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Tag: Malaysia

  • Foot Locker boosts capital expansion

    Foot Locker boosts capital expansion

    Foot Locker has announced a US$275 million capital expenditure program for this year, with Asia singled out as a target market. The investment is $75 million more than the US-headquartered sports-shoe and apparel retailer allowed for last year. “The capital spending planned for this year reflects increased investments in the company’s store fleet in all existing regions, including Asia, and in its digital initiatives,” the company said in a statement.

    “In addition, the company will continue to spend capital to build out its supply chain and other infrastructure capabilities.”

    Chairman and CEO Richard Johnson said Foot Locker sees “exciting opportunities” to invest in the business this year. The capital commitment followed decisions to launch a share buy-back program and to pay a dividend to shareholders.

    “Taken together, these actions demonstrate that our board is confident that Foot Locker can simultaneously deliver strong financial results, invest in the long-term growth of the business, and provide meaningful returns to our shareholders,” he said.

    Foot Locker currently operates 3221 stores in 27 countries in North America, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand.

    In Singapore, Foot Locker opened three stores last year, in Jem Mall, Century Square and Suntec City.

  • Malaysia’s BLand earmarks RM1.05b property launches this year

    Malaysia’s BLand earmarks RM1.05b property launches this year

    Berjaya Land Bhd (BLand) plans to launch some RM1.05 billion worth of properties in 2019, mainly The Tropika in Bukit Jalil and Timur Bayu in Shah Alam, after a two-year hiatus. The group, via its subsidiary Berjaya Golf Resort Bhd, launched The Tropika over the weekend, a mixed development project with a gross development value (GDV) of RM720 million, comprising 868 residential units across four towers.

    BLand senior general manager of property marketing Tan Tee Ming expects The Tropika in Bukit Jalil to be the main revenue contributor for the group’s property segment this year.

    The Tropika is located on 6.5 acres of freehold land in Bukit Jalil. There are four different types of units, namely Type A, Type B, Type C and Type D measuring 732 sq ft, 974 sq ft, 1,318 sq ft and 1,251 sq ft respectively.

    Tan said units of the first tower is priced at RM725 psf and every subsequent tower will increase RM50 psf.

    “There are two market segments that we want to cater for in The Tropika. We thought of the buyers in mind and the first segment is young families. We also want to focus on investors. We know that there will be a rental market for the apartments that we build here,” Tan told the media.

    The Tropika is within close proximity to SJKC Lai Meng, International Medical University and Asia Pacific University, as well as the Bukit Jalil Complex, the Bukit Jalil Recreational Park and the Bukit Jalil Gold & Country Resort.

    Surrounding the four residential towers of The Tropika is a 2.9-acre deck equipped with 68 types of facilities.

    The commercial space of the project features a 23,695 sq ft grocer along with a two-storey dual frontage office lots ranging from 3,316 sq ft to 3,814 sq ft and retail space ranging from 752 sq ft to 1,677 sq ft.

    Completion of the commercial component will take two years while the residential towers will take four years.

    Tan said BLand is also planning to develop the 12-acre land next to The Tropika, where the Berjaya Property Gallery sits on, into a 1,500-unit residential project with managed healthcare.

    Meanwhile, he said the Timur Bayu development in Shah Alam has a GDV of RM330 million, consisting of high-rise and low-rise residential units. It is expected to launch the project in the third quarter this year.

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  • Heineken Malaysia 2018 net profit up 4.6%

    Heineken Malaysia 2018 net profit up 4.6%

    Heineken Malaysia Bhd, which posted a 4.6% jump in its net profit for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2018 (FY18), remains cautious about its outlook given the challenging environment due to intense competition, implementation of the sales & service tax (SST), and the continued presence of contraband beer in the market. In line with rising global commodity prices, the group also expects an increase in cost of operations including raw materials and packaging.

    Finance director Szilard Voros said how the group will perform in FY19 also depend on the market, adding that it will benefit if consumers remain optimistic and if efforts to curb illicit trade are stepped up.

    “But we remain cautious because SST was just introduced in September so that also comes with a lag… we also need to see how things settle down after Chinese New Year and see what is the normalised performance and if there’s a growth continuation,” he told reporters at a media and analyst briefing today after announcing the group’s financial results.

    Managing director Roland Bala (pix) said the external environment remains challenging. Amidst slowing global growth rates, currency volatility and uncertainty in the commodity markets, he said the group will need to adopt a cautious approach in cost management.

    “Moving forward, we will continue to invest in our core brands and leverage on our portfolio. As consumer taste profile changes, we will make bets on brands that we believe will have scale,” he added.

    Heineken’s net profit for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2018 grew 6.8% to RM100 million compared with RM93.64 million in the same quarter last year due to higher revenue as well as efficient and effective management of commercial spend and overheads.

    Group revenue grew 12.3% to RM662.28 million as compared to RM589.96 million in the same quarter in 2017 mainly due to increase in sales volume driven by the flagship Tiger brand.

    For the full year period, net profit grew 4.6% to RM282.2 million from RM270.06 million a year ago, while revenue rose 8.3% to RM2.03 billion from RM1.87 billion.

    It has proposed a final dividend of 54 sen per share for the quarter under review, bringing the full-year dividend payout to 94 sen.

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  • Malaysia ranks second in SEA for Chinese tourist transactions during CNY

    Malaysia ranks second in SEA for Chinese tourist transactions during CNY

    Malaysia is the second largest market in Southeast Asia for Chinese tourists spending over the Chinese New Year holiday season, as recorded by Alipay, the digital payment and lifestyle platform offered by Ant Financial, an affiliate company of Alibaba Group. The transactions were recorded between Feb 4 and 10 this year. Malaysia saw a 16% increase in average per-capita spend by Chinese tourists this year, with a growth in transaction volume by 71% compared to 2018.

    What’s more, Chinese millennials can no longer claim to be the dominant user group spearheading spending while travelling, as 68% of Chinese tourists born between 1960 and 1979 were found to be the main driving force in outbound tourism and overseas consumption.

    Alipay head of business operation for cross-border business Janice Chen said this year’s findings highlight how mobile payment is taking root in China’s outbound tourism market, and it is excited to see the robust growth in the use of Alipay by overseas tourists from third-and-fourth tier cities and middle-aged vacationers.

    “While providing a better experience for Chinese travellers, Alipay is, at the same time, a huge drawcard for overseas merchants as a platform to help grow their business,” Chen said in a statement.

    This is in accordance to a recent report published by Nielsen and Alipay, called the 2018 Trends for Mobile Payment in Chinese Outbound Tourism.

    Chinese tourists are bringing their cashless lifestyles outside of China, paying for 32% of their overall travel transactions using mobile payment, overtaking their use of cash for the first time ever.

    The survey found that merchants offering Alipay as a payment option has experienced growth in both foot traffic (58%) and revenue (56%).

    Heinemann, a travel-retailer with a store in Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2) has also reported an increase in sales. Its general manager for retail operations Alexander Maas said since implementing Alipay, it is now able to provide added convenience to its customers from China, and provide them with a familiar shopping experience, ultimately seeing over 20% of all its transactions completed on the Alipay app with Chinese tourists.

    With the increased popularity of Alipay among both young and old Chinese tourists, brick-and-mortar retailers across the region can continue to adopt Alipay as a payment option to further boost profitability moving forward.

  • CIMB Niaga posts 16.9% net profit growth in 2018

    CIMB Niaga posts 16.9% net profit growth in 2018

    CIMB Group Holdings Bhd’s 92.5%-owned T Bank CIMB Niaga Tbk reported an audited consolidated net profit of 3.5 trillion rupiah (RM1 billion) for the financial year ended Dec 1, 2018 a 16.9% growth compared with a year ago. The bank said the improved net profit came on the back of a 13.8% increase in on-interest income to 3.8 trillion rupiah and a 63 basis-point improvement in credit charges from 2.26% to 1.63% as provisions declined 25.7%.

    CIMB Niaga’s loan loss coverage remains comfortable at 105.86%.

    “We aim to maintain a targeted growth trajectory while keeping asset quality as a priority,” said CIMB Niaga president director Tigor M. Siahan.

    Total loans grew by 1.8% to 188.5 trillion rupiah mainly from growth in mortgages of 11.2% to 30 trillion rupiah, small- and medium enterprise loans of 8.5% to 29.6 trillion rupiah and credit card of 5.5% to 8.6 trillion rupiah.

    With total assets of 266.8 trillion rupiah as at Dec 31, 2018, CIMB Niaga maintained its position as Indonesia’s second largest private owned bank by assets.

    Its capital adequacy ratio stood at 19.66% as at end-December 2018, representing a 106 basis-point increase from the previous year.

    “Going forward, we will continue to focus on expanding our consumer and SME businesses, building our CASA (current account savings account) franchise and strengthening our Sharia business proposition and Sharia-compliant product offerings,” Tigor added.

  • Malaysia’s economy likely to slow in April to June 2019

    Malaysia’s economy likely to slow in April to June 2019

    Malaysia’s economy is likely to grow at a slow rate in April to June 2019 in view of the decline in the Leading Index (LI) in December 2018, according to the Statistics Department. Chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the monthly change of LI decreased 1.4% to 117.3 points in December 2018 from 119.0 points in the previous month.

    “The declined in six out of seven components have weighed down the performance of the LI with the significant decreased by two components namely real imports of other basic precious & other non-ferrous metals and number of housing units approved, which posted negative 0.5% respectively,” he said in a statement.

    The annual change of LI also registered a negative growth of 1.7% in December 2018.

    The LI is designed to monitor the economic performance for an average of four to six months ahead.

    Meanwhile, the Coincident Index (CI), a measure of current economic activity, was unchanged in December 2018.

    The increased in real salaries & wages in manufacturing sector (0.2%) and real contributions to EPF (0.1%) were offset by the decreased in capacity utilisation in manufacturing sector (-0.2%) and Industrial Production Index (-0.1%).

    The annual change of CI grew at 3.6% as in the previous month.

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  • Petronas Gas Q4 profit weighed down by Kimanis Power

    Petronas Gas Q4 profit weighed down by Kimanis Power

    Petronas Gas Bhd’s net profit fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2018 fell 34.7% to RM317.90 million from RM486.70 million a year ago, largely attributed to share of losses from a joint venture company, Kimanis Power Sdn Bhd. The losses were due to de-recognition of deferred tax assets amounting to RM124.3 million (being 60% share of the group) in relation to certain tax benefits which now have a seven-year utilisation limit under the new Finance Act 2018.

    Its revenue grew 4.9% to RM1.39 billion compared with RM1.32 billion in the previous year’s corresponding quarter mainly contributed by the second liquiefied natural gas (LNG) regasification terminal in Pengerang, Johor which commenced commercial operations in November 2017, coupled with higher revenue from utilities and gas transportation segment.

    The group has approved a fourth interim dividend of 22 sen per share amounting to RM435.3 million in respect of the financial year ended Dec 31, 2018.

    For the full-year period, Petronas Gas’ net profit grew 0.98% to RM1.81 billion from RM1.79 billion a year ago, while revenue of RM5.5 billion was the highest in history, an increase of 12.3% compared to RM4.90 billion last year.

    The Energy Commission has approved the tariffs for the gas transportation and regasification services for 2019. While the tariffs are expected to affect the group’s transportation and regasification business segment revenues in 2019, both segments are anticipated to continue contributing positively to its earnings.

    The group’s gas processing segment is expected to deliver improved earnings pursuant to the higher fixed remuneration charge under the second term of the 20-year Gas Processing Agreement effective from 2019 until 2023.

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  • Malaysia property market to remain flat in 2019: Rahim & Co

    Malaysia property market to remain flat in 2019: Rahim & Co

    The property market is expected to remain flat this year before picking up again next year, said Rahim & Co International Sdn Bhd. Executive chairman Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Abdul Rahman said the property market will remain flat across all sectors this year, except for the warehousing sub-sector, which will be driven by growth of e-commerce.

    He said the overall market will take about 12 months to begin picking up, in line with the anticipated resolution of the trade war between the US and China.

    Rahim & Co director of research Sulaiman Akhmady Mohd Saheh said the residential market will take one to two years to improve due to affordability issues while the office market will remain slow for more than a year due to incoming supply.

    He said asking rents for offices have dropped 20% while effective rents have dropped 8-10%.

  • Palm oil prices to remain steady in 2019: MPOC

    Palm oil prices to remain steady in 2019: MPOC

    Malaysian palm oil prices are set to hold steady in 2019 at an average of RM2,303 a tonne, according to estimates by the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC), while global output of the tropical oil is expected to rise by 3 million tonnes. “Global palm oil production is projected to be 72 million tonnes, with Malaysia and Indonesia as leading producers,“ the MPOC said in an online conference presentation.

    Rising production could cap recent price gains for palm oil, which has been recovering after touching a 3-year low last November at RM1,940 a tonne.

    Benchmark palm oil was trading at RM2,281 a tonne. The tropical oil averaged RM2,308 last year, according to Refinitiv Eikon data.

    MPOC, Malaysia’s key marketing agency for palm oil, also estimated that Malaysian output would rise to 20.2 million tonnes in 2019 and pegged Indonesian production at 42.8 million tonnes.

    Malaysia produced 19.5 million tonnes of palm oil last year, while Indonesia’s 2018 output stood at 42 million tonnes, based on estimates by the Indonesia Palm Oil Association.

    Malaysian palm oil output is expected to rise as newly replanted areas start to mature, but the increase will be marginal due to ageing trees and a possible El Nino in 2019 that will curb production, the MPOC said in its presentation.

    “Indonesian production is forecast to reach a record high of 42.8 million tonnes in 2019 due to improving weather conditions as well as newly maturing areas,“ it added.

    Palm oil exports in 2019 are also expected to increase in 2019, in line with an expected rise in demand from key importer India due to its declining domestic oilseed production.

    “India is expected to increase its (vegetable oil) imports by 500,000 tonnes, reaching 15.15 million tonnes, out of which palm oil will account about 10 million tonnes,“ said the MPOC presentation.

    Industry regulator the Malaysian Palm Oil Board forecast Malaysia’s a slight rise in production to 20.3 million tonnes this year due to favourable weather conditions and an expansion in oil palm matured area, according to an online presentation.

    It estimated Malaysia’s 2019 exports at 17.2 million tonnes, up from 16.5 million tonnes last year, due to “expected stronger palm oil demand from major markets.”

  • Carlsberg Malaysia declares highest ever dividend payout for FY18

    Carlsberg Malaysia declares highest ever dividend payout for FY18

    Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd has declared its highest dividend payment amounting to RM1 per share for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2018 (FY18) following a record performance for the year. Managing director Lars Lehmann said this is equivalent to a 110.3% payment of the group’s FY18 net profit, in line with its dividend policy to declare at least 75% of the group’s quarterly net profit and a special dividend in the event of surplus cash after considering future cash requirements.

    The group declared a fourth quarter (Q4) interim dividend of 16.6 sen per share. It also proposed a final interim dividend of 22.4 per share plus a special dividend of 9.3 sen amounting to 48.3 sen per share.

    Together with the interim dividends declared for the first nine months of FY18 amounting to 51.7 sen, the total dividends for FY18 amount to RM1 per share.

    Carlsberg’s Q418 net profit rose 34.9% to RM67.45 million from RM50.01 million a year ago thanks to strong sales in the Malaysian operations, higher profits from Carlsberg Singapore Pte Ltd as well as higher profit contribution from Lion Brewery (Ceylon) PLC.

    Revenue grew 22.3% to RM525.65 million compared with RM429.94 million in the previous year’s corresponding quarter.

    For FY18, the group’s net profit jumped 25.3% to RM277.15 million from RM221.17 million a year ago, while revenue grew 12.1% to RM1.98 billion from RM1.77 billion.

    Looking ahead, Carlsberg warned that rising prices for raw and packaging materials will see costs increasing 5%-10% if it is unable to mitigate such effects. Lehmann, however, stressed that the group is improving its efficiency.

    “There’s a bit of headwinds for increase in prices of raw materials like malt and packaging materials like cans that are not specific to Malaysia but globally. There’s a bad harvest in Australia for barley and the prices are going up,” he told a media and analyst briefing after announcing its FY18 financial results today.

    He added that the group will continue its focus and execution on the third year of SAIL’22 strategy in both Malaysia and Singapore, while areas of growth for FY19 are its premium brands like Connor’s, Somersby, 1664 Blanc and Asahi Super Dry.

  • Ikea Malaysia opens new store

    Ikea Malaysia opens new store

    Ikea Malaysia will next month open its first store in the northern region of Peninsular Malaysia – in Batu Kawan, Penang. Due to open on March 14, the brand’s fourth outlet in the country spans 43,600sqm of retail space and will feature more than 8000 products.

    “The store will also have 49 showrooms, a market, restaurants and a bakery. We expect it will attract about 50,000 visitors per week,” said Ikea Malaysia store manager Arumugam Pathmalingam.

    In advance of the grand opening, the store has already attracted excitement among Penangites, mainly on social media.

  • FamilyMart Malaysia to open 300 more stores by 2022

    FamilyMart Malaysia to open 300 more stores by 2022

    QL Resources, the Malaysian operator of Japanese convenience store chain FamilyMart, is going ahead with plans to open 300 stores by March 2022, despite a slump in the economy. The firm opened 30 FamilyMart Malaysia outlets within the last financial year and plans to reach 90 new stores for the year ending March 31, 2019.

    “We still stick to our plan to open 300 stores in five years”, said QL chairman Chia Song Kun.

    Market leadership in the territory is currently controlled by 7-Eleven Malaysia, which operates more than 2000 stores in Malaysia. A major shareholder in the firm recently announced plans to open another 200 outlets this year.

    Malaysian spending is increasingly focused on domestic trade as exports continue to be affected by the US-China trade war.

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  • Malaysia’s Malindo Air adjusts checked baggage allowance for economy class

    Malaysia’s Malindo Air adjusts checked baggage allowance for economy class

    Malindo Air has adjusted the checked baggage allowance for its economy class passengers under the Value and Flexi fare options effective last friday. The baggage allowance for Value fare option is now 15kg, and 30kg for Flexi fare option, from 25kg previously for both fare options. The baggage allowance for business class and its ATR flights remain as 40kg and 15kg respectively.

    Malindo Air CEO Chandran Rama Muthy said the business rationale to the adjustment is to keep up with the industry changes and passengers’ demand.

    “This option allows passengers who are cost-sensitive to enjoy more competitive airfare with services that fit their needs. We want to keep our products relevant to the market and bring better flying experience to our passengers,” he said in a statement.

    The airline will honour passengers who have made a booking before Feb 15, 2019 and flying on or after Feb 15, 2019 to enjoy the original baggage allowance upon booking, as reflected on their flight itinerary.

    Passengers may top up additional baggage allowance during the booking process, through “Manage My Booking”, Malindo Air ticketing offices, customer care centre and the airline’s preferred travel agents.

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  • Malaysia’s economy expands 4.7% in Q4 2018

    Malaysia’s economy expands 4.7% in Q4 2018

    The Malaysian economy grew at a faster pace of 4.7% in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2018 driven by private sector activity. This compares with a 4.4% growth in Q3 2018. For 2018 as a whole, the local economy also expanded 4.7%. According to Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), a rebound in exports of goods and services contributed towards the positive growth of net exports.

    Headline inflation declined to 0.3% from 0.5% in Q3, mainly due to transport inflation turning negative.

    The zerorisation of the Goods and Services Tax and the implementation of the Sales and Services Tax continued to exert an overall downward impact to headline inflation during the quarter.

    BNM governor Datuk Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus said the Malaysian economy is expected to remain on a steady growth path with private sector demand being the main driver of growth.

    She said headline inflation is expected to average moderately higher.

  • Singapore December retail sales drops 3 per cent

    Singapore December retail sales drops 3 per cent

    Singapore retail sales in December slipped 3 per cent year on year. Including motor vehicles in the data, they fell by 6 per cent. There was a month-on-month decline of  4.1 per cent excluding vehicles, largely due to the online-sales boom driven by Singles Day and Black Friday in November.

    Online retailing continues to eat into traditional channels, accounting for 5.5 per cent of total sales in December, which compares favourably with the festivals-driven 6.6 per cent in November.

    The main drivers of change in monthly data was a 20.7 per cent slump in motor vehicle sales, and a 16.8 per cent fall in sales of computer and telecommunications equipment, largely down to  new product releases in December 2017.

    Singapore retail sales in December of recreational goods, watches and jewellery and furniture and household equipment decreased between 3.9 per cent and 5.8 per cent. Statistics Singapore attributed that to lower demand for sporting goods, jewellery and furniture. Conversely, sales of medical goods and toiletries increased 1.8 per cent.

    Sales of food and beverage services increased 4.5 per cent in December, compared to the same month last year.

    Sales by food caterers, fast-food outlets, restaurants and other eating places (such as cafes) all increased, by between 2.5 per cent and 6.6 per cent year on year.