News Highlights - Axis Real Estate Investment Trust, CIMB Group Holdings, Constructin Sector, Telecommunications Sector

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Publish date: Tue, 17 Apr 2012, 09:51 AM

Axis Real EstateInvestment Trust (RM2.73/share)

Posts higher profit

Axis Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) has reported a netprofit increase of 27.1% from a year earlier to RM21.0mil for its first quarterended March 31, 2012, on higher revenue and property revaluation surplus.During the quarter in review, the company posted revenue of RM30.3mil, up 18.5%from a year earlier.

Axis REIT told Bursa Malaysia that it had registered aproperty revaluation surplus of RM300,000 for the first quarter of 2012. It hadproposed a first interim income distribution of 4.3 sen per unit, up from 4.2sen per unit for the corresponding period last year. -StarBiz

CIMB GroupHoldings Bhd (RM7.61/share)

To buy 60pc of SanMiguel's unit soon

Yesterday, the chairman of Philippine conglomerate SanMiguel Corp's Bank of Commerce, Jose Pardo, said Malaysia's second largestlender CIMB Group will sign a deal soon to buy a 60.0% stake.

It would be the first foray by the Malaysian bank in thePhilippines, further boosting its regional footprint after it bought someequities and investment banking units from Royal Bank of Scotland Group plcelsewhere in Asia earlier this month.

Pardo presumed that with the 60.0% stake, CIMB will haveabout eight board seats. Medium-sized lender Bank of Commerce has 15 boardmembers. He also said San Miguel Properties Inc and San Miguel Retirement Fund,which together hold about 76.0% of Bank of Commerce, were in negotiations withCIMB about the deal. A source added thatsome minority shareholders would also sell their stakes in the bank.

The deal will be presented to Bank of Commerce shareholdersat a meeting on April 24. CIMB's buy-in may be worth about US$200.0mil toUS$250.0mil (RM614.0mil to RM767.5mil) and could be finalised in the next fewdays, said a report by the Philippine Daily Inquirer. ' Business Times

ConstructionSector

MMC-Gamuda tosubcontract 4km of tunnelling works

Sources said MMC-Gamuda Joint Venture Sdn Bhd is looking tosubcontract 4km of the My Rapid Transit (MRT) tunnelling works to foreignparties. A source told The Edge Financial Daily that the consortium wouldsubcontract a 4km stretch of the total 9.5km MRT tunnelling works to foreignfirms and would also lease the boring machines to them.

The sources said that from a project management perspective,the subcontracting of the easier portion will allow the consortium to focus itskey personnel on the harder stretch of the work. The benefactors are foreignparties that have experience in tunnelling. It is believed that the 4km portionis located within the Kenny Hill formation between the northern portal atSemantan and the Pavilion shopping complex.

The 9.5km tunnelling works stretch from Semantan to Maluriand include the construction of seven underground stations. MMC-Gamuda will use10 tunnel boring machines, with the first two expected to be delivered byyear-end. Works is expected to begin by March 2013. ' The Edge

TelecommunicationSector

MCMC targets 65pchousehold broadband penetration in 2012

The chairman of Malaysian Communications and MultimediaCommission (MCMC), Datuk Mohamed Sharil Tarmizi, said it is targeting a 65.0%household broadband penetration this year, amid the current saturated marketcondition. Last year, he said Malaysia's household broadband penetrationreached about 63.0%, compared to 31.0% in 2009.

Mohamed Sharil said that although the market is saturating,there is now the need for a high-speed broadband network. He also said thatunder the national broadband strategies, MCMC is now working on creating thedemand side.

Mohamed Sharil clarified that the government had yet toaward the 4G, or 2.6GHz, spectrum to any telecommunications players. ' BusinessTimes

Source: AmeSecurities