NEWS IN BRIEF : SEPT 27, 2021

HEXTAR GLOBAL BHD has accepted and executed a RM50 million financing facility granted by HSBC Amanah Malaysia Bhd.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, it said the facility shall be utilised for the purpose to finance and/or reimburse the proposed acquisition of Nobel Synthetic Polymer Sdn Bhd and Nobel Scientific Sdn Bhd.

It said the facility shall also be secured by way of corporate guarantee by Hextar Chemicals Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company.

It added that the facility is expected to increase the consolidated gearing of the company from 0.52 times to 1.21 times, including all the financing facilities announced to Bursa earlier and assuming in the event of all the facilities are fully drawn down.

-- BERNAMA

MISC GROUP has bagged four significant awards at the Sustainable Business Awards (SBA) Malaysia 2020/2021 which was held virtually on Sept 23, 2021.

In a statement today, the shipping line said it came up top in three out of the 12 award categories, namely Waste Productivity and Materiality, Climate Change and Emissions, Land Use and Biodiversity and received a Special Achievement award recognition for Stakeholder Management.

It said SBA recognises companies for their outstanding performance on environmental and social sustainability, highlighting their successes and providing others with examples of best practices that can be emulated and replicated.

In 2019, MISC took home the awards in the categories of Business Responsibility and Ethics as well as United Nations Sustainable Development Goals with Special Recognition in Strategy and Sustainability Management.

-- BERNAMA

UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI PETRONAS (UTP) and Altair Engineering Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Nasdaq-listed Altair Inc, has elevated their public-private synergy to set up the Altair Professorial Chair in Applied Scientific Computing.

A joint statement today said the chair is a significant asset to Malaysian enterprises as it offered consultancy services to help start-ups, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and corporations develop practical solutions to various challenges faced across the organisation.

Altair managing director for Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand Srirangam Srirangarajan said the group expertise in data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), simulation and high-performance computing (HPC) matched with UTP’s leading research capabilities that make for a great synergy to spearhead Malaysian enterprises into the digital era.

“Together, we are able to provide sound counsel and practical solutions to help organisations, especially start-ups, SMEs and corporations stay resilient and competitive,” he added.

-- BERNAMA