Revamp plan will allow Sime to optimise ops
PETALING JAYA: Sime Darby Bhds plan to revamp its operations into six flagship subsidiaries each with its own board of directors and committees to improve its business is a good move but may take some time before it can be materialised.
Vehicle sales unlikely to be revised downward
PETALING JAYA: Despite a slower pace of economic growth in the second half-year, sales of vehicles are unlikely to fall although it will not be as good as in the first half.
Sarawak Energy may again seek lower tariffs
PETALING JAYA: Sarawak Energy Bhd, the state utility firm that will buy power from the Bakun dam, is expected to put in a fresh proposal for lower tariffs during the ramp-up period between 2011 and 2015, sources said.
Effective cost management boosts Celcom Axiata profit
KUALA LUMPUR: Celcom Axiata Bhd made a profit after tax and minority interests (PATAMI) of RM476mil for its second quarter ended June 30, up 30% from a year earlier, boosted by effective cost management, focus on operational efficiency and increasing subscribers.
Esso earnings down 45% in Q2
PETALING JAYA: Esso Malaysia Bhd saw its net profit for the second quarter ended June 30 declined by 45% to RM70.77mil compared with a year ago mainly due to the absence of inventory gains recorded in the same quarter and first half of last year.
Tanjong listing on LSE cancelled
PETALING JAYA: Tanjong Plcs standard listing on the London Stock Exchange has been cancelled with effect from 8.00am London time yesterday.
Wilmar buys rest of Natoleo shares
PETALING JAYA: PPB Group Bhd said its 18.4% associate Wilmar International Ltd, via wholly-owned unit PGEO Group Sdn Bhd, has signed an agreement on Thursday to acquire the remaining 8.62% in Natural Oleochemicals Sdn Bhd (Natoleo).
PGas profit up on processing revenue
PETALING JAYA: Petronas Gas Bhds net profit jumped 42.33% to RM382.78mil for the first quarter ended June 30 compared with a year ago on higher gas processing and transportation revenue.
PacificMas picks Fairfax as buyer of insurance arm
PETALING JAYA: PacificMas Bhd has chosen Canada-based Fairfax Asia Ltd as the buyer for its entire stake in wholly-owned unit The Pacific Insurance Bhd, subject to Bank Negara approval.
Headline inflation up 1.9% in July
PETALING JAYA: Headline inflation as measured by consumer price index was 1.9% higher in July compared with a year ago due to price increases in the food and non-alcoholic beverages and transport categories.
Ta Ann overcomes bad weather obstacle
SIBU: Recent heavy rains have not significantly hampered Ta Ann Holdings Bhds oil palm activities, especially the harvesting of the crops fresh fruit bunches (FFB), said group managing director cum chief executive officer Datuk Wong Kuo Hea.
Etiqa on track to meet targets
PETALING JAYA: Etiqa Insurance & Takaful is on track to be the leading insurance and takaful organisation in the country by the end of this year after surpassing the RM4.5bil mark in top line premiums with a profit before tax of RM422mil for its 2009/2010 financial year.
Discovering the true value of YTL
ITs an oft-told story about how YTL Group managed to stay resilient during the Asian Financial Crisis even as many large corporations became casualties of the crisis buckling under debilitating debt. That story, more often than not, is narrated by no less than the groups chief steward Tan Sri Francis Yeoh.
Getting ready to launch the next generation
INTERCONNECTION is key but not new. What it means essentially is that all celcos and telcos need to compete to gain access to another players network. Its a universal trend and one that has been brought about by the pressures of competition.
All wired up
In an interview with StarBizWeek, YTL Corp managing director Tan Sri Francis Yeoh (pic) charts the sprawling groups strategy for all its various units going forward while he encapsulates the journey so far for the behemoth family-owned conglomerate. Below are excerpts:
A wide palette for investors
WITH a sprawling business empire involved in power, utilities, cement, construction, real estate, information technology and leisure, this probably makes YTL group of companies one of the countrys largest family-owned conglomerates.
YTL Land going global
TAN Sri Francis Yeoh has great entrepreneurial spirit and is fully behind the Governments plan to improve the country through innovation and technology.
Your 10 Questions for Datuk Abdul Rahman Ahmad
Featuring Ekuiti Nasional Bhd CEO Datuk Abdul Rahman Ahmad.
Up close and personal with Adlina Borhan
ADLINA Borhan, who resides and works in Paris, France, doesnt get a chance to return home to Malaysia as often as shed like to, that is.
Associates lift Tradewinds Q2 earnings
PETALING JAYA: Tradewinds Corp Bhd posted a 23.29% rise in net profit to RM11.33mil in the second quarter ended June 30 from a year ago mainly due to better results in associate companies and improvement in the global economy.
Nazir offered place in Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies
PETALING JAYA: Prominent banker Datuk Seri Nazir Razak will head off to the highly-acclaimed Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies as a Chevening Fellow for 2010/2011 in October where he will juggle this with his job as chief executive of CIMB Group Holdings Bhd.
Zarinah to chair new committee on governance
KUALA LUMPUR: Securities Commission (SC) chairman Tan Sri Zarinah Anwar will chair the new International Corporate Governance Consultative Committee (CGCC).
Breaking up Sime Darby
IT was due to the advantages of size and economies of scale that Sime Darby and other companies in the Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) stable notably Guthrie and Golden Hope decided to merge some three years ago to form what would be for some time the largest company by value on the local bourse.
The position that counts
WHILE Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhds plan to take up a 23% stake in Cocoaland Holdings Bhd has drawn attention because its the latest in a series of share acquisitions involving listed food players, theres another aspect of the F&N-Cocoaland deal that deserves some discussion as well.
Threat of a double-dip deflation
Whats happening in the US, euro zone and Japan points to a hard slog ahead.
Preparing for your lifelong voyage
MONEY and love are intertwined and it is difficult to separate them in a marriage.
Renewable energy a growth sector for Malaysia
The Star will feature a series of stories in conjunction with StarBiz-ICRM Corporate Responsibility Awards. The CR Awards is the result of a partnership between The Star and Institute of Corporate Responsibility Malaysia (ICRM), supported by the Securities Commission and Bursa Malaysia Bhd. Its working partners are PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and Securities Industry Development Corp
Asias middle-class boom
THE signs of Asias rapidly growing middle class are everywhere.
Treasury Pulse
Powering up the peninsula
NOW that the Energy Commission (ST) has awarded the concession to develop the first block of the 1,000 MW coal-fired power plant to Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB), the focus will be on a possible tender for the second block of an almost equal-capacity power plant in Malaysia.
Dentsu in strategic partnership with OCM
DENTSU Malaysia has teamed up with the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) to boost sports marketing in the country which is still at its infancy but with promising potential to grow further.
Innovation is the new black
ITS the word du jour, its a fashion statement, its a mantra: innovation, innovation, innovation. One might be forgiven for imagining that by saying it often enough, heaps of lovely, creative ideas would gush unstoppably forth. Ah, but this is not the case, is it?
Unwired and untapped
THESE days, its easy to take Internet connection for granted. Many of us connect to it primarily through our desktops and laptops, but recent technological advances have allowed us access via our mobile devices as well. The number of people who access the Internet in this way are on the rise, as the price for mobile access falls.
The need for affordable housing to meet demand
RISING worries over the escalating cost of living and prices of goods and services has become a hot topic among the average Malaysians these days with one of their major concerns centred around the removal of subsidies by the Government.
An upside in the office market
A DROP in the capital value of office buildings from their previous highs is attracting higher interest among investors looking for potential value upside and good rental income streams, say property consultants.
MBA can still go far in the local job market
THE MBA (Master of Business Administration) is still a qualification that is much sought after by Malaysian employers for the skill-sets and knowledge-base that comes with it.
Venturing into China and Asean region
SMALL and medium enterprises (SMEs) should tap into the rising consumption in the Asean region and China to boost their profit margins.
Keen to insert emblems in trademarks? Think again!
MARKS are a very valuable form of intellectual property because they become closely associated with quality and consumer expectations of a product or service. This explains why most entrepreneurs would want to register their marks, whatever the cost.
Winning streak to continue
REVIEW: Overnight US equities slipped for the second straight session, pulling the closely-watched Dow down 57.59 points to 10,213.62 the previous Friday due to persistent worries the pace of recovery in the worlds largest economy has tapered off.
The power of Randall
Review by ABBY WONG.
Snapshots
By THEAN LEE CHENG.
A record period for banks
THE second quarter has been a record period for all banks, with most seeing increases in their margins, mainly due to the impact of the hike in the overnight policy rate (OPR) and strong loans growth.
China plans probe into banks ties
SHANGHAI: Chinas banking regulator plans to launch an investigation into lenders cooperation with private equity firms, to ensure banks have taken adequate measures to ward off risks, the China Business News reported yesterday.
US to end tax case against UBS
WASHINGTON: US authorities said on Thursday they would soon bring to a close the tax fraud case against UBS, which had threatened to bring the Swiss banking giant to its knees.
Britain Q2 growth at 9-year high
LONDON: Britains economy grew at its fastest pace for nine years in the second quarter as construction soared, official data showed yesterday, but the nation still faces a tough outlook amid severe budget cuts.
US Q2 growth revised to 1.6%
WASHINGTON: The US economy grew at a 1.6% annual rate in the second quarter, less than previously calculated as companies reined in inventories and the trade deficit widened.
Dell raises 3PAR offer, matching H-P bid
NEW YORK: Dell Inc fired back in a bidding war for data storage company 3PAR Inc, matching a US$1.8bil offer by Hewlett-Packard Co (H-P) and showing it isnt giving up yet against its bigger rival.
HKEx considers yuan futures market
SHANGHAI: The Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEx) is considering launching a yuan currency futures market, another small step towards internationalising the Chinese currency, the China Business News said in a report yesterday.
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