Tuesday, May 29, 2012

RHB Capital to Acquire OSK Investment Bank

Kuala-Lumpur,28 May 2012,RHB Capital Berhad(RHB Capital)and OSK Holding Berhad (OSK Holdings) today signed a conditional share purchase agreement that will see RHB Capital acquire 100% of OSK Invesment Bank Berhad (OSK Invesment Bank) shares from OSK Holdings in exchange for 245 million new RHB Capital shares and cash of RM147.5 million.This combination will transform RHB Investment Bank into Malaysia's largest investment bank by assets and marks a significant milestone in RHB Banking Group's ambition in building local leadership and accelerating regional growth to become a leading multinantional financial services group. The agreement which was signed with OSK Holdings,the holding company of OSK Invesment Bank,will see RHB Capital acquiring 100% of OSK Invesment Banks shares for a purchase consideration of RM1,950.7 million,comprising of RM1,803.2 million in the form of 245 million new RHB Capital shares issued at RM7.36 per share and RM147.5 million in cash.OSK Holdings will become RHB Capital's third largest shareholder with approximately 10% stake after the completion of the transaction. The purchase consideration implies a 1.77x multiple on OSK Investment Bank's book value of RM1.1 billion as of 30 September 2011 and represents 18.9x last twelve months normalised earnings adjusted for one-off costs. The issue price of RM7.36 was arrived at after considering the 5-day volume weighted average market price of RM7.42 of RHB Capital shares up to 28 September 2011,being the last market day prior to the announcement of the application to Bank Negara Malaysia to commence negotiations on the possible merger of businesses of RHB Banking Group and OSK Invesment Bank dated 29 September 2011,adjusted for the 2011 interim dividend paid by RHB Capital and Dividend Reinvesment Plan applied on the said dividends. In addition, RHB Capital will acquire 100% of OSK Invesment Bank (Labuan) Limited's shares as well as the remaining 20% in Malaysian Trustees Berhad held by OSK Holdings for as cash consideration of RM26.8 million.As part of the transacton,RHB Capital will also acquire 59.95% in Finexasia.com Sdn Bhd not currently owned by OSK Invesment Bank for a cash consideration of RM12.5 million.This brings the total aggregate purchase consideration to RM1,990 million. The acquisition substanstially strenghthens RHB Investment Banks's competitive position in Malaysia and delivers immediate established accesss to key strategic markets in the region.The two invesment banks have unique strengths that highly complement each other which today successfully serve distinct customer segments.

SapuraKencana Well-Poised for Global Play

Kuala Lumpur,May 16,2012-Shareholders of Malaysia largest intergrated oil and gas service provider SapuraKencana Petroluem Berhad (SapuraKencana) stand to potentially benefit from the Group's enlarged sizeas it begins a new chapter of growth as a homegrown global player. En-route to listing its shares on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia tomorrow,SapuraKencana today officially launched its Prospectus.A total of 5,004,366,196 shares are to be listed at an issue price of RM2.00 per share.The listing will result in SapuraKencana market capitalisation valued at slightly over RM10 billion At the prospectus launch ceremony ,Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop,Minister in the Prime Minister's Dept,Dato Hamzah Bakar-SapuraKencana's chairman, said,"As a proud Malaysian flag-bearer in the highly competitive global oil and gas industry,we are now equipped with the scale and size required to thrive in an arena that is trending towards full service contracts.With our new found size and strong fundamentals, we can enhance our shareholder's value.These are exciting times ahead for two home grown companies coming together as a one-stop service provider in the dynamic global oil and gas landscape.As and enlarged entity,we can now offer a fullspectrum of EPCIC (engineering,procurement,construction,installation and commissioning) services covering the oil and gas value chain.Given that opportunities abound in what is a most favourable operating landscape,we are optimistic about expanding our global footprint by utilizing our capabilities as turnkey operator.The group today has presence in the Asia Pasific region,India,Africa,South America and Russia among others and we are set to expand our reach as we we want to be competent anywhere,everywhere. Dato'Hamzah added that oil prices are expected to remain robust.This not only means a more condusive marketplace for us also the ability to bid for jobs that are more technologically complex and potentially more rewarding.All in all,the company is well-positioned to deliver on our commitment to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 15% to 20% moving forward.He said, the launch odf SapuraKencana's Prospectus today followas the successful distribution of SapuraKencana shares and cash payments to entitled shareholders on 15 May 2012,as part of the merger exercise. As we expand our reach as an enlarged entity we aim to play a significant role in generating more business for our base of some 500 local vendors and supplier.Many of these vendors and suppliers have been able to benefit from opprtunities afforded by our growth and we see this process continuing.This in turn will help contributr towards Malaysia's aim to become a regional oil and gas hub,Dato' Hamzah concluded. Both SapuraCrest and Kencana Petroluem undertook a capital repayment exercise by way of capital reduction,whereby all the SapuraCrest and Kencana Petroluem shares were cancelled and distributed to the entitled shareholders at a consideration of RM4.60 per SapuraCrest share and RM3.00 per Kencana Petroluem share respectively. Out of the 5,004,366,196 SapuraKencana shares that are to be listed on 17 May,2012,SapuraCrest's entitled shareholders received 2,498,928,847 shares while Kencana Petroluem's entitled shareholders received 2,505,437,349 shares.Shareholders of the two entities also received cash repayment totaling RM1.84 billion from the merger exercise.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

TM and PANASONIC In Strategic Partnership to Enhance SME Businesses

Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) and Panasonic Malaysia Sdn Bhd (PM) has recently signed a Collaboration Arrangement Agreement for a strategic partnership between the two leading brands in their respective industries to empower Malaysian SMEs through various collaborative initiatives. Under the agreement,TM and Panasonic Malaysia will be collaborating in various initiatives to further enhance the business operations of local SMEs with ICT solutions and devices offered by both brands.The initiatives include an SME Office Solution product bundling that combines TM services and Panasonic devices,leveraging on both TM's and Panasonic Malaysia's sales channels to push products and services to the market,collaboration and joint participation in events and marketing activities and collaboration in loyalty programmes. At the signing ceremony,TM was represented by Mr Azizi A Hadi- Executive Vice President,SME,TM,while Mr Jeff Lee-Managing Director of Panasonic Malaysia signed the agreement on behalf of Panasonic Malaysia.Following the agreement,TM and Panasonic Malaysia are already exploring into several joint ventures,which include bundling attractive broadband packages from TM with the latest Panasonic devices and providing SMEs with more convenience to subscribe to TM's solutions such as Office-in-a-Box (OIAB) and UniFi BIZ.TM will be leveraging on 50 Panashop outlets in Klang valley in the first phase and followd by 450 Panashop outlets nationwide in the next phase as additional contact points for SMEs. SME is one of the major segments for TM and is contributing at least 20% of the Company's total revenue.We encourage SMEs to fully utilise the products, services,solutions and initiatives available from TM to further enhance their capacities and move further into global production and distribtution networks,Mr Azizi elaborated. "Being a key economic growth driver for Malaysia with increasing contributio towards the national GDP,SMEs provide positive outlook for the Malaysia economy.TM,as Malaysia's Broadband Champion and Panasonic are committed to leverage on our core competencies and strong brand presence to push Malaysian SMEs foward and enable them to compete locally as well as globally.At TM,we stay committed true to our promise to the SME market to connect them to the ease of doing business. Managing Director of Panasonic Malaysia,Mr Jeff Lee said that,"The objective of this collaboration is to strengthen the brand awareness for both companies.By providing added value of a new distribution channel for TM products such as broadband,fixed telephone line at Panashop outlets,our business partners will not not only get incentives from the sales of TM products,it will also generates future purchases of other electrical products at the outlets.In return,Panasonic will showcase its rangr of communication produts including DECT phones at all TMpoint outlets for cross selling." Following the agreement,TM and Panasonic Malaysia are already exploring into several joint ventures,which include bundling attractive broadband packages from TM with the latest Panasonic devices and providing SMEs with more convenience to subscribe to TM's solutions such as Office-in-a-Box (OIAB)and UniFi BIZ.TM will be leveraging on 50 Panashop outlets in Klang valley in the first phase and followed by 450 Panashop outlets nationwide in the next phase as additional contact points for SMEs.

DiGi CyberSAFE Programme Completes Road Shows in Klang Valley and Southern States

DiGi CyberSAFE Programme Completes Road Shows in Klang Valley and Southern States The programme has reached out to more than 2,300 students, teachers and parents from 117 schools in the Klang Valley, Putrajaya, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Johor and Malacca over the last 6 months Malacca, 27 April 2012: Today’s launch of the DiGi CyberSAFE Programme at Sekolah Kebangsaan Padang Temu in Malacca marked a major milestone for the nationwide campaign on Online Child Safety. The state level event for participants from schools all around Malacca marked the completion of DiGi CyberSAFE workshops in the Southern Region of Peninsular Malaysia. The programme that was first kick started in Klang Valley in November 2011, has since reached 2,300 students, teachers and parents from 117 schools in the Klang Valley, Putrajaya, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Johor and Malacca. Y.A.B. Datuk Seri Hj. Mohd. Ali bin Mohd. Rustam, Chief Minister of Melaka, who officiated the event shared, “The Government strongly believes that the Internet will empower Malaysians to realize their full potential and raise their quality of life. However, as Internet adoption accelerates and accessibility increases both at home and in schools, we need to have proper measures in place to safeguard users, particularly children, as cyber crime becomes more pervasive. In this regard, we need strong public-private partnerships; concerted efforts amongst government agencies, civil society and the media as well as good cooperation with K-Ekonomi divisions at the local State Government level.” Also present at the launch, Albern Murty, DiGi’s Chief Marketing Officer said, “As the enabler of Internet for all Malaysians with over 5 million active mobile Internet subscribers, DiGi has a responsibility to ensure a safe, family-friendly Internet experience for the families we serve. While we encourage our children to explore the Internet, we also need to educate and equip them with the means to stay safe online. We are pleased to partner with the Ministry of Education, CyberSecurity and Childline to scale up this year’s programme and to elevate the level of awareness to more Malaysians in addressing this national issue.” Launched in November 2011 to address the important national issue of Online Child Safety, the DiGi CyberSAFE Programme is a strategic collaboration between the Ministry of Education, CyberSecurity Malaysia, Childline Malaysia and DiGi Telecommunications. The goal of this programme is to raise awareness of the issue and equip students, parents and teachers with the right tools to ensure a secure and positive Internet experience. After this launch in Malacca, the road shows will move on to reach out to more schools and communities in Sabah, Sarawak, Kelantan, Terengganu, Penang, Perak and Pahang. To complement these road shows, a guidebook is made available to provide parents, caregivers and educators with information and recommendations on the best ways to establish a safer Internet experience for their children and charges.

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Federal Hotels Celebrated The Year of Water Dragon with the Unfortunates




Kuala Lumpur- Friday 03 February 2012,Federal Hotels International (FHI) Group,one of the pioneer hotels that set the standards of Malaysian hospitality and culture has kick starts its year of the dragon with it's FHI Gong Xi Fa Cai charity event.The charity event was jointly organized by the The Management & Staff of Federal Hotels International (FHI) Group of Hotels namely Federal Kuala Lumpur and Hotel Capitol Kuala Lumpur, its main purpose was to share festive joy and great happiness with old folks and children from the Ti-Ratana Welfare Society,Caring Home and Rumah Sayangan numbering more than 130 people.The old folks and children were treated with spectacular lion and dragon dance from Ti-Ratana Children Dance Group while enjoying sumptuous Chinese New Year Prosperity Lunch such as Yee Sang,Shark-fin and other delicious cuisines.

Festive cheers and joy were hived up with the marvelous acrobatic performance by the shaolin monks from China while the God of Prosperity giving away Red Packets, mandarin oranges and other festive gifts.Accordding to Ms Ooi Lee Ping,Director of Marketing Sales, It is their 10th consecutive year that in organizing this CNY festive charity event and hoped that this gift from their hearts will bring smiles,joy and happiness.There is no greater joy than be able to warm the hearts,to spread festive cheer & happiness during this Lunar New Year as this is a time in bringing everyone together for sharing and caring and we wanted to spread good cheer and bring smile to the old folks and children.FHI Group Gong Xi Fa Cai Festive Charity is part of our continuous FHI Group sharing and caring community commitments."To know more visit the fabulous website: http://www.fhihotels.com/



NEC Presents “Cloud Service Provider Models in Asia” at TM Forum Management Forum Asia 2012 in Singapore

Singapore, Tokyo, February 6, 2012 – NEC Corporation (NEC) announced today that it will attend TM Forum Management Forum Asia 2012 on February 7-8 in Singapore. As a Conference sponsor, NEC will focus on "Cloud Service" and will present NEC's Cloud solutions at the exhibition. “NEC responds to a wide range of customer requirements, such as network systems for carriers and IT systems for various industries, in addition to the development of devices and terminals that support access to the Cloud. With the growing trend towards computing via Internet and mobile computing, it is evident that the cloud computing business model is here to stay and will transform the way how businesses operate. NEC as a total solutions provider, is in a unique position to integrate both IT and network solutions to help businesses improve their efficiency, manage their IT costs, and achieve new business revenues with our ubiquitous cloud computing solutions offering.”, said Ken Sugata, General Manager, Global Carrier Cloud Division, NEC Corporation.

During the conference, Shinya Kukita, Chief Manager of International Sales, will present a keynote speech on “Analyzing, Applying & Adapting Carrier Cloud models in Asia” on February 8. Key conference points will include, “Understanding the new business model between carriers, vendors and business users in the cloud” and “Key success factors for telcos in cloud computing.”