KLSE

Dated 2012-01-20


  Revised offer for SP Setia
The months-long issue of Permodalan Nasional Bhd’s (PNB) takeover offer for SP Setia Bhd’s shares in order to gain control of the company has taken a new turn…..

  Master Builders Association appeal to Govt regarding foreign workers
KUALA LUMPUR: Master Builders Association Malaysia has asked the government to lift the temporary suspension for workers’ quota applications imposed by the Home Ministry in view of the current 6P process……

Khazanah-linked Jadwa Investment declares 15% higher dividend
KUALA LUMPUR: Khazanah Nasional-linked Jadwa Investment, which posted 18 per cent increase in net income of more than RM109 million last year, has declared 15 per cent higher dividend of RM1.26 a share……

Tin price ends lower
KUALA LUMPUR: The Kuala Lumpur Tin Market (KLTM) fell by US$50 to close at US$21,900 per tonne on weak demand, dealers said……

CIMB Group appoints three new directors
KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB Group Holdings Bhd today announced the appointment of new directors at CIMB Bank Bhd and CIMB Islamic Bank Bhd……

Perodua open to collaborations with DRB-Hicom
KUALA LUMPUR: Perodua is open to working with DRB-Hicom Bhd following the latter’s takeover of national car-maker Proton Holdings Bhd, said Perodua managing director Datuk Aminar Rashid……

FBM KLCI closes higher
The benchmark FBM KLCI closes higher today by 5.85 points or 0.39% to 1,522.66 largely supported by positive external environment…..

Petronas sells March Labuan, Miri at new highs
SINGAPORE: Malaysian state oil firm Petronas sold a cargo each of Labuan and Miri crude for March loading at record premiums as tighter supply of Sudanese oil and robust demand boosted the prices of sweet grades in Asia……

Meiban, Etika benefit from rising Singapore-Malaysia exports
SINGAPORE: Singapore companies such as plastic parts maker Meiban Group and food and beverages group Etika International Holdings are benefitting from Singapore’s rising exports to Malaysia……

Aussie consumer watchdog takes AirAsia to court
PETALING JAYA: The Australian consumer watchdog has taken AirAsia Bhd to court for allegedly failing to disclose the full price of fares for flights from Australia to overseas destinations……

MyCC gives airlines a month to submit documents on share swap
KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia Bhd, its sister airline company AirAsia X and Malaysia Airlines (MAS) have been given a month to provide the Malaysia Competition Commission (MyCC) with the relevant documents in relation to the commission’s probe on the s…..

Malay chamber still wants to buy LTH’s 23% stake in KFC
KUALA LUMPUR: The Malay Chamber of Commerce Malaysia (MCCM) has not given up its quest to gain control of the KFC fast-food business in Malaysia. After the rejection of its offer to acquire Kulim (M) Bhd’s 54% shareholding in QSR Brands Bhd, the cham…..

SOPA and PIPA, two words that people across the globe love to hate
SOPA and PIPA are two words that people across the globe love to hate……

Rehda: Property prices will continue uptrend in H1
KUALA LUMPUR: A majority of developers expect property prices to continue climbing in the first half of the year in tandem with rising costs……

NCER gets RM9.9bil private sector investments
PUTRAJAYA: The Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER) received some RM9.9bil in private sector investments last year, up 62.8% from RM6.08bil committed in 2010……

  TMS teams up with LTH unit for school project bid
PETALING JAYA: Internet-based applications and solutions provider The Media Shoppe Bhd (TMS) has entered into a teaming agreement with Konsortium Jaya Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Lembaga Tabung Haji, to submit a proposal to the Government in relation to…..

  FGV needs model change
KUALA LUMPUR: Felda Global Ventures Sdn Bhd’s (FGV) current business model, which is heavily dependent on crude palm oil (CPO) prices, is not sustainable, said president and chief executive Datuk Sabri Ahmad……

Clarification
PETALING JAYA: With reference to the StarBiz report on Wednesday titled “Vehicle sales down last year, record seen this year”, the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) pointed out that there were errors in its press release. Total v…..

World’s top producers target higher CPO output this year(update)
KUALA LUMPUR: The world’s top-two largest crude palm oil (CPO)producers, Malaysia and Indonesia, are targeting for higher CPO productionthis year as the price of the commodity is expected to stay firm intandem wit h steady performance of its rival so…..

Mier: Worse to come
KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER) expects gross domestic product (GDP) for 2011 to be 4.9% but to decelerate to 3.7% in 2012……

Currency fundamentals shield eurozone
KUALA LUMPUR: Despite the bleak sentiment surrounding the sovereign debt crisis in Europe, the eurozone should not collapse given its strong currency fundamentals……

Ekuinas buys into Revenue Valley Group for RM65mil
KUALA LUMPUR: Government-linked private equity management fund Ekuiti Nasional Bhd (Ekuinas) has invested RM64.7mil for an 85.76% stake in Revenue Valley Group, a food and beverage (F&B) group in Malaysia and Singapore……

China eyes pension fund boost for stock market
BEIJING: China’s local governments could plough up to US$57bil into the domestic stock market under a proposal, which sources familiar with the matter said was with the cabinet, to allow them to allocate some of their pension funds into shares……

DiGi Q4 net profit up 19% on tax incentives
PETALING JAYA: DiGi.Com Bhd’s net profit for its fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2011 increased 18.73% to RM394.23mil on the back of an 8.1% increase in revenue to RM1.55bil……

New board members for PIDM
PETALING JAYA: Perbadanan Insurans Deposit Malaysia (PIDM) has appointed Datuk Dr Rahamat Bivi Yusoff and Mohamad Abdul Halim Ahmad as directors. Their appointments took effect on Jan 1……

HSBC securities service ranked first
PETALING JAYA: HSBC Bank Malaysia Bhd’s Securities Services has been ranked the “Top Rated Agent Bank for Malaysia” in the Global Custodian Emerging Markets Suvery 2011 under the leading clients category. …..

Indonesia foreign direct investment hits record
JAKARTA: Indonesia’s foreign direct investment hit a record US$20bil last year, with Singapore, Japan and the United States among the nation’s top investors, the trade minister said……

S&P sees rise of corporate defaults
BRUSSELS: Credit rating giant Standard & Poor’s (S&P) said it expects an increase in the corporate debt default rate in 2012 as a result of a “shallow recession.”…..

Carrefour reviews revamp as trade worsens
PARIS: Carrefour, Europe’s biggest retailer, is reviewing its flagship hypermarkets revamp after warning 2011 profit would be at the bottom end of already pessimistic forecasts……

US accuses website of copyright infringement
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A major Internet content hosting website, Megaupload.com, its founders and several employees have been charged by U.S. authorities for a massive copyright infringement scheme, the latest skirmish in a battle against piracy of m…..

Google results fall short, rare miss hurts shares
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Google Inc’s quarterly results fell short of Wall Street’s heightened expectations for the holiday season as declining search advertising rates contributed to a rare miss, triggering a 9 percent slide in its shares……

Microsoft’s Windows battles slack PC sales
SEATTLE (Reuters) – Microsoft Corp’s fiscal second-quarter profit fell very slightly as lagging computer sales to cash-strapped consumers in the United States and Europe hurt its core Windows business……

GM becomes world’s top selling automaker in 2011
NEW YORK (Reuters) – General Motors Co reclaimed its title as the world’s top selling automaker for the first time since 2007, after sales of more than 9 million vehicles globally in 2011……

Carnival says to review response systems
REUTERS – Carnival Corp, whose luxury cruise liner Costa Concordia capsized off the coast of Italy last week, said on Thursday it will conduct an audit and review of safety and emergency response procedures at all of its cruise lines……

Wall Street rises on bank results
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stocks rose for the third straight day on Thursday, sparked by results from Bank of America and Morgan Stanley and as the latest jobless claims dropped to a near four-year low……

Intel results exceed Street, capex jumps
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Intel Corp’s quarterly results modestly beat Wall Street’s expectations as it faces a tough PC market, and the chipmaker said it was sharply increasing its capital expenditures in an apparent bid to speed up its entry into t…..

Momentum to drain from world economy in 2012: poll
LONDON (Reuters) – The world economy will lose momentum in 2012 but it will keep moving in the right direction, according to Reuters polls of around 600 economists who said crisis-hit Europe would drag on global growth……

Clock stops on scrapping leap seconds
GENEVA (Reuters) – Time experts were deadlocked on Thursday over whether to scrap “”leap seconds”" which are occasionally added to clocks to stop them running ahead of the sun……

Greece, creditors move to breach gap as clock ticks
LONDON/ATHENS (Reuters) – Greece and its private bondholders inched closer on Thursday to a vital debt swap deal needed to avoid a messy default by Athens, with both sides saying progress has been made and negotiations would continue on Friday……

China 2011 fiscal revenue surges to record 10.37 trln yuan
BEIJING, Jan 20 (Reuters) China’s nationwide fiscal revenues jumped 25.8 percent to a record high of 10.37 trillion yuan ($1.64 trillion) in 2011, China’s Ministry of Finance said on Friday……

China’s Chongqing Brewery warns on profit, Carlsberg to audit
SHANGHAI, Jan 20 (Reuters) China’s Chongqing Brewery , in which Danish brewer Carlsberg A/S is the largest shareholder, said on Friday its 2011 net profit is expected to have plunged by about 50 percent……

China Mobile says subscribers rose to 649.57 mln in Dec
HONG KONG, Jan 20 (Reuters) China Mobile Ltd , China’s largest mobile carrier, said on Friday that its total mobile subscribers increased to 649.57 million in December, including 51.21 million 3G subscribers……

IBM, other tech results point to robust IT demand
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A strong outlook from IBM and decent results from Intel Corp and Microsoft Corp suggest that corporate decision makers are shaking off nervousness about economic growth and boosting spending on technology……

News Corp pays out over hacking claims
LONDON, Jan 19 (Reuters) The British newspaper arm of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp settled a string of legal claims over phone hacking on Thursday, and said this was not an admission that management had known about the practice or tried to cover it up……