Utusan Melayu (Malaysia) Bhd - Announcements

Chairman’s S TATEMENT
A new chapter has opened for our printing
operations with the 20 January 2000 signing of a
support agreement with the Italian printing company,
Fratelli Spada S.p.A. This link-up paves the way for
Utusan Melayu to become a global player virtually
overnight in the international printing industry.
Fratelli Spada is expected to bring to the jointventure
a crop of international contracts, worth on
average some USD7 million a year for the first five
years. In addition, Utusan will now have access to
Spada’s training facilities in Rome for its staff as well
as new print-costing software purpose-designed by
Spada. We will therefore be able to raise the
standards of print quality still further, which will put
the Utusan Group on course for achieving ISO 9000
certification. With the delivery of a Heidelberg M600
printing press purchased at a cost of RM18 million,
we are now equipped to handle high-end print jobs
and the expected influx of work from overseas.
To fully capitalise on our joint-venture with Fratelli
Spada, we are wiring our printing complex at Bangi
to receive manuscripts and artwork of print materials
via the Internet.
In our multimedia business, three recent signings
have set us firmly on the path towards establishing
ourselves as a significant player in Malaysia’s
emerging digital economy. A signing on 28 January
2000 saw the sale of a 25% stake in Utusan
Multimedia Sdn Bhd to Asia Online Internet Services
Sdn Bhd. By forging a strategic alliance with one of
the most established Internet Service Providers in the
region, the growth of Utusan Multimedia will be
22 Utusan Melayu (Malaysia) Berhad
accelerated. For Utusan, the deal would bring about
opportunities for a major technology transfer,
enhanced training for our people and the funds we
need to reinvest in Information Technology, especially
in e-commerce and logistics management. It will also
give us both global branding and access to an
international network. All these would position us to
provide top quality, end-to-end Internet solutions for
our corporate clients.
Two other joint-venture signings on 3 February
2000, will help establish the Utusan Group as a
market leader in multimedia and Internet based
education and training. Our wholly-owned
subsidiary, Net Space Learning Sdn Bhd, an MSCstatus
company, has teamed up with the Singaporebased
Sky Media Pte Ltd to localise an interactive
education service called SKYTUTOR for the
Malaysian market. With a student population of five
million in Malaysia, there is a huge market that the
Utusan Group can tap. SKYTUTOR is the single
most comprehensive solution for implementing the
‘smart learning’ concept of education and covers four
core subjects catering for 11 education levels, from
Primary One up to Form Five. The product’s
interactive education service is delivered via a
combination of CD-ROMs and the Internet.
Above: Breaking new grounds into the 21st century,
with the nation’s first LED mobile electronic screen.
Left: The printed publications are packed and ready
for delivery through our distribution channels.