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News Articles
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British oil giant BP Plc agrees to sell its interests in ethylene and polyethylene production in Mal
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BMCC News
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Friday, 03 September 2010 11:28
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BP Plc Wednesday reported it had agreed to the purchase of its interests in ethylene and polyethylene manufacture in Malaysia by Brazilian company, Petronas. BP Plc, the British oil giant said the deal will see Petronas remit $363 million in cash. BP said it had agreed on the sale of 15% of its stake holding in Ethylene Malaysia Sdn Bhd (EMSB) and an additional 60% in Polyethylene Malaysia Sdn (PEMSB). However, the two acquisitions, currently operated by Petronas, will not impact BP’s other Malaysian businesses, said the firm.
Other than that, the $363 million investment will as well include a balance sheet adjustment of $13 million and the repayment of a shareholder loan pegged at $53 million. BP stands to get an additional EMSB per-closing dividend payment pegged at $48 million, subject to approval, said the British oil giant. The two oil majors hope to conclude the transaction by the end of 2010. Sue Rataj, BP’s Global Petrochemicals Business president, said the firm is keen on the development and expansion of its olefins and derivatives business in China, and other big rapidly burgeoning markets and is shifting its focus to the same.
In that regard, Rataj said BP will continue pursuing opportunities in China and India in order to extend its leading global placement in aromatics and acetyls, her statement read. The British oil giant is currently growing its Asian Business Service Center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The center supports business and functional operations both regionally and worldwide. Currently, BP employs over 850 persons in Malaysia and owns a 600,000 tons per annum purified terephthalic acid plant in Kuantan. It as well has a 70% interest in a 560,000 tons per annum acetic acid plant in Kertih.
Other than the two, BP also owns a Lubricants plant at Port Klang and its brands such as Castrol, BP and Duckhams have a considerable share of the Malaysian market. EMSB, with a production capacity of 440,000 tons per annum of ethylene is 72.5% owned by Petronas with BP holding 15% interest and Idemitsu owning 12.5% stake. On its part, PEMSB has a production capacity of 318,000 tons per annum of polyethylene used for packaging and film manufacture.
BP plc owns 60% of PEMSB while the remaining 40% is owned by Petronas. The Ethylene feedstock for the plant is supplied by EMSB.
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Tesco bids for Carrefour's SE Asian empire
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BMCC News
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Friday, 03 September 2010 11:23
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LONDON (SHARECAST) - Britain’s largest supermarket Tesco is one of ten bidders battling it out to win the Southeast Asian business of French supermarket chain Carrefour.
Up for grabs are 61 stores in Malaysia , Singapore and Thailand worth an estimated £650m.
Tesco already has a big operation in the region, mostly in South Korea, but also in China, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand, where the majority of Carrefour’s shops are.
Some of the world’s big name retailers are involved in the auction process, including Singapore-based Dairy Farm and Aeon of Japan, although Wal-Mart is thought to be sitting it out.
Carrefour is the second largest retailer on earth after the American behemoth. Tesco is third.
The UK firm reported “encouraging” first quarter growth in Asia of 15.4%, or 4.9% at constant exchange rates, despite political uncertainty in Thailand and Korea.
It made a trading profit there of £440m in the 12 months to February, 24% higher than the year before. Sales leapt 20% to over £9bn. Korea accounted for £4.5bn of sales and profits of nearly £300m.
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SPECIALISED MARKETING MISSION TO LONDON & BIRMINGHAM (28 SEPT – 1 OCT 2010)
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BMCC News
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Thursday, 02 September 2010 10:09
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A contingent of 10 Malaysian companies representing a cross section of Malaysia’s food and beverages industry will be participating in the Specialised Marketing Mission to London and Birmingham, United Kingdom from 28th September – 1st October 2010 organised by MATRADE, as part of government continuous efforts to promote Malaysian products globally.
These Malaysian companies will be promoting food and beverages products such as bakery ingredients, curry spices, frozen food (paratha, puff pastry, asian pancake, frozen value added seafood), ready-to-eat meals, instant coffee and health drinks.
Programmes arranged for the mission include one-to-one business meetings with foreign buyers, networking session, as well as market familiarization visits which aim to assist Malaysian companies to expand their business abroad, establish business networking with foreign buyers, as well as to understand the market requirements and preferences.
If you are interested in this mission please contact MATRADE London office at +44-20-7499 5255/4644 or email to
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
or for Malaysia contact: Ms. Emeliana Zainol, International Network & Trade Promotion Division, Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) DID: 03 - 6207 7234 Fax: 03 - 6203 7187 Email:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
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Genting Malaysia gets nod for UK casino purchase
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BMCC News
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Monday, 30 August 2010 15:39
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Shareholders of Genting Malaysia Bhd voted yesterday in favour of resolutions to acquire the British casino operations collectively known as Genting UK from Genting Singapore plc despite initial misgivings over the related party transaction nature of the deal.
It is understood that shareholders mainly asked questions on the rationale for the acquisition and on profitability, as Britain is not seen as a growth market due to prevailing economic conditions and tougher operating conditions.
“Shareholders wanted more clarification on the acquisition and whether it’ll be profitable,” a shareholder said, adding that HSBC Nominees and Cartaban Nominees called for a poll before the voting.
The vote was 60.39% or 1.17 billion shares, for the acquisition, which was worth RM1.67bil. Genting Malaysia, the owner and operator of Resorts World Genting, is 47.33% owned by Genting Bhd, which also owns a 52% stake in Genting Singapore.
The over-lapping share holding among certain institutional shareholders in Genting Malaysia and Genting Singapore could have been a major catalyst in the way the voting turned out as it did. Blackrock Fund Advisors and Vanguard Group Inc were among those with stakes in both companies.
A man walks past a Genting signboard at Genting Highlands. Genting Malaysia shareholders have approved the purchase of Genting UK. — Reuters
Genting and its chairman cum chief executive officer Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay did not take part in the voting.
An analyst with a foreign investment bank told StarBiz that the voting pattern showed that these shareholders preferred to see the British casino operations, which faced quite a few obstacles including higher taxes and a tougher operating environment, under Genting Malaysia.
Analysts in recent reports said the British casino operations were a better fit for Genting Malaysia rather than for Genting Singapore.
As for Genting Singapore, the analyst said this would look good for the company, which would be able to concentrate on the integrated resort business.
Moreover, the gaming industry in Singapore was recently re-rated with Genting Singapore showing sterling results.
A market observer noted that in a situation where there were overlapping institutional investors and better prospects in Singapore, it was “normal to make Genting Malaysia a sacrificial lamb to help Genting Singapore”.
He added that based on the number of shares, it appeared that these institutional shareholders were quite active in voting.
Meanwhile, Genting Malaysia deputy chairman Tun Mohd Haniff Omar said all proposals to expand the business were looked at based on merits by the company’s board, including those involving related party transactions.
“We’ve this opportunity in Europe (with Genting UK), we hit the ground running with a going concern that is already cash flow positive following the remedial measures taken by Genting Singapore,” he said.
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Malaysian workers' savings fund launches £1bn spending spree
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BMCC News
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Monday, 30 August 2010 15:33
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A $112bn sovereign wealth fund that invests the savings of 12.3 million Malaysian workers has launched a £1bn property spending spree as Far East money streams into the UK.
Malaysia's Employees Provident Fund (EPF) – the bedrock of the South-east Asian country's pension sector – has hired ING Real Estate Investment Management and RREEF to advise it on assembling a major European real-estate portfolio.
It has awarded the global fund managers a mandate to invest £500m of equity each in property markets across Europe, although the UK is its primary focus.
This move is thought to be part of a wider strategy by EPF to diversify its asset base and increase its holdings outside Malaysia. It will also mark EPF's first significant entry into direct property acquisitions outside its home country.
EPF was set up in 1991 as a social-security institution where private and public-sector employees, with employer participation, contribute around 20 per cent of their salaries to the fund. These savings are then managed to provide retirement and other benefits and a guaranteed 2.5 per cent annual dividend.
The fund is headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, one of the financial power hubs in the Asia Pacific region, and currently invests in Malaysian government securities, money-market instruments, loans and bonds, and equity, as well as its domestic property market.
It is not thought to have invested significantly overseas and its global equities investments to date account for around 2.5 per cent of its total assets. Any foreign investments have to be approved by Malaysia's Ministry of Finance.
For the past two decades, EPF has seen almost continual growth. However Malaysia, like its neighbour Singapore and other countries with ageing populations and rising medical costs, is putting in place measures to ensure it can manage its future obligations. It has been making changes to its contributions structure since 2008 in a process known as the "Beyond Savings" initiative. This is thought to be its latest diversification.
ING, one of the world's biggest fund managers, and RREEF, the property fund management arm of Deutsche Bank, declined to comment.
EPF is the latest to join the queue of Asian money looking for a home in Europe. South Korea's National Pension Service Fund, the world's fifth-largest pension-fund manager, has spent well over £1bn in the UK, including the purchase of a stake in Gatwick Airport in February.
SSI, Thailand's largest steel company, signed a memorandum of understanding on Friday to buy Corus's Redcar steel plant for £320m. The deal could see steel production begin again at the plant next year. The Korea National Oil Corporation has made a £1.87bn hostile bid to buy the Aberdeen oil company Dana Petroleum.
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