DRB-Hicom Bhd, which owns Proton, said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia that the latest proposed redeemable convertible cumulative preference shares (RCCPS) to be subscribed by Minister of Finance Inc
MarketWrap: Wall Street ended higher on Tuesday after the release of President Donald Trump's budget plan but gains were tempered by declines in consumer discretionary stocks amid weakness in auto-parts companies. The DJIA rose 43.08 points, or 0.21%, to 20,937.91, the S&P 500 gained 4.4 points, or 0.18%, to 2,398.42 and the Nasdaq added 5.09 points, or 0.08%, to 6,138.71. - Reuters
Energy
Oil prices settled a bit higher on Tuesday as expectations of an extension to Opec-led supply cuts overshadowed a White House proposal to sell half of US petroleum reserves. Brent crude LCOc1 settled up 28 cents at US$54.15 per barrel. - Reuters
Forex summary
*The ringgit lost 0.22% to 4.3028 versus the US$
*It gained 0.33% to 4.8150 versus euro
*Down 0.04% to 5.5801 per pound sterling
*Up 0.05% to 3.0944 per Singapore dollar
*Up 0.23% to 3.2115 per Aussie
*Down 0.21% to 3.8487 per 100 yen
Top foreign stories
Apple and Nokia see deeper partnership after ending patent dispute: Apple has settled a patent dispute with Finnish telecom equipment maker Nokia and agreed to buy more of its network products and services. The deal means Nokia will get bigger royalties from Apple for using its mobile phone patents, helping offset the impact of waning demand for its mobile network hardware. - Reuters
Westinghouse reaches deal for US$800m US bankruptcy loan: Westinghouse Electric Co told a US court on Tuesday the nuclear power company had reached a deal to borrow US$800 million after allaying creditors' concerns that the money would be flowing to non-bankrupt affiliates overseas.
Westinghouse, a unit of Japan's Toshiba Corp, filed for bankruptcy in March. - Reuters
ChemChina and Sinochem press US$120b deal: Chinese state-owned Sinochem and ChemChina are in merger talks to create the world's biggest industrial chemicals firm, to be headed by Sinochem chief Ning Gaoning, sources said. A consolidation of Sinochem and ChemChina would be worth around US$120 billion, one of the people said, topping companies like industrial chemicals giant BASF. - Reuters
Shell to sell C$4.1b stake in Canadian Natural: Royal Dutch Shell Plc has decided to offload a roughly C$4.1bil stake in Canadian Natural Resources Ltd that it acquired as part of a deal to retreat from Canada’s oil sands earlier this year, sources said. The deal could be one of the biggest-ever equity sales in Canada. The largest Canadian equity deal so far was TransCanada Corp’s C$4.4bil offering last year. - Reuters
Top local stories
Chinese carmaker Geely to acquire Proton stake: Chinese automaker Geely has agreed to buy a stake in struggling carmaker Proton Holdings Bhd from DRB-Hicom, sources said on Tuesday, beating out rival bidder PSA Group. Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, which controls Hong Kong-based Geely Automobile and Sweden's Volvo Car Group, will acquire 49% of Proton, the sources said. - Reuters
Adding zest to TM: New Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) managing director and group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Mohammed Shazalli Ramly wants to add zest and sweat the assets of the dominant telecommunications company in his drive to improve earnings. He doesn’t want to change the business plans of his predecessor, saying what TM needs is speedier execution. It needs to focus on consumer behaviour to create products the market demands rather than rely on the age-old technology-driven approach, and improve on service quality, Shazalli said. - StarBiz
* TM reported a 3.8% rise in revenue for the first quarter to RM2.96bil and the higher income was from its Internet, voice and data services.
Net profit fell 28.5% to RM230mil on higher operating cost and lower foreign-exchange gains. - StarBiz
Trading in DRB-Hicom shares suspended: Trading in the shares of DRB-Hicom Bhd will be suspended on Wednesday pending a major announcement, amid speculation it has found a foreign strategic partner for unit Proton Holdings Bhd. It is believed that DRB-Hicom is preparing to sell a stake in Proton to Chinese automaker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. - StarBiz
Jump in fuel cost drags AAX Q1 earnings down: AirAsia X Bhd’s (AAX) operating profit fell 43% to RM60.3mil for the first quarter, mainly dragged down by higher expenses such as aircraft fuel cost, which had ballooned by 55% from a year earlier. Its net profit fell to RM10.34mil from RM179.49mil previously on a 22% jump in revenue to RM1.18bil. - StarBiz
E&O posts RM49m profit in fourth quarter: Property developer Eastern & Oriental Bhd (E&O) posted a net profit of RM49.4mil in its fourth quarter, lifting its full-year earnings to RM87.6mil. The group achieved a revenue of RM704.8mil for the financial year ended March 31, 2017, versus RM422.2mil previously, mainly due to the property segment. It declared a final dividend of three sen a share. - StarBiz
IGB REIT to enhance yields: IGB Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) will enhance yields on its existing Mid Valley Megamall and The Gardens Mall through a reconfiguration exercise in both the malls. The exercise will increase the net lettable area in the mall by a further 15,000 sq ft to 20,000 sq ft. - StarBiz
RHB Bank posts RM500m Q1 net profit: RHB Bank Bhd made a net profit of RM500.28mil or 12.50 sen per share, for its first quarter, down 11% against RM564.89mil or 16.30 sen per share a year ago, largely due to lower total income and higher loan provisions. Revenue was also lower at RM2.62bil compared to RM2.71bil a year ago. - StarBiz
Fitters wins RM98m project: Fire protection specialist Fitters Diversified Bhd’s construction unit has won a project worth RM97.78mil from Pencala Jaya Sdn Bhd to construct 338 units of two- and three-storey units in Rawang, Selangor. - StarBiz
Lafarge may raise exports as pricing pressure continues: Lafarge Malaysia Bhd plans to increase exports to the region as pricing pressure and oversupply in the local cement industry continues to persist. The company planned to increase sales to regional markets and negotiate new contracts. - StarBiz
*Lafarge reported a net loss of RM48.9mil versus a net profit of RM20.6mil a year ago due to lower operating profit and worsening pricing pressure.
Revenue fell by 16.1% to RM561.9mil year-on-year. - Reuters
Boustead Plantations net profit at RM43.68m: Boustead Plantations Bhd posted a 2.5% increase in net profit to RM43.68mil in the first quarter on higher crude palm oil (CPO) prices and oil palm production. Revenue increased 38% to RM189.02mil, while earnings per share rose to 2.73 sen from 2.66 sen. The company declared a dividend of 2.5 sen a share for the quarter.
KUB sees robust growth led by plantation business: KUB Malaysia Bhd expects to achieve a lower double-digit growth in earnings this year on robust expansion in its plantation and energy businesses. Last year, its net profit grew to RM22.5mil from RM7.8mil in 2015. - StarBiz
Star Media Group to continue drive into digital business space: Star Media Group Bhd will continue to expand its existing media platforms, taking into account its second phase of digital transformation. The company said it would continue to provide more bundled products and creative buys to advertisers, as well as organise client-driven events to harness its aggressive move into the digital business space. - StarBiz
Wing Tai receives takeover offer: Wing Tai Holdings Ltd (WTH) and Wing Tai Investment & Development Pte Ltd (WTID) have made an unconditional takeover offer to acquire Wing Tai Malaysia Bhd (WTM) for RM1.80 in cash. The offer price represents a 52.54% premium, based on the last traded price of WTM shares on May 22. The joint offerors now directly hold a total 66.13% of WTM’s voting shares. - StarBiz
U Mobile to spend RM1b for capital expenditure this year: U Mobile Sdn Bhd will spend about RM1bil for capital expenditure (capex) this year, with most of the budget going into the rollout of additional spectrum awarded by the Government in 2016. CEO Wong Heang Tuck said the capex would also be allocated for enhancement of services to 4.5G. - StarBiz
Innoprise earnings up three-fold: Innoprise Plantations Bhd (IPB) posted a three-fold increase in net profit to RM9.34mil for the first quarter on higher palm product prices, improved fresh fruit bunches crop and excellent oil extraction rate of 23.76%. Its revenue grew 18% to RM29.46mil. - StarBiz
Pos Malaysia’s FY17 profit buoyed by e-commerce, online sector: Pos Malaysia Bhd boosted its earnings by a third to RM84.06mil for the financial year ended March 31, thanks to strong demand for courier services from e-commerce and online businesses. The company said its courier segment registered a 23% higher revenue of RM684.58mil. - StarBiz
O&G segment pulls down UMW Holdings’ results further: UMW Holdings Bhd
, which expects to divest both its listed and unlisted oil and gas (O&G) businesses by year-end, continued to be weighed down by the O&G segment in the first quarter. Its net loss widened 22% to RM20.16mil despite a 27% higher revenue of RM2.8bil. - StarBiz
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