Daily Edge 01122014

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This digi
FBM KLCI 1820.89
9.02
KLCI FUTURES 1816.50
16.00
STI 3350.50
9.54
RM/USD 3.3810
CPO RM2170.00
29.00
OIL US$70.15
2.43
GOLD US$1175.10
22.00
PP 9974/08/2013 (032820)
PENINSULAR MALAYSIA RM1.50
MONDAY DECEMBER 1, 2014 ISSUE 1850/2014
FINANCIAL
DAILY
MAKE
BETTER
DECISIONS
www.theedgemarkets.com
Italian automaker eyes women

21 F O C U S
6 HOME BUSINESS
Protasco saga
set to continue
6 HOME BUSINESS
SapuraKencana
to restore syariahcompliant status
in next review
8 HOME BUSINESS
Firefly grows amid

plans to shrink
MAS operations
14 H O M E
Fresh elections
expected for MIC
19 F E AT U R E
Cheap oil worsens

Asian debtors
lowflation woes
Targeted fuel subsidy delayed but

Datasonics prospects intact
4 HOME BUSINESS
M ON DAY DEC EM B ER 1 , 2 0 14 TH EEDGE FI N AN C I AL DAI LY
For breaking news updates go to

ON EDGE T V
An artists impression of the

EcoMajestic Show Village
which spans 30.3 acres.
GAB cautiously
optimistic on
current year
outlook
Protascos
Chong reigns
supreme in
boardroom
tussle
BY J E F F R E Y TA N
Ecoworlds first show

village unveiled
Crown jewel of RM11.14b EcoMajestic project in Semenyih
The Edge Communications Sdn Bhd

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Petronas urges
govt to tighten
belt amid
possible lower
dividend
KUALA LUMPUR: Property developer Eco World Development Group

Bhd unveiled its first show village in
the Klang Valley on Saturday at its
EcoMajestic township development
in Semenyih, Selangor.
EcoMajestic is EcoWorlds first
flagship township in the Klang Valley. The show village saw over 1,500
people turn up for the event.
The team has been looking forward to this day for a long time since
the project was first conceptualised
more than a year ago, president and
chief executive officer Datuk Chang
Khim Wah said in a statement.
We can finally showcase this
masterpiece that we have been talking about, which reflects the teams
vast experience in developing townships for the past 25 years as well
as new elements that incorporate
our vision of creating a township

of tomorrow and beyond, he said.
The EcoMajestic Show Village
spans 30.3 acres (12.26ha) and is the
crown jewel of the RM11.14 billion
EcoMajestic development.
The show village consists of the
EcoWorld Gallery, a 5.37-acre Swan
Lake and a collection of 10 different
show houses spread across 1.19
acres of land.
The EcoWorld Gallery features
a 30,000 sq ft Straits Era-inspired
sales gallery and office space. Its voluminous ceiling height of 8m creates an immediate feeling of grandeur with function rooms, a lounge
area, a coffee corner and a special
theatre room. Green features include
a rainwater harvesting system, LED
lighting and a design that maximises
on natural sunlight.
Guests, who comprised EcoMajestic purchasers and their families,

were treated to a 3D holographic
launch show that was projected onto
the middle of Swan Lake, using mist
as a canvas to screen a three-minute video.
The video portrayed the essence
of the EcoMajestic development
and concluded with a message of
appreciation from the management
and team of EcoWorld.
EcoMajestic, which was first
launched in May this year, comprises terraced houses, bungalow
lots, cluster homes and semi-detached houses.
An exciting upcoming launch to
watch out for is the Merrydale Precinct this month. It comprises 586
terraced homes with built-ups from
2,173 sq ft priced from RM688,000.
Market bearish on euro oil services

BY F IONA M AHARG -BRAVO
MADRID: Oil service companies

are in a bad place. The sharp drop
in oil prices to US$72 (RM243.36)
a barrel has coupled with slowing
capital expenditure among oil
majors. Petrofac, whose shares
have fallen 30% in a week, has
fared especially badly. Seadrill
is another.
There are companies airlines
for instance which stand to gain
from lower fuel costs. Oil majors,
meanwhile, will suffer if oil prices
stay low. Service companies share
ratings reflect the pain, but some
now look a bargain.
Services companies clients, the
oil majors, are under pressure to
improve returns and are squeezing costs. Slowing capex means
less demand for equipment and
more competition, lowering prices.
The offshore drilling market
looks especially vulnerable, given
the glut of rigs. Seadrill, a rig operator, has suspended its dividend
due to a slump in offshore drilling
rig market rates and more difficult
financing conditions. Its shares
are down 50% this year. This looks
overdone. Seadrill has 74% of its
floating rigs contracted in 2016,
limiting the scope for further nasty surprises.
See related story on Page 19
Elsewhere, some construction
and engineering firms such as
Technip have robust order books.
Bernstein expects Technips earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation to grow 12%
per year on average from 2013 to
2016. After the sell-off, its shares
are trading at less than 10 times
forward earnings. Around 60% to
70% of Tecnicas Reunidas backlog is in downstream, according
to estimates by Kepler Cheuvreux.
Like others, it counts national oil

companies who arent cutting
capex budgets as clients.
UK-listed Petrofac, whose shares
slumped 30% this week, has a relatively resilient core engineering
and construction business. The
bulk of the problems lie in its riskier
integrated energy services, where
the company invests and operates
projects on behalf of clients.
The bearishness may be justified
if the oil price drops further and
stays low. In any event, investing
in oil service stocks is not for the
faint-hearted. Even before the latest
bout of volatility, Bernstein reckons
the European sector saw 78 swings
of more than 15% in a week since
2003 until June this year. Shares
in the sector last hit a major rout
six years ago when oil sank below
US$40 a barrel. They eventually
rebounded strongly. Now, brave
investors might take the plunge.
Reuters
KUALA LUMPUR: Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas), which contributes

to almost 40% of the national coffer,
is urging the government to tighten its belt as the national oil firm is
facing the possibility of less earnings
in light of falling crude oil prices.
Petronas president and group
chief executive officer Tan Sri Shamsul Azhar Abbas believes that the
price range of Brent crude oil at
US$70 (RM236.60) to US$75 may
be a new era, until the end of next
year, if not for the next two years.
Based on the new oil price assumptions, he said Petronas is looking to cut as much as 15% to 20%
of its capital expenditure (capex)
budget for next year.
He also called on the government
to be prudent on its spending as the
state oil firm has to safeguard its
growth plans.
If we are to maintain our dividend contribution or higher, it would
significantly impact our growth
plans, said the Petronas chief at the
firms third quarter results briefing
last Friday. We would need to channel most of our income into capex.
This means we have to be disciplined
in our cash management, including
our dividend policy.
It is prudent for all parties, especially the government, to relook and
rebalance the budget policy against
this backdrop. If the oil price is to
remain at the current level, it would
mean a much lower revenue contribution (from Petronas) to the government. Lower oil price will affect
the amount of tax and royalty to the
government, Shamsul said.
In view of the low crude oil price,
he said Petronas will not dish out new
risk sharing contracts unless the prices of oil go above US$80 per barrel.
He said companies that have
plans to venture into marginal oil
fields can keep on dreaming. At
this point in time, at the level of
above US$65, we are okay. But below that, it is bad, he added.
Petronas pre-tax profit fell 12% to
RM22.8 billion in the third quarter
ended Sept 30, 2014, against RM25.9
billion in the previous corresponding quarter. Its revenue also slipped
1% to RM80.4 billion from RM81.4
billion last year.
Petronas executive vice president
and group chief financial officer
Datuk George Ratilal explained that
the lower third quarter performance
came on lower crude price, unfavourable exchange rate, and lower
liquefied natural gas sales volume.
Meanwhile, Shamsul expects Petronas to report considerably lower
earnings in the fourth quarter compared with the third quarter.
On Petronas final investment
decision (FID) on the LNG export
terminal in British Columbia, Canada, Shamsul reiterated that the state
oil firm will announce its decision
by year-end.
It is still too early to approve the
FID, he said.
4 HOME BUSINESS
Domestic demand to
drive AnnJoos growth
Looks to AEC next year to further expand its business presence abroad
BY C H ESTERTAY
KUALA LUMPUR: AnnJooResources Bhd, whose nine-month 2014 results came in above analystsexpectations, seesdomestic consumption
driving its growth going forward.
Steel demand has never been as
strong since I entered into the steel
industry in 2000, group managing
director Datuk Lim Hong Thye said
in an interview with The Edge Financial Daily.
According to the Malaysian Iron
and Steel Industry Federations outlook report, steel demand in Malaysia broke the 10-million tonne mark
for the first time in 2013.
He noted that this is evident
after the recent Budget 2015 announcement, which sees next years
spending focusing on infrastructure
projects, improving public transport network and creating more
affordable housing.
However, effectiveness in addressing the excessively high level
of China steel imports will remain
the biggest challenge facing the
industry. We hope a series of trade
remedies to be taken by both the
Malaysian and Chinese governments will address this issue starting this month, he said.
The combination of a competitive
environment and the dumping of
cheap steel products from Chinas
mills has depressed steel prices and

profit margins in recent years. The
Ministry of International Trade and
Industry (Miti) recently decided to
impose a 120-day provisional anti-dumping duties rangingbetween
3.15% and 29.37% on hot rolled coils
(HRC) originating or exported from
China, Indonesia and South Korea.
This is a good sign, but we
would appreciate if the authorities
could expedite the imposition of
anti-dumping duties not only on
HRC, but also other affected steel
products, said Lim.
Still, the time taken by the Malaysian authorities to act against dumping actions can be attributed to its
compliance with the World Trade
Organizations (WTO) procedure.
Under the WTO procedure, a
petition needs to be supported by
at least 12 months of import data [to
prove surging dumping activities]
and 12 months of audited account
[to prove financial injury], said Lim.
Moreover, completing these reports would need at least another two to three months before the
submission of petition. By the time
Miti accepts the petition, it will take
another 30 days to decide whether
to investigate or not into the matter.
Hence, it will take at least 15
months from the occurrence of
dumping activities to the launch
of a probe into the imposition of
anti-dumping duties, and during that period not many industry

players would have sufficient cash
flow to withstand such adverse
situation, he said.
Lim said the local steel industry
needs government support, not in
terms of production, but to ensure
a level playing field and encourage
local demand.
The government should have
a more comprehensive policy to
address the issues facing the local
steel industry, which includes the
upstream and downstream players, he said.
AnnJoocurrently sources its iron
ore the main raw material to make
steel from local miners to feed its
blast furnace, but Lim pointed out
that the local iron ore mining industry is fragmented and lacks the
necessary criteria to ensure longterm sustainability.
Asked ifAnnJoois looking at
venturingupstreaminto miningiron
ore, Lim said the management has
been evaluating the potential but
prudence will be the rule of thumb
before any action is taken.
Not only because that it (iron
ore mining industry) is not properly developed, but the business
is also not something that we are
very familiar with compared to steel
manufacturing. Therefore, we prefer to be prudent before any action
is taken, Lim remarked.

Meanwhile, Ann Joo is banking
on the implementation of the Asean
Economic Community (AEC) next
year to further expand its business
presence abroad, particularly in
Indonesia.
We have high hopes of the AEC.
We hope that it will facilitate freer flow of finished steel products,
otherwise we will have to set up a
downstream operation (rolling mill)
in Indonesia [to penetrate the market there], Lim said.
With further trade liberalisation,
Lim believes that local long steel
producers of billets, steel bars and
wire rods will benefit.
Steel demand in the region is
still growing, especially in Indonesia.
With a new president and its large
population, coupled with the developments that are coming in, we
see tremendous growth potential for
steel requirements there, he said.
Nevertheless, Ann Joo is aware
that the legal and business environment in Indonesia is different from
that in Malaysia and is seeking joint
ventures with local partners there.
We need to find a suitable location [for the rolling mill] and partner, especially those involved in
manufacturing activities. Trading
in steel products is a lot easier because it does not have a sunk cost
and one can pull out anytime, but
Lim: Eectiveness in addressing the

high level of China steel imports will
remain the biggest challenge facing the
industry. Photo by Chu Juck Seng
not for manufacturing, said Lim.

For the nine months ended Sept
30, 2014 (9MFY14), Ann Joos core
net profit grew 28% to RM33.2 million on higher sales volume despite
depressed steel average selling prices. Operating margins improved
from 2.2% to 4.3% due to improved
productivity in iron, steel and rolling processes.
In a report dated Nov 27, Kenanga Research said Ann Joos earnings
are poised to return to a growth
phase with expected FY14/FY15
growth of 13% to 28%.
Valuation-wise, we believe
that Ann Joo is undervalued as it
is currently trading at 0.53 times
price-to-book value (PBV), which
is close to -1.0 standard deviation
on historical PBV which is unjustified considering its earnings improvements, it said, maintaining
an outperform call on the stock
with a target price of RM1.47.
Shares in Ann Joo closed three
sen or 2.59% higher at RM1.19 last
Friday, giving it a market capitalisation of RM595.72 million. Year-todate, the stock has gained 16.67%.
Fuel subsidy job delayed but Datasonics prospects intact

BY KAMARUL ANWAR
KUALA LUMPUR: Datasonic Group

Bhd may see its chance to win the
coveted targeted fuel subsidy job
from the government temporarily
delayed, but some analysts and industry insiders think its growth and
prospects are still intact.
With or without the subsidy job,
the group, which provides the government with state-of-the-art identity cards and various information
communications and technology
(ICT) solutions, will continue to
pursue its five-year business plan,
said a source. And that, surprisingly, includes a venture into the telecommunications industry.
It is looking to win government
projects to bring broadband connection to underserved areas. The
contract value for the first phase
alone is in hundreds of millions of
ringgit. But of course, this is only in
the pipeline and nothing is concrete
yet, said the source.
He further revealed that Datasonics five-year business plan includes
the ramping up of its production of
personalised identification cards
and closed-circuit television cameras, apart from the healthcare sector.
Datasonic also plans to venture

into the electric vehicle (EV) business. On Sept 26, it announced the
purchase of a 30% stake in newly
formed Electric Vehicle Automotive
(M) Sdn Bhd through which it intends
to develop EVs specifically designed
for tropical megacities in Malaysia.
While Datasonic is pondering
numerous business opportunities,
its main income contributor is still
the contract from the Home Affairs
Ministry for the provision of polycarbonate cards for MyKads.
In its latest second quarter ended
Sept 30, 2014 (2QFY15), Datasonic
posted a net profit of RM9.39 million on revenue of RM53.49 million. No year-on-year comparison
was given as the group recently
changed its financial year-end to
March from December. Compared
with the preceding quarter, Datasonics 2QFY15s net profit was just
a third of 1QFY15s RM27.704 million, when it reported a revenue of
RM71.56 million.
Are the weaker financials a sign
that Datasonics order book is depleting or that demand for MyKad
has waned?
Datasonic deputy managing director Chew Ben Ben gave an as-
surance this is not the case. He said

the significant quarter-on-quarter
drop was only due to the National
Registration Departments (NRD)
decision to delay the purchase of
MyKads to the current quarter.
The NRD ordered only one million out of the 10 million MyKad
contract and delayed the purchase
of 10 million consumables to this
[current] quarter. Nothing wrong
[with the lower orders]. [The NRD]
just postponed the orders to this
quarter and the following quarters,
he toldThe Edge Financial Daily.
RHB Research analyst Kong Heng

Siong said Datasonics 2QFY15 results were within expectations as
the three months ended September were usually a weaker period.
We estimate that Datasonic is
currently sitting on an outstanding
order book of nine million MyKad
copies plus six million national
passports photo pages. This would
continue to drive its earnings momentum for the remainder of FY15,
he said in a note last Friday.
RHB Research maintained its
earnings forecast for Datasonic and
kept its target price at RM2.10 per
share. This implied a whopping
87.5% upside to Datasonics share
price of RM1.12 last Friday.
The research house admitted that
Datasonics risks lie ina prolonged
weakness in the global crude oil
price recovery, apart from any slowdown in MyKad orders from the
government. Last week, the counter
lost 14.5% of its market value. Jittery
investors were not taking chances
on the stock as there seemed to be
a possibility that the government
might not be introducing the much
vaunted multi-tiered fuel subsidy
system as global crude oil prices have
gone below the set retail prices at
Malaysian petrol pumps last month.

Putrajayas announcement that
prices of RON95 and diesel will be
dictated by a managed float system
beginning today, similar to that of
RON97 petrol, was an indication.
To recap, Datasonics recent
growth story was based on it being a favourite to win the government contract via its 30%-owned
associate Fuelsubs House Sdn Bhd
to implement the targeted fuel
subsidy system using the MyKad.
An industry source said the business could be lucrative, as the winner will collect either a percentage
from every fuel transaction, petrol
station operator, or both.
There are nearly 4,000 petrol
stations in Malaysia that will need
to install this technology, with 13.8
million individuals eligible for fuel
subsidy. There will be 1.2 billion
transactions of RON95 petrol and
150 million transactions of diesel
annually, he said.
The source said the government
has indicated to bidders for the
fuel subsidy job that it will reintroduce subsidies should oil prices
rise again. But the government did
not indicate the price level that will
trigger the return of subsidised fuel.
6 HOME BUSINESS
BP Plastics to boost
capacity ahead of demand
SapuraKencana
to reinstate
its syariahcompliant
status in May
BY A H MA D N AQ IB ID R IS
& MA D IH A F UA D
To invest RM13 million in a new multilayer stretch film machine

BY WEI LY NN TA NG
KUALA LUMPUR:BP Plastics Holding Bhd, whose revenue from the

export market has been increasing,
will invest RM13 million in a new
multilayer stretch film machine to
boost its capacity in anticipation of
higher export demand on the back
of a recovery in global demand for
manufacturing.
Its managing director Lim Chun
Yow said the new machine, which
will be operational in the middle of
next year, will aid the groups continuous focus on export sales as its
growth driver for the financial year
endingDec 31, 2015(FY15).
We are investing in a new machine to cater for new types of stretch
film, which are thinner and of stronger
quality. They also fetch better pricing
and margins, Lim toldThe Edge Financial Dailyin an email interview.
Lim also said the new machine will
increase the groups stretch film name
plate capacity by about 20% to 25%,
which will help to mitigate increased
pressure on the groups fixed costs.
For the nine months ended Sept
30, 2014 (9MFY14), BP Plastics saw
its export revenue expanding to
RM167.1 million from RM132.8 million a year ago, accounting for 78% of
the groups revenue, up from 75.7%.
Lim said the group is targeting Asia
as its primary market as it believes that
it will remain the fastest growing region in the world over the next decade.
BP Plastics net profit for 9MFY14
rose 4.8% to RM7.83 million from

RM7.47 million a year ago, while
revenue increased 22% to RM214.28
million from RM175.64 million in
9MFY13.
This was despite weaker thirdquarter results, which Lim attributed to short-term moderation of
demand and higher operating costs.
With the softening of polyethylene
prices and our groups continuing efforts on cost-optimisation efforts, we
hope to achieve a double-digit growth
in top-line and bottom line for FY15
endingDec 31, barring any unforeseen circumstances, Lim shared.
BP Plastics was highlighted as
one of Insider Asias stock picks on
Nov 6. The research firm pointed
out that plastic packaging companies are seen as beneficiaries of
falling crude oil prices the cost
of raw materials such as resin are
closely related to that of oil.
The Platts Global Low-Density
Polyethylene Price Index showed
thatprices of low-density polyethylene were down 2% in October to
US$1,604 (RM5,426) per tonne, its
lowest year-to-date.
Lim said the group is targeting Asia as

its primary market as it believes that it
will remain the fastest growth region in
the world over the next decade.
The Edge Research rates BP Plastics a 2.05 out of 3 on fundamentals,

and 2.4 out of 3 in terms of valuation attractiveness.
BP Plastics, which manufactures
polyethylene film and bag, recorded
its highest revenue of RM241 million to date in FY13, representing a
9.4% growth from FY12. Net profit
came in 4.6% higher at RM10.1 million compared with RM9.7 million.
Revenue and profits in the past
years had been rather volatile, though,
with margins decreasing year-onyear. The company used to rake in
10% to 11% in pre-tax margins in
2009 and 2010, but such margins have
since come down to 5.7% in 2013.
Lim acknowledged that to achieve
double-digit pre-tax margins in the
future is very challenging for the man-
ufacturing industry in Malaysia, in the

face of rising operating costs.
BP Plastics net cash position
stood at RM36.2 million, with zero
borrowings as atSept 30, 2014.
On plans for the cash, Lim cited usage such as investments in
technology machines, for working
capital, not discounting any future
potential mergers and acquisitions
opportunities.
The group, which has a target
to distribute a minimum 40% of its
profit after tax as dividends, paid
out RM9 million in dividends last
year, equivalent to an 89% payout.
Based on its dividend payout of
5 sen per share in FY13, and closing
share price of 81 sen last Friday,
the stock yields 6.2%. BP Plastics
traded between 64 sen and 96 sen
in the past one year.
Meanwhile, based on its earnings per share of 5.61 sen in FY13,
it trades at a historical price-earnings ratio (PER) of 14.4 times; and
a current PER of 13.8 times based
on Bloomberg data.
This compares with its peers Scientex Bhd and Thong Guan Industries
Bhd which are trading at current PER
of 11.25 times and 7.9 times respectively, according to Bloomberg data.
We are the top three stretch
film manufacturers in Malaysia and
we are one of the key polyethylene
film manufacturers in Malaysia.
Our closer competitors in Malaysia are Scientex and Thong Guan,
said Lim.
Protasco saga settocontinue

BY GHO C H EE Y UAN
KUALA LUMPUR:The shareholders tussle in ProtascoBhd is set to

continue as its two ousted non-executivedirectors Tey Por Yee and
Ooi Kock Aun say they want to take
control of the company.
This is definitely our plan going
forward, Ooi told The Edge Financial Daily over the phone after the
duo failed to remove the companys
group managing director Datuk Seri
Chong Ket Pen from the board at
the EGM last Friday.
We want to take control of this
company [Protasco]. It is a good
company and the infrastructure
contracts they have in [hand] are
good for investors, said Ooi.
Currently, Tey and Ooi, along
with their investment vehicle Kingdom Seekers Ventures Sdn Bhd,
collectively own a 23% interest in
Protasco.
In the other faction, Chong controls a 21.86% stake inProtasco.
It would cost the duo about
RM49 million to bump up their
shareholdings to 32%, slightly be-
low the 33.3% threshold for a mandatory general offer.

It is understood thatProtascos
current infrastructure order book
stood at RM700 million which is
expected to keep the company busy
over the next few years.
We have already engaged a
team of property professionals and
they are ready to manage the company once we have taken over, said
Ooi. Everyone should look out for
what will happen next, he added.
As of last Friday,Protascoinched
down one sen to close at RM1.63,
translating into a market capitalisation of RM546.49 million. Protascos
issued share capital is about 335.27
million shares.
Three extraordinary general
meetings one of which was adjourned were called in the span
of two days between last Wednesday and Friday by both sides to sack
each other from the board.
Instead of achieving their intention to remove Chong from his
post, the duo was ousted, with effect from last Thursday. Tey and
Ooi did not cast their votes in the
EGMs as they deemed they were

riddled with irregularities.
Chong had also said he was
planning to increase his shareholdings, should he have the extra money to do so.
The company is still financially strong and has good prospects
ahead. The cash flow of the group
was not affected, despite recording a loss to impairment on the
purchase consideration from PT
Anglo Slavic Utama (PT ASU) and
the advance made to PT ASU totalling US$27 million (RM91 million), he said.
Furthermore, for the cumulative
nine months ended Sept 30 of financial year 2014 (9MFY14), we recorded RM42 million in operating profit,
compared with the RM48 million we
recorded in full FY13, he said.
When pressed on the possibility
of a prolonged shareholders fight,
Chong replied: I dont want to predict. To me it [boardroom tussle] is
closed and I dont want to trouble
the shareholders again.
We are now focusing on getting
back to business and ensuring that
we deliver the strong performance

that our shareholders have come to
expect from us, he added.
Chong reiterated that his immediate priority is to recover the
US$27 million that Protasco paid
for a botched investment in an Indonesian oil and gas play.
We are seeking legal help to
recover the money and I am confident that we can recover it, said
Chong, but declined to comment
whether the money will be distributed back to shareholders or will
be earmarked for other purposes.
The boardroom tussle have been
headlining news reports, but minority shareholders, when asked,
merely shrugged off the whole affair
as just a rich mans fight.
We hope the company will just
resolve all problems as soon as
possible to prevent it from damaging the companys image further,
some said.
They also remain unfazed by
the boardroom fight, citing that
the company still has healthy order book of RM700 million in infrastructure projects.
KUALA LUMPUR: Upstream oil

and gas (O&G) player SapuraKencana Petroleum Bhd is taking
steps to reinstate its syariah-compliant status after being omitted
from last Thursdays list of syariah-compliant stocks by the Securities Commission Malaysias
(SC) Shariah Advisory Council.
Sources close to the company told The Edge Financial Daily
that the company will be back
in the list in the next review by
the SC next May.
Steps are being taken by
SapuraKencana to restore the
company as one that meets
the SCs syariah-compliance
requirements on debt by the end
of its financial year Jan 31, 2015.
As such, it is expected to be included as a syariah-compliant
stock in the SCs next review in
May 2015, said the source.
SapuraKencana was excluded in the latest list of syariah-compliant stocks as it did
not meet one of three criteria,
which requires that conventional debt does not exceed
two thirds of a companys total
assets. SapuraKencanas borrowings have been completely
conventional debt as Malaysian
banks do not have large enough
US dollar Islamic products or
the limit to support SapuraKencana, said the source. This fact
has been explained to the SC
by a major lender, he added.
The group has been working
with 14 banks over the past six
months and has got approvals
to convert their required portions into syariah-compliant debt
to meet SCs requirements. The
debt conversion is expected to be
completed before the end of its financial year endingJan 31, 2015.
Ahead of the lists announcement, SapuraKencanas share
price was already trending down
as funds have been trimming
their stakes in the company.
After the announcement, it fell
13 sen or 4.33% to RM3.09. Last
Friday, the stock tumbled another 29 sen or 9.39% to close at
RM2.80. The syariah exclusion,
coupled with a dampened outlook for the O&G sector as oil
prices dropped after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries meeting, had significantly impacted the stock.
Year-to-date, SapuraKencanas share price has declined
42.73%. Comparatively, the KLCI
has only shed 2.47% in the same
period. In the SCs latest syariah-compliant stocks list, 30 stocks
were removed while 40 counters
were added, resulting in a total of
673 stocks. Other notable companies that have been removed
from the list include Chemical
Co of Malaysia Bhd, Shell Refining Co (Federation of Malaya)
Bhd, Perdana Petroleum Bhd
and Puncak Niaga Holdings Bhd.
8 HOME BUSINESS
Mesiniaga to return
to profitability in
FY15, says MD
2014 is its rebuilding and transition year
BY SU L H I A ZMA N
KUALA LUMPUR: Information and

communications technology (ICT)
provider Mesiniaga Bhd is optimistic
it will return to profitability in financial year ending Dec 31, 2015 (FY15),
with new business initiatives and
cost-cutting measures implemented
throughout this year, said its managing director Mohamed Fitri Abdullah.
I see 2014 as a rebuilding and
transition year for us as we implement new business initiatives to improve overall business fundamentals, customer engagement, costs,
as well as enhance our capabilities
and overall competitiveness. It is a
challenging year. But I am optimistic
our transformation efforts will bear
fruits next year, Fitri told The Edge
Financial Daily.
It is Fitris first media interview
since being appointed as Mesiniagas
head honcho on Jan 1. A computer
science graduate, he was previously senior vice president and head of
business services at telecommunications giant Maxis Bhd and Asian
regional director for consulting and
system integration for the communications industry at Hewlett-Packard.
Mesiniaga slipped to a net loss
of RM7.64 million on revenue of
RM281.01 million in FY13 on lower
sales revenue from the public sector,
in which it saw an average drop of
23% in revenue in the second half of
that year. In its third quarter ended
Sept 30, 2014 (3QFY14) results out
last Thursday 2014, the group con-
tinued its losing streak with a net loss

of RM4.99 million, compared with
a profit of RM956,000 in 3QFY13,
due to lower revenue which was
down 19.95% to RM60.21 million
from RM75.22 million, primarily due
to lower contributions from its public and government-linked companies sectors. This was exacerbated by
additional costs incurred to ensure
delayed projects were successfully
delivered.
The significantly weaker quarterly result caused the companys nine
months period (9MFY14) to register
a net loss of RM10.33 million, compared to a net profit of RM2.48 million in 9MFY13.
Our delayed projects are now on
track for completion this year. Going
into 2015, we have an estimated order book of RM300 million, about
1.3 times our annual revenue. We
will need to improve this to about 1.5
times while increasing our recurring
revenues, Fitri said.
Mesiniaga had in June and August this year announced that it has
clinched two major contracts from
Telekom Malaysia Bhd worth a combined RM222.91 million, which will
last for five years.
On its topline growth plan for
FY15, Fitri expects Mesiniagas revenue to climb into the higher single
digit from this year, with primary
contributions from the telco industry
and ICT services business.
Fitri said Mesiniaga will continue to strengthen its core infrastructure-related services, while also
Fitri is optimistic transformation eorts

will bear fruit next year. Photo by Mohd
Izwan Mohd Nazam
focusing on vertical solutions to

expand its customer base into industries like financial services, property
development, and oil and gas.
Another key focus area for us
will be project management skills,
software development, and the development of new technical capabilities for new technology trends like
cloud computing, mobility, big data
and social media, he said.
Fitri added Mesiniaga is also making further inroads with its Smarter Development Solutions for the
property sector.
It is also building up its overall
mobility solutions suite, beginning
with an end-to-end mobile workforce
solution in which it hopes to secure
new customers.
Fitri said the vertical and mobility
solutions will have higher margins of
between 30% and 40%, while he sees
margins for ICT infrastructure-related services to drop over time.
C O M PA N I E S I N T H E N E W S
Instacom banking on bid for 400

telecommunications towers
KUALA LUMPUR: Based on news
flow and corporate announcements last Friday, companies
that may be in focus today could
include: Instacom Group Bhd,
Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd,
Mudajaya Group Bhd, Mulpha
International Bhd and Datasonic
Group Bhd.
Instacom reported a net loss of
RM2.02 million in its third quarter
ended Sept 30, 2014 (3QFY14),
from a net profit of RM7.82 million a year earlier. Revenue for
the quarter more than halved to
RM11.81 million, from RM36.44
million in 3QFY13.
The weaker results are due to
lower margins from its civil, mechanical and electrical works segment. It also remains obliged to
service its fixed cost despite the reduction in revenue, which resulted in costs out-running revenue.
Moving forward, it is banking
on a tender worth about RM300
million for 400 telecommunication towers that will be called by
the Malaysian Communication
and Multimedia Commission,
and expected to be awarded by
early 2015.
Carlsberg saw its net profit
grow 46.4% to RM56.28 million in
3QFY14, up from RM38.44 million
a year ago, thanks to increased
revenue, in particular from Singapore, improved price and product mix, as well as effective cost
efficiency measures.
The beer maker said its 3QFY14
revenue was 16.2% higher at
RM409.32 million, compared with
RM352.12 million a year before.
The stronger revenue was attributed to a 3.8% revenue growth
from its Malaysian operation and
a 66.1% revenue growth from Singapore.
Its nine months period
(9MFY14) net profit grew 24% to
RM148.65 million from RM119.88
million a year earlier. Its revenue
also increased 3.8% to RM1.211

billion, from RM1.167 billion last
year.
Mudajayas net profit slumped
97% to RM1.07 million in 3QFY14,
from RM40.03 million a year earlier, dragged down by its construction segment.
Revenue for the quarter fell to
RM208.66 million, from RM391.46
million in 3QFY13.
The group said its 2014 performance is expected to be weak
due to, among others, deferment
of some major projects which it
is pursuing. Its 9MFY14 net profit
was RM29.48 million, 77% lower
than the RM128.27 million recorded in 9MFY13. Revenue fell
to RM854.06 million, down 29%
from RM1.2 billion.
Mulphas net profit for 3QFY14
jumped over four-fold to RM44.05
million from RM8.67 million in the
previous corresponding quarter,
mainly due to higher contributions from its property and investment segments.
Revenue for 3QFY14 also
jumped 67.75% to RM296.8 million from RM176.93 million in
3QFY13, boosted by higher revenue from its Leisure Farm project in Iskandar Malaysia and a
gain on disposal of its Raintrees
Residences.
Meanwhile, its 9MFY14 showed
a net profit of RM48.97 million
compared to a net loss of RM74.23
million, while revenue was up
18.1% to RM601.53 million from
RM509.4 million. Datasonic posted
a sharp 66% fall in its net profit for
2QFY14 to RM9.39 million, against
RM27.7 million achieved in the
preceding quarter ended June 30.
Revenue came in at RM53.49
million, 25% lower compared
with RM71.5 million recorded in
1QFY14.
For 6MFY14, its net profit stood
at RM49.52 million, while revenue
was RM176.88 million.
Firefly grows amid plans to shrink MAS operations

MOHD IZWAN MOHD NAZAM
BY C H ESTER TAY
KUALA LUMPUR: As Malaysia Airlines (MAS) looks to shrink its operations to return to profitability,
its turboprop arm Flyfirefly Sdn
Bhd, on the other hand, has been
expanding the size of its fleet and
workforce to meet surging demand
in short-haul domestic routes.
According to Firefly chief executive officer Ignatius Ong Ming
Choy (pic), its staff are unlikely to
be affected by a potential plan to
shed 6,000 jobs at its parent company MAS under Khazanah Nasional
Bhds 12-point plan to rescue the
ailing national carrier.
Our business is expanding. Next
year, we will probably grow our
workforce by another 5% to 8%,
faster than the 5% growth rate this
year, Ong told The Edge Financial
Daily in an interview.
Asked if Firefly would consider

absorbing some of the MAS staff
that will be laid off, he said the job
vacancies at the airline are always
open to applications and awarded
based on meritocracy.
Firefly aims to carry 2.2 million
passengers this year, up 29% from
1.7 million in 2013.
For 2015, we target to increase
the volume of passengers by another 20%, said Ong.

Ong declined to reveal revenue
forecasts for Fireflys growth this
year and 2015, except to say that its
revenue will grow in tandem with
the increase in passengers, aided
by a lower fuel price.
According to a filing with the
Companies Commission of Malaysia, Firefly registered a 3.1%
increase in revenue of RM365.23
million for the financial year ended
Dec 31, 2013 (FY13) from RM354.37
million the previous year.
Its operating profit for FY13,
however, fell 79% to RM13.59 million from RM66.21 million in FY12.
The fall was mainly due to it not
recording any foreign currency exchange gain in FY13, compared with
RM37.81 million of such gain in FY12.
This resulted in Firefly posting a net loss of RM9.1 million in
FY13 compared with a net profit of

RM40.71 million in FY12.
Fuel expense is the single-largest
component of Fireflys total costs, accounting for 24% or RM87.44 million
of its total expenditure in FY13.
Its load factor currently hovers
above 75%, mainly contributed by
competitive pricing, marketing efforts and higher capacity.
Firefly had previously made an
additional order for 20 ATR 72-600
turboprops to expand its capacity,
of which four have been delivered.
The new aircraft delivery brings its
fleet size to 16.
Aircraft maintenance cost, which
is the second-largest component
of Fireflys total costs, stood at
RM75.26 million or 20.77% of total expenditure in FY13.
Next year, we will take delivery of
another four to five new ATRs, which
we will use to reinforce and strength-
en our existing network in the peninsula, probably by adding another

two new destinations, said Ong.
Ong is also eager to increase the
airlines flight frequency from Subang,
Ipoh, Penang and Kuantan to Singapore from 10 times daily currently.
Ive been applying for more slots
for Changi, but unfortunately this is
blocked by the current congestion
at the airport. So thats the challenge
we have at the Singapore side where
there are limited slots for turboprop
operators like Firefly, he said.
Nevertheless, Ong said the management is assessing flying to other
destinations in Sumatra, in addition
to Batam, Banda Aceh, Pekanbaru
and Medan, all in Indonesia.
Ong said Firefly plans to boost
ancillary revenue from RM15 per
passenger to RM20 next year. Ancillary income accounts for 10% to
20% of the airlines total revenue.
10 ST O C KS W I T H M O M E N T U M
M ON DAY DEC EM B ERR 1 , 2 0 14 TH EEDGE F I N AN C I AL DAI LY
This column is an analysis done by Asia Analytica Sdn Bhd on the fundamentals of stocks with momentum that were picked up using proprietary algorithm by
Anticipatory Analytics Sdn Bhd and that rst appeared at www.theedgemarkets.com. Please exercise your own judgment or seek professional advice for your specic
investment needs. We are not responsible for your investment decisions. Our shareholders, directors and employees may have positions in any of the stocks mentioned.
CAB Cakaran Corporation Bhd

POULTRY companies have long been viewed
as unexciting with volatile earnings following
a series of epidemics in the last few years.
As a result, poultry stocks have not attracted much attention until this year, as an
earnings recovery, underperforming stock
prices, low valuations and merger and acquisition (M&A) activities spurred interest.
CAB Cakaran Corporation saw flattish
share price performance prior to 2014, but
has performed very well this year on the
back of improving earnings and speculation
of M&A activities.
CAB recorded a 13.9% rise in revenue for
FY September 2013 to RM609.0 million. Net
profit jumped to RM11.9 million from losses
in the previous year, although it included a
fair value adjustment gain on investment
properties worth RM7.1 million.
For 3QFY2014 however, although CAB
posted a 13.1% increase in revenue to
RM170.4 million, it posted a small RM10,000
net loss, reflecting the industrys volatility

amid slim margins.
The company has net gearing of 65% and
gross cash of RM16.6 million as at 3QFY2014,
with a market capitalization of RM144.72
million.
CAB may be attracting interest due to earlier reports that the US-based Cargill group
was interested in acquiring a controlling stake
in the company. Recently, another poultry
player, Lay Hong Bhd, also saw a take-over
offer from QL Resources Bhd.
Fundamentally, CABs valuations are
considerably lower than its peers.
At RM1.10, the stock trades at a priceto-book value of 0.99 times and 12-month
trailing P/E of 9.65 times. By comparison, Lay
Hong Bhd is trading at a price-to-book ratio
of 1.36 times and a 12-month trailing P/E of
12.53 times while CCK Consolidated Bhd
is trading at P/BV of 0.96 with a 12-month
trailing P/E of 9.91 times.
Valuation factor *
2.40
Fundamental factor **
0.45
Trailing 12m P/E (x)
9.65
Trailing 12m PEG (x)
0.05
P/NAV (x)
0.99
Trailing 12M Dividend yield (%)
Market capitalisation (RM mil)
144.72
Shares outstanding (ex-treasury) mil
131.56
Beta
0.46
12-month price range
0.45 - 1.12
*Valuation factor Composite measure of historical return & valuation
**Fundamental factor Composite measure of balance sheet strength &
protability
Note: A score of 3.0 is the best to have and 0.0 is the worst to have
Eduspec Holdings Bhd

THE share price of Eduspec breached its
52-week high yesterday with over ten-fold
rise in trading volume to 20 million shares.
At 30 sen, the stock is selling at a very high
price-to-book ratio of 4 times and trailing
P/E ratio of 136 times, considering its below-than-market average ROE of 6.5% in
FY Sept 2013.
Established since 1984, Eduspec provides
IT literacy materials for primary and secondary school. The companys products and
services include IT learning labs, language
labs, digital school system, school management system, e-learning and learning management system. Eduspec invests heavily in
R&D, with capitalisation of R&D expenditure
of RM2.8 million (8% of sales) in FY2013.
From FY2010 to FY2013, sales increased
from RM13.6 million to RM34.3 million.
However, pre-tax profit declined from RM2.3
million in FY2010 to RM0.7 million in FY2012
before recovering to RM1.1 million a year
later. Net profit margin was volatile, rang-
ing between 1.2% and 7.8% during the same

period.
In December 2013, Eduspec completed
a corporate exercise to raise RM35.5 million
from a private placement and rights issue.
Approximately 50% of the fund was allocated for expansion, 19% for R&D expenditure
and 29% for working capital.
As a result of the fundraising, the company turned net cash with RM24.7 million
at end-June 2Q14, compared to a net debt
of RM1.4 million at end-FY2013.
On July 17, 2014, Eduspec entered into
an agreement with iCarnegie Global Learning LLC to be an exclusive distributor of the
latters products in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar and
Philippines, as well as the right to appoint
resellers to distribute iCarnegie products.
Eduspec is required to pay a minimum annual aggregate fee to iCarnegie for the rights
granted. Total minimum aggregate fee is
USD21 million over five years.
Valuation factor *
1.65
135.93
P/NAV (x)
3.92
218.17
Shares outstanding (ex-treasury) mil 765.50
Beta
0.98
0.11 - 0.30
protability
CAB CAKARAN CORPORATION BHD

(ALL FIGURES IN RM MIL)
Income statement
Turnover
EBITDA
Depreciation and amortisation
EBIT
Associates
Interest income
Interest expense
Extraordinary gain/(loss)
Pre-tax profit/(loss)
Net profit/(loss) - owners of company
Balance sheet
Fixed assets - PPE
Biological assets
Intangibles & goodwill
Cash and equivalents
Total current assets
ST borrowings
Total current liabilities
Total assets
Shareholders fund
Long term borrowings
CAB CAKARAN CORPORATION BHD

RATIOS
DPS (RM)
Net asset per share (RM)
ROE (%)
ROA (%)
Turnover growth (%)
Net profit growth (%)
Net margin (%)
Current ratio (x)
Gearing (%)
Interest cover (x)
EDUSPEC HOLDINGS BHD

Income statement
Turnover
EBITDA
EBIT
Associates
Interest income
Interest expense
Balance sheet
Fixed assets - PPE
Biological assets
ST borrowings
Total assets
Shareholders fund
EDUSPEC HOLDINGS BHD

RATIOS
DPS (RM)
ROE (%)
ROA (%)
Turnover growth (%)
Net margin (%)
Current ratio (x)
Gearing (%)
Interest cover (x)
FY11
30/09/2011
FY12
30/09/2012
FY13
30/09/2013
LATEST 3QFY14
30/06/2014
491.0
33.7
8.9
24.8
0.1
4.7
(0.7)
19.6
12.6
534.6
1.0
9.3
(8.3)
0.2
5.4
13.7
0.1
(3.0)
609.0
24.4
10.1
14.3
0.2
5.9
7.1
15.6
11.9
170.4
5.3
3.3
2.0
0.0
1.5
0.5
(0.0)
132.5
0.3
1.7
10.7
96.3
72.5
125.1
139.0
97.6
19.5
183.7
0.3
1.7
13.8
103.0
81.9
147.0
189.0
129.6
32.1
185.6
0.3
1.7
15.4
121.0
85.0
165.5
198.3
141.5
26.5
195.0
0.1
1.7
16.6
132.6
85.9
182.4
201.4
146.0
25.4
FY11
30/09/2011
FY12
30/09/2012
FY13
30/09/2013
ROLLING 12-MTH
0.74
13.63
9.77
(3.38)
75.23
2.57
0.77
83.28
7.13
0.98
(2.65)
(1.83)
8.88
(0.56)
0.70
77.23
0.18
FY11
30/09/2011
FY12
30/09/2012
FY13
30/09/2013
LATEST 3QFY14
30/06/2014
27.9
3.4
2.5
0.9
0.0
0.1
0.8
0.3
29.2
3.0
2.3
0.7
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.7
0.5
34.3
3.9
2.8
1.1
0.1
0.1
0.2
1.1
1.0
15.2
4.1
0.8
3.3
(0.0)
0.2
0.1
3.4
3.4
4.2
4.4
4.6
12.5
5.7
15.4
14.6
-
4.0
5.2
3.5
13.7
1.7
7.3
15.8
14.9
0.1
4.2
6.4
2.8
18.5
3.9
12.7
16.8
15.7
0.4
8.8
4.9
27.3
51.2
2.2
8.4
56.8
55.6
0.4
FY11
30/09/2011
FY12
30/09/2012
FY13
30/09/2013
ROLLING 12-MTH
0.00
0.04
2.55
2.13
105.60
(69.49)
1.16
2.19
0.00
41.36
0.00
0.04
3.42
3.23
4.51
55.52
1.72
1.86
0.00
23.96
0.00
0.04
6.51
6.13
17.50
98.02
2.91
1.45
9.09
16.09
0.00
0.07
5.59
5.27
40.51
0.00
3.90
6.06
0.00
18.61
1.08
8.80
6.16
13.93
1.96
0.73
67.84
4.15
1.11
10.96
7.73
15.03
186.53
2.26
0.73
64.87
5.54
I N V E ST I N G I D E A S 1 1
M ON DAY D EC E MBE R 1, 2014 T HEED G E FINA NCIA L DA ILY
Note: This report is brought to you by Asia Analytica Sdn Bhd, a licensed investment adviser. Please exercise your own
judgment or seek professional advice for your specic investment needs. We are not responsible for your investment
decisions. Our shareholders, directors and employees may have positions in any of the stocks mentioned.
I N S I D E R A S I AS S TO C K O F T H E D AY
FIMA CORPORATION BHD

Income statement
Turnover
EBITDA
EBIT
Associates
Interest income
Interest expense
Balance sheet
Fixed assets - PPE
Biological assets
ST borrowings
Total assets
Shareholders fund
Fima Corporation Bhd

LITTLE-known Fima Corporation offers investors a high yielding investment with stable
income, thanks to its unusual core business a
concession to produce government security
and confidential documents, and bank notes.
In FY March 2014, about 69% of its revenue
and 63% of pre-tax profit came from the production of government security documents
such as bank notes, confidential documents
and passport materials. The balance is mostly
from palm oil, where it has 50,000-acre plantation in Indonesia.
The security documents income comes
largely from two subsidiaries, Percetakan
Keselamatan Nasional Sdn Bhd and Security Printers Sdn Bhd. The former was privatised to Fima in 1990 and was awarded the
government concession for the printing of
government security documents.
Fima also has a joint-venture banknote
printing company, Giesecke & Devrient Malaysia Sdn Bhd which operates the countrys
only banknote printing plant.
In FY 2014, the government security production division saw revenue rise 19.6% to
RM241.6 million while pre-tax profit increased
19.3% to RM63.4 million.
Over the last five years, Fimas revenue
steadily increased from RM280.1 million in
FY2010 to RM348.4 million in FY2014. Its
pre-tax profit was relatively stable between
RM88.6 million and RM111.6 million with
high net margins of 19% to 26%.
Fima offers an attractive dividend yield of
4.4%. Its payout ratio has doubled from 20.3%
in FY2010 to 41.6% in FY2014. As at 30 Sept
2014, it had net cash of RM182.2 million, or 75
sen per share. Its shares trade at an attractive
12-month trailing P/E ratio of just 9.73 times
and 1.29 times book.
Valuation factor *
2.40
3.00
9.73
0.63
P/NAV (x)
1.29
4.46
630.16
Shares outstanding (ex-treasury) mil 243.31
Beta
0.61
1.99 - 3.13
protability
BOUGHT DATE
T O N G S
MOMENTUM
P O RT F O L I O
THE local bourse went through sporadic gains and losses in the past five days to
close in the red on Friday as a result of heavy
losses on oil and gas counters, particularly
Petronas Dagangan and Uzma.
This came as a result of OPECs decision
to refrain from cutting oil production, which
caused global oil prices to plunge. Brent
crude traded at only $71.95 per barrel while
WTI crude fell to $68 per barrel.
On Friday, the FBM KLCI index declined
by 0.49% to close at 1,820.90. Market breadth
was negative with losers outweighing gainers 2.5 to one.
Slumping oil prices also affected most
European stocks on Friday, causing energy stocks to take a hit. In contrast, Chinese
stocks rallied to a high, as falling oil prices
are expected to augur well for transport
companies.
My portfolio value declined in line with
the FBM KLCIs downtrend, with total returns decreasing by 1.08% to RM103,495.
The portfolio started on 8 July 2014 with
a capital of RM100,000. Since then, it has
outperformed the FBM KLCI by 6.8%, and
has registered an annualised return of 7.5%.
Total profits currently stand at RM 2,969.
Both the stocks in my portfolio, Willowglen MSC and Crescendo remained unchanged on Friday.
I kept the portfolio unchanged.
FIMA CORPORATION BHD

RATIOS
DPS (RM)
ROE (%)
ROA (%)
Turnover growth (%)
Net margin (%)
Current ratio (x)
Gearing (%)
Interest cover (x)
FY12
31/03/2012
FY13
31/03/2013
FY14
31/03/2014
LATEST 2QFY15
30/09/2014
300.2
114.8
17.4
97.4
5.3
5.9
1.0
107.5
71.9
305.1
97.6
17.5
80.1
2.2
6.6
0.1
88.8
58.2
348.4
107.2
19.7
87.5
5.6
7.4
0.7
101.2
67.7
83.0
25.7
5.9
19.8
1.0
2.5
23.2
16.1
38.9
67.2
0.5
216.9
338.8
88.4
458.7
435.2
2.0
36.6
60.6
0.5
221.0
363.5
71.3
491.7
466.8
-
74.2
51.0
0.5
195.2
367.8
77.2
521.6
489.5
-
69.6
48.7
0.5
182.2
408.3
117.1
515.3
485.6
-
FY12
31/03/2012
FY13
31/03/2013
FY14
31/03/2014
ROLLING 12-MTH
0.26
5.28
17.62
16.62
0.57
(9.54)
23.95
3.83
0.00
109.96
0.30
5.80
12.91
12.25
1.66
(19.02)
19.08
5.09
0.00
1876.71
0.35
6.08
14.15
13.36
14.17
16.27
19.43
4.76
0.00
0.00
0.35
2.00
13.55
12.84
19.43
15.41
17.64
3.48
0.00
7758.64
QUANTITY
BOUGHT PRICE
RM
BOUGHT VALUE
RM
CURRENT PRICE
RM
CURRENT VALUE
RM
GAIN / LOSS
RM
GAIN / LOSS
5,700
5,100
11,000
3,000
0.88
2.82
0.75
2.72
4,987.5
14,382.0
8,195.0
8,160.0
0.80
2.75
0.80
2.75
4,560.0
14,025.0
8,800.0
8,250.0
(427.5)
(357.0)
605.0
90.0
(8.6%)
(2.5%)
7.4%
1.1%
Shares held:
Willowglen MSC Bhd
Crescendo Corporation Bhd
Willowglen MSC Bhd
Crescendo Corporation Bhd
1-Oct
1-Oct
17-Oct
17-Oct
Total
Shares bought:
No shares were bought today.
--------------35,724.50
--------------- --------------35,635.0
(89.5)
--------------35,724.5
--------------- --------------35,635.0
(89.5)
Total shares held
-0.3%
Shares sold:
No shares were sold today.
Cash balance
67,334.4
Realised profits / (losses)
3,058.9
Total Portfolio Returns

Annualised returns for portfolio
100,000.00
102,969.4
2,969.4
3.0%
7.5%
Portfolio Beta
Risk adjusted returns for portfolio
0.724
10.4%
Performance Comparison
FBM KLCI
FBM KLCI Emas
At portfolio start:
At portfolio start:
1,892.7
13,163.7
Current:
Current:
1,820.9
12,539.1
Change
Change
(3.8%)
(4.7%)
Relative portfolio
outperformance
6.8%
7.7%
This is a personal portfolio for information purposes only and does not constitute a recommendation or solicitation or expression of views to influence readers to buy/sell any stocks.
Portfolio started on 8 July 2014 with RM100,000.
12 B R O K E R S C A L L
Brahims proposed
BK buy could weigh
on its financials
Brahims Holdings Bhd
(Nov 28, RM1.45)
Retain fully valued with a lower
target price (TP) of RM0.90. Excluding RM2 million impairment
charge on receivables, Brahims
booked RM3 million in core net
profit, taking the first nine months
of financial year 2014 (9MFY14)
core profit to RM10.6 million. This
is below expectations at 59% and
52% of our and consensus full-year
estimates, respectively.
The third quarter of FY14
(3QFY14) revenue fell 10% yearon-year (y-o-y) as orders from Malaysian Airline System Bhd (MAS)
dropped, but this was largely expected. Earnings before interest
and tax (Ebit) margin fell to 11%
mainly driven by MAS cost reduction exercise. Also, operating losses
at Caf Barbera had doubled y-o-y,
while Dewina-Host Sdb Bhd turned
loss-making. Logistics segment Ebit
jumped 109% y-o-y.
We cut FY14, FY15 and FY16
forecast earnings by 15%, 20% and
17% respectively after imputing
lower Ebit margins at Brahims Airline Catering Sdn Bhd.
We also imputed larger losses
from Caf Barbera, although this is
mitigated by higher logistics profits.
Note that we had earlier factored in
a 20% drop in sales volume to MAS.
Brahims operates an in-flight
kitchen at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and Penang
International Airport, with a longterm concession agreement with
MAS. It also operates a chain of
food and beverage outlets at KLIA
(through 51%-owned joint venture,
Dewina-Host) as well as a chain of
Caf Barbera outlets.
We understand there are ongoing negotiations between MAS
and Brahims, the former trying to
renegotiate for lower margins. If
Brahims Holdings Bhd

FYE DEC (RM MIL)
2013A
2014F
2015F
2016F
Revenue
Ebitda
Pre-tax profit
Net profit
Net pft (Pre ex.)
EPS (sen)
EPS pre ex. (sen)
EPS gth (%)
EPS gth pre ex (%)
Diluted EPS (sen)
Net DPS (sen)
BV per share (sen)
PER (x)
PE pre ex. (x)
P/Cash flow (x)
EV/Ebitda (x)
Net div yield (%)
P/BV (x)
Net debt/Equity (x)
ROAE (%)
395
81
59
22
21
9.9
9.9
129
129
10.1
0.0
112.7
15.1
15.1
9.2
5.7
0.0
1.3
0.4
9.3
373
63
41
15
15
6.5
6.5
(34)
(34)
6.5
0.0
124.7
22.8
22.8
18.2
7.4
0.0
1.2
0.2
5.6
329
57
35
13
13
5.5
5.5
(16)
(16)
5.5
0.0
130.2
27.2
27.2
9.5
7.9
0.0
1.1
0.1
4.3
342
61
39
15
15
6.5
6.5
19
19
6.5
0.0
136.7
22.8
22.8
9.8
7.2
0.0
1.1
0.0
4.9
Source: Company, AllianceDBS
Puncaks EGM to be
called soon
THE EDGE FILE PHOTO
Puncak Niaga Holdings Bhd

(Nov 28, RM3.05)
Maintain hold with a target
price of RM3.40. For the first nine
months of financial year of 2014
(9MFY14) period, Puncaks revenue fell 7% year-on-year (y-o-y)
to RM792 million.
It reported a third quarter of FY14
(3QFY14) core earnings of RM60.3
million (flattish quarter-on-quarter
[q-o-q], bringing 9MFY14 earnings
to RM166.7 million.
The results made up 67% of our
previous estimate and 73% of consensus forecasts. We have cut our
FY14 forecast earnings by 11%.
The groups pre-tax profit fell
16% y-o-y to RM200.7 million
mainly due to lower contributions
from the oil and gas (O&G), and
construction segments, higher finance costs, and provision of impairment loss on trade receivables.
Its water division reported a
lower profit before interest and
tax (PBIT) of M315 million mainly
due to higher operating expenses
and provision on impairment loss
on trade receivables.
Positively, losses at its O&G division contracted to RM3.6 million for the 9MFY14 period due to
higher contributions from GOM
Resources Sdn Bhd.
Recall that works for its Pan Malaysia job only commenced in April
this year following a deferment by
Petroliam Nasional Bhd last year.
Its construction division reported a PBIT of RM6 million for the
9MFY14 period, due to contributions from new jobs it secured this
year (worth RM544 million).
Recall that the group entered
into a sales and purchase agreement earlier this month to dispose of its 100% and 70% stakes
in Puncak Niaga Sdn Bhd and
Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn
Bhd, respectively, to Pengurusan
Aset Air Selangor Sdn Bhd for
RM1.55 billion.
Puncak is expected to distribute
RM534.3 million (or RM1.29/share
based on current shares outstanding) from the proceeds as cash
dividends to shareholders within
three months. The extraordinary
general meeting is expected to be
called soon with the completion
of the disposal by 1QFY15.
Post-disposal, Puncak may be
classified as a cash company and
trigger Practice Note 17. The group
intends to utilise RM1.02 billion
from the proceeds for future investments which may include expansion into the O&G and plantation
businesses. The group is also one
of four shortlisted for the RM800
million incinerator job in Kepong.
We maintain hold until we see
further clarity on the groups future
business plans. AmResearch,
Nov 18
Puncak Niaga Holdings Bhd

FYE DEC (RM MIL)
MAS succeeds, it would hurt Brahims future margins. Additionally,

impairment charges on receivables
suggest there are disputes with customers on pricing, which could reduce margins in the future.
Key upside to our fully valued
rating is a favourable outcome of
the renegotiation with MAS. In
this case, Brahims future margins
would not be affected. Brahims

has proposed to acquire a total
of 92 Burger King (BK) outlets in
Malaysia and Singapore. This could
weigh on its financials as the Burger King operations are currently
loss-making. It may need large
borrowings to finance the acquisition, which would lift finance cost.
DBSAlliance Research, Nov 28
Revenue
Core net profit
FD Core EPS (sen)
FD Core EPS growth (%)
Consensus net profit
PER (x)
EV/Ebitda (x)
ROE (%)
Net gearing (%)
2013
2014F
2015F
2016F
1,146.7
200.5
38.4
(33.6)
8.6
7.8
17.6
85.3
1,195.2
221.4
43.2
12.4
227.6
7.7
7.1
11.7
69.9
1,536.6
278.6
53.9
24.8
382.0
6.1
5.6
13.0
54.0
1,566.3
306.6
59.1
9.7
447.0
5.6
4.9
12.6
37.6
Source: AmResearch, Company report
Post-deal completion, MMC to emerge as NCBs substantial shareholder
NCB Holdings Bhd

FYE DEC (RM MIL)
NCB Holdings Bhd

(Nov 28, RM2.54)
With a target price (TP) of RM 1.83
under review, MISC Bhd announced
that it had entered into an agreement
for sale and purchase of shares with
MMC Ventures Sdn Bhd (MMCV)
and MMC Corp Bhd for the disposal of a 15.7% equity interest held by
MISC in NCB Holdings, comprising
74 million ordinary shares for a total cash consideration of RM222
million on the basis of off-market
direct business transaction.
The deal amounts to RM3 a share,
which is at 14.1% premium to NCBs
last closing price. This is also implying approximately 1 times price-to-
book value (PBV) based on latest

book value per share of RM3/share.
The disposal is consistent with
MISCs intention to divest its noncore, non-energy related investments.
In the past two years, the group
has exited from its struggling liner
shipping business and integrated
logistics business.
The deal, in our opinion is mildly
positive for NCB given that the offer
price by MMC is at a premium to
its last closing price, signalling the
buyers positive outlook on NCB.
However, no earnings impact
will arise from the deal.
Post the completion of the deal,
MMC will emerge as a substantial

shareholder of NCB but the question of the extent of the emergence
of new shareholder adding value to
the company remains as they are still
not able to influence the future strategic direction of NCB given that they
will not be the largest shareholder.
The ultimate intention of MMC
remains unclear to us for the moment. Given that the group also
owns several port assets namely
Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) and
Johor Port, we do not discount the
possibility of injection of MMCs
port assets into NCB. This could
be a positive catalyst for NCB with
potential synergies to be realised
between NCB and PTP due to their

different client base.
In addition to the completed
Wharf 8A, upgrading works on
Wharf 8 will soon be initiated to cater for larger container ships owned
by larger shipping lines. This could
potentially unlock the full potential of Wharf 8 and 8A to cater for
transhipment cargoes. Notwithstanding, we remain cautious about
the container throughput growth
outlook in the near term. We maintain our earnings forecast and assumptions. Rating is under review
pending more clarification. Our
earlier TP was RM1.83 Kenanga
Research, Nov 28
2013A
2014E
2015E
Turnover
919.4 846.0 868.6
Ebit
101.3 25.7
37.1
PBT
93.1
6.0
7.4
4.5
5.5
Net profit (NP) 51.6
Core NP*
51.6
4.5
5.5
- 22.2
31.2
Consensus (NP)
11.0
1.0
1.2
Core EPS (sen)
Core EPS
(59.0) (91.3) 23.7
growth (%)
8.0
0.8
0.9
NDPS (sen)
3.0
3.0
3.0
BVPS (RM)
Core PER
21.9 20.1
17.1
0.9
0.9
0.9
Price/NTA (x)
0.0
0.2
0.4
Net gearing (x)
0.3
0.4
Net dvd yield (%) 3.0
Source: Kenanga Research
B R O K E R S C A L L 13
M ON DAY D EC E MB E R 1, 2014 T HEED G E FINA NCIA L DA ILY
FGV affected by
downstream losses
Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd
(Nov 28, RM3.30)
Call to reduce target price (TP)
to RM3.28. Felda Global Ventures
Holdings Bhd (FGV) posted its first
quarterly core net loss of RM12 million mainly due to the RM117 million loss incurred by its downstream
business, lower sugar contribution
and higher fair value losses due to
changes in land lease agreement liability. The downstream losses were
partly due to unrealised losses of
RM52million from the commodity
contracts in the Canadian business
and losses from its refining division.
Its sugar subsidiary, MSM, posted
a 35% year-on-year (y-o-y) decline
in the third quarter of financial year
2014 (3QFY14) net profit due to rising competition from cheaper imported refined sugar in the industrial
segment of the domestic market.
The groups first nine months of
2014 core net profit fell 40% y-o-y, as
the additional contributions from its
newly-acquired assets were insufficient to offset the poorer performance
of certain key business divisions.
FGV posted a 3% y-o-y rise in
3QFY14 fresh fruit bunch (FFB)
output, which we consider to be
below the countrys achievement of
3% increase during the same period. This is because FGV has added
around 5% of additional mature oil
Magnums
revenue down on
less ticket sales,
fewer draws
Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd

FYE DEC (RM MIL)
Revenue
Operating costs
Ebitda
Ebitda margin (%)
Depn & amort
Ebit
Interest expense
Interest & invt inc
Associates contrib
Exceptionals
Pre-tax profit
Tax
Tax rate (%)
Minority interests
Net profit
Core net profit
EPS (sen)
Core EPS (sen)
3Q
FY14
3Q
FY13
Y-O-Y %
CHG
Q-O-Q %
CHG
3QFY14
CUM
3QFY13
CUM
Y-O-Y %
CHG
PREV
FY14F
4,325
(4,097)
227
5
(110)
118
(44)
19
(6)
3
90
(67)
74
(32)
(9)
(12)
(0.3)
(0.3)
3,220
(3,109)
112
3
(28)
84
(26)
37
(5)
(26)
64
(4)
7
(36)
23
49
0.6
1.3
34
32
>100
52
>100
41
71
(49)
4
nm
42
>100
>100
(11)
nm
nm
nm
nm
6
13
(52)
(55)
5
(68)
(0)
(43)
27
nm
(71)
(33)
>100
(48)
nm
nm
nm
nm
12,135
(11,116)
1,019
8
(319)
699
(126)
82
24
(12)
668
(222)
33
(160)
286
298
7.8
8.2
8,894
(8,121)
773
9
(81)
692
(73)
127
59
(13)
792
(197)
25
(112)
482
495
13.2
13.6
36
37
32
(3)
>100
1
72
(36)
(60)
(12)
(16)
12
33
42
(41)
(40)
(41)
(40)
13,025
(11,820)
1,205
9
(120)
1,085
(201)
92
(60)
0
916
(244)
27
(240)
432
432
11.8
11.8
Source: CIMB, Company reports
palm area from the acquisition of

Pontian United Plantations Bhd
in 4QFY13.
The downstream unit sank into
heavier losses in 3Q due to the losses from its refining and Canadian
operations.
During its teleconference, management explained that the losses
from its commodity contracts were

the main reason for its downstream
losses. We gathered that the losses were partly unrealised and may
reverse in 4QFY14.
This fails to excite us, as we are
concerned about the possible earnings dilution from its recent acquisition of Asian Plantations Ltd.
The loss-making downstream

business, poor 3QFY14 results,
weaker yield achievement by its
estates, possible earnings dilution
and weaker balance sheet position after the acquisition of Asian
Plantations lead us to downgrade
the stock from hold to reduce.
CIMB Research, Nov 28
DRB core pre-tax profit below expectations

DRB-Hicom Bhd
(Nov 28, RM1.81)
Maintain outperform call with a
lower target price (TP) of RM3.
DRB-Hicom (DRB) reported revenue of RM3.22 billion and a net
profit of RM93.1 million for the second quarter of financial year 2015
(2QFY15). Excluding disposal gains
of RM97.5 million its first half of
FY15 (1HFY15) core pre-tax profit
of RM263.7 million was below our
and market expectations making up
44.7% and 40.9% of our and concensus full-year estimates respectively.
The companys 1HFY15 reported earnings were driven by higher

armoured vehicle 8x8 (AV8) completion, its 34%-owned associate
Honda Malaysia, concession
businesses and gain on disposal of
UniAsia General Insurance.
However, its key automotive division was weighed down by Proton which only launched its new
Proton Iriz at the end of 2QFY15.
We maintain our outperform
call on DRB-Hicom with a lower TP of RM3 from the previous
RM3.20 after lowering valuation
of its automotive segment.

While DRBs share price performance has been dismal, we reiterate that DRBs current price is not
reflecting its long-term potential
and value of assets within the group.
With regard to market concerns
about Proton, even in a worst-case
scenario where Protons auto business is written off, DRBs other
assets are still worth more than
RM2.80 per share, excluding net
debt of RM5 billion. DRBs automotive division recorded weaker
2QFY15 pre-tax profit of RM43.6
million mainly due to Proton selling

only 27,709 cars during the quarter
as it only launched its new Proton
Iriz at the end of 2QFY15. However,
the division was lifted by improved
contribution of RM72.8 million
from associates such as Honda Malaysia which sold 19,544 cars and
increased progress completion of
AV8 armoured carriers.
Management indicated the new
car had 6,500 confirmed bookings, which were below our expectations. Public Investment
Bank, Nov 28
Magnum Bhd
(Nov 28, RM2.92)
Maintain neutral with lower
target price (TP) of RM3.06.
First nine months of financial year 2014 (9MFY14) revenue dipped 4% year on year
(y-o-y) to RM 2.16 billion due
to a slightly lower number of
draws at 132. Ticket sales also
weakened due to a lower average jackpot size of RM7.9
million. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and
amortisation shed 8.4% y-o-y
to RM322.1million, weighed by
a marginal uptick in its overall
prize payout ratio to an estimated 67% (from 65.5%). All in,
core earnings of RM196 million
fell short of both consensus and
our expectations at 62.4% and
64.1% of the respective full-year
estimates, dragged down by
weaker-than-expected showing
in the third quarter of FY2014
(3QFY14).
We attribute this to the higher-than-expected prize payout ratio booked in during the
quarter at an estimated 68.4%,
up by some 70 basis point (bps)
quarter-on-quarter and 350
bps y-o-y.
Management declared its
third interim dividend per
share (DPS) of five sen. Its year
to date (YTD), DPS of 15 sen
translates into a payout ratio of
over 108.7%. We forecast Magnums dividend yield to come
in at 6.4% to 6.6% annually for
FY15 and FY16, pegging a payout ratio of 90%.
We slash our FY14 earnings
per share (EPS) by 14.3% after
lowering our prize payout ratio
due to unfavourable luck factor
YTD. On top of that, we trim our
FY15 and FY16 EPS by 7.1% to
8.2% to take into account potential earnings erosion from the
implementation of the goods
and services tax in April 2015.
Key risks include potential
slower ticket sales as consumers tighten their belts amid rising inflationary pressure as well
as continued rampant competition from illegal operators.
We expect its share price to
be supported by its decent dividend yield of over 6% per annum RHB Research, Nov 28
14 H O M E
Palanivel planning graceful exit?

PETALING JAYA: The MIC leadership
is working on a face-saving solution
to the strong pressure on the party
to hold fresh elections, say sources
within the MIC. [Party president G]
Palanivel should not be seen to be
losing out here, hence the face-saving
solution, a senior party leader said
on condition of anonymity. He may
announce ... that a re-election will be
held, even before the RoS makes its
decision, the leader said.
A decision has yet to be made
on what positions would be up for
re-election, he said. This is where
the president can use his trump card.

The current lull is actually time for
his backroom boys to come up with
a strategy, said the leader.
However, other MIC leaders who
spoke to The Edge Financial Daily
expressed doubts about the re-election movement group. One senior
leader said the group lacks a vision
and a proper plan on how to take the
movement to the next stage.
They cannot agree on many
things and decisions seem to be made
by a select few. There are no brainstorming sessions among the senior
members, the leader said.

He said most are stuck in the
mindset of merely criticising the conduct of the leadership and hoping it
would result in changes. Some have
even cited the GAS movement that
pressured [Datuk Seri S] Samy Vellu
to leave early as an example, the
leader said, referring to the Gerakan
Anti Samy Vellu group that emerged
briefly in 2010 to pressure the then
MIC president to step down.
He said what many fail to understand is the dynamics behind the GAS
movement led by V Mukilan, the then
deputy MIC Youth chief.

The situation was ripe then and
the prime minister also played a part
in it but right now, there is nothing.
They dont even have a name for the
movement, said the leader.
Another leader said the movements objectives seemed vague.
Some call for re-election while
others call for Palanivel to be removed. [Former MIC Youth chief Datuk T)]Mohan himself says Palanivel
has to resign if re-election is called.
They have to get their act right if they
are to have any chance at all, he said.
The leader said the party president has immense powers and easily
commands the support of at least 800
delegates from a total of about 1,500
delegates. Even in a re-election, do
they think they can win easily? Its
going to be an uphill task, he opined.
The leader suggested that for the
group to succeed, it needs a visionary
leader who is willing to listen.
Change does not happen on its
own. It comes from planning and
strategies, which this group does
not have, much to the benefit of
Palanivel, he said.
Fresh elections
expected for MIC
RoS found many irregularities in last years party polls
THE MALAYSIAN INSIDER
BY V SH A NKA R GANESH
PETALING JAYA: The Registrar of

Societies (RoS) is expected to make
an announcement later this week
calling for the MIC to hold fresh
elections, said leaders who have
questioned the party polls last year.
Party president Datuk Seri G
Palanivels (pic) camp is said to be
strategising a face-saving gesture in
time for the impending announcement following numerous complaints about the irregularities in
the elections. (See accompanying
story below)
The RoS is believed to have come
to this decision after finding that
there were many irregularities in the
polls that took place on Nov 30, 2013.
Former MIC Youth chief Datuk
T Mohan, who leads a group calling
for the re-election, said the decision
was long overdue as complaints to
the RoS were made beginning from
last December.
I hope there is no pressure or
interference from anyone at this
critical point, he said, adding that
if RoS fails to make an announcent
by this week, the movement would
seek an appointment with Prime
Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
The PM is our last hope for the
party. We have tried all possible ways
to address the [election] issues but
to no avail. I hope the PM can help
us restore the peoples confidence
in the party, Mohan said.
Mohan said it has been over a
month since some 3,000 MIC members gathered in Putrajaya calling for
a re-election but not much progress
has been made on their concerns.
The busloads of people who
came were hoping it will be the catalyst for much needed change in
the party but most are now feeling
disenchanted, said Mohan.
He strongly believes a decision
has been made for a re-election but
the only question is how extensive
the exercise would be.
Will it be re-election for all positions or just for the central working
committee and certain divisions? We

just have to wait and see, he said.
Another leader in the movement
Senator Datuk SA Vigneswaran also
questioned why the RoS is taking so
long to come to a decision.
We keep hearing they have finished their investigations and the
final decision will be made by the
Minister. But we are not getting
anything official from them!
Why is it so difficult to make a
decision on such an explicit matter?
he asked, referring to allegations of
vote manipulation and other irregularities.
They were quick to act on DAP
on a small issue but so slow on a clear
and major breach, he said, referring
to the RoS decision not to recognise
the DAPs central executive committee election of September 2013.
Vigneswaran added that the
movement would also seek legal
advice on their next move.
Mohan, however, lamented that
the call for a re-election has morphed
into a push against Palanivel.
The opposition to Palanivel gathered steam following the Cameron
Highlands mudslide recently.
The party president is the member of parliament for the constituency and is the natural resources
and environment minister.
His response to the incident and
the answer he gave in Parliament
on the disaster has met with much
negativity, which has gone viral on

social media.
The Pahang Sultans rebuke over
the official handling of the disaster
has also led to a perception that the
push against Palanivel now seems
to have gained support from outside
the party.
The movements Selangor coordinator Datuk RS Maniam said the
time is ripe for a rejuvenation of the
party and welcomed the expected
RoS decision.
We have heard this many times
and hopefully its true this time. The
party can only move forward if there
is a re-election, he said.
Maniam said the party seems to
have ground to a standstill lately and
only the Youth and Wanita movements, and the New Affirmative Action Movement (NAAM), an initiative
of MIC vice-president M Saravanan
to involve Indian youths in agriculture, seem to be the saving grace.
What we now have is a golden
opportunity to attract Indians back
to the MIC. The confidence levels
among the opposition parties seem
to have dipped lower than ever before due to their internal crisis.
To attract disillusioned Indians
back into the BN fold, we need to
show that we are a better alternative. But when we have a party poll
that is full of irregularities, it is impossible, said Maniam, who lost
his Kota Raja division chief post to
S Sandiranshegran, who is said to be
a bankrupt. The new division chief
has refuted this claim.
We are in a quandary now. The
grassroots and the leadership seem
to be disconnected, said Maniam.
He believes the leaderships reluctance to have a re-election could
stem from lethargy.
Some may feel tired to go around
campaigning all over again going from state to state, the expenses
involved and at the same time not
being assured of victory again. Only
those who lost in the polls will have
the energy and drive to go through
it again, said Maniam.
(From left) Lo, Nazri (fourth from left), and Member of Parliament for Batu, Chua Tian
Chang (second from right) with the O-Kai Singers in Kuala Lumpur last Friday.
O-Kai Singers wows the crowd

KUALA LUMPUR: The world-renowned Aboriginal Taiwanese vocal
group O-Kai Singers gave a stellar
performance to a rapt audience of
about 450 people at Muzium Negara last Friday.
The singers rendered famous Taiwanese and English songs, and also
the evergreen Rasa Sayang. Local
group Hands Percussion gave an
opening performance to welcome
the artistes to Malaysia.
The O-Kai Singers outstanding
vocal ability has brought it immediate success from the time of its
establishment in 2004. The group
has shattered records in the Taiwan
a cappella scene, winning 23 major
awards including Best Jazz Album
awarded by Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards (CARAs), three
Taiwan Golden Melody Awards, four

national championships, and scoring third place twice in international
competitions in Europe.
O-Kai Singers performances have
astounded many musical professionals including Gunter Theuring,
founder of the Vienna Youth Choir,
who said even in professional groups
coming from Vienna, we rarely can
hear such perfect harmonies.
Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz
was present at the concert, organised
by the Taipei Economic and Cultural
Office in Malaysia. Its representative,
His Excellency Lo Yu-Chung, said
that the concert was among the Taiwan governments efforts to promote
mutual exchanges in various fields
between the two countries.
More youths needed as Home

Help volunteers
KEPALA BATAS: The Women, Family and Community Development
Ministry wants more youths to register as volunteers for the Home Help
programme to assist the elderly who
are poor and/or live alone.
Its Deputy Minister Datin Paduka
Chew Mei Fun said the volunteers
tasks under the programme include
helping the elderly in their personal
care, cleaning up their homes, talking
to them and running errands for them.
Although there are many senior
citizens who are cared for by their own
children while some stay at the old
folks homes; those living alone also
need attention from society.
To encourage youths to join the

Home Help programme, the ministry is providing a subsidy to the
volunteers to buy the elderly the
things they need or to take them to
the hospital for health check-ups or
treatment, she told reporters yesterday after she had handed out aid
to 400 elderly people in conjunction with the Senior Citizens Day
celebration at the Happy Home
Old Folks Care Centre in Pinang
Tunggal.
Each of the 400 from various races received a food hamper and cash
from the Kampung Baru Rangkaian
Kampung Selamat MCA. Bernama
H O M E 15
DPMs visit will enhance

Malaysia-China partnership
Expected to encourage more FDI
BEIJING: The six-day official visit
by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri
Muhyiddin Yassin to China, which
started yesterday, will further enhance the Malaysia-China comprehensive strategic partnership,
including achieving the bilateral trade target of US$160 billion
(RM528 billion) by 2017.
Malaysian ambassador to China Datuk Iskandar Sarudin said
yesterday that Muhyiddin was
scheduled to meet Chinas top
500 captains of industry during a
round-table dialogue and dinner
here tomorrow.
Muhyiddin is expected to encourage more foreign direct investment (FDI) from China to Malaysia
during both meetings.
Malaysia attracted US$920 mil-
Chin Pengs
ashes can never
be brought back,
says Zahid
KUALA LUMPUR: Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi says Putrajaya will
never allow the ashes of the
late Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) leader Chin Peng
to be brought back to Malaysia, Bernama reported
yesterday.
Commenting on a call
made by the 21st Century Malaysia Friendship Association
for Putrajaya to respect the
Hatyai Peace Accord signed
on Dec 2, 1989, between the
CPM and the Thai government. Ahmad Zahid said
the government was sensitive
to the feelings of the families
killed or maimed by the CPM.
We will not allow his ashes to be brought back as we
are sensitive to the feelings of
the children, grandchildren
and great-grandchildren of
the soldiers, policemen and
others whose family members were killed or maimed
by the brutal CPM insurgents,
he said.
The Malaysian Insider reported that the chairman of
the association, Lee Huck Tee,
had said Putrajaya should allow Chin Pengs ashes to be
brought back to Malaysia in
view of the peace treaty.
By not letting Chin Peng
return home while he was
alive and even after his death,
Lee said, the Malaysian government has failed to honour
the peace accord.
lion (RM3 billion) FDI from China

last year compared with US$646
million (RM2.1 billion) in 2012.
Muhyiddin will call on Chinese vice premier Zhang Gaoli at
the Great Hall of the People, the
vice-premiers office, here today.
This will be the first official
meeting between the two leaders,
said Iskandar, adding that Muhyiddins visit was at the invitation
of Zhang.
Muhyiddin is also scheduled to
meet the Malaysian diaspora during
a dinner today and is also scheduled tomorrow to visit the Beijing
Foreign Studies University (BFSU),
where he will be accorded an honorary doctorate for his contribution
to the education field.
Iskandar said Muhyiddin was
expected to take the opportunity to

internationalise Bahasa Melayu at
BFSU during the visit to the university which offered Malay language.
Also scheduled tomorrow is a
visit to the Huawei Research and
Development Centre, one of the
worlds leading ICT solution providers.
Muhyiddin will leave tomorrow
night for Shanghai where he will be
visiting an educational institution
which focuses on the programme
for international student assessment the next day.
On Thursday, Muhyiddin will be
in Chongqing where he is scheduled to address the 6th World
Chinese Economic Forum before
departing for home on Friday.
Bernama
Muhyiddin is scheduled to meet Chinas

top 500 captains of industry during a
round-table dialogue and dinner in
Beijing tomorrow. Photo by Shahrin
Yahya
Muhyiddin: Govt to continue

to boost agricultural sector
KUALA LUMPUR: The agricultural
sector will continue to be enhanced
to make it among the major contributors to the economy, Tan Sri
Muhyiddin Yassin said yesterday.
The deputy premier said agricultures contribution may not be
as big as before but its importance
is in line with the governments
commitment to ensure food security.
With a growing population, I
believe that agriculture will continue to be an important economic
sector for the country, he said at
the closing of the Malaysian Agri-
culture, Horticulture and Agrotourism Show (Maha) 2014 in Serdang,

near here.
Also present were Agriculture
and Agro-Based Industry Minister
Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob and
his deputy, Datuk Tajuddin Abdul
Rahman.
He said the ministrys initiatives
to modernise agriculture via the
latest technologies and innovations
would be continued.
The rate of technology commercialisation in agriculture is at 14%,
higher than the national average of
7%, with a value of of RM1.5 billion.
Muhyiddin said the application

of technology will increase production, adding it could be achieved
by collaborating with institutions
of higher education.
He also wants the slogan Agriculture is Business to be fully
understood by farmers who have a
role in the economic development
of the country.
Farmers and fishermen need
not worry as agriculture will remain a key economic sector. Keep
up the good work by introducing
technology and innovation, he
said. Bernama
Better recognition for grads of technical varsities

PATRICK GOH
PENANG: Local technical university

graduates, often regarded as second class, will have better career
prospects with the introduction of
a new Act which recognises their
role as technologists.
Science, Technology and Innovation Deputy Minister Datuk Dr
Abu Bakar Mohamad Diah (pic)
said the Technology and Technicians Bill 2014 was tabled in Parliament last Thursday, with the second
reading expected to be in March,
next year.
With this new Act, we hope to
boost the technologists profession
and provide a clearer career path
for technical graduates, he told
reporters when officiating at the
Chemistry Departments Sepak
Takraw Championship here on
Saturday night.
Currently, he said, technical
graduates were not recognised in
terms of expertise by the Board of

Engineers Malaysia, but this situation could be changed as engineers
and technicians actually complement each other.
Technicians are experts in building and installing products, while
the engineers test and evaluate the
strength of the products ... their job
specs are different, he said.

The deputy minister said introducing the new Act would also help
produce more technical experts
with the title of Ts, just like engineers are given the Ir title.
On another matter, Abu Bakar
said the ministry had listed 65 products with the potential to be commercialised for the local innovation
buy-back programme involving an
allocation of RM50 million.
He said the programme would
begin early next year to give publicity to the selected products which
would spur commercialisation of
local innovations, the current rate
of which was only at 8% to 10%.
Each product will be bought
in small quantities for various sectors like health, agriculture and
education in accordance with their
need for the products, he said.
Bernama
Mum of German
MH17 victim to
go to human
rights court
BERLIN: The mother of a victim of downed Malaysia Airline
System Bhd (MAS) flight MH17
has begun legal proceedings
against Ukraine at the European Court of Human Rights,
accusing Kiev of failing to close
the countrys airspace, a German daily reported yesterday.
The woman, who lodged
her complaint at the Strasbourg-based court last week,
is suing Ukraine for 800,000
(RM3.37 million) in damages
for negligent homicide, the Bild
newspaper said.
The Boeing 777 exploded over insurgent-held east
Ukraine on July 17, killing all
298 on board, 193 of them
Dutch. Four were German, according to the airline. Kiev and
the West have accused separatists of shooting it down with a
surface-to-air missile supplied
by Russia a charge Moscow
denies.
The plaintiff in the case
claims that Ukraine should
have closed its airspace to
civilian flights when fighting
raged in the east of the country, Bild reported. The woman
argues that Ukraine chose not
to close its airspace because
it did not want to lose out on
overflight fees.
At the time, some 700 flights
were thought to be crossing
Ukrainian territory per day,
bringing in several million euros a month in revenue, Bild
added.
The woman is being defended by German lawyer Elmar
Giemulla, a professor of aviation law. AFP
RM5m grant
for Indian
students fund
KUALA LUMPUR: The goverment is providing an initial grant of RM5 million to
the Indus Education Foundation (IEF), said Prime Minister
Datuk Seri Najib Razak who
launched the foundation yesterday.
Describing it as a timely and
essential vehicle, he said, the
IEF will support deserving Indian students pursuing tertiary
education.
This, he said, is another example of a promise to the people fulfilled.
We promised to set up a
scholarship fund to assist Indian students at the tertiary
level and today, weve been
able to deliver on that promise
with this public-private partnership, he said at the launch
of the foundation in Sentul.
Najib said he hopes IEF will
play its role well to assist talented and eligible Malaysian
Indian students from middleand low-income families.
Bernama
16 H O M E
Sedition Act retained to

protect all citizens: Najib
BY R . V IK N E S WA R A N
Says its to protect social contract embedded in the constitution

KUALA LUMPUR: The move to
retain the Sedition Act 1948 was
made to protect the sensitivities
of all Malaysians, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak who
noted there was no ulterior motive
behind the move.
He said retaining the Act was not
about protecting the rights of Muslims and Malays only, but also those
of the non-Muslim and non-Malay
communities.
I want to explain that the Act is
a protection for all Malaysians, it is
a protection of our much cherished
social contract that has been embedded in our constitution.
We must ensure that the enforcement of the Sedition Act must
Apicta to be
rejuvenated, says
new MDeC chief
JAKARTA: The Asia Pacific Information and Communications
Technology Alliance (Apicta) will
be rebranded and further rejuvenated, says Multimedia Development Corporations (MDeC)
new chief executive officer Datuk
Yasmin Mahmood.
Apicta has improved over the
years but needs a revamp in certain areas to bring it more in line
with current trends, she said.
We have had the same categories over the years. And the
branding and PR has gone a tad
hackneyed. Moving forward, we
will bring up to the exco to see
if there is a need to revamp the
categories.
Some countries that we have
talked to, like Hong Kong and Taiwan, were talking about big data
and so are we, and the recategorisation will be based on input
from member economies, Yasmin said.The international Apicta
awards, held since 2001, provide
a platform to catalyse and recognise indigenous ICT innovations
within the Asia-Pacific region.
Initiated by MDec, which initially aimed to inspire local innovation and creativity through
ICT, Apicta International is an
alliance of choice for economies
across Asia-Pacific to spur collaboration, innovation, talent
development, entrepreneurship,
wealth creation and advancement in ICT.
We will also consider including potential venture capitalists
among our audience, she said.
Yasmin said Apicta could go
beyond awards and become a
more effective platform by fostering collaboration among member
countries in developing ICT as an
economic trust. Bernama
be seen to be fair, he said when

opening the 61st Peoples Progressive Party (PPP) annual general
meeting, here, yesterday.
Najib stressed that action would
be taken accordingly against those
who disrespected other peoples
faiths.
In MELAKA, Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi
said that sedition through the Internet, particularly social media,
touching on religious sensitivities
and calling for Sabah and Sarawak
to leave the federation of Malaysia
were among the elements taken
into consideration in strengthening the Sedition Act 1948.
These (three elements) are
among the many that we have carefully studied in strengthening the

Sedition Act... discussions were
held with the legal advisers in the
Home Ministry and Attorney-Generals Chambers on what needed to
be tightened or amended.
The bill to amend the Sedition
Act is expected to be tabled in Parliament in March next year, he said
at a news conference after launching
the From Bikers 4 Gaza programme
and Melaka Motorcycle Carnival at
Autocity, Air Keroh, here.
Ahmad Zahid said sedition
through the Internet, especially
the social media, should not be
allowed to go on just like that, but
needed to be curbed to prevent
the problem from becoming cancerous and destroying harmony in

the country.
The Sedition Act was introduced in 1948 when there was no
Internet at the time. Therefore, this
Act now needs to be amended, taking into consideration the existence
of this communication facility and
other modern channels of communication, he said.
He said the Communications
and Multimedia Act 1998 was a
specific Act for tackling misuse of
the Internet in this country, with
the police working together with
the relevant authority, the Communications and Multimedia Commission, on this. Benama
Transplant recipient takes lead

in safety and best-care advocacy
J Manvir wanted to change the
perception that private hospitals
are better than public ones. Photo
by The Malaysian Insider
BY ELIZABE TH Z AC HARI AH
KUALA LUMPUR: When former

club deejay J Manvir underwent a
kidney transplant at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital (KLH) two years ago,
he was so surprised by the excellent
treatment he received that he decided he wanted to do something to
give back to the healthcare system.
I was a dialysis patient for 10
years. And then two years ago, I
had a transplant; my wife gave me
a kidney. I told the doctors at KLH
that I was wrong in my perception
that private hospitals were better
than public ones and insisted that
I wanted to give something back
and kept bugging them to tell me
if I could be of any help to them.
The 47-year-olds determination
led him to the World Health Organisation (WHO) and two years later,
he now heads the WHO-sanctioned
non-governmental organisation
Patients for Patient Safety Malaysia (PFPSM).
What we do is get hospitals and
patients to engage to see if the best
care is being given and what these
hospitals, public and private, can
do to improve helping patients,
Manvir said.
Last year, the director of the
Nephrology Department in KLH,
where Manvir had sought treatment, told him about a WHO workshop on patient safety that would
be held here for the first time and
urged him to attend it.
So I took the form, answered a
long set of questions and later found
out that I was one of those selected to
go for the workshop. We shared our
experiences and they wanted to set
up a patient safety organisation in
Malaysia following that, said Manvir, who now manages his own sports
management company.
To date, similar WHO-sanctioned organisations have been
set up in 53 countries. In order for
a country to set up such an organisation, they would have to hold a
workshop and train people, including hospital staff and even patients,
about patient safety.
Our umbrella body is the Malaysian Society for Quality in Health
(MSQH), the accreditation body for
healthcare services and facilites. And
they decided that hospitals needed
to look at patient safety seriously.
After going through the workshop and training with WHO,
PFPSM was finally set up and Manvir was elected chairman. The NGO
was officially launched by Health
Minister Datuk Seri Dr S Subramaniam in April this year. Manvir said
that the 12 committee members in
the NGO comprised patients like
him as well as people in health
care, including doctors and nurses.
The Health Ministrys director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham
Abdullah, who has been extremely
supportive, realises that this is the
new age of how things are done in
hospitals and he was like lets get
this done, he added.
After all, this is part and parcel of a developed country... that
Make sure
Camerons
agriculture
sustainable,
say academics
the healthcare system must be of

a certain standard.
Manvir said although the Malaysian healthcare system was excellent, patients hardly have a voice.
The patients have to engage with
healthcare professionals to ensure
that what they want is being done.
Right now, hospitals are run by doctors but do they actually know what
the patient is going through? In theory yes, but in practice no.
This is where the PFPSM comes
in. In September, we had our second workshop and this time we engaged hospitals and their patients.
A total of 14 hospitals joined us
and their directors were each asked
to bring one of their patients and they
were all trained on patient issues,
he added. These patients, Manvir
said, are trained to sit on the hospitals patient safety council, which is
compulsory in each hospital under
the Health Ministrys directive.
The patient sits on the council
with the rest of hospital staff to assess
the problems they may face and address complaints about the hospital.
He said the patient safety advocates also needed to understand
medical terms.
So training is conducted by
MSQH and we gradually place them
on the board and guide them along
the way, he added.
PFPSM, Manvir said, has also
received international acclaim, as
Malaysia is one of 12 countries selected to be on WHOs patient safety
global advisory board. The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR: The ecosystem

of Cameron Highlands, a popular
holiday destination and a major
vegetable growing area due to its
mild climate, must be controlled
through various effective measures
to ensure its sustainability.
Since the recent incident of mud
floods and landslides in the highlands, various parties have been
playing the blame game as usual
for failing to protect and manage
the area.
The disaster which struck Kampung Raja, Ringlet town and Bertam
Valley on Nov 5 claimed five lives
with more than 90 victims from 28
families evacuated to the Ringlet
community hall.
Dean of the Agriculture Faculty
of Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM),
Prof Dr Abdul Shukor Juraimi said
agricultural activities would not
damage or destroy the environment
if carried out properly in a systematic and sustainable manner as
practised in developed countries.
He said that as the main cause
of the series of disasters in Cameron Highlands is the illegal clearing
of large tracts of land for vegetable
farming, one of the solutions was
to use the vertical farming method
to reduce opening up of land for
agricultural activities.
This method emphasises yield
per unit of area which saves on
space and is an alternative to the
conventional cultivation method
which requires a lot of land.
Opening of new areas and carrying out agricultural activities on
river banks or hill slopes should
be prohibited altogether, he said.
Abdul Shukor said guidelines
aimed at making Cameron Highlands sustainable should be drawn
up. He also suggested that the farm
operators and workers in the area
be taught about the effects of agricultural activities that are not environment-friendly.
Prof Dr Shamsudin Jusop from
UPMs Land Management Department, said illegal clearing of land
and felling of trees had caused the
land to lose fertility and forced
farmers to use a lot of fertilisers to
boost their crops growth.
We know that the forest is a
sustainable ecosystem even with
heavy tropical rainfall. The trees
in the forest with their extensive
canopy and root system are able
to reduce the impact of the erosive rainfall. Once the trees are
gone, rain water falls to the ground,
breaking the soil structure which
accelerates soil erosion. The fertile
topsoil that supports plant growth is
gone forever, leaving a nutrient-deficient subsoil on which farmers
grow their crops.
Shamsudin said disasters could
be avoided if the highland farmers
and residents resorted to Good Agricultural Practices as suggested by
the Malaysian Agriculture Department. Bernama
H O M E B U S I N E S S 17
WEEK
IN FOCUS
1
Permodalan Nasional Bhd

(PNB) chairman Tun Ahmad
Sarji Abdul Hamid (left) and
president and chief executive
officer Tan Sri Hamad Kama
Piah Che Othman at the launch
of Amanah Saham Nasional 3
on Nov 25 in Kuala Lumpur.
Photo by Shahrin Yahya
(From left) Asian Strategy and

Leadership Institute (Asli) chief
executive officer Tan Sri Dr Michael Yeoh, Deputy Finance
Minister II Datuk Chua Tee Yong
and Asli chairman Tan Sri Dr Ramon V Navaratnam at the 19th
Malaysian Capital Market Summit on Nov 24 in Kuala Lumpur.
Photo by Suhaimi Yusuf
3
SWIFT SMILES... (From left) Bank Negara Malaysia governer Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, Princess Astrid of Belgium and Swift managing director for Asia-Pacic
Eddie Haddad celebrating the expansion of the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (Swift) Kuala Lumpur Corporate Services Centre
on Nov 24 in Kuala Lumpur. Photo by Mohd Izwan Mohd Nazam
Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Amar

Douglas Uggah Embas (extreme
left) and Princess Astrid of Belgium (centre) with other guests
at the official launch of the Belgium-based Oleon NV plant in
Pulau Indah, off Selangor on Nov
25. Photo by Suhaimi Yusuf
(From left) Express Rail Link

Sdn Bhd chief executive officer
Noormah Mohd Noor, executive
chairman Tan Sri Mohd Nadzmi
Mohd Salleh, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai,
China-based Changchun Railway Vehicles Co Ltd chairman
Wang Run and the Peoples Republic of China ambassador to
Malaysia Dr Huang Hui Kang
at the signing of an agreement
between Express Rail Link and
Changchun Railway for the purchase of new trains on Nov 25
in Kuala Lumpur. Photo by
Suhaimi Yusuf
Hartalega Holdings Bhd human

resource director Kuan Vin Seung (front row, centre) with the
Hartalega team at the HR Asia
Awards 2014. The company recently shared the news that it
received the HR Asia Best Companies to Work for on Aug 22 in
Kuala Lumpur. The award was
presented by Business Media
International, the publisher of
HR Asia magazine.
6
3
(From left) Only World Group

Holdings Bhd managing director
and group chief executive officer
(CEO) Datuk Richard Koh Cheng
Keong, Public Investment Bank
Bhd CEO Teoh Cheng Soon and
Only World executive director
and group CEO Datin Chew Lean
Hong at the prospectus launch
of Only World on Nov 26 in Kuala Lumpur.
18 C O M M E N T
Regionalism, Asian style

Its uniqueness in a global context is being substantially market-driven
BY STEPH A N RI CHTER
& JOHN WEST
espite its current

problems, the EU is
often considered to
be the gold standard for countries
working together for
peace and prosperity. While there
are many types of regionalism in the
world North America has NAFTA,
South America has Mercosur, Australia and New Zealand have Closer
Economic Relations Asia is seen
as a latecomer.
This is actually the time for a perfect role reversal: Todays Europe
needs to embrace Asias original
private-sector orientation, while
Asia now needs Europes starting
point of using trade to overcome
difficult history.
What is unique about Asian regionalism in a global context is that it
has been substantially market-driven. This move started in 1985, following the Plaza Agreement to revalue
the yen, when many Japanese companies began offshoring labour-intensive manufacturing activities to
lower-cost destinations, such as the
Asean countries of Southeast Asia
and China.
Soon after, Hong Kong, Korea,
Singapore and Taiwan followed suit
in offshoring production. The regions value chains for electronics,
automobiles, clothing and footwear
and other products were thus gradually established.
In the first phase, the final products of these value chains were
primarily sold to US, European
and Japanese markets. However,
ever since the 2008 Lehman shock
and the subsequent financial crisis, there has been an acceleration
of regional integration. China, in
particular, became a more active
Filepic of a farmer working in a padi eld under the power lines near Nam Theun 2 dam in Khammouane province, Laos. Filepic of the
skyline of Singapores central business district. Asia is diverse in terms of level of development from rich Singapore to very poor Laos,
but it has not stopped Asian nations from working together towards peace and prosperity. Photo by Reuters
trading and investment partner of

all Asian countries.
With the rising purchasing power
of Asias middle class, Asias value
chains are now increasingly servicing Asian consumers. Today, some
40% of East Asian trade takes place
within the region, compared with
30% two decades ago.
In Europe, the percentage of
trade that is conducted within the
region already amounts to 69%.
The goal for East Asia should be to
move dynamically into the same
percentage range.
Given the current level, that
would require at least a 50% increase
in the share of regional trade. That
seems entirely feasible, given the
growth and population dynamics
of the wider region. Consider also
that this by no means implies any
decoupling from other global markets, or specifically the US market.
It just foreshadows a trading
world where Asia completes the
process from initially being an outsourcing destination for multinational corporations to becoming
the key growth driver of the global
economy. Such a broadening of
Asian nations trade portfolio would
be a win-win situation for Asia.
The European example shows
that such an intensification of trade
within the region also has important spillover effects into fields other than trade. Doing business with
each other ultimately is the best
instrument with which to build
what most of Asia seems to strive
for better neighbourly relations.
Trade ultimately is the best confidence-building measure.
Compared to the model Europe
pursued, Asia has had the distinct
advantage that it did not put the cart
before the horse. Its regionalism has
been market-led and thus started out with emphasising the right
path for creating the basis for shared
prosperity in the region. Unlike in
tries that have continued to see their

difficult pasts haunt their future.
Will South Korea follow Vietnam
in putting progress first?
The history-healing aspect aside,
the cross-cultural understanding
that trade connections foster are
also pivotal for Asias future.
Asia is undoubtedly more diverse
than Europe whether in terms of
level of development (from rich Singapore to very poor Laos), politics
(from democracy to dictatorship
and everything between), economics (free markets to state capitalism
and more), or religion (Buddhism,
Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Shintoism and more). In fact, diversity is
the very definition of Asia.
But this diversity has not stopped
Asian countries from working together for prosperity and peace.
And over time, market-led regionalism has proven its value and is
now progressively becoming more
institutionalised.
The evidence to date suggests
that Asias experience in regionalism has been very successful.
Almost seven decades ago, in the
midst of the Cold War, no one
could have imagined Asian countries working together as they are
doing today.
Asias regionalism is most certainly a work-in-progress, but it is
progressing step-by-step. And while
it showed the European Union the
importance of basing regionalism
on the private sector as a driving
force, Asia can now take a decisive
step forward by emulating Europes
past focus on governments working
with each other to overcome the
spectres of the past.
Europe, Asian governments have

arguably followed, rather than led,
this process.
That does not mean, however,
that governments dont have an important role to play. One concrete
example where they can achieve
something transformative is discussions of a possible FTA between
China, Japan and Korea that have
been underway for some time.
Another example concerns relations between South Korea and
Vietnam. The two nations, very
much on opposite ends militarily
during the Vietnam War, are now
slated to sign a bilateral free trade
agreement by years end.
That kind of forward-looking
pragmatism should be an inspiration to other nations across Asia. A
particularly crucial economic dimension where this should play out,
given the size of both economies, is The authors are, respectively, editor
in the trade relationship between of The Globalist, and executive direcJapan and South Korea, two coun- tor of the Asian Century Institute.
Stock markets set to take off as Europe, Asia abandon austerity

BY A NATOL E KA LETSKY
THE Great Divergence is a term

coined by economic historians to
explain the sudden acceleration
of growth and technology in Europe from the 16th century onward,
while other civilisations such as
China, India, Japan and Persia remained in their pre-modern state.
This phrase has recently acquired
a very different meaning, however,
more relevant to global economic
and financial conditions today.
Early last year, the International Monetary Fund published in its
World Economic Outlook an article
analysing The Great Divergence
of Policies around the globe since
the 2008 crisis. The article pointed
out that exceptionally accommodative monetary policies designed
to stimulate recovery were being
counteracted by unusually contractionary fiscal policies in every
advanced economy, first in the eurozone and Britain, later in the US

and Japan. More recently, financial
markets have become obsessed
with another great divergence.
Allianz Global Investors, parent
company of Pimco, the worlds
biggest bond fund, described it
like this in Navigating the Great
Divergence: With the Fed(eral
Reserve) pondering rate hikes and
the ECB (European Central Bank)
launching new stimulus...investors
are faced with divergent influences
from [monetary policy]. Investor
concerns are diverging on both
sides of the Atlantic.
Why should businesses and
investors care about this lexicography? Because by the time an
economic trend has become an
analytical clich, it is usually over
and sometimes a counter-trend
has already begun.
The Great Divergence both
between fiscal and monetary policy and between the US and other
countries is a case in point. The
important trends today, especially
after October policy changes in Japan and Europe, are not divergence
but convergence.
This Great Convergence of macroeconomic policies between the
US and the rest of the world will
drive financial markets and dominate business conditions in the
year ahead. It is not yet reflected,
however, in asset prices or market
trends. Investors continue to obsess
about the tiny gap that may or may
not open up between US and European policies sometime next year,
when the Fed starts gently raising
interest rates.
Far more important than a likely difference next year of a quarter
or half a percentage point between
short-term interest rates on both
sides of the Atlantic, though, is the
convergence of economic philosophies and objectives for the first

time since the 2008 economic crisis. In the past two months, Japan,
Europe and China all moved toward further aggressive monetary
stimulus and reversed previous
commitments to fiscal austerity.
Though it is true that these global policy shifts coincided with the
end of the Feds quantitative-easing
programme, this accident of timing
does not imply that the US is diverging from Europe and Asia. What is
really happening is that Europe and
Asia are finally and reluctantly
following Washingtons road map
out of the Great Recession.
In the eurozone, Britain and
China, hawkish central bankers
have been silenced and monetary
policy has been reset for full-scale
stimulus most recently by the
ECB, which has belatedly accepted
the principle of US-style quantita-
tive easing. In Japan, where money-printing presses were already

running at full throttle, they have
speeded up even more.
The budgetary consolidation
planned in Japan and the eurozone
has been abandoned discretely in
Italy, France and Britain, where the
government will confirm a massive
budget slippage this Wednesday, or
spectacularly in Japan, where Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe has called a
snap general election to confirm
his political victory over the austerity-minded ministry of finance
bureaucrats who were insisting on
another tax hike next year.
The upshot is that every advanced economy is now following
broadly the same macroeconomic
policies as the US: maximal monetary stimulus combined with fiscal
neutrality and the suspension of
counterproductive budget rules.
Reuters
F E AT U R E 1 9
Cheap oil worsens Asian

debtors lowflation woes
Consumers may have to curb spending to repay loans as wages stop rising
BY A NDY MU KHERJE E
liding oil prices may

worsen Asian borrowers lowflation blues.
As wages and prices stop
rising, heavily leveraged
consumers and companies might have to curb spending
to repay loans. Slowing gross domestic product (GDP) growth could
stumble.
Crude fell to a fresh four-year
low after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec)
oil cartel refrained from cutting
production at its meeting last
Thursday. The 34% slump in prices so far this year would usually be
good news for Asia, a net energy
importer. Consumers and companies would spend the money they

saved on petrol and diesel on other
things. Domestic demand would
move into a higher gear.
Tumbling oil is still good for India and Indonesia, whose governments subsidise the cost of energy.
A lower subsidy bill loosens their
fiscal straitjackets, freeing them
up to spend more on infrastructure. But these countries havent

accumulated as much debt. For
leveraged economies like China,
South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia
and Singapore, the rout in commodities has come at a bad time.
In China, companies are overleveraged. In other places, individuals are stretched. Household
debt in South Korea, Malaysia and
Thailand is now in excess of 80% of
GDP; its 76% in Singapore. When
borrowers loaded up on debt,
they expected three things: money printing in rich nations would
keep borrowing costs low for an
extended period; domestic property prices would keep rising; and
steady inflation would boost wages, reducing the real household
debt burden.
The third part of this equation
has buckled. Inflation is low and

slowing across Asia. As oil prices fall, the slide will accelerate. In
South Korea, China and Singapore,
deflation is now a real threat.
Asian economies are not completely helpless. Singapores high
dependence on foreign labour
means it can force companies to
make do with fewer overseas-born
workers, so that citizens get higher wages. More generally, though,
lowflation could curb Asian spending power.
To the extent its a symptom of
weak global demand, cheap oil is
unlikely to be a harbinger of good
times for the export-reliant region.
And if national authorities are late
in using monetary and fiscal policies to fight lowflation, the typical
Asian household risks falling into
a debt trap. Reuters
Integrating Taiwans strengths into global climate action

BY D R KU O-Y EN WEI
SCIENTISTS inform us that modern

industrial development has caused
carbon dioxide concentrations
around the world to exceed the carrying capacity of natural ecosystems.
This has, however, allowed us to
witness what Adam Smith expounded in his Theory of Moral Sentiments, which is that humans have a
natural tendency to be sympathetic
and do, in fact, care about the sustainability of the natural world.
On Sept 23, 2014, with the 2009
Copenhagen climate negotiations
crisis and the 20th anniversary of
the Rio Declaration behind them,
world leaders gathered at the United Nations Climate Summit in New
York hoping to break the deadlock
in climate negotiations and compel
all parties to be more aggressive in
their actions.
International negotiations on
climate change have now entered
a critical stage in the run-up to the
signing of a new global agreement
at the Paris Climate Conference in
December 2015.
Responding to climate change is
a long and daunting task replete with
both challenges and opportunities.
In Taiwan, due to the governments
ambitious policies to promote energy
conservation and carbon reduction,
carbon dioxide emissions from fossil
fuels posted negative growth in 2008,
for the first time since 1990, and have
more or less stabilised in recent years.
Although emissions in 2013 totalled 250.3 million tons, a slight increase of 0.67% over 2012, they remain lower than the historical peak
Filepic of the Taipei 101 building (right), the landmark

of Taiwan, during Earth Hour. Taiwan is currently
setting up its Ministry of Environment and Natural
Resources to better focus its eorts on pollution
prevention, climate change, disaster prevention and
nature conservation. Photo by Reuters
in 2007. Similarly, Taiwans emission

intensity continues to decline, dropping from 0.0197kg CO2/dollar to
0.0163kg CO2/dollar in 2013.
This underlines the positive effect that government policies and
education are having on decoupling greenhouse gas emissions
from economic growth.
Climate change stands as one of
this centurys most important political and economic focal points,
a core issue affecting international
politics, trade and society. Its impact
is broad and complex, and underpins all social, economic and environmental considerations as they
relate to sustainable development.
However, given that climate
change has such a direct bearing on
the national development, competitiveness, and intergenerational equity
of all countries around the world, the
mitigating actions being taken fall
well short of what is required.
As far as Taiwan is concerned,
there is no escaping that we are
all in the same boat and should

therefore be helping one another.
Taiwan is heavily energy dependent and has a limited environmental carrying capacity, so it is
imperative that we receive guidance
on how best to fulfil our commitment to reduce carbon emissions.
Through government restructuring, Taiwan is currently setting up its
Ministry of Environment and Natural
Resources to better focus its efforts on
pollution prevention, climate change
adjustment, river basin management,
disaster prevention and nature conservation, ushering in a new era for
environmental protection.
The aim is to reestablish environmental sustainability values, conserve energy, reduce carbon emissions and environmental pollution,
and create a low-risk environment
characterised by clean production,
comfortable living standards, and
unspoiled ecosystems.
For instance, by applying the
concept of urban mining, waste
responsibility for carbon reduction

and work together on the compromises that a long-term plan demands. The experiences of the United Kingdom, Germany and the EU
tell us that those in power must make
bold commitments and have the
courage to follow through with them.
Equally, there is also a price to be
paid if civil society is to do its part in
making the world a better place. As we
confront climate change, we should
be clear that it is not what ideals we
hold that matters, but rather what we
are together willing to accomplish.
For a long time now, Taiwan has
quietly yet diligently gone about
trying to fulfil its role as a responsible member of the global village
by signing bilateral agreements
and engaging in multilateral cooperation.
We have done our utmost to
take practical steps that reflect the
initiatives and efforts of the United
Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Regrettably, our country remains
excluded from the UNFCCC even
today, despite our desire to become
meaningfully involved in its meetings and activities.
Our participation would enable
us to receive much needed support
and assistance from the international community. It would also
enable us to do our bit by sharing
our experience in environmental
protection with the international
community and other countries in
need, thereby integrating Taiwans
strengths into global climate action.
is transformed into a resource.

Besides promoting recycling and
reuse, if Taiwan can seize the opportunity to develop a green economy, as
well as integrate government policy
and legislation, public and private
sector involvement, market forces,
and technological innovation, it can
reduce its carbon emissions, make
the transition to a low-carbon economy, and achieve its environmental
protection objectives.
After President Ma Ying-jeou announced this year that Taiwans Lungmen Nuclear Power Plant would be
mothballed after safety inspections,
he promised to hold the Fourth National Energy Conference.
This will allow different points of
view on a blueprint for future energy
development to be exchanged in a rational manner. As we discuss energy
supply and demand, we need to let
the public clearly understand that the
real potential for reducing emissions Dr Kuo-Yen Wei is Taiwans Minister
lies in our future energy choices.
of Environmental Protection AdminAll stakeholders must share the istration of the Executive Yuan.
20 FO CU S
MO
Maserati is on to something
It
e
The Quattroporte Q4 S is a touchstone for the marque making a comeback

STORI ES BY HA NNAH ELLIOTT
MA
en
SU
N recent months it has produced the handsome and affordable Ghibli sedan. It has
unveiled the alluring Alfieri coupe concept.
And it has further developed the curvaceous Levante SUV that will debut in 2016.
Several luxury brands of late are brilliantly readying themselves for dramatic product and image improvements in the next few
years. These are automakers fallen from superstar status decades ago but that are primed for
a comeback. Maserati is one of them.
So, this is as good a time as any to address
the Maserati Quattroporte Q4 S, its US$107,000
(RM361,166) AWD sedan.
Ghibli recently overtook the flagship Quattroporte in US sales this year, an expected and
telling sign about the healthy future of the
company. That mid-sized sports sedan is the
most exciting and most significant part of chief
executive officer (CEO) Sergio Marchionnes
goal to sell 50,000 Maseratis worldwide by 2015.
But Quattroporte is a touchstone for the
marque, both as a measure of where it has
been and where it is going. Its spacious and
capable in inclement weather.
It is not the fastest car of its general size and
price on the market. It is also not the tightest
handling and supremely engineered of the lot.
Nor is it the most plush.
But the Maserati Quattroporte Q4 S does
have a certain style. Driving it makes you feel,
if not suave like in the Audi, at least little nasty. It doesnt have real swagger like an Aston
Martin, but it has a bit of an ego and the personality to match. I just wish the engine had
more of a growl to back that up.
I have never been a fan of the modern Maserati look the shark gills on the sides, the
huge toothy grill grin, the wide stance that
apparently feels the need to visually clear its
throat to everyone on the road. Of course, they
are exactly the reason why some people adore
the Maserati.
Our buyers are extremely passionate, Peter
Grady, president and CEO of Maserati North
America, told me recently. He said the level of
engagement is very high for current owners,
and that the rate of closing a sale once someone
comes in to the dealership is higher than 80%.
The trouble is getting fresh faces inside the
dealership in the first place, and Im not sure
Quattroporte is the car to do it. That said, the
new day-running LED headlights and wrapa-
tio
ant
dou
sal
wo
chi
ow
pe
mo
acc
01
01. Its brand new 8-speed ZF automatic
transmission is lighter and more ecient
than its predecessor. It boasts ve modes
(auto normal, auto sport, manual normal,
manual sport, and increased control and
eciency) and employs special software that
will automatically recognise and adapt to
driving styles and road conditions.
po
up
It p
dri
Yor
int
adv
tha
me
02. Inside, the Quattroporte says one thing:

Im big. The dashboard is basically three
horizontal bands swathed in leather and set
with a wide centre console. The ergonomic
seats and spacious headroom will easily t
a 6-foot-plus wide-shouldered man sitting
for hours inside; the controls are clean,
uncluttered and easy to use.
02
round LED rear lights, twin oval tailpipes and

standard 19-inch rims work well together to
present a uniform look on the car. The red brake
calipers on the spec car I received looked sporty.
And I do love the royal connotations and oldschool charm of that famous Maserati trident
evident throughout the wheels, sills, leathers
and hood of the car.
The 8.4-inch touchscreen, in particular, is
perhaps the most intuitive and responsive one
in its class. It controls the front seat heaters,
climate, radio, navigation and drive modes.
The back seat feels like a hollowed-out bunker.
Massive. You might as well bring a change of
clothes and a deck of cards for this thing. Its not
especially plush, but it has decently appoint-
ma
aro
eff
cia
bes
ed leather and wood like a higher-end chain

hotel room or the cabin on a private jet. Its a
good choice if you want something a little lean
but still big enough when it comes to comfort.
Driving the Maserati Quattroporte is not
especially memorable or thrilling. But I have
a feeling most of the people who buy a Quattroporte dont buy it for its performance prowess anyway.
It does feel capable, if heavy, around corners, and gains speed along highway stretches.
The car feels smooth as it accelerates, yes,
but its the smoothness of a large beast that has
determined to finally gather some speed and
gallop in the right direction.
Fine, then. But its not a smooth transition to
move it from drive to neutral, or from neutral

to reverse. Instead, it feels like youre pushing
buttons and pulling levers every which way
like on some sort of trolley.
I do appreciate the Q4 four-wheel drive system in this beast. The system works by routing
the cars power to the rear wheels, except when
it can tell the car is losing grip, at which point
it transfers power to the front until the drive is
balanced between both the front and rear axles.
Credit that adjustment to the Quattroportes
smart drive system, which is engineered to continually vary torque between all four wheels.
I could feel the reassuring grip of the tyres as I
drove in the rain, and I did feel thankful. The
car felt like a tank. Bloomberg
con
at
hal
acc
Wh
itl
saf
tha
ed
the
we
sup
an
ag
gar
lywo
fra
The flying car is (almost) for real as inven
Move over, drones: The future of the ying car is here. Photo by Terrafugia
THE first time Carl Dietrich brought his flying-car concept to the Experimental Aircraft
Associations annual AirVenture gathering
in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, he had only a video
to show the aviation geeks who wandered
by his modest stall. The following year, he
brought the mock-up of a wing. Six years
later, in July 2013, he was finally ready to
fly the prototype.
As the announcer who introduced the Terrafugia Transition put it: Ladies and gentlemen, this is one of the most incredible things
weve seen, ever, here at Oshkosh. Twenty-five
minutes ago, this was a street-legal automobile. Now, its in the air.
Pilot Phil Mateer buzzed the crowd while
the announcer patched into his cockpit microphone to ask him how it felt up there. Im in
a car looking down on traffic, Mateer replied.

And it flies real nice.
The promise of a mass-produced flying car
has taunted aviation enthusiasts for generations, Bloomberg Pursuits magazine will report
in its Holiday 2014 issue. However, Dietrich is
today closer than anyone since pilot Moulton
Taylors ill-fated attempt to make the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)approved
Aerocar in the 1950s.
What Carl and his team are doing is a
re-creation of that same dream, with another lifetimes worth of technology, computing,
crashworthiness and aerodynamic modelling,
said Jake Schultz, a technical analyst at Boeing
Co and author of A Drive in the Clouds: The
Story of the Aerocar.
More than a hundred people have paid de-
po
Tra
(11
the
the
era
bef
FAA
Hig
ove
kos
offi
hin
do
ing
FO CU S 21
M O N DAY D EC E MBE R 1, 2014 T HEED G E FINA NCIA L DA ILY
Italian automaker
eyes women
01
02
tral
ing
way
ysing
hen
oint
e is
les.
tes
onels.
as I
The
MASERATIS primary focus next year: women. But they will need more than just an
SUV and affordable sedan (but its a start).
Last year, the brand sold 15,400 cars nationwide, more than double what it had
anticipated, and execs say that number will
double again for 2014. Beyond that, increased
sales in the US will rely on reaching more
women. So said Maseratis president and
chief executive officer Peter Grady.
A spokeswoman reported that 30% of its
owners are women. Thats roughly the same
percentage as Bentley, and significantly
more than the roughly 8% who own a Ferrari,
according to statistics from TrueCar.com.
Maseratis Ghibli sedan, which is the
makers least expensive model, retailing
around US$75,000 (RM253,500), is its new
effort at reaching a broader audience, especially females. Ironically, it is also Maseratis
best-looking line.
Its hoped that the more-attainable price
point will attract professional women and
upper middle-class mothers.
The car is also a good value for its price.
It performed solidly on city and highway
driving when I drove it last month in New
York. I also appreciated its beautifully-styled
interior with soft leather, smart design, and
advanced technology. So its no surprise
that sales, 10,000 by years end, have easily
met expectations.
If the Levante looks as good as it did in
conceptual form, it has a fighting chance
at attracting women, who make up nearly
half (45%) of the compact SUV buyer pool,
according to a 2013 report from Heels and
Wheels.
But looks will only get Maserati so far
itll have to develop something with stellar
safety ratings and superior efficiency too.
A 2013 report from Kelley Blue Book found
that women tend to be more utility-minded and financially conscious than men;
their top car brands for purchase last year
were Volvo, Infiniti and Fiat. Not exactly
super-luxury SUV territory.
Thing is, there are really no specific woman cars or man cars. If automakers make
a good product everyone will want it, regardless of gender; most of the generally-perceived difference between so-called
womans cars and mans cars, like in the
fragrance industry, is just marketing.
To engage prospective women buyers
01. The Aleri has a 4.7-litre, naturally

aspirated V8 engine that gets 460
horsepower and 384 pound-foot of
torque. It comes with a six-speed
automated manual gearbox and Brembo
carbon-ceramic brakes. All of which is
overshadowed by just how great its curved
hips, thin waist and open grill look.
01
02. Maserati will debut the Levante SUV in late

2016, which is a more direct eort to welcome
women into the fold. It has softly rounded
anks; wide, powerful stance; the signature
Maserati trident grill; and plenty of posh
personalised options inside.
03. Maseratis Ghibli sedan, which is the makers
least expensive model, retailing around
US$75,000, is its new eort at reaching a
broader audience, especially females. It is also
Maseratis best-looking car.
02
now, the company is using direct mail, TV

spots, and digital. These efforts sound archaic.
Young affluent buyers today, especially
women, take shopping cues from myriad social media conversations, from special events
and sponsorships, to product placements in
movies and video games, and partnerships
with fashion and music brands.
Not from watching TV or from getting
paper fliers sent in the mail. The Heels And
Wheels report found that 80% of women
heavily consult the Internet as their primary resource before making a car purchase.
What women of means under the age
of 50 watch television except by DVR and
streaming, which limit ad exposure, and
doesnt immediately toss snail mail unless
its a bill or clearly from a family member or
friend? None that I know.
Look, Maserati has a great foundation
built on stylish cars and a strong Italian
heritage. It has plenty of room to grow, perception-wise, in the United States right now
because precious few women associate it
with anything much at all, either positive or
negative. Females know about us, Grady
noted. They just dont know what we have.
Furthermore, Maseratis recent cars like
the Ghibli and Levante look great; theres
03
no aesthetics problem here. If the Alfieri

Concept is anything to go on, which it is,
Maserati is primed to drop some stunningly beautiful new models in coming years.
It will be expensive, which is historically
a detriment to winning more women buyers, but the halo effect of its cool elegance
will work on everyone regardless of gender.
This is all very promising. Still, Maserati
will have to be much more smart, nimble,

engaged and relevant if it wants to reach
women. It will have to think of itself as a
total luxury lifestyle brand, rather than just
a manufacturer of expensive cars.
Females related to male owners will be
the easiest gets, said Grady. They may have
a 7 Series in the garage, but theyre waiting
for the Maserati. Bloomberg
s inventor makes further refinements to 3rd generation prototype

ed.
car
raort
h is
ton
edved
sa
thng,
ng,
ing
The
de-
posits of US$10,000 (RM33,800) each for the

Transition, which will be capable of 70 miles
(110km) per hour on the road, and 100mph in
the sky when it finally comes to market within
the next three years.
Dietrich is refining details on the third-generation prototype of his US$279,000 vehicle
before attempting certification by both the
FAA, which regulates planes, and the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which
oversees cars.
A year after that triumphant flight in Oshkosh, Dietrich, 37, sits in his sparsely decorated
office at Terrafugias modest headquarters behind a Best Western in Woburn, Massachusetts.
He said he first proposed a flying car as a
doctoral candidate in aeronautical engineering at the nearby Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, where he partnered with a pair

of Sloan School of Management students and
two other engineers (including the woman
whos now his wife) to win second place in
the 2006 MIT US$100K Entrepreneurship
Competition.
That same year, Dietrich also won a
US$30,000 Lemelson-MIT National Collegiate Student Prize, part of which he put toward that initial trip to Oshkosh, where he
met his first angel investors and even signed
up prospective buyers.
We had seven people write us checks for
a product that didnt even exist yet, Dietrich
recalled. Thats a pretty powerful indicator
that people really want this.
One reason the Transition is further along
than any previous flying-car concept is that,
in 2004, the FAA created the so-called light

sport aircraft designation for planes that weigh
less than 1,320lbs (600kg) and seat no more
than two people.
Critics say flying cars are unlikely to be
both great airplanes and great automobiles.
But that misses the point, said Dietrich,
who explained the Transition is intended
to expand the definition of an airplane,
solving a number of persistent problems
in the process.
First, small planes are virtually useless in
inclement weather. If a storm rolls in while
youre flying the Transition, on the other
hand, you can simply land at many of the
5,000-plus airports in the US alone, push a
button to fold up the wings and hit the road
until conditions improve.
At home, you can park it on the street or

in the typical suburban garage. And it runs
on regular unleaded petrol, which is cheaper
and cleaner than aviation fuel and available
at your local service station.
Youre getting comparable mileage to
your road car, but youre going 100mph over
all the traffic, Dietrich said.
It can be frustrating, Dietrich said of the
endless refinements and the pending approvals process, but I wouldnt be doing this if I
didnt think we had the potential to inspire
a trillion-dollar industry.
The way he sees it, flying cars are inevitable, and once the first one proves its way in
the world, others will follow. Already, hes at
work on a semi-autonomous, vertical-takeoff
model. by Josh Dean/Bloomberg
22 W O R L D B U S I N E S S
Macaus junket model

breaks down
These businesses wait up to a year for payments normally collected within a month
BY FA RA H MA STER
MACAU: Junket operators that connect Chinas wealthy punters to

Macaus casinos are waiting as long
as a year for gamblers to repay billions of dollars of loans, crippling
the business model of an industry
that sustains the worlds biggest
casino centre.
These businesses, which lend to
high rollers and operate private gambling rooms, normally collect within
30 days and charge interest rates as
high as 3% per month on overdue
balances, according to Macau-based
junket consultant Tony Tong.
Now the junkets are on the hook
for a surge in bad debts as Chinas

economic slowdown and a crackdown on corruption chase some
VIP gamblers away. With little access to credit and slow repayments,
the money isnt flowing.
The business model looks
near-broken, said Philip Tulk, an
analyst with Standard Chartered
Bank in Hong Kong.
HengSheng Group Co Ltd, one
of the largest junket operators, told
investors in October that 30% of the
outstanding debt owed to its agents
was over a year old, according to
notes taken by a participant at a
conference that was closed to the
media. Many gamblers were mak-
ing monthly instalments rather than

the normal practice of paying in full.
A HengSheng representative declined to comment, saying he was
not authorised to talk to the media.
It is difficult to establish how
much credit these junkets extend
because much of the business is
done informally, but one Hong
Kong-based analyst at an international bank estimated there was
HK$100 billion (RM44 billion) of
outstanding debt.
China limits the amount of
yuan that Chinese can take out of
the country, so junkets serve as
a conduit by lending Hong Kong
dollars or Macau patacas that are
accepted in the casinos.

This system insulates casino
companies from credit risk, and
helped propel Macau revenues to
US$45 billion (RM152 billion) last
year seven times Las Vegas take.
Macaus revenues are on track to
fall 1% to 2% this year, well off last
years gain of 19%.
Without a healthy junket industry, casinos operators such as Las
Vegas Sands Corp and Melco Crown
Entertainment Ltd would have to
rely on mass-market gamblers or extend VIP credit directly a practice
that has led to write-offs in places
such as Singapore, where junkets are
tightly restricted. Reuters
Over 30 central banks include yuan

in their foreign exchange reserves
BY KAO CHAO-F EN & F RANCES HUAN
SHANGHAI: More than 30 central banks in the world have included the Chinese yuan in their foreign exchange reserves, indicating
that the currency is gaining importance in the global market, according to Chinas state-run Economic Daily.
Hu Xiaolian, deputy governor of the Peoples Bank of China
(PBoC), was cited by the report as saying that after Chinas efforts
to boost the global visibility of the yuan, more than 30 central banks
in the world had made the currency part of their forex portfolios as
of the end of October, while a total of 28 central banks have signed
bilateral currency swap agreements with the PBoC.
Due to the closer ties with other central banks in the world, the
trading volume through currency swaps has topped three trillion
yuan (RM1.65 trillion), Hu said.
Hu said that 169 offshore institutions had participated in yuan
trading of the China banking system as of the end of October.
In addition, 16 Chinese financial institutions had issued 105.5
billion yuan worth of bonds overseas, while foreign enterprises
had sold 500 million yuan in bonds in the China market, Hu said.
Amid the PBoCs yuan globalisation efforts, Hu added that the
bank had signed agreements with 12 of its counterparts in the world
in the yuan clearing settlements as of the end of October. CNA
Remember the UK housing bubble?

BY I A N C A MPBELL
LONDON: Just months ago a new house price bubble was seen by
many as the great danger for the United Kingdom. Now the alarm
calls are fading. A foreign capital flood has receded in London,
home-loan approvals are down and house price inflation is easing.
Bubble fears were premature.
Londons extra fizz began just after the Cyprus financial crisis
in early 2013, and intensified after Russias annexation of Crimea
earlier this year. Anecdotal evidence from real estate agents was
that the city saw big inflows at the same time. CrossBorder Capital, an advisory firm, estimated that 13 billion (RM68.70 billion)
of foreign capital flowed into the UK in April this year. That looks
to have driven London prices far too high and a correction seems
likely now. Outside London, too, houses look overpriced. Halifax
says the UKs average house price-earnings ratio is just over 5,
against a much lower long-term average of 4.1. This simple metric
suggests the average British house is 34,155 overvalued.
For now, however, mortgage interest rates are going the other
way, with some five-year deals again available for less than 3% in the
UK. Yet mortgage approvals dropped to a 17-month low in October.
Low pay in the UK economy is the main restraint on house prices.
Britons simply havent got the wind to blow bubbles. Reuters
Employees of state investor Temasek Holdings getting ready to give a media conference
to unveil its nancial results at a hotel in Singapore on July 8. Temasek is among a group
of investors who are putting in 200 million in Lazada Group. Photo by Reuters
Temasek Holdings
invests in online
operator Lazada
SINGAPORE: Temasek Holdings
Pte Ltd has taken a stake in Lazada Group, the operator of a leading
Southeast Asia online shopping
mall, The Straits Times reported.
The daily reported that Temasek
is among a group of investors who
are putting in 200 million (RM842
million). The group includes Rocket Internet AG, AB Kinnevik and
Verlinvest SA who had invested in
Lazada earlier.
Maximilian Bittner, chief executive officer of Lazada Group, said,
This investment provides us with
the strategic flexibility to further
anchor our leadership position and
enhance the shopping experience
for our customers. We are extremely
delighted to welcome Temasek as
a new investor and long-term local
partner and we are also very grateful
for the continued confidence of our
existing investors. To us, it is a clear
recognition of our leading regional footprint, and an affirmation of

the growth strategy and potential
of our business.
Since its operational launch in
2012, Lazada has expanded rapidly with operations in six countries
Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and
Vietnam as well as a sourcing
centre in Hong Kong that drives
crossborder marketplace activities,
The Straits Times said.
Sales on Lazadas websites and
mobile applications have approximately doubled since June 2014. A
key driver of the growth has been
Lazadas Marketplace, a platform
for third-party merchants. Lazada
plans to use the additional funds to
expand and improve its logistics infrastructure, payment solutions and
IT systems to enhance the shopping
experience for its customers.
IN BRIEF
Keppel unit sells
facilities management
arm for S$44.7m
SINGAPORE: Keppel Infrastructure Holdings Pte Ltd,
a unit of Keppel Corp, has
signed an agreement for the
sale of its entire stake in Keppel
FMO Pte Ltd(KFMO) to Cofely
GDF Suez for US$44.7 million
(RM151 million), The Straits
Times reported. The deal is
subject to a post-closing adjustment for working capital
and a deferred consideration
amount of up to S$9.72 million
(RM25 million), which is to
be paid if certain targets are
achieved by KFMO. The purchaser, Cofely South East Asia,
is a subsidiary of the GDF Suez
group, one of Europes leading
facilities managers involved in
the design, implementation
and delivery of integrated facilities management solutions.
HTC announces new

variants of its Desire
mobile phone series
TAIPEI: Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC Corp last
Friday announced new variants in its mid-tier Desire series, in an effort to appeal to
mainstream consumers. The
HTC Desire 620 and HTC
Desire 620G, both of which
have a dual-SIM card slot and
a 5-inch HD display, will be
priced at NT$6,990 (RM764)
and NT$4,990, respectively,
it said in a statement.The former is 4G LTE capable, while
the latter supports 3G data
connectivity, it said. The new
phones launches come at a
time when HTC is battling to
hold onto its market share,
even in its home market of
Taiwan. CNA
Brick-and-mortar shopping still key: SPH Reit

SINGAPORE: Brick-and-mortar
shopping still plays an important role even as retailers embrace e-commerce opportunities, said SPH Reit Management
Pte Ltd chief executive officer
Susan Leng. She was quoted
by The Straits Times as saying
at the inaugural annual general meeting of the Reit (real
estate investment trust) last
Friday, Leng said: The touchand-feel (aspect of retail) still
has a big part to play. She said
brick-and-mortar shopping can
complement the convenience
of e-commerce.
OUE H-Reit to buy Crowne

Plaza Changi Airport and
extension for S$495m
SINGAPORE: OUE Hospitality Trust has agreed to acquire
Crowne Plaza Changi Airport
and the Crowne Plaza Changi
Airport extension for S$495 million (RM1.3 billion), The Straits
Times reported. The manager of
the trust said OUE H-Reit will
pay S$290 million for the 320room hotel and S$205 million
for the extension, which is currently under construction. OUE
H-Reit is buying the properties
from OUE Airport Hotel, a subsidiary of its sponsor, OUE.
24 W O R L D B U S I N E S S
Sonys films stolen in studio

cyberattack source
Online theft and pirating of DVDs cost billions of dollars in lost ticket sales
BY A NOU SH A SA KOUI
LOS ANGELES: Sony Corps film

and TV studio may have had several
films stolen in a Nov 25 cyberattack
that continues to cripple its computer systems, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.
The recent picture Fury, a Brad
Pitt war movie, and the yet-to-be-released Annie and Still Alice have
Wells Fargo
rst big bank
simple enough
to fail
BY DA N I EL I N DIV IGLIO
WASHINGTON: Wells Fargo is

the first big bank to get its affairs in order. The US$1.6 trillion (RM5.4 trillion) lender secured a conditional stamp of
approval from regulators for its
living will. Less credible plans
from 11 other titans suggest
size isnt the main issue. The
real problems are complexity
and interconnectedness.
The provisional post-collapse
plan submitted by Wells Fargo wasnt perfect. The Federal
Reserve and Federal Deposit
Insurance Corp want a revised
version for next year. Unlike
with other big banks, however,
US authorities expressed optimism that Wells Fargos blueprint could facilitate an orderly
resolution in bankruptcy. The
regulatory response also lacked
some of the tougher language
used by the FDIC when it reviewed the others.
When it comes to scale, Wells
Fargo sits in the exclusive US$1
trillion-plus balance sheet club.
The other three members, JPMorgan, Bank of America and
Citigroup, all failed their unwinding-plan tests in August.
In terms of market capitalisation, Wells Fargo, at US$280 billion, also surpasses its rivals. If
systemic risk were correlated
to size alone, then Wells Fargo
ought to be among the riskiest
of the bunch.
Its ability to craft a living will
more quickly underscores the
two big ways in which it differentiates itself. First, Wells Fargo
lacks the global reach of other
mega banks. That minimises
cumbersome, cross-border issues others face. Wells Fargo
being simple enough to fail
should be a small sign of encouragement for shareholders,
bondholders and taxpayers.
Reuters
appeared on file-sharing sites, said

the person, who sought anonymity
because of the sensitive nature of
the matter. The website TorrentFreak, a news site on file-sharing,
said Fury was the second-most
downloaded film at one site.
Vast libraries of films and TV
shows are the main assets of studios such as Culver City, California-based Sony. Online theft, along
with pirating of DVDs, costs the industry billions of dollars annually in

lost ticket sales or retail purchases.
Sony Pictures called the theft
a criminal matter in an emailed
statement, and said the company
is working with law enforcement
to address it.
The hacking incident at Sony
Pictures Entertainment began
when a picture of a skull appeared
on company computer screens.

The image was accompanied by a
message that read Sony had been
hacked by #GOP, believe to stand
for Guardians of Peace, and that
private data would be released if
undisclosed demands werent met.
The attack has forced some employees to communicate via text
message and private email accounts. Bloomberg
Greece said to weigh IMF role in

credit line in Samaras reversal
BY R EBECC A C HRI S TI E ,
NIKOS CHRYS O LO RAS
& M ARCUS BE NS AS S O N
ATHENS: Greece is considering

bowing to external pressure and
accepting a full role for the International Monetary Fund in its next
aid deal with European Union authorities, according to three officials with direct knowledge of the
negotiations.
Keeping the IMF involved would
be a blow to Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, who has pushed for
Greece to have a clean exit from the
240 billion (RM1.01 trillion) bailout and free his country from IMF
oversight. Greece is under pressure from its euro-area peers and
financial markets to accept further
aid and further monitoring to
ensure a stable transition once its
bailout regime concludes at the
end of the year.
I am saying every day that the
programme is running out, theres
a tight timeframe, Dutch Finance
Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who
chairs meetings of euro-area finance ministers, said in an interview in Berlin on Saturday. I get
every day signals, some good, some

bad, on whether Greece will present new proposals on the way forward, he said.
Greece agreed to begin discussing a credit line and IMF participation at a meeting of finance-ministry deputies in Brussels last
Thursday, according to two of the
officials. Heading into the meeting,
Greek officials had said they wanted to secure a short-term extension
to the current rescue programmes
final review, in order to exit the bailout and IMF surveillance as soon
as possible. Bloomberg
Shoppers
browsing
items at the
Amazon.com
store inside
the Westeld
San Francisco
Centre on
Black Friday
in California
last Friday.
Amazon.com
saw a 24%
increase in
sales over
last year.
Photo by
Bloomberg
Black Friday online sales jump 22%

BY THOM AS BLAC K
DALLAS: Sales online the day after

Thanksgiving surged 22% from a year
earlier as US consumers, buoyed by
higher employment and lower gasoline prices, flocked to computers
and smartphones to hunt bargains.
The gain outpaced online shopping on Thanksgiving as heavy Black
Friday promotions attracted consumers, researcher ChannelAdvisor
Corp said on Saturday in an online
statement. Sales at EBay Inc rose 27%

on Black Friday over last year, and
Amazon.com Inc saw a 24% increase.
The online gains give a strong start
to a holiday shopping season that the
National Retail Federation predicts
will be the best in three years. Consumer spending in the last quarter
grew at a 2.2% annualised rate, exceeding estimates for a 1.8% improvement. Black Friday online shopping
was done less on mobile devices
this year than on Thanksgiving, slip-
ping to 46% from 49%, the company

said. The rates of actual purchases
also declined from last Thursday,
perhaps because consumers were
more selective or finding hot items
out of stock, Morrisville, North Carolina-based ChannelAdvisor said.
IBM Benchmark said Black Friday
online sales rose 9.5%, and mobile
sales jumped 25%. For Thanksgiving,
mobile sales on smartphones and
tablets accounted for 52% of online
traffic. Bloomberg
IN BRIEF
Germanys Gabriel
sees Berlin backing
EU-Canada trade deal
BERLIN: German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel said he
expected his Social Democrat
party would back Europes free
trade agreement with Canada.
The deal, which could increase
bilateral trade by a fifth to 26
billion (RM109 billion) and is
widely seen as a template for a
larger trade pact between the
EU and the United States, was
wrapped up in August. However, critics say the investor protection clause, allowing companies to bring claims against
a state if it breached the treaty,
would give multinationals too
much power and could lead to
governments being pressured
into ignoring laws on labour,
the environment and data protection. Reuters
UAE backs Opec move to

halt swing-producer role
in oil market
MANAMA: The United Arab
Emirates backs the Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries (Opec) move to not
play a so-called swing-producer role as oil prices decline,
Energy Minister Suhail Al-Mazrouei said. The ministers remarks came after oil prices
plunged below US$70 (RM237)
last Friday following Opecs decision last Thursday to maintain
production at 30 million barrels
a day. Opec is retreating from
its traditional role as a swing
producer that influences prices
by raising or lowering output to
balance the market, Jeff Currie,
head of commodities research
at Goldman Sachs in New York,
said last month. Bloomberg
GM China to recall more

than 40,000 faulty Buick
LaCrosses
SHANGHAI: General Motor
Cos main Chinese joint venture will recall 40,496 Buick
LaCrosses in March next year
due to faulty headlights, Chinas top quality watchdog said.
Shanghai General Motors Co,
GMs venture with SAIC Motor
Corp, will recall all the Buick
LaCrosse sedans made between Jan 11, 2006 and Nov
8, 2006, the General Administration of Quality Supervision
Inspection and Quarantine said
last Friday. The company will
change the parts free of charge,
it said. Reuters
Mideast funds to return

to Gulf bourses when oil
shock fades
DUBAI: Middle East fund managers expect to put money back
into Gulf stock markets in coming months once the shock of the
plunge in oil prices fades, the
latest Reuters survey of regional
asset managers shows. The slide
of Brent crude to US$70 (RM236)
a barrel last week, from around
US$115 in June, has shifted the
outlook for the oil exporting Gulf
economies. This has caused Gulf
equities to underperform after
a couple of years of strong outperformance. Reuters
W O R L D 25
Taiwan presidents
party post at risk
IN BRIEF
Egyptian court drops case
against Mubarak over
2011 protest deaths
Ma unlikely to be able to push forward stalled trade talks with China

TAIPEI: Pressure was building yesterday for Taiwans president to
step down as chief of the islands
China-friendly ruling party after an
unprecedented election battering
by the opposition threw into doubt
efforts to build closer ties with the
giant neighbour.
With presidential elections due
within two years, President Ma Yingjeou is unlikely to be able to push forward stalled trade talks with China.
The beating Mas Kuomintang
party took at Saturdays local elections shows that its strategy built
with Beijing, to pull the island closer using economic ties, is failing,
said Nicholas Consonery, of political risk consultancy Eurasia Group.
Within hours of the poll announcement, barbed wire was hastily
run atop the metal gates protecting
the Kuomintangs (KMT) headquarters in the capital, Taipei, as a smattering of protesters gathered outside,
shouting Ma, step down!
Inside, Ma bowed deeply before
cameras and apologised for the loss.
The protest petered out quickly, but
the negative sentiment has been
growing for some time.

China is Taiwans largest trading
partner, and has preferred to deal
with Kuomintang party.
The alternative is the opposition Democratic Progressive Party
(DPP), which advocates independence for Taiwan.
It now controls major cities in
southern Taiwan and prevailed
on Saturday in two former KMT
strongholds: Taipei, the capital,
and Taichung, in central Taiwan.
Taiwans premier announced
his resignation on Saturday after
a candidate backed by the pro-independence opposition party was

elected as the next mayor of Taipei,
ending the ruling Kuomintangs 16year hold on the capital.
Premier Jiang Yi-huah, in a hastily called news conference, said his
resignation had been accepted by
President Ma Ying-Jeou.
Saturdays voting, in which a record 11,130 seats were up for grabs in
municipalities, counties, townships
and villages nationwide, come less
than two years before Taiwan chooses
its next president. Reuters
WHO: Death toll from

Ebola outbreak nears
7,000 in West Africa
DAKAR: The death toll from the
worst Ebola outbreak on record
has reached nearly 7,000 in
West Africa, the World Health
Organization said on Saturday.
The toll of 6,928 dead showed
a leap of just over 1,200 since
the WHO released its previous
report last Wednesday. The UN
health agency did not provide
any explanation for the abrupt
increase, but the figures, published on its website, appeared
to include previously unreported deaths. Just over 16,000 people have been diagnosed with
Ebola since the outbreak in
March. Guinea, Sierra Leone
and Liberia have accounted
for all but 15 of the deaths in
the outbreak. Reuters
Crown prince
orders stripping
of royally-given
surname
BANGKOK: Three suspects accused of involvement in the corruption scandal surrounding former Central Investigation Bureau
(CIB) chief Pongpat Chayapan
have been stripped of their royally-appointed surname.
The Personal Affairs Division of
His Royal Highness Crown Prince
Maha Vajiralongkorn issued the
order to remove Akkharaphongpricha from the register of family
names approved by the monarchy.
A family with members who
have served the country or the
palace may apply for a royally-approved surname under the 1915
Surnames Act. If granted, it is considered an honour for the family.
Pol Lt Gen Prawut Thawornsiri,
spokesman for the Royal Thai Police and acting CIB commissioner,
said on Saturday that police received a letter revoking the name
and ordering the suspects to revert
to using their old family name.
Their previous surname was
Kerdampang, Pol Lt Gen Prawut
said, adding the Interior Ministry will carry out the next steps to
outlaw the now banned name.
The BBC reported yesterday that
the family is related to the crown
princes wife. The letter making
the order, which has been widely
circulated on social media, says
the revocation applies to all people
using the name Akkharaphongpricha, not just the suspects.
The letter, dated last Friday and
addressed to the permanent secretary for the Interior Ministry, was
signed by ACM Satitpong Sukvimol, secretary to the Crown Prince
and acting chief of the division.
Natthapol Kerdampang, Sitthisak Kerdampang and Narong
Kerdampang are among five suspects arrested last Wednesday in
connection with the CIB corruption probe. Bangkok Post
CAIRO: An Egyptian court has

dropped its case against former
President Hosni Mubarak over
the killing of protesters in the
2011 uprising that ended his
30-year rule and symbolised
hopes for a new era of political openness and accountability. Mubarak, 86, was sentenced to life in prison in 2012
for conspiring to murder 239
demonstrators, sowing chaos
and creating a security vacuum during the 18-day revolt,
but an appeals court ordered a
retrial. His supporters erupted
in celebration when the verdicts of that retrial which
also cleared Mubaraks former
interior minister, Habib al-Adly,
and six aides were read out.
The defendants had denied the
charges. Reuters
Thirty strikes hit Islamic

State in Syrias Raqqa
monitoring group
THE ART OF SIDEWAYS... Fun has its limits. Until recently, gravity propelled the small cult of the downhill drift trike:
a tricycle designed explicitly to ap its tail sideways. Quite literally, drift-trikers faced an uphill battle: how to return to the crest after
drifting sometimes a mile or more downhill? Enter Local Motors, the Arizona-based, open-source carmaker. Powered by a 1,000-watt,
36-volt hub electric motor and operated through a motorcycle twist grip, the companys Verrado is a drift trike that takes the slog out
of the picture and even enables long, languorous drifts on level ground.
Chinas Xi strikes conciliatory

note, broadens diplomatic focus
BEIJING: Chinas President Xi Jinping
ratcheted down Beijings heated rhetoric and called on the government
to expand its foreign policy agenda
through cooperation and diplomacy.
China should promote peaceful
resolution of differences and disputes between countries through
dialogue and consultation, and
oppose the wilful use of threat of
force, Xi said in a major policy address last weekend, according to a
report by the official Xinhua news
agency late on Saturday.
We have advocated the building
of a new type of international relations underpinned by win-win cooperation, Xi told a meeting of top
leaders convened by the Commu-
nist Party to discuss foreign policy.

China championed a new vision
featuring common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable
security.
Xis remarks are the latest indication that China is adopting more
conciliatory foreign policy tactics
and addressing fears its economic
growth will inevitably spawn a more
muscular diplomatic and military
approach.
Earlier this month, China attempted to mollify relations with
Vietnam, the Philippines and the
US during the annual Asia Pacific
Economic Cooperation summit,
which was hosted in Beijing.
China also has promised more
than US$120 billion (RM405.6 billion) since May to Africa, Southeast

Asia and Central Asia, including a
US$40-billion New Silk Road fund
and a US$50-billion Beijing-backed
Asian Infrastructure Investment
Bank.
We should increase Chinas soft
power, give a good Chinese narrative, and better communicate Chinas message to the world, Xi said.
China also should firmly uphold its territorial sovereignty,
maritime rights and interest and
national unity, Xi said.
Beijing in recent months has
adopted an activist approach to
securing its claims to areas of the
South China Sea. Reuters
BEIRUT: A US-led coalition

carried out at least 30 air strikes
in Syria against Islamic State
militants in the northern province of Raqqa on Saturday, a
monitoring group said. The
Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said
the air strikes hit Islamic State
positions in the northern outskirts of Raqqa city, a major
stronghold of the hardline Islamist militants. The areas hit
by the strikes included the 17th
Division, a Syrian army base
that Islamic State seized in July,
the Observatory said. Reuters
Japan again delays

launch of asteroid probe
TOKYO: Japan yesterday delayed the launch of a space
probe designed to mine an asteroid for a second time due to
bad weather. The blast-off of
Hayabusa2 was now pushed
back by two days to 1.22pm on
Wednesday, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said.
The agency said it decided on
the second postponement due
to fears of strong winds, and
warned that the launch could
be delayed further depending
on the weather. AFP
26 WORLD
Sarkozy wins French

UMP party leadership
But victory not decisive enough to cower his rivals
BY PAU LI NE M E V E L
& G REG O RY BLAC HI E R
Sarkozy (left) being greeted by well-wishers as he leaves his campaign headquarters

after winning his UMP political party members online vote for its new leader on
Saturday. Photo by Reuters
PARIS: Nicolas Sarkozy won the

leadership of the conservative UMP
on Saturday, a potential step towards a bid to be French president
for a second time, but his victory
was not decisive enough to cower
his rivals in the party.
After losing the presidency to
Socialist Francois Hollande in
2012, Sarkozy made a comeback
in September, although recent
polls showed his popularity among
members of the crisis-torn UMP
wavering.
Sarkozy won 64.5% of the vote.
Analysts had said before the vote
that he needed at least 70% to see
off rivals and become the partys
undisputed champion for the presidential battle in 2017.
He scored 85% when he last won
the leadership, in 2004.
Alain Juppe, a UMP heavyweight
who has said he wants to be its pres-
idential candidate in 2017, was not

backing down.
I am ready to help him of course
if we take the course I have set out,
rallying the right and the centre,
he told reporters after the result.
Francois Fillon, Sarkozys other
main potential rival for the UMP
presidential ticket, took a similar line.
Unity does not mean submission, he said in a statement. For my
part, I will defend my convictions.
Sarkozy said the campaign had
been dignified and took comfort
in what he said was a record turnout, calling it in comments on his
Facebook page the best response
to two years of internal quarrels
and divisions.
The 24-hour online vote was
slowed last Friday evening by a cyber attack on the election website,
but in the end more than 58% of its
members had cast a vote, a bigger
turnout than in past elections, and
party officials declared it fully valid.
Reuters
Moldova votes in key crossroads poll

BY A NATOLY GOLIA
CHISINAU: Moldova voted yesterday in a crucial parliamentary

election that hinges on whether the
impoverished ex-Soviet country will
pursue integration with Europe or
return to Russias fold.
Opinion polls showed the political
parties aiming for membership in the
European Union (EU) were roughly
neck-and-neck with those that back
joining Russia in a customs union.
Russia and the EU are locked in

a tug-of-war to win influence in the
region where armed conflict has
erupted in neighbouring Ukraine
between Kievs pro-EU leadership
and pro-Russian separatists.
Moscow does not want to part
ways with Moldova, a former Soviet satellite where it has troops
stationed in the Russian-speaking
breakaway region of Transdniestr,
while the EU is keen for Moldova to
be a success story for its soft power.
Moldovans are voting for MPs

to serve a four-year term in the
101-seat parliament. Parties must
win at least 6% of the vote to get a
seat. No party is expected to gain
an outright majority.
A small country of 3.6 million
wedged between Ukraine and EU
member Romania, around 78%
of Moldovas population is ethnic
Romanian, while Ukrainians and
Russians account for around 14%.
One of Europes poorest coun-
tries, Moldova has struggled to

break free from persistent political crisis.
In June, Chisinau signed a historic association accord with the
EU in the face of bitter Russian opposition. It gained visa-free travel
for its citizens and access to a free
trade zone, as well as hundreds of
millions of euros in funding.
Russia retaliated with an embargo on imports of many Moldovan
foods. AFP
Police chief naps during India

premiers speech
Musicians rally for Hong Kong

pro-democracy protesters
NEW DELHI: Indias top police were left red-faced yesterday

after their chief was caught on national television nodding off
during Prime Minister Narendra Modis speech on the need for
smart policing.
The top brass of the countrys police force gathered in the remote
northeastern state of Assam at the weekend for a major conference
on national security issues.
During Modis address advocating the need for alert, accountable,
reliable and responsive police, footage showed Central Bureau of
Investigation (CBI) director Ranjit Sinha nodding off several times.
Sinha, who heads the countrys top criminal investigating agency, was also filmed by the NDTV network catching some shut eye
during the home ministers speech on militant threats on Saturday.
A CBI spokeswoman did not comment on the footage, but added that Sinha had no health problems that would have caused him
to drop off.
Sinha, who is just days from retirement, has been at the centre
of a controversy over his agencys probe into the sale of 2G telecom
licences to businesses at throwaway prices.
The Supreme Court ordered him off the case earlier this month
over allegations that he privately met with several people allegedly connected to the scam, while the CBI investigation was ongoing. AFP
NEW YORK: Musicians, including Peter Gabriel and Pussy Riot,

are offering support to Hong Kongs pro-democracy protesters in
the form of photographic tributes.
In pictures that started being projected on an outdoor screen
in Hong Kongs Admiralty District last Friday, the musicians each
stand with umbrellas, a symbol of the two-month protests calling
for free leadership elections in the semi-autonomous Chinese city.
In one image, Peter Gabriel the Genesis vocalist turned icon
of world music stands under an umbrella with the caption in
English and Chinese, Water gets everywhere like the will of
the people.
Another shot features a captionless picture of Pussy Riot wearing
masks under umbrellas. Members of the all-female Russian punk
band were arrested for staging a protest against President Vladimir
Putin in Moscows Orthodox cathedral.
New York-based human rights activists helped organise the
campaign to show international backing for the protests.
We want to show the faces of some of the people around the
world who so admire what these young people are doing, said
Hunter Heaney, founder of The Voice Project, which supports imprisoned artists and campaigned to free Pussy Riot.
Protesters want free elections in 2017 for Hong Kongs leader, whom
Beijing says must be vetted through a loyalist committee. AFP
IN BRIEF
Pope Francis prays in
Istanbuls Blue Mosque
ISTANBUL : Pope Francis
prayed silently alongside a
senior Islamic cleric in Istanbuls Blue Mosque on Saturday, in a gesture of inter-religious harmony in a country
bordering the conflicts in Syria and Iraq. Francis took off
his shoes as he entered the
huge mosque, before bowing
his head in prayer for several
minutes, facing Mecca and
standing next to Istanbuls
Grand Mufti Rahmi Yaran,
in what a Vatican spokesman
described as a joint moment
of silent adoration of God. A
similar act by his predecessor
Pope Benedict in 2006 drew
criticism from conservative
Catholics and some Muslims.
Reuters
Ferguson ocer who

killed black teen resigns
FERGUSON: The white police officer who fatally shot
an unarmed black teenager in a St Louis suburb has
resigned, his lawyer said on
Saturday, as activists set out
on a 193-kilometre march to
protest the killing and a grand
jurys decision not to indict
him. The resignation of Darren Wilson from the Ferguson,
Missouri, police force comes
nearly four months after he
killed 18-year-old Michael
Brown and days after the announcement that he would
not face criminal charges.
Reuters
Kiev bans flights into

eastern Ukraine
KIEV: Ukraine authorities on
Saturday banned flights to the
rebel-held east of the former
Soviet republic, the head of
Ukraines aviation authority
said. Flights are banned for
Russian companies to Kharkiv
and Dnipropetrovsk for safety reasons, Denis Antoniuk
told AFP without elaborating.
The two cities serve the rebel
strongholds of Donetsk and
Lugansk in eastern Ukraine.
The open-ended ban also
affects a Ukrainian airline,
Dniproavia, Antoniuk said.
The Lugansk airport has been
gutted by fighting between
separatists and Kiev forces,
while combat continues over
the Donetsk facility. AFP
Kabul police chief

resigns after attacks
KABUL: Kabuls police chief
resigned yesterday, a police
spokesman said, after the
Afghan capital was hit by at
least nine militant attacks in
the last two weeks. General
Zahir Zahir told the interior
ministry he no longer wanted
to continue his job. The minister has accepted his resignation, said spokesman Hashmat Stanakzai. AFP
live it! 27
WELLBEING . THE ARTS . WINE+DINE . STYLE+DESIGN . LEISURE
Zen TODAY
The only normal people are the ones

you dont know very well Alfred Adler
BLAST
from the past
Our compilation of the top 10 television shows
to hit the screens
BY QUA H SU A N N
here has hardly been a more

popular way to unwind after
a long day than to sit in front
of the television and catch the
latest episode of your favourite TV shows like As the World
Turns (1956) and General Hospital (1963),
Star Trek (1966) and I Love Lucy (1951).
Were taking a trip down memory lane with
this list of some of the best TV shows to have
ever aired. Some, you may have watched religiously, others you may never have heard of,
and some were probably shown way before
your time. In chronological order:
1. I Love Lucy
Lucille Ball was to dominate television and
the front pages of magazines for decades to
come, and it all started with I Love Lucy. This
sitcom is set in New York City, and revolves
around the lives of Lucy Ricardo, her husband Ricky Ricardo, and their friends Fred
and Ethel Merts. It ran from 1951 to 1957 and
cemented the importance and popularity of
sitcoms on television.
2. Star Trek
So many phrases first aired on Star Trek
have now become commonplace in the
English language, some 50-odd years after
the show first premiered on television. When
Gene Roddenberry dreamed up Star Trek,
he envisioned a distant time in the future

when there would be no racism, no wars,
and everlasting peace and cooperation on
Earth. Humanity would be free to explore most famous fictional FBI partners in hisspace, and to boldly go where no man has tory. The show aired from 1993 to 2002, and
gone before.
follows Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and
Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) investigat3. The Cosby Show
ing paranormal phenomena from aliens to
The Cosby Show premiered in September ghosts and monsters.
1984, and ran for eight years. The show focuses on the Huxtables, an African-Ameri- 6. Friends
can family living in Brooklyn, New York with Arguably every 90s kids favourite TV show,
Heathcliff Huxtable (played by Bill Cosby), Friends made stars out of the then-unknown
the patriarch of the family. The Cosby Show cast consisting of Jennifer Aniston (Rachel),
has been said to have been TVs biggest hit Courteney Cox (Monica), Lisa Kudrow (Phoein the 1980s, and almost single-handedly be), Matt LeBlanc (Joey), Matthew Perry
revived the sitcom genre and NBCs ratings (Chandler) and David Schwimmer (Ross).
fortunes (TV Guide).
The show premiered in 1994 and popularised The Rembrandts song, Ill Be There for
4. The Simpsons
You and inspired various Central Perk cafes
When do you think the word doh (duh) around the world homages to Friends.
entered the English vocabulary? After people
around the world picked it up from Homer 7. The Sopranos
Simpson, of course. Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa Everyone loves an Italian-American mobster
and Maggie have been household names whos the definition of an anti-hero. What The
since The Simpsons premiered in 1987. Given Sopranos creator, David Chase did was serithat The Simpsons parodies real-life events alise the life of a mobster. In this case, Tony
and people primarily in American society, Soprano, (the late James Gandolfini) in his
series creator Matt Groening will presum- quest to balance the conflicting requirements
ably never run out of story ideas, especially of his home life and his mafia organisation.
when his characters never age!
When the show premiered in 1999, critics
praises quickly flowed in, and the show has
5. The X-Files
won a multitude of awards 21 Emmy awards
Mulder and Scully could perhaps be the and five Golden Globe Awards.
8. Planet Earth
UKs BBC unveiled the most breathtaking,
unparalleled and most expensive nature
documentary ever made in 2006 when Planet Earth premiered. Five years in the making and the first nature documentary ever
to be filmed in high definition, the show is
narrated by David Attenborough, arguably the worlds most well-loved naturalist.
It changed the way nature documentaries
were filmed forever.
9. The Big Bang Theory
It was a formula that had never been attempted before. A show full of nerdy scientists who are not only awkward around
women, but also find more value in comic
books, Star Trek, Indiana Jones and Star
Wars? Who wouldve thought that The
Big Bang Theory would go on to win so
many awards and become one of the mostwatched shows on TV?
10. Game of Thrones
Adapted from George R R Martins beast
of a novel, A Song of Ice and Fire, Game of
Thrones (2011) is a fantasy drama that combines brutality, incest, and dragons. Odd as
it sounds, the show has won over so many
fans that scenes have now become Internet memes.
28
live it!
MO
Personal
ASSISTANT
COMPI L ED BY LLEW -ANN P HANG
WORK. LIFE. BALANCE
ITS never too early to celebrate Christmas

and it begins with NU Whimsical
Christmas at the latest mall, NU Sentral
in Jalan Tun Sambanthan, Kuala Lumpur,
where your eyes will be greeted by 50-foot
tall trees and 30-foot diameter snow
globes. Of course, Santa will be there to
hand out gifts to patrons and pianist Ray
Mak, who has been said to be the regions
premier pianist on YouTube, will be
performing for the month-long event.
LIKE climbing? Then celebrate Camp5s

ninth birthday with a free all-day pass
for climbers but standard access policies
to the premises still applies. This would
mean that if youre a rst timer, you will
need to register for free and novice
climbers will be accompanied by a host.
Around 7pm is when the real party will
kick o with challenges, games and
freebies. There is also a prize for the most
retro climbing outt. Youll need to click
on the Going button on the Facebook
event page on http://on.fb.me/1vTxnal.
Camp5 Indoor Climbing Gym is located at
1, Lebuh Bandar Utama in Petaling Jaya.
BRING in the Christmas season with some

sweet treats and set menus to feast on at
Delifrance. Set meals are served in four
dierent options cheesy turkey pasta
(RM15.90), lasagne (RM17.90), provencal
lamb stew (RM34.90) and poached
salmon with creamy dill sauce (RM34.90).
Indulge your sweet tooth with new cakes
for the festive season like rocky play
land, Santa play land, salted caramel tea
cake with walnut, stollen bread and the
double chocolate tea cake. This year-end
promotion is available at all Delifrance
outlets except in Seremban and at
airports.
A Thankful
FEAST
Celebrating thanksgiving Malaysian style

BY C ARM E L DO M I NI C
he turkey has been carved

and the stuffing gobbled
the traditional American
celebration of Thanksgiving may be over, but being
Malaysians, any festival that
involves food never seems to end. After
all, theres always a reason to be thankful.
With that in mind, I approached Goaborn chef Sapna Anand (author of New
Indian Kitchen) about creating a Malaysianised Thanksgiving spread exclusively
for The Edge Financial Daily, without deviating too much from the classic menu.
She was taken slightly aback, but rose to
the creative culinary challenge like the
adventurous chef that she is.
I walked into a wet market, looked
around and tried to match the flavours
and the taste and see what would go with
the traditional ingredients, she said,
adding that she wanted to keep the authentic Thanksgiving menu experience.
But at the same time I wanted to give
this exclusive spread an edge, concluded
Sapna, with no pun intended.
The results are three creations that
are great as side dishes and desserts.
Asian style Brussels sprout
Method:
Chop off the firm bottom bit of some
500gms of Brussels sprouts.
Discard the first layer and finely chop
the sprouts lengthwise or shred using
a mandolin slicer.
Thinly slice some shallots, 1 tablespoon
of ginger and 2 cloves of garlic.
In a large skillet, heat 1 tbsp of sesame
oil, toss in the garlic, followed by the
ginger and shallots.
Saut for about 3 minutes on medium
heat and then add in the shredded
Brussels sprouts.
Season with salt and crushed black
pepper. Continue to cook for about
3-5 minutes.
Garnish with finely chopped spring
Cranberry pink peppercorn and
onions and/or coriander leaves.
Sprinkle black and white sesame seeds. Bentong ginger relish
Serve warm.
Method:
Defrost 2 cups of frozen cranberries.
Prep time: 15 minutes
In a large pot, bring to boil the cranCooking time: 8 minutes
berries.
Chefs tip: Shred the Brussels sprouts a Add in half a cup of goji berries and
day earlier and keep them fresh by sealanother half cup of water.
ing them in a zip lock bag and store in Add a teaspoon palm sugar and
the fridge.
grate 1 tbsp of ginger as you watch it
Taste review: Very much like a Chinese
boil.
stir-fry vegetable dish; this dish had a hint Continue to cook on medium-low heat
of welcome bitterness that was complefor about 15 minutes or until sauce
mented by the sesame oil and seeds. A
thickens.
warm and comforting dish.
Season with salt to taste.
wo
tur
the
pep
tha
Pa
Me
01
Sprinkle Sarawak pink peppercorn for

garnish.
Prep time: 15 minutes and can be prepared 2-3 days in advance
Cook time: 15-20 minutes.
Chefs tips: The amount of palm sugar
and ginger can be adjusted according
to taste and the Bentong ginger can be
replaced by old ginger. Goji berries can
either be skipped or replaced by raisins.
Be careful of the pink peppercorns; too
much of it as garnish might increase the
level of spiciness of the dish.
Taste review: The sharp taste of this dish
live it! 29
M O N DAY D EC E MBE R 1, 2014 T HEED G E FINA NCIA L DA ILY
02
01. Suggested table setting.

02. Asian style Brussels sprouts.
03. Cranberry pink peppercorn and
Bentong ginger relish.
04. Passion Fruit Creme Brle
before and after caramelizing
the sugar.
05. Chef Sapna Anand.
would have been perfect with a chicken or

turkey. On its own, it was spicy because of
the ginger and the added garnish of the pink
peppercorn. An interestingly demure dish
that is packed with a punch.
Passion Fruit Creme Brle
Method:
Wash and dry ramekin moulds.
Preheat oven at 170 C.
Strain the juices from 3-4 passion fruit.
Keep the seeds.
Prepare 3 egg yolks in a mixing bowl.
In a large pot, bring 2 cups of cream and
cup of granulated sugar to a light boil.
Take cream off the heat, add in the passion
fruit juice and 1tbsp of vanilla essence.
Stir to combine.
Gradually in 2 parts, add the hot cream
into the eggs, mixing gently each time.

Stir well to combine.
Strain the cream and egg mix back into
the pot. You will get a nice smooth mix
when strained.
Bring it back on low heat, whisking gently
for about 5 minutes or till sauce reaches
a consistency that evenly coats the back
of a spoon.
Pour the mixture into ramekin moulds.
Place the moulds in a deep dish baking
tray and put them in oven.
Gently pour water into the deep dish tray,
covering the moulds halfway.
Reduce the heat to 150 C and bake for
about 10-20 minutes depending on the
size of the moulds or until the cream is
lightly set.
Take the tray off the oven and let it rest
for another 10 minutes.
Chill the moulds in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours.
When ready to serve, sprinkle fine granulated sugar evenly and using a blow
torch, carefully caramelise the top till
light brown.
Prep time: 15 minutes or can be made a
day in advance
Chefs tips: Test to see if the crme has set
by gently shaking the tray. If the crme jiggles then its ready. Add 2-3 tbsp additional
sugar if you prefer sweeter tasting Crme
Brle. The seeds can be toasted in the oven
or dried in the sun and sprinkled after the
sugar has been caramelised.
03
Taste review: The perfect end to the meal.

It wasnt sweet as we assume desserts to be
but it did not have that tangy taste of passion
fruit. It was smooth and gentle to the palate.
The sun-dried seeds that were sprinkled on
the top gave the dish and extra texture and
elevated its taste. A highly recommended
dish to try at home.
As for the meat dish, chef Sapna said:
For bold Asian flavours, you can make a
Rendang style roast chicken. Simply buy
the ready-made Rendang paste and mix it
with oil to get a smooth paste. Then, rub it
generously under the chicken skin. To baste
the chicken, melt butter and mix with chilli
oil or chilli flakes. Baste occasionally so that
the meat does not dry out. You may stuff the
chicken with garlic cloves, onions and ginger
to give it that added ummph! The secret is
not to be afraid to try.
The homemaker and chef, who lived in
the United States for over two years before
settling in Malaysia for the past 14 years said:
The point of Thanksgiving is to get together
with family and friends while feasting and
bonding over food and laughter. So, cook
with love. Dont look at cooking as a chore.
Pick easy and hearty recipes. Nutrition is
equally important as taste. And always plan
ahead, so you have better time management
and you will not be flustered on the day.
The Edge Financial Daily is thankful for its
loyal readers and encourages you to count
your blessings at least for this year. Happy
belated Thanksgiving!
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3 0 S P O RT S
Liverpool cannot keep

relying on Gerrard
He has been a fantastic player and still is, says Rodgers
BY TOM H AY WA RD
LONDON: Liverpool can no longer

count on 34-year-old captain Steven Gerrard playing in every game,
said manager Brendan Rodgers
after the 1-0 win over Stoke City
on Saturday.
The Anfield club marked the
16th anniversary of Gerrards debut
by dropping the midfielder to the
bench on the day they celebrated
Guardiola
unimpressed
despite Bayern
going 10 clear
BERLIN: Pep Guardiola says his
defending champions Bayern
Munich must improve on Saturdays 1-0 win at Hertha Berlin
despite opening a 10-point lead
at the top of the Bundesliga.
With their nearest rivals
Wolfsburg facing Borussia Moenchengladbach yesterday, Arjen Robbens first-half goal in
Germanys capital was enough
to give Bayern their 10th league
win of the season in 13 games.
After suffering their first defeat of the season at Manchester
City in the Champions League
last Tuesday, their first loss in
23 games, this was a no-frills
performance against a limited
Berlin side to preserve Bayerns
unbeaten Bundesliga record.
Perhaps the players were
tired after playing 70 minutes
with 10 men in Manchester,
said Guardiola, referring to Mehdi Benatias first-half dismissal
in Manchester.
I was happy with the first
half performance, but we can
improve on the second.
We played well in the first
half, but in the second half we
lacked our style, our way of playing. Its always dangerous when
youre only 1-0 up, and Hertha
are quick on the break.
Bayern went ahead in the
27th minute at Berlins chilly
Olympic Stadium when Mario
Goetze played Thomas Mueller
into the area before Robben hit
the top left-hand corner.
A 1-0 win can happen and
we cant always play well,
said Robben. The second half
wasnt good, but at least we took
three points.
With six months left of the
season, Bayerns march to their
third straight Bundesliga title
looks virtually unstoppable
once again. AFP
his achievements with a special

commemorative programme.
I told him yesterday he wasnt
playing, it was just to give him a
rest, Rodgers told Sky Sports television after 11th-placed Liverpool
ended a run of three straight Premier League defeats.
The reality is at this level with
how competitive the squad is, we
cant just be relying on Steven in
every single game. We have lots of
games in a short period of days so

weve just made a few changes to
freshen up the team.
Steven has been a fantastic
player and still is but at this stage of
his career he cant play every game.
Steven is an incredible and absolutely phenomenal player and believe it or not an even better man,
added Rodgers.
I wasnt actually aware it was
the 16th anniversary of his debut
until I walked into the dressing

room and saw the programme.
One club man Gerrard, who has
lifted one Champions League title, two FA Cups and three League
Cups with Liverpool, is still revered by the fans and his introduction in the 75th minute ignited the crowd and provided the
momentum for a late push that
yielded Glen Johnsons winner.
Reuters
Van Gaal pleased by Uniteds best

performance this season
LONDON: Manchester Uniteds 3-0
win over Hull City in the Premier
League on Saturday was their best
performance of the season, said
manager Louis van Gaal as they
cemented their top four position
with a third straight victory.
Chris Smalling, Wayne Rooney
and Robin van Persie were on target
as the hosts made light work of a
Hull side under former United great
Steve Bruce, who was in charge of
his 700th game in management.
United now have 22 points from
13 matches.
After a difficult start to the
Premier League season in which
United claimed three wins from
their opening 10 fixtures, steady

improvement in recent weeks has
seen them take maximum points
from their last three outings.
In July, Van Gaal said it would
take three months before his new
side would fully adapt to his playing style and managerial methods
and recent performances suggest
his prediction is coming to fruition.
We have dominated the game
from the first minute to the last
minute. It was our best match when
you see the full 90 minutes, Van
Gaal told Sky Sports.
We have dominated, we have
created many chances and we
didnt give any chances away. Clean
sheet again and I think we are on

the right path.
It was the first time since December 2013 that United had won
three consecutive league games,
and the Dutchman reckons continued style improvements will yield
further victories.
I think you have to work hard
to improve and I think the players are doing that. Its nice that we
have won three times in a row but
we have to improve our playing
style, he said.
Today I have seen we have improved and that is the most important thing. Then the victories are
coming. Reuters
Ancelotti delighted with unselfish Ronaldo

MADRID: Real Madrid coach Carlo
Ancelotti hailed Cristiano Ronaldos
impact despite failing to score for
the first time in La Liga this season
as the European champions recorded a club record 16th consecutive
victory in all competitions with a
2-1 win at Malaga.
Ronaldo set up Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale either side of
half-time to take his tally of assists
to 10 alongside 26 goals in just 20
appearances this season.
It is strange because we are so
used to him scoring, but he provided two assists and a great part
of the merit for this victory is owed
to him, said the Italian.
Madrid withstood a late surge
from Malaga after Isco was shown a
late red card on his return to La Rosaleda and Roque Santa Cruz headed
home a consolation in stoppage time.
Victory takes Ancelottis men
five points clear of Barcelona for 24
hours at least as the Catalans face
a tough trip to Valencia yesterday.
And the former Chelsea boss
was keen to heap the praise on his
players for a stunning run over the
IN BRIEF
Saudi spitter slapped
with eight-match cup ban
report
MANILA: AFC player of the year
nominee Nasser Al Shamrani has been banned for eight
matches for spitting and head
butting an opponent after the
final of the AFC Champions
League earlier this month, Arabic media reported yesterday.
The Saudi strikers ban, the least
he could have received after
being found guilty, is only for
matches in the AFC Champions
League, meaning he will be free
to represent his country at the
Asian Cup in January and his
club Al Hilal in domestic competition, the report said. Yemens Hamid Al Shaibani, deputy
chairman of the Asian Football
Confederations disciplinary
committee, revealed the ban to
the waslnews media portal after
a meeting in Manila. Reuters
Davies double kills

Henrys MLS dream
NEW YORK: Charlie Davies
scored twice as the New England Revolution reached the
MLS Cup, the leagues title
game, after Saturdays 2-2 draw
with the New York Red Bulls
gave them a 4-3 aggregate win
in the Eastern Conference final.
The Revolution will face the
winner of the Western Conference in the final. The LA Galaxy hold a 1-0 lead from the
first leg when they travelled to
Seattle yesterday. For Frances
Thierry Henry, it was likely his
final game for the Red Bulls
and possibly of his career
the 37-year-olds contract concludes at the end of the season
and he has given no indication
he will extend it. Reuters
David Beckham and son

unhurt in UK car crash
LONDON: Retired English soccer star David Beckham and
his teenage son Brooklyn were
involved in a car crash outside
Arsenals training ground in
Hertfordshire, north of London,
but did not suffer any injuries,
according to a source close to
Beckham. The Telegraph newspaper said Beckham, 39, the
former England captain, was
picking up his 15-year-old
son when his Audi RS6 was
involved in a collision with another car but were saved by the
deployment of the cars airbags.
Brooklyn, who plays for Arsenal
under-16s, had just finished a
match against Brightons under-16s, the Telegraph said in
its online edition. Reuters
Wenger brushes o time

to say goodbye banner
Ronaldo (right) preparing to kick the ball during Real Madrids match against Malaga
in Malagaon on Saturday. Photo by Reuters
past eight weeks that has seen them

overtake the 15 consecutive wins
achieved by Miguel Munozs side
in 1960/61 and with Jose Mourinho
in charge three seasons ago.
I am very happy. It seems like
a dream, but we are delighted and
hope is continues.I will get the merit
for this record, but in reality I have the

luck to coach a fantastic team, with
fantastic players at a fantastic club.
I have profound admiration
for these players that are playing
very well. We need to keep going
though because the season is very
long. AFP
WEST BROMWICH: Arsene

Wenger looked a relieved manager after Arsenal won 1-0 at
West Bromwich Albion on Saturday although he refused to
comment on a banner calling
for him to leave the club. I do
not comment on that, Wenger
told reporters after his side won
in the league for the first time
in nearly a month. The job of
every manager is to prepare for
the future. Reuters
S P O RT S 3 1
Spectacular Spieth walks

away with Australian Open
First American to take title since 1993 and youngest winner since 2000
AFP
BY N I CK MU LVENN EY
SYDNEY: Rising American talent

Jordan Spieth (pic) shot the round
of his life for an eight-under-par
63 as his rivals laboured in the
Sydney wind to claim his second
professional title by six strokes at
the Australian Open yesterday.
The Texan, who shared second
place on his US Masters debut
in April, fired eight birdies in a
flawless final round to secure the
Stonehaven Cup at 13-under 271
for the tournament at The Australian Golf Club.
The A$1.25 million (RM3.6 million) tournament had been billed
as a duel between world No 1 Rory
Murray outlines
wedding plans
as he loses again
in Manila IPTL
MANILA: British No 1 Andy
Murray hopes to marry Kim
Sears next year after the former Wimbledon champion announced their engagement last
week after nine years together.
We have a plan to get married next year, thats the plan
but no dates are set yet, Murray
told reporters in Manila yesterday, where he is taking part in
the new International Premier
Tennis League (IPTL) team tournament.
Murray has yet to win a match
in the Philippines after his team,
the Manila Mavericks, went
down against an Indian Aces
side led by Roger Federer and
Ana Ivanonic last Saturday.
The world No 6 lost his singles match to Gael Monfils 6-4
before teaming up with Maria
Sharapova for the mixed doubles, in which they stumbled
to a 6-1 defeat against doubles
specialists Rohan Bopanna and
Sania Mirza.
Murray, who also lost twice
last Friday against the UAE Royals, said his team had struggled
in their first matches in the tournament because were not used
to playing this format.
Were not used to being part
of a team, he added. Its been
a good experience. Weve had
good fun and its been something completely different for
the players.
The 27-year-old Scot said the
event in Manila hopes to draw
more fans to professional tennis
as some of the worlds best players visited an Asian city where no
ATP and WTA tournaments are
currently held. Reuters
McIlroy and No 3 Adam Scott but

21-year-old Spieth stole the show
with his stunning final round.
The world No 14 was the
youngest Australian Open champion since Aaron Baddeley won
his second title as a teenager in
2000 and the first American since
Brad Faxon in 1993, when Spieth
was just a few months old.
I didnt think the round was
out there but the putts just kept
going in, Spieth said in the greenside presentation. Its the best
round Ive ever played, the best
win Ive ever had, its pretty awesome.
Spieths final round score was a
record on the newly-reconfigured
course but a better indication of

its quality was that only seven
other players finished under par
for the tournament.
Australian Rod Pampling hit a
68 for second place, a shot better than compatriot Brad Rumford (70) in third with another
local Greg Chalmers (71) in fourth
on five-under. All three secured
berths at next years British Open
at St Andrews.
Scott (71) was fifth on four
under, while defending champion McIlroy, whose victory at the
Royal Sydney last year provided
a springboard for his stellar 2014,
finished 15 shots off the pace in a
share of 15th after a 72. Reuters
Federer reacting to
the noise made by the
supporters on Nov 24
in Lausanne during the
ocial ceremony after
Switzerland won the Davis
Cup nal. Photo by AFP
I dont know why that is. Federers game doesnt affect Rafael as
much. In any case, one is the best
for the titles they win.
Federer has won 17 Grand
Slams, Rafael has won 14. He was
No 1 for five years, Rafael for three.
Therefore, there is no discussion,

he is the best.
And he added that current world
No 1 Novak Djokovic isnt far off the
level of Federer and Nadal despite
being someway behind in Grand
Slam titles with seven to his name.
Djokovic is a great player, for
me he is almost at the level of Federer. He is very good, I dont know if
he is better of worse than Rafael.
In titles, Rafael is better than
him. In terms of how they play, I
dont know. At the end of the day
everyone is free to have whatever
opinion they want. AFP
Australia skipper Clarke pays tribute to brother

SYDNEY: A day after he choked
back tears addressing the media
on behalf of his team, Australia
cricket captain Michael Clarke
has opened up on his own feelings
about the death of his brother
Phillip Hughes.
Hughes died last Thursday, two
days after he was struck in the head
by a short-pitched delivery during
a first class game at the Sydney
Cricket Ground.
The lefthanders death has created an outpouring of grief and
emotion from even outside the
cricketing world, while Cricket Aus-
tralia have postponed the first Test

against India, which was scheduled
to start this Thursday.
I dont have a blood brother,
but I am very proud to have called
Phillip my brother, Clarke wrote in
a column for the Sunday Telegraph
on what would have been Hughes
26th birthday.
I am a better man for having
known him. I dont think in 12 years
of playing cricket at the top level I
have ever come across a more loyal
or generous-hearted teammate.
Whenever Hughesy suffered
adversity, if he was replaced in
Cook should be dropped as

England captain Botham
LONDON: Alastair Cook
should be dropped as England
one-day captain after presiding over another flat and tedious display in an eight-wicket
defeat by Sri Lanka last Saturday, according to former
all-rounder Ian Bothavm. The
hosts easily chased down Englands paltry 185 in the second
match of the series, reaching
their target with more that 10
overs to spare thanks to Mahela Jayawardene (77 not out)
and Kumar Sangakkara (67
not out). Cook, who averages
less than 30 in 14 one-dayers
in 2014, managed a meagre 22
runs before falling to part-time
spinner Tillakaratne Dilshan
and offered little attacking intent in the field. Reuters
New Zealand close on

series-levelling victory
Federer is best all-time tennis

player, insists Rafael Nadals uncle
MADRID: Rafael Nadals uncle and
lifelong coach Toni Nadal believes
Roger Federer and not his 14-time
Grand Slam champion nephew deserves to be considered the greatest
tennis player of all time.
Federer holds the record for
Grand Slam titles with 17 and added
his first ever Davis Cup title to his
list of achievements last weekend.
I think he is [the best of alltime], the numbers say so, Toni
Nadal told Spanish radio station
Cadena COPE.
Federer is the best in the history of the game alongside Rod
Laver and, unfortunately for us, it
is like that.
However, Nadal has consistently
had the upper hand on the world
No 2 throughout their illustrious
careers.
The Spaniard holds a 23-10 lifetime record over Federer and hasnt
lost to him in a Grand Slam since
the Wimbledon final of 2007.
IN BRIEF
the team or if he wasnt scoring as

many runs as he wanted he never dropped his head, never once
complained.
If he had a tough conversation
with a selector he would nod, agree
he needed to work harder, grin because he felt bad for the person
delivering the message and then
get on with it.
Clarke, who is battling a hamstring injury and would have likely
been replaced by Hughes in the test
side for the Dec 4 to 8 game at the
Gabba, was a virtual constant at his
bedside until he died. Reuters
SHARJAH: The spinners tightened the screws on Pakistan after paceman Trent Boult struck
three times with the new ball
to put New Zealand on course
for a series-levelling victory in
the third and final Test in Sharjah yesterday. On a docile pitch
at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium where New Zealand posted their highest total in Tests,
the 25-year-old Boult extracted
enough movement and pace to
rattle the Pakistan top order. The
hosts, leading 1-0 in the series,
went to tea on 147 for seven with
Asad Shafiq (51) and Mohammad Talha (zero) at the crease
and still trailing New Zealand
by 192 runs. Reuters
Sharapova tormented by
shot-clock in IPTL play
MANILA: Maria Sharapova expressed mock disgust last Saturday at the inaugural International Premier Tennis League
tournaments beeping shotclock, part of a novel experiment
designed to speed up tennis and
make it more fun to watch. The
world No 2 likened the 20-second clock, which beeps loudly when players take too long
winding up with their serve, to a
bedside alarm clock. I feel like
pressing snooze all the time,
the Russian star said, giggling
with reporters when asked what
she disliked most about the new
IPTL format. AFP
Israeli umpire killed after

ball strikes him in the face
JERUSALEM: An umpire standing in a cricket match in the Israeli city of Ashdod was killed
after being struck by a ball last
Saturday, Israeli police said.
Police said the 60-year-old umpire, who was not named, was
taken to hospital in the nearby
town of Ashkelon in critical
condition where he died of his
injuries. One of the players who
witnessed the incident told the
Nana10 website that the umpire, standing at the bowlers
end, was struck by the ball in
his face after it ricocheted off
the stumps from a shot that
came straight back down the
pitch. Reuters
3 2 S P O RT S
Cheika faces up to
Australia rebuilding job
He has a good base to work from
BY MI TC H PH I L LIP S
LONDON The last time Australia

lost three games on a European
tour in 2005 it led to coach Eddie
Jones being sacked, but they are in
a very different place now despite
last Saturdays defeat by England
completing another hat-trick.
Following defeats by Ireland and
France, they went down 26-17 at
Twickenham and have a solitary
win over Wales to show for their
efforts.
It was a poor return to mark the
end of a year where the teams offfield dramas got more coverage
than their play but nobody in rugby will expect them to be down
for long, especially with Michael
Cheika now in charge.
Cheika, who won the Heineken
Cup and Super Rugby titles with
Leinster and the NSW Waratahs,
is used to rebuilding jobs and will
Ocean racers
wade to safety
after being
grounded on reef
fly home knowing he has a good

base to work from.
It is a pattern Ive seen before
we are changing things around,
said Cheika, who has introduced
a different defensive approach to
his team that is taking time to bed
down.
The defence is improving but
this team probably doesnt believe
in itself enough. There are a lot of
changes that have been undertaken
on this trip and theres been a lot
of mental fatigue.
But its been a great learning
experience. I have got to know the
players, I have built important re- Chris Robshaw of England lifting the shorts of his opposite number Michael Hooper
lationships between coach and of Australia during their international rugby test match at Twickenham Stadium in
player. I have seen the positives and London last Saturday. Photo by Reuters
negatives of the environment and
what needs to be changed as well.
While the Wallaby backs looked up to scratch.
the home sides rolling maul, givas dangerous as ever, Cheika, like
Their scrum was demolished, ing away the penalties that allowed
several of his predecessors, faces leading to both England tries, while George Ford to kick the game out of
a tough task in bringing his pack they really struggled to deal with Australias reach. Reuters
Wales sink Springboks, end

southern hemisphere jinx
BY JUSTIN PALM E R
ALICANTE, Spain: A nine-man

Volvo Ocean Race crew were
forced to abandon their boat in
the early hours of yesterday after it was badly damaged when
it became grounded on a reef in
the middle of the Indian Ocean.
Danish entry Team Vestas Wind
was running in fourth place in Leg
2 between Cape Town and Abu
Dhabi when the collision happened close to the tiny archipelago of St Brandon, 430km to the
north-east of Mauritius, at just after
1500 GMT last Saturday.
The incident occurred in a part
of the Indian Ocean known for
being well populated by sharks.
The order to abandon the
4.75 million (RM20 million) boat
was given by Australian skipper
Chris Nicholson around 0000
GMT and he led his team, wading knee deep through the waves
in darkness, to a rock which provided them a dry place to shelter.
A small boat from the nearby
coastguard at le du Sud then
picked them up just after daybreak and took them to the tiny
islet where they rested after their
ordeal.
Another boat in the race,
Team Alvimedica (Turkey/US)
stopped racing and sped to the
area where Vestas was grounded
to assist if necessary. It was later
cleared to resume after Nicholson confirmed that none of his
crew was injured and had been
safely rescued. Reuters
CARDIFF: Wales ended their

long and frustrating wait for victory over a southern hemisphere
heavyweight when Leigh Halfpenny
kicked them to a 12-6 victory over
South Africa last Saturday.
Welsh celebrations were at odds
with Springbok gloom. Among the
World Cup favourites when they
return to these shores next year,
their northern hemisphere tour was
marred by a dislocated knee cap
suffered by captain Jean de Villiers.
Im worried about Jean, South
Africas head coach Heyneke Meyer told reporters. When Jean got
injured it was a big setback.

De Villiers sustained the injury just before the hour, the centre
falling awkwardly after a tackle by
Wales No 8 Toby Faletau as a maul
collapsed.
It was only a second win for
Wales in 28 games against the big
three of New Zealand, Australia
and the Springboks, and the first
over South Africa since 1999 having
lost their last 16 before Saturdays
triumph.
Wales had come agonisingly
close to beating the Springboks in
June, a late converted penalty try
condemning them to a 31-30 defeat
in Nelspruit.
That was just one of a number of

close calls against the bigger beasts
under coach Warren Gatland, but
Wales captain Sam Warburton said
Saturdays win was not a surprise.
It doesnt feel like a monkey
off our back to be honest, he said.
I always thought it was definitely a matter of when, not if. I never
doubted our teams ability.
In a dress rehearsal for a possible World Cup quarter-final meeting next year, Pat Lambie landed
two penalties for the tired-looking
Springboks who go home after suffering tour defeats against Ireland
and Wales, along with victories over
England and Italy. Reuters
Fury has Klitschko in sights after Chisora rout

LONDON: Tyson Fury has WBA,
IBF and WBO champion Wladimir
Klitschko (pic) in his sights after
beating Dereck Chisora in their
world title eliminator to become
the new European and British heavyweight champion last Saturday.
Fury dominated fellow English
fighter Chisora, who failed to come
out for the 11th round, to hand the
26-year-old his 23rd career victory
that could now see him challenge
veteran Ukrainian Klitschko.
Tysons mandatory now for the
heavyweight world title, Furys promoter Mick Hennessy told the BBC.
Wladimir Klitschkos being allowed one more fight in March
or April, then itll be purse bids,

then the fights on. Itll be June to
September. The big fight is on, and
Klitschko has to just take it and not
swerve it.
Chisora, 30, who was defending the European title he won in

September last year, was unable
to avenge his 2011 loss to Fury
despite coming into the fight on
the back of a five-fight winning
streak.
Fury, who had only fought two
bouts in the last two years, switched
to southpaw in round two and controlled every round.
Klitschko has not been beaten for 10 years and has made 17
defences during his second reign
as world champion. His last fight
was a fifth-round knockout of Bulgarias Kubrat Pulev earlier this
month. AFP
IN BRIEF
Wallaby Pocock arrested
at mine protest
SYDNEY: Former Wallabies
captain David Pocock was arrested yesterday after chaining
himself to a digger with other activists in protest against
the biggest coal mine under
construction in an Australian
national forest. The Zimbabwe-born 26-year-old, who
has been sidelined for the
last two years by knee injuries, joined local farmers and
environmental campaigners
in the blockade at Whitehaven Coal Ltds Maules Creek
mine in the Leard State Forest in north-west New South
Wales. The Brumbies flanker
was arrested along with a local
farmer, the protesters Leard
Forest Alliance said in a statement. Reuters
Sainz joins Verstappen

at Toro Rosso
LONDON: Spanish youngster
Carlos Sainz, whose father and
namesake was a double world
rally champion in the 1990s,
will race in Formula One next
season with Toro Rosso in the
youngest line-up on the starting grid. The Red Bull-owned
team said last Friday that
the 20-year-old would partner 17-year-old Dutch rookie
Max Verstappen whose father
Jos was a Formula One regular. Team principal Franz Tost
said in a statement that the all
new line-up continues the
Toro Rosso tradition of providing youngsters from the
Red Bull Junior Driver Programme with their first steps
in Formula One. Reuters
Specialist to assess De
Villiers World Cup chances
CAPE TOWN: Jean de Villiers
has significant knee ligament
damage and will likely find out
later this week if he has a realistic chance of recovering in
time to captain South Africa
at next years World Cup. The
centre dislocated his knee cap
in the Springboks 12-6 loss to
Wales in Cardiff last Saturday
and scans have revealed the
damage is extensive, with no
timeframe yet put on his recovery. The scans revealed
significant ligament damage to
the inside of his knee and the
supporting muscles, team doctor Craig Roberts said in a news
release yesterday. Reuters
Toulon beat Clermont

to go top in France
PARIS: Reigning French and
European champions Toulon
defeated arch-rivals Clermont
27-19 to move top of the Top
14 last Saturday. Clermont had
held a three-point advantage
over Toulon going into the
top-of-the-table clash at the
Allianz Riviera in Nice. But
in an intense game, Toulon
prevailed largely thanks to
three tries from New Zealand winger David Smith (14,
73) and Maxime Mermoz (37)
with the France centre also
instrumental in two decisive
passes. AFP

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FBM KLCI 1820.89

KLCI FUTURES 1816.50

MONDAY DECEMBER 1, 2014 ISSUE 1850/2014

Italian automaker eyes women

Firefly grows amid

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Targeted fuel subsidy delayed but

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For breaking news updates go to

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Ecoworlds first show

The Edge Communications Sdn Bhd

Level 3, Menara KLK, No 1 Jalan PJU 7/6,

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our vision of creating a township

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Fuel subsidy job delayed but Datasonics prospects intact

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EGMs as they deemed they were

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Asked if Firefly would consider

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