Thursday 28 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 29): Based on corporate announcements and newsflow today, companies that may be in focus tomorrow (Tuesday, Dec 30) could include the following: Tower Real Estate Investment Trust (Tower REIT), Yokohama Industries Bhd, Parkson Holdings Bhd, Oriental Holdings Bhd, AirAsia Bhd, JobStreet Corp Bhd, Gunung Capital Bhd and Tanjung Offshore Bhd.

Tower REIT has entered into a sale and purchase agreement (SPA) with Goldstone Kuala Lumpur Sdn Bhd to divest 19 office parcels and 190 car park bays within Menara ING for RM132.34 million cash, a filing to Bursa Malaysia revealed this evening.

According to the REIT’s manager, proceeds from the disposal will be used to repay bank borrowings and will enable the manager to pursue acquisition opportunities to grow the Trust. The disposal is also expected to increase Tower REIT’s net asset value (NAV) per unit by approximately 5%. As at Sept 30, Its NAV per unit stands at RM1.79.

The REIT has fallen by 29 sen or 19.33% year-to-date to close unchanged at RM1.21 today, giving it a market capitalization of RM339.4 million.

Yokohama Industries Bhd announced that its controlling shareholder HSG Investment Pte Ltd has signed an agreement, paving for the sale of its entire 62.16% stake or 53 million shares in the automotive batteries maker at RM1.70 each, at 32.8% premium to the stock’s previous closing price of RM1.28.

Based on Yokohama’s filing to Bursa Malaysia today, HSG had entered into a heads of agreement (HOA) with Fordington Pte Ltd to sell the stake. Yokohama’s board of directors also notified that the corporate exercise may trigger a mandatory takeover offer by Fordington.

Parkson Holdings Bhd’s 52.1% owned Hong Kong-listed subsidiary, Parkson Retail Group Ltd, has acquired the Qingdao Shopping Mall in Qingdao, China, from Shanghai Industrial Qingdao Development Co Ltd for RMB1.42 billion (RM798.3 million), a filing to Bursa Malaysia revealed.

The Qingdao Shopping Mall, located at Laoshan District of Qingdao City, is part of a fully-integrated commercial development project known as Beer City Project, undertaken by the vendor.

The site area apportioned to the Qingdao Shopping Mall is approximately 45,714 square metres, with a total planned gross floor area of approximately 216,000 square metres, of which approximately 131,000 square metres is for retail use, and the balance of 85,000 square metres is for ancillary and an estimate 2,000 car parks lots.

Oriental Holdings Bhd saw a series of boardroom changes today and top of the list is the retirement of its chairman and executive director, Datuk Seri Loh Cheng Yean, 71, effective Dec 31, 2014, filings with Bursa Malaysia showed.

Taking over from Cheng Yean is her nephew, Datuk Loh Kian Chong, 38, who has been re-designated as chairman and executive director from deputy chairman previously. His redesignation will be effective from Jan 1 next year (2015).

Meanwhile, Cheng Yean's daughter, Tan Kheng Hwee, 48, has been appointed executive director. Kheng Hwee will cease to be alternate director to Cheng Yean, following the latter's retirement on Dec 31.

Additionally, Datuk Sri Tan Hui Jing, 33, has been re-designated to executive director from non-executive director effective Jan 1 next year. Hui Jing is the son of Datuk Dr Tan Chong Siang, another nephew of Cheng Yean.

AirAsia Bhd was the most active stock on the bourse today, with some 103 million shares traded. The stock settled the day 8.5% lower at RM2.69, having narrowed down earlier losses of as much as 12.9% during intra-day trade.

The counter may experience near term weakness, according to aviation analysts, after its Indonesian associate's plane went missing on Dec 28.

AirAsia Indonesia’s flight QZ8501 from Surabaya to Indonesia lost contact early Sunday morning, some 42 minutes into a scheduled two-and-a-half hour flight. Authorities in Indonesia and Singapore have launched search and rescue operations to locate the missing plane.

JobStreet Corp Bhd rose as much as 38.5% to 54 sen during intra-day trade, before easing to close at 53.5 sen today, with 71.8 million shares changing hands, making it the second most actively-traded stock on Bursa.

Reason for the counter’s sharp surge is unknown, although speculation is that the company is looking at potential new businesses.

Jobstreet had just last month (November), distributed special dividends amounting to RM1.7 billion to its shareholders, funded solely by the RM1.89 billion proceeds it received by selling its online job portal businesses to Seek Asia Investments Pte Ltd.

The stock had been picked as one of The Edge Research's Stocks with Momentum last week.

Gunung Capital Bhd has secured a service-contract worth RM164.95 million from the Ministry of Defence, to provide passenger transportation for National Service trainees and trainers, by bus/coach for 82 National Service camps, over nine months per calendar year.

The service-contract period is from Dec 26, 2014 to Dec 25, 2017. The contract is expected to contribute positively to Gunung’s earnings for the financial years ending Dec 31, 2015, 2016 and 2017 respectively.

Gunung closed 5 sen or 6.67% higher at 80 sen today, giving it a market capitalization of RM111.91 million.

Tanjung Offshore Bhd and Bourbon Far East Pte Ltd have aborted the proposed asset injection exercise that would have resulted in a reverse takeover (RTO) of Tanjung Offshore by Paris-based oil and gas giant, Bourbon SA.

In an announcement to Bursa Malaysia, Tanjung Offshore said it had, together with Singaporean Farid Khan Kaim Khan and his business partners, Mower Tunggal Jaya PT, Megagold Indonesia PT and Zona Maju Mapan PT (BNI shareholders) and their business partners, as well as Bourbon Far East, mutually agreed to terminate the heads of agreement (HoAs) that they had entered into, in relation to the proposed RTO.

The HoAs were terminated today with immediate effect, without any legal and financial recourse against each party, the announcement read, confirming a report in The Edge Financial Daily published this morning.

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