iPhone - a temporary satisfaction with a long term slave

By The star (SOO EWE JIN)

THE thing about technology is that there is no finality to it. More so when it comes to everyday technology.

Take, for example, the smartphone. I have nothing against the iPhone, the BlackBerry or the Android. They have fantastic features and I can assure you that if I have cash to spare, I will happily buy an iPhone.

Not only will I look cool, but it will really freak out the young people who call me Uncle when I use it to play the golden oldies out loud.

But my boss will probably want me to buy the BlackBerry. After all, it has become a necessary accessory of the successful working man, like the tie.

Well, I have seen how this group of people like to hang out in Mont’ Kiara after work. They are able to remove their ties, but they are constantly interrupted by their BlackBerry. And it’s always about work.

As for me and my trusty ordinary handphone, it’s often just an SMS from my dear wife asking me to remember to buy a loaf of bread on the way home.

The problem with all these fancy gadgets is that we are thrilled initially as we try out everything and anything available. But eventually, we only use a smartphone, well, as a phone.

I read an article in The New York Times last week about a feature that is fast gaining popularity. It’s called FourSquare. Basically, it allows you to beam your location to your friends so that they know where you are.

Let’s say you promised to meet friends at Suria KLCC but forgot to tell them where exactly. By beaming your location, your friends can track you down to the exact shop that you are in.

I am sure the women reading this article will be more than happy to tell their husbands or boyfriends to get connected to FourSquare.

It will end forever the little white lies that they tell like, “Sayang, I will be a bit late, still at the office lah!”

“Oh no, you are not! You are hanging outside the spa at Mid Valley and if you don’t come home this minute, you can sleep on the sofa tonight!”

Get the idea?

Actually, it’s a marketing strategy to push us to embrace anything that is new, even though old technology works just as well.

A friend, knowing how much I love the good old days, decided to give me his old PDA last week. These days, PDAs no longer exist since all their features are embedded into the phones.

I am now collating all the information I need, including the full records of my DVD collection, my books, my friends’ email addresses, and all their birthdays, on this cute little Palm.

At the dentist the other day, I whipped out the PDA to read a book about the life of William Wilberforce which I had downloaded. It went well for a while, and then the strain got to me, so I switched it off and reached out for the Reader’s Digest. It was an old issue but it kept me occupied, and happy.

Next to me, a young man was probably happier. He was busy taking photos of his beautiful girlfriend, who was taking a nap, on his iPhone.

* I found this article pretty interesting as i saw many youngster who would indulge into such fancy phone jst for a temporary satisfaction and a long term slave to it.

Small Office/Home Office (SoHo)

By the Star

CB Richard Ellis Malaysia Sdn Bhd managing director Allan Soo says the typical SoHo buyer are mostly independent individuals rather than professionals.

“This can be advertising agencies or those within the IT industry.”

Soo says the location of the SoHo is critical.

“It definitely makes sense to work in the city within a business environment and having your business partners nearby. If it’s going to be a hassle for your clients to come to you, than it does not make sense.”

Zerin Properties chief executive officer Previndran Singhe concurs that the location of the SoHo is very important.

“You need to be around amenities. Otherwise it’s going to be tough! But ultimately, it all depends on both the product and the location of the property.”

Wong, however, reckons that a SoHo buyer would be more comfortable working outside of the city centre.

“The whole idea of living and working in the same environment is so that you can avoid the hassle of getting stuck in traffic jams when travelling to your place of work.

“People who operate out of a SoHo would most likely prefer a quiet environment rather than to be smack in the middle of the city centre and dealing with the noise. The ideal location would be the outskirts of the city, near a park or commuter train station.”

A search on iproperty.com, the country’s top property portal, reveals four SoHo developments that are currently in the pipeline.

They are the Selangor State Development Corp’s (PKNS) Kasturi Idaman in Kota Damansara, HR United Group’s SB1 and Persanda 2 in Sungai Besi and Shah Alam, respectively and Ong Chong Realty Sdn Bhd’s PJ5 SoHo in Kelana Jaya.

Previndran says there is a growing market for SoHo developments and cited YTL Land & Development Bhd’s CENTRIO at Pantai Hill Park in Bukit Kerinchi, Kuala Lumpur.

According to reports, 70% of the development (at CENTRIO) have been sold. It opened for sales in 2006.

Akashdeep Singh, a 30-something freelance film editor, says working from a SoHo provided him with great flexibility.

“Some people enjoy this lifestyle – working late and sleeping overnight. It can lead to a lot of office romances,” he says, laughing.

Akashdeep, who was going to India for a month that same day, says: “And in cases of emergencies, like if you need to take a sabbatical, you can avoid the hassle of giving notice. In a normal working environment, it’s hard to do this.”

Former lawyer Melissa Ram used to work out of her home and relished the fact that she could completely avoid traffic jams.

“There’s a lot of flexibility, plus there’s no overhead cost or rentals to worry about. With the internet, you can work from virtually anywhere.”

Melissa, however, adds that there were also drawbacks when working from home.

“Sometimes when you need to meet with clients, having them over in your house isn’t appropriate and in such situations, having an office would be better. In such situations, you would have to go out of your way to meet your client rather than to have the convenience of them coming to you.”

She adds, however, that if given a choice, she would still prefer to work from home.

“While working you could still manage the house and do the cooking. Plus, you could work till midnight and not have to worry about security issues.”

Malaysia Goods and services tax (GST) in 2011 and 2012??

By The Star

It is not a question of if but when the goods and services tax (GST) will be implemented in Malaysia, according to Taxand Malaysia Sdn Bhd managing director Veerinderjeet Singh.

The GST had been scheduled to replace the current sales and services tax (SST) by the middle of next year.

But Second Finance Minister Datuk Ahmad Husni Hanazlah recently said the government would defer tabling the GST bill for a second reading in Parliament.

Husni had said the government wanted more time to seek public feedback before proceeding with the GST.

But Veerinderjeet believes it is only a matter of time before the GST is implemented despite the deferment in tabling the GST.

“We believe that if the GST is not implemented this time next year, it would likely be implemented the following year,” he told reporters after his presentation at the GST & Other Indirect Tax Developments seminar yesterday.

The seminar was organised by Taxand Malaysia and the Malaysian International Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Veerinderjeet said the seminar was to educate professionals on the actual mechanics of GST in preparation for the eventual implementation of the GST. “Businesses in general need to understand the detailed rules and consider how these would apply to their own business operations. “Failure to do so may result in the loss of the set-off or credit for input taxes suffered and/or being exposed to onerous penalties for non-compliance with the law,” he said. On the challenges of implementing the GST, he said there were several, including pricing and embracing appropriate technology in areas such as GST collection at each stage of the supply chain. On the proposed GST rate at 4%, Veerinderjeet noted that the current SST rate far exceeded the proposed GST rate.

So does this means that everything is goin up? Inflation would be cap high? Property prices are goin to go further up? I just think that KL property prices has gone crazy and overly priced. The real problem is there are buyers who are willing to pay that price that has been overly priced. E.g Valuer only value that piece of 2nd hand corner 2 storey terrace link house property at Cheras for 450k but the seller is asking for 600k and the buyer just blindly purchase that piece property. Nobody's fault and is there a mechanism to educate ppl? lolx.. Else KL property will gorang untill hangus :P

Malaysian property market to improve further this year

Its been a long time i leave it rot and there are many valuable business news that i missed out:

1. The new LRT (The Star) extention from Sri Petaling all the way to IOI Mall, everyone is predicting where will all the station will be location. Kinarara suddenly become a boom.
2. The internal conflicts of Ho Hup, land sold in a lower price. Can we still trust Ho hup on its new project in Bukit Jalil/Kinrara? Its a strategic piece of land though!

Let's continue with some interesting and valuable insights!

By The Star

The Malaysian property market, estimated to have registered transactions worth RM75.42 billion last year, is expected to improve further in 2010 in line with the economic recovery.

The transactions involved 337,990 properties as compared with the 340,240 valued at RM88.34 billion in 2008, said the director general of Valuation and Property Services Department, Finance Ministry, Datuk Abdullah Thalith Md Thani.

He said the challenging economic and financial environment had affected the overall performance of the Malaysian property market last year. "2010 will be a good year for all.

"The property market for this year will improve as the number of transactions involving new housing and construction activities, increases," Abdullah Thalith told reporters at the Third Malaysian Property Summit 2010, here Tuesday.

He pointed out that Malaysia is expected to steer towards a recovery path this year, driven primarily by domestic demand, with commodity prices for rubber, crude oil and palm oil also improving.

These, he said would increase the confidence level among consumers and provide a positive impact for the property sector.

"The demand for properties is returning," he added.

Abdullah Thalith said the government would continue to implement appropriate measures to restore confidence and market sentiment.

He said the liberalisation of Foreign Investment Committee (FIC) guidelines, would increase the competitiveness of Malaysia, as a preferred investment destination.

Furthermore, Abdullah Thalith said acquiring properties in Malaysia would be more attractive, as FIC approval is no longer required.

He said the review of the Real Property Gains Tax (RPGT) would also augur well for the property industry. - Bernama

Banks are getting more business with their mortgage loan pie expanding wide. NPL will also be monitor with the new Bank Negara Malaysia ruling. So the very big questiong with property investor (2010) : will bank negara malaysia will review its lowered BLR rate? hehe..

Amanah Saham Malaysia (ASM) is offering the remaining units from 21st of july 2009 to the 27th!

By the Star

It has set maximum limit of 20,000 units per account holder

Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) will offer the remaining 1.6 billion Amanah Saham Malaysia (ASM) units, including those initially set aside for bumiputras, for subscription by all Malaysians from July 21.

President and group chief executive Tan Sri Hamad Kama Piah Che Othman said to ensure a fair distribution to the public, a maximum limit of 20,000 units had been set per account holder during the offer period from July 21-27. The limit would be void after the offer period.

“Thereafter, investors can subscribe for the ASM units without any maximum investment limit, depending on the amount of units left.

“Sales of the additional ASM units are based on a first-come, first-served basis,” he told reporters here yesterday.

ASM is an equity-income fund aimed at providing unitholders with a long-term investment opportunity that generates regular and competitive returns through a diversified portfolio of investments.

According to Hamad, the remaining 1.6 billion ASM units are from the 3.33 billion units launched in April.

Of the 3.33 billion units, bumiputra investors were allocated 50%, Chinese 30%, Indians 15% and other races 5%.

However, only the allocated units for the Chinese and Indian investors were fully subscribed and it has now been three months since the fund launch.

“We will continue to hold seminars and talks on the benefits of investing to encourage more bumiputra participation in our unit trust products,” Hamad said.

PNB has confirmed that excluding Amanah Saham Bumiputera, there were some 6.6 billion units that have not been taken up by bumiputra investors.

These are from unit trusts such as ASM, Amanah Saham Wawasan 2020, Amanah Saham Didik, Amanah Saham Nasional dan Amanah Saham Nasional 2.

On the 1Malaysia Unit Trust as proposed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak last week, Hamad said an announcement would be made soon.

Meanwhile, a PNB spokesman said it was not aware of any practices of its agents such as banks on reserving ASM units for selected customers.

“We are not aware of such practices nor do we encourage this,” the spokesman said, referring to the latest ASM annual report which revealed that in the top bracket of unitholders, there were only 296 individuals holding a whopping 264 million units.

This translates into an average of 893,068 units per person.

* On how to make purchase of the ASM unit thrust, you can approach the authorised agents such as Maybank, CIMB, RHB and Pos Malaysia. The satistic of ASM Fund's return.

Construction a comeback with govt spending on infrastucture like the proposed LRT?

By The Star

More than a year after the local construction industry was hit by deferred projects coupled with high material costs, its prospects appear to be on the mend, say industry players.

“We can definitely look forward to better times, especially with cheaper material prices now,” Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB) group managing director Shahril Ridza Ridzuan told StarBiz.

Shahril said he believed the Government would be “efficient” in rolling out projects under the 9th Malaysia Plan (9MP) and stimulus packages which were key to the survival of the sector.

MRCB’s ongoing projects were “going well”, he said, adding that the company, largely involved in construction and property, had several projects under tender of which “one or two” fell under the RM67bil stimulus packages. Its current construction order book stands at close to RM3bil.

Last year was a difficult one for the construction industry with the change in government in certain states which subsequently thwarted certain infrastructure plans.

Coupled with the surge in prices of materials like steel, which peaked at RM4,000 per tonne and crude oil which hit a record of US$147 per barrel, many construction companies were struggling to keep margins afloat.

Steel prices have since softened to around RM2,000 per tonne last month while crude oil is about US$60 per barrel now, translating possibly into healthier margins for the players.

A clearer political direction is also apparent under the administration of new Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

“Execution is now the order of the day,” CIMB Research told clients in a recent construction sector update.

“We believe things are getting better but we urge the Government to be ‘quicker’ in the implementation of more of the announced projects,” Prinsiptek Corp Bhd managing director Datuk Foo Chu Jong said.

The smallish construction company which has an order book of about RM400mil to RM500mil was “in discussions” with the relevant parties on several infrastructure projects and hoped to secure “some soon”, he said without elaborating.

In its update, CIMB Research identified 12 mega construction projects worth up to RM80bil, of which RM30bil to RM35bil was for the Klang Valley light trail transit extension and upgrade project, also known as the “highlight” project of the government’s pump-priming over the remaining 9MP period.

It identified MRCB, IJM Corp Bhd, Gamuda Bhd, UEM Builders Bhd and WCT Bhd as potential winners of this huge project, citing their cost efficient measures and track record.

The Bakun power transmission project is another mega project to look out for with CIMB saying that the project may take off “sooner than later” as cost had come off from RM14bil to RM9bil on lower steel prices.

MRCB was at the forefront for this project given its experience in undertaking major power transmission in the country, it said.

Najib said early this month that as at June 19, RM9bil worth of projects had been awarded under the Government’s RM67bil stimulus packages to stimulate economic growth. Of this, RM3bil had been disbursed.

* Now is already 2009, will Najib execute the long awaiting proposed lrt project. From Cheras to Kota Damansara, extension of Sri Petaling Lrt to Puchong. I think this is the most anticipating infra project that malaysian & investor are waiting. I'm planning to get a piece of gem in Puchong but the traffic is massive, the proposed lrt in Puchong is a pain killer to the highways but are there enough space for a said proposed LRT station around IOI mall?

How to do business like Air Asia?

By the Star

AirAsia X’s latest fleet purchase has raised concerns among analysts that it is following the high debt-leverage route of AirAsia Bhd, expanding the risks to its bankers.

The long-haul, low-cost airline company’s CEO, Azran Osman-Rani, said there was a fundamental difference between the business model of AirAsia X and that of traditional airlines.

“For AirAsia X, most of its tickets are sold through the Internet and bought by customers months before their flights.
“As for traditional airlines, tickets are mainly bought through agents and paid by customers just two weeks before the flights.

“The agents may even pay the airlines after the flights,” he told StarBiz in a telephone interview yesterday. The airline has a similar business model as AirAsia as both are low-cost carriers.

“We have forward cash. In this business, what is important is cashflow. We’re holding the forward cash,” he added.

It was announced on Tuesday that AirAsia X placed a firm order for 10 Airbus A350 aircraft which carried a list price of US$2.2bil.

This follows an earlier order for 25 Airbus A330 planes for delivery between last year and 2015.

On the company’s debt leverage, he said AirAsia X’s gearing was about 200% and was not expected to increase.

The 10 planes in the latest order will only be delivered from 2016.

“It’s not like we’re buying all the planes at the same time. But it is important to place the deposits now. This is to ensure we’ll have the delivery slots. The deposit is just US$10mil, we’re not paying US$2.2bil yet,” he added.

Progressive payments will start 36 months from delivery but the bulk of payments will be made when the planes are delivered.

By the time the A350 planes are delivered from 2016, most of the borrowings taken for the A330 planes would have been repaid.

Azran said some equity analysts did not understand AirAsia X’s business model, but that was not important.

“What is important is what the banks do. If the banks are worried with our gearing, wouldn’t they be the first to run away?

“But the banks are saying they’ll fund all our deliveries this year,” he said.

AirAsia X will take delivery of three Airbus A330 planes between September and December. Financing has been obtained for these planes.

Currently, the airline flies five planes to London, Melbourne, Perth and Gold Coast (Australia), and Tianjin and Hangzhou in China.

Its most profitable routes are Gold Coast and Hangzhou because these were the first two routes flown by the airline.

“They’re more matured markets for us than London or Melbourne. It’ll take us a year to build brand awareness for the newer routes and, initially, the pricing has to be aggressive,” he said.

*Air asia set a very gd example of a business model, if any business woudl adapt/copy this model, it would surely be a thriving business. Invest in branding/advertising your promotion, cut off agents and orders are made from on9. Consumer trust is there as it is a gd brand and they would place orders in early stage with payments made, this would allow the business to collect forward cash. Its a win win stituation as consumer gets a gd discount and the company gets to secure the deal with forward cash. Think abt it, any industry can adopt this strategy! hehe..

Public Bank selling its debts?

By The Star

Public Bank Bhd (PBB) group has made the first issuance of RM1.2bil in stapled securities under its RM5bil capital raising programme.

The RM5bil non-innovative tier-1 stapled securities programme was approved by Bank Negara on March 16 and the Securities Commission on May 4.

The programme proposes the issuance of non-cumulative perpetual capital securities of up to RM5bil in nominal value to be issued by PBB which are stapled to an equivalent in nominal value of subordinated notes to be issued by a unit of PBB.

The group told Bursa Malaysia yesterday the subordinated notes would be issued by unit PBFIN Bhd.

The capital securities portion of the issuance will qualify as tier-1 capital of PBB and the PBB group under Bank Negara capital adequacy regulations.

The tenure of the capital securities is perpetual while the subordinated notes have a maturity of 50 years due on June 5, 2059 and the first optional redemption date of June 5, 2019.

The distribution rate and the interest rate payable for this issuance of capital securities and the subordinated notes are both at 7.5% per annum, payable semi-annually.

PBB said the stapled securities are issued at par. The proceeds from the subordinated notes will be used by PBFIN to on-lend to PBB.

The placement exercise, with an initial launch size of RM1bil, had been upsized to RM1.2bil due to increased investor demand, said PBB.

Investors that participated in the offering included insurance companies, asset management companies, private bankers, government agencies and financial institutions, it said.

* Is this wat we call the money market?