STARBIZ, WEDNESDAY 26 NOVEMBER 2008
By LAW KAI CHOW
kclaw@thestar.com.my
It is in line with Bank Negara’s move to lower the OPR
tage of our borrowers as well as a
means to spur economic and business growth for the various sectors,”
Maybank’s president and CEO Datuk
Seri Abdul Wahid Omar said.
He added that Maybank and
Maybank Islamic would continue to
review the market environment and
provide customers more financial
support in these difficult times.
CIMB Group’s group chief executive Datuk Seri Nazir Razak said the
banking group decided to pass on
the full benefit of the OPR reduction
to its customers.
“This full pass-through of Bank
Negara’s OPR reduction will help
existing borrowers and also potential borrowers to contend with an
environment of sharply moderating
economic growth,” Nazir said in a
statement.
“We continue to also welcome
borrowers to engage us if they need
to restructure their payment schedules.”
Nazir said CIMB Islamic also plans
to provide more attractive Islamic
financing rates to pass on the benefits of ample liquidity in the Islamic
banking market.
Customers can expect to pay lower
rates for Islamic financing compared
to conventional loans at CIMB Group,
he added.
Despite the lower lending rates,
CIMB Bank and CIMB Islamic deposit
rates remain attractive at up to 3.5%
per annum, Nazir said in the statement.
The Association of Banks in
Malaysia said Bank Negara’s decision
to cut the OPR would lead to a lower
cost of funds for banks.
The lower cost of funds would in
turn reduce the cost of borrowings
for consumers, the association said
in a statement.
The association’s chairman, Datuk
Seri Abdul Hamidy Abdul Hafiz, said:
“Bank Negara Malaysia’s move to cut
the statutory reserve requirement
for banking institutions from 4% to
3.5% effective Dec 1 will also inject
greater liquidity into the banking
system, lower cost of funds and promote lending activities as the move
will effectively increase the lending
capacity of the banks.”
Earlier, Wahid said the banking
group intended to open nine more
branches in the next three years in
Cambodia to strengthen its presence
in regional markets.
Maybank has two branches in
Cambodia and plans are in the pipeline to open one more early next
year, he said at the launch of an electronic deposit system.
Banks are top three
brands in Malaysia
By LEE KIAN SEONG
lks@thestar.com.my
PETALING JAYA: Maybank is
ranked the top brand in Malaysia’s
30 Most Valuable Brands (MMVB)
again this year, with a total brand
value of RM9.3bil.
All the top three brands were
banks, with Public Bank and CIMB
following Maybank with RM6.8bil
and RM6.2bil in brand value respectively (see table).
The brands which saw the biggest
value growth were CIMB (83%
growth), followed by DiGi (35%) and
The Star (22%).
The report added that The Star
controlled 64% of the circulation and
73% of the advertising revenue in the
English print media market. Its circulation was 2.2 times and readership 2.9 times more than its nearest
rival.
“It remains nimble in its content
mix, pragmatic in its editorial stance
and opportunistic in introducing
new products,” the report said.
Its brand value was derived
through a valuation study commissioned by the Association of
Accredited Advertising Agents
Malaysia (4As) and The Edge. It was
conducted by Interbrand, one of the
largest brand consultancies internationally.
The 4As unveiled the top 30 brands
at the MMVB 2008 awards ceremony
in Petaling Jaya last night.
The total value of the top 30 brands
stood at RM61.8bil, a 9% growth over
the RM56.6bil achieved last year.
The study said 14 brands showed a
growth in value this year.
Only brands that were public listed or owned by listed companies
were considered for the study. Hence
Maxis, which was ranked third in
last year’s study, was not in the list as
it was delisted.
Meanwhile, Mamee Double
Decker and Bonia have dropped out
of the list. Sin Chew, JobStreet.com
»We need to
look at our
wealth creators
and nurture
them with even
more courage,
conviction and
rigour«
PETALING JAYA: Magna Prima
Bhd has downsized its Magna City
project in Kuala Lumpur to RM600mil
from RM1.1bil in gross development
value (GDV) due to slowing growth,
according to chief executive officer
Lim Ching Choy.
“In view of the slowing economy,
we reposition our development to
suit the market demands,” Lim told
StarBiz. “We (downsized) the development because we anticipated that
the retail mall business would be
tough going forward.”
Lim said the decision would also
“lighten up” the company’s cash
position, adding that the project’s
profit margin could be maintained at
25% to 30% of sales value.
“Magna Prima is able to retain a
healthy profit margin because we
may not keep any of the assets in the
amended RM600mil (project),” he
said, revealing that the company had
planned to retain 45% to 55% of the
original project.
As of end of October, the group
had RM230mil in unbilled sales.
The Magna City will have over
1.6mil square feet of net floor area
while the construction is targeted to
commence in the middle of 2009.
It sits on 10.23 acres of freehold
land comprising 67 units of lifestyle
shop offices, two levels of retail lots,
two levels of corporate offices and
800 units of service apartments.
TechnoDex to
buy 51% stake
in HK Comp
By SURAJ RAJ
suraj@thestar.com.my
Tan Sri Amirsham Aziz presenting the most valuable brand award to
Star Publications group MD and CEO Datin Linda Ngiam
DATUK VINCENT LEE
Malaysia’s 20 most valuable brands
Rank
and Ogawa are the new entries in
the top 30.
The other brands in the top 30 not
shown in the table are AirAsia (brand
value: RM378mil), Dutch Lady
(RM306mil), Affin Bank (RM237mil),
MAA (RM219mil), Padini (RM204mil),
Kurnia (RM197mil), Sin Chew
(RM190mil), Proton (RM150mil),
Ogawa (RM104mil) and Sunway
(RM101mil).
Minister in the Prime Minister’s
Department Tan Sri Amirsham Abdul
Aziz presented the awards to the
companies in the top 30 brands yesterday.
4As president Datuk Vincent Lee
said brands were organic assets that
needed constant nurturing.
He said economic and political
instability would affect their ability
to generate value.
“We need to look at our wealth
creators and nurture them with even
more courage, conviction and rigour.”
B5
Magna City
project to be
downsized
Maybank and CIMB
reduce lending rate
KUALA LUMPUR: Malayan Banking
Bhd and CIMB Group have reduced
their base lending rates (BLR), effective from Dec 1, following the move
by Bank Negara to lower the overnight policy rate (OPR).
Maybank said yesterday it had
reduced its BLR by 25 basis points
from 6.75% to 6.5% effective Dec 1.
Maybank Islamic Bhd’s base
financing rate (BFR) would also be
revised downward by 25 basis points
from 6.75% to 6.5% effective Dec 1.
CIMB Group said CIMB Bank Bhd
and CIMB Islamic Bank Bhd would
reduce both their BLR and BFR by 25
basis points to 6.5% with effect also
from Dec 1.
The two banking groups said their
decision was made following Bank
Negara’s move to lower the OPR by
25 basis points to 3.25%.
“It is a decisive step to the advan-
NEWS
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Brand
Maybank
Public Bank
CIMB
Genting
Parkson*
Celcom
Astro
Petronas*
DiGi
Hong Leong
Perodua
Giant
Malaysia Airlines
Sime Darby
TV3
YTL
Ambank
RHB Bank
JobStreet.com
The Star
Industry
Banking
Banking
Banking
Leisure/Entertainment
Retail
Telecoms
Media/Entertainment
Energy
Telecoms
Banking
Automotive
Retail
Airlines
Property/Infrastructure
Media
Property/Infrastructure
Banking
Banking
Online Recruitment
Media/Entertainment
Brand value
(RM mil)
Growth
(%)
9,347
6,812
6,257
4,469
4,196
3,899
3,375
3,014
3,007
2,946
2,798
2,227
1,829
1,638
1,036
781
705
607
391
387
−3
−1
83
−3
−4
2
35
−5
14
8
6
8
−6
7
8
−7
22
* Parkson: Includes brand value of foreign retail business including China
* Petronas: Petronas Dagangan and Petronas Gas (B2C, B2B, Petroleum, LPG and Natural Gas) business
PETALING JAYA: Mesdaq-listed ebusiness
solutions
provider
TechnoDex Bhd has proposed to
acquire a 51% stake in HK Comp
Software Standards (M) Sdn Bhd for
RM5mil to increase its recurring revenue by tapping the ISO document
management solutions market.
HK Comp is a custom software
solutions provider whose core product - niix ISO Document Management
System (ISO DMS) - enables companies seeking compliance with ISO
and other quality standards to implement best practices in document
management.
The contribution from HK Comp
towards TechnoDex net profit is
expected to be 20%-25% for financial
year ending June 30, 2010.
“We want to expand into specific
industry segments and HK Comp’s
solutions are very niche. We are
optimistic that this move will further strengthen our recurring
income,” she told StarBiz in an interview.
The acquisition will be funded by
internally-generated funds and/or
bank borrowings.
Under the terms of the proposed
acquisition, HK Comp has to provide
TechnoDex a net profit guarantee of
at least RM2mil for its financial year
ending Dec 31, 2009.
Incorporated in 2004, HK Comp’s
has a sizeable customer base that
includes manufacturing firms such
as Kian Joo Can Factory Bhd, Ann Joo
Resources Bhd, Shinetsu and
Goodyear Malaysia.