Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Khazanah stresses on need for timely delivery of KLIA2

Monday January 24, 2011

By JEEVA ARULAMPALAM
jeeva@thestar.com.my


PETALING JAYA: Two years since airport operator Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) was tasked to build the permanent low-cost carrier terminal (LCCT) in Sepang now known as KL International Airport 2 (KLIA2), its holding company Khazanah Nasional Bhd has come out to say that the timely delivery of the airport is critical for the country's air transportation development.
In Khazanah's annual review media briefing held last Tuesday, managing director Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar said it was crucial for KLIA2 to be delivered on time and executed well to support future air traffic growth.
The statement was made when Azman was providing an update on the RM58bil investments made by Khazanah and its majority-held units for the three year period from 2009 to 2011. Khazanah has a 54% stake in MAHB.
Datuk Seri Tony Fenandes hopes MAHB can help keep cost low for passengers using KLIA2.
The current targeted completion date for KLIA2's terminal building is April next year with the runway to be completed two to three months later.
This deadline marked a six-month delay from the original deadline set, which was the third quarter of this year, when the development was first announced in early 2009.
MAHB managing director Tan Sri Bashir Ahmad told reporters at KLIA2's ground-breaking ceremony last August that the process involved in building KLIA2 had taken time due to its extensive tender process as well as MAHB not wanting to compromise on the terminal's quality and passengers' safety.
It was also learnt through sources that the delay then in getting the project off the ground was further compounded as the airport operator and low-cost carrier AirAsia were not able to agree on airport specifications.
The contract for KLIA2's main terminal construction over a 20-month period was awarded last July to a joint venture between UEM Construction Sdn Bhd and Bina Puri Holdings Bhd.
However, renewed concerns that KLIA2 may not be up and running by next year have been expressed by AirAsia Bhd group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes and are factored into the airline's decision to defer its new aircraft delivery as he only expects KLIA2 to be ready in 2013.
When contacted by StarBiz, Fernandes said he was glad to note Khazanah was taking an active role in emphasising the timely delivery of KLIA2, with the quality and safety aspects of the airport being maintained.
He also expressed his hope for MAHB to help the airline keep cost low for passengers travelling out of KLIA2, especially in terms of airport taxes. Airport taxes for domestic flights and international flights out of the LCCT are RM6 and RM25 respectively.
“I hope Khazanah and MAHB will look into developing more LCCTs in the country such as in Kuching to facilitate the growth of the low-cost air travel segment. There is also a need to extend the current LCCT in Kota Kinabalu to enable our route expansions and with the advent of Firefly operating out of the main terminal,” said Fernandes.
Although KLIA2 is meant to accommodate the growth seen in low-cost carrier (LCC) passenger numbers locally and open to other LCCs, the key push for its construction was budget carrier AirAsia's rapid expansion over the years and the sharp rise in passenger growth.
AirAsia, which operates from the current LCCT in Sepang, has outgrown the terminal despite MAHB expanding the facility between 2008 and 2009 to cater for some 15 million passengers per annum from 10 million passengers previously.
To re-cap, AirAsia sought to build its own LCCT in 2008 to cater for the rise in its passenger volumes and future growth but the Government stepped in and dissuaded AirAsia from doing so, as a newer and bigger LCCT in Sepang had been part of the National Airport Master Plan, a comprehensive study on the development of Malaysia's airport capacity over the next 50 years.
KLIA2 will be able to handle up to 30 million passengers per annum, with expansion capacity of up to 45 million passengers per annum.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

AmInvestment: Offer price for MTD unfair

Friday January 21, 2011

By SHARIDAN M. ALI 

sharidan@thestar.com.my

PETALING JAYA: AmInvestment Bank said the takeover offer of MTD Capital Bhd by four firms at RM9.50 per share was not reflective of the potential of the group.
Based on the profile of the MTD group, which was involved in toll concession, property development as well as engineering and contruction, “it would be appropriate to value the business segment separately to arrive at the aggregate valuation of the group on sum-of-parts basis,” the independent adviser said.
“We have computed the sum-of-parts valuation (SPOV) of MTD group to be about RM3.1bil. And based on MTD's issued and paid-up capital of 247.5 million shares, the value attributable to each MTD share is at RM12.72.
“Thus, the cash offer price of RM9.50 per share represents a discount of RM3.22 or approximately 25% to the SPOV of RM12.72.
“Based on this, we are of the view that the offer price is not fair due to the significant discount accorded to the indicative SPOV per MTD share.”
AmInvestment said to realise the full RM12.72, investors would have to maintain their shareholding in MTD for the entire duration of the concession with the assumption that MTD distributed all its net cash flow derived from businesses and realisation of all its assets.
“The indicative SPOV is derived based on the present value of all the net cash flows of MTD's existing businesses and assets are being realised at the same point of time,” it said.
MTD non-interested directors also concurred with the recommendation of AmInvestment and advised shareholders to reject the offer.
MTD, the country's second largest highway operator and owner, has received an offer from four companies to take it private on Dec 20, 2010, effectively valuing it at RM2.35bil.
The companies which held a total stake of 53.13% in MTD, made a conditional takeover offer to acquire the remaining 116.02 million shares or 46.87% of the issued and paid-up capital of MTD for a cash offer of RM9.50 per share, or a total of RM1.1bil.
The joint offerors are Nikvest Sdn BhdAlloy Consolidated Sdn Bhd (Alloy),Alloy Concrete Engineering Sdn Bhd (ACE) and Alloy Capital Sdn Bhd (AC) which hold 131.48 million MTD shares in total.
Alloy, ACE and AC hold direct interest of 26.01%, 3.40% and 0.91%, respectively, in the company while Nikvest currently holds a 22.81% stake.
Nevertheless, AmInvestment said the offer provided a chance for MTD shareholders to unlock the value of their shareholding at a premium of RM1.18 or 14.2% against RM8.32 - the five-day volume weighted average market price (VWAP) to Dec 17, 2010, being the last full market day prior to the notice of the takeover.
“The offer price also represents a premium of 6.7% to the closing market price of MTD shares on Dec 17, of RM8.90.
“Also, based on historical market prices of MTD shares, there is no assurance that the price of MTD shares will remain at the current level after the close of the offer,” it said.
MTD share price closed at RM9.61, up 11 sen on Jan 19.
In terms of the premium to precedent privatisation transactions, AmInvestment said the premium of 14.2% over MTD five-day VWAP up to Dec 17, 2010 was within the range when compared with the premiums paid for successful local privatisation over last two years of between 5% and 29.9%.

MRT to serve 1.2 million people

Friday January 21, 2011

By THEAN LEE CHENG

leecheng@thestar.com.my



PETALING JAYA: The mass rapid transit (MRT) system will serve 1.2 million people with a daily ridership of 442,000, according to a source familiar with the project.
It will have 50% more carrying capacity than the current light rail transit (LRT), which has a capacity of about 30,000 passengers at present per hour per direction, although it is carrying about 35,000 people currently per hour per direction.
The MRT rail car would also be 50% wider with a frequency rate of every two minutes, she said.
Construction work on the MRT, one of Malaysia's largest infrastructure projects to date at a cost of RM36.6bil for civil works alone, without factoring in the cost of trains and land acquisition, is scheduled to begin by July this year on what is currently known as the Sg Buloh-Kajang line.
The source said the Sg Buloh-Kajang line was known as the optimum line because of the masses it would serve along the route.
The route would span Kota Damansara, Bandar Utama, Pusat Bandar Damansara, Kuala Lumpur's Golden Triangle area, Cheras and Kajang. Tenders for the project are expected to begin in April or May. There will be 35 stations, four of them interchanges, on this line.
The source said the sites for the stations were chosen based on several criteria, one of which was ridership.
Although the alignment and siting of the stations were provisional at this point in time, the source said this was based on several criteria.
“It must serve a densely populated area because it is expected to have a 442,000-person ridership,” she said.
“It must also be a commercial area and the station located in an area with dense population,” she added.
The source revealed that “the alignment should also pose minimal negative social and environmental impact on the people in the area.”
“This social environment impact includes noise and vibration, traffic congestion, land acquisition and excavated material management where tunnelling and underground works are needed.
“Other concerns include accident risks, visual impact and water and air pollution,” she added. The alignment and siting of the stations were also based on the need to have an even network coverage, taking into consideration the present LRT, monorail and Komuter rail lines.
The objective, she said, was to have the MRT “converge into the city” and complement the present LRT and monorail lines.
“It must be sustainable, in the event there is a need for expansion.
“Other considerations include connectivity, social impact and constructability,” the source said.
The route is still undergoing preliminary study at present.
It can be adjusted after taking into consideration factors such as the social impact cost, ticket sales and demographics.

Vale project may cost up to RM14b

By TEE LIN SAY 

The Star

Friday January 21, 2011

IPOH: Brazilian mining giant Vale International SA's construction costs in its iron-ore transshipment project will be between RM9bil and RM14bil over a five-year period, and the project will likely start in July or August this year, said Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir.



Vale has received the necessary planning and statutory approvals. It is now in the midst of drawing up the engineering plan.
While the Perak government has no equity participation in the project, it will participate in the port and logistics operations. There will also be co-sharing with local companies on the downstream activities. The multiplier effect of the downstream activities is expected to triple Vale's initial investment.
“Vale has agreed to bring more economic growth along that area. Local companies will be subcontracted to participate in the trickle-down activities. They will include Malaysian companies involved in iron ore, steel, fabrication, shipbuilding, canning and tin,” Zambry said.
Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir … ‘Local companies will be subcontracted to participate in the trickle-down activities.’
Under the project, Vale will develop an iron-ore complex, including its own jetty in Teluk Rubiah, Lumut. Zambry said this would serve as an impetus for the development of iron ore and steel-related industries.
“This will be Vale's largest factory outside Brazil. All the necessary acquisitions have been made; it is just a matter of coming out to do it now,” he said.
He said the shipbuilding activities would take place along the beachfront from Lumut to Bagan Datok.

About Me

A seeker of success (whatever that means) treading on a path, searching, to return to the wholesomeness that was him when he was launched into this big school called Earth.