24 theSun | THURSDAY NOVEMBER 13 2008

business news Hang Seng

13,939.09
S&P/ASX200
3,927.30
TSEC
4,615.57
KLCI
890.34
STI
1,784.01
KOSPI
1,123.86
NIKKEI
8,695.51
101.81 33.60 23.0 4.26 22.95 4.87 113.79

PDC getting more land

11.4% with the opening of
briefs its Islamic subsidiary Stand-
ard Chartered Saadiq Bhd.
The bank’s Islamic assets
stood at RM5.4 billion as at
Tenaga sees Dec 31, 2007.
impact from rise Its managing director and

for new foreign investors

in coal price chief executive officer, Julian
Wynter, said the establish-
KUALA LUMPUR: Tenaga Na- ment of Saadiq was part of
sional Bhd sees an increasing the bank’s commitment to
impact from the rising price of expand its Islamic banking
coal on income, its president business and to support the
and chief executive officer, government’s aspiration to
Datuk Seri Che Khalib Moha- become as an international
mad Noh, said. hub for Islamic finance. by Bernard Cheah will be held at Traders Hotel here on
“If the coal price goes above – Bernama newsdesk@thesundaily.com Dec 5 and 6.
US$120 a tonne, we will start to The conference will discuss the
make losses,” he told reporters GEORGE TOWN: The Penang state’s economic road map in the
during the International Energy Oil prices below Development Corporation (PDC) next 10 years.
Security Forum here yesterday. US$60 is acquiring land for new foreign “The participants will play an
– Bernama SINGAPORE: World oil prices investors. active role in charting the future
eased further below US$60 PDC director Datuk Lee Kah direction and policy initiatives
StanChart targets (RM216) in Asian trade yes- Choon said yesterday the land through their feedback and
terday after Britain and the EU being acquired include 200ha on comments,” he said.
20% in Islamic called for joint action to hold the northern and southern parts Among the speakers at the
assets growth off recession threatening lead- of Penang Science Park in Bukit conference are PKR de facto leader
KUALA LUMPUR: Standard ing economies, analysts said. Minyak, 40ha in Bayan Mutiara and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Penang
Chartered Bank (Malaysia) In afternoon trade, New York’s 240ha in Batu Kawan. Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng,
Bhd expects its Islamic main contract, light sweet The land will be acquired for University of California-Davis
finance assets to grow to crude for December delivery, development in various industries, Economics Prof Wong Wing
20% in the next three to fell 20 cents to US$59.13 including education, hospital and They, Donisha University Centre
four years from the current (RM212.86) a barrel. – AFP medical, and tourism sectors. for Contemporary Asian Studies
“In the past, we have only director Prof Shigeyuki Abe and
focused on the industrial and many other prominent speakers.
KL market summary manufacturing sectors. But now, Members of the public,
we want to focus on diverse types of especially investors, economists,
NOVEMBER 12, 2008 investment,” he told reporters. financiers, bankers, institutional
Lee, who is the InvestPenang investors, government official,
INDICES CHANGE executive chairman, said the PDC analysts, industrialists and stake
FBMEMAS: 5,860.54 (- 31.23) is also trying to focus on getting holders, are encouraged to attend
COMPOSITE: 890.34 (- 4.26) neighbouring countries like the conference.
INDUSTRIAL: 2,130.91 (- 4.91) Singapore, Thailand, Korea and The registration fee per
CONSUMER PRODUCT: 273.77 (- 2.08) China to invest in Penang. participant is RM250. For more
INDUSTRIAL PRODUCT: 71.12 (+ 0.14)
CONSTRUCTION: 160.89 (+ 0.07)
He also announced that the New details, call 04-646 8833 or
TRADING SERVICES: 124.43 (- 0.66) Economic Vision for Penang and email enquiries@investpenang.com.
FINANCE: 6,834.87 (- 30.49)
Tale of Malaysia International Conference my.
PROPERTIES: 535.62 (+ 0.68) two
PLANTATIONS: 3,892.17 (+ 8.98) cuisines
MINING: 251.28 ( unch)
FBMSHA: 6,083.15 (- 28.26) pg 28
FBM2BRD:
TECHNOLOGY:

TURNOVER
4,431.71
14.40

VALUE
(- 9.00)
(- 0.04)
724.49mil RM985.853bil
KL shares mixed at close
KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices on Bursa
Malaysia were mixed at close yesterday but
losses led by Telekom Malaysia (TM) dragged
the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI)
down, dealers said. At the closing bell, the CI
eased 4.26 points or 0.48% to 890.34, after
opening 5.64 points lower to 888.96 in the
morning trade. TM, which was also the most
active counter, declined 51 sen to RM2.79
after reporting on Tuesday a loss after tax and
minority interests of RM165.8 million for the
third quarter ended Sept 30. Volume declined
to 724.49 million shares worth RM985.853
million against Tuesday’s closing of 1.081
billion shares valued at RM965.134 million.
Tomei to spread wings overseas
KUALA LUMPUR: Tomei, which means ‘very
beautiful’ in Mandarin, may be just another
homegrown jewellery brand, but it is slowly
laying the foundations to spread its wings
overseas.
Tomei Consolidated Bhd executive chair-
man, Tan Sri Ng Teck Fong, said the region,
especially Vietnam, China and Indonesia,
offered so much potential and the company
could not miss out on the opportunities.
In an interview with Bernama, he said
the group was now laying the foundations
for expansion overseas and was studying
the differences in terms of culture, law and
management.
“You have to lay the foundations first, just
like what you would do with a building. Only
then can you start the business. You have to
spend the first few years to build up a good
management team as well,” he said.
Ng said the overseas ventures were
part of the group’s long-term expansion
as Malaysia, a small market, was getting
saturated.
He said the group’s business in Vietnam
was wholly-owned and in China it was on a
joint-venture basis.
“We had formed a joint-venture with a
Hongkong-based firm to invest in China to
take advantage of the special incentives,”
he said, adding that the company also had a
management team from the former British
colony to run the show. Tomei has a 51%
stake in the China business.
“They (management team) understand
the market better. If we don’t make profit
from the business, it would be useless to
even own it 100%,” said Ng.
He said China’s economy was stronger
now and so was the Chinese buying power.
Ng said the company, with 58 stores na-
tionwide, has grouped its offerings into three
brands, namely, My Diamond, T.H. Jewellery
and Le Lumiere, or loosely translated into as
Diamonds of Light.
He said although Tomei still contributed
about 60% of the group’s earnings, the com-
pany was also promoting the other brands.
“My Diamond is more for the younger
market with preference for white gold and
diamonds. Meanwhile, T.H. Jewellery is for
the high-end market with special designs
and more use of gems like jade.
“However, Le Lumiere is more for the
diamond fans who appreciate the stone’s
beauty and clarity,” he said.
Ng said despite the global financial crisis
which has, to some extent impacted the
Asian market, he was confident of expand-
ing his business abroad. – Bernama