Petronas to provide spa facilities at stations

KUALA LUMPUR: Petronas Dagangan Bhd plans to open 30 auto spa facilities at selected service stations this year.

 Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Amir Hamzah Azizan said the company started the service late last year and to date, it had opened six spas in the Klang Valley.
"Given the favourable response, we will definitely be extending this service to the rest of our Petronas stations in stages over the next few years," he said.
Speaking to reporters after the launch of Petronas Durance car care products and air fresheners here today, he said the new spas would be in selected major areas especially the Klang Valley, Johor Baharu, Penang and Kerteh.
"For this new service, it will not require a major investment from us," he said.
On Petronas Durance, Amir Hamzah said Petronas Dagangan would focus on promoting the products through its 972 service stations nationwide this year, and make it available at retail stores and hypermarkets in major cities later.
Developed by Petronas Dagangan's Italy-based sister company, Petronas Lubricants International, Petronas Durance has a range of products engineered to deliver international quality standards and protect both interior and exterior of vehicles.
Meanwhile, Amir Hamzah said Petronas Dagangan would open about 67 new service stations nationwide by year end.   -- BERNAMA

Published: March 10, 2012

Author: News Straits Times

Right decisions vital for Proton: Mahaleel

KUALA LUMPUR: Proton Holdings Bhd has everything to become profitable and successful if DRB-Hicom Bhd takes the right business decisions, former chief of the national car maker, Tengku Tan Sri Mahaleel Tengku Ariff, said.

He said placing the right person to lead the company will be very important to drive Proton back to glory.
Any business can be transformed in a positive or negative manner, depending on decisions taken by the management, Tengku Mahaleel, who spent eight years as Proton's Chief Executive Officer, told Bernama in an interview.
"In any business it is very fundamental that you put the right guy in the right place.
"Look at (Tan Sri) Tony Fernandes, how he brought AirAsia to glory and Celcom. It is all about people. Companies never compete against each other.
"It is only human beings who compete. In that case, we need good and suitable brains to face the competition out there," he said.
Tengku Mahaleel said it is now up to DRB-Hicom to decide on the most suitable person to run the company.
In January, state asset manager Khazanah Nasional Bhd announced the sale of its 42.74 per cent stake in Proton to DRB-Hicom for RM1.291 billion.   
The sale was concluded in March and DRB-Hicom appointed its Managing Director Datuk Seri Mohd Khamil Jamil as Proton Executive Chairman and Executive Director, replacing Datuk Seri Nadzmi Salleh, who tendered his resignation days after the completion of the deal.
Late last month, the national auto maker announced that Datuk Seri Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir and Azhar Othman have opted to resign as Group Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, respectively, in July this year.
It is widely believed that DRB-Hicom Chief Operating Officer Datuk Lukman Ibrahim is poised to take over from Syed Zainal.

Asked on the capability of DRB-Hicom to drive Proton to future glory, Tengku Mahaleel said: "I cannot comment on DRB-Hicom or the decisions that they have taken because I have never worked with them. I am not sure what their business style is."
In a related development, he said the global car industry is very fluid with many drivers of change, adding the industry is playing in the upper segment, comprising people who can buy cars.
"But that market is only 600 million people globally. On the flip side, people without cars is about two billion people.
"That is why Tata Motors in India came out with Tata Nano cars. It is affordable. Proton can also look into this area," he said.
Tengku Mahaleel joined Proton in 1996 as Vice President of Strategy and Operations, and was later promoted to Chief Executive Officer of Proton Holdings Bhd in April 1997. He held the position until September 2005.-- BERNAMA

Published: June 8, 2012

Author: News Straits Times

Tabung Haji likely to declare higher dividends this year

KUALA LUMPUR: Lembaga Tabung Haji (LTH) is well-placed to disburse higher dividends this year to depositors following attractive returns on investments coupled with proceeds from the sale of its stake in a plantation company in Indonesia.

This is a reflection of the national pilgrim fund board's efforts to ensure depositors' capital remains protected while at the same time giving them "handsome" returns, said group managing director and chief executive officer Datuk Ismee Ismail.

 

He told Bernama in an interview recently that LTH would ensure that any investment made would bear fruit for them and their depositors at the end of the day.

 

"Last year, we declared six per cent dividend (and) hopefully, this year, we should be able to maintain our performance. We are working very hard to ensure that Tabung Haji depositors' money, the capital, is protected and for them to get a decent return for their savings," he said.

 

As of February 2012, there were 6.9 million depositors in Tabung Haji. 

 

The higher returns on investment have allowed LTH to continue to absorb some of the pilgrimage cost for Malaysians that continues to rise every year due to different external factors, Ismee said.

 

"Alhamdulillah, in the past few years, we have been subsidising haj pilgrims. We have been able to do it because of the good returns from our investments," he said.

 

This year, he said, the subsidy per person has risen to RM5,175 from RM4,320 last year due to the rise in accommodation, transportation and related costs, yet LTH depositors on their first pilgrimage are charged RM9,980 for the haj package, a rate that has not changed since 2009.

 

"In the haj training course, we always inform them: if you are a first-timer and going under muassasah (normal package service), this is how much Tabung Haji supports. In a way, our higher returns on investments directly benefit intending haj pilgrims," he said.

 

He said the fund board's real estate investments in Mecca are also a long- term strategy to reduce pilgrimage cost as it can use the returns on investments as cross subsidy.

 

On the RM3 billion proposed sale of its 95 per cent stake in PT TH Indo Plantations, Ismee said the buyer has been given until the end of August to complete the due diligence process.

 

"Of course, with the sale, this is going to be an exceptional item for the year and of course, we will be making a handsome profit from this transaction. We are going to declare as dividends to depositors, (definitely) it will translate to higher dividends," he said. 

 

LTH first bought the stake in 1997 for between RM800 million to RM1 billion.

 

The Indonesian unit has 83,879 hectares of plantation land in Riau, Sumatra, out of LTH's total landbank of 210,000 hectares. 

 

Through the proceeds, LTH is planning to increase its interest in plantations and is looking at Malaysia and Indonesia for possible new investments.

 

"Th plantation sector is one of LTH's main areas of continued involvement. From here we will look at opportunities to re-invest in new areas offering better returns," he said.

 

"Increasing the landbank will be done over the next few years. We will continue to look at Malaysia and Indonesia because we are here to stay in the plantation sector.

 

"We have the know-how, the expertise and the team. We should just expand on this experience, for us to be a bigger player in the future," Ismee said, adding that LTH's unit, TH Plantations Bhd, will be the flagship in the plantation sector.

 

The pilgrimage fund also has another six wholly-owned subsidiaries in the plantation sector -- TH Agro Sdn Bhd, TH Bakti Sdn Bhd, TH Estates (Holding) Sdn Bhd, TH Indo Industries Sdn Bhd and TH Ladang (Sabah & Sarawak) Sdn Bhd. -- BERNAMA

Published: July 12, 2012

Author: New Straits Times