The amount of money allocated to help these enterprises to develop their models was nearly VND7 trillion (US$339 million), it said.

The programme was carried out under the Government’s Resolution No.14, which would as a trial provide loans to enterprises who had agricultural models that ran from production through processing to consumption, and applied high-tech methods to increase production.

The lending rates would be about 1 to 1.5 per cent lower than the normal annual rates. The interest rate would be 6.5 per cent for short-term loans, 9.5 per cent for medium-term loans and 10 per cent for long-term loans.

Enterprises would be eligible for loans of up to 90 per cent of their agricultural production project costs. In cases where they failed to demonstrate enough asset security as required, they could still get a loan based on the bank’s control of cash flow.

If the time for implementing the project was between 12 and 18 months, and each stage of production, processing, and consumption was estimated to be less than 12 months, enterprises would be eligible for the loan at this low interest rate if they committed to pay off part of the debt after every stage.

A representative of the State Bank of Vietnam said that the bank, together with the ministries of agriculture and rural development, and science and technology, had chosen 28 enterprises in 22 cities and provinces to join the programme.

As many as eight banks have committed to give financial support to enterprises totaling more than VND5.6 trillion (US$263 million). The two-year trial of the programme will be completed this May.

Explaining the disbursed amount of money of VND7 trillion (US$339 million), an increase of VND1.4 trillion (US$62.7 million) compared to the initial amount committed to enterprises, the representative said that some enterprises had asked to expand their production during the implementation of the programme.

It set up a unit – Challenge Ventures – six months ago with a budget of $20 million to invest in online companies and enable the firm to expand its e-commerce strategy.

So far, Challenge Ventures has already invested $10 million in several start-ups, including mobile wallet firm Xfers and on-demand delivery service Zyllem.

But another $100 million in cash and banking facilities is available for use to expand the firm’s e-commerce strategy.

Chief marketing officer Loo Pei Fen said: “Every investment that we make today, every thing we do now, is related to our e-commerce strategy.”

Investments in online start-ups let Challenger learn more about e-commerce in areas such as customer support and fulfilment – key for a successful online store.

Challenger also plans to open buying offices in South Korea, Japan and the United States in the next three to five years. It has a buying office in Shenzhen, which is being expanded to include a warehouse.

These offices will source for products for its house brand Valore for sale on hachi.tech.

Challenger’s e-commerce strategy took on a greater urgency last year when Funan DigitaLife Mall announced it will shutter its doors finally on June 30.

Loo Leong Thye, Challenger’s chief executive who started the business in 1982, had considered e-commerce about six years ago when news first broke that the mall – where Challenger has its 50,000 sq ft flagship store – will make way for another building.

In recent years, changing consumer buying behaviour, coupled with manpower challenges and high rental costs, convinced Loo that e-commerce is the right way forward.

Said Loo Pei Fen: “Our Funan store stocks about 10,000 different products. But there’s no way a physical outlet can carry more inventory than an online store. Customers are already going online to check for products and do price comparisons. We can’t burrow our head in the sand and do the same things we’ve always been doing.”

E-commerce is a great initiative to enable Challenger to transform itself, added Loo, who is Loo’s daughter.

“In the next three to five years, we expect 50 per cent of Challenger’s revenue to come from hachi.tech,” she added.

In fiscal year 2014, Challenger’s revenue hit about $355 million.

Loo stressed that Challenger will retain its physical stores because some customers find it more convenient to buy from a store.

Customers who choose to buy online can collect their purchases at the store or have them delivered. Online buying can also be done at the stores.

“This frees up space at the stores because we won’t need cashier stands. We don’t need as many staff and more space is freed up for us to sell more products,” she added.

Hachi.tech aito be an online tech and lifestyle marketplace. In addition to tech products, it may also list others such as electric sewing machines and yoga mats.

It also wants to sell services like network installation and software downloads. This differentiates it from Challenger, with about 50 outlets, which will continue to be a tech retail store. Its current online store, challenger.com, will become a repository of product information when hachi.tech goes live next month. Challenger customers can also access this website to check their loyalty points.

Being a “physical” retailer for more than 20 years, the Challenger management had to learn what makes an online store tick.

Loo went online shopping.

He bought groceries from Singapore e-grocer Redmart and used Uber car service.

Loo, who has been buying online for many years including clothes for her children, checked out the best practices in various areas, like customer support, on different online companies.

“E-commerce is not an easy business. It takes my team just seven days to open a new outlet but an online store has many more elements to deal with,” explained Loo.

The portal, she said, must be easy to use and filled with the right content, yet must not be cluttered with too much information. Promotions and discounts must also be included in a way that is not intrusive to how people surf the portal.

“What I’ve learnt is that no website is ever complete. Websites need to evolve every few months to keep it fresh and to keep up with customer buying patterns.”

Loo, Challenger’s chief executive, selected the name “hachi” as it means “eight” in Japanese. In Chinese, “eight” sounds like prosperity.

To attract online customers, hachi will give more loyalty points – between five times and 30 times more. For every 1,000 points collected, $10 can be used to offset the next purchase.

Customers can also buy online and pick up at its six stores located in Sun Plaza, Jem, VivoCity, Nex and Tampines One. Customers can also collect at Challenger in Funan until the store closes on June 30.

In preparation for clearing out its stocks from Funan, Challenger will be holding sales from next month. Customers can expect discounts of between 10 and 80 per cent.

Passengers on board MH141, departing from Kuala Lumpur to Sydney last night, were the first to experience the new luxury.

Maybank Investment Bank aviation analyst Mohsin Aziz said Malaysia Airlines Bhd (MAB) was taking the right step to improve its product offerings along with on-board offerings in an airline industry that was competitive.

“Customers buy based on value and quality,” he said, adding that the industry was always evolving and MAB would be at a disadvantage if it did not have what competi­tors were offering.

MAB chief commercial officer Paul Simmons said the Business Class cabin refurbishment being carried out in stages on all 15 of Malaysia Airlines’ A330 aircraft was expected to be completed by September.

“With the launch of our new seats, we are confident that Malaysia Airlines will be the first choice for travel from and around Malaysia.

“We are also confident that these seats will further improve and strengthen our premium product and service offerings,” he said.

According to MAB, the seat pitch for the Business Class, measuring 44 inches, a width of 20 inches and a fully flat length of 76 inches, was one of the best received in the industry. With increased working space and extra stowage space for personal items, 90% of all seats have direct aisle access.

Each seat has a 16-inch touch screen in-flight entertainment system.

MAB added that every aspect of the new product had been carefully designed with the passenger’s comfort and needs in mind.

The newly configurated A330 will have 27 all new Business Class seats and 263 Economy Class seats.

The new Business Class seats are available on Malaysia Airlines’ A330 flights between Kuala Lumpur and Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Korea, China and India from this month.

Their executives were accompanying Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Motoo Hayashi during his visit to HCM City on Sunday.

Hayashi said the convenience stores, which had grown rapidly in Vietnam, were a “very important” channel for medium and small Japanese businesses to sell their products in Vietnam.

He said organisations like the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO), the Japanese consulate and financial agencies would join hands to help Japanese retailers bring their goods to Vietnam.

FamilyMart and Ministop, which operate a total of 130 stores around the country, plan to increase the number to 200 by November of this year.

They sell around 60 items, including agricultural products, confectionery and sake, Japan’s Jiji Press reports.

Given that Japanese convenience stores operate like all-in-one shops, they would bring not only consumer goods but potentially also financial and related services, Yasuzumi Hirotaka, JETRO’s chief in HCM City, said.

When the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a trade bloc that includes Vietnam, Japan, Australia, the US and eight other countries, takes effect to bring low or zero duties and simple import procedures, Japanese products and services would stand a better chance of entering Vietnam, one of the biggest and most potential retail markets in Southeast Asia, he said.

Both FamilyMart and Ministop have plans to open thousands of stores in Vietnam, according to the chief.

On Sunday Hayashi visited Family Mart and Ministop stores in HCM City and also held talks with the heads of the two companies.

At a meeting hosted by JETRO, he said the government would support the planned establishment of a local group to provide information and know-how to Japanese companies planning to start businesses or make investments in HCM City, Jiji Press reports.

Strategic relations between Vietnam and Japan were being increasingly promoted, indicated by the exchange of high-ranking delegations by the two countries, the Chairman of the HCM City People’s Committee, Nguyen Thành Phong, told the Japanese delegation at a meeting on Sunday afternoon.

Japan is one of Vietnam’s major partners in various areas ranging from official development assistance to foreign direct investment and trade.

1MDB said on Wednesday (March 23) the share sale and purchase agreement (SSPA) was successfully completed in the morning, with the exchange of shares, for cash.

“The SSPA completion marks the conclusion of the Edra monetisation, a significant and tangible milestone of the 1MDB rationalisation plan, as first announced by the Ministry of Finance on May 29, 2015,” it said.

1MDB congratulated the CGN Group in successfully completing the SSPA, and assuming ownership of a unique and attractive portfolio of energy assets.

On Nov 23, 2015, 1MDB, Edra and CGN Group had executed the agreement.

Under the SSPA, the CGN Group agreed to acquire 100 per cent of 1MDB’s ownership in all its energy assets (comprising Edra Solar Sdn Bhd, Edra Energy Sdn Bhd, Powertek Energy Sdn Bhd, Jimah Teknik Sdn Bhd, Jimah O&M Sdn Bhd, Mastika Lagenda Sdn Bhd and Tiara Tanah Sdn Bhd.

The CGN Group would also assume all the relevant gross debt and cash of the Edra operating companies.

Penang land

In another development, two more companies have joined the race to bid for 1MDB land in Air Itam, Penang. Sources said that Suiwah Corp Bhd, a supermarket chain operator, and Titijaya Land Bhd, a Klang Valley-based property developer, have put in their bids for the 94.7ha in Air Itam.

Earlier, two other parties had submitted their bids after 1MDB opened the sale of the land through a request-for-proposal exercise.

They were a joint-venture between the Ideal Property and BSG groups, and a company related to Goh Choon Lye, a well-known developer in the state.

It is learnt that Suiwah and Titijaya recently submitted their bids to 1MDB.

“What they submitted is more or less the same deal as proposed by the earlier two bidders, which values the development at over 180 ringgit (US$45) per sq ft (psf), which is higher than the price 1MDB had paid for it in 2013.

“The price of 180 ringgit psf is based on the development potential of the land over a period of time. When the land is fully developed, the price of the land will exceed slightly over 1.8 billion ringgit,” said a source familiar with the deal.

In 2013, it was reported that 1MDB had paid 1.06 billion ringgit for the property that came with encumbrances such as removing squatters, a process which was estimated to cost more than 250 million ringgit.

At 1.06 billion ringgit, 1MDB had paid around 104 ringgit psf for the Air Itam land.

The current valuation by CH Williams for the property without vacant possession is 130 ringgit psf or 1.325 billion ringgit.

It is understood that the companies tendering for the land deal have also included a profit-sharing package with 1MDB from their proposed mixed-development projects.

The companies would also need to fork out at least another 300 million ringgit to relocate the 3,000 squatters, which may not be sufficient.

Both Suiwah and Titijaya are strong contenders for the land deal, as both parties are involved in the property development business.

With their track record, both Suiwah and Titijaya will give Goh, who is another strong contender for the land deal due to his familiarity with the 94.7ha land, a good fight over the tender.

Suiwah is involved in the development of Sunshine Tower in Bandar Baru Air Itam (Farlim).

Sunshine Tower, with about two million sq ft of floor area, is a mixed-development project, scheduled for completion in 2019.

Titijaya, which has an impressive track record of development projects in Kuala Lumpur, will be undertaking that Areca@Penang project soon in Batu Maung, comprising four condominium blocks and four office towers.

It is learnt that the results of the tender will be released after mid-May this year.

It is learnt that the contenders were selected from a list that also included developers from Kuala Lumpur.

In 2013, the land was sold to 1MDB by Gerak Indah Sdn Bhd, AI Real Estate (formerly known as Farlim Properties Sdn Bhd), and Choong Lye Hock Estates Sdn Bhd, which controlled 85.7 per cent of the undivided interest in the total land area.

The Indonesian conglomerate is set to launch Mbiz.co.id in April, which specifically targets businesses and government institutions, unlike Matahari Mall that targets end users.

“Mbiz provides solutions for the procurement process by digitalizing the system, which translates into efficiency,” Adrian Suherman, CEO of Lippo Digital Group, said during a press conference on Tuesday.

In a bid to offer its customers a large variety of products, Mbiz is inviting vendors of a wide range of products to join its platform as suppliers.

Its stated goal is to offer a simple alternative to cumbersome conventional procurement, where a business has to find vendors and compare them one by one, negotiate prices and record transactions manually, which takes a lot of time and effort.

Mbiz aims to expedite procurement by making information from numerous vendors across industries easily available, comparable and transparent. It also offers flexible payment solutions.

The e-commerce site has served only Lippo group’s business units since October last year, selling products from 12 main categories, incluing electronics, furniture, office supplies and packaging. Its vendors include Sony, Phillips, Asus, HP, Samsung and other blue chips companies.

Once it is officially launched next month, Mbiz will start selling heavy machinery, agricultural goods as well as maintenance, repair and overhaul items for businesses and government institutions.

“If we talk about fashion in B2C business, it is going to be the clothing itself, however, in B2B or B2G business, the items are yarn, loom, sewing machines, embroidery machines and fabrics,” said Mbiz co-founder Ryn Hermawan, comparing the business-to-consumer (B2C), business-to-business (B2B) and business to-government (B2G) models.

The East Coast Integrated Depot will contain three train depots and one bus depot within a single site of 36ha.

It will be able to stable around 220 trains and 550 buses, said the Land Transport Authority (LTA) yesterday (March 21).

GS Engineering was previously involved in the building of the Downtown Line 2’s Gali Batu Depot, and is currently constructing the Downtown Line 3’s Fort Canning and Tampines East stations, as well as the Thomson-East Coast Line’s (TEL) Woodlands interchange station.

Works for the East Coast Integrated Depot and its associated tunnels will start by the second quarter of this year and are targeted for completion in 2024.

The three train depots in the facility will be stacked one on top of the other, with a bus depot built next to them.

The depot to serve the Downtown Line will be built underground, while the TEL depot will be on the road level, and the East- West Line depot will be built on top of it.

The LTA had said previously that if the four depots were to be built separately, a land size of 80ha would be required.

The 36ha East Coast Integrated Depot will allow the authorities to save 44ha – the equivalent of approximately 60 football fields.

Separately, the LTA also said yesterday that it has awarded three more rail project contracts.

A joint venture between Australian firm John Holland and Zhen Hua (Singapore) Engineering has clinched the deal to build the TEL’s Siglap station for S$176 million.

The construction of the TEL’s Bayshore station and its associated tunnels has been awarded to Woh Hup-Shanghai Tunnel Engineering Co (Singapore) Joint Venture at a contract sum of S$296 million.

Meanwhile, Korean firm Samsung C&T Corporation has been awarded the contract to build the Xilin station on the Downtown Line 3 extension, as well as reception tunnels to the East Coast Integrated Depot, at a contract sum of S$834 million.

Works for all three projects are expected to start in the second quarter of this year.

The Siglap and Bayshore stations are targeted for completion in 2023, and the Xilin station in 2024.

Siglap and Bayshore stations are part of the nine-station, 13km East Coast stretch of the TEL, and will benefit commuters living in the eastern parts of Singapore – such as Tanjong Rhu, Siglap, Marine Parade and Bedok South – who are currently not served by an MRT station.

The East Coast stretch will connect to the 22-station, 30km Thomson segment to form the 43km TEL.

The Downtown Line 3 extension adds another two more stations and 2.2km to the 42km Downtown Line, and will improve accessibility to the Changi Business Park and Expo areas.

(US$1 = S$1.36)

Asia 300 is a list of the continent’s biggest and fastest-growing companies from 11 economies based on market capitalisation, growth potential and geographic balance.

Besides Vinamilk, the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank), FPT Corporation, Petrovietnam Gas Joint Stock Corporation and Vingroup appear on the list.

The combined market capitalisation of the five companies is US$ 21.2 billion (as of March 14), of which nearly $7.27 billion comes from Vinamilk , VietNam’s largest company by market cap.

Last year too Nikkei had Vinamilk in the Asia 300 list besides Asean’s top 100 valuable enterprises list.

Vinamilk is VietNam’s largest food processor, making a range of dairy products, including milk and yogurt, and accounting for an estimated 50 per cent of its dairy market.

Nikkei said in a release: “The company was founded in 1976 and went public on the Hochiminh Stock Exchange in 2006. It is 45 per cent owned by the government. Its high potential is recognised outside the country as well and foreign investors own 49 per cent of the company. Its market capitalization is the second largest in Vietnam.

“According to a study by a private research agency, dairy consumption has surged more than 20-fold in Vietnam over the last 20 years, with Vinamilk contributing much to this trend.”

Earlier this month Vinamilk was ranked the second best place to work in VietNam by Anphabe, a career network of management professionals, and Nielsen, a global market research firm.

The survey also named Vinamilk the Most Attractive Employer Brand by Total Rewards.

The Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) has estimated that companies paid 1.18 billion ringgit in medical costs for hospitalised employees and another 46.3 million ringgit in non-hospitalisation costs for a workforce of about 6.6 million.

The calculations came about from a survey it conducted last year on medical benefits and “man-days lost” in 2014.

Thus, companies are looking beyond just providing a gym for their staff.

Besides introducing wellness programmes, they also dangle monetary rewards to entice staff to keep fit.

One company even gave its staff free dental ­products to encourage proper teeth brushing.

As for employees at Westports Malaysia, they went through a compulsory health check-up and were later “colour-coded”.

“The results were translated into three groups that indicated their health: green for good, amber for moderate health, and red for high-risk employees. Those in the red and amber categories had to attend nine mandatory gym sessions a month,” said Rosli Kamaruddin, president of Westports’ joint consultative council.

This came under its Health Passport programmes, which were introduced in 2011 and 2014.

“All employees underwent a health examination which checked body mass index (BMI), cholesterol and sugar levels, waist-hip ratio, and blood pressure,” he said.

“In 2011, we screened 3,072 employees, of whom 8 per cent were in the red category. After six months of attending the gym sessions etc, a re-test was done and the red category fell to less than 5 per cent.”

“The response has been encouraging. We plan to run this programme every two years,” he added.

The company also introduced the Mr Westports and Mr Body Smart competition in December last year.

The winners in both categories received 500 ringgit each, second prize was 300 ringgit and the third place winners got 200 ringgit.

Penang-based Raviraj Sdn Bhd implemented a Well@Work programme in 2013.

“We saw the company medical bills going up, employees were becoming lethargic and the number of sick leave days was increasing,” said CEO of Raviraj S.K. Sundram.

Well@Work is a four-month voluntary programme which includes physical and motivational exercises, offering monetary rewards and paid leave days.

Results are measured in terms of attendance and participation, as well as reduction in BMI, blood sugar and cholesterol levels.

“That means a reduction of blood sugar and cholesterol levels by about 20 per cent, and a BMI reduction of about 10 per cent,” said Sundram.

“We also look at MC records and punctuality,” he added.

“In the future, we will also look at participation and achievement in the programme during overall appraisals, which will affect increments and promotions,” said Sundram.

Maxis Bhd introduced its #FitterFasterStronger programme last year.

“Our annual eight-week challenge encourages employees to lose weight.

“The ‘biggest losers’ are given cash prizes for their efforts,” said Adzhar Ibrahim, its Head of People and Organisation.

“When we first introduced this programme, the company as a whole shed close to 700kg over eight weeks!” he said.

He said that the average number of hospitalisation days and sick leave taken by employees had also fallen since the programme began.

“Over 90 per cent of our employees were very happy with the programme and wanted it to continue,” he said.

For PKT Logistics Group, a well-equipped gym has always been a prominent feature.

“We started the Gymax Idols contest, from 2011 to 2014 – a cross between American Idol and The Biggest Loser,” said its CEO Michael Tio.

Based on attendance in the gym over six months, one monthly Gymax Idol was selected.

The six finalists were entered into a draw to win an overseas trip for two, including a monetary allowance.

The PKT LifeFitness Programme logs employee workout hours and rewards them with silver, gold or platinum status. These come with various privileges like monthly meal allowances.

PKT also tracks the number of staff who do not take medical leave for the whole year.

“We have seen an improvement over three years. In 2013, that was 27.9 per cent, while 2014 saw 30.4 per cent of staff taking no medical leave. Last year, it was 31.4 per cent,” said Tio.

“Our employees have told us that health is one of the key motivating factors for them to give their best to the company,” said Tio.

(US$1 = 4.05 ringgit)