Damai Golf CC (Kuching in March) - Golf Republic

KUCHING: Despite Kuching having a booming retail sector which has profusely developed over the last couple of years, the high influx of retail spaces have led to lower retail rent rates and property prices.

According to CH William Talhar Wong & Yeo Sdn Bhd (WTWY) in its Sarawak Property Bulletin, retail rents have not been able to attract the kind of rates commanded two years ago.

"Owners have had to lower their rents below RM20 per square foot (psf) in order to secure new tenants or retain old ones," WTWY highlighted in its report.

It further added that retail property prices have also waned somewhat compared to recent years to less than RM2,000 psf with malls vying for the same retail tenants who have not been increasing in tandem with the rise in retail spaces.

In addition, WTWY highlighted that current occupancy has dropped to around 70 per cent to 75 per cent from more than 80 per cent, less than five years ago.

"The market seems to be showing signs of saturation with occupancy rates anticipated to drop further in the next year or so," it opined in the report.

With four new shopping malls having opened in 2013 and a handful more under construction, WTWY believes that the retail sector does not seem to be slowing down anytime soon.

"Maintaining a competitive edge in terms of appeal, layout, design and size will be relevant for survival."

The booming retail sector continued to manifest itself in 2013 with the completion of malls in Kuching including ST3, City One, Eastern Mall and Summer Mall.

WTWY noted that while CityOne is a mega mall by Kuching standard, Summer Mall encompasses the whole concept of a one-stop center for Samarahan for shopping, leisure and entertainment.

It further added in the report that coupled with Samarahan, these malls have added about another 1.1 million square feet (sq ft) of retail space to Greater Kuching, pushing current supply of retail space in Kuching to about 4.54 million sq ft which has more than doubled the figure five years ago.

Overall, malls continued to be built in 2013, WTWY observed, albeit smaller ones in the form of hypermarkets and supermarkets built to cater to the suburban areas outskirt residential nodules at various commercial centres.

Among some of the malls currently being developed with expected completion dates within this year include Emart at batu Kawa, Swan Mall at matang, Moyan Square Shopping Mall and Matang Mall, all located in suburban areas.

Sunway Kuching a centre for accountancy excellence - Borneo Post

Posted: 19 Mar 2014 12:22 PM PDT

by Eve Sonary Heng, reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on March 20, 2014, Thursday

KUCHING: Sunway TES Sdn Bhd has appointed Kolej Sunway Kuching as the centre for accountancy excellence (CAE) for East Malaysia.

It will be part of efforts to transform Malaysia into a leading regional accountancy hub in the Asia Pacific region.

"Sunway-TES was awarded the CAE under EPP 17: Transforming Malaysia into a leading regional accountancy hub in the Asia Pacific Region by the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu). Kolej Sunway Kuching is extremely proud to have been appointed by Sunway TES to be CAE for East Malaysia," chief executive officer Joseph Lim said at a press conference yesterday.

Sunway TES CAE offers internationally renowned professional accounting programmes with three key thrusts — to produce 5,500 graduates with professional qualifications by 2020 to address the shortfall of qualified professional accountants; enhance public and private partnership through collaboration with leading private and public institutions of higher learning by incorporating professional qualifications into accounting degree programmes; and capacity development for academic professionals through knowledge exchange between lecturers from public and private institutions of higher learning.

Lim said to produce 5,500 accountants by 2020, the country needs to produce 900 accountants a year.

Kuching currently produces around 100 graduates a year.

"Kuching needs to produce 20 per cent more from this figure to contribute towards the achievement of 5,500 accountants by 2020," he explained.

He said to ensure all courses run at the college are industry-relevant and meet the human capital development needs of the nation, Sunway Kuching has established an industrial advisory board comprising over 20 prominent members from various industries.

It has also collaborated with various foundations to encourage more students to pursue careers in accounting and finance via Yayasan Sarawak and Yayasan Peneraju Pendidikan Bumiputera (Teraju) ACCA Education and Training Scheme, Yayasan Pendidikan Teknikal Rakyat Sarawak (Teras) Scholarship Scheme, and Tan Sri Datuk Seri Dr Jeffery Cheah Foundation Entrance Scholarship.

The Yayasan Sarawak and Teraju ACCA Education and Training Scheme offers Bumiputera Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) school leavers the opportunity to pursue a career in accountancy and finance via the Certified Accounting Technician (CAT) and Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) route.

"Yayasan Sarawak will support Bumiputera students to study the CAT programme at Sunway College Kuching. Upon passing and completing the CAT programme and meeting the selection criteria set by Teraju, students will have the option to progress to the ACCA qualification at the college under the sponsorship of the Peneraju Profesional Akauntan (PPA) Career Development Programme.

"Last year, 15 students commenced their studies under this scheme. This year, we target 30 students," he said.

Lim pointed out that out of 600 accountants in the state, only 2.58 per cent are Bumiputera.

The Teras scholarship, offers Dayak students the opportunity to pursue the Diploma in Accounting (DIA) programme at Kolej Sunway Kuching, while the Tan Sri Datuk Seri Dr Jeffery Cheah Foundation Entrance Scholarship offers non-Bumiputera students the opportunity to pursue various accounting programmes.

The foundation has allocated RM2 million to fund schemes for 2014 and 2015.

Lim added that Kolej Sunway Kuching has held ACCA United Kingdom platinum status since 2010.

"As a platinum approved learning partner, our pass rate has consistently matched or surpassed that of the world pass rate. In the last examination sitting (December 2013), our pass rates superseded the Malaysian and World Pass Rates for all 12 ACCA papers that we offered," he said.

The college has produced the most number of ACCA and CAT graduates in East Malaysia.

To date, it has nurtured 308 ACCA affiliates, 608 CAT finalists, five CAT world prize winners as well as 21 ACCA and CAT Malaysia prize winners.

For the April intake, the college will hold open days this weekend from 8.30am to 5pm. There will be career talks, course previews, scholarship and financial aid enquiries as well as one-to-one career counselling.

Call 082-451221 or visit the college at Song Plaza, Jalan Song.

Kuching Specialist to host health talk - Borneo Post

Posted: 19 Mar 2014 12:34 PM PDT

KUCHING: Kuching Specialist Hospital (KPJ), in collaboration with Taman Tabuan Jaya Residents Association (TTJRA), will hold a health talk on Saturday (March 22) at the KPJ hall.

The free talk from 1.30pm to 5pm aims to create awareness of health issues amongst the public.

Some 120 participants are expected to attend the talk.

There will also be free health screening, discount vouchers for health screening and lucky draw.

The speakers are general surgeon Dr Shehab Phung (Colon and Rectal Cancer), obstetrician and gynaecologist Dr Tan Yiap Loong (Stress Urinary Incontinence) and anaesthetist Dr Chen Chee Kean (Pain management and Healthy Lifestyle).

Dr Tan was included in the Ministry of Health Urogynaecology Sub-speciality Programme in 2011. He is a member of the Obstetrics and Gynaecological Society of Malaysia, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the International Urogynaecology Association (IUGA).

Dr Chen is active in research in the field of pain management and regional anaesthesiology. He was admitted as a member of Academy of Medicine Malaysia last year. He is an active journal reviewer and has published many scientific papers in international peer reviewed journals.

For more information, call KPJ on 082-365777.

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Kuching outlet in line with U Mobile's expansion strategy - Borneo Post

Posted: 17 Mar 2014 10:05 AM PDT

by Sharon Kong, sharonkong@theborneopost.com. Posted on March 18, 2014, Tuesday

KUCHING: U Mobile Sdn Bhd (U Mobile) launched its first Kuching Service Centre yesterday which is in line with its East Malaysian expansion strategy.

According to Wong Heang Tuck, chief operating officer and acting chief executive officer of U Mobile, East Malaysia is a market with great potential for the group to expand its reach of high-quality services, having seen an increasing adoption and penetration of smart devices and Internet services.

"This opening relates to U Mobile's staunch determination in offering market-best products and services at affordable rates as we produly provide nationwide coverage all across Malaysia.

"We believe that expansion is key in achieving growth and we are very much excited to extend our reach to this region," Wong said during the opening.

Although the telco's subscriber base is currently quite small in Sarawak, Wong noted that they are seeing a lot of good response from customers.

"This is why we are opening up a new branch here. I think, as a whole, this year we are targeting at least, about 30 to 40 per cent increase from last year's number. Last year we had about five million (subscribers) for the whole of Malaysia.

"The bigger contribution is from the west coast while Sarawak is quite minimal in terms of subscribers. But we do see a lot of customers wanting our services, that's why we are here," Wong reaffirmed, adding that U Mobile will be expanding its coverage as well.

Wong further explained that U Mobile is different from other telcos because it has products that appeal to certain segments of the market, for example free calls and data.

"I think those segments of the market has good response towards our U Mobile services. That's why you can see us growing pretty fast," he reiterated.

Coverage-wise, U Mobile is currently available in the major cities here, with Wong pointing out that as they see more response from their customers, they will in turn be increasing coverage to other areas.

"It will not be too long before we have similar coverage compared to the other telcos," he affirmed, adding that penetration rate is currently at around 50 to 60 per cent, and they will be increasing that to be on par with other telcos.

In terms of further expansion in the state, Wong explained that the opening of more branches in Sarawak is dependent on consumer response.

As U Mobile's subscriber base grows much further here, he affirmed that they will certainly open up more shops to cater to the demand.

In line with its expansion in East Malaysia, U Mobile will also be opening another outlet in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah on March 19, continuing its efforts in providing affordable, market-best value products and services on a nationwide level.

Damai Golf CC (Kuching in March) - Golf Republic

Damai Golf CC (<b>Kuching</b> in March) - Golf Republic

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