M’sia property market still promising

ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/aec/Msia-property-market-still-promising-30277755.html

BUSINESS

The Star   TUE, 26 JAN, 2016 12:25 PM

PETALING JAYA: The medium-term prospects for the Malaysian property market still looks promising, despite the challenging headwinds ahead.

Independent economist Lee Heng Guie said that while property prices would be easing further, a sharp fall in property prices would be unlikely.

“This is because Malaysia is not heading for an economic recession,” he said during a presentation at the 9th Malaysian Property Summit last week.

“The softening property market renders the buyers the opportunity to purchase property. For foreigners looking to invest in real estate in Malaysia, the weaker ringgit comes as a boon,” he said.

Lee said the local property market was still hampered by affordability issues, weak economic growth as well as cautious sentiment.

“The prospects of higher domestic interest rates in 2017 may be a dampening factor.

“Likewise, the banks are expected to maintain vigilance in the evaluation of property loans while ensuring the good credit-worthy borrowers will continue accessing to home financing.”

Lee said he hoped that the property cooling measures would stay for now.

“The right time to adjust some of the measures is when the market equilibrium is a lot more certain and sustainable. An over-adjustment of the property sector must be avoided for now.”

He added that the authorities should monitor closely the supply and demand conditions to avoid over-building in some segments, as well as prevent systemic risk to the banking sector, in an event of a severe correction in property prices and prolonged economic slowdown.

“While ensuring a sustainable property sector, Bank Negara should ensure the banking institutions continue to lend to those eligible borrowers.

“Fiscal incentives such as stamp duty relief and developers’ interest bearing schemes should consider for the first time home buyer and for the property priced below RM1mil,” Lee said.

VN city appeals for technical investment in industrial parks

ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/aec/VN-city-appeals-for-technical-investment-in-indust-30277757.html

BUSINESS

Viet Nam News   TUE, 26 JAN, 2016 12:24 PM

HA NAM – The northern province of Ha Nam urged industrial park investors to develop their technical infrastructure in order to attract more investors.

Director of the provincial Industrial Zones Authority Tran Xuan Duong said the province prioritises advanced technology and environmentally-friendly projects with minimal energy consumption.

The province will bolster information and delegation exchanges regularly with representatives from investment promotion organisations such as the Foreign Investment Agency, the Investment Promotion Centre-North Vietnam, JETRO-Japan and KOTRA-the Republic of Korea, he added.

The authorities will keep a close watch on project implementation in order to timely address any arising problems, and administrative procedure reform will also be strengthened in a bid to create the best possible conditions for investors.

In 2015, industrial parks in the province attracted 39 projects, 28 of which were invested in by foreign investors with a combined registered investment of $391 million.

To date, local industrial parks are home to 230 active investment projects. Of this figure, 131 were FDI. They have a total registered investment capital of $1.3 billion.

Meanwhile, 99 domestic direct investment projects have a total registered capital of nearly VND10 trillion ($455 million).

Currently, the province has eight industrial parks that cover an area of 2,000ha. The industrial park Dong Van III, which is under construction and geared towards the supporting industry, will apply its own mechanisms and policies. The locality has approved the plans of 18 industrial clusters, spread across an area of nearly 500ha.

Labour-intensive projects in works

ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/aec/Labour-intensive-projects-in-works-30277745.html

BUSINESS

The Jakarta Post   TUE, 26 JAN, 2016 10:57 AM

JAKARTA – The Indonesian government is optimistic that realised investment in labour-intensive industries will rise this year and beyond if land-procurement issues are settled and tax allowances for the industrial sector are agreed on.

Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) head Franky Sibarani said investment in labour-intensive industries would probably increase, if the government could soon settle land issues and grant allowances on income tax.

“While a number of factors have attracted investment commitments in the labour-intensive sector … there are still some hurdles in actualising those commitments,” he said at a press conference.

He said his agency would focus on pushing the government to provide immediately a definitive regulatory framework on land booking and tax allowances for labour-intensive industries.

A number of potential investors in labour-intensive industries have run into problems obtaining land, mostly due to price increases and uncertain regional spatial planning, he said.

Phoney rice data threaten Indonesia supply

ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/aec/Phoney-rice-data-threaten-Indonesia-supply-30277712.html

BUSINESS

TUE, 26 JAN, 2016 1:00 AM

JAKARTA – Indonesian agriculture officials routinely inflate rice harvest data to present a rosy picture to the government and keep farm subsidies flowing, but their latest phoney numbers could lead to a severe shortage of the staple in coming months, officials say.

If the data had been correct, Indonesia would be awash in rice supplies and President Joko Widodo would have less to worry about. The number rigging, critics say, flies in the face of food self-sufficiency targets that he has been aggressively pursuing since taking office in 2014.

“These numbers are so exaggerated,” said a senior government official who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue. “We’re scrambling right now to build stocks in case there’s a failed harvest in February and March.”

Only last month, supply shortages forced the government to import rice hurriedly from Thailand and Vietnam to avoid a surge in prices, which in the past has sparked civil unrest and contributed to the downfall of autocratic leader Suharto.

– REUTERS

IHH Healthcare makes foray into Myanmar

ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/aec/IHH-Healthcare-makes-foray-into-Myanmar-30277680.html

BUSINESS

The Nation   MON, 25 JAN, 2016 1:16 PM

IHH Healthcare, the world’s second-largest healthcare provider by market value, has made the first step in venturing into the Myanmar private hospital market.

Through its indirect wholly-owned subsidiary, Parkway Healthcare Indo-China Pte Ltd, the company held a groundbreaking ceremony for the US$70 million, 250-bed hospital in Yangon. The new hospital, Parkway Yangon, is Parkway Pantai’s first hospital in Myanmar, the company said in a statement released yesterday.

It was encouraged by Myanmar’s steps to improve healthcare infrastructure and expand basic health coverage, demand for private health services in the country is expected to rise. Myanmar’s long-term income growth potential and gradual emergence of a middle class,

coupled with the rapid influx of foreign tourists and expatriates, are expected to bode well for private healthcare providers like IHH.

Dr Tan See Leng, managing director and chief executive officer of IHH and group chief executive officer and managing director of Parkway Pantai, said, “This exciting joint venture will bring high-quality healthcare to the people of Myanmar when it opens in 2020.

We believe this hospital will greatly support Myanmar’s national health policy, Health Vision 2030, which aims to deliver world-class healthcare outcomes, research and services, and improve the health of the citizens of Myanmar. Leveraging our more than 40 years’

experience in operating premium hospitals across 9 countries, we are committed to working closely with the local Ministry of Health and our business partners to help achieve this noble vision and elevate national healthcare standards in Myanmar.”

The project will be developed and operated by a joint venture consortium, Andaman Alliance Healthcare. The shareholders are Parkway Healthcare Indo-China with a 52 per cent stake, Singapore-incorporated Macondray Holdings (10.5 per cent), Myanmar-incorporated

AMMK Medicare (21.5 per cent), and Myanmar-incorporated Global Star (16 per cent).

The hospital is located at downtown Yangon on a 4.3 acres plot of land leased for 50 years by the Health Ministry. It will be developed through a “build-operate-transfer” model. Investment for the project has obtained approval from the Myanmar Investment Commission.

According to IHH, the establishment of Parkway Yangon will be a catalyst for the training of healthcare professionals such as nurses and allied healthcare practitioners. This will create more jobs and uplift medical services to world-class standards.

Doctors from Mount Elizabeth Hospital, one of the key hospitals under the Parkway Pantai network, have been actively engaging with specialists in Myanmar in various community outreach initiatives like exchange of medical expertise and outreach to the masses through

disease prevention and health promotion activities. The presence of Parkway Yangon will further these corporate social responsibility efforts to include partnerships with training colleges, scholarships, and overseas training fellowships for local Myanmese.

IHH has been actively expanding its footprint in Asia. Earlier this month, it announced the plan to invest in a 350-bed hospital in Chengdu, China after leasing a space in Perennial International Health and Medical Hub there. It will be Chengdu’s first foreign tertiary hospital and IHH’s first hospital in Western China.

IHH is a major foreign-owned private healthcare operator in China with10 medical centres in Shanghai, Beijing, Suzhou and Hong Kong. Its 500-bed Gleneagles Hong Kong Hospital is on track to open in early-2017. IHH operates a global network of 49 hospitals across nine countries

VN exporters express mixed outlook

ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/aec/VN-exporters-express-mixed-outlook-30277678.html

BUSINESS

Viet Nam News   MON, 25 JAN, 2016 12:45 PM

HANOI – Vietnamese export firms have mixed feelings, both happy and worried, about business prospects for this year.

The Hoang Son I Limited Company in the southern province of Binh Phuoc signed a cashew export contract until May this year, according to Ta Quang Huyen, director of the company.

“The world market is consuming Vietnamese cashews with export prices rising from US$3.25 per kilogramme to $3.50 per kilogramme,” Huyen told the Phap Luat Thanh Pho Ho Chi Minh (HCM City Law) newspaper.

The output of Vietnamese cashews has been getting better, even in choosy markets such as Japan and the US, the director added.

However, large export contracts also make enterprises worried.

“The company does not dare to sign contracts with large volume because we are worried that there will be not enough raw cashews to meet the signed orders,” Huyen said.

Huyen said the domestic raw cashews could supply only 30 per cent of the demand for export processing.

Responding to this issue, Nguyen Duc Thanh, chairman of the Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas), said Vietnam could process about 1.3 million tonnes of cashews each year, however, the country could supply only 500,000 tonnes, with the rest imported from Africa and Cambodia.

Meanwhile, the export of dragon fruit in the beginning months of this year has also been smooth, according to Tran Ngoc Hiep, director of the Hoang Hau Dragon Fruit Farm Co, Ltd.

Besides the key market of China, the company expanded its exports to the US, Japan, Europe and Southeast Asia.

Export prices to China are around $1 per kilogramme, said Hiep.

“However, the difficulty of the sector is the unhealthy competitiveness among traders, which leads exporters to not have stable goods to meet the orders of foreign partners,” he added.

Huynh The Nang, Chairman of the Vietnam Food Association (VFA), said that the rice sector was expecting to export 1.2 million tonnes of rice in the first quarter of this year, 300,000 tonnes higher than that of last year.

He said the two contracts signed with the Philippines and Indonesia helped free a large volume of rice inventory.

However, according to rice exporters, this year is forecast to be difficult due to fierce competition with Thailand and India.

In addition, the Chinese market is reducing imports from Vietnam while increasing imports from Myanmar, Cambodia and Thailand, a rice exporter told the newspaper.

Many textile businesses also signed export orders until the end of the first quarter.

However, representatives of many garment and textile businesses said firms need to actively connect with each other to form a close chain from raw material supply to finished products and exports, while shifting from an outsourcing country to a directly exporting one.

AirAsia to fly more passengers to Langkawi

ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/aec/AirAsia-to-fly-more-passengers-to-Langkawi-30277676.html

BUSINESS

The Star   MON, 25 JAN, 2016 12:38 PM

LANGKAWI: AirAsia aims to fly an additional three million passengers to Langkawi over the next five years.

This is on top of the current 1.6 million passengers it ferried in 2015 and in the face of potential demand for traffic to the holiday island.

Group chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said to achieve the target, the airline was looking at more international routes from and to Langkawi, including Hong Kong, Jakarta and Shanghai.

AirAsia yesterday welcomed its inaugural flight from Guangzhou to Langkawi at the Kompleks Lang Merah, Langkawi International Airport.

The budget airline had announced during the LIMA Airshow in March last year that Langkawi would be its latest international hub in Malaysia. “Our plan is to base five planes here and over the next five years, I believe AirAsia can reach five million passengers. We will continue to add to the passengers to Langkawi and Kedah,” he said after the welcoming ceremony.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, Kedah Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir and Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, were also present to welcome the inaugural flight.

Vietnamese firms urged to study EU regulations

ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/aec/Vietnamese-firms-urged-to-study-EU-regulations-30277672.html

BUSINESS

Viet Nam News  MON, 25 JAN, 2016 12:24 PM

HANOI – Vietnamese firms involved in fishery and agricultural products were urged to study the sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS) of the European Union (EU) markets to optimise opportunities for both sides.

This would help them cope with impending free trade deals and expand their exporter base.

According to Nguyen Tu Cuong from the Vietnam Fisheries Society, the compliance to SPS was a pre-requisite for exporters of fishery products, vegetables and fruits to penetrate the EU markets smoothly, amid the impending Viet Nam – EU free trade agreement (FTA), which promised to be beneficial to Vietnamese firms due to the elimination of a number of tariff lines.

Cuong also said that all opportunities from the trade deal would become meaningless if Vietnam failed to meet sanitary and phytosanitary standards set by the import markets.

He said that local management agencies as well as exporters did not fully understand the EU’s regulations while Vietnam’s regulations remained inconsistent with that of the EU’s.

That is why Vietnam needed a roadmap to harmonise SPS regulations to the EU’s standards to sustainably get access to their markets.

Le Thanh Hoa, deputy director of the SPS office in Vietnam, said that sanitation was of great concern today as Vietnamese firms regularly received warnings from the EU about contents of banned antibiotics, heavy metals, and excess pesticides.

For example, during the past five years, tra fish products from Vietnam have received warnings with regard to hygiene from Spain for 24 batches, and Germany for 14 batches.

Hoa said export firms must closely supervise the process from production to harvest and processing to minimise violations of chemical content. A production chain should be developed based on the connection with farmers to develop areas for raw materials to ensure supply of high-quality products, he added.

Regular and timely updates about sanitary regulations for each products were indispensable.

Statistics from the Department of Animal Health revealed that in the first 10 months of 2015, more than 8,000 tonnes of fisheries products were returned due to violations of sanitary regulations.

The remaining wood structure of Wat Ton Kwen./Achara Deboonme

which include: 10th place in the Open for Business section, 8th place for Heritage, 6th place for Best Countries to Invest in, and 4th place for both Adventure and Movers (this category focuses on rising economies).

Dr. Yuthasak Supasorn, Governor of Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) said, “This is great news for the Thai tourism industry as it affirms a positive perception of Thailand among the international community. This report and the favourable rankings will certainly help add the appeal of Thailand as a top destination to visit among travellers from the US as well as across the globe.”

The 2016 Best Countries report and rankings are based on how global perceptions define countries in terms of a number of qualitative characteristics, impressions that have the potential to drive trade, travel and investment, and directly affect national economies. Sixty nations were measured in the inaugural report.

The “Best Countries” study sampled the perceptions of more than 16,000 people in four global regions, asking them to rank 60 pre-selected countries on a range of criteria. Attributes were grouped into nine sub-rankings that rolled into the Best Countries ranking: Adventure, Citizenship, Cultural Influence, Entrepreneurship, Heritage, Movers, Open for Business, Power and Quality of Life. Six ASEAN countries are featured in the study.

Thailand is one of the world’s most visited countries. In 2015, Thailand attracted 29.88 million tourist arrivals to the kingdom.

EHRAN, Jan 24 (Reuters) – Iran is interested in buying over100 aircraft from Boeing, deputy transport ministerAsghar Fakhrieh Kashan told Reuters at Tehran’s first majorpost-sanctions gathering of global businesspeople.

Tehran has long said it will need to revamp an aging fleet,hit by a shortage of parts because of trade bans imposed byWashington and other Western countries. World powers last weeklifted sanctions against the Islamic Republic in return forTehran complying with a deal to curb its nuclear ambitions.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher, Editing by William Maclean)

Suspected bomb found in Poso

Ruslan Sangadji

The Jakarta Post

The Poso Police’s bomb squad detonated a bomb found in a black backpack that had been placed in front of a house in Poso, Central Sulawesi, on Monday. The incident came amid the intensification of the hunt for Indonesia’s terror fugitive Santoso, suspected to be hiding out in the area.

Local people told thejakartapost.com that a silver Toyota Avanza car stopped in front of the house of M. Rundubelo in Kawua subdistrict, Poso, at around 10:30 a.m., on Sunday. At the same time, another car, an L-300, also stopped near the location.

“Suddenly, a passenger got out of the L-300 and put a bag on the side of the road. He then moved into the Avanza and left,” Kawua resident Nova Riatimogi told thejakartapost.com on Sunday.

Another resident named Sugeng Rundubelo said that he saw two people get out of the L-300 car, one of them wearing a white cap and the other one wearing a white undershirt.

A few hours later, Poso Police’s bomb squad arrived to handle the possible bomb.

The police have yet to deliver a statement on the incident.

The National Police and the Indonesian Military (TNI) are hunting Santoso, alias Abu Wardah, the country’s most wanted terrorist, in the forested areas around Poso. Santoso and his 45 followers of the East Indonesia Mujahidin terrorist group are believed to be hiding in the forests where they hold military training camps and arrange attacks against the police.

ThaiBev joins battle for foreign beer brands

Thai Beverage is one of four companies vying for three beer brands put on sale by Anheuser-Busch InBev, according to Financial Times.

The newspaper reported last week that along with ThaiBev, the other three companies qualified for the next round of bidding are Japan’s biggest brewer Asahi, Bain Capital and PAI Partners. The brands are reportedly worth 2.5 billion pound.

The Belgian brewer which is the world’s largest beer company by sale volume is selling Peroni, Grolsch and Meantime beer brands to facilitate its takeover bid for SABMiller, the world’s second largest. AB InBev’s US$108 billion takeover bid raises concerns for regulators in a number of countries like the United States and European Union.

This brought great opportunities for countries which are under threat from climate change, such as Viet Nam, to access greater international financial assistance to thoroughly resolve climate change-related issues, including changing the development model toward a low-carbon economy and promoting the application of clean technologies, Tan said.

New tourist draw card for Vientiane

ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/aec/New-tourist-draw-card-for-Vientiane-30277673.html

BUSINESS

Vientiane Times  MON, 25 JAN, 2016 12:22 PM

VIENTIANE – The Nong-Or zone in Sikhottabong district, Vientiane, covering 24 hectares, is set to become a major tourist site to provide an additional attraction for the growing number of visitors.

Vientiane authorities have agreed to land concessions with two companies for development projects at the Nong-Or zone.

The concession area takes in the four villages of Non-keo, Non-savang, Dankha and Kao-liew with estimated property compensation of more than 1.4 billion kip to be paid to local residents for land, houses and farmland.

The developers are planning to build a nature-themed tourism park, shopping mall, apartments, school, entertainment venue, and gym.

The projects will cost US$50 million over two construction phases with the first phase running from 2016-2018, involving the development of an ocean park and other facilities.

In the second phase from 2019-2020 developers will build a hotel and shopping mall.

The Vientiane Planning and Investment Department held a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signing ceremony for the project on Thursday. The MoU was inked between department Director, Phoukhong Bannavong, President of the Leading Real Estate Development Company, Qing Jikang, and President of Automart Import-Export Sole Company, Thongsavanh Onkorlabout. Leading Real Estate Development Company owns 95 percent of the project with the remaining 5 percent held by Automart Import-Export Sole Company. The land concession period is 70 years, commencing from the MoU signing.

In his speech at the ceremony, Mr Qing Jikang said the project aimed to develop Nong-Or into a leading tourist attraction for both domestic and foreign visitors.

He noted that over 4.3 million people visited Laos in 2015, an increase of 11 percent from 2014 which created more than US$670 million a year in revenue.

Qing Jikang said they would arrange a construction groundbreaking ceremony in the middle of this year and believed the Nong-Or zone would become a major provider of tourism services.

Indonesia poised to settle land, tax woes for labour-intensive projects

ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/aec/Indonesia-poised-to-settle-land-tax-woes-for-labou-30278093.html

BUSINESS

Khoirul Amin
The Jakarta Post   SUN, 24 JAN, 2016 6:15 PM

JAKARTA – The government is optimistic that realized investment in labour-intensive industries will rise this year and beyond if land procurement issues are settled and tax allowances for the industrial sector are agreed on.

Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) head Franky Sibarani said Thursday that investment in labour-intensive industries would probably increase, if the government could soon settle land issues and grant allowances on income tax.

“While a number of factors have attracted investment commitments in the labour-intensive sector […], there are still some hurdles in actualizing those commitments,” he said at a press conference.

He said that his agency would focus on pushing the government to immediately provide a definitive regulatory framework on land booking and tax allowances for labour-intensive industries.

A number of potential investors in labour-intensive industries had run into problems with obtaining land, mostly due to price increases and uncertain regional spatial planning, he said.

Franky said the BKPM would expedite the implementation of its three-hour business licensing procedure, in which it would also allow potential investors to obtain land-procurement letters issued by the Agrarian and Spatial Planning Ministry.

In addition, the government is reviewing options to slash income taxes for labour-intensive industries.

Under current regulations, a taxpayer with annual income of less than Rp 50 million (US$3,606) is subject to 5 percent income tax, while a tax of 15 percent is applied to annual income between Rp 50 and Rp 250 million, 25 percent for Rp 250 to Rp 500 million and 30 percent on annual salaries of more than Rp 500 million.

Franky said the BKPM expected a new regulation to slash income tax to be issued this year.

Investment realization in labour-intensive industries had remained low last year, despite investment commitments in the sector having grown strongly, he said.

labour-intensive industries performermed poorly last year, with actual investment in the segment plunging by 12 percent to Rp 55.5 trillion, while investment in other industries rose, according

to BKPM data.

However, investment commitments in the sector recorded the strongest growth last year with a 274 percent increase to Rp 214 trillion, the data show.

Franky said the surge in investment commitments was mainly due to the government’s shake-up of business regulations and the country’s intention to join trade partnerships like the Indonesia-EU Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and the US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

Business players believe joining the TPP, which is currently in the process of ratification in the 12 signatory countries, would benefit Indonesia’s textile and garment industry, as it would make domestic industries competitive against those of signatory parties like Vietnam.

Indonesia recorded a 17.8 percent increase year-on-year to Rp 545.45 trillion in realized investment, surpassing the target of Rp 519.5 trillion. This year, BKPM eyes investment of Rp 594.8 trillion.

Azhar Lubis, BKPM’s deputy director for investment monitoring and implementation, said the largest chunk of foreign direct investment last year was from Singapore, followed by Malaysia and Japan.