Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Masteel buoyed by better prices, export pick-up

MALAYSIA Steel Works (KL) Bhd (Masteel) (5098) is confident of seeing profits again as steel prices have improved and export orders picked up.

"We posted RM8 million in losses last year because prices were lower and there was no margin. Even so, we continue to give out dividends to our shareholders because our cash position is still strong," chief executive officer and managing director Datuk Seri Tai Hean Leng said.

Among Masteel's institutional investors which benefit from the dividend payout are Lembaga Tabung Haji and Felda Group of Companies.

"This year, demand orders for steel bars has started to pick up. We expect to export 10 per cent more finished products to Australia and New Zealand," Tai told a press conference in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, yesterday.
OSK Research two weeks ago cut its Masteel call from a "Buy" to "Neutral" on rising iron ore prices and the impending price increase for natural gas. It said the mismatch between high material cost and lower average selling price looked set to crimp steel millers' margin in the second half of the year.

In response, Tai said the downgrade was not justified.

"The price spike in iron ore has no effect on our profit margin because we use steel scrap. Also, natural gas only constitutes 1 per cent of our direct costs. We only use natural gas in re-heating.

"The iron ore and steel scrap pricing work on different dynamics. We don't face margin squeeze," he said.

On another front, Masteel said it is close to completing its sale of more than half of its biotechnology unit to the Belgium-based IBA Molecular for RM5 million.

The fully-owned unit, Bio Molecular Industries Sdn Bhd (BMI), makes cancer markers, which are fluids detectable by scans used to monitor the treatment of cancer.

"The 55 per cent stake sale to IBA Molecular will help us reduce operational risks. They will take over the RM10 million loan guarantee on the FDG-producing equipment," Tai said.

"It is better to be a supporting player in a growing business," he added.

Three years ago, Bio Molecular and the Brussels stock exchange-listed IBA Molecular set up a RM40 million facility to produce fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) in Sepang, Selangor. FDG is used as a cancer marker.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Close encounter with spirits and a headless woman


THE older the structure, the more likely it is to be haunted. Given the chequered history of Pudu Prison – which dates back to 1895 – you can be sure it has more than its fair share of ghostly tales.

Abu Bakar Juah says it was common to hear things at night – footsteps where no one was supposed to be, chains rattling, and even hearing someone or something taking a bath when everyone is locked in.

“We normally shout out loud that we are merely trying to make a living and tell whatever that’s out there to leave us alone,” he says.

Haji Aziz Haji Idris tells of an encounter while on duty at one of the guard towers when he was still a young officer.

“It was shortly after midnight and I was on night duty with another person when I saw an officer approaching. As we had been trained, I banged my rifle on the floor and shouted out ‘Everything all right, sir!”

Aziz says the figure said nothing but raised his hand, and then suddenly disappeared.

He also remembers one particular bunk in the warder’s dormitory which everyone tried to avoid.

“Anyone who slept there would be sure to feel an unseen force pressing down on his chest. They may try to shout or move but will be helpless to do anything,” he says, adding that some would rather sleep on the floor than use the bunk.

Abu Bakar also recalls a weird phenomenon – a ball of fire the size of a football that suddenly appeared and rolled out of sight.

“It happened every once in a while, and in cycles. Everyone would be talking about it for a while,” he says.

But the scariest tale is that of a recurring apparition of a woman. Aziz believes it was the ghost of a woman who was hanged there.

“She had tried to kill herself previously by slitting her throat. She survived but before she was fully recovered, the execution order came,” he says.

“She was brought to the execution chamber and hanged – but because of the injury, her head was literally torn off. It was a gruesome death and that is the ghost that many people have seen.”

He recalls an encounter with this apparition.

“I was on duty at Block D, where death row is located, and directly above the execution chamber is a huge anchor stone.

“Out of the corner of my eye I saw a figure sitting on this stone. Malays believe ghosts’ feet do not touch the ground, and when I bent over to look, the figure disappeared,” he says.

But a fellow officer’s encounter was even more shocking.

“Once, a police officer was interviewing prisoners and it was getting late. However, he said that he could interview one more, and I went down to bring another one.

“As he was filling in some forms he saw a figure sitting down. Thinking it was another prisoner he looked up, only to see a headless woman with blood flowing down her chest. The officer ran down the stairs as fast as he could,” he says.

Aziz believes Pudu Prison is a very “dirty” place and in some places is a giant graveyard.

“During World War II, the British buried Japanese soldiers there, and when the Japanese took over, they buried the British there.

“The ghosts here are real,” says Aziz.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

GADANG 22 Jun


GADANG seem like tired after it % stochastic move a 'n' turn down.

CCI never touch back the peak and now near to 100 level.

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Morgan Stanley upgrades Malaysia to 'overweight'

Malaysia has been upgraded to 'overweight' from 'equal-weight' while Russia replaces China as Morgan Stanley's top pick among the largest emerging stock markets


SINGAPORE: Russia replaced China as Morgan Stanley's top pick among the largest emerging stock markets in its developing-nation model as the brokerage advised investors to take on riskier assets.

Malaysia was upgraded to "overweight" from "equal- weight" while Thailand and Colombia were cut to "underweight" from "equal-weight", according to the report.

"We upgrade Malaysia to overweight. Its model rank has improved to No. 5 on earnings growth and No. 7 on revisions breadth and it continues to rank highly on business cycle, currency, and equity supply/demand," Morgan Stanley said in a research note dated June 17.

"We downgrade Thailand and Colombia to underweight; both countries saw deterioration in revisions breadth and earnings growth," it said.


Jonathan Garner, Morgan Stanley's chief Asian and emerging-market strategist, last month made his first asset allocation change since June 2009, telling investors to increase their holdings of developing-nation equities and cut cash levels given the prospects of a "strong year" for the global economy.

The MSCI Emerging Markets Index has retreated 4.2 per cent this year, following last year's record 75 per cent rally.

"At present we are seeking beta aggressively," London-based Garner wrote in a report on Thursday, referring to a measure of risk. Russia "has the highest beta", he said.

Morgan Stanley raised its "overweight" on Russia to 220 basis points from 100 basis points, and cut its position in China to a 125 basis point "overweight" from 220 basis points.

The change means Russia joins South Korea as the brokerage's largest "risk positions", according to the report. Russia's overall ranking within Morgan Stanley's country model also rose to second, lagging behind only the Czech Republic.

First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov this week urged investors to be wary of Russian stocks as policymakers in the world's biggest energy exporter try to prevent the economy from overheating and encourage long-term investment.

"I'd be very cautious about stock investments in this country," Shuvalov said in an interview in Moscow.

"I would welcome real investors who can build factories, something new in this country," he added.

Russia now ranks first for earnings growth and second on two valuation measures within Morgan Stanley's models. Its economy is also "in somewhat of a sweet spot" with growth forecast to accelerate through the fourth quarter while economic expansion slows in Brazil, India and China, the brokerage said.

The four are collectively known as the BRIC markets. - Bloomberg, Reuters

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Wah Seong eyes jobs in Europe, Golden Triangle



GEORGE TOWN: Wah Seong Corp Bhd plans to establish an oil and gas pipe-coating plant in Europe or in the Golden Triangle (Brazil, Mexico, and North Africa) region in the next one to two years.

Group deputy managing director Giancarlo Maccagno said after the company AGM that the project would support the group’s interests in these areas. “We are in the process of bidding for a couple of projects in Europe and the Golden Triangle,” he said.

Over the next five years, the oil and gas industry planned to spend about US$170bil for deepsea exploration and production, of which 75% would be for the Golden Triangle, said Maccagno.

“There are opportunities for our gas pipe-coating business in North Africa. These pipes will be used for bringing gas to Europe,” he said.

In Brazil and Mexico, the business opportunities are in oil exploration projects,” he said.

On Wah Seong not getting the Socotherm deal, Maccagno said the Socotherm had wanted the Wah Seong to assume responsibility for its liabilities.

“This would have put our group at risk. Our 50 million euro bid for Socotherm was the preferred offer, but we could not agree to assuming its liabilities,” he said.

Socotherm had filed for protection from creditors last August. It had made a net loss of 74 million euros and debts of 250 million euros.

Last October, Wah Seong bought out Socotherm’s 32.5% stake in PPSC Industrial Holdings Sdn Bhd for RM76mil to raise its stake to 100%.

Socotherm has been Wah Seong’s partner in PPSC for the past 19 years.

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