Business Times : frontpage
Friday, July 30, 2010, 04.56 PM



JCorp chief Muhammad Ali quits (Jul 29)
Johor Corp's president and chief executive officer (CEO) Tan Sri Muhammad Ali Hashim (picture) surprised the Johor corporate community yesterday when he walked out of the company's board meeting after announcing his immediate resignation from the post. The 62-year-old Johor corporate personality was earlier scheduled to retire in November. Yesterday's JCorp board meeting was chaired by Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman in Johor Baru. Sources in the company told Business Times that Muhammad Ali tendered his resignation during the board meeting and walked out before it ended. Reasons for Muhammad Ali's abrupt resignation remain sketchy but there have been talks that quarters in the state wanted him out due to dissatisfaction of his management and debts incurred by the corporation. Muhammad Ali had recently brushed aside news reports saying he was retiring due to the corporations's debt which amounted to approximately RM3.58 billion. A statement issued by the J...


Ananda set to buy out Tanjong for RM4.4b (Jul 29)
Ananda's Usaha Tegas investment vehicle will launch a bid for Tanjong today at RM20.50 per share for 53 per cent of the 403 million shares not held, said the two sources who declined to identified as they are not authorised to speak to the media. That is a 14.65 per cent premium to the last traded price for Tanjong, in a move that comes after another Ananda vehicle launched a RM662 million cash buyout for Measat Global on Wednesday. Analysts say Ananda's plan is to restructure and recapitalise the companies as private firms in order to increase their profile and expand their businesses. Reclusive tycoon Ananda has launched a slew of corporate deals over the past 12 months, relisting a part of his Maxis telecommunications company in November in what was Southeast Asia's biggest initial public offering. He also privatised Malaysian pay-TV monopoly Astro All Asia Networks plc in March after a loss-making expansion in Indonesia and India weighed on t...


Alliance eyes 16pc return on equity (Jul 29)
Alliance Financial Group Bhd (AFG), the country's smallest banking group by assets, is aiming for a 16 per cent return on equity (ROE) within at least a year from 11 per cent now, its new chief said. This would be in the upper range of the industry's average ROE - a measure of how well re-invested earnings are used to generate additional earnings - of between 14 per cent and 16 per cent. "Today we're at 11 per cent, so 16 per cent may take 12 to 18 months or beyond, but certainly that's what we're aiming for," Sng Seow Wah said in his first press conference as group chief executive officer of AFG, after the annual general meeting (AGM) yesterday. Sng joined the group on July 5 this year, replacing Datuk Bridget Lai, who left in April. When asked about his plans for the group, Sng said he would need another three months or so to chart out details. "One thing is clear, we can do certain things better. We'll be focusing on how to be more productive, to cross-sell bet...