UOB Kayhian Report - 11 Jan 2008

US stocks surged after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke expressed the possibility of further interest rate cuts and investors speculated Countrywide Financial Corp. will be bought. The Nasdaq gained 13.97, or 0.56%, to 2,488.52. The DJIA rose 117.78, or 0.92%, to 12,853.09.

a) Lian Beng Group’s net profit for the six months ended 30 Nov 07 nearly quadrupled. First-half net income attributable to equity-holders was a record $8.06m, up from the $2.2m for the year-ago period. This was due mainly to better takings from its construction unit. Revenue for the six months climbed up 23% to $106.3m. EPS was 1.72 cents, up from 0.48.

b) Ground-engineering specialist CSC Holdings has bagged $120m worth of foundation and geo-technical contracts from the public and private sectors in the past two months. The deals have boosted its order book to about $330m as of 9 Jan 08.

c) Apple premium reseller Afor launched an initial public offering (IPO) of 23.5m new shares at 33 cents apiece yesterday. The IPO comprises 1m public-tranche shares and 22.5m placement shares. The invitation shares represent 25.1% of its enlarged share capital.

d) DBS Group, Standard Chartered and Credit Suisse will acquire a one-third stake in an Indian software and travel reservations firm for US$140m. Many mid-sized Indian software and back-office outsourcing firms, facing growth limitations and severe pressure from larger rivals, are turning to private equity investment to expand business overseas and acquire companies to boost growth.

e) Banyan Tree Holdings - which designs, develops and operates hotels, resorts, spas and retail galleries - has inked an agreement to run a Banyan Tree resort in the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. The resort will be on the Al Sahab island, one of the four Saraya Islands located between the Hajjar Mountains and the Persian Gulf sea. The four islands will have five-star hotels and resorts, a marina, shops, restaurants and entertainment outlets.

f) Independent IT solutions provider Datacraft has clinched a US$2.5m project to help the Philippines' premier call centre and business process outsourcing provider, Advanced Contact Solutions (ACS), expand and support its facilities to ensure business continuity. The project will see Datacraft upgrade and expand the capacity of four of ACS' existing call centres as well as building two new ones.

g) ASJ Holdings yesterday warned that it could post a loss for the full year ended December 2007. It attributed the poor performance to lower sales to Europe, stock write-offs, and costs relating to the Group's shift of its manufacturing facilities to Senai, Malaysia.