DAP: The breaking news in Cambodia: “Malaysia's Felda Global Ventures shares surge in debut as world's 2nd largest IPO” plus 4 more

DAP: The breaking news in Cambodia: “Malaysia's Felda Global Ventures shares surge in debut as world's 2nd largest IPO” plus 4 more

Malaysia's Felda Global Ventures shares surge in debut as world's 2nd largest IPO

Posted: 27 Jun 2012 08:34 PM PDT

KUALA LUMPUR, June 28 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia's largest state- owned plantation operator, Felda Global Ventures Holdings (FGV), made its debut on the Malaysian stock exchange on Thursday to become the world's second largest Initial Public Offering this year after Facebook.

About 120 million shares were traded at about 17 percent or 80 sen above its institutional price of 4.55 ringgit (1.42 U.S. dollars) within the first hour of its debut.

FGV is selling 2.188 billion shares based on a retail price of 4.45 ringgit (1.39 U.S. dollars) per unit to give it a market capitalization of 16.6 billion ringgit (5.2 billion U.S. dollars).

It raised as much as 3.2 billion U.S. dollars, with the institutional portion of the initial public offering oversubscribed by more than 30 times.

"At this moment I'm happy about the price, the premium at 80 sen hopefully remain in a few days. We would like to see the premium stable. We have plans to expand our estates, plantation to other countries. Right now we have Indonesia and we are looking at Myanmar, Cambodia, even Brazil, where a company is offering land for joint venture with us," FGV Chairman, Mohd Isa Abdul Samad said.

FGV said it planned to use 2.2 billion U.S. dollars of the proceedings to buy plantation assets in Southeast Asia and Africa and the remaining some to expand its downstream business.

Felda Global is a commercial arm of the Federal Land Development Authority (Felda), an agency started by Prime Minister Najib Razak's father, former Prime Minister Abdul Razak Al-Haj to grant the rural poor indigenous and ethnic Malay smallholder farms to grow cash crops.

It is now the second-largest oil palm plantation company in terms of planted area and has about 355,864 hectares of plantations in Malaysia and runs palm oil refining businesses in China, Indonesia, Turkey and South Africa.

Malaysia used to be the world's largest palm oil producer before it was overtaken by Indonesia in 2007.

Last year, the country produced 18.9 million tones of palm oil.

FGV's first quarter net profit fell 46.5 percent to 192.2 million ringgit (60.2 million U.S. dollars) due to lower profit and higher costs of replanting and more fertilisers.

Its profit last year rose about one percent year-on-year to 942. 2 million ringgit (295.12 million U.S. dollars).

Group president Sabri Ahmad declined to give FGV's outlook for this year, saying it would be positive if crude palm oil prices hover around 3,000 ringgit throughout the year.

The listing came ahead of planned IPOs by several other companies, including power company Malakoff Bhd and government- linked hospital operator IHH Healthcare Bhd.

IHH Healthcare planned to sell 2.23 billion shares in Malaysia and Singapore stock exchanges to become the world's third largest new share-sale this year.

The listings are part of the government's plan to divest state- run institutes.

Cambodia's ruling party marks 61st anniversary, hailing remarkably national development

Posted: 27 Jun 2012 07:07 PM PDT

PHNOM PENH, June 28 (Xinhua) -- The ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) on Thursday commemorated the 61st anniversary of its birth, highlighting its significant roles in maintaining peace and political stability and in bringing remarkable development to the country since the fall of the Democratic Kampuchea regime in 1979.

The celebration was presided over by the party's honorary president Heng Samrin, who is also the president of the National Assembly, and Prime Minister Hun Sen, the party's vice-president.

The party's president and head of the Senate, Chea Sim, failed to attend the event due to health problems.

"Under the leadership of the CPP, Cambodia is making a swift and energetic step on the path of development," Heng Samrin told the gathering of about 13,000 supporters at the party's headquarters in Phnom Penh's Chamkarmon district.

He said since the collapse of the Democratic Kampuchea regime in 1979, the CPP has led efforts to restore and reconstruct the country from scratch. To date, the party has scored various major achievements for the nation.

"Now, the country is full of peace, stability and sound economic development," he said.

Meanwhile, Heng Samrin, on behalf of the CPP, reaffirmed that the party would continue to support the candidacy of Hun Sen for the post of Prime Minister for the fifth term, in which the general elections will be held in July next year.

Prime Minister Hun Sen has been in power for 27 years.

The CPP, formerly known as the Khmer People's Revolutionary Party, was founded on June 28, 1951, aimed at leading the struggle to win independence from the French colonialism at that time.

More foreign banks seek opening of representative office in Myanmar

Posted: 27 Jun 2012 07:07 PM PDT

YANGON, June 27 (Xinhua) -- One more representative office of foreign bank, the Krungthai Bank of Thailand, has been opened in Myanmar's Yangon recently.

The addition of the Thai bank has brought the total number of foreign bank offices based in Myanmar to 20 which include those from Singapore, Bangladesh, China, France, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, Thailand, Cambodia, Brunei, Vietnam, South Korea, the United States and the United Kingdom.

Another Thai bank, the Siam Commercial Bank, also plans to set up a representative office in the country.

However, the foreign banks are not allowed to conduct financial services except data collecting works in Myanmar, bankers said.

Since early this year, some banks from the United States and the European Union countries have started links with the Central Bank of Myanmar to seek operation of their banks in light of suspension of some sanctions on Myanmar.

The famous Standard Chartered bank and some foreign banks, which had opened representative offices in Myanmar between 1990 and 2002, walked out afterwards due to sanctions put on Myanmar then.

Japan stood the first with the most number of representative offices opened in Myanmar including Dai-ichi Kangyo Bank, Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd, Sumitomo Mitsui Bank Corporation, the Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi, Sumitomo Bank and UFJ Bank.

As there is increased interest of Japanese businessmen and market researchers traveling to Myanmar following the country's landmark by-elections on April 1 with gradual easing of foreign sanctions, Japan's All Nippon Airways is trying to resume its direct flight to Yangon in September.

Following the recent opening of a representative office of Japan's second largest bank -- Mizuho Corporate Bank in Myanmar, there is also arrangement of opening of a big shopping center by the Lawson Inc. of Japan

Meanwhile, the World Bank will also open an office in Myanmar as a re-engagement with the country.

Aimed at stabilizing the exchange rate of foreign currency and ensure emergence of foreign exchange market in the country, the Central Bank of Myanmar has granted 11 Myanmar private banks to trade three foreign hard currencies -- U.S. dollar (USD), Euro and Singapore dollar since last year.

The 11 private banks are Kanbawza Bank, Cooperative Bank, Myanmar Industrial Development Bank, Myawaddy Bank, Inwa Bank, Myanmar Oriental Bank, Asian Green Development Bank, Ayeyawaddy Bank, Myanmar Pioneer Bank, United Amara Bank and Tun Foundation Bank.

These banks have set up exchange counters at banks, airports, hotels, shopping centers and major tourists destinations for the convenience of tourists visiting Myanmar and Myanmar citizens leaving the country.

Moreover, four Myanmar private banks including Cooperatives Bank, Kanbawza Bank, Asia Green Development Bank and Ayeyawaddy Bank have also been allowed to handle remittance to homeland from Myanmar migrant workers working in Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia starting February.

There is a total of 19 private banks and three state-owned banks in Myanmar which are Myanma Economic Bank (MEB), Myanma Foreign Trade Bank (MFTB) and Myanma Investment Commercial Bank ( MICB).

Beginning April, Myanmar's foreign exchange rate regime has moved from a peg of 8.5 Kyats to the special drawing right to a managed floating exchange rate and the rate is quoted as 850 Kyats per USD currently, up from 818 Kyats per USD when it was first applied.

Iran invites Cambodian PM to attend Non-Aligned Movement Conference in Tehran

Posted: 27 Jun 2012 07:06 PM PDT

PHNOM PENH, June 27 (Xinhua) -- The Islamic Republic of Iran on Wednesday invited Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen to attend the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Conference to be held in Tehran in late September, according to officials.

The invitation was extended to Hun Sen by Mohammad Ali Fathollahi, special envoy of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, on Wednesday at the Peace Palace, Eang Sophalleth, spokesman for Prime Minister Hun Sen, told reporters after the meeting.

Mohammad Ali Fathollahi said currently, there are a lot political events happening around the world and the NAM conference will be used to seek peace and stability for the world.

Hun Sen accepted the invitation and promised to join the conference. He said that it was very vital to strengthen the role of the NAM on international arena in order to bring peace and stability to people in the world.

Meanwhile, the premier, on the bilateral ties, asked Iran to expand relations and cooperation with Cambodia in the fields of trade and tourism in addition to existing political and diplomatic cooperation.

ASEAN SG receives Indian ambassador's Letter of Credence

Posted: 27 Jun 2012 07:06 PM PDT

JAKARTA, June 27 (Xinhua) -- Surin Pitsuwan, the secretary- general of ASEAN, received the Letter of Credence from the Ambassador of the Republic of India to ASEAN, Gurjit Singh, in a ceremony held at the ASEAN Secretariat on Wednesday, a statement released by the secretariat said.

Ambassador Singh succeeds Biren Nanda who completed his tenure as the Ambassador of the Republic of India to ASEAN earlier in March.

Ambassador Singh, who is based in Jakarta, is concurrently Ambassador of the Republic of India to Indonesia and accredited to Timor Leste.

Surin congratulated Ambassador Singh as the new Ambassador of India to ASEAN and expressed his confidence that the ASEAN-India Dialogue Relations would be further substantiated through effective facilitation and coordination among Ambassador Singh, the Committee of Permanent Representatives to ASEAN, and the ASEAN Secretariat.

Ambassador Singh expressed his gratitude to ASEAN and its Member States for accepting him as the new Ambassador of the Republic of India to ASEAN and reiterated that India attached great importance to ASEAN, which has been one of the country's priorities in conducting its foreign policy.

In their brief yet fruitful discussion, Surin and Ambassador Singh discussed some matters such as preparations for the Special ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit--which will be held on 20-21 December 2012, the ASEAN-India Car Rally, and the Sail Training Ship "Sudershini" on an Expedition to ASEAN Member States.

ASEAN-India Dialogue Relations have grown rapidly from a sectoral dialogue partnership in 1992 to a full dialogue partnership in December 1995.

The relationship was further elevated with the convening of the first ASEAN-India Summit in 2002 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

This year, ASEAN and India are celebrating their 20th Anniversary of Dialogue Relations and both sides are working to elevate the dialogue relations to a higher plane.

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