Published: 2011/07/07 on www.btimes.com.my
Masterskill (M) Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Masterskill Education Group Bhd (MEGB), has signed a Membership Agreement with the British Council International English Language Testing System
(IELTS) Association Malaysia.
The agreement is for collaboration between both parties, whereby Masterskill will be admitted as an Associate, under the British Council IELTS Associate Membership Scheme.
The agreement allows Masterskill to register candidates on behalf of the British Council and provide its venue to it for delivering the IELTS test, MEGB in a filing with Bursa Malaysia today. -- Bernama
Read more: Masterskill inks deal with British Council http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20110707203931/Article/index_html#ixzz1RR9V7OMG
Friday, July 8, 2011
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Back Track the deal Khazanah sells Pos Malaysia stake to DRB-HICOM
Khazanah sells Pos Malaysia stake to DRB-HICOM
from www.thestar.com.my Saturday April 23, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR: Government investment arm, Khazanah Nasional Bhd will divest its strategic stake of 32.21% in Pos Malaysia Bhd to DRB-Hicom Bhd at RM3.60 per share or RM622.79mil.
The transaction is deemed as a landmark divestment as it is Khazanah's first divestment of its entire stake in a major government-linked company (GLC).
The decision was made after an extensive two-stage process as well as rigorous selection to ensure that the new shareholder was able to bring Pos to the next level of growth.
Khazanah managing director, Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar said DRB-HICOM was chosen based on their overall bid, which offered not only a defined strategy but also an executable business plan and an acceptable offer price.
Stage one of the divestment process saw the resolution relating to the salary of postmen and the revision of postal tariffs.
“Their proposed strategy and business plan in turn provides an effective platform for Pos' growth, if adopted by the board of Pos as a whole,” he said in a statement yesterday.
The offer price of RM3.60 per share is subject to the modification of the special rights redeemable preference share in Pos (special share) held by Minister of Finance Inc. (MoF).
This modification inter alia includes the reservation to appoint up to two board members in Pos; and the removal of rights to appoint the chairman and managing director of Pos and fix their respective remunerations.
This condition precedent is not within Khazanah's control, as it is the sole prerogative of MoF to make any modification on the special share.
The conditional offer price is also subject to the variation in the use of 16 plots of identified lands owned by the Federal Lands Commissioner and leased to Pos. The current terms of the lease only allows for postal services use, while the variation provides for the inclusion of commercial use, over and above the mandatory postal use. In the event the variation does not happen by Dec 31, DRB-HICOM will be refunded 10 sen per share or RM17.30mil.
Khazanah adopted a robust strategic divestment process which involved an open bidding process and a merit-based and transparent selection process. Conducted in two stages the first stage involved addressing key aspects of Pos' macro business and regulatory environments, while the second stage revolved around the restricted tender process.
Stage one saw the resolution of the long-running issue relating to the salary of postmen and the revision of postal tariffs. The postal rate revision took effect in July 1, last year and subsequently, Pos also resolved a long outstanding pay revision for postmen in the same month.
Stage two started with the pre-qualification phase, where Khazanah appointed CIMB Investment Bank Bhd and McKinsey & Company as advisors for the transaction. A total of 48 parties were approached to submit their respective proposals, of which 10 parties expressed their interest to participate and were pre-qualified.
Khazanah then proceeded to the indicative bid phase where all 10 parties were invited to submit their bids. Of these, five reverted with their respective bids where they were all given detailed and equal opportunities to meet Khazanah's advisors and explain their respective strategy and business plan submission.
Of the five bidders, four parties submitted their binding bids.
An independent evaluation panel comprising five senior professionals from the public and private sector with extensive postal and corporate experience had evaluated all the bidders' proposal on the basis of anonymity, where the bidders' names were coded.
The panel, with the assistance of Khazanah's advisors, evaluated the strategy and business plans first. Based on this, the bidders were shortlisted to a final two. Subsequently, the offer price envelopes were opened and evaluated compositely. Both shortlisted bidders were given the opportunity to present to the panel. The panel's evaluation was based on a composite score between strategy and pricing, whereby strategy accounted for 60% and pricing 40%. Based on the composite score, the panel unanimously recommended DRB-HICOM.
Azman said there was a fit and proper test of the new majority shareholder which includes promoting the sustainable development of the universal service obligations (USO), as well as the commitment to retain existing staff in their business plan.
“The commitment to fulfil the social obligations under the USO (as required under the Postal Services Act, 1991) is crucial as postal services have an impact on the rakyat, especially for those residing in remote or rural areas,” he said.
Khazanah's emphasis on strategy and business plans within the evaluation process does not in itself make any assumption of control or otherwise. The process required bidders having to state, in their own opinion, whether a general offer (GO) would be necessary or not.
Khazanah's executive director of investments, who was the project director for this strategic divestment, Mohammed Rashdan Mohd Yusof said it was the buyer's prerogative, and not of the seller, to determine whether a GO was necessary, as only the buyer can ascertain the extent of control they exert over Pos after they acquired the 32% stake.
“Furthermore, the divestment process did not reveal any information to the bidders beyond readily available market information” he said.
Azman concluded: “As a responsible seller to stakeholders including minorities and the rakyat, our emphasis was to ensure that the successful bidder had a robust business plan to both deliver their USO and unlock value and for them to discuss at the Pos board.
The divestment of Khazanah stake in POS was first announced in March 2010 by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak at Invest Malaysia 2010 conference.
Since then, many prominent names were speculated to be the buyer of the stake. It was reported that besides DRB-HICOM, Nationwide Express Courier Services Bhd and Scomi Group Bhd were among the shortlisted bidders.
from www.thestar.com.my Saturday April 23, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR: Government investment arm, Khazanah Nasional Bhd will divest its strategic stake of 32.21% in Pos Malaysia Bhd to DRB-Hicom Bhd at RM3.60 per share or RM622.79mil.
The transaction is deemed as a landmark divestment as it is Khazanah's first divestment of its entire stake in a major government-linked company (GLC).
The decision was made after an extensive two-stage process as well as rigorous selection to ensure that the new shareholder was able to bring Pos to the next level of growth.
Khazanah managing director, Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar said DRB-HICOM was chosen based on their overall bid, which offered not only a defined strategy but also an executable business plan and an acceptable offer price.
Stage one of the divestment process saw the resolution relating to the salary of postmen and the revision of postal tariffs. “Their proposed strategy and business plan in turn provides an effective platform for Pos' growth, if adopted by the board of Pos as a whole,” he said in a statement yesterday.
The offer price of RM3.60 per share is subject to the modification of the special rights redeemable preference share in Pos (special share) held by Minister of Finance Inc. (MoF).
This modification inter alia includes the reservation to appoint up to two board members in Pos; and the removal of rights to appoint the chairman and managing director of Pos and fix their respective remunerations.
This condition precedent is not within Khazanah's control, as it is the sole prerogative of MoF to make any modification on the special share.
The conditional offer price is also subject to the variation in the use of 16 plots of identified lands owned by the Federal Lands Commissioner and leased to Pos. The current terms of the lease only allows for postal services use, while the variation provides for the inclusion of commercial use, over and above the mandatory postal use. In the event the variation does not happen by Dec 31, DRB-HICOM will be refunded 10 sen per share or RM17.30mil.
Khazanah adopted a robust strategic divestment process which involved an open bidding process and a merit-based and transparent selection process. Conducted in two stages the first stage involved addressing key aspects of Pos' macro business and regulatory environments, while the second stage revolved around the restricted tender process.
Stage one saw the resolution of the long-running issue relating to the salary of postmen and the revision of postal tariffs. The postal rate revision took effect in July 1, last year and subsequently, Pos also resolved a long outstanding pay revision for postmen in the same month.
Stage two started with the pre-qualification phase, where Khazanah appointed CIMB Investment Bank Bhd and McKinsey & Company as advisors for the transaction. A total of 48 parties were approached to submit their respective proposals, of which 10 parties expressed their interest to participate and were pre-qualified.
Khazanah then proceeded to the indicative bid phase where all 10 parties were invited to submit their bids. Of these, five reverted with their respective bids where they were all given detailed and equal opportunities to meet Khazanah's advisors and explain their respective strategy and business plan submission.
Of the five bidders, four parties submitted their binding bids.
An independent evaluation panel comprising five senior professionals from the public and private sector with extensive postal and corporate experience had evaluated all the bidders' proposal on the basis of anonymity, where the bidders' names were coded.
The panel, with the assistance of Khazanah's advisors, evaluated the strategy and business plans first. Based on this, the bidders were shortlisted to a final two. Subsequently, the offer price envelopes were opened and evaluated compositely. Both shortlisted bidders were given the opportunity to present to the panel. The panel's evaluation was based on a composite score between strategy and pricing, whereby strategy accounted for 60% and pricing 40%. Based on the composite score, the panel unanimously recommended DRB-HICOM.
Azman said there was a fit and proper test of the new majority shareholder which includes promoting the sustainable development of the universal service obligations (USO), as well as the commitment to retain existing staff in their business plan.
“The commitment to fulfil the social obligations under the USO (as required under the Postal Services Act, 1991) is crucial as postal services have an impact on the rakyat, especially for those residing in remote or rural areas,” he said.
Khazanah's emphasis on strategy and business plans within the evaluation process does not in itself make any assumption of control or otherwise. The process required bidders having to state, in their own opinion, whether a general offer (GO) would be necessary or not.
Khazanah's executive director of investments, who was the project director for this strategic divestment, Mohammed Rashdan Mohd Yusof said it was the buyer's prerogative, and not of the seller, to determine whether a GO was necessary, as only the buyer can ascertain the extent of control they exert over Pos after they acquired the 32% stake.
“Furthermore, the divestment process did not reveal any information to the bidders beyond readily available market information” he said.
Azman concluded: “As a responsible seller to stakeholders including minorities and the rakyat, our emphasis was to ensure that the successful bidder had a robust business plan to both deliver their USO and unlock value and for them to discuss at the Pos board.
The divestment of Khazanah stake in POS was first announced in March 2010 by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak at Invest Malaysia 2010 conference.
Since then, many prominent names were speculated to be the buyer of the stake. It was reported that besides DRB-HICOM, Nationwide Express Courier Services Bhd and Scomi Group Bhd were among the shortlisted bidders.
Pos M’sia sees strong Q1 performance continuing
From www.thestar.com.my Friday May 27, 2011, By Leong Hung Yee.
KUALA LUMPUR: Pos Malaysia Bhd, which posted a record first quarter performance, expects the strong momentum to continue in the remaining quarters of the current financial year ending Dec 31, 2011 (FY11).
The postal group also expects Khazanah Nasional Bhd's 32.21% stake divestment in Pos Malaysia to DRB-Hicom Bhd for RM622.8mil to be completed by end-June.
Chief executive officer Datuk Syed Faisal Albar said the first quarter ended March 31 was the strongest ever quarter posted by the Pos Malaysia.
“The momentum will remain strong for the rest of the financial year. The first strong quarter was achieved even during a period of high oil prices. We're quite optimistic,” he said after an event to announce a partnership between Pos Malaysia and U Mobile Sdn Bhd to enable the latter's customers to pay their bills at more than 700 Pos Malaysia branches, websites and POS24, its automated payment kiosks.
Syed Faisal said Pos Malaysia's operating core profit stood at RM106mil for the full year in FY10 but it recorded RM51mil in the first quarter alone.
Pos Malaysia's net profit surged to RM38.3mil for the first quarter ended March 31 from RM1.6mil a year ago. Its revenue rose to RM304.5mil against RM231.1mil achieved previously.
His optimism is based on, among others, the company's existing transformation master plan, started at end-2009, that will continue into FY12, a tariff hike, product offerings and more initiatives to take place.
The postal rate revision took effect on July 1, 2010. Following the tariff revision, postal rates for standard mail (under 20 grams) doubled to 60 sen and rates for mail up to 50 grams rose to 70 sen from 40 sen earlier. The tariff revision also involved other mail products.
“It is a victory for us. We have waited for 18 years for the increase to take place,” Syed Faisal said, adding that Pos Malaysia was also allowed to review its tariff rate every two years by the Government.
“The review may not necessarily result in an increase but it is an outlet for us to go to the Government.”
On its plans post-Khazanah, Syed Faisal said it would wait for the deal to be completed but expected it to have a positive impact on the company.
“The transaction is expected to be done by end of next month. There will be no change on our listing status.
“The plans will have to be discuss at the board level after the transaction have been completed,” he said.
On the threat from 1Malaysia email, Faisal said there was no doubt that there would be a threat in terms of a reduction in mail volume.
However, he did not think the threat would be immediate and that the company could co-exist. “We are looking at the possibility of coming out with our own products,” he said without elaborating.
At the signing ceremony yesterday, U Mobile chief executive officer Dr Kaizad Heerjee said partnership with Pos Malaysia would enhanced convenience and accessibility to its customers to pay their bills.
“Pos Malaysia's nationwide presence makes it an ideal partner for U Mobile. There's a Pos Malaysia branch in practically every corner of Malaysia enabling all out customers to pay their bills in a timely manner with minimum hassle,” he said, adding that U Mobile would extend to offer more services or offering together with Pos Malaysia.
Dr Kaizad said U Mobile planned to introduce 70 to 80 U Mobile branded outlet including kiosks to expand its reach to customers. He said the investment in each outlet differs and not just limited to monetary amount but also included technology know-how.
==========================================================================
I had bought 1,000 shares in POS Malaysia today, given that the revision of postal rate, and it is allowed to review in every two years. In addition to that, the acquisition of 32.21% stake at RM3.60 by DRB-Hicom from Khazanah stake, hopefully, there are some strategic business plan coming to be annouced soon. In the nut shell, these are definitely positive news to POS.
KUALA LUMPUR: Pos Malaysia Bhd, which posted a record first quarter performance, expects the strong momentum to continue in the remaining quarters of the current financial year ending Dec 31, 2011 (FY11).
The postal group also expects Khazanah Nasional Bhd's 32.21% stake divestment in Pos Malaysia to DRB-Hicom Bhd for RM622.8mil to be completed by end-June.
Chief executive officer Datuk Syed Faisal Albar said the first quarter ended March 31 was the strongest ever quarter posted by the Pos Malaysia.
“The momentum will remain strong for the rest of the financial year. The first strong quarter was achieved even during a period of high oil prices. We're quite optimistic,” he said after an event to announce a partnership between Pos Malaysia and U Mobile Sdn Bhd to enable the latter's customers to pay their bills at more than 700 Pos Malaysia branches, websites and POS24, its automated payment kiosks.
Syed Faisal said Pos Malaysia's operating core profit stood at RM106mil for the full year in FY10 but it recorded RM51mil in the first quarter alone.
Pos Malaysia's net profit surged to RM38.3mil for the first quarter ended March 31 from RM1.6mil a year ago. Its revenue rose to RM304.5mil against RM231.1mil achieved previously.
His optimism is based on, among others, the company's existing transformation master plan, started at end-2009, that will continue into FY12, a tariff hike, product offerings and more initiatives to take place.
The postal rate revision took effect on July 1, 2010. Following the tariff revision, postal rates for standard mail (under 20 grams) doubled to 60 sen and rates for mail up to 50 grams rose to 70 sen from 40 sen earlier. The tariff revision also involved other mail products.
“It is a victory for us. We have waited for 18 years for the increase to take place,” Syed Faisal said, adding that Pos Malaysia was also allowed to review its tariff rate every two years by the Government.
“The review may not necessarily result in an increase but it is an outlet for us to go to the Government.”
On its plans post-Khazanah, Syed Faisal said it would wait for the deal to be completed but expected it to have a positive impact on the company.
“The transaction is expected to be done by end of next month. There will be no change on our listing status.
“The plans will have to be discuss at the board level after the transaction have been completed,” he said.
On the threat from 1Malaysia email, Faisal said there was no doubt that there would be a threat in terms of a reduction in mail volume.
However, he did not think the threat would be immediate and that the company could co-exist. “We are looking at the possibility of coming out with our own products,” he said without elaborating.
At the signing ceremony yesterday, U Mobile chief executive officer Dr Kaizad Heerjee said partnership with Pos Malaysia would enhanced convenience and accessibility to its customers to pay their bills.
“Pos Malaysia's nationwide presence makes it an ideal partner for U Mobile. There's a Pos Malaysia branch in practically every corner of Malaysia enabling all out customers to pay their bills in a timely manner with minimum hassle,” he said, adding that U Mobile would extend to offer more services or offering together with Pos Malaysia.
Dr Kaizad said U Mobile planned to introduce 70 to 80 U Mobile branded outlet including kiosks to expand its reach to customers. He said the investment in each outlet differs and not just limited to monetary amount but also included technology know-how.
==========================================================================
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