KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 23): Here is a brief recap of some business news and corporate announcements that made the headlines on Monday: 

KLCC (Holdings) Sdn Bhd, a unit of national oil and gas company Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) has acquired 486 acres of Bandar Malaysia land for an undisclosed price. A sale and purchase agreement for the close to 200-hectare land, the site of the former Royal Malaysian Air Force base on Jalan Sungai Besi, Kuala Lumpur, was signed with Bandar Malaysia Sdn Bhd and Bandar Malaysia Land Sdn Bhd on Oct 4. The transaction had not been previously disclosed. KLCC Holdings is the parent company of KLCC Stapled Group (KL:KLCC) controlling 64.67% stake. The statement follows a report by The Edge Malaysia weekly in its Dec 23-29, 2024 issue that Bandar Malaysia land is being taken over by one of Petronas’ companies in a deal estimated to be worth as much as RM12 billion. — KLCC Holdings to develop 486 acres of land acquired from Bandar Malaysia

Tuju Setia Bhd (KL:TJSETIA) has secured a contract worth RM389 million to build serviced apartments in Wangsa Maju, Setapak. The job was awarded to Tuju Setia’s wholly owned Pembinaan Tuju Setia Sdn Bhd by Beverly WM Sdn Bhd. Milla Residence is a joint effort between Beverly, Mapletree Investments Pte Ltd of Singapore, and Lai Sun Group of Hong Kong. Works will start in April 2025 and be completed within 36 months. — Tuju Setia wins RM389 mil construction contract

Oil and gas services provider Coastal Contracts Bhd (KL:COASTAL) said a consortium led by the group has secured the bid to develop a 15MWac large-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) plant on Sabah's east coast. Coastal Contracts' wholly owned subsidiary, Coastal Power Holdings Sdn Bhd (CPHSB), holds a 90% stake in the consortium, with the remaining 10% held equally by Pleasant Engineering Sdn Bhd (PESB) and Bina HT Sdn Bhd (BHSB). Coastal Solar Sdn Bhd, another wholly owned subsidiary of the group, will serve as the special purpose vehicle to execute the project. — Coastal Contracts consortium wins bid for Sabah LSS power plant project

Electrical products manufacturer Powerwell Holdings Bhd (KL:PWRWELL) has secured a RM27 million contract to supply low-voltage switchboards for a data centre project in Malaysia. The contract was awarded to its wholly owned subsidiary Kejuruteraan Powerwell Sdn Bhd by "a leading international contractor”. — Powerwell wins RM27m contract to supply switchboards for data centre

KL-Kuala Selangor Expressway Bhd (Latar), previously known as Lebuhraya Assamjawa Taman Rimba Bhd, has initiated legal action to enforce an arbitration award totalling RM46.13 million against highway concessionaire Prolintas Expressway Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Prolintas Infra Business Trust (KL:PLINTAS). The arbitration pertains to a dispute concerning a cost-sharing agreement, involving a plan to link the Guthrie Corridor Expressway with Latar via the Kuang System Interchange and the North South Expressway (NSE) to enable vehicles on the two expressways to move freely into NSE. — Latar goes to court to enforce RM46 mil arbitration award against Prolintas

Malayan Flour Mills Bhd's (KL:MFLOUR) said its partially-owned unit, Dindings Poultry Development Centre Sdn Bhd (DPDC), is seeking a judicial review of the Competition Appeal Tribunal's decision to reject its request for a stay on a RM70.02 million penalty imposed by the Malaysia Competition Commission (MyCC) over alleged price-fixing cartel activities. MFlour said DPDC is also seeking a stay order to halt the enforcement of MyCC's decision. The High Court has scheduled the hearing for DPDC’s leave application for Jan 2. — Malayan Flour Mills unit challenges appeal tribunal's rejection of stay of MyCC’s penalty

Power and water company Malakoff Corp Bhd (KL:MALAKOF) has redesignated its executive vice-chairman Tan Sri Che Khalib Mohamad Noh as non-independent non-executive chairman, effective from January 2025. Che Khalib, 59, will replace Tan Sri Dr Ahmad Tajuddin Ali, who will step down from the chairman's position after completing his three-year term. Che Khalib is currently the group managing director of MMC Corp Bhd, and previously served in the power industry as the president and CEO of Tenaga Nasional Bhd (KL:TENAGA), a position he held for eight years from 2004. — Malakoff redesignates Che Khalib as non-executive chairman

HeiTech Padu Bhd (KL:HTPADU) said its group managing director (MD) and group chief executive officer, Salmi Nadia Mohd Hilmey, is resigning voluntarily from all positions within the company, effective from Dec 31. Notably, Salmi had been in the MD position for just over eight months, after being appointed to the position on April 3. This decision follows a mutual separation agreement between Salmi and HeiTech, as she intends to pursue other opportunities and interests. — HeiTech Padu deputy chairman's daughter relinquishes all positions

Supercomnet Technologies Bhd (KL:SCOMNET) said its managing director, James Shiue Jong-Zone, has been redesignated as the company's executive director. Meanwhile, his son, Kevin Hsueh Chih-Yu, has been redesignated from executive director to managing director. The changes take effect immediately. — Supercomnet’s James Shiue redesignated as executive director, son named MD

ECM Libra Group Bhd’s (KL:ECM) 50%-owned unit OHG Services Sdn Bhd will pay Malaysia Airports (Sepang) Sdn Bhd RM29.9 million to extend its concession agreement to manage and operate a 'limited-service hotel' at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) for another 35 years. Pursuant to the extension via a supplemental agreement with Malaysia Airports (Sepang), the expiry date of the concession will move from Jan 31, 2034, to Feb 11, 2069. According to ECM Libra's annual report, OHG Services holds the concession to manage and operate the Tune Hotel KLIA2, and undertakes food and beverage operations in the same hotel. — ECM Libra unit pays RM30m to extend hotel concession in KLIA for another 35 years

Esthetics International Group Bhd (KL:EIG) has renewed its distribution agreement with US-based premium skincare provider Dermalogica Inc. Specifically, the group has extended the distributorships for its Malaysian, Singapore, Indonesian and Brunei operations for another five years, while its distributorships in Thailand and Hong Kong have been extended for another two years. The new distributorship agreements are effective from Jan 1, 2025. — Esthetics International extends distributorship with US-based Dermalogica