 |
2009 had been a very difficult year especially for our steel manufacturing companies. Our retail and tyre making operations performed satisfactorily while the other businesses under the Group fared moderately. With the full implementation of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement effectve 1 January 2010, the import duty on several products including steel products has been reduced to 0%. In view of China’s huge production capacities and low production costs, many industries including in developed countries are concerned over the impact this will have on their local industries and domestic market. We need to be prepared to face the challenges posed not only by China but also, all the other countries which are gearing themselves for the intense global economic competition.
Given the above developments, the operating environment particularly for our manufacturing companies has become very tough. While our operations have been striving to increase productivity, reduce costs and inventory, and improve operating efficiencies, we now must push ourselves to face the greater challenges in the new year.
Our steel operations must put in greater efforts to achieve their KPIs and to benchmark and learn from the best in the world. We need to source locally for available raw materials such as iron ore and coal in order to bring our cost down, and provide more in-house training for our staff to upgrade their skills and develop new products. On the retail side, Parkson opened 9 new stores in 2009 with 4 each in Malaysia and China and one in Vietnam. It plans to open another 12 stores in these 3 countries this year and is working with our Property Division to establish shopping malls in the future. The Property Division is also seeking potential partners and suitable land bank for development.
|