14 theSun | WEDNESDAY MAY 20 2009

business

Islamic banks assets briefs

Emirates raises free
baggage allowance

exceed US$600bil
KUALA LUMPUR: The total
assets under management by
Islamic financial institutions now
exceeds US$600 billion (RM2.1
trillion), according to a report.
State Street Corporation,
the world’s leading provider of
financial services to institutional
investors, in its Vision Report
on Islamic Finance stated that
Islamic finance grew as much as
20% annually since 2003.
“In fact, demand for Islamic
finance products and services in
the global market, may be ex-
ceeding current availability,” said
State Street senior vice-president
Rod Ringrow yesterday.
“Islamic finance will attract
an increasingly global group of
investors in the years ahead. We
believe the industry as a whole
will respond with new products
offering greater variety for a host
of complex, cross border transac-
tions,” he added.
“Against the backdrop of a
challenging global environment,
Islamic finance is emerging as a
competitive form of intermedia-
tion in the international financial
system. It has a key role to play
in restoring confidence in the
market,” Ringrow highlighted.
He said the global financial
crisis has had a limited direct
impact on Islamic finance as in-
vestors seek out asset classes and
markets they hope would provide
stability.
He noted that the Islamic Fi-
nancing industry had become a
growing option for investors and
a competitive form of financing
for commercial enterprises.
“It is also allowing for the
further diversification of risks
and is contributing to an efficient
international allocation of re-
sources across borders,” he said.
– Bernama
KUALA LUMPUR: Emirates
Airlines has increased the free
baggage allowance provided to
passengers. The new allowance
has been in effect from May 4.
Passengers are now allowed
30kg for economy class, 40kg for
business and 50kg for first.
“Emirates has moved to
these new, free baggage levels to
further demonstrate our commit-
ment to putting passengers first,”
said Emirates country manager
Alban Lee in a statement.
For more information, go to
www.emirates.com.– Bernama
Bina Goodyear
unit to dispose land
KUALA LUMPUR: Bina Good-
year Bhd (BGB) said its wholly
owned subsidiary, Greater
Heights Development Sdn
Bhd, is proposing to dispose a
piece of land to Green Heights

HSBC Amanah plans to Development Sdn Bhd for

RM27 million cash.
BGB said in a filing to Bursa

move forward with

Malaysia that the proposed
disposal involved the disposal
of a piece of freehold land in
Mukim Bandar Sri Damansara,

bancassurance
Malaysia’s HSBC Amanah Malaysia Berhad, the Islamic
consumer subsidiary of HSBC Bank Malaysia, hopes
confidence to generate a fifth of its revenue through
bancassurance partnerships by 2011.
at new low HSBC Amanah Takaful Berhad chief
pg 16 executive officer Zainudin Ishak (pix) said
capitalising on the partnerships would be
their main strategy for the next three years.
He was speaking at the results presenta-
tion yesterday of the HSBC Asian Insurance
Monitor, a survey recently conducted by
HSBC Insurance (Asia-Pacific) Holdings
Limited in Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan,
Korea, India and China.
Among the key findings for Malaysia
are:
» Over half of Malaysians are confident they
will achieve long-term financial goals, which
is the second highest figure in Asia.
» The two long-term wealth aspirations
respondents were most concerned with
financial security in retirement and child
education funding.
» Close to 70% of income is being utilised for
living expenses and only a quarter of income
is saved. Malaysians continue to be strong
savers as they diversify holdings across a
wide range of financial tools with 71% hold-
ing property.
» In the past year, a significant number of
respondents moved
away from higher fi-
nancial risk vehicles
to cash deposits and
insurance.
» Up to 54% of Malaysian
respondents cited the lack o f
investment products which are able to give
them the desired returns as the major ob-
stacle in achieving their long-term wealth
goals.
» Only 2% get professional consultation for
financial planning.
Zainudin said the Malaysian consumer
has gone back to basics in their financial
planning.
“Cash is king again and given the short-
term volatility of equities, they are either
investing for the first time or increasing cur-
rent investment levels in long-term savings
vehicles with protected sums at maturity
and health plans.
The survey also revealed that respond-
ents spent only 6% of their income on insur-
ance.
“In more developed countries, about a
fifth of income goes towards insurance, so
there is a clear opportunity for Malaysians to
spend more in this area,” said Zainudin.
Selangor.
This will bring immedi-
ate financial benefits, that
is, interest savings on bank
borrowings of approximately
RM697,500 to the group as
well as provide additional
funds for its construction and
future opportune investments.
– Bernama
Next Bike targets
120 Ducati bikes
KUALA LUMPUR: Next Bike
Sdn Bhd, the sole importer and
distributor for Ducati motorbikes
in Malaysia, expects to sell 120
Ducati bikes this year from 85
units sold last year.
Its group executive chairman
and chief executive officer, SM
Faisal Tan Sri SM Nasimuddin
said the company was confident
of achieving the target despite
the soft market as “demand was
always there for good products
and services”.
There are now about 500
Ducati bikes on the road since
Naza got its distributorship
rights in November 2000. – Ber-
nama

FMM: Malaysia’s exporters lagging in Afta

KUALA LUMPUR: The Asean Free
Trade Area (Afta), the emerging re-
gional market, holds great potential
for Malaysian exporters provided
they raise the bar to meet required
product and service standards,
says the Federation of Malaysian
Manufacturers (FMM) president
Datuk Mustafa Mansur.
“Though it’s undeniable that the
regional market has helped cushion
Malaysia from the impact of the cur-
rent international economic turmoil,
local exporters still lag behind when
it comes to the export market share
within Afta.
“If we remain complacent, we
are going to lose out to Thailand,
Singapore and even the Philippines
within this resilient regional market,
representing a population of more
than half a billion people.
“On the government’s part, there
has to be some political will in help-
ing local SMIs and SMEs become
more competitive and represent a
bigger market share within Afta.
“You have to bite the bullet or
it’s only a matter of time, before
being left out of the market,” he
told Bernama.
Mustafa noted that with more
regional FTA’s coming up, it was
imperative that Malaysian exporters
kept pace with competitors in order
to make inroads.
Matured markets like Europe
and North America are more de-
manding while being very conscious
on issues like global warming,
sustainable resources, hazardous
materials, hygiene, decent wages
and human rights.
“In Malaysia, many SMEs and
SMIs are indifferent to the afore-
mentioned issues,” he said, adding
that, this attitude would further re-
strict their future export potential.
“In this regard, the government
should evoke a paradigm shift,
beginning with stringent conditions
imposed on all government procure-
ment related to the environment,
sustainable resources, and benefits
to the people,” he said.
He said though non-tariff bar-
riers still persist within Afta, coun-
tries like Thailand have successfully
expanded their market share within
it. – Bernama

Microsoft to invest RM3bil in DreamSpark programme

PETALING JAYA: Microsoft
(Malaysia) Sdn Bhd plans to
invest about RM3.045 billion in
the Microsoft DreamSpark pro-
gramme as part of its commitment
to develop human capital among
local students.
The investment is in terms of
the value of the software, which
enables more than 870,000
students to gain access to world-
class products from the Microsoft
portfolio, said Microsoft Malaysia
managing director Yasmin Mah-
mood.
“DreamSpark will equip and
empower the next generation of
software developers by provid-
ing professional-level tools to all
tertiary-level students,” she told
reporters after the programme
launch here yesterday.
The event was officiated by
Deputy Higher Education Minis-
ter Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah.
DreamSpark is a global
programme by Microsoft that
aimed to equip students with the
necessary tools and resources to
encourage innovation, prepared-
ness and relevance to the global
marketplace.
With access to professional-
grade developer and designer
tools at no charge, students can
access products such as Visual
Studio Pro, Expression Studio,
XNA Game Studio 2.0 and SQL
Server Developer Edition. – Ber-
nama