AirAsia Looking At Possibility Of Fuel Surcharge Cut

October 17, 2008 17:57 PM

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 17 (Bernama) -- AirAsia may cut its fuel surcharge further if there is some stability in the slide of oil price and the ringgit movement, said its chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes today.

"I think it (surcharge cut) is possible. We are working on it. We will announce within the next few weeks," he told reporters on the sidelines of the Regional Eisenhower Fellowships Conference here today.

As of yesterday, oil price stood at US$73 per barrel.

To date, the low-cost carrier's fuel surcharge was based on the US$80 per tonne crude oil price.

He pointed out that the airline's business model has always been about reducing fares and having the lowest possible fares.

On the issue of the airline to be taken private, Tony declined to comment.

The airline's chief, who was one of the speakers at the conference today, spoke on how entreprenuers, particularly the small and medium entrepreneurs (SMEs) could take advantage of the current financial situation.

"There is always a silver lining in every crisis," he said, adding that bigger companies tend to shun away to protect themselves.

"It is not all gloomy. There's a lot of business out there and a lot of opportunities out there especially in Southeast Asia," he said.

Source: BERNAMA

NBB SD

Better Chance For MAS To Meet 2008 Forecast Earning Due To Lower Oil Prices

October 13, 2008 20:05 PM

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 13 (Bernama) -- Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has a better chance of achieving its forecast earning for this year, following the slide in crude oil prices, its managing director/CEO Datuk Seri Idris Jala said.

As part of its business transformaton plan ( BTP2), the airline had indicated it was aspiring to achieve a profit of RM1 billion in 2008, barring any exceptional circumstances.

"We are doing our best to meet the target. Our chances are slightly better with oil prices going down," he told reporters on the sidelines of the Routes Leaders Forum 2008 here.

Crude oil prices stood at US$80.05 as of this afternoon, after coming off the July peak of more than US$147 a barrel.

According to Jala, MAS was also looking at its routes indvidually in reviewing the surcharge to counter high fuel prices.

He added that with the current economic turmoil it was imperative for an airline to first and foremost survive and not go bankrupt, before transforming itself via consolidation measures such as a tightening of the business processes and managing cost efficiently.

"We lost a lot of money in 2005 when the oil price was relatively low.

Now, with prices higher, we are still thinking of how to be profitable. It is still a very fragile situation," he said.

"We have just begun to understand the impact of oil prices.

But the financial meltdown is beginning to have an impact and I think in the next six months or so, everyone will begin to brace for reality," he added.

He said MAS has recorded profits in the first and second quarter this year, but still found it tough due to competition and overcapity, with more than 400 aircraft expected to enter the Asia Pacific this year and another 400 in 2009.

Meanwhile, Jala also said MAS was still looking at opportunities to consolidate, which may come in many forms such as code sharing or by becoming a member of a global airline alliance.

"We always look at options when they become available," he said.

Jala highlighted that orders for 35 new medium-range 737-800 aircraft was also sufficient now for Malaysia Airlines.

"There is no additional capacity to consider That's why the additional 20 orders for aircraft are optional," he said of the new Boeing aircraft, which are expected to arrive at the beginning of September 2010.

He said MAS was delaying the process of scouting for wide bodied aircraft in the hope of clinching a better deal by acquiring excess aircraft on order by other airlines.

"If this is the case, then we don't need to exercise the option and can buy some aircraft relatively cheap," he added.

Source: BERNAMA

Tanzania Airport Hopes To Attract Malaysia Airlines

October 13, 2008 20:10 PM

By Samantha Tan Chiew Teng

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 13 (Bernama) -- Tanzania's Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) is hoping for Malaysia Airlines to operate at the airport due to an increasing number of tourists from Asia Pacific to the country.

Its director Faraja Makasi said the airport was meeting with Malaysia Airlines representatives tomorrow and would try to convince the national carrier to fly to Tanzania due to its attractive destination and investment opportunities.

"Even if Malaysia Airlines is not yet interested to fly to Tanzania but at least, they can put us in their planning agenda based on the JNIA traffic growth," she told Bernama at the sidelines of the 14th World Route Development Forum (Routes KL 2008) here Monday.

JNIA, operated by Tanzania Airports Authority, has experienced a growth in traffic from 0.5 million passengers in 2001 to 1.5 million last year due to its marketing strategy of promoting Tanzania as a tourism destination.

Saying that the airport had seen 15 percent growth in traffic annually, Makasi said based on the growth from the Asian region to Tanzania, JNIA hoped to convince Malaysia Airlines to start looking at flying to the country.

Currently, Malaysia Airlines flies to Johannesburg and Cape Town.

Makasi also urged Malaysians to look at investment opportunities at Tanzania as its government was offering several incentives to attract investors.

Among investment opportunities highlighted in Tanzania are tourism, mining, servicing industry and agriculture sector (sisal, cotton, cashew nuts, coffee, tea and vegetables).

JNIA is the principal airport serving Dar es Salaam, the largest city in Tanzania. Among the airlines currently operating at JNIA are Air India, British Airways, Emirates, Qatar Airways and KLM-Royal Dutch Air.

According to Makasi, JNIA expects arrivals at the airport to increase to five million in 10 years and more flights by airlines will provide better accessibility to passengers for both tourism and investment purposes.

She said despite the current tough period, JNIA was still experiencing a positive trend with 13 percent growth in traffic so far.

"This year, our forecast is 1.6 million passengers while it's 1.75 million passengers for 2009," she added.

Makasi also said World Cup 2010 to be held in South Africa would also benefit the airport as heavy traffic was expected.

She said JNIA was ready to serve as an alternative airport to support the heavy traffic.

Source: BERNAMA

Speculation Of Crude Oil Prices To Slide With Financial Slowdown

October 13, 2008 20:14 PM

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 13 (Bernama) -- Trading speculation of crude oil is expected to slide following difficulties in getting funds from financial institutions due to the financial meltdown, Malaysia Airlines managing director Datuk Seri Idris Jala said.

Jala, who expects the price of crude oil to be between US$80 and US$120 per barrel in the next 12 months, said this at the Routes Forum 2008 in a session on "Living with High Oil Prices".

He said that layers of hedges had taken place in the past 13 months well beyond the realistic price of crude oil, when in fact there was no shortage of oil and gas.

"When it is said that there are no excess inventory, this gives a lot of opportunity for speculators to come in on the back of 'geopolitical fears'.

A lot of geopolitical fears have disrupted supply such as in Nigeria and Iran," Jala said.

"There may be a shortage, so they say you better take up hedges to protect yourselves. Before long it is the herd mentality," he said.

Jala said futures trading for crude oil was at present most heavily traded.

"There is room for trading but when it is derailed from the supply and demand, that is the problem," he said.

He said if crude oil hovers at US$100 per barrel, it was still constituting about 50 percent of the airline's cost.

"That is a lot of money. Therefore, we have to attack the cost," he said, adding that a there was a lack of discipline in airlines to manage cost efficiently.

"The day we make money, we go over the top in having excess capacity," he added.

Jala said airlines have to bring down all other costs and pass on some of it in order to post profits and returns acceptable from the shareholders' point of view.

"We must allow for more consolidations for better returns," he said.

Source: BERNAMA

New AirAsia Low Fares Campaign To Celebrate 100% Airbus Fleet In Malaysia

October 13, 2008 15:13 PM

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 13 (Bernama) -- AirAsia is offering fares from as low as RM1 for international and domestic destinations through its latest campaign, "Absolute".

The low fares campaign is being introduced in conjunction with AirAsia's move to set a new benchmark for efficiency, reliability and quality with an all Airbus A320 fleet in its Malaysian operations, the airline said in a statement here today.

AirAsia said the campaign covered all domestic and international destinations from six of its hubs, primarily in Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Johor), Thailand (Bangkok) and Indonesia (Jakarta and Bali).

AirAsia said some of the hottest international destinations included in the campaign where it flies directly to from Kuala Lumpur are, Singapore, priced as low as RM1, Bangkok, Phuket, Krabi and Vientiane for only RM11 as well as the newly launched Guilin, Melbourne and Perth routes with fares ranging from RM101 to RM199.

The hot deals also include new routes and frequencies AirAsia launched recently such as to Hong Kong from Bangkok, from Pekan Baru to Singapore and the additional six times daily flights from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore.

The booking period for the campaign is from Oct 11-27 for the travel period of Feb 9-July 31, 2009.

For domestic routes from Jakarta to Makassar and Yogyakarta, the booking period is from Oct 11-27 with the travel period from Oct 20-July 31,2009.

The campaign period includes flights from Kuala Lumpur to Makassar as well.

Source: BERNAMA

MAHB Close To Completing Negotiations With Two To Three New Carriers

October 13, 2008 16:48 PM

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 13 (Bernama) -- Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) is close to completing negotiations with two to three new carriers to start operations in Malaysia before end of this year, says its managing director Datuk Seri Bashir Ahmad Abdul Majid.

"MAHB is confident that during the Routes conference the airport group is close to completing negotiations with two to three new carriers to start operations in Malaysia before year-end, so watch this space," he said in a statement today.

Since beginning of the year, MAHB has welcomed over 55 new routes from 12 airlines, generating around 200 additional weekly flights, a significant achievement given the current economic climate and the impact of high oil prices on the world's airlines.

At the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), national carrier Malaysia Airlines has started flying to Karachi and Yogyakarta while low-cost carrier AirAsia has launched flights to Guangzhou, Yogyakarta, Singapore, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Haikou, Guilin, Batam and Pekanbaru.

MAHB said AirAsia's long haul sister company AirAsia X has launched flights to Hangzhou and Gold Coast.

KLIA has also attracted two new low-cost carriers on the deregulated Singapore route, Jetstar Asia and Tiger Airways, it said.

The airport operator said the Penang International Airport had received three new routes from Sriwijaya Air and Indonesia AirAsia as well as increased frequencies from Cathay Pacific.

In East Malaysia, the Kota Kinabalu International Airport has gained four new air services comprising Jakarta, Denpasar (both operated by Indonesia AirAsia), Manila (Cebu Pacific) and Labuan (AirAsia).

Indonesia AirAsia has also launched new services from Kuching to Jakarta and Denpasar.

MAHB said the Langkawi International Airport also attracted a number of new carriers operating short charter programmes.

It said the rest of the year continues to look bright with another seven destinations already announced to start before the end of the year.

MAHB said no new carriers are not expected on the fully deregulated Kuala Lumpur-Singapore trunk route from Dec 1, 2008.

However, it said that Tiger and AirAsia have already announced considerable frequency increases with both carriers adding an additional four daily frequencies, with AirAsia up to six daily from two daily and Tiger up to five daily from one daily. MAHB manages and operates 39 airports in Malaysia, including five international, 16 domestic and 18 short take-off and landing airports.

Source: BERNAMA

ERL Sees 5-10 Pct Growth Next Year

October 13, 2008 21:27 PM

By Siti Radziah Hamzah

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 13 (Bernama) - Express Rail Link Sdn Bhd (ERL) is looking at five to 10 percent growth in its overall business next year.

Its chief executive officer, Dr. Aminuddin Adnan, said the target could be achieved with new strategies that have been outlined by the company and expected to be carried out by end of this year or early next year.

ERL is looking to expand its KLIA Transit business for the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) and to market its services in Europe.

Aminuddin noted that its KLIA Transit service was growing and already recording higher number of passengers than its KLIA Express service.

KLIA Transit captures between 6,500 and 7,000 passengers a day while KLIA Express serves 4,500 passengers a day.

The company is planning to focus on KLIA Transits KL Sentral station to Salak Tinggi station and three connecting buses from Salak Tinggi to the LCCT.

"The competitors are charging RM8-RM9 from KL Sentral to LCCT. (However) we are looking (at a figure) higher than that because the fare from KL Sentral to Salak Tinggi is already RM12.50," Aminuddin explained.

He added that the transit bus fare would be waived for passengers who commute with KLIA Transit from KL Sentral, while passengers from Bandar Tasik Selatan and Putrajaya will be charged for the bus transit.

ERL operates two high-speed rail services, namely KLIA Express and KLIA Transit, which are connected from KL Sentral to the KL International Airport (KLIA).

"At the moment, KLIA Express has not been growing because even the traffic at the main terminal building has dropped to some extent," he told Bernama in an interview on the sidelines of the 14th World Route Development Forum here Sunday.

He said there was a 20 percent decline for the usage of KLIA Express since the opening of the LCCT in March 2006.

"We are affected because we have seen a lot of people switching from normal airlines to low cost carrier," he said, adding that the company is hoping to capture part of the Air Asias market.

He added ERL is looking at the Air Asias market, as they would probably constitute about 35 percent of the traffic at KLIA.

Aminuddin said that ERL is looking to selling its tickets worldwide and have started with Amadeus to market its service throughout the 300,000 Amadeus sales outlets in Europe.

Spain-based Amadeus is the leading Global Distribution System (GDS) and the biggest processor of travel bookings in the world.

"They are very strong in Europe. At the moment, we are almost finalising the legal arrangements with them and our technical people are already solving some technical issues," he said.

"We are looking at two to five percent (contribution from this partnership). This is a new market. So far, we notice more and more foreigners are taking our train. They are quite used to doing this in Europe," he added.

Source: BERNAMA

Press Release: NEW FLIGHTS FROM MALAYSIA

Monday 13/10/2008

October 13, 2008-- Malaysia Airports Continues To Attract New Routes To Its Five Largest Airports Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching And Langkawi. Since The Beginning Of The Year, Malaysia Airports Has Welcomed Over 55 New Routes From 12 Airlines, Generating Around 200 Additional Weekly Flights, A Significant Achievement Given The Current Economic Climate And The Impact High Oil Prices Is Having On The World's Airlines.

At Kuala Lumpur International Airport, national carrier Malaysia Airlines has started Karachi and Yogyakarta, whilst Asia's fastest growing low cost carrier Air Asia has launched Guangzhou, Yogyakarta, Singapore, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Haikou, Guilin, Batam and Pekanbaru (Indonesia Air Asia). Air Asia's long haul sister company Air Asia X has launched Hangzhou and Gold Coast. Kuala Lumpur has also attracted two new low cost carriers on the deregulated Singapore route, Jetstar Asia and Tiger Airways.

Penang Airport has received three new routes from Sriwijaya Air and Indonesia Air Asia as well as increased frequencies from Cathay Pacific. In East Malaysia, Kota Kinabalu has gained four new air services: Jakarta, Denpasar (both operated by Indonesia Air Asia), Manila (Cebu Pacific) and Labuan (Air Asia). Indonesia Air Asia has also launched new services from Kuching to Jakarta and Denpasar.

Langkawi has attracted a number of new carriers operating short charter programmes, for example, Hong Kong Airlines has operated a short programme this summer to Hong Kong.

The rest of the year continues to look bright with another 7 destinations already announced to start before the end of the year. From Kuala Lumpur, Air Asia X will continue their network expansion to Australia starting services to Melbourne and Perth in November. Air Asia will start Tiruchirapally and Air Niugini, a new carrier to Kuala Lumpur, is planning to start new services to Papua New Guinea. Firefly will also start two new points from Penang to Medan and Banda Aceh.

There is not expected to be any new carriers on the fully deregulated KL - Singapore trunk route from 1st December 2008. However, Tiger and Air Asia have already announced considerable frequency increases with both carriers adding an additional 4 daily frequencies, Air Asia up to 6 daily from 2 daily and Tiger up to 5 daily from daily. This means there are an additional 56 weekly flights on top of the current 129 weekly flights between KL and Singapore, an increase of over 40%.

Dato' Seri Bashir Ahmad Abdul Majid, Managing Director of MAHB commented that "Malaysia Airports is also confident that during the Routes conference the airport group is close to completing negotiations with two to three new carriers to start operations into Malaysia before the end of the year, so watch this space!"


Notes:-

Malaysia Airports manages and operates 39 airports in Malaysia, including 5 international, 16 domestic and 18 Short Take-Off and Landing (STOL) airports. In 2007, Kuala Lumpur International Airports handled a total of 26.453 million passengers of which 16.965 million were international passengers. KLIA is capable of handling 35 million passengers and 1.2 million tonnes of cargo a year in its current phase. The Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT-KLIA) is an extension of the existing facilities of the KLIA. It was opened in March 2006 and has a capacity of 10 million passengers annually. KLIA is an award-winning airport, with recent wins including World's Best Airport in the 15-25 million passengers per annum category and Second place in the Best Airport in the Overall Category and Best Airport in the Asia-Pacific category for the Airport Council International (ACI) 2007 Airport Service Quality Awards.


FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT :
NAME : NORLIZA KAMARUDDIN
GENERAL MANAGER CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS
CELLPHONE: +6019-2000887
EMAIL : norliza@malaysiaairports.com.my

NAME : NOOR HAFIZA RUSLAN
MANAGER, COMMUNICATIONS & INFORMATION SERVICES,CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS
CELLPHONE : +6012 - 211 4773
EMAIL : hafiza@malaysiaairports.com.my

NAME : FAISALLY AHMAD RUSDY
SENIOR EXECUTIVE (MEDIA RELATIONS), CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS CELLPHONE : +6012-6846575
EMAIL : faisally@malaysiaairports.com.my

DATE OF RELEASE : 13 OCTOBER 2008
RELEASED BY BERNAMA MEDIA RELATIONS & EVENT MANAGEMENT

AirAsia X Prefers Stansted Airport Due To Connectivity

October 13, 2008 21:59 PM

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 13 (Bernama) -- Malaysia's premier long haul, low cost carrier, AirAsia X is starting its flights to London next March and has stated a preference for using Stansted Airport due to good connectivity.

Its chief executive officer, Azran Osman-Rani said today that the airline was however still finalising operational details for the inaugural flight.

"We hope to announce this year the start of sales for the flight to London," he told reporters on the sidelines of the the 14th World Route Development Forum (Routes KL 2008) here.

Stansted Airport is located 56km north-east of London.

Azran also said that the global economic uncertainity had in no way affected AirAsia X's business operations and in fact, it had registered a higher customer demand.

"Operationally, things are going well," he added, while indicating that the airline did not anticipate any problem in securing financing for its new fleet of aircraft ordered.

He also said that the higher oil prices has not affected AirAsia X as much as others, as the new aircraft were fuel efficient.

He disclosed that AirAsia X would pick up the first of its 25 units of wide-bodied A330 aircraft, by the end of the month and receive another by the year's end. Three more aircraft would be delivered next year.

AirAsia X, which began operations in November 2007, currently flies to Australia's Gold Coast and Perth as well as Hangzhou in China.

The airline has stated it would launch flights to Melbourne next month.

Source: BERNAMA

Malaysian Carriers To Expand Operations Network By Year-end

October 13, 2008 11:23 AM

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 13 (Bernama) -- Low budget and community carriers -- AirAsia, AirAsia X and Firefly -- plan to further increase their network expansion by year-end.

From Kuala Lumpur, Air Asia X will continue its network expansion to Australia, starting services to Melbourne and Perth in November, said Malaysia Airports Bhd in a statement Sunday.

AirAsia will start flying to Tiruchilapally, India, while Air Niugini, a new carrier to Kuala Lumpur, is planning to start new services to Papua New Guinea.

Firefly will also start two new points from Penang to Medan and Banda Aceh.

"No new carriers are expected on the fully deregulated Kuala Lumpur-Singapore trunk route from Dec 1, 2008," said Malaysia Airports.

AirAsia and Tiger Airways have already announced considerable frequency increases, with both airlines adding an additional four daily frequencies, Air Asia up to six daily and Tiger Airways five daily from one daily. "This means there are an additional 56 weekly flights on top of the current 129 weekly flights between KL and Singapore, an increase of over 40 percent," it added.

Source: BERNAMA

MAHB Aims To Bring Five Long-haul International Airlines To KLIA, Says Bashir

October 12, 2008 21:59 PM

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 12 (Bernama) -- Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) aims to bring another four to five long-haul international airlines to KL International Airport (KLIA) from the 14th World Route Development Forum (Routes KL 2008).

Managing Director Datuk Seri Bashir Ahmad said MAHB would like to see more airlines from Europe and Africa such as British Airways, Air France and South African Airways to serve the KLIA.

Currently, 53 airlines are operating at KLIA, of which two are from Europe namely Lufthansa and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, he said.

There were other airlines in Europe that were not flying to Kuala Lumpur and MAHB hoped they would look here as an important destination especially with the strong growing tourism sector in Malaysia, he told a press conference after opening the 14th World Route Development Forum (Routes KL 2008) here Sunday.

On when MAHB is expecting these airlines, Bashir said: "The airlines will decide based on their own financial viability but we will discuss how we can work together to make their services viable. Bashir said two airlines stopped serving KLIA in the past due to the economic crisis.

However, the Lufthansa German Airlines had come back, he said, expressing the hope that British Airways would also return soon.

Bashir said although KLIA was well covered from the regions, there was a gap in terms of long-haul flights.

"Regional airlines from Indonesia, the Philippines, Hong Kong, China, India and Middle East are already operating here and we hope they will increase their frequencies," he said.

Bashir said Routes KL 2008 was the opportunity for MAHB to start discussions with the airlines on these issues, he said, adding that MAHB would try to address each airlines' needs for marketing support and facilities.

Bashir said airports that are in an attractive tourist destination was one of the main driving factors to attract airlines easily.

When pointed out that Kota Kinabalu was an attractive destination for tourists, he said by next year the Kota Kinabalu International Airport would have a new terminal and an extended runway to cater for bigger aircraft to cope with the growing air traffic.

The three-day Routes KL 2008, hosted by MAHB, is attended by 2,500 delegates. It is the annual gathering of the route development industry offering formal and informal networking opportunities.

Source: BERNAMA

Malaysia's Attractions To Be In Spotlight At Routes 2008

October 12, 2008 20:34 PM

By Umi Hani Sharani

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 12 (Bernama) -- The 14th Routes Forum hosted by Malaysia starting Sunday will be a perfect platform to expose the country's major tourism attractions to the hive of airlines expected to converge here for the annual event.

Themed "The World Is Coming To KUL", Routes 2008 will see the "who's who" of the airline industry getting their first taste of the local scene, a move that can eventually persuade them to extend their routes to this part of the region.

Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd's general manager for marketing, Sallaudin Mohamed Shah, said the firm has arranged various activities that not only promote the cultural aspect of the country but also current activities such as the chance to drive at the Sepang International Circuit.

"These are the decision makers of the airlines and they are here for the first time. So we have taken a great leap (to organise side activities) because Malaysia is renowned as a tourism destination, and we saw the opportunity.

The world (is coming) to us," he told Bernama in an interview.

He said although previous hosts had provided city tours during the events, Malaysia this time has taken the liberty to arrange various social programmes for all delegates to sample various attractions.

Besides city tours to the administrative capital of Putrajaya or the holy site of Batu Caves, those interested can also find their way to the historic city of Malacca.

Malaysia Airports, in working with Tourism Malaysia, has also not forgotten to provide avid golfers with a friendly tournament on the various beautiful greens of the country.

"We are also working with the City Hall to provide delegates free 'hop-on, hop-off' bus passes for them to get to know Kuala Lumpur better," said Sallaudin.

He said the firm was also working with Sepang International Circuit and Sepang International Driving Academy to give free lessons on how to ride on the world-famous Sepang International Circuit which has been hosting the Formula 1 Grand Prix.

"Of course, not forgetting the famous Petronas Twin Towers where we have also given free access for certain time for a certain number of delegates to view the city from the Sky Bridge at level 41," he added.

Sallaudin said these are some of the things aimed at generating greater interest among the delegates to show that Malaysia is an attractive country to visit, rather than them coming here just for meetings.

"There are great tourism opportunities that one can savour. That is one unique thing that no other host has done before," he said. He credited the enthusiasm to make the event a success to the various stakeholders and partners, including Tourism Malaysia, City Hall, Petronas, KLAS (Kuala Lumpur Airport Services) and Malaysia Airlines, as well as various sponsors.

Source: BERNAMA