CORPORATE

Asdion: To distribute Evoguard's valves in Thailand's F&B market. Asdion Bhd’s 49% associate Renox Stainless Steel Co Ltd has inked a distribution agreement with Evoguard of the Krones Group AG in Germany to distribute Evoguard's commercial valves in Thailand's food and beverage market. The agreement grants Renox the right to distribute the said products for a year and six months. Krones Group AG which is headquartered in Neutraubling, Germany is the world’s leading manufacturer of Filing and Packaging Technology. Evoguard is Kronex's subsidiary and specialises in high performance valves and pumps. (Source: The Edge Financial Daily)

Aspen: Buys 28.7ha Shah Alam plot for logistics, e-commerce hub. Aspen Group Holdings, via its 30% associate company Global Vision Logistics Sdn Bhd (GVL), has acquired 71 acres (28.7ha) of leasehold industrial land in Section 16, Shah Alam, Selangor, from Chemical Company of Malaysia Bhd for RM190m. GVL intends to develop the area into a sustainable integrated logistics, warehousing and e-commerce hub. “GVL expects to invest at least RM600m to enhance the logistic facilities and solutions and it is poised to offer prime integrated logistics expertise with approximately 3.3m sf in size and some of the largest logistic activities and solutions,” Aspen said in a press statement. According to the Penang-based, Singapore-listed developer, the proposed development will consist of warehouses, storage areas, distribution centres, offices, e-commerce services, transportation hub and packaging facilities that will have direct access to railway lines and major highways. (Source: The Edge Financial Daily)

Dutaland: Receives U-Thant luxury apartments as settlement of debt. Dutaland Bhd said it will receive 12 vacant luxury residences worth RM45.4m as part of a settlement of debt owed to its unit by listed firm Olympia Industries Bhd (OIB). In a stock exchange filing, Dutaland said its wholly-owned unit KH Estates Sdn Bhd had signed the property settlement agreement with OIB's wholly-owned subsidiaries Olympia Properties Sdn Bhd (OPSB) and United Malaysian Properties Sdn Bhd (UMP). The group said the luxury residences, which come with 39 car park bays, are located within Taman U-Thant next to Ampang Hilir in Kuala Lumpur, an area noted for its exclusivity and high net worth residents and embassies. (Source: The Edge Financial Daily)

Hap Seng Plantations: RM1.18b Kretam acquisition falls through. Hap Seng Plantations Holdings Bhd’s plan to acquire a 55% stake in Kretam Holdings Bhd for RM1.18b has fallen through. Hap Seng Plantations said it decided not to proceed with the deal after it found the results of due diligence of Kretam to be “unsatisfactory and unacceptable”. Accordingly, it said it has exercised its right to terminate the share sale agreements with immediate effect, with which the group will not extend the proposed mandatory general offer for all the remaining Kretam shares not included in the deal, for a cash consideration of 92 sen per share. (Source: The Edge Financial Daily)

Industronics: Chairman Chow quits. Industronics Bhd announced the resignation of its executive chairman Chow Ricky Kam Hung, who has opted to concentrate on other career commitments that require more of his time. Chow, 50 and an American national, was appointed to Industronics’ board on 23 Feb 18. He has over 20 years of experience in sales and management in different types of businesses and worked in major roles under different groups with diversified enterprises, Industronic's stock exchange filing showed.

(Source: The Edge Financial Daily)

Mega First: IRB appeals dismissal of RM26m tax bill. The Inland Revenue Board (IRB) has appealed against a High Court order dismissing a RM26.33m tax claim against a unit of Mega First Corp Bhd. “Mega First wishes to announce that IRB on 7 Jun 18 filed a notice of appeal to the Court of Appeal against the order of the High Court dated 14 May 18 dismissing the IRB’s application for a summary judgement,” the company said in a bourse filing yesterday. In Oct 16, the IRB sent notices to Mega First’s subsidiary Idaman Harmoni Sdn Bhd (IHSB) over additional taxes arising from the sale of a JV property in 2004. The IRB argued that the disposal was subject to income tax. It said the transaction was treated by IHSB as a capital transaction, which was liable to real property gains tax, and initiated legal proceedings against the company in Feb 17. (Source: The Edge Financial Daily)

SECTOR

Aviation: Mavcom's statement on air traffic rights allocation “misleading” - AirAsia. In a continuing spat over the allocation of air traffic rights (ATRs), AirAsia Group Bhd has charged the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) with micromanaging the aviation sector and not understanding the core business of airlines. This follows a statement yesterday by Mavcom stating that its allocation of ATRs was meant to facilitate orderly growth while also weighing the risk of overcapacity on a particular route. Describing Mavcom's remark as "grossly misleading", AirAsia said it is disingenuous for the aviation regulator to state that ATR allocations follow a process that takes into account airlines' views, "as it does not". (Source: The Edge Financial Daily)

POLITICS

General: Dr Mahathir rejected immunity deal with Jho Low. Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has turned down Jho Low’s offer to drop his claim to more than a billion dollars in assets in exchange for immunity, Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported. WSJ reported that the alleged mastermind of possibly the world’s largest kleptocracy case had reached out to authorities in Malaysia, to offer his deal in return for immunity from criminal prosecution for alleged theft of billions of dollars from 1MDB. Dr Mahathir rejected the offer, which was communicated via an intermediary, WSJ reported. Jho Low, who the US Justice Department alleges oversaw a scheme to steal US$4.5b from 1MDB between 2009 and 2015, is living in Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China, say people with knowledge of his movements. (Source: The Edge Financial Daily)

Source: UOB Kay Hian Research - 18 Jun 2018