The Star Online: Business
The Star Online: Business |
- Malaysia's blue chips start off December on quiet note
- Irda plans halal hub in Iskandar
- Global economy affecting sales of branded household appliances
| Malaysia's blue chips start off December on quiet note Posted: 02 Dec 2012 05:41 PM PST Published: Monday December 3, 2012 MYT 9:42:00 AMKKUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's blue chips opened lower on Monday in quiet trade after an especially volatile November with profit taking seen in IHH Healthcare. At 9.26am, the FBM KLCI was down 1.47 points to 1,609.36. Turnover was 63,52 million shares valued at RM62mil. There were 109 gainers, 119 losers and 133 counters unchanged. Plantations were the main losers, with United Plantations down RM1.16 to RM24.04 with 1,000 shares done. Batu Kawan fell 16 cen to RM17.64 and Tradewinds Plantations seven sen lower at RM4.01. IHH lost 18 sen to RM3.30 with 1.44 million shares done. Other decliners were MNRB, which fell 25 sen to RM2.74, F&N 12 sen to RM18.40 and BToto 10 sen to RM4.40. BAT was the top gainer, up 56 sen to RM53.76. Petronas Sagangan added 28 sen to RM23.40 while UMW added 16 sen to RM10.78 and Kulim 12 sen to RM4.48. |
| Irda plans halal hub in Iskandar Posted: 02 Dec 2012 05:39 PM PST JOHOR BARU: Plans are in the pipeline to develop a dedicated halal industrial park in Iskandar Malaysia focusing on the halal food and agro-processing related activities. Iskandar Regional Development Authority (Irda) chief executive officer Datuk Ismail Ibrahim said a feasibility study on the project had been conducted and expected to be completed next month. He said there was a huge market for the halal food products globally not only from Muslim countries but also from non-Muslim nations. According to The Halal Journal, the global halal market value for trade in halal foods is estimated at US$547bil a year, and the market has drawn interest from food producer countries worldwide. In this respect, Malaysia has the edge in being recognised internationally as a Muslim country that has the potential of becoming a major producer of halal food products. Ismail said Marditech Corp Sdn Bhd, the commercial arm of the Malaysian Agriculture Research Development Institute had been tasked to undertake the study. He said Irda had commissioned the company to undertake the study including proposing suitable business concept for the food processing activities due to its experience in the halal industry. "We want to transform and position Johor as one of the leading halal food and agro-processing hubs in the region,'' Ismail said in an interview with StarBiz. He said by having a dedicated halal hub, Irda hoped to be able to attract domestic and foreign companies planning to relocate their halal food-processing operations to Iskandar. Ismail said Irda had received enquires from companies in China, Indonesia, India, Middle East and Singapore to invest in Iskandar's halal hub. "This will further reaffirm Johor's position as the major food producer in the country, which the state had enjoyed in the past,'' he said. According to him, Sabah and Sarawak have taken over Johor's position as the leading producer of oil palm in terms of planted areas but Johor still enjoys higher yield per hectare. "Johor might not be a force to be reckoned with in commodity but that does not discount us from developing the food and agro-processing in Iskandar,'' he said. Ismail said the halal hub plan was in tandem with the key economic areas that are being promoted in Iskandar under the Comprehensive Development Plan, which runs from 2006-2025. The sectors are electrical and electronics, petrochemical and oleochemical, food and agro-processing, logistics and related services, tourism, health, educational, financial services, and information, communications and telecommunication, and creative industry. He said the time was right for Johor to venture into halal food and agro-processing downstream activities by sourcing raw materials from other places and not limited to the state only. "We want Johor to be like Singapore the republic does not produce a single drop of petrol but it is now the third largest petroleum refinery hub in the world,'' added Ismail. He said three locations within the Eastern Gate Development Zone, the Western Gate Development Zone and Senai-Kulai had been identified as the potential hub. Ismail said these locations were near to the Senai-Pasir Gudang-Desaru Highway in the Eastern Gate, Pontian in the Western Gate and Sedenak in Senai-Kulai. He said all three locations were well-connected to airport, seaports and major highways as well as close to districts with strong agriculture-based activities such as Kota Tinggi and Kluang. Ismail said the Bio Desaru Food Valley project in Kota Tinggi and Kluang well known for their strong agro-based activities were the other perfect locations for the halal hub. "However, the choice of the hub will depend on the outcome of the feasibility study which will be out next month,'' he said. Ismail said although Iskandar was going for capital-intensive and high-technology investments, the agro-based manufacturing activities were still important due to its economic spillover effects. He said Irda needed the involvement of government-linked companies or government-backed entities including Felda, Felcra, UDA Holdings Bhd, Tabung Haji, Agro Bank, Johor Corp, Permodalan Nasional Bhd, Mara, Johor Biotechnology & Biodiversity Corp and Johor State Farmer's Organisation to ensure that the halal hub project could take off. He hoped that the Iskandar-based small and medium enterprises (SMEs) would be ready and prepared to participate once the project took off. "The SMEs could play the supporting role to the bigger investors at the hub by providing related services or as suppliers of raw materials to them,'' said Ismail. He said Irda had never sidelined the SMEs and it was up to them to seize the opportunities offered by Iskandar Malaysia. There are 69,000 SMEs in Johor and 49,000 of these are based in Iskandar. Johor has the third highest number of SMEs after the Klang Valley and Penang from the total 700,000 SMEs nationwide. |
| Global economy affecting sales of branded household appliances Posted: 02 Dec 2012 05:33 PM PST GEORGE TOWN: Manufacturers and retailers of branded household appliances are bracing for tough times ahead due to the sluggish global economy. Pensonic Holdings Bhd, Daewoo Electronics (M) Sdn Bhd, CT Frank Technology Sdn Bhd, and Star Electronics Sales and Services Sdn Bhd are experiencing the impact of a contracting global economy. Pensonic managing director Dixon Chew said the group's domestic sales had slowed by a single-digit from September for November compared with the same period a year ago. "We hope sales will pick up in December, January, and February due to the forthcoming Christmas and Chinese New Year holidays. "As Pensonic has already established a strong presence in the local market, we believe that even in a weakened market, our brand will still be the top choice," he said. Star Electronics Sales and Services managing director Joseph Hon said the company was expecting a 10% drop in sales this year, compared with a year ago. "Although there is demand from new house owners, the purchases are, however, for products with lower specifications. "Our plan to open three new outlets in the northern region is delayed until next year," he said. CT Frank Technology Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Roland Beh Cheng Siong said the fourth quarter was expected to be slower compared with the third quarter. "Sales from the fourth quarter are expected to be around RM8mil this time compared with the about RM15mil usually achieved in a quarter," he said. For the whole of 2012, CT Frank's revenue is projected to be around RM62mil, up slightly by 3% from RM60mil a year ago, according to Beh. "To meet the challenges ahead, we are reducing our inventory,tightening our terms of credit, and reviewing our production cost," he said. Daewoo Electronics director Lim Kai Seng said the company's growth would be 8% this year, slightly slower than the 10% growth experienced in 2011. "The projected revenue for 2012 is around RM86mil, up by 8% from 2011. "Last year we grew by 10% over 2010," he said. Most companies are focusing on emerging overseas market and developing new value-added products to drive growth next year. Pensonic is counting on emerging markets to drive growth next year. "The group is targeting overseas contribution to grow to 40% by 2015. "Four years ago the overseas contribution was 10%. "For the 2012 fiscal year, the overseas contribution grew to 25%. "Next fiscal year, we are aiming for contribution to grow to 30%, and 40% by 2015. "Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Angola, and Nigeria are key emerging markets that have contributed to our revenue growth," Chew said. The group is also allocating RM49mil for the development of innovative products and for its new research and development centre in Penang Science Park until 2016. Chew said that some RM20mil was spent this year for the development of light-emitting-diode (LED) products under the brand name Carinae. "Another RM29mil will be spent between 2013 and 2016 for our new corporate headquarters cum research and development centre in Penang Science Park, which will be ready next year," he said. Chew said LED products contributed significantly to the group's fiscal year 2013 first quarter ended Aug31, 2012. Daewoo is working on expanding its sales of washing machines and refrigerators in the Asean region. "We are appointing distributors in Brunei, Laos, Vietnam, and Myannmar to expand overseas sales, which generate 70% of the company's revenue. "To drive growth next year, we are also coming out with washing machines that use less water and detergent. "These new washing machines, developed in South Korea and assembled in our plant in Sungai Petani, will be launched early next year," Lim said. CT Frank is counting on new technological products such as internet televisions and smart display screen with touched-screen and interactive features for the domestic market to spur growth. Beh said the company had spent about RM5mil to develop these new products for the domestic market, which contributed about 70% to the company's revenue. "We will focus on the domestic market next year, as our exports comprised only cathode-ray and LCD televisions, which are facing tremendous price pressure from competitors," he said. Beh added that the company had recently widened the range of home appliance products such as jug kettle, thermo pot, water heater, rice cooker, and gas stove under the in-house brand ISONIC for the domestic market. Meanwhile, OCBC Bank (M) Bhd emerging business head Wong Chee Seng said for the last three quarters of 2012, OCBC Bank had granted more than RM5bil in loans to SMEs, representing a high single-digit growth against the same period in 2011. "For 2012, we expect a similar growth progression for revenue and loans approvals for the SME sector. "This will be driven mainly by the domestic businesses of the wholesale and retail sectors," Wong said. According to the latest Business Monitor International report released in November 2012, spending for consumer electronics in Malaysia will grow by about 7% in 2012 to US$8.4bil, backed by strong sales of smartphones and LED televisions. "The growth in outstanding credit card balances has also remained on a steady downtrend since January 2011. |
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