The traditional light bulb will no longer be available by Jan-2014, as part of efforts to save
power. Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Peter Chin said, “The shift to more energy-efficient bulbs will help reduce energy usage in the country by 1,074 GW per year. This is 1% of the total current usage.” In money terms, Chin said the shift would save RM336m a year in energy costs and this would allow consumers to better deal with any increase in tariffs that might occur in the future. (The Star)
The current
El Nino dry spell, if prolonged until middle of this year in major palm oil growing states in Malaysia, could result in lower-than-expected production for the year. This could also cause the CPO prices to stay firm at RM2,400 to RM2,800 per tonne for the rest of 2010, says industry players. While January to March was traditionally a low peak production season for palm oil, planters expected the impact of El Nino on the growth of oil palm FFB to be felt only within the next 8-10 months, said Malaysian Estate Owners Association official Mr Boon Weng Siew. (Starbiz)
Planters in Malaysia's top
palm oil producing state of Sabah say continuing hot weather could chip 10% off production this month after February's monthly slide of 15%. The situation is no better in Peninsular Malaysia. We only get very light showers in the morning, after that its good-bye rain, said an official with a palm plantation in Sabah. (Reuters)
Indonesia asked Nestle SA and Unilever NV to use the proper channel in addressing any environmental issues with regards to
palm oil from the country, the world’s largest producer. Nestle replaced Sinar Mas Group with an unidentified palm oil supplier after Greenpeace called on the world’s largest food maker to cut ties with the Indonesian company, the Vevey, Switzerland-based company said. Greenpeace published a report yesterday saying Sinar Mas has unlawfully destroyed rain forests to set up palm oil plantations. Greenpeace wrote to Nestle saying it has “evidence that Sinar Mas is breaking Indonesian law” and ignoring international environmental commitments, the environmentalist group said on its Web site. “It’s not fair if major companies such as Nestle and Unilever dropped supplies from Indonesian producers just based on one report,” Fadhil Hasan, executive director at the Indonesian Palm Oil Association, or Gapki, said in Jakarta. “They should’ve re-verified the report and gone through a mechanism in the RSPO before making such a decision,” he said. (Bloomberg)
Datuk Seri Najib Razak is optimistic that the
automotive sector will grow healthily in tandem with the expansion of the domestic economy this year. The prime minister said Malaysians will surprise themselves with an economic growth of between 5-6%. Meanwhile,
DRB-HICOM managing director Datuk Seri Mohd Khamil Jamil said the group is budgeting RM20m for three new Audi sales and service outlets including the Audi KL this year. (BT)
Proton Holdings expects the launch of the Persona Elegance to boost the sales of the Persona series to 4,000 units per month. Its managing director, Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir, said the Persona, the second best selling model after the Saga, had maintained a monthly sales average of 3,600 units. "We have done some changes to the car like introducing a number of subtle refinements, enhancements and upgrades," he said. (Bernama)
Proton Holdings plans to finalise its India strategy with the Hero Group by the second half of this year, said its top executive. "We are in discussion. Obviously, there are many things that we need to iron out. We have an understanding with all of our partners but we won't go into details right now," managing director Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir said. He said the board appointment of BVR Subbu, a former marketing head of Hyundai Motors in India, was a "clear indication" of Proton's commitment to enter into the world's largest small car market. (BT)
The recent problems with certain
Toyota cars in the US have not adversely affected sales of Toyota cars in Malaysia, Lexus Malaysia,
UMW Toyota Motor president Kuah Kok Heng said. On the contrary, he said sales for the first two months of this year had increased by almost 22% from the same period last year. He said the company had received calls from concerned buyers, but "after our explanations, they were satisfied." (Financial Daily)
Telekom Malaysia (TM) has spent about RM1.9bn and the government some RM990m, to-date, in rolling out the
high-speed broadband (HSBB), Group CEO Datuk Zamzamzairani Mohd Isa said. "We are expecting to get about 750,000 premises passed by year-end," he said adding that pyhsical work for the 44 exchanges, out of 95 exchanges nationwide, would be completed by year-end. The initial four areas that will be covered by TM HSBB services, at the time of service launch, are Shah Alam, Subang Jaya, Taman Tun Dr Ismail and Bangsar. Zamzamzairani said the roll-out of HSBB would contribute about 1% to GDP. (Bernama)
EON Capital received the resignation letters of its Chairman Tan Sri Syed Anwar Jamalluail, as well as those of its other directors, Datuk Dr. Mohd Shahari Bin Ahmad Jabar, Rodney Gordon Ward and Yeo Kar Peng. The resignations are subject to clearance from Bank Negara Malaysia. (Bernama)
The world’s fourth Universal Studios welcomed its first visitors yesterday. “We have ambitions that this would be the No 1 destination in Asia and also Europe as far as theme parks are concerned,”
Genting Group chairman Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay said. Asked if
Universal Studios Singapore could lose its novelty quickly and suffer loses like Hong Kong’s Disneyland, Lim said, “Definitely not, we are different from Disney.” He added that the park would bring in more rides over the next three year to keep the experience “fresh” for visitors. (Reuters)
Tan Sri Vincent Tan, founder and owner of
Berjaya Group, remains hopeful of assembling BYD’s cars in Malaysia although a minister had said the group won't be given an exception to do so. "I believe the government will consider this seriously, Malaysia needs more investment. In case the government doesn't want to let us do it here, we can do it in other Asean countries and export the cars back to Malaysia,” he said. BCorp is still putting together its application, which includes not just 1-litre cars but medium-sized ones as well. "We can't just have one type. We need to have a variety in order to be successful," Tan said. (BT)
Berjaya Retail, the retail arm of
Berjaya Corp, expects to be listed on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia by June or July, said Berjaya Group chairman and CEO Tan Sri Vincent Tan. The flotation exercise would raise RM50m and would be utilised for expansions, he said. Under the exercise, BCorp would sell Singer to BRetail for RM360m and 7-Eleven for RM600m. (Malaysian Reserve)
Alam Maritim has clinched a RM19m charter hire of a launch barge from 27 March. The 45-day charter includes options for weekly extension to be exercised 7 days prior to option period. (BT)
Petra Perdana has secured a 5-year, US$14.48m Islamic loan from HSBC Amanah. The money will be used to pay for the purchase of a work boat. (BMSB)
The
Hock Heng Stone Industries public issue under which 6m shares were made available for application by the Malaysian public have been oversubscribed. A total of 4,274 applications for 72.875m shares were received from the public for a total of 6m shares available for subscription, which represents an oversubscription of 11.15 times. (BT)
Magna Prima does not foresee further delay on the land purchase from
Ho Hup Construction’s unit following the latter’s board revamp. CEO Yoong Nim Chee said the company would soon establish a dialogue with Ho Hup’s new board, which was appointed at the EGM on Wednesday. (Financial Daily)
LCL Corp's lenders, EON Bank, Bank Muamalat Malaysia and Alliance Bank Malaysia, have served the company with notices demanding RM19.4m for loans taken by three of its subsidiaries. (Malaysian Reserve)
