newsletter march08

8/3/2019 Newsletter March08

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BIZ DAILY

BIZ DAILY Monday, 8 March 2010

A Daily Newsletter

- 1 -

Reaching out to 200,000 readers

Market Report

Regional Indices

US Indices

ST Index

2,834.57 44.28

KLCI 1,324.22 +24.44

HSI 21,196.87 +408.90

NIKKEI 10,585.92 +216.96

SET 721.20 -2.76

JCI 2626.451 +1.85

Mon, Mar 08, 2010, 17:46

Friday Closing

Call 6377-1300www.ieqglobal.com

IntelliNRG®Lights. Saveup to 95% of your energy

costs.

In this issue

S.Korean bond futures edge down on

US jobs data Page 2

Arrow Energy gets $3 billion takeover

bid Page 2

ListCo NewsPage 3

Julius Baer names Lim as SE Asia

private bank head Page 2

Is this another sucker rally?

Contributor: Roger TanPage 5

Biz Tech

Vast potential for biometrics in Asia Pacific’sbanking sector Page 7

Biz People

Page 8

Call 6377-1300www.ieqglobal.com

Dow 10,566.20 +122.06

Nasdaq 2,326.35 +34.04

S&P 1,138.70 +15.73

Dubai World to seek loan delay in talks

(Source: Bloomberg)

Asian stocks rose to a six-week high, the euro strengthened andconcerns about defaults receded as French President NicolasSarkozy pledged support for Greece and government reportsshowed economic growth accelerating.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 1.9 per cent to 122.56 as of 5p.m. in Tokyo with eight stocks rising for every one that fell. The costof protecting Asian bonds from default dropped to the lowest inseven weeks and the euro advanced to a two-week high against theyen. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures added 0.2 per cent. TheStoxx Euro 600 surged 1.6 per cent to 257.09.

Markets rallied after Sarkozy said yesterday the euro region is readyto rescue Greece should the government struggle to fund its budgetdeficit, and a March 5 US report showed fewer job losses thaneconomists forecast. New Zealand manufacturing sales increasedthe most in more than seven years during the fourth quarter andJapan posted a current-account surplus in January as exportsclimbed for a second month.

“Investors are starting to see what they really wanted to see and thenegatives are in the process of being priced in as the Euro zone willpromise support,” said Chu Moon Sung, a fund manager at ShinhanBNP Paribas Asset Management Co. in Seoul, which managesUS$26 billion. “The better-than-expected US jobs report alsoboosted overall investors’ optimism.”

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index and Japan’s Nikkei 225 StockAverage increased 2.1 per cent, South Korea’s Kospi Index climbed1.6 per cent. Sony Corp., which gets almost a quarter of its sales inthe US, jumped 2.8 per cent. Nissan Motor Co., which gets morethan a third of its revenue in North America, advanced 4.7 per cent.

Dubai World, the state-owned holding company in talks to renegoti-ate about US$26 billion of debt, will ask banks for permission todelay loan repayments when it presents a plan to creditors thismonth, said three bankers familiar with the negotiations.

Banks may be able to avoid a so-called haircut, where they receiveless money than what they’re owed, if they wait to be repaid, saidtwo of the bankers, who declined to be identified because the talksare private. The banks may also receive a guarantee from Dubai’sgovernment, one of the bankers said.

Dubai World and its Nakheel PJSC and Limitless LLC property units

used loans to finance real estate projects such as palm tree-shapedislands off the emirate’s coast, which they struggled to refinanceamid the credit crisis. Dubai World said in November it would seekto delay repaying all loans until May, sparking the biggest plunge indeveloping-nation stocks.

“The proposal will be a meaningful one,” said Saud Masud, Dubai-based head of Middle Eastern research at UBS AG. “I would highlydoubt that what they come out with will be accepted and everyonemoves on.”

Deloitte LLP and Moelis & Co., Dubai World’s advisers, are askingthe Dubai Financial Support Fund for more money to fund interest

payments on the loans in the meantime, the bankers said. DubaiWorld will primarily rely on asset sales to finance the payments,

Asian stocks, euro advance; bond risk falls asoutlook improves(Source: Bloomberg)

bankers said. Spokesmen for Dubai World and the Dubai Finan-cial Support Fund declined to comment.

Dubai World will approach lenders for the first time this week witha plan to restructure its debt, the Financial Times reported today.The company has asked creditors to meetings in London fromtoday, the FT said.

Dubai World will present a restructuring proposal to its creditorsafter its advisers complete valuing the company’s assets, aperson close to the Dubai government said February 17. Thefinal proposal will be made after consultations with the Abu Dhabi

government and the United Arab Emirates’ central bank, whichalong with two Abu Dhabi-owned banks lent US$20 billion lastyear to Dubai’s financial support fund to help state-ownedcompanies during the credit crisis, he said.

Nakheel’s US$1.73 billion of bonds may be swapped for newsecurities, the person said. Under another option, banks seekingearly repayment would get less than those that wait, he said.More than 90 banks are owed money by Dubai World. Seven of its biggest creditors, HSBC Holdings Plc, Royal Bank of ScotlandGroup Plc, Lloyds Banking Group Plc, Standard Chartered Plc,Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd., Emirates NBD PJSC and AbuDhabi Commercial Bank PJSC, are negotiating with Dubai World

on behalf of the lenders, according to bankers.

Harold Toh, Managing Editor Email: [email protected]

Denice Cabel, Associate Editor Email: [email protected]

http://www.spdrgoldshares.com/



BIZ DAILY


A Daily Newsletter

- 2 -

S.Korean bond futures edge down on

US jobs data

South Korean treasury bond futures edged down early today asbetter-than-expected US jobs data boosted investors' appetitefor risky assets and sapped the bonds' safe-haven appeal.

The March contract on 3-year treasury bonds fell 4 ticks to110.70 by 0116 GMT, while the Seoul stock market's benchmarkKOSPI jumped more than 1 per cent.

Bond traders were already taking a cautious stance ahead of the South Korean central bank's interest rate review on Thurs-day, while awaiting clues on the longer-term policy directionfrom the governor's news conference at that time.

Arrow Energy Ltd has received a takeover bid worth AU$3.3billion (US$3 billion) from a company jointly owned by RoyalDutch Shell and PetroChina.

Brisbane-based Arrow today said in a statement to the stockexchange it had received a non-binding indicative proposal of AU$4.45 per share plus a share in a new entity comprising

Arrow's international business.

Arrow was advising shareholders to take no action at themoment, and said the company had appointed financial andlegal advisers to look at the proposal.

Shares in Arrow Energy surged more than 40 per cent toAU$4.98.

Arrow Energy is an integrated energy company focused supply-ing coal seam gas to eastern Australia and Asia. It claims tohave the largest coal seam gas reserves in Queensland state.The company had been planning to list 20 per cent of its Arrow

International arm, retaining 70 per cent, with the remainder already held by Royal Dutch Shell.

Royal Dutch Shell and PetroChina have joined forces for aUS$2.96 billion bid for Arrow Energy, hoping for a bigger slice of Australia's liquefied natural gas boom, the company said today.

The two energy giants are offering A$4.45 (US$4.04) per share,or about A$3.26 billion, plus one share in a new company

comprising Arrow's international business.

"At this stage the Arrow Board recommends shareholders takeno action in relation to their Arrow shares," Arrow said in a state-ment, adding that it had appointed financial and legal advisers.

Arrow claims to have the largest reserves of coal seam gas inAustralia's northeastern state of Queensland, in its holdings atthe Bowen and Surat Basins.

The company's shares rocketed some 45 per cent to A$5.05 onnews of the bid, which could herald a shake-up in the sector ascompanies work towards exporting coal seam gas in liquefied

form.

Australia has already signed contracts worth tens of billions of dollars with Asian countries for the clean-burning LNG createdfrom natural gas, which is chilled into liquid form for shipping.

Swiss wealth manager Julius Baer named David Lim as itsprivate banking head for Southeast Asia, replacing WilfriedKofmehl who was the public face for the Swiss bank in theregion since 2006.

The appointment shows Switzerland's biggest dedicated wealthmanager is opting for local leadership in to grow its business ina region where it competes against market leaders UBS andCitigroup.

Julius Baer has said it hopes to grow assets by 10-20 per centthis year in Asia, where inflows last year compensated for aslowdown in its core Swiss business as a global tax crackdownforced many offshore clients to repatriate funds.

Lim was deputy chief executive officer Singapore and head of investment finance before this promotion, the bank said.Kofmehl, who is a managing director, has decided to focuspurely on key client relationships which the bank said was partof a drive to assign senior managers to their top clients.

"Asia is set to become the second home market for Julius Baer,"the company said in a statement. "The bank continues toexpand in order to capitalise on the opportunities that exist inthe Asian private banking market."

Last year, Julius Baer moved Thomas Meier, an executiveboard member, from Zurich to Singapore to strengthen its focuson emerging markets.

(Source: Reuters)

(Source: Reuters)

(Source: AFP)

Arrow Energy gets $3 billion takeover

bid

(Source: AP)

Julius Baer names Lim as SE Asia

private bank head Shell, PetroChina in joint bid for

Australian energy company

http://www.gpadental.com/



BIZ DAILY


A Daily Newsletter

- 3 -

ListCo NewsMainboard-Listed Companies

Profit down for Lee Kim Tah

Compared to FY2008, Lee Kim Tah’s revenue for FY2009decreased by 17.7 per cent from RMB1.39 billion to RMB1.143billion. This was due mainly to lower demand for PET bottles

arising from lower local consumer spending. There was alsoincreased competition in the corrugated paper packaging productbusiness and revenue contribution from this product segmentdeclined significantly. FY2009 net profit decreased by 27.1 per cent to RMB37.9 million from RMB52.0 million a year ago.

www.leekimtah.com

China Auto suffers net loss of $18.7M

The Group incurred a net loss of $18.7 million for FY2009compared to a loss of $17.3 million for FY2008. FY2009 revenueamounted to $63.9 million, a decrease of 47.1 per cent comparedto $120.8 million recorded for FY2008. The reduction in revenuewas mainly attributable to the de-consolidation of the results of Creative Master Bermuda Ltd, the reduction in tooling and plasticinjection moulding revenue, and the reduction in revenue fromcommunications, electronics and equipment distribution.

www.china-auto-corporation.com

www.abterra.com.sg

Cacola Furniture’s full-year net profit

plunged 140%

The Company incurred a net loss of RMB43.2 million in FY2009from a profit of RMB104.8 million in FY2008. This 140 per centdecrease was mainly due to the significant decrease in turnover and minor reduction of gross profit margin of Cacola’s productsduring the year. Revenue dropped by 70.3 per cent to RMB195.2million for FY2009 from RMB656.9 million for FY2009.

Cacola Furniture International Limited closed

today at $0.055.

Abterra returns to profitability with

$13.3M earningsAbterra, an emerging supply chain manager of resources andminerals in Asia Pacific, returns to profitability with a net profit of $13.3 million for FY2009. This is largely due to a gain from therevaluation of a mining asset. Turnover of the year fell 61 per centYoY from $392.0 million to $151.9 million. Revenue from thetrading of iron ore declined 92 per cent while revenue from thetrading of coke and coal decreased 53 per cent, mainly due to thetightening of credit facilities in the market amid the financial turbu-lence.

Abterra Ltd. closed today at $0.050.

Sinobest Technology posts net loss of

RMB2 million

The Group incurred a loss of RMB2 million in FY2009, a 48 per cent improvement from a loss of RMB3.88 million in FY2008.Revenue were RMB380 million for FY2009 from RMB320 millionfor FY2008, representing an increase of RMB60 million or 18.8per cent. The increase in sales was mainly due to an increase of 24 per cent in the business segment of system integration for computer information systems and intelligent building systems.

http://sinobest.listedcompany.com

Sinobest Technology Holdings Ltd closed today at $0.095.

China Sky Chemical Fibre posts loss for 2009

The Group recorded an overall loss of RMB198.9 million inFY2009, compared to a net profit of RMB392.82 million recordedin FY2008. This was largely a result of the total impairmentlosses of RMB111.2 million recognised in respect of goodwill andintangible assets and the total expense of RMB72.3 millionincurred on the extensive maintenance and recalibration workscarried out. Total revenue fell 43.4 per cent from RMB2.11 billionfor FY2008 to RMB1.19 billion for FY2009.

www.chsky.hk

China Sky Chemical Fibre Co. Ltd closed today at $0.170.



BIZ DAILY


A Daily Newsletter

- 4 -

ListCo NewsCatalist-Listed Companies

SBI Offshore forms JV with US-based

Sea Reef

In a move to accelerate the growth of its contract engineeringbusiness, Singapore-based marine and offshore equipment

integrated provider SBI Offshore Limited has invested an initialUS$1 million in a joint venture with Sea Reef, a Houston-baseddesign & engineering company. Sea Reef is principally engagedin providing equipment design and engineering services to oilcompanies and drilling contractors. The new JV will be incorpo-rated in Singapore with an initial paid up capital of $10.00. SBIOffshore will take a 60 per cent stake, with Sea Reef taking 20per cent stake and the management team of the JV Companytaking the remaining 20 per cent.

www.sbioffshore.com

SBI Offshore Limited closed today at $0.200.

MCE’s posts $687K loss in FY2009

The Group recorded revenue of $65.7 million in FY2009. Thisrepresented a 22.7 per cent decline from revenue of $85 millionrecorded in FY2008. The YoY decline was mainly attributable toweakness in 1H2009 due to the adverse impact of the economic

crisis which affected MCE’s customer orders. Net loss amountedto $687,000 in FY2009, as compared to a profit of $3.41 million inFY2008.

www.mce.com.sg

Junma Tyre Cord returns to profitability

in FY2009

The Group recorded a profit of RMB78 million in FY2009, ascompared to a loss of RMB12 million in FY2008. Revenuedecreased by RMB86 million or 4 per cent from RMB2.47 billionin FY2008 to RMB2.38 billion in FY2009 due to a decrease inaverage selling prices of the Group’s two main products, namelynylon tyre cords and steel tyre cords.

K Plas posts net loss of $1.18M

K Plas incurred a net loss of $1.18 million for FY2009, comparedto a net loss of $577,000 for the previous corresponding year. Itrecorded a revenue of $2.4 million for FY2009, compared to arevenue of $4.9 million for FY2008. Both its plastic injectionmoulding and mould design and fabrication businesses weresignificantly lower as compared to FY2008 due to weak demandfrom customers.

K Plas Holdings Limited closed today at $0.070.

JLJ Holdings posts net loss of $321K

JLJ Holdings, which was listed on the SGX-ST on July 10, 2010,incurred a net loss of $321,000 in FY2009 compared to a profit of $5.99 million in FY2008. Revenue increased by $9.2 million or 18.1 per cent from $50.8 million in FY2008 to $60 million in

FY2009. Revenue from the precision injection moulding segmentincreased by 44.3 per cent from $29.8 million in FY2008 to $43.0million in FY2009. On the other hand, revenue from the design,fabrication and sale of precision injection moulds segmentdecreased by 18.6 per cent from $21.0 million in FY2008 to $17.1million in FY2009.

www.jlj-holdings.com

www.kplas.com.sg

Ntegrator’s net profit jumps 46.5%

The IT and telecommunication solutions provider’s net profit for FY2009 was $930,000, an increase of 46.5 per cent over theprevious corresponding year. Revenue increased by 16.7 per cent from $47.9 million in FY2008 to $55.9 million in FY2009. The

timely completion of several major projects in Vietnam contrib-uted to the majority of the increase. Revenue was also boostedby project completion in Singapore.

www.ntegrator.com



BIZ DAILY


A Daily Newsletter

- 5 -

Is this another sucker rally?Contributor: Roger Tan

(Source: Yahoo Finance)

DISCLAIMER

The market last week started to buck the downward trend it

set in the first two months of the year. The STI was up 1.4 per

cent to 2790.3 with most of the gains seen on the first and

last day of trade. While the STI’s movement was similar to

the S&P500, its 1.4 per cent gain was only half of S&P’s 3.1

per cent gain.

Investors seem to be emerging from their despondence and

have shifted into bargain hunting mode after more positive

economic news were announced. However, the market isstill dominated mainly by investors with trader’s mentality and

therefore we should expect to see a good level of profit taking

after every strong gain. Such activities will add volatility to

the market.

In the last Weekly Market Thoughts, I mentioned that March

10 could repeat the market bottom patterns we saw in March

09. The signs appear to be in place. More positive economic

and market data are coming into the market and speculators

may now be increasing their equities position to prepare for a

potential rally in April and May - when companies start

announcing their first quarter results.

Although the current STI PE ratio is relatively high, it may

improve if 1Q2010 EPS numbers improve. With PB numbers

still relatively attractive, I continue to hold my views that

investors should not avoid the market. Keep some level of

equity exposure through the STI ETF and pick some good

stocks to enhance your returns. Our eyes are on China

Environment, OKP, Q&M and China Grandness.

This research material is for information only. It does not have regards to

the specific investment objectives, financial situation and the particular needs of any specific person who may receive or access this research

material. It is not to be construed as an offer or solicitation of an offer to

sell or buy securities referred herein. The use of this material does not

absolve you of your responsibility for your own investment decisions. We

accept no liability for any direct or indirect loss arising from the use of this

research material. We, our associates, directors and/or employees may

have an interest in the securities and/or companies mentioned herein.

This research report is based on information that we believe to be

reliable. Any opinions expressed reflect our judgment at report date and

are subject to change without notice.

As of the date of the report, the analyst and his immediate family do not

hold positions in the securities recommended in this report.

This research material may not be reproduced, distributed or publishedfor any purpose by anyone without our specific prior consent.

STOCK COUNTER VOLUME

STOCK COUNTER VALUE

STOCK COUNTER GAINER

Genting SP 92,918

GoldenAgr 81,519

Healthway 63,686

NOL 40,912

Eastgate^

StraitsAsia

UPP 25,063

SingTel 22,877

Noble Grp

Z-Obee

DBS.ES.1003

0.330

0.920

0.560

0.175

1.970

34,790

33,357

0.105

3.120

21,932

21,164

Genting SP 85,562,340

NOL 79,988,042

UOB 76,683,675

Capitaland 74,526,641

Noble Grp 73,301,560

SingTel 71,124,350

DBS 70,463,548

StraitsAsia 68,808,760

Kep Corp 55,331,110

SIA 54,341,700

14.180 -

JMH 400US$ 30.200 +4.137

JSH 500US$ 18.220 +6.674

Jardine C&C 26.300 +3.056

DBXT FTVietnam 10US$ 44.950 +1.604

DBXT MSAsExJp 10US$ 27.790 +2.580

DBXT FTChina25 10US$ 29.470 +2.113

STXPO 100 15.800 +3.260

Lyxor India Nifty 10 15.940 +2.640

Shang Asia 2kHK$ 13.480 +2.900

Last Price

STI

% change

PRICE

STI vs S&P500

S&P

23-Feb-10

22-Feb-10

0.8% 0.9%

-0.5% 0.0%

19-Feb-10 0.4% -0.4%

18-Feb-10 -0.1% -0.9%

17-Feb-10

Week's Change

0.8% 1.3%

1.4% 3.1%

Top Stocks as at March 8, 2010

0.005

2.070

3.330



BIZ DAILY


A Daily Newsletter

- 6 -

Sovereign debt – necessary but dangerous

Rising sovereign debt levels in the Western world and Japan are

the price to pay for averting another depression last year. Govern-

ments around the world have borne the cost of the financial marketcrisis. They took large stakes in the banking, mortgage and hous-

ing sectors. Many governments also provide substantial support to

household income and wealth, thereby stimulating weak aggre-

gate demand. A year ago, the public sector was stronger than

private households and firms. The former was insolvent in many

countries; the latter had to protect their cashflows by reducing

investments and workforces. Furthermore, governments were best

suited to stretch payment for the excesses of the past over a long

time. Countries live longer than individuals and they can raise

taxes. Hence, creditors have more patience and a high debt

tolerance vis-à-vis sovereigns.

Yet, most countries will have to scale down their new borrowingover the coming years to prevent their debt-to-GDP ratios going

through the roof. A high debt ratio jeopardizes growth and stability:

the risk of default becomes real, the spread between long- and

short-term interest rates therefore widens, investment becomes

expensive and growth potential withers.

Unfortunately, economics tells us little about the appropriate level

of public debt. Clearly, Greece is beyond this point with the

second-highest debt ratio in the Eurozone and the highest fiscal

deficit in 2009. But other countries may have a larger debt

tolerance. For example, Japan with its strong economic fundamen-

tals and credible political institutions has easy access to the bond

markets with a debt ratio twice as high as Greece’s. Sovereignrisks will therefore remain subject to judgment by the financial

markets.

The likelihood of a Greek default is low. The importance of the

Greek debt crisis for the Eurozone is out of all proportion to the

small financial cost of a rescue package. Greece’s problems have

become a test case for the whole euro project. If the beleaguered

member country were left in the lurch, a fundamental structural

weakness of the Eurozone would be exposed. The loss of

credibility would be substantial, and interest rates in the weaker countries could no longer be kept at their present level. The Euro-

zone would face repeated speculative attacks, with a resultant

buffeting of the exchange rate. This should not be acceptable to

the European policymakers.

But sovereign default risks are rising und investors should be on

alert. Scaling down the mountain of debt in an orderly fashion

over the coming years will be necessary. Countries that communi-

cate credible exit strategies early together with flanking measures

to stimulate growth will benefit most in terms of low risk premi-

ums. Other sovereign bonds will suffer from higher interest rates

and default risks. A careful selection of creditors will therefore be

key to avoiding losses on sovereign bond portfolios.

Dr Jörg Zeuner is the Chief Economist of VP Bank Group in

Vaduz, Liechtenstein. VP Bank was founded in 1956 and is one

of the largest banks in Liechtenstein. Its Singapore subsidiary

was established in 2008 to provide creative and personalized

private banking services for its Asian clients. As the Chief

Economist of VP Bank Group, Dr Zeuner has more than 10

years of experience, and was previously senior economist with

the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington DC,

where he still serves as Technical Advisor. His other past

experiences also include being an economist with the World

Bank Resident Mission in Ethiopia, Addis Ababa and the Korean-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry respec-

tively. Throughout his career, Dr Zeuner has also published

numerous working papers and country reports on various topics

ranging from financial to commodities. Dr Zeuner is also

currently teaching Economics and Finance in Switzerland and

Germany.



BIZ DAILY


A Daily Newsletter

- 7 -

Biz Tech

Vast potential for biometrics in Asia Pacific’s banking sector

The beginning of 2009 had many worried about how the biometrics

industry was going to perform in the wake of the economic reces-

sion. As expected, there were a few cancellations and delays in

biometric related projects, primarily due to budget cutbacks.

According to Navin Rajendra, Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific’s Senior

Research Analyst of Smart Cards and AutoID, many smaller

vendors saw a drastic reduction in their revenues in 1H 2009. “In

spite of this, the biometrics industry still saw a healthy growth

especially in the government vertical with numerous national ID

card projects being thrown into the limelight.”

Voice biometrics, which has always been in the shadow of physi-

ological biometrics, showed promise in 2009 with banks in Asia

and Europe testing voice biometrics for banking verification. There

is room for improvement in making the technology more accurate,

but biometric participants have plenty of promise for the coming

years. Fingerprint biometrics has always been the most widely

used type of biometric recognition with more than 70 percent of the

biometrics revenues in the Asia Pacific region attributed to finger-

print recognition.

"We can see, however, that this share will reduce gradually in the

coming years especially with other biometric technologies like

palm vein and hand geometry becoming more feasible and preva-

lent. Contactless palm vein biometrics was primarily introduced in

the Asia Pacific region as many people were not comfortable with

touching a scanner that had been touched by a number of other

individuals,” says Rajendra.

He continues, “Through the introduction of contactless palm scan-

ners, biometric technology was readily accepted in countries like

Japan and South Korea. More than this, other regions started

employing the technology because of its advantages for applica-

tions where a contactless medium was required. Hospitals in the

US also began employing contactless palm vein scanner as it

allowed individuals to have their palms scanned and verified

without any physical contact whilst maintaining a sterile environ-

ment.”

In terms of industry trends, Rajendra notes that the integration of

various biometrics into one single unit for more accurate authenti-

cation has become common in the last few years. “Many vendors

in Asia Pacific are focusing in providing multi-modal biometrics that

would be able to provide an even higher level of security. More and

above this, vendors have been able to penetrate more applications

through the integration of biometrics with smart cards,” he says.

He continues, “With the integration of biometrics and smart card,

biometric verification can take place on the chip in the card in real

time without the need for any online verification, cutting down

costs. There are many smart cards integrated with biometrics

being implemented for government IDs, border control, banking

and rural banking.”

Rajendra identifies rural banking as an application that has been

gaining traction over the last three years especially with financial

institutions looking at expanding their market coverage. “Biomet-

rics has allowed many financial institutions to enter the rural market

which would never have been possible since there was no proper

means of authentication in the absence of communication lines.”

Looking at the immediate future, Rajendra finds that there will not

be a significant decrease in the biometric systems, but rather there

will be a better product offering for the same price.

“With improvement in scan rates and new analytical software beingintroduced in the market, biometrics is no longer being marketed

for the sole purpose of security but rather as a tool to gather and

assimilate information that would help in the management of an

organisation. As different types of security are being employed in a

single building, system integrators have also ensured that biomet-

ric systems are interoperable with other security systems to bring

about a seamless operation,” he says.

Looking at the chip and PIN infrastructure for banking cards in the

Asia Pacific market, the PIN functionality is under-utilised, with only

10 percent of chip-activated cards employed. This presents oppor-

tunities for biometric vendors to penetrate this market for user

identification at the ATMs in the beginning stages. There were over 2,500 million smart cards shipped in the Asia Pacific region in

2009, of which only slightly over 11 percent were banking applica-

tions. This shows the potential for biometrics to be employed for

banking smart cards. There are already certain banks that have

their ATMs using fingerprint identification in Japan and South

Korea. This is again a small percentage of the total number of

ATMs in the region, which the biometric vendors will have to tap in

the coming years. The region has the highest density of ATM

installed base compared to North America and Europe. For every

commercial bank in the Asia Pacific region, there were 340 ATMs

installed. This again shows the huge untapped market and oppor-

tunity for biometric vendors in the banking vertical. The banking

vertical is one of the highest users of PIN codes and passwordsand records the highest number of transactions using the same.

Each time a password or a PIN code needs to be reset, the bank

needs to send the details via paper mail in order to ensure that the

intended user receives the codes at the registered address. This

results in a non-core activity rise in cost for the institution. Biometric

ATMs are in place in small pockets and will expand - especially in

countries like India and Singapore in the next couple of years.

The Asia Pacific region presents itself with a favourable climate for

the large scale deployment of biometrics as the region offers the

highest population by density as well as by the sheer number. With

issues such as rising cost, companies looking at proper manage-

ment, security threats and so on, the biometrics industry has a vastpotential in this region.



BIZ DAILY


A Daily Newsletter

China New Town Devt Co LimitedNg Chun Pang has been appointed Financial

Controller wef March 1, 2010.

Pine Agritech LimitedLi Feng has been appointed Executive Director wef

March 3, 2010. Work experience: Deputy Sales

Director, Linyi Pine Agritech Limited; Section

Chief, CPC Propaganda Department, Lanshan

District Committee, Linyi.

Q & M Dental Group (S) Ltd

Sim Yu Xiong has been appointed Chief Financial

Officer wef April 6, 2010. Work experience: Chief

Financial Officer, W.Atelier Pte Ltd; Manager

Pacific, Inke Pte Ltd; Group Financial Controller,

General Healthcare Holding Ltd.

RH Energy Ltd

Xu You has been appointed President of China Oil

Zhong Zhou Engineering Supervision Co. Ltd wef

March 1, 2010.

Sky China Petroleum Svcs Ltd.

Li Chak Fu has been appointed CEO wef March 3,

2010. Work experience: Financial Controller, Seven

Seas Textiles Industries Limited, Hong Kong; Senior

Manager, Ernst & Young, Beijing: Financial Con-

troller, Asia-Pac Infrastructure Group, Hong Kong.

Sunpower Group Ltd

Guo Hongxin has been appointed Group General

Manager wef March 1, 2010. Work experience:

Executive Director, Jiangsu Sunpower Petrochemi-

cal Engineering Co. Ltd.

Teledata (Singapore) LtdKim, Howard Ho-Jin has been appointed Chairman

and Chief Executive Officer wef March 1, 2010.

Work experience: Chairman, JYC Holdings Pte. Ltd;

Managing Director (APAC), Sycamore Networks.

United Food Holdings Limited

Hung Chung Wah, Geroge has been appointed

Chief Financial Officer wef March 1, 2010.

Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd

Low Jooi Kok has been appointed Chief Financial

Officer wef March 1, 2010. Work experience: Direc-

tor of Business Partner Sales, ASEAN/SA, IBM.

Fortune Real Estate Investment Trust

Chiu Yu Justina has been appointed Deputy Chief

Executive Officer wef March 1, 2010. Work experi-

ence: Chief Operating Officer, ARA Asset Manage-

ment (Fortune) Limited; Trainee Solicitor, Baker &

McKenzie

Ang Meng Huat Anthony has been appointed Chief

Executive Officer wef March 1, 2010. Work experi-

ence: CEO, ARA Managers (Asia Dragon) Pte. Ltd;

Director (non-Board member), ARA Asset Manage-

ment Limited; Executive Director, Majulah Connec-

tion Limited; Executive Vice President, GIC Real

Estate Pte. Ltd; Senior Vice President, Vertex Man-

agement Pte. Ltd.

Medtecs International Corporation

Limited

Chia Wei Ho has been appointed Chief Operating

Officer wef March 1, 2010. Work experience: GeneralManager, Chamberlain Computime Investment (HK)

Ltd; COO and CFO, Tri-M Technologies (S) Ltd.

Ossia International Ltd

Jasmine Tan Seoh Lay has been appointed Chief

Operating Officer wef March 1, 2010. Work experi-

ence: Chief Operating Officer, VGO Corporation

Limited; Group Sales and Marketing Manager,

Sportech; Assistant Membership Manager, Automo- bile Association of Singapore; Market Researcher,

Rothman of Pall Mall.

Companies are invited to submit notices of senior corporate appointments and changes.

Please email [email protected] or [email protected].

- 8 -

Biz Sage

The Sage is the wise philosopher who provides thought-

provoking and inspirational words for those on their business journey to success. Here is a perspective advice

to all professionals, business executives, and entrepre-

neurs. The daily entries in this section are organized according to a specific aspect of business life like people

management, leadership, or entrepreneurial skills. Each

entry will be provided by famous business figures that can

be applied to your life and business. These words of

encouragement are also meant to be used as a guide.

On Career

“The true test of any scholar’s work

is not what his contemporaries say,

but what happens to his work in the

next 25 or 50 years.”

- Milton Friedman

The famous economist Milton Friedman was known for bring-

ing forward new methodological innovations to his contempo-raries. Although most of his theories were accepted by econo-

mists, some economists in the 1960s considered his policy

prescriptions controversial. However, some of his laissez-faire

ideas concerning monetary policy, taxation, privatization and

deregulation were implemented by governments in the 1980s.

Even Ben Bernanke and the Federal Reserve acknowledged

Friedman’s monetary theory’s contribution to helping find a

solution to the financial crisis.

Milton Friedman was an American economist and recipient of

the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics. He was an economic

advisor to U.S. President Ronald Reagan.

Sometimes the success of your work cannot be immediately

measured. Friedman was the first to realise that a lasting

legacy would be his true achievement. Learn all that you can

about your area of business and make sure you are prepared to

advance your ideas. Perhaps you will also build a legacy.

Biz People

newsletter march08

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