SUGAR OR FROZEN DURIAN DEAL?
“For the self-interests of their cronies, they arm-twisted to take over Kuok’s Sugar Empire, cronies get rich by 1 billion or so, but it causing huge losses of more than 20 billion each year to the country!”
Recently, BN government has offended Robert Kuok, Malaysian economy suffered a great blow consequently!
After the official visit of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to Malaysia, Najib government now is truly understood Robert Kuok’s personal influence on China!
In order to benefit their cronies, they arm-twisted to swallow Robert Kuok’s sugar empire. The cronies get richer by 1 billion or so, but it causing losses of more than 20 billion to the country!
Those who have accessed to insider news can only curse to core and pull out his/her hairs!
Malaysia sugar king was forced to leave Malaysia, but became the world’s sugar king! He bought the world’s largest sugar mills in Australia, invested USD 10 billion in the sugar farm in Indonesia with the goal of developing it to the world’s largest sugar refining producer, living up to the name of the world’s sugar king.
On the other hand, Malaysia government enriched its cronies at the expense of national interests. For those who have insider news, Kuok offered tremendous help to the Malaysian government in the past few decades, he has done everything possible; but what the government did was like what you will get when you turn over a pig stomach: faeces.
In other words, Najib Government is UNGRATEFUL!
In the “Confidential” news, it is about the Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s visit to Malaysia recently, it hit a snag with Najib.
Prior to Premier Wen Jiabao’s visit to Malaysia, Najib and his cabinet on more than one occasion, hinted that he hoped China will double the amount of palm oil import from Malaysia.
We all know that China is the largest consumer of palm oil from Malaysia. Rapid economic growth in the recent years, China became the largest palm oil market for Malaysia, but Malaysia has also facing a strong competition from Indonesia, trying to sell its palm oil at lower prices to China and India, which will diluting Malaysian market share.
This threat is a great concern for Najib.
Najib hoped to sign a new palm oil trading contracts with Premier Wen Jiabao in order to more than double the average 10 million tonnes monthly export to China. But Wen Jiabao came to a Malaysia, Najib was told that this request is unlikely to be fulfilled. It was an utter disappointment.
Najib knows the Chinese market demand, import one million tonnes of palm oil per month is still not a constraint for China.
So, what is the problem? The problem is Sugar King, Kuok does not agree!
Why the Sugar Kuok is able to influence China’s decision to buy Malaysian palm oil?
The China cooking oil market is monopolized by who? The China cooking oil market leader is “Arowana” brand cooking oil, accounting for nearly 40% of its market share! The Arowana cooking oil boss, is Robert Kuok!
Think about it, if Premier Wen Jiabao on behalf of the Chinese government buys the Malaysian palm oil. Who is going to refine it into cooking oil? Of course, it is the private enterprises! With its 40% market share, if Arowana cooking oil company refuses to buy more, how the Chinese government is going to absorb the extra import volume?
Najib was insensible from the start, and did not know Kuok had such a big influence in China. He had helped cronies, forced Robert Kuok to give up the Malaysian sugar king throne, and didn’t expect to have such quick retribution.
Kuok was forced to pack and leave Malaysia, his heart is of course very unhappy. People of Malaysia must know that during the early days of independence, we did not have aviation talent pool, Alliance government requested Kuok’s father to help set up Malayan Airways.
In 1970 Malaysian maritime shipping industry is also in vacuum, Malaysian government sent representatives to Hong Kong to personally invite Kuok for assistance. For the national development sake, Kuok put aside his Group business, came back to Malaysia to assist Government in establishing a national maritime shipping industry, this later renamed to MALAYSIA INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING CORPORATION, MISC in short.
Robert Kuok gave his hand when Malaysia repeatedly faced the economic difficulties in Mahathir era. Even in MCA Tan Koon Swan’s case, it was Robert Kuok who paid the bail! Malaysia’s successive governments, from the National Front to BN, owed Robert Kuok a lot. But Malaysian Government was ungrateful, using the high-handed trick and no sugar price rise excuse to forcefully take over Kuok’s sugar empire in Malaysia.
This is not ungrateful?
Deng Xiaoping made a comeback in the 70s, announced China’s reform and needed most generous help of overseas Chinese entrepreneurs; Robert was first to take actions to help Deng. Among the other entrepreneurs of Chinese economic miracle are Henry Fok and Li Ka-shing Hong Kong. Malaysian entrepreneur Robert Kuok is the first to response to Deng Xiaoping’s appeal and built the China’s first five-star hotel, Shangri-La in Beijing.
With over 30 years of close-knit relationship with the Chinese government and its top leadership, Kuok has great influence on them. Najib failed to recognize that. This is why the quote at the top of this post : “For the interests of their cronies, they arm twisted to take over Kuok’s Sugar Empire, cronies get rich by 1 billion or so, but it causing huge losses of more than 20 billion each year to the country!”
Kuok’s sugar empire was eaten up by the fat vampire’s family abruptly. Imagine, a world renowned international trade business personality, what humiliation he received in return for his single-minded help all this while for his own country & government? And Najib would never think that the consequences of offending the Sugar King will be so serious.
Right after Sugar King left Malaysia, he immediately announced the acquisition of Australia’s biggest sugar mill. This is the world leading supplier of raw material for sugar manufacturing. Of course, this includes supplying to the family of the fat vampire woman’s sugar factory in Perlis.
In early this year, Kuok announced plans to invest USD 10 billion in Indonesia for the development of the world’s largest sugar cane plantation, as well as building a state-of-the-art sugar refinery mill.
In the midst of world economy was facing a downturn and Malaysian government traveled around the world to solicit investment. How much was Malaysia’s foreign investment? Kuok’s single investment in Indonesia alone is already USD 10 billion dollars!
Don’t you want to screw the first couple?
At the moment, China’s palm oil contracts sealed with Malaysia is remaining unchanged under the agreeable terms. There won’t be any increase in volume. Indonesia has more palm oil output than Malaysia. It is cheaper too. Now that Kuok had invested so much money in Indonesia, the Government of Indonesia would have treated him as their God of Wealth. Certainly, open to negotiate anything with him. Moreover, Indonesia has been eyeing to take over the China palm oil contract from Malaysia.
The CONSOLATION price China offers to Malaysia for not increasing the purchase of palm oil was importing frozen durian.
Do the Chinese people have the habit of eating durian? How much time and efforts are needed to market frozen durian from Malaysia? Thai durian may not selling well in China, let alone Malaysia frozen durian?
Business is business, who would supply millions of dollars’ worth of frozen durian into an untapped new market with no durian consumption culture? Should the Chinese people become non-receptive of it, how do we deal with return goods? A total failure of investment might happen. Is this how to do business?
In earlier this year, when the news hit the papers that Kuok made an announcement to invest USD 10 billion in Indonesia, many criticized Kuok for being unpatriotic, preferring to inject so much money into Indonesia instead of Malaysian.
What A CRAP!
You arm-twisted him to take over his empire, forcing the man to leave Malaysia in broken heart & humiliation; now that the man ignores the Malaysian market, and you criticize him?
He channeled his huge investment to Australia & Indonesia instead of Malaysia, who is to be blamed?
Coincidentally, Kuok is not just the renowned China hotelier, king of cooking oil, the world’s sugar King; he is also the franchisee of the Coca-cola soft drink brand in the Chinese market. Kuok is involved in a diversity of businesses in China. He created many job opportunities for China. The Chinese central government and leaders have great respect for him as an entrepreneur. When the man speaks, the weight it carries can be far-reaching.
So far, Kuok is the only Malaysian tycoon who never accepted any of the royal titles conferred for those outstanding Malaysians.
Many people address him as “Tan Sri Robert Kuok,” in actual fact, he does not have it, he doesn’t need them too. To put the record straight, he is neither Tan Sri nor Dato.
Short of RM94b target, Najib asks local investors to stay home
By Shannon Teoh
September 15, 2011
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/short-of-rm94b-target-najib-asks-local-investors-to-stay-home/KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 15 — Putrajaya admitted today that domestic investments were not on track to meet the RM94 billion annual target but insisted that the government has “provided the platform” for investors.
Datuk Seri Najib Razak asked the local private sector to “be the true engine of growth” and promised that his administration would “work harder” to pave the way for investors to “create wealth in your own country.”
After revealing that direct domestic investment (DDI) in manufacturing from January to July amounted to RM15.9 billion and RM11 billion was poured into the services sector in the first quarter of the year, the prime minister said that “the figures are trying to tell us that we have quite some way to go.”
Speaking at the Domestic Investment Summit today, Najib (picture) said that the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) aimed to reverse the foreign direct investment (FDI) to DDI ratio which stood at 60:40 in the past five years.
With manufacturing investments now split evenly between foreign and domestic sources, he added that “the trend is changing” towards the ETP target of 73 per cent of private investments for the 10 years until 2020 to be from local investors.
Najib, who is also finance minister, said that in the last summit in December 2009, investors had cited the large GLC presence, shortage of skilled workers, bureaucracy, government opaqueness and inefficiency as obstacles in delivering the RM940 billion local private investment targeted by the ETP in the decade prior to 2020.
“Each and every issue that you raised has been addressed,” he insisted, adding that some efforts had an immediate impact while others would take some time “to leave its mark.”
The Najib administration is due to table its 2012 budget on October 7 as ongoing debt crises in Europe and the United States are expected to hamper Malaysia’s export-oriented economy.
In recent weeks, PM Najib has courted investors and financial institutions, saying today that he listened to several proposals by leading chief executives at the Forbes CEO conference earlier this week.
He has repeatedly boasted that the Geneva-based World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report ranked Malaysia as the 21st most competitive market in the world, up five places from last year and told investors today that “I believe we will do better next year.”
Although Malaysia’s economy rebounded to a 7.2 per cent growth last year after shrinking by 1.7 per cent in 2009, momentum has slowed with the GDP growing by just 4.9 and 4 per cent in the first two quarters of the year respectively.
Oil palm industry can contribute another RM14bil in revenue, says DPM
By ALYCIA LIM
BANGI: The oil palm industry in Malaysia can generate an additional revenue of RM14bil a year from the production of hydrogen fuel, bio-fertiliser and animal feed from biomass.
This could mean a 20% increase to the current revenue of RM60bil from oil palm products, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said.
The Government has made bio-gas development one of its focus via the Entry Point Projects (EPP) to generate an estimated RM2.9bil in gross national income by 2020 and create another 2,000 jobs.
“As technology becomes more available in the next few years, bio-oil, which would be produced through the biomass-to-liquid technology, could be converted into green transportation fuels,” said Muhyiddin.
He added that these EPPs would not require any public funding as they will rely entirely on RM3.2bil worth of private investment over the next 10 years.
A closer look: Muhyiddin looking through the microscope at an exhibition on green technology during his visit to UKM Bangi yesterday.
He was launching the setting up of the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia-Yayasan Sime Darby (UKM-YSD) Chair for Sustainable Development Zero Waste Technology for the Palm Oil Industry here yesterday.
YSD contributed RM15mil to the endowment fund for the UKM-YSD Chair, to help the university and Sime Darby Plantation’s research teams, to work together on milling processes through homegrown green technology that would result in zero emission of greenhouse gasses.
Muhyiddin said: “I hope the research done by our very own local experts will act as a catalyst to develop and create our very own green technology that can stand high with the rest of the world.”
The Chair was the second major collaboration between YSD and UKM, with the first being the UKM-YSD Chair for Climate Change last year.
UKM vice-chancellor Prof Tan Sri Dr Sharifah Hapsah Syed Hasan Shahabudin said the university’s strength in climate change and renewable energy were the foundations set up to secure the two Chairs.
“The Chair will have a positive spin-off on human resource capacity building, development of intellectual properties and their commercialisation,” she said.
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