EUMCCI Review October 2008

EUMCCI Review

Volume IV No. 4 Oct 2008

The Business Digest of the European Union-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry

KDN PP 14083/07/2009(021955)

Container Handling and Port Efficiency - An Opportunity for Malaysian Ports

Socially Responsible Investing

E umcci R eview October 2008

Volume IV No.4

www.eumcci.com

Published by EU-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce & Industry (EUMCCI) Office Address Suite 15.02, Level 15 Menara CMY (Kemayan) 160 Jalan Ampang, 50450 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Tel: +603-2162 6298 Fax: +603-2162 6198 E-mail: eumcci@eumcci.com Website: www.eumcci.com Editorial Committee Minna Saneri - Editor Marco Winter Paul Vincent Galea

Contents 4 5

EDITORIAL CHAMBER@WORK EUMCCI Joins United Nations Global Compact!

Construction and Building Materials Committee

Stefanie Braukmann Jocelyn Choo

Submissions Articles and other materials of interest to the general membership are actively solicited and may be sent to the Chamber. All materials submitted for publication are subject to editorial review and revisions.

Consultations with Economic Council Working group

Reproduction No part of the EUMCCI Review may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical without prior written permission.

Education Committee Focusing on Industry-Academia Cooperation

Circulation 3,000 copies of the EUMCCI Review are distributed, on quarterly basis to EUMCCI members, all Embassies, industry associations and government officials with whom the Chamber has dealings as well as to European Chambers Worldwide.

Subscription Service Subscriptions from non-members are also accepted at RM80.00 (€28.00 abroad) for 4 issues. Individual copies may be purchased at RM25.00 (€8.00 abroad).

EUMCCI Board Chairman David Jones Deputy Chairman Jean-Francois Jadin Honourary Treasurer Dato’ Robert Teo Directors Austria Franz Schröder Belgium Jean-Francois Jadin Cyprus Wan Azuar Dato Wan Daud Czech Republic Milan Vagner France Michel Lozach Finland Jari Silventoinen Germany Alexander Stedtfeld Greece Andreas Vogiatzakis Hungary Robert Papp Ireland Michael Garvey Italy Alberto Ciaramicoli Luxembourg Wolfgang Heidkamp Malaysia Caesar Loong Malta Paul Vincent Galea The Netherlands Marco Winter Poland Czeslaw Klimczak Portugal Tan Sri Eugenio Campos Slovak Republic Patricia Dudova Spain Antonio Garcia Sweden Hans Bjornered United Kingdom Ramesh Menon

6

Asia IPR Regulatory Framework Seminar

8

EUROPE NEWS

12 FEATURE

14

Containerisation - Efficient Shipping Container Handling and Port Efficiency in Malaysia Balancing Investment Returns with the Planet’s Resources

17

Investing in a Socially Responsible Way

16 EVENTS International Conference Brings Europe and Malaysia Together on CSR EUMCCI Budget Talk 2009

19

21 MALAYSIA NEWS Malaysia Improving Ease of Doing Business

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Engaging with Authorities, Supporting Members Dear Members,

Editorial

It has been a busy period here at the Chamber. At the end of July, we were one of the co-organisers of the International Corporate Social Responsibility Conference which brought together a truly international group of experts. We had the opportunity to interview one of the presenters, Graham Sinclair about a new and exciting topic: “Socially Responsible Investment�. We were also consequently, one of the founding signitaries of the Malaysia Global Compact, which aims to pursue and support the UNDP Millennium Goals. EUMCCI is also coming up with a truly ground breaking publication on the best practises in CSR: we have collected 25 stories from our member companies and edited them into a resource book which will be widely distributed. This should allow more companies to follow suit.

EUMCCI has also been increasing its collaborations with the government; we recently brought representatives of the public sector, MyIPO and the Royal Malaysian Customs as well as MDTCA, to two seminars focusing on Intellectual Property Rights, respectively in China and Indonesia. Read more about these seminars in our Chamber@Work section.

Since the last Review, we have lobbied successfully to lift the ban on imports of new brands of wine, and are now looking into new issues, with the strong and valuable support of the European Commission. EUMCCI has set up Committees to deal with issues raised by our members like the ban on imports of new wines.

The Committees will be platforms for you, our members, to discuss issues pertaining to your sector and to address your concerns more effectively.

We are also regularly in consultation with the Economic Council Working Group on providing input on retaining and attracting foreign direct investment into Malaysia. In this regard, we invite you, members, to contact us and give feedback or bring up issues hindering your business!

Last, but not least: a warm welcome to our new Communications Manager, Jocelyn! Her main task will be to enable us to communicate better with our members as well as all the stakeholders.

Selamat Hari Raya and Happy Deepavali!

Minna Saneri Editor

4 October

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EUMCCI’s visit to ECCT in Taipei

Minna Saneri (EUMCCI), Guy Wittich (ECCT) and Wendy van Dijck (EUMCCI, surrounded by ECCT staff

EUMCCI joins United Nations Global Compact!

Ten Malaysian firms, including EUMCCI, vowed on 27 August to advance corporate citizenship in Malaysia as they became signatories to the world’s largest voluntary global corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative, the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC).

In a signing and networking event hosted by the UNDP, the Malaysia Compact and the Caux Round Table, with the support of Khazanah Nasional Berhad and Talisman Energy, the companies pledged to align and observe 10 universal principles regarding human rights, labour rights, environmental sustainability and anticorruption in their operations and strategies as well as produce a comprehensive annual report on their implementation.

By participating in the UNGC, the com­ panies joined a group of key corporate

Second from l. to r. Geoffrey Williams, OWW Consulting, Anthony Wong, Asian Overland Services and David Jones, EUMCCI

leaders worldwide who recognize that stake­h olders - customers, partners, investors, employees and government prefer to sup­port businesses that are environmentally sensitive, ethical and trustworthy as well as those that play an active role addressing critical develop­ment challenges such as global poverty and climate change.

Present at the event to submit letters of undertaking to UNDP Officer-in-Charge, Puan Daratul Baida Osman Khairuddin, were Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM), Malaysian Resources Corpora­ tion Berhad (MRCB) and CIMB Group. The local business units of several multinational compa­ nies including DiGi Commu­ nications, Talisman Energy Malaysia, and Phillips Malaysia, also pledged to the UNGC. Other signatories included Asian Overland Services Tours and Travel, OWW Consulting, RUSS Consulting, and SL+A Sdn Bhd (The Stephen Leach Group), as well as Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), the EU-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Equator Society which joined the UNGC under the banner of aca­demic and non-govern­mental organi­ zations.

Representing their respective organi­zations at the event were Mr Jonathan Wright, Vice-President, Talisman Energy (Malaysia & Vietnam); En Shahril Ridza Ridzuan, MRCB’s Group Managing Director; Mr Johan Dennelind, CEO, DiGi Communi­ cations; Ms Christina Celestine, Head, Corporate Communica­tions & Sustaina­ bility, Phillips Malaysia; Mr David Jones, Chairman, EU-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (EUMCCI); Dr Geoffrey Williams, Managing Director, OWW Consulting; Dato’ Shukri Hussin,

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As scorekeeper of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the UNDP is working with the private sector to translate Corporate Social Responsibility into action and to promote the develop­ment of inclusive markets that benefit the poor. The UNDP continues to support the develop­ ment of local networks such as the Malay­ sia Compact, which bring together the local private sector, civil society groups, labour organizations and academia to discuss corporate concerns about human rights, labour standards, the environment and anti-corruption issues and to provide policy space for all stakeholders to work together to examine how to scale-up innovative business approaches that benefit both commerce and the wider develop­ment interests of society.

According to En Abdullah Abdul Hamid, Executive Director, Transformation Management Office, Khazanah Nasional Berhad, the main advantage that the UNGC delivers to Malaysian signatories is a broad international reach to showcase their corporate responsibility initiatives and a strong channel to engage with civil society.

Linking the move with Khazanah’s flagship CSR platform, the Silver Book, Encik Abdullah said, “The Silver Book has been acknowledged as a highly pro­gressive CSR agenda - the UNGC allows us to demon­ strate how that agenda has benefited Malaysia and share our experiences world­ wide as a nation of CSR practitioners.

“We must know where we are today and what we hope to achieve tomorrow. This is where the thinking behind the Silver Book integrates with the opportunities offered by the Global Compact.”

Commenting on the participation of the GLCs, Datuk Dr. K. Govindan, Deputy Director General, Economic Planning Unit

October 5

C@W

As part of the 14-month “EBO Capacitybuilding in Market Information Dissemination”- project, was a visit to the tutors, the EU chambers of Korea and Taiwan. On 16th, 17th and 18th of June 2008 the EU-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (EUMCCI) visited the European Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan (ECCT). In line with the project, the purpose of the visit was to learn and share experiences with ECCT. Main topics that were discussed were the setting up and management of industry sector committees and the preparation and launch of the annual Position Paper. After three days, EUMCCI left beautiful Taipei with a lot of newly learned experience.

Director, CIMB Group; Dato’ Abdul Aziz Abu Bakar, Senior Vice President, Group Human Resource, Telekom Malaysia; Pn Rasila Hamzah, Managing Director, RUSS Consulting; Ms Intan Mokhtar, Creative Director, SL+A Sdn Bhd; Dr Zainal Abidin Sanusi, Universiti Sains Malaysia and Mr Puvan J Selvanathan, Network Founder, UN Global Compact Malaysia. Together, these organizations join the five homegrown companies and 62 multi­national firms with operations in Malaysia that are already on board.

in the Prime Minister’s Department said that it was encouraging to see leading businesses play a more active role in responding to national development challenges.

C@W

The event was held in conjunction with a two-day Silver Book workshop on mea­ suring impact which aimed at reviewing trends in Corporate Responsibility (CR), as well as highlighting the importance and benefits of CR measures.

Since it was launched in 2000, the UN Global Compact has witnessed steady growth, encompassing over 4,600 business participants and other key stakeholders from over 120 countries. It includes the participation of six UN agencies, including UNDP, as well as the labour movement, NGOs and other civil society groups.

Construction and Building Materials Committee On Monday, the 15th of September, the Construction and Building Materials Com­ mittee organised an informal gathering for colleagues in this sector. Head of the com­ mittee, Mr Aat van der Horst (MD, Victor Buyck Malaysia), welcomed special guests Dato’ Patrick Wong (Imme­diate Past President of Master Builders Association (MBAM)), and Mr Yap Yoke Keong (Secretary General, MBAM). One of the

From left to right: Dato’ Patrick Wong (MBAM), Mr Yap Yoke Keong (MBAM), Mr Aat van der Horst (Head of the committee) and Bill Addington

latest achievements of MBAM is the current liberalisation of the steel prices. This is a great effort in the total process of minimi­ zing the protective legislations in Malaysia for not only the construction sector but also all other sectors of industry.

6 October

Asia IPR Regulatory Framework Seminar On 10th and 11th of July a delegation from EUMCCI attended a seminar on IPR regula­ tory framework in Shanghai. The congress was organised by the EU Chamber of Com­ merce in China. The EUMCCI delegates were: Ms Wong Jin Nee, partner at Wong Jin Nee & Teo, Ms Suraya Mohamad, Senior Patent Examiner at MyIpo, Mr Timothy Siaw, partner at Shearndelamore and Wendy van Dijck from EUMCCI. Two years ago, under the Asia Invest pro­ gram, a new project was started to streng­ then Intellectual Property Rights in Asia. The part­ners of this project are the EU Chamber of China (lead partner), the EU Chamber of Commerce in Indonesia, the EU Korea Industrial Cooperation Agency and the partner from Czech Republic. EUMCCI toge­ther with the EU Chamber in Vietnam are contri­butors to the project. The aim of the project is to strengthen IPR laws and enforcement in Asia. The project also provides a website with its experience on IPR in the region: www.iprasia.org.

During the first day of the seminar, trade­ mark law and patent laws were high­ lighted. Ms Wong Jin Nee talked about trade­mark law in Malaysia. From the government site (MyIPO) Ms Suraya Mohamad, talked about patent law in Malaysia. On the morning of the second day, copyright law was dis­cussed. Ms Suraya Mohamad pre­sented information about copy­right law in Malaysia. The after­ noon of the second day was reserved for panel-discus­sions for all three laws. All three delegates from Malaysia took part in the discussions.

Overall the conclusions were that in general, the procedures for the three IPR laws: Trademark law, Patent law and Copyright law, are more or less similar in China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia. In all four countries there is awareness that IPR is important for the growth of the country. All countries have difficulties with how to define well known trademarks. One of the solutions suggested was to follow Europe’s example and leave more respon­

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sibility with the applicant. In Malaysia and China patent laws still require registration in their own markets before being able to register in foreign markets.

EUMCCI, MDTCA and Malaysian Customs participated in the Asia IPR Border Control and Enforcement Seminar in Jakarta The European Business Organization’s IPR Protection Project” seminar - Asia IPR

The panel discussion at Shanghai seminar, attended by Heads of IPR Committees and representatives of the public sector in charge of IPR legislation

Border Control and Enforcement Seminar in Indonesia took place at the Shangri-La Hotel in Jakarta on the 28th - 29th August, 2008.

This conference brought together govern­ ment officials, leading academics and business practitioners working in the field of Intellectual Property Rights from Indo­ nesia, China, Vietnam, Malaysia. The gathering extended and integrated knowledge that contributed to the improved understanding and future development of IPR enforcement and border control in Asia.

Mohd Roslan Bin Mahayudin, Director General of the Enforcement Division, MDTCA giving his presentation

EUMCCI invited the Head of EUMCCI IPR Committee, Ms Wong Jin Nee, the Director General of the Enforcement Division of Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs, Mohd Roslan Bin Mahayudin and Assistant Director of Royal Malaysian Customs, Mohd Yusof Bin Ismail to this regional Seminar which highlighted the border control measures regionally.

Consultations with Economic Council Working group

EUMCCI participated in the MDTCA briefing on Fair Trade The Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consu­ mer Affairs organised a briefing session regarding the proposed fair trade bill. The proposed Bill sets out the following on prohibited activities: a. Anti-competitive Agreements An Agreement will be prohibited to the extent that the agreement has the ob­ject or effect of significantly preventing, restricting, or distorting competition in any market for goods or services unless the agreement is subject to an exemp­ tion or exclusion. b. Abuses of Dominant Position It will be prohibited for any enterprise or enterprises to engage, whether inde­ pendently or collectively, in any conduct which amounts to the abuse of a dominant position in any market for goods or services. c. Profiteering This issue is under consideration and it is not yet clear whether the Ministry will include this provision. The private sector

d. Imposition of Unfair Burdens

by Large Enterprises It will be prohibited for a large enter­prise to impose an unfair burden on a considerably smaller enterprise in con­ nection with any agreed supply of goods or services by the considerably smaller enterprise to the large enterprise.

The private sector has objected to the above provisions as it is seen to interfere with the principle of the freedom of the contract. e. Threats and reprisals against Com­ plainants It shall be prohibited for any enterprise to: i coerce, or attempt to coerce, another enterprise into refraining from making complaints to the Commission; or ii subject another enterprise to any commercial or other disadvantage as a reprisal against that enterprise for its having made any complaints as aforesaid.

It is noteworthy that the bill does not propose to prohibit mergers and acquisi­ tions that may restrict competition.

Education Committee Focusing on IndustryAcademia Cooperation The Education Committee had its second meeting, which focused on finalizing the Industry-Academia cooperation tools. The Committee chairman, Jean Francois Jadin, asked the Academia to come forward with their proposals and wishes for successful and mutually benefiting cooperation. The members at the Education Committee are: University of Malaya (UM) Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) Univerisit Malaysia Pahang (UMP) International Islamic Universiti Malaysia (IIUM) Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) Universit Teknikal Melaka Malaysia (UTeM) Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UNIKL)

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Education Committee meeting

Universiti Tun Abdul Razak (UNITAR) Universiti Sains Malaysia

Ban on import of new brands of alcohol and cigarettes lifted Due to efficient lobbying with the res­ pective authorities, EUMCCI succeeded in getting the ban lifted on new brands of alcohol.

In October 2007, the Royal Malaysian Cus­ toms started a temporary ban on imports new brands of alcohol and cigarettes. The main pur­pose of this new regulation was the high amount of counterfeit alcohol and ciga­rettes in the market. The ban was activated without any further notice to the importers and also with no proposed end date. In April we received many complaints from wine importers. They had huge amounts of new brands stopped in Klang, because it was no longer allowed to bring them into the country. We also met and discussed with the various Embassies involved.

We invited the wine importers for a meeting at EUMCCI’s office to learn more about the concrete problems they were facing due to the ban. With this informa­tion we went to see the Deputy Director General of Customs. We had a good dis­cussion following which we wrote a letter to the Minister of Finance together with the European Commission in Kuala Lum­pur.

We were constantly in touch with the European Commission in Brussels, which also put pressure on the Malaysian authori­ ties, especially to the non-WTO compliancy.

Recently, we got the message from Customs that the ban has been lifted as per the 1st of July. Looking back, this is a great achieve­ ment and it shows that efficient lobbying does work out well in the end.

October 7

C@W

In order to attract and retain foreign invest­ ments, the Economic Council Working Group asked EUMCCI to provide feedback on main issues hindering the business of foreign investors in Malaysia. In the last meeting we brought up issues related to immigration procedures, ICT infrastructure, and the lack of policy con­sistency. We are now collecting feedback on labour laws in Malaysia and their impact on foreign com­ panies, as well as problems related to inter­ national schools. If you wish to give feed­ back and concrete proposals and recom­ mendations on the above issues or others, do forward them to eumcci@eumcci.com.

has objected to the clause on the basis that the concept of profiteering is difficult to define.

Europe News

European Union Main­tains Trade Preferences for Developing Countries The EU has adopted an improved Gene­ralised System of Preferences (GSP) for the period from the 1st of January 2009 until the end of 2011. The decision will grant 176 deve­loping countries preferential access for their goods entering EU markets. GSP provides real economic value to developing coun­tries, with €57 billion (MYR 290 billion) worth of trade under the scheme in 2007.

The non-reciprocal preference system designed to promote economic growth by stimulating exports, is an important tool of the EU’s pro-development trade policy. In 2007, EU imports from Malaysia totalled €17.34 billion (RM 82 billion). Within this total, preferences were given on exports worth €2.70 billion (RM 13.7 billion). This led to a net benefit for Malaysian exporters of €82 million (RM 410 million).

Over the past five years Malaysia’s utilisa­ tion of the EU’s GSP scheme has doubled and is expected to continue. “We are in contact with the Ministry of Trade and Industry and with business organisa­tions to raise awareness of the scheme among Malaysian exporters. This will produce further savings,” said Ambassador Vincent Piket, Head of the European Commission Delegation to Malaysia.

Under the standard GSP scheme, of which Malaysia will continue to be a beneficiary, preferential access in the form of tariff reductions will be given on over 6,300 products. On over 3,000 “non-sensitive” products the tariff duties will be zero, whilst on products deemed “sensitive”, a tariff reduction of 3.5% on the “most-favoured nation” duty rate will be applied.

EU Provides Assistance to Help Resumption of Fish Imports from Malaysia Following the voluntary suspension by Malaysia of fish exports to the European Union (EU) in June 2008, the European

8 October

The objectives of REACH are to improve the protection of human health and the environment from the risks that are posed by chemicals.

REACH places greater responsibility on the industry to manage the risks that chemicals may pose to the health and the environ­ ment and through its website, provides a means to assist companies in complying with the standards set in the new regulation.

Technical assistance missions provided by the European Commission

Commission has been working with the Malaysian Ministries of Health and Agri­ culture to ensure that EU standards in public and animal health are met.

In the months of July and August, two separate technical assistance missions were carried out in order to help the Malaysian authorities revise national food control systems. Audit procedures at processing establishments, landing sites, fishing vessels and aquaculture farms were also reviewed.

The website collects replies given by the EC and the Agency to questions received from the public about REACH.

Czech Participation on Electric Asia 2008 The Czech Republic successfully introduced Czech energy technology, equipment and services at the trade fair Electric Asia 2008 from 17th till 20th June 2008 in KLCC Kuala Lumpur. 16 companies and institu­ tions presented its catalogues and leaflets with up-to-date products. Over one hun­

The fishing industry is also res­ ponding positively to the changes expected of them under the new inspection and certification regime that will now be based on EU food control legislation.

Although there is still a lot of work yet to be done, both the Malaysian authorities and the EC are hopeful that a number of establish­ ments may resume exports to the EU before the end of the current calendar year.

New EU Chemical Agency Sets Up Website The European Chemical Agency (ECHA) has launched a website (http://www.echa. europa.eu) to provide information on the EU’s REACH Regulation on chemicals, which came into force on the 17th of June 2008.

REACH, which stands for Regis­tration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals aims to streamline and improve the legislative framework for chemicals of the European Union (EU).

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Czech Republic participants at the Electric Asia 2008 fair in KLCC, Kuala Lumpur

dred meetings with companies from Malaysia and the South East Asian region were organised during matchmaking on the exhibition stand or during special lectures provided by an energy specialist from the Confe­redation of the Czech Repu­ blic. The most requested Czech commodi­ ties were: small scale hydro power plants, transmission lines and systems, and coge­ neration units.

“Wines from Spain” Exhibition The Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade (ICEX), the Economic and Commercial

the 35 wineries where more than 100 different types of wines were offered. A cocktail reception marked the closing of this one day event where Spanish wines wowed many in Kuala Lumpur.

250 professionals and trade people from the wine sector attended “Wines from Spain” exhibition

Office of the Embassy of Spain in Malaysia and the various Chambers of Commerce in Spain came together to organize a Spanish Wine Exhibition in Kuala Lumpur on September 4th, 2008. More than 250 professionals and trade people from the wine sector attended this “Wines from Spain” exhibition which saw participation from 35 wineries. This is the first time that the exhibition has been held at this scale and it marks a new chapter for Spanish wines in Malaysia bringing together the top wineries from Spain.

In conjunction with this exhibition, a wine seminar for the attendees was conducted with the objective of promoting the presence of Spanish wines in Malaysia. It also served to enhance knowledge about wine producing in Spain such as the fact that Spain has the largest area in the world under vine. They are 3rd in the production league table and there are very few areas in Spain that do not produce wines of one type or another. Production is fairly evenly split north to south. The seminar also served to introduce and further the understanding of the huge variety of high quality wines on offer from Spain where one gets a broad sampling which reflects the country’s diversity and culture. Wine connoisseurs are sure to find the right grape or blend they love for any occasion. Over 40 professional and trade people attended the seminar which was conducted by Mr Roderick Wong, Chief Sommelier from the Hilton Kuala Lumpur Hotel.

Wine importers, fine dining restaurateurs and F&B Managers from the top hotels were also invited to a business lunch with

9 companies and organizations from the State of Bavaria, Germany, with activities in the healthcare industry participated at the APHM International Healthcare Conference & Exhibition from the 14th -16th of July this year. The event was held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. Throughout the course of the event, the German com­ panies also attended individual business meetings with their local counterparts, organized by the Malaysian-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The Conference & Exhibition brought together senior representa­tives of key organizations and focused on practical ways of delivering safer and more secure care for patients.

H.E. Dr. Günter Gruber (German Ambassador to Malaysia) (2nd. from r.) with some of the exhibitors at APHM

Aiming at providing a platform for the sharing of best practices, the event highlighted the areas of trends in patient safety, develop­ment of a safety culture, the setting of safety practices, and managing safety and security.

In past years, Malaysia has developed a strong business and trade relationship with Bavaria. In 2007, Malaysia ranked as the third Asian country behind China and Japan in trade with the southern German State. Among the ASEAN countries,

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The trade volume between Bavaria and Malaysia reached €2.1 billion in 2007.

Bavaria exported goods amounting to €674 million to Malaysia, while imports from Malaysia came up to approximately €1.4billion.

Bavaria’s trade relations with the ASEAN countries have seen considerable develop­ ments in the past years. Apart from the EU-market, the Asia Pacific region - even ahead of USA - has become the most important procurement market for Bavaria.

The State’s largest export markets are the EU and USA, followed by the Asia Pacific region.

Seminar on Recycling of Plastics Packaging from Post Consumer Waste The Italian Trade Commission here in Kuala Lumpur recently organized a seminar in collaboration with ASSOCOMAPLAST (Ita­ lian Plastics And Rubber Processing Machi­ nery and Moulds Manufacturers’ Associa­ tion), the Ministry of Housing and Local Government in Malaysia, the Malaysian Plastics Manufac­turers Association and the Selan­gor Human Resource Develop­m ent Center. The seminar was on the recycling of plastic packaging from post consumer waste and explained the technology, metho­dology, standards and safety func­tions of the plastics packaging recycling line. It also covered other various recycling lines, quality con­trol, limitations and future developments.

The seminar highlighted Italian experience and explored areas of collaboration, stra­ tegies and action plans. Presentations during the seminar were conducted by Mr. Gianmarco Cortivo (Technical Consultant and representative of ASSOCOMAPLAST).

Mr. Mario Maggiani, the Deputy Director of ASSOCOMAPLAST, was also there to represent the association.

Targeted groups: Plastics converters and compounders, recyclers, government re­cycling officials, environmental organiza­ tions, potential investors.

October 9

Europe News

Bavarian Companies Display Strengths at Malaysian Healthcare Exhibition

Malaysia was the largest trading partner for Bavaria.

Europe News

The Italian presentation covered the following areas: • Plastics production and demand in the EU. • Reasons for recycling plastics.  How to decide whether to recycle a material or not.  How to identify which materials can be recycled.

• EU directives on waste, hazardous waste, packaging and waste packaging • Life cycle assessment • European model • Packaging recovery • Post consumer waste collection and sorting system in Italy • European coding system • Sorting lines • Different recycling systems • Ecological issues in relation to recycling • Quality assurance and quality control minimum requirements • Application and use of recycled materials

Mr. Gianmarco Cortivo (Technical Consultant, ASSOCOMAPLAST), Mr Ahmad Khairuddin (Chairman MPMA) and Mr. Mario Maggiani (Deputy Director, ASSOCOMAPLAST).

pilot project is expected to follow suit based on feedback and information exchange obtained during this initiative.

Seminar on Mechatronics and Innovative Mechanical Technologies The initiative aimed to introduce Italy’s latest technologies and experience in the mechatronics sector, especially from the area of Vicenza which is located in the central part of the North-East region of Italy. Known as one of the most indus­ trialized provinces in Italy, Vicenza accom­ modates the mechatronics cluster where approximately 300 companies specializing in the mechanical and electromechanical sector producing mainly machine tools are located. These companies contribute to an annual turnover of around €8 billion, of which 70% goes to the international market. The cluster is basically structured by small and medium-sized companies which have greatly contributed to Italy’s success stories.

In view of the development in this sector in both countries, Italy and Malaysia have much to offer and this event aimed to explore the opportunities in terms of tech­ nology transfer, industrial collaboration and joint venture potentials which will con­tribute significantly to the foreign invest­ment in this country.

The 1st day Technical Seminar was attended by 80 participants coming from several ministries including the Prime Minister’s Department, Malaysian Ministry of Housing and Local Government, Ministry of Inter­ national Trade and Industry, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Minis­ try of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs, Ministry of Science Technology and Innovation, Department of Environment as well as SIRIM, waste concessionaires, NGOs and private companies from the plastics sector. For the 2nd day discussion session, it was confined to organizations which were directly linked to the formulation of policy, implementation of strategies and creation of pilot project.

The event comprised of a presentation from Dr. Giuseppe Gaianigo of Confindustria Vicenza and testimonials from several Italian companies including Marelli Motors (Mr. Enrico Viscardi), Marposs KK (Mr. Penwarden), Acciaierie Valbruna (Mr. Gianpaolo Vlaic) and Antonio Zamperla (Mr. Sanjeet Singh) which have savored success during their years of operation in Malaysia. Their experiences and aspirations will be a source of motivation for many others to follow suit.

The event attracted tremendous interests from the public and private sector and a

The Guest of Honor was Dato’ Affifuddin Abdul Kadir, Deputy Director General 1 of

10 October

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MIDA (Malaysian Industrial Development Authority) and the Director of Machinery and Engineering Supporting Industries of MIDA, Mr. N. Sangaran who has 30 years of experience also gave a presentation on the overview of machinery and equipment (M&E) and automation sector in Malaysia.

This event was supported by Confindustria Vicenza in Italy (Italian Industrial Confede­ ration in Vicenza).

CETDEM and Dutch Embassy Organise Climate Change Seminar In conjunction with World Environment Day, the Centre for Environment, Techno­ logy and Development Malaysia (CETDEM) and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands recently jointly organised a One-Day Seminar on Climate Change, entitled “Between Bali and Poznan: Concrete Actions on Climate Change”.

Minister of Natural Resources and Environment YB Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas and Netherlands Ambassador Lody Embrechts attended the opening of the seminar.

The year 2007 saw climate change emerge as one of the most critical issues that the international community will have to deal with in this century. The seminar offered a midway review between the Conference of Parties in Bali (2007) and Poznan (2008) and assessed the pressing issues of climate change at this point in time through

Attendees at the Climate Change Seminar included (from left) YB Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas, Minister of Natural Resources & Environment, HE Lody Embrechts, Ambassador, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Mr Gurmit Singh, Chairman CETDEM, Dr Yap Kok Seng, Director General, Ministry of Science, Technology & Innovation and Mr Anthony Tan, Executive Director CETDEM

discussions between representatives from private and government sectors, academics and NGOs. Heads of Mission from various countries participated in the seminar’s Diplomatic Dialogue.

Dutch Participation in MAHA

The Agricultural Office of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Kuala Lumpur participating in the Malaysia Agriculture, Horticulture and Agrotourism Exhibition

The 13-day MAHA 2008 was hosted by the Ministry of Agricul­ture and Agro-Based

EUMCCI Review

October 11

Europe News

The Agricultural Office of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Kuala Lumpur successfully participated in the region’s largest exhibition showcasing the latest Technologies and Innovations in the Agriculture, the Malaysia Agriculture, Horticulture and Agrotourism Exhibition 2008, once again committing to the excellent bilateral relationship in the area of Agriculture. Last year, Malaysia and the Netherlands opened Agricultural offices in each other’s countries.

Industry and organised by the Federal Agricul­tural Mar­ keting Authority (FAMA), and took place at the Malay­ sia Agro Exposition Park Serdang (MAEPS). According to the Malay­sian Ministry of Agricul­ture, MAHA 2008 attracted 1,2 million visitors to the total of 1179 booths.

On display in the Holland Pavilion were Voster­mans with high duty ventilation systems for the agri­culture and industrial mar­kets and Surechem Marketing, the Malay­s ian distri­b utor for Eijkelkamp Agrisearch Equipment in agriculture, environmental, water, cli­mate and residual research.

Container Handling

Containerisation - Efficient Shipping Containerisation is a system of intermodal freight transport cargo transport. It uses standard ISO containers also known as shipping containers, ITUs (Intermodal Transport Units) that can be loaded and sealed intact onto container ships, railroad cars, planes and trucks. The global standardisation of containers and container handling equipment was one of the important innovations in 20th century logistics. Standardised steel reusable containers also minimised the theft and damage to materials because cargo is not visible to the casual viewer and is thus less likely to be stolen. Doors on the containers are generally sealed so that tampering is evident which has also helped reduce the “falling off the truck” syndrome that previously plagued the shipping industry.

The widespread use of ISO standard containers has also driven modifications in other freight - moving standards, gradually forcing removable truck bodies (or swap bodies) into the standard sizes and shapes, and changing completely the worldwide use of freight pallets that fit into ISO containers or into commercial vehicles.

Increased Efficiency Containerisation has revolutionised cargo shipping. Today, approximately 90% of non - bulk cargo worldwide moves by containers stacked on transport ships. It has been predicted that at some point, container ships will be constrained in size only by the depth of the Straits of Malacca, one the world’s busiest shipping lanes, which links the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. The Straits currently constrain ship dimensions

12 October

to 470m in length and 60 m in width (1542 feet by 197 feet).1

are equivalent to one forty foot equivalent unit (FEU).2

Dimensions and Payloads These are five common standard container lengths, 20 ft (6.1m), 40 ft (12.2 m), 45 ft (13.7 m), 48 ft (14.6 m) and 53 ft (16.2 m). Container capacity is often expressed in twenty - foot equivalent units of TEUs. An equivalent unit is a measure of containerised cargo capacity equal to one standard 20 ft (length) by 8 ft (width) container. As this is an approximate measure, the height of the box is not considered, for instance the 9 ft 6 in (2.9 m) High Cube and the 4 ft 3 in (1.3 m) half height 20 ft containers are also called one TEU. Similarly, the 45 ft containers are also commonly designated as two TEU although they are 45 and not 40 feet long. Two TEU

Land Transport Most railway flatcars cannot carry more than one standard 40 foot container but if the rail line has been built with sufficient vertical clearance, a double - stack car can accept a container and still leave enough clearance for another container on top. This usually precludes operation of double stacked wa­gons on lines with overhead electric wiring. Lower than standard sized containers are run double stacked under overhead wires. Double stacking containers on flatcars increases the efficiency with which con­ tainers are moved inland from ports. Good railway lines and accessibility by road between ports and inland markets help to reduce dwell time and transaction costs.

Biggest ISO container companies 3 Top 10 container shipping companies in order of TEU capacity, first January 2006 Company

TEU capacity Market Share Number of ships

A.P. Moller-Maersk Group Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A. CMA CGM Evergreen Marine Corporation Hapag-Lloyd China Shipping Container Lines American President Lines Hanjin-Senator COSCO NYK Line

1,665,272 865,890 507,954 477,911 412,344 346,493 331,437 328,794 322,326 302,213

18.2% 11.7% 5.6% 5.2% 4.5% 3.8% 3.6% 3.6% 3.5% 3.3%

Sources: 1. Marc Levinson (2006), 2. http://www.knowledgedoor.com, 3. http://www.brs-paris.com, 4. http://www.container-mag.com

EUMCCI Review

549 376 256 153 140 111 99 145 118 105

Container Handling

Container Handling and Port Efficiency in Malaysia Recently EUMCCI interviewed Mr. Simon Whitelaw (Managing Director, Delmas) member of the EUMCCI Logistics Committee, on the challenges and trends of container handling. Mr. Whitelaw also gave a presentation on container handling during a logistics gathering organized by EUMCCI at Finnegan’s Pub on the 12th of June.

Given the fact that warm water ports can be of great geopolitical or economic interests due to their availability year round and its location on the Straits of Malacca, Malaysia’s Port Klang stands to benefit from congestion at other worldwide ports. The forecasted volume in TEU capacity for Port Klang is expected to rise from 1.6% in 2007 to 2% in 2020 of overall worldwide capacity.

Given all the factors that drive shipping companies to use the port in Singapore, how does Malaysia intend to lure them over to Port Klang?

The situation in South East Asia has changed in the last few years.

While Singapore is a very strong competitor (it is in the top 15%, ranked by annual throughput volume), Vietnam has also emerged as a strong competitor in the region due to lower costs. Singapore, which is the largest port in all of South East Asia and caters for the region, boasts advantages such as: capacity, capability, efficiency, import duties flat at 5%, transparency, tax free loans and government support. Malaysia must constantly improve in order to compete effectively against established players in the market as well as those up and coming.

What are some of the advantages of Port Klang?

Port Klang is also competing on a worldwide scale. Cargo transfer can be done anywhere as long as the port is located on one of the main sea lanes. The port is in the heartland of the import / export business and has a big advantage because of its location on the Straits of Malacca which enables the port to compete as a cargo transfer point. Unlike other ports in the area, it also has a 70 meter draft which enables it to handle bigger cargo ships.

What are some of the ways Port Klang can improve its attractiveness to shipping companies?

Port Klang will focus on improving the infrastructure as well as an overall improvement on efficiency. There will be an improvement over access to and from the port. By 2012 / 2013 there are plans for a second access road to be opened which should improve the accessibility of the port. This will help ensure that throughput at the port is kept high and congestion does not become an issue.

Port Klang also has plans to improve its efficiency by going paperless. Going paperless will enable Malaysia to be a gateway for South East Asia. A paperless system with minimum human

intervention will improve efficiency at the port. This, together with investment in new equipment and overall improvements in efficiency will help Port Klang to strengthen its competitiveness.

What lessons can be learnt from the way European ports handle their turnaround?

Taken together, European ports handle the 2nd largest volume of containers in the world and are expected to maintain this ranking in forecasted volumes up till 2020. One of the things we’ve learnt from the European ports is that you need good infrastructure in place to handle the volume. One of the main problems for the European ports is that there is a bottleneck when the containers are being moved away from the port on land transportation. Everything grinds to a halt due to road congestion.

Given the congestion at European ports how can Port Klang avoid this issue?

There are a couple of areas where Port Klang can improve itself, one of which is improving accessibility to the port. Currently there is only one road in and out of the Port which bottlenecks the number and efficiency of cargo transport. In addition to the plans for the second access road, there is an opportunity for a double track rail system to be developed in Malaysia.

The rail lines and road improvements must be a higher priority as it will help increase the efficiency of clearing containers from ports.

This will also help decrease the amount of free warehousing that is currently happening at the ports. Malaysia needs to benchmark itself against international standards. In some cases, improvements to rail and road systems will also help to open up new markets for the port. If a fast, good and efficient double track rail system is put into place, areas such as Southern Thailand can be accessed. This will help enable Malaysia to match Europe.

EUMCCI Review

October 13

SRI

EUMCCI was one of the co-organisers of the International CSR Conference Where Responsibility Meets Bottomline 29-31 July in Malaysia. One if the main themes of the Conference was Socially Responsible Investment. EUMCCI interviewed one of the Conference speakers, Graham Sinclair, expert in SRI on this new and interesting topic.

What is SRI? Socially Responsible Investment [SRI] is investing by balancing potential investment returns with the risks of one planet’s resources. SRI is an investment approach that seeks to better value investment opportunities. Sustainability is a metatheme that is the greatest challenge of this generation: how to balance one planet’s enormous resources and diversity of peoples with economic opportunities of growth.

Implementing sustainability and investment integrates environmental, social and corporate governance factors into investment practice. Integrating ESG fac­ tors may or may not lead to investment choices that are similar to investment-asusual.

What are the returns?

Returns to SRI may be broad, positive or negative. Benchmarks like the Domini 400 in the US, the Dow Jones Sustainability Index in Europe or the JSE SRI Index in South Africa are examples of useful measures - a major South East Asia Index is yet to establish itself. There are a great range of approaches to assessing respon­

14 October

sible corporate performance, and integra­ ting SRI into investment philosophy and processes. Sustainability is an inclusive theme, and where and how investors integrate ESG factors will differ according to their investment style and geography.

One thing we may positively say is that it is not a given that SRI will generate negative returns, as it is often assumed; it may provide positive out-performance.

What is the potential?

SRI’s broad definition allows for even broader potential. Interest in SRI and sustainability is growing, and assets flowing to sustainability-focused mandates are increasing. In Europe, sales of SRI mutual funds hit EUR9.3bn (USD14.5bn) last year, representing 10% of total sales on the continent, indicating that they are rapidly moving from “niche to mainstream”, according to figures compiled for Respon­ sible Investor by Lipper FERI. Malaysia has a great opportunity to move in the vanguard of SRI because including multiple per­ spectives and creating economic growth while protecting the environment is a cul­ tural strength of the Malaysian approach.

What are the barriers/opportunities?

Knowledge is a basic barrier. Investment practitioners are creatures of habit. Adding new factors to their assessments and new questions that they pose to investee companies adds time and detail to their time-poor and information-rich analysis. A major barrier to adoption is more data on the ESG performance of companies, in all markets. ESG data is especially thin in emerging markets. Other barriers include differing investment regulations from region to region, experience of research analysts to ask probing questions, con­ sistency of performance of money mana­

EUMCCI Review

gers with sustainability mandates, and the gap in execution between investors who claim to be investing with sustainability, but in fact are greenwashing. A daily challenge is for investment professionals to have the ESG data available through the same software and services as other company information: why is it that the asset value is easily available, but the carbon footprint is not? New investment analysts through education like MBA and CFA have a marvellous opportunity, and a competitive advantage, where their new thinking adopts a stakeholder framework, not just the old shareholder mentality. New oppor­ tunities exist across asset classes, including investing in new types of companies that have hybrid profit and social objectives. In 5 years, we will look back and remark on how many opportunities there were in 2008 that were not seized.

What are the material issues?

Everything that impacts on a company’s sustainability is material, whether its pro­ fitability or likelihood of community action against the company’s expansion [the cur­ rent Tata Motors impasse in the Indian state of West Bengal is an example]. The gap between perception and practice of sustainability in investment remains some­ thing that must be narrowed. A step up in the practice of SRI will happen as more standards are established on an everimproving knowledgebase, and quantita­ tive standards of practice become common place.

Investing in Socially Responsible Way Socially Responsible Investing is also sometimes referred to as sustainable investing or ethical investing. It is a strategy in which the investor integrates social or environmental concerns into their financial analysis. It is a way for individuals or corporations to align their investment portfolio with their personal values while giving something back to the community.

From humble beginnings nearly 100 years ago in the US, SRI has now evolved to include three core aspects:

In the US from 2005 to 2007 alone, SRI assets increased by more than 18 % while other professionally managed assets in­creased by less than 3%. According to the latest Report on SRI Trends in the US, SRI assets rose by more than 324% from $639 billion in 1995 (the year of the first Report on SRI Trends in the US) to $271 trillion in 2007. During the same time

Meanwhile in Europe, due to the different approaches to SRI within each individual country, and the specific national characte­ ristics linked to the particularities of the structure of the financial markets and legis­ lative and cultural environments, Eurosif (European Social Investment Forum), an umbrella association, was created in 2001 to cover SRI issues at the European level.

Eurosif was needed to take the factors into account and address the SRI issues with the overall European scope in mind.

In the latest 2006 SRI study done by Eurosif, the European Broad SRI market was valued at over €1 trillion which represents 10 to 15% of the total European funds under management. This is up from the 2003 SRI Study figure of €336 billion. The increased mainstreaming of SRI has led Eurosif into classifying the market into two areas “Core” and “Broad”. Core SRI only covers SRI strategies based on ethical exclusions and positive screens whereas Broad SRI covers the aforementioned strategies plus those based on simple exclusions. This includes Norms based screening in addition to Engagement and Integration.2 With all these indicators proving that the SRI movement worldwide has grown considerably in the last 20 years, SRI asset

Australia China Hong Kong Japan Malaysia Multi-country New Zealand Singapore South Korea Taiwan

Hedge Funds Private Equity Funds SRI Mandates

Total:

managers are now looking to expand from the American, European and African mar­ kets into Asia. With the CSR and SRI requirements announced by Malaysian Prime Ministers Abdullah Badawi in the 2007 Malaysian Budget, Malaysia has opened its doors to the movement.

The OWW Asian SRI Index Series proves that SRI in Asia delivers returns that are as good as and often better than conventional investments. This may be due in part to the social research done on companies before the decision to invest is made. From December 2006 (when it was launched), till mid February 2007, the OWW Responsi­ bility Malaysia SRI index has delivered 17.6% price returns. By comparison, the KL Composite Index (KLCI) only returned 15.1% The Size of the SRI Market Global SRI Investment Funds accounted for roughly US $4 trillion in 2005 with Shariah compatible funds adding a further US $ 300 - 500 billion. In the Asia - Pacific region almost US $ 24 billion was invested in roughly 163 SRI Mutual Funds (Unit Trusts).

In addition to this, there are 17 other SRI Funds worth around US $ 8.3 billion. This puts in total, 180 funds worth around US $32.3 billion in 2006. There are around 90 Shariah compliant funds in Asia, mostly in Malaysia which is one of the world’s largest Islamic Finance centers.

1 Social

Investment Forum, “2007 SRI Trends Report”

2 http://www.eurosif.org

Funds 89 1 6 34 3 7 1 2 18 2

US$ (million) 16,900 325 274 3,131 14 1,034 852 125 1,321 na

163

23,976

6 4 7

na 226 8,110

17

8,335

180

32,311

Source: Consulting Research 2007 Source: OWWOWW Consulting Research 2007

EUMCCI Review

October 15

SRI

1. SOCIAL RESEARCH: By examining the social and environmental records of companies, investors are better able to determine which companies they want to include or exclude in their investment portfolio. Most social investors have a specific set of criteria which they use to identify those companies which meet the standard. This is also seen as a prudent step for investors to make as social research is seen as a way to identify those companies with better management, financial performance, and lower risk.

2. SHAREHOLDER ADVOCACY: Share­ holders are encouraged to use their position as owners in a company to actively push the company to improve.

Shareholder advocacy can take many forms, from a simple phone call or letter writing to filing a formal shareholder resolution calling for the company to take a specific action on any particular issue.

3. COMMUNITY INVESTING: Investors are often willing to accept slightly below market rates of return to encourage investments which have the potential to build or rebuild communities. By chan­ neling credit into the communities tradi­ tionally underserved by credit markets investors create an opportunity for job growth, improving the housing market and community facilities.1

period, the broader universe of assets under professional management increased by less than 260% from $7 trillion to $25.1 trillion.

2009 Budget Review @ Prince Hotel, KL

Events

8 September 2008

16 October

EUMCCI Review

Logistic Committee Gathering at Finnigan’s 15 September 2008

Events

EUMCCI Review

October 17

Events

International Conference brings Europe and Malaysia Together on CSR On 29th-31st July, EUMCCI mem­bers joined more than 200 other participants at The International Corporate Social Respon­sibility Conference 2008 jointly organised by the EUMCCI, OWW Consulting and RUSS Consulting.

The conference provided oppor­ tunity for stakeholders from Europe, Asia, the USA and the United Nations to share insights with Malaysian experts on successful CSR Programmes.

Dr Geoffrey Williams, OWW Consulting

Speakers included: Tunku Aziz, President of the Caux Round Table (Malaysia), James Gifford, Executive Director of the Principles for Responsible Investment, a UN organisa­tion representing international CSR Investors, and Nelmara Arbex from the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) based in Amsterdam, which sets the international standards for CSR reporting.

The conference featured also speakers from the EUMCCI CSR Committee including Arno Thony of Melia KL, Brian Lariche of the Liaison Combination and Dr Geoffrey Williams of OWW Consulting. These were joined by speakers from Khazanah Nasional, Integriti Institut Malaysia,

Arno Thony , Melia KL

Standards Malaysia, leading companies including YTL, CIMB Principal and local NGOs such as WWF Malaysia and Reef Check Malaysia.

Opening the conference, Caesar Loong, EUMCCI Exco Member and Chairman of the EUMCCI CSR Committee said, “As a multilateral chamber, the EUMCCI is uniquely positioned to help develop interesting new CSR strategies by bringing together ideas from a wide range of European nations as well as from the diversity of Malaysia’s cultural heritage. The Chamber thus offers an excellent meeting place for the exchange of ideas and human values that have the potential of enriching the CSR experience of all its members.”

The European invest­ ment community was represented by lead­ ing fund managers specialising in Socially Responsible Invest­ ment (SRI) who are interested in invest­ ing in companies with good CSR per­

Participants at the International CSR Conference 2008

18 October

EUMCCI Review

Caesar Loong, Head of EUMCCI CSR Committee delivering his welcome speech

formance. These in­cluded Colin Melvin, CEO of Hermes Asset Management (UK) which manages the £35 billion British Telecom Pension Fund, Kris Douma, Head of Responsible Investment Support & Active Ownership at Netherlands based Mn-Ser­ vices, which manges €65 billion and Alexis Krajeski, Governance & Sustainable Invest­ ment expert, F&C Investments, (UK) which invests more than £100 billion in Socially Responsible Investments.

These were joined by regional SRI Mana­ gers including Anne-Maree O’Connor, Head of SRI, New Zealand Superannuation Fund, Satoko Hoshino from Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Mu-Shin Kim, Investment Officer, Asian Development Bank, Manila.

A special workshop on valuing CSR issues in a business and investment context were held with Geneva based World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), supported by the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI). Another workshop on CSR Reporting to GRI Standards was conducted

by OWW Consulting who it was announced have been appointed as Certified Training Partners by the GRI for courses in Korea and India.

Award winning NGOs and Community Groups from Europe and Malaysia

Local Community Groups were also included in match-up sessions with compa­ nies to discuss projects and community investments to help promote CSR through sustainable engagement. Participants included the Malaysian AIDS Council, the PT Foundation, the National Cancer Society Malaysia- NCSM, PS the Children - Protect and Save the Children, FFPAM- Federation Family Planning Associations Malaysia, Cheshire Home Selangor and Badan Warisan Malaysia.

Later this year the EUMCCI CSR Commit­ tee will be launching a book on CSR expe­ riences amongst Malaysian stake­holders which it is hoped will become a reference for best practice here and elsewhere.

sides of the investment community to promote Environmental, Social and Governance issues.

EUMCCI - AMCHAM Business Mixer The Q Bar at the Westin Hotel in Kuala Lumpur recently played host to the EUMCCI - AMCHAM business mixer. Over 50 people, comprised mainly of members from both chambers, attended the event. Attendees enjoyed a free flow of drinks and delicious finger foods.

Events

The conference was also proud to host the MAG (Mines Advisory Group) from the United Kingdom, visiting Malaysia for the first time. MAG is co-laureate of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize, awarded for its work with the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), which culminated in the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty - the international agreement that bans antipersonnel land­ mines, sometimes referred to as the Ottawa Convention.

Caesar said, “The CSR committee ... was formed just over a year ago but we have already had the honour and privilege of working with some of the leading corpo­ rate social responsibility consultants in Malaysia who have helped us fulfil our objectives of creating CSR awareness and disseminating CSR best practices amongst the Chamber’s members.”

Promoting EU investment in Malaysia through CSR Business Matching For the first time in Malaysia, local com­ pany representatives and fund managers were able to meet on a personalised, oneto-one basis with international Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) Firms repre­ senting around RM1.3 trillion (€260 billion).

The aim is to match-up European investors with good CSR companies here in Malaysia and to build closer links bet­ween the two

Valerie Lynn-McDonough, Executive Director of AMCHAM and Caesar Loong, EUMCCI Director welcoming the guests

EUMCCI Budget Talk 2009 On Monday 8th September EUMCCI organised its annual Budget Talk to discuss Tax measures in the 2009 Budget.

The initial presentation was done by Mr. Gunaseelan Kunjan, Deputy Undersecre­ tary from the Tax Analysis Division of the Ministry of Finance. Mr. Kunjan has been in government service for 29 years and has a Masters degree in Economics from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, USA. This year, the theme for the Budget was ‘A Caring Government’ with a focus on the following three strategies:

Mr Poon Yew Hoe from Horwath spoke of direct and indirect effects on business of the changes in budget

• Ensuring the well being of Malaysians • Developing Quality Human Capital • Strengthening the Nation’s Resilience

Minna Saneri (General Manager, EUMCCI), Mr. Gunaseelan Kunjan (Deputy Undersecretary, Tax Analysis Division, Ministry of Finance) and Mr. Poon Yew Hoe (Chairman, Horwath)

EUMCCI Review

Some of the measures presented by the Ministry of Finance in order to fulfil these goals include a reduction in individual and co-operative income tax rates. Together, these measures should encourage skilled workers, increase disposable income and encourage employers to provide

October 19

more benefits to their employees and thereby assist in reducing the cost of living.

Events

Given the increased inflation and higher food and oil prices this year, measures were also taken to counteract this increase.

Liberalization on imported goods will be

From l. to r.: Per Magnusson, Country Director ABB, Mr. Gunaseelan Kunjan, Deputy Undersecretary from the Tax Analysis Division of the Ministry of Finance

tional Tax Committee of Horwath Interna­ tional and has extensive experience in the field of taxation. He presently serves on the Malaysian Institute of Certified Public Accountants (MICPA) as a council member and a member of the Tax Practice Commit­ tee. During the presentation Mr. Poon talked about Horwath’s point of view on the newly proposed budget and the direct and indirect effects of the changes on businesses in Malaysia. Some of the issues which the Horwath presentation focused on were items such as the withholding tax on non-residents and implementation of the Advance Pricing Arrangement (APA).

According to Mr. Poon, there is currently no specific legislation governing the collection of tax on other types of income of nonresidents under Sec 4(f) ITA 1967. There is now a proposed expansion on the scope of the withholding tax on non-residents.

used as a continuous measure to liberalize trade and mitigate an increase in the price of essential consumer goods.

Tax incentives for Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) will be given in order to improve cash flow and encourage SMEs to invest in modern equipment and machi­nery. This should in the long run, then help SMEs to achieve increased productivity levels and quality standards.

The government also plans on widening the scope of tax deductions for charitable and community projects in order to further enhance a culture of corporate social responsibility (CSR). There will also be an increase in the limit for tax deduction on contributions from 7% to 10% of the aggregate income. This is to encourage companies to increase contributions for charitable purposes, sports activities and for projects of national interest. It should be noted however that this measure will not be extended to companies under the Petroleum Income Tax Act 1967.

These and other measures presented by the Ministry take effect at different times. Each measure was presented with its own effective date.

The second presentation of the talk was done by Mr. Poon Yew Hoe from Horwath.

Mr. Poon is the Chairman of the Interna­

20 October

Participants listening to the presentations

Under the new expansion income under Section 4(f) of the Income Tax Act 1967 will now be subject to withholding tax at the rate of 10% of the gross income. This will be effective from the 1st of Jan, 2009. The withholding tax is not for normal business items, only for “other income or gains” items, it is mainly to catch one-off transactions. The IRB will issue clarifications on these 4(f) payments as it is still uncertain as to who should determine the nature of the payment. Mr. Poon advised that in order to prepare for the change non-residents should review existing agree­ ments, discuss the nature of income with recipients, confirm the nature with the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) via Advanced Ruling or Private Ruling if necessary and if applicable, pay the withholding tax.

EUMCCI Review

Mr. Poon also mentioned that currently, there is no specific legislation governing APA in Malaysia. APA is a mechanism to predetermine prices of goods and services to be transacted in the future between a company and its related companies for a specified period. They propose that compa­ nies be allowed to apply for APA to the IRB as to manage transfer pricing issues more effectively and efficiently. The parties involved in APA consist of the IRB and a resident company in respect of transactions with: 1. its related companies abroad (Unilateral APA); 2. its related companies abroad with the Tax Authority of the foreign nation (Bilateral APA); 3. more than one of its related companies and with more than one Tax Authority of the foreign nations (Multilateral APA).

After the completion of the two presenta­ tions, the floor was opened for a Questions and Answers session. Some of the concerns brought up by audience members during this session were regarding improvements to the current income tax system. It was mentioned in the presentation that currently only a small amount of the total population in Malaysia pays their income tax. Mr. Kunjan answered that one of the possibilities in addressing this issue was the proposed Goods and Service Tax (GST) which was not yet ready to be imple­ mented. Once the GST is effective however, the service and sales taxes will be absorbed

The Budget Talk attracted participants both from diplomatic and corporate world

by it. The GST is expected to be around 5% which should make it very attractive for the manufacturing sector. According to Mr. Kunjan, when the GST is implemented, a reduction in income tax will follow.

Currently, the income tax in Malaysia is still under a lot of pressure.

Malaysia Improving Ease of Doing Business Malaysia improved four ranks to 20th in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Survey 2009 from 24th in 2008 and 25th in 2007.

Mohd Sidek (who is also co-chairman of PEMUDAH, the country’s special task force to improve Malaysia’s business competi­ tiveness), however, stressed that there was much more work to be done if Malaysia is to move into the top 10 in the near future.

Malaysia improved its rankings in four of the 10 indicators, namely getting credit to one in 2009 from three in 2008; dealing

The World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Survey 2009 is the sixth in a series of annual reports co-published by the World Bank and the International Financial Cooperation.

The report investigates the regulations that enhance business activities and those that constrain them.

PEMUDAH was set up on Feb 7, 2007 as a response to the less than stellar ranking in this survey in past years. Since its establish­ ment 19 months ago, PEMUDAH has suc­ ceeded in reducing, if not totally removing, various impediments in the business environment.

PEMUDAH will continue to promote a conducive environment for doing business in the country through streamlining and speeding up government agencies and departments’ processes, encouraging on-line applications, enhancing transparency and accountability of the public sector and continuous monitoring of initiatives already undertaken.

Take note of EUMCCI’s Breakfast Talk on 16th October 8.30 at Prince Hotel “Facilitating foreign businesses by im­proving government systems” by Y. Bhg. Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Haji Hassan, Chief Secretary to the Government, Co-chairman of Pemudah.

Thursday 16 October 2008 Prince Hotel, Jalan Conley RM75 for members, RM95 for nonmembers To register: events@eumcci.com by 14th October

Malaysia to Further Develop Services Sector

Online Business Licensing Portal - BLESS Launched

The services sector, the main contributor to Malaysia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), is set for further development to spur growth in the Malaysian economy.

Companies in the manufacturing sector can now go online to apply for their business licenses with the launch of Malaysia’s Business Licensing Electronic Support System (BLESS).

Speaking after the second National Economic Council Meeting in Putrajaya recently, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said in line with this, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) will draft a detailed proposal on the sub-sectors to be liberalised, which will be tabled at the next council meeting. By liberalising some of the sub-sectors, the Prime Minister expects Malaysia to draw more investments and generate more employment opportunities in these areas.

The services sector covers a wide spectrum of activities, including the setting up of regional establishments; support services such as research and development, integrated logistics and integrated market support services; information technology related services such as creative media and shared services and outsourcing; real estate; transportation; energy; telecommunications; distributive trade; hotels and tourism; financial services; health services and educational services.

Trade within the region has increased Intra-Asean trade now accounts for some 26 % of the total trade.

The online portal, developed through the collaboration of the high level publicprivate sector Special Task Force to Facilitate Business (Pemudah) and the Implementation Coordination Unit of the Prime Minister’s Department, serves as a virtual One Stop Service Centre to enable companies to obtain business licenses in an efficient and effective manner. The new system cuts out the previous hassle of companies having to approach different government departments and agencies to apply for the licenses.

The latest initiative is another of Pemudah’s continuing efforts to enhance the government’s delivery system, which will reduce the cost of doing business in Malaysia and positioned the country as a preferred location for foreign and local investors.

The system, besides enabling online submission of applications and fee payments, also allows online tracking and monitoring of the applications as well as provide a faster communication medium between the relevant government departments and the applicants, which will help to expedite the evaluations.

BLESS will be implemented in three phases, with the launch of the first phase tailored to the manufacturing sector in the Klang Valley and by year-end it would be extended to cover the hotels and construction sectors in the area. By July next year, Phase 2 of the project will be implemented, covering all the other sectors in the Klang Valley. Phase 3 and the final phase, scheduled to begin from mid2010 to 2012 will see the complete roll-out of Bless across the country.

Source: MIDA

EUMCCI Review

October 21

Malaysia News

Malaysia has improved in its ranking throughout the three years, considering that the total number of countries being ranked has increased to 181 in 2009 from 178 in 2008 and 175 in 2007. Chief Secre­ tary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan said recently he was encouraged by Malaysia’s improved ranking in the survey.

with construction permits to 104 in 2009 from 105 in 2008; paying taxes to 21 in 2009 from 56 in 2008; and enforcing contracts to 59 in 2009 from 63 in 2008.

Mohd Sidek reassured that PEMUDAH would continue with the agenda of improving the service quality at all levels especially that of local governments.

Members’ Corner

OXCEL International Conference a Success participants going away saying ‘“A truly great learning experience that I had never experienced at any conferences that I have attended before.

Well Done!” and “Interesting organization of conference. I will definitely join your future events.”

Presenters at the conference

The Oxford Centre for Leadership (OXCEL) organised an International Conference on the 8th of July 2008 with speakers from 3 continents sharing their success secrets with

How was it done? It was a multisensory event, with learned and entertaining speakers, blended together with entertainment from a Jazz quartet, exquisite food choices and a rainforest themed hall to allow participants to learn in a relaxed and conducive environment.

The day started off with a welcome speech

by OXCEL Asia-Pacific Advisor Dato’ Ghazali Bin Dato’ Yusoff and Institute Bank-Bank Malaysia CEO Dr Kamal Khir followed by presentations by Steve Shapiro (US) on Innovation, Ernesto Verdugo (EU) on Sales and Anita Sarawak & Mahathir Abdullah (ASIA) on Self Empowerment.

In a glittering closing ceremony, Anita Sarawak, International Diva received the OXCEL Lifetime Achievement Award while Steve Shapiro, Ernesto Verdugo and Mahathir Abdullah received the OXCEL Leadership Achievement Award.

Presentation of Sol Melia Solidarity Award 2007/08 Launch Estrella Magazine & Great Programme As part of the strategy to promote the development of projects which assist the disadvantaged in the local communities in which Sol Melia operates, in 2006 the Community Involvement Department created the Sol Melia Solidarity Award with a prize of 25,000 Euros to ensure the continuity of the project.

The Award recognises the involvement of hotels in projects whose main characteristic is aimed at one of Sol Melia’s priority programmes such as children in need, the disabled, victims of domestic violence and victims of natural disasters. The projects must also be sustainable over time, with the hotel acting as a platform which helps to unite and multiply the efforts of different interest groups.

Sol Melia Solidarity Award 2007/2008 was presented to Melia Kuala Lumpur for its Adopt a Village Project, of which the main objective was to assist a village in Johor that was affected by the tremendous floods in December 2006.

With the caring thoughts of bringing back the normal lives of the affected citizens and answering the Malaysian Government’s calls for help, Melia Kuala Lumpur initiated a seven-month Community Involvement programme by adopting a village - Batu 30,

22 October

Lenga, a small village with 16 families located in Muar, Johor.

The Sol Melia Solidarity Award 2007/08 was presented to Mr Arno Thony, General Manager of Melia Kuala Lumpur by His Excellency José Ramon Barañano, Ambassador of Spain to Malaysia on behalf of Sol Melia Hotels & Resorts.

Riding on this occasion, Melia Kuala Lumpur also launched its inaugural issue of Staff Magazine named ESTREALLA and its Workplace CSR initiative - the Graduate Emerson Associate Trainee (GREAT) Programme. Ms Shamala Krishnan, Director of Human Resources, Melia Kuala Lumpur said, “One of the most visible CSR initiatives is the community relations. Strong community relations can have a positive impact on the Hotel’s reputation and brand whereby attracts talented individuals to join the industry. As part of the CSR initiative of Melia Kuala Lumpur, we have put together the Estrella Magazine and the Graduate Emerson Associate Trainee Programme. The word “estrella” means “stars” in Spanish and at Melia Kuala Lumpur our associates are our stars.

Nine students taking the Executive Diploma in Hotel Operations and Management at

EUMCCI Review

The Sol Melia Solidarity Award being presented to Mr Arno Thony (r.), General Manager of Melia Kuala Lumpur by His Excellency José Ramon Barañano (l.), Ambassador of Spain to Malaysia

Open University Malaysia (OUM) will undergo the Melia GREAT programme in the next 24 months. GREAT is an intensive 2-year on-the-job learning experience aimed at providing young Malaysian graduates from an underprivileged background an opportunity to pursue their career in the hospitality industry. The programme which is custom-made to fit their background, qualifications and capabilities. It consists of learning and experiencing all aspects of hotel operations.

Present to witness the event was En Mohd Razali Hussain, Deputy Director 2, Malaysian Productivity Corporation and Professor Dr Selvaraj, Vice Chancellor, Open University Malaysia (OUM).

Impiana KLCC Hotel & Spa Wins Three Awards 2007/2008

Members’ Corner

Customer’s Preferred Choice Award, Top Achievers Award Kuala Lumpur Region And Most Proactive Individual Award Impiana KLCC Hotel & Spa is proud to have recently won three awards bestowed by website portals, Asia Web Direct and Wotif. com during an Excellence Awards Ceremony held on 22 August 2008 in Kuala Lumpur. The awards won by the hotel were Customer’s Preferred Choice Award by Asia Web Direct and Top Achievers Award Kuala Lumpur Region by Wotif. com for the top five spot in achieving exceptional room sales. Another unique award for the Most Proactive Individual was presented to Mr. Edmund Tey, Impiana’s Revenue Manager responsible for increasing hotel room bookings from these websites of up to 800 percent within a period of twelve months.

The hotel’s representatives, Mr. Mark Trevor De Souza, Director of Sales and Mr. Edmund Tey, Revenue Manager received the awards with excitement and full of enthusiasm from Wotif Group’s Executive General Manager for Asia, Ms Jirapa Eawsakul.

From l. to r., Mark De Souza, Jirapa Eawsakul

From l. to r. Edmund Tey, Ng Kim Yong

From l. to r. Edmund Tey, Mark De Souza

National Launch of INFOHAEM Molecular Screening Services, 2008 INFOVALLEY Group of Companies in partnership with Malaysian Liver Founda­ tion launched INFOHAEM Molecular Screening Services on 9th of August, 2008 at The MINES Waterfront Business Park.

The event introduce technologies that are made available for early detection of here­ ditary diseases through genetic screening for diseases such as cancer, high choles­ terol, heart diseases, dia­betes and chronic renal failure.

Molecular screening uses the powerful microarray techno­ logy which can deter­mine molecular sequences in the genome of a person that are scientifically proven to be associated with diseases.

Membership Statistics Members with European Equity (EU)

30-Jun-08 30-Sept-08 Austria 2 2 Belgium 13 13 Cyprus 0 0 Czech Republic 1 1 Denmark 30 30 Finland 21 21 France 117 117 Germany 200 203 Greece 0 0 Ireland 22 22 Italy 4 4 Luxembourg 3 3 Malta 1 1 Poland 1 2 Portugal 1 1 Slovak Republic 1 1 Slovenia 1 1 Spain 22 22 Sweden 45 45 The Netherlands 84 84 United Kingdom 145 153 Sub-Total 714 726 Members with European Equity (Non EU) Norway 1 1 Switzerland 15 16 Sub-Total 16 17 Members without European Equity Australia 2 2 Bermuda 1 1 Canada 2 2 Hong Kong 11 11 India 1 1 Indonesia 0 0 Japan 6 6 Kuwait 1 1 Malaysia 323 352 New Zealand 0 1 Singapore 8 8 United Arab Emirates 3 3 United States 12 12 Sub-Total 370 400 Total 1101 1144

Dr James Mackay, a leading consultant in clinical genetics and oncology from University College of London shared his experience and view on the adoption of such technolo­ gies in the United Kingdom. MammaPrint, a prognostic test for breast cancer has been successfully used in effective patient management in hospitals in London.

The event was officiated by The Health Ministry Disease Control Director Datuk Dr Hassan Abdul Rahman who represented The Director General of Ministry of Health,

24 October

EUMCCI Review

Malaysia. Guests included representatives from The Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, MDeC, MIMOS Berhad, SIRIM Berhad, clinicians, researchers and members of medical institutions.

A series of breakaway sessions were also arranged for guests who were interested to focus deeper into molecular diagnostics.

EPF Establishes Senior Citizen Financial Protection Chair at UM The University of Malaya (UM) has been entrusted with the formulation of policies meant to secure the retirement of more than eleven million members of the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) through the establishment of the Senior Citizen Financial Protection Chair. A memorandum of agreement to set up this Chair was signed on 25th August, 2008, at the EPF headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

“The number of senior citizens is expected to increase from 1.4 million in the year 2000 to 3.4 million in the year 2020. A Malaysian woman enjoys an average lifespan of 76 years while for a Malaysian man it is 70 years. However, it is imperative to have a good quality of life at such an age and this is directly

The signing of the memorandum of agreement for the establishment of the Senior Citizen Financial Protection Chair. (Centre): Looking on are Tan Sri Samsuddin Osman, EPF Chairman, and Datuk Rafiah Salim, UM ViceChancellor.

linked to financial protection,” added Datuk Rafiah Salim, Vice-Chancellor, University of Malaya.

Sultan Azlan Shah Fund for Student Mobility Launched This enriching expe­ rience will expand their horizons and have them better equipped to contribute positively in their respective fields and to be leaders in the future.

“At UM, we view edu­ cation as being more than just producing academically out­ standing graduates; we also want to provide an avenue for our students UM undergraduate recipients of the Sultan Azlan Shah Fund. Front row (centre) Tuanku to gain the utmost Chancellor DYMM Sultan Azlan Shah, with Pro-Chancellor DYTM Raja Dr. Nazrin Shah exposure by working (2nd from right). Their Royal Highnesses are flanked (R-L) by YABhg. Toh Puan Dato’ together with students Seri Hajjah Aishah Ong, Pro-Chancellor; YB Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Siti Norma binti Yaakob, Pro-Chancellor; and Datuk Rafiah Salim, Vice-Chancellor. from other countries and other ethnic communities for the The University of Malaya (UM) has launched betterment of the individual. We are now the Sultan Azlan Shah Fund for Student th building on our legacy by internationalizing Mobility on 28 August, 2008. The Fund is our offerings and enriching the experiences named in honour of His Royal Highness of our students.” explained Datuk Rafiah DYMM PADUKA SERI SULTAN PERAK DARUL Salim, Vice-Chancellor, University of RIDZUAN SULTAN AZLAN SHAH, Tuanku Malaya.

Chancellor, University of Malaya. The University has invested an initial amount of RM 30 million which will give 1,250 undergraduates from each intake the opportunity to expand their knowledge as well as get a hands-on experience and exposure in an international environment.

The first batch of recipients from the Sultan Azlan Shah Fund will soon be on their way to universities in the United States of America, Mexico, Korea, Japan and Thailand.

EUMCCI Review

TNT Captures ‘can do’ attitude in new strap line: ‘Sure We Can’ TNT recently launched its new global strap line ’sure we can‘ capturing its ‘can do’ attitude when addressing the needs of its customers. Between now and Q1 2009, TNT’s entire fleet will be updated with the new strap line that was piloted in Asia earlier this year. In conjunction with the launch of its new strap line, TNT also unveiled its new and improved website, the first touch point that will carry the new strap line. ’Sure we can‘ reflects TNT’s approach to doing business. From delivering a letter to shipping unusual, odd-shaped objects that do not fit into standard packaging or which require special care - such as panda bears from China to Spain on time and in prefect condition - TNT shows the world that anything can be done with the right partner.

TNT’s ‘can do’ attitude is also reflected in its CSR initiatives where, for instance, the company assists the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to eradicate child hunger by leveraging its expertise to improve the organisation’s logistical processes. With Planet Me, TNT demon­strates that a difference can be made to the planet by building carbon positive depots and offices and integrating hybrid and electrical vehicles into our fleet.

October 25

Members’ Corner

The Senior Citizen Financial Protection Chair, to be located in UM’s Faculty of Business and Accountancy, is the nation’s first to address important issues such as inflation, escalating costs and longer life expectancy on the financial wellbeing of the elderly, who are expected to comprise 10% of the population by the year 2020. The holder of the Senior Citizen Financial Protection Chair will conduct policy research, publish, supervise postgraduates as well as advise the EPF in its efforts to address the changing demands of its members.

New Members

ALD Automotive Sdn Bhd

Axelera Limited (AxeleraGroup)

Bumar sp.z o.o.

Nexus World-School, Putrajaya

SGS (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd

26 October

Suite 5-6, Level 5, Wisma UOA Pantai 11, Jalan Pantai Jaya 59200 Kuala Lumpur Tel: +603-2245 7388 Fax: +603-2241 4899 Email: paul.chng@aldautomotive.com Website: www.aldautomotive.com.my

Chief Executive in Malaysia

Suite 1206-7, 12/F, New Victory House 93-103 Wing Lok Street Central, Hong Kong SAR Tel: +852 2201 1061 Fax: +852 3105 0902 Email: contact @axeleragroup.com Website: axeleragroup.com

Chief Executive in Malaysia

Regional Office 3rd Floor East Block Wisma Selangor Dredging Jalan Ampang 142-B 50450 Kuala Lumpur Tel: +603-2164 4860 Fax: +603-2164 4861 Email: bumar@streamyx.com Website: www.bumar.com

Chief Executive in Malaysia

No.1 Jalan Diplomatik 3/6, Presint 15 62050 Putrajaya Tel: +603-8889 3868 Fax: +603-8889 4828 Email: enquiry@nexus.edu.my Website: www.nexus.edu.my

Chief Executive in Malaysia

10th Floor, Bangunan Malaysia Re No 17, Lorong Dungun Damansara Heights 50490 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Tel: +603-2095 9200 Fax: +603-2093 8202 Email CP.Tin@sgs.com

amargit.singh@sgs.com Website: www.sgs.com

Chief Executives in Malaysia

EUMCCI Review

Mr Xavier de Linares, Chief Executive Officer Brief Company Profile

ALD Automotive is the operational leasing and fleet management business line of the Societe Generale Group, which is one of the largest financial services groups in the euro-zone. ALD Automotive operates in 39 countries and manages more than 730,000 vehicles under Operational Lease, Fleet Management and Financial Lease.

Ms Suzanne Hayes, Regional Director Brief Company Profile

Conference Conceptualization & Organisation International Branding Communications

Mr Krzysztof J. Splawiec Director of Regional Office Brief Company Profile

Bumar sp.z o.o., a leading supplier and exporter of armaments and military equipment is the dominant entity of the Bumar Group. The Group consists of 19 manufacturing and trading defence sector compa­ nies specializing in munitions, radars, rockets and armour as well as construction, agricultural plant, and construction service companies.

Mr David Griffiths, Head of School Brief Company Profile

Nexus World-School, Putrajaya located at Precinct 15, the Diplomatic Enclave in Putrajaya and managed

by Garden International School (GIS), opens its doors in September 2008 for Early Years and Primary students, aged 3-11 years. In 2009, it will expand to year 9 followed by IGCSE in 2010.

Mr CP Tin (012-238 6858) Mr Amargit Singh (012-336 0555) Brief Company Profile

SGS (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd a member of the SGS Group (Société Générale de Surveillance) headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland is the global leader and inno­ vator in inspection, verification, testing and certi­ fication services and recognized as the global benchmark in quality and integrity. In the current competitive global environment, SGS provides organizations in Malaysia, a passport for interna­ tional recognition for their products and/or services.

Perunding Good Earth Sdn Bhd

University Malaysia Pahang

Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM)

Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM)

Chief Executive in Malaysia

Suite A-OG-01, Plaza Mont’Kiara No. 2, Jalan Kiara, Mont’Kiara 50480 Kuala Lumpur Tel: +603-6201 2288 Fax: +603-6411 8138 Email: leemengtuck@sunrisebhd.com Website: sunrisebhd.com

Chief Executive in Malaysia

Locked Bag 12, 25000 Kuantan Pahang Tel: +609-549 2501 Fax: +609-549 2222 Email: pro@ump.edu.my Website: www.ump.edu.my

Chief Executive in Malaysia

Locked Bag 101, Parit Raja, Batu Pahat, 86400 Johor Tel: +607-453 7000 / 7025 Fax: +607-453 6337 Email: mymahadi@uthm.edu.my Website: www.uthm.edu.my

Chief Executive in Malaysia

Karung Berkunci 1200 Hang Tuah Jaya, Ayer Keroh 75450 Melaka Tel: +606-233 2478 Fax: +606-233 2476 Email: canselori@utem.edu.my Website: www.utem.edu.my

Chief Executive in Malaysia

EUMCCI Review

Ms Marina Yong Poh Nyuk, Chief Executive Officer Brief Company Profile

PGE provides a full range of environmental, safety and health management and training services inclu­ ding ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 implementation, Chemical Health Risk Assessment (CHRA), environmental safety and health audits, waste, water and energy management, environmental and workplace monitoring, in-house and public training, quality management system, HACCP and others.

Mr Lee Meng Tuck, Chief Marketing Officer Brief Company Profile

• Property Developer • Property Development • Facilities Management • Investment Holdings • International Education

YH Dato’ Prof. Dr. Mohd Daing Nasir bin Daing Ibrahim, Vice Chancellor Brief Company Profile

Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP) is a technical university offering a wide-range of skills-based higher education programs in engineering and technology to produce competent engineers. As for research, UMP focuses on applied research and industrial projects to enrich the learning and teaching processes as well as to promote the commercialization of research products.

Prof.Dr.Hashim bin Saim, Acting Vice Chancellor Brief Company Profile

UTHM is a public higher education institution delivering academic programmes in the area of engineering and technology which includes diploma, degree and postgraduate courses. It is currently expanding its recruitment of students from around the world as well as its international collaboration with other institutions.

YBhg.Prof.Dr.ahmad Yusoff bin Hassan, Vice Chancellor Brief Company Profile

Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka is a public univer­ sity established in December 2000 and operates from its industrial campus at Ayer Keroh, city campus at Melaka Town and its main campus at Durian Tunggal, Melaka. UTeM specializes in offering diploma, undergraduate and post -graduate degree programs in the technical fields especially engineering and information technology.

October 27

New Members

Sunrise Berhad

2nd Floor, No.21, Jalan Astaka U8/84 Bukit Jelutong Business & Technology Centre 40150 Shah Alam, Selangor Tel: +603-7845 9693 Fax: +603-7845 4070 Email: info@goodearth.com.my Website: www.goodearth.com.my

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Capitalize on opportunities in the European Union and in Malaysia ! Interested ? Call us for more information.

28 October

EUMCCI Review

CLASSIFIEDS

The Moving Company with over 100 Branches Around Europe

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EUMCCI Review

October 29

Container

Port Klang container throughput for 2007 was 7.12 million TEUs

Northport

CONTAINER INFORMATION ( TEUS )

Indicators

The Northport CT1 operates 4 berths at its terminal:

Year

Laden

Empty

Total

Berth No. 8

2005

4,382,497

1,161,030

5,543,527

This container berth caters to vessels of up to 40,000 tonnes displacement.

2006

5,002,032

1,324,263

6,326,295

2007

5,701,608

1,417,106

7,118,714

Berth No. 9, 10, 11

CONTAINER INFORMATION ( TEUS )

Can accommodate ships of up to 60,000 tonnes displacement.

Berthing Facilities Berth Length Depth

No. (m) alongside

Max vessel size (displacement tonnes)

8

213

10.5

40,000

9-11

320

13.2

60,000

The Northport CT2 has 5 berths of 1.1 km for ships of up to 80,000 tonnes displacement.

Berthing Facilities Berth Length Depth

No. (m) alongside

17-21

213

13

Max vessel size (displacement tonnes) 80,000

The Northport CT3 operates 3 berths at its terminal and can accommodate ships of up to 120,000 tonnes displacement.

Year

Original

Transshipment

Total

2005

2,619,562

2,923,965

5,543,527

2006

2,771,571

3,554,724

6,326,295

2007

3,002,086

4,116,628

7,118,714

Worldwide Port Rankings 2007 4 Ranking Port

Annual Throughput % Increase Volume 2007 from 2006

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Singapore, Singapore Shanghai, China Hong Kong, China Shenzhen, China Busan, South Korea Rotterdam, Netherlands Dubai, UAE Kaohsiung, Taiwan Hamburg, Germany Qingdao, China

27,935,500 26,150,000 23,990,000 21,990,000 13,270,000 10,800,000 10,700,000 10,256,829 9,890,000 9,462,000

13% 20% 2% 14% 10% 12% 20% 5% 12% 23%

16

Port Klang, Malaysia

7,120,000

13%

Berthing Facilities Berth Length Depth

No. (m) alongside

12-14

178

15

Max vessel size (displacement tonnes) 120,000

Westports Berthing Facilities Berth Length Depth

No. (m) alongside

Max vessel size (displacement tonnes)

B07-8

300

15

80,000

B09-12

300

15

115,000

The 3 terminals have sophisticated back-up facilities such as postPanamax quay cranes, RTGs and straddle carries to handle up to 1.05 million TEUs.

European Port Rankings 2007 4 Ranking Port

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Source: http://www.pka.gov.my

30 October

EUMCCI Review

Rotterdam, Netherlands Hamburg, Germany Antwerp, Belgium Bremerhaven, Germany Gioia Tauro, Italy Algeciras, Spain Felixstowe, UK Valencia, Spain Le Havre, France Barcelona, Spain

Annual Throughput % Increase Volume 2007 from 2006 10,800,000 9,890,000 8,176,164 4,900,000 3,445,337 3,414,000 3,300,000 3,043,000 2,640,000 2,610,099

12% 12% 16% 11% 17% 5% 7% 16% 24% 13%