Malaysian Airline System Bhd (RM1.11/share)
MASkargo flies to Colombo
MASkargo Sdn Bhd, the freight unit of Malaysia Airlines, has launched its first A330-200 freighter flight to Colombo, Sri Lanka, in a development that augurs well for the country's economy. In a statement last Friday, MASkargo said the new freighter was scheduled to fly into Bandaranaike International Airport from here every Friday and back the following day. Its senior vice-president (business development and freighter services), Jamaludin Ismail, said with Sri Lanka's impressive gross development product of 7.9% in the first quarter of 2012, MASkargo definitely saw a huge potential for it to grow in this market. ' Business Times
Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd (RM5.44/share)
Venturing into Africa next year
Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd (FGV) is in talks with the relevant parties and is optimistic of entering the African market in early 2013. Group president Datuk Sabri Ahmad said Africa would be challenging but the business expansion would be crucial to FGV's eight-year plan to grow eight times by 2020. The venture into Africa, he said, would be very challenging because political stability and funding were key. Sabri said that FGV had started talking with private banks and the response had been positive. Sabri added that FGV was already providing plantation management advice to planters in Sierra Leone and one of the strategies FGV has in mind is to enter the African nations by building oil mills first. ' StarBiz
Building Materials Sector
Miti to solve flat steel woes
Flat steel producers will meet with the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (Miti) this week to discuss some policy changes that could possibly shape a new landscape in the sector. According to industry sources, the recommendations of Boston Consulting Group (BCG), hired by Miti to conduct an in-depth study on the local flat steel sector, will be discussed at the meeting. Back in February, Miti hired BCG to undertake a detailed study, hoping to resolve the woes in the flat steel industry that has been plagues with parties at each other's throat. The disputes are mainly between Megasteel Sdn Bhd and the downstream players which are required to source their input from Megasteel. ' The Edge