Media Highlights : Iskandar Malaysia enters second phase of development, Sarawak Plantation to expand planted land, ADCB sells RHB shares at RM10.80 each, EPF in SGD3.2bn Singapore project, No capital outlay from Naim, Vehicle sales down in May, Talam reprimanded for rules breach, Sunway....

Iskandar Malaysia enters second phase of development
The Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA) is seeking higher allocation of funds from the Government in the upcoming Budget 2012, compared with 2011. For 2011, the Government had allocated RM945m to the economic growth corridor in Johor. IRDA CEO Ismail Ibrahim said the allocation of funds for 2012 is presently being discussed with the Government’s Economic Planning Unit.(Starbiz)

Sarawak Plantation to expand planted land
Sarawak Plantation (SP) is in advanced negotiations to acquire a 3,000ha matured oil palm plantation from a private company in northern Sarawak. Group MD Datuk Hamden Ahmad said SP was now carrying out a survey on the land, particularly on the conditions of the oil palm trees, which were between seven and eight years old. (StarBiz)

ADCB sells RHB shares at RM10.80 each
Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC (ADCB) has signed an agreement with its sister company Aabar Investments PJS to sell its 24.9% stake in RHB Capital to the latter for RM10.80 per share. ADCB CEO Ala'a Eraiqat said the sale was expected to enhance the company's first-half year profitability and would result in the release of capital. Upon completion of the transaction, ADCB's tier-1 ratio would increase to 14.43% from 12.39% while capital-adequacy ratio would rise to 21.11% from 17.03%. Ala'a said while ADCB had benefited tremendously from its ownership in RHB Cap, the management and board were now clearly focused on executing its strategy of being a UAE-centric bank. (Starbiz)

EPF in SGD3.2bn Singapore project
The Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) has entered into a joint-venture agreement with Singapore's GuocoLand group to develop a piece of land for mixed-used development above Singapore's Tanjong Pagar MRT station.A statement from GuocoLand Ltd said the agreement was for the development of a piece of land at Peck Seah Street and Chon Guan site, known as the Tanjong Pagar White Site. The EPF purchase and 20% joint-venture involvement in the upcoming SGD3.2bn mixed-use development marks another milestone for the pension fund, which has been on an acquisition trail since unveiling its interest in acquiring property assets since August 2010. (Starbiz)

No capital outlay from Naim
Naim Holdings (Naim) will not have to come up with any capital outlay in implementing the RM2.5bn Sabah oil and gas terminal project. MD Datuk Hasmi Hasnan said the project, a JV between South Korea's Samsung Engineering and Naim, was implemented under an alliance concept whereby the JV partners were not allowed to carry out any construction works. (StarBiz)

Vehicle sales down in May
Total vehicle sales fell 9.5% in May to 46,045 units from 50,883 a year earlier due to a shortfall in production for the month of April. This was a result of insufficient supply to cater to deliveries stemming from the impact of the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in March. The drop in sales marked the biggest decline of the year since February when local vehicle sales fell to 40,387 units from 40,654 in January. However, for the five-month period ended May 2011, cumulative sales were still higher at 255,413 units from 247,110 in the previous corresponding period, said the Malaysian Automotive Association. (StarBiz)

Talam reprimanded for rules breach
Talam Corp has been reprimanded by Bursa Malaysia for a breach of the Main Market listing requirements. The regulator said due mainly to Talam's oversight and errors, there was a difference of RM1.2m (or a 17.2% deviation) in profit after taxation and minority interest between the unaudited and audited results of the company for FYE 31 Jan 2010. (StarBiz)

Sunway terminates deal in Sri Lanka
SunwayMas SB and textile and garment manufacturer Dasa Tourist Complex Ltd, based in Sri Lanka, have mutually terminated a joint-venture agreement. Property developer SunwayMas is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sunway Holdings. The termination was due to both companies being unable to fulfill their obligations in accordance with the terms and conditions of the agreement, said Sunway Holdings. (StarBiz)