KUALA LUMPUR (July 15): Here is a brief recap of some business news and corporate announcements that made the headlines on Monday:

Mah Sau Cheong — a substantial shareholder of South Malaysia Industries Bhd (KL:SMI) — is suing two companies, Techbase Industries Bhd (KL:TECHBASE) and YB Ventures Bhd (KL:YB), over alleged share manipulation at SMI. Techbase and YB Ventures are among defendants in the suits filed by Mah through his solicitors, Messrs Alfred Lai & Partners. Both companies were served with a writ of summons and a statement of claim dated July 4, last Friday, accusing them of conspiring to violate Sections 176 and 202 of the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007. Mah claimed this has adversely affected all SMI shareholders. Mah holds a 7.65% stake in SMI. — SMI’s substantial shareholder Mah Sau Cheong sues Techbase, YB Ventures over alleged share manipulation

Ekovest Bhd (KL:EKOVEST) clarified it had officially concluded its contractual role as the project delivery partner (PDP) for the River of Life project in January 2015. The company said its role was to mainly provide horizontal coordination with up to 42 agencies, while the respective agencies under multiple ministries spearheaded the project. Under the PDP contract, Ekovest was authorised by the government solely to tender for/participate in beautification works under the project (via Swiss Challenge). — Ekovest says it discharged duties as River of Life project delivery partner in 2015

Citaglobal Bhd (KL:CITAGLB) has entered into a joint development framework agreement (JDFA) with Shanghai SUS Environment Co Ltd, a China government-linked entity, to develop waste-to-energy projects in Pahang. It said the collaboration will focus on converting municipal waste into green energy and developing agricultural waste — such as empty fruit bunches and palm oil sludge — into biomass energy. It added the JDFA is legally binding and will be used for the incorporation of a joint special purpose vehicle, with the company holding a 49% stake while the remaining 51% stake will be held by SUS Environment. — Citaglobal to set up SPV with China govt-linked unit for green energy projects in Pahang

Advancecon Holdings Bhd (KL:ADVCON) is working with the Perak government for the development, construction, operation, management and maintenance of centralised labour quarters (CLQs) in the state, with the aim of addressing the increasing demand from industrial manufacturers for workers' accommodation. Under the terms of the agreement, Advancecon Ventures Sdn Bhd (Advancecon’s wholly-owned subsidiary) will retain a 70% stake in the JV company, CLQ Silvervalley Sdn Bhd, while Perak Equity will hold the remaining 30% stake.  — Advancecon inks JV with Perak govt to develop centralised labour quarters

Construction and property group WCT Holdings Bhd (KL:WCT) has secured another contract worth RM214 million from Kwasa Land Sdn Bhd to undertake construction works at the Kwasa Damansara township development in Sungai Buloh. Kwasa Land is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and master developer of Kwasa Damansara. It said the contract was awarded to its wholly-owned unit WCT Bhd (WCTB) under work package contract two, which is related to the construction and completion of common infrastructure works phase one and a new vehicular underpass at Kwasa Damansara. — WCT clinches another Kwasa Land contract worth RM214m

UUE Holdings Bhd (KL:UUE), an underground utilities engineering company, has secured two contracts worth RM26.93 million. Both contracts involve installation, testing and commissioning of 11-kilovolt underground cables and accessories. It will have 730 days from the starting date to be informed later, with an option to extend the contract period for another 365 days. — UUE Holdings gets RM27m underground cable contracts

Malaysian Genomics Resource Centre Bhd (KL:MGRC) has signed agreements with Kumpulan Perubatan Penawar Sdn Bhd and Hospital Penawar Sdn Bhd to explore offering genetic screening services. The collaborations are focused on the "Origene All-in-One Report" product and its derivative, the "Childhood-Onset Disease Profile" for cell-gene therapies. It said it will provide consultancy and technical support for their collaboration, including genetic screen-testing services. — MGRC teams up with Kumpulan Penawar for genetic screening, therapy initiatives

Metal door and window frames manufacturer Econframe Bhd (KL:EFRAME) is not proceeding with its plan to acquire a 70% stake in ETA World Sdn Bhd, a company involved in industrial property development and construction activities. This is because the conditions precedent in the agreement between Econframe and the seller of the stake, ETA Industries Sdn Bhd, had not been fulfilled within the specified timeframe. — Econframe scraps plans to acquire 70% stake in industrial property builder

Carbon-based products manufacturer PMB Technology Bhd (KL:PMBTECH) is selling a parcel of leasehold land in Klang for RM79.3 million, primarily to fund its working capital. The sale of the 113,312 sq metre-land to Knauf Sdn Bhd is expected to result in a one-time gain of RM51 million, which will boost the group’s earnings for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2024. The land had a net book value of RM15.4 million as of end-December 2023. — PMB Technology sells land in Klang for RM79m

Integrated construction and property company PTT Synergy Group Bhd (KL:PTT), whose share price has surged 120.49% year to date, has proposed a one-for-one bonus issue, involving the issuance of up to 216.08 million new bonus shares.  For illustrative purposes, based on the three-month volume-weighted average price of the shares up to June 25 (which was RM1.16), the theoretical ex-bonus share price would be 57.8 sen. — PTT Synergy proposes one-for-one bonus issue

Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd (KL:BIMB) has issued RM1 billion in senior sukuk murabahah under its RM10 billion sukuk murabahah programme, which was lodged with Securities Commission Malaysia in 2018. It said the issuance of the senior sukuk murabahah received an “overwhelming response" from investors, with a bid-to-cover ratio of over 3.2 times the issuance size after upsizing from RM500 million. — Bank Islam issues RM1b senior sukuk murabahah

BTM Resources Bhd (KL:BTM) said its chief financial officer, Ooi Gin Hui, has resigned from the board with immediate effect, citing uncertainty in the business direction and orientation of the Terengganu-based wood processing firm. Ooi, 44, was appointed to the post in September 2023. She is currently an independent non-executive director at information technology services firm Systech Bhd (KL:SYSTECH) and OB Holdings Bhd, a food and supplement company that is seeking a listing on Bursa Malaysia’s ACE Market, according to BTM’s 2023 annual report. — BTM Resources CFO resigns amid uncertainty in group’s business direction