TAIPEI: Chipmaker Intel said it is stepping up development for the next generation WiMAX 2 technology, which is based on the IEEE 802.16m standard.
Intel vice-president and director of its WiMAX programme, Rama Shukla said that the company is working beyond the current 802.16e standard and is expecting 802.16m to be a huge improvement over the former.
“We expect 802.16m to be a significant improvement over 802.16e, moving forward in terms of delivering a huge jump in delivering faster download and upload speeds,” he said.
Intel claims the new standard will deliver download speeds of up to 170Mbps and 90Mbps for uploads. The new WiMAX standard is said to be fully backward-compatible with the 802.16e standard.
Shukla said that although development of the 802.16m standard is expected to be completed by the middle of this year, it is only expected to be commercially available in 2012.
Other enhancements that 802.16m offers include higher VoIP capacity, lower latency and ability for users to use the service even when travelling at speeds of 350km, which is the speed of a bullet train.
This is an improvement over the previous WiMAX 802.16d standard, which could only service devices in fixed locations and not mobile devices like smartphones or laptops.
Intel said the improvement comes in light of the huge shift in consumer data consumption as a growing number of mobile devices are able to connect to the Internet.
Embedded chips
Paving the way forward for WiMAX, Intel said it has introduced to the market its WiFi/WiMAX combo embedded solutions which include its Kilmer Peak chipset for notebooks and Evan Peak for smartphones which integrates WiFi, WiMAX, Bluetooth and GPS.
Taiwan-based original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) Acer and Asus introduced Intel-based notebooks with built-in WiMAX features in conjunction with the launch of VMAX Telecom’s 4G WiMAX network in Taipei recently.
Intel said it expects most major PC OEMs to offer WiMAX-enabled notebooks by the second half of this year
Monday, March 15, 2010
Tanjung gets RM114.6m Carigali job
Tanjung Offshore Services Sdn Bhd has been awarded long-term contracts valued at RM114.6 million by Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd for the charter of two units of anchor-handling tug and supply (AHTS) vessels.
The contracts are expected to begin in March and April 2010, its parent company Tanjung Offshore Bhd said in a statement to Bursa Malaysia today.
Tanjung Offshore also said that it had taken delivery of one of two vessels, MV Tanjung Dahan 1, to be added to its existing fleet of 14 vessels currently in operations.
The delivery of the second vessel, MV Tanjung Dahan 2, will be announced upon completion and commissioning next month, it said.
"The award of long-term charter contracts and the deliveries of the two vessels are expected to contribute positively to the future earnings and net assets of Tanjung Offshore for the financial year ending December 31, 2010, and beyond," it said. - Bernama
The contracts are expected to begin in March and April 2010, its parent company Tanjung Offshore Bhd said in a statement to Bursa Malaysia today.
Tanjung Offshore also said that it had taken delivery of one of two vessels, MV Tanjung Dahan 1, to be added to its existing fleet of 14 vessels currently in operations.
The delivery of the second vessel, MV Tanjung Dahan 2, will be announced upon completion and commissioning next month, it said.
"The award of long-term charter contracts and the deliveries of the two vessels are expected to contribute positively to the future earnings and net assets of Tanjung Offshore for the financial year ending December 31, 2010, and beyond," it said. - Bernama
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Berjaya Corp 'deeply undervalued'
Berjaya Corp, a Malaysian property, betting and insurance group, is “deeply undervalued” with a net asset value of RM2.75 a share, according to AmResearch Sdn Bhd in a report today.
The company aims to raise RM800 million from non-core asset sales in the financial year 2011, AmResearch said. -- Bloomberg
The company aims to raise RM800 million from non-core asset sales in the financial year 2011, AmResearch said. -- Bloomberg
Sumatec gets RM49m Petronas subsidiary contract
KUALA LUMPUR: SUMATEC RESOURCES BHD []'s sub-subsidiary Sumatec Engineering & CONSTRUCTION [] Sdn Bhd has secured a RM49.24 million contract from Asean Bintulu Fertilizer Sdn Bhd to upgrade its plant.
Sumatec said on Tuesday, March 9 the contract involved civil, mechanical, piping, electrical and instrument works to upgrade the plant equipment for Asean Bintulu Fertilizer, a subsidiary of Petroliam Nasional Bhd.
It expected the contracts to contribute positively to Sumatec's overall earnings and shareholders value for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2010
Sumatec said on Tuesday, March 9 the contract involved civil, mechanical, piping, electrical and instrument works to upgrade the plant equipment for Asean Bintulu Fertilizer, a subsidiary of Petroliam Nasional Bhd.
It expected the contracts to contribute positively to Sumatec's overall earnings and shareholders value for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2010
Monday, March 8, 2010
YTL Corp unit to acquire Japanese resort for RM222mi
PETALING JAYA: YTL Corp Bhd’s wholly-owned subsidiary YTL Hotels & Properties Sdn Bhd has entered into an agreement to purchase a Japanese village resort for 6 billion yen (about RM222mil).
In a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday, YTL said the proposed acquisition would enable the group to participate in one of Japan’s finest ski resort destinations on Hokkaido island with potential to develop into a world class four season resort through luxury residential development and mountain retail development.
“The proposed acquisition is not expected to have an immediate material effect on the earnings, net assets and gearing of the group for the current financial year. However, it is expected to improve the earnings of YTL Corp in the longer term,” it added.
In a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday, YTL said the proposed acquisition would enable the group to participate in one of Japan’s finest ski resort destinations on Hokkaido island with potential to develop into a world class four season resort through luxury residential development and mountain retail development.
“The proposed acquisition is not expected to have an immediate material effect on the earnings, net assets and gearing of the group for the current financial year. However, it is expected to improve the earnings of YTL Corp in the longer term,” it added.
Telekom Malaysia (RM3.29; Buy; Price Target; RM3.45; T MK)
Telekom Malaysia (RM3.29; Buy; Price Target; RM3.45; T
MK)
HSBB capex guidance for 2000-2012
In an interview with The Edge (weekly) Telekom Malaysia
(TM) CEO, Zam, disclosed that capex for the HSBB (high
speed broadband) would be RM2b for FY10F, and RM1.5b-
RM1.8b for FY11F-FY12F, inclusive of the Government’s
portion. On TM’s portion alone, this works out to c. RM1b
for FY10F and RM750m-900m for FY11F-FY12F. This is
slightly higher than our earlier estimate by c. RM200m for
the cumulative period of FY10F-FY12F. Factoring these in,
our forecast NI for FY10F and FY11F falls by 1% and 4%
respectively, mainly due to higher depreciation charges.
Consequently, future HSBB capex is lowered accordingly, as
TM had budget to invest a total of RM8.9b, which is still
unchanged. Hence, our DCF-based price target is essentially
unchanged at RM3.45.
Also, TM currently has 250 customers (vs. 150 as at Dec09)
involved in beta testing the HSBB, with speed of 20Mbps.
More than 200k premises are now passed with HSBB vs.
152k as at Dec09. This would be ramped up to 300k by
month-end (Mar10). The HSBB is on track to reach 750k by
end-2010. More immediately, TM has recruited 41k
broadband subscribers in Jan10, which is its highest
monthly installations in the past 20 months, vs. 38k in
Dec09. We believe this resulted from its aggressive
marketing in 4Q09 and hence, would be looking out for
positive revenue impact in 1Q10.
With the launch of the HSBB this month, we would be
closely monitoring TM’s progress. The HSBB would start in
four areas in the Klang Valley – Taman Tun Dr Ismail,
Bangsar, Subang Jaya and Shah Alam. Among the key
issues we would be looking out for are its broadband plans
(which TM had kept confidential all this while), quality of its
video-on-demand content and quality of its HSBB
bandwidth.
As our DCF-based price target of RM3.45 is unchanged, we
reiterate our BUY call on TM. The stock offers 6% net
dividend yield, which we think is sustainable.
MK)
HSBB capex guidance for 2000-2012
In an interview with The Edge (weekly) Telekom Malaysia
(TM) CEO, Zam, disclosed that capex for the HSBB (high
speed broadband) would be RM2b for FY10F, and RM1.5b-
RM1.8b for FY11F-FY12F, inclusive of the Government’s
portion. On TM’s portion alone, this works out to c. RM1b
for FY10F and RM750m-900m for FY11F-FY12F. This is
slightly higher than our earlier estimate by c. RM200m for
the cumulative period of FY10F-FY12F. Factoring these in,
our forecast NI for FY10F and FY11F falls by 1% and 4%
respectively, mainly due to higher depreciation charges.
Consequently, future HSBB capex is lowered accordingly, as
TM had budget to invest a total of RM8.9b, which is still
unchanged. Hence, our DCF-based price target is essentially
unchanged at RM3.45.
Also, TM currently has 250 customers (vs. 150 as at Dec09)
involved in beta testing the HSBB, with speed of 20Mbps.
More than 200k premises are now passed with HSBB vs.
152k as at Dec09. This would be ramped up to 300k by
month-end (Mar10). The HSBB is on track to reach 750k by
end-2010. More immediately, TM has recruited 41k
broadband subscribers in Jan10, which is its highest
monthly installations in the past 20 months, vs. 38k in
Dec09. We believe this resulted from its aggressive
marketing in 4Q09 and hence, would be looking out for
positive revenue impact in 1Q10.
With the launch of the HSBB this month, we would be
closely monitoring TM’s progress. The HSBB would start in
four areas in the Klang Valley – Taman Tun Dr Ismail,
Bangsar, Subang Jaya and Shah Alam. Among the key
issues we would be looking out for are its broadband plans
(which TM had kept confidential all this while), quality of its
video-on-demand content and quality of its HSBB
bandwidth.
As our DCF-based price target of RM3.45 is unchanged, we
reiterate our BUY call on TM. The stock offers 6% net
dividend yield, which we think is sustainable.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
InsiderAsia's model portfolio — Week 367
INVESTOR sentiment for global equities improved considerably last week amid hopes the economic recovery was gathering momentum and debt problems in Greece would be resolved.
Investor interest in Bursa Malaysia also increased as the FBM KLCI climbed closer to the psychologically important 1,300-point level, closing just a shade below it.
Most of last week's rise for the FBM KLCI came on Monday and Friday, where the index gained 12.6 points and 15.7 points, respectively. For the week, the index gained a total of 29 points, or 2.3% to end at 1,299.8.
Over the past month, investor confidence has been flip-flopping, as investors switched between optimism and pessimism over the health of the global economy. Investor sentiment had in recent weeks been affected by a range of issues, ranging from mixed economic data, debt problems in Greece and Wall Street's increasing volatility.
Last week though, sentiment improved as US economic data suggested the recovery was on track, especially on the manufacturing front. The debt problems in Greece also appear under control with the government proposing an austerity drive programme to cut its large fiscal deficit.
insiderasia
The US manufacturing sector expanded for the seventh month in a row in February, although it slowed from January's pace. The Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) purchasing managers' index fell from 58.4% in January to 56.5% in February, but still over a reading of 50%, which indicates growth. The month-on-month (m-o-m) drop indicates that while manufacturing continued to expand, the rate of growth has slowed down.
All eyes will be on the crucial February US jobs report, which will set the tone for trading on Wall Street and regional bourses in the week ahead.
Although the US manufacturing sector is recovering, there are concerns stubbornly high unemployment will continue to crimp consumer spending and stymie the recovery. Consumers are currently still de-leveraging, rebuilding their balance sheet and unwilling to spend due to weak labour market conditions.
Meanwhile, China's slower manufacturing growth in February also tempered concerns — at least earlier in the week — that the government will take further measures to rein in excessive bank lending and investments in industries already facing over capacity.
However, credit-tightening concerns were re-ignited last Thursday, sending Chinese bourses sharply lower. The People's Bank of China had already raised reserve requirements for banks twice this year to prevent asset bubbles and rein in on inflation.
On the local front, Bank Negara raised the Overnight Policy Rate by 25bp to 2.25%. This was expected as the central bank slowly raises rates to more "normalised levels" after cutting them during the crisis. More importantly, it shows that the domestic economy is well on the path to recovery, as was also highlighted by the recent stronger than expected 4Q09 GDP growth of 4.5%.
The recent fourth-quarter earnings season has also largely been positive and generally better than expected. This underlies the resilience of Malaysia's corporate sector in the recent recession.
Looking further ahead, investors will also keenly await the New Economic Model to be unveiled by the prime minister by the end of March. This follows the economic liberalisation moves announced last July, both of which are expected to help reshape the country's economic policy going forward and attract more foreign investments.
Portfolio review
Our basket of 19 stocks rose by 2.2% last week, in line with the FBM KLCI's 2.3% rise. Including our large cash reserves (for which no interest is imputed), the total portfolio value increased by a smaller margin of 1.8% to RM551,480.
Our model portfolio's total value and returns represent a significant achievement compared with our initial capital of just RM160,000. We started the model portfolio on March 3, 2003.
Our total profits are very substantial at RM391,480. Of this amount, RM224,946 has already been realised from earlier sales and the rest are unrealised.
This includes RM1,080 in dividends from DiGi, or 54 sen per share, whose shares traded ex on March 4, 2010.
As earlier noted, our shares in DiGi have been effectively "free" for a long time — and have been reflected as such — due to the large dividends we have received over the years. Thus, dividends here are recognised as realised profits.
Since its inception, our model portfolio has registered a hefty return of 244.7% compared with our capital of RM160,000. By comparison, the FBM KLCI was up by 101% over the same period, even though it has been less representative of the broader market's performance. Plus, our portfolio holds a significant amount of non-interest yielding cash at all times for prudence sake.
Last week, we had 16 gaining stocks, two losing ones and one unchanged stock (HELP International).
The major gainers were led by Faber Group (up 15.1%), Green Packet (up 8.8%), Dufu TECHNOLOGY [] (up 7.8%), Ireka (up 6.8%) and Tanjung Offshore (up 4.8%). The two losing stocks were 3A Resources (down 5.8%) and MyEG Services (down 1.2%).
We are keeping our portfolio unchanged. Our portfolio equity weighting currently stands at 79%, and we have surplus cash of RM116,995 for future investments.
Note: This report is brought to you by Asia Analytica Sdn Bhd, a licensed investment adviser. Please exercise your own judgment or seek professional advice for your specific investment needs. We are not responsible for your investment decisions. Our shareholders, directors and employees may have positions in any of the stocks mentioned.
Investor interest in Bursa Malaysia also increased as the FBM KLCI climbed closer to the psychologically important 1,300-point level, closing just a shade below it.
Most of last week's rise for the FBM KLCI came on Monday and Friday, where the index gained 12.6 points and 15.7 points, respectively. For the week, the index gained a total of 29 points, or 2.3% to end at 1,299.8.
Over the past month, investor confidence has been flip-flopping, as investors switched between optimism and pessimism over the health of the global economy. Investor sentiment had in recent weeks been affected by a range of issues, ranging from mixed economic data, debt problems in Greece and Wall Street's increasing volatility.
Last week though, sentiment improved as US economic data suggested the recovery was on track, especially on the manufacturing front. The debt problems in Greece also appear under control with the government proposing an austerity drive programme to cut its large fiscal deficit.
insiderasia
The US manufacturing sector expanded for the seventh month in a row in February, although it slowed from January's pace. The Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) purchasing managers' index fell from 58.4% in January to 56.5% in February, but still over a reading of 50%, which indicates growth. The month-on-month (m-o-m) drop indicates that while manufacturing continued to expand, the rate of growth has slowed down.
All eyes will be on the crucial February US jobs report, which will set the tone for trading on Wall Street and regional bourses in the week ahead.
Although the US manufacturing sector is recovering, there are concerns stubbornly high unemployment will continue to crimp consumer spending and stymie the recovery. Consumers are currently still de-leveraging, rebuilding their balance sheet and unwilling to spend due to weak labour market conditions.
Meanwhile, China's slower manufacturing growth in February also tempered concerns — at least earlier in the week — that the government will take further measures to rein in excessive bank lending and investments in industries already facing over capacity.
However, credit-tightening concerns were re-ignited last Thursday, sending Chinese bourses sharply lower. The People's Bank of China had already raised reserve requirements for banks twice this year to prevent asset bubbles and rein in on inflation.
On the local front, Bank Negara raised the Overnight Policy Rate by 25bp to 2.25%. This was expected as the central bank slowly raises rates to more "normalised levels" after cutting them during the crisis. More importantly, it shows that the domestic economy is well on the path to recovery, as was also highlighted by the recent stronger than expected 4Q09 GDP growth of 4.5%.
The recent fourth-quarter earnings season has also largely been positive and generally better than expected. This underlies the resilience of Malaysia's corporate sector in the recent recession.
Looking further ahead, investors will also keenly await the New Economic Model to be unveiled by the prime minister by the end of March. This follows the economic liberalisation moves announced last July, both of which are expected to help reshape the country's economic policy going forward and attract more foreign investments.
Portfolio review
Our basket of 19 stocks rose by 2.2% last week, in line with the FBM KLCI's 2.3% rise. Including our large cash reserves (for which no interest is imputed), the total portfolio value increased by a smaller margin of 1.8% to RM551,480.
Our model portfolio's total value and returns represent a significant achievement compared with our initial capital of just RM160,000. We started the model portfolio on March 3, 2003.
Our total profits are very substantial at RM391,480. Of this amount, RM224,946 has already been realised from earlier sales and the rest are unrealised.
This includes RM1,080 in dividends from DiGi, or 54 sen per share, whose shares traded ex on March 4, 2010.
As earlier noted, our shares in DiGi have been effectively "free" for a long time — and have been reflected as such — due to the large dividends we have received over the years. Thus, dividends here are recognised as realised profits.
Since its inception, our model portfolio has registered a hefty return of 244.7% compared with our capital of RM160,000. By comparison, the FBM KLCI was up by 101% over the same period, even though it has been less representative of the broader market's performance. Plus, our portfolio holds a significant amount of non-interest yielding cash at all times for prudence sake.
Last week, we had 16 gaining stocks, two losing ones and one unchanged stock (HELP International).
The major gainers were led by Faber Group (up 15.1%), Green Packet (up 8.8%), Dufu TECHNOLOGY [] (up 7.8%), Ireka (up 6.8%) and Tanjung Offshore (up 4.8%). The two losing stocks were 3A Resources (down 5.8%) and MyEG Services (down 1.2%).
We are keeping our portfolio unchanged. Our portfolio equity weighting currently stands at 79%, and we have surplus cash of RM116,995 for future investments.
Note: This report is brought to you by Asia Analytica Sdn Bhd, a licensed investment adviser. Please exercise your own judgment or seek professional advice for your specific investment needs. We are not responsible for your investment decisions. Our shareholders, directors and employees may have positions in any of the stocks mentioned.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Proton’s Emas launched in Geneva
Proton (RM4.05; Buy; Price Target: RM4.60; PROH MK)
Proton targets the world market
Proton unveiled its first concept car yesterday at the Geneva
International Motor Show. The hybrid vehicle comes in 3
variants, with an indicative price tag of
world markets because the domestic market is small. This
involves much larger capex of RM700m-RM800m p.a. (vs.
its current recurring R&D investment of c. RM400m-
RM500m p.a.) because Proton needs to comply with
regulations of foreign countries. Citing the Proton Saga as
an example, Proton needed to change 200 items in order to
export to the UK.
We would be reviewing our forecasts, which currently factor
in RM500m of capex, in light of the latest development.
While there is potential for raise our capex assumption, we
are also mindful that units sales would also need to be
revised upwards. Consequently, there may be room to raise
operating margin because of better economies of scale.
Recall that Proton’s plants are currently operating at c. 50%
utilization rate, and further take-up of its excess capacity is
catalyst for upgrade. This could include manufacturing for
global car makers. We maintain our forecasts with a price
target of RM4.60 (based on 0.5x CY10 NTA) and Buy call
Proton targets the world market
Proton unveiled its first concept car yesterday at the Geneva
International Motor Show. The hybrid vehicle comes in 3
variants, with an indicative price tag of
world markets because the domestic market is small. This
involves much larger capex of RM700m-RM800m p.a. (vs.
its current recurring R&D investment of c. RM400m-
RM500m p.a.) because Proton needs to comply with
regulations of foreign countries. Citing the Proton Saga as
an example, Proton needed to change 200 items in order to
export to the UK.
We would be reviewing our forecasts, which currently factor
in RM500m of capex, in light of the latest development.
While there is potential for raise our capex assumption, we
are also mindful that units sales would also need to be
revised upwards. Consequently, there may be room to raise
operating margin because of better economies of scale.
Recall that Proton’s plants are currently operating at c. 50%
utilization rate, and further take-up of its excess capacity is
catalyst for upgrade. This could include manufacturing for
global car makers. We maintain our forecasts with a price
target of RM4.60 (based on 0.5x CY10 NTA) and Buy call
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