Electronic/Semiconductor Sector News
 

E&E Companies See Flat Demand

Electrical and electronics (E&E) companies in Malaysia continue to expect flattish sales ahead as orders have yet to pick up since a decline late last year amid the global financial crisis and economic downturn.

Some semiconductor companies based in Penang said orders would remain “flat” in the coming months while Malaysian American Electronics Industry (MAEI) chairman Datuk Wong Siew Hai said it was too early to tell when orders would start to pick up. “I believe not so soon and expect this quarter’s sales to be worse than last year’s fourth quarter,” he said. “We can’t really tell you when demand will pick up but we will have to see how effective the stimulus packages by US and other countries are. If consumer confidence is good, demand will eventually pick up.” However, he said some consumers might now choose to delay purchases as they tightened their belts amid the economic downturn. Asked if local companies had started to cut production, Wong said “they would have to adjust their capacity based on current demand. Some will also try to clear the inventories before manufacturing new products.”

According to a spokesman for one of the biggest companies in the electrical and electronics sector, stockpiles remained manageable and were “not their biggest headache.” But an industry source said some big companies had high stockpiles of about 10% of their revenue. One such company, however, said it had a “contractual agreement” from its customers to take up the stocks in six months from the time the order is placed. “It’s not a problem for us,” he said.

Intel Malaysia corporate affairs manager Loo Cheng Cheng said the company would continue to invest and innovate, but declined to disclose its inventory levels. “Technology has been the engine of the economy for some time, and will continue to be so in the future,” he said. An European electrical operating company in Malaysia said the company had 1½ months worth of inventories. “We are controlling our inventories at a healthy level, but not drawing it down as (an excess) of this will cause lost sales to the organisation,” it said. The company said sales would likely show a slight slowdown from February to March, but should pick up again from April to June.

An official from Panasonic Malaysia Sdn Bhd said the company’s orders remained healthy. He acknowledged that inventories were rising but expected it to normalise by next month. “Some slowdown is expected but we will manage accordingly,” the official said, adding that demand was still there based on the company’s third quarter results.

(Source: The Star, 9 February 2009)


Electronics May Get Shot in the Arm

The US$787 billion US economic stimulus plan may prevent further job losses in Malaysia's electronics industry by reviving export demand, the chairman of an industry group said. "The stimulus package is very key," Datuk Wong Siew Hai, chairman of the American Malaysian Chamber of Commerce electronics industry group, said yesterday in an interview. He expects the Malaysian electronics industry to start recovering about six months after the US Bill is passed.

The US is Malaysia's second biggest overseas market and US electronics companies such as Motorola Inc account for about 12 per cent of Malaysia's exports. The US stimulus package contains roughly US$300 billion in tax breaks, more than US$250 billion in direct aid to distressed states and individuals, and almost US$200 billion to improve infrastructure.

Malaysian exports posted their biggest drop in almost seven years last December and the government expects 2009 growth to slow to an eight-year low as the global recession hurts demand for made-in-Asia products such as Dell Inc computers and Intel Corp chips. Retrenchments in the country's manufacturing industry jumped 86 per cent to 18,578 last year.

The electronics industry group is asking the Malaysian government for help in the form of a "significant" corporate tax cut, lower utility costs and loans for smaller companies to help counter the effects of the economic slowdown, Wong said. Most, if not all, of the industry group's members have reduced overtime work at their factories and are considering shorter work weeks to conserve cost, he added. Export sales by the group's 17 electronics companies are expected to decline this year, Wong said.

(Source: New Straits Times, 18 February 2009)


Exports May Fall 4pc as Electronic Demand Dips

Malaysia's exports may fall as much as 4 per cent this year as demand for the Southeast Asian nation's electronics slumps amid the global recession, the government said. Overseas sales of made-in-Malaysia products - mostly electrical components, palm oil and crude oil - may increase 0.5 per cent at best in 2009, Minister of International Trade and Industry Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said. Exports rose 9.6 per cent in 2008. "The economic situation on the global front is very bad," Muhyiddin said yesterday in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia's trade performance is "very difficult" to predict this year, he said.

Demand for electrical and electronics goods, which account for about 38 per cent of Malaysia's exports, is drying up as consumers worldwide spend less. The government is due to propose a second stimulus plan to Parliament on March 10 in a bid to avoid entering a recession. The government has said the second plan will be larger than a package unveiled in November worth RM7 billion, joining countries from China to Thailand in expanding budgets to counter the global economic slowdown. Muhyiddin said he has asked the Finance Ministry to include in the package grants for small businesses, cuts in sales and corporate taxes, and a reduction in contributions by employers to the country's biggest pension fund. The government may announce a stimulus of between RM10 billion and RM15 billion that gives tax breaks to small-and medium-sized businesses, RHB Research Institute Sdn Bhd said yesterday.

(Source: New Straits Times, 24 February 2009)


Economic News

Economic Slump Might Persist for Next Two Quarters

The sharp economic deceleration experienced by Asia-Pacific countries in the fourth quarter will likely persist for the next two quarters. However, a turnaround was expected in the second half of this year, said Standard & Poor’s (S&P) in its Asia-Pacific Economic Outlook Q1 2009 report.

The rating agency attributed the sluggish economy to the lagging effect of monetary tightening in the first half of 2008 and contemporaneous effect of a slowdown in exports and capital flows. Related activities such as logistics and financial intermediation would also suffer. It added that the massive monetary reversal after July inside and outside the region should begin to have its own lagged impact, based on the assumption of no further shocks from the global financial system. According to the S&P report, September 2008 was viewed as a significant discontinuity in the evolving global scenario, mainly as a result of the collapse of Lehman Brothers and its impact on financial markets and consumer and investor expectations. This could be one of the reasons why the US, Europe as well as Asia Pacific decelerated sharply.

Before that, Asia Pacific was showing reasonable growth even as concerns of the global financial problem and its spillover into macroeconomic intensified. In Malaysia, while the blow from the global slowdown would be felt this year, recovery would be relatively strong in 2010, said S&P. This year fiscal spending and more aggressive monetary policy could cushion the impact of lower commodity prices and weakening external demand for manufactures. Malaysia’s gross domestic product moderated to 4.7% in the third-quarter of 2008 and the weakened momentum points would carry well into the fourth quarter. In November, inflation in Malaysia dropped to 5.7% from the peak of 8.5% in July and August. December saw a softer inflation rate of 4.4%. With the partly administered prices and no major risk to regional inflation, Malaysia’s inflation should remain fairly benign, said the report.

(Source: The Star, 6 February 2009)


8pc Growth Target within Reach

Premier Wen Jiabao said China’s 8 per cent growth target for this year is within reach, indicating the Government doesn’t see the need to increase a 4 trillion yuan economic stimulus. “It’s possible for us to meet this target,” Wen told delegates in his annual speech to China’s Parliament here yesterday. The nation needs to “reverse the economic slide as soon as possible.”

Wen’s prediction that China will ride out a global recession and his pledge to “significantly increase” investment helped the Shanghai Composite Index to add to its biggest rally in four months. Collapsing exports have dragged the world’s third-largest economy to its weakest growth in seven years and cost the jobs of 20 million migrant workers. “They are keeping ammunition in reserve,” said Stephen Green, head of China research at Standard Chartered plc in Shanghai. “Every day the world economy gets worse and they’ve probably got two years of very slow global growth to get through.”

Stocks climbed around the world yesterday after former statistics bureau head Li Deshui said Wen will announce new stimulus measures today. The Shanghai index closed 1 per cent higher yesterday after surging 6 per cent yesterday. The 8 per cent growth target compares with the International Monetary Fund’s forecast that the nation’s economy will expand 6.7 per cent, the least in almost two decades. The 2009 budget deficit was set at a record 950 billion yuan as the slowdown cuts revenue and the government keeps spending.

(Source: New Straits Times, 6 March 2009)

Exports Down 28% in January

Malaysian exports in January fell the worst in 28 years, slumping 27.8% to RM38.3bil from a year earlier, according to figures from the International Trade and Industry Ministry (MITI). Total imports fell 32% year-on-year to RM29.47bil. Month-on-month, January exports fell 16.9% from December 2008 while imports decreased 14.7%.

The January export figure came in worse than expected, says Bank Islam Malaysia senior economist Azrul Azwa, who had expected a 20.8% fall. “Now, more or less, this means we will be facing a technical recession by the first half of this year and an outright recession this year is inevitable,” he says, adding that Malaysia may see a 1% contraction for its gross domestic product (GDP) this year. This means the Government will need to come out with bold and decisive policy actions in facing the economic slowdown, Azrul says. “The second stimulus package to be announced on March 10 needs to be bigger, maybe at about RM20bil to generate growth of our economy,” he adds.

AmInvestment Bank economic advisor Mustafa Mohd Nor says every trade-dependent nation is experiencing a slump in exports, not just Malaysia. “This situation was already expected as a result of the current global slowdown. However, we are still fortunate to have a large trade surplus for quite sometime now. This means the country is still receiving net inflows,” he says. Malaysia still recorded a trade surplus of RM8.83bil in January, making it the 135th consecutive month of trade surpluses since November 1997. The total trade in January was valued at RM67.77bil, a decrease of 29.7% from a year ago.

Singapore, Japan, the US, China and South Korea were the top five export destinations, accounting for 51.7% of Malaysia’s total exports in January, says MITI. “Exports to Asean countries were valued at RM9.18bil or 24% of Malaysia’s total exports in January 2009, a drop of 38.1% from January 2008,” it says, citing lower exports of electrical and electronics (E&E) products, refined petroleum products and chemical products, among other things. Exports to Japan were down to RM4.98bil from RM5.17bil in January 2008, attributed mainly to lower exports of E&E products, crude petroleum, refined petroleum products as well as chemicals and chemical products.

MITI says export to the US fell to RM4.8bil from RM7.04bil, mainly due to a decline in exports of E&E products. Exports to the European Union dropped to RM4.34bil from RM6.13bil due to lower exports of E&E products, iron and steel products as well as crude rubber. Exports to China slipped to RM2.99bil from RM4.48bil, attributed mainly to lower shipments of palm oil, E&E products, crude rubber and rubber products.

(Source: The Star, 7 March 2009)


What Goes Up Must Come Down

The current economic cycle is a good reminder of the old adage – that “What goes up must come down”. That is to say, every boom, or growth that an economy enjoys will be followed by a bust, or contraction. This is a fact that almost every economist will attest to. For the past few years, we had enjoyed great economic prosperity, as all countries posted encouraging growth, and businesses were booming as a result of robust demand for their goods and services. And many had benefited through their investments in various sectors and saw their wealth grew – until recently, that is.

The financial crisis that struck the whole world since the third quarter of last year has not only brought many economies of the world down to their knees, but it has also wiped out much wealth from the markets worldwide. Businesses are now struggling to survive as a result of the slumping demand for their goods and services because consumers are tightening their belts and holding back spending. Nevertheless, we can take heart because, as they say, “there is a rainbow after every storm”.

An economic bust tends to give birth to a different phase of growth. For instance, the last recession that Malaysia and the most parts of the Asian region went through was in the late-90s during the Asian financial crisis. We came out of that after about two years, and experienced a few good years of growth. As for the current economic crisis, it is undoubtedly unprecedented. Immunity for most countries remains unattainable at least for the next few quarters. Even Malaysia’s economy came to a screeching halt in the fourth quarter of last year, with only a growth of 0.1% year-on-year (y-o-y), compared with a 4.7% y-o-y growth in the preceding quarter. This has prompted economists to revise their estimates for the country’s GDP growth for 2009.

The Malaysian Institute of Economic Research says there is a 50% chance for Malaysia to fall into a full-blown recession this year. The independent think-tank believes the country will experience negative growth for the first half, but is hopeful that it will return to the positive territory by the second half. RAM Holdings Bhd, on the other hand, has drastically reduced its growth projection for Malaysia’s economy from the previous 3.5% to 0.9% for this year. RAM’s projection is based on the expectations that global demand would stabilise in the second half of the year. After all, Asia’s economy is still very much dependent on external demand, or exports. At present, recessions in the US and Europe have already trigged record falls in the value of Asia’s exports. This has dented the region’s economic output, as measured by their respective GDP, which is generally defined as the total value of final goods and services produced by the country.

For instance, Japan’s economy is in its worst shape ever. Highly dependent on exports, the Japanese economy posted a 4.6% contraction for the last quarter of last year. The country cannot depend on domestic consumption to lift its nation up because its society is one that is highly thrifty. In addition, with consumer confidence dampened, domestic consumption is expected to decline further.

Some developing countries such as China, India and Indonesia may seem to have posted some encouraging growth rates for the last quarter of 2008, but those rates were already at their weakest pace in more than two years. For instance, although Indonesia’s economy, which posted a GDP growth of 5.2% for the fourth quarter of last year, has fared better than other Asean economies, analysts say growth below 6% for Indonesia could fuel unemployment in the world’s fourth-most populous country. (Indonesia’s unemployment rate has currently exceeded 8%.)

Nonetheless, for many countries, including Malaysia, the road to recovery has already been paved as the governments continue to inject stimulus spending into their economies and adopt expansionary monetary policies. But in the meantime, we will just have to endure the present economic angst.

(Source: The Star, 7 March 2009)


Manufacturing Sales Decline

Malaysia’s manufacturing sector sales fell 22.7 per cent in January to RM36.7 billion, as lower sales were reported by 90 out of the 116 industries surveyed, the Statistics Department said. The five major industries whose sales value decreased were computer and computer peripherals (48.5 per cent), basic iron and steel products (65.0 per cent), refined petroleum products (14.9 per cent), semi-conductor devices (35.5 per cent), and other basic industrial chemicals except fertilisers and nitrogen compounds (43.7 per cent).

Total employees engaged in the sector in January decreased by nine per cent year-on-year to 990,794 persons, while month-on-month, the number of workers employed also decreased by 0.1 per cent. The total amount paid out in salaries and wages in January also decreased by 9.2 per cent, or RM199.4 million, as compared to RM2.15 billion spent in December. In terms of productivity, the Statistics Department said, average sales value per employee in January this year dropped 15.1 per cent year-on-year to register RM37,081.75 (from RM43,675.65 in January last year).

(Source: New Straits Times, 20 March 2009)


Malaysian Economy Expanded by 4.6% in 2008

Amidst the international financial turmoil and sharp deterioration in global economic environment, the Malaysian economy registered a growth of 4.6% in 2008. Robust domestic demand, in particular sustained private consumption and strong public spending, supported growth during the year. While external demand was strong in the first half of 2008, the sharp and rapid deterioration in the global economic conditions as well as major correction in commodity prices in the second half, led to a contraction in Malaysia’s export performance in the latter part of the second half year.

Given the high degree of openness of the Malaysian economy, the contraction in exports adversely affected income and domestic demand. Private investment activities and private consumption moderated significantly in the fourth quarter of 2008. In the first half of 2008, the economy grew strongly by 7.1% supported by robust domestic and external demand.

Domestic demand was led by continued strong expansion in private consumption, supported by a steady increase in disposable income, positive labour market conditions, and favourable financing environment. External demand was supported by very high commodity prices and strong export volume. Demand from the regional countries was also strong. When the global downturn intensified in the second half of 2008, with several major advanced economies slipping into recession and growth in a number of regional economies moderating rapidly, net external demand declined significantly.

Nevertheless, real gross domestic product growth remained positive in the second half of the year, expanding modestly by 2.4%, supported by strong public consumption and continued expansion in private consumption. On the supply side, growth in the first half was driven by robust performance of the services sector due to strong domestic demand conditions, and the expansion in trade and tourism activities. Further support came from the manufacturing sector due to robust external demand from the non-US markets and higher exports of resource-based products, which also benefited from rising commodity prices.

(Source: The Star, 26 March 2009)


Member News

Heralding Change & Progress

Royal Selangor has created an exquisite range of pewter goodies to usher in prosperity and positive energy in welcoming the Ox. Every year, Royal Selangor celebrates the Lunar New Year with bountiful gifts for prosperity and good fortune. This year, Royal Selangor welcomes 2009, the Year of the Ox, with a new range of pewter items comprising the Year of the Ox collection and four elegant Chinese New Year packages. Inspired by the second animal in the Chinese zodiac, the Year of the Ox collection comprises a limited edition plaque, tea caddy, figurines, a set of chopsticks and chopsticks rest to usher in good fortune and prosperity.

The ox in the Chinese zodiac is a symbol of strength and determination. Those born under this sign are said to be strong-willed and uncompromising but dependable. The arrival of the ox is considered a sign of change, bringing with it progress and positive energy. The highlight of the collection is the limited edition plaque.

Depicting a leaping bull, the composition conveys the sense of charging ahead to attain goals and success. Consistent with the zodiac series launched last year, the energetic bull is set against a lattice backdrop within an elegant wood frame enhanced with delicate yulan or magnolia motifs in pewter gilt in 24K gold complemented by a couplet that expresses good wishes for the New Year. A limited edition of 1,000 units has been produced for this year. The collection also includes a tea caddy, a medium figurine, a small figurine and a set of chopsticks and chopsticks rest decorated with auspicious motifs and symbols to convey wishes of good fortune and prosperity for the New Year. Symbolising abundance and good fortune, Royal Selangor Year of the Ox’s tea caddy features sculpted rendering of golden grain. Chinese characters reinforce wishes for a rewarding year ahead. A wooden cap engraved with a motif of an ox complements the satin finished pewter.

The strong and dependable ox is also represented in Royal Selangor’s figurines. The pewter figurines in two sizes are embellished with foliate patterns and mounted on a wooden base in teak finishing. The small figurine comes in both pewter and gilt versions in 24K gold. Complementing the items in the collection is a set of chopsticks rest featuring the steadfast ox. Prices for the Year of the Ox plaque, tea caddy, figurines and a set of chopsticks and rest range from RM130 to RM2,800.

Royal Selangor also offers Chinese New Year packages – Harmony, Happiness, Longevity and Fortune – to welcome the Year of the Ox. Featuring Erik Magnussen and the Four Gentlemen’s tea caddies in wooden gift boxes, Harmony and Happiness keep your tea leaves fresh and dry while maintaining their delicate quality. Erik Magnussen’s simple yet stylish design together with Four Gentlemen’s ornate beauty of plum blossoms, orchids, chrysanthemums and bamboo completes a great evening for tea lovers. Both Harmony and Happiness come together with an assortment of tea leaves, including Darjeeling, Oolong and Earl Grey. The Longevity collection features the Four Season caddy with a set of six chopsticks featuring beautiful and sophisticated blossoms from all four seasons.

Accompanied by six porcelain teacups, the Goldfish miniature teapot completes the Chinese New Year packages. Apart from maintaining the temperature of your tea for an extensive time to ensure tea-drinking pleasure is not disturbed, Fortune will definitely be a conversation piece for its beautiful goldfish design. In addition, Royal Selangor also offers ‘Fu’ luck charms with a red eternity knot. ‘Fu’ is an auspicious charm that invites bountiful riches and good luck.

(Source: The Star, 9 January 2009)


Pewter Royalty

As a young girl, she used to collect leftover packing straw to help her parents in their pewter business. The unused straw was recycled and used to cushion and protect pewter items in their boxes. “I’ll always remember my late mother’s constant reminder to save and not waste anything,” says Datin Paduka Chen Mun Kuen of the family-owned Royal Selangor Pewter. “When tying up parcels, she’d tell us to measure the string properly and precisely so that it is perfect enough to tie the last knot. That’s how meticulous she was and this taught me the good habit of saving.”

During a brief tour of the world-renowned brand’s main office in Setapak Jaya, Kuala Lumpur, which also houses the Royal Selangor Visitor Centre, Chen noticed a small cluster of pewter shavings on the floor and quickly picked it up to give to one of her employees. “Did you know that this can be recycled too?” asks the 67-year-old, clearly relieved that the cleaner had not swept it away. While she says she led a normal and happy childhood, it was different to the life of other children. Chen and her three siblings, an elder brother and sister, and a younger brother were always helping their parents in the business set up by her grandfather. She never saw assisting her parents as a chore. “We didn’t resent it because somehow we knew that we would be continuing what our parents were doing.”

All of them are now spearheading Royal Selangor International Sdn Bhd. Chen’s younger brother Tan Sri Yong Poh Kon is the managing director of Royal Selangor International, while her elder brother Yong Poh Shin is based in Singapore and is chairman of Royal Selangor Singapore. Sun Mun Ha, Chen’s sister, resides in Australia and actively helps out in the retail shop in Melbourne. “This is my mum’s home.” Says Chen’s son and Royal Selangor Marketing general manager Tien Yue, during lunch.

“This is my life. I enjoy what I’m doing and I’m not about to stop,” Chen stresses. Her motivation and inspiration comes from her late mother, Guay Soh Eng. “I have always admired mum’s determination, dedication and tenacity. She was really hardworking. She was probably the first or one of the few women who knew how to drive in her time. Because we did not have enough money to employ people, mum would drive the van to deliver goods to the post office to be sent outstation. “She’d also be the one to collect tin ingots at the railway station and these would normally weigh about 50kg each!”

In the 1960s and 70s, Chen and her sister Mun Ha would help out at the family’s Batu Road (now Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman) shop. Manu of their customers were American soldiers who visited Malaysia while on break during the Vietnam war. They bought beer mugs, fruit bowls, toast racks, cigarette boxes, cocktail shakers and casserole stands which were later packed and shipped for family and friends in the US. Innovation, creativity and a knack for knowing current market trends are probably the secret to Royal Selangor’s staying power.

Established in 1885, the company is a household name with standalone boutiques and retail counters all over the world. “I believe it is our designs, as well as the will and capacity to change with the times, plus a lot of hard-work that has brought us this far,” says Chen. For example, at the end of World War II, her father, Yong Peng Kai, produced his first commemorative souvenirs. “One of the first things he did after the British made a triumphant return to Malaya was to cast a pewter V-shaped victory badges, painted the white, red and blue of the Union Jack, to attach to the front of motorcars. In 1946 and 1947, he modified his pewter tankards to include the year next to the Selangor Pewter stamp. The simple addition of a date transformed regular tankards into sentimental keepsakes for members of the British military.”

Faced with the current economic uncertainty, Chen notes that Royal Selangor is looking into new market segments. “We are working on promoting accessories to capture the interest of the young and trendy.” These include fresh designs like pewter pendants accented with wood. “What’s attractive about pewter is that it has a warm look, unlike silver which is cold. Plus, pewter is more versatile as it can be made into just about anything, from teapots to tiles.”

Among the many interesting Royal Selangor items is the melon-shaped teapot. It is a replica of a lie-saving teapot, says Chen. “During the Second World War, as bombs rained from the sky in Kajang, people scrambled into a warehouse to grab food. Among them was a young man known as Ah Ham. Instead, what caught his eye was a melon-shaped teapot on the floor. As he bent down to pick it up, a shrapnel whizzed just inches away from his head.”

The teapot which has since become known as the lucky teapot is currently in the company’s archival collection. The company’s royal warrant also came by a stroke of luck. “In the late 1970s, the late Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah of Selangor walked into a department store in Perth, Australia. While there, a sales assistant asked where he was from and when he said, “Selangor ”, the sales assistant immediately said ‘Ah, Selangor Pewter’. “He was tickled by the fact that Australians had heard of Selangor Pewter but not of the state or him. He then decided the company should have royal status and 1979, he conferred a royal warrant on Selangor Pewter.”

The affable Chen is very much a star in her own right. She just recently found out that tour guides who bring guests to the headquarters would tell these visitors to look out for a “Chinese lady in a cheongsam as she’s the founder’s granddaughter”. The regal Chen still finds it amusing when visitors stop to take her picture, but adds: “This is what keeps me going – the people – whether it is my staff who have been very loyal to the company or the visitors who come here every day to learn about Royal Selangor.”

(Source: The Star, 31 January 2009)


Royal Selangor’s Creative Window Display

Royal Selangor recently unveiled a unique window display created entirely out of Heineken beer bottles at its retail store at The Gardens, Mid Valley City. With the theme “Tank Up at Royal Selangor ”, hundreds of beer bottles were arranged in the shape of Royal Selangor’s pewter tankard to create this eye catching display. “Since 2005, Royal Selangor ‘Pewter’s new attitude campaign has changed customers’ perceptions and taken pewter to a new level,” said Carolyn Peh, Royal Selangor Group marketing manager.

Royal Selangor has extended its product offering to include edgy and minimalist designs for contemporary living, to meet the expectations of the modern customer. “Not only are the demands for new products growing, but the appreciation for modern and creative aesthetics is growing as well,” she added. The use of creative window displays has become an important tool for Royal Selangor in repositioning the brand. They have been used to challenge the traditional perceptions of pewter and to convey the brand’s spirit of innovative design.

There will also be a contest for customers to guess the number of Heineken bottles used for the display, from Feb 17 to March 27. One winner will be selected every two weeks during the contest period. Winners with the correct answers and best slogan will win a customised pewter tankard from Royal Selangor and dining vouchers worth RM200 at 7Ateenine in KL or QEII in Penang, sponsored by Heineken.

(Source: Malay Mail, 26 February 2009)


New Trophies Unveiled

New trophies for the Petronas Malaysian F1 Grand Prix were revealed to the public at the 1 Utama shopping mall recently. Tumasek Pewter general manager David Tan said the trophies were custom-made and crafted from pewter. It has a mirror finish except for the circular base which is made of solid wood with High Gloss Black Finish (similar to the Piano Finish) to offer subtle contrast.

“The design is inspired by the hibiscus-shaped canopy where the body of the trophies are shaped like a hibiscus in full bloom,” he added. “In addition to that, sitting in the heart of the hibiscus is the 3D figurine of the circuit which is the pulse of the F1 race and the beautiful shape of hibiscus itself is held up by 11 abstract flag pillars that represent 11 years of F1 achievements in Malaysia,” added Tan.

SIC chief executive officer Razlan Razali said there were four customised trophies up for grabs. “SIC wants to celebrate the changes that the races have made from car designs to race rules by bringing more excitement to the race fans through awarding a new trophy for the winner,” added Razlan.

(Source: The Star, 28 March 2009)