News in brief: March 16, 2022

BINTAI KINDEN CORPORATION BHD's wholly-owned subsidiary Kejuruteraan Bintai Kindenko Sdn Bhd has secured a contract worth RM8.5 million from Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) for transformer-related works in Jengka, Pahang.

Bintai Kinden executive director Azri Azerai said the contract is expected to contribute positively to the revenue and earnings of the company for the financial year ending March 31, 2022 (FY2022) and FY2023 as well as the future earnings and net assets per share of the group.

“Inclusive of this contract, Bintai Kinden has successfully increased its outstanding order book to approximately RM113.53 million, which will provide a healthy earnings visibility for the next two years,” he said in a statement.

-- BERNAMA

SME BANK has formally renewed the collective agreement (CA) with the National Union of Commercial Workers (NUCW), representing SME Bank’s staff union, for July 2019 until June 2022 to benefit its 153 non-executive employees.

Group president and chief executive officer Aria Putera Ismail said the bank's new remuneration and benefits framework is expected to strengthen the high performance work culture practiced by SME Bank.

"In addition, this CA will assist them to address challenges brought about by the high cost of living faced by everyone now," he said in a statement.

SME Bank currently has 1,064 employees and operates 26 branches nationwide.

-- BERNAMA

PRINCIPAL FINANCIAL GROUP, a Nasdaq-listed global financial company, announced its Asean leadership changes with Uday Jayaram to assume the role of head of Southeast Asia.

In a statement, the company also announced the promotion of its executive managing director Datuk Syed Mashafuddin Syed Badarudin to chief executive officer (CEO) of the Principal Islamic franchise.

The company also announced that Munirah Khairuddin will be promoted to country head of Principal Malaysia, in addition to her role as CEO, while its CEO Asean Juan Eyzaguirre will retire on April 1, 2022.

-- BERNAMA

ALLIANZ GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY (MALAYSIA) BHD's fast flood claims settlement initiative has seen the company reach out to a total of 53 customers following the flash floods in Klang Valley recently.

The company said its Allianz Road Rangers tow trucks provided towing assistance to 76 vehicles (private cars and motorcycles), with only 25 customers having valid flood cover as part of their insurance policies.

"Floods are becoming a common occurrence and it is a challenge for us as insurers. This time, we had 60 Allianz Road Rangers tow trucks on standby in the Klang Valley to ensure we could reach out to our customers as fast as we could,” said the head of claims for Allianz General Damian Williams in a statement.

-- BERNAMA

THE NATIONAL ANNUAL CORPORATE REPORT AWARDS (NACRA) 2022 has called for entries at the virtual launch of NACRA 2022 held today.

Organised by Bursa Malaysia Bhd, the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA), and the Malaysian Institute of Certified Public Accountants (MICPA), NACRA said it is important for organisations to deliver high quality corporate reports that tell their unique value creation stories to support investors in their decision-making.

The closing date for the registration and submission of entries is May 31, 2022.

-- BERNAMA