Business Times : frontpage
Monday, February 06, 2012, 11.35 PM



Sukuk market to see strong growth (Feb 5)
RAM Rating Services Bhd Islamic ratings head Zakariya Othman said core markets like Malaysia and Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC) would further build on their strong performances. He added that while Malaysia and GCC would continue to dominate, organic growth was also expected to come from markets in Indonesia, Central Asia and Africa. Speaking to Business Times recently, Zakariya said as traditional sources of funding started to dry up, diversification of financing sources was becoming vital. "Sukuk market provides a valuable avenue to access the Asian and Middle East liquidity, especially from the new jurisdictions across Europe, the United States, Australia and Africa," he said. He, however, said there was a possibility that the new supply would not be met by equivalent demand, unlike in Malaysia, where demand always exceeded the supply. Zakariya said Indonesia was expected to be a strong issuer this year following the upgrade of its sovereign credit rating above junk level...


Sara-Timur hopes to raise RM30m via unit’s listing (Feb 5)
Group chairman Datuk Dr M. Zawawi Ismail told Business Times that proceeds from the initial public offering would be utilised to expand STSB's property development and construction activities. "We are looking to expand our presence in Peninsular Malaysia. There are plenty of jobs under the Economic Transformation Programme and 10th Malaysia Plan that we plan to bid for." He said STSB, set up in 1995, was raking in revenues of around RM300 million a year. The company is expecting its revenue to increase to RM400 million for fiscal 2012 with net profit in the double digit range. "We are looking at growing the company to be on par with other property and construction giants. Eventually, we will go overseas and look for jobs there," he added. STSB currently has about RM2 billion worth of construction projects in hand locally and development projects valued at around RM1.8 billion. The company is hoping to secure more projects in Kelantan and Johor after winning two jobs worth a com...