Singapore Corporate News - 19 Mar 2008

Mapletree Logistics buys two warehouses for $56m

MAPLETREE Logistics Trust (MapletreeLog) is acquiring two warehouses in Singapore for a total consideration of $56 million.

MapletreeLog, through its trustee, HSBC Institutional Trust Services (Singapore) Ltd, has signed two put and call option agreements to acquire the two warehouses from Cougar Holdings Pte Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Menlo Worldwide LLC, the global logistics unit of New York- listed Con-way Inc.

The two properties, located at Boon Lay Way and Benoi Road, cost $48 million and $8 million, respectively. The properties will be leased back to Menlo's Cougar Express Logistics for an initial term of 10 years with an option to renew the lease for further consecutive periods of five years each.

The acquisitions will be accretive to MapletreeLog's distribution per unit (DPU). The proforma financial effect of the acquisitions on the DPU for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2007 is an additional 0.13 Singapore cent per unit.

Said Chua Tiow Chye, chief executive officer of Mapletree Logistics Trust Management (MLTM), the manager of MapletreeLog: 'The properties are well located in established industrial areas and are within close proximity to Jurong Port and the larger Jurong Industrial Estate. . . These accretive assets will add to the trust's stable core of long-term leases which generate stable returns to our unitholders.'

Menlo and its subsidiaries are also MapletreeLog's tenants in two of its existing properties and the acquisitions will further strengthen the partnership, Mr Chua added.

The acquisitions are expected to be completed by Q2 2008. MLTM said it is confident that at their completion, MapletreeLog will have sufficient debt capacity to fund the acquisitions wholly by debt. It will explore alternative means of funding should the need arise.

Kingsmen wins $14.5m Resorts World contract

SINGAPORE'S Formula One and Sentosa integrated resort projects are a boon to Kingsmen Creatives.

The communications design and production group said yesterday that it has won a $14.5 million deal by Resorts World at Sentosa to build props and show sets for RWS Universal Studios Singapore. The theme park is a major feature of the upcoming $6 billion mega-resort being built by Resorts World at Sentosa, a subsidiary of Genting International.

This contract marks another major win for Kingsmen in recent months. In December 2007, it clinched a five-year $25 million deal to build part of the grandstand and corporate suites for the upcoming Singapore Formula One race.

The latest contract covers the Waterworld Attraction within the mammoth amusement park and is expected to be completed in 2009.

The deal is expected to contribute 'positively and materially' to Kingsmen's financial results for this financial year and the next.

'We are indeed delighted to have secured the first contract by Resorts World to supply show sets and props for the numerous planned themed attractions of Universal Studios. This contract reaffirms the inherent capabilities we have and our strong position in the industry,' said Benedict Soh, executive chairman of Kingsmen.

'We are confident of our ability to deliver and will continue to pursue more opportunities to support the upcoming integrated resorts in Singapore.'

Together with its affiliates, Kingsmen has a regional network of 16 offices in Asia Pacific and the Middle East.

Major events managed by the group include the i-Space Exhibition and the Nano-technology Exhibition, Tax Free Asia Pacific, Home Team Academy Museum, the Army Museum, Communic Asia 2007 and Sibos 2007.

Straits Asia gives update on coal mining numbers

STRAITS Asia Resources Ltd, an Indonesian coal producer, said that reserves that it can extract and sell at the Jembayan mine are around 39 million tonnes.

Coal resources at the mine total 48 million tonnes, the Singapore-listed company said in a statement to the stock exchange yesterday.

The company may increase the estimates because there are areas that have not been drilled to 'any significant degree', it said. Straits Asia paid US$350 million to acquire the mine on Dec 24.

'There is no surprise,' Wei Ouyang, an analyst with UBS Securities Ltd, said by telephone in Hong Kong. The announcement is in line with the company's earlier estimates, he said. The shares closed unchanged at S$2.90 in Singapore yesterday.

Straits Asia has started drilling at Jembayan and Sebuku mines to expand future production, according to the statement, as prices for the fuel surge.

Thermal coal at Australia's Newcastle port, a benchmark for Asia, rose US$38.65, or 43 per cent, to $129.52 a tonne in February, the fifth straight monthly record. In January, prices were at US$90.87.

Coal resources at Jembayan and Sebuku on the Indonesian side of Borneo island total 435 million tonnes, with reserves that the company can mine and sell at 59.2 million tonnes, the statement said.

The company on Feb 13 raised its Sebuku coal resources estimate to 387 million tonnes from 103 million tonnes forecast a year earlier.

Straits Asia is 51 per cent owned by Straits Resources Ltd, a Perth-based copper and gold mining company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.

Nucleus subsidiary buys 6.9% stake in AIC for RM6.06m

NUCLEUS Electronics has acquired 10.1 million shares of Malaysian semiconductor company AIC Corporation Bhd for RM$6.06 million (S$2.63 million). This represents a 6.9 per cent stake in AIC. The purchase was undertaken by Nucleus' subsidiary Wencastle Holdings and will help the company expand beyond its traditional chip distribution business to higher-end design and engineering services.

Swissco sets up Indonesian joint venture

SWISSCO International has re-established its presence in the Indonesian oil and gas market through the formation of an associated company PT Swissco Indonesia. Swissco will have a 49 per cent stake in the new Jakarta-based joint venture, while the remaining 51 per cent will be held by the firm's Indonesian partners.

Darco, ECIL reach out-of-court settlement

DARCO Water Technologies, which has been embroiled in a legal suit with ECIL Limited, said both companies have reached an out-of-court settlement. ECIL will pay $3 million to Darco, being the full and final settlement of all claims.

M1 goes into music streaming with Soundbuzz

M1 has launched a new service to allow subscribers to tune in to their favourite music on the move. Called M1 Jukebox, the service is jointly developed by the operator and digital music provider Soundbuzz. By paying a monthly fee of $5.35, users will be able to select music tracks from an initial collection of about 10,000 titles and have them streamed to their handsets over the cellular network.

Peace Mark's Sincere Watch offer gets acceptances of 97.08%

HONG Kong-listed Peace Mark Holdings, which has made a voluntary offer for mainboard-listed Sincere Watch, said that it had received acceptances amounting to 97.08 per cent of Sincere's issued share capital at the offer's close yesterday. Peace Mark intends to maintain Sincere's listed status and does not intend to exercise its powers of compulsory acquisition for the remaining shares, it said.