Business Times (Malaysia) articles from October 2008

Business Times (Malaysia) archives from October 2008

Sunway unit to operate Allson Capital in KL.
October 31, 2008... SUNWAY International Hotels & Resorts, a company under Sunway Group, has signed a management agreement to operate the three-star Allson Capital Hotel Medan Tuanku in Kuala Lumpur in 2011. The 198-room hotel, to be built at an estimated...

Press Metal gets Islamic loan to build smelter plant.
October 31, 2008... PRESS Metal Bhd, an aluminium extruder, has secured a syndicated Islamic loan of up to RM355 million to develop Malaysia's first aluminium smelter plant in Sarawak. The amount will be enough to finance 70 per cent of the first phase of...

RHB Islamic to go for more retail lending.
October 31, 2008... Byline: Adeline Paul Raj RHB Islamic Bank Bhd says a loan growth target of 20 per cent for this year and the next is achievable despite a looming economic slowdown. The bank has yet to see a slowdown in overall loans, its managing...

Frontken adapts strategy to meet changing needs.
October 31, 2008... Byline: Roziana Hamsawi MESDAQ-LISTED Frontken Corp Bhd, a company specialising in advanced surface metamorphosis technology, is optimistic of growth despite the current economic climate. Its executive chairman and managing director...

Yim reaps big bucks from sweet corn venture.
October 31, 2008... Byline: Ooi Tee Ching CORN planting in Malaysia can be financially rewarding. Yim Yooi Wai can attest to that. A move by Yim to invest in contract farming for sweet corn resulted in an increase in income, from when he was a civil...

Alam Maritim in tie-up with CIMB Private Equity.
October 31, 2008... Byline: Zuraimi Abdullah LISTED Alam Maritim Resources Bhd and CIMB Private Equity and Venture Capital (CIMB PE) have formed a new company to buy five vessels worth US$70 million (RM252 million) in the coming months. The move is to...

Rehda: Property prices steady in Klang Valley.
October 31, 2008... Byline: Sharen Kaur RESIDENTIAL property prices in the Klang Valley have been staying at current levels since the fuel price increase in June, Real Estate and Housing Developers' Association's (Rehda) Selangor branch chairman Datuk FD...

Top Glove makes RM80m capacity boost.
October 31, 2008... Byline: Ooi Tee Ching TOP Glove Corp Bhd has set aside RM80 million capital expenditure to expand capacity by another 3.75 billion pieces of rubber gloves to 33.5 billion in its current financial year ending August 2009. While other...

Maxis expects mobile Internet users to reach 5m next year.
October 31, 2008... Byline: Marina Emmanuel MAXIS Communications Bhd expects its mobile Internet users to hit five million by next year, from 3.5 million at present. It is also looking at making mobile Internet data charges more affordable and...

Online dating for brands.
October 31, 2008... Byline: Martin Lindstrom WHAT do United Airlines and Starbucks coffee have in common? Take one of United's US flights and you'll find out. On every domestic flight, you're no longer served coffee. You're served Starbucks coffee. In fact,...

KL to woo new export markets.
October 31, 2008... Byline: Rupa Damodaran MALAYSIA is actively looking at increasing exports to new markets in Africa, the Middle East and India to help weather the economic slowdown in its traditional markets, International Trade and Industry Minister Tan...

Proton, EON extend sales MOU.
October 31, 2008... PROTON Holdings Bhd and Edaran Otomobil Nasional Bhd (EON) have extended their memorandum of understanding to rationalise sales and services network for another three months from November 2. Discussions are still on-going towards possible...

MAHB's unit APAC to cease operating.
October 31, 2008... MALAYSIA Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB)'s wholly-owned subsidiary, Asia Pacific Auction Centre Sdn Bhd (APAC), will cease all its business and operations on December 31 2008. MAHB said the move is to enable MAHB to channel its resources into a...

Study: Malaysians tighten belts but remain upbeat.
October 31, 2008... Byline: Chong Pooi Koon MALAYSIANS feel relatively secure amid the gloomy economic outlook, although many have reduced making impulse buys in the last six months, a study showed. Nearly half of over 1,000 Malaysians surveyed in...

Follow-through technical rebound.
October 31, 2008... Byline: S.N. Lock SHARE prices on Bursa Malaysia rebounded in line with regional stock markets yesterday. Declining counters outpaced advancing ones by 526 to 181. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) rebounded from a day low of...

Ivory seeks investor for proposed 5-star hotel.
October 31, 2008... Byline: Marina Emmanuel IVORY Properties Group is looking for an investor for the 450-room five-star hotel planned at its Penang Times Square development in Penang. Ivory Properties Sdn Bhd executive director Datuk Seri Nazir Ariff...

Market slump takes RM21b toll on unit trust funds.
October 31, 2008... Byline: Jeeva Arulampalam THE sharp falls in the equities market have cut the total value of unit trust funds by RM21 billion in the first nine months of the year. The value dropped 12 per cent to RM148 billion from RM169 billion as...

Tune Money CEO, CFO resign.
October 31, 2008... Byline: Jeeva Arulampalam TUNE Money Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Tengku Zafrul Aziz and chief financial officer Chuah Lai Hock have resigned. When contacted by Business Times yesterday, Tengku Zafrul confirmed he had officially...

Assurance from banks.
October 31, 2008... BANK Negara Malaysia yesterday met with banking industry leaders over current business conditions and secured their commitment to continue providing access to financing. "The banks are well placed to provide continued access to financing...

Octagon teams up with S. Koreans.
October 31, 2008... OCTAGON Consolidated Bhd has formed a joint venture company with Dong Sung Holdings Co Ltd and one Kim Ki Kyeong. The joint venture will invest in project companies for the production and sale of renewable energy derived from waste tyre...

UMW makes foray into electronics production.
October 31, 2008... Byline: Rupinder Singh UMW Holdings Bhd's unit UMW Corporation Sdn Bhd (UMWC) will invest RM5.9 million into a joint venture company to make advanced micro electronics products and services known as low temperature co-fired ceramic or...

From Sunway Infra to Silk Holdings.
October 31, 2008... SUNWAY Infrastructure Bhd is changing its name to Silk Holdings Bhd. Approval for the name change has been obtained from the Companies Commission of Malaysia (CCM), it told Bursa Malaysia yesterday. The new name will be effective from...

Kencana Mermaid bags Carigali deal.
October 31, 2008... KENCANA Petroleum Bhd's 60 per cent-owned subsidiary, Kencana Mermaid Drilling Sdn Bhd (KMD), has won a US$235 million (RM834 million) offshore drilling contract from Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd. The five-year contract is expected to begin by...

Latitude suspends Viet listing plan.
October 30, 2008... LATITUDE Tree Holdings Bhd has suspended plans to list Latitude Tree (Vietnam) on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange because of the global financial crunch and stock market downturn in Vietnam. It is now contemplating to list LTV on the...

Outsourcing in Eurospan plan to keep costs low.
October 30, 2008... Byline: Marina Emmanuel EUROSPAN Holdings Bhd, which has used up 80 per cent of production space for making dining sets, is likely to outsource some manufacturing activities in a bid to keep costs low. The Penang-based furniture maker,...

RHB spending RM9m to boost efficiency.
October 30, 2008... RHB Bank Bhd is investing about RM9 million in document imaging and workflow system to improve staff efficiency by 50 per cent. Of the amount, RM6 million will be for the system that will use Fuji Xerox's solution, while RM3 million is to...

AmLifestyle for flexible protection.
October 30, 2008... AMASSURANCE Bhd has launched a new investment-linked insurance plan, called "AmLifestyle" that allows customers the flexibility to vary the amount of insurance protection for death and disability without affecting the premium to adapt to the...

KL Business Club gives its backing.
October 30, 2008... Byline: Adeline Paul Raj THE Kuala Lumpur Business Club (KLBC), comprising Malaysia's top businessmen and professionals, has thrown its support behind the inaugural Global Brand Forum (GBF) to be held in Malaysia in early December. ...

Multi-level marketing division to remain Hai-O's star performer.
October 30, 2008... Byline: Goh Thean Eu HAI-O Enterprise Bhd, a multi-level marketing (MLM) company and a Chinese herbs retailer, expects revenue to grow five per cent this fiscal year, helped mainly by its MLM business. It almost doubled its revenue...

Voir scouting for opportunities amid downturn.
October 30, 2008... Byline: Hamisah Hamid APPAREL designer and retailer Voir Holdings Bhd sees opportunities in the current economic downturn, including better rental rates in shopping complexes and attractive valuation for acquisitions. Managing...

Rubber glove prices set to be lowered.
October 30, 2008... Byline: Ooi Tee Ching MALAYSIA'S rubber glove makers are looking at lowering glove prices given the sharp fall in the price of latex. The quantum of reduction is expected to be negotiated between the manufacturers and their...

Strategies in place to meet tourism target.
October 30, 2008... Byline: Vasantha Ganesan TOURISM Malaysia remains optimistic that arrivals will pick up towards the end of the year and meet its target of 22.5 million tourists this year. Acting director-general Amirrudin Abu said various...

Teo Seng undeterred by uncertain market.
October 30, 2008... Byline: Azlan Abu Bakar SHARES of layer farming operator Teo Seng Capital Bhd (TSC) closed 20 per cent or nine sen lower yesterday, after opening at a discount of six sen over the offer price of 45 sen in its Bursa Malaysia debut. ...

'Malaysian mall operators, tenants still doing okay'.
October 30, 2008... Byline: Vasantha Ganesan THE number of shopping malls in Malaysia and their total gross area is expected to grow by some 20 per cent by the end of 2010, based on the current projects under development. This is similar to the 20 per...

Retail lending growing.
October 30, 2008... CIMB Bank is on track to meet retail loans growth of over 25 per cent this year, and it has yet to see signs of consumer loans turning bad, head of retail banking Peter England said. Retail lending is expected to grow in the high teens...

CIMB Aviva eyes RM30m in premiums.
October 30, 2008... Byline: Chong Pooi Koon CIMB Aviva Assurance Bhd expects to sell 24,000 plans of EasyLife Solutions, a range of insurance that offers flexibility, through the bank within a year. That will bring in about RM30 million, assuming a...

'Green' transformer works with vegetable oil.
October 30, 2008... A NEW transformer from Siemens uses an insulation fluid based on vegetable oil, which is not only completely biodegradable, but also much less flammable than the mineral oil normally used. As a result, transformer substations will now be able...

PPB likely to extend rebound.
October 30, 2008... Byline: S.N. Lock SHARE prices on Bursa Malaysia opened on a high note but ended lower yesterday. Declining counters outpaced advancing ones by 392 to 295. The benchmark Kuala Lumpur Composite Index opened higher at 850.25 before...

Parkson may re-test overhead resistance.
October 29, 2008... Byline: S.N. Lock SHARE prices on Bursa Malaysia tumbled yesterday on overnight market weakness on Wall Street. Overall declining counters overwhelmed advancing counters by 619 to 169. The benchmark Kuala Lumpur Composite Index...

Asia Media recognised as 'Best Start-up Company'.
October 29, 2008... ASIA Media Sdn Bhd was recently named "Best Start-up Company" by MSC Malaysia at the Asia Pacific ICT Awards (APICTA). According to a statement, in less than two years, the company has grown into a media powerhouse that reaches 1.2...

AirAsia offers free seats to Singapore.
October 29, 2008... BUDGET carrier AirAsia Bhd is giving away free seats to celebrate its newly-added frequencies and services to Singapore. AirAsia has 101 weekly direct flights to Singapore from destinations such as Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Phuket...

Suria Capital'sCFO resigns.
October 29, 2008... SURIA Capital Holdings Bhd says chief financial officer (CFO) Mohamad Yasin Abdullah has resigned to join an investment bank. Yasin's last day of work with Suria would be on Friday, the company told Bursa Malaysia yesterday.

Govt yet to restart talks with IPPs.
October 29, 2008... Byline: Goh Thean Eu THE government has yet to restart talks with the country's independent power producers (IPPs) on power purchase agreements, said Energy, Water and Communications Minister Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor. "We have not...

TM: No problems raising funds for HSBB project.
October 29, 2008... Byline: Goh Thean Eu STATE-OWNED Telekom Malaysia Bhd, the country's largest fixed-line phone company, is confident it will be able to raise funds for the multi-billion-ringgit national high-speed broadband (HSBB) project. Several...

Sunrise to proceed with launch of 3 projects.
October 29, 2008... Byline: Sharen Kaur PROPERTY developer Sunrise Bhd said it will go ahead with the launch of two projects in Malaysia and one in Canada next year, worth a combined RM2.5 billion, despite concerns over cooling property prices. The...

Nextnation optimistic of returning to black.
October 29, 2008... Byline: Hamisah Hamid MESDAQ-LISTED Nextnation Communication Bhd is optimistic of returning to black, after making a loss in the last fiscal year ended April 30 2008. Chief executive officer Tey Por Yee said the group expects better...

Weng Zheng is now WZ Steel Bhd.
October 29, 2008... WENG Zheng Resources Bhd has changed its name to WZ Steel Bhd. The company's shares would be traded and quoted under the new name from tomorrow, it told Bursa Malaysia yesterday.

Equine Capital not seeking extension.
October 29, 2008... EQUINE Capital Bhd says it does not plan to apply for an extension of time to implement its proposed private placement. The Securities Commission's approval for the exercise will expires today, Equine said in a statement to Bursa Malaysia...

Market outlook remains bearish.
October 29, 2008... Byline: Adeline Paul Raj; Ooi Tee Ching ANALYSTS and fund managers remain bearish on the stock market's prospects and expect it to sink below the 800-point support level soon as investors continue to worry about a global recession. ...

Job cuts loom at broking firms.
October 29, 2008... Byline: Adeline Paul Raj STOCKBROKING firms may face the grim prospect of having to cut jobs and salaries to trim costs should equity markets continue to worsen, industry sources say. "The prospect is very real although I do think...

PNB to safeguard investments.
October 29, 2008... Byline: Kamarul Yunus PERMODALAN Nasional Bhd (PNB) is monitoring the currently weakened global economy although its companies are not feeling the impact as yet. PNB chairman Tun Ahmad Sarji Abdul Hamid said the state investment fund...

More funds for rubber replanting.
October 29, 2008... Byline: Ooi Tee Ching MORE funds will be made available to encourage rubber smallholders to replant their holdings, an exercise that would help cut current output and stem falling rubber prices. The Finance Ministry is expected to...

CPO prices may continue to take a beating.
October 29, 2008... Byline: Zaidi Isham Ismail CRUDE palm oil (CPO) prices, which have lost 68 per cent in value, may continue to take a beating in the months ahead amid a bleak global economy, weakening demand and sliding crude oil prices. TH...

IJM remains a sell, says AmResearch.
October 29, 2008... IJM Corp could be hurt by an accident at its building site in India last week, raising uncertainty on the project, AmResearch says. The stock remains a "sell" at AmResearch, which revised the target price to RM2.60. IJM Corp fell five...

Citi revises target price for DiGi stock downwards.
October 29, 2008... CITI Investment Research has downgraded DiGi.Com Bhd stock from a "buy" to "sell", partly due to current weak market sentiment and its disappointing third-quarter financial results. "We believe DiGi will struggle to defend lofty...

Matrade bags Islamic Solidarity Prize.
October 28, 2008... MALAYSIA External Trade Development Corp (Matrade) has been awarded the Islamic Development Bank's "Islamic Solidarity Prize" for its efforts in promoting trade among the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) member nations. ...

'MAHB set to soar after hosting Routes 2008'.
October 28, 2008... Byline: Hamisah Hamid MALAYSIA Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) can expect its business to soar after hosting the recent 14th World Route Development Forum (Routes 2008). The Route Development Group Ltd (RGD) group chief executive...

programDNA looking at listing within 3 years.
October 28, 2008... Byline: Vasantha Ganesan PROGRAMDNA Sdn Bhd, a provider of outsourced secured payment processing platform for cards issued by financial institutions and large merchants, is looking at a possible listing within the next three years. ...

Emkay to develop more projects via Setia Haruman.
October 28, 2008... Byline: Sharen Kaur THE Emkay Group expects to boost its revenue in Cyberjaya, Selangor, by opening up new land for development via its stake in Setia Haruman Sdn Bhd, the master developer of Cyberjaya. Setia Haruman, 75 per cent...

Kulim expects cert for palm oil ops by year-end.
October 28, 2008... KULIM Malaysia Bhd says it is on track to receive the coveted Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certification by year-end. Managing director Ahamad Mohamad said the certification, which will cover the entire plantation operations...

No indication market has hit bottom.
October 28, 2008... Byline: W.Q. Mun LONG-TERM TREND - Bearish SHORT-TERM TREND - Bearish - Momentum Index: -650 -Relative Strength Index: 19 OBSERVATIONS: The Kuala Lumpur CPO futures market started last week dogged by bad news. And it ended the week...

KLCI futures reboundnot in sight.
October 28, 2008... Byline: Bernard THE Kuala Lumpur Composite Index futures spot month contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives closed at lower at 845 with an open interest of 20,903 contracts last Friday. The October contract hit a low of 839 as selling...

Citigroup makes buy call on IOI, values stock at RM7.46.
October 28, 2008... CITIGROUP Research is recommending investors to buy IOI Corp Bhd's shares after a near-20 per cent one-day price plunge last Friday. Market talk of IOI Corp possibly incurring foreign exchange losses prompted a selldown of its shares and...

Khazanah takes stake in Saudi firm.
October 28, 2008... Byline: Lokman Mansor KHAZANAH Nasional Bhd has bought 10 per cent of Saudi-based Jadwa Investment for RM270.85 million, to strengthen Malaysia's Islamic finance aspirations and capitalise on opportunities that will help it ride out the...

Firm eyes SoHo mart, M&A prospects.
October 28, 2008... QUBECONNECT Sdn Bhd is coming out with its QubeTalk range of voice technology for smaller enterprises, targeting the SoHo (small office/home office) market. Chief technology officer Dinesh Nair said the product, which will be in the...

QubeConnect to raise funds for Asia expansion.
October 28, 2008... Byline: Hamisah Hamid QUBECONNECT Sdn Bhd, a home-grown Internet Protocol (IP) telephony solution provider, plans to raise more funds to finance its Asia expansion. It is confident of garnering a bigger slice of Asia-Pacific's...

Analysts upbeat on TSC growth.
October 28, 2008... Byline: Azlan Abu Bakar ANALYSTS, optimistic of Teo Seng Capital Bhd's (TSC) debut on the stock exchange later this week, have fairly valued the company's shares by up to 26 per cent higher than the initial public offer price of 45 sen....

KL may be Lloyd's service delivery centre.
October 28, 2008... Byline: Kamarul Yunus LLOYD'S Register, an established ship classification society, is looking at expanding its business in the oil and gas sector with a plan to turn Malaysia into a service delivery centre for its clients, both locally...

Profit-taking in shorter-end govt bonds.
October 28, 2008... IT WAS a relatively quiet week for the Malaysian government bond market last week as the release of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) figure for September was postponed to coincide with Bank Negara Malaysia's Monetary Policy Committe meeting...

IOI Corp may face selling pressure.
October 28, 2008... Byline: S.N. Lock SHARE prices on Bursa Malaysia took a beating last week on major weaknesses of financial and plantation counters on the local front. Sharp technical pullbacks on Wall Street and regional stock markets aggravated the...

Trading to remain muted, cautious.
October 28, 2008... Byline: Kaladher Govindan PANDEMONIUM reigned in the global financial markets last week following panic selling in global equities amid accelerated deleveraging by hedge funds rushing to unwind yen carry trades which forced the Japanese...

Steelcase picks KL as site for global services centre.
October 25, 2008... Byline: Zuraimi Abdullah STEELCASE Inc, an office furniture maker and designer from the US, has chosen Malaysia as its first Global Shared Services (GSS) centre. The multi-million dollar centre at Mid-Valley's The Gardens South Tower...

Bank Negara keeps Overnight Policy Rate at 3.5pc.
October 25, 2008... BANK Negara Malaysia, at its monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting yesterday, decided to keep the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) at 3.5 per cent. It said the global economic situation had deteriorated considerably since the last meeting...

Malaysians invited to invest in Gujarat's key sectors.
October 25, 2008... THE Government of Gujarat wants Malaysian investors to participate in key sectors in the state located in the west coast of India. Among the investment opportunities are in oil and gas, chemical and petrochemical, agro and food...

DiGi posts marginally lower Q3 net profit.
October 25, 2008... Byline: Goh Thean Eu DIGI.COM Bhd - the country's third largest mobile operator - posted a marginally lower third quarter net profit, as it spends more on advertisements, promotions as well as marketing and sales campaigns. ...

Tricor sees double-digit growth from Malaysian operations.
October 25, 2008... Byline: Azlan Abu Bakar HONG KONG-based corporate services provider Tricor Group expects to see double-digit growth from its Malaysian operations despite the uncertainties facing the global market. "We expect our business will...

Local vanilla producer targets 300 tonnes by 2010.
October 25, 2008... RENTAK Timur Sdn Bhd, the country's first vanilla plantation company based in the East Coast Economic Region (ECER), is targeting to produce 300 tonnes of vanilla by 2010, representing 15 per cent of the total global market demand. To...

Samchem targets RM20m sales of 'safer' chemical.
October 25, 2008... Byline: Ooi Tee Ching INDUSTRIAL chemical distributor Samchem Sdn Bhd targets to sell 5,000 tonnes of Flavex 595B worth RM20 million to rubber processors and ink companies next year. "Flavex 595B is meant to replace the existing chemical...

Century Logistics to buy Thai land.
October 25, 2008... CENTURY Logistics Holdings Bhd plans to buy a piece of land in Ayutthaya, Thailand, to further strengthen its presence in that country with the setting up of a distribution centre. The company told Bursa Malaysia yesterday that the land...

UK's SLA Mobile launches KL office, upbeat about prospects.
October 25, 2008... Byline: Roziana Hamsawi UK mobile content provider SLA Mobile, which has made Kuala Lumpur its Asia Pacific hub, is not unduly worried about the impact a global recession will have on its prospects in the region. SLA Mobile founder...

Motor Teknologi to help Tognum expand in region.
October 25, 2008... Byline: Sharen Kaur GERMAN-LISTED Tognum AG aims to grow its business in Asia Pacific via its 45 per cent investment in Motor Teknologi & Industri Sdn Bhd (MTI). Last year, Tognum, which is one of the world's leading suppliers of...

Shirts 4 Real eyes partners in US, Europe.
October 25, 2008... Byline: Sharen Kaur SHIRTS 4 Real, which makes niche collection t-shirts, plans to work with distributors in the US and Europe to market its clothing line. Founder and director Jan Wong Joon Kit said it has established contacts and...

Bursa Malaysia Q3 profit slides 64pc.
October 25, 2008... Byline: Chong Pooi Koon STOCK Exchange operator Bursa Malaysia Bhd posted a 64 per cent lower profit in the third quarter after trading revenue fell amid the weak stock market. The daily average trading value for equities was down at...

IOI shares plunge on forex loss talk.
October 25, 2008... IOI Corp's share price plunged on panic selling yesterday, on talk that a senior finance executive has resigned to take responsibility for foreign exchange losses incurred by the company. The stock fell 57 sen or 19 per cent to close at...