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Tag: Malaysia

  • Malaysians are more Save-vy than Singaporeans

    Malaysians are more Save-vy than Singaporeans

    ShopBack, the leading online Cashback platform in Southeast Asia, observes a stronger head start in 2018 for Malaysia as compared to Singapore.

    “Further to our positive performance in the Q4 2017, almost 20% more digital transactions went through ShopBack Malaysia compared to our Singapore counterpart last month. Looking at our January 2018 vs January 2017 data, ShopBack Malaysia has experienced more than twice the growth. Data shows that when it comes to savings, Malaysians are more aggressive and increasingly choose ShopBack as a convenient way to accumulate Cashback for every transaction,” said Alvin Gill, Country General Manager of ShopBack Malaysia.

    “Several factors such as the petrol price hike and subsequent increase in food cost has urged Malaysians to optimise their spending in every possible way, to which we are glad to be able to help more than 850K Malaysians in getting over RM25 million Cashback from their digital purchases, including Grab and Uber rides, in the past three years.”

    In 2017, more than 30 online merchants joined ShopBack Malaysia to provide Cashback as a form of loyalty reward to online shoppers, including Malaysia Airlines, 11street, Uniqlo Online and Kinokuniya. Currently, ShopBack collaborates with more than 500 merchants to offer up to 30% Cashback, and the Cashback percentage tends to increase during the festive period.

    “For example, there’ll be products on 100% epic Cashback sale during our birthday next week (22 February 2018). We will be giving away a total of RM18,000 to three lucky winners to spend on Lazada. Nike, Taobao, Booking.com, Photobook, Expedia, Hermo, Cotton-On, Sephora, ZALORA etc. are going to give out higher Cashback on that day too,” Alvin elaborated.

    Developing user centric features for better purchasing decisions

    While online Cashback still sounds new to locals, ShopBack is confident of its future as this concept has been introduced and is widely used by China, UK and US shoppers for more than a decade.

    “There is a bunch of loyalty programmes for offline retail in Malaysia but none comparable to ShopBack’s scale in the online retail space prior to our entry. We reward users in cash form, of which can be transferred into a bank account once it gets validated. What’s better is users are able to stack this on top of their credit card’s Cashback. On the other hand, online merchants see us as a valuable partner in promoting their business to the right target audience and retaining existing customers. We might earn less by sharing our commission with users as Cashback, but this triple-win model will help us go a long way,” Alvin said.

    To better support customers in their purchasing journey, ShopBack Malaysia extended its team to support live chat on web, mobile and app platform, as well as Facebook. It also upgraded its app to enable users access to purchase mobile reloads and internet packages offers within one tap, and implemented OTP (one-time-password) for a secure payout process.

    Recently, it also rolled out a ‘partial Cashback’ feature where a user can choose to withdraw any available Cashback amount (minimum RM10) from ShopBack to his/her bank account, or utilise it to settle phone bills (Maxis users only). The company is also looking to expand payout options via potential partnerships with popular brands and other loyalty programme providers.

    “Moving forward, we want ShopBack to be more than just Cashback. If you look at our app, there’s an exclusive function that allows our users to quickly compare rides and make a decision on the go. That is the kind of smarter way of living that we envision, and we hope to achieve greater milestones with our users in the near future.”

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  • Mondelez Malaysia Wins Regional Award for Halal Excellence

    Mondelez Malaysia Wins Regional Award for Halal Excellence

    Mondelez Malaysia, part of Mondelēz International and owner of iconic brands such as Cadbury Dairy Milk, Toblerone, Oreo, Chipsmore and Twisties recently won the Best Halal Chocolate Bar under Heritage Brand for its Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolates at the Asia Halal Brand Awards 2017 (AHBA). The prestigious award recognises the company’s long-term legacy in making Halal Cadbury chocolates in Malaysia and catering to the local consumers, with its commitment in manufacturing processes and supply chains that are internationally-compliant and halal-certified. Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolates are certified Halal by Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia (JAKIM) since 2004.

    Swadheen Sharma, Managing Director of Mondelez Malaysia said, “2017 has been an outstanding year for Mondelez Malaysia and being recognised as a prominent Halal brand not only further validates our position, but also demonstrates our continued responsibility towards meeting consumer needs and preferences. We understand how important Halal is to our consumers. Ensuring that all our products made here in Malaysia are Halal is something that we take very seriously.”

    The Asia Halal Brand Awards 2017 (AHBA) aims at promoting prominent Halal brands in Asia that elevate the significance of the brands in the global market. Mondelez Malaysia was awarded because of its stringent manufacturing process to ensure the highest standard of quality, while being compliant to the Halal guidelines. All Mondelez products in Malaysia are certified Halal by JAKIM and 20 percent of products manufactured here are exported to 16 countries worldwide.

    Mondelez Malaysia reinforced its focus on Halal by strengthening its collaborations with authorities and certification bodies, including Halal Industry Development Corporation (HDC), as well as carrying out proactive audits on its products. These initiatives have collectively strengthened consumers’ confidence in Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolates as a Halal-certified product.

    Mondelez Malaysia maintained its strong presence in the country in three core categories; chocolate, biscuit and salty snacks. Currently ranked number one in the biscuits category and number two share position in Salty Snacks and a sizeable Candy business, the owner of famous brands such as Cadbury Dairy Milk and Cadbury 5 Star is confident that it would gain back its category leadership in chocolates because of its strong plans and execution roadmaps.

    “Mondelez Malaysia’s positive growth in the chocolate category is driven by our product innovation and portfolio diversification. Over the years, we have had great success with the new products we introduced to the market, such as Marvellous Creations, Cadbury Honey Comb & Nuts, Cadbury 5 Star and Cadbury Dairy Milk Oreo to suit the Malaysian consumers’ taste. These efforts are important for us to keep up with the evolving needs of consumers, while catering to a variety of taste profiles and flavour preferences,” said Vikram Karwal, Associate Director Marketing Chocolates SEA.

    The market will continue to be uncertain in view of the changing dynamic of consumers’ purchasing habits. In sustaining this leadership, Mondelez will focus on building excellence in its sales execution to drive category growth. This includes even deeper partnerships with retailers to improve the shopping experience, faster speed to market, improved freshness and availability.

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  • Malaysia’s Central i-City shopping centre to open in 2018

    Malaysia’s Central i-City shopping centre to open in 2018

    Selangor’s Central i-City Shopping Centre is scheduled to open in the fourth quarter of the year.

    A collaboration with i-City Properties, it is the first international regional shopping centre for Thai developer/investor CPN and Malaysia’s i-City Properties.

    Among anchor tenants just announced are Sogo Department Store and Village Grocer. TGV Cinemas will offer the first Imax screen in the region, along with eight digital cinemas seating up to 1800 patrons.

    The project has a gross development value of RM850 million (US$216.6 million).

    CPN Thailand COO Pakorn Partanapat says the goal for the shopping centre is to boost the mall/tenant relationship to ensure a win-win for everyone.

    CPN Malaysia COO Anthony Dylan says the 940,000sqft (87,000sqm) shopping centre will have 350 retail shops over six levels.

  • Greyhound Cafe plan to open more stores abroad

    Greyhound Cafe plan to open more stores abroad

    Nadim Xavier Salhani, the man behind US franchises Au Bon Pain, Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin Robbins in Thailand, aims now to expand the group’s Greyhound Cafe brand abroad. Greyhound, which has 17 cafes in Thailand and 18 franchises overseas including China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, is also planning more acquisitions.

    Already, the company has invested THB150 million (US$4.7 million) to open a 192-seat Greyhound Cafe in London’s Soho district, and has also acquired the 300-year-old Grand Vefour, a Michelin two-star fine-dining restaurant in Paris.

    “We are planning to develop more projects in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Bangkok in the French brasserie restaurant style, at a cost of 40 to 60 million baht each,” Salhani says.

    Meanwhile, he plans to open 12 Dunkin’ Donuts Coffee concept branches this year, including the brand’s first drive-through in Ayutthaya this June. There are also plans to open five Au Bon Pain and five Baskin Robbins outlets this year, taking the total to 300 branches for Baskin Robbins, 80 for Dunkin Donuts and 40 for Au Bon Pain.

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  • Gap Malaysia is Closing All Stores Nationwide

    Gap Malaysia is Closing All Stores Nationwide

    Gap Malaysia has announced on its Facebook page that it is about to close its store and GapKids in the Gardens Mall, Kuala Lumpur.

    The American clothing retailer first announced it would be shutting down its Queensbay Mall, Penang and Pavilion KL stores in January, and now adds Gardens Mall and 1 Utama as well.

    Its remaining stores are running sales to get rid of stock.

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  • Samsung Malaysia CNY Promo Offers RM600 Discount on the Galaxy S8

    Samsung Malaysia CNY Promo Offers RM600 Discount on the Galaxy S8

    In celebration of Chinese New Year, Samsung Malaysia is offering rather attractive discount on some of its smartphones. These include the Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+, Galaxy J7+, as well as the Galaxy J7 Pro.

    Out of the four smartphones on discount, the Galaxy S8 phones receive the highest amount of discount. Originally retailing at RM3,299 and RM3,699 respectively, the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ are now going for RM600 less, reducing their retail prices to RM2,699 and RM3,099 respectively.

    Aside from the Galaxy S8 phones, the Galaxy J7+ now retails for RM200 less at RM1,099, while the Galaxy J7 Pro currently goes for RM999, saving you RM100.

    While these deals are pretty good, the Galaxy S8 phones are actually more affordable from certain retailers. The Galaxy S8+, for one, can be purchased for only RM2,999 in Orchid Grey, Coral Blue, and Maple Gold. The smaller Galaxy S8, on the other hand, can be yours for RM2,666 in either Midnight Black or Orchid Grey.

    If you’d like to enjoy this discount from Samsung Malaysia itself, you can do so from its official Lazada store. Note that this promotion will end on 15 February 2018.

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  • Asia boosts growth for L’Oreal

    Asia boosts growth for L’Oreal

    French cosmetics giant L’Oreal reports “spectacular” growth for last year, particularly in Asia.

    It had growth acceleration of 5.5 per cent in the fourth quarter with sales exceeding €10 billion (US$12.2 billion) in the ‘new markets’, which include Asia Pacific.

    Operating margin reached a record 18 per cent.

    Sales were €26 billion, up 4.8 per cent like-for-like, 2 per cent at constant exchange rates and 0.7 per cent on reported figures.

    Representing a record 18 per cent of sales, the operating profit was €4.68 billion.

    “L’Oreal had a good year with sustained sales growth momentum and robust profits,” says chairman/CEO Jean-Paul Agon.

    The second half accelerated compared with the first, particularly in the fourth quarter.

    Sales grew in all divisions, especially L’Oreal Luxe in Asia. The Active Cosmetics Division achieved more than €2 billion of sales for the first time.

    The new markets exceeded more than €10 billion in sales for the first time ever. The Asia Pacific zone had growth of 12.3 per cent like-for-like and 9.2 per cent reported. In Northern Asia, Chinese consumers are driving growth, particularly for the L’Oreal Luxe Division in China and Hong Kong. China’s growth was fuelled by strong e-commerce results. In Southern Asia, India is proving dynamic, while Malaysia and Thailand are also growing strongly.

    Overall, operating profit, at €4.6 billion, has grown by 3 per cent and amounts to 18 per cent of sales, representing an increase of 40 basis points. Excluding exchange rates, operating profit grew by 4.4 per cent.

  • Malaysian economic growth slowed in Q4

    Malaysian economic growth slowed in Q4

    Malaysia’s economy grew more slowly in the last quarter of 2017 than the blistering pace set in July-September, a Reuters poll showed, as exports increased at a slower rate.

    The median forecast in the poll of 12 economists was for annual growth of 5.7% in October-December, compared with the previous period’s 6.2% – the fastest rate since the second quarter of 2014.

    Forecasts for the fourth quarter ranged from 5.2% to 6.1%.

    “The best is behind us,” ING said in a note today about Malaysia’s growth pace, noting that a high base effect has been impacting growth rates in several Asian economies.

    Whatever Malaysia’s fourth quarter number, 2017 have brought Malaysia its fastest full-year growth since 2014’s 6%.

    Growth in each of 2017’s first three quarters topped 5.5%.

    Brian Tan, a Singapore-based economist with Nomura, said the fourth quarter brought a “slowdown in exports which looked quite sharp, but we suspect it was due to the ringgit appreciation during the period”.

    In October-December, exports rose 12.4% from a year earlier, down from increases of more than 20% in each of the first three quarters. The peak increase, in July-September, was 22.1%.

    Malaysia reports its trade figures in ringgit.

    During 2017, the currency strengthened more than 10% against the dollar.

    Industrial production rose 2.9% annually in December, down from 5% a month earlier.

    Growth in Southeast Asia’s third-largest economy beat expectations in the third quarter, helped by private sector spending.

    In October, the government revised up its 2017 full-year growth projection to 5.2-5.7%, up from 4.3% to 4.8%.

    Malaysia’s economy grew 4.2% in 2016.

    Robust private consumption is expected to have propped up fourth quarter growth, with higher motor vehicle and retail sales and strong consumer sentiment, HSBC said in a note.

    The volume index of wholesale and retail trade rose 6.8% in the fourth quarter, according to data released last week by Malaysia’s statistics department.

    Strong growth figures over the past three quarters and rising inflation rates prompted Bank Negara Malaysia in January to raise its key interest rate by 25 basis points to 3.25%. It was the first hike in three and a half years.

    ING, which forecasts 5.5% annual growth for 2017’s fourth quarter, has pencilled in one more 25 basis point rate hike, for the third quarter of this year.

  • Cold Stone Creamery Malaysia Opened In Kuala Lumpur

    Cold Stone Creamery Malaysia Opened In Kuala Lumpur

    American ice-cream parlour chain Cold Stone Creamery Malaysia has opened its first store in Kuala Lumpur.

    After tracking through Bangkok, Manila and Singapore, the American ice-cream parlour chain has launched a flagship outlet at Pavilion Kuala Lumpur.

    From Arizona, the brand plans to open 10 outlets in Malaysia within the next five years.

    Founded in 1988, Cold Stone Creamery is best known for its design-your-own desserts that lets customers choose mix-ins, all theatrically combined on a frozen granite slab.

    The store offers 36 ice-cream flavours and will be adding some local tastes.

    Cold Stone Creamery senior international VP Eddy Jimenez says Malaysia’s opening was delayed as the company took years to find a suitable franchisee.

    “Local flavours are important and we are very sensitive to the local culture ‒ they’re going to be a big part of the brand,” says Jimenez.

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  • Malaysia property market expected to be flattish in 2018

    Malaysia property market expected to be flattish in 2018

    Property transactions are expected to be flattish in 2018, marking yet another challenging year for the Malaysian property market, according to real estate consultancy firm Rahim & Co International Sdn Bhd.

    However, it said many are hoping that the results of the forthcoming general election would give a firmer direction for the nation, hence re-igniting the momentum in the property sector.

    Although it may be too soon to say that the market has bottomed out, Rahim & Co does not expect the market in 2018 to be much worse off than in 2017.

    The property market is expected to be flat and stable, while waiting for the consumers’ wait-and-see attitude to warm up.

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  • Malaysia continues to attract expats from Europe and Eastern Asia region

    Malaysia continues to attract expats from Europe and Eastern Asia region

    HSBC Bank Malaysia said Malaysia continues to attract expats particularly from Europe and Eastern Asia regions.

    Country head, retail banking and wealth management, Lim Eng Seong said one of the reasons why expats love settling down here are the friendly nature of the Malaysians.

    “Looking for accommodation, organising healthcare and schooling are all easy to do in Malaysia, hence the plus points for expats to move here,” he said in a statement.

    Based on HSBC’s Expat Explorer survey conducted last year, he said Asia continues to provide promising economic prospects and improved quality of life that appeal to professionals and entrepreneurs both from within the region and across the globe.

    Now in its 10th year, the HSBC Expat Explorer survey is the world’s largest and longest running study of expats life, involving over 27,500 expats about their experience abroad.

    61 per cent expat experience in Malaysia found it was easier to make friends. In terms of active social life, 44 per cent noted they have better social lives now than they did at home compared to 31 per cent of all expats around the world and 40 per cent regionally.

    The survey revealed that Malaysia offers simplicity and smooth transition for expats in finding accommodation (61 per cent), organising healthcare (54 per cent) and arranging childcare and schooling (52 per cent).

    “In fact, once expats settle down, life continues to be positive for most of them where more than half (55 per cent) live in a better property than they would have had in their home country.”

    The survey also found that life abroad typically increases expats’ income by 25 per cent, with expats earning just under US$100,000 a year on average.

    “Far from compromising their wellbeing, expats seem to find the right balance. 41 per cent expats adopt a more positive outlook on life after moving abroad, with 44 per cent becoming more physically active.”

    The surveyed highlighted that expats in Asia said they have experienced an uplift in income of at least 10 per cent, including Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and New Zealand.

    Lim said Asia continues to draw expats from all over the globe for its buoyant economic prospects.

    “We still see a significant proportion of expats coming from Europe and North America but also a robust pool of Asian expats working in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Greater China – all trying to capture opportunities from the region’s fast-growing consumer services sector, increased tech and digital focus and infrastructure push,” he added.

    He pointed out the continued growth in China and Asean would require a diverse mix of talent from people who are internationally mobile.

    Lim said expats’ financial needs are more complex, citing that managing accounts in multiple markets and currencies, health and protection cover, as well as saving and investing for education, retirement and property aspirations are key aspects of their holistic financial plan.

    “Wherever they live, expats should seek financial advice from a trusted provider who can help them manage their more complex financial affairs,” he said.

  • Max Fashion opens flagship store in Malaysia

    Max Fashion opens flagship store in Malaysia

    Value fashion brand Max Malaysia has launched its fourth store, a flagship in 1 Utama Shopping Centre in Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

    A red-carpet opening ceremony was hosted by Max CEO and Landmark Group director Ramanathan Hariharan. The store covers more than 10,000sqft (930sqm) and will offer men’s, women’s and children’s fashion as well as sportswear, bags, footwear, lingerie and accessories.

    Malaysia’s first Max store opened in IOI Mall Putrajaya last year, followed by outlets in Sunway Putra Mall and Avenue K Mall.

    The brand plans to have 10 stores in Malaysia by the end of the year.

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  • ZALORA announces partnership with American brand J.Crew

    ZALORA announces partnership with American brand J.Crew

    Asian online fashion destination Zalora and J.Crew have announced they are forming a partnership to expand the US brand’s reach.

    From next month, a curated range of J.Crew’s women’s ready-to-wear and shoes as well as men’s apparel and accessories will be available at Zalora.

    It is J.Crew’s first online venture with a partner into Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and the Philippines, and will strengthen its store presence in Hong Kong.

    “Through our innovative platform and expansive logistics network, J.Crew will reach shoppers well beyond capital cities reaching a far wider network of potential customers than ever before,” says Zalora Group CEO Parker Gundersen.

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  • Felcra Malaysia wants to export palm oil to Middle East, Africa

    Felcra Malaysia wants to export palm oil to Middle East, Africa

    Felcra Bhd is planning to forge collaborations with international companies for the purpose of exporting palm oil to countries in the Middle East and Africa, said its CEO, Datuk Zulkarnain Md Eusope.

    To increase the agency’s revenue, he said, it must not focus on specific countries only in exporting the commodity.

    “The Chinese government through its ambassador has stated the country’s commitment to import palm oil even if the European Union (EU) countries do not want to buy palm oil from Malaysia.

    “We must diversify our efforts (to increase revenue) following the palm oil issue with the EU,” Zulkarnain said.

    He was speaking to reporters after attending the Perak Region Felcra Employees Aspiration 2018 ceremony with Perak government leaders, which was officiated by State Rural Development, Agriculture, Plantation, Information and Human Capital Development Committee chairman, Datuk Saarani Mohamad, here today.

    Further information on the plan would be announced later after the negotiation process with the companies were concluded, said Zulkarnain.

    In another development, he said Felcra would establish a research and development centre in plantation, agricultural and food sectors, to be located in Felcra Nasaruddin Belia near Parit here.

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  • Bursa Malaysia expects 2018 to have more IPOs than 2017

    Bursa Malaysia expects 2018 to have more IPOs than 2017

    Bursa Malaysia Bhd, which attracted 13 new listings in 2017, expects to see more companies listed on the Main and ACE Markets this year.

    “The IPO (initial public offering) pipeline seems to be tracking quite well. So we expect that it will probably be slightly higher than last year,” its CEO Datuk Seri Tajuddin Atan said at a media briefing today.

    “And we think some of the big ones is coming,” he added, noting currently there are four registered companies that are still waiting for approval to be listed on the stock exchange.

    Last month, Binasat Communications Bhd, which is involved in the provision of telecommunication supporting services for satellite as well as mobile and fibre optic telecommunications networks, became the first listing for the year.

    Meanwhile, Tajuddin said the stock exchange operator has no plans to increase or reduce the listing fee at the moment, as it looks to introduce incentive or rebate schemes.

    Additionally, he said, the local exchange plans to introduce more products and services this year to create a conducive capital market ecosystem for all market participants.

    “We are still in a process of getting approval and putting things in place. Not only in terms of product, we are also trying to have more players as well as selling agents,” Tajuddin said.

    Going forward, he said the securities market segment is expected to remain resilient, given recent encouraging economic data, the strengthening ringgit and expected positive corporate earnings.

    Trading, however, may be influenced by local and external factors, such as geopolitical developments and the tightening of monetary policies in major economies in 2018, he added.

    On the derivatives market, Tajuddin said volatility in commodity prices and the underlying equity market will continue to affect hedging and trading activities of the crude palm oil futures and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Futures contracts.

    The local bourse’s net profit rose 10.2% to RM55.27 million for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2017 against RM50.17 million in the previous corresponding period, driven by higher contribution from the securities market.

    Revenue expanded 14.1% from RM123.74 million to RM141.2 million.
    Its full-year net profit rose 15.2% from RM193.62 million to RM223.04 million, with revenue rising 9.9% from RM506.78 million to RM556.83 million.

    For the year under review, securities market trading revenue increased 21.9% to RM259.6 million on the back of higher average daily trading value for securities market on-market trades which grew 27.7% to RM2.3 billion.

    It has declared a second interim dividend of 18.5 sen per share amounting to RM99.4 million for the quarter under review, which will be paid on March 5, 2018.With that, the total dividend (including special dividend) declared for the year amounts to 53.5 sen per share.

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