Datuk Shamsul Azhar Abbas To Helm Petronas
The government yesterday announced that Datuk Shamsul Azhar Abbas, 57, will take the helm of national oil corporation Petroliam Nasional from next Wednesday. He will replace Tan Sri Mohd Hassan Marican whose contract of service expires next Tuesday. Shamsul is the former president and chief executive of MISC, a Petronas subsidiary and also operator of the world’s biggest fleet of liquefied natural gas tankers.

Digi.Com Hurt By Decline In Consumer Spending
DiGi.COM 4Q10 net profit fell 13% to RM246.5m, due mainly to reduced spending by low income users hurt by the economic slowdown and increased competition. Revenue was flat at RM1.2b for the quarter under review and the company has declared a 54 sen second interim dividend. Nonetheless, the company is confident that overall usage trend will stabilise this year and business will continue to grow because of demand for quality broadband and Internet access.

Iris Lands RM259.7m Bangladesh Job
Tech firm Iris JV with Data Edge and Polish Security Printing Works landed a R2M59.7m contract from the Bangladesh government to introduce machine readable passports and visas. Dow Jones Newswires quoted a dealer as saying, “The contract award is big for a company of Iris size and will boost the company’s earnings base.” Iris posted 9-month net profit of RM12.6m against RM8.8m the previous year.

Hwang-DBS Maintains Positive View On Property Sector
Hwang-DBS is keeping a positive view on the domestic property sector. The brokerage said that the imminent interest rate hikes are a positive sign of economic recovery. It added that GDP recovery could be faster than expected, as Bank Negara has been historically dovish, which in turn should stimulate demand for big-ticket items such as properties. Tips SP Setia, DNP Holdings and Eastern & Oriental as its top picks.