Archive for 17/04/2014
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Pierre Imhof, CEO of Baiduri Bank (center) with Mr. Ti Eng Hui, Deputy CEO of Baiduri Bank and Pg Azaleen Pg Dato Mustapa, Head of Treasury of Baiduri Bank during the press conference yesterday
This reminds me of math days in high school years. I’m never a fond of math subject but if I dedicate myself to it, I will do just fine, nothing more. Recently, Baiduri Bank has reached another milestone in the banking industry. In a banking environment especially Brunei which has been undergoing through many regulatory measures, banks in Brunei have to step up their game and be more “creative” in meeting customers’ demand and also falling in line with the rules and regulations which have been stricter.
So it’s great to see that Baiduri Bank has been given an impressive rating of “BBB+/A- 2” by an international rating agency, Standard & Poor’s. It was published in Bloomberg that Baiduri Bank has a “strong” business position, “adequate” capital and earnings, “moderate” risk position, “average” funding and “strong” liquidity.
In most cases, such rating will remain unchanged for the next 12-18 months and it’s very unlikely it will suffer a drop and Baiduri Bank ensures that they will sustain that rating and even better the current rating. Of course, this is a long term goal of Baiduri Bank and being it only 20 years old, this is considered a great achievement and also given the tough regulatory measures that the Brunei banking industry have to go through.
Such rating positions Baiduri Bank just below well known banks such as DBS, OCBC and UOB in Singapore which shows the great credibility of Baiduri Bank.
Pierre Imhof, CEO of Baiduri Bank, hosted a press conference with the presence of Mr. Ti Eng Hui, Deputy CEO of Baiduri Bank and Pg Azaleen Pg Dato Mustapa, Head of Treasury of Baiduri Bank. Imhof shared that the policy on lending will remain the same as it has been one of Baiduri Bank’s important and successful product due to its dynamic nature. With more healthy liquidity of Baiduri Bank, there are in a good position to lend more and maintain their lending policy.
Imhof also shared that the bank will be looking for opportunities regionally in the near future. He is proud that Baiduri Bank has been given the BBB+ ranking and this will indeed give more confidence internally and also to their loyal customers. Congratulations, Baiduri Bank, on your milestone.
The media attending the press conference
The New Baiduri Certificate of Deposit
Do make use of your Baiduri Bank Visa card 😀
The students have work tremendously well for their assignment. Kudos to them and I salute you guys!!
The time is almost near. The Film Festival UBD 2014 is just around the corner and I can’t wait to see some of the short films done by UBD students and this is part of their assessment too. This is similar to the UBD Spectacle 2014 project (oops, I really have to pay them a visit too). There will be 8 short films in different forms of genre involving 20 students majoring in the field of Professional Communications and The Media.
So you will witness some of the innovative content the students muster in a short span of time. I was already impressed with the short films done last year by the students and I, myself, am a big fan of movies and I always love to talk about direction and film editing when it comes to movies. Of course, this is why The Popcorn Panel came about where you can catch my audio podcast on movies that I watch every now and then.
If want to read more of the in-depth objectives of the Film Festival UBD 2014, you can click here.
By the way, the tickets you can get them half an hour before the show and it’s FREE. It will take place at The Core at UBD. There are quite number of slots you can choose from to catch the 8 short films. You can see the synopsis from their Facebook page too. There will be 5 UBD made production and 3 local house production in all.
On Saturday 19th April, the timings will be 1pm, 2:30pm and 4pm while on Sunday 20th April, it will start on 10am, 11:30am, 1pm, 2:30pm and 4pm. So if you have the time, do make the time. One of the short films that I enjoyed last year was “Roast Lamb” and it will be one of the short films to be featured. You can follow them also on instagram @filmfestivalubd2014
Two more days to go
Are you ready for Film Festival UBD 2014?
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New menu coming soon at Kimchi Restaurant at Regent Square. You can request some of the dishes already. Call 2222 233 or 712 2283 for reservations or you can follow @kimchibrunei instagram for updates
My favourite dish among the lot – Fried Udon in kimchi sauce. This is spicy indeed!! *warning*
My lunch buddies yesterday at Kimchi Restaurant and many more
Our BBQ assistant for the day
Yang Neom Set – Breaded Chicken with Spicy Sauce
Dakgochi Gui – Marinated Chicken Skewer
New bento set at Kimchi Restaurant
I didn’t try this dish. Looks interesting.
Going Joong Deokboki – Palace Rice cake- Cucumber Beans Beef Bulgogi
This dish seems to be popular yesterday too
But of course, my old time favourite at Kimchi Restaurant – Patbingsu 😀
Superhero Weekend at Times Square Shopping Centre
Here are some of the events happening for Superhero Weekend
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Catching up with the owner of GL Extra Enterprise, the sole distributor of Skechers, over dinner at iLotus. Thanks for hosting us 😀 Image courtesy of Ikhwan Salleh of The Brunei Times.
The management of Skechers Brunei with the local media
Mr. Lim was happy to unveil the second outlet of Skechers at Plaza Seria in Seria which was opened to business since yesterday. The third branch will be somewhere in Kuala Belait.
The new store in Seria aims to target the niche market for the occupational industry shoes, owing to the large population of oil and gas workers living in Belait. This is a strategic area since many customers are from KB and Seria.
Since its opening in the final quarter of 2013, Skechers Brunei have been doing exceptional well because it’s a well known brand and also people have been commenting on its comfort.
Skechers ranges from casual to sports type so do check their GOwalk, GOrun and GObionic range. It’s good to see Skechers spreading its foothold in Brunei and the response has been favourable.
Skechers has a new outlet at Plaza Seria
The wide range of Skechers available
Hui Chiet trying out a pair at Skechers Kiulap branch last year
Love the colours of Skechers
Nice casual wear for the ladies
Glow in the dark Skechers
The news that caught people’s attention
Flying four times a week. Not bad, not bad 😀
Wow, after a long, long hiatus, this is very good news for Brunei travelers. Royal Brunei Airlines, Brunei’s national air carrier, will resume its direct flights to Bali, Indonesia, by 26th July 2014. This is indeed a very positive move and the comments on social media have been favourable. Royal Brunei Airlines (RB) has been going through major changes ever since its rebranding programme and I remember the Dermot Mannion, Deputy Chairman of RB, hinted of more routes as part of their strategic expansion as well as meeting demands of customers.
So how many times they will fly? I believe it stated that it will fly four times a week. The flights will operate by an Airbus A319.
The flights from BSB to Bali, BI757 departs at 8.55 pm and will arrive at 11.20 pm on Tuesday,Wednesday,Saturday and Sunday. Flights from Bali to BSB, BI758 departs at 7.10 am and arrives 9.40 am on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday. For now, you can’t book on flybruneiair.com but you can inquire on your preferred travel agents. I’m pretty sure RB will have special promotions for this new route.
Royal Brunei Airlines was established in 1974 and is wholly owned by the government of Brunei. RB started with an initial fleet of two aircraft, serving Singapore, Hong Kong, Kota Kinabalu and Kuching. Royal Brunei Airlines now operates a fleet of 10 aircraft to 14 destinations in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and Australia. RB is the Boeing 787 Dreamliner’s launch airline in Southeast Asia and with the recent deliveries of Dreamliners, Royal Brunei will have the distinction of operating the youngest long haul fleet in the world.
Royal Brunei Airlines won ‘Best Foreign Airline’ award in the category “Award For Best Airlines” at the Sabah Tourism Awards 2011. Last year, Brunei’s flag carrier won the Metro Time Shanghai Award for their Reader’s Airline of Choice and The Best Airline Provider from The European Asia.
Thank you RB for making this possible and it’s perhaps the best highlight moment after yesterday’s derailing topic that went viral (not RB related but I think you guys know what I mean). Below are just some of the images from my previous Bali trip back in 2012 and 2013. I will be heading again to Bali scheduled for November 2014. Who knows I might make another early trip before then.
My last trip last year August 2013 with my #superfriends buddies
This was at Potato Head. Highly recommended place to chill.
This was taken at the temple area. This was back in November 2012.
One of the activities I enjoyed was water rafting. Pure fun but it was quite a fair ride.
I managed to borrow this sign
I didn’t give a good impression since I thought it was easy to ride a scooter. I was struggling indeed and it’s super darn cheap to rent a bike there too. It was like $5 for 3 days but I only needed half an hour just to get a feel of it. Scary but scary fun 😀
My buddies whom I flew with back in 2012. We stayed at Maya Ubud and I truly love the place there. Quite remote and loads of green.
The villa rooms are quite common in Bali and the prices are quite reasonable as well.
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In celebration, Malppy.com is having a sale! In addition, as a thank you for your support, any purchase B$50 and above will receive a free gift from Malppy.com. The gift is a phone casing for iPhone 4/4S and iPhone 5/5S. Offer is valid while stock lasts.
The highlights of last night’s game between Hougang United FC and DPMM FC
Steve Kean wasn’t happy with the performance despite the three points. He felt DPMM FC didn’t play well in the first half and judging from the video I watched, DPMM FC could have been down by at least two goals if it wasn’t for the poor finishing of Hougang United FC. The home side were putting crosses and causing DPMM FC problems in the first half and Kean admitted that they were quite fortunate to go into the break with a clean sheet.
He did give a good point that championship team sometimes don’t play to their maximum but they still get the three points and last night’s game was a great example.
DPMM FC had a better second half and they could have scored a few more too. It was good to see new faces from the bench getting time on the pitch especially Najib Tarif and Helmi Zambin. Perhaps the highlight of the game was Azwan Ali’s rare header that brought all the three points courtesy of a wonderful cross by substitute Najib in the 77th minute.
The match was already delayed at Hougang United FC due to heavy rain prior to the match and it would be a nightmare for defenders especially goalkeepers due to the wet conditions. A big shout out again to DPMM FC defence and Wardun in goal for salvaging the important clean sheet.
DPMM FC’s top scorer Rodrigo Tosi was unfortunate not to score late in the first half with a cheeky lob but his effort just missed wide of the open goal. Roy O’Donovan’s effort were being saved by Nazri Sabri in goal.
The home side Hougang United FC have themselves to blame for not taking their chances. DPMM FC now have leapfrogged Tampines Rovers FC by a point though the defending champions have one game in hand.
DPMM FC were missing two key players – Captain Rosmin Kamis who is being rested for calf injury while Sairol Sahari had to rest after a hip strain and both should be back in next week’s home game. It is not a good run for Hougang United FC who just came off a loss against Geylang International FC after conceding three late goals. Hougang United FC have proved to be a threat in the league with their new signings and I won’t be surprised if Hougang United end up in the top three this season.
Great job to the lads as well as the head coach and the team management in rebuilding DPMM FC from last season. It’s always a great feeling to be on top. Keep it up!! Some of the images below are courtesy of Alson Ong.
DPMM FC first team line up last night
Azwan Ali scored the winning goal with a great header in the 77th minute
Tosi lobbed an effort but it went just wide of the goal, late in the first half
Wardun Yussof holding off a challenge from Hougang’s Geison Moura
Students from Sekolah Menengah Rimba II supporting DPMM FC last night. They are in Singapore until Saturday for a student exchange program.
Free curry puffs for spectators last night (while stock lasts)
It was heavy pouring a few hours before the match. Good thing the match wasn’t called off.
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