KLSE Market

Bursa may see thin trading today
The local bourse may see thin trading Thursday as investors choose to stay on the sidelines due to a lack of news flow on the corporate front.

Rival automakers expect to gain from Toyota’s pain
DETROIT (AP): In a few short weeks, Toyota has done what General Motors, Ford and other automakers have failed to accomplish for decades: Erase the perception that the Japanese automaker’s cars are of much higher quality than those of its rivals.

Sarawak smelters raise uncertainty on Bakun cable project
PETALING JAYA: The number of power-hungry aluminium smelters that are being planned in Sarawak has raised uncertainty on the fate of the multi-billion ringgit submarine cable project meant to transmit power from Bakun hydroelectric dam in the state to the peninsula.

December IPI up 8.9% on recovery in exports
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s December industrial production index (IPI) registered the highest year-on-year rise in 22 months as a recovery in exports boosted orders for manufactured goods.

Palm oil exports gain amid declining production
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s palm oil stockpiles fell by almost 11% in January compared with December 2009 while exports gained amid declining production.

Mah Sing eyeing land in Bangsar
PETALING JAYA: Mah Sing Group Bhd is eyeing 20 acres of prime land in Bangsar that Lever Brothers’ soap and margarine manufacturing plant was formerly located.

Corporate bonds expected to reach RM50b
KUALA LUMPUR: The volume of corporate bond issuances in Malaysia is expected to reach RM45bil to RM50bil in 2010, says Malaysian Rating Corp Bhd (MARC).

Khazanah taps into China’s education services sector
PETALING JAYA: Khazanah Nasional Bhd expects to tap the huge growth potential in China’s education services sector via its acquisition of a 10% stake in Oriental University City Ltd (OUCL) for US$44mil.

IJM to enter into new concession agreement with Govt
PETALING JAYA: IJM Corp Bhd will enter into a new concession agreement with the Government as part of the restructuring of the tolled highway operated by Besraya Sdn Bhd, an indirect subsidiary of the former.

F&N sees RM120mil sales from Red Bull deal
KUALA LUMPUR: An exclusive deal to sell and distribute Red Bull energy drinks in Malaysia is expected to generate some RM120mil, or about 10% of revenue, to F&N Beverages Marketing Sdn Bhd in the first full year of the agreement.

IOI net profit soars 173% in Q2
PETALING JAYA: IOI Corp Bhd reported a 173% surge in net profit to RM461.2mil for the second quarter ended Dec 31, 2009 due to higher contributions from its property and manufacturing segments as well as unrealised translation gains on US dollar-denominated borrowings.

Local firms can meet CO2 cut target
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian companies are capable of meeting the Government’s target to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to 40% by 2020, said CSR Asia (Malaysia) director Rikke Netterstrom.

MAHB passenger movement up 8.2% in 2009
KUALA LUMPUR: Total passenger movements at the airports operated by Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) increased by 8.2% to 51.335 million in 2009 compared with 47.448 million in 2008.

JCY to slash IPO size on weak pricing
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian disk-drive component maker JCY International is to slash the size of its initial public offering after pricing it at the lower end of an indicated range, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Malaysia to focus on exporting services to Asia and Europe
KUALA LUMPUR: European countries, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, India and China are among Malaysia’s focus markets for the export of services this year.

RCB plans to file appeal
PETALING JAYA: Rhythm Consolidated Bhd (RCB) plans to file an appeal against the court’s decision to allow an application by Syarikat Perumahan Pegawai Kerajaan Sdn Bhd for winding-up against RCB, it said in response to a Bursa Malaysia query.

Placing local labour as a priority
NEWS of jobs going to foreigners has always been a contentious issue. No matter where you are, local sentiment usually frowns on jobs lost to workers from another country regardless of how skilled they are.

HSBC sees strong growth in SME business
KUALA LUMPUR: HSBC Bank Malaysia Bhd is anticipating a stronger growth for its small and medium enterprise (SME) business this year compared with last year, buoyed by among others, its larger branch network’s ability to service this segment.

AirAsia to set up new low-cost airline with Vietjet Air
PETALING JAYA: After establishing bases in Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia, AirAsia has set its sights on Vietnam where it will establish a new low-cost airline with new partner, Vietjet Aviation Joint Stock Co (Vietjet Air).

MAS sees 50% higher flown revenue via card
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Airlines (MAS) is confident of achieving at least 50% growth in Enrich flown revenue this year.

Volkswagen aims to double sales
KUALA LUMPUR: Volkswagen Group Malaysia expects its vehicle sales to double this year from 885 units sold in 2009.

KFH appoints Jamelah CEO of Malaysian unit
KUALA LUMPUR: Kuwait Finance House (KFH) has appointed Jamelah Jamaluddin chief executive officer (CEO) of its Malaysian unit, Kuwait Finance House (M) Bhd (KFHMB).

Axiata Indian unit gets nod for merger
KUALA LUMPUR: Axiata Group Bhd said its Indian unit Idea Cellular Ltd has received the approval from the high courts of Gujarat and Delhi for its merger with Spice Communications Ltd.

Nod for SASB to take over Hume
PETALING JAYA: Spectrum Arrangement Sdn Bhd’s (SASB) offer to acquire all the remaining shares in Hume Industries (M) Bhd has been approved by the International Trade and Industry Ministry.

KUB seals deal to buy Ibuzawa stake
KUALA LUMPUR: KUB Malaysia Bhd has signed a settlement agreement with there vendors to acquire the remaining 40% stake in Ibuzawa Corp Sdn Bhd for RM12mil cash.

Gadang plans rights issue
PETALING JAYA: Gadang Holdings Bhd has proposed a rights issue, involving two rights shares for every three held and one warrant for every four rights shares held.

Support Lines
 

Honda expands airbag recall
TOKYO/DETROIT: Honda Motor Co said it would recall a further 440,000 cars around the world for faulty airbags as rival Toyota Motor Corp faced further probes over its largest-ever safety crisis.

UK mulls over lifting N. Rock guarantee
LONDON: Britain is considering to lift a guarantee protecting deposits with Northern Rock within weeks, sources familiar with the situation said, a move that would draw a line under troubles at the nationalised bank as it is prepared for sale.

Flat trading in Euro stocks
LONDON: European stocks ended mixed yesterday amid concerns on Greece’s debt crisis and the stability of Austrian banks, as well as investor speculation on a possible early hike in US interest rates.. London’s FTSE 100 index of leading shares closed down 0.56 per cent at 5,285.77 points while in Paris the CAC 40 inched up 0.10 per cent to 3,834.09 and the Frankfurt Dax rose 0.16 per cent to 5,811.34.. Zurich was up 0.10 per cent, Brussels rose 0.08 per cent and Amsterdam gained 0.83 per cent, but Milan fell 0.15 per cent and Madrid was down 0.25 per cent.

Fed likely to maintain stimulus
WASHINGTON: The US Federal Reserve concludes a two-day meeting today expected to pledge ongoing stimulus for a recovering US economy.. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is widely expected to keep its near-zero interest rate policy and a range of programmes to flood the financial system with money to restore credit flows.

Dream comes true for Boeing (finally)

BIZ BRIEFS: AirAsia to expand India routes

Colourful chips in the market

QMS launches hub in KL
KUALA LUMPUR: Qatar Media Services (QMS) aims to be a leading regional media partner leveraging on several platforms such as outdoor, print, online and television in countries like Australia, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Taiwan, Singapore, Korea, Japan and Malaysia in areas of media representation, media buying and consultancy services.. Trademarked as Q.media, the media representative for the Al-Jazeera Network and numerous other global and regional media networks, it launched its Asia Pacific hub here this morning.

DAP queries Khanazah over RM150m investment in Oriental University
KUALA LUMPUR: The DAP says Khazanah Nasional’s investment of  300 million yuan (USD44 million or RM150 million) in Oriental University City Ltd (OUCL) in Hebei Province, China raises more questions t….

Asia shares up; eyes on EU Greece rescue plan
SINGAPORE: Asian stocks rose for the third day in a row on Thursday, powered by strong economic data from Australia and China, while the euro steadied ahead of a key summit that could lay out a rescue….

#Update* JCY institutional price at RM1.60
KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB Investment Bank says the institutional price of JCY International Bhd has been fixed at RM1.60 per share after the bookbuilding for the institutional portion closed late Wednesday, ….

Huatai sets low Shanghai IPO price, raises US$2.3b
SHANGHAI: Mid-sized Chinese brokerage Huatai Securities is raising 15.7 billion yuan (US$2.3 billion) in China’s biggest initial public offering this year, but weak demand after lukewarm listing debut….

Blue chips ease in early trade
KUALA LUMPUR: Blue chips eased in early trade  on Thursday, Feb 11, in the absence of strong external leads but sentiment was seen to be steady, underpinned by positive corporate earnings news.At 9.2….

MAS rights entitlement fall in early trade
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Airline System’s (MAS) rights entitlements fell in early trade on Thursday, Feb 11 on its first trading day.. At 9.20am, it was down 24.5 sen to 19.5 sen with 7.46 million unit….

Maybank Research remains Buyers of Notion Vtec
KUALA LUMPUR: Maybank Equity Research remain Buyers of Notion Vtec at RM2.79 after its 1QFY10 results met expectations. Notion Vtec is a leveraged play on rising outsourcing opportunities in the HDD a….

Kenanga Research keeps Buy on Mah Sing at RM1.80
KUALA LUMPUR: Kenanga Research is keeping its Buy call on Mah Sing Group at RM1.80 with a target price of RM2.10 after it exercising its option to buy a piece of land in Cyberjaya from Setia Haruman S….

Stock market fortunes in 2010: Crouching bull, prowling tiger
KUALA LUMPUR: Hwang DBS Vickers Research expects the Tiger will carry the seed of the fire element (a symbol of the stock market) in 2010, according to the celestial readings.In its strategy report is….

OSK Research: IOI Corp still pricey
KUALA LUMPUR: OSK Research says despite the recent selldown, it thinks IOI Corp is still pricey at 20 times forward earnings, which is at the top end of the PE range in a post-bubble environment. This….