PETRONAS achieved its first liquefied natural gas (LNG) drop by its floating LNG facility, PETRONAS Floating LNG Satu (PFLNG Satu) at the Kebabangan cluster field, 90 kilometres offshore Sabah, recently.

Operated by Kebabangan Petroleum Operating Company Sdn Bhd (KPOC), Kebabangan field is the second location for PFLNG Satu after its successful operation in Kanowit field, Sarawak.

The introduction of first gas into the PFLNG Satu, achieved on 4th May 2019, was from Kebabangan field to the PFLNG Satu’s turret system via a 5-km flexible pipeline.

The commencement of a series of start-up activities included the cooling down of natural gas until the production of the first LNG drop on 7th May 2019, just 3 days after.

PETRONAS Vice President of LNG Asset Zakaria Kasah said: “This achievement showcases our focused execution and close collaboration efforts, within PETRONAS as well as externally with the State government and regulatory bodies.

“We not only prove our concept of relocatable floating LNG facility, but we have also seamlessly achieved the first LNG drop in just 3 days after first gas in.

“This is indeed another proud moment and a great milestone for PETRONAS and the floating LNG industry.”

Designed for water-depth of between 70 metres and 200 metres and a processing capacity of 1.2 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) with 155 crew onboard, PFLNG Satu will support PETRONAS’ global LNG portfolio and enhance its reputation as a preferred and reliable LNG supplier.

The first LNG cargo delivery at the new field is expected in June, 2019.

Sharp Electronics (M) Sdn Bhd and Eduspec Holdings Berhad (Eduspec) recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at developing 21st century classrooms in Malaysia.

THE strategic partnership kick starts Sharp’s journey as a provider of total smart education solutions in support of creating an interactive education experience in schools and campuses across Malaysia.

“Sharp is excited to enter into this partnership with Eduspec and to begin our work of helping more classrooms embrace new technological advancements. I believe the combination of Sharp’s Smart Solution, the leading technology present in our interactive whiteboards and Eduspec’s expertise in integrated education solutions brings the right synergy towards creating 21st century classrooms.

Our next step is to select a number of model schools, with the help of the Ministry of Education through Yayasan Guru Malaysia Berhad (YGMB), for our pilot project in Malaysia,” said Sharp, Managing Director, Robert Wu.

The partnership aims to promote smart and holistic learning in classrooms by leveraging on the Internet of Things (IOT) and big data analysis, elevating the education experience at pre-schools, primary and secondary schools as well as technical institutes.

“We believe this partnership is crucial to help Malaysia raise the benchmark in education especially in advancing the STEM (Science, Technology and Mathematics) education in schools through a holistic approach, making teaching and learning more interesting for both teachers and students,” said EduSpec Holdings Berhad, Chief Executive Officer, Lim Een Hong

Following the MoU signing, Sharp and Eduspec will commence negotiations to implement a total smart education solution. In addition to interactive learning experiences, these solutions include enabling schools and education institutions to manage online orders or purchases through interactive kiosks that enables students to make payment through e-wallets and Point Of Sale (POS) system.

The pilot project poised to take its course in Malaysia is modeled after Sharp’s global efforts in transforming classrooms around the Asia Pacific region. Sharp and its global smart solution partner, Foxconn, has built more than 100,000 smart classrooms and campuses in China, Taiwan and Vietnam, todate.

These transformations take the form of a new generation smart learning platform which offers a total smart solution to schools and universities enabling the integration of administrative work, IOT and big data analysis.

Reiterating its commitment in the smart education project, Wu said, “Sharp is a trusted and reliable brand globally that has an illustrious history spanning 108 years.

In Malaysia, Sharp’s presence in the manufacturing of televisions (TV) spans across 39 years, attesting to our commitment and resilience. Through consistent investments in our Batu Pahat manufacturing plant, we take pride in our ‘Made-in-Malaysia’ status.

Following the signing of this MoU, we aim to set up 100 smart classrooms in Malaysia equipped with interactive whiteboards by 2019.”

The local production of the interactive whiteboards by Sharp at its Batu Pahat facility ensures affordability, thus driving further accessibility and opportunities to expand smart education solutions in schools and campuses across Malaysia.

The MoU signing between Sharp and Eduspec was formalized at the Festival Guru event at the Setia SPICE Convention Centre.

Pos Malaysia Berhad (Pos Malaysia) today announced a revenue of RM594.7 million for the fourth quarter of this financial year, a decrease of 8.9% compared to its revenue of RM653.1 million recorded in the corresponding quarter last year.

FOR the full financial year, revenue was RM2.36 billion compared to RM2.47 billion last financial year, a decrease of 4%. This decrease was mainly due to continued weak Mail, International and Logistics business performance at Pos Malaysia and Pos Logistics.

For the full year, profit before tax plunged from RM117.3 million to a loss before taxation
of RM158.4 million, which the group attributed mainly to widening losses from mail and
impairment charges of RM39.6 million from the loss of goodwill in Pos Logistics.

This losses from mail is a result of continuing double digit contraction in mail volume and bill payments reflecting the increasing substitution of letters with electronics media.

The impairment of goodwill in Pos Logistics is a result of performance that is below
expectations due to competitive market conditions.

“The loss was a result of the continuing decline in our mail volume (13% year-on-year)
coupled with our high costs to serve the Universal Service Obligation (USO).

“We are working closely with the Regulator for an overall tariff rebalancing to update the tariff that was last change in 2010 accordingly to reflect the growing costs to serve the nation with an increase of 17% new postal addresses (8.9 million addresses recently compared to 7.6 million in the last five years).

“We expect a positive outcome from the Regulators on the tariff rebalancing. An impairment was also made for goodwill in Pos Logistics due to increasing competition which has resulted in performance that is below expectations.

This impairment is a one-off expense.” said Pos Malaysia Berhad’s Group Chief Executive
Officer, Syed Najib Syed Md Noor in relation to Pos Malaysia’s Q4FY2019 results.

He added “Pos Malaysia will make significant investments for its Digital Transformation
and expansion of its capabilities to serve the growing E Commerce demand.

In the pipeline, is the launching of our second Integrated Parcel Centre (IPC) in KLIA
increasing 78% of our capacity to 530,000 per day from 300,000, and a RM100 million
spend on its core system to enhance the overall Customer Experience on digital
technology.

The outlook for ECommerce and Pos Malaysia over the next few years are very promising.
We are looking at double digits growth to continue as more and more people shop online
in Malaysia.

With investments that we are continuously making, the foundations will be set for Pos
Malaysia to expand its business with the best infrastructure and solutions to serve the
market.”