News of the Day - 11 May 2015

• Lembaga Tabung Haji-1MDB Controversy

PAS wants Putrajaya to explain whether Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) had bought RM1.6bn of sukuk bonds issued by 1Malaysia Development Bhd's (1MDB) Bandar Malaysia, before buying a plot of land at the Tun Razak Exchange (TRX). Party vice president Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said that closer scrutiny of the leaked documents posted on the anonymous blog "The Benchmark" about Tabung Haji's land buy from 1MDB, showed that the pilgrims' fund had also made the sukuk investment. 

• Edra Global listing to exclude Project 3B? 

The latest twist in the plans to list Edra Global Energy is that it will likely exclude the not-so-lucrative Project 3B (a 2,000MW coal-fired power plant project) and entail an earlier start of the 2,400MW power plant in Malacca that had been awarded to Edra’s parent 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) last year, source say. Project 3B is being handed to Tenaga Nasional, something which had been speculated for some time, while Edra is fast tracking the 2,400MW plant in Malacca by working with its consultants to churn out the request for proposals for parties to work on building the new plant. The move does make sense. Project 3B, in which Edra has a 70% stake, has an indicative internal rate of return of only 6%, while the Malacca plant carries a project IRR of 10%, sources say. 

• EcoWorld completes last leg of corporate exercise 

Eco World Development Group has completed the last leg of its corporate exercise following a 20% placement of shares to institutional investors which has raised proceeds of RM638.4m. The property developer said the order book was subscribed 1.41 times with significant orders from long-term institutional investors. The exercise has attracted a strong demand from local and foreign investors, it added. President and CEO Datuk Chang Khim Wah said with the completion of the corporate exercise, the group is well-placed to forge ahead with its growth and expansion plans to achieve its RM7bn sales target for its financial year 2015 and 2016. 

• Italian O&G company to inject an additional US$300m in Malaysia 

A major Italian oil & gas company will inject an additional US$300m (about RM1bn) in Malaysia, says Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. He said this was mentioned by the investor during a meeting between him and Italian captains of industry. The Italian company currently has a JV project with Petronas in Malaysia, he told Malaysian journalists at the end of his three-day working visit in Milan. He also said Agusta, an Italian aerospace company, has agreed to set up their maintenance-repair-overhaul base in Subang as a hub to service their helicopters used in the region. "During the meeting, some investors showed their interest in expanding their investments in Malaysia," he said. 

• My EG acquires property for new HQ

My EG Services Bhd (MyEG) is acquiring 22 storeys of stratified parcels in the 45-storey Iconic Office (Block N) at Empire City @ Damansara, for RM155.3m.