Retail News CRM

Tag: Malaysia

  • Aeon adopts wait-and-see approach over GST

    Aeon adopts wait-and-see approach over GST

    Japanese retailer AEON Co (M) Bhd is adopting a wait-and-see approach when it comes to the upcoming abolishment of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on June 1.

    Executive director Poh Ying Loo said Aeon was still seeking greater clarity from the Pakatan Harapan government.

    “The GST question was something that was also posed by shareholders earlier and our stand right now is that it is too early to decide right now,” Poh said at a press briefing after the group’s 33rd annual general meeting here today.

    “We understand that other policies and tax regime such as the Sales and Services Tax (SST) will be reintroduced. We can’t really comment on whether of not our pricing would be cheaper until those things are made more clear,” he added.

    The group has allocated between RM300 million and RM500 million in capital expenditures (capex) this year.

    According to Poh, this was slightly lower than last year’s capex of some RM500 million.

    “The capex is inclusive of our newest mall in Kuching, Sarawak which we have already opened in April this year,” said Poh.

    With three levels of retail floors and four levels of car park, the Kuching mall is AEON’s debut presence in East Malaysia.

    The remaining capex will be for the expansion of Taman Maluri Shopping Centre and the refurbishment of Tebrau City, Bandar Utama and Bandar Sunway.

    As of the end of 2017, AEON has 26 malls across the country.

    A big part of AEON’s drive this year is to further strengthen its omni-channel strategy that will leverage onto its physical stores for offline experiences, logistics and convenience.

    “We had partnered with online concierge and delivery service Honestbee in January, and the response has been encouraging. We expect this business will grow with time,” said managing director Shinobu Washizawa.

    The firm is also set to roll out a “groceries drive-thru” service in Bukit Indah, Johor whereby customers can order groceries online from Aeon and pick them up themselves through a drive-thru window, starting next month.

    Aeon posted a net profit of RM105 million on the back of RM4 billion revenue for the year ended 31 December 2017.

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  • Idea Cellular-Vodafone merger to take off by Q3

    Idea Cellular-Vodafone merger to take off by Q3

    After much delay, Axiata Group Bhd is positive that the merger between its Indian associate company Idea Cellular Ltd and Vodafone India will materialise by the beginning of the third quarter of this year, as just two more approvals are required.

    Speaking to reporters after the group’s AGM yesterday, Axiata president and group CEO Tan Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim said that a foreign direct investment approval and a nod from the department of telecommunication are required before India’s second and third largest telco player can merge to become a single entity.

    The huge Indian telco market has seen quite a shake up since the entry of Mukesh Ambani controlled Reliance Jio, resulting in mergers as well as exits by telco players.

    While the merged entity is expected to face challenges in the first year of operations in the hyper-competitive Indian market, Jamaludin is optimistic that Idea could see a turnaround in two to three years time, negating a need to exit the market.

    Axiata, which currently holds a 16.3% interest in Idea, will see its stake diluted to around 8% after the merger.

    Axiata fell into the red in the first quarter ended March 31, after registering a net loss of RM147.41 million against a net profit of RM239.02 million a year ago due to the share of losses reported by Idea.

    Excluding Idea and foreign exchange impacts, Axiata is cautiously optimistic on its financial performance for this year.

    Meanwhile, as for its infrastructure and services company edotco Group Sdn Bhd, Axiata is looking at two or three major acquisitions in Asean and South Asia, in a bid to become the fifth largest independent tower company in the world by 2021 from the eighth.

    On May 16, Axiata announced that edotco Pakistan Private Limited (edotco PK) has successfully obtained approval from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), allowing local lenders to fund the acquisition of 13,000 tower assets currently under Deodar Private Limited (Deodar).

    On funding to support its goal of becoming the fifth largest in the world, Axiata is currently engaging with bankers and financial advisers to weigh several funding options, including an initial public offering (IPO) exercise.

    Axiata will also be focusing on its digital-centric five year plan known as Triple Core Growth Engine plan – with key focus on digital telco, digital business and infrastructure, which started last year and is expected to go on until 2021.

    The group is also looking at keeping four of its 30 digital business and selling the rest as part of the plan.

    On the abolishment of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and reinstatement of the Sales and Services Tax, Jamaludin said that more details are required on the new ruling before the impact of it can be determined.

    “We have to find out what is the higher ruling. The question is who will bear the cost. In the case of GST, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission decided that they will bear half we will bear half,” he added.

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  • Malaysia’s April headline inflation up 1.4%

    Malaysia’s April headline inflation up 1.4%

    Headline inflation rate rose by 1.4% year-on-year (y-o-y) in April 2018, slightly higher than 1.3% year-on-year registered in the preceding month as transport inflation rebounded from a negative territory logged for two months to positive at 0.4% y-o-y, said MIDF Research.

    Amid unfavourable base effects, MIDF Research foresees headline inflation rate to average at 2.6% this year, supported by inflation rate for 1Q18 which registered at 1.8% compared to 4.2% in the same period last year.

    “We expect inflationary pressure mainly from fuel-related items to calm, consistent with gradual rise in global commodity prices on top of pass-through effect from a strengthening ringgit, re-subsidisation of domestic fuel price and withdrawal of GST.”

    As inflationary pressure remains steady, it anticipates Bank Negara Malaysia to maintain its current monetary policy with no more hikes in overnight policy rate for the rest of 2018 barring any pleasant upward surprises in domestic economic growth.

    It noted that food inflation continues to dip but moving forward, there is a potential for food inflation to rise in the upcoming months due to rising demand for Ramadan and Hari Raya celebrations.

    It expects 2018’s fuel-related inflation to moderate amid of unfavourable base effects, re-subsidisation of domestic fuel price and high likelihood of a downward adjustment of global commodity prices in 2H18 from the current temporary factors which pushed the prices up.

    MIDF also foresees inflation rate across all states will moderate below 3% in 2018 amid of unfavourable base effects and zero rated GST.

    “Looking forward, we foresee inflation level will gradually increase buoyed by moderating global growth, steady rise in commodities prices and tight labour market conditions.”

    The Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased 1.4% in April 2018 as compared to the same month last year, after indices for food & non-alcoholic beverages (+2.6%), restaurants and hotels (+2.2%), health (+2.1%), housing, water, electricity, gas & other fuels (+2.0%), furnishings, household equipment & routine household maintenance (+1.8%) and education (+1.1%), all recorded increases, according to the Department of Statistics.

    Chief Statistician Malaysia Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the overall index was also affected by the increase in the transport group by 0.4% in April 2018 as compared to the 1.5% decrease recorded in March 2018. Meanwhile, the CPI for the period January-April 2018 increased 1.7% as compared to the same month last year.

    The Statistics Department also reported that three states surpassed the national CPI rate of 1.4% recorded in April 2018 as compared to April 2017, which are Kuala Lumpur (+1.9%), Selangor & Putrajaya (+1.6%) and Penang (+1.5%).

    FXTM global head of currency strategy & market research Jameel Ahmad said while the inflation reading continues to suggest that the economy is encountering a period of lower inflation, it sees risks that this outlook could change over the coming months.

    “There has been a drastic change in investor appetite towards the US dollar, which has crumpled emerging market currencies across the globe. This has also impacted the ringgit, which currently appears to be at risk to falling back towards 4 against the dollar and is likely to do so, if traders continue to stock up on the US dollar.”

    As a result of the ringgit weakening, he said import price pressures are likely to increase over the next two to three months and this will consequently result in higher inflation potential.

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  • Lower palm prices pull Malaysia Boustead Plantations’ Q1 profit down 82.2%

    Lower palm prices pull Malaysia Boustead Plantations’ Q1 profit down 82.2%

    Boustead Plantations Bhd saw its net profit slump 82.2% to RM5.26 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2018 compared with RM29.56 million in the previous corresponding period, dragged by lower prices of palm products.

    Revenue also fell 18.2% to RM154.6 million from RM189.02 million.

    Boustead Plantations has proposed to declare an interim dividend of 2.5 sen per share for the quarter under review.

    The group said in a filing with the stock exchange that the average crude palm oil (CPO) selling price was at RM2,491 per metric tonne (MT), 21% lower compared with RM3,166 per MT in the same quarter last year, while average palm kernel oil price declined 32% to RM2,188 per MT.

    Fresh fruit bunches (FFB) production for the quarter increased 8% to 226,323 MT, largely due to improved yields post El-Nino. Average oil extraction rate was slightly lower 20.5%.

    Boustead Plantations vice chairman Tan Sri Lodin Wok Kamaruddin said the year ahead is expected to see an increasing supply of alternative vegetable oils, putting pressure on demand for CPO and leading to increased palm oil inventories.

    “However, the CPO market could benefit from the likelihood of higher tariffs by China on US soybean as well as the European Union’s removal of anti-dumping duty on Indonesian biodiesel.”

    At the midday break, Boustead Plantations shares fell 1 sen or 0.7% to RM1.35 on some 992,600 shares done.

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  • DBE Gurney to open Harumi fried chicken brand quick service restaurants in Thailand

    DBE Gurney to open Harumi fried chicken brand quick service restaurants in Thailand

    D.B.E. Gurney Resources Bhd’s subsidiary, D.B.E. Poultry Sdn Bhd (DBEP) has on May 23, 2018 entered into a joint venture agreement with Farmmesh Foods Co LTD (FFCL) to open and jointly operate Quick Service Restaurant operations with Harumi™ fried chicken brand concept in Thailand.

    The deal is following a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the parties on March 8, 2018.

    DBEP will hold a 30% interest in Super Harumi Thailand, while FFCL will take the remaining 70%. DBEP will inject an initial capital of RM37,000 into the joint venture, along with providing training and the running of the business.

    DBE Gurney said the JV business will enable it to expand its retailing business through HARUMi products and allow it to expand to Thailand following its early expansion into Taiwan, in addition to the existing outlets in Malaysia.

    The stock trading half a sen lower at three sen with some 1.3 million shares changing hands.

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  • Axiata Malaysia slips into the red in first quarter

    Axiata Malaysia slips into the red in first quarter

    Axiata Group Bhd fell into the red in the first quarter ended March 31 registering a net loss of RM147.41 million against a net profit of RM239.02 million in the same quarter a year ago, due to the share of losses reported by its associate company Idea Cellular Ltd, which operates in a backdrop of devastating price wars and a hyper-competitive Indian market.

    Axiata recorded a non-cash dilution loss of RM357.6 million from non-participation of preferential new shares issued in Idea. Axiata holds a 16.3% stake in Idea.

    The share of results from associates and joint ventures were also lower as the losses widened to RM86.1 million from RM30.5 million as the India associate continues to face intense market aggression.

    Excluding the impact of Idea, Axiata’s net profit would have been up by 34.6% or RM386.9 million.

    Axiata’s revenue fell 2.3% to RM5.75 billion from RM5.88 billion in the previous year’s corresponding quarter, mainly due to unfavourable foreign exchange translation impact arising from a stronger ringgit.

    “While we remain in line with expectation, our investment in Idea continues to be challenging. The current state of the industry in India has led to foreign operators either exiting the market or consolidating. Delays in the proposed merger between Idea and Vodafone India will bring further impact to Axiata. We also expect regulatory matters in Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Bangladesh as well as currency fluctuations as challenges for the year,” said Axiata president and group CEO Tan Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim in a statement.

    He, however, said the group is set to gain from edotco’s growth and expansion. It will also continue to invest in key digital businesses such as digital financial services and enterprise solution/Internet of Things.

    At market close, Axiata’s shares fell 1.17% to RM5.07 with some 1.26 million shares done.

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  • AirAsia X net profit up fourfold in first quarter

    AirAsia X net profit up fourfold in first quarter

    Low-cost, long-haul carrier AirAsia X Bhd saw a more than fourfold jump in net profit in the first quarter ended March 31, 2018 to RM41.5 million from RM10.34 million in the same quarter a year ago.

    Revenue for the period under review rose 7.2% to RM1.27 billion from RM1.18 billion on the back of a 13% increase in passenger volume.

    Despite a slight reduction in the average fare of 3% compared with the same quarter last year, the airline maintained its load factor at 84% in addition to delivering an additional 231,855-seat capacity, representing a year-on-year increase of 14%.

    “The company recognises the challenges posed by the recent hike in fuel prices, and best mitigative efforts are being put forth through the boost in ancillary and capacity numbers. The company is confident of presenting the results from these measure during the third and fourth quarters of the financial year,” AirAsia X said on its prospects.

    It noted that based on the current forward booking trend, forward loads are trending better than in the previous year.

    “Barring any unforeseen circumstances, including but not limited to terrorist attacks, natural disasters, epidemics, economic downturn, fuel price hike and fluctuation in foreign currencies against the ringgit, the company expects its prospects to remain positive,” it added.

    On Bursa Malaysia yesterday, AirAsia gained 1.33% to 38 sen on volume of 10.76 million shares.

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  • Malaysia’s 2018 economic growth expected to remain above 5%

    Malaysia’s 2018 economic growth expected to remain above 5%

    Malaysia’s first quarter (1Q18) gross domestic product (GDP) growth came in at 5.4% year on year, lower than the consensus projection but AmBank Research is maintaining its 5.5% GDP growth for this year as it expects private consumption and the services sectors to continue to support growth together with other areas of business activities.

    “Apart from private consumption and services, we noticed that most of the other economic segments showed some loss of growth momentum. Still, our current 5.5% GDP growth for the full year remains, as we expect private consumption and services sectors will continue to support growth together with other areas of business activities,” it said in a report.

    “With the announcement of the Goods & Services Tax removal, added with the potential reintroduction of fuel and electricity subsidies as well as the review of toll roads, these suggest that the underlying inflation will pick up gradually.

    “While our base case for OPR (Overnight Policy Rate) remains with a total of one rate hike by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) that took place in January with the OPR now at 3.25%, the probability for a second rate hike in September 2018 remains at a low 45%,” said AmBank.

    However, Kenanga Research has revised its 2018 GDP growth forecast to 5.1% in 2018 from 5.5% (2017: 5.9%), as it said the change in government will likely put a damper on private investment due to policy uncertainty and disrupted public spending, which pose downside risks to its GDP forecast going forward.

    “The only upside to growth could possibly be derives from higher private consumption following the government’s decision to scrap the Goods and Services Tax (setting its rate at zero from June 1) and take its time to implement the sales and services tax. External factors may also weigh on growth mainly the expectation that exports would continue to slow on the back of the slowing global demand for consumer electronics especially mobile devices.”

    Nonetheless, it said there could be offsetting factors if the government takes an aggressive approach to review major infrastructure projects. It then can prioritise or strategically delay projects that have high import content as it did in the 1990s. Less import could help boost net exports and support GDP growth.

    Kenanga expects monetary policy to remain accommodative. It said although the central bank has left interest rates unchanged since it raised the OPR in January, the outlook for monetary policy may have turned considerably uncertain following the change in government.

    “The biggest risk to the monetary policy outlook is that a post-election sharp decline in investment would exacerbate an economic slowdown. This may prompt BNM to loosen its monetary policy and cut interest rates. For now we are maintaining our view that the OPR will remain on hold until the end of the year.”

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  • Seoul Garden celebrates 35th anniversary with exciting deals

    Seoul Garden celebrates 35th anniversary with exciting deals

    Asian-Korean restaurant chain Seoul Garden has marked its 35th anniversary with a celebration at its first Malaysian outlet, in Gurney Plaza, Penang.

    The brand’s grill and steamboat buffet included marinated meats such as coffee chicken and beef bulgogi.

    Seoul Garden Group COO Siow Yong Wu says the brand has come a long way since its establishment in Singapore in 1983 as an a-la-carte eatery catering to Korean expatriates. He says they switched to a buffet concept before entering the Malaysian market in 2005 with the Gurney Plaza outlet.

    Penang franchisee Joseph Lee says Seoul Garden outlets were among the most popular dining venues because of their vast buffet, offering about 120 items.

    With 35 outlets across peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak, the brand has also obtained halal certification.

    Group CEO Andrew Lee says all food items come from halal suppliers. “We have also re-engineered our proprietary grilling system to give customers a more comfortable, smoke-free dining environment.”

    Siow says the group intends to expand heavily, both within Malaysia and in neighbouring countries. Currently, the brand has a presence in Indonesia (Medan), Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei and Myanmar.

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  • Grab Malaysia partners Maybank for mobile wallet launch

    Grab Malaysia partners Maybank for mobile wallet launch

    Grab announced a strategic partnership with Maybank to drive the acceptance and usage of Grab’s new cashless payment method, the GrabPay mobile wallet.

    The announcement comes as Grab, which received its e-money license from Bank Negara Malaysia in December 2017, is set to launch its GrabPay mobile wallet in beta in the coming weeks.

    With the partnership and support of Maybank, Grab consumers will not only be able to use GrabPay mobile wallet at GrabPay merchants, but will also be able to eventually use their mobile wallet at Maybank’s key merchants thereby making GrabPay accepted at a wider network of merchants.

    Similarly, Maybank customers will also eventually have the option of paying via Maybank QRPay at GrabPay merchants.

    Through the partnership, consumers will soon also have the added convenience of directly topping-up cash to their mobile wallet via Maybank2U.

    Maybank group president and CEO Datuk Abdul Farid Alias said that the collaboration with Grab is part of Maybank’s ongoing efforts to provide customers with even more digital conveniences that would not only enrich their online experience but also enhance their lifestyles.

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  • 92% of Malaysians prefer to own than rent

    92% of Malaysians prefer to own than rent

    Despite the rising perception that more Malaysians would choose to rent than to buy a home, statistics from the recent PropertyGuru Consumer Sentiment Survey show that 92% of those polled would rather own the roof over their heads than to lease.

    Among those polled, about 33% were presently renting with 67% residing in their “own homes”. Own homes are regarded as homes that are owned by their dwellers or it could be a family home, staying with a sibling or relative and other non-rental residences.

    A total of 817 respondents participated in the PropertyGuru’s Consumer Sentiment Survey for the second half of 2017.

    The survey shows that the traditional aspiration of owning a home remains largely unchanged despite evolving property market trends and demographics.

    For those who would prefer to rent, the majority cited a location that is close to their office or workplace as the most important criterion (71%), followed by family considerations (55%) and public transportation accessibility (52%) respectively. High-rise homes are the preferred option for renters with condominiums and serviced apartments being the top choice.

    “It appears that despite rising living costs, higher loan rejection rates and price unaffordability, Malaysians including the younger generation still would make home ownership a key lifestyle aspiration. The desire is very strong perhaps due to family or peer pressure or due to the prevalence of traditional perceptions of owning a home as being a sound foundation for one’s future,” said PropertyGuru Malaysia country manager Sheldon Fernandez.

    “Beyond providing a place to stay, a home to Malaysians still represents stability, security and continues to be a key asset class for wealth accumulation via capital appreciation and rental yields.”

    Fernandez added that the PropertyGuru survey also showed that even many of those who are presently renting also aspire to buy a home if they can afford it.

    Renters believe that RM501-RM800 monthly to rent a room was a realistic budget while those looking to rent a home would ideally wish to pay RM801-RM1100 per month, depending on location, property type, unit size and other factors.

  • Malaysia vehicle sales up 10% in April from a year ago

    Malaysia vehicle sales up 10% in April from a year ago

    Total vehicle sales in April 2018 increased 10.2% or 4,343 units to 47,089 units, compared with 42,746 units a year ago, according to the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA).

    On a month-on-month basis, April saw a decline of 5.8% or 2,896 units as consumers adopted a wait-and-see attitude due to the general elections.

    Meanwhile, the association said vehicle sales in May are expected to increase, with many car companies announcing zero-rated Goods and Services Tax (GST) prices following the government’s move to abolish the tax on June 1. This will be boosted by promotional campaigns for Hari Raya Aidilfitri.

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  • Bursa Malaysia opens lower

    Bursa Malaysia opens lower

    Bursa Malaysia opened lower, extending yesterday’s losses on continued selling in selected heavyweights and in line with most regional peers, dealers said.

    At 9.17am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was 6.01 points lower at 1,839.02 from Tuesday’s close of 1,845.03.

    The index opened 1.63 points weaker at 1,843.40.

    On the broader market, losers led gainers 202 to 137, while 183 counters were unchanged, 1,386 untraded and 20 others suspended.

    Volume stood at 185.91 million units valued at RM105.46 million.

    Public Investment Bank Bhd said the FBM KLCI may trade lower today as attention remains on Italian politics, with the benchmark sovereign debt yield turning around, as buyers re-emerged for the country’s 10-year paper.

    “On Wall Street, the S&P 500 gained as much as 0.3%, helped by signs the US-China trade war appeared to be abating, but suffered a late afternoon swoon to close 0.3% down for the day,” it said in a research note today.

    Among heavyweights, Maybank was two sen higher at RM10.90, Public Bank rose 22 sen to RM25.42, Petronas Chemicals improved one sen to RM8.44, while TNB shed 10 sen to RM15.24 and CIMB declined five sen to RM6.60.

    For actives, AirAsia X and Destini gained one sen each to 39 sen and 23.5 sen respectively, MyEG earned half-a-sen to 94 sen, while Hubline and PUC were flat at nine sen and 20.5 sen.

    The FBM Emas Index slid 38.07 points to 12,806.52, the FBMT 100 Index decreased 38.69 points to 12,609.62 and the FBM Emas Syariah Index dipped 81.97 points to 12,793.51.

    The FBM 70 lost 37.48 points to 15,068.35, but the FBM Ace advanced 1.60 points to 5,282.82.

    Sector-wise, the Finance Index was 30.89 points higher at 18,476.08, while the Plantation Index improved 4.71 points to 7,944.63 and the Industrial Index fell 18.83 points to 3,286.82.

    The physical price of gold as at 9.30am stood at RM159.97 per gramme, up 33 sen from RM159.64 at 5pm yesterday.

  • Raya Online Sales Will Likely Peak inEarly June With 0% GST

    Raya Online Sales Will Likely Peak inEarly June With 0% GST

    ShopBack, the leading online Cashback platform that partners more than 500 online shops in Malaysia, foresees Raya sales will reach its peak in the first week of June, given the 0% GST implementation from June 1st onwards.

    “Our partners have started to prepare for an early June promotion as that will likely be the week when consumers rush into Raya preparation. For example, Lazada is planning for a Mega Sale from June 1st until June 4th with onsite games, flash sales, and up to 11% cashback for ShopBack users. Around 40 partners are joining our Raya campaign and we are looking to have at least 100% growth this year,” says Alvin Gill, Country General Manager of ShopBack Malaysia.

    Other online partners that are joining the campaign include Traveloka, 11street, foodpanda, FashionValet, Booking.com, Senheng, Hermo, Expedia, Sephora, ASOS, JD sports, PappaDelivery etc. and the highest Cashback on offer is 30%.

    “There was a 25% drop in sales during the 14th General Election week and it was expected. As people resume working and Ramadan begins, the number of online sales has started to recover to the previous level. According to ShopBack data, the number of sales powered by ShopBack during Ramadan 2017 VS 2016 grew by 100%. We are confident to achieve beyond this number as the market sentiment looks very positive after GE14.

    “The 0% GST may allow Malaysians to have better purchasing power when spending for their Raya needs. Based on our historical data, sales normally surge at the second week of Ramadan but for this year, it may start after the 0% GST takes effect and will prolong to the fourth week,” Alvin says.

    Malaysians Spent More Compared to Indonesians

    ShopBack regional’s data also hows that in a comparison with Indonesians, Malaysians’ average spending during Ramadan 2017 was USD 54.54. Indonesians instead spent USD 49.04 on average. Overall, Fashion appeared as one of the top selling categories in both countries. Malaysians spent more on Health & Beauty and Electronic items while Groceries, Toys & Games had a great demand among Indonesians.

    “Larger electronic items, for example, household appliances could be the reason of higher spending found among Malaysians,” Alvin explains.

    Both Malaysia and Indonesia experienced a dip in traffic during Iftar hour. Website and app traffic during peak hour remained unchanged except for an increase of 15% during Ramadan month.

    “This year, ShopBack has integrated its app with regional partners like Lazada, especially Lazada app users can get better cashback when they shop through our app during Ramadan. We aim to integrate with more partners’ apps in the future to enhance our user experience. It will continue to propel our growth in the next half of 2018 together with the implementation of 0% GST,” Alvin adds.

    Currently, more than 1 million Malaysians are using ShopBack for their daily purchases. ShopBack has given over RM25 million worth of cashback since 2015. The cashback savings can be transferred out to a user’s bank account upon validation. Other than Malaysia, ShopBack also operates in Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Australia.

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  • AirAsia boss Tony Fernandes wants to help Malaysian football

    AirAsia boss Tony Fernandes wants to help Malaysian football

    Malaysian businessman and AirAsia’s  chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes has expressed interest to work with the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) after visiting the national body for a meeting on Monday.

    “At the meeting, Tony, through his company AirAsia, expressed his interest to collaborate with FAM in the future for various aspects such as referees, national teams, and youth development programmes,” said FAM secretary-general Datuk Hamidin Amin through a statement.

    “FAM certainly welcomes the support and involvement of a businessman such as Tony in our efforts to jointly rebuild football in Malaysia.”

    The airline company owner has his fingers firmly dipped in sports, also being the major stakeholder of English Championship club Queens Park Rangers.

    Tony’s AirAsia Group also owns PJ Rangers FC, who play in the Malaysian third-tier FAM league.

    The lifelong West Ham United fan is set to have a professional relationship with a soon to be new regime in FAM that are bound for elections in July.

    Hamidin is most likely succeed Tunku Sultan Ismail as president despite surprise contention from politician Tan Sri Annuar Musa and Malaysian National Sports Institute chairman Datuk Seri Abdul Azim.

    Tony’s business sense and passion for the game will certainly work in FAM’s favour if they come up with a successful blueprint in the said areas.

    The business tycoon has previously backed the national ‘Harimau Muda’ team by emblazoning a logo of them across the AirAsia plane.

    Also present at the Monday meeting were national Under-23 coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee and PJ Rangers deputy president Simon Lim.

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