Monday, May 12, 2008

The Grand Saga Issue

Fellow Dali blog on it, Finding Out More About Grand Saga

Do check out the two links:

http://insidesglong.blogspot.com/

and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtSRluxGBIk

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Update: 13th May 2008


Posted on Star News: Zin: Government can act only after Narajaya suit is resolved


  • THE Federal Government has to wait for a court decision on a lawsuit filed by developer Narajaya Sdn Bhd against Cheras-Kajang Highway concessionaire Grand Saga and the Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) in 2007 before negotiations could resume on the use of the access road.

    Works Minister Datuk Mohd Zin Mohamed said no action could be taken by the federal government for fear of subjudice.

    “The Government has held a series of meetings between Bandar Mahkota Cheras residents and the concessionaire to resolve the matter over the access road.

    “Under the terms of the agreement signed between the federal government and the concessionaire in 1995, any financial loss due to the leakage of traffic volume from the toll highway will have to be borne by us,” he told Cheras MP Tan Kok Wai during a question and answer session in Parliament yesterday.

    Zin said the Government was sympathetic to the plight of around 37,000 residents in Bandar Mahkota, who had dismantled the barricades installed by Grand Saga barring them use of a road allowing them a shorter and toll-free route into their housing areas.

    “We understand why the residents have resorted to such drastic action. The main toll road is also highly congested due to the high traffic volume of lorries and cars,” he said.

    The standoff had turned ugly on Thursday night when police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse a crowd comprising residents who were trying to dismantle the latest barricade put up by Grand Saga.

    To a supplementary question by Tan, Zin said although the Survey and Mapping Department report showed that the land the barricade was on belonged to the Selangor state government, there was still the question of who would bear the financial loss incurred by Grand Saga

11 comments:

KP said...

http://www.taliworks.com.my/pdf/pressrelease20071120.pdf

The Selangor state govt owns Taliworks and Taliworks owns Grand Saga 55%.

Ahhh...is something fishy?

Moolah said...

Dear John,

Many thanks for the heads up here.

So why is a company like Taliworks, who is involved in the water sector, being involved in the toll business????

rgds

KP said...

http://www.taliworks.com.my/pdf/pressrelease20071120.pdf

Tuan Haji Abdul Rahman bin Haji Siraj, Chief Executive Officer of Taliworks said after the
EGM, “We are delighted to have received strong support from our shareholders. This
acquisition is consistent with management’s initiatives to grow via mergers and
acquisitions. The diversification into toll road concession will allow us to develop another
significant earnings and cashflow stream, in addition to our core water and waste
management businesses. Our strategy going forward is to forge a strategic partnership
with SEASAF, and position CSSB as the flagship vehicle for developing and operating toll
roads in Malaysia and the ASEAN region.”

KP said...

Taliworks Corp Bhd (Jan 29, RM2.27)
HOLD. We have revised our forecasts to include the acquisition of a 55% stake in Cerah Sama Sdn Bhd (CSSB) and the RM225 million convertible bond issue, which were completed on Nov 22, 2007 and on Dec 6, 2007 respectively.
We believe the recent completion of Taliworks' acquisition in CSSB is a positive move for the group. This enhances Taliwork's prospects and enables the group to venture into the development and operation of toll roads in Malaysia and the Asean region via CSSB.
CSSB is an investment holding company with a 100% effective interest in Grand Saga Sdn Bhd and Trupadu Sdn Bhd. The main earnings contributor, Grand Saga, is the toll road concessionaire for the Cheras-Kajang highway. Trupadu is the operations and maintenance sub-contractor for Grand Saga.
However, risk factors include lower toll rates and delays in toll rate revisions. Grand Saga implemented a 43% toll rate increase in January 2007 and expects to revise toll rates again in 2013.
Our "hold" recommendation is unchanged. Although we believe prospects are bright at the group, particularly given the recent acquisition of CSSB and award of water construction contracts, the stock is already trading at a premium to the market. ­— Net Research (Jan 28)

Moolah said...

Dear John,

Many folks at BMC are simply disappointed with it.

Do you reckon they would even want to buy a stock like Taliworks?

Or do you think they would rather boycott it?

rgds

peisheah said...

Moola, I posted a comment on Chua Soi Lek's blog but it seems that he's very good at censorship.

I hope that he's still reading your blog.

The FRUs on the night gave us a nice bath. & a good smoke. The highlight on the night was the free show. Segambut MP, Lim Lip Eng was bashed up in front of us. He lost the fight, so his prize was getting his car vandalised.

I just want to say, welcome to Police State, Selangor.

Seditious?

peisheah said...

Yea, I also forgot that i mentioned this:

If it's so easily done why MCA/BN didn't solve it before? If we wait for MCA/BN to settle the matter, it's the day when the concession (plus any extension) ends.

How my Moo Moo Cow?

Yea, MILK us dry Dr. Chua.

Moolah said...

My Dearest Peisheah,

I feel so sad and disappointed to see this happening.

The toll charges are rather extreme and unjust, if you ask me and I do hope that this issue needs to be resolved FAIRLY and JUSTLY asap.

rgds

Icosa096 said...

The original concessionaire of Grand Saga, the late Dato Lim Ah Bak (whose eldest son Lim Chee Ming has since took over Taliworks and Grand Saga) was the business partner of the former Perlis Mentri Besar, Tan Sri Dr Abdul Hamid Pawanteh.

The duo has worked together since mid 90s. One of their most visible corporate manuever was the failed attempt to inject their assets, including Grand Saga and TTPC (the IPP in Perlis) into the then cash rich Malaysian Tobacoo Company (with ~RM 750 Mn cash, and no core business) in 2000. However, they lost out to Ananda, and Measat was injected into MTC.

http://www.klse.com.my/website/bm/listed_companies/company_announcements/announcements/historical.jsp

Icosa096 said...

The Selangor State govt, thru PKNS only owns ~ 15 -20% of Taliworks, and Taliworks is still majority controlled (~ 50%) by the Lim's family.

SEASAF, a infra fund jointly set up by CIMB and Standard Bank acquired a 35% of Grand Saga in July 2007, as part of the sell-out of the Lim's family's plan to restructure their infrastructure assets.

The remaining 20% of Grans Saga, I believe, is very likely still to be in the hands of Lim's family.

There's Shareholder Agreement among SEASAF, Lim's family, and Taliworks when Grand Saga was sold out last year.

Hence although PKNS is a shareholder of Taliworks, and an indirect shareholder of Grand Saga, it is very unlikley they could control the operation/ management of Grand Saga unless consent is granted by the rest of the shareholders, SEASAF & Lim's family.

Icosa096 said...

Interestingly, the valuation of Grand Saga when Lim attempted to inject it into MTC in 2000 is circa 400 Mn; and Taliworks only paid 55 Mn for the 55% stake of Grand Saga last year, i.e at an implied valuation of 100 Mn.