Business Times (Malaysia) articles from October 2000, page 6

Business Times (Malaysia) archives from October 2000

Analysts recommend 'buy' on Courts Mammoth.
October 12, 2000... COURTS Mammoth Bhd, which traded very close to its issue price of RM2.35 for most part of day on its debut on the main board of the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange yesterday, has been recommended a "buy" by analysts. "This is a very good...

BonusKad may venture into consultancy field abroad.
October 12, 2000... ASIA'S largest multi-party rewards programme operator, BonusKad Loyalty Sdn Bhd, may venture overseas in the longer term for the provision of consultancy services. "We may help set up programmes for others regionally by offering our...

TAUTM to launch 2 new funds.
October 12, 2000... TA UNIT Trust Management Bhd (TAUTM) will launch two new funds by year-end to cater to Muslim and Conservative investors. In an interview, TAUTM chief executive officer Richard Chua Lai Huat, said the company's research has shown that the...

D-8 nations reps in KL to learn about Malaysian capital mart.
October 12, 2000... REPRESENTATIVES from the Developing-8 (D-8) nations are currently in Kuala Lumpur for a five-day study visit to learn about Malaysia's experience in developing and regulating its capital market. The programme, called "The Malaysian...

Mesdaq to introduce trading service via handphones.
October 12, 2000... THE Malaysian Exchange of Securities Dealing and Automated Quotation (Mesdaq) will introduce a new information service which will enable investors, market traders and brokers to trade Mesdaq-listed shares through their personal handphones....

P&O Nedlloyd brings Barentsz to port.
October 12, 2000... P&O Nedlloyd, a leading international shipping company, is bringing the fifth of its Explorer class new buildings, the "P&O Nedlloyd Barentsz" to Port Klang next Thursday. The Barentsz, with a length of 278m and container carrying...

PTP and Maersk host event for 800 shippers, forwarders.
October 12, 2000... THE Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) with Maersk Sealand played host on Tuesday to a 800-strong group of shippers and forwarders from Malaysia and Singapore. With PTP securing Maersk Sealand, which is to shift its transhipment hub from...

Diperdana hopes to forge tie-ups with shipping lines.
October 12, 2000... HAULAGE company Diperdana Holdings Bhd is talking to several shipping lines for strategic tie-ups which would enable them to provide door-to- door services. With the increasing number of shipping lines stepping up their frequencies and...

Key indicators of the labour market.
October 12, 2000... THE 1999 Key Indicators of the Labour Market (KILM) is a critical step towards the development of a set of tools for evaluating and designing labour market policies in relation to labour force participation, employment, unemployment,...

Keppel Terminal sets work rate record for Mitsui OSK.
October 12, 2000... PSA CORP set a vessel productivity record for Mitsui OSK at its Keppel Terminal on September 22. The vessel rate of 241 containers per hour, a personal best for Mitsui OSK worldwide, was achieved when the "DANUBE Voy555E" discharged more...

Need for holistic approach in knowledge-delivery system.
October 12, 2000... "EDUCATION" can be defined as "giving intellectual and moral support to the mind". It originates from the Latin term "edu-cere" which relates to the development of the mind. The term "development" presupposes that such initiatives are...

Firms need to strategise to face globalisation.
October 12, 2000... MALAYSIAN companies hit by the recent economic downturn must recover fast and strategise themselves to face the tough competition in the globalisation era, a management guru said. Kaizen Institute chairman Masaaki Imai said Malaysian...

Seeking ways to raise palm oil exports to Russia.
October 12, 2000... MALAYSIA is keen to discuss with Russia on the ways to increase the exports of palm oil to the former Soviet republic, Primary Industries Minister Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik said. "Countertrade arrangements could be one possibility while...

Jupem the first govt agency to go fully e-commerce.
October 12, 2000... THE Department of Survey and Mapping (Jupem) has become the first public agency to fully use electronic commerce (e-commerce) in its transactions. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad is scheduled to launch Jupem's RM40 million...

Taiwan to strive for better placing.
October 12, 2000... TAIWAN has never been satisfied being the third largest foreign investor in Malaysia and is gearing up efforts to better that position. Representative of Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Kuala Lumpur Paul J. K. Tso said Taiwan...

Makers of optical disc devices have 6 months to get licence.
October 12, 2000... MANUFACTURERS that produce compact disc using optical disc have six months beginning from October 15 to apply for licence from the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry to enable them to use the device. The requirement comes under the...

Maxis launches WAP services at local rates.
October 12, 2000... MAXIS Communications Bhd, has launched wireless application protocol (WAP) services at local rates, effectively allowing its customers to avoid paying expensive International Direct Dial (IDD) rates. The closely held private limited...

Not such a mammoth debut for Courts.
October 12, 2000... COURTS Mammoth Bhd's debut performance on the main board of the Kuala Lumpur Stock yesterday proved to be anything but mammoth in proportions, and it appears that the company's fundamentals or that of the retail furniture business do not...

Malaysia to boost cooperation, trade with Bosnia.
October 12, 2000... SARAJEVO: Malaysia and Bosnia-Herzegovina "renewed" the close cooperation they had before the Asian meltdown with new initiatives to boost trade and investment. Making his first visit to this country since the 1997 economic crisis, Prime...

High oil prices add bounce to natural rubber.
October 12, 2000... THE global energy crisis of the past months, heating up crude oil prices to 10-year highs, is loosening synthetic rubber's (SR) grip on the world elastomer market, allowing natural rubber (NR) to put in a couple of slingshots in their...

British Airways to suspend flights to KL from April (HL).
October 12, 2000... BRITISH Airways (BA), Europe's largest airline, citing operational losses, has decided to suspend all of its London-Kuala Lumpur flights beginning April 1 2001. BA has been flying into Malaysia for the last 50 years, and had only in...

Kloffe dips on selling pressure.
October 12, 2000... THE Kuala Lumpur Options and Financial Futures Exchange (Kloffe) closed slightly lower on late selling pressure. Spot October futures dropped 1.6 points to 702 with 984 lots traded while November futures lost 1.2 points to 706.1 with 44...

Mart poised to rise further.
October 12, 2000... STRONG late buying interest on blue chip counters continued to fend off early selling pressure which saw the key barometer Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange Composite Index (KLCI) adding 3 points to close at 714.25 yesterday. The strong buying...

Klibor ends unchanged.
October 12, 2000... THE three-month Kuala Lumpur Interbank Offered Rates (Klibor) futures contract on the Commodity and Monetary Exchange of Malaysia (Commex) settled flat yesterday. The only traded contracts of March 2001 remained at Tuesday's closing...

Prime, Idris at odds over business direction?
October 11, 2000... THE management of Prime Utilities Bhd, headed by Datuk Ishak Ismail, appears to be at odds with the company's controlling shareholder, Idris Hydraulic (Malaysia) Bhd, in respect of business direction. Prime said that Idris' proposal for...

Mier sees a slight deficit at most in Budget 2001.
October 11, 2000... THE Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (Mier) expects a balanced to a slight deficit Budget for 2001 with its main primary concern to ensure the continued growth and sustainability of the country's economic recovery. "I don't...

Rashid steps down as chairman of Putrajaya.
October 11, 2000... TAN Sri Abdul Rashid Hussain, the controlling shareholder of financial services group Rashid Hussain Bhd, has stepped down from the chairmanship of Putrajaya Holdings Sdn Bhd, Dow Jones Newswires reported. Datuk Zainuddin Mohammad, head...

Telekom still keen on roping in foreign partner.
October 11, 2000... TELEKOM Malaysia Bhd has not abandoned its interest in forming a strategic partnership with a foreign telecommunication company after talks with Japan's Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp (NTT) fell through, says chief executive Dr Md Khir...

Afta means bigger regional market for tobacco sector.
October 11, 2000... THE implementation of the Asean Free Trade Area (Afta) in 2003 will not lead to the demise of the tobacco industry in Malaysia but instead will propel it to more competitive growth. PriceWaterHouseCoopers' partner in economic studies and...

Move to turn aquaculture into RM6.5b industry.
October 11, 2000... THE Agriculture Ministry will use allocations under the Eighth Malaysia Plan (2001-2005) to nurture the country's aquaculture sector and expand its value to RM6.5 billion from the existing RM1.5 billion. Agriculture Minister Datuk Mohd...

Sun to get local tech players to go global.
October 11, 2000... TECHNOLOGY companies are constantly advising Malaysian businesses to dot.com themselves to face the network economy. They say that to excel in today's competitive business environment, companies must focus on harnessing the power of the...

Successful community creates bond with users.
October 11, 2000... ONE of the keys to creating a successful online community is to build a site that establishes an emotional bond with users to the target group. Internet research firm Durlacher Research Ltd head of consulting Jay Marathe said in an...

Index off 1.16 points.
October 11, 2000... THE MSC IT Index closed at 201.867 points yesterday, off by 1.16 points from 203.026 on Monday, reports www.MSCTimes.com. This represents a fall of 0.57 per cent over the previous trading day with the market capitalisation of the MSC IT...

138,000-tonne lid on the NR market.
October 11, 2000... IT has all come down to this week, the fate of the 138,000 tonnes of rubber stockpile owned by the now-defunct International Natural Rubber Organisation (Inro). A final decision is expected by Friday, after close to 10 months of waiting for...

American investors all tensed up.
October 11, 2000... THERE are three different ways in which investors have been navigating the present US economy and stock market - brilliantly, hopelessly and just okay. The point is, there is no concerted opinion on whether investors know where they are...

Commitment to quality a must, firms told.
October 11, 2000... PUBLIC listed companies should realise the importance of cultivating the practice of protecting investor interest as a competitive edge and a distinguishing factor which contributes to the quality of the companies. Datuk Mohd Azlan...

Management change gives TA Unit Trust a boost.
October 11, 2000... TA UNIT Trust Management Bhd's (TAUTM) performance has turned around within one year of the change in management, said its chief executive officer, Mr Richard Chua Lai Huat, in an exclusive interview with Business Times. Chua joined...

RM2.5b in savings for oil, gas sector.
October 11, 2000... THE Malaysian upstream oil and gas industry is expected to register a total savings of RM2.5 billion over five years. This is in line with the target set by the cost reduction alliance or Coral, a loose arrangement comprising oil and service...

CSTW opens cleaning facility at Port Klang.
October 11, 2000... THE commissioning of the Clean Sea Terminal Westport (CSTW) ISO tank container facility in Port Klang has given the port another cutting edge as a regional cargo hub. ISO tank operators in Malaysia no longer need to send their tank...

All optic disc producers need licence from Oct 15.
October 11, 2000... ALL manufacturers of optical discs will be required to obtain licences from the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (Miti) effective October 15, as part of the Government's efforts to combat piracy such products and to ensure a more...

No plans to strike up strategic alliance yet: Proton.
October 11, 2000... PERUSAHAAN Otomobil Nasional Bhd (Proton) says it has not made any definite plans with any party in respect to striking up a strategic alliance. Responding to a Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange query it said: "... while Proton has held...

Petrol sales rule not meant to inconvenience visitors.
October 11, 2000... THE prohibition on the sale of more than 20 litres of petrol and diesel at any one time to foreign-registered vehicles is not aimed at inconveniencing visitors to Malaysia, Bernama reports. Instead, it is aimed at ensuring that the...

Blending heritage with business.
October 11, 2000... EFFORTS to preserve Malaysian heritage should not be narrowed down to culture and antiques solely, but should also include every layer and facet of whatever that is "Malaysian", including old buildings. YTL Hotels and Properties Sdn Bhd...

Ministry, private sector to finalise talks in six months.
October 11, 2000... THE Agriculture Ministry is expected to conclude its discussion with 65 companies to promote agro-based industries in six months. Minister Datuk Mohd Effendi Norwawi said during this period, the ministry is looking forward to more...

Firms' safety committees not active: Niosh chairman.
October 11, 2000... A SIZEABLE number of companies surveyed have set up safety and health committees (SHC), but barely half of them are active, indicating employers' and employees' apathy on safety at workplace. It chairman Datuk Lee Lam Thye said 88 per...

Be patient in requesting for benefits, unions told.
October 11, 2000... TRADE unions must understand the time companies needto consolidate their operations after going through the economic downturn before they press them for salary adjustments and other benefits. Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) executive...

Inro members differ on stockpile selling price.
October 11, 2000... THE now defunct world rubber body, the International National Rubber Organisation (Inro), has encountered its first obstacle in trying to resolve its 138,000-tonne problem as members of the organisation are having opposing views on the...

Jobs galore in outdoor advertising.
October 11, 2000... OUTDOOR advertising is a fast-growing medium with lots of opportunity around the world, particularly within the South-East Asian cities, says Clear Channel International Inc chief executive (Europe/Asia), Mr Roger Parry. "This means that...

Kloffe futures close higher.
October 11, 2000... THE Kuala Lumpur Options and Financial Futures Exchange (Kloffe) rebounded to close higher yesterday in line with the stronger cash market. Spot October futures gained 7.1 points to 703.5 with 924 lots traded while November futures...

Buying support lifts bourse.
October 11, 2000... FOLLOW-through buying support especially in the last hour of trading helped the key barometer Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange Composite Index (KLCI) to close higher yesterday. The KLCI started on a soft note to fall below the 700...

Commodinent completes first on line trade.
October 11, 2000... COMMODINET Limited completed its first online trade in rubber and rubber products last Friday, said its director, Encik Amir Ghani Ahmad, in a statement yesterday. Commodinet, the pioneer online e-commerce portal for rubber and rubber...

Klibor ends firmer.
October 11, 2000... THE three-month Kuala Lumpur Interbank Offered Rates (Klibor) futures contracts on the Commodity and Monetary Exchange of Malaysia (Commex) closed firmer yesterday. "Investors traded mostly on the distant month contracts on expectation...

UEM shares dip to lowest level in 16 months.
October 11, 2000... SHARES of United Engineers (Malaysia) Bhd (UEM) tumbled to its lowest level in 16 months yesterday on investor concern that its executive vice chairman, Tan Sri Halim Saad, may not be able to exercise an option to buy a block of Renong Bhd...

IPPs scramble to expand power generation capacity.
October 11, 2000... IN THE face of an anticipated shortage of power in the country in two years, independent power producers (IPPs) are scrambling to meet a tacit deadline set by the Government to develop new generation capacity. Two separate engineering,...

Dr M to have a tight schedule in Bosnia.
October 11, 2000... SARAJEVO, Tues: Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad's visit here tomorrow may last just six hours but its significance could extend well beyond Bosnia's up-coming general elections on November 3. Judging from his schedule, the Prime Minister...

National port authority closer to reality.
October 11, 2000... THE proposal to place all 11 of the country's port authorities under a single regulatory body, called National Port Authority (NPA), has moved a step closer to implementation, sources say. The NPA was first mooted in 1997 and it received...

A new mart to open with power pooling.
October 11, 2000... IMAGINE buying electricity from a telecommunications company like Telekom Malaysia Bhd or Maxis Communications Bhd. The idea is not as preposterous as it sounds, and can in fact be effected once Malaysia puts in place a power pooling system....

Malaysia to settle 'penalty' with Thailand: Rafidah (HL).
October 11, 2000... CHIENG MAI, Thurs: Malaysia will settle the "penalty" for delaying fulfilment of obligations to cut tariffs on completely-knocked-down (CKD) and completely-built-up (CBU) automotive parts bilaterally with Thailand. This is provided for...

Gas deal with Pertamina a breakthrough, says Petronas.
October 11, 2000... PETROLIAM Nasional Bhd (Petronas) and Indonesia's Pertamina signed a milestone gas purchase agreement in Jakarta yesterday to put in place a key piece of the Asean gas grid jigsaw which is expected to take firm shape by 2002. The...

Ministry to draw up guidelines.
October 11, 2000... THE Finance Ministry will be asked to draw up guidelines to prevent the misuse of withdrawals from the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) for the purchase of computers under its special scheme. Deputy Energy, Communications and Multimedia...

It's Time dotCom, PLUS.
October 11, 2000... IN YESTERDAY'S Business Times article "Fate of bigwigs hinges on mart performance", which appeared on page 13, paragraph six should have read: "Time dotCom and PLUS were earmarked for initial public offer exercises that would have helped...

Moccis Trading plans to market house-brand PCs.
October 11, 2000... MOCCIS Trading Sdn Bhd, a leading company in consumer goods and credit trading, plans to introduce its own house-brand computers by setting up a joint venture with a foreign original equipment manufacturer. Moccis Trading deputy chairman...

KLTM hopes switch will draw investors.
October 11, 2000... KLTM chairman Datuk Mohd Ajib Anuar said foreign investors currently contribute 80 per cent to the market's turnover, with the remaining 20 per cent coming from local investors. "Through such a move, we hope to woo more regional and...

Khalid dismisses Bernama, RTM privatization talks.
October 11, 2000... DEPUTY Information minister Datuk Khalid Yunus yesterday poured cold water on talks in the market that the privatization of national news agency, Bernama, and Radio Televisyen Malaysia Bhd (RTM) was imminent. Khalid dismissed suggestions...

Dept heads urged to support ICT development.
October 11, 2000... DEPUTY Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi wants all heads of government departments and agencies to create a conducive environment for chief information officers (CIOs) to implement information and communications technology (ICT)...

Since when is high oil price a bad thing?
October 11, 2000... FOR the first time in ten years, the price of oil has been making headlines, hitting highs not seen since the Gulf War of more than US$36/bbl (US$1 = RM3.80). It rose and fell in late 1997 and 1998, leading the oil industry to hope for a...

Rolls-Royce power plant in the heart of the jungle.
October 11, 2000... THE riverside is lined with wooden houses on tall poles with platforms that stretch over the river. Women and young girls can be seen washing clothes on the wooden platforms that were built just above the water. Some men were brushing...

Poser over IOI general offer for Palmco shares.
October 11, 2000... IOI Corp Bhd and its managing director Tan Sri Lee Shin Cheng will have to fork out up to RM470 million if they make a mandatory general offer (MGO) for shares in Palmco Holdings Bhd that they do not already own. This is based on a total...

Perodua to implement new payment system.
October 11, 2000... PERUSAHAAN Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd (Perodua) will implement a new payment system on its online booking system e-shoppe, whereby interested buyers can use their Maybank ATM cards to pay the deposit needed to book Perodua cars. Using EFT...

Renong warrants unlikely to be converted.
October 11, 2000... RENONG Bhd's warrants 1996/2000 and 1999/2000, which expire on November 21, are unlikely to be converted based on the current weak market conditions, said analysts. In a statement to the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE), Renong said...

(Appointment).
October 11, 2000... MNI Holdings Bhd announced yesterday the appointment of its chief executive officer Ahmad Subri Abdullah as the managing director of Malaysia National Insurance Bhd, a subsidiary of the company, effective September 26.

Tong denies proxy holding PAB shares.
October 11, 2000... FORMER chief executive of PhileoAllied Bhd (PAB), Mr Tong Kooi Ong, has denied that he holds a stake in the banking group through his proxies. In a statement yesterday, Tong denied having any proxy holding shares on his behalf. Tong said...

Maznida at the forefront of IT industry.
October 11, 2000... THE information technology (IT) industry is said to be dominated by men. Women cyberpreneurs are difficult to come by. Bumiputera women cyberpreneurs, for that matter, are even more difficult to come across and are indeed a rare breed....

Call to promote home grown talent.
October 11, 2000... ASIAN countries need to build strong small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) as the back bone of their economy, says Asianfrontiers Pte Ltd chief executive officer Roger Lim. Comparing the region's economy to a football team, he added...

HP to work on setting up E-services Development Centre.
October 11, 2000... HEWLETT-Packard Sales (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd will work on setting up the much talked about E-Services Development Centre in the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) in its next financial year beginning November 1 2000. Although planned for the...

Index up 1.51 points.
October 11, 2000... THE MSC IT Index closed at 205.615 points falling 2.21 points from 207.823 in the previous trading day, reports www.MSCTimes.com. This represents a fall of 1.06 per cent over the previous trading day with the market capitalization of the...

Bearish sentiments put a damper on bank stocks.
October 11, 2000... ONE month after the banking mega mergers, the industry seems unable to shake off its bearish image. Many banking analysts and market observers have chosen to underweight this stock basket, mainly on the perception that the sector is...

KFC says deal with Punca Ibarat completed.
October 11, 2000... JUST two weeks after CI Holdings Bhd said it had gained control of KFC Holdings Bhd, the latter has announced that the share sale agreement for a 30.3 per cent stake in KFC Holdings with Punca Ibarat Sdn Bhd on October 28 last year has been...

Port of Marseilles group on promotional tour of region.
October 11, 2000... A LARGE delegation from the Port of Marseilles Authority (PMA) and its port community will begin a promotional tour of Asia from today (October 6) to 22 with a key presentation in Malaysia. The tour will feature three main presentations,...

As committed and united as ever.
October 11, 2000... SOME years back, Malaysians would drive down to Singapore and return home with with a new set of tyres on their cars. Much cheaper tyres in the republic because of a more liberal import tariff regime was the reason. This is no longer the...

'Liberalisation will benefit local automotive sector'.
October 11, 2000... CHIENG MAI, Thurs: Ford Motor Company has asked the Malaysian Government to crack the protective shield it puts around Proton, a move that the US automotive giant believes can further strengthen the national carmaker. Its Asean...

Works of art, imagination for a laugh or two.
October 11, 2000... THE incredible thing about surfing is that each time you think you have stumbled upon a really unusual site, it is only one of innumerable portals that is so. There is always another and yet another to visit and to marvel at. Today there...

Homely ambience with five-star qualities at The Ascott.
October 11, 2000... AS A student, Ms Esther Wai used to wonder how everything in a hotel seemed to work like clockwork. "I used to ask myself how the hotels managed and what actually went on behind the scenes," Wai told Business Times in an interview in...

After back pain, knee injury is the most common complaint.
October 11, 2000... KNEE pain ranks among the most common afflictions suffered by mankind. After back pain, it is the most common complaint I see in my chiropractic practice. Simply walking upstairs or twisting your knee a certain way can provide...