'TMI-TuneTalk deal no threat to other MVNOs'

OSK Research expects Celcom and Tune Talk to leverage on the strong paternal links with AirAsia and Tune Hotels to aggressively market Tune Talk products and services



TM INTERNATIONAL Bhd's (TMI) (6888) investment in a local mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) is unlikely to pose a major threat to incumbent operators, a research firm says.

OSK Research Sdn Bhd said the RM2.6 million investment in Tune Talk Sdn Bhd via wholly-owned Celcom (M) Bhd, announced on Tuesday, follows TMI's earlier alliances with two other MVNOs, namely Merchantrade and Redtone, and U Mobile, a hybrid mobile network operator (MNO).

"Overall, we are neutral on the (TMI's Tune Talk) investment given that MVNOs have very patchy track record overseas and are not likely to be a major threat to incumbent operators," the firm said in a note yesterday.

The investment by Celcom confirmed market talks months ago.Tune Talk, it noted, was slated to launch commercial service in the second quarter 2008, but the launch was postponed pending the award of a Network Services Provider (NSP) licence from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission.

OSK Research said once it is launched, Tune Talk will raise competition by a notch, putting further pressure on operators' margins, which are already crimped with the introduction of MNP in October.

It expects Celcom and Tune Talk to leverage on the strong paternal links with AirAsia and Tune Hotels to aggressively market Tune Talk products and services with substantial cross-selling potential for the foreign travellers and workers market (via Merchantrade).

"We expect Tune Talk to target the no-frills or low-cost subscribers with a basic voice and SMS product.

"OSK Research added that since it would likely purchase wholesale minutes from Celcom at a slightly higher price, Tune Talk would not be able to price its tariff as competitively as the incumbent operators.

The firm maintains its "neutral" call on TMI, with a target price of RM4.20.

- By Zuraimi Abdullah (Business Times)

D'House Waterfall 3

D'House Waterfall 2

D'House Waterfall 1

DiGi Merchandise

DiGi's merchandises / collectibles for fans

DiGizens are fighting climate change

http://www.feeltheheat.net.my/home.php

Heritage Building @ Bentong

Chinese Town Hall @ Bentong

Heritage Building @ Bentong

SRJK (C) Khai Mun Pagi circa 1938. In front of the school is famous Bak Ku Teh stall, only selling from 6pm to 8pm

Saisaki Japanese Buffet 3

Nice setting, nice ambient

Saisaki Japanese Buffet 2

Mouth watering shasimi and very hot wasabi, really hot....

Saisaki Japanese Buffet 1

My favourite cheese bbq escargot, bbq prawn beef burger and donno what ............

Journey to Langkawi 12

Buying 'hiong piah' at Yee Hup, Ipoh. This is our last destination before going back to KL

Journey to Langkawi 11

27-Dec, Saturday. Having a seafood dinner here at Bukit Tambun before departing to Ipoh

Journey to Langkawi 10

A lot of 'ang mo' sun bathing here. We join the crowd too

Journey to Langkawi 9

Pit stop for a nap at Paradise Sandy Beach Resort, Penang

Journey to Langkawi 8

My dinner; tasty Hatyai Kuih Ciap at a food court near Northern Lodge, Sg Petani

Journey to Langkawi 7

My first snorkling

Journey to Langkawi 6

Tourists watching sharks feeding

Journey to Langkawi 5

Heading beautiful Payar Island to view shark feeding

Journey to Langkawi 4

Snorkling at Payar Island with Langkawi Coral package on second day. That's the platform we having food, sun bathing and fun.....

Journey to Langkawi 3

View at Dayang Bunting Island, our last destination for today's islands hoping; after Beras Basah Island and Singa Putih Island (eagle feeding)

Journey to Langkawi 2

Everyone Q for ferry ticket at Kuala Kedah Jetty

Journey to Langkawi 1

Left home @ 10.40pm of x-mas eve. Ketupat and Rendang Daging for my supper at Tapah R and R @ 1.40am.

KL Plaza on X-mas eve

The former Berjaya property has been sold to Kuwait Finance House and Gang for RM400mil. Refurbishment of the building and bridging to Pavilion expected to start work by 2009

Pavilion on X-mas eve

The near completion Pavilion Condominium is sold out

White Elephant @ Bentong

A dinnasour killing a white elephant at Bentong

Bungalow turned into a mini hotel

Nice: The lounge area.

THE owner of a bungalow in Jalan Desa 6/7 at Phase Six in Bandar Country Homes, Rawang, has turned it into a mini hotel.
The bungalow is in a secluded end of the residential road which comprises only bungalows.


StarMetro visited the place following a tip-off from residents and found that there is no signboard indicating that it is a hotel or has rooms for rent.

The place is completely walled, with its entrance sealed by a metal gate. No one looking at it from the outside would suspect it is a hotel.

Cosy: The dining area

The hotel operator has also advertised it on a website www.chateau.com.my, offering Internet booking for its 10 rooms, with rental from RM120 to RM200 a night.

The rooms are well furnished like those of a three-star hotel. There are also function rooms, a pool stable, a bar and lounge area with dart games and a place for viewing football matches.

When a worker was asked whether the bungalow had any “special” functions, he didn’t want to say much.


Well laid out: The common dining area.

However, according to the worker, the owner is a Singaporean and the owner’s wife is the one running the place.

The worker also said the bungalow could cater for private functions of up to about 100 people at any one time.

According to Selayang Municipal Council (MPS) public relations director Mohd Zin Masaod, a hotel cannot be located at a residential area.

“In fact, we were tipped off by the public last week and will investigate this matter. As far as we are concerned, the hotel is illegal,” Zin said.

“Previously, the bungalow owner did not follow building by-laws and we have issued him a few compounds.

“Now he has turned his bungalow into a boarding place and renting out rooms,’’ he said.

- Story and photos by STUART MICHAEL (The Star)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Website: http://www.chateau.com.my/

Telco probes millions in kickbacks

PETALING JAYA (Dec 22): A telecommunications company is conducting an internal probe into "kickbacks" amounting to millions of ringgit received by its staff over the past few years.
The company, with international links, is investigating its staff, including a senior executive, for allegedly accepting kickbacks over procurement contracts.

theSun learnt that the contracts were awarded to local contractors and vendors by the telco’s officials who are believed to have received the money for facilitating the deal over the past two to three years.

It is learnt that the contracts ranged from materials’ supply, maintenance parts and other equipment required by the telco, which had been aggressively expanding its network in the country.

Sources said that the management has recorded statements from one of the executives on three occasions. He was found to have several hundred thousand ringgit in a bank account. It is believed that the amount in his other bank accounts totalled more than a million ringgit.
The executive had also travelled extensively to various parts of the world.

It is learnt that the management, which is interviewing several other employees and witnesses, is expected to report to the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) once its internal probe is completed.
A spokesperson for the telco, when contacted by theSun yesterday, confirmed the investigations and said a report will be lodged with the ACA.

"We are looking at all angles to find out if other staff were also involved.

"This is a serious issue and we will leave no stone unturned in our investigations. Once our own findings are completed, we will pass the information to the authorities," the spokesperson added.
theSun learnt that several representatives of prominent local companies which supplied materials to the telco and had dealt with the staff, are also under investigation.

by Tim Leonard

Wondering which Telco is this DiGi, Maxis, Celcom or U Mobile........

Source: http://www.sun2surf.com/article.cfm?id=28689

Money in creepy crawlies

A NEW bio-agriculture trend has emerged in Kelantan which is famed for its enterprising and conservative residents.

Since last year, many have ventured into commercial farming of worms and leeches, both slithering kinds which are usually off-limits to most people.

It has emerged that the worms and leeches apparently produce an enzyme which can be used as a compound in beauty pharmaceutical products.

One of the breeders is businessman Wan Ya Wan Yusuf, 38, from Kampung Chi Cha, Kota Baru, who has roped in his wife Noorlaila Ibrahim, 37, and six children to help manage the farm
full of the slithering worms.

Wan Ya, encouraged to venture into breeding worms by a friend last year, began importing unhatched eggs of worms from Indonesia.

He earns an average of RM300 to RM1,200 per kilo of worms, depending on the grades.

Not only are the worms sold but their faeces are sold as fertiliser to a wholesaler for RM50 per kilo, Wan Ya said.

He said his business was slowly but surely turning into a lucrative venture as at times, he could earn beyond RM5,000 per month.

He also sells the worms to a wholesaler who would distribute it to pharmaceutical agents for processing.

Over at Kemumin, Pengkalan Chepa, Khalid Abdul Rahim, who is know locally as Mat Yos, shows people about his commercial breeding of leeches at an open-space near his home.

He began breeding the leeches about two years ago after he was informed by a marketing agent that many cosmetic firms were using leeches. Leeches are also processed into an ointment as a massaging cream.

Khalid earns about RM60 per kilo of leeches and it has become lucrative enough for him to quit his day job as a welder.
- By SAZUKI EMBONG (The Star)


Related (Leeches Farming):

http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v3/news_lite.php?id=322584

http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2008/2/23/lifefocus/20185761&sec=lifefocus

http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2008/4/11/north/20890124&sec=North

http://www.thefishsite.com/fishnews/6525/leeching-into-commercial-production

http://www.badruzamani.org/blog/?p=589

How to become very rich in Malaysia

If you have ever wondered how to get rich in Malaysia – fabulously rich and very quickly at that – here’s a model that you might want to look at very closely. Not easy to do but if you do have a couple of projects in the bag, it will set you up for several lifetimes.

First you need connections – strong ones, the higher the better and if it goes right up to the top all the better. You need this because you need to convince the powers that be that your projects are good.

But you might ask if your projects are so good, why do you need connections? Why don’t you just go out and execute? Good questions, those. Here’s the answer - you need the state to give you something to do the deal that will help the nation.

Still can’t figure it out? See, it’s like this. You want to help the country, right? The country needs say a port. But you can’t build a port just like that. You need land to build a port. You tell the state or federal government you need land – cheap land, preferably free to build the port.

Or to take another example, you want to help the country by building a power plant. But look, you need land too and not only that you need the power to be sold. So you want an agreement – an iron-clad one to sell the power to Tenaga Nasional and to pass through all costs.

You see, that’s your reward as an entrepreneur – you get someone else to build the power plant, they guarantee the performance of the plant and someone else guarantees to buy your power and pay for all your costs. Nice deal? You bet. Billionaires have been made that way.

Or you may want to start an air hub. If you are persuasive enough, you can even convince the government to compulsorily acquire the land and sell it to you cheap. Once you have cheap land, lucrative contracts and concession agreements, the sky’s the limit.

Let’s take it a step further. If you want to realise the value of all of these things that you have and still keep control of them, it’s nice to have a listed company into which you can inject them. Inject one asset for shares and you gain control of the company.

And then inject others over the years for cash, taking the money out of the company. Who says you can’t have your cake and eat it too?

Do it right and get a flow of assets to inject in (you can do anything with discounted cash flow valuations – just change the discount rate, and presto, the value changes!), and you get a tidy flow of profits and cash into your personal accounts over the years. I mean a really tidy flow.

Just how much can you make this way, you ask? Why don’t you take a guess first? Did you say RM500mil? Guess again. RM1bil? How about five times that and you may be getting into the right order of magnitude.

One Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Albukhary actually made some RM4.5bil that way - actually more because he still controls the listed company. We are not saying he is the only one, which makes your chances of joining the ranks better – if you are connected to high places that is.

Source:
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/12/13/business/2795532&sec=business
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/12/13/business/2786964&sec=business

Swiftlet Farming

ALL businesses are built on blood, sweat and tears, at least in the figurative sense. But one industry thrives on another bodily fluid – saliva. Bird saliva, that is. And not just any bird. It has to be the swiftlet, whose nests of hardened spit have been a delicacy treasured by the Chinese for centuries.

Depending on the quality, marketplace and timing, a kilogramme of unprocessed edible bird nest can fetch a few thousand ringgit.

The processing, a tedious and labour-intensive affair, typically doubles the value of the nests. Quoting a senior Sabah government official, a news report early last month says bird nest is sold at RM4,000 to RM18,000 per kg.

The global market is said to be worth billions of ringgit. Thanks to its head start of 20 years or so in swiftlet farming on a commercial scale, Indonesia supplies 70% to 80% of the bird nests consumed worldwide, mainly in Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Macau, Singapore and North America.

Dr Christopher Lim, a nephrologist who has succeeded as a part-time swiftlet farmer and has authored a how-to book on the subject, says there are about 22,000 swiftlet farms (also known as swiftlet hotels, swiftlet houses or birdhouses) in Malaysia. He estimates that there are 200 new ones every month.

The list of towns that have become known for this activity is lengthening. There are such places in just about every state. What these towns usually have in common are proximity to agricultural and forest land, and relatively low levels of industrial activity.

The first element is important because farms, plantations and jungles support the swiftlets’ diet of flying insects. The lack of factories in the vicinity matters because air pollution is anathema to the birds.

You can find many swiftlet farms in Perak (in Sitiawan, Ipoh, Teluk Intan and Taiping, for example), Pahang (Kuantan, Rompin, Pekan), Kelantan (Kota Baru, Tumpat), Terengganu (Kuala Terengganu, Kuala Besut) and Kedah (Sungai Petani).

The key attraction here is the lure of lucrative returns from a passive investment. The idea is simple – put up a well-designed and well-equipped swiftlet farm at the right spot, and the rest will fall in place. The birds will come and soon, you can keep harvesting their nests for many years.

“It’s a gold mine,” says Mohammad Azimullah, manager of Swiftlets Venture International (SVI), a consultancy outfit.

“You put in RM500,000 and if your location is good, you can net RM1mil a year within four years. Where else in the world can you find such a business?”

Kelvin Heng of Pearlnest, which does trading and consulting work, is convinced that swiftlet farming is currently the best investment opportunity in Malaysia.

He explains: “You invest only once. You don’t have to come out with money every month to pay maintenance and workers’ salaries. If the farm is successful, you can collect thousands of ringgit every month.”

References:

http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/12/13/business/2770244&sec=business

More Information:

http://swiftletfarmer.blogspot.com/

http://worldofswiftletfarming.blogspot.com/

http://smipenang.com/2007SwiftletFarmingReport.html

Selling Xmas tree could be profitable......

Selling real Xmas trees in Churches within next 2 weeks could be profitable.......What do you think?

Since everyone talking about "going green"; real xmas tree should be good alternative to decorate your house or give it to friends as Xmas gift........

Articial Xmas tree are made of PVC that not-biogradable and harmful to earth, think about it..............

More information:

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1862449,00.html

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2004/12/how_to_pick_a_g.php

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