Lowyat.NET: Latest topics by michaellee

Who is Kevin Yeo?

michaellee — Sat, 20 Nov 2021 23:45:09 +0800

Will he do what he swears he eould do?

Countries that Malaysians can travel to without qu

michaellee — Sun, 10 Oct 2021 17:49:32 +0800

Let's do a list of countries we can travel to without quarantine. I will update the list as per everyone's recommendation. Happy holiday!

1. Maldives
2. Sri Lanka
3. France (can someone check the rules for this?)
4. UK
5. Canada (please read this https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-re...ns/wizard-start )
6. Thailand (requires 7 days quarantine)
7. USA (just need pcr test)
8. Saudi Arabia (for sinovac and sinopharm, needs mrna booster)
9. Turkey
10. Switzerland
11. Spain
12. Qatar
13. UAE

USA finally admitted killing innocent civilian

michaellee — Sat, 18 Sep 2021 06:06:34 +0800

The US drone attack is now believed to have been a mistake. Why are the people behind the attack not brought to ICJ to be charged for such crimes?

https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/17/politics/kab...-hnk/index.html

Malaysian in Nasa Challenge

michaellee — Mon, 02 Nov 2020 15:38:35 +0800

This time, it is for real. Let's hope ministers will congratulate him.

https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/...2c_bENQGz4BE_TM

Malaysia to build with Singapore undersea tunnel

michaellee — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 12:10:50 +0800

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=...3824&sec=nation

Instead of building an underground tunnel which is a bloody expensive project, they should start by removing the causeway to allow better water flow and better ferry services between the two countries. Ferries can be an effective human transporter.

Tiger Airways Now Grounded for 30 days in Aussie

michaellee — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 10:33:43 +0800

SINGAPORE : Australia's air safety regulator is seeking to keep Tiger Airways grounded until August 1, which the airline said it will not oppose.

Analysts said it will cost the carrier S$30 million in loss of ticket sales, refunds and other costs for the 30-day suspension period.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority has applied for a court order to continue the suspension as its investigations could not be completed in time.

Following that, Tiger said its Australia's CEO, Crawford Rix, will leave the company at the end of July, and will be replaced by Tony Davis, the CEO of the airline's parent company, Tiger Airways Holdings.

Mr Davis' former responsibilities will be carried out by Mr Chin Yau Seng, who is an executive director of Tiger Airways Holdings and the ex-CEO of Silkair, Singapore Airlines (SIA) regional arm.

In a statement, Tiger said that it "remains committed to resuming services as quickly as possible. As a consequence, Tiger Airways will refund fares to those passengers holding reservations between now and 31 July."

Australia's consumer regulator said it could launch court actions to fine the airline up to A$1.1 million for each instance of misleading conduct.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission had warned Tiger about selling tickets to consumers on flights that now look like will never take off.

At the same time, Tiger will have to repay the A$2.25 million it received from the Australian government to base some planes in Adelaide.

Going forward, analysts are pessimistic, saying the loss of revenue will impact negatively on Tiger's stock price.

The carrier made 45 per cent of its revenue from Australia last year.

Melissa Yeap, analyst at DMG & Partners Research, said: "We think that it is too risky at this point to venture in, especially we think that recent events will have a major repercussion on demand.

"This year Tiger Australia has been hit pretty bad, first by the Chilean volcanic ash and now this grounding. We are predicting that aircraft utilisation rate will fall seeing that demand will fall, and we are pegging it to a lower multiple in light of the higher risk.

"Last year, it made S$279 million in revenue from Australia, that's 45 per cent of total revenue of S$622 million. Impact will be significant to overall group revenue."

Julius Yeo, aviation analyst at Frost & Sullivan concurred: "The stock will definitely fall, taking into account the cost that it will cost them. A month on the ground, the staff cost, aircraft maintenance and refunds will all add up... It is very pessimistic for them."

Tiger stocks closed flat on Wednesday at S$1.04.

However, some also caution against bashing an airline when it's down.

Shukor Yusof, aviation analyst at Standard and Poor's, said: "One has to be impartial and look at the good they have done in Australia. They have been in there 4 years now and have stimulate the market, introducing very low fares that benefit Australians."

Still, Yusof said he's not betting on a total recovery in the airline.

He said: "Now is to sit down and revaluate their business, whether they should or should not stay in Australia. Next step will hinge on how soon they can resolve this and how much losses they can cope. There is a tipping point where they will say they have to get out, and the point is not there yet," he added.

source : http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/cor...1139298/1/.html

Tiger Airways CEO sold shares before suspension

michaellee — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 12:13:08 +0800

Tiger Airways CEO Tony Davis sold some of his holdings in June 2011 just before CASA suspend Tiger.

source: http://www.smh.com.au/business/tiger-boss-...0601-1fgll.html

Now the share price for Tiger Airways plunge on Monday trade.

Air Asia One of the largest Airlines in the world

michaellee — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 08:24:52 +0800

SINGAPORE: Low cost airline AirAsia is set to become one of the biggest airline groups in the world following its landmark order of 200 Airbus A320neos, said Frost & Sullivan Aerospace & Defence senior consultant Kunal Sinha.

He said the firm order by AirAsia validated three important trends. Apart from the rise of AirAsia, he said the centre of air transport was shifting from North America towards Asia and the market had given a thumbs-up to the A320neo.

“The AirAsia deal is the largest ever single order placed with Airbus in terms of number of aircraft. The AirAsia group currently operates 89 A320s and already has orders for another 86 A320s. The 200 A320neos, which will be powered by CFM LEAP-X engines, will be delivered from 2016 to 2026,” he told Bernama yesterday.

Sinha said growth in the commercial aircraft fleet was likely to shift to new territories in the Asia Pacific, China and the Middle East, and expected to follow a different pattern that brought the North American and European markets to maturity.

Narrow body aircraft are expected to form the bulk of the order instead of turboprop and regional jets.

Sinha said Boeing had recently forecast that the Asia Pacific region would require 11,450 aircraft worth US$1.51 trillion till 2030. Asia Pacific will account for about 30% of the global delivery.

The A320neo offers an expected 15% improvement in fuel burn compared to the current generation A320.

Thus it allows airlines, particularly the LCCs, to further reduce their unit operating costs.

Sinha said ordering 200 aircraft was a necessity for AirAsia as the last order AirAsia placed was in November 2007.

AirAsia Group chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes has categorically said the affiliates of AirAsia in Thailand and Indonesia would be receiving a large chunk of the 200 additional aircraft. The company plans to utilise the upcoming initial public offering (IPO) of AirAsia Indonesia and Thailand to fund the acquisition.

Sinha said the new order, however, only gave AirAsia a fleet of 250 aircraft at the end of 2020.

He said AirAsia would therefore need to significantly accelerate its current A320 and A320neo delivery schedule to meet its vision of operating at least 320 aircraft by 2020.

“Nonetheless, this order has cemented AirAsia's position as the region's largest low cost airline group, making it one of the biggest airline groups in the world,” he added. - Bernama

source: http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?f...62&sec=business

Tiger Airways Kena Banned in Australia

michaellee — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 20:27:34 +0800

SYDNEY: Aviation regulators grounded budget carrier Tiger Airways Australia Saturday because it posed a "serious and imminent risk to air safety", throwing the travel plans of thousands of people into chaos.

Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) said Tiger's domestic services had been suspended with immediate effect following a series of incidents that had raised questions about its airworthiness.

The first grounding of an entire airline in Australian aviation history, the ban is for an initial five working days, after which officials can apply for a court-enforced extension to allow for further safety investigations.

A subsidiary of Singapore's Tiger Airways, Tiger Australia operates about 60 domestic flights a day, moving up to 9,000 passengers.

Transport Minister Anthony Albanese said about 35,000 people would be affected by the week-long ban, which he described as an "extremely regrettable" but necessary step.

CASA said it was considering applying for an extension and warned that Tiger's licence to fly was at stake, though that was "not so much in contemplation at this point".

"What we're looking at now is do we need more time to work on what response we're going to have to this situation, and if we do how much time, and putting an argument to the court to get that time," CASA spokesman Peter Gibson told AFP.

Australian authorities have been closely monitoring Tiger and issued the airline a "show cause" notice in March threatening to vary, suspend or cancel its licence over safety worries.

It was ordered to improve the proficiency of its pilots, boost pilot training and checking procedures, address fatigue management issues and ensure "appropriately qualified people fill management and operational positions".

CASA also ordered improvements to the airline's "maintenance control and ongoing airworthiness systems."

"Since Tiger Airways Australia was served the show cause notice there have been further events raising concerns about the airline's ability to continue to conduct operations safely," the regulator said.

"CASA believes permitting the airline to continue to fly poses a serious and imminent risk to air safety," it added.

Barry Jackson, head of the pilots' union, said the move was a "wake-up call" for the industry and backed their claims that budget airlines were eroding national safety standards.

Tiger said the suspension related to "two recent operational incidents" -- reportedly involving aircraft flying dangerously low -- and it would cooperate fully with CASA.

"In the meantime the airline is doing all it can to minimise passenger disruption, especially for passengers who are travelling this weekend and over the next week," Tiger said, promising full refunds or ticket credits.

The grounding comes at the beginning of the extra busy school holiday period, throwing travel plans into chaos.

Budget rivals Jetstar and Virgin both promised to lay on extra flights to help stranded passengers and said they would offer special fares to those hit by the Tiger ban. Flag carrier Qantas also offered discount flights.

Qantas engineers called off strike action scheduled for next week at the request of the government to ensure disruptions were kept to a minimum.

"All our actions for next week have now been cancelled," Steve Purvinas, head of the engineers' union, told AFP.

But there were angry scenes at the nation's airports, where many passengers only learned their flights had been axed when they arrived to check in.

"You get here and then they're banned, 'sorry no flights'," said one woman. "This is just pathetic."

The ban comes at a fraught time for Australia's aviation sector, with industrial unrest brewing at Qantas and airlines still reeling from the unprecedented chaos caused by Chile's ash cloud.

Hundreds of thousands of passengers were stranded following the eruption of the Puyehue volcano, costing airlines tens of millions of dollars at a time they are already suffering from high oil prices and a surging Australian dollar.

Qantas has estimated losses at more than $200 million this year due to the Chilean ash, local floods and earthquakes in Japan and New Zealand.

source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp...1138464/1/.html

New to Share Market

michaellee — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 17:42:26 +0800

Hi,

I am quite new to share market though have some basic knowledge of it. I would like to ask sifus here, what would your recommended stock be, if I have the following criterias:
(1) No time to monitor stock (so preferably blue chips)
(2) Moving my fixed deposit funds and excess monthly funds into share market. Probably 10% kept as cash/fixed deposit and the rest 90% as unmonitored shares.
(3) Looking for dividend yields mainly especially those whose yields are higher than EPF or FD (EPF paid out 5.85% last year)
(4) Bonus if the share could yield capital appreciation.

I have always advocate a few blue chips like Public Bank, Bursa, Dutch Lady and Nestle (not necessary in that order). Are these the best for my scenario? Or are there others who might be performing better? What ratio should i split my funds for the above shares? eg. 40% DLady 40% Nestle and 20% PBB?

Thank you all in advance for any kind advices.

Michael Lee

p.s. when I said I am quite new, I have actually not buy into any shares before in KLSE but had given advice to many friends who made money via the above 4 shares. I am planning to use Maybank2u for my transaction, is that good or is there another better platform to transact? I have an iPhone and planning to get a Galaxy Tab if I decide to go into shares. Kindly advise which platform would be good for my above gadgets. Thanks heaps.