M&A Activity Likely To Pick Up In Oil And Gas Sector
ECM Libra has said that merger and acquisition activity is picking up especially amongst the oil and gas firms in Malaysia. The research house cited the example of Dayang Enterprises which recently bought a 40% stake in Syarikat Borcos Shipping for RM132m. Borcos recorded a net profit of RM47.5m for FY08. The research firm said the acquisition price hence translated into a PE of 7x, cheaper than Alam Maritim and Petra Perdana’s current PE of 9x. Meanwhile, ECM Libra said the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) projected renewed demand for global crude oil in the fourth quarter of this year. It said the International Energy Agency (IEA) had adjusted upwards its forecast by 500,000 barrels of oil equivalent for 2010 based on stronger than expected demand data from North America and non-Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) counties.

OSK Research Raises Earnings Forecast For CBS Technology
OSK Research has raised its earnings forecast for CBS Technology for this year and next, to account for profit guarantees from its latest purchase of Infodata Media. The operator of a business-to-business trade portal in Malaysia, comes with a profit guarantee of RM4m in 2009 and RM5.5m in 2010. OSK calculates that CBS’ earnings would jump by two thirds for the year to December 31 2009 and by 9% in 2010. OSK said it will increase the fair value of CBS shares to a historic high of 72 sen or nine times its forecast EPS for 2010. This takes into account a buoyant equity market and its profits that are expected to be higher. CBS currently has an order-book of RM16m and is bidding for contracts worth RM30m.

Malaysia And New Zealand To Sign FTA In October
Malaysia will sign the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with New Zealand next month which will come into force in January 2010, Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Mukhriz Tun Dr Mahathir said Tuesday. The agreement is in line with the ASEAN/New Zealand FTA that would also come into effect in January next year, he said. “The agreement will be signed here in Malaysia,” he confirmed this to reporters after officiating a seminar here on “Opportunites from AFTA and Regional FTAs”, organised by Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation.