Source : MALAYSIAN BUSINESS

Tan Sri Dr Ninian Mogan Lourdenadin of MBf Holdings' fame is going places in the corporate scene both locally and internationally. We take a look at his future plans.

YOU COULD say that Tan Sri Dr Ninian Mogan Lourdenadin is set to make more waves in Malaysia's corporate scene. The 53-year-old doctor-turned-businessman controls 71.84% of MBf Holdings Bhd, which is involved in various businesses, including credit card operations, trading and manufacturing, financial services, property and plantation. The company also has substantial business exposure in Fiji and Papua New Guinea. 'I accumulated my shares because everybody wants to sell and they are cheap,' he says in jest. (The company's share closed at RM0.65 on Oct 19). But now that he is controlling the company, what are his plans?

Mogan says he will continue to develop the company's lucrative card business. This effort has already began with the launch of the 'Get SmartMBF Cards LCD TV Promotion' in May to boost revenue from the card business by up to 35% this year from RM175 million previously. We have a very good core business which is the card business... to date, we have 550,000 cards issued in Malaysia,' he says.

RAM Ratings Bhd had in early October assigned respective long- and short-term ratings of A2 and P1 to MBF Cards (M' sia) Sdn Bhd The ratings reflect MBF Cards' strong presence in the Malaysian credit -card market as a mono-line and non-bank credit-card company; it is one of the larger credit-card issuers in the counny in terms of outstanding receivables. The company is also strongly positioned as the second-largest merchant acquirer, commanding a current market share of 25%.

RAM Ratings believes that the company's performance will continue to improve, underpinned by the robust growth in its credit- card receivables stemming from its own line of credit (LOC).

Last year, the group had started to lay the foundations to further grow and expand its existing core businesses in 2007, namely, the credit card and printing operations in Malaysia and the automotive and merchandising businesses in Fiji and Papua New Guinea (PNG). In addition, cost reduction programmes and process automation will be implemented to improve efficiency and profits. MBF Cards faces stiff competition in the market and management will strive to maintain profitability.

For the PNG Group, he says another year of growth is expected for Boroko Motob and its affiliates, with expansion plans at Port Moresby and Lae Workshops being driven by a significant increase in business. For merchandise, there is an intention to open more stores in strategic locations in addition to upgrading the Madang store to improve revenue. Daltron also expects to open a new branch in Lae.

"The coup in Fiji at the end of 2006 is expected to have a detrimental effect on the economy. However, the Fiji Group will strive to maintain its performance. The Tonga Bank foresees operating under challenging conditions, as a consequence of the riot," Mogan says.

Other operations in Thailand, China and the United States are generally expected to maintain their performance. "Whilst the group's main focus is to increase market share and presence in its existing operations, it will continue to identify new business opportunities, both to complement its existing activities and for diversification, both in and outside Malaysia," he adds.

The group has been experiencing growth since FY02. Its revenue was RM600 million then and it grew to RM1.5 billion in FY06. For the first half of FY 07, MBf recorded a net profit of RM44.2 million and revenue of RM 796.3 million, rising 112.3% and 12.07% respectively from a year ago.

It posted a 12% rise in net profit in 2Q07 ended June 30 to RM14.7 million from RM13.2 million last year. There was a 17.3% rise in revenue to RM435.6 million from RM371.4 million a year ago due to contrIbutions from its plantation and farming division in PNG, trading and manufacturing divisions in Fiji, and card and payment services division in Malaysia.

At RM0.65, the shares are trading ata price multiple of 3.4X and market capitalization was RM373.4 million as at Oct 22. "We expect to register a turnover of about RM1.7 billion in FY07, registering a growth of about 15% to 20%," says Mogan.

"We expect to see steady growth in the next few years," he adds. The group is currently investing some RM93 million (43 million Fijian dollars) to expand its retail business in Fiji. It is developing a three-level 150,00O sq ft shopping centre and a 16-storey office tower on a 0.6-hectare site in the city centre of Fiji. The shopping centre is expected to contribute strongly to the group's earnings in FY08.

'Part of it (the shopping centre) will house our supermarket, while the rest will be leased out. It will be operational byyear-end,' said its Executive Director Martin Haeger recently. The company owns Fiji's major supermarket chain Morris Hedstrom through its acquisition of Carpenters more than eight years ago. It now has 40 Morris Hedstrom stores in Fiji.

Meanwhile, work on the office tower will start in the next two years. It will use part of the office tower to house its 800 staff in Fiji, while the rest will be leased out. The company has allocated an estimated US$ 30 million (RM102 million) for the building.

Apart from its businesses in the South Pacific, the group also has schools in Thailand, apartments in the US and plants in China. The company is sitting on prime long-term development assets, including land and buildings, in the South Pacific.

MBf has more than 9,000 employees in the South Pacific and its core businesses in the region are vehicle franchising, retail and plantations. 'Some 2,500 of them are in Malaysia,' says Mogan.

In March this year, the company via its Hong Kong units, disposed its 18.3% stake in ICT and online gaming company, IPVGCorp, for 214.6 million pesos (RM15.6 million), in line with the consolidation of the group's core businesses. The disposal of the 60.97 million shares in the Philippines Stock Exchange- listed IPVG Corp, via MBf International Ltd, Grogram Ltd and MBf Asia Capital Corporation Holdings Ltd, will result in a gain of RM9.1 million for the group. It still holds a 1.9% stake or 7.11 million shares in IPVG Corp via Grogram and intends to dispose the remaining stake.