Alam Maritim gets anchor-handling tug-supply contract from petronas and workboat charter from dayang

Alam Maritim wins RM32mil contracts

KUALA LUMPUR: Alam Maritim Resources Bhd has secured two contracts to provide vessels with a total value of RM32mil.
The company said its unit Alam Maritim (M) Sdn Bhd had received letters of contract extension from Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd to provide two anchor-handling tug-supply (AHTS) vessels valued at RM23.3mil.
Its unit also received a letter of award from Dayang Enterprise Sdn Bhd to provide one workboat valued at RM8.6mil.
Alam Maritim said the RM32mil contracts were expected to contribute positively to its earnings and net assets in the financial year ending Dec 31 and beyond.

Alvin Lau opens palm oil nursery in Miri Bintulu coastal road

Planting the seeds of success

Posted on November 28, 2012, Wednesday

PROPER CARE: Lau standing in front of rows of young oil palm trees at the Miri Best One nursery.Lau reveals that the seedlings take about one year to reach full maturity before it can be planted in the estates.

MIRI: Despite being a newcomer in the oil palm nursery business, Miri Best One Sdn Bhd (Miri Best One) strives to produce the best oil palm seedlings in the industry.

Established in 2008 as Kai Nguong Nursery’s outward venture to tap into the growing and highly-in-demand oil palm seedling business, Miri Best One’s agricultural practice hopes to put quality first in all stages of growth.

With a land area of 20 acres, the nursery is planted with around 210,000 young oil palm trees (or often called as oil palm seedlings), of which 180,000 are comprised of the DxP Felda Yangambi hybrid and the rest are the Calix 600 – a new super hybrid from Sime Darby Seeds and Agricultural Services.

The nursery is located some 30km from Miri, off the Miri-Bintulu coastal road.

Its managing director Alvin Lau said the process of oil palm cultivation is a difficult one, where a lot of care is involved.

“The seedlings must receive enough water, fertilizer, right soil and sunshine,” he added. “These young trees need to be watered as least twice a day as they use a lot of water,” he pointed out.

Lau revealed that the seedlings take about one year to reach full maturity before it can be planted in the estates.

“A seedling that has not grown well in the nursery will produce oil palm tree. Therefore, we eliminate the poor ones from the good ones – where this process is called culling – and out of the total seedlings, about 80 percent are deemed good,” Lau explained.

Apart from pests and diseases, the seedlings also suffer from abnormal growth.

“A good characteristic of good germinated palm oil seedlings is that they will be able to grow into healthy trees, bearing much fruits,” Lau explained.

Every month, the nursery produces about 10,000 young oil palm trees ready to be planted in the estates, he said.However, many of Lau’s customers also come from smallholders who sometimes even purchase up to a few hundred young trees.

“We also have orders of up to thousands of tress from the big plantation companies,” he revealed, adding that each young tree is being sold at RM13.

As an assurance of quality, the nursery has also obtained the Oil Palm Nursery Certificate of Competency meeting MPOB’s stringent requirements of high standards in infrastructure, facilities and nursery practices.

In a nutshell, Miri Best One believes in providing the best seedlings for its customers to ensure they have bountiful harvest and big returns for their investment.

Hock Seng Lee grows in size

HSL to see further growth and procurement success for new projects

Posted on November 30, 2012, Friday

KUCHING: Sarawak-based infrastructure company Hock Seng Lee Bhd (HSL) is set to enjoy further growth and procurement success based on the group records earnings for the third quarter of the financial year 2012 (3QFY12) while it rakes in more new projects.

In a press release, director Dato Paul Yu Chee Hoe said, “Net profit before tax for the nine months up to September 30 2012 was RM86.53 million up six per cent from the RM81.64 million achieved over the same period of 2011.”

Meanwhile revenue rose some five per cent for the January to September 2012 period to RM443.16 million from RM422.93 million for the same period in 2011.

Additionally, HSL reported RM30.39 million net profit before tax for 3QFY12, up marginally from the RM30.16 million recorded for 3QFY11 while revenue for the quarter under review was RM152.24 million, an increase of one per cent against the preceding year corresponding quarter’s figure of RM150.42 million.

Boosting HSL’s growth, some RM525 million worth of new projects had been added during 2012 to date while RM375 million worth had been completed.

HSL secured RM313 million worth of new projects in 2011, while it currently had RM1.9 billion worth of projects in hand with an outstanding value of RM1.1 billion, he added.

The most recent additions to the order book included the RM291 million new campus for UITM Mukah and Senibong secondary school, a construction sub-contract worth RM39.5 million.

“Our strength in our core business areas of marine engineering and infrastructure works provides us a competitive edge in pursuing contracts in Sarawak,” said Yu.

He added, “Moreover, our sound financial position with no borrowings and a RM177 million cash pile as at the end of the nine-month reporting period, places the group in an advantageous position when structuring project proposals where financing or land-swap deals may be involved.

“This is particularly the case when bidding for urgent public construction works whereby upfront available funding may be short.”

Currently, HSL’s largest on-hand project remains the 75 per cent completed Kuching City Centralised Wastewater Management project (Package 1) which is being undertaken by way of hi-tech tunnelling.

The Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) which included an Inlet Pumping Station, Headworks, an Activated Sludge Reactor, Secondary Clarifier and wetlands, was recently completed and had hosted numerous visitors.

The Sarawak Minister for Infrastructure and Communications, Datuk Seri Michael Manyin Jawong emphasised the importance of the project in alleviating the serious pollution of local rivers which currently absorbed some 175 million litres of Kuching’s untreated dirty wastewater every day and he called on the public to be co-operative as the contractor entered the individual property connections phase.

Looking ahead, HSL anticipates further contributions to safeguard the future health of Kuching by bidding for Phase 2 of this essential centralised sewerage project.

Old Town White Coffee gets biggest share of Malaysian kopitiam market

Oldtown beats earnings forecasts with resilient FMCG division

by Venu Puthankattil, venu@theborneopost.com. Posted on December 1, 2012, Saturday

KUCHING: Oldtown Bhd (Oldtown) has surpassed consensus estimates for financial results of the first nine months of financial year 2012 (9MFY12), on the back of its resilient fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) division which offset seasonal weakness of its food and beverage (F&B) segment.

The group’s 9MFY12 core net profit of RM35 million, accounting for 78.1 per cent of consensus’ full-year estimates; resilient profit before tax from its FMCG business inched up marginally by 1.4 per cent quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q).

This earnings boost in turn had helped to offset the sequential 12 per cent drop in profit before tax in the F&B segment which saw weaker earnings in the third quarter (3Q), attributable to slower sales during the Ramadan month.

OSK Research Sdn Bhd (OSK Research) analyst Danny Chan observed that the “gross margins remained stable at 31.9 per cent this year compared with 32 per cent over the corresponding period last year, probably due to stable coffee prices throughout the year and management’s successful marketing efforts, which did not involve sacrificing margins in order to stimulate sales.”

“On a year-to-date basis, FMCG sales grew 24.4 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) while F&B sales jumped 19.8 per cent y-o-y as export sales continued to outperform sales to the domestic market.

“This reaffirms our view that the stock’s main catalyst lies with its FMCG business.

“We are of the view that the group’s exports will see significant growth next year once its new factory in China commences operation,” he highlighted.

Chan added that the group had declared an interim dividend of six sen per share compared with 2.5 sen per share during the corresponding period last year.

The group’s balance sheet remained sturdy as it was in a net cash position, he pointed out.

Oldtown had added six new outlets to its portfolio, bringing the total number of outlets to 213 (11 in Malaysia, one in Singapore, three in Indonesia and two in China) as at 3Q of 2012, compared to 196 as at end-FY11.

The analyst made no changes to OSK Research’s previous forecasts as he believed that the company should be able to open nine more outlets by the end of this quarter, boosting the total to 221 outlets.

He pointed out that besides launching its first kiosk outlet in KLCC recently, the group had recently opened its first newly designed signature outlet (in Mid Valley Megamall) which was described as “relatively small in size but embodies the ‘tradition meets modern’ appeal.” With the mall attracting some 30 million to 33 million visitors annually, he opined that this Oldtown outlet would be profitable as it would benefit from the mall’s success in attracting and retaining shoppers.

“With the exit of KFC Holdings (M) Bhd and QSR Brands Bhd from the local bourse by the end of the year, we continue to like Oldtown for exposure in the F&B sector.

“This is premised on the group’s consistent top- and bottom-line expansion and potential growth in its overseas business,” he reckoned.

The analyst tweaked the research house’s forecasts to reflect the change in the group’s financial year ending from December to March, revealing earnings estimates of RM57.3 million for FY13 (15 months) and RM59.8 million for FY14.

In tandem with the earnings forecast revision, he revised upwards the fair value of the stock to RM2.60 per share as he pegged the stock to 15 times FY13 earnings per share.

“That said, we believe the stock could rerate to 17 to 18 times forward earnings next year if the company can translate overseas expansion strategy into profits,” he concluded.

Naim continues its robust growth, on track to exceed target for this year

Borneo Post December 1, 2012, Saturday

KUCHING: Property development and construction group, Naim Holdings Bhd (Naim) continues to record robust growth.

The group released its results for the third quarter (3Q) for 2012 yesterday, following its board of directors’ meeting held at its office at Wisma Naim in Kuching.

With these results, the group’s profit before tax as at 3Q12 stood at RM90.3 million, an increase of 76.9 per cent as compared with that of 2011, one of the highest in the group’s history.

Earnings per share for the period also increased from 17.58 sen in 3Q11 to 32.23 sen in 3Q12, while net assets per share rose RM0.26 sen from RM2.99 as at December 31, 2011 to RM3.25 as at September 30, 2012.

The group revenue also increased by 10.6 per cent from RM120.6 million to RM133.4 million compared with the immediate preceding quarter of 2012.

The strong performance was mainly attributed to a strong results recorded by its property development division, an improvement in project margin for its construction division and positive contribution from its investments in associates namely Dayang Enterprise Holdings Bhd and joint venture initiatives.

Property revenue improved by five per cent as compared with the immediate preceding quarter, while the construction segment also showed an increase of 22 per cent as compared with the immediate preceding quarter.

With this, the contributions by the core sectors namely property and construction to profit in 3Q were 51.8 per cent and 48.2 per cent respectively.

The group is confident of a strong performance in 2012 despite the uncertain economic climate and will continue to exercise due care to sustain and enhance the shareholder value of the company.

Plaza Merdeka confident of strong retail presence

SOFT LAUNCH: (From left) Datuk Wee Hong Seng, Plaza Merdeka Holdings managing director Steve Ng, director Datin Azarina Mohd Arip, Regional Corridor Development Authority chief executive officer Datuk Amar Wilson Baya Dandot and his wife Datin Amar Theresa Toyad along with other Plaza Merdeka Holdings directors during the mall’s soft launching yesterday morning.

KUCHING: Having seen an overwhelming response from the public on its soft opening, Plaza Merdeka hopes to achieve continuous loyalty from the public with about 70 per cent of its shop already operational to date.

Despite Kuching seeing a current oversupply of retail players, Plaza Merdeka Holdings Sdn Bhd (Plaza Merdeka) managing director Steve Ng believed that the newly-opened mall would not face any problems in this aspect based on the positive feedback seen so far.

“We are optimistic that the retailers will be successful here. At this point in time, about 70 per cent of the stores in Plaza Merdeka are open,” Ng told The Borneo Post in an exclusive interview.

“By December 12, we will launch our official opening and we will see 90 per cent of our stores up and running by then.

“We have reserved a number of stores as we wish to be selective of the other brands coming in. We are looking at brands that are different,” Ng noted, adding that he was looking for more unique brands for the mass market which were not in Kuching yet.

With a total net lettable area of 350,000 square feet, Ng affirmed his belief that having a good mix of retailers – with many opening pioneer outlets in Sarawak – would be a key point to make Plaza Merdeka stand out from other shopping malls in the city.

Among players opening their first Sarawakian outlet in Plaza Merdeka are Dorothy Perkins, Diva, Samsonite, Cotton On and so forth.

When asked on other possible players opening outlets in Plaza Merdeka, Ng said the management was currently in discussions to bring in more food and beverage players such as Subway and Nandos.

“Currently we are in discussion with them and we hope to get them to open outlets in Plaza Merdeka.

“We are also looking at other clothing and fashion brands that are not yet in Kuching,” he said.

“With these, we hope to be one of the top premier shopping malls in Kuching and we hope to be able to emulate what tHe Spring has done. In this way, we hope to be able to attract the international brands to come to Kuching. ”

This was on the back of Level Up Fitness Centre soon to be opened on the topmost floor of the mall, which will have a swimming pool with a panoramic view of the Sarawak river.

“As you can see, the layout for our mall is not classic. We cater to the local players. For the larger stores, we look at big players such as Cotton On, Esprit, Guess Accessories, Quicksilver – brands that appeal to the mass market, which are affordable and yet have a premium feel to them.

“This is in line with the mall’s primary target market aimed at the young generation up to working adults with young families.

“We also hope to garner strong tourist presence because of our location. We are always trying to think how else we can make Plaza Merdeka better for our shoppers,” he concluded.

by Ronnie Teo, ronnieteo@theborneopost.com. Posted on November 30, 2012, Friday

Semua kaum wajib berterima kasih kepada kerajaan BN membangunkan ekonomi

80% of 40 richest Malaysians are ethnic Chinese

Saturday, 04 February 2012 03:10

Eighty percent of the top 40 richest Malaysians are ethnic Chinese, according to data compiled by the Malaysian daily Nanyang Siang Pau.

The daily named sugar trader and owner of world's largest palm oil listed company Wilmar International, Robert Kuokas the richest, with a net worth of 30.28 billion ringgit ($10 billion).

The 89-year-old, the world's 33rd richest man who also holds stakes in Hong Kong-based Shangri-la Hotels beat the second richest, casino mogul Lim Kok Thay by 10 billion ringgit ($3.3 billion ) in net worth.

Lim Kok Thay, who has a net worth of 20.2 billion ringgit ($6.7 billion) inherited the casino operator Genting Group from his late father and company founder Lim Goh Tong, who was once the richest man in the country.

Telecommunication mogul Ananda Krishnan, who owns Malaysia's telecommunications giant Maxis and satellite television Astro was named the third richest with a net worth of 18 billion ringgit ($5.9 billion).

The daily named 82-year-old bank founder Teh Hong Piao, who started Malaysia's Public Bank at the age of 35 as the fourth richest with a net worth of 12.5 billion ringgit ($4.15 billion).

Syed Mokhtar Albukhary, owner of energy-to-property conglomerate MMC Corp. owner and auto-assembler DRB Hicom, was ranked 6th with a net worth of 8.7 billion ringgit ($2.89 billion).

Budget airline AirAsia's CEO Tony Fernandes was ranked 28th with a net worth of 938 million ringgit ($311.5 million).

Nanyang said the top 10 richest men in the country have a combined net worth of 126.9 billion ringgit ($42.1 billion) and 80 percent of the 40 wealthiest people in the country were ethnic Chinese, most of whom run diversified conglomerates.

The ethnic Chinese make up 22.5 percent of Malaysia's 27.5 million population - China Daily

Tun Mahathir urges business community to be thankful to govt

Posted on December 3, 2012, Monday

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has urged the business community in Malaysia to be thankful to the government for its efforts in upholding the country’s stability for the past 55 years.

“There is no other government in the world which is as friendly as our government, in terms of facilitating a seamless business operation,” he said in his opening remarks at the Malaysia Business Awards (MBA) 2012.

He said Malaysians today have made a lot of improvements, adding that before this the country would have had to bring in outside experts just to set up basic infrastructure.

“Now, I am so proud to see local contractors providing their services overseas,” he added.

At the event, Datuk Tan Chin Nam, the major shareholder of IGB Corp Bhd, was honoured with the Legendary Lifetime Achievement Award, while National Land Finance Co-Operative Executive Chairman Tan Sri Dr K R Somasundram and MK Land Chairman Tan Sri Mustapha Kamal Abu Bakar bagged Lifetime Achievement Awards.

Datuk Syed Hisham Syed Wazir, UMW Holdings president and group chief executive officer, was honoured with the International Excellence Award.

The MBA 2012, organised by the Kuala Lumpur Malay Chamber of Commerce (KLMCC), recognises outstanding performers in the local business community. — Bernama