Selasa, 1 Januari 2013

NST Online Business Times : latest

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NST Online Business Times : latest


IJM Corp needs nod for Scomi stake

Posted: 01 Jan 2013 05:42 PM PST

The proposed RM110 million bond issuance to IJM Corp will have to be approved by the shareholders of Scomi Group first
before it can be issued to the construction group, a market observer said.

The proposed bond issuance is part of the corporate restructuring exercise undertaken by Scomi Group, which will see IJM Corp emerging as the single largest shareholder in Scomi, with 25 per cent stake.

IJM Corp currently has nine per cent of Scomi's outstanding shares after it subscribed to a private placement for RM33 million.

To recap, IJM Corp has bought and paid for just under a 10 per cent stake in Scomi Group.


As part of the deal, IJM Corp is to secure an additional 15 per cent by subscribing to RM110 million worth of debt papers to be issued by Scomi Group. The debt papers can then be converted into shares.

A vote by a simple majority of Scomi Group shareholders, excluding IJM's block, is needed for the additional 15 per cent, via the debt papers, to be issued to IJM Corp.

As part of the deal involving IJM Corp acquiring an initial nine per cent in Scomi Group in September, the two parties agreed that Scomi Group will issue an additional RM110 million worth of debt papers to IJM Corp, which can be converted into another 15 per cent of equity in Scomi Group.

"This will put IJM Corp firmly in control of Scomi Group," he told Bernama. The Securities Commission had, via its letter dated Dec 13, 2012, approved the proposed bonds issue.

The observer said Scomi Group Chief Executive Officer Shah Hakim Zain and his related party have emerged as the owners of significant blocks of shares in the group and will have a strong say in the coming extraordinary general meeting.

Shah Hakim Group now has 51 per cent of the voting rights to push through the proposed issuance of RM110 million redeemable convertible secured bonds to IJM Corp. Shah Hakim and IJM Corp together owned 15.5 per cent of Scomi's share base.

However, IJM Corp is not entitled to vote in the coming extraordinary general meeting as it is an interested party to the deal, he added. Scomi Group has not announced when the meeting will be held. -- Bernama

CIMB Clicks gets a new look

Posted: 01 Jan 2013 05:23 PM PST

CIMB Bank recently launched a revamped CIMB Clicks, the bank's Internet banking portal.

Besides sporting a fresh new look, more importantly, customers will have an overall improved online experience when performing their banking transactions via CIMB Clicks.

"The major revamp was done with our customers' needs and convenience in mind. We went through great lengths to evaluate their feedback, and armed with that knowledge, we looked into improving the overall user-friendliness and features of CIMB Clicks, including reducing the number of clicks required to arrive at a service, providing quicker access to information, enabling customisable preferences and introducing new online services," said Renzo Viegas, Deputy Group Chief Executive Officer and Head of Consumer Banking, CIMB Group.

"It was also timely to give the portal a face-lift, as the last revamp was back in 2009," he added.

Some highlights of the new and improved CIMB Clicks are as follows:
• New services, such as OctoPay (ASEAN's first banking service on Facebook), foreign currency fixed deposits placement and foreign currency current account funds transfer, Tune Talk auto reload and online gold trading. Customers are also able to manage their unit trust investments via CIMB Clicks eInvest at
attractive rates.
• Once logged in, it only takes one click to view all account balances (or zero click to view up to two favourite account balances);
• Quick funds transfer can be done without navigating away from the home page;
• Regrouping of services, such as users are now able to schedule their transaction within the transfer page; and for interbank funds transfer, instant transfer and normal transfer are now combined into one page;
• Customise up to six shortcuts for favourite transactions and activities on the home page;

An online survey ran by the bank to assess customers' receptivity to the revamped CIMB Clicks garnered over 32,000 responses, of which 85% were positive, indicating that they love the new design, it is more user-friendly and packed with features.

"The revamped CIMB Clicks and the launch of OctoPay recently are some examples of initiatives rolled out to help maintain our 20% year-on-year increase in new CIMB Clicks users," Viegas stated.

According to Ernst & Young's Global Consumer Banking Survey 2012, internet banking is now customers' preferred way to access account information. The huge success of online banking can be attributed to its convenience and accessibility – customers can decide when they interact with their bank. Internet banking is
also the most popular channel for customers undertaking simple transactions such as paying bills.

In line with that, the bank intends to generate interest among its CIMB Clicks users to use the online portal as the preferred banking channel, as well as encourage its existing customers who are not utilising its online banking services to register as a CIMB Clicks user. Currently, more than half of the bank's 6.9 million customer base in Malaysia are registered CIMB Clicks users.

Since CIMB Clicks was developed in 2006, it now has a total of 3.6 million users in Malaysia with an average monthly volume of 3.5 million monetary transactions.

Additionally, there are approximately 500,000 CIMB Clicks application downloaded onto iPhone, iPad and Android-based devices. To experience the new and improved CIMB Clicks, visit www.cimbclicks.com.my. -- Bernama

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Tax Bill's Fate in House Is Uncertain After Passing Senate - New York Times

Posted: 01 Jan 2013 08:48 AM PST

As the new year began on Tuesday, Congressional efforts to head off tax increases on most working Americans shifted to the House, where members began to pore over details of a plan passed by the Senate in the early morning hours as Republican leaders began the delicate task of assessing the measure's fate in their chamber.

House Republicans were planning to meet at 1 p.m. to discuss the Senate legislation, cobbled together after furious negotiations between Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and the Republican Senate leader, Mitch McConnell, to avert automatic tax increases for all but the wealthiest Americans and put off, for two months, large cuts to the Pentagon and other areas of government.

Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the House Democratic leader, said she would also present the plan to House Democrats and Mr. Biden, who helped sell the deal to Senate Democrats on Monday night, was set to meet with members of his party in the House just after noon.

With just two days to go before a new Congress convenes, the House has essentially three choices: reject the bill, pass it as written by the Senate after what is certain to be a robust, even rancorous debate, or amend the bill and quickly return it across the rotunda to the Senate. Should the House choose to amend the measure, it would almost certainly imperil its chances of becoming law before the new Congress convenes. The Senate compromise, which enjoyed wide bipartisan support, was so hard fought and senators do not anticipate taking another vote on it.

Any failure to pass the measure before the 112th Congress ends as of noon Thursday would require the process to start over in the new 113th Congress, meaning the Senate would have to vote again with a changed membership due the departure of several veteran lawmakers and the arrival of newcomers from both parties as a result of victories in the November elections.

But the strong, bipartisan 89-to-8 vote in the Senate about 2 a.m. on Tuesday will put strong pressure on the House to approve the legislation since a defeat would essentially leave the House responsible for a steep series of tax increases and spending cuts that some economists warn could send the nation back into a recession.

Yet it was clear Tuesday morning that many House Republicans were disenchanted with the plan, which, while containing many concessions that angered Democrats, still favors the latter party's priorities and imposes a tax increase on the wealthiest Americans.

"I am halfway through reading it and haven't found the cuts yet," said Representative Trey Gowdy of South Carolina, who generally votes against budget bills. "It's part medicinal, part panacea, and part treating the symptoms but not the underlying pathology."

Democrats have their own issues with the measure due to what they see as too many concessions on taxes, making it apparent some combination of Democrats and Republicans will have to come together behind the measure if it is too clear the House and be sent to President Obama for his signature.

Speaker John A. Boehner and Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia, the House majority leader, arrived at the Capitol early Tuesday to begin working, but a spokesman for Mr. Cantor, Doug Heye, said no decision had been made on how to proceed.

61 killed in New Year's stampede in Ivory Coast - Fox News

Posted: 01 Jan 2013 08:38 AM PST

  • stampede660.jpg

    Jan, 1, 2013: An Ivory Coast troop stands next to the belongings of people involved in a deadly stampede in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. The death toll is expected to rise, according to rescue workers. (AP)

At least 61 people were killed early Tuesday in a stampede following a New Year's fireworks display in Abidjan, Ivory Coast's commercial center, said officials.

The death toll is expected to rise, according to rescue workers.

The majority of those killed were young people between eight and 15 years old who were trampled after the fireworks festivities in Abidjan's Plateau district, at about 1 a.m. Tuesday, said Col. Issa Sako, of the fire department rescue team.

Thousands gathered at the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium to see the fireworks and after the display the crowds moved out onto the Boulevard de la Republic by the Hotel Tiama, said Sako, on Ivory Coast state television.

"The flood of people leaving the stadium became a stampede which led to the deaths of more than 60 and injured more than 200," said Sako.

President Alassane Ouattara has visited some of the wounded in hospital and he pledged that his government would pay for the costs of their medical treatment, according to the president's office.

Ouattara's government organized the fireworks to celebrate Ivory Coast's peace, after several months of political violence in early 2011 following disputed elections. It was the second year that Abidjan had a New Year's fireworks display.

Desperate parents went to the city morgue, the hospital and to the stadium to try to find children who are still missing.

Mamadou Sanogo was searching for his nine-year-old son, Sayed.

"I have just seen all the bodies, but I cannot find my son," said a tearful Sanogo. "I don't know what to do."

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