Highlights : New plan to resolve water impasse, NPE toll at PJ Selatan 2 cut to RM1, Favelle wins RM123m contract, Higher logs royalty in Sarawak, SunCon gets RM37m contract, Hock Sin Leong (HSL) faces delisting

New plan to resolve water impasse
The Government will come up with a new proposal this month to solve once and for all the water industry impasse in Selangor and the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya. Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui said the ministry will intervene in Selangor's takeover plan of four water concession companies so that consumers will not continue to be burdened by water issues and the companies get a good deal. The four concession companies are Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor SB (Syabas), Puncak Niaga SB, Syarikat Pengeluaran Air Sungai Selangor SB (Splash) and Konsortium Abass SB. The proposal is part of the government's effort via the National Water Services Commission to restructure and regulate the country's fragmented water industry, which was previously under the control of each state government. (Business Times)

NPE toll at PJ Selatan 2 cut to RM1
The toll at the Petaling Jaya Selatan 2 (PJS2) toll plaza along the New Pantai Expressway (NPE) near Kampung Medan here will be reduced from RM1.60 to RM1, effective today. This was announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on Thursday. He said this was a Chinese New Year gift to the residents in the area. This is the third cut in toll rates announced by the Prime Minister since he tabled the Budget 2011 proposals last year. Meanwhile, Bernama quoted Najib as saying that the Government had promised to do the best for the people and this was one of the examples in line with the 1Malaysia concept. (The Star)

Favelle wins RM123m contract
Favelle Favco (FBB) has secured contracts to supply eight cranes worth RM123.20m. The company told Bursa Malaysia yesterday that the cranes would be delivered to eight buyers between early this year and early 2012. FBB said the contract is expected to contribute positively to its earnings and net assets for the financial year ending 31 Dec 2011 and beyond. (StarBiz)

Higher logs royalty in Sarawak
The Sarawak government has raised the single flat royalty rate on logs by 30% to RM65 per cu m from 1 Jan 2011. The single flat rate, which was introduced three years ago, was RM50 per cu m in 2008 and 2009. Last year's rate was supposed to be RM55 per cu m but it was lowered by RM5 per cu m following an appeal by the Sarawak Timber Association on grounds of poor market situation. With the latest increase of RM15 per cu m, this will generate an additional RM150m (based on 10 million cu m of logs harvested in 2010) in revenue for the Sarawak government's coffers this year. (StarBiz)

SunCon gets RM37m contract
Sunway Holdings’ wholly owned subsidiary, Sunway Construction SB (SunCon), yesterday secured a RM37.36m contract from the Ministry of Transport for upgrading works at Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Ipoh. Sunway said the proposed project was expected to commence in March this year with a construction period of 72 weeks. (Financial Daily) Please see accompanying report

Hock Sin Leong (HSL) faces delisting
Hock Sin Leong Group is facing a possible de-listing after failing to submit its regularization plan to the Securities Commission or Bursa Malaysia Securities for approval within the stipulated timeframe. The electrical and electronics retail player said in a filing with the exchange that trading in its securities would be suspended from 25 Feb and its securities delisted on 1 March unless it submitted an appeal to Bursa Securities by 24 Feb. (StarBiz)