Malaysia Daily Media Highlights

AirAsiaFree seats in East Malaysia
AirAsia is allotting 10,000 free seats for travel to or from its two hubs in Kota Kinabalu and Kuching. The free seats, excluding airport tax, fees and fuel charges will be for travel between Oct 10 and Dec 31. The seats are for domestic flights between Kota Kinabalu and Miri, Sandakan, Tawau and Kuching and between Kuching and Bintulu, Miri and Sibu. AirAsia said the budget airline wanted to demonstrate its commitment towards developing the Sabah and Sarawak market by stimulating inter and intrastate travel, and boosting inbound passenger traffic from the peninsula and around the region.

In other news, Sarawak State Urban Development and Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Wong Soon Koh, said that Fly AsianXpress (FAX) should strive to be better than Malaysia Airlines (MAS) in rendering rural air service (RAS). He said it should not be operating based only on areas where there was good response but also fulfil the social obligation of linking people in remote areas with the outside world. Local tourism players in Sarawak had claimed the uncertainties related to FAX schedule had discouraged travel agents outside Sarawak from promoting Miri and the Mulu National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site, as tourist destinations.

SIMEENG Consortium Lands RM176m power plant expansion project
Sime Engineering Service’s wholly owned Sime Engineering SB (SE), together with consortium partner Mitsui & Company Power System Corporation, has won a US$47.6m (RM175.6m) contract from Sime LCP Power Co Ltd for the construction of a 60MW power plant in Laem Chabang, Thailand. The engineering, procurement and construction project for the combined cycle gas turbine power plant expansion was for 23 months. Sime Darby holds a 70% stake in SIMEENG and 100% equity in Sime LCP.

Sompo Japan Insurance Seeking to buy 30% stake in BGI
Japan’s second largest insurer Sompo Japan Insurance, Inc has proposed to acquire a 30% stake in Berjaya General Insurance Bhd (BGI) from Berjaya Capital. Both parties had received Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) approval to commence negotiations. BGI is a unit of BJCAP with a paid-up of RM118m, however Sompo is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange with market capitalisation of over RM48bn.

E&O: Issues RM350m debt papers
E&O Property Development’s subsidiary has received the Securities Commission (SC) approval to issue up to RM350m in debt papers for the nominal value bank guaranteed commercial papers/medium term notes programme. The proposed BG CP/MTN programme is intended to reduce E&O property Penang’s borrowing costs by using cheaper source of funding from the private debt securities market.

TGOFFS: Awarded RM10m Switchgear deal
Tanjung Offshore via its wholly owned subsidiary Tanjung Offshore Services Sdn Bhd has won an RM10m contract from Larsen & Toubro Ltd for the provision of a low voltage and high voltage switchgear packages. The package would be installed at Petronas Penapisan (Melaka) SB’s Melaka Group 3 lubricant base oil project by March 2007 and would contribute positively to its earnings for the financial years ending Dec 31, 2006 and 2007.