M'sian Plantations Giant

Published November 24, 2006

Merger to create RM30b M'sian plantations giant

Conglomerate of five listed companies will produce almost 6% of world's palm oil

By S JAYASANKARAN
IN KUALA LUMPUR

IT WILL be the largest merger in Malaysian history and could create a RM30 billion (S$12.9 billion) mega-company with annual net profits of RM2 billion, executives familiar with the plan said.

The plan calls for the assets of five plantation companies to be sold to a special purpose vehicle in return for shares and the subsequent delisting of the five. Following that, an internal re-organisation of the new firm would have to be done as the new entity would have disparate assets besides plantations.

All five firms - Sime Darby, Golden Hope Plantations, Kumpulan Guthrie, Guthrie Ropel and Highlands & Lowlands - were suspended from trading on the local bourse yesterday morning.

Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB), a state-owned investment holding company, has controlling interests in the five companies which should make the merger relatively smooth.

The executives said that the merged entity would produce almost 6 per cent of the globe's annual palm oil and allow cost savings of at least 10 per cent through better logistics, enhanced bargaining leverage for supply purchases and streamlined administration.

They also said that it was likely that the plantation management of Sime Darby, widely considered the most efficient state-owned plantation firm, would drive management.

In a country that has consolidated almost every state-dominated sector - from banking to telecommunications - plantations remains the last bastion, with considerable value waiting to be unlocked.

But Malaysia's push to merge its plantation assets is also part of an effort to boost the country's competitiveness in order to face challenges thrown up by new Asian investment magnets, particularly India and China.

Moreover, rising commodity prices and Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's personal interest in the sector have made agriculture more important to investment-starved Malaysia. Palm oil, widely used in everything from cooking oil and soap to perfume, generated exports valued at over RM19 billion last year and the sector employs over 100,000 people.

Another reason propelling the merger is that state-owned plantation firms generally underperform their non government-linked rivals.

Companies like IOI Corporation, Kuala Lumpur Kepong and Asiatic Development, all controlled by ethnic Chinese Malaysian families, as well as Danish-owned United Plantations, are foreign institutional favourites and are more productive and profitable.

In comparison, the share prices of the state-owned plantation firms trail their private rivals, which is why merger for greater efficiencies of scale was mooted.

Even so, it has taken its time coming. The plan was originally mooted by dealmaker and former stockbroker Chua Ma Yu to then-prime minister Mahathir Mohamad in October 2002 but was met with resistance from various quarters.

The opposition isn't hard to fathom. The government originally bought its controlling stakes in companies like Guthrie and Golden Hope from their former British owners in the early 1980s in part to help create an ethnic Malay managerial and commercial class. That goal is part of a longstanding affirmative action programme designed to enhance the economic standing of Malays, who make up about 60 per cent of the country's population.

Consolidation, with its more than probable layoffs and management changes, would negate those advantages and leave the Malay-dominated government open to criticism that it was abandoning its core constituency.

Even so, the fact that Mr Abdullah pushed it through, albeit five years later, illustrates his new-found political confidence in the wake of a ruling party caucus that he dominated.

Mr Chua's original plan called for the creation of a global plantation company dominated by Sime Darby that would create a famous Malaysian brand name.

More recently, the plan was aggressively pushed by Nazir Razak, the influential chief executive officer of CIMB, Malaysia's second largest banking group and, incidentally, the investment bank that is advising on the deal.

Mr Abdullah bought it.

China Communications Construction IPO

November 24, 2006, 2.10 pm (Singapore time)

China's top port builder picks key investors

HONG KONG - China's top port builder, China Communications Construction, readying a US$1.8 to US$2 billion Hong Kong IPO, will sell up to US$240 million in shares to three investors, including China Life Group, ahead of its listing, sources familiar with the deal said on Friday.

The state-run company will earmark 10 to 12 per cent of its IPO for three investors, including China Life Group, New World Development chairman Cheng Yutung and Singapore's GIC Direct Investments, the sources said.

'Each of them will take US$80 million worth of shares,' one of the sources said.

Billionaires Li Ka-shing and Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talan, had hoped to be cornerstone investors, but neither was on the list, the sources said.

Alwaleed planned to buy shares from the institutional portion of the IPO to get a larger stake, one source said.

It was not clear how soon after the HK listing the domestic one would follow, but the domestic A-share offering should be in place at least six months after the company lists in Hong Kong, because of domestic rules, one of the sources said.

China Communications Construction, whose business includes infrastructure design and construction to dredging and port machinery manufacturing, is offering 3.5 billion H-shares, or 24.4 per cent of its enlarged share capital.

A formal marketing roadshow will start on Nov 28 and the retail portion of its Hong Kong offering will run from Dec 1 to Dec 6, with final pricing on Dec 9. A trading debut is set for Dec 15. -- REUTERS

Innovalues

November 24, 2006, 10.00 am (Singapore time)

Innovalues in talks to buy rubber parts firm

SINGAPORE - Electronic components maker Innovalues Precision is in talks to acquire an Asian-based rubber parts maker, in a bid to boost its automotive components business, a senior executive told Reuters.

Innovalues, which has a market value of about US$83 million, makes precision-machined parts for automobiles, printers and hard disk drives. Its automotive customers include German car parts maker Robert Bosch GmbH and the car electronics unit of German engineering conglomerate Siemens, Siemens VDO. It also sells to printer maker Hewlett-Packard Co, as well as Japan's Minebea, which produces spindle motors for hard disk drive makers Seagate Technology and Western Digital.

'We're in discussions to acquire a company specialising in rubber technology, which would help us penetrate the Japanese automotive market,' Innovalues Business Director Steven Pung told Reuters in an interview.

Chief Financial Officer Soh Wai Kong said while the firm would fund its capital spending needs with internal cash, it was considering a share placement, bank debt and/or convertible bonds to finance its acquisitions. -- REUTERS

China Sky Chemical Fibre

November 24, 2006, 7.52 am (Singapore time)

China Sky plans to sell 80m new shares

SINGAPORE - China Sky Chemical Fibre, China's largest nylon fibre producer, said on Friday it plans to place 80 million new shares at $1.36 each.

'The placement has been effected with a view to attracting interest from reputable investment funds and improving the liquidity of shares in the market,' it said in a statement. It said about 30-40 per cent of the net proceeds from the placement -- estimated at US$69 million -- would be used to acquire land in Fujian province for future expansion.

The company's Singapore-listed shares closed at $1.46 on Thursday. -- REUTERS

Chemoil IPO

November 24, 2006, 5.22 pm (Singapore time)

Chemoil revives plan to list in Singapore

SINGAPORE - Marine fuel supplier Chemoil Energy Ltd is looking to raise as much as US$124 million in its second attempt to list in Singapore after it cancelled a planned US$374 million IPO in October.

The company said it would sell a total of 224.8 million shares at a maximum price of US$0.55 a share, according to a prospectus filed with the Monetary Authority of Singapore on Friday. It plans to sell 160.17 million new shares and 64.63 million shares would be sold by Japan's Itochu Corp, a shareholder in Chemoil Energy said. The final pricing is due on Dec 12.

Chemoil said the proceeds would be used to expand overseas in the United Arab Emirates, India and Egypt. It would also invest in terminals in Singapore, the Netherlands and Panama, the prospectus said.

In October, Robert Viswanathan Chandran, founder and chief executive officer of the San Francisco-based marine fuel oil firm, said that that company had cancelled the IPO because he was disappointed with how investors valued the company.

Chemoil's shares were initially offered to investors at a price range of US$0.65-US$0.85. That price range was later lowered to US$0.55-US$0.85, before the IPO was pulled altogether. Bankers and investors said the main reason for the lukewarm response to the deal was the fall in oil prices.

JP Morgan and UBS are lead managers for the share offering. -- REUTERS

Stats ChipPac

November 23, 2006, 11.42 am (Singapore time)

Stats ChipPac submits bid for assembly, test facility

SINGAPORE - Stats ChipPac, the world's fourth-largest microchip packaging firm, has submitted a bid to buy the assembly and test operations of a US chipmaker in Asia, sources familiar with the situation said on Thursday.

'A US chipmaker is selling its back-end facility in Asia. Stats submitted a bid one month ago; it should know the outcome in December,' an industry source said.

Stats ChipPac reported in October a third-quarter net profit of US$18.5 million and said it expects fourth-quarter net profit excluding special items to be between US$22 million and US$29 million. -- REUTERS

Lippo Reit (First Reit) IPO

Published November 22, 2006

IPO WATCH

Lippo Reit draws strong response THE order book for the initial public offering of Indonesian conglomerate Lippo Group's property trust is five times covered, a source close to the deal said yesterday. The source also said that the deal would be priced today. Jakarta-listed Lippo Karawaci, one of the real-estate arms of the Lippo Group, is raising up to $111 million with the listing in Singapore of a property trust. The real estate investment trust, to be called First Reit, will be based on three hospitals and a hotel resort worth $257 million in total, and would be the first Singapore-listed Reit to be based on Indonesian assets. The group is offering 140.4 million units for the property trust at a price range of between $0.68 and $0.79 per unit. Merrill Lynch and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp are joint lead managers for the deal. Lippo, which is controlled by Indonesia's Riady family, said the trust would eventually own and invest in healthcare assets in Singapore, China, Malaysia, Thailand and Hong Kong. - Reuters Published December 5, 2006 Lippo Reit priced at lower end of indicated range INDONESIA'S Lippo Group is set to raise about $100 million from the sale of units in its Singapore real estate investment trust after pricing it at the lower end of an indicated range. Jakarta-listed Lippo Karawaci, one of the real estate units of conglomerate Lippo Group, is selling 140.4 million units of First Reit at $0.71 each. The property trust is backed by three hospitals and a hotel resort in Indonesia worth $257 million. Lippo had set an indicative price range of between $0.68 and $0.79 per unit. Merrill Lynch and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp are joint lead managers for the deal. The Lippo deal follows a highly successful $218.4 million offering for CapitaRetail China Trust, based on Chinese shopping centres last week. The China Reit was spun off by Singapore's CapitaLand and was priced at the top end of an indicated range. Lippo, controlled by Indonesia's Riady family, said the trust would eventually own and invest in healthcare assets in Singapore, China, Malaysia, Thailand and Hong Kong. Moody's Investors Service last month lowered the outlook for Lippo Karawaci's B1 corporate family rating to negative from stable, citing the group's weaker than expected financial results for the first nine months of this year. - Reuters

Keppel Land

The waterfront lifestyle is set to get a boost from Keppel Land's $30 million
Marina@Keppel Bay, slated for completion at the end of next year. The marina on Keppel
Island will be able to accommodate almost 200 yachts, with five berths for mega yachts of
between 100 and 200 feet. The marina will also add to the upmarket positioning of Keppel
Land's soon-to-be-launched condominium next to its Caribbean@Keppel Bay. Already,
news of the Sentosa integrated resort has helped push up prices in the area. Caribbean
was launched at about $800 psf in 2000, but prices have since surged almost 50 per cent.
Keppel Land has only a few units left - and its deputy general manager of marketing
(residential) Albert Foo says prices are now around $1,200 psf. Like Sentosa Cove, the
area, with Keppel Land's as-yet-unnamed new condominium development, is being
marketed as a playground for the rich and famous, and Mr Foo says the response from
foreign investors has been good. The condominium is being designed by renowned
architect Daniel Libeskind. 'We have test marketed the design overseas and we are
confident of getting a wider range of foreign investors,' Mr Foo said. At the Caribbean,
about 20 per cent of buyers are foreigners, he said. Prices of the 1,200-unit new
development have not been fixed, but Mr Foo said Keppel Land will take its cue from prices
at Sentosa Cove. He said that apart from this development, Keppel Land has three more
residential sites at Keppel Bay.

China Energy Ltd

The chemical producer’s initial public offering (IPO) in
Singapore is expected to raise as much as $157 million, sources close to the deal
said yesterday. The company is currently on a roadshow and has set an indicative
price range of $0.54 to $0.83 a share, the source told Reuters. A second source
said the IPO would be priced on Nov 29 in New York. China Energy plans to sell
176 million new shares and 13 million vendor shares, the sources said. The total
of 189 million shares to be sold is equivalent to about 16 per cent of the enlarged
share capital. If priced at the top end of the range, the company would have a
value of $976 million. ABN AMRO Rothschild is the lead manager for the IPO.
China Energy Ltd said in its prospectus that it is the country's largest producer of
di-methyl-ether (DME), an alternate fuel for liquefied petroleum gas. It produces
DME and methanol in Linyi, in China's Shandong province. The company plans to
use the IPO proceeds to acquire an additional production facility, to boost existing
capacity and for working capital needs. It plans to boost its DME production
capacity to 600,000 tonnes per year by the first half of 2007, from 150,000 tonnes
per year currently following an acquisition.

December 5, 2006, 10.28 am (Singapore time)

China Energy's S'pore IPO more than 10 times covered

SINGAPORE - The $160 million (US$104 million) initial public offering for China-based chemicals producer China Energy has been heavily oversubscribed and is due to be priced next week, a source involved with the deal said on Tuesday.

'The order book is looking very good, multiple times covered,' the source said. 'It is more than 10 times covered.'

China Energy -- which plans to sell 176 million new shares and 13 million vendor shares according to its prospectus -- had set an indicative range of $0.54 to $0.83 a share for the IPO, sources said. That would raise between $102 million and $157 million for the company and its vendor shareholders.

The source said the IPO would be priced on Dec 13.

China Energy said in its prospectus that it is the country's largest producer of Di-Methyl-Ether, an alternative fuel for liquefied petroleum gas. It produces DME and methanol in Linyi, in China's Shandong province. -- REUTERS

Luzhou Bio-Chem Technology

Yesterday said it has entered into agreements
to supply high fructose corn syrup to leading food and beverage manufacturers in
China, confirming earlier market speculations. Luzhou shares rose as much as 5.1
per cent to 82.5 cents yesterday after DBS Vickers Securities said in a research
note that the maker of corn sweeteners had won a contract to supply corn
sweetener to a leading carbonated drinks producer in Shanghai. The shares
eventually closed at 81 cents, up 2.5 cents. After the market closed, Luzhou
confirmed the DBS Vickers report that the company plans to supply the high
fructose corn syrup through its plants in Liaoning, Shandong, Henan and Shaanxi.
It also said it has completed enhancements to the production capabilities at its
Shaanxi and Henan plants to produce high fructose corn syrup and high maltose
syrup.