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WEEkEnd today octobE r 30

CapitaLand Q3 net

profit dives 43.3%Mok FEi FEifeifei@mediacorp.com.sgSINGAPORE CapitaLand which is South-

east Asias largest developer said third-

quarter net profit slumped 43.3 per cent to

$159.6 million from a year earlier.

Revenue declined by 34.6 per cent from

a year earlier to $684.6 million because of

lower revenue recognition upon comple-

tion of residential projects in Singapore.

Loss of rental revenue following the

divestment of Clarke Quay in Singapore

and three shopping malls in Malaysia to

subsidiaries also made a dent in earnings.

The decrease was partially offset by

higher revenue from development projects

in Australia and Vietnam.

CapitaLand says it is optimistic that

all its business units will achieve strong

operating performance for the year.

Separately, CapitaLand said it plans to

expand its presence in China and Vietnam

with the establishment of a new business

unit, CapitaValue Homes.

The unit will cater to homebuyers

whose mortgage capacity to purchase

homes is pegged to about 40 per cent of the

household income level in a particular city.

For a start, CapitaValue Homes has

identified two sites, one each in China

and Vietnam, as its maiden projects. The

units first Vietnamese project will be a

500-apartment development located in

Ho Chi Minh City.

For the project in China, CapitaValue

Homes will build more than 2,000 homes

in Wuhan City. Meanwhile, CapitaLand is

facing more legal woes at its integrated

leisure resort project in Macau.

New Cotai Entertainment, which is a

joint-venture partner in Macao Studio City,

has filed a petition in Hong Kong to compel

East Asia Satellite Television to sell its stake

in the project. East Asia is owned by Capi-

taLand and Hong Kongs eSun Holdings.

New Cotai wants the court to require

East Asia to transfer its interest in the Macao

Studio City joint venture to New Cotai at a

price to be determined by the court.

New Cotai is alleging that East Asia

engaged in unfair and prejudicial conduct

in relation to the Macao Studio City project.

SGX-ASX deal yet to be approvedSINGAPORE Singapore Exchange (SGX)

is yet to seek approval from Australias

Foreign Investment Review Board, (FIRB),

for its proposed $10.7 billion takeover of

Australian Stock Exchange (ASX), according

to an Australian newspaper.

FIRB approval is a precondition for

major foreign takeovers of Australian busi-

nesses. Usually, groundwork on major take-

overs begins well in advance of a takeover

announcement.

Without citing sources, The Australian

said that SGX has yet to lodge a notification

with the FIRB. The report added that inves-

tors in Singapore were becoming increas-

ingly sceptical that the deal would proceed.

When contacted by MediaCorp, SGX

declined to add to the statements it made

on Monday while announcing the deal,

which would create the worlds fifth-larg-

est publicly traded bourse.

The takeover proposal has irked sev-

eral Australian politicians who say they

oppose it in Australias national interest.

A number of them have vowed to block it

in parliament. Lawmakers support is cru-

cial for exemption from a rule that limits

any single entity from owning more than

15 perc ent of ASX.

SGX shares fell 0.9 per cent on Friday

to close at $8.8. ASX shares slumped more

than 2 per cent to A$37.1 ($47). SMrt Q2 nEt proFit SEES

SMRT says its second-quarter

13.3 per cent from a year earlier

lion. The next year may be chatransport operator said.

Profit declined despite rev

period rising 7.2 per cent to $24

SMRT says the revenue incr

rily because of stronger MRT rid

butions from Circle Line Stages 1

bus ridership and better rental a

revenue. These gains were part

lower revenue from Palm Jumeir

Rental revenue grew 16.4 p

a year earlier to S$2.6 millio

the redevelopment of commer

various MRT stations. Jonath

kS EnErgy acQuirES 60 %

Integrated oil-and-gas services

Energy, is taking control of an I

drilling firm PT Petro Papua Ene

buying a 60 per cent stake for $

The acquisition allows K

break into the drilling industry

as PPE has the necessary licenc

The approval process to acq

is typically long and difficult.

currently operating in Indones

the distribution and services se

company has drilling operations

the Middle East and parts of Afr

Next month, PPE will start

from an international oil major w

lion, to provide and operate two

ryan huang

indoFood agri SharES

Shares of Mainboard-listed In

Resources fell after the comp

net profit of $39.2 million for th

ter of this year. This is an 18.1 pfrom a year earlier.

IndoAgri shares fell about

to $2.6.

The company, which also o

sugar and rubber plantations, s

in profit was due to the strengt

Indonesian rupiah and a smalle

the fair value of its biological as

Meanwhile, revenue for the

in at $348 million, a 7.4 per cent d

compared with the earlier period

VEnturE corp dip in Q3

Tech firm Venture Corporatio

a profit of $48.6 million in its t

27.2 per cent higher than in the

last year. However, revenue dipmillion a drop of 26.9 per ce

year-earlier period.

Ventures printing and ima

saw revenue decline primarily

customer, the company said in

Earnings per share (EPS) fo

came in at 17.7 cents, an increa

cents a year earlier.

Venture Corp said it will c

its new value-added strategy, w

a shift towards technology ser

as design and engineering.

Nordic grouplaunches IPOSINGAPORE Nordic Group, a homeg-

rown supplier of automation systems to

the oil and gas industry, plans to raise about

$20 million through an initial public offer-

ing on the Singapore Exchange.

Nordic is offering 110 million new

shares at 20 cents each. Two million shares

have been set aside for the public, while

108 million shares are available by way of

placement.

Nordic plans to use $6 million of the

proceeds to increase production capac-

ity, expand its sales network and fund its

operations in China.

It plans to deploy more sales personnel

in areas where shipyards are concentrated

such as Guangzhou, Jiangsu and Liaon-

ing by the end of the year.Another $1 million will be used to ex-

pand its maintenance-repair-overhaul and

trading divisions so as to tap into more op-

portunities for conversion and retrofitting

works for existing vessels.

The remaining money will be used for

product development, acquisition of com-

panies and technologies as well as general

working capital. The public offer will close

at noon on Nov 8th.

Listing and trading of Nordics shares

on the SGX Mainboard are expected to start

two days later. Jonathan pEEriS

Agilent Tech to launch facility hereSINGAPORE Measurements and technol-

ogy company, Agilent Technologies, is beef-

ing up its presence in Asia with the launch

of its life-sciences instrument manufactur-

ing facility here yesterday.

With Asia continuing to grow faster

than the US and Europe, the firm estimates

revenue from the region is likely to grow

beyond the current 37 per cent of total.

The machines Agilent make are used to

test for melamine in milk powder or other

unwanted chemicals in foods or ingredients.

They can also help pharmaceutical compa-

nies discover ingredients for drugs and iden-

tify any impurities before manufacturing.

Such high-value instruments are now

manufactured in Singapore. Agilent said it

plans to sell its equipment across the region

to drugmakers, food-safety bodies as well as

research departments at universities.

If Asia continues to grow dispropor-

tionately to the US and Europe, we will

see our business in Asia grow over 40 per

cent, thats why weve been so aggressive,

said Bill Sullivan, chief executive officer,

Agilent Technologies. chriS hoWEllS

te eqes f cl l Se. blooMbErg