Business

KUALA LUMPUR: Integrated engineering solutions provider, Kelington Group Bhd reported a robust financial performance in the third quarter (3QFY21) and nine months ended Sept 30, 2021 and it is upbeat about its prospects. In a statement on Tuesday, it said notwithstanding the operational disruptions arising from the Full Movement Control Order (FMCO) during the quarter under review, Kelington’s net profit in 3QFY21 rose 62% to a quarterly record high of RM8mil from RM4.9mil a year ago. The company said revenue in 3QFY21 increased 8% to RM106.4mil versus RM98.3mil a year ago. “The improved financial performance was attributable to higher projects completion in Malaysia and Singapore and a lower effective tax rate in 3QFY21,” it said. In 9MFY21, Kelington posted a record-breaking financial performance as revenue rose 30% to RM337.6mil and net profit more than doubled to RM20.9mil as compared to previous corresponding period (9MFY20). The improvement in both revenue and net ... » Learn More about Strong earnings growth for Kelington

KOTA KINABALU: MARA Corporation Sdn Bhd, via its subsidiary MARA Incorporated Sdn Bhd (MARA Inc), will be partaking in its first condominium development project here next year. Rural Development Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid said the joint development between MARA Inc and Axventure Sdn Bhd would begin in the first quarter of next year and was expected to be completed within three years. He said the RM500 million project includes two seven-storey residential towers, 441 housing units and would be built on 5.48 hectares of land in the city’s Signal Hill area. "This project will also be used as an example of housing development initiatives under Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme which will bring many benefits to Sabah’s economy through the entry of foreign investors and tourists,” he told reporters here today. Earlier, Mahdzir attended a groundbreaking ceremony for the proposed project which was officiated by Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Mohd Noor. ... » Learn More about MARA Inc to jointly develop RM500m condominium in Kota Kinabalu next year

KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB Group Holdings Bhd made a RM100.6mil loss in the third quarter due to a massive non-cash accounting impairment of goodwill of RM1.22bil for its business un Thailand, as well as RM83mil in intangible assets write-off and accelerated amortisation. These one-off items in the third quarter have no impact to CIMB Group’s liquidity and capital position, the bank said in a statement today. CIMB said that its core operating income was little changed in the three-month ended Sept 30 at RM4.39bil compared with RM4.41bil a year ago. Core profit before tax (PBT) was up at RM1.64bil from RM454mil previously. “CIMB Group’s performance remained resilient even as the Covid-19 crisis peaked in 3Q21 and governments undertook stricter movement restrictions to manage the pandemic, which affected economic activity," Group CEO Datuk Abdul Rahman Ahmad said. "We saw slower quarter-on-quarter momentum due to modification loss as we expanded our repayment assistance to help ... » Learn More about CIMB registers RM3.44bil nine-month net profit

Dr. Glenn Mathew Baggao, chief of the Cagayan Valley Medical Center (CVMC), gets his booster shot of Pfizer vaccine against COVID-19 on Wednesday, Nov. 17. (Photo courtesy of CVMC photo) MANILA, Philippines — Senator Sonny Angara on Wednesday backed the private sector’s call to provide booster shots for employees, noting the country’s steady supply of  COVID-19 vaccines. Citing the government’s own pronouncement that there is no longer shortage of COVID-19 vaccines supply, 26 business groups have earlier requested that they be allowed access to their “large stockpile” of vaccines which they can use as booster shots for their employees and their families. Angara said the appeal is “reasonable” especially in light of various reports that there are already vaccines expiring supposedly due to logistical issues, slow administration, and vaccine hesitancy particularly in areas outside of Metro Manila. “The country now has a steady supply of vaccines and the volume will continue to ... » Learn More about Angara to gov’t: Consider call of business groups on booster shots

Today's consumer is demanding, sophisticated and, yes, impatient. Buyers know what they want ― and they want it now. For food and beverage producers, this creates an urgent need to become more agile and responsive to market demands. The food and beverage industry is overdue for operational and efficiency improvements. A recent Gartner study reveals that 87 per cent of food and beverage organisations are seriously lagging in analytics and business intelligence capabilities. Food and beverage producers' success in the digital future depends on making smart investments today. That's why companies need to invest in Industry 4.0 technologies and practices, such as industrial edge computing and Internet of Things (IoT) systems that allow them to converge IT and operational technology (OT) systems, automate the supply chain and production systems, and increase visibility across the production process by capturing and analysing data to drive operational improvements. Too many silos ... » Learn More about How F&B companies drive end-to-end visibility and efficient operations through digitisation

TAIPEI , Dec. 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Recognized as the disruptor in innovating and driving customer success, TPIsoftware has been announced as the winner of the "CX Vendor Excellence Gold Award" for the CX Asia Excellence Awards 2021. TPIsoftware was not only chosen for the top excellence in being clients' trusted partner in customer experience delivery, but also the only Taiwanese corporation winner across the twelve award categories this year. Judged by a panel of independent CX experts of different fields and industry leaders from Nokia, Telstra, CIMB, Prudential, AE and more, TPIsoftware has surpassed stringent standards of technology innovation and outshined the competition. TPIsoftware was credited for its "very strong contribution with a full suite of solutions", according to the judge in the awards ceremony. The 2021 CX Asia Excellence Awards announcement ceremony took place virtually on November 23th and the winners were announced live. Organized by IQPC, the CX Asia ... » Learn More about Best in Asia, TPIsoftware Honored With Gold Award for CX Vendor Excellence in Singapore

TAIPEI , Dec. 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Server manufacturer Inventec (TPE: 2356) has introduced its latest high density storage server Steelix. This new industry-leading server provides efficient computing performance with a single socket solution that supports the new 3rd Gen AMD EPYC™ processor. Inventec Steelix- a high density storage 2U server system optimized for AMD EPYC™ 7003 Series Processors. "Steelix is an ideal hybrid system for warm storage and is applicable to further storage applications. By optimizing the ratio of SSDs and HDDs, it can highly accelerate IOPS and throughput performance while offering excellent storage capacity. Steelix can provide a higher virtualized workload and adapt quickly to changing business computing needs," said George Lin , General Manager of Business Unit VI, Inventec Enterprise Business Group (Inventec EBG). Highlight of Steelix Enhanced performance with single socket solution Advanced Security High-density 2U form ... » Learn More about Inventec unveils Steelix – a high density storage 2U server system optimized for AMD EPYC (TM) 7003 Series Processors

SINGAPORE - Media OutReach - 1 December 2021 - Singapore-based AI startup, Sentient.io , announced today that SEEDS Capital, the investment arm of Enterprise Singapore, has invested in its Series B1 funding round following co-investor, Real Tech Fund.  The new funds raised will be used for scaling the platform and business expansion into Asia Pacific markets, especially to fulfil the surging demand for Digital Transformation from local and Japanese corporations. Sentient.io is also backed by A*ccelerate Technologies, the commercialising and venture arm of Singapore's leading Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), global technology venture capital team from BEENEXT and several Japanese companies such as, Digital Garage Group together with ABC Dream Ventures which is a corporate venture capital firm of Asahi Broadcasting Group Holdings Corporation and Real Tech Fund which is managed by Real Tech Holdings Co. Ltd out of Japan.  To date, the Company has raised more ... » Learn More about SEEDS Capital and Real Tech Fund Participate in AI startup, Sentient.io, in its Series B1 Investment Round

TIANJIN, China , Dec. 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Here's a news report from chinadaily.com.cn: By 2025, the Binhai New Area in North China's Tianjin municipality will cultivate industry clusters worth tens of billions of yuan that are dedicated to pharmaceuticals, biotech, medical devices, diagnostics and modern Chinese medicine. An aerial photo of the CBD of the Tianjin Pilot Free Trade Zone, Binhai New Area, Tianjin. It will be shaped into a highly innovative and internationally competitive drug development and manufacturing piloting zone, characterized by its comprehensive subdivisions and variety of complete medical products. The annual business revenues of the biomedical industry in Binhai are expected to reach 100 billion yuan ( $15.44 billion ) by 2025. These ambitious targets will be made possible with the sound industrial base and bright development prospects of Binhai. At present, Binhai is already an important area for the biomedical industry in ... » Learn More about Binhai New Area to spearhead China’s medical industry development

HONG KONG , Dec. 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --Website - www.aecom.com , the world's trusted infrastructure consulting firm, today announced that it has been selected by the Civil Engineering and Development Department of the HKSAR Government to provide engineering services for the Northern Metropolis residential and commercial development project. In this role, AECOM will offer comprehensive services for the city's latest strategic development direction, which is to transform the most northern part of Hong Kong near mainland China into a thriving metropolitan area which will serve as a second economic engine, and enhance cooperation between Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area. "We are honored to work with the HKSAR Government in delivering the city's latest major projects to develop its Northern Metropolis into a vibrant economy and living environment, including a hub to boost innovation and technology," said Ian Chung , AECOM's regional chief executive for Asia . "AECOM will ... » Learn More about AECOM to provide engineering services for the Northern Metropolis in Hong Kong