KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 13): Here is a brief recap of some corporate announcements that made news on Tuesday (Date 13), involving Hartalega Holdings Bhd, Pharmaniaga Bhd, Advancecon Holdings Bhd, Apex Equity Holdings Bhd and APM Automotive Holdings Bhd.

Hartalega Holdings Bhd has signed an agreement with Northern Gateway Sdn Bhd's (NGX) to purchase a land for RM54.32 million as part of its expansion plan. The price translates into RM20.78 per square foot. NGX has obtained government approval for Free Commercial Zone and Free Industrial Zone for the Delapan Special Border Economic Zone after its approval on Jan 13, 2019.

Pharmaniaga Bhd has signed a research collaboration agreement with BioNet-Asia Co Ltd from Thailand to develop the hexavalent vaccine. The group said the production of vaccines locally will reduce costs for the government and ensure drug security for the nation, as the vaccine was fully imported and used by the National Immunisation Programme. The annual market demand regionally is estimated at RM500 to RM600 million, and the vaccine is scheduled to be ready by the end of 2023.

Advancecon Holdings Bhd has secured subcontract works worth RM86.75 million from KEB Builders Sdn Bhd. The group has accepted a letter from KEB for its appointment as the subcontractor for the "Preliminaries, Site Clearance and Earthworks, Geotechnical Works, Erosion Sediment and Control Plan" job. The overall subcontract period is 30 months, starting from Dec 13.

ACE Credit (M) Sdn Bhd, part of the ACE Group, has disposed of the bulk of its stake in Apex Equity Holdings Bhd, days after the Securities Commission Malaysia went to court to block ACE from taking control of Apex Equity. Apex Equity said ACE has ceased to be a substantial shareholder of the stockbroking group after disposing of 27.04 million Apex Equity shares, representing a 13.34% stake, in the open market on Dec 9. ACE was previously the second largest shareholder of Apex Equity with a 14.98% stake, and following the sale it is left with a 1.64% stake or 3.32 million shares in the group.

APM Automotive Holdings Bhd announced that the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has ceased to be a substantial shareholder of the company, as the pension fund's stake dropped below 5% after it sold 279,500 APM shares on Dec 8. EPF emerged as a substantial shareholder of APM on Oct 5, 2016 with a 5.385% stake or 10.53 million shares after acquiring one million shares in the automotive parts manufacturer, but the fund's stake dropped to 5.044% or 9.86 million shares after it disposed of 300,000 shares on Dec 7.