BRAND MALAYSIA: (March 22) Malaysia wants to brand itself internationally as a corporate nation that emphasises quality, security, service and efficiency, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in his speech at the Invest Malaysia 2005 Conference. He also announced the five foreign stockbrokers and one foreign fund manager who will be allowed to operate in the country. They are CLSA, Credit Suisse First Boston, JP Morgan, Macquarie and UBS; while the sole fund manager is Aberdeen Asset Management.
RESORT ON HOLD: (March 20) The Selangor Government is in a quandary over whether to go ahead with a RM4bil project to turn the Sepang district coastline into a beach resort to rival the Gold Coast in Australia. The project, which covers a massive 1,492ha, hit a snag three weeks ago when contractors got into trouble with the local authorities for carrying out piling works without following procedures. It was also learnt that the project owners had not obtained the environment impact assessment (EIA) approval from the Department of Environment before starting piling works.
