I attended the JAKS EGM at the Kelab Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah in Shah Alam yesterday morning.

It was a short and sweet meeting. JAKS was generous; providing both a good breakfast and a better lunch.

After the few questions, the two resolutions was passed unanimously. The first one was to approve a 10% placement of JAKS shares to interested parties while the second one was the appointment of a independent non-executive director.

I had the fortune of meeting Dato' Zulkipli Abdul, JAKS's chairman as well as Tan Sri Law Hieng Ding, the new independent non-executive director who was my former boss. We spoke of old times and he invited by over to his house on the first day of Chinese New Year.

I do believe the new director will be an asset to JAKS given his wide network in China.

Shamsul Azhar: He Had it Made

It was with elation that I read of Datuk Shamsul Azhar Abbas being appointed president and chief executive officer of Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) effective Feb 10 to replace Tan Sri Mohd Hassan Marican who ends his contract with the national oil company a day earlier.


Shamsul and I studied at the same university way back in 1971-1974. We went separate ways after that.With this appointment he is the most successful corporate head from my cohort at Universiti Sains Malaysia. My congratulations to him.

Let us read what the STAR has to stay about him and the fate of his predecessor.

"Shamsul was also appointed acting chairman of Petronas.

In a statement yesterday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said he was confident Shamsul, 57, possessed the qualification, authority and experience to bring continued success to Petronas.

Shamsul, who spent his career at Petronas, has vast experience in the oil and gas industry and his last position before retiring as the president and chief executive officer of MISC Bhd between 2004 and 2009.

Having joined Petronas in 1974, Shamsul had held various important positions in the company where he was the vice-president of the oil, petrochemical, upstream exploration and maritime and logistics businesses. Shamsul was seen as the frontrunner among three candidates was tipped to replace Hassan.

The others were Datuk Anuar Ahmad (Petronas Dagangan Bhd chairman) and Datuk Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin (former managing director/CEO of Petronas Gas Bhd from 2003-2007).

Najib thanked Hassan for the contribution he has made to the country and the petroleum industry as the president and chief executive officer of Petronas since 1995.

Hassan, who began his service in Petronas in 1989 as senior vice-president finance, was also acting chairman from 2004.

During his time at Petronas, the company rose in reputation and performance and was acknowledged as the country’s sole Fortune 500 company.

Najib said he hoped Hassan would continue to contribute his knowledge and experience to the country especially in the field of energy.

Sources indicated Hassan was offered the post of special adviser to the Prime Minister on gas but it was unclear if he would take up the offer."

Notice to MRCB Shareholders

This is an important announcement for those buying the rights issue of MRCB.

RENOUNCEABLE RIGHTS ISSUE OF UP TO 482,271,409 NEW ORDINARY SHARES OF RM1.00 EACH IN MALAYSIAN RESOURCES CORPORATION BERHAD ("MRCB") ("RIGHTS SHARES") ON THE BASIS OF ONE (1) RIGHTS SHARE FOR EVERY TWO (2) EXISTING ORDINARY SHARES OF RM1.00 EACH IN MRCB HELD ON 2 FEBRUARY 2010 AT 5.00 P.M. AT AN ISSUE PRICE OF RM1.12 FOR EACH RIGHTS ISSUE

Dispatch Date: 4 February 2010

Date for commencement of trading of the rights: 3 February 2010

Date for dispatch of abridged prospectus and subscription forms: 4 February 2010

Date for cessation of trading of the rights: 10 February 2010

Date for announcement of final subscription result and basis of allotment of excess Rights Security: 24 February 2010

Listing date of the Rights: 5 March 2010

Last Date for sale of provisional allotment of rights: 9 February 2010; 5 pm

Transfer of provisional allotment of rights: 12 February 2010; 4 pm

Acceptance and payment: 19 February 2010; 5 pm

Excess share application and payment: 19 February 2010; 5 pm

Remarks:

The last date and time for acceptance and payment and excess application and payment are as above, or such other later date and time as the Directors of MRCB may decide and announce not less than two (2) market days before the stipulated date and time.

The abridged prospectus, together with the rights subscription form and the notice of provisional allotment (collectively referred to as the "Documents") in relation to the Rights Issue, will be dispatched on 4 February 2010 to the entitled shareholders whose names appear in the Record of Depositors of MRCB on 2 February 2010. These Documents will not be dispatched to entitled shareholders who have not provided an address in Malaysia. Any shareholder who is without a registered address in Malaysia and wish to provide a Malaysian address, should inform their respective stockbrokers to effect the change of address prior to 2 February 2010.

Time Engineering's Claw Back: TIME Fibre Broadband

TIME dotCom Bhd (TdC),the fixed-line telecommunications solution provider, expects to retain positive growth, particularly with the launch of its new service, TIME Fibre Broadband, said its chief executive officer Afzal Abdul Rahim today.

The company posted RM24.454 million in pre-tax profit in the second quarter ended June 30, 2009 on the back of RM67.898 million in revenue, springing the company into 'the black' for the first time in 14 years.

It also recorded RM11.941 million pre-tax profit in the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2009, raking in RM69.931 million in revenue.

“We see this momentum continuing especially with the launch of the product today,” he said at the “TIME Fibre Broadband” launch.

Afzal said the company would continue to drive sales and increase market share in areas like wholesale, corporate and small-and-medium enterprises.

“We’ll be rolling out more exciting and innovative products in the wholesale and business market segments,” he said.

Afzal said TdC was planning to extend by 85 per cent its fibre broadband coverage in high-density Klang Valley in the second quarter next year.

Its latest service, TIME Fibre Broadband, a high-speed Internet access, offers users at a speed of up to 50 megabits per second currently available in Mont Kiara area.

“We’re looking into expanding the service to other areas under the second and third phases, with more locations undergoing testing and slated for installation of the service,” he said.

Afzal said TdC targeted between 15 and 20 per cent of potential customer base for area in coverage.

He said TIME Fibre Broadband is targeted at young professionals, high bandwidth users and early adopters who are constantly blogging, gaming, social networking and downloading.

“The service is for internet users craving for fastest internet connection without being hindered by slow and unreliable connection speed,” he said.

TIME Fibre Broadband is being offered at competitive rates ranging from RM149 to RM329 for 2Mbps to 10Mbps service package, Afzal said, adding that customers will be able to experience a boost speed of up to 50mbps on demand.

Do you think this could impact positively on Time Engineering and Time dotCom. share prices?

Malaysia: Another Aye Sayer for Property Boom in 2010

Yes, they are slowly coming out to support the possibility of a good property market this year. However, there are caveats.

In its report today, Bernama quoted the comments of MIDF Amanah Investment Bank Bhd. This investment bank is the latest aye-sayer to tell us that the residential property market is expected to thrive this year as it rides on the surge in demand, particularly in the medium-high segment.

Although new property launches in key cities like Kuala Lumpur, Johor Baru and Penang had been less encouraging lately, the expected stronger economy this year should see the launches of previously delayed projects.

“Our survey with key developers shows purchasing interest remained high with take-up rates of new projects at an average of 70 per cent just from private previews or first few days of the launch,” it said in its research note.

Despite signs of sectoral revival, it said the property sector still lacked foreign participation to drive its marketability.

More measures are needed to secure foreign participation apart from the present tax incentives and MSC-status benefits, said the investment bank.

As for property sector, MIDF Amanah Investment Bank maintained a “neutral” call as it expects property sales to undergo a minor correction when Bank Negara Malaysia begins to tighten monetary policy and foreign funds start withdrawing should the economic recovery lose its momentum.

“However, we believe local investors will cushion the downside as property buyers will seize any buying opportunity. We continue to favour counters with exposure to the mid-to-high-end residential market and industrial developments,” said the investment bank.

It said medium and high-end properties benefited from an economic recovery as consumer purchasing power increased, participation in small-and medium-scale property sector also increased from business expansion. Residential sector remained a favourite for hedging purposes, it added.

With the ringgit losing value with each passing month, there is definitely a scramble to convert liquid cash into hard property deals as well as foreign currency accounts.

Whatever happened to our once mighty ringgit?

An answer, please.

Australia: Rate Stand Down

Amidst a strong, vibrant economy, Australia central bank decided to maintain its key cash rate interest rate steady at 3.75%(2nd February 2010). This so surprised many analysts who had expected an increase to 4.0 per cent given signs of impending strength in the economy.

Let us read the Reuters report today.

"The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) made the announcement following its monthly policy meeting.

The Australian dollar fell as investors pared chances of an interest rate rise in March after the RBA’s announcement.

March bill futures rallied to 95.78 from 95.570 before while the Australian dollar fell to $0.8838 from $0.8920.

“A big surprise they left rates unchanged ... they made a couple of mentions of what might be triggering that, the Chinese slowing down their economy, and sovereign concerns have increased.” said Stephen Walters, chief economist at JP Morgan

“I think they’re taking a tactical move to wait and see what’s going to happen over the next few months, and what the impact of the earlier rate hikes will be.”

“They make it clear interest rates have to be adjusted, which is code for going up, they’re just not sure about how quickly they need to do it, so they’re being tactical.”

Warren Hogan, ANZ’s head of Australian Economics, said: “It’s a big surprise to the market and most forecasters, including us.

“What they’ve told us is the case for further interest rate increases is there – they’ve explicitly stated it – but they just want to see a little bit more information about how the economy is reacting to the rate hikes from last year.

“So I don’t think this fundamentally changes the outlook for interest rates, which is for them to move higher. We still think they’ll get to 4.75 (by the end of the year). I think they’ll go next month (for the next move).”

So the stand-down on interest rate is not really going to stump the positive expectations of many. They expect the authorities to up the rates at the subsequent meetings this year.

We shall wait.

Naysayers Can Really Spoil Your Day

Believe in the nay-sayers and you would believe anything. So let us not get pessimistic about these infernal predictions and look forward with a 'can do' spirit.

Let us read one nay-sayer prediction based on currents fears and horrors scenario building. It is from a Reuters report dated 29 January 2010.

"The adage ‘as January goes, so goes the year’ bodes ill for equity investors after the S&P 500 closed out its worst month in almost a year. In the coming week, they will have to contend with fears of sovereign defaults and the potential for unpleasant surprises in the US labor market.

US corporations have so far handily beat analysts’ earnings forecasts. With heavyweights like Exxon Mobil Corp and United Parcel Service Inc set to report next week, investors will be looking for that to continue, going some way to offset the perception that political risk is on the rise.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 3.7 per cent in January and is off nearly 7 per cent from its high this month. Investors are worried that Greece’s debt troubles may herald a wave of sovereign defaults in the euro zone that could derail an economic recovery.

“There’s a lot of concerns going on as far as the sovereign debt is concerned in a lot of the nations, specifically in the euro zone,” said David Lutz, managing director of trading at Stifel Nicolaus Capital Markets in Baltimore.

A heavy week for economic data will culminate in yesterday’s non-farm payrolls report. Analysts believe the economy added 5,000 jobs in January, according to a Reuters poll. Another negative surprise after the previous month’s unexpected surge in job losses could roil markets.

“The next headline is going to be this unemployment data that is coming out, and there is no indication it is going to be moving in the direction in which we want it to move,” said Jonathan Corpina, senior managing partner of Meridian Equity Partners in New York.

Friday’s jobs number will be presaged by the ADP private- sector jobs report on Wednesday.

Around 500 US companies have reported quarterly earnings so far and of those, 73 per cent have beaten earnings estimates, exceeding the 68 per cent that beat in the last two quarters, according to data from Bespoke Investment Group.

But that positive earnings picture has not translated into gains for the stock market this time around.

Bespoke Investment Group’s data shows the average stock of a company whose earnings beat estimates gained only 0.8 per cent, compared with a 2.9 per cent drop in those that missed.

“The companies beating aren’t being rewarded by nearly as much as the companies that miss are being punished,” Bespoke Investment said in its research note.

After consecutive quarters when better-than-expected earnings helped drive stocks up more than 66 per cent from last year’s lows, fourth-quarter numbers may have already been factored into the market.

Highlights in the second full week of earnings will include Exxon Mobil on Monday, which is the first of a number of energy companies reporting, as well as delivery service UPS on Tuesday. UPS, viewed as a window on the economy’s health, raised its profit forecast earlier this month.

Exxon is expected to post earnings per share of US$1.19, while UPS is seen reporting 73 cents per share.

The US economy grew at its fastest pace in more than six years in the fourth quarter of 2009, expanding at an annual pace of 5.7 per cent — much more than most economists had expected.

There will be an early indication of the sustainability of growth when the Institute for Supply Management releases its manufacturing report for January. Economists in a Reuters poll are expecting a reading of 55.2, showing an expanding sector for the sixth straight month.

That will be followed by the ISM’s service sector survey on Wednesday, expected to edge into growth mode after the largest segment of the US economy struggled to find its footing in the fourth quarter of last year.

“The economy is showing no signs of a self-sustaining recovery,” said David Wright, portfolio manager at Sierra Core Retirement Fund in Santa Monica.

“Essentially the fuel was used in sustaining the rally as far as it did, and we are now beginning a down cycle that I expect to be prolonged and severe.”

For the final week of January, the S&P 500 slid 1.7 per cent, while the Dow Jones industrial average declined 1.1 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 2.6 per cent.

For the month of January, the blue-chip Dow average dropped 3.5 per cent — close to the S&P 500’s 3.7 per cent decline — and the Nasdaq lost 5.4 per cent.

If this January is anything to go by — and the Stock Trader’s Almanac shows only six major occasions since 1950 when January’s performance has not been an indicator for the rest of the year — Wright’s prediction may come true."

Would that be the Year of the Tiger 2010?