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