KLSE Market | Malaysia News for 2010-07-20

  The Star

Coca-Cola and Pepsi in big sales war in US
NEW YORK: The cola wars are back, and this time they have zero calories but plenty of nostalgia.


  Texas Instruments Q2 revenue rises 42%
NEW YORK: Texas Instruments Inc.’s second-quarter income and revenue jumped as demand continued to recover after the recession, yet investors had wanted even better results after seeing strong reports recently from other technology companies.

Free speech fight ends quietly in lost iPhone saga
SAN FRANCISCO: A brewing free-speech debate touched off by a lost prototype of Apple’s iPhone has ended quietly with a blogger’s agreement to cooperate with investigators.

AIDS breakthrough: Gel helps prevent infection
MILWAUKEE: For the first time, a vaginal gel has proved capable of blocking the AIDS virus: It cut in half a woman’s chances of getting HIV from an infected partner in a study in South Africa.

FBM KLCI rises in morning trade
KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI rose as investor sentiment is boosted by a relatively stable external backdrop and Wall Street’s overnight gain.

After caping oil spill BP’s future still open question
NEW YORK: The future of BP PLC has shifted in recent days from a death-watch discussion to a debate about how valuable the British oil giant will be after it finishes paying for the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history.

British air show kicks off with small flurry of orders
FARNBOROUGH, England: Boeing Co. and European archrival Airbus racked up billions of dollars worth of aircraft sales at the Farnborough International Airshow on Monday, raising hopes that the aviation industry has touched the bottom of a deep two-year downturn.

Kiwis drop mining plans Tuesday
WELLINGTON, New Zealand: New Zealand’s government yielded to public pressure Tuesday to scrap a proposal that would have allowed mining in some of the country’s most pristine landscapes.

IBM lifts 2010 forecast but global economic worries loom
SAN FRANCISCO: Uncertainty about the stability of world markets is clouding encouraging signs about the health of the technology sector.

Court grants bail to jailed ex-media mogul Conrad Black
CHICAGO: Jailed former newspaper magnate Conrad Black was granted bail on Monday by a federal appeals court, weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court kicked his 2007 fraud conviction back to a lower court.

Oil prices rise as traders eye equities, storms
NEW YORK: Oil prices rose Monday as investors kept an eye on potential tropical storms in the Atlantic and improving stock markets.

Asian shares mixed early Tue after choppy overnight trade in US


Khazanah may have to pay over S$4 a share in Parkway battle
SINGAPORE: Khazanah Nasional Bhd may have to pay more than S$4 a share for Singapore’s Parkway, or at least 3.1% above its share price, to ward off rival bidder Fortis Healthcare.

Hong Leong founder Quek believed to be buying Southern Steel
PETALING JAYA: Hong Leong Group-linked Signaland Sdn Bhd’s mandatory general offer (MGO) of RM2.05 per share to buy out Southern Steel Bhd (SSB) minority shareholders has drawn mixed views from analysts.

Higher standards for local rubber needed
AFTER more than 40 years in existence, the Standard Malaysian Rubber (SMR) grades have today become one of the most widely used benchmarks for rubber prices on the world markets.

Faber not for sale
PETALING JAYA: Faber Group Bhd is not for sale and UEM Group Bhd has yet to strike a deal to hive off its stake in Time Engineering Bhd.

MSWG: Recent companies’ problems show failure of directors
KUALA LUMPUR: Recent corporate governance issues in Malaysia point to the failure and ineffectiveness of the directors in meeting best practice standards and enhancing the governance of companies.

3-year Govt plan to combat terrorism financing
KUALA LUMPUR: The Government will roll out a three-year National Anti-Money Laundering/Counter Terrorism Financing Strategic Plan (2010-2012) soon.

Local industrial products makers to ride on strong overseas demand
GEORGETOWN: Malaysian companies making industrial products will continue to ride on overseas market to grow their revenues despite a weak global economy.

UTV to counter sue Comintel
PETALING JAYA: U Television Sdn Bhd (UTV) says it will file a counter-claim against Comintel Sdn Bhd for all losses and damages suffered by the company.

MMM says yet to start 2010 audit
PETALING JAYA: Financially troubled Malaysian Merchant Marine Bhd (MMM) is yet to confirm the commencement of the 2010 audit with the external auditors as the 2009 outstanding fees and payment of the 2010 audit fees have not been resolved.

3-for-5 Help bonus issue
PETALING JAYA: Help Interna-tional Corp Bhd has proposed a three-for-five bonus issue of 53.26 million new 50 sen shares at an entitlement date to be determined.

Analysts have mixed views on Unisem warrants
PETALING JAYA: Analysts have mixed views about the potential of Unisem (M) Bhd’s warrants.

Support Line
K.M. Lee writes on Bina Puri, Land & General and Unisem

Axiata sells stake in Multinet
KUALA LUMPUR: Axiata Group Bhd has disposed of its entire 89% stake in Multinet Pakistan (Pte) Ltd to its second largest shareholder, Adnan Asdar Ali, for US$15mil (RM48.8mil).

RHB Cap extends acquisition date
PETALING JAYA: RHB Capital Bhd (RHB Cap), together with PT Mestika Benua Mas, the vendor of PT Bank Mestika Dharma, have mutually agreed to extend the long-stop date for the acquisition of the Indonesian bank.

Dunham-Bush to raise US$200mil
KUALA LUMPUR: Dunham-Bush Holding Bhd, one of the world’s top commercial air-conditioning manufacturers, aims to raise US$200mil from the relisting of 30% of its shares by 2012.

CPI to gradually rise from July onwards
PETALING JAYA: The consumer price index (CPI), a gauge of select goods and services, is expected to rise from July onwards with the cuts in the subsidy for fuel and sugar.

CEO denies he’s leaving due to JCorp’s debts
KUALA LUMPUR: Johor Corp (JCorp) president and CEO Tan Sri Muhammad Ali Hashim has denied allegations that his recent decision to step down is due to the company’s RM3.58mil debt.

Azlan Hashim is Pantai chairman
KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Mohammed Azlan Hashim has been appointed director and chairman of Pantai Holdings Bhd.

MAS in RM2b engine deal
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has picked Pratt & Whitney to supply 34 engines to power 17 of its new aircraft in a deal worth US$680mil (RM2.2bil).

S’wak team probing alleged dumping of plywood in S. Korea
KUCHING: Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corp (STIDC) officers are now in South Korea to gather more information in the probe into accusations that nine Malaysian plywood exporters, including eight from Sarawak, were dumping their products in South Korea.

Axis REIT posts rise in Q2 net profit
PETALING JAYA: Axis Real Estate Investment Trust (Axis REIT), which owns mostly industrial properties, has posted a 74.51% rise in net profit to RM21.87mil for the second quarter ended June 30, compared with the same quarter a year ago.

KLCCP earnings to get a lift
PETALING JAYA: KLCC Property Holdings Bhd (KLCCP) can look forward to higher income streams with the completion of the Lot C retail podium and a new office block next year despite the weaker performance of its hotel property business, analysts said.

Masterskill buys properties
PETALING JAYA: Masterskill Education Group Bhd, via its wholly-owned subsidiary, Masterskill (M) Sdn Bhd, is acquiring properties in Kelantan worth RM31mil as part of its expansion plans as well as to enhance its Kota Baru campus’ capacity to cater to the increasing number of students there.

Companies commission unveils plan to become more effective
KUALA LUMPUR: Companies Commission of Malaysia (CCM) has come out with its Second Strategic Master Plan 2010-2014: New Frontiers in order to become a more effective organisation.




  The Edge Malaysia

FBM KLCI stays in the black at mid-morning
KUALA LUMPUR: Stocks on Bursa Malaysia traded higher on Tuesday, July 20 on bargain hunting activities and rotational plays as investors began nibbling on stocks that had been battered over the past t….

Education counters up in early trade
KUALA LUMPUR: Education-related counters continued to shine on Bursa Malaysia on Tuesday, July 20, with HELP International Corporation Bhd, SEG International Bhd (SEGi) and Nilai Resources Bhd among t….

CIMB Research: Sell on Unisem
KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB Equities Research has a Sell on semiconductor device maker Unisem at RM3.21, which is trading at a FY11 price-to-earnings of 9.3 times and price-to-book value of 1.7 times.. The res….

CIMB Research: Sell on JCY Intl at RM1.48
KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB Equities Research has a Sell on JCY International at RM1.48, based on its technical charts. It is trading at a FY11 price-to-earnings of 8.0 times and price-to-book value of 3.2 tim….

FBM KLCI opens higher; education counters continue to shine
KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI opened higher on Tuesday, July 20 lifted by gains including at PPB, Genting, MISC and RHB Capital.At 9.10am, the benchmark index rose 2.53 points to 1,335.88. Gainers led lo….

EA Holdings up on ACE Market debut
KUALA LUMPUR: EA Holdings Bhd kicked off impressively on its debut on the ACE Market on Tuesday, July 20 after it jumped 23 sen to 48 sen with 741,200 shares done at 9am.The company’s plan is to expan….

CIMB Research maintains Overweight on construction sector
KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB Equities Research is maintaining its overweight on the construction section as the proposed mass rapid transit (MRT) system for the Klang Valley/Kuala Lumpur.. The research house sa….

OSK Research lowers HELP to Trading Buy
KUALA LUMPUR: OSK Research has downgraded HELP International Corp Bhd to Trading Buy from Buy following its share price appreciation recently.. However, it is maintaining its target price of RM4.30, w….

HDBSVR sees FBM KLCI trading range bound
KUALA LUMPUR: Hwang DBS Vickers Research (HDBSVR) expects Bursa Malaysia to get better ahead on Tuesday, July 20 against a relatively stable external backdrop.. “Nevertheless, we reckon the benchmar….

HDBSVR favours Tanjong, Tenaga
KUALA LUMPUR: Hwang DBS Vickers Research (HDBSVR) favours Tanjong plc and Tenaga Nasional Bhd under the government’s plan to expand the power generation capacity.. The government has planned for two….