Business Times (Malaysia) articles from March 2002

Business Times (Malaysia) archives from March 2002

Tajudin case boils down to clause in Danaharta Act (HL).
March 29, 2002... Byline: Cindy Yeap WHETHER Tan Sri Tajudin Ramli retains control of cellular operator Celcom (M) Sdn Bhd appears to hinge on how the High Court interprets a law pertaining to the operations of asset manager Pengurusan Danaharta Nasional...

Sell-off of water utility inevitable to douse rising expenses.
March 29, 2002... Byline: Foo Eu Jin PRIVATIZATION of the country's water utility may be necessary amid rising costs to treat and supply potable water, say analysts, but it will likely involve a review of the existing tariff structure. "Placing water...

Telekom to give RM100m contract to Alcatel?
March 29, 2002... Byline: Malcolm Rosario TELEKOM Malaysia Bhd is believed to have decided to award a RM100 million contract to French telecommunications giant Alcatel for the supply of Asymetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) equipment. The equipment...

Total defence capability vital.
March 29, 2002... Byline: Seri Menanti DEAR Sir, It was stated somewhere that the first battle in which tanks were used was at the Battle of the Somme, in northern France, on September 15 1916, when the British used 49 tanks, but with disappointing...

Buckets of challenges.
March 29, 2002... LIKE power, telecommunications and transport, water supply is a big ticket item in the the nation's budget. In fact, about RM52 billion has been earmarked for 62 major water projects to ensure that taps do not run dry in Malaysia. Although...

Favelle Favco targets 20pc rise in sales.
March 29, 2002... Byline: Eirmalasare Bani FAVELLE Favco Cranes (M) Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Muhibbah Engineering (M) Bhd, hopes to increase its sales by 10 to 20 per cent this year. Said to rank among the top five crane manufacturers in the world,...

MOF, Schiphol may seek extension of agreement.
March 29, 2002... Byline: Eirmalasare Bani THE Ministry of Finance (MOF) and Dutch airport operator Schiphol International BV may seek a third extension of their memorandum of understanding (MOU), analysts said. The two parties have until Sunday to...

PM: No decision yet on privatizing water supply.
March 29, 2002... Byline: Eirmalasare Bani THE Government has yet to decide on the privatization of water supply in the country, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad said. "We have not given any guarantee (on water privatization), but some...

Sapura, Southern Bank to meet Bank Negara.
March 29, 2002... Byline: Habhajan Singh THE Sapura group and majority shareholders of Southern Bank Bhd will be meeting Bank Negara Malaysia officials today to discuss disagreements on a deal to acquire a stake in the bank. Sources said the Sapura...

CB Industrial to offer 1-for-2 bonus issue.
March 29, 2002... CB INDUSTRIAL Product Holding Bhd yesterday announced a one-for-two bonus issue involving 14.27 million shares credited as fully paid. In a statement to the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange, the company said the bonus issue will enable the...

More than 7pc of Leisure shares traded off-market.
March 29, 2002... Byline: Sharifah Arfah MORE than 7 per cent of Leisure Management Bhd's shares worth RM69.6 million have changed hands in off-market deals amid strong buying interest that has pushed the stock to RM10 - its highest price in two years....

YTL well ahead of competitors with Wessex Water purchase.
March 29, 2002... Byline: Shahriman Johari SHOULD players in the local power sector be worried about YTL Power International Bhd's purchase of the UK's most profitable water company? Although officials from Malakoff Bhd, Powertek Bhd and Tenaga...

MRCB shares rise to year-high of RM1.45.
March 29, 2002... Byline: Norzuhaira Ruhanie SHARES of Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB) rose to its year-high of RM1.45 yesterday before the stock was suspended less than two-and-a-half hours into trading. The counter gained 10 sen or 7.4 per cent...

Real Rewards plans to capture 3.5m households by 2003.
March 29, 2002... Byline: Vasantha Ganesan OPERATOR of the loyalty programme Real Rewards - Electronic Commerce Technology Sdn Bhd - expects loyalty marketing to grow 25 per cent in tandem with an increase in household expenditure and rise in the...

S. Korea to launch Grand Sale to woo more tourists.
March 29, 2002... Byline: Kang Siew Li MALAYSIA faces increasing challenges from its Asian neighbours in its quest to make the country a shoppers' paradise. Besides the well-known shopping destinations like Singapore, Thailand and Hong Kong, many more...

Deregulation of Asian energy sector may take longer.
March 29, 2002... Byline: Zety Fazilah Baharuddin DEREGULATION process of the Asian energy sector may take longer as regulators are emphasising more at present on stable market conditions and security of supply. Boston Consulting Group vice president...

Klibor futures close lower.
March 29, 2002... THE three-month Kuala Lumpur Interbank Offered Rates (Klibor) futures on the Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed lower yesterday. At the close, March 2003 dropped 0.01 of a point to 96.34, June 2003 lost 0.03 of a point to 96.01 and...

Shares may end week on high note.
March 29, 2002... Byline: Norzuhaira Ruhanie TRADING on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE) this week could end on a high note dealers said, although several corporate announcements made yesterday could influence movement of certain stocks. "There...

Index falls slightly.
March 29, 2002... THE MSC IT Index closed at 194.827 points, a decrease of 0.744 point from 195.571 points the previous trading day, reports www.MSCTimes.com. This represents a fall of 0.38 per cent over the previous trading day, with the market...

Futuristic eyes RM40m turnover by year-end.
March 29, 2002... FUTURISTIC Image Builder Sdn Bhd, one of Malaysia's leading interior fit- out specialists, officially opened its state-of-the-art furniture manufacturing facility in Selangor yesterday. Futuristic group of companies group managing...

TaylorMade clubs given Asian touch.
March 29, 2002... WHEN TaylorMade decided to tailor their clubs to suit Asian players, the US brand found a niche they have not explored. TaylorMade-Adidas's Look East policy is paying big dividend, since it introduced its line of Japanese-designed woods...

Savouring interesting and healthy tips on fruits.
March 29, 2002... Byline: Helena Fernz, hfernz@nstp.com.my FRUITS are good for one's health. That is an oft-repeated statement that we are familiar with. Certainly, the "goodness of fruits" is something we are aware of, but wouldn't you like to know...

Haulage industry not benefiting from recovery.
March 29, 2002... Byline: Zety Fazilah Baharuddin THE haulage industry appears to be not benefiting from Malaysia's economic recovery due to a large number of players, an industry source said. "Although there is some improvement in the big boys'...

China quietly enters CPO mart.
March 28, 2002... Byline: Zaidi Isham Ismail CHINA has already made its presence in the local palm oil market unannounced to avoid sending upward pressure on prices. Traders said China deliberately pulled the move to capitalise on current palm oil...

Rising interest in bank stocks (HL).
March 28, 2002... Byline: then, the market will likely shift its attention to how each bank THE outlook for the banking sector is fast improving amid firm signs of a recovery in the economy, analysts say, but the impact of the mergers and acquisitions of...

3G service providers with 'empty promises' face stiff penalties.
March 28, 2002... Byline: Cindy Yeap THE Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) is finalising a detailed penalty scheme to punish service providers who fail to deliver promises made to users. The ground rules for technical and...

Segregation a sin of political hypocrisy.
March 28, 2002... Byline: Shamsul Akmar THE issue of racial segregation in schools as accused by National Union of Teaching Profession (NUTP) secretary-general Datuk N. Siva Subramaniam is truly digressing from the original contention. From a debate to...

A welcomed coup by YTL Power.
March 28, 2002... YTL POWER Bhd shares rose yesterday, and understandably too. Investor sentiment was bolstered by the company's surprise announcement the day before that it has won a bid for a British water utility company. The immediate indications are that...

Amcorp shares fail to sustain upward momentum.
March 28, 2002... Byline: Norzuhaira Ruhanie SHARES of Arab-Malaysian Corp Bhd (Amcorp) failed to sustain its upward momentum yesterday, ending unchanged at RM1.24. However, related stock AMMB Holdings Bhd closed 5 sen or 9.5 per cent higher at...

Gamuda awarded road project in India.
March 28, 2002... GAMUDA Bhd has been awarded a contract to design, finance, construct, operate and maintain a highway project in West Bengal, India, by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). In a statement to the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange,...

Meda stock hit by soft property market.
March 28, 2002... Byline: Rizalman Hammim THE share performance of property developer Meda Inc Bhd is suffering from the current soft property market, analysts said. "The current property market, where there is a lot of unsold properties, could be one...

Wessex purchase boosts YTL-related counters.
March 28, 2002... Byline: Adeline Paul Raj SHARE prices of the YTL group of companies were given a significant boost yesterday as investors reacted favourably to YTL Power International Bhd's RM6.7 billion acquisition of water utility Wessex Water Ltd in...

'Private sector role vital to ensure efficient water supply'.
March 28, 2002... Byline: Nuryushida Laily Yusof EFFICIENT water supply management at the state-level requires private sector participation as they are more result-oriented and technologically capable, says an international industry expert. Technical...

Malaysia's recovery sustainable, says Citibank.
March 28, 2002... Byline: Sadna Saifuddin CITIBANK is confident that Malaysia's economic recovery is sustainable. Its vice-president of the emerging markets economic and research team, Sim Moh Siong, believes that Malaysia is on a recovery path this...

Ranhill voted best newly-listed company.
March 28, 2002... CONSTRUCTION firm Ranhill Bhd has been voted by Asiamoney magazine as "Malaysia's Best Newly Listed Company in 2001". The award was given to Ranhill following the magazine's South-East Asia's Best-Managed Companies Brokers Polls 2001,...

PNB buys 6pc stake in IJM amid strong interest.
March 28, 2002... Byline: Shahriman Johari PERMODALAN Nasional Bhd (PNB) has bought a 6 per cent stake in construction group IJM Corp Bhd for an undisclosed sum last week amid strong interest that has pushed the latter's shares to a new high in over four...

'Strategic ties will help market Islamic products'.
March 28, 2002... Byline: Hamisah Hamid STRATEGIC alliances between Syariah-based financial institutions and conventional institutions will extend the outreach of Islamic financial products and services to all markets and clients of all faiths, says a...

Malaysia a good place for equity investment.
March 28, 2002... Byline: Hamisah Hamid MALAYSIA is in a position to attract Islamic-based private equity funds as it has put in place a regulatory framework for an Islamic financial market, says a fund manager. Navis Management Sdn Bhd director...

Data point to increase in consumer spending.
March 28, 2002... Byline: Vasantha Ganesan CONSUMER confidence is set for a rebound as disposable income rises and the employment situation improves, economists say. Job losses will be capped by an expansion of economic activities, while the increase...

DHL ops costs up 4pc.
March 28, 2002... Byline: Zety Fazilah Baharuddin COURIER company, DHL Worldwide Express' operating costs in South-East Asia has increased by 4 per cent due to higher crude oil prices. Globally, its operating costs jumped by 1 per cent. Though the...

Trans-Asia Railway will increase trade.
March 28, 2002... Byline: Jose Barrock TRADE between Malaysia and China can be increased once the Trans-Asia Railway link between Kunming and Singapore is completed, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ling Liong Sik said. The rail link, he added, has...

Firms set up in Algeria enjoy direct access to Europe.
March 28, 2002... COMPANIES incorporated in Algeria will have an immediate access to Europe, the Algerian Trade and Commerce Minister Hamid Temmar said. The agreement, he said, is part of an association accord Algeria signed with the European Union (EU)...

Klibor futures close lower.
March 28, 2002... THE three-month Kuala Lumpur Interbank Offered Rates (Klibor) futures on the Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed lower yesterday. The futures market saw 17 contract month futures being traded amid the steady cash rates. April 2002,...

Bullish movement to continue today.
March 28, 2002... Byline: Norzuhaira Ruhanie POSITIVE market movement is expected to continue today with selective buying on blue-chips pushing the benchmark index upwards. "The correction period in the market seems to be over," one dealer said. ...

Index up 2.09pc.
March 28, 2002... THE MSC IT Index closed at 195.571, an increase of 4.002 points from 191.569 points the previous trading day, reports www.MSCTimes.com. This represents an increase of 2.09 per cent over the previous trading day, with the market...

Report: Job vacancies continue to rise.
March 28, 2002... Byline: Hamisah Hamid JOB vacancies continue to dominate the country's labour market with 3,776 job openings reported last week, compared with 3,124 jobs in the previous week. This brought the total number of job vacancies reported...

For success, corporate alliance should be based on trust.
March 28, 2002... Byline: Hamisah Hamid COMPETITION in today's corporate world is very tough that no companies can excel in everything they must do to thrive. Therefore, the logical way to meet this need is to draw on other firm's knowledge, skills,...

YTL Power set for rating gush-up (HL).
March 27, 2002... Byline: Shahriman Johari SHARES of YTL Power International Bhd are expected to see an upward re- rating by investment analysts following the company's RM6.7 billion purchase of Enron Corp's British water utility business. Pre-tax...

Megasteel only company to benefit from steel duty.
March 27, 2002... Byline: Zaidi Isham Ismail STEELMAKER Megasteel Sdn Bhd, a 50 per cent subsidiary of the Lion Group, appears to be the only company that will benefit from the increase in import duty for steel products. Megasteel is the sole...

TSR makes strong debut with RM1.36 premium.
March 27, 2002... Byline: Norzuhaira Ruhanie CONSTRUCTION company TSR Capital Bhd made the most impressive debut on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE) so far this year when its shares were chased more than double higher to close at RM2.66 yesterday,...

Evolving a new banking culture.
March 27, 2002... JUST days after the RHB Bank and Bank Utama announced a deal to merge, thus wrapping up the sector's massive consolidation programme, the market is already speculating about a fresh round of banking mergers. But then, the possibility is not...

Discard divisive politics.
March 27, 2002... Byline: Abdullah Ahmad THE only race in which the majority of people pick the winner is an election. I have very comfortable expectations that voters in the Ketari by-election on Sunday will return Yum Ah Ha, the 50-year-old police...

Petronas transfers Proton stake.
March 27, 2002... PERUSAHAAN Otomobil Nasional Bhd (Proton) announced yesterday that Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) completed the transfer of its 84.7 million RM1 shares in Proton to Khazanah Nasional Bhd through a direct business transaction on March 25....

Tajudin secures financing to take up rights entitlement.
March 27, 2002... Byline: Cindy Yeap "He (Tajudin) has secured financing to take up the rights. The rights (issue) will go on," TRI executive director Datuk Lim Kheng Yew told Business Times yesterday. Tajudin has until April 5 to pay about RM150...

PM: Use of dinar in world trade will reduce speculation.
March 27, 2002... PRIME Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad said the Government has worked out the mechanism for using gold dinar for international trading. He said the use of dinar, which largely follows the price of gold, will reduce the risk of...

SC chief urges more efforts to attract international funds.
March 27, 2002... MORE efforts are required to develop the country's Islamic capital market to attract international Islamic investment funds, projected to grow between 12 and 15 per cent a year, Securities Commission (SC) chairman Datuk Ali Abdul Kadir said...

Moving towards system supportive of economic justice.
March 27, 2002... Byline: Sadna Saifuddin THE Islamic financial system can help to fill the vacuum between 358 billionaires and 1.3 billion deprived people, according to a senior government official. Special adviser to the Prime Minister Tan Sri Nor...

Call for Islamic agency to ensure fairer ratings.
March 27, 2002... ISLAMIC financial instruments will get fairer ratings when an International Islamic Rating Agency (IIRA) is established, Malaysian Rating Corp Bhd (MARC) president and executive director Zaiton Mohd Hassan said. Zaiton said this does not...

Newsprint prices expected to pick up in second half.
March 27, 2002... Byline: Rizalman Hammim ANALYSTS expect prices for newsprint to start picking up in the second half of the year, which could be good news for Malaysian Newsprint Industries Sdn Bhd (MNI). "At the moment, newsprint prices are still...

Nation in early stages of recovery, says Zeti.
March 27, 2002... Byline: Hamisah Hamid MALAYSIA is now in the early stages of recovery, with the first quarter expected to show gross domestic product (GDP) growth as against last year's contraction. Bank Negara Malaysia governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti...

Lingui future performance depends on Japan timber mart.
March 27, 2002... Byline: Rizalman Hammim TIMBER-based Lingui Development Bhd is expected to continue recording losses as long as timber exports to Japan show no signs of recovery. "The timber market in Japan, the biggest importer of Malaysian...

Petra unit gets Talisman contract.
March 27, 2002... PETRA Perdana Bhd's subsidiary, Petra Resources Sdn Bhd (PRSB), has been awarded a long-term contract to provide solutions for inspection and maintenance specialist services (IMSS) for the PM-3 commercial agreement area, phase two and three...

YTL wins bid for Enron's UK water utility unit.
March 27, 2002... Byline: Adeline Paul Raj INDEPENDENT power producer YTL Power International Bhd will make its first venture into the water and waste water industry with a STG544.5 million (STG1 = RM5.47) purchase of Enron Corp's water utility arm in the...

WTK signs pact with Kedah agency.
March 27, 2002... TIMBER-based WTK Holdings Bhd has signed a joint venture agreement with Yayasan Islam Negeri Kedah to develop and secure a project to fell, extract or harvest logs using the heli-harvesting method for a period of 10 years in Kedah. The joint...

Roofing, air-con contractors may feel hardest pinch.
March 27, 2002... Byline: Maisara Ismail ROOFING and air-conditioning specialist contractors are expected to feel the hardest pinch from the Government's recent decision to increase the tariff on imported steel by twofold. While the move to slap a...

Hashim no more Yong Tai 2nd-largest shareholder.
March 27, 2002... DATUK Hashim Safin had ceased to become the second-largest shareholder of garment retailer Yong Tai Bhd, following his disposal of 3.22 million shares, or 8.08 per cent, on March 18. Yong Tai's closing price on that day was RM2. ...

Salcon Eng to bid for RM900m water project.
March 27, 2002... Byline: Foo Eu Jin SALCON Engineering Bhd is bidding for a RM90 million water engineering project in Malacca involving the construction of a water treatment plant and water pipeline linking Muar to Malacca, says Wan Shamsudin Wan Yahya,...

Hauliers uncertain of next course of action.
March 27, 2002... Byline: Jose Barrock LOCAL hauliers, faced with decreasing container load volume and a ten-fold increase in players, are uncertain of their next course of action. Throughput levels at the local ports have increased from 5.25 million...

Klibor futures end steadier.
March 27, 2002... THE three-month Kuala Lumpur Interbank Offered Rates (Klibor) futures contracts on the Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed the day's trading steadier, a dealer said. The futures market saw three far month contracts traded amidst the...

Index up 4.23 points.
March 27, 2002... THE MSC IT Index closed at 191.569, an increase of 4.23 points from 187.335 points the previous trading day, reports www.MSCTimes.com. This represents an increase of 2.26 per cent over the previous trading day, with the market...

Firm gets mart respect after maiden project.
March 27, 2002... Byline: Kang Siew Li MAH Sing Properties Sdn Bhd may be a newcomer in the Johor property market, but its ability to successfully rehabilitate the Sri Pulai Perdana project in Johor Baru has earned it the recognition and respect of the...

2001 property overhang increases slightly.
March 27, 2002... Byline: Zety Fazilah Baharuddin THE property overhang has increased slightly as at December 31 last year with RM27.08 billion of unsold properties, a 1.9 per cent rise from RM26.57 billion recorded in the first half of 2001. ...

'Knee-jerk' reaction blamed for fall in Sime shares.
March 27, 2002... Byline: Ishun P. Ahmad CONGLOMERATE Sime Darby Bhd's steep losses on Monday were overdone and due to a "knee-jerk" reaction rather than associated to the group's fundamentals, said analysts and dealers. Sime Darby shares fell 32 sen...

Steel duty exemption for 7 sectors likely (HL).
March 26, 2002... Byline: Zaidi Isham Ismail SEVEN sectors are expected to be exempted from the imposition of a flat 50 per cent import duty on steel products from March 15. The car-manufacturing, oil and gas, shipbuilding, electrical and electronics,...

Danaharta still free to 'deal with' Tajudin's account.
March 26, 2002... Byline: Cindy Yeap THERE is nothing to stop Pengurusan Danaharta Nasional Bhd from putting up for sale a block of Tan Sri Tajudin Ramli's shares in Technology Resources Industries Bhd (TRI) between now and Thursday. This is provided...

New bank mergers expected to take off only next year.
March 26, 2002... Byline: Maisara Ismail A MARKET-driven fresh round of banking consolidation may only find firm ground for a take-off next year, analysts say, although merger talks could start as early as in the second half of this year. Parts of the...

ABN AMRO sees better performance.
March 26, 2002... ABN AMRO Bank Bhd, which posted a net profit of RM4.28 million for the financial year ended December 31 2001 from a net loss of RM4.81 million in 2000, is confident that it will perform even better this year, says the bank's country...

Road Builder expected to announce bonus issue.
March 26, 2002... Byline: Adeline Paul Raj ANALYSTS are largely expecting Road Builder (M) Holdings Bhd to announce a one-for-one bonus issue proposal today. Road Builder's shares were suspended from trading yesterday pending an announcement it...

Correction.
March 26, 2002... THE opening paragraph in a Business Times article on March 18, headlined "TIMEdotCom's change in policy fuels merger talk", should have read: "Consequent to the change, the company reports a loss before tax of RM42.3m" instead of RM423...

Fodder for more speculation.
March 26, 2002... THE latest move of Technology Resources Industries Bhd's (TRI) controlling shareholder, Tan Sri Tajudin Ramli, looks like a last-ditch attempt to keep control of his telecommunications company; if anything a rear-guard action, rather than a...

Chipmakers seen gaining from improved sentiment.
March 26, 2002... Byline: Foo Eu Jin HIGHER spot orders for Malaysian-made computer chips, some exceeding clients' estimates, indicate that inventory levels have bottomed, analysts said. "Orders for chips have to be filled fast these days as spot...

Hashim now 2nd largest Yong Tai shareholder.
March 26, 2002... Byline: Ayu Musa Kamal DATUK Hashim Safin has emerged as Yong Tai Bhd's second largest shareholder after buying a 14 per cent stake from Perbadanan Nasional Bhd (PNS) for RM10 million or RM1.86 a share. However, Hashim, who is also...

Insurance brokers record biggest gains in 2001.
March 26, 2002... Byline: Habhajan Singh INSURANCE brokers, the intermediaries between direct insurers and clients, saw their biggest leap in business last year after witnessing two years of negative growth since 1998. The industry saw a 36 per cent...

Bintai, MAE to boost regional base via merger.
March 26, 2002... Byline: Sharifah Arfah MECHANICAL and electrical works specialist Bintai Kinden Corp Bhd is merging with Singapore-based MAE Engineering Ltd to further strengthen their presence in the region. The merger will take the form of share...