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Straits Times 05/09/2003
Barely larger than a speck of dust, the so-called Malaysian Microchip looks poised to take security technology to a new level.
MALAYSIA plans to produce the world's smallest microchip that could be embedded in passports and even currency notes in its latest move to develop the country into a high-tech hub.
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad yesterday unveiled plans for the Malaysian Microchip (MM) project.
It was developed by FEC Inc, a Japanese company that has sold to the Malaysian government the rights for the microchip, measured at 0.5 of a square millimetre.
'This microchip can greatly prevent the possibility of terrorist attacks. We can also embed it into currency notes to eliminate counterfeiting,' said Dr Mahathir.
It is designed with a built-in antenna using radio frequency for contactless reading and can be used to verify the authenticity of documents. Malaysia plans to use the new microchip on its smart identity card.
The card is already the world's first identification document of its kind. It can be used as an electronic purse and bank card and store driving licence information and other personal details.
The Malaysian smart card and passports are already embedded with microchips but they are big and cumbersome compared to the new chip.
Dr Mahathir said yesterday Malaysia hopes to eventually export the MM, which he has described as the most important development in the country's vision to become a developed country by 2020.
FEC Inc chief executive officer Kunioki Ichioka told reporters here that the MM could be inserted into the human body, credit cards, bullets and countless documents for accurate verification.
But neither Dr Mahathir nor Mr Ichioka would reveal how much the Malaysian government had paid for the rights to the MM, with the Prime Minister saying only that it was a reasonable price.
Mr Ichioka said the chip would be ready for mass production by early next year and would initially be manufactured in Japan.
The company hopes to start producing the chip in Malaysia in one year at a wafer-fabrication plant in Kulim, Kedah.
'I am very convinced and we think this microchip will enable identification with great accuracy. This is what we are offering to the world and it is a great breakthrough for Malaysia,' said Dr Mahathir.
The Malaysian Premier made the announcement at the annual meeting of global high-tech company chiefs gathered for Malaysia's Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) International Advisory Panel meeting in Cyberjaya.
The Star: 25th Sept. 2004
TELEKOM Malaysia today was awarded the FIABCI Property Award of Distinction 2004 (Malaysian Chapter) under the Office Development Category for its headquarters, Menara Telekom, located at Jalan Pantai Bahru.
Towering at a height of 310m, equivalent to 77 storeys, Menara Telekom is the latest landmark in the Kuala Lumpur skyline.
Its unique structure, which depicts a bamboo shoot with strong foundations at its roots and little sprouting leaves, imparts a progressive look, while retaining a sense of traditional charm, Telekom said in a statement.
Menara Telekom also houses several well-known tenants, namely DaimlerChrysler, HapagLlyod, Unilever, Henkel Malaysia, Penebangan Malaysia Bhd, Takaful and the IT Department of Tenaga Nasional.
For the 7,000 capacity, Menara Telekom prides itself with the occupants' comfort that it provides.
An imposing building, Menara Telekom has an Integrated Building Management System (IBMS), a home-grown concept created by TMR&D Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Telekom.
The system was conceptualised on the platform of providing a productive and cost-effective environment through the optimisation of systems, services and management, and the inter-relationship between them.
The IBMS has the ability to integrate 11 key mechanical and engineering sub-systems within the tower ranging from the air-conditioning and ventilation system, to the lighting control system, the security management system as well as the lift and escalator system.
Another key feature in the building is the inbuilt Document Conveyor System. It caters to the movements of documents and parcels within the building from three floors underground right to the 55th floor, the highest office floor of the tower.
The Edge: 10th. December 2004
Infineon will invest US$1 billion (RM3.8 billion) to build a new plant in Malaysia making non-memory chips, the German chipmaker said on Dec 8.
Infineon said the plant would produce mainly power and logic chips for the car and industrial sectors and employ some 1,700 people when it reached full capacity.
Infineon planned to break ground early next year on the site at Kulim High Tech Park near Penang, the northern heartland of Malaysia’s electronics industry, and ramp up capacity in 2006.
“With this move, we are systematically expanding our presence in the future market of Asia,” chief executive Wolfgang Ziebart said in a statement.
“Our continuous investment in Asia also reduces our market risk concerning fluctuations of the US dollar-to-euro exchange rate,” added Ziebart.
Infineon plans capital expenditure of 1 billion to 1.5 billion (RM5.32 billion-RM7.6 billion) this fiscal year to September.
Industry sources said the investment in the Malaysian plant was likely to be made over a number of years.
Infineon’s Automotive and Industrial division accounted for almost all of the 256 million earnings before interest and tax in its 2003/04 year, although it made 40% of its 7.2 billion in sales from DRAM memory chips.
“This is no switch away from the DRAM business,” an Infineon spokesman said. He said the company — Europe’s biggest maker of automotive chips — needed to keep up with growth in the automotive and industrial sectors.
Infineon expected the worldwide automotive chip market to grow by around 10% annually over the next few years as cars would contain more and more electronics.
Ziebart said last month the company would change its focus to profit from growth and focus on core activities as it saw lean times ahead for the semiconductor industry. — Reuters
The Star: 10th. December 2004
By B.K. SIDHU
Telekom Malaysia Bhd has won the bid for a 27.3% stake in Indonesia’s third largest mobile operator, PT Excelcomindo Pratama (Excel), for RM1.2bil cash, beating offers from regional rivals such as South Korea’s SK Telecom.
The purchase gives Telekom management and board control over Excel. Telekom said in a statement yesterday that it was willing to buy more shares in the Indonesian company next year, subject to certain conditions being met.
This acquisition of the Excel stake puts Telekom in a very promising position in Indonesia, given there is a huge yet-to-be tapped market for mobile services there. Excel had a 15.5% market share and 4.2 million subscribers at end-September in a country where there are more than 20 million mobile phone users.
Telekom chairman Tan Sri Radzi Mansor said in the statement the company was excited about the acquisition, which was in line with its strategy of acquiring more mobile assets in low penetrated markets close to home.
The deal, expected to be wrapped up next month, comes hot on the heels of Telekom’s disposal of its entire stake in Telkom South Africa for over RM3bil cash. The South African unit had been a big source of foreign earnings for Telekom but it will soon be replaced by the Indonesian cellular telecommunications company (celco).
Telekom’s cellular earnings will get a further boost when the company seals a deal to buy a third of India’s fifth largest mobile company, Idea Cellular, very soon.
The two mobile deals will give Telekom a solid footing in Asia’s other mobile markets where growth remains strong compared with Malaysia's, where cellular growth is expected to reach saturation in about two years.
Group chief executive officer Datuk Abdul Wahid Omar said in the statement: “Telekom's strategic vision is to help enhance Excel’s market position in Indonesia and, in the process, make Excel a substantial contributor to Telekom’s future growth.
“We believe our position as the Malaysian market leader, combined with our extensive experience as a regional investor, will be beneficial to Excel.’’
Wahid said that operating in a market contiguous to Malaysia, “Excel is an ideal partner for Telekom’s cellular unit, Celcom (M) Bhd.” He said substantial synergies were available in view of the level of voice and data traffic between Indonesia and Malaysia.
Telekom said the purchase would be made via unit TM International and that the agreement to buy the 27.3% stake in Excel was reached with Rajawali Group, the principal shareholder of the Indonesian company.
The sale of the stake by Rajawali to Telekom complements Excel's plans for an initial public offering in the first half of next year.
Rajawali Group chief executive officer Peter Sondakh said that Telekom was well placed to take Excel to the next level of development.
Apart from mobile services, Excel has a substantial presence in the Indonesian corporate data market and is developing businesses in VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) and wireless broadband.
Excel also operates a GSM network, offering prepaid and postpaid mobile services. Its network spans Java, Bali, Lombok, Sumatra, Kalimantan and Sulawesi.
For the first nine months 2004, Excel recorded gross revenue the equivalent of RM965mil.
According to earlier reports, Excel is 60% owned by Rajawali Group, 23% by Verizon Communications Inc, 13% by the Asian Infrastructure Fund, and 4% by Japan’s Mitsui & Co.
The Edge: 10th. December 2004
Share price of Telekom Malaysia Bhd rose more than 1.7% or 20 sen to RM11.80 on Dec 10 after winning the bid for Indonesia's third-largest mobile phone operator PT Excelcomindo Pratama.
It opened unchanged at RM11.60. Within the first hour of trade, there were 129,700 shares done at prices ranging from RM11.60 to RM11.80.
At 10am, it was trading at RM11.70, up 10 sen.
Yesterday, Telekom announced it had won an international bid to become the new controlling shareholder in Excelcomindo, which is scheduled for listing next year.
It will buy a 27.3% stake in Excelcomindo for US$314 million (RM1.19 billion) cash. It will also have majority management and board control of the latter.
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