Expansion, outlet chain enhance SSF Home Group
PETALING JAYA: With a 0.4% share of the local home furnishing retail industry worth close to RM47bil, coupled with attractive expansion plans and a strong market presence, the outlook is bright for SSF Home Group Bhd, says Mercury Securities. The research house said SSF Home Group – bound for the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia in the second week of October – is operating an extensive network of 41 retail outlets across the country that taps into a broad customer base. Mercury Securities has a “subscribe” recommendation on the counter, with a fair value price of 38 sen, a 52% premium from its initial public offering price of 25 sen.“The economies of scale derived from SSF Home Group’s wide network enhances its efficiency and allows it to offer cost-effective products, while the company’s substantial presence empowers it to introduce new products with minimal overhead costs,” Mercury Securities said. Commenting on the group’s supplier base, the securities firm said SSF Home Group’s supplier network comprises 28 entities, including 19 local manufacturers, seven local trading houses, and one trading house in Hong Kong, all of which are unrelated to the company. It added that the diversified supplier base enhances the retailer’s adaptability and bargaining power during price negotiations and contract discussions, as it mostly purchases from trading houses to access a wider range of designs and products, market knowledge and logistics support.
Source:The Star
September 15, 2023 14:55 UTC
Ministry has conducted over 2,000 checks on rice supply and prices since July says Armizan
PETALING JAYA: A total of 2,253 checks relating to the rice supply have been carried out nationwide since early July, says Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali (pic). "A total of 121 complaints were also received during the same period," he said in a statement on Friday. Armizan added that members of the public can forward information on rice supply shortages or price hikes to the Agriculture and Food Security Ministry at https://skpb.kpkm.gov.my/adu, aduankpb@kpkm.gov.my or 03-8870 1751/1748/1183. This comes after a raid was conducted by enforcement officers from the ministry following public complaints over the sale of Bird Paradise Super Siams 10kg bag of rice, he revealed. "It was found that the price displayed was RM52.40, compared to the RM48.80 printed on the rice bag.
Source:The Star
September 15, 2023 14:25 UTC
Planters set to ride on CPO price rise
PETALING JAYA: UOB Kay Hian (UOBKH) Research is keeping its upbeat outlook on the plantation sector, fuelled by expectations that crude palm oil (CPO) prices will trend higher from the fourth quarter of 2023. UOBKH Research said Mielke’s CPO price forecast was in line with its prediction. It said the current uncertain weather pattern in South Africa may also affect soybean production, thereby possibly boosting prices for the crop. According to Oil World, biodiesel production for 2023 is expected to grow by at least 8.2% year-on-year to 56.5 million tonnes. It said the European Union is projected to be the largest biodiesel producer at 15.1 million tonnes this year, followed by the United States at 12.8 million tonnes, noting that these biodiesel productions have doubled in the past 10 years.
Source:The Star
September 14, 2023 22:19 UTC
Thirty Seconds to Mars returns with a new album that Jared Leto says will 'surprise' a lot of people
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Source:The Star
September 14, 2023 21:04 UTC
Perdana Fellow dropped from programme for faking achievements
PETALING JAYA: The internship of a Perdana Fellow at the Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry (Miti) has been terminated for violating the terms and conditions of the programme, says the Youth and Sports Ministry. The ministry's corporate and communication unit said that it took note of a recent incident involving the fellow placed under Miti. "Public university students list their achievements when applying for the Perdana Fellow programme. The Youth and Sports Ministry said that the former fellow would be offered counselling sessions. "We will initiate an investigation to strengthen the implementation of this programme in the future," said the ministry.
Source:The Star
September 13, 2023 15:36 UTC
Syed Saddiq calls out govt over hypocrisy in first move from Opposition bench
KUALA LUMPUR: In one of his statement’s from the Opposition bench in the Dewan Rakyat, Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman has called out the government for its “hypocrisy”. "Standing Orders 36(6) said no member shall impute improper motives to any other members. We are not casting improper motives on an MP but on the entire government,” said Syed Saddiq on Tuesday (Sept 12). Ramli then reminded Syed Saddiq not to waste his time adding that “99%” of the issues raised by the Opposition MPs who spoke before him were related to the same matter. Ramli, however, granted Syed Saddiq another 30 seconds to finish his statement before proceeding with the House’s order of the business of the day which was the debate on the 12th Malaysia Plan Mid-Term Review.
Source:The Star
September 12, 2023 17:16 UTC
GST reintroduction still on the table, says Rafizi
KUALA LUMPUR: The possibility of reviving the Goods and Services Tax (GST) remains open, says Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli. He said that although current plans are focused on the introduction of the capital gains tax next year, other forms of taxation will also be considered. “One of the strategies to widen our revenue base is our focus on developing and rolling out the capital gains tax in 2024. Rafizi was responding to a question on whether the government plans to reintroduce the GST under the 12th Malaysia Plan. His suggestion was supported by several economists who agreed that the GST should only be revived if there are clearer mechanisms.
Source:The Star
September 12, 2023 15:05 UTC
12MP review: Option of reintroducing GST remains, says Rafizi
KUALA LUMPUR: Reviving the goods and services tax (GST) still remains an option, says Rafizi Ramli. Although the current plan is to introduce capital gains tax next year, the Economy Minister said that other forms of taxes would also be considered. "One of the strategies to widen our revenue base is to develop and roll out capital gains tax in 2024 and the government will stick to that strategy. Among the measures that would be taken were increasing the tax base, diversifying the tax revenue stream and managing the tax system through technology. This also included introducing a capital gains tax next year.
Source:The Star
September 11, 2023 16:09 UTC
Boss Anwar meets 'The Boss' Rajnikanth
PETALING JAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim received a courtesy visit from superstar Rajnikanth at his office in Putrajaya. In a Facebook post on Monday (Sept 11), Anwar said he met the Indian actor, who is not only famous in Asia but also worldwide. The Prime Minister also said he was praying for Rajnikanth's continued excellence in his field and films. In the comments section, many were excited by the post, with references made to Rajnikanth's blockbuster film Sivaji: The Boss and others saying it was the "meeting of two legends". Anwar is also known to quote lines from Rajnikanth's films, especially Sivaji: The Boss during his campaign rallies.
Source:The Star
September 11, 2023 15:33 UTC
Malaysians continue to waste rice despite price rise, say eatery owners
“Malaysians are so ‘generous’ in wasting food,” said Malaysian Indian Restaurant Owners Association vice-president C. Krishnan. But seeing them not finishing their meals is disheartening,” he said, adding that restaurant owners were conflicted over this. It takes about 20 minutes to cook rice, so they don’t prepare too much rice to avoid wastage,” said Wong. The price of imported white rice went up by 36% to RM3,200 per metric tonne as announced by Padiberas Nasional Bhd (Bernas) on Sept 1. On July 20, India stopped its non-basmati white rice exports to stabilise prices and ensure availability within the country.
Source:The Star
September 10, 2023 22:13 UTC
Beauty in diversity
IT’S so refreshing to see a Malaysian movie that’s prepared to tackle the issue of our racial and religious differences, since we have a beautifully plural society and nation. The timing of the movie is especially apt ahead of Malaysia Day next week. The movie, Adoiii Jiwaku, revolves around three colleagues working in a hotel. Ayis, Malesh and Sia are often at loggerheads plagued by cultural differences, or rather, prejudices and ignorance.
Source:The Star
September 10, 2023 15:27 UTC
Falling tree crushes woman's car after she was done voting
JOHOR BARU: A 57-year-old woman was injured after her vehicle was crushed by a falling tree at Jalan Pertahanan, here, while she was on her way home after casting her vote for the Pulai parliamentary seat. Larkin Fire and Rescue Department operation commander Mohd Shah Rizal Abdul Rahman said that the department received the distress call regarding the incident at 3.02pm on Saturday (Sept 9). "The incident occurred at Jalan Pertahanan in Taman Desa Rahmat. "A total of 10 personnel were deployed to the location to help with the rescue operation," he said in a statement. "The victim was successfully removed from her car and was brought to Sultanah Aminah Hospital (HSA) to be treated," he said, adding that the tree was cut using two chainsaws.
Source:The Star
September 09, 2023 15:02 UTC
‘Focus too on fragrant rice price as it’s a staple for most Sabahans’
KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah government should focus on the affordability of fragrant rice and not just control the price of locally-produced rice, says state Warisan women’s leader Juriah Uda. She said that other types of rice like fragrant rice were commonly consumed by the elderly and also children. “The main type of rice purchased and consumed is fragrant rice,” she said. For many, she said, fragrant rice is not a luxury but a necessity and mixed families from the B40 or lower-income group will not be purchasing a packet of 10kg fragrant rice a month but usually between 20kg and 30kg. “Mixing fragrant rice with local white rice will quickly become a trend, thus we urge the state government to not only prioritise our local white rice but also the supply and affordability of fragrant rice,” Juriah said.
Source:The Star
September 09, 2023 11:34 UTC
‘We need more organ donors’
She said there was an acute need for more organ donors. According to Dr Zaliha, there are 10,747 patients on the transplant waiting list compared to 845 deceased organ donors. She said the first organ transplant operation took place in 1975 involving a kidney transplant between siblings. Dr Zaliha also announced that the Organ Donation Awareness Week would become an annual event and this year’s theme was ‘Organ Donation: The Meaning of a Life’. “Organ donation can give the meaning of life to end-organ failure patients who need transplantation and it also brings meaning to the donors and their families that they gave hope to those in need,” she said.
Source:The Star
September 08, 2023 11:01 UTC
Public university application results out today, says Higher Education Ministry
PETALING JAYA: The results of applications to study in public universities for the 2023/2024 academic session are out on Thursday (Sept 7). The Higher Education Ministry said this is for Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) or equivalent leavers. “Offer letters will be issued by the public university to successful applicants from Sept 8 after the applicant has confirmed acceptance within the given timeframe,” it said in a statement today (Sept 7). “Based on the principle of meritocracy, all qualified applicants with the highest merit scores regardless of race, religion, state, standard of living and place of residence are given the opportunity to study at public universities,” it added. Only applicants who failed to receive an offer letter can submit their appeal through UPUOnline via upu.mohe.gov.my within 10 days, starting from Sept 7 until Sept 16.
Source:The Star
September 07, 2023 15:55 UTC