14 theSun | WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 21 2009

business

Perodua’s first B&P hub to ramp up

after-sales business
by Eva Yeong
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
SUBANG JAYA: Perodua expects its after-sales
business to double with the official opening of
its first body & paint (B&P) hub in Subang Jaya
yesterday.
Perodua sales and after-sales division director
Ahmad Suhaimi Anuar said the number of cars
repaired and painted will be doubled to between
200 and 260 monthly from the current average
of 130 at the present SS13/5 Subang Jaya service
centre.
“In addition, this hub will boost our service
capacity to 2,500 intakes a month from 1,500 at
RM6 million each.
“Two of the four hubs planned will be built in
the northern and southern parts of Klang Valley
by 2010, and the remaining two will be built in the
northern and southern regions of the peninsula
by 2012,” said Suhaimi.
“For September, the B&P segment contributed
31% to our after-sales revenue and for the year so
far, B&P revenue contribution is about 29%. We
expect these B&P hubs to contribute significantly
to our after-sales business,” he said.
Meanwhile, Perodua managing director Datuk
Syed Abdull Hafiz Syed Abu Bakar said the com-
pany increased its sales target to 162,000 units
this year from an initial target of 148,000 units on
the back of strong consumer spending.
Last year, Perodua sold 167,000 units.
Perodua will be launching its new MPV at the
end of next month and expects to sell 3,500 units
the new model, priced between RM56,000 and
RM65,000, a month. Its Myvi Exclusive Edition will
also be launched soon.
Syed Abdull Hafiz, whose contract with
Perodua expires in December, said he is not
renewing the contract with the company.
He said UMW Holdings Bhd, which controls
38% of Perodua, had offered him an extension but
he had turned it down to focus on charity work.

KAMARIDUAN MOHD NOR/THESUN

the SS13/5 service centre,” said Suhaimi.
He said the number of vehicles serviced at its
outlets is expected to reach 1.56 million intakes
by year-end compared with 1.37 million last year.
It recorded 1.2 million intakes in the first nine
months of this year.
The hub, which will replace the current SS13/5
Subang Jaya service centre by July next year,
offers collision repair, spray-painting services, car
servicing and the sale of spare parts.
It has 35 bays for collision repair, body aligner,
four spray booths and three ovens. It also has
32 service bays out of which nine are equipped Syed
with hoists. Abdull
The hub, which costs some RM6 million, takes Hafiz tours
up 5,159 sq m in Taman Perindustrian Subang. It the B&P
began operations on Oct 1 and serves customers hub after
in Subang Jaya, Shah Alam and Petaling Jaya. its official
Perodua also plans to open another four B&P opening
hubs by 2012, costing between RM4 million and yesterday.

Stimulus still needed, says Zeti

KUALA LUMPUR: The fiscal
stimulus is still necessary for both
this year and next year to support
the Malaysian economy, Bank
Negara governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti
Akhtar Aziz said yesterday.
However, she did not elaborate
whether Malaysia needed a new
stimulus package on top of the two
stimulus packages worth RM67
billion announced by the govern-
ment late last year and earlier this
year.
“Right now, the fiscal stimulus
is still necessary both this year
and coming to next year but of
course it is not sustainable over
the medium term and (therefore)
the private sector has to respond
and recover,” she told reporters
after officiating the 21st Federa-
tion of AFRO-Asian Insurers and
Reinsurers conference.
Zeti said there was a need for
sustainable growth over the me-
dium term and the government
would continue to create a condu-
cive investment environment for
the private sector.
“The economy has already
shown signs of recovery (and)
unless there’s any further negative
global developments, the current
stimulus is already producing
results and we are very pleased
to see that private consumption
is expanding,” she said.
As for the ringgit, Zeti said the
central bank does not intervene
in the market as the market is in
orderly condition with inflows
and outflows in stable condition.
“Therefore, the need does not
arise for central bank interven-
tion.”
“Only when we have exces-
sive adjustments in any particu-
lar day that presents risks to these
orderly market conditions, then
the central bank comes in,” she
said.
Zeti said that even when
there was some kind of volatil-
ity, generally the market has
remained orderly.
“We have inflows and we
have outflows, some days they
are about the same so you see
quite stable conditions and
other days of course, either the
inflow or outflow exceeds (the
other) and therefore you have
appreciation or depreciation,”
she said. – Bernama

‘Public-private insurance ties-up

will help during bad times’
KUALA LUMPUR: Partnerships
between the government and
insurance players will be essential
in providing suitable insurance
schemes and developing risk
mitigating mechanisms particu-
larly when facing catastrophes, says
Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti
Akhtar Aziz.
With the increasing catastrophes
that have been associated with glo-
bal climate change and pandemics,
such partnerships will be important
when coping up with the resulting
losses.
“According to a recent study,
economic losses caused by natural
and man-made catastrophes around
the world last year amounted to
US$269 billion (RM914.6 billion).
“Asia accounted for the top five
worst catastrophes in terms of
fatalities in 2008. The recent natural
disasters in Southeast Asia and
the Pacific Islands also resulted in
major destructions,” she said in her
keynote address before officiating
the 21st Federation of Afro-Asian
Insurance and Re-insurance Confer-
ence 2009 here yesterday.
Zeti said greater collaborative
efforts among industry players in
the region in the form of technical
assistance and pooling of resources
would increase capacity and exper-
tise to underwrite such risks.
“Through such collaboration, the
ability for the insurance industry to
underwrite and re-insure risks based
on the requirements of the region
can be significantly enhanced,” she
added. – Bernama

Muar Ban Lee shares oversubscribed 35 times

KUALA LUMPUR: Oil seed crushing
machinery specialist Muar Ban Lee
Group Bhd’s public share offer of
two million ordinary shares of 50
sen each at an offer price of 65 sen
has been oversubscribed 35 times
despite what analysts say are chal-
lenging economic conditions.
The company received a total of
4,691 applications for 72,801,900
shares with a value of RM47,321,235
for the two million shares offered to
the general public which was part
of the 28,000,000 ordinary shares
the company put on offer under its
initial public offer.
Responding to the overwhelm-
ing response from the Malaysian
public, the company offered another
4,000,000 shares to the public from the
7,340,000 public issue shares offered
to identified investors. – Bernama