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Showing posts from November, 2009

Non-Executive Directors earns well

Good earning. I also want to be NED one day! Are Malaysia's non-executive directors' overpaid? PETALING JAYA: KPMG's pioneer annual study this year on non-executive directors' (NEDs) profile, practice and pay revealed that they were remunerated on average RM89,000 a year and that half of the NEDs' package comprised fees with allowances, other emoluments and benefits-in-kind making up the balance. The study was based on the review of the latest annual reports (financial years 2008 and 2009) of the 300 largest companies (by market capitalisation) on the main market and top 30 companies on the ACE market. The study took four months and was completed in July. KPMG partner (audit) David Lim said the indepth study provided some interesting statistics and information on the current status quo of NEDs. "For instance, remuneration of an NED in the finance sector of government-linked companies (GLCs) averaged RM218,000 per annum and for a non-GLC NED it was RM1

Can you work from home without going to office?

The answer is cannot while I'm working with this current company as this concept would not be acceptable by the management. But I'm aiming to work from home in my next role. Or if I have to check in to office, I would go for flexi or non-ordinary working hours eg. 7 am - 4 pm or 1 pm - 10 pm. The Public Works Department recently allowed 35 of its draughtsmen to work from home for three months. The Chief Secretary Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan has given his nod of approval, stating that the work-from-home concept is workable if employees have the integrity to do the work at home as well as it would have been done in the office. The Chief Secretary to the Government, Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan, says: "The civil service is a very big organisation that is outcome-driven, and if working from home will increase productivity, that is something we will definitely recommend to the Government." "The civil service is a very big organisation that is outcome-driven, and if

Dubai World to defer payment shocking US markets

With the onset of a global recession, Dubai's real estate market declined after a six-year boom. On November 25, 2009, the Dubai government announced that the company "intends to ask all providers of financing to Dubai World and [its subsidiary] Nakheel to 'standstill' and extend maturities until at least 30 May 2010".[3] The company will also undergo a restructuring process with the help of Deloitte consultants. Several months earlier, Dubai World accounted for a $59-billion debt, nearly three-quarters of the emirate's US$80-billion debt.[4] This includes a US$3.5-billion loan which the company is unable to repay by its December deadline.[5] In response to the government announced moratorium of Dubai World's debts, both Moody's and Standard & Poor's Investors Services heavily downgraded the debt of various Dubai government-related entities with interests in property, utilities, commercial operations and commodities trading. In Moody's ca

Best jobs in Americas 2009

Wow, I never expected System Engineer (no, it's more than IT) is the #1 best job. Money and PayScale.com rate the top 50 careers with great pay and growth prospects. Rank Job title Job growth (10-year forecast) 1 Systems Engineer 45% 2 Physician Assistant 27% 3 College Professor 23% 4 Nurse Practitioner 23% 5 Information Technology Project Manager 16% 6 Certified Public Accountant 18% 7 Physical Therapist 27% 8 Computer/Network Security Consultant 27% 9 Intelligence Analyst 15% 10 Sales Director 10% Source: CNN Money

A good read on cervical cancer prevention

A long read but I found it to be very well written. Sunday November 22, 2009 Cervical cancer prevention By Dr MILTON LUM The prevention of cervical cancer has to be carried out by various measures, all of which are necessary if we are to achieve the success of many developed countries in reducing the incidence and mortality from cervical cancer. THE prevention of any disease can be primary or secondary. The former involves taking action on the determinants of the disease to prevent it from occurring. The latter involves the early detection of disease, followed by appropriate interventions to prevent its progression. There has been considerable media publicity about the prevention of cervical cancer in the past six months. Most of it has focused on the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine, which has been called a cervical cancer vaccine, although there is no such vaccine available anywhere in the world. Cervical smears have resulted in a steady decline in the incidence and mortalit

AS1M subscription still open - is it worth invest?

Shoud I buy? How would be the return of this fund? Is it 3.7 - 4%? Is it worth to invest? KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 20 (Bernama) -- Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) said today the Chinese community subscription quota of Amanah Saham 1Malaysia (AS1M) unit trust scheme has touched 80 per cent. The Indian community quota has reached 20 per cent, said PNB Chief Executive Officer Tan Sri Hamad Kama Piah Che Othman said. The Chinese were allocated 30 per cent of the 10 billion units, 15 per cent to Indians and five per cent to other ethnic groups. Subscription by Bumiputeras, who were allotted 50 per cent units, was still low probably due to the wide choice of buying from other unit trust schemes like Amanah Saham Bumiputera, also managed by PNB. He, however, did not state the percentage. He was asked on the subscription progress of AS1M unit trust scheme launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on July 31. On whether the quota system would be scrapped and open to all races

A woman loss her insurance benefits just because of Facebook

 Moral of the story: careful on what you post on Facebook! Canada woman to fight insurance company over Facebook MONTREAL: A Canadian woman on sick leave for depression says she will fight an insurance company's decision to cut her benefits after her agent found photos on Facebook of her vacationing, at a bar and at a party. Nathalie Blanchard said Monday she was diagnosed with major depression and was receiving monthly sick-leave benefits until payments dried up this fall. When Blanchard called her insurance provider, Manulife, to find out why, she says she was told the Facebook photos showed she was able to work. "If you have insurance, be careful. This is a major battle and it's not going to be easy," Blanchard, 29, said in a telephone interview from her home in Bromont Quebec. She said her insurance agent described several pictures Blanchard posted on Facebook, including ones showing her having a good time at a Chippendales bar show, at her birthday party a

Q3: Not a good one for Dell

20 November, 08:01 Dell profit falls 54%, shares down SAN FRANCISCO: Dell Inc. said Thursday that its net income dropped 54 percent in the latest quarter and amid signs the company isn't fully benefiting from the computer industry's fledgling recovery. Dell's numbers missed Wall Street's forecasts, and the shares fell almost 6 percent in extended trading. In the last quarter Dell lost its ranking as the world's No. 2 personal computer maker, a slot now held by Taiwan's Acer Inc. Dell rivals such as Acer and Hewlett-Packard Co. have stolen market share in part by exploiting their bigger presence in retail stores. That has been a big weapon because consumer interest in little laptops called "netbooks" has helped the PC industry start to pull out of its worst slump in years. Instead, Dell gets 80 percent of its business from corporations, government agencies and other large institutions, which have remained hesitant to spend money on

More drama in MCA

After OTK and CSL "re-united" and kicked off LTL's fraction from the Presidential Council and Central Committees (CC), here comes more drama.   New evidence on MCA snoop squad case arrives at doorstep PETALING JAYA: The MCA snoop squad case should be reopened by the party's presidential council in light of "new evidence" that literally arrived at the doorstep of Datuk Theng Book's office. The Puchong division vice-chairman said he received three volumes of the MCA investigation panel report on the existence of a "Three-Man Secret Committee" dated June 10, 2008 outside his office in a box about two weeks ago. He said that after studying the books, he realised that there were elements which corroborated with MCA veteran Wong Leong's claims that party vice-president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Wee Jeck Seng and former Gerakan Belia Bersatu chairman Tee An Chuan were part of the snoop squad. Wong had prev

PI Bala's revelation at Malaysia-Today.net

On what happened for the past 1 year plus after his 2nd Statutory Declaration and gone missing thereafter. What a drama! Part 1: The mystery unveiled (UPDATED with BM Translation) Part 2: Bala's prison without bars (UPDATED with BM Translation) Part 3: The Malaysian police catch up with Bala (UPDATED with BM Translation) Part 4: Bala finds his life turned upside down Part 5: I just want the harassment to end If what he said is true, then our PM will be in deep shit, yet again.

Malaysia BLR rate

Below info shows the Malaysia Base Lending Rate (BLR) for January of each year from year 1976 to year 2009. Year BLR 2009 6.50 5.95 (February) 5.55 (March) 2008 6.75 2007 6.75 2006 6.00 2005 6.00 2004 6.00 2003 6.50 2002 6.50 2001 6.75 2000 6.75 1999 8.00 1998 10.50 12.27 1997 9.25 1996 8.50 1995 6.60 1994 8.25 1993 9.50 1992 9.00 1991 7.50 1990 7.00 1989 7.00 1988 7.50 1987 10.00 1986 10.75 1985 12.25 1984 10.75 1983 12.00 1982 8.50 1981 8.50 1980 7.50 1979 7.50 1978 7.50 1977 8.50 1976 8.50

Maxis IPO final price is RM 5

Oversubscribed. Priced at RM 5 for institutional investor and RM 4.75 for retail/public investor Transfer of share to successful applicants - 17th Nov 2009 Listing - 19th Nov 2009 Check at MIH website for the next few days if you're one of the successful one.

AirAsia: 1 million free seats promo

Booking Period : 11 Nov 2009 - 15 Nov 2009 Travel Period : 1 May 2010 - 30 Oct 2010 Fly from/to LCC Terminal, KLIA, Kuala Lumpur Domestic Airport tax (one way) Kota Bharu RM 6 Kota Kinabalu RM 6 Kuala Terengganu RM 6 Kuching RM 6 Langkawi RM 6 Miri RM 6 Sandakan RM 6 Tawau RM 6 International Airport tax (one way) Cambodia Phnom Penh RM 25 / USD 0 Siem Reap (Angkor Wat) RM 25 / USD 0 China Guangzhou RM 25 / CNY 172.00 Guilin RM 25 / CNY 139.00 Haikou (Hainan) RM 25 / CNY 139.00 Shenzhen RM 25 / CNY 139.00 Hong Kong Hong Kong RM 25 / HKD 153.00 Indonesia Bali RM 25 / Rp 0 Jakarta RM 25 / Rp 0 Manado RM 25 / Rp 0 Laos Vientiane RM 25 / USD 10.00 Macau Macau RM 25 / MOP 110 Philippines Clark (Manila) RM 25 / PHP 0 Singapore Singapore RM 25 / SGD 28.00 Thailand Bangkok RM 25 / THB 700 Chiang Mai RM 25 / THB 700 Krabi RM 25 / THB 400 Phuket RM 25 / THB 700 Vietnam Hanoi RM 25 / USD 14 Ho Chi Minh City RM 25 / USD 14 International All in fare from Operated By AirAsia Economy Seat Tianjin (Bei

Maxis IPO at RM 5.20

I'm buying Maxis again. Yeah, it's about the good sentiment. KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA — The mobile phone empire of Malaysian billionaire Ananda Krishnan launched an initial public offering Wednesday to raise at least $3.4 billion in the biggest share sale in Southeast Asia. Maxis Berhad, the top mobile company in Malaysia, is offering for sale 2.25 billion existing shares, representing 30 percent of its total equity, it said in a prospectus. The indicative price of 5.20 ringgit ($1.50) a share would raise 11.7 billion ringgit in total. Of the 30 percent stake, only 2.83 percent will be offered to retail investors while the rest will be sold to local and foreign institutional investors, the company said. The share sale marks the return of Maxis to the Malaysian bourse two years after it was taken private in 2007 by tycoon Ananda Krishnan — the world's 62nd richest individual, according to Forbes. Its relisting followed a request by Prime Minister Najib Razak who is seeking to

No more APs in 2015

KUALA LUMPUR: The controversial Approved Permits (AP) system will be scrapped in 2015 while foreign firms will be given manufacturing licenses to hold 100% equity in firms, which produce luxury vehicles with an engine capacity of more than 1,800cc and costing more than RM150,000 under the review of the National Automotive Policy announced Wednesday. Under the review announced by International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed, the import duties of all completely-built-up (CBU) and completely-knocked-down (CKD) cars will be maintained. Incentives and exemptions will be increased to develop local auto parts so that there would no longer be parts imports by 18 months' time, a move which help do away with imported and used spare parts outfits. Vehicles which are 15 years and above would also have to go through mandatory testing to ensure their roadworthiness but provisions would be made for vintage cars, he told a press conference to announce the long-awaited review of