The Star 4/4/00 - TH Group Bhd, through its 70%-owned subsidiary Internet Technology Asia Ventures (ITAV), has announced that it would put up to US$4million in MG Logic Pte Ltd, a proprietary owner of written communications on the Internet. The first tranche of US$1million will be invested in MG Logic for an 11.11% stake and the second tranche will depend on the funding needs at later stages but up to maximum of US$3mil. The additional stake would then depend on the actual investment to be made later.

This is the second investment in an Internet company for ITAV, a venture capital comapny. Its first was an agreement to take stakes in AsiaDirect DotCom, a global investment portal. The investment falls into the enabling technology category which represents one of the four categories of the investment strategy of ITAV. TH Group managing director and ITAV chairman Lei Lin Thai said the group was committing RM70mil in ITAV to ensure that the group's shareholders got reasonable returns on their investments.

The Star 20/3/00 - TH Group will hold a 70% stake in the venture capital company TH Group's Internet Technology Asia Ventures Sdn Bhd (Asia Ventures). "We are working with global partnership...in totality, we have 20 projects", said Stephen Ong the co-managing director of Asia Ventures. TH Group announced earlier that it had entered into an agreement to invest over the next five year RM68mil in Internet start-up businesses through Asia Ventures. Money will be used as seed development capital to realise the company's growth. The seed money is for areas including infrastructure (Web development consulting companies, multi-currency Internet payment gateway with global partners or Internet Webfarms along with Internet service and access providers. It is also aimed at vertical markets to facilitate transactions in areas such as financial services, health care, education, travel and the media: new enabling technologies such as wireless application systems as well as business-to-business e-commerce applications. The 20 projects, if successful will be listed on either the Nasdaq exchange in the US or the Stock Exchange of Singapore Dealing and Automated Quotation System in two years. "If an egg can't be hatched, why sit on it?" cautioned Ong.

The Star 6/3/00 - TH Group has subscribed for two shares of RM1 each in a new incorporated company which is involved in information technology services, THG Itech. THGroup said that THG Itech incorporated on Feb 29, would commence operations by April this year. It was expected to offer system integration, software solution, project management and consultancy services.

The Star 1/3/00 - TH Group MD Lei Lin Thai said although the TH Group would maintain plantations and contracting services as its core businesses, it would also venture into Internet and e-commerce. "The Internet and e-commerce business would give TH Group access to a fast-growing and promising industry," Lei said. The group already has a 70% stake in Internet Technology Asia Ventures Sdn Bhd (ITAV) and its investment committee has approved an investment of US2mil by ITAV to acquire a 40% interest in AsiaDirect DotCom, a global investment portal which delivers online financial services. ITAV joint-venture partner Stephen Ong said the company planned to invest in 20 Internet and e-commerce companies this year. "We will focus on the area of e-commerce applications, enabling technologies, vertical markets and infrastructure services," Ong said. According to Ong, there were 20 million Internet users in Asia last year and the number was forecast to increase to 60 million in 2003.

The Star 1/3/00 - TH Group has posted an unaudited pre-tax profit of RM66mil on a turnover of RM256mil for the 16 months ended Dec 31, 1999. The plantations business contributed 44% and contracting services 40% to group pre-tax profit for the period under review. The rest of the pre-tax earnings came mainly from exceptional gains arising from the disposal of Union Paper subsidiaries.

The Edge Feb 00 - IT professional with good track record in Europe was hired to oversee the web incuberation project.