Sabah & Sarawak
TAS Offshore enters agreement to build, sell OSVs
Sarawak-based TAS Offshore Bhd (TAS Offshore) has entered into a joint venture agreement for the building and sale of offshore support vessels (OSVs). The company on Monday said its wholly-owned subsidiary TA Ventures (L) Ltd (TA Ventures) had entered into a joint venture agreement with Chan Baihang, a business from Guangdong, China to build and sell OSVs.
Shell updates Sarawak CM on business in the state
Sarawak chief minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Haji Adenan Satem received a delegation from Shell Malaysia on Wednesday headed by Iain Lo, chairman of Shell Malaysia and managing director of Sarawak Shell Bhd. He was joined by Rowina Ghazali, the company’s director of government relations for Malaysia and Jonathan Jolly, senior manager for government relations Sarawak.
During the courtesy call, Lo provided an update on Shell’s exploration and production business in Sarawak.
Increase in number of businesses registering for GST
The number of businesses registered for Goods and Services Tax (GST) has been on the rise, says Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Chua Tee Yong.
He said in the past two days, there were more than 2,000 applications which applied for the registration of GST as compared with the week before between 1,000 and 1,500. For Sarawak, there are currently about 2,300 businesses registered for GST.
Indonesia slashing CPO export tax could dent M’sia’s palm oil sector
Following Malaysia’s announcement of cutting its export tax on crude palm oil (CPO) to zero for two months, Indonesia has been reported that it would also cut its export tax on CPO to zero in October 2014. Analysts on Thursday believe competition-wise, this could negatively impact Malaysia’s palm oil industry.
However, AmResearch Sdn Bhd (AmResearch) highlighted that there is still a silver lining in the industry as palm oil shipments from Malaysia have been positive in the 20 days of September.
Respectable FY14 results for Weida
The financial year ending 2014 (FY14) turned out to be another year of respectable achievements for Weida (M) Bhd (Weida) whereby the group recorded a turnover of RM318 million. Although profit after tax from continuing operations of RM23 million was slightly lower compared to RM25 million in the previous year, Weida is optimistic that its profit growth will resume.
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National
Shapadu postpones O&G business ipo submission to 1Q15
Shapadu Corp Sdn Bhd on Monday said it deferred its paperwork submission to the Securities Commission Malaysia for an initial public offering (IPO) of its oil and gas (O&G) business by the first quarter of next year from the third quarter of this year.
The company aims to raise up to RM300 million in fresh proceeds from the IPO. Shapadu Group executive director Datuk Rosthman Ibrahim attributed the delay to a merger failure.
SSM denies appointing agent to collect additional fee for GST
Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) has denied that it had appointed an agent or an individual to collect an additional fee in preparation for the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on its behalf. In a statement Monday, the SSM said it had never conspired with any agent or individual to solicit money from traders for that purpose.
Cagamas confident of meeting need for competitively priced liquidity
Cagamas Bhd, the national mortgage corporation, is confident of meeting any future need for competitively pricedliquidity. President and chief executive officer Chung Chee Leong said the company is optimistic on the issuance outlook, given the strong value propositions of its loan purchase schemes which offer effective liquidity management, hedging, capital management, portfolio management and risk management solutions.
BNM, SC launches FSPB
Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) on Wednesday announced the formation of the Financial Services rofessional Board (FSPB).
The formation of the board also include the appointment of Tan Sri Azman Hashim as its chairman as well as nine board members who are prominent individuals with significant experience in the corporate and financial industry including from the international community.
Bio-based industry approved investments double than target
Total approved investments in Malaysia’s bio-based industry from 2011 till now has more than doubled to US$5.6 billion (RM17.9 billion) compared with the target of US$2.7 billion (RM8.64 billion) set previously, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, said on Thursday.
This was a significant achievement for Phase 2 of the National Biotechnology Policy in view that approved investments had exceededthe target for the 2011-2015 period.
MyCC probes 47 cases under competition act
The Malaysia Competition Commission (MyCC) is investigating 47 cases involving various sectors and companies under the Competition Act 2010. Minister of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism, Datuk Seri Hasan Malek, said the cases involved the increase in bus fares, ice manufacturing and the Malaysian Airline and AirAsia’s 2011 collaboration agreement.
PIAM expects 2015 Budget to strenghten insurance, Takaful sector
The General Insurance Association of Malaysia (PIAM) expects the 2015 Budget to continue focusing on measures to further liberalise and strengthen the nation’s insurance and takaful sector.
The association advocates a further increase in the tax relief on contributions to the Employees’ Provident Fund to commensurate with the current salary ranges for the private sector.
Tap opportunities, increase value in preparation for AEC
The Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) wants local companies to gear up and look at the Asean Economic Community (AEC) next year as a platform to tap new opportunities to add value to their businesses.
Deputy Minister Datuk Hamim Samuri on Friday said they should look at the AEC as well as Asean integration with East Asia countries positively to create an integrated market and production base.