The Star Online: Business
The Star Online: Business |
- Eligible firms can apply to be private retirement scheme providers
- Analysts positive on TNB deal with Malakoff
- Malaysia Airports targets good growth
| Eligible firms can apply to be private retirement scheme providers Posted: 05 Dec 2011 04:31 PM PST KUALA LUMPUR: The Securities Commission (SC) has finalised the eligibility requirements for private retirement scheme (PRS) providers and eligible firms can now make submissions to be approved as PRS providers. The recent enactment of the Capital Markets and Services Amendment Act 2011 provided the regulatory framework for a PRS industry, including empowering the SC to approve PRS providers. According to the SC, a selected number of suitably qualified and experienced providers with the required expertise in pension or retail fund management would be approved to offer PRS schemes with an appropriate range of dedicated retirement funds catering for different investment and risk profiles. "Applicants will be assessed on their financial standing and organisational capabilities, including meeting relevant capital requirements, internal control and risk management practices. "Qualitative factors such as governance structure, reputation and professional standing as well as track record and commitment to grow the PRS industry will also be taken into consideration. "They will need to outline the business model for offering of PRS including the proposed range of funds, indicative fees and structure of charges as well as their ability to meet the specific administrative requirements of the PRS, such as resourcing capabilities, systems and process capabilities and member servicing," the SC said in a statement yesterday. Once the PRS providers are approved by the SC, they will be required to make an application to the SC for approval of their proposed PRS scheme, which will provide options for the public to supplement their retirement savings by making additional voluntary long-term contributions within a well-structured and regulated environment. PRS guidelines will be released by the SC for this purpose. "The PRS industry is intended to complement and supplement the existing mandatory schemes of the Employees Provident Fund (EPF). The framework can be used by individuals who have disposable income to save as well as employers to make voluntary contributions above the EPF contributions on behalf of their employees," said the SC. Measures to incentivise participation in PRS had been announced in the 2012 budget speech, whereby a personal tax relief of up to RM3,000 would be given for contributions by individuals to PRS approved by the SC as well as tax deductions to employers for contributions above the statutory rate up to 19% of employees' remuneration. Furthermore, a tax exemption was also announced on income received by funds within the PRS schemes. It was reported that the measures were meant to address the problem of inadequate savings among retirees, as studies showed that a whopping 70% of all retirees tend to exhaust their savings within 10 years. Interested applicants are to submit their applications to the SC by Feb 15, 2012. More information about the eligibility requirements, as well as the format of applications, can be obtained on the SC website. Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| Analysts positive on TNB deal with Malakoff Posted: 05 Dec 2011 04:21 PM PST By LEONG HUNG YEE hungyee@thestar.com.my PETALING JAYA: Analysts are generally positive on Tenaga Nasional Bhd's (TNB) power purchase agreement (PPA) with Malakoff Corp as power generation capacity will continue to grow. "We are positive on the news, for TNB will need to secure adequate power generation capacity to meet the annual 4%-5% or 4,000GWh-5,000GWh per annum to cater for the growing power demand in Peninsular Malaysia," Hong Leong Research said. AmResearch said that together with TNB's additional 1,000MW block at its coal-fired Janamanjung plant in Lumut, the additional capacities were clearly needed by 2016 to raise Peninsular Malaysia's power reserve margin to over 20%. On Friday, TNB announced it had signed a PPA with Tanjung Bin Energy, a unit of Malakoff Corp to design, construct, own, operate and maintain an electricity generating plant with a normal capacity of 1,000MW to be located at Tanjung Bin, Serkat in Johor. In a filing to Bursa Malaysia, TNB said the power plant, expected to be operational from March 1, 2016, would make available its generating capacity to TNB for 25 years. TNB said its unit, TNB Fuel Services (TNBF), which is engaged in the business of supplying fuel and coal for power generation, has inked a coal supply deal with Tanjung Bin Energy to help it meet its obligations under the agreement. TNB said the PPA commitments would have a huge impact on its earnings upon the achievement of project completion and commencement of operations of the facility. Hong Leong Research estimated the additional 1,000MW coal power plant would be able to supply up to 6,500GWh a year. "Furthermore, coal energy could be the cheapest fuel energy to produce power by 2016, which is only 14.5 sen per kWh (assuming coal price at US$115 a tonne). Malaysia's natural gas price for the power industry is expected to rise gradually from RM13.70 per million metric British thermal units (mmbtu) currently to RM40.70 per mmbtu by end-2015 (in accordance to the EPU schedule)." "Thus, natural gas energy will eventually cost about 40 sen a kWh, which is more expensive than coal energy, but still cheaper than alternative energy costing 50 to 60 sen per kWh," the research house said. Nevertheless, Hong Leong Research said TNB was expected to receive average tariff hikes of 1.56 sen per kWh for every RM3 per mmbtu hikes in natural gas price. Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| Malaysia Airports targets good growth Posted: 05 Dec 2011 04:15 PM PST KUALA LUMPUR: Holdings Bhd (MAHB) targets a higher EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) of RM822mil for the next financial year ending Dec 31 compared to the current financial year. In a filing to Bursa Malaysia yesterday, MAHB in its headline key performance indicators (KPIs) said that based on the expected GDP growth of 5% to 6% and assuming world economic environment would remain reasonably stable, it was expected that MAHB's 2012 passenger traffic across all airports would grow by 6.6%. MAHB added that its targeted return on equity (ROE) for next year was at 10.42% and to be in the top five in airport service quality awards. This year, MAHB targeted an EBITDA of RM773mil and ROE of 10.7%. The headline KPIs are set based on MAHB's strategic plans and longterm targets developed under MAHB's five-year business direction (2010-2014) planning initiatives with emphasis on the broader internal initiatives that are put in place for 2012. On the aviation industry outlook, MAHB said that following the growth in 2010, passenger growth momentum at airports operated by MAHB group continued with vigour in 2011. "We believe 2011 will again end with a double-digit passenger growth of about 10%. The sustained higher than expected 2011 passenger growth indeed promises further growth in 2012," it said. Globally, MAHB said, there were fears of economic weakening especially in Europe and to a certain extent in the United States and oil price was also predicted to be on an uptrend where the possibility of another economic downturn remained. "Despite the slowing economies and lower economic growth, airports operated by the MAHB group have done well in the past three years in terms of passenger growth. This is expected to continue though at a reduced level. "We expect low cost travel would continue to grow as legacy carriers streamline their operations. The International Civil Aviation Organisation has forecast 6.2% in global passenger growth and 8.8% for Asia Pacific region for 2012, mainly driven by China and India," it said. On the other hand, the International Air Transport Association has estimated global passenger growth to be lower, at 4.6%. KLIA2 construction will continue to be a priority and with the projected passenger growth, MAHB expected a challenging but profitable year ahead. The headline KPIs were targets meant to drive MAHB's performance in 2012 and signalled its commitment towards transparent performance measures and good corporate governance. Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
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