Malaysian Reinsurance Bhd has stable credit ratings outlook

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 20 -- AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of ‘a-’ of Malaysian Reinsurance Bhd (Malaysian Re) Malaysia.

According to AM Best, the outlook of these credit ratings is stable.

The ratings reflect Malaysian Re’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best described as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.

Malaysian Re’s balance sheet strength assessment is underpinned by risk-adjusted capitalisation that remains comfortably at the strongest level, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio.

The company’s capital and surplus has exhibited a strong growth over recent years from retained earnings.

In fiscal year 2019, a capital injection of RM100 million from its holding company, MNRB Holdings Bhd has strengthened its capital position to support business growth.

In addition, the company has a conservative investment portfolio, with focus on good quality fixed-income securities.

AM Best views the company’s underwriting leverage as low compared with its peers.

The rating agency views the company’s operating performance as adequate and assesses Malaysian Re’s business profile as neutral.

Malaysian Re is a dominant market leader in Malaysia’s non-life reinsurance market. More details on the ratings at http://www.ambest.com/

-- BERNAMA

Hotel Royal Classic Osaka promotes culture, sightseeing via Museum Hotel concept

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 12 -- Hotel Royal Classic Osaka, a new luxury hotel complex in Japan recently unveiled its Museum Hotel concept, driving Osaka's development as an international city of culture and sightseeing.

Housed in this distinctive space, the innovative Museum Hotel provides guests with a hands-on experience in art museum-level quality - an original service that transcends the norms of business or suite hotels to offer a luxury experience for the soul.

The Museum Hotel concept has been unveiled to mark the hotel’s grand opening and features over 100 modern artworks.

Curated with the assistance of Professor Junji Ito of Tokyo University of the Arts, along with Tokyo's Whitestone Gallery, the collection was displayed throughout the hotel’s public spaces and guest rooms.

The hotel was designed by globally celebrated architect, Kengo Kuma on the site of the former Osaka Shin-Kabukiza Theater.

The hotel is a unique architectural structure with a lower facade that replicates the magnificent ‘karahafu’ gabled rooftop of the original Shin-Kabukiza Theater, extending into an intricately dynamic aluminum fin motif on its upper floors.

More details of Hotel Royal Classic Osaka at https://hotel-royalclassic.jp/en/

-- BERNAMA

AM Best maintains under review with positive implications status for CIC Guam

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 18-- AM Best has maintained the under review with positive implications status for the Financial Strength Rating of B++ (good) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of ‘bbb+’ of Century Insurance Company (Guam) Limited (CIC Guam) Guam.

These ratings were placed under review on July 3, following an announcement that DB Insurance Co Ltd (DBI) has entered into an agreement with CIC Guam’s parent company, Tan Holdings Corporation (THC).

The agreement involved the acquisition of 80 per cent stake in each of THC’s three insurance subsidiaries - CIC Guam and two other insurers in Saipan and Papua New Guinea.

DBI is also expected to secure the management rights in all three companies.

At that time, AM Best indicated that the ratings would remain under review until the transaction was completed, and an assessment of the subsequent impact to CIC Guam’s business and credit profile could be determined.

The under review with positive implications status has been extended as regulatory approval is still pending.

The companies now anticipate a transaction closing date in early 2020. CIC Guam’s ratings will remain under review until the close of the transaction, while AM Best continues to conduct further discussions with CIC Guam’s and DBI’s management teams to fully assess the rating impact.

-- BERNAMA

AM Best affirms NEWGT Reinsurance Company Credit Ratings

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 18 -- AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of ‘a-’ of NEWGT Reinsurance Company Ltd (NEWGT) Bermuda.

According to a statement, the outlook of these credit ratings is stable.

The ratings reflect NEWGT’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best described as strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.

The company’s strong balance sheet assessment reflects its modest capital base, low underwriting leverage and conservative investment portfolio.

Operating performance continued to improve this year with a lower combined ratio, underpinned by an improvement in claims experience and a stable expense ratio.

Although revenue is expected to decrease slightly in the short term over the course of its portfolio enhancement, AM Best believes the company’s underwriting results will remain profitable and gradually improve through the pursuit of growth in group-related business.

The stable outlooks reflect AM Best’s expectation that NEWGT’s operating performance will improve gradually and remain profitable despite its strong loss ratio controls and continuous portfolio enhancement.

-- BERNAMA

CEIS, HSF unveil production trends of China's rubber, areca nut, agarwood

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 19 -- Overall supply of natural rubber is expected to be tight in the first quarter of 2020, which will likely lead to the continuous rising of rubber prices, according to an annual report on the Xinhua-HSF natural rubber series price indexes (2018-2019).

The report was released jointly by China Economic Information Service (CEIS) of Xinhua News Agency and Haiken Group (HSF) at the 2019 Boao Forum for Entrepreneurs held in south China’s Hainan Province.

The report shows that sufficient supplies of natural rubber on a global scale will continue in the short term due to the large production capacity.

The two enterprises also released a report on the areca nut industry in 2018-2019.

The report shows that without a significant increase in the demand side, the areca nut fruits purchase price is expected to decline this month.

Meanwhile, CEIS and Chengmai County Government of Hainan Province released a report on the climate index of the agarwood industry.

The report reveals that China’s agarwood industry climate index in the first half of 2020 will be 130.19 points, well above the 100-point, implying the domestic agarwood enterprises' high expectations for the industry development.

According to CEIS vice-president Kuang Lecheng, the continuous release of rubber, areca nut and agarwood indices will help build brands of Hainan’s characteristic agricultural products.

-- BERNAMA

SKYDRIVE BOOSTS PRODUCTIVITY IN HARD-TO-REACH PLACES VIA CARGO DRONE

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 19 (Bernama) -- SkyDrive Inc has launched test flights of a cargo drone, revolutionising the way heavy goods are transported and speeding up the movement of equipment in remote locations.

In a statement, the leading flying-car developer said the first operational testing took place earlier this month in Toyota City, Japan.

This new technology has been tested with a load capacity of 30kg, utilising SkyDrive’s world-leading aircraft development technology to achieve high safety standards.

There is the potential to develop this further and achieve greater capacity loads of up to 50kg and 80kg, according to demand.

With flight speed of 40 km/h and 15 minutes flight time, the drone can be used by companies for transporting materials to hard-to-reach places such as slopes, mountain valleys, overpasses and sites of steel tower maintenance.

Usage of cargo drones will help avoid dangerous works, save personnel and shorten the term of work.

Demonstration flights of the flying car are scheduled for summer next year, and its commercial release in 2023. Pre-sale orders for the cargo drone will be taken from spring in 2020.

-- BERNAMA

Toga Limited participates in Singapore FinTech Festival 2019

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 5 -- Toga Limited recently participated in the world’s biggest gathering of FinTech companies, the Singapore FinTech Festival (SFF).

SFF and the Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology (SWITCH) concluded the combined week-long event last month, which attracted more than 60,000 participants from 140 countries.

The event recorded 569 speakers, close to 1,000 exhibitors and 41 international pavilions. The event participation was a great way to showcase the latest developments from Toga Limited.

Toga’s Yippi App (available in Google Play and the Apple store) has now hit 400,000 active users in the South East Asian region alone. Yippi is a free super social messaging App with proprietary TRT technology.

Yippi is a unique super app that empowers its users with numerous functionalities in a single complete app that includes Wallet, Social media, Games, Stickers, Ecosystem, Languages, Artificial intelligence, Secret Chat and Fun Camera.

Yippi’s proprietary TRT Technology is seen as a game changer in this industry. With the current introduction of this health providing digital technology the download and active users of Yippi is expected to rise at a much faster rate.

The Festival was organised by the Monetary Authority of Singapore in partnership with The Association of Banks in Singapore and in collaboration with SingEx Holdings.

-- BERNAMA