NEWS IN BRIEF: JULY 1, 2022

QOALA TECHNOLOGY SDN BHD (Qoala Malaysia), an insurtech firm, has partnered with Lonpac Insurance Bhd to grow its list of insurance associates.

Currently, the Indonesia-based company has six insurance partners, namely, AXA Affin General Insurance, Etiqa General Insurance & Takaful, Lonpac Insurance, Takaful IKHLAS, Tune Protect, and Zurich General Insurance & Takaful.

In a statement today, Qoala App head Akash Sharma said the partnership with Lonpac will allow its customers to have a greater option in choosing a policy that is fitting to their needs.

The statement also said that Qoala Malaysia has seen strong growth in the past six months, reflected through its product offerings expansion and the number of insurance partners onboarded, resulting in a three-fold increase in sales.

-- BERNAMA 

AIRASIA SUPER APP has announced its latest addition to its online travel agent (OTA) platform with the onboarding of Japan Airlines (JAL). 

In a statement today, AirAsia said the recent addition marks the second airline from Japan to be part of its OTA platform, providing its users with various choices to explore Japan and beyond.

“Under this new partnership, JAL flights will be available in the flight section of the airasia Super App, with over 132 domestic Japan routes and 60 international routes including seamless connections to North America,” the budget airline said. 

-- BERNAMA 

PHS AUTOMOTIVE MALAYSIA (PHSAM), wholly owned by European automotive specialist Porsche Holding Salzburg (PHS), is now the official distributor of the Audi brand in Malaysia.

In a statement today, PHSAM said it will be representing the wholesale, marketing and aftersales for the Audi brand in the country.

Leading the PHSAM team are its two managing directors, Erik Winter and Kurt Leitner, who also hold the managing director positions at sister company Volkswagen Passenger Cars Malaysia.

-- BERNAMA 

PLS PLANTATION BHD has appointed Lee Hun Kheng as its group chief executive officer, effective July 1, 2022.

In a statement to Bursa Malaysia today, the group said Lee will retain his executive director role and also his position as the executive officer of the group’s forest plantation unit Aramijaya Agri & Agro Sdn Bhd. 

The company added that Lee’s appointment is expected to strengthen the senior management bench as the group diversifies into commercial durian planting alongside cash crops and forest plantation.

-- BERNAMA 

AIRASIA X (AAX) has appointed Tunku Mahmood Fawzy Tunku Muhyiddin as its new independent non-executive director, effective immediately. 

In a statement today, AAX non-independent non-executive director and Nomination Committee member Datuk Fam Lee Ee said Mahmood Fawzy’s background in various organisations, combined with his previous experience as a board member in the aviation industry, made him an ideal addition to AAX.

“On behalf of the rest of the board, we look forward to working closely with Tunku Mahmood Fawzy as we embark on our next chapter,” he said in a statement today. 

-- BERNAMA