUR: AmInvest, the funds management business of AMMB Holdings Bhd, has bagged three awards at the Asia Asset Management's 2013 Best of the Best Awards ceremony held in Hong Kong.

AmInvest has been named 'Malaysia's Best Institutional House', 'Best Pension Fund Manager' and 'Best Sukuk House' (second consecutive win) in its 2013 Best of the Best Awards, the company said in a statement today.

Its Chief Executive Officer, Datin Maznah Mahbob, said the company's distinct and well-established methodologies had given it an edge in all types of market cycles for the past 30 years and it remained focused to deliver on investment excellence ahead.

"We are honoured that our capabilities and expertise of growing our investors' investments on the conventional and Shariah-compliant fronts had stood out among other market players," she added.

The award ceremony, which has been held annually for past nine years, aims to recognise the most outstanding players in the funds management business in Asia.

Asia Asset Management is Hong Kong-based financial publication. 

Ringgit opens higher against USD

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened higher against the US dollar in the early trading Friday on continued buying support for the local unit, dealers said.

At 9:09 am, the local unit was traded at 3.2760/2790 against the greenback from Thursday's close at 3.2900/2930.

The local note appreciated against the Singapore dollar to 2.5928/5956 from 2.6002/6028 yesterday and rose against the yen to 3.2080/2112 from 3.2226/2262 Thursday.

The domestic currency also improved to 5.4434/4490 from 5.4482/4545 versus the British pound yesterday and strengthened to 4.5019/5070 from 4.5277/5325 against the euro Thursday

Physical gold price dips 79 sen

KUALA LUMPUR: The physical gold price as at 9.30am stood at RM131.99 per gram, down 79 sen from 132.78 as a 5pm from yesterday

Short-term rates to remain stable

KUALA LUMPUR: Short-term interbank rates are expected to remain stable today on Bank Negara Malaysia's intervention to absorb excess liquidity from the financial system.

The central bank estimated today's liquidity at RM25.704 billion in the conventional system and RM5.744 billion in Islamic funds.

Bank Negara will call for a RM6 billion range maturity auction tender for four days to 61 days and a repo tender for RM600 million for 31 days.

The financial services regulator will also call for a RM2.4 billion Al-Wadiah tender for seven days to 31 days. At 4 pm, Bank Negara will conduct up to RM19.1 billion in conventional overnight tenders and a RM3.6 billion Al-Wadiah overnight tender. 

Overweight oil & gas sector: AmResearch

KUALA LUMPUR: AmResearch remains positive on the oil & gas sector, as the roll-outs of Malaysia's multiple enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and complex projects will continue to underpin the re-rating cycle.
"We maintain our OVERWEIGHT call on the sector, with our BUY calls for SapuraKencana Petroleum,Cliq Energy, Sona, Bumi Armada, Yinson Holdings and Alam Maritim Resources. Our HOLD recommendations are Petronas Gas and Dialog Group," said AmResearch in its research note.

Petronas Carigali has called for a pre-qualification exercise for parallel front-end engineering and design (FEED) studies for a multi-platform project involving a central processing platform (CPP) at the Kasawari field, the second such development in Block SK316 off Sarawak.

This huge project involves a 30,000-tonne 8-legged CPP which has topsides weighing 19,000 tonnes, a 9-slot wellhead platform, a bridge link, a flare tower and a central collection platform. As the structures could weigh up to 37, 000 tonnes compared to SK316 CPP's 33,100 tonnes, which was awarded last year to a Technip-Malaysia Marine & Heavy Engineering Holdings (MMHE) joint-venture, we estimate that this Kasawari development could easily cost over US$1 billion (RM3.3 billion).

It is not surprising that the 3 engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning (EPCIC) integrated domestic players, MMHE, SapuraKencana Petroleum and TH Heavy Engineering have been invited for the pre-qualifying process. Overseas players that may be invited include Hyundai Heavy Industries, Samsung Heavy Industries, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, McDermott International, Singapore's Sembcorp Marine, and Abu Dhabi's National Petroleum Construction Company.

The yard operators are required to team up with Petronas' engineering partners such as Petrofac's RNZ, Technip, Aker Solutions, WorleyParsons, and MMC Oil & Gas Engineering. McDermott and Italy's Saipem could take on both the engineering and fabrication services, but Upstream could not confirm on the participation of Saipem.

Petronas has limited the participation to contractors with a minimum of 10 years of experience in handling projects involving carbon dioxide removal process given that the gas from the Kasawari field contains high carbon dioxide content, which could be more costly to extract and produce.

Petronas plans to shortlist not more than three bidders for the FEED study before the issuance of a tender, likely in May this year.

Whichever company or JV wins this parallel FEED contest will also secure the EPCIC contract, which is likely to be awarded in 2H2015. First gas from Kasawari is targeted 3 years from the award of the turnkey contract, with the offshore production structures scheduled to be completed within 15 months.

As Technip took charge of the conceptual studies of the Kasawari field development, and the JV between Technip and MMHE had eventually secured the first SK316 CPP, we believe they stand as the most likely candidates to secure this project .

Kasawari is a major natural gas discovery with over 3 trillion cubic feet of gas in reserves. Gas produced from this field will be transported to the 9th train at Petronas' Liquefied Natural Gas complex in Bintulu, Sarawak which is expected to commence operation by late 2015 or early 2016.

Buy Gamuda shares, says RHB

KUALA LUMPUR: RHB Research maintains BUY call on Gamuda, sees fair value unchanged at RM5.45 as the Klang Valley MRT Line Two is good as as approved.

RHB noted that Gamuda is the best proxy to public infrastructure spending in Malaysia given its dominant role in Line One of the Klang Valley MRT project, and most likely Lines Two & Three as well.

"Gamuda has secured the best parts of Line One with a 6 per cent fee and a contractor for the high-margin tunneling jobs; and is likely to take the lead in terms of reacting to new sector price catalysts, given its large market capitalisation.

This follows first half 2014 results that met expectations, as well as the fact that Gamuda is now working on the basis that the Cabinet has approved the RM25 billion Klang Valley MRT Line Two.

RHB said Gamuda is the best proxy to the construction sector, which is riding an extended upcycle backed by the RM73 billion Klang Valley MRT project.

"The first half 2014 net profit was within expectations at 50 per cent/48 per cent of its full-year forecast/market consensus respectively.

"Gamuda and project owner MRT Co are now working on a basis that the RM25 billion Line Two of the Klang Valley MRT project has been approved by the Cabinet, pending formal announcement by the Government.

"Gamuda is making good progress on Line One of the Klang Valley MRT project. As at end-second quarter 2014, financial completion of the elevated portion stood at 24 per cent, with the tunneling portion 34 per cent completed."

RHB added that despite headwinds in the property sector, Gamuda still expects another record year in financial year 2014.

"Sales of RM1.9 billion in projected versus the RM1.75 billion it achieved in financial year 2013. In first half 2014, it already recorded property sales of RM980 million."

KL shares bearish at midday

KUALA LUMPUR: At 12.30 p.m. today, there were 274 gainers, 356 losers and 312 counters traded unchanged on the Bursa Malaysia.

The FBM-KLCI was at 1,842.05 down 4.82 points, the FBMACE was at 6,711.82 up 0.99 of a point, and the FBMEmas was at 12,735.25 down 22.03
points.

Turnover was at 1.004 billion shares valued at RM896.397 million.

JAKS bags govt projects worth RM399.3m

KUALA LUMPUR: JAKS Sdn Bhd, a unit of JAKS Resources Bhd, has been awarded a RM399.3 million sewerage pipe project by the Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry.

The project is to design, build and complete Package D43 -- the construction of sewerage pipe network at Batu, Jinjang, Kepong and Kuala Lumpur, the company said in a statement.

The four-year contract will be completed by April 2018.

"The contract is expected to contribute positively to the revenue and earnings of JAKS Group for the financial year ending December 31, 2014 and the following financial years within the duration of the contract," JAKS added.-- Bernama