PPB Group Bhd (RM13.96/share)
FFM buys another 20% of Wilmar's flour mill
PPB Group Bhd's 80%-owned flour milling arm FFM Bhd yesterday agreed to take a 20% stake in a flour miller based in Zhengzhou, China, for US$4.3mil (RM13.5mil) from its associate Wilmar International Ltd. The investment in 20% of Yihai Kerry (Zhengzhou) Foodstuffs Industries Co Ltd also entails a proportionate contribution to a shareholders loan of US$6mil by a wholly owned unit of FFM, according to a statement to the Singapore Stock Exchange. The agreement signed yesterday is pursuant to an earlier agreement in December 2010 in which FFM would explore investing a 20% stake in Wilmar's China-based flour millers after PPB sold a 20% stake in FFM to Wilmar. ' The Edge
Kumpulan Perangsang Selangor Bhd (RM1.01/share)
Denies cutting supply of treated water
Kumpulan Perangsang Selangor Bhd (KPS) denied allegations that its subsidiary Konsortium Abbas Sdn Bhd (Abass) had received instructions from a top official from Kumpulan Darul Ehsan Bhd (KDEB) to reduce production of treated water at its Sungai Semenyih Water Treatment Plant.
In a statement to Bursa Malaysia yesterday, the Selangor state-controlled KPS said the production of treated water has increased since January 2011 and not reduced as alleged by some quarters. KPS said Abass, which operates the Sungai Semenyih Water Treatment Plant has a design capacity of 120 MGC [million gallons per day] (545 MLD [million litres per day]) and had been consistently producing 20% above its design capacity throughout 2011.
Meanwhile, the Selangor government will once again make an offer to take over the water concessions from the concessionaires, said a state official. This came after it was reported last week that the Special Cabinet Committee on Selangor Water Issues said the state government could go ahead with its water restructuring scheme as long as it follows the guidelines set out in the Water Services Industry Act 2006. ' The Edge
Timber Sector
Timber exporters to need 'supply chain' papers by March 3
Companies exporting timber to the United Kingdom (UK) and European Union (EU) will be required to produce 'chain of supply' documentation effective March 3 next year, with legal sanctions for any non-compliance.
Malaysia External Trade Development Corp (Matrade) said in a statement the new law prohibits the placing of illegal timber and products derived from such timber on the EU market, with operators needing to exercise due diligence when selling timber products there.
For Malaysian exporters, Matrade said these measures might include additional information requests on the products' origin and legality, as well as certification requests for those systems that allowed for legality verification. ' Business Times