The government will formulate a Bumiputera automotive plan and development fund to ensure the continued involvement and development of the Bumiputera Commercial and Industrial Community in that sector, International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed said. He said the source of funds would be tapped from the imposition of a RM10,000 charge for each Approved Permit (AP) issued to the open AP holder. "The amount for each AP will be increased progressively each year. This proposal will take effect January 1, 2010," he said. (Bernama)
The government is planning strategic joint ventures between Proton Holdings and original equipment manufacturer(OEM) in a move to increase the national car maker's long-term competitiveness, International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed said. On duty for cars imported from Asean countries, Mustapa said it would be abolished on January 1, 2010 under the Asean Free Trade Agreement. Import duties would also be reduced or abolished under the Free Trade Agreements which the government has negotiated or signed with several countries. (Bernama)
Proton Holdings expects to sell 65% more cars in Thailand next year, fuelled by the Exora MPV which it is launching at the Bangkok International Motor Expo today. It is also launching the Saga 1.3 in 3Q 2010, as it expects the Savvy to be phased out by then, said Lee Weng Yew, area manager for the company's export division. Thailand is expected to contribute 10-12% to Proton's total export market for FYE3/10, Lee said. (BT)
DRB-Hicom has denied a business weekly news report that it may lose the Suzuki franchise locally. “Neither the company nor its partner, Suzuki Motor Corp, is unaware of the basis and/or the source of the article,” it said. (BT)
Las Vegas Sands’ (LVS) Marina Bay Sands Singapore IR is set to open in March next year. (Reuters) It remains unclear if the timeline quoted in this press report is an official company statement given that a Mar-2010 opening seems to be slightly delayed from the group’s earlier indicative timeline for a Jan or Feb-2010 debut. If this Mar-2010 timeline is true, this would further confirm that Genting Singapore’s upcoming Resorts World Sentosa will debut as Singapore’s first IR given that it is on track for an early Jan-2010 opening.
Las Vegas Sands (LVS) is eyeing potential expansion in Japan, Thailand and India as it looks for growth opportunities in the vibrant Asian region as soon as next year, said CEO Sheldon Adelson.
- Mr Adelson also said there were no plans for LVS to inject its Singapore assets into Sands China and that the firm was not interested in acquisitions in Las Vegas.
- Meanwhile, shares in Sands China made a weak debut yesterday, signalling fading investor appetite for a casino company with high valuations and an uncertain outlook.(Reuters)
The Dubai debt crisis is likely to be solved in the medium term, Bahrain-based investment bank Ithmaar Bank chairman Khalid Abdulla-Janahi said. He said the market can also expect some delays in the issuance of sukuk or Islamic bonds. Last week, Dubai's investment arm Dubai World said it wanted to delay payment of some US$60bn (RM203bn) debt.
- Qatar based Dyarco International Trading general manager U. Achu said Dubai's debt woes could be easily solved by its Abu Dhabi neighbour in a day if it wanted to, as it has US$1tr (RM3.4tr) of reserves. (BT)
Sime Darby plans to invest as much as RM2bn over the next five years to expand in China, CEO Ahmad Zubir Murshid said in Kuala Lumpur. This will cover automotives, property and plantations, added Ahmad Zubir. “Basically, we are looking at all of our core businesses there,” he said. “We are looking at between RM1 to 2bn. (Bloomberg)
Sime Darby Auto Connexion Sdn Bhd, the sole distributor of Ford vehicles in Malaysia, expects to sell some 200-300 units of the newly launched Mondeo next year. MD Mohd Hazem Abd Rahman said, “Although the price is slightly more than other sedans in the market, this model is very competitive and is worth the value. It is fully imported from Belgium.” (BT)
Malaysia’s palm oil exports rose 1.8% in November compared with the previous month, estimated Societe Generale de Surveillance, an independent cargo surveyor. (Bloomberg)
Rubber output in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand will drop more than 6% in 2009 after unusually heavy rains caused flooding, an industry group said yesterday, raising the prospect of a price rally to last year's peak. Tight supplies blamed on bad weather have pushed up cash prices by more than 10% in the past month, with benchmark Thai RSS3 grade now hovering around US$2.75 a kg - within sight of a 56-year high of US$3.25 struck last July. "Climate change has become an issue of serious concern on the supply potential of natural rubber. Unpredictability of climate limits the scope for developing and popularising region-specific new clones," said the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries. "Apart from a fall in yield, even the traditional rubber-growing regions in major producing countries are gradually being rendered unsuitable for growing rubber."
- Output in the three main producers, which account for 70% of global output, could slip to 6.45m tonnes in 2009, down from the October forecast of 6.62m and lower than the 6.91m estimated last year, according to the group.
- 'It's possible for the price to go up to US$3 sometime next year. Let's say by February, the market can have a chance to move higher because people will be looking at the wintering season,' said a dealer in Thailand's southern city of Hat Yai. (Reuters)
Indian telco regulator Trai will submit recommendations on the crucial issues of overall spectrum management and review of licence terms in Dec. The recommendations will also throw light on whether there is a need to cap the number of service providers in a circle and whether 2G spectrum should be auctioned and if there is justification for delinking spectrum from licence. Currently under the bundling practice a pan-India licence can be acquired at Rs 1658 crore (US$356m). Airtel, Vodafone-Essar favour delinking while Reliance, Tata oppose it. (Economic Times of India)
About 15m cellular handsets, most of which are cheap imports from China, will go off air today after the Indian government ejected a demand by telecom service providers to extend the deadline for cutting-off services on phones that do not have a mobile equipment identity (IMEI) number. (Economic Times of India)
Property developers can look forward to a bumper year in 2010 with more purchasers and investors expected to enter the market as economic conditions improve. Real Estate and Housing Developers' Association deputy president Datuk Michael Yam said the local property sector may see up to 450,000 potential home buyers for next year.
- "Based on the average household formation and population growth, there is an average demand for 150,000 units (homes) per year. If people have delayed buying in 2008 and this year (because of the financial crisis), you should have around 450,000 people waiting to get into the housing market in 2010," he said. (Starbiz)
- Passenger demand was up 0.5% compared to October 2008. Demand for international cargo rose to 0.5% below previous year levels. This is significantly better than the 5.4% decline recorded in September. Passenger demand is now 6% better than the low point reached in March 2009, but 5% below the peak recorded in early 2008. Compared to September, seasonally adjusted passenger volumes rose by 0.8%.
- Load factors for passenger and cargo continue at pre-recession levels of 78% and 54.1% respectively. The improvement in load factors to pre-recession levels is largely the result of careful capacity management. Compared to October 2008, overall passenger capacity was down 3.3%. Stripping out seasonal fluctuations, passenger capacity has been essentially flat throughout 2009. Responding to the precipitous fall in cargo demand, October cargo capacity was 7.4% below the previous year's levels.
- Yields remain under severe pressure. Although there has been a modest rise in air fares since mid-year, it remains around 20% less expensive to fly in real terms today than it was a year ago. (SBT)
Shipping demand has recovered as the global economy has come through the worst of the downturn, said Wei Jiafu, president and chief executive of China Cosco. He described the ups and downs in the Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, the Baltic Dry Index, as quite natural. The index, which tracks rates to ship dry commodities, had recovered to 3,974 by the end of last week from a 2009 low of 772, but remains well below last year's record high of 11,793.
- Asked if the index indicated that shipping demand was weak, Mr Wei said: 'There is big demand. It's normal in the short run to have challenges, up and down, up and down, but demand has recovered.' 'There is some overcapacity in containers, but relatively speaking, freight volumes are too low. We need the US and Europe to buy more Chinese goods,' he added. (Reuters)
Hong Leong Investment Bank (HLIB) appointed Lee Jim Leng as MD and CEO from Nove-24. She brings with her 20 years worth of financial industry experience, specialising mainly in the field of investment banking. Lee was previously managing director with HwangDBS Investment Bank. (BT)
Alam Maritim Resources has, via wholly owned subsidiary Alam Maritim (L) Inc (AMLI), agreed to a 49:51 joint venture with Lembaga Tabung Haji to invest and jointly own six anchor handling tug supply vessels valued at US$1.25m. Alam Maritim said AMLI and Tabung Haji would incorporate TH-ALAM Holdings (L) Inc under the Labuan Offshore Companies Act, 1900 with an authorised and paid-up capital of US$39.3m. (Starbiz)
The closing date for Sarawak Energy’s VGO has been extended from 30 Nov to 14 Dec. The offeror does not intend to extend the offer beyond the revised 14 Dec. All other terms and conditions of the VGO remain unchanged. (BMSB)
Freight Management (FMHB) expects to continue recording positive growth in 2010 amid the global uncertainties. MD Chew Chong Keat said the optimistic outlook is backed by strategies to strengthen the group's foothold in regional markets and to be more prudent in spending. "We have fixed a solid single digit internal growth target for the current fiscal year. However, it could go higher if the economy continues to improve," he said. (BT)
Kumpulan Jetson announced several changes to its management yesterday with the entry of Naza Group’s S M Nasarudin as chairman and his brother, S M Faliq S M Nasimuddin Kamal as vice-chairman. Both are major shareholders of the company through their private vehicles. Former chairman Isnin Rahim was redesignated as ED while Chow Chee Kee was appointed as ED. (Financial Daily)
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