ASEAN Equities posted a better than expected rally after positive turn
in China data.
Singapore
Sembcorp Marine’s Jurong Shipyard
& Prosafe sign for a 2nd accommodation semi-submersible at US$
295.2-million.
Scheduled for delivery no later
than end of December 2014, this accommodation semi-submersible (semi) will be
built based on the GVA 3000E design, a similar design as the first unit, the
Safe Boreas, presently under construction in Jurong Shipyard. This is Prosafe’s
second accommodation semi with JSPL, following the first order contracted in
December 2011.
Along with the latest contract,
JSPL has granted two additional options to Prosafe for further newbuilds.
Including the option previously granted last year, Prosafe will now have a
total of three options for accommodation semi newbuilds at JSPL. The
accommodation semis for the two additional options can be designed for either
the Norwegian Continental Shelf or for world-wide operations outside of Norway.
Featuring the latest technology,
the GVA 3000E design accommodation semi is capable of operating gangway
connected in deep water and in harsh environments alongside fixed platforms,
floating platform and floating production and offloading vessels, with a full
complement of deck cranes and fire-fighting capabilities.
Thailand
TCC Assets has been given more
time to revise its offer for Singapore conglomerate Fraser & Neave
(F&N) after an Indonesian rival trumped it with a S$13.1 billion bid.
TCC Assets, controlled by Thai
beverage tycoon Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, said in a filing to the Singapore
Exchange on Thursday that it has been given until December 11 to make a new
offer.
F&N, whose businesses range
from property to soft drinks and publishing, became a takeover target after
selling off its most prized asset, Tiger Beer maker Asia Pacific Breweries, to
Dutch giant Heineken in September.
TCC put forward an offer of S$8.7
billion, or S$8.88 a share, for the shares of F&N it does not yet own.
However Indonesian-controlled
Overseas Union Enterprise (OUE) tabled a S$13.1 billion proposal at S$9.08 per
share.
Property giant OUE is controlled
by Lippo Group, a major Indonesian conglomerate founded by tycoon Mochtar
Riady, whose son Stephen is OUE’s executive chairman.
OUE’s offer for F&N was
backed by Japanese brewer Kirin Holdings, which holds about 14.8 per cent of
F&N and is interested in its food and beverage business, with the property
interests of F&N going to OUE if they succeed.
Standard & Poor’s analyst,
Xavier Jean, said: “TCC wants to buy a little bit more time to decide what
potential course of action they are going to follow and decide whether they are
going to bid again at what price and obtain the funding, the commitment from
banks if they decide to up the offer.”
F&N shares closed up 0.21 per
cent to S$9.42, 6 per cent higher than TCC’s offer price of S$8.88, signalling
that the market is expecting a much higher price for F&N.
Malaysia
RHB Capital Bhd’s earnings rose
14.3% to RM487.48mil in the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2012 from RM426.21mil
a year ago, underpinned by strong growth in interest income.
It announced on Thursday group
revenue increased by 10.6% to RM1.961bil from RM1.773bil. Earnings per share
were 21.80 sen from 19.40 sen.
Interest income rose to
RM1.560bil from RM1.439bil, which saw its net income at RM744.91mil from
RM709.71mil. Other operating income increased to RM273.82mil from RM215.53mil.
It also reported income from
Islamic banking business climbed to RM126.72mil from RM117.89mil. It also wrote
back RM30.97mil versus RM25.74mil a year afo.
When compared with the second
quarter, RHB Cap said the Q3 pre-tax profit of RM640.34mil was up 6.2% from
RM603.2mil in Q2.
“The higher profit was mainly due
to lower loan loss provisioning by RM67.8mil, higher income from Islamic
Banking business by RM14.0mil, higher net interest income by RM13.0mil and
lower other operating expenses by RM3.8mil, partially offset by lower other
operating income by RM49.2mil and higher impairment losses on other assets by
RM12.1mil,” it said.
RHB Cap said for the nine-months
period ended Sept 30, 2012, earnings rose 8.8% to RM1.376bil from RM1.265bil in
the previous corresponding period. Revenue increased by 10.7% to RM5.795bil
from RM5.231bil. Other highlights of its nine-months financial performance were
that its pre-tax profit grew 8.5% to RM1.8bil while earnings per share
increased 6.7% to 62.1 sen.
Philippines
PhilWeb Corp. is launching a
share buy-back program to lift the price of its stock, which according to
management still trades below its “intrinsic value.”
The company’s board on Thursday
delegated the timing, the acquisition prices and other terms of the buyback to
PhilWeb’s management.
The announcement pushed PhilWeb
shares up 3.17 percent to close at P13 at the end of Thursday’s trading.
“The company currently has excess
and unallocated cash, which is on placement with the banks at very low interest
rates,” PhilWeb told the local bourse.
“Since the company has available
unrestricted retained earnings and its stock is currently trading at such low
levels, the company’s board of directors decided to take advantage of the
opportunity to buy shares from the open market at prevailing prices,” the
disclosure read.
Despite its surge on Thursday,
PhilWeb shares are still trading well below its 52-week high of P17.88 each.
Its current share price is closer to its one-year low of P12.10.
The company has 1.51 billion
outstanding shares, giving the company a market capitalization of P19.07
billion.
Earlier this month, PhilWeb
reported a robust increase in earnings for the first nine months of 2012 due to
what it said were strong results from its e-Games cafes nationwide.
In a statement, the gaming firm,
with operations around the region, said its net income during the
January-September period increased by 24 percent to P681 million from the same
period in 2011.
“The performance was driven by
excellent results from the company’s operations, primarily in the e-Games cafes
or PEGS that it operates for the (state-owned) Philippine Amusement and Gaming
Corp.,” company president Dennis Valdes said.
The fastest growth was delivered
by PhilWeb’s Asia-Pacific subsidiary, which operates scratch-card businesses in
Cambodia and Timor Leste and a Sweeps Center in Guam.
The Asia-Pacific region
contributes 8 percent of total revenues, which drove the firm’s consolidated
total revenue to P1.08 billion, or 30 percent higher than a year ago.
Indonesia
Indopura Resources joined forces
with Chinese miner Hainan Joint Enterprise Business Service to build a bauxite
smelter at a cost of about $700 million.
The funding for the smelter will
be supported by China Construction Bank International.
The two companies signed a
cooperation agreement in Batam on Wednesday.
“This cooperation agreement will
add value to Indonesian bauxite,” said M. Arief Winata, managing director at
Indopura Resources.
Indopura has putting together
plans for the smelter and creating construction designs, which are expected to
completed next year.
“The construction is expected to
start in 2014,” Arief said.
The ore bauxite, Arief said, will
be from Ketapang, West Kalimantan, from a 27,000-hectare mining area owned by
local miner Laman Mining.
“We need 5,000 workers and needs
land space of 160 to 170 hectares for the construction of the plant,” Arief
said.
The Indonesian government has
instituted a policy to tighten the exports of ore minerals as it seeks to
increase the value of its natural resources by processing them locally. Mining
accounted for only 12 percent of the country’s gross domestic product in 2011.
Yesterday in Asia
Japanese shares closed at a six-month
high as the yen weakened further against the dollar and euro on expectations
the country’s central bank will unveil fresh monetary easing measures.
Tokyo soared 1.56 percent,
or 144.28 points, to 9,366.80 to finish at their highest level since early May.
In other markets:
Taipei rose 0.24 percent,
or 17.27 points, to 7,105.76.
Chip giant TSMC was 0.88 percent
higher at Tw$91.3 while smartphone maker HTC fell 2.07 percent to Tw$236.5.
Manila was 0.38 percent, or
20.81 points, lower at 5,513.37.
Top-traded Philippine National
Bank dropped 3.03 percent to 81.55 pesos while Ayala Land fell 0.65 percent to
23.10 pesos.
Wellington closed 0.65
percent up, adding 25.98 points, to 3,997.21.
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare
added 2.1 percent to NZ$2.49, Chorus climbed 1.6 percent to NZ$3.25 and
Fletcher Building was 1.5 percent higher at NZ$7.84.
Bangkok added 0.24 percent
or 3.12 points to 1,279.51.
Oil company PTT lost 0.32 percent
to 309 baht, while Siam Cement gained 1.03 percent to 394 baht.
Jakarta ended up 18.65
points, or 0.43 percent, at 4,335.927.
Food manufacturer Indofood Sukses
Makmur rose 3.6 percent to 5,750 rupiah, while retailer Ramayana Lestari
Sentosa jumped 7.5 percent to 1,290 rupiah.
Singapore closed up
0.89 percent, or 26.33 points, to 2,986.63.
United Overseas Bank gained 1.58
percent to Sg$18.03 and Keppel Corp. advanced 2.73 percent to Sg$10.55.
Kuala Lumpur fell 4.42
points, or 0.27 percent, to end at 1,618.55.
Axiata Group lost 1.8 percent to
5.87 ringgit, while CIMB Group Holdings shed 0.4 percent to 7.67. YTL gained
2.4 percent to 1.74 ringgit.
Mumbai rose 0.31 percent,
or 56.96 points, to 18,517.34 points.
State Bank of India rose 1.89
percent to 2,099.65 rupees while state-run Hindustan Copper rose 11.33 percent
to 266.3
Business & Investment Opportunities
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