They were reacting to Tuesday’s announcement that the government plans to regulate the private hire sector through the licensing of drivers and registration of vehicles. It did not mention insurance needs.

Generally, basic motor vehicle insurance policies cover third-party liability such as damage to other vehicles involved in an accident, injuries to their drivers and passengers, as well as injuries to the policyholder’s passengers. They do not cover the policy holder.

However the exact level of coverage can differ between policies.

The National Taxi Association has called for standardisation of coverage for the private hire sector. Straits Times readers have also written in asking whether they are covered by insurance when they take Uber and GrabCar rides.

Derek Teo, chief executive of the General Insurance Association, said: “If they are providing a service to the public, they have a responsibility to ensure that the safety of passengers is being addressed, including any possible liability.”

Asked what policies they sold to Uber and GrabCar drivers or their fleet owners, insurers Aviva, AXA, Great Eastern and Prudential all declined to comment.

NTUC Income’s vice-president for motor insurance Peh Chee Keong said it insures Uber and GrabCar vehicles under its private car policy.

In general, for a third-party-only policy, premiums are about S$1,500 (US$1,100) annually before any no-claims discount. Under this, passengers can make a claim against the private hire car driver’s insurer, if the driver is at fault in an accident.

Peh said NTUC Income offers a comprehensive policy at an annual S$2,100, which offers personal accident benefits of up to S$10,000 per passenger, and medical benefits of up to S$300 per passenger.

He said: “Passengers who suffer from injuries as a result of a motor accident can claim personal accident benefits by writing to the insurer and attaching the relevant medical reports.”

Lim Kell Jay, head of Grab Singapore, said commercial insurance coverage for private hire vehicles “is subject to proof of liability and excess charges”, adding: “Some drivers may choose to cover third- party only, which is commonly the case.”

Lim said GrabCar offers a free additional layer of coverage on top of commercial insurance for all rides through an AXA personal accident insurance policy.

He said both driver and passenger are covered in the event of accidents from the first dollar – regardless of who is at fault. In Singapore, the policy will sponsor total personal accident benefits for the driver or passenger up to US$250,000 (S$338,000) per vehicle.

Uber Singapore general manager Warren Tseng said in the event of an accident, passengers can claim against the driver’s compulsory insurance. Meanwhile, both Uber and GrabCar have lowered the minimum age for drivers to 21, from 25 and 22 respectively.

The Vietnam Airlines subsidiaries include Noi Bai Cartering Service JSC, Jetstar Pacific Airlines, Vietnam Air Petrol Company Limited and Tan Son Nhat Cargo Services Company Limited.

The SAV said the audits would focus on financial reporting, spending on investments in projects, management of the air transport’s service prices and an evaluation on the effects of management and use of capital and the State’s assets.

In 2015, Vietnam Airlines conducted more than 127,500 flights, representing a year-on-year increase of 3.5 per cent. The flights carried 17.4 millions of passengers, 4.8 per cent higher than its target.

The national carrier Vietnam Airlines (VNA) took in revenues of VND69.3 trillion (US$3.16 billion) in 2015, with VND1.4 trillion (US$63.9 million) in pre-tax profits, which was 129 per cent higher than its set target.

This was on the back of increased infrastructure spending by the government and the continuing construction activities of the private sector, said Holcim chief executive officer Eduardo A. Sahagun.

Last year, local cement manufacturers sold 24.36 million metric tons, 14.3 percent higher than year-ago level. The growth was attributed to higher public spending and the continued confidence of the private sector in the economy.

In an interview with the Inquirer, Sahagun said that for this year alone, the public works budget was about P800 billion, equivalent to about 5 percent of the country’s gross domestic domestic product. Also, the private sector has been actively pursuing new developments not only in Metro Manila but also in other key growth areas in the country, including Cebu, Davao, Cagayan de Oro, Iloilo, and Bacolod. Such projects included housing developments and commercial structures.

He said the private sector usually accounted for some 60 percent of the total cement sales, while the balance is taken up by the government.

Also boosting this optimism was the presidential candidates’ expression of support for higher infrastructure spending.

“So hopefully, whoever sits in Malacañang (under the next administration) will continue the same kind of governance and focus on infrastructure,” Sahagun said.

For Holcim Philippines, however, Sahagun declined to cite projections with the nearing release of the company’s earnings report later this month.

Last year, Holcim Philippines sold more than 200 million bags of cement, up from 186 million bags of 40 kilograms each a year ago. This enabled the company to capture 32 to 34 percent share of the domestic market. At present, Holcim’s cement facilities in the country has about 8 million tons in capacity, equivalent to total production of about 220 million bags a year.

About 390 investors turned up for the AGM at Suntec Convention Centre and all 15 resolutions, including the re-election of chairman Richard Elman as director, received a majority backing but there was also plenty of dissent expressed.

Chief executive Yusuf Alireza told the meeting that Noble had delivered on all its key priorities for the second half of 2015. It generated a positive cash flow of around US$651 million in the period, reducing debt by around US$362 million and raising US$750 million in capital from the sale of Noble Agri.

But several shareholders still stepped forward to voice tough questions, including long-time investor Mano Sabnani, who felt the firm’s business margin was too thin to be sustainable.

He asked: “How are you going to maintain margins going forward? Your operating income margin was around 1.76 per cent but your average cost of debt was 3.8 per cent. Can you assure us that your business model is still sustainable?”

Alireza replied that more of Noble’s future funding will rely on the cheaper secured financing. Margins will also gradually improve as smaller players are forced out of the market due to a lack of capital.

Meanwhile, Noble will have around US$4.6 billion in potential liquidity to service the US$3.2 billion debt due by the end of next year, he added.

Accountant Fred Tan, 66, then challenged the management to provide more details on the basis of a US$6.2 billion fair value gain booked last year.

“We need to know the basis of your valuation, and whether there’s the possibility of a significant impairment,” he asked.

Questions surrounding Noble’s fair value model have hounded the firm since last year, due in part to persistent allegations by Iceberg Research that Noble had used aggressive fair-value estimates on the balance sheet to hide debt and liquidity issues.

Chief financial officer Paul Jackaman said yesterday there has been sufficient scrutiny and information on Noble’s mark-to-market assets.

Tan was not impressed, telling The Straits Times that Noble’s management and board had not done enough to inform small shareholders on its complex businesses. “There are a lot of things they are trying to evade, and they don’t even pay dividend any more. I plan to sell my shares,” he said.

But there were others who had differing views. An investor who wished to be known as John, 27, said: “I found this AGM better handled than last year’s, with more information to help me learn about the company’s business.”

The AGM concluded a very tumultuous year for Noble. Its share price plummeted around 60 per cent in 2015 amid the commodity crash and the Iceberg allegations, while the company also lost its investment-grade rating with Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s.

Alireza told the AGM that the investment grades are a “straitjacket” that he inherited but would rather not have, as the firm can now tap the cheaper secured financing, which is typically offered only to non-investment grade firms.

Noble shares closed down 0.5 cents, or 1.14 per cent, at 43.5 cents yesterday after the AGM.

Vice-chairman of the city’s people’s committee Vo Duy Khuong said the MoU was part of Microsoft Vietnam’s start-up support programme called “CLAS Expara Startup Accelerator.”

Following the agreement signed in HCM City last week, Microsoft Vietnam will support individuals and organisations in the city in developing the capacity of their business start-ups.

The central city established its Entrepreneurship Support Company last year to help young people develop opportunities and ideas for starting a business.

Director of Microsoft Vietnam Vu Minh Tri said the MoU was a result of their longstanding co-operation to support young individuals and groups in the central region.

Da Nang is also collecting the names of 100 individuals and groups as “seeds” for start-up business programmes.

The city educates 80,000 students, of which nearly 23,000 graduate from colleges every year.

In 2014, Microsoft Vietnam and the Da Nang University jointly debuted the Information Technology (IT) Academy, the first-ever IT training centre to meet international standards in the central and Central Highlands regions.

The academy aims to set up a data centre on a private cloud, provide Microsoft 365 applications to educational centres in the region and boost the university’s Software Development Centre as a Microsoft-authorised education reseller and member of the Microsoft IT Academy.

Prime Minister Najib Razak officiated the launch of I-Bhd’s first luxury project of 8Kia Peng, King of the Hill on March 14.

He pointed out that the development of i-City and now the 8Kia Peng, King of the Hill by I-Bhd are good examples of the private sector contributing to the economic growth of the nation.

The prime minister is confident that 8Kia Peng will create even greater awareness of the Malaysia My Second Home programme, convincing the people from around the world that Malaysia is a place you can call home.

Since then, the project has been receiving positive response from interested parties, way before I-Bhd executive chairman Tan Sri Lim Kim Hong launched the 8Kia Peng sales gallery located at Menara Bangkok Bank@Berjaya Central Park, Kuala Lumpur, on March 31.

8Kia Peng may be a glamorous and luxurious concept, but its vision originated from the simple nostalgic sentiment of the self-made tycoon.

Lim, who ventured into the ultrapolis project of i-City after his retirement, confessed that 8Kia Peng, King of the Hill was born from his desire to share the vantage point afforded by his former home of 30 years.

8Kia Peng’s single tower block is located at the higher ground of the Golden Triangle of Kuala Lumpur, and 80% of the units have direct view of both the Twin Towers and the central park.

The two-bedroom, fully fitted and furnished units with built-up sizes of 716 sq ft to 987 sq ft, provide comfortable living space in a ready to move-in condition.

8Kia Peng, poised to be a CONQUAS standard building, is expected to be completed in 2019.

Located within Zone One of KLCC, 8Kia Peng, King of the Hill is comfortably tucked away in a quiet enclave while in close proximity to numerous amenities in the heart of the city.

The project is targeted at global property buyers and those seeking the best views of KLCC and Petronas Twin Towers.

Besides the target market of 70% international buyers, the profile of the 30% local buyers are expected to be professionals of middle-to-upper income group.

“We would like to congratulate I-Bhd for coming to KL to build an iconic building for both locals and foreigners. I believe this project will help to enhance KL to be a liveable city, a world-class city Malaysians will be proud of,” said Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor.

The 8Kia Peng project with a gross development value of RM1bil is intended to cement I-Bhd’s position as one of Malaysia’s leading high-rise developers.

Members of the public are cordially invited to visit the StarProperty.my Fair i-City Edition 2016, which will be held at i-City from April 22 till 24, from 11am to 9pm.

The fair will be presenting notable projects in i-City such as i-Soho, i-Suite, Liberty Tower, Parisien Tower, Hyde Tower, as well as 8Kia Peng.

Visitors will be able to gain more insights into the property market through various talks by industry experts.

I-Bhd’s global partners Al-Rajhi Banking Group, Central Pattana Group Thailand and Rozel will showcase their products and services at the special event, including Hilton and Best Western, which will be serving free coffee for the visitors.

Founder and managing director of Rozel Corp Gan Tai Hwa said: “Given the quality and design of our products, we are very confident it will be at par with the commitment of i-City to its purchasers. Rozel sofa designs will bring out the modern, chic and refined interior of the project.”

To celebrate the special event, visitors will stand a chance to redeem the 1,000 complimentary theme park tickets given daily for three days, and join in the carnival fun on Saturday and Sunday.

The All-Day Happy Flea Market, food trucks offering culinary delights, magic shows and live band performances promise to create fun and unforgettable memories.

GS Realty director Datuk Seri Nelson Kee, who will be promoting the i-Suites, said that the early invitations have received good response from potential buyers, with around 500 confirmed participating while more are expected on that day.

For house buyers, great prizes await at the fair.

RedBricks will be sponsoring lucky draw prizes, including two return tickets to London for purchasers of Hyde Tower.

For Parisien purchasers, they stand a chance to win two tickets to Paris sponsored by Reapfield, while two round-trip tickets to New York await buyers of Liberty Tower, sponsored by Viva Homes.

The aim is to retain drivers who have begun to defect to the fast-expanding private-hire fleets run by the third-party taxi app providers.

The Straits Times understands that SMRT Corp, the third-largest taxi group here, has ordered a fleet of more than 300 new Toyota Vellfire MPVs, Corolla Altis sedans and some Lexus cars for this purpose.

In a recent announcement to the Stock Exchange, SMRT said it has set up a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary known as Strides Transportation with a capital of S$2 (US$1.50).

“The principal business activities of Strides Transportation are limousine and chauffeured services, and car rental,” SMRT said.

Trans-Cab, which is the second- largest taxi operator here, is doing likewise. Managing director Teo Kiang Ang said: “We’re just starting. We will have mainly the (Toyota Corolla) Altis as well as bigger cars.”

Teo said the changing industry landscape prompted him to move in this new direction.

In the last three years, third-party taxi apps have proliferated, led by Uber and Grab. Both companies are said to control close to 10,000 cars combined.

Tuesday’s announcement by the Transport Ministry – which said that transport app providers will be regulated with a “light touch” – is likely to spur the growth of the sector.

Taxi industry players noted that unlike cab companies, the newcomers are not required to meet service standards, their fleet expansion will not be restricted, they do not need to buy insurance policies that cover passengers, there is no restriction on vehicle age, and their cars attract far lower road taxes than cabs.

Others said the fast-expanding third-party fleet will eventually impact cabbies’ earnings as they are competing for a fixed market that is not growing nearly as fast.

Asked if Premier Taxi would also start a business unit to counter Uber and Grab, Premier Taxi managing director Lim Chong Boo said: “If there are no other regulatory changes, then we’ll be forced to look into it.”

The first to branch out into this new business was Prime Taxi, which started a fleet in 2014.

It has a private-hire fleet of 300 today, but managing director Neo Nam Heng said he now plans to raise it to “500-plus in the next one year”. The only company that is not jumping onto the bandwagon is ComfortDelGro, the biggest taxi operator here.

Dr Walter Theseira, an economist at SIM University, said: “Taxi companies have to understand that innovation in their business model is needed rather than just attempting to replicate or ride on the success of Uber and Grab.”

The only significant difference between taxis and private-hire cars is that the latter are not allowed to pick up street hails.

But Dr Theseira said: “If apps continue gaining in popularity, the street-hail monopoly will become less and less valuable, and that will make driving taxis less profitable than driving for Uber.”

RB’s chief executive officer Karam Chand said that this collaboration will align RB’s marketing efforts towards building better customer retention.

In an interview with The Brunei Times, Chand lauded the Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism’s (MPRT) plans to keep tourism promotion and marketing costs down via the use of information communications technology (ICT).

The CEO said the direction is a good start for Brunei to capitalise on digital marketing.

“We certainly cooperate with the MPRT, and we will continue to do that,” said Chand during the recent launch of RB’s refurbished Operation Control Centre (OCC).

Chand said RB’s current plan is focusing on digital marketing to put Brunei on the global map.

He added that the use of ICT tools would help travellers in transit to know more about the tourist spots in the sultanate.

“Our challenge is on destination awareness. The digital channel allows us to improve the destination awareness.”

“When people arrive here, they want Wifi. In the evening, there are travellers from London and the other one from Melbourne. There are a lot of passengers in transit.

“It’s important to tell them what they are looking for. It will be a great opportunity to connect with them,” said Chand.

During the interview, the CEO also said that RB will expand its fleet to meet the demand of local and foreign travellers. He said the company will receive its fifth Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner by 2018.

During the 12th Legislative Council meeting, MPRT Minister Ali Apong said the ministry will use ICT tools to promote and market tourism, adding that the allocated budget of B$250,000 (US$185,839) for tourism promotion would be sufficient in accomplishing this.

He said that the ministry is in plans to develop a system which would feed tourists with information on local attractions and places of interest upon arrival.

Meanwhile, an officer at the MPRT said in an interview last week that the ministry will come up with the system within this year to “ensure tourists are aware about tourist spots in Brunei”.

“I don’t know yet how the ICT system will work. But MPRT will work with any companies or industrial players to further improve our tourism industry,” said the MPRT officer who declined to be named.

The joint venture consortium will design and construct a new domestic terminal at the Phnom Penh Airport in Cambodia.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, Muhibbah Engineering said the construction of the new domestic terminal would cater for the future growth of domestic traffic.

It added that construction had commenced and was expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2017.

Ho Manh Tuan, deputy director of Honda Viet Nam, told Viet Nam News that this year scooter sales would continue to rise, accounting for 55 per cent of the market.

By 2018 the ratio would reach 60 per cent, he said.

A member of the marketing staff of a foreign company known for its scooters concurred with him, telling Viet Nam News that scooter sales have kept rising in the current years, albeit in single digits.

Yano Takeshi, chairman of the Viet Nam Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers and general director of Yamaha Motor Viet Nam, told Sai Gon Times online that in 2015 scooter sales had accounted for 52-53 per cent of the market.

Yamahas scooter sales are doubling every year thanks to new models, he said.

Last year they had achieved parity wit motorbike sales, he said.

The motorbikes falling status vis-a-vis the scooter was clearly on show at the first Viet Nam Motorcycle Show which ended in HCM City on Sunday.

Most of the nearly 200 vehicles on display were scooters and sports motorbikes.

Ngoc Tha of HCM City said he visited the exhibition to see new motorbike models, but unfortunately most of the vehicles on display were either scooters or concept and sports motorbikes.

Many reasons are attributed to the rising popularity of scooters.

Sellers said in big cities infrastructure has improved tremendously, enabling people to conveniently ride scooters.

Good design is another reason.

A HCM City-based seller said companies are now introducing many scooters with modern technologies at reasonable prices.

Takeshi said the new trend reflects also reflects the improvement in peoples living standards.

On the consumers side safety and ease of use are the main reasons for scooters popularity.

Asked why they would prefer to buy scooters, most people attributed it to their large storage space, saying it would help avoid robberies.

They also pointed to the ease of starting and riding scooters.

1st VN motorcycle show attracts 141,630 visitors

The Vietnam Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers said more than 141,630 visitors came to the first Vietnam Motorcycle Show.

The four-day exhibition showcased nearly 200 motorbikes with advanced technologies from eight motorbike brands besides components and accessories made by 61 other companies.

This year the country’s motorbike market is expected to grow at a modest 2-3 per cent.