KUALA LUMPUR (April 12): Here is a brief recap of some business news and corporate announcements that made the headlines on Friday:

Bahvest Resources Bhd's subsidiary, Wullersdorf Resources Sdn Bhd, has obtained approval from the federal government's mining regulator, the Department of Mineral and Geoscience Malaysia (JMG), for its gold mining operations in Tawau, Sabah. This approval, granted under Section 10 of the Mineral Development Act 1994 (MDA), complements the previous approval from the Sabah state government under Section 18(d) of the Sabah Mining Ordinance 1960.  Bahvest’s gold mining ops in Sabah gets approval from federal govt's mining regulator

Nextgreen IOI Pulp Sdn Bhd (NIP), a joint venture between Nextgreen Global Bhd and IOI Corp Bhd, is partnering with Chinese firm Xiamen C&D Paper & Pulp Group Co Ltd (Xiamen C&D), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Xiamen C&D Inc under Xiamen C&D Corp Ltd, a Fortune 500 company, to develop a RM600 million paper pulp plant in Pekan, Pahang. Under the MOU, NIP and Xiamen C&D will establish a joint venture company (JVco), with NIP holding a 75% stake. The facility, utilizing Nextgreen Global’s patented technology, will produce 100,000 tonnes of paper pulp annually from oil palm empty fruit bunches. NIP will lead feasibility studies and project preparation, while Xiamen C&D will support business development and manage off-take. Nextgreen-IOI Corp JV to rope in Xiamen C&D for paper pulp plant in Pahang

Amanahraya Trustees Bhd, the trustee of Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB), reduced its stake in property developer S P Setia Bhd by selling 100 million shares on April 8, cutting its stake from 24.54% to 22.37%. The off-market trade was executed at RM1.41 per share, representing a 2.76% discount compared with the closing price on April 8. ASB remains the second-largest shareholder in S P Setia, behind Permodalan Nasional Bhd. ASB has been trimming its stake since the beginning of the year, with net disposals totaling 100.92 million shares. Additionally, ASB converted some of its Class C Islamic Redeemable Convertible Preference shares into ordinary shares on April 5. ASB trims 2.18% stake in S P Setia for RM141 mil

Yinson Holdings Bhd, an oil-and-gas services firm, is considering a potential bond issue of up to US$500 million (RM2.37 billion). The company has enlisted Nordic investment banks DNB Markets and Pareto Securities, along with ABG Sundal Collier ASA, to arrange meetings with fixed-income investors. The proceeds from the proposed bond issue will be utilized for refinancing existing debt and general corporate purposes. Yinson's total borrowings stood at RM16.32 billion as of end-January, with a net gearing ratio of 1.66 times, up from 1.23 times a year ago.  Yinson hires bankers for potential US$500m bond issue