KUALA LUMPUR (April 18): About 350 workers of Megasteel Sdn Bhd, who have been laid off temporarily, picketed in front of the company's factory in Banting today, demanding proper compensation or better lay-off benefits.
Mohd Amir Rapini, president of the Megasteel workers union, said Lion Corp Bhd senior manager for industrial relations Vasu Palaisamy met the workers and promised to respond to their requests by April 30.
"We have met with Vasu and he [takes] note [of] our requests and said he would discuss with [Lion Group Executive Chairman Tan Sri] William Cheng, and there will be a decision on April 30.
"If we are unhappy with the decision, we will picket again on May 9," Amir told theedgemarkets.com.
Megasteel is a 79%-owned subsidiary of Lion Corp.
Amir said the workers have put forward three options to the company, including the payment of compensation based on the years of service, according to the collective agreement with the union.
Secondly, he said, the company can choose to pay the workers more than 50% of their salary, or at least RM900, a month.
The third option is for the workers to be allowed to work for other factories but remain entitled to the lay-off payment.
Amir said about 600 workers have been temporary laid off since Jan 1 and have been receiving half month salaries since then. Their full salary ranged from RM1,000 to RM1,800.
He said the workers, armed with placards that read "Tan Sri Willian Cheng, we want compensation, we reject lay-off", had gathered in front of the factory at about 9.30am.
This is the second picket by the affected workers, following one on April 11 when the union was unsuccessful in meeting the management to discuss the compensation.
Amir added that the company has promised to take them back to work if the factory is up and running again.
However, the management did not indicate how long the lay-off will last and their livelihood is severely affected, he said.
Megasteel, Malaysia's largest hot-rolled coil producer, has suffered RM1.24 billion in losses for the three-year period from 2012 to 2014 due to excessive cheap imports from China.
Megasteel submitted a petition to the Ministry of International Trade and Industry on the matter in July 2015. It argued that the excessive imports have greatly reduced its local orders and its production level.
However, on Jan 8 this year, the ministry terminated its investigation as it found that the increase in imports of the product in 2014 was deemed not significant and has not caused, and is not threatening to cause, serious injury to the domestic industry.
Sharkeatapple, RM3, 000, 000, 000 debt, really not easy for work out a regularisation plan. Possible for a new investor to pump in this huge capital ? Even build up another new megasteel factory also no need rm30b right ?
Investor99, that's what exactly i m trying to say: not easy yo come out the plan (when/will it be?). Hopefully goverment can lend a helping hand. By doing so can save a lot of jobs too. One way i guess is government take some stake in and implement spv. Hahaha...
KUALA LUMPUR: Hit hard by low prices and dumping by foreign producers, troubled steel manufacturer Megasteel Sdn Bhd has resorted to reducing its workforce by half.
The country’s largest hot-rolled coil producer said it has since January laid off 487 workers (including 99 foreigners) and retrenched 102 from its total workforce of 1,148.
“The company has organised several town-hall sessions with its employees to brief and engage them on the business challenges and the unavoidable decision to lay off and retrench employees.
“It is also providing support and training for the employees to seek alternate employment,” Megasteel said in a statement to The Edge Financial Daily yesterday.
The company said it has sought the assistance of the Labour Department and other companies for job placements of its employees.
“It is noted that the overall job market is not so encouraging at the moment with other industries also affected by poor sales and low production levels,” it added.
Megasteel, a 79%-owned subsidiary of the Lion Corp Bhd, has been bleeding red since 2011. Its revenue for financial year ended June 30, 2015 (FY15) was RM1.89 billion with a loss before tax of RM595 million. Its accumulated losses as at FY15 were RM2.4 billion.
It attributed the losses to the dumping of steel products in the domestic market by foreign steel producers, as well as the global steel glut and drop in steel prices.
Megasteel said its production is currently nil. Its output in 2015 was 613,000 tonnes, a drop of 53.6% compared with the 2011 production of 1.32 million tonnes.
Megasteel’s workers’ union president Mohd Amir Rapini said the laid-off employees are being paid half their basic salary since January.
They were told to be on standby to resume duties but to date there is no indication that they would get to go back to work.
In light of this, about 350 workers picketed at the Megasteeel factory in Banting yesterday, seeking compensation as provided for under their collective agreement.
Alternatively, the workers are demanding that they be paid a monthly lay-off payment of more than 50% of their basic salary, or be allowed to take up other jobs, while remaining entitled to the lay-off benefits.
A Megasteel official who met the workers promised to respond to their demand by April 30, said Mohd Amir.
Megasteel said the government is aware of the developments affecting the steel industry.
“We have provided information on the lay-off and retrenchment of our employees to the ministry of international trade and industry and Malaysian Investment Development Authority as requested.
“Megasteel urges the government to assist the local steel industry and the employees, whose jobs are at stake, by taking the necessary urgent action to curb dumping and dubious imports of steel products,” it said.
KUALA LUMPUR: As Megasteel Sdn Bhd, the country’s biggest hot-rolled coil (HRCs) producer and Lion Corp Bhd’s 79%-owned unit, sinks further into losses year after year, and is up to its ears in debt, some may get the impression that Tan Sri William Cheng was not doing anything or not doing enough to solve the problems of the steel unit.
But Cheng, the Lion Corp chairman and managing director, told The Edge Financial Daily in a recent interview that the only way to save the beleaguered steel entity is to invite an investor to inject new funds into the company.
And so, he has been talking with over 10 foreign parties in Asia alone — mainly from India, Japan, Korea and China — to find a white knight to help solve Megasteel’s woes.
However, most of the talks have remained just that: talks — as the numbers in the country’s steel industry just cannot convince them that their coming in will gain them any competitive advantage, said Cheng.
“We are still talking with some foreign parties. The fact is, if the Malaysian government does not protect the steel industry, foreigners will not be willing to invest in an industry that is not profitable when the steel manufacturing costs here are higher than China, amid an influx of cheap Chinese steel imports,” Cheng said.
If not for that, he said the potential investors have no problem in entering the Malaysian steel market, which is reminiscent of what he said since 2013.
“They also have positive feedback about us as we have good facilities and cost structure. The problem is just that we are losing competitiveness against China when the government refuses to offer protection,” he reiterated.
He also noted that Malaysia’s steel manufacturing costs used to be one of the lowest in the Southeast Asian region. But today, hikes in electricity and gas tariffs have increased steel production costs in Malaysia.
Due to rising production costs, he indicated that the group is now using furnace or coal to produce steel. Hopefully, this can lower production costs, he said.
But no matter what’s said and done, he insisted that government protection remains the only way to stop steel makers from bleeding further.
In many countries, he said, citing the United States, India, Indonesia, Thailand, and some in Europe, governments still impose protection measures to support the steel industry.
“Steel makers have experienced a downturn for six years now. Indeed, even Chinese steel makers are also making losses and need to sustain the business via side incomes,” he said.
On what has the government’s feedback been to the industry, he said, the government does not think the group “is injured”. “I don’t understand. We are making more than a billion losses a year, and we can’t even capture a market share of 10% or 20,000 tonnes of steel per month,” Cheng highlighted.
He also dismissed speculation that Megasteel, which had suffered RM1.24 billion in losses in the three years between 2012 and 2014 due to excessive cheap imports from China, benefits from a respectable margin.
Lion Corp, which slipped into Practice Note 17 status in November 2013, saw its accumulated net losses for the half year ended Dec 31, 2015 (1HFY16) widen to RM294.03 million, compared with RM209.24 million in the previous year. The group’s revenue for the period also halved to RM524.93 million, from RM1.08 billion a year ago.
The group attributed its poor financial performance to lower selling price and sales volume, coupled with the onslaught of steel imports at dumping prices. The performance was further dampened by a foreign exchange loss of RM59 million, as a result of the weakening of the ringgit against the US dollar.
Lion Corp, used to trade for as much as RM37.30 (April 22, 1996), is worth only 4.5 sen today, with a market capitalisation of RM59.23 million. It hit its record low of three sen on July 14, 2015.
Cheng, however, expects the group’s net losses this year to improve a bit following the recent steel price rally. “Overall, the steel market sentiment will be better this year as some products will provide us better margins,” Cheng added. As for recent reports about him disposing of his land, Cheng explained that the “cash out” has nothing to do with his steel business.
It was reported by The Edge weekly in November and December last year, citing sources, that Cheng seemed to be on an asset divestment trail as he disposed of a 296-acre (120ha) land in Bandar Mahkota Banting, and is also looking for a buyer for his Tiara Melaka Golf & Country Club, a 27-hole golf course and clubhouse that sits on some 336 acres of land in Mukim Bukit Katil.
“That is my private business. It is for my family and has nothing to do with my public listed business,” he stressed, adding that he feels safe to conserve more cash amid current challenging economic conditions.
“We may consider buying it back in the future,” he said, but did not elaborate.
We refer to the announcement dated 23 September 2015 and the subsequent announcements made pursuant to Paragraph 9.19A of the MMLR in relation to the defaults in payment by Megasteel, a major subsidiary of the Company, in respect of working capital facilities and term loan facilities ("Defaults in Payment") ("Earlier Announcements"). Unless otherwise stated, the definitions used throughout this announcement shall have the same meanings as defined in the Earlier Announcements.
The Board of Directors of the Company hereby announce that the status of the Defaults in Payment as at the date of this announcement remains the same.
The Company will continue to pursue its Regularisation Plan which would include the securing of potential investors to strengthen the operational and financial position of Megasteel and the petition for the implementation of effective trade defense mechanism by the Government.
The Board of Directors of the Company wishes to announce that Bursa Securities had vide its letter dated 27 April 2016 ("Bursa Letter"), which was received by the Company on 3 May 2016, granted the Company an extension of time up to 31 July 2016 to submit the Regularisation Plan to the regulatory authorities.
The Bursa Letter also stated that Bursa Securities' decision is without prejudice to its right to proceed to suspend the trading of the securities of the Company and to de-list the Company in the event:
(i) the Company fails to submit the Regularisation Plan to the regulatory authorities on or before 31 July 2016;
(ii) the Company fails to obtain the approval from any of the regulatory authorities necessary for the implementation of its Regularisation Plan; or
(iii) the Company fails to implement its Regularisation Plan within the time frame or extended time frames stipulated by Bursa Securities.
Upon occurrence of any of the events set out in (i) and (iii) above, Bursa Securities shall suspend the trading of the listed securities of the Company upon the expiry of five (5) market days from the date the Company is notified by Bursa Securities and de-list the Company, subject to the Company's right to appeal against the delisting.
If no Regularisation Plan submitted before dateline. The only consequence is: it will be suspended and delisted. In my opinion, repeating requests for extension while working on Regularisation Plan is the only way. From previous news, we knew that a lot of discussion (involved more than 10 parties) had been initiated and is still on going. But without gov shield, nobody is willing to inject fresh fund. So, still depends on gov's policy finally. Saving Megasteel is not easy and tswc is putting effort into this.
The Board of Directors of the Company wishes to announce that Megasteel Sdn Bhd (“Megasteel”), a 79%-owned subsidiary of the Company, has been informed by its solicitors that the High Court of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur (“High Court”) has on 5 May 2016 granted Megasteel the following:
(a) an order (“Order”) pursuant to section 176(1) of the Act that separate meetings (“Scheme Meetings”) of the creditors of Megasteel or any class of them (“Scheme Creditors”) be summoned within a period of ninety (90) days effective from 5 May 2016 for the purposes of considering and, if thought fit, approving with or without modification, the schemes of arrangement and compromise proposed between Megasteel and the Scheme Creditors (collectively “Schemes of Arrangement”); and
(b) a restraining order (“RO”) pursuant to Section 176(10) of the Act whereby all proceedings and/or further proceedings in any action or proceeding against Megasteel and/or LCB and/or their assets (wherever located, and whether held by Megasteel or any trustee in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, as principal or as agent, beneficially or otherwise), be and is hereby forthwith restrained and stayed except by leave of the High Court, for a period of ninety (90) days effective from 5 May 2016.
The RO was applied for in order to allow Megasteel to have sufficient time to formalise the Schemes of Arrangement for the approval of the Scheme Creditors. Megasteel is currently working with its adviser on the Schemes of Arrangement and the details of the Schemes of Arrangement will be announced in due course.
The RO is not expected to have a material impact on the financial and operational matters of the LCB Group.
Lion Corp said the banker's acceptance default will give rise to a default by virtue of the cross default provision under principal loan documents relating to a RM21 million term loan facility agreement, RM683 million worth of syndicated term loan facilities agreements, RM119.5 million worth of bilateral working capital facility agreements and RM2.2 billion worth of ringgit-denominated bonds, US dollar-denominated debts, as well as redeemable convertible secured loan stocks issued by Lion Corp.
Lion Corp had said upon default, the respective lenders will have the right to declare the cancellation of the banking facilities and all sums outstanding under the respective loan documents shall become due and payable immediately.
Announcement on 2 OCT 2015: The Company will continue to engage with potential investor(s) with a view to considering investment in Megasteel and in this respect, discussions have been initiated with a party from Northeast Asia and it is still on-going
Investor99, it can be considered good news partially. But dont forget, megasteel still need favourable policy from gov finally. Now both parties under "diff side" in the court (not just diff opinion). Hmm. Dont knw how this will goes? Just my 愚见。 What do u think, investor99?
This book is the result of the author's many years of experience and observation throughout his 26 years in the stockbroking industry. It was written for general public to learn to invest based on facts and not on fantasies or hearsay....
sharkeatapple
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Posted by sharkeatapple > 2016-04-18 20:14 | Report Abuse
KUALA LUMPUR (April 18): About 350 workers of Megasteel Sdn Bhd, who have been laid off temporarily, picketed in front of the company's factory in Banting today, demanding proper compensation or better lay-off benefits.
Mohd Amir Rapini, president of the Megasteel workers union, said Lion Corp Bhd senior manager for industrial relations Vasu Palaisamy met the workers and promised to respond to their requests by April 30.
"We have met with Vasu and he [takes] note [of] our requests and said he would discuss with [Lion Group Executive Chairman Tan Sri] William Cheng, and there will be a decision on April 30.
"If we are unhappy with the decision, we will picket again on May 9," Amir told theedgemarkets.com.
Megasteel is a 79%-owned subsidiary of Lion Corp.
Amir said the workers have put forward three options to the company, including the payment of compensation based on the years of service, according to the collective agreement with the union.
Secondly, he said, the company can choose to pay the workers more than 50% of their salary, or at least RM900, a month.
The third option is for the workers to be allowed to work for other factories but remain entitled to the lay-off payment.
Amir said about 600 workers have been temporary laid off since Jan 1 and have been receiving half month salaries since then. Their full salary ranged from RM1,000 to RM1,800.
He said the workers, armed with placards that read "Tan Sri Willian Cheng, we want compensation, we reject lay-off", had gathered in front of the factory at about 9.30am.
This is the second picket by the affected workers, following one on April 11 when the union was unsuccessful in meeting the management to discuss the compensation.
Amir added that the company has promised to take them back to work if the factory is up and running again.
However, the management did not indicate how long the lay-off will last and their livelihood is severely affected, he said.
Megasteel, Malaysia's largest hot-rolled coil producer, has suffered RM1.24 billion in losses for the three-year period from 2012 to 2014 due to excessive cheap imports from China.
Megasteel submitted a petition to the Ministry of International Trade and Industry on the matter in July 2015. It argued that the excessive imports have greatly reduced its local orders and its production level.
However, on Jan 8 this year, the ministry terminated its investigation as it found that the increase in imports of the product in 2014 was deemed not significant and has not caused, and is not threatening to cause, serious injury to the domestic industry.