In today’s edition of Evening 5 — MAA Group, a major shareholder of KNM Group, has thrown its support behind the O&G player’s current directors and opposes the EGM concerning new appointments. Meanwhile, the PAC found that the final LCS vessel will not be ready until 2029.
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00:00 MAA Group, which holds an 8.55% stake in cash-strapped K&M Group, intends to vote in favour of retaining
00:11 the current K&M directors and is against the appointments of new candidates in K&M's
00:16 EGM that is scheduled to be held on October 16th.
00:20 In a statement, MAA said it stands to keep Ravindra Singam Balasingam as K&M's Executive
00:26 Director and Group Chief Executive Officer.
00:29 It said that in the 11 months since leading K&M, the company has secured the confidence
00:34 and support of creditors to ensure that the forthcoming Court Convened Creditors' Meeting
00:39 will secure sufficient support for the scheme of arrangements to be adopted.
00:44 MAA expressed concerns over two proposed candidates, Flavio Porro and William Van Vliet II, who
00:50 were previously on K&M's board during the Oil & Gas Group's financial distress.
00:55 It is worth noting that MAA is a flagship of K&M Chairman Tunku Dato' Jakob Karra, whom
01:00 the new substantial shareholder, German billionaire Andreas Hischen, and a group of K&M shareholders
01:06 want to remove.
01:07 On September 5th, Hischen, with his 7.91% stake, acting with other K&M shareholders
01:12 representing a 10.68% stake, proposed to unseat the current nine-member board.
01:18 MAA also raised the red flag for Hischen's candidacy to K&M's board as he is currently
01:23 the major shareholder of Heckler & Koch, a well-known firearms and weapons manufacturer
01:29 since 2002, which comes with a controversial past.
01:33 MAA expressed its grave concern that Heckler & Koch had been accused in 2010 of paying
01:38 bribes to Bundestag members of the German parliament over selling guns to Mexico.
01:43 K&M's current management is set to have a meeting with its creditors over its SOA on
01:48 October 12th, and MAA opined that any change in its current management will be disruptive
01:53 and potentially further destroy K&M's shareholder and creditor value.
01:58 Last Friday, Hischen, in a press conference, said that his group plans to repay K&M's
02:02 $1.2 billion debt owed to creditors in the next three to six months as they have identified
02:08 business partners in Europe that want to provide K&M with long-term financing.
02:18 The fifth and final vessel of the troubled littoral combat ships will not be ready until
02:22 2029, according to the Public Accounts Committee.
02:26 In a report published on the official parliament website on Monday, the PAC revealed that the
02:31 LCS construction period has been extended to 83 months.
02:35 Thus it is expected that the Royal Malaysian Navy will only be able to obtain all five
02:40 LCS vessels in 2029, compared to the original contract which had anticipated delivery of
02:46 LCS5 by 2022.
02:48 PAC said there has been no progress for the construction of the LCS since the PAC visit
02:54 on December 11, 2022, until the PAC's subsequent visit on June 10, 2023.
03:01 PAC explained that the main issue of the LCS detailed design has not yet been resolved,
03:07 which is currently at a rate of 96% completion at the construction contractor level, with
03:12 only 84% having gone through the confirmation, verification and approval stage by the Naval
03:19 Group from France as the LCS design supervisor.
03:22 However, the construction contractor is assured that the detailed design would be completed
03:27 before August 2024, as stipulated in Supplementary Contract 6.
03:32 Additionally, the report highlighted that despite the government's decision to reduce
03:35 the number of LCS from six to five, the construction cost had increased by over $2 billion from
03:41 $9.128 billion to $11.22 billion.
03:46 According to the PAC, it was the delays and extended timelines that have been the primary
03:51 factors contributing to the cost increase.
03:54 Meanwhile, the PAC also revealed that the SA6 signed on May 26, 2023 did not receive
04:00 approval from the Attorney General's Chamber.
04:03 PAC called the Ministry of Defence's decision to proceed without AGC's approval when signing
04:09 SA6 "inappropriate" and that it may have legal implications for the government.
04:14 It stressed that such actions should not be repeated.
04:18 Petronas Chemicals Group has reached a final investment decision to construct Asia's
04:28 largest advanced chemical recycling plant in Pengerang, Johor, with a capacity of 33
04:33 kilotons per annum.
04:35 The plant, which is targeted to be operational by the first half of 2026, is part of Petchem's
04:41 new plastics economy agenda to support the transition towards a circular economy and
04:45 contribute to a sustainable plastics ecosystem, the group said in a statement.
04:51 Petchem Managing Director and CEO Mohamad Yusri Mohamad Yusof said the construction
04:55 of the plant enables the group to propel the nation's aspiration in phasing out single-use
05:01 plastic in line with Malaysia's Plastic Sustainability Roadmap 2021-2030 while fulfilling the growing
05:09 demand from major brands for sustainable packaging.
05:12 The FID announcement also saw the signing of a technology licence agreement between
05:17 Petchem's subsidiary and Plastic Energy, as well as the awarding of the engineering,
05:22 procurement and construction contract to Mutiara Ethnic.
05:25 Petchem said Plastic Energy will be providing the chemical recycling technology for the
05:30 plant through its patented TAC process, which heats mixed post-consumer plastic waste in
05:36 the absence of oxygen.
05:38 Plastic Energy CEO Carlos Monriel said that after starting its collaboration with Petchem
05:43 in 2019, the company is pleased to be chosen as the technology provider for the new plant
05:48 in Pengerang.
05:49 Meanwhile, Mutiara Ethnic MD Dato' Soerindran Menon said the company is excited to be the
05:55 EPC partner for the project.
05:57 Alliance Bank Malaysia has announced that it will relocate to a new corporate head office
06:06 after it acquired a 24-floor office suite in Jalan Ampang for RM405.8 million.
06:12 In a boss filing, the banking group said the acquisition also comes with four adjoining
06:16 retail lots on a two-storey retail podium in the same location.
06:20 The group had earlier entered into a conditional sale and purchase agreement with Oxley Rising
06:25 for the proposed acquisition of the properties.
06:28 The strategic location of the properties at the commercial centre of KLCC and a dedicated
06:33 building name of the bank will improve the visibility and branding of the banking group.
06:38 The bank adds that the acquisition will provide the staff a fresh working environment with
06:42 better amenities.
06:44 Alliance explains that the properties are earmarked as a green-certified building and
06:48 this will form part of the bank's sustainability journey to be a more resilient organisation.
06:53 Meanwhile, the group said the proposed acquisition will be fully funded via the capital market
06:58 and internal funds.
06:59 The acquisition will be completed by November next year.
07:02 Currently, the registered corporate head office for Alliance is in Menara Multipurpose, Capital
07:07 Square, Jalan Munci Abdullah.
07:15 Low-cost carrier MyAirline, which saw its CEO Rainer Teo step down on October 8 citing
07:20 health reasons, has received an extension to its Air Operator Certificate from the Civil
07:25 Aviation Authority of Malaysia, allowing it to operate scheduled commercial flights for
07:30 another two years.
07:32 In a statement on Monday, its Chief Operating Officer and Interim CEO Stuart Cross says
07:37 that the extension of the AOC signifies a thorough evaluation of MyAirline's operations,
07:43 a process that involves rigorous assessments and regular audits, and demonstrates MyAirline's
07:48 commitment to meeting and exceeding industry benchmarks.
07:51 He adds that it further solidifies MyAirline's position as a trusted and reliable partner
07:56 in the aviation sector.
07:58 On Sunday, MyAirline maintained that its operations remain steadfast amid talks that the carrier
08:03 is facing a financial crunch.
08:06 It explained that as it transitions from its first summer to winter flight schedules, it
08:10 has been necessary to proactively consolidate certain routes.
08:14 It was further compounded by the delayed delivery of some of its aircraft that were originally
08:19 scheduled to be operational by now.
08:21 It added that the decision was made in full transparency to ensure the best possible experience
08:27 for its passengers.
08:29 [music]