Accordingly, the world’s cultivated rice species include Asian and African cultivated rices. However, due to the interspecific hybrid sterility gene, varietal hybridization and gene exchange used to be impossible between Asian and African varieties. This restricts the cultivation of high-quality rice varieties. Later, researchers successfully cloned the interspecific hybrid sterility gene and bridged interspecific gene exchanges.

“A rice variety you plant once and harvest for several years on end” sounds like a dream but has become a reality through researches made by Tao Dayun at the Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences and Hu Fengyi at the School of Agriculture of Yunnan University.

The two researchers started their work from the long stamen wild rice originated in West Africa. As a perennial herbaceous plant, long stamen wild rice has a well developed subterraneous stem and strong resistance to pests and diseases.

With the embryo rescue technique, Tao Dayun and Hu Fengyi obtained the F1 hybrid generation of RD23 and long stamen wild rice and bred many progeny populations. In addition, based on the perennial characteristics of long stamen wild rice, they bred a series of perennial varieties. These perennial rice varieties can overwinter while most ratoon rice varieties cannot.

“Twenty years ago, I thought of converting rice from an annual crop into a perennial one, just like fruit trees,” said Hu Fengyi. So far, the perennial rice cultivated by Hu Fengyi and his colleagues has been planted on 825 acres of land. Some varieties are so strongly perennial that you can plant them once and harvest them for four or five years; they have good overwintering ability and produce stable yield. Last year, the yields per acre of early rice and late rice were 74.17 kilograms and 74.28 kilograms, respectively.

According to Hu Fengyi, this perennial rice can be harvested twice a year in places such as Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture where double-cropping rice is planted and once a year in places where single cropping rice is planted. This year the perennial rice will be planted in Kunming, Yuxi and other places in Yunnan Province to see whether it is suitable for these places.

Box:

Characteristics: Strongly perennial, good overwintering ability, and stable yield.

Yield per acre: 74.17 kilograms for early rice and 74.28 kilograms for late rice in last year’s trial planting.

Taste: The perennial rice tastes the same as normal rice when cooked, though the quality also varies.

Harvesting method: Cut off the superterranean part and leave the subterraneous stem; no tillage is needed. The next year, new rice plants will grow from out of the subterraneous stem and can be harvested again. Plant the perennial rice once and it can be harvested four or five years.

The workshop of the Precious One handicraft foundation in Kembangan, West Jakarta, starts to come alive as early as 8 a.m. when employees arrive one by one and greet each other with sign language.

Soon, the workshop, also known as P-One and located in the upmarket Permata Buana housing complex, is filled with the sound of sewing machines, scissors and cloth-cutting tools. Most of the employees’ hands are full with pieces of cloth or accessories.

January was a busy month as they were trying to complete orders from the Parkson and Centro department stores, which ordered 7,000 linen ang pao money pouches to welcome the upcoming Chinese New Year, or imlek, which falls on Feb. 8.

Ratnawati Sutedjo, the workshop’s founder, said they offered three kinds of linen products for the Year of the Fire Monkey — from chunky monkey-design hand-carry bags to slim monkey-themed sling bags for children, as well as ang pao pouches.

“The monkey bags can be used to present family gift hampers or cookies. Children can also carry them to collect their ang pao,” she told The Jakarta Post in the workshop.

Ratna said they were accustomed to receiving bulk orders and tried to meet deadlines to satisfy their customers.

Once, they received an order of 10,000 tissue holders and managed to send 2,000 pieces every month. They could also finish an order of 4,600 koala pouches in three weeks.

Precious One, which now employs 18 people with hearing impairments, has been around for 11 years, producing various fabric handicraft products, from bed and kitchen linen to school visual aids, such as fruit-shaped soft toys as well as mini personalized paper dolls. The products share similar characteristics: they highlight cuteness and neatness.

Meeting retail and wholesale orders for local and international markets, including Malaysia and Australia, the workshop displays its products on its website and social media.

Evi, one of the employees responsible for visualizing Ratna’s product designs into sewing patterns, said she loved her job and was proud to know that her products could reach a wide range of customers.

“One day, I saw a little kid wearing our sling bag and an old lady carrying our hand bag in Artha Gading shopping mall [in North Jakarta]. I was very happy to realize that those products were produced in my workplace,” she said as translated by Ratna.

Her face beamed with self-confidence as she described how she could make various products. When Ratna asked her to make a mini paper doll, her fingers moved swiftly and skillfully as she rolled long and very tiny colorful paper to shape a body, a head and a pair of shoes. The miniature paper doll was ready in just about 15 minutes.

Evi was the first employee of Precious One. She was introduced by her sibling to Ratna over a decade ago when the latter was looking for a friend with a hearing impairment.

At that time, Ratna had a commitment to help the deaf community after she recovered from an illness that forced her to have a long bed rest. She learned sign language and told everybody in her community that she was looking for a deaf friend.

“I went to Evi’s house to assure her parents that I had good intentions. I understood that parents of people with hearing disabilities are often overprotective because, back then, their children were often mocked,” she said.

A talented handcrafter, Ratna taught Evi to make hairpins and greetings cards manually, which saw good sales among her friends. When Evi asked her permission to bring her deaf friend to work with them, Ratna began to take a more serious approach by developing the product range.

“In around two years, people started to get to know our products. They came to our workshop to look for presents for their loved ones. We also started to buy sewing machines,” she said.

By the fifth year, the number of employees had increased and the shop that was under the Karya Insan Sejahtera Foundation achieved sustainability in its business.

Looking back, Ratna, who resigned from her office job to run the workshop, said it was not easy to change people’s perceptions about products made by people with disabilities.

“We may have an experience of buying a product because we feel pity upon seeing the seller has a disability. This is something we avoid. We want to produce quality products while at the same time educating people to appreciate the work of people with disabilities. Not all of them need our pity. They need to be appreciated,” she said.

To instill a sense of professionalism among Precious One’s employees, Ratna taught them to understand that they should be able to handle complaints well by changing a complained-about product until it met the customer’s expectations. She also wanted them to maintain a good work ethic and responsibility.

Her eyes lit up with enthusiasm as she talked about the transformation in the working attitude of Piping, one of the employees who previously worked as a brick worker and a scavenger.

Piping, she said, was a quick learner and could make embroidery very well although he did not have sign-language skills.

“Piping used to skip work. One day, we gave him a warning letter, which became a turning point for him in understanding the meaning of responsibility,” she said, adding that she also taught Piping to save money for his two children.

Ratna also regularly designs two new products every month. In her observations she has found that many foundations or communities for people with disabilities across the country lack creativity in creating new products and cannot meet heavy demand.

While the combination of creativity and productivity makes Precious One a reliable supplier, the friendly and safe environment in the workshop also helps the employees feel at home. The workshop is equipped with a lamp door alarm for the deaf employees and a bell for the hearing staff.

Precious One also has a program that focuses on providing interaction between hearing people and the employees. A prestigious private school recently joined the program, enabling the students to meet the employees.

Ratna said her dream was to be able to move to a bigger workshop and establish a place called “Rumah Inspirasi” where people from outside Jakarta can visit and meet the employees. She believes that interaction is the key to bridging the communication gap between hearing people and the hearing-impaired community.

“In our daily life, we barely know people with hearing impairments. If we do, the number may be very small. I hope with this program, hearing people will start to understand those with hearing impairments and stop mocking them.”

According to the 8th socio-economic development plan of the government from 2016-2020, Laos’ economy should maintain its steady expansion at 7.5 percent for the next five years.

Meanwhile the labour force is expected to rise from 3.8 million people in 2015 to 4.41 million people in 2020.

Vice President of the Lao Garment Industry Association, Dr Xaybandith Rashphone said on Tuesday that the expectations of an increased labour force are a good thing for the economy, especially for garment industries which are currently confronted with a labour shortage.

The country has 98 garment factories, mainly in Vientiane, and they are employing a total of around 30,000 workers.

Director General of the National Economic Research Institute Dr Leeber Leebouapao told Vientiane Times that Laos’ economy requires a lot of labourers but that the expansion of the domestic labour force might not meet with demands in the future because many big projects are expected to commence, such as the China-Laos railway project.

Dr Leeber said that the Lao labour force is a young labour force which covers 50 percent of the population, which bodes well for economic development, but the vocational education sector must improve both the quantity and quality of available manpower to ensure the effectiveness of economic developments.

At the same time, the business sector has called for the government to improve the country’s vocational education system to support the sustainable growth of the economy in the next five years.

The educational sector must focus on the development of both physical and intellectual labourers, which are both in demand domestically.

Chairman of the Lao National Chamber for Commerce and Industry Sisavath Thiravong said on Tuesday th at currently the proportion of human resources being developed to supply the technical sector is less than those headed towards administration.

However the demand for labour in administrative positions is only around 10 percent.

The ratio for the production of labour for the technical sector should be around 80 percent with around 20 percent for administration, said Sisavath.

Over the last five years, the economy grew in a good direction with on average growth of 7.9 percent per annum but projects, factories and businesses still faced problems due to the domestic l abour shortage, for both physical and intellectual labourers. Some business units and projects have employed some foreign workers to fill the gaps.

Article 25 of the Labour Law sets out the stipulations for the acceptance of employees for work.

For foreign physical labourers, it is permitted to accept not more than 15 percent of the total number of employees in that labour unit.

For workers having intellectual expertise, it is permitted to accept not more than 25 percent of the total number of employees in that labour unit.

But in reality, the employment of foreign labour has exceeded the law’s determination, Sisavath said.

He commented about the development of the labour force in the country in the next five years, saying that the education institutes must transfer knowledge on vocations to students.

It is not necessary to build specified schools. V ocational knowledge should be taught at the secondary school level, including subjects such as cooking, handicrafts, services, TV and computer repairs or electrical connection skills.

This technique aims to provide awareness on the occupations available to young people and to pave the way for the development of skilled Lao labour in the years ahead.

“The Cabinet is very concerned about this matter, following the reaction from the business community,” he said after the meeting.

Dr Wee said he, along with other ministers including Datuk Paul Low and Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong had highlighted the public’s view during the implementation.

“We feel there is need for a review,” he said.

Upon hearing their arguments, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had requested his deputy Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to look into the matter.

“The PM has asked Dr Ahmad Zahid to meet with business chambers as soon as possible,” he said.

Dr Wee said the decision to meet up with the business community pointed to the likelihood that the new levy would be revised.

“It seems to be going in this direction,” Dr Wee added.

Dr Wee pointed out that the abrupt increase in the levy has sparked uncertainties among employers.

He added that following the rise in levy as much as 100% to nearly 300%, many were whispering that they would resort to hiring illegal workers due to the cost increase.

“We do not want to promote the use of illegal workers. We want an amicable solution which will not over-burden the employers.”

Dr Wee said many employers would not be able to bear the burden of an abrupt hike in levy.

He said if the employers decide to pass on the cost increase to consumers, the country could face undesired inflation.

“If they cannot bear the burden, the implementation will backfire.”

A Malaysian party headed by a former corporate kingpin had been eyeing the company since last year with an offer that valued the entire company at about 1.2 billion ringgit or 4 ringgit per share.

“But banks were not willing to provide the financing at such valuations.

“Eventually, the parent company of SRC in London scouted around for other offers,” said sources.

On Monday, global oil giant Royal Dutch Shell announced it had signed a deal to sell its entire 51 per cent stake, or 153 million shares, in SRC to Malaysia Hengyuan International Ltd (MHIL) for a total cash consideration of US$66.3 million, which represented an offer price of $0.43 per share.

The value of the deal was equivalent to 274.98 million, or 1.80 per share.

It represented a huge discount of 63.6 per cent to SRC’s last traded share price of 4.94 ringgit on Jan 29 before the announcement on the deal was made.

But the discount would be narrower at 6.7 per cent against SRC’s net asset value of 1.93 ringgit a share as of end-September 2015.

As expected, SRC lost 378 million ringgit in market capitalisation yesterday, as investors reacted to news that a controlling stake in the oil refinery would be sold at a huge discount to its share price.

Upon resumption of trading yesterday, the counter hit limit-down, falling 30 per cent, in early session before paring some losses to end the day at 3.68 ringgit, down 25.5 per cent from last Friday’s close, with a total of 6.83 million shares being transacted.

“The selling pressure on SRC’s shares is only to be anticipated, as investors take the cue from the offer price for the company’s shares at 1.80 ringgit each,” an analyst told StarBiz.

“The counter will likely continue its decline to a level that is on par with the offer price,” he added.

SRC chairman Datuk Iain Lo said while the terms of the sale and purchase agreement were a matter that was agreed between Shell Overseas Holdings Ltd (SOHL) and MHIL, the board was informed by SOHL that a robust sales process was carried out in 2015, with a good mix of local and foreign qualified players selected to participate.

MHIL was selected by SOHL based on its financial, technical, and operational capability – it already produces Euro IV and V fuels in China.

“In addition, it is MHIL’s stated intention to upgrade the refinery to Malaysia’s fuel specifications and strengthen SRC’s position as a leading regional refinery products supplier,” he explained.

SRC is a separate independent entity from Royal Dutch Shell’s other operating units in Malaysia.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian Malay Businessmen and Industrialists Association Malaysia (Perdasama) expressed its dissatisfaction over the highly-underpriced sale of a controlling stake in SRC to MHIL.

Perdasama president Moehamad Izat Emir reportedly rebuked regulatory bodies like the Securities Commission, Bursa Malaysia and the Minority Shareholders Watchdog Group for not raising alarm bells over the deal, which could result in massive losses for its Malaysian shareholders.

Subject to regulatory approvals, the transaction is expected to complete within the next eight months.

Once through, the deal would lead to a mandatory takeover offer by MHIL for the remaining shares in SRC at the ringgit equivalent of the offer price.

Other substantial shareholders in SRC include the Employees Provident Fund and Permodalan Nasional Bhd.

An investment banker disagreed with the view that the deal was not fair, as it reflected the current sentiment of the O&G sector.

“If there was a high offer backed by the necessary financing arrangements, why would SRC’s parent company in London reject the offer?” said the banker.

The refining business fetches thin margins and refiners make high profits when the price of oil is on the downtrend.

The information was released in Circular 216/2015/TT-BTC by the Ministry of Finance about import and tax rates for implementation of bilateral trade agreements between Vietnam and Laos.

The Circular 216 stipulates a list of goods originating from Laos imported into Vietnam that will enjoy a tax reduction of 50 per cent under ATIGA (ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement).

The circular also stipulates that in case export tariffs in the ATIGA are higher than the tariff regulations in the Most Favoured Nation (MNF) Rules, imported goods will be subject to a 50 per cent tax reduction under the MNF.

Goods subject to tax reductions will include preserved or cooked poultry and birds’ eggs, rice, sugarcane or refined sucrose.

The provisions on non-tariff incentives, the Circular 216 also issues instructions on guidelines and conditions applied for a tariff rate regime at zero per cent for tobacco and rice annually.

Specifically, imported items eligible for 50 per cent tax incentives, must fulfil the following conditions:

1.) It will consist of customs declaration of imported goods from October 3, 2015. 2.) Goods must be imported and transported directly from Laos into Vietnam. 3.) Imported items must have certificate of origin form S issued by Laos authorities.

If the volume of imported unmanufactured tobacco and tobacco refuse exceeds the quantity of quota regulated by Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade, it will be subject to a tax rate under the Circular No.80/2014/TT-BTC.

This circular dated June 23, 2014, of the Ministry of Finance amends and supplements its Circular No. 111/2012/TT-BTC of July 4, 2012, promulgating the list of commodities and their import duty rates for application of tariff quotas.

This circular is to add the over-quota import duty rates of unmanufactured tobacco and tobacco refuse under sub-heading 2401.10.40.

Three kinds of imported rice from Laos will also enjoy tax incentives at 0 per cent. Of the rice volume, quota for rice imports is 70,000 tonnes and quota for tobacco imports is 3,000 tonnes, according to the Circular 216.

An anonymous source from the tender scrutinising committee said that their bids would be shortlist and the result would be announced in the second week of this month.

Myanmar Railways, under the Ministry of Rail Transportation, invited bids for a mixed-use development project for the land spanning 63.622 acres or about 160 rai. The plot is tentatively designed to house high-rise hotels and commercial buildings. It is an essential part of Greater Yangon City development project.

It called for bids early 2015 but there was no winner. The second tender was announced in August.

According to Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said, 12,669 villages are disconnected from the electricity grid, most of them located in the provinces of West Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara, Papua, West Papua, North Maluku and East Maluku.

“It will be one of our areas of attention to tackle the gap within three to four years,” Sudirman said after signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Financial Services Authority (OJK) in Jakarta on Wednesday.

On the other hand, Sudirman continued, the government had yet to capitalize on Indonesia’s renewable energy potential, utilizing only 3 per cent of the total estimated potential of 300,000 megawatt.

“By 2025, we need to boost the renewable energy portion in the energy mix from the current 6.8 per cent to 23 per cent,” Sudirman explained, adding that up to Rp 1,600 trillion of investment were needed to meet this target.

Therefore, the ministry and the OJK signed the MoU on the acceleration of renewable energy development by increasing the role of financial institutions, given the fact that the state budget only allocates around Rp 2 trillion per year for developing renewable energy.

OJK chairman Muliaman Hadad added that several financial institutions had committed to invest up to Rp 3 trillion into renewable energy this year.

“At first [it will be] Rp 1 trillion, but later it will increase to Rp 3 trillion rupiah in 2016. Hopefully, it will become the first step of sustainable investment in renewable energy,” he said.

A senior official from the provincial authorities delivered a report during the signing ceremony of the land concession for the new tea processing plant. Present were representatives from the provincial land management office and the Chinese company, with the ceremony held recently in the province.

The new plant, which has been built in Pakbaeng district, will have the capacity to process up to 8,000 tonnes of tea per year, adding fuel to the province’s tea production potential.

Currently, there are only a few small-scale tea processing plants operating in the province. “The new plant is able to produce a better quality of tea products,” the official from the provincial investment promotion section said.

Tea is now being grown on over 8,000 hectares of land in 11 villages in the district. Tea planting and processing has the potential to be one of major cash crops for the province and local authorities have encouraged farmers to cultivate it on a commercial basis in a bid to drive economic growth.

Export products grown in Oudomxay also include rubber, sweet corn, bananas and other crops.

“Despite that tea is not our main export product,” department official Khamchack Laocheubeng said, adding that the province has the potential to further expand tea planting initiatives in the future.

The province also has wild tea trees aging from 400 to more than 1,000 years old, whose leaves fetch considerably high prices on international markets.

“We have set a clear plan to continue promoting tea planting and production, through collaboration with Chinese investors,” he said.

In addition to tea, the provincial authorities will continue promoting animal husbandry enterprises to alleviate poverty and improve the living conditions of local residents, whose incomes remain relatively low.

The average income per capita of the province’s residents is only just over 9 million kip (about US$1,000) per annum.

In order to maximise the potential of these cash crops, the provincial authorities recognise the need to upgrade the knowledge of technical staff so that they can provide better planting know-how to local farmers.

“More training courses will be conducted, along with on-the-job experience as well,” he confirmed.

Due to the labour-intensive nature of the industry, the rise in the levy from 590 ringgit to RM1,500 per month will see planters forking out an additional RM910 per worker.

This is based on the feedback from industry players, who expect the impact to be felt in their bottom line this year.

Yesterday, major plantation companies that are part of the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KL Composite Index (FBM KLCI) were among the largest decliners on the exchange.

Sime Darby Bhd fell 50 sen to close at 7.57 ringgit, while IOI Corp Bhd fell 23 sen to 4.62 ringgit. Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd fell 40 sen to close at 23.50 ringgit. All together, the three contributed to a decline of eight points in the FBM KLCI. The index fell 14.62 points to close at 1,653.18 points.

Industry players generally are expecting a potential cut in their earnings of between 3 per cent and 8 per cent this year from the unexpected hike in the foreign worker levy, which takes effect this month.

CIMB Research expects a potentially higher earnings cut at Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd (FGV) and Hap Seng Consolidated Bhd, given their lower earnings base and higher earnings exposure to palm oil.

Depending on the sheer size of their foreign worker workforce, the research unit expects that listed planters would need to pay an additional cost of between 5 milion ringgit and 30 million ringgit this year for the new levy.

Currently, foreign workers represent about 80 per cent of the total workforce in oil palm estates nationwide. The key cost components of crude palm oil (CPO) production are fertilisers, labour and plantation upkeep, with labour and fertiliser representing over 50 per cent of the total.

The labour cost (especially palm fruit harvesters) alone is about 30 per cent of local planters’ current total cost of production, which averages about 1,450-1,500 ringgit per tonne of CPO. In Malaysia, most listed plantation companies generally hire over 6,000 foreign workers, with FGV and Sime Darby Bhd being the highest, each hiring almost 30,000 foreign workers.

CIMB Research in its latest report said FGV and Sime Darby could end up paying an additional cost of over 20 million ringgit this year from the new foreign worker levy, while other planters with below 10,000 foreign workers could fork out between 5 million and 10 million ringgit this year.

FGV group president and chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Mohd Emir Mavani Abdullah told StarBiz that the sudden move would push up the company’s cost drastically.

FGV currently employs 29,000 foreign workers across its 134 plantations, he said, adding that “the company is still in need of another 5,000 workers to ensure continuous effectiveness in its plantations”.

FGV would like to highlight that the palm oil industry as a whole has been affected by the slump in CPO prices and the strengthening of the US dollar.

The CPO price slumped to a six-year low in August 2015 and the US dollar strengthened against the ringgit by 18 per cent, with the US dollar and ringgit exchange rate closing at a high of 4.45 ringgit in December last year.

Therefore, Emir said FGV was appealing to the Government to reconsider its decision to increase the levy for foreign workers in the plantation sector.

“The increase is bearable for the FGV Group only if the CPO price goes above 2,800 ringgit per tonne,” he added.

The three-month CPO futures contract is currently trading at its highest since May 2014, up by 77-2,520 ringgit per tonne as at 5pm yesterday. For Sabah-based IJM Plantations Bhd, its CEO and managing director Joseph Tek Choon Yee said: “With our over 3,500 workers and the additional 910 ringgit per worker under the new levy, it will work out to be about 3.2 million ringgit this year.”

Tek, who is also the Malaysian Estate Owners Association president, said the association was hoping that the authorities would reconsider this unabated and untimely 154 per cent hike, given the low crop production on the back of the rising cost of production and unattractive CPO spot prices. In the context of Sabah planters, there are many dependents in addition to the workers.

“The dependents are less productive and they too need to be subjected to the levies and subsequently are also subjected to the supposed increment in the minimum wage to be implemented this July,” added Tek.

Meanwhile, oil palm plantation players at a dialogue session with Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas hosted by the Malaysian Palm Oil Council in Kuching yesterday have also raised concerns over the new foreign worker levy.

Sarawak Oil Palm Plantation Owners Association chairman Datu Vasco Sabat Singkang said the new levy on foreign workers came as a big shock for its members as “this would tremendously increase their operational cost”.

He pointed out that most Sarawak planters were heavily dependent on foreign workers, mostly Indonesians, in the estates.

To lessen the impact of the hike, Sabat urged the Government to alternatively extend the number of years for foreign workers allowed to work in Sarawak probably to four or five years.

Tek also urged the Government to defer the implementation of the minimum wage from 900-1,000 ringgit in Peninsular Malaysia and 800-920 ringgit in Sarawak and Sabah from July 1 this year.

On the windfall profit tax on palm oil, he said the Government should consider abolishing it, as “it holds no relevance in today’s environment”.