Cathay Pacific is underscoring its strong commitment to eco-efficiency by planning to use a blend of alternative jet fuel to fly its new fleet of Airbus A350-1000 aircraft home to Hong Kong. With 20 of these technologically-advanced aircraft on order for delivery over the next four years, the first A350-1000 will depart Airbus headquarters in Toulouse on 19 June. A further seven aircraft are due for delivery by the end of 2018.
Cathay Pacific Chief Executive Officer Rupert Hogg says, “We have been at the forefront of many initiatives to reduce the impact of greenhouse gas emissions. Achieving carbon neutral growth from 2020 is an important target that we take seriously and using alternative fuels is one of the key strategies in helping us to do so. We will continue to support the development and usage of biofuel to reach mainstream commercial viability.”
Cathay Pacific operated the longest biofuel delivery flight at the time when taking delivery of its first Airbus A350-900 aircraft in 2016. Twenty-two aircraft of this type have so far been delivered with a 10% blend of alternative jet fuel in their tanks. Compared to traditional jet fuel, biofuel can reduce life cycle greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80%.
Cathay Pacific’s A350-1000 delivery flights using blended biofuel are supported by its partners, Airbus and Total. Frederic Evchenne, Head of New Energies at Airbus, says “Through the use of the A350-1000 and low carbon fuels, we continue to demonstrate our commitment to support the aviation sector and our customers to reduce their carbon footprint.”
Cathay Pacific is the world’s first airline to invest in an aviation biofuel company. In 2014, it became an equity investor in US-based Fulcrum BioEnergy Inc., which focuses on turning municipal solid waste into sustainable aviation fuel. In May 2018, Fulcrum broke ground on its first commercial-scale plant in Nevada. When the plant begins operations in 2020, it will produce over 10 million gallons of fuel per year. Cathay Pacific will be one of the first airlines to fly on fuel produced from this facility.
Loob Holding Sdn Bhd, the creator of Malaysia’s Tealive bubble tea brand, announces a joint-venture with two Chinese companies, Zhejiang Boduo International Trade Co. Ltd and Shanghai Panfei International Trade Co. Ltd to bring 500 Tealivestores to China within three years.
CEO Bryan Loo signed for Loob Holding which will take a 51% majority stake in the joint-venture which will be known as Shanghai Loob Boduo Food and Beverage Co. Ltd, subject to company registration approval by the relevant authorities in China.
Signing for the China partners were their Executive Directors, Yu Tong for Zhejiang Boduo International Trade and Pan Junfei, for Shanghai Panfei International Trade.
Loo says the joint-venture would see the first Tealive outlet opening in Shanghai this September before more stores being opened in other selected cities. He expressed confidence that the joint-venture would be able to achieve the targeted 500 stores in three years.
“Barely six months after the birth of Tealive, we took the brand to Vietnam and we now have five outlets. We have penetrated the Australian market with our first store there next month. Just last month, we appointed our Master Franchisee in India and we are targeting 140 outlets within five years. Once again, Loob has achieved a breakthrough being the first Malaysian bubble tea brand to enter India,” Loo says.
Noting that China, the world’s largest tea market, will be the fourth overseas market for Tealive, Loo said this augured well for the progress of Loob’s Breakthrough campaign where the brand encouraged Tealive lovers to always push the boundaries and achieve breakthrough results in all their endeavours.
Loo said Tealive serves 2.5 million consumers each month in its 175 outlets and the brand was still expanding every week. On prospects in China, Loo said latest indicators were that the market for tea in China had now exceeded US$21 billion per year.
Standard Chartered Malaysia is on track to fulfilling its strategy to become a digital, agile and lean bank. According to a 2018 study by McKinsey & Company on Asian banking in the age of the digital customer, the banking landscape is changing rapidly with digitally active customers doubling in Emerging Asia and growing 1.2 times in Developed Asia.
Digital adoption rates of the Bank’s online and mobile banking platforms have consistently increased over the years, with close to half of the Bank’s clients performing their common banking transactions online. The Bank aims to grow its digital adoption rate to 65% by 2022. The company also noted that the percentage of digitally active customers (those who use digital banking at least every fortnight and have made e-commerce purchases in the last six months) has grown significantly since 2014, doubling in Emerging Asia (to 25% of the population) and growing 1.2 times in Developed Asia (to 85% of the population).
Aaron Loo, Country Head of Retail Banking, at Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia says, “Technology is at the heart of the Bank’s strategy – driving efficiencies, increasing automation, reducing manual errors and strengthening how we combat financial crime. This is driven by the desire to serve our clients more effectively and efficiently by giving them more convenience, choice and security. Clients can now perform their transactions in an instant with digital banking, transforming the entire client experience. Yet, when they need a helping hand they can also reach out to any of our branches for a more personalised experience. Our goal is to become a Digital Bank with a Human Touch.”
In 2015, the Bank announced an investment of about USD 3 billion over three years in technology and systems across the Group. This investment was placed towards refreshing the Bank’s products and services for ease-of-use on digital platforms, developing intuitive solutions based on client feedback and simplifying processes to make things simpler, faster and better. The Bank has recently launched a suite of digital banking services including Live Chat with the Bank’s consultants anywhere, Touch ID login, Online service requests and Update of personal details online.
RHB Banking Group introduces a revolutionary online platform, RHB SME Financing, targeted at Malaysia’s small and medium enterprises. This first-of-its-kind SME Financing online platform will position RHB as a forerunner in the digital banking space for SMEs in the country.
It is a simple, fast and seamless loan application experience with a user-friendly interface which enables customers to apply for SME term loans online within 10 minutes with minimal data inputs, and obtain financing within 5 working days. Only two documents are required to be uploaded to start the loan application. An online loan simulator is also available to assist customers to calculate their affordability. In addition, tracking of the application can be done through the status dashboard on the RHB SME Financing platform. The online platform offers SME term loans with a minimum tenure of 6 months, up to 24 months for disbursements of between RM50,000 and RM300,000. SMEs with an annual turnover of less than RM35 million are eligible to apply for the term loan online with minimal documents required. Customers can now apply forterm loans without having to meet the Relationship Manager face-to-face at the application stage. Today, RHB launched its pilot run for the Klang Valley and will subsequently roll this out nationwide by the third quarter of this year.
Malaysia has approximately 900,000 SMEs in the country out of which close to 20% are customers of RHB, giving RHB an SME market share of 9% in 2017.
Jeffrey Ng Eow Oo, Head of Group Business & Transaction Banking, RHB Banking Group says, “RHB SME Financing online platform provides SMEs with simple and fast term loans at competitive rates, with no collateral required, in an effort to empower SMEs to manage and grow their businesses as well as fund their working capital needs. SMEs now have an avenue to obtain working capital financing at their fingertips. Our aim is to drive the growth of RHB’s SME business to contribute 20% of the bank’s domestic financing by 2020. Through this online platform, we target to approve RM100 million in SME loans over the course of one year.”
RHB Bank offers SMEs a robust payment eco-system that include a range of versatile products such as Corporate MyDebit Card, JomPAY, SME e-Retail Solution including ePOS – electronic point of sales; MPOS – a merchant card terminal; as well as the REFLEX Online Cash Management system. In addition to this, the RHB SME Banking online portal provides SME clients with quick access to information and products that are relevant to their businesses.
Naza TTDI maintains the RM20 billion KL Metropolis, a 75.5-acre mixed-use development, as its masterpiece in the Klang Valley. In anticipation of the sluggish property market in the first half of 2018, the property arm of Naza Group has put in place remedial strategies that are heavily supported by its continued development of the largest trade and exhibition destination in Malaysia.
Datuk Idzham Mohd Hashim, Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of Naza TTDI Sdn Bhd says, “KL Metropolis remains a key focus development area. Sales from Met 1 Residences have been experiencing incremental pick up. We are confident that this trend will accelerate further into the second half of the year when we launch another product here very soon.”
Met 1 Residences was recently awarded Best Condo Development in Klang Valley by PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards 2018 (APA), Malaysia. Meanwhile, KL Metropolis received the award for Best Sustainable Community Development by Property Insight Prestigious Developer Award 2018 (PIPDA) in June 2018. The company’s optimism is backed by its upcoming launch of a product targeted at property investors. With a gross development value of more than RM350 million, this investment opportunity is intended to capture a niche property market segment that has not been fully addressed to its optimum potential. The unique offering takes over from the launch of TTDI Ayana that was announced earlier.
The second half of 2018 will also see the local private developer launching a retail component of MET1 at KL Metropolis. Alfresco dining, an upscale food court, luxury showrooms and relevant amenities targeted at the immediate catchment around Jalan Dutamas area characterise the retail component. Two other developments that are in the construction stage at KL Metropolis include The MET Corporate Office Towers by Triterra Metropolis Sdn Bhd and Arte Mont Kiara by Nusmetro Sdn Bhd. The MET is the first Grade A stratified corporate office towers in KL Metropolis, with two towers standing at 30 and 42 floors respectively. Arte Mont Kiara has a total of 1,706 serviced residences with built up from 422sqft to 1,142sqft. Both Triterra and Nusmetro are Naza TTDI’s joint-venture partners for KL Metropolis.
Idzham adds that as a local developer in tuned with local demand, Naza TTDI is intent on going to market with developments that have the right location, right value proposition and innovative design for its customers. However, the company is interested to venture overseas in the near future when the right opportunity presents itself.
SuperCharger FinTech Accelerator and Standard Chartereddemonstrated the success of its programme for a third year running. Through the 12-week programme, the cohort companies have achieved 47 commercial deals, US$ 14.4 million funds raised, received 17 awards and formed a network of 372 mentors, partners, regulators and business stakeholders.
Standard Chartered has newly launched a proof-of-concept with vPhrase, one of the finalists of the current cohort, whose artificial intelligence technology can help the Compliance function automate the generation of insights and commentary, and make the report writing process more efficient. The analysis and commentary will include trends on regions, business and functions to help inform the senior management and assist them in making better business decisions using data.
This year’s programme has taken one step further to guide Supercharger’s search for the best fintechs, with Standard Chartered first defining a set of real problems to solve. This rigorous process has helped increase the value of this collaboration to both the fintechs, as well as the Bank.
Janos Barberis, Founder of SuperCharger says, “Reflecting on what was achieved in the last three years is humbling. We can now confidently say that being a SuperCharger alumni is a sign of quality for clients and investors, as confirmed by the number of deals closed and the amount raised to date. In addition, we were able to give back to our community with the launch of Asia’s first Fintech Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) with the University of Hong Kong, which enrolled over 20,000 students to date, including the employees of Standard Chartered.”
Carol Hung, Chief Information Officer of Standard Chartered Hong Kong, says, “We are looking for greater collaboration with fintechs to help us solve real business problems and improve the client experience. Supercharger is one of our key initiatives to source the most innovative solutions across the fintech ecosystem and to nurture the next generation of FinTech entrepreneurs that could potentially shape banking trends.”
In April, Standard Chartered officially opened its Hong Kong innovation lab, the eXellerator. This will further accelerate co-creation opportunities for businesses, clients, technology companies and industry partners in Hong Kong and the region, to come together and explore new ways to solve business problems and create new value propositions.
The Bank also launched SC Ventures this year. This is a new business unit set up with the vision to “rewire the DNA in banking”. It aims to build on the eXellerator success, and create a platform to identify and develop multiple innovative ideas across the Bank, supported by a bank-wide intrapreneurship programme to embed innovation into the way the Bank works. SC ventures will also make strategic investments in promising fintech start-ups which we are working with, and set up new ventures to explore new business models.
Microsoft Corp. underscores its commitment to the partner ecosystem and announces new programs and a new category of intelligent devices, designed to take advantage of a digitally connected world and drive new growth and opportunity for the industry.
Nick Parker, corporate vice president, Consumer and Device Sales, showcased how Microsoft is bringing the industry together to build the intelligent cloud and intelligent edge, delivering new experiences and solutions not previously possible. He says, “For Microsoft, it’s more than just screens and devices; it’s about creating services and experiences with technology that support ambitions and aspirations,” Parker said. Imagine the devices and experiences we can create with ubiquitous computing, infused with AI and connected to the cloud. This is such an incredible time for the industry.”
Parker was joined on stage by Roanne Sones, corporate vice president, Platforms, who announces a new partner community for the intelligent edge, a new category of Windows 10 devices called Windows Collaboration Displays and a new offering with Windows 10 IoT Core Services. The intelligent cloud and intelligent edge will offer a new world of possibilities for the industry to deliver more flexible and custom experiences for everyone, whether a thermostat in a smart home or an interactive display in a smart office. In addition to modern devices from leading partners, Sones shared news and momentum in areas.
To accelerate innovation in this new era we invite all our partners to join our intelligent edge partner community. The community will help partners connect with one another to identify opportunities to collaborate on technology innovation and achieve shared business goals. In addition, community members will be able to participate in training and community events and can participate in early adopter programs that provide access to documentation, specs, OS builds and certification details. Microsoft revealed a new service offering that will enable partners to commercialize a secure IoT device, backed by industry-leading support. The service offering helps make it easier to manage updates for the OS, apps, settings and OEM-specific files; includes Device Health Attestation (DHA); and is backed with 10 years of support.
Microsoft 365 brings together, Office 365, Windows 10 and Enterprise Mobility + Security that delivers a complete, intelligent and secure solution to empower employees. It’s a global productivity platform that enables multisense, multidevice experiences that put people at the center for both work and life. People around the world already use the power of Microsoft 365 across PCs, tablets, phones and other devices from our partners to work how, when and where they want.
Masjid Al-Falah USJ 9 is the first mosque to start going digital with accepting donations under RHB’s Kempen SyuQR, an initiative to bring a digital lifestyle to the concept of ‘Giving’ and/or ‘Sadaqah’, through Boost, a homegrown e-wallet app operated by Axiata Digital.
Datuk Adissadikin Ali, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, RHB Islamic Bank Berhad says, “This is RHB Islamic’s first collaborative effort with Axiata Digital to start digital sadaqah (donation) in conjunction with Ramadhan. RHB Islamic is honoured to be a partner in this effort to reach out to the underprivileged by encouraging Muslims to make digital donations towards Kempen SyuQR.”
Boost provides a platform where donations are made via the simple step of scanning the QR code displayed at the mosque. All donations will then be transferred directly to Masjid Al-Falah’s RHB Bank account avoiding the risk of loose cash and theft.
Christopher Tiffin, CEO of Boost says, “When we stepped into this collaboration with RHB Islamic, we had one goal – to make it easier for users to give back to and share their generosity with the society. More importantly, these contributions are done via a social institution.”
Boost and RHB Islamic’s new digital and cashless initiative at Masjid Al-Falah is inline with Bank Negara’s Financial Sector Blueprint and is a contribution towards the country’s goal of becoming a cashless nation by 2050.
Siemens New HL Class Gas Turbine Breaks Record in Power Efficiency
The list of megacities in the world is growing. As of 2017, there are 47 cities with more than 10 million inhabitants, where an estimated 70% of the population will live in by 2050. This would mean the need for more power to sustain these cities.
In tandem with this global trend, worldwide power consumption is also predicted to grow at about 2.3% per year – from 25.1 thousand TWh (terawatt hours) in 2017 to 42.5 thousand TWh in 2040 – with Asia Pacific being the consumption hotbed. As these cities continue to expand, the demand for power to sustain growth seemingly becomes more complex and managing the grid, tedious.
To solve this, stake holders build power plants using fossil fuel, nuclear or renewal energy, depending on the individual country policy. However, to build one of these plants requires years of study and proper planning with the municipality and regulators.
So, what does go into this planning process? Among the considerations the consortium of planners need to forecast energy consumption for the next 5 to 10 years are based on: population increase; industrial needs and technological advancement; as well as a calculation methodology that has little to no room for error – after all, investment into a power plant goes into the billions and should last for the next 25 years or so.
There are currently 62,500 power plants operational in the world today – from coal, gas, nuclear, hydro and wind – with the demand growing exponentially every year. China alone has about 140 power plants generating 1.777 Gigawatt of electricity to feed a population that consumes 6.31 trillion kilowatt (kWh) annually.
In contrast, Malaysians consumed 156 thousand GWh of electricity in 2016 and has 32 operational power plants with a capacity of 22.9 thousand MV, as published by the Energy Commission.
Now that we have establish the fact that for cities to grow and countries to flourish, we need energy and lots of it. Yet, before embarking on an energy plant project, factors like environment, safety, capital and operational expenditure (CAPEX and OPEX) and most importantly, efficiency must be considered and made priority.
At the Core
We understand there are various ways in generating energy that requires some sort of natural resource to fuel the power plants to convert them to electricity. The idea now is to get the most out of the process with minimum wastage.
Companies like Siemens have been developing electricity generating turbines for decades and leads the field of innovation and efficiency. Having already more than 1,800 gas turbines already deployed worldwide and over 66 million operating hours, the company constantly works on pushing its boundaries and improvements in making its systems more efficient. The culmination of this drive for product excellence resulted in the introduction of the HL class next generation air-cooled gas turbines.
By using the latest in 3D printing technology or additive manufacturing, Siemens is able to derive maximum optimisation from the engines. So much so, the new HL class turbine broke the record for highest level of efficiency in combined gas turbines.
Modelled after its predecessor, the extremely successful H class jumbo frame HL turbines, which is also well known for its high level of competency, can reach 63% efficiency.
Built using sophisticated equipment and high-tech components, the single shaft engine is capable of handling 100 degree Celsius more than the H Class, giving it the extra output compared to previous versions.
There will be three variants available for its customers with the SGT5-8000HL, SGT5-9000HL and the SGT6-9000HL delivering up to 1,682 MW in combined cycle operation. The turbine components were tested at the company’s high-pressure test facility with real site testing to take place in Duke Lincoln, USA in 2020.
Just to give a perspective of its capability, an HL class SGT-9000HL generates a power equivalent to 1,800 Porsche 911 Turbo or 597 MV of power – enough to supply energy to a town with 3.3 million population.
Future Trends
Report by Bloomberg’s New Energy Finance outlook predicts that gas will overtake coal in 2020 and oil by 2030 in global energy mix across all industries. Fossil fuel is currently the preferred source, with cities looking at more efficient, cost-friendly options for their next scheduled energy supply.
Trends are also seen to head towards heavy-duty gas turbines with higher capacity that can generate maximum output, which gives the HL class the perfect fit when the demand arises.
Siemens is also weaving digital technology around its products, which includes the intricacies of running a power plant with its Digital Transformation initiative. These new processes will help meet sustainability challenges with measures implemented – from utilisation of fossil resources for power generation and transportation, to improvements in consumption.
Future demand targets for energy will continue to grow and the industry will find it difficult to keep up. In fact, the energy of tomorrow will need to emit lesser greenhouse gas than the one we have today.
The challenge is to meet these requirements, as efficiently as possible and to better utilise fossil and renewal resources to generate power. With Digitalisation and the new HL class turbines, Siemens has the necessary ingredients in running a stable and sustainable energy system that is well suited to address growing energy concerns.
During a recent press trip to Germany, Siemens invited the Malaysian media for a visit to a working power plant in Dusseldorf.
Situated in Lauswald near the city’s port, the Fortuna (it’s not called Fortune) – run by public utility company Stadwerke Dusseldorf, is an architectural wonder of a power plant. Built on 32-hectare land area, the modern looking structure, which can easily be mistaken for a museum or an art gallery, has already broken three world records since operation.
Powered by the current generation Siemens H Class turbine the SGT5-8000H, Fortuna holds the record for being the most efficient power plant in the world at 61.5% efficiency with a maximum electrical net output of 603 megawatts, as well as being able to deliver 300 megawatts for the district heating system of the city of Dusseldorf.
Amazingly, the plant is next to houses and commercial buildings, yet you can’t hear any noise emitting. Apart from such an environment friendly advantage, the plant saves 2.5 tons of CO2 each year, which is equivalent to the amount emitted by 1.25 million passenger cars.
There are currently 76 H Class turbines operational and amid being installed across the world are four (4) turbines at the Pengerang refinery, operated by Petronas.
BBazaar Malaysia’s website bbazaar.my is fully live and ready for all the consumers financial services need. Utilising the best expertise and technology, BBazaar Malaysia is a platform where a user can look for a financial product, get a personalised offer, apply and get an approval, all in one go, a smooth end-to-end journey, starting from researching and comparing to selecting, applying and getting approval.
BankBazaar, BBazaar Malaysia’s parent company, has seen tremendous success in India, its home base. In India, the company has had over 300 million visitors to its site and has facilitated over 1.5 million transactions in the last 12 months on its platform. BankBazaar does the best in matching the right financial product to the right consumer. Through the website, consumers can search for, customise and find the most appropriate product based on their needs and profile. Consumers will find that the application process in BBazaar Malaysia complements the bank’s application process. This guarantees a smooth and hassle-free journey.
Vipin Kalra, CEO of BankBazaar International says, “We have a unique offering in Malaysia. We see that there are a lot of comparison websites that offer information and allow consumers to compare various financial products, but no one does what we do, which is to provide a complete end-to-end journey of comparison, providing consumers the best offers based on their eligibility and preferences, and then matching them to the right product.”
Through BBazaar Malaysia, banks are now able to reach out to a broader customer base and offer services that are more suited to a consumer. Banks are also able to retain existing customers and more importantly reach out to the underserved. The partnership between BBazaar Malaysia and the banks is an example of how to drive financial inclusion in a market like Malaysia where a large proportion of population is still underserved.
With over 76.9% active internet users, coupled with the Malaysian Government’s commitment to digitise the financial ecosystem, there has been a huge adoption of advanced financial technologies to equip customers for the shift towards digital transactions. Through the BBazaar platform, banks can gain access to customers who are shopping around and enable a seamless end-to-end customer journey from search to approval, all under one roof.
Schneider Electric introduces the latest APC by Schneider Electric Easy UPS 1 Ph On-Line and UPS 3 series to the local market. The Easy UPS line is a new category of UPS designed for essential power protection needs even in the most unstable power conditions.
Business continuity is increasingly dependent on regulating power outages, surges and spikes with greater digitisation by SMEs. Power incidents can impact anything from customer service to critical business processes. Many SMEs are unprepared for this are often unaware of the costs and impact it will have.
Astri R Dharmavan, IT Division Vice President for Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei, Schneider Electric IT says, “Easy UPS line addresses a market need as we see a solution that offers best in class power availability, reliability, manageability, quality and convenience for SMEs, data centers, manufacturing facilities and even home users. We expect our UPS portfolio to offer SMEs a high quality, cost competitive alternative for power protection for the most unstable and unpredictable power conditions.”
The Easy UPS 3 is a combination of an optimised footprint designed and advanced product feature, protecting critical equipment in many environments from damage due to power outages, surges and spikes. It delivers up to 96% efficiency in double conversion mode and up to 99% efficiency in energy saving EcoMode, taking the industry standards for the 10 to 40kvA UPS to a new level.
The innovative and user friendly Easy UPS 1 Ph On-Line is perfect for SMEs as well as home users. It provides essential power protection for unstable power conditions, ensuring consistent and reliable connectivity at the most critical moments. The wide input voltage range aims to protect against high fluctuations.
United Overseas Bank Malaysia (UOB) and SAP, a leading business software provider, launch a tie up to offer UOB SmartBusiness to the bank’s small and medium sized enterprise (SME) customers. This is the first time SAP is offering its enterprise software, SAP Business One to Malaysian SMEs through a bank.
UOB SmartBusiness is a cloud based integrated digital business solution design to help SMEs make cost savings and improve their operating efficiency. It enables SMEs to streamline and to digitise their back-office processes such as accounting, payroll and business management system through a secure and integrated digital solution. SMEs can also link their UOB SmartBusiness account to their UOB current account, enabling an automated bank reconciliation process through the matching of transactions to sales invoices or bill payments.
Wong Kim Choong, CEO of UOB Malaysia says, “With UOB SmartBusiness, we want to provide digitalise solutions for small businesses. SMEs can choose from there options, depending on the functionalities they require. The starter pack will be complimentary for UOB Malaysia’s Business Banking customers. The other options are priced between RM49 to RM200 a month, depending on the customise solutions.”
Brad Gray, Head of General Business, Southeast Asia, SAP says, “For SAP, 80% of our 380 000 customers are SMEs. In Malaysia, 37% of the GDP is from SMEs and they contribute 65% of employment. We provide a portfolio solution to SMEs. With SmartBusiness, it will help SMEs with their digitalisation journey.”
Other collaborators on UOB SmartBusiness include human resources software provider, HReasily and mobile business software provider, Enterpyze.
Epson launches the new SureColor F2130 Direct-to-Garment (DTG) printer that has an enhanced design and improved usability, enabling faster turnaround time for print jobs and better productivity for the business. The SC-F2130 printer will replace the existing SC-F2000 model and will help to lower costs with improved speeds and reliability.
Suited for small to medium businesses, the printer adds direct-to-garment printing to their services, such as production t-shirt printers, online t-shirt retailers, high and low-volume print companies, as well as corporates who want to produce their own branded workwear or promotional items.
The new SC-F2130 DTG printer is driven by Epson’s proprietary PrecisionCore Thin Film Piezo printhead delivering fast production speeds at outstanding clarity and sharpness on textiles, at resolutions of up to 1,440 x 1,440 dpi, and is one of the fastest direct-to-garment printers in its class. Users can print, and dispatch completed garments in as fast as 27 seconds.
The revamped printer has improved image reproducibility with its new multi-dot print mode that delivers a wider colour gamut than the previous model. The Epson Ultrachrome DG ink technology developed specially for Direct-to-Garment applications brings outstanding colours and robust garment durability to textile prints and is certified by Eco Passport for sustainable textile production.
The DTG printer has been re-designed with a new automated maintenance design that includes a cleaning cartridge configured to automatically clean the printhead cap, enabling continuous operations and reducing manual maintenance efforts. Its new white ink filter system improves ink flow, further preventing ink build-up for improved reliability and performance.
It comes with a new ink circulation algorithm that shortens waiting time before start of next print job, improving turnaround time. The Epson Garment Creator software has also been re-designed with usability and intuitiveness as key, to enhance the workflow of the printing process. An improved interface control panel provides overview of settings and consumable levels to monitor ink usage, showing information on thumbnail preview, fabric wiper level, platen size, t-shirt colour for printing and more.
Daisuke Hori, Managing Director of Epson Malaysia says, “Through our research and development, we have revamped the SC-F2130 to meet the needs of businesses, with productivity and ease of use in mind. We have consulted with our customers and taken their feedback into consideration to deliver an enhanced DTG printer that can bring direct-to-garment printing to new productivity levels at exceptional print quality.”
Mah Sing Group wins a total of six awards at the Property Insight Prestigious Developer Awards 2018 (PIPDA). The Group emerged as the biggest winner with 6 accolades including the night’s most prestigious recognition, the PIPDA’s Lifetime Achievement Award, which was awarded to Mah Sing’s Founder and Group Managing Director, Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Leong Hoy Kum for his contributions and achievements of over 20 years in the property industry. The Group was also named PIPDA’s Top 10 Developers for the fourth consecutive year.
The award ceremony aims to acknowledge quality developments of developers that have helped shape the nation. Mah Sing received four project accolades, recognising its outstanding developments and attention to uncompromised quality. The project awards include Best Family Living Environment for M Vertica in Cheras, Best Landed Residential Development for M Residence in Rawang, Best Mixed Development for Icon City in Petaling Jaya and Best Hybrid Development for Lakeville Residence in Jalan Kuching.
Tan Sri Datuk Sri Leong says, “Property Insight Prestigious Developers Award is one of the nation’s most coveted awards ceremony of the year and we are truly honoured to be the biggest winner of the night. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Mah Sing team. It is their dedication and commitment that has taken the company to where it is today. This recognition will definitely motivate us to continue our efforts to enhance the lives of our people, our customers, our stakeholders and the community.”
LBS Bina Group Berhad (LBS Bina) is celebrated as one of the nation’s Top Ten Developers at the Property Insight Prestigious Developer Awards 2018 (PIPDA 2018).
“We sincerely thank the industry for this recognition. It is an honour and we dedicate this achievement to the team and our home buyers for their support and trust which is key in strengthening our position as a reputable township developer. This affirms our effort in building homes that meet the needs of home buyers specifically in three key areas of affordability, connectivity and community,” says LBS Bina Group Managing Director, Tan Sri Lim Hock San.
LBS continued to expand its portfolio of award-winning developments at the PIPDA 2018 by also picking up the Best Affordable Housing Developer Award, Best Hi-Rise Development Award for Residensi Bintang Bukit Jalil, Best Facilities Development Award for BSP21, and the Best Gated and Guarded Development Award forSimfoni Perdana at LBS Alam Perdana.
Since the start of its venture into property development, LBS believed this to be an area of importance and reflected it in its consistent presence in affordable residential projects over the past 25 years. This culminated in the presentation of the Best Affordable Housing Developer to the township developer at the recent PIPDA 2018. To date, LBS has delivered over 30,000 affordable homes which include homes developed under the Government Housing Projects.
Positioned as the desired address in Bukit Jalil, Residensi Bintang Bukit Jalil received the Best Hi-Rise Development award. The two-tower condominium with a Gross Development Value (GDV) of RM954.7 million, is strategically located in the epicentre of existing and upcoming renowned education, sports, entertainment and leisure amenities.
The township developers’ strategy to capitalise on convenience catered to today’s modern families led to the birth of another award-winning development, BSP21, which picked up the Best Facilities Development award. Designed for urban families with fast-paced lifestyles, BSP21 is a 10-block residential development which features over 70 facilities and amenities under one roof. Proving its mettle as a reputable township developer, LBS also took home the Best Gated and Guarded Development award for its Simfoni Perdanadevelopment.
The award recognises innovation and outstanding achievement across the property industry with individuals, groups and sector projects evaluated and fielded into over 40 categories.
Maxis launches ONERetail, a comprehensive range of digital solutions comprising cloud-based point of sales, eCommerce and SMS Marketing for retail businesses to fully digitalise their businesses. It complements the existing mobile and fixed Internet solutions but removes the hassle of adopting solution from multiple providers through a single point of contact approach. Maxis is the first telco in Malaysia to offer a complete suite of digital solutions for the retail industry.
Shanti Jusnita Johari, Maxis Head of Enterprise says that although the technology is available, almost 70% of SMEs still don’t have an online presence. “Maxis ONERetail is an ideal proposition for business owners as it enables them to maximise the potential technology, improve their operational efficiency and stay relevant to their customers,” she adds.
Solutions under MaxisONERetail include eCommerce, Cloud POS, mPOS and eSMS. For eCommerce, businesses will get webstore customisation by a dedicated team of digital experts, sales performance insights and analytics dashboards as well as digital marketing services to boost online presence. CloudPOS allows businesses to view real time sales and inventory reports from a single online platform, develop sales and customer analytics. mPOS accepts card payments on the spot anytime, anywhere while eSMS reaches out to the right audience by centralising customer data collection and drive targeted foot traffic.
AirAsia BIG Loyalty marks its first step beyond travel deals through the launch of BIG Deals by Fave, a new feature on the AirAsia BIG Loyalty app. BIG Members will now be able to receive double the rewards, earning BIG Points and redeeming their favourite everyday deals using BIG Points while enjoying savings up to 95% off on the best travel and lifestyle deals by Fave.
BIG Deals by Fave allows over 3.6 million BIG Members in Malaysia to earn 1 BIG Point for every RM1 spent on lifestyle vouchers every day. They can also utilise their BIG Points to redeem BIG Deals vouchers, from food, beauty and activities to automobile services, travel and fitness, with popular brands like A&W, Healthland, Forever 21, Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur, Kenny Rogers Roasters and more offering discounts of up to 95% at over 3,700 outlets.
AirAsia BIG Loyalty Acting CEO Sereen Teoh says, “We have over 3.6 million BIG Members in Malaysia who have been tremendously loyal and supportive over the years. With BIG Deals in partnership with Fave, we can now doubly reward them not just through travelling, but all the time with amazing offers on the things they already love doing every day, all from the BIG Loyalty app.” By signing up and linking their BIG Member account to their Fave account before shopping, they will be able to earn 1 BIG Point for every RM1 they spend on Fave, which can be used to redeem AirAsia flights to amazing holidays across more than 130 destinations.
Fave founder Joel Neoh says, “This partnership with AirAsia BIG Loyalty will allow us to further enhance our mission of delivering everyday happiness and rewards to both BIG and Fave users. Whether they choose to go for a massage, buy their morning coffee or go for a short staycation, both Fave users and BIG Members can now earn BIG Points.”
Both BIG Loyalty and Fave apps are available on Google Play and the App Store.
CIMB Islamic Bank Berhad launches Takaful Mulia, a first-in-market Takaful policy specially designed for Muslims to benefit from coverage upon death or Total Permanent Disability (TPD), savings and benefits related to Islamic religious obligations such as waqf, zakat, fidyah/sadaqah, and hajj/umrah. Takaful Mulia also provides an additional 100% of sum assured for accidental death or TPD that occurred in a mosque or surau, and/or while performing the Hajj or Umrah. Takaful Mulia is the latest addition to CIMB Islamic’s suite of Takaful solutions developed exclusively for CIMB Islamic by its bancatakaful partner, Sun Life Malaysia Takaful Berhad.
Rafe Haneef, CEO, Group Islamic Banking, CIMB Group says, “CIMB Islamic, in partnership with Sun Life Malaysia, has always focused on the best value proposition for our customers. Through innovative and compelling propositions such as this first-in-market Takaful Mulia, subscribers can fulfil their religious obligations, even upon death or total permanent disability. With CIMB Islamic and Sun Life Malaysia’s combined capabilities, customers can look forward to further innovative products that make takaful both functional and spiritually fulfilling as part of their financial planning journey based on Shariah principles.”
Muhammad Fikri Mohamad Rawi, CEO, Sun Life Malaysia Takaful Berhad adds, “Charity is one of the few deeds in Islam that need not end upon a person’s demise. We are proud to have partnered with CIMB Islamic to offer this innovative Takaful Mulia which helps CIMB clients to not only leave something for their loved ones upon their demise, but also fulfil their religious obligations of waqf, zakat, and sadaqah. Takaful Mulia has definitely struck the right balance between protection, savings and spiritual fulfilment, setting a new benchmark in Malaysia’s takaful industry.”
Benefits of Takaful Mulia include Financial and Protection Benefits as well as spiritual benefits. Takaful Mulia is also offered as part of the recently launched CIMB F.I.R.S.T., a holistic financial planning proposition that is unique to each customer’s needs and life stage.
UD Trucks and Tan Chong Industrial Equipment Sdn Bhd roll out the first-ever locally-assembled or complete knocked-down (CKD) medium-duty UD Croner truck from Segambut-based Tan Chong Motor Assemblies Sdn Bhd (TCMA) making Malaysia the first market in the world to assemble the CKD Croner and rolling it out successfully for UD Trucks.
It follows two years after the successful rollout of the first locally-assembled heavy-duty UD Quester truck in 2016. As such, this is also the first UD Croner truck that is locally assembled for UD Trucks in Asia Pacific outside of Japan with a private distributor partner. The rollout of UD Croner from local assembly comes less than a year after the medium-duty truck was launched and unveiled in Malaysia in August last year.
Filip Van den Heede, Managing Director Hub Malaysia, UD Trucks says, “UD Croner is a versatile, reliable, safe and fuel-efficient medium-duty truck range that is developed with the Asian customers in mind. It is a truck range designed to deliver extra productivity and superior uptime as it combined the best of three worlds, which are UD Trucks’ Japanese heritage and craftsmanship, Volvo Group’s proven technologies and TCIE’s local resourcing, expertise and market reach.”
Tan Keng Meng, Executive Director, Tan Chong Industrial Equipment Sdn Bhd says, “Our capability in producing complete knocked-down UD Croner trucks from our factory has further cemented Tan Chong Group’s competency in offering full range of services for the truck industry, with assembling being a highly key and strategic expertise, ever since we successfully lined-off the heavy-duty UD Quester in 2016. Our locally-assembled UD Croner trucks will not only continue to represent the hallmarks of what UD Trucks stands for, but it will also give operators all that is needed to work efficiently and effectively at an affordable price range.”
For this CKD Croner, TCIE will be rolling out 150 units this year comprising manual and auto transmission options for two models, namely Croner PKE and Croner LKE. Croner PKE caters for medium-heavy duty usage with a powerful 6-cylinder engine for regional and long haul, while Croner LKE is a multi-purpose model for in-city and city-to-city distribution focusing on transport efficiency.
According to Tan, the setting up of the assembly line with the investment of over RM1.5 million to produce locally-assembled heavy-duty UD Quester trucks two years ago was a strategic step on Tan Chong Group’s part to meet local market needs. It will also support the growth of Malaysia as an important complete knocked-down automotive market in the region. A further investment of RM4.5 million was recently made to expand the production capacity of TCMA to include CKD Croner, where part of the investment is used for expansion of assembly facilities including body and paint.
UD Trucks, on the other hand, contributed to enhancing the capabilities of local engineers by sharing technology know-how and hands-on approach in training, to enable efficient management of the expanded facility and to ensure a smooth roll-out of the locally-assembled UD Croner.
