Malaysia News & Highlights

• Bandar Raya chairman offers to buy 3 properties from group
• Dijaya to buy land in Kajang for RM228m
• Mesiniaga secures RM167m Telekom job
• Ingress wins TNB deals worth RM68m
  

Foreign News

• Stocks, Italian Bonds Drop on Europe Debt
• Gold Rises Above $1,900 an Ounce as Growth, Debt Concerns Enhances Demand
• Singapore's Temasek Buys Construction Bank Shares for Up to $2.8 Billion

Market Thoughts
US markets were closed yesterday for Labour Day holiday while European markets continue to fall due to fresh sub-prime mortgage woes, fears of recession and yet more evidence of political disunity that could hamper efforts to solve the region's debt crisis.

As such, we expect the negative sentiment to impact the local market. For the FBM KLCI, the immediate support remains at 1420 points. Investors will be anticipating US President Barack Obama's speech on Thursday in a joint session of Congress to unveil his latest proposals to create more jobs and to boost the economy.

Malaysia News & Highlights

Bandar Raya chairman offers to buy 3 properties from group
Datuk Mohamed Moiz Jabir Mohamed Ali Moiz, chairman of Bandar Raya Developments Bhd (BRDB), has proposed to buy three properties from the group for a yet to be determined cash amount. Moiz, through Ambang Sehati Sdn Bhd, plans to buy The Bangsar Shopping Centre and Menara BRDB, CapSquare Retail Centre, and Permas Jusco Mall. The properties are valued at RM942.37 million based on BRDB's latest annual report. Ambang, which holds 18.88 per cent of BRDB, will buy the assets based on fair value as determined by an independent valuer to be mutually agreed. "Ambang Sehati believes that this would enable the group to monetise these assets and achieve a more efficient utilisation of its capital," BRDB said in its statement to Bursa Malaysia yesterday. (Source: Business Times)

Dijaya to buy land in Kajang for RM228m
Dijaya Corp Bhd, a property developer, has agreed to buy five parcels of freehold land in Kajang, measuring about 80.4ha (198.5 acres), for RM228 million. The land will then be transformed into Tropicana Kajang, a mixed development project, comprising landed homes, condomimiums, apartments, and shop offices with an expected gross development value of RM2 billion. "The group is continuously acquiring sizeable land banks with good development potential in strategic locations. "Today's land deal provides an opportunity for the group to introduce more development in Kajang with the quality and prestige synonymous with our Tropicana brand," said chief executive officer Tan Sri Danny Tan Chee Sing in a statement. (Source: Business Times)

Mesiniaga secures RM167m Telekom job
MESINIAGA Bhd, which provides IT and networking products, has won a RM167 million job from Telekom Malaysia Bhd to set up and operate an Internet Protocol Core System. The contract is for a period of three years starting from September 1 to August 31 2014. It is not expected to have any impact to its earnings for the financial year ending December 31, but is expected to contribute positively to the company's earnings beyond 2011. (Source: Business Times)

Ingress wins TNB deals worth RM68m
INGRESS Corp Bhd has been awarded several contracts by Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) with a combined value of about RM68 million. The jobs include the RM43.9 million Bayan Mutiara project, RM9.8 million Tanjung Pauh Project, RM2.9 million Sri Iskandar Project as well as the RM11.3 million Tunjang Project. These projects involve the development of switching station, underground cabling works, as well as building access roads. They have a project duration of as short as seven months and as long as 31 months. (Source: Business Times)

Foreign News

Stocks, Italian Bonds Drop on Europe Debt
Stocks worldwide fell, Italian bonds dropped for an 11th day and the cost of government and bank default insurance rose to records on concern Europe's debt crisis will worsen. The euro weakened, while the dollar and gold gained.

Gold Rises Above $1,900 an Ounce as Growth, Debt Concerns Enhances Demand
Gold gained above $1,900 an ounce in London as concern about slowing economic growth and Europe's debt woes spurred demand for a protection of wealth.

Singapore's Temasek Buys Construction Bank Shares for Up to $2.8 Billion
Temasek Holdings Pte, Singapore's state-owned investment company, bought shares in China Construction Bank Corp. for as much as HK$21.7 billion ($2.8 billion) about eight weeks after paring its holdings. Temasek purchased 4.4 billion shares of the Chinese lender, paying as much as HK$4.94 a share and increasing its stake to 8.1 percent from 6.27 percent.

(Source: Bloomberg)