Lereno Bio-Chem to venture into education with S$20.4m investment

By

Kenneth Limkenlim@sph.com.sg@KennethLimBT

      

4 May9:19 PM

BIOFUELS company Lereno Bio-Chem plans to expand into the education business with a S$20.4 million investment in a private education company.

Lereno said that it will use cash and shares to buy a 51 per cent stake in HTwo Education Holdings from two existing shareholders who currently hold a combined 71 per cent stake in the education business. The cash component of the consideration will be funded through a rights issue and private placements, the company said.

HTwo runs a range of education businesses, including infant and childcare services, student care, tuition and enrichment businesses.

The company is still conducting due diligence investigations, and a definitive agreement has not been finalised.

Lereno shares last traded at 0.4 Singapore cent on Monday, before trading was halted.

      

ANZ to sell loans worth US$6.5b in dealer finance biz

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group on Monday said it plans to sell its Esanda dealer finance business, which includes A$8.3 billion (US$6.51 billion) in loans to motor vehicle dealers. 

PHOTO: REUTERS

4 May2:44 PM

[SYDNEY] Australia and New Zealand Banking Group on Monday said it plans to sell its Esanda dealer finance business, which includes A$8.3 billion (US$6.51 billion) in loans to motor vehicle dealers. "The sale of the Esanda Dealer Finance business is part of a broader group priority to actively manage our portfolio of businesses to ensure we use capital efficiently, as well as a focus on ANZ-branded products," ANZ Australia CEO Mark Whelan said in a statement.

The sale does not include the ANZ commercial broker, commercial asset finance or direct-to-consumer asset finance businesses, it added.

ANZ, like its global peers, is under pressure to free capital and is separately seeking to sell its minority stakes in Asian banks after Australian regulators introduced rules in 2013 requiring banks to subtract overseas minority investments from Tier 1 capital.

An "information memorandum" is expected to be issued to potential bidders later this month, ANZ said.

The bank will post first-half earnings on Tuesday.

REUTERS

      

 

MORE FROM THE BUSINESS TIME
S

US: Stocks open higher

4 May10:10 PM

[NEW YORK] US stocks opened higher on Monday riding a global wave of market gains helped by more indications of economic life in Europe.

Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 35.43 points at 18,058.59.

The broad-based S&P 500 rose 8.20 to 2,116.49, while the tech-rich Nasdaq gained 20.78 points at 5,026.12.

Markit Economics's closely watched Purchasing Managers Index for the eurozone showed manufacturing continued to expand in April.

AFP

    
 

Broker's Take: 'Buy' call on CapitaLand

By

Claire Huanghuangjy@sph.com.sg@ClaireHuangBT

4 May3:29 PM

CIMB Research has placed a "buy" call on the shares of CapitaLand with a target price of S$4.08.

It noted that CapitaLand's results were slightly below expectation, with Q1 2015, making up 20 per cent of CIMB's full-year estimate.

But the retail mall and serviced-residence operations continued to perform well and helped offset one-off losses in Singapore as well as slower residential contributions in China.

Looking ahead, the research house said the rollout of new projects in Singapore and China as well as three new malls in China should add to rising contributions from the existing portfolio.

"Whilst we lower our FY2015-2017 estimates by c.10 per cent on slower profit recognition, we maintain Add with a slightly higher revalued net asset value-backed target price of S$4.08."

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PUB and Suez Environnement to research smart-water technologies

By

Claire Huanghuangjy@sph.com.sg@ClaireHuangBT

4 May2:19 PM

SINGAPORE'S national water agency, PUB, and French water and waste-treatment utility Suez Environnement will collaborate on research in smart-water and energy-efficient water technologies.

Three research projects, supported by the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), will look into the areas of wastewater treatment, storm-water management and automated meter reading, contributing to water sustainability efforts.

Under the partnership, both parties will work together to use information and communication technologies and analytical software solution to develop a smart-water grid.

This includes the development of a decision support tool for storm-water management and automated meter reading to track water consumption and potentially induce proactive consumer behaviour towards water conservation.

They will also partner on a pilot project to develop an energy-efficient wastewater treatment process by integrating smart monitoring and advanced control strategies.

The projects will be supported by the Tech Pioneer grant administered by EDB.

The agreement was signed on Monday at a seminar on Singapore and France, "Sharing Ideas and Expertise for Smarter and Sustainable City Solutions", organised by the French embassy in Singapore.

Suez Environnement is a founding sponsor for the Singapore International Water Week, the global platform to share and co-create innovative water solutions.