Business Times (Malaysia) articles from January 2002

Business Times (Malaysia) archives from January 2002

Sentiment expected to turn cautious.
January 31, 2002... Byline: Debra Moreira TRADING sentiment is expected to turn cautious as retailers remain sidelined ahead of the long weekend, but dealers are confident of a higher close on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE) on expected institutional...

Klibor futures end on steady note.
January 31, 2002... THE three-month Kuala Lumpur Interbank Offered Rates (Klibor) futures contracts ended steady on the Malaysia Derivatives Exchange yesterday on modest volume. Interest were selective as investors built up their positions in the market....

(Dialog Group Bhd).
January 31, 2002... DIALOG Group Bhd registered pre-tax profit of RM32.965 million for the second quarter ended December 31 2001 compared with RM29.641 million in the preceding year corresponding quarter. Turnover stood at RM164.981 million compared with...

FACB Industries Incorporated Bhd.
January 31, 2002... FACB Industries Incorporated Bhd recorded a pre-tax loss of RM1.353 million for the second quarter ended December 31 2001 against a pre-tax profit of RM5.472 million in the preceding year corresponding period. Turnover stood at RM88.365...

Road Builder (M) Holdings Bhd.
January 31, 2002... ROAD Builder (M) Holdings Bhd announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Road Builder (M) Sdn Bhd (RBM) has secured a contract for a project from Perbadanan Putrajaya worth RM156.307 million. The project to build Office Blocks for...

TA Enterprise Bhd.
January 31, 2002... TA Enterprise Bhd announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, TA Bank of South Africa Ltd, has been de-registered as a bank in South Africa with effect from yesterday. The reason for bringing forward the de-registration date to yesterday...

Amanah CW Partners Bhd.
January 31, 2002... AMANAH CW Partners Bhd (ACP) held an extraordinary general meeting yesterday to seek shareholders' approval for its new Memorandum and Articles of Association in order to bring the description of the objects and powers of the company...

Royal & Sun projects 30pc increase in premiums.
January 31, 2002... Byline: Habhajan Singh ROYAL & Sun Alliance Insurance (M) Bhd, a UK-based general insurer, projects a 30 per cent increase in premiums this year, partly due to ongoing premium increases. The expected increase is also due the...

LBS Bina to diversify operations.
January 31, 2002... Byline: Rizalman Hammim PROPERTY developer LBS Bina Group Bhd plans to diversify operations to expand its earnings base. "We have received several proposals from interested parties to diversify into the manufacturing sector,"...

Trading restriction on Dewina securities.
January 31, 2002... Byline: right, the firm was supposed to have done this by January 21 as PN4 DEWINA Bhd has become the first company to be imposed with trading restrictions on its securities under the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange's (KLSE) new additional...

IOI, Sime Darby yet to resolve Palmco listing issue.
January 31, 2002... Byline: Norzuhaira Ruhanie IOI Corp Bhd and Sime Darby Bhd have yet to resolve how to keep Palmco Holdings Bhd listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE). IOI Corp executive chairman Tan Sri Lee Shin Cheng said both parties...

Jakarta disqualifies all 4 bidders for road project.
January 31, 2002... Byline: Kamarul Yunus INDONESIA has disqualified all four bidders for the RM1.8 billion Jakarta Outer Ring Road (JORR), including a Malaysian consortium which was the preferred bidder for the project to ease traffic congestion in Jakarta...

Group targets 50pc rise in palm oil.
January 31, 2002... IOI Corp Bhd is targeting a 50 per cent increase in yields from its oil palm plantations within the next three years, its executive chairman Tan Sri Lee Shin Cheng says. He said the move will result in 1ha of crop producing about 7...

Locals at the helm of Siemens.
January 31, 2002... Byline: Hamisah Hamid LOCAL talents have started to make way to the top in Siemens Malaysia Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Germany's giant technology multinational Siemens AG, indicating a recognition of Malaysian skills and expertise. ...

'When two heads are not better than one'.
January 31, 2002... Byline: Shamsul Akmar IF PARTI Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS) is in dearth of getting a catchy nice motto to recruit members, it can use this: The only political party with two presidents or it takes two presidents to tango. Better...

Index dips 2.02pc.
January 31, 2002... THE MSC IT Index closed at 158.169 points yesterday, decreasing by 3.254 points from 161.423 on Tuesday. This represents a fall of 2.02 per cent over the previous trading day with the market capitalisation of the MSC IT Index increasing...

Shaken and stirred in Washington.
January 31, 2002... KEEP the public fully informed and be especially upfront on all activities that can, directly or indirectly, affect an administration's ability to maintain the trust of the people. That ought to be rule number one for any govenment....

Mavcap sets up seed funding division.
January 31, 2002... Byline: Jennifer Jacobs MALAYSIA Venture Capital Management Bhd (Mavcap), custodians of RM500 million allocated under Budget 2001 to both develop the local venture capital industry and provide early stage financing to entrepreneurs, has...

Firm to launch roadshows to stimulate deal flow.
January 31, 2002... Byline: Jennifer Jacobs MALAYSIA Venture Capital Management Bhd (Mavcap) will launch nationwide roadshows as well as workshops to stimulate deal flow. Senior vice president for direct ventures Bernard Yaw said the company plans to go...

Money supply expected to grow strongly this year.
January 31, 2002... Byline: Nor Sadnawaty Saifuddin MALAYSIA'S money supply is expected to grow strongly this year despite recording a broad decline last year. While the high base in December 2000 and lethargic state of economic activities last year...

Fed decision unlikely to have direct impact on economy.
January 31, 2002... Byline: Nor Sadnawaty Saifuddin THE outcome of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting overnight is not expected to have a direct effect on the Malaysian economy. Economists said any decision by the US Federal Reserve...

Cheap financing, new models propel car sector.
January 31, 2002... Byline: Debra Moreira MALAYSIANS bought nearly 400,000 cars in 2001 to race way ahead of the industry's growth expectations, thanks to cheap financing and a stream of new models introduced by carmakers. The impressive 16 per cent...

Stronger appetite for riskier papers may benefit Chin Foh ABS.
January 31, 2002... Byline: Shahriman Johari A STRONGER appetite for riskier papers may well benefit Chin Foh Bhd's plan to sell RM260 million worth of bonds backed by its receivables, a method that is slowly but surely gaining currency in Malaysia. ...

Bio-stress may cut 2002 palm oil output by 5pc.
January 31, 2002... Byline: Zaidi Isham Ismail AFTER three consecutive years of bumper harvests, the country's oil palm plantations are showing signs of suffering from what scientists call bio- stress. As a result, plantation owners are expecting the...

Govt support needed to develop port infrastructure.
January 31, 2002... Byline: 2005, there will 300 million containers plying the world, while the THE local ports need the Government's financial support to further develop their infrastructure, according to several officials of the industry who estimated the...

MAS may be paving way to bring in a strategic partner.
January 30, 2002... Byline: Eirmalasare Bani; Kamarul Yunus MALAYSIAN Airline System Bhd's (MAS) plan to separate its international operations from the loss-making domestic services is believed to be aimed at making a new subsidiary, that will be set up for...

Air fares pact set for February reinstatement.
January 30, 2002... Byline: Kang Siew Li THE temporary suspension of the Market Development Programme (MDP), which sets minimum airfare rates for 25 airlines flying into Malaysia, will be lifted next month. The suspension of the programme since...

US$1m drive to boost confidence in air travel.
January 30, 2002... Byline: Kang Siew Li EIGHTEEN Asia-Pacific-based carriers joined hands yesterday to launch a high-profile advertising campaign aimed at restoring public confidence in air travel. Developed under the auspices of the Association of...

Malaysian Airline System Bhd ...
January 30, 2002... MALAYSIAN Airline System Bhd (MAS) group managing director Datuk Md Nor Yusof yesterday said it is still too early to gauge the potential success of AirAsia's no-frills air travel approach as "the issue is not complete". "The issue is...

Telcos given 3 months to hand in bids for 3G.
January 30, 2002... Byline: Cindy Yeap TELECOMMUNICATION companies (telcos) have 90 days beginning February 28 to submit their bids to vie for the three 15 megahertz (Mhz) duplex third generation (3G) spectrum blocks, regulators said yesterday. ...

Road project's re-tendering process hits controversy again.
January 30, 2002... Byline: Kamarul Yunus JUST when tender for the RM1.8 billion Jakarta Outer Ring Road (JORR) project was about to resume after a long delay, it was hit by controversy again soon after the tender deadline on January 21. There was...

MEF to ask Govt to reconsider labour ruling.
January 30, 2002... Byline: Hamisah Hamid THE Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) will ask the Government to reconsider its stand on restricting the recruitment of Indonesian workers. MEF's executive director Shamsuddin Bardan said the MEF will convey...

Malaysia to see continuous trade surplus, says Rafidah.
January 30, 2002... Byline: Dzulkarnain Taib MALAYSIA is expected to continue registering healthy trade surpluses although imports of intermediate and capital goods show a rising trend. International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz...

Marginal dip.
January 30, 2002... THE MSC IT Index closed at 161.423 points yesterday, decreasing by 0.008 point from 161.431 on Monday. This represents a fall of 0.005 per cent over the previous trading day with the market capitalisation of the MSC IT Index decreasing by...

Solidarity remains crucial.
January 30, 2002... Byline: straddling the middle ground. Moderation always wins elections except THE Barisan Nasional (BN) has won 11 successive general elections (if you include the first general election in 1955), a period of 46 years! How did the BN do...

The shifts and twists in between polls.
January 30, 2002... Byline: Rashid Yusof GIVEN that a general election can be held within 60 days after the five- year Parliamentary term lapses (if not dissolved earlier), the next nationwide polls can descend on the political turf as late as the first...

Still waiting to close a chapter.
January 30, 2002... NEITHER RHB Bank's Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Hussain nor people from the Sarawak-based Utama Banking Group have come forward to clearly say what is holding up or indeed might have derailed the two banks' merger process. The word on the...

SunCity launches ParkVille Garden Townhouse.
January 30, 2002... SUNWAY City Bhd (SunCity), the property arm of the Sunway Group, has introduced the novel "garden townhouse" concept with the official launch of its ParkVille Garden Townhouse on January 19. The three-storey ParkVille Garden Townhouse...

Telekom eyeing stake in TRI.
January 30, 2002... TELEKOM Malaysia Bhd has confirmed that it is eyeing a stake in rival Technology Resources Industries Bhd (TRI). In an announcement to the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE) yesterday, the company said it was seriously considering...

Ho Wah Genting resumes normal trading.
January 30, 2002... Byline: Rizalman Hammim CABLE and wire maker Ho Wah Genting Bhd's shares rose 32 per cent yesterday, the first day of normal trading after the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE) withdrew the company's status as designated securities. ...

Interest in banking stocks seen sustained in 2002.
January 30, 2002... Byline: Nuryushida Laily Yusof INVESTORS' interest in banking stocks is expected to be sustained throughout the year if there is more good news from the corporate sector, analysts said. They said the focus given by market players on...

Batu Kawan share price reaches 23-month high.
January 30, 2002... Byline: Adeline Paul Raj BATU Kawan Bhd's share price, which has been trending upward since September following a steady buying phase by its substantial shareholders, soared to a 23-month high yesterday. The chemical manufacturer...

My-Infotech confident of meeting profit guarantee.
January 30, 2002... Byline: Rizalman Hammim MY-INFOTECH (M) Bhd, which took over the listing status of Man Yau Holdings Bhd, is confident of meeting the profit guarantee it made during the reverse takeover process of the troubled company. "We have...

Sunway stocks top performers this month.
January 30, 2002... Byline: Norzuhaira Ruhanie SUNWAY Holdings Inc Bhd (Sunway) and subsidiary Sunway Construction Bhd (SunCon) have outperformed the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange Composite Index (KLCI) this month. Up till yesterday, Sunway had...

Unit trust sector may see higher share of mart cap.
January 30, 2002... Byline: Azlan Abu Bakar MALAYSIA'S unit trust industry could see its share of the market capitalisation increase another 5 per cent by the end of the year, HLB Unit Trust Management Bhd (HLBUTM) general manager Ivan Tham says. Unit...

LBS shares, ICULs on main board.
January 30, 2002... LBS Bina Group Bhd's shares and five-year irredeemable convertible unsecured loan stocks (ICULS) will be officially quoted on the main board of the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE) effective 9am today, in place of Instangreen Corp Bhd (ICB)...

MBf Cap obtains SC nod for unit's merger.
January 30, 2002... MBF Capital Bhd yesterday announced that the proposed merger between its wholly-owned subsidiary MBf Insurans Bhd (MBfI) and QBE Insurance (Malaysia) Bhd (QBEM) has been approved by the Securities Commission on January 25. Among others, the...

UK-based firm buys 4pc of Amanah SmallCap's shares.
January 30, 2002... Byline: December 2001, City of London Investment had raised its equity CITY of London Investment Management Co Ltd has acquired close to 20 million shares, or 4 per cent, of Amanah SmallCap Fund Bhd over the last 12 months. ...

Second-board firms' gains not based on fundamentals?
January 30, 2002... Byline: Debra Moreira SOME second-board stocks may provide high returns on investment in the current market but whether gains can be sustained remains uncertain, analysts say. They said counters such as Chin Foh Bhd and Permaju...

Rally to continue despite profit-taking.
January 30, 2002... Byline: Debrah Moreira ANALYSTS and dealers are bullish over trading on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange which will continue to rally despite profit-taking in the afternoon yesterday. "We expected a mild correction before the market...

Klibor futures end steady.
January 30, 2002... THREE-month Kuala Lumpur Interbank Offered Rates (Klibor) futures contracts on the Malaysia Derivatives Exchange ended steady yesterday amidst modest trading. Trading interest began at mid-morning as investors opted to build up their...

Prime Utilities gets 5-month extension.
January 30, 2002... THE KLSE has granted a five-month extension to Prime Utilities Bhd (PUB) for the non-suspension of its listing status pursuant to Paragraph 8.16 of the Listing Requirements from December 1 2001 to April 30 2002. The extension was to enable...

Utama gets more time to complete merger.
January 29, 2002... Byline: Kamarul Yunus UTAMA Banking Group has been given more time to complete its proposed merger with RHB Bank Bhd, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad says. "It would seem that Utama has come back, wishing to complete...

MAS proposes to hive off international operations.
January 29, 2002... Byline: Eirmalasare Bani MALAYSIAN Airline System Bhd (MAS) has proposed to decouple its potentially lucrative international operations from the unprofitable domestic services, and go private in the process. A new company will be...

Minimum paid-up capital rule a first hurdle for Nexnews.
January 29, 2002... Byline: Shahriman Johari NEXNEWS Bhd will have to sell new shares to existing shareholders or new investors to meet the minimum paid-up capital rule or risk not being able to proceed with its purchase of The Sun daily and The Edge...

More power, infrastructure-related PDS seen.
January 29, 2002... Byline: Ishun P. Ahmad THE bulk of new private debt securities (PDS) in 2002 will come from corporate financing and refinancing, and not in the form of "crisis bonds" which dominated the market last year. Specifically, the bond...

Tough for TRI to effect revamp without Telekom?
January 29, 2002... Byline: Malcolm Rosario and Francis Fernandez TECHNOLOGY Resources Industries (TRI) Bhd has yet to identify the potential new investors in its restructuring scheme but analysts are already divided about whether the parties are acceptable...

'Industries will not be hit by ruling'.
January 29, 2002... INDUSTRIES will have no problem adjusting to the Government's plan to reduce the number of foreign workers in the country as they can either automate or relocate to other countries, International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Rafidah...

Capital options available for women entrepreneurs.
January 29, 2002... Byline: Hamisah Hamid WOMEN should participate actively in business as they have two options to source funds for their ventures, International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz said. She said women can either apply...

Economic indicators suggest worst may be over.
January 29, 2002... Byline: Dzulkarnain Taib MALAYSIA'S economic indicators are pointing to an improvement this year, suggesting that the worst for Malaysia may be over, according to the National Economic Action Council (NEAC). Head of the council's...

Yogyakarta seeks more foreign investments.
January 29, 2002... Byline: Fauziah Ismail YOGYAKARTA, Mon: Yogyakarta has so far attracted US$50 million (US$1 = RM3.80) in foreign direct investments, including from Malaysia, and Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono X is actively seeking more in its effort to...

Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono.
January 29, 2002... SRI Sultan Hamengku Buwono X wants direct flights between Yogyakarta and Johor, following plans to improve the Indonesian Adisucipto airport. "We find that most of the people in Johor have families in Yogyakarta and vice versa. Direct flights...

Need to settle water issue: PM.
January 29, 2002... Byline: Kamarul Yunus MALAYSIA-Singapore relations will not turn sour although discussions on a broad range of issues have stalled since both countries failed to agree on the sale of water to Singapore, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr...

Implications of 'Indon last' policy.
January 29, 2002... Byline: Hamisah Hamid EFFORTS to reduce the population of Indonesian workers in Malaysia may appear to work well on paper but in practice, it may carry a high price tag. In recent weeks Indonesian workers had made front-page news in...

New software for document distribution.
January 29, 2002... VIRTUAL Studio Sdn Bhd, a software development firm, is offering an efficient way to organise and monitor document distribution within both public and private sector organisations. Called DocControl Distribution, it tracks and logs the...

15pc growth seen for unit trust sector.
January 29, 2002... Byline: Azlan Abu Bakar MALAYSIA'S unit trust industry is expected to experience a 15 per cent growth this year in line with the expectation of an economic recovery in the second half of the year. Pheim Unit Trust Bhd chief executive...

Index up 7.37 points.
January 29, 2002... THE MSC IT Index closed at 161.431 points, an increase of 7.37 points from last Thursday's closing of 154.065. The market capitalisation of the MSC IT Index was at RM12.255 million. There were 14 gainers and five losers, with seven...

Fundamental discipline?
January 29, 2002... WHEN the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange queries a company on "unusual" trading activity in its shares, the market would assume that an investigation is in the offing if not already under way. When a company is queried seven times in less than...

Don's fascination with photonics.
January 29, 2002... Byline: Jennifer Jacobs PROFESSOR Harith Ahmad of University Malaya (UM) is in his element. For more than 19 years his laboratories in UM has been looking into the fascinating capabilities of light. Now, technologies having to do with...

Car distribution to remain EON's core business.
January 29, 2002... Byline: Debra Moreira EDARAN Otomobil Nasional Bhd (EON) will continue to rely on car distribution as its core business even with the backdoor listing of its banking unit. According to EON managing director Datuk Adzmi Abdul Wahab,...

DRB-HICOM to cut reliance on vehicle unit.
January 29, 2002... DRB-HICOM Bhd, one of Malaysia's biggest automotive groups, says it plan to reduce dependence on its main business by boosting its construction and services divisions. DRB-HICOM, which owns a stake in the distributor of Malaysia's best-...

Technicals point to consolidation.
January 29, 2002... Byline: W.Q. Mun Long term: Uncertain Short term: Consolidation phase with domestic bias Momentum index: +52 Relative strength index: 58 Observations: Market players bidded CPO futures prices at first last week in the...

Klibor futures close on steady note.
January 29, 2002... THE Three-month Kuala Lumpur Interbank Offered rates (Klibor) futures contracts on the Malaysia Derivatives Exchange finished higher today as investors build up their position in the market. Investors' interest were widespread after...

I-Berhad to open 100 i-Home outlets by year-end.
January 29, 2002... Byline: Sharifah Arfah I-BERHAD plans to expand its smart home market extensively by opening 100 i-Home system outlets by the end of this year. Executive director Monica Ong said 60 of the outlets will be situated in the Klang...

Ho Wah 'designated securities' status withdrawn.
January 29, 2002... THE Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE) has decided to withdraw Ho Wah Genting Bhd's "designated securities" status effective 9am Tuesday. In a statement released yesterday, KLSE said with the withdrawal, the conditions that were imposed on...

Time Engineering trading to be suspended.
January 29, 2002... TRADING of Time Engineering Bhd's securities will be suspended at the company's request with effect from 9am to 5pm today, pending an announcement by the group in connection with its US$250 million (US$1 = RM3.80) nominal value redeemable...

Affin to acquire Amsteel Securities assets.
January 29, 2002... AFFIN Holdings Bhd (AHB) has agreed to acquire Amsteel Securities Sdn Bhd's stockbroking business and assets for RM42.25 million cash. In an announcement to the KLSE yesterday, AHB said the sale and purchase agreement has already been signed...

TRI did not default on eurobond payment.
January 29, 2002... TECHNOLOGY Resources Industries Bhd (TRI) did not default on its eurobond payment commitment in 2001 as mentioned in our report yesterday. The report, headlined "Telekom again denies it's buying into TRI", stated that TRI defaulted on...

Genting hits 2-year high on Macau licence talk.
January 29, 2002... Byline: Adeline Paul Raj SHARES of Genting Bhd soared to a two-year high yesterday on talk that the former's 57 per cent subsidiary, Genting International Plc, is close to bagging one of three casino licences in Macau. Genting, which...

Huat Lai plans to increase egg production to 1.4m a day.
January 29, 2002... Byline: Rizalman Hammim HUAT Lai Resources Bhd plans to increase its egg production to 1.4 million per day in two years with the construction of eight new layer houses in Malacca. "We now have 13 high-tech layer houses in our farm in...

Celcom is now a public company.
January 29, 2002... Byline: Nuryushida Laily Yusof TECHNOLOGY Resources Industries Bhd's (TRI) wholly-owned subsidiary Celcom (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd has been converted to a public company effective yesterday, the group says. In an announcement to the Kuala...

EPE Power to sell 50pc stake in EPE Reyrolle.
January 29, 2002... Byline: Nuryushida Laily Yusof EPE Power Corp Bhd has agreed to dispose of its 50 per cent investment in EPE Reyrolle (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (ERM) to VA Tech Power and Water (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (VA Tech) for RM772,454. In an announcement...

EPF investment plan attracts positive response.
January 29, 2002... Byline: Debra Moreira INVESTORS have reacted positively to news that the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) will play a more prominent role in the local equity market. The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE) Composite Index rose 12.03...

'Gains in OYL's shares based on short-term play'.
January 29, 2002... GAINS made by OYL Industries Bhd last Friday are unlikely to be sustained as they were not based on fundamentals, analysts say. "There was nothing new announced by the company and it is likely that certain parties were looking to make...