CORPORATE

AirAsia: Confirms order for 66 Airbus 330 neo planes. AirAsia Group CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes has confirmed that the lowcost carrier had placed an order for 66 units of Airbus 330 neo passenger jets. He also indicated that the airline might place an additional order with the aircraft manufacturer. Fernandes was previously reported as saying the group was looking at expanding its Airbus wide-body models as well as AirAsia X’s fleet. It currently owns 242 Airbus models, comprising 212 units of A320 and 30 units of A330. (Source: The Star)

Damansara Realty: Beefs up board. Damansara Realty has appointed its group CEO Brian Iskandar Zulkarim as ED and group MD with immediate effect. Damansara Realty said Brian Iskandar, 44, has been holding his current post of CEO since 1 Sep 16. He was responsible for the implementation of a strategic restructuring plan that returned the company to profitability in 2017 and brought its fourth straight quarter of profit in the first quarter ended 31 Mar 18. "Operationally, he has extensive experience in asset and facilities management, and airport planning and operations," Damansara Realty added. (Source: The Edge Daily)

Green Packet: Partners HK-based content provider to offer digital contents in Asean. Green Packet is partnering Hong Kong-based Funsea Entertainment Co to offer digital contents such as games, movies and music to telecommunications operators or master content providers in Asean. Green Packet group CEO and ED Tan Kay Yen said the JV is a strategic decision by the group to deepen its involvement in content creation and distribution, particularly in Southeast Asia. (Source: The Edge Daily)

IHH Healthcare: Submits fresh bid for India's Fortis in new round. IHH Healthcare (IHH) has submitted a new binding offer to the board of directors of Fortis Healthcare (Fortis) to acquire the struggling Indian hospital chain and its affiliates. Fortis had on 29 May initiated a fresh bidding process and invited selected bidders, including IHH, to submit fresh proposals. As such, the latest proposal supersedes and replaces the earlier ones by IHH. No details about the size of this offer have been provided. (Source: The Edge Daily)

Lion Industries: Offers RM638m to take over Megasteel assets, debts. Lion Industries Corp has proposed to acquire the flat steel assets  including a manufacturing plant in Banting, Selangor - from Megasteel for RM537.73m, as part of its plans to expand into the flat steel business. Lion Industries Corp is currently involved in the manufacturing of long steel products comprising bars and wire rods, which are used in the construction, fabrication and manufacturing industries. (Source: The Edge Daily)

Multi Sports: SC ticks Multi Sports off for submitting false, misleading financial statements. The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) has reprimanded China-based Multi Sports Holdings for knowingly submitting false and misleading financial statements to the stock exchange regulator. "As such, pursuant to Section 354(3)(c) of the CMSA, the SC reprimands Multi Sports, taking into account the fact that new directors have been appointed on the board and efforts are being made to regularise its operations and financial condition," said the company. (Source: The Edge Daily)

Pasdec: Major shareholder launches RM121.7m takeover bid. Pasdec Holdings' (Pasdec) substantial shareholder Datuk Seri Tew Kim Thin has launched a bid to acquire 57.74% of the Kuantan-based property developer's shares, as well as 31.28% of its warrants. Kim Thin, who is an ED of Pasdec, has proposed to pay RM121.7m, or 52.5 sen/share, for the remaining 231.16m shares he does not own in the company, as well as RM357,900, or 1 sen/warrant, for the remaining 35.79m warrants in Pasdec. The company said it received a conditional mandatory takeover offer from Kim Thin today through his private investment vehicle Jasa Imani. Kim Thin, who intends to maintain Pasdec's listing status, is deemed the ultimate offeror for the offer as he is the founder and major shareholder of Jasa Imani, in which he holds a 58.19% stake. Kim Thin's son Tew Liang Tze owns another 37.41% of Jasa Imani shares. (Source: The Edge Daily)

Velesto Energy: Wins RM125m offshore drilling job. Velesto Energy (VEB), formerly known as UMW Oil and Gas Corp, has bagged a US$31.04m (RM126m) offshore drilling services contract from ROC Oil (Sarawak). VEB will provide one jack-up drilling rig and associated services for ROC's D35 Phase 2 "infill drilling" programme. (Source: The Edge Daily)

Versatile Creative: Discovers unauthorised payments to third parties, suspends MD and CFO. The board of directors of Versatile Creative has discovered financial irregularities arising from unauthorised payments to third parties between Aug 17 and Jun 18. The board said the MD and CFO of Versatile have been suspended pending investigations by forensic auditors. Crowe Malaysia has been appointed by the board to carry out the forensic audit after Versatile Creative chairman Datuk Lee Kwee Hiang lodged a police report. Lee has been appointed as the acting MD while Andy Yap Jee Whye will be the acting CFO. (Source: The Edge Daily)

Zelan: Appoints Kamaruddin Abd Karim as COO. Zelan has appointed Kamaruddin Abd Karim as COO. Zelan said Kamaruddin, 58, has over 30 years of experience in construction management. He joined Zelan in 2009 and has held various positions in Zelan Group, eg head of planning and monitoring, head of business development and general manager of special projects. (Source: The Edge Daily)

POLITICS

General: AG Tommy Thomas to lead prosecution team against Najib. Newly-appointed Attorney-General (AG) Tommy Thomas is expected to lead the prosecution team when former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is charged in court today. Najib will face several charges relating to 1Malaysia Development’s (1MDB) former subsidiary SRC International. A Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officer said Najib's arrest signifies the completion of the investigation by MACC. (Source: The Edge Daily)

Source: UOB Kay Hian Research - 4 Jul 2018