While it is still in the midst of acquiring Shell's Malaysian liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) business, Oman-based Natural Gas Co SAOG (NGC) is already making plans to take its local unit, NGC Energy Sdn Bhd, to the next level. NGC chairman Sheikh Abdulla Suleiman Hamed Al-Harthy, who was in the country last week, told StarBiz that the group aimed to transform NGC Energy into a public listed company in three to four years.

We could use the operation in Malaysia as a hub to grow into the region. It could be either industrial or domestic as penetration like in Vietnam and Indonesia are still very low and there's a lot of potential to grow the market - Star Biz

Group Lotus Plc, the British sportscar maker ultimately owned by DRB-HICOM Bhd through Proton Holdings Bhd, has submitted a fresh plan to put its house in order, bankers familiar with the matter said yesterday. The plan was submitted to Lotus' six main creditors, the source said, adding that the revised plan was crucial to stem the its losses.

Lotus obtained some RM1.3bil in long-term facilities in April last year to help turn around the company, with the national carmaker Proton standing as guarantor for the loans. The money was to be used as part of a RM2.4bil turnaround plan that was announced a year earlier. The turnaround plan was centred on Lotus coming up with five new sportscar models within five years for the mass market. However, the plan had been hit with snags from day one, and by the end of last year, Lotus was bleeding red ink and had widened its operating loss to RM166.6mil from RM102.4mil at the end of 2010.  - Business Times

Group Lotus Plc will start production on its new EXIGE S model by as early as this week. The car is described as the 'ultimate lightweight high performance sportscar' with more than 100 horse power to its output.Ironically, DRB-HICOM is going ahead with the brand new Lotus model at a time when it is also doing major spring cleaning at the British sportscar maker. Lotus chief executive officer Dany Bahar was sacked recently and it is understood that a probe on how Lotus was run previously is undergoing. Three Lotus executives have so far been suspended while 50 contractors have had their contracts terminated. - Business Times

Source: AmeSecurities