Thesun 2009-08-04 Page12 Govt Mulls More Wimax Licences

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theSun

| TUESDAY AUGUST 4 2009

business

Guocoland Malaysia to launch projects worth RM1.7bil terms of contribution. The projects are expected to be completed in 2016 or 2017,” executive director Chan Chee Meng told reporters during a media tour yesterday. Emerald Rawang is a joint venture project between GuocoLand Malaysia and Hong Bee Land Sdn Bhd, with

the former as the project manager. GuocoLand Malaysia is a member of the Hong Leong group. The Emerald Rawang township comprises Emerald East and Emerald West. Emerald Rawang sits on about 1,000 acres of freehold land, compris-

by Husna Yusop [email protected]

UMW Toyota aims to sell 100 units of Prius by year-end by Eva Yeong [email protected]

SUBANG JAYA: UMW Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd (UMW Toyota) aims to sell 100 units of its newly launched third generation hybrid car, Toyota Prius, by end of this year. “Our target sales for Prius this year is 100 units, and 300 units for next year,” said UMW Toyota president Kuah Kock Heng at a media preview yesterday. “Order taking starts today and the public launch will be on Aug 7. Due to its overwhelming popularity since its launch in Japan, there has been a bottleneck in supply,” said Kuah. “However, with much thanks to Toyota Motor Corporation, we managed to proceed with the launch although we did not get as many as we would have wanted.” Prius was first introduced in Japan in 1997 as a mass-produced, petrol-electric, hybrid vehicle and was subsequently launched in the US and Europe in 2000. In 2003, Toyota introduced its second generation Prius featuring the Toyota Hybrid System-II which achieves a high level of compatibility between environmental performance and power. “With the introduction of the second generation Prius, Toyota has sold more

ing a mixed-use development ranging from link, cluster and semi-detached homes to high-end bungalows. To date, a total of 1,300 homes have been built with sales of RM375 million, Chan said, adding the company has targeted another RM100 million sales by year-end on expectation of

good demand for the semi-detached homes. “We plan to launch four more phases this year because it is timely due to the recovery of the market and buyers are upgrading to more established projects,” he said. – Bernama

Govt mulls more WiMAX licences

KAMARIDUAN MOHD NOR/THESUN

RAWANG: Property developer GuocoLand (Malaysia) Bhd plans to roll out several high-end projects in stages at Emerald Rawang, Selangor, with a total gross development value (GDV) of RM1.7 billion. “Going forward, the RM1.7 billion GDV will have a bigger impact in

than 1.2 million units in 44 countries by end of 2008,” said Kuah. Despite the soft economic condition, the new Toyota Prius became the top seller in Japan with more than 31,000 units sold and more than 180,000 units booked, he said. “The new Prius will feature a power train that is 90% newly developed with significant improvements over the previous generation. The Prius adopts a new beltless 1.8 litre, four cylinder petrol engine with 98 horsepower. It runs at lower RPMs at highway speeds for more relaxed driving, better fuel efficiency and improved uphill performance,” he said. Toyota Motor Corporation chief engineer Akihiko Otsuka said the Toyota Prius has less drag due to its aerodynamic design and an Eco Mode to enhance fuel economy. Only eco-friendly materials which are easy to recycle are used to produce the car, said Otsuka. The car is priced at RM175,000 in Peninsular Malaysia, inclusive of insurance for private registration. Kuah said all its branches in Peninsula Malaysia will be able to service the Prius by end of this year, with four of its 60 branches already prepared namely Subang Jaya, Cheras, Penang and Johor.

Second from left: UMW Toyota chairman Tan Sri Asmat Kamaluddin, Otsuka, UMW Toyota deputy chairman Takashi Hibi and Kuah at the media preview of the third generation Prius.

KUALA LUMPUR: The government plans to issue WiMAX licences to more companies, in addition to the four players now, Information, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said. He said three out of four companies licensed now were not up to the mark in rolling out the broadband services to consumers but there were many others capable of doing it. “I believe there are many others (capable). And to be fair to the industry, we should encourage them to come and offer their services, especially to render coverage for Sarawak and Sabah. “We are still in the Jurassic Park area there – in many parts of the two states,” he told theSun in an interview on Sunday. He said it was only fair to get more players in the broadband industry as it was now not moving fast enough at only 25% penetration rate of the whole population. “I will be informing the government that with just these four players, and only one is in reality playing the role, we should be encouraging more,” he added, while refusing to elaborate pending further developments.

Last Friday, Rais has warned the three companies holding WiMAX licences which have yet to roll out their services nationwide that they risk losing their licences. He has said the government had the right to revoke their licences if they did not roll out their services by year-end, especially to Sabah and Sarawak, adding that the terms of their licences required it as part of their responsibilities. He also said he has instructed the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission to look into the issue and review the licences of the three companies. Four companies were in March 2007 awarded the 2.3GHz spectrum, allowing them to offer wireless broadband services using WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) technology. They are Packet One Networks (M) Sdn Bhd, REDtone International Bhd, YTL e-Solutions Bhd and Asiaspace Dotcom Sdn Bhd. It was reported that Packet One, a subsidiary of Green Packet Bhd, has the widest roll-out so far while REDtone offers services in parts of Kota Kinabalu and Kuching, Asiaspace covers 70 to 80 locations in Klang Valley and YTL e-Solutions has yet to roll out its broadband services.

Raja Arshad named Ekuinas chairman, Rahman Ahmad as CEO KUALA LUMPUR: Former PriceWaterhouseCoopers executive chairman Raja Tan Sri Arshad Raja Tun Uda has been appointed chairman of Ekuiti Nasional Bhd (Ekuinas). Media Prima Bhd outgoing group managing director/chief executive officer Abdul Rahman Ahmad, meanwhile, was made chief executive officer and director of the newly established private equity investment institution. Their appointments take effect on Sept 1, said a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office yesterday. Ekuinas is the newly established private equity investment institution aimed at promoting effective bumiputra economic participation in a sustainable and market friendly manner. Other founding members of Ekuinas board of directors are Symphony House Bhd group chief executive and former managing director of Pengurusan Danaharta Nasional Bhd Datuk Azman Yahya, Institute of Strategic and International Studies Malaysia chairman and chief executive officer Tan Sri Mohamed

Jawhar Hassan and Economic Planning Unit director general Datuk Noriyah Ahmad. Ekuinas’ establishment was announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak on June 30 as part of a number of measures announced to further enhance the competitiveness of the Malaysian economy whilst maintaining the government’s commitment towards promoting sustainable, meaningful and effective bumiputra participation through genuine partnerships and meritocracy. It will manage an initial fund of RM500 million which subsequently, will be enlarged up to RM10 billion. It will be commercially driven, with investments focused on strong Malaysian companies with high growth potential and will work towards attracting and nurturing talent for management in investee companies, the statement said. Ekuinas will also collaborate with private capital and adopt best practices of global private equity firms, it said. – Bernama

Public Mutual declares distributions for 6 funds KUALA LUMPUR: Public Bank’s wholly-owned subsidiary Public Mutual has announced total gross distributions for six of its funds for the financial year ended July 31, 2009. They are Public Growth Fund (4 sen per unit); Public Islamic Opportunities Fund (2 sen); Public Islamic Select Enterprises Fund (1.25 sen); Public Bond Fund (5 sen); Public Islamic Select Bond Fund (3.50 sen); and Public Islamic Income Fund (2.50 sen). According to The Edge-Lipper Fund Table dated July 20, 2009, Public Growth Fund and Public Islamic Opportunities Fund have generated a three-year return of 40.11% and 45.01%

respectively for the period ended July 10, 2009. As for the bond funds, Public Bond Fund has generated a three-year return of 15.56% while Public Islamic Select Bond Fund which was launched in 2007 has generated a one-year return of 6.59%. These funds have outperformed their benchmarks for the respective periods. Meanwhile, Public Islamic Select Enterprises Fund and Public Islamic Income Fund which were launched last year have generated a six-month return of 16.08% and 4.45% respectively for the period ended July 10, 2009. Both funds are open for EPF Members Investment Scheme. – Bernama