theSun | TUESDAY JULY 21 2009 œ 13

business

Intel collaborates with MDeC on human capital development

PENANG: Leading US chipmaker Intel
Corporation has signed a memorandum
of understanding (MoU) with Multime-
dia Development Corporation (MDeC)
to enhance human capital development
in the information and communications
technology (ICT) industry.
Intel Malaysia’s managing director
Atul Bhargava said the purpose of the
MoU was to incorporate an industry-
academia collaboration and work out
a curriculum on engineering for local
universities.
“We also aim to enhance the
technical skills and knowledge of
local graduates so that they are able
to meet the industry requirements,”
he said after exchanging documents
with MDeC chief operating officer Ng
Wan Peng yesterday.
Bhargava said the collaboration,
which involved Intel providing train-
ing facilities and MDeC looking after
university training, could cultivate a
knowledge-based workforce.
“Through this MoU, we are com-
mited to help local graduates acquire
industry-relevant technical knowledge
so that they can contribute effectively
to the country’s knowledge economy.”
Ng said the training programme
has six modules, with two of them
already started last month.
“We estimate about RM300,000
will be spent for the whole programme
which will benefit about 3,000 stu-
dents,” she said.
She added that 15 lecturers from
local universities had gone through
the first module and were now ready
to share their industry-acquired
knowledge with students.
Ng also said that more multina-
tional corporations (MNCs) were keen
to invest in Malaysia due to the avail-
ability of a talented workforce.
“We can offer them the talented
workforce but the numbers are still
not enough to fulfil their demand,” she
said. – Bernama

Public Bank on track to Bursa posts RM35m

profit in Q2
KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malay- “The total derivatives con-

achieve 15% loan growth sia Bhd posted RM35 million in

KUALA LUMPUR: The Public
Bank group’s loan growth is on
track to achieve the targeted 14-15%
growth for 2009, managing director
Tan Sri Tay Ah Lek said yesterday.
Loan growth will be supported
by demand from small and me-
dium enterprises and increase in
housing loans, Tay said at a media
briefing on the group's first-half
results.
“We are expecting to achieve
this target based on the first-half
performance,” he said.
Total loans and advances grew
by RM8.7 billion or 7.2% in the first
six months of 2009 to RM129.4 bil-
lion, significantly above the bank-
ing industry’s 1.2% for the first five
months of 2009.
According to Tay, deposit
growth for 2009 is also expected to
be good based on the performance
in the first half of the year.
The bank’s core customer depos-
its grew by 11.5% in the first half of
2009 to RM125.3 billion compared
with the industry’s 2.9% during the
first five months of 2009.
As at the end-May 2009, Public
Bank’s domestic market share
of total loans and core customer
deposits rose to 15.5% and 15.2%
respectively, compared with 14.8%
and 14.7% as at Dec 31, 2008.
Tay said that non-performing
loans are also expected to stabilise
and remain below 1%, which is
much lower than the industry's
2.2% in May 2009.
The group's loan loss cover-
age of 173% was about twice the
banking industry’s ratio of 87%,
and continued to be the highest
and most prudent in the Malaysian
banking industry, he said.
Public Bank posted a pre-tax
Barring
unforeseen
circumstances, the
group is expected
to continue to
record satisfactory
performance for the
rest of 2009.”
profit of RM1.564 billion in the
first-half year ended June 30, 2009,
down from RM1.76 billion in the
same period last year.
Revenue declined to RM4.78
billion from RM5.15 billion previ-
ously.
The bank’s net interest and
financing income grew by 9%
to RM180 million, driven by its
expanding loan and deposits
businesses and sustained strong
assets.
Its total assets crossed the
RM200 billion mark for the first
time, standing at RM204.0 billion
as at end-June 2009.
On the outlook, Tay said despite
the slowing economy, the banking
industry in Malaysia remained
resilient, supported by its strong
capitalisation, stable asset quality
and improved risk management
practices.
Hence, the group would con-
tinue to pursue its strategy of strong
organic business growth, as well
as maintaining a high quality loan
portfolio and improving productiv-
ity, he said.
“Barring unforeseen circum-
stances, the group is expected to
continue to record satisfactory
performance for the rest of 2009.”
At the briefing, Public Bank’s
chief operating officer Leong Kwok
Neym said it may look at issuing
some level of its subordinated notes
to strengthen capital requirements
in the second half of 2009.
However, Leong said, the
amount would depend on the mar-
ket’s appetite at the point in time.
“We are in a position to enhance
the capital requirement ratio given
that we still have two securities
issuance programmes,” he said.
– Bernama
higher net profit for the second
quarter ended June 30, 2009, a
22% jump compared to RM28.6
million in the same quarter last
year.
The group operating revenue
improved by 12% to RM86.8 mil-
lion in the period under review
compared to RM77.5 million in
the previous corresponding
quarter.
Chief executive
I want officer Datuk Yusli
Terry, Mohamed Yusoff
(pix) said the
says stronger quarter-
relentless on-quarter results
Hughes were attributed to
pg 31 heightened inves-
tor confidence
and improved
trading activity in the
market.
“Our cost optimisation and
prudent financial management
measures have helped contrib-
ute to better financial perform-
ance in the second quarter,” he
said in a statement.
Yusli said market interest
picked up in the second quarter
of 2009, contributing to a better
daily average value and volume
at RM1.56 billion and 1.68 bil-
lion, respectively, compared to
RM1.32 billion and 570 million in
value and volume in the second
quarter of 2008.
He said the group’s de-
rivatives business continued to
garner steady interest among
the traders as demonstrated by
the increase in total number of
derivatives contracts traded in
the first half of 2009.
tracts traded were 3.27 million,
up 6% from 3.08 million in the
first half of 2008,” he said.
However, Yusli said trading
revenue declined by 4% to
RM21.1 million from RM22
million in the corresponding
period in 2008 due to a slide in
the Kuala Lumpur Index Futures
contracts which traded at a
higher fee compared to the
Crude Palm Oil Futures
contracts.
The revenue
shortfall was how-
ever offsetted by
an increase in
the number of
Crude Palm Oil
Futures contracts
at two million for
the period under
review compared to
1.4 million in the first six
months of 2008, he said.
Meanwhile, Yusli said CPO
Futures contracts broke record
levels in April, chalking an-all-
time 27-year-high of 442,220
contracts.
“The steady performance of
its CPO Futures market is attrib-
uted to the robust underlying in-
dustry which had always a need
to hedge their positions against
the volatility of the edible oils
and commodity markets.”
The group also announced
an interim dividend of 5.1 sen
gross per share (net 3.825 sen
per share) and a single-tier (tax-
exempt) dividend of five sen per
share.
This is equivalent to a total
net dividend payout of 8.825 sen
per share, he added. – Bernama

Perodua banks on ViVa to achieve sales target Better performance

RAWANG: Perusahaan Otomo-
bil Kedua Sdn Bhd (Perodua)
expects its Kancil replacement
model, ViVa 660BX (basic), to
enable the company to achieve
its sales target of 158,000 units
this year.
“We expect the second half
of this year would be better in
view of the improvement of the
total industry volume (TIV), year-
end festivities and the upcom-
ing launch of a multi-purpose
vehicle (MPV) this November,”
said Perodua managing director
Datuk Syed Abdull Hafiz Syed
Abu Bakar yesterday.
In the first half of this year,
Perodua sold 77,000 units of
Scomi receives Best VAM Licensee award in France
KUALA LUMPUR: Scomi
was recently in Valenciennes
France to receive the “Best
Overall VAM Licensee” award
by Vallourec & Mannesmann
Oil & Gas France (V&M), a
world leading manufacturer
of Oil Country Tubular Goods
(OCTG) product.
vehicles.
Speaking to reporters after
a ceremony to mark the phas-
ing out of the Kancil model and
line up of the ViVa 660BX, Syed
Abdull Hafiz said Perodua will
be launching its ViVa Elite on
Thursday.
Perodua yesterday rolled
out the last Kancil unit, one
of the most iconic cars on the
Malaysian roads, after 15 years
of production and a total of
722,223 units.
Its replacement, the ViVa
660BX, a basic variant, has been
priced at RM25,300.
With more than 708,000 units
sold since August 1994, the Kan-
The award was given to
Scomi OMS Oilfield Services
Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of Scomi
Engineering Bhd which is
based in Singapore, said Scomi
Engineering in a statement.
Scomi OMS is a licensed
OCTG manufacturer by VAM
Services, a division of V&M
cil is the car that built Perodua,
said Syed Abdull Hafiz.
Perodua sold its first 50,000
units in its first year of produc-
tion, and reached sales of
100,000 units in 1997 despite
the Asian financial crisis, he
added.
On average, Perodua sold
about 4,000 units of Kancil
monthly, and in October 2002,
the unit had its highest single
monthly sales of 7,700 units.
“However, even after the
Kancil’s phase out, Perodua is
committed to continuing the
supply of its service parts to
customers for many years to
come,” Syed Abdull Hafiz said.
which manages a world-wide
network of over 150 licensees
to cut premium threads of
VAM product line.
“We are pleased to highlight
that Scomi OMS Singapore
Machine Shop competed with
over 150 companies globally, to
achieve the prestigious award
On the automotive industry,
he said Perodua was confident
of a recovery, projecting a TIV of
500,000 units for this year and
between 510,000 and 520,000
in 2010 and up to 548,000 units
in 2011.
“We expect the automotive
industry to improve, to reach
520,000 units and Perodua to
again reach 167,000 units in
2010, its historic high in 2008,”
he added.
The ViVa 660BX meanwhile
comes with a dynamic variable
valve timing 660cc engine and is
available in three colours – ivory
white, ebony black and glittering
silver. – Bernama
of “Overall Best Licensee” said
senior vice-president of Scomi
OMS, Alan Tan.
He said the interna-
tional recognition was a
clear testimony of Scomi
OMS’s capabilities and a key
motivating factor to its team.
– Bernama
expected in H2
KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa
Malaysia Bhd expects its
performance to be better in
the second half of this year,
in line with improvements in
current trading activities both
in derivatives and securities.
“If trading continues at a
level that we have seen in
the first half, then obviously
we expect similar perform-
ance in the second half,” its
chief executive officer Datuk
Yusli Mohamed Yusoff told
reporters following a brief-
ing on the company’s second
quarter results yesterday.
Yusli said the securities
market was expected to ben-
efit from the government's
liberalisation efforts and its
long-term goal to transform
the country into a high-in-
come economy.
His confidence was also
attributed to the govern-
ment’s stimulus packages
coupled with the stock ex-
change’s own initiatives to
improve market accesibility
and liquidity.
For the derivatives mar-
ket, Yusli said Bursa expected
the Futures Crude Palm Oil
market and the Futures KLCI
trading to continue to be the
key revenue drivers.
“There seems to be a lot of
liquidity in the market gener-
ally and globally. This liquid-
ity, we have seen it coming
back very strongly everytime
the market (undergoes) cor-
rection,” he said.
The Bursa chief said there
had been a lot of support not
only in the local market but
most markets worldwide.
He said the securities trad-
ing would remain up if there is
no more bad economic data.
Touching on initial public
offers, Yusli said there had
been news from investment
banks of several applications
being made to the Securities
Commission.
“So we are quite hopeful
that these will come to the
market. There are a few in
the pipeline. Predominantly
it will be from China,” he
said without elaborating.
–Bernama