Tuesday, 27 March 2012

News Highlights - IOI Corporation, Timber Sector


IOI Corporation Bhd (RM5.34/share)
Bumitama to list on SGX
IOI Corp Bhd is set to register at least US$226.0mil (RM696.0mil) or a 360.0% gain – on paper – from its investment in Indonesia-based Bumitama Agri Ltd. The latter has just filed for an IPO on the Singapore Exchange (SGX), which is said to fetch a market capitalisation of between S$1.2bil and S$1.3bil (RM2.9bil and RM3.2bil).

According to a filing with Bursa, IOI acquired a 33.0% stake in PT Bumitama Gunajaya Agro (BGA) in 2007 for US$62.6mil. After restructuring, BGA was 90.0% owned by Bumitama, in which IOI now has a 36.0% stake. Its holdings shall be diluted to 30.4% upon completion of the IPO, according to Bumitama’s prospectus filed with the Monetary Authority of Singapore yesterday.

IOI has been providing plantation management services and technical support to Bumitama since it acquired a stake in 2007. It is worth noting that agribusiness giant Wilmar International Ltd is buying a small stake in Bumitama via subscription of the IPO shares. This is its second share purchase in an Indonesian palm oil firm after taking a 20.0% stake in Kencana Agri Ltd in August 2010. – The Edge

Timber Sector
Japan boost for plywood
Sarawak plywood manufacturers will benefit from an anticipated stronger demand from Japan at the start of spring next month. Sarawak Timber Association (STA) panel products’ committee chairman Wong Kai Song said that new orders from Japan’s plywood importers had continued to flow in since late last year.


Most Japanese importers halted or slowed down buying between June and September last year due to high inventories. Their warehouses are reportedly stocked up following aggressive buying in the April-June 2011 period, in anticipation of high utilisation of plywood when reconstruction and restoration works started after the devastating earthquake and tsunami a year ago. However, the overstock situation has been adjusted in recent months.

Japan increased its plywood imports from Sarawak by about 5.0% to 1.31 million cu m worth RM2.4bil last year, from 1.25 million cu m valued at RM1.9bil in 2010. 

Wong also said that Sarawak plywood was expected to trade firmer at between US$500 and US$550 per cu m in the export market from US$460 and US$500 per cu m now. - StarBiz 

Source: AmeSecurities

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