NEWSBRIEF

Lagenda Properties and Bina Darulaman ink MOU to jointly develop affordable housing in Kedah

Lagenda Properties Bhd, has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with BDB Land Sdn Bhd, a unit of Bina Darulaman Bhd, to build affordable homes, with the possibility of a recurring partnership between the two parties. Lagenda said both parties will negotiate and endeavour to enter into a joint venture (JV) to develop affordable homes over 230 acres of land in Kuala Muda, Kedah Darul Aman. Both parties intend to further extend this partnership by developing other parcels of land located within the vicinity of the area, upon successful completion of the proposed development or reaching a certain milestone or sales target. (The Edge)

Demand for face mask, PPE drives up Tek Seng’s 3Q net profit by 42 times to RM8.1m

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) sheeting manufacturer Tek Seng Holdings Bhd saw its net profit for the 3QFY20 surged 42-fold to RM8.1m, from RM191k a year ago on higher PVC sales and profit. The group said the increase in profit was due to continuous increasing demand for polypropylene (PP) non-woven products, especially personal protective equipment (PPE) such as face masks and gowns, as well as in the furniture industry; higher contribution from PVC segment especially PVC products for household and furniture uses; higher selling price for the PVC segment, mainly PP non-woven products. (The Edge)

Focus Dynamics partners Saudee to roll out robot-operated burger kiosks

Focus Dynamics Group Bhd has made a foray into the robotics food and beverage operations by teaming up with Saudee Group Bhd to roll out Malaysia's first robot operated burger kiosks. The group said the group will lend its technological management expertise to develop a seamless, automated robotics operation with minimal human interaction. Saudee, on its part, will provide research and development processes to produce appropriately packaged and custom processed food to cater for the robotics aspect. (The Edge)

EcoWorld asks for more time to consider proposed merger with UEM Sunrise

Eco World Development Group Bhd (EcoWorld) said it has written to UEM Group to request for more time to consider the latter's proposal to merge with its unit UEM Sunrise Bhd. "The board has requested until Jan 2, 2021 to respond with a decision to UEM Group to coincide with the date requested by UEM Sunrise," EcoWorld said in a bourse filing on Friday. (The Edge)

Yinson's FPSO Abigail-Joseph Achieves First Oil

Yinson Holdings Bhd announced that its latest floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, FPSO Abigail-Joseph, received its first Oil Certificate on Oct 28 following a successful 72-hour Stabilisation Testing. Yinson said that this marks the commencement of the firm charter of the FPSO for a period of seven years, with an option to extend the charter by a further eight years. According to Yinson, the team achieved the delivery of first oil for production within 20 months after signing the contract with its client, FIRST Exploration & Petroleum Development Co Ltd, as the operator of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. (The Edge)

Notion VTec to Invest RM90m for Nine Nitrile Glove Lines

Notion VTec Bhd will be investing some RM90m to set up nine nitrile glove production lines. The first phase comprises an estimated capex of RM30m for three lines with an output of 60m pieces of gloves per month. “Initial equipment has been ordered and the company is in the midst of securing the raw material in particular nitrile butadiene rubber latex. Fabrication is expected to commence soon whilst the production of the new business is expected to be in operation in May 2021,” said Notion VTec. (The Edge)

AE Multi partners Ripcol to provide turnkey solutions to new entrants in glove industry

AE Multi Holdings Bhd signed a collaboration agreement with Ripcol Engineering Sdn Bhd to be a consultation service provider for companies that are entering the rubber glove-manufacturing industry. In a bourse filing, AE Multi, in which AT Systematization Bhd holds an 18.18% stake, said under the agreement, Ripcol will be the lead project manager in the designing, fabricating, installing, testing and commissioning of glove-making facilities for the customers. Meanwhile, AE Multi will be responsible to procure customers in Malaysia and Thailand and to advise the requirements in the setting up of glove manufacturing plants in Thailand as well as regulatory approvals for the glove business. AE Multi will also be involved in advising the sourcing of talents required to run glove production operations for customers in Malaysia and Thailand. (The Edge)

MISC takes delivery of vessel with capacity to transport large-scale ethane

MISC Bhd has taken delivery of Seri Everest, the first of six very large ethane carriers (VLECs) that the group purchased in July, at the Samsung Heavy Industries shipyard in Geoje, South Korea. In a statement, the group said it had also entered into time charter parties with Zhejiang Satellite Petrochemical Co Ltd (STL) for the six VLECs to operate in international waters. “Seri Everest has the capacity of transporting large-scale ethane over long distances while ensuring the highest level of safety and reliability. (The Edge)

KGroup partners Austria's PESSL instruments to strengthen paddy industry

Key Alliance Group Bhd (KGroup) has partnered with Austria’s Pessl Instruments GmbH to introduce agricultural Internet of Things (IoT) solutions to improve the livelihood of paddy farmers in the country. KGroup executive director Roy Ho Yew Kee said the collaboration will empower small-time paddy farmers who have recorded decreasing yields year-on-year whilst the cost of production has continued to increase. “The primary objective of this project is to reverse this trend with the aid of precision agricultural tools like IoT, weather modelling, soil modelling, and others. (The Edge)

UEM Sunrise concludes RM365.5m sale at Aurora Melbourne Central to Scape

UEM Sunrise Bhd has announced the settlement of the RM365.5m (AU$125m) serviced apartment component at its Aurora Melbourne Central building with Scape Australia Management Pty Ltd (Scape), a student accommodation provider in Australia. An artist's illustration of Aurora Melbourne Central. Scape has purchased 252 serviced apartment units across ten floors, in addition to ground-floor retail area at Aurora Melbourne Central. The deal with Scape was exclusively brokered by Trent Hobart from Colliers International on behalf of UEM Sunrise. (The Edge)

CME auditors highlight material uncertainty in FY20 financial statements

CME Group Bhd’s external auditors have included an emphasis of matter, drawing attention to a material uncertainty related to going concern in the group’s financial statements for the year ending June 30, 2020 (FY20). Messrs Kreston John & Gan pointed out that CME had, in a note in its financial statements, said the group and the company had incurred accumulated losses of RM69.4m and RM69.6m respectively during FY20, and that their current liabilities had exceeded current assets by RM31.3m and RM52.2m respectively. The auditors said this indicates the “existence of a material uncertainty which may cast significant doubt about the group and the company’s ability to continue as going concerns”.

ECONOMICS

US

Personal income and spending rose in Sep by +0.9% MoM (Aug: -2.5% MoM) and +1.4% MoM (Aug: +1.0% MoM) respectively. (Bloomberg) PCE price index rose +1.4% YoY in Sep (Aug: +1.3% YoY), while core PCE rose +1.5% YoY (Aug: +1.4% YoY). (Bloomberg) University of Michigan consumer confidence index rose to 81.8 in Oct (Sep: 80.4). (Bloomberg)

Eurozone

GDP contracted by a smaller magnitude of -4.3% YoY in 3Q20 (2Q20: -14.8% YoY). (Bloomberg) Unemployment rate stood at 8.3% in Sep (Aug: 8.3%). (Bloomberg) CPI continued to decline by -0.3% YoY in Oct (Sep: -0.3% YoY), while core CPI stood at +0.2% YoY (Sep: +0.2% YoY). (Bloomberg)

Japan

Unemployment rate stood at 3% in Sep (Aug: 3%). (Bloomberg) Industrial production declined at a slower pace of -9.0% YoY in Sep (Aug: -13.8% YoY). (Bloomberg) Construction orders fell -10.6% YoY in Sep (Aug: +28.5% YoY). (Bloomberg)

Source: Hong Leong Investment Bank Research - 2 Nov 2020