Latest news with #RaymondChan
Daily Express
29-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Express
Hi-tech oil palm sector solutions
Published on: Thursday, May 29, 2025 Published on: Thu, May 29, 2025 Text Size: Raymond (third right) and his delegates on their KKIP visit. Kota Kinabalu: The Palm Oil Mills Association Sabah (Pomas) is pursuing a two-pronged approach to address mounting challenges in the State's palm oil sector, focusing on advanced machinery solutions and innovative workforce recruitment strategies. Led by its President Raymond Chan, Pomas council members recently toured Zoomilon Heavy Industry (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd's facility at Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park to explore cutting-edge machinery that could revolutionise palm oil operations across Sabah. The visit, organised by local distributor Yap Kim Fah, showcased impressive technological innovations including automated harvesters, eco-friendly processing units and GPS-equipped transporters that provide real-time monitoring capabilities. These machines are specifically engineered to tackle the unique terrain and operational challenges faced by Sabah's palm oil plantations. 'The demonstrations featured equipment that could enhance both productivity and sustainability in our operations,' said Zoomilon Sales Executive Darryl Tan, who briefed the delegation on the latest advancements. The company has proposed pilot trials of selected machinery units in actual plantation settings, allowing estate operators to test the equipment under real working conditions before making investment decisions. Advertisement In a separate initiative to combat persistent labour shortages, Pomas visited HRAS Services Sdn Bhd, a specialist foreign workforce recruitment company. The meeting, led by Business Development Manager June Yap, explored new avenues for securing reliable plantation workers. While Sabah's palm oil estates have traditionally relied on workers from Indonesia and the Philippines, Pomas is now considering recruiting from Nepal despite Nepalese workers having no prior experience in palm oil plantations. 'While they may not have prior plantation experience, their eagerness to train makes them a promising addition to the workforce,' said Yap, pointing out the adaptability and learning willingness demonstrated by Nepalese workers in other industries. The discussions also emphasised developing existing workers through targeted training programs designed to boost productivity and operational efficiency across estates. These dual initiatives reflect Pomas' comprehensive strategy to ensure the long-term sustainability and competitiveness of Sabah's palm oil sector. By combining technological advancement with innovative workforce solutions, the association aims to address two of the industry's most pressing challenges simultaneously. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Hong Kong's SFC fines Hang Seng Bank US$8.5 million for misconduct
Hong Kong's markets watchdog has fined Hang Seng Bank HK$66.4 million (US$8.5 million) for regulatory failures and overcharging clients. The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) said on Monday there were serious regulatory failures on the part of the bank regarding the sale of collective investment schemes (CIS) and derivative products and charging its clients excessive fees between February 2014 and May 2023. Hang Seng Bank made at least HK$22.4 million in excess fees from these transactions. Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. "[Hang Seng's] misconduct in these cases was serious and systemic," Christopher Wilson, the SFC's executive director of enforcement, said in a statement. "In particular, clients who declared making investment decisions themselves were in fact repeatedly solicited by [Hang Seng's] relationship managers to engage in frequent and excessive CIS transactions." The SFC and HKMA led an investigation into Hang Seng Bank. Photo: Shutterstock alt=The SFC and HKMA led an investigation into Hang Seng Bank. Photo: Shutterstock> The disciplinary action stemmed from a Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) investigation, which revealed a range of concerns regarding Hang Seng's sale of CIS products from June 2016 to November 2017, according to the SFC's statement. The SFC said that 111 client accounts were found to have executed 100 or more CIS transactions during the period. While most transactions were declared as the client's "own choice", some 46 clients had been influenced by their relationship managers' solicitation or recommendation in their trades, according to the statement. The excessively frequent transactions with short holding periods contradicted the funds' investment objectives and the clients' preferred investment horizons, which resulted in significant transaction costs borne by the clients, which greatly affected their overall returns, the SFC said. Hang Seng Bank's internal controls did not adequately supervise and monitor the sale of CIS products to its clients and failed to keep a sufficient audit trail to ensure that transactions were genuinely initiated by clients, according to the SFC. The bank also failed to put in place sufficient controls to monitor and follow up on potentially problematic transactions after they had been conducted. A joint investigation by the SFC and HKMA also found that during various periods between 2014 and 2023, Hang Seng Bank had retained monetary benefits from client transactions, charged its clients transaction fees beyond amounts previously communicated to them and failed to adequately disclose trailer fee arrangements to clients trading in investment funds. "This enforcement outcome is a result of close collaboration between the HKMA and the SFC," said Raymond Chan, an executive director at the HKMA. "It helps to send a strong message to the industry that they should have in place adequate systems to ensure compliance with applicable regulatory standards," Chan said. Hang Seng Bank has since compensated impacted clients and has taken remediation steps and enhancement measures to rectify and strengthen its internal controls, according to the statement. The bank did not immediately respond to a request for comment. This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2025 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2025. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
Bloomberg
27-01-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Special Situation Investor on China's Property Crisis
Raymond Chan, chairman of Blue Mountain Bridge Capital, says he sees "interesting" private credit opportunities in distressed Chinese developers with Hong Kong assets. He discusses his outlook for China's real estate sector with David Ingles and Stephen Engle on "Bloomberg: The China Show." (Source: Bloomberg)
