Regarding MK Land Again.

Blogged recently on July 14th and July 15th 2008: Yet Another Privatisation Story! This Time MK Land! and MK Land Denies The Privatisation Story

• Trading volume on 10th July 2008 was 18,996 and on the trading volume on the 11th July was a mere 12,496 million. And many thanks to this malicious, baseless rumour published on Business Times, trading volume surged to an incredible 113,720 million!

Saw this news article on Star Biz: US fund sells 3.4m MK Land shares

• Tuesday July 22, 2008 MYT 11:47:17 AM
  US fund sells 3.4m MK Land shares
  
  KUALA LUMPUR: US-based fund Liberty Square Asset Management continued to reduce its shareholding in MK Land Holdings Bhd with the recent disposal of 3.46 million shares.
  
  A filing with Bursa Malaysia showed Liberty Square had sold the shares in the open market on July 17, reducing its total stake to 4.88% or 58.79 million shares.
  
  The fund had on July 9 disposed of 1.85 million shares.
  
  MK Land share price closed at 22.5 sen on July 16. The share price surged to a 52-week high of RM1.20 on July 23 last year and its 52-week low was Monday at 19.5 sen.

How now about that privatisation story told by Business Time? (See Yet Another Privatisation Story! This Time MK Land! )

• TAN Sri Mustapha Kamal Abu Bakar, a co-founder of MK Land Holdings Bhd, may take the troubled property developer private as part of plans to turn it around, a source close to him said.
  
  The businessman holds 47.4 per cent of MK Land and he has taken over the company's leadership as chief executive on June 25.
  
  He replaces his partner Datuk P. Kasi who was redesignated as a non-executive director. Kasi holds 25.4 per cent of MK Land.
  
  "As a majority stakeholder of MK Land, it's logical for him to come back and return the company to the black," the source said.

Won't a reader like me be suspicious on the intention of the initial report by Business Times?

Did the source gave Business Times the story with the sole intention of facilitating Liberty Square disposal disposal of shares?

How?

Don't you think our financial press are badly abused for personal vested interests?

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Yet Another Privatisation Story! This Time MK Land!

I read with utter disgust as yet another privatisation rumours being splashed over our financial papers!

What's wrong with these people??

Posted on Business Times: MK Land to be taken private?

• TAN Sri Mustapha Kamal Abu Bakar, a co-founder of MK Land Holdings Bhd, may take the troubled property developer private as part of plans to turn it around, a source close to him said.
  
  The businessman holds 47.4 per cent of MK Land and he has taken over the company's leadership as chief executive on June 25.
  
  He replaces his partner Datuk P. Kasi who was redesignated as a non-executive director. Kasi holds 25.4 per cent of MK Land.
  
  "As a majority stakeholder of MK Land, it's logical for him to come back and return the company to the black," the source said.
  
  Mustapha could not be reached for comment.
  
  However, it is learnt that he will study the company's situation before making major moves.
  
  Contractors and consultants for some of MK Land's projects are expected to be called for a meeting soon.
  
  "After leaving MK Land for so long, Mustapha Kamal wants to study the nitty-gritty of the company," the source said.
  
  In May, MK Land asked its bondholders for permission to delay debt repayments by up to a year.
  
  The company had in 2001 and 2002 issued two tranches of RM150 million each of serial bonds, with the final maturities due in August this year and September 2009.
  
  MK Land said it was seeking an indulgence from bondholders to defer payments for a total of RM60 million to two separate sinking fund accounts.

Yet another article written based on sources who are unnamed!

So let me ask a simple question, how do we know if this yet another grandmother story cooked up by a certain party to drive the stock higher?

As it is, MK Land is a troubled company. The following news article was published on May MK Land’s share price falls to 52-week low

• MK Land Holdings Bhd’s share price fell to a 52-week low of 34 sen yesterday, following news it might defer its obligation to place RM60 million into sinking fund accounts (SFA) for bonds totalling RM300 million.

And their last reported earnings in May was terrible. Quarterly rpt on consolidated results for the financial period ended 31/3/2008

As it is, MK Land has lost some 18 million for the first 3 quarter of the current fiscal year and the company has a mountain of debts in its balance sheet. Would Tan Sri Mustapha Kamal Abu Bakar take this company now given the terrible state the company is in?

Well at the rate of these stories are being published and no much action are taken against such reporting, pretty soon our financial news would conjur an article stating that perhaps Bursa Malaysia could be privatised too! Yeah, why not? According to sources what.

Are you still not watching SC? Do you even know who are all these sources?

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ps. I usually read about companies being taken private because the owners felt the company was worth so much more as a private entity. As it is, I reckon not for MK Land!

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