Operation Overview

Due to the downturn of the building industry in Malaysia, our construction division, namely J.M.R. Construction Sdn. Bhd. took aggressive and progressive steps to strengthen and consolidate its operations and manage asset and resources optimally in order to remain competitive. J.M.R. Construction Sdn. Bhd. remains as our

Group’s secondary contributor and one of the major roadwork and infrastructure engineering companies in the northern region of Peninsular Malaysia with an enviable track record in the sea reclamation engineering business.

In that period, we re-structured our industrial division, namely Lean Seng Chan (Quarry) Sdn. Bhd., JMR Manufacturing Sdn. Bhd. (formerly known as Primbuild Sdn. Bhd.) and JMR Quarry (Kedah) Sdn. Bhd. with the goal of seeking potential plants for acquisition and merger integration exercises in order to expand its capacity in the next few years. JMR Manufacturing Sdn. Bhd. (formerly known as Primbuild Sdn. Bhd.) was formed to undertake the asphaltic concrete product manufacturing business. Lean Seng Chan (Quarry) Sdn. Bhd. retains its status as one of the top quarrying companies in the Penang State. The quarry site, located in the Kedah State, under JMR Quarry (Kedah) Sdn. Bhd. is next in line to contribute increased revenue to the industrial division, our primary contributor.

Our development division had a good year too. The overwhelming response to our launch resulted in stellar sales of our housing project, Taman Camar Jaya. The positive uptake has created a permanent housing community in this town, north of Peninsular Malaysia. The housing scheme development in Kulim has been re-scheduled to end 2009 in order to maximize its profit contribution towards the Group’s performance.

In a broad aspect, our corporate governance policies, the shareholders’ trust, the management’s accountability and transparency as well as its policy of prudent risk identification when evaluating all opportunities and ventures have guided the company to weather a very challenging and difficult year.





Prospects

The negative impact of the global economy has caused us to revisit our business strategies. Armed with a positive mind-set to manage the imposed limitations, we continue to seek fresh and innovative ideas in order to excel in the coming years. We addressed these challenges by exhaustively reviewing factors like efficiency, wastage reduction, redeployment and cost-cutting which are within our control in order to soften the impact.

With the outstanding track record in completing the roadwork for Butterworth Outer Ring Road (BORR), Jelutong Expressway and other primary infrastructure projects in the northern region of Peninsular Malaysia, J.M.R. Construction Sdn. Bhd. is ready to undertake more government infrastructure projects under the Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP) and the bail-out scheme announced by our Prime Minister through the promised fair open evaluation process. Our construction division is aiming to achieve new heights in the coming years.

The reputation and track record of Lean Seng Chan (Quarry) Sdn. Bhd. translates to its preferred quarry status in Penang. The formation of JMR Manufacturing Sdn. Bhd. (formerly known as Primbuild Sdn. Bhd.) promises to bring its asphalt concrete products manufacturing activities to a broader horizon. Meanwhile, JMR Quarry (Kedah) Sdn. Bhd. is all set to march into operation once the economic turmoil stabilises. The structure of the industrial division is set to welcome potential acquisition and merger integration exercises whilst the organic growth continues.

Several mixed development schemes are presently in the pipeline waiting to be launched by the end of 2009 onwards. Our development division will keep pace with the expansion of Penang as a heritage site by the Unesco and tap into the resultant growth. The construction of the second bridge linking the island to the peninsular is in progress and this bodes well for us too. Furthermore, our upcoming housing scheme in Kedah State will enjoy a very warm welcome from the public in anticipation of the speedy construction and completion of the north-south railroad double-track as promised by the Federal Government.