Malaysia's vehicle sales are expected to dip 16.5 percent in the second half of the year due to higher fuel costs and rising inflation, the Malaysian Automotive Association said Wednesday.
The industry body said the bulk of the drop in auto sales will come from a 28 percent reduction in the volume of commercial vehicles sold, while sales of passenger vehicles are expected to slide by 0.5 percent.
"The slowdown will be mainly commercial vehicles and this is because of the fact that 54 percent of the commercial vehicles are pick-up trucks and these are fuel guzzlers," the association's president Aishah Ahmad told AFP.
"So we do anticipate that sales in this sector might be affected after fuel prices were raised," she told AFP.
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced a deeply unpopular 41 percent fuel price hike last month, which saw inflation surge to its highest level in 26 years in June to 7.7 percent.
For the first half of the year, new vehicle sales registered a robust 25.9 percent growth to 277,973 units from 220,739 units in the same period a year ago on steady economic growth and new models.
Aishah said the auto sector was on track to achieve its growth target of 4.7 percent to 510,000 units for the year despite the bleak outlook for the second half.
"We will maintain it despite the slowdown because of the fact that the industry has grown by 26 percent. Even with the expected slide, we are on track to achieve our target for the year," Aishah said.
Malaysia is Southeast Asia's largest market for passenger cars.
Aishah said the growth forecast for 2008 also factored in the increase in hire-purchase interest rates for non-national brands, stringent approvals for loans, a fall in consumer spending due to rising inflation and high oil prices.
Total vehicle sales for June rose 11.9 percent year-on-year to come in at 48,990 units with passenger vehicles accounting for 12 percent of total sales.
The association said sales for the month rose by 2.2 percent or 1,060 units from the previous month.
30/07/2008
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Herbal industry hampered by lack of research
The lack of research into the efficiency and safety of local herbal products is hindering growth of the industry in Malaysia and globally.
In 2008, it is estimated that Malaysians would spend RM4.6 billion on herbal products, but the sum is dwarfed by the huge amount to be consumed overseas, that is a staggering RM266 billion.
The world expenditure on herbal products (supplements, patents for new drugs or cosmetics) is expected to breach RM52.5 trillion by year 2050.
“The question is not whether Malaysia can make money out of this but why aren’t we making more?” said Dr Daniel Baskaran K, a scientist at the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia.
“Sorry to say this, but it’s because of our ‘tidak apa’ attitude. Look at our backyard (forest), there’s so much out there but we still lack evidence to prove that our products are safe and efficient.
“You take a panadol and you know your headache will go away within 30 minutes. Can we make such a claim for our products?” he asked.
The scientist was speaking during a one-day ‘Convergence of biotechnology and biodiversity in wealth creation’ seminar yesterday.
The seminar, organised by the Sarawak Biodiversity Centre (SBC) was held at its research facility within the Semenggok Forest Reserve.
Dr Daniel cited the relative failure of ‘Tongkat Ali’ to penetrate the world market.
The product was pushed for global consumption years back, but has steadily been removed from the list of safe consumable by various countries.
The irony, he added, was that between 60 and 80 per cent of Malaysians consulted ‘traditional’ health practitioners before seeing a doctor.
The local industry, meanwhile, produced various types of consumables from ginger and betel leaves (Indonesia). Ginger was mostly imported from India, said Dr Daniel.
“It seems like we have become so sophisticated that we don’t care,” Dr Daniel quipped.
On recurring international issues within the industry, the scientist cited “unharmonised regulations” and “inconsistent documentation”.
He highlighted India and China as the world’s largest exporters of medicinal herbs. “In India, about 70 per cent of modern medicine consumed are based on natural products,” he said.
Sales statistics in rich, developed countries are equally encouraging as close to 50 per cent of Germany’s population use herbal products while 60 per cent of our neighbours in Australia and New Zealand also use herbal products.
Such findings suggest that as world population grows older, and more educated, many people are seeking treatment with less perceived side-effects.
“The personal health industry is booming, underpinned by a growing preference for natural products versus synthetic.
“Functional foods, functional beverages, cosmeceuticals and organic products are much sought after,” said Dr Daniel.
In saying that production output in several neighbouring countries has seen high growth rate, Dr Daniel lamented that Malaysia was not even listed in a recent study.
Dr Daniel disagreed that foreign researches on “traditional herbs and knowledge” here do not benefit the locals financially.
He cited local research bodies like SBC which provided agreements to safeguard the interests of whom and where the information was gathered.
The mechanism has been put in place in Malaysia to ensure profitability is fair, he said.
He pointed to the second example where different segments of society had to play specialised roles — from fact gathering to marketing, and to research and development before a product could be successful.
SBC, which was formed in 1998, has in recent years been rather active in its “Traditional knowledge documentation” programme.
SBC communications department said yesterday that the programme had identified about 2,500 types of plant.
Between 1998 and 2004, the centre also signed 79 research agreements for general biodiversity researches.
In 2008, it is estimated that Malaysians would spend RM4.6 billion on herbal products, but the sum is dwarfed by the huge amount to be consumed overseas, that is a staggering RM266 billion.
The world expenditure on herbal products (supplements, patents for new drugs or cosmetics) is expected to breach RM52.5 trillion by year 2050.
“The question is not whether Malaysia can make money out of this but why aren’t we making more?” said Dr Daniel Baskaran K, a scientist at the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia.
“Sorry to say this, but it’s because of our ‘tidak apa’ attitude. Look at our backyard (forest), there’s so much out there but we still lack evidence to prove that our products are safe and efficient.
“You take a panadol and you know your headache will go away within 30 minutes. Can we make such a claim for our products?” he asked.
The scientist was speaking during a one-day ‘Convergence of biotechnology and biodiversity in wealth creation’ seminar yesterday.
The seminar, organised by the Sarawak Biodiversity Centre (SBC) was held at its research facility within the Semenggok Forest Reserve.
Dr Daniel cited the relative failure of ‘Tongkat Ali’ to penetrate the world market.
The product was pushed for global consumption years back, but has steadily been removed from the list of safe consumable by various countries.
The irony, he added, was that between 60 and 80 per cent of Malaysians consulted ‘traditional’ health practitioners before seeing a doctor.
The local industry, meanwhile, produced various types of consumables from ginger and betel leaves (Indonesia). Ginger was mostly imported from India, said Dr Daniel.
“It seems like we have become so sophisticated that we don’t care,” Dr Daniel quipped.
On recurring international issues within the industry, the scientist cited “unharmonised regulations” and “inconsistent documentation”.
He highlighted India and China as the world’s largest exporters of medicinal herbs. “In India, about 70 per cent of modern medicine consumed are based on natural products,” he said.
Sales statistics in rich, developed countries are equally encouraging as close to 50 per cent of Germany’s population use herbal products while 60 per cent of our neighbours in Australia and New Zealand also use herbal products.
Such findings suggest that as world population grows older, and more educated, many people are seeking treatment with less perceived side-effects.
“The personal health industry is booming, underpinned by a growing preference for natural products versus synthetic.
“Functional foods, functional beverages, cosmeceuticals and organic products are much sought after,” said Dr Daniel.
In saying that production output in several neighbouring countries has seen high growth rate, Dr Daniel lamented that Malaysia was not even listed in a recent study.
Dr Daniel disagreed that foreign researches on “traditional herbs and knowledge” here do not benefit the locals financially.
He cited local research bodies like SBC which provided agreements to safeguard the interests of whom and where the information was gathered.
The mechanism has been put in place in Malaysia to ensure profitability is fair, he said.
He pointed to the second example where different segments of society had to play specialised roles — from fact gathering to marketing, and to research and development before a product could be successful.
SBC, which was formed in 1998, has in recent years been rather active in its “Traditional knowledge documentation” programme.
SBC communications department said yesterday that the programme had identified about 2,500 types of plant.
Between 1998 and 2004, the centre also signed 79 research agreements for general biodiversity researches.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
8th July 2008 : Global shares plunge on banking fears
Global stocks suffered heavy losses Tuesday, falling further into 'bear market' territory on fresh fears over the health of the banking sector as the credit crunch bites deeper on economic growth.
Dealers said concerns about the US banks in particular unsettled investors, setting up Asia and Europe for a bad day to leave most exchanges down 20 percent or more from last highs in 2007 -- the definition of a 'bear market.'
"Credit woes across the Atlantic remain very much at the heart of traders' concerns," said Paul Webb, chief dealer at CMC Markets.
Investors were reacting to negative comment on the banks from US investment bank Lehman Brothers.
Lehman warned that the big US mortgage re-financing groups, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, could have to raise a combined 75 billion dollars (48 billion euros) in fresh cash to meet their commitments.
In Europe on Tuesday, London's FTSE 100 index was down 1.98 percent at 5,403.80 points and Frankfurt's DAX 30 shed 1.99 percent to 6,268.78.
In Paris, the CAC 40 index was down 1.75 percent to 4,266.80 points after striking its lowest reading since July 2005 -- at 4,224 points -- in morning deals.
French banking shares were under heavy pressure, with declines of 3.09 percent at Societe Generale, 3.25 percent at BNP Paribas and 4.18 percent at Credit Agricole.
"Asian stock markets have also been hit by the fear that the turmoil in the financial sector is not over yet," said ABN Amro analyst Melinda Smith.
Wall Street stocks fell Monday following sharp market swings as investors fretted about the second quarter earnings season, sensing major banks could unveil further losses, dealers said.
Large American corporations start revealing their latest quarterly results this week and some analysts believe that bank earnings will sustain further hits from a lingering credit crunch.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Monday dipped 0.50 percent to close at 11,231.96 points following a late recovery.
"Everyone is reassessing the widely-held view that the worst of the credit crisis would be over by now and coming to the same conclusion -- the worst may not be over and it might last well into 2009," said Ed Yardeni of Yardeni Research.
Japanese shares closed 2.45 percent lower on Tuesday after briefly falling below 13,000 for the first time in nearly three months.
Hong Kong lost 3.16 percent and Sydney fell 1.4 percent.
On other financial markets Tuesday, oil prices steadied after sliding further from record highs a day earlier as traders banked profits.
leaders called Tuesday for efforts to cool sizzling commodity prices, warning that soaring fuel and food costs were a threat to world economic growth.
The Group of Eight rich nations said it was ready to take action to cushion global growth from runaway commodity costs.
But they stopped short of announcing concrete steps in a joint statement on the economy released on the second day of a summit in northern Japan.
G8 powers -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States -- said they remained positive about the long-term resilience of their economies, noting that emerging economies were still growing strongly.
At the same time, the world economy was "facing uncertainty" and risks to growth remained.
They expressed "strong concern" about oil and food prices, which they said "pose a serious challenge to stable growth worldwide, have serious implications for the most vulnerable and increase global inflationary pressure."
The statement made no mention of the weakness of the US currency, although US President George W. Bush told fellow G8 leaders that he was committed to "a strong dollar."
In foreign exchange market activity, the dollar fell slightly against the euro on Tuesday.
Agence France-Presse - 7/8/2008 12:07 PM GMT
Dealers said concerns about the US banks in particular unsettled investors, setting up Asia and Europe for a bad day to leave most exchanges down 20 percent or more from last highs in 2007 -- the definition of a 'bear market.'
"Credit woes across the Atlantic remain very much at the heart of traders' concerns," said Paul Webb, chief dealer at CMC Markets.
Investors were reacting to negative comment on the banks from US investment bank Lehman Brothers.
Lehman warned that the big US mortgage re-financing groups, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, could have to raise a combined 75 billion dollars (48 billion euros) in fresh cash to meet their commitments.
In Europe on Tuesday, London's FTSE 100 index was down 1.98 percent at 5,403.80 points and Frankfurt's DAX 30 shed 1.99 percent to 6,268.78.
In Paris, the CAC 40 index was down 1.75 percent to 4,266.80 points after striking its lowest reading since July 2005 -- at 4,224 points -- in morning deals.
French banking shares were under heavy pressure, with declines of 3.09 percent at Societe Generale, 3.25 percent at BNP Paribas and 4.18 percent at Credit Agricole.
"Asian stock markets have also been hit by the fear that the turmoil in the financial sector is not over yet," said ABN Amro analyst Melinda Smith.
Wall Street stocks fell Monday following sharp market swings as investors fretted about the second quarter earnings season, sensing major banks could unveil further losses, dealers said.
Large American corporations start revealing their latest quarterly results this week and some analysts believe that bank earnings will sustain further hits from a lingering credit crunch.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Monday dipped 0.50 percent to close at 11,231.96 points following a late recovery.
"Everyone is reassessing the widely-held view that the worst of the credit crisis would be over by now and coming to the same conclusion -- the worst may not be over and it might last well into 2009," said Ed Yardeni of Yardeni Research.
Japanese shares closed 2.45 percent lower on Tuesday after briefly falling below 13,000 for the first time in nearly three months.
Hong Kong lost 3.16 percent and Sydney fell 1.4 percent.
On other financial markets Tuesday, oil prices steadied after sliding further from record highs a day earlier as traders banked profits.
leaders called Tuesday for efforts to cool sizzling commodity prices, warning that soaring fuel and food costs were a threat to world economic growth.
The Group of Eight rich nations said it was ready to take action to cushion global growth from runaway commodity costs.
But they stopped short of announcing concrete steps in a joint statement on the economy released on the second day of a summit in northern Japan.
G8 powers -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States -- said they remained positive about the long-term resilience of their economies, noting that emerging economies were still growing strongly.
At the same time, the world economy was "facing uncertainty" and risks to growth remained.
They expressed "strong concern" about oil and food prices, which they said "pose a serious challenge to stable growth worldwide, have serious implications for the most vulnerable and increase global inflationary pressure."
The statement made no mention of the weakness of the US currency, although US President George W. Bush told fellow G8 leaders that he was committed to "a strong dollar."
In foreign exchange market activity, the dollar fell slightly against the euro on Tuesday.
Agence France-Presse - 7/8/2008 12:07 PM GMT
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