News Bits | 27 July 2012

Highlights of the day

§  Parkson Holdings (Quick Bits): Knocking on Sri Lanka's door (Maintain HOLD, TP: RM4.85) [download report]

In an announcement to the Singapore Stock Exchange yesterday, Parkson Retail Asia Ltd (PRA), Parkson Holdings’ 67.6%-owned subsidiary, announced that it had entered a sale and purchase agreement with Odel PLC, a Sri Lanka based lifestyle fashion retailer listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange, to acquire a 41.8% stake in the latter for SGD13.6m. We believe that PRA’s move is a prelude to penetrating the South Asia retail market, particularly India with strong domestic consumption akin to China, which currently accounts for c.87% of Parkson Holdings’ group EBIT. Maintain HOLD with sum-of-parts target price at RM4.85.

Other reports

§  Newz Bits [download report]

Other Malaysian news

§  SapuraKencana: Gets RM300m contracts

§  Maxis: MCB raises RM2.4bn via placement of Maxis shares

§  AirAsia: To buy Indonesia’s Batavia Air

§  Malaysia Airports: KLIA2 cost expected to remain at RM4bn

§  Integrax: Poised to seal 25-year TNB coal contract

§  TSR: RM330m MRT jobs

§  Menang: To build RM101m UiTM facility

§  Construction: High-speed rail talks with Singapore to start soon

§  Economy: Malaysia's trade exposure to 5 troubled European countries at 1.5%

§  Media: Marginal rise in ad spend

§  Port: Chambers to bid for Penang Port

§  Rubber Glove: Glovemakers brace for higher wages and gas prices

§  Rubber Glove: Up to 15% growth in demand seen

Global news

§  US: Orders signal slowdown in business spending

§  US: Jobless claims decrease, extending July volatility

§  US: Pending sales of homes unexpectedly fell 1.4% in June

§  Europe: Region lending contracted for a second month in June

§  Europe: Greek budget talks stumble

§  South Korea: Current-account surplus widens to record on import decline

§  Singapore: Industrial output rose in June on pharmaceuticals

§  Vietnam: Surplus in trade balance in July

§  Philippines: Central bank cuts interest rate to a record low

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