Financial Highlights : US stocks rise amid Greek bailout expectations as Nike jumps, Green Packet unit in 4G tie-up with China Mobile, No extra capex for SEB monorail project in Brazil, E&O to develop iconic wellness township in Iskandar Malaysia, Muhibbah sees full APH payment, Genting gets....

US stocks rise amid Greek bailout expectations as Nike jumps
US stocks rose, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to its highest level in three weeks, amid optimism European nations will take action to prevent a Greek default and after Nike Inc’s earnings beat estimates. Nike rallied 10% as higher North American sales helped the world’s largest sporting-goods company top profit projections. Caterpillar Inc, Exxon Mobil Corp and Alcoa Inc added at least 2.1%, pacing gains in companies most-tied to economic growth. Home Depot Inc climbed 2.4% after the largest US home-improvement retailer said that it is targeting about USD3.5bn in share repurchases for 2011. The S&P 500 advanced 1.3% to 1,296.67 at 4 pm in New York, rising to the highest closing level since 3 June 2011. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 145.13 points, or 1.2%, to 12,188.69 yesterday. More than 6.1bn shares changed hands on US exchanges at 5.12pm, 14% less than the three-month average through yesterday. (Bloomberg)

Green Packet unit in 4G tie-up with China Mobile
Packet One Networks (M) SB (P1), a subsidiary of Green Packet has sealed a technology cooperation agreement with China Mobile Ltd to spearhead the time division-long term evolution (TD-LTE) technology in Malaysia and South-East Asia. P1 CEO Michael Lai said both parties would be sharing expertise, with P1 in 4G WiMAX and China Mobile in TD-LTE technology deployment. (StarBiz)

No extra capex for SEB monorail project in Brazil
Scomi Engineering (SEB) will not require additional capital expenditure or investments for its portion of the RM2.6bn contract for the Line 17 monorail project in Sao Paulo, Brazil. In an e-mail yesterday, SEB chairman Datuk Zainun Aishah Ahmad said: “No further capital expenditure investment is required by SEB for this project; only funding for project financing and operational expenditure. (StarBiz)

E&O to develop iconic wellness township in Iskandar Malaysia
Eastern & Oriental (E&O) is embarking on developing an iconic wellness township in the flagship zone of Iskandar Malaysia in the southern part of the peninsula. In an exchange filing yesterday, E&O said its subsidiary Galaxy Prestige SB has signed a shareholders’ agreement with Pulau Indah Ventures SB to form a 50:50 joint-venture (JV) company called Nuri Merdu SB to develop the township in the Heritage Cluster in Medini Central in Nusajaya. (Malaysian Reserve)

Muhibbah sees full APH payment
Muhibbah Engineering managing director Mac Ngan Boon has assured investors that the construction outfit need not write down some RM371m due from its client, Asia Petroleum Hub (APH), which is reportedly facing funding woes. Mac said Muhibbah had obtained a corporate guarantee from APH assuring Muhibbah of the payment which could be slightly delayed, as APH attempts to find an investor to inject additional funds for the development of its oild terminal in Johor. (Financial Daily)

Genting gets Birmingham casino licence
Genting UK plc, a unit of Genting Malaysia, has been granted a large casino premises licence in Birmingham, according to online media reports. According to BBC News online report, Solihull Council said it had granted a large casino premises licence to Genting UK. (Financial Daily)

Formis buys 20.59% of Ho Hup from Extreme System
Information technology services outfit Formis Resources’s unit yesterday unveiled its plans to diversify into construction and property development by taking up a substantial 20.59% stake in construction firm Ho Hup Construction Co. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, Formis said its wholly-owned unit Formis Holdings yesterday acquired the stake from Extreme System SB. Formis purchased the 21m shares for a total consideration of RM16.8m in cash or 80 sen per share. The purchase price is to be funded entirely by bank borrowings to be fully paid up by 1 July 2011, Formis added. (Financial Daily)