DaiLy BiTz: January 2009

HR levy relief for textile, electronics and electrical sectors

HR levy relief for textile, electronics and electrical sectors
By A. LETCHUMANAN
Star, 22 Jan 2009

PUTRAJAYA: Employers in the textile and electronics and electrical sectors will be exempted from paying the human resources development levy for six months starting Feb 1, Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam said.

He said this was being done to ease the employers? financial burden in view of the global economic crisis.

With the Government?s move, these employers are expected to save between RM30mil and RM40mil, he said in a statement here Thursday.

Dr Subramaniam said the textile industry would be exempted from paying RM2.68mil while the electronics and electrical industry would not have to pay RM30.57mil during the six-month period.

He said the exemption involved 1,234 employers registered with the Human Resources Development Corp under his ministry, comprising 325 employers in the textile industry and 909 employers in the electronics and electrical industry.

?This is a proactive measure undertaken by the Government to assist employers during these hard times,? he said.

He said the exemption was given due to the continued decline in demand which has badly affected the two industries.

Despite the exemption from February to July, employers were encouraged to continue sending their workers for training and to utilise the levy in their accounts, he said.

Dr. Subramaniam said the Government had previously fully or partially exempted payment of the levy on three occasions: The Asian financial crisis in 1998; the 2001 economic slowdown and during the Iraq war and SARS epidemic in 2003.

He said the Government would continue to monitor the growth of both industries based on the monthly Industrial Production Index and review the situation at the end of the six-month period.

If the situation persists, a further exemption would be considered, he said.

Boon Siew Honda targets to sell 28,000 units of new bike

Boon Siew Honda targets to sell 28,000 units of new bike
Star, 22 Jan 2009

KUALA LUMPUR: Boon Siew Honda Sdn Bhd is targeting to sell 28,000 units of its newly-launched Honda icon this year.

Managing director and chief executive officer Shoichi Harada said he was optimistic about the sales of its 110cc automatic transmission (AT) model due to the affordability of the bike and the growing demand for AT models.

?This is a fast-growing segment. What started out as a trend has become a prerequistite among consumers,? he said after the launch of the model yesterday.

At present, the AT segment commands 13% of the overall motorcycle market.

From left: Boon Siew Honda Sdn Bhd GM Fabian Ong, director Tan Hui Jing, COO Tan Heng Teong, Shoichi Harada, chief production officer Hiroshi Mitsuyoshi and Honda R&D Southeast Asia Co Ltd assistant chief engineer Ken Tomiyasu with models on the new bikes.
?Our market share in the AT segment is currently quite small as we only have the Honda Click . With this new model, we hope to achieve about 46% market share in the AT segment from our current 1% to 2%,? Harada said.

The Honda icon is 100% assembled in Malaysia and will be available from Feb 5. Priced at RM4,688 (on the road) it comes in five colours ? pink, red, blue, black and white.

Harada said the Honda icon signified confidence. ?Confidence in the resilience of the Malaysian economy and in the growing motorcycle market, and most of all, confidence in Honda?s ability to always deliver the right product to the right market at the right time,? he said.

?No doubt, there are challenging times ahead for everyone. The market environment will never get any easier. There will be more competition, more sopisticated consumers and more obstacles to overcome.

?The only way to rise up to these challenges is to stay ahead of the curve by holding firmly to the principles of delivering value-added quality,? he added.

Boon Siew Honda, a 50:50 joint-venture company between Honda Motor Co Ltd and Oriental Holdings Bhd, began operations in September last year with the aim of consolidating motorcycle production and sales in Malaysia.

Bank Negara cuts OPR by 75 basis points
Star. Jan 21 2009
KUALA LUMPUR: Bank Negara has reduced the overnight policy rate (OPR) by 75 basis points to 2.5% and reduced the statutory reserve requirement (SRR) from 3.5% to 2%, effective from Feb 1.
It said on Wednesday the ceiling and floor rates of the corridor for the OPR were correspondingly reduced to 2.75% and 2.25% respectively.
?With the heightened downside risks to growth, the magnitude of the reductions in the OPR and the SRR are aimed to be pre-emptive in providing a more supportive monetary environment for the domestic economy,? it said in a statement released after the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting.
Bank Negara said the international economic and financial conditions had deteriorated much more significantly in the recent period.
It said the contraction in global demand and trade, combined with the reduction in global commodity prices, had affected the export earnings of many of the regional economies, including Malaysia.
?These contractionary factors have been exacerbated by the protracted turmoil in the international financial markets,? it said.
The central said the urgent implementation of policy measures will be key towards ensuring the Malaysian economy would continue to experience positive growth in 2009.
On inflation, it said the moderating growth and the significantly lower commodity prices had impacted the inflation rate which had continued to decelerate to 4.4% in December 2008.
?This deceleration is expected to continue with the weaker demand conditions and lower imported inflation,? it said.
Bank Negara said given that the Malaysian banking system remained fundamentally sound, the central bank would continue to ensure access to credit to all sectors of the economy, and that the reduction in interest rates would be reflected in lower borrowing costs.